PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT
SELF-PACED COURSE
1. About this Course
It covers the essentials of management and organization and reviews all of the substantive material that is usually taught in an introductory course at college.
"Our course covers the basic principles of management, including both vocabulary and concepts in planning, organization, control, and leadership. This course is designed to help you pass the CLEP exam in management but it can also be a good start in developing your own skills as a manager. The CLEP exam for management covers the field broadly so it is important to watch all the videos, perhaps several times, and to do the readings and review the test questions for each module. Passing the exam will not be easy but you have everything here you need to be successful," explains Doctor Gregory Gardner, Professor of Business Administration at the State University of New York at Potsdam.
The CLEP exam contains approximately 100 questions to be answered in 90 minutes. You will be required you to demonstrate knowledge of management functions and techniques, and ability to associate the meaning of specific terminology with important management ideas, processes, and techniques. You will also be required to apply knowledge, general concepts, and principles to specific problems.
Our “Principles of Management” course is completely self-paced. There are no prerequisites to take this course, and it is entirely free. The goal of the creator of this course – Modern States Education Alliance, a non-profit organization – is to prepare you to pass the College Board's CLEP examination and obtain college credit for free.
2. Required Knowledge and Skills
The CLEP exam requires you to demonstrate one or more of the following abilities:
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Specific factual knowledge, recall, and general understanding of purposes, functions, and techniques of management (about 10% of the exam).
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Understanding of and ability to associate the meaning of specific terminology with important management ideas, processes, techniques, concepts, and elements (about 40% of the exam).
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Understanding of theory and significant underlying assumptions, concepts, and limitations of management data, including a comprehension of the rationale of procedures, methods, and analyses (about 40% of the exam).
- Application of knowledge, general concepts, and principles to specific problems (about 10% of the exam).
3. Course Modules
Following are the main topics and percentages of the exam’s questions, mostly based on the College Board's description of the course:
Module 1: What is Management?
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Planning, Controlling, Organizing, and Leading
1.2 The History of Management
1.3 Managerial Ethics
Module 2: Planning and Strategy
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Planning
2.2 Planning Tools
2.3 Competitive Advantage
2.4 Product Planning and Strategy
2.5 Cost Leadership Versus Differentiation
2.6 Managing A Cost Leader
2.7 Managing A Differentiated Competitor
2.8 Risk and Decision-Making
2.9 Forecasting
Module 3: Controlling
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Feedback and Control
3.2 More on Feedback
3.3 Financial and Non-Financial Controls
3.4 Control and Planning
Module 4: Organizing
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Organizational Charts and Designs
4.2 Centralized and Decentralized Organization
4.3 Span of Control
4.4 Authority and Unity of Command
4.5 Incentives and Motivation Tools
4.6 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
4.7 McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y
4.8 Expectancy Theory
4.9 Equity Theory
4.10 Herzberg’s 2 Factor Theory
4.11 Job Design
Module 5: Leading
5.0 Introduction
5.1 Leadership Versus Management
5.2 Transactional Leadership
5.3 Transformational Leadership
5.4 Situational Leadership
5.5 Personality Types
5.6 Power in Organizations
5.7 Leadership in Teams
5.8 Managing Teams
Module 6: Global Trends and Issues in Management
6.0 Introduction
6.1 International Management and Culture
6.2 Conflict Resolution
6.3 Organizational Communications
6.4 Operations Management
6.5 Human Resource Management
4. About Dr. Gregory Gardner
His areas of specialization include management and strategy, with an emphasis on International Business. He also has 11 years of experience as a manager and strategist in a Fortune 100 company, and as a managerial consultant.
As a Fulbright scholar and Fulbright Senior Specialist, he has taught graduate and undergraduate coursework in business and economics in Ukraine and Hungary. He is the author of over 40 articles and academic conference presentations on business topics, especially dealing with
An Air Force veteran with over 30 years of military experience, active and reserves, he retired in 2014 as a Colonel in the New York Air National Guard. His
5. How CLEP Works
Developed by the College Board, CLEP (College-Level Examination Program®) is the most widely accepted credit-by-examination program.
CLEP’s credits are accepted by 2,900 colleges and universities, according to the College Board. These tests assess college-level knowledge in 33 subject areas.
Modern States Education Alliance is the non-profit organization behind these edX-style courses. Its project is called “Freshman Year for Free” and its mission is to make college more accessible and affordable through free, high-quality online education.
• CLEP® Principles of Management: at a Glance
• 'Passing the CLEP and Learning with Modern States' orientation course