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If you want to see if your business idea is viable, why not try Venture Navigator? It'll evaluate your plan, and put you in touch with resources and like-minded people to shape your next step.

Courses

Getting the right balance of skills in your business is essential, and the Open University offers a range of courses which will allow you to become a more effective, more successful manager - whether working for yourself, or somebody else.

Understanding Management (Y159)
A five month course about how you can learn to better manage your work-life and to clarify what you would like to accomplish in your future work-life, through four themes:

• a look at your own experience and understanding of management
• what organisations are all about and how they are managed
• your own self-management in a variety of situations
• how you plan and assess your personal development needs for the future

Investigating entrepreneurial opportunities (B322)
This course addresses the crucial first steps related to developing new business ideas, implementing innovations and launching new ventures. It will develop business-planning capabilities, skills and understanding, including market and competitor research and the use of important financial concepts such as break-even and cash flow. It will lead you through a systematic process of testing your ideas and experience to arrive at a business proposition with ambitious yet attainable objectives.

The Professional Certificate in Management (B615)
This twelve month course leads to a professional award, during which you'll study four key areas:

• Managing and Organisations, covers the role of a manager, and how to develop managerial effectiveness in an organisational setting
• Managing People looks at how to work more effectively with colleagues and staff; topics include motivation, recruitment, teamworking and leadership
• Managing Finance and Information helps a general manager to interpret and use financial information. It covers costs, how they are calculated and managed as well as budget management.
• Managing Customers and Quality uses marketing and quality management techniques to helps a manager add value for customers and stakeholders. It looks at how customers behave; the importance of researching, understanding and satisfying their needs; and communicating with them.

Content last updated: 26/05/2005

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