Discover how modern businesses are shaped by the four forces of knowledge, technology, business ethics, and globalisation. Prepare for the world of work by analysing key trends shaping modern businesses. What defines modern organisations? How and why are they changing?
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On this course, you’ll learn about the four forces which shape modern organisations. These are: the shift towards a knowledge economy and away from manual labour; the technological innovations being developed and used by businesses; business ethics, organised under corporate social responsibility (CSR) or environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals; and globalisation.
For new graduates, this course will help you understand the business world you are about to enter.
What topics will you cover?
- An initial understanding of modern business and organisations
- Up-to-date concepts to shape understanding of the four major forces that shape the world of modern business and organisations: knowledge, technology, ethics and globalisation
- Trigger concepts to prompt changing mind about what accepted (up-to-date) knowledge is regarding the four major sources
- Upcoming concepts, developed in collaboration with the participants, to facilitate an open-minded exploration of knowledge that is still being developed
- Part of the content is developed based on the interest of the participants using the ‘Ask Viktor’ feature
- Based on Henry Mintzberg, the phenomenon of the financial crisis is described as the crisis of management rather than the crisis of economics
- Knowledge acquired in the first five weeks is applied to make sense of the financial crisis, arguing for or against Mintzberg’s position through a chosen concept from each of the four major forces that shape the world of modern business and organisations
Learning on this course
You can take this self-guided course and learn at your own pace. On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...
- Develop an initial understanding of the social and business context, structures, and management and leadership process in contemporary organisations.
- Interpret what it means for organisations to reinvent them as communities.
- Explore the main forces that shape modern business and organisations today: knowledge, technology, ethics and globalisation.
- Describe organisations that you know, in your own social, cultural, and economical context from the perspectives of the four major forces.
- Compare experiences in a variety of contexts provided by the internationally diverse participants of the course.
- Discuss hot topics from the world of modern business and organisations that matter to you.
- Evaluate other participants' essays providing them with comments and by doing so understand your own topics of interest better.
- Reflect on your learning and performance in the light of the comments you receive from the other participants.
- Apply what you learnt to the phenomenon of the financial crisis in order to deepen your understanding.
Who is the course for?
This course is aimed primarily at graduates entering the world of the work. Anyone who is interested in learning more about how modern businesses are shaped by forces of knowledge, technology, CSR/ESG, and globalisation might find this course of interest, however.
Though no specific background knowledge is required, it is pitched at a graduate-level of complexity and is thinking-intensive. Some experience of a business environment, not necessarily at a business organisation, would be beneficial.
