Business Leadership Skills

Description

The Certificate in Business Leadership Skills provides managers with a toolkit to think strategically, assess the financial implications of their decisions, mobilize change within an organization, and communicate with other business leaders. The courses in this series prepare managers to chart the future of their company as well as manage for bottom-line performance today, while providing engaging opportunities to specialize in a specific area of career interest.

Who Should Enroll in This Certificate?

This certificate series is designed for managers who require a solid understanding of leadership and strategic management concepts in order to ensure contribution to the organization's financial performance.

Enrollment

To register, contact an Enrollment Counselor at info@ecornell.com or 1-866-326-7635 (+1-607-330-3200 from outside the United States).

Certificate programs are eligible for eCornell Payment Plans. Discounts are available for military personnel, veterans, and Cornell University Alumni. eCornell programs are not eligible for financial aid or federal Pell Grants. Contact an enrollment counselor for more information.

Courses in this Certificate

• Mastering the Time Value of Money

  • In today’s delicate global marketplace, it’s imperative that managers make smart decisions about projects and initiatives—carefully weighing costs versus future revenues and considering all outcomes. Managers should learn the “time value of money” concept and apply its principles to their daily work.

    In this course, you will use timelines and cash-flow calculations to track cash flow and payments; establish the value of securities and investments; and determine overall cost-effectiveness. The time value of money is a key concept in financial management and project development, and learning it will better prepare you to make smart business decisions.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Intuition and Conceptual Framework.
      • Explaining the importance of the timing of future cash flows.
      • Using a cash-flow timeline to conceptualize TVM problems.
    • Basic TVM Tools.
      • Using a financial calculator to solve TVM problems.
      • Calculating the future and present value of a lump-sum payment.
    • Advanced TVM Tools.
      • Calculating the value of perpetuities and growing perpetuities.
      • Calculating the future and present value of annuities.

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner

    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Make planning decisions in the present, based on the accurate calculation of cash flow projections.
    • Use a cash-flow timeline to conceptualize time-value-of-money problems.
    • Use a financial calculator to solve time-value-of-money problems.
    • Calculate present and future values of payments, perpetuities, and annuities.
    • Use these concepts as a foundation for making capital investment decisions.

    
    
• Understanding Financial Statements

  • Leaders and managers interpret and utilize financial reports regularly. Reports can help assess the overall financial performance of the organization, a particular department, or even the competition—providing a basis for sound decision making and action.

    In this course, participants will learn how to read and interpret income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements. By understanding these three principal financial reports, participants can conduct advanced analysis of their firm's financial performance.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and builds each course around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Reading the Income Statement.
      • Understanding the purpose of the income statement and its overall structure.
      • Interpreting the income statement line by line.
      • Using the income statement.
    • Reading the Balance Sheet.
      • Understanding the purpose of the balance sheet and its overall structure.
      • Interpreting the balance sheet line by line.
      • Using the balance sheet.
    • Reading the Cash Flow Statement.
      • Understanding the purpose of the cash flow statement and its overall structure.
      • Interpreting the cash flow statement at a detailed level.
      • Using the cash flow statement.
    • Other Elements of Financial Reporting.
      • The purpose of an annual report.
      • Online sources of financial information.
      • GAAP and FASB, and their influence on the structure and use of these financial statements.

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner

    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Understand and interpret the information found in the three principle financial statements.
    • Understand how the three reports relate to one another and how they are combined (with additional information) to serve as an annual report.
    • Work with online sources of financial information to conduct research on other publicly-traded firms and industries.

    
    
• Developing an Agenda for Change

  • The many economic, competitive, and global factors that influence how organizations conduct business are constantly changing and evolving. The ability of organizations to understand these influences on their organizations and to respond to and adapt to these changes is critical for long-term growth and survival.

    This course discusses change as a political process driven by individuals and leaders within the organization who emerge as change agents. To be effective, individuals must recognize the areas within the organization over which they can exercise control and the areas over which they cannot.

    Course Format

    All eCornell courses are delivered online and are self-paced. An eCornell instructor leads the online discussions, grades any course projects, and is available to answer specific questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Analyzing the Change Environment
      • The role of the change agent as a proactive thinker
      • Implementing a 3-step model for change
      • Analyzing the nature of the change environment in which you operate
      • Analyzing the specific nature of the environmental uncertainties In which your organization operates
    • Identifying Change Opportunities
      • Analyzing how loosely or tightly coupled your organizational structure should be
      • Identifying opportunities for change within the four main spheres of organization and execution within which the change agent can effect change
      • Outlining a plan for change within your organization that addresses one or more of those spheres

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Evaluate their organization's environment
    • Identify opportunities for change
    • Understand change as a process of negotiation
    • Develop an agenda for action based on the goals, culture, design, and work structure of the organization
    
    
• Mapping the Political Terrain of Allies and Resistors

  • Implementing an agenda for action is a political process driven by individuals within the organization who emerge as change agents. Essential to their success is the understanding that all new initiatives attract both allies and resistors.

    This course teaches leaders how to frame their agenda in a way that helps them identify and assess potential allies and resistors to their initiatives. With this understanding participants will be able to anticipate and prepare for arguments resistors may use in their attempts to derail the initiative.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Framing Your Change Agenda
      • Change agendas and styles
      • Four change mind-sets
    • Meeting the Challenge of Different Change Agendas
      • Strategies for recognizing allies and resistors
      • Identifying key stakeholders
      • Analyzing the change mind-sets of potential allies and resistors
      • Anticipating arguments against your change agenda

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Map the allies, potential allies, and the resistors to their initiative
    • Assess the attitude toward change of various actors in the organization
    • Identify various agendas and styles
    • Anticipate arguments against the agenda for action
    • Explain the need for a coalition of support
    
    
• Negotiating Support and Buy-In for Your Agenda

  • In these highly uncertain and turbulent times, going it alone is no longer a route to success; as a result, effective leaders build coalitions of support for their agenda and change initiatives. Leaders develop such coalitions by establishing their own credibility and the credibility of their agenda.

    This course, the third in the series, "Getting Things Done in Organizations: Creating Change and Building Support," is designed to:

    • Help learners develop a "roadmap" for negotiating support for their action agenda
    • Convey an understanding of the principles of bargaining power and influence in the process of negotiating a strategic initiative
    • Help learners apply this conceptual model to their action agenda in their organization
    • Help learners analyze the political agendas of others in the organization, identify sources of support for their agenda, and develop a strategy for building support for their initiative
    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Why You Need a Change
      • Coalition Conditions that necessitate coalitions
      • Power dynamics and credibility
      • Understanding and communicating the benefits of your agenda to others
    • Negotiating Support for Your Initiative
      • Strategies for gaining initial support for your agenda
      • Justifying your actions
    • How to Negotiate a Coalition of Support
      • When to use tacit or explicit language to present your agenda
      • Approaches to communicating your agenda
      • Developing a negotiation strategy appropriate to your agenda

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Describe why coalitions are critical to taking effective action
    • Describe how coalitions increase your bargaining power
    • Analyze the types of initial support you can build
    • Develop strategies for getting initial support for your agenda
    • Identify communications approaches that will be most effective
    • Outline a strategy for getting others to buy-in to your agenda
    
    
• Mobilizing the Coalition for Action

  • In most organizations, it is no longer sufficient to identify what needs to get done, and how it should get done. A leader must have the skills to implement his or her initiative and to overcome the dynamics of opposition and resistance that exist in every organization.

    This course is designed to help learners:

    • Apply the leadership style appropriate to the situation
    • Put a change coalition into place
    • React to changing conditions in the organization to ensure successful implementation
    • Anticipate and prepare for the future
    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • The Essentials of Coalition Leadership
      • Solidifying your coalition
      • Managing differences among coalition members
      • Diffusing your ideas and expanding your network
    • Pitfalls to Avoid and Leading for the Long Term
      • Strategies for preventing your coalition from becoming insular
      • Avoiding complacency and differentiating your coalition
      • Negotiating changing conditions and uncertainties
      • Political analysts, consensus builders, and politically competent leaders

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Solidify their coalition
    • Map differences among coalition members
    • Propagate ideas and diversify their network
    • Identify the two dimensions of coalition leadership
    • Avoid traps of insular coalitions
    • Recognize and respond to changing conditions within the organization
    • Employ a Change Outcome Matrix and respond to different outcomes
    • Effect ongoing and proactive change
    
    
• Strategic Thinking

  • Strategic thinking is defined as both a way of looking at the world—particularly at challenging situations—and as a way of applying a set of techniques for framing and solving problems. It takes different forms in different situations, and certain levels of strategic thinking are more efficient for various industries and corporate cultures.

    In this course, participants learn the four basic levels of strategic thinking under which an organization can operate, and the circumstances under which an organization must shift to a higher strategic level. At the completion of the course, participants will be able to prepare a competitive analysis of an organization, with recommendations for strategic development based on an industry analysis and an understanding of the organization's history, culture, and current operations.

    Course Format

    All eCornell courses are delivered online and are self-paced. An eCornell instructor leads the online discussions, grades any course projects, and is available to answer specific questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • The Context for Strategic Thinking
      • The levels of strategic thinking at which an organization can operate, the factors that lead to an optimum level, and the circumstances under which organizations shift to a new strategic level
      • Determining the optimum level of strategic thinking for an organization's industry and culture
      • The concept of strategic intent and its appropriateness for your company or industry
    • Thinking Strategically About Your Organization
      • Using Porter's Five Forces model to analyze the operating environment in an industry
      • Managing products and product lines based on the BCG volume/margin model
      • The relationship between core competencies (at the company level) and key success factors (at the industry level)
      • Identifying core competencies and success factors required for any particular industry
      • Preparing a competitive analysis of a company, based on the industry in general, and an understanding of its current operations and culture

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner

    Participants who complete this course will be able to:

    • Identify different levels of strategic thinking and determine which is optimal for their organization
    • Determine the factors that influence organizations to change their level of strategic thinking
    • Determine the core competencies and key success factors in an industry
    • Apply the concept of strategic intent and evaluate its appropriateness in a specific organization or industry
    • Prepare a competitive analysis of an organization

    
    
• Scenario Planning

  • The complexities of rapidly expanding technology and economic globalization make it necessary for organizations to develop tools for strategic analysis to ensure their ability to compete as an industry leader. Scenario planning is a powerful tool used by the most successful corporations for strategic analysis and decision making, enabling an organization to chart a course or optimize its resource allocation in complex situations when the future is uncertain.

    In this course, participants learn to evaluate an organization's strategic position, competencies, and plans for expansion across a full range of potential future developments.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Context and Preparation for Scenario Planning
      • Introduction to the concept of scenario planning and its usefulness
      • Key elements of scenario planning (e.g., trends and uncertainties)
      • Organizing data: identifying how uncertainties may interact with each other, and addressing different levels of confidence in the data
    • Scenario Planning in Practice
      • Developing scenarios that integrate trends and uncertainties into alternate possibilities for your industry
      • Applying strategic frameworks to determine core competencies and key success factors for each scenario
      • Assessing an organization's current competencies and creating a development plan to acquire new competencies
      • Early warning systems to accelerate the conversion of uncertainties into trends

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner
    Participants who complete this course will be able to:

    • Assess whether scenario planning is right for their organization
    • Collect and arrange the data necessary for planning a scenario
    • Organize an effective team for scenario planning
    • Assess their organization's current competencies and develop robust strategies for multiple scenarios
    • Develop early warning indicators to identify emerging scenarios
    • Identify new competencies and courses of action that will give their organization the greatest strategic advantage
    
    

• Making Capital Investment Decisions

  • One of the most important aspects of a manager's job is to evaluate the feasibility of new initiatives and to make sound investment decisions. This includes thorough research and analysis using financial decision-making tools.

    In this course, you will learn six capital budgeting rules that provide a framework for making sound project investment decisions. Examine how the rules differ from one another, and which rules are most applicable in various project settings.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Conceptual Framework.
      • How value is created in a business.
      • How capital budgeting rules provide a framework for making project investment decisions.
      • Appropriate use of other accounting-based techniques such as return on assets and return on equity.
    • Basic Capital Budgeting Decision Rules.
      • Calculation and appropriate use of net present value (NPV) as a tool in making project investment decisions.
      • Internal rate of return (IRR), its strengths, weaknesses, and appropriate use as a decision rule.
      • Payback periods (PP), its strengths, weaknesses, and appropriate use as a decision rule.
      • Discounted payback periods (DPP), its strengths, weaknesses, and appropriate use as a decision rule.
    • Special Cases.
      • Calculation and appropriate use of profitability index (PI) as a decision rule.
      • Calculation and appropriate use of equivalent annual cost (EAC) as a decision rule.

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner

    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Apply capital budgeting decision rules to make sound financial choices.
    • Accurately analyze decisions and projects for financial soundness.

    
    
• Risk and Return: How to Identify, Measure, and Incorporate Into Capital Budgeting Decisions

  • For the non-financial manager, this course introduces risk in capital budgeting, detailing precisely how it can be factored into budgeting decisions.

    Managers in today’s firms tend to work closely with finance, so having fundamental understanding of finance is imperative. Risk and return are critical components of capital budgeting and ultimately impact the value of an investment. This two-week course prepares non-financial managers to identify project risks and weigh them against expected returns.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Considering Investment Risk.
    • Investors and Risk.
    • Quantifying Risk and Return.
    • Two Kinds of Risk - Systematic and Unsystematic Risk.
    • How Firms Factor Risk into Capital Budgeting Decisions.
    • Systematic Risk.
    • Capital Asset Pricing Model.
    • Risk and Capital Budgeting Decisions.

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner

    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Explain how risk enters into the capital budgeting decision and the impact it will have on the ultimate value of the investment under consideration.
    • Interpret what you read in the Wall Street Journal.

    
    
• Raising Capital: The Process, the Players, and Strategic Considerations

  • Firms routinely look to external capital markets for funding and operating investments. Making complete, well-informed financing decisions at the corporate level requires a thorough understanding of capital markets. This course provides the theory behind capital market investments and demonstrates how external factors may influence debt-equity decisions, such as changes within the industry or prevailing economic trends.

    Learn to observe external economic data and develop strategies to balance debt and equity at your firm. You’ll also see how decisions regarding corporate restructuring, mergers, acquisitions and bankruptcy are made.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Capital Structure Foundations.
    • Evaluating the Firm’s Financing Options.
    • The Debt Irrelevance Theorem.
    • Trade-Off Theory of Capital Structure.
    • The Effect of Taxes on the Firm’s Value.
    • The Effect of Financial Distress on the Firm’s Value.
    • Pecking Order Theory of Capital Structure.
    • Direct Costs of Issuing Securities.
    • Indirect Costs of Raising Capital.
    • Pulling It All Together – Reconciling and Applying Pecking Order and Trade-Off Theories.

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner

    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • View the process of raising capital in a broad context of capital-related decisions regarding the mix of capital and the process of entering into capital markets.
    • Explain how decisions in your department or division are influenced by capital structuring decisions.
    • Explain why changes in the industry and in the economy are important to capital budgeting decisions in your organization.
    • Contribute to decisions in your own firm more meaningfully with a good understanding of corporate restructuring, mergers, acquisitions, and bankruptcy.

    
    
• Using Ratio Analysis to Evaluate Financial Performance

  • Success in business depends first on an organization’s ability to analyze its financial standing. By carefully analyzing financial performance, an organization can identify opportunities and make adjustments to improve performance at the department, unit, or organizational level.

    In this course, you will learn to use several ratio-analysis instruments to assess financial performance so that the organization can then design and implement initiatives for increased productivity and profitability.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and builds each course around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Asset Management Ratios.
      • Introduction to Ratio Analysis.
      • Working Capital Ratios.
      • Turnover Ratios.

    • Solvency and Capital Structure Ratios.
      • Liquidity Ratios.
      • Coverage Ratios.
      • Leverage Ratios.
    • Profitability Ratios and DuPont Analysis.
      • Margin Ratios.
      • Return on Assets and Equity Ratios and the DuPont System.

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner

    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Use ratio analysis to identify areas of strong financial performance and those that need improvement.
    • Accurately assess the financial performance of a department, unit, or organization relative to its competitors or to its own past performance.

    
    
• Internal Consulting Skills for HR Professionals
  • The role of the HR professional is being transformed from that of the guardians or enforcer of an organization’s policies and procedures into that of a strategic business partner. As demands on and expectations of HR professionals change, they must continually develop new skills to add value to the organization. Essential skills of the HR Professional as Business Partner are consulting skills. As an internal consultant, HR professionals act as a proactive advisor providing critical input into the strategic initiatives of the organization and become increasingly involved in the implementation of strategies. As HR professionals take on these additional responsibilities, our role changes and we are able to have a greater impact on the organization.
    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and builds each course around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer specific questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Introducing Internal Consulting
    • The evolving role of HR
    • Keys to consulting success
    • Initial Consulting Stages
    • Exploring the situation: First formal meeting
    • Gaining agreement: Preparing the project plan
    • Data gathering and analysis
    • Final Consulting Stages
    • Developing recommendatins
    • Presenting recommendations
    • Implementing
    • Reviewing, evaluating, and deciding on next steps
    
    
    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Redefine their role as proactive and advisory rather than reactive and authoritative
    • Be an effective consultant
    • Build and maintain credibility with their clients through intimate knowledge of their organization
    • Implement the seven stages of the consulting process
    
    
• Establishing Momentum: Managing Structure, Resources, and Performance

  • Effective leaders not only develop good ideas and create action, but also implement the ideas and sustain action. You can be charismatic. You can be charming. But your skill as a manager will be evaluated in terms of your ability to get things done.

    Once you have gotten an initiative off the ground, you need to ensure that your coalition has the ability to produce results and drive momentum. A proactive leader must have the managerial competence to build the coalition’s capacity to keep the initiative moving forward and growing, and the performance-management skills to keep it operating effectively.

    This course is designed to help learners:

    • Develop a “roadmap” for establishing momentum for their coalition’s agenda
    • Apply facilitative and directive leadership styles appropriately in teams and organizations
    • Maintain organizational capacity in order to allocate resources and prioritize effectivelyMonitor performance in order to evaluate progress and make corrections
    • Apply these skills to a change agenda in their organization
    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Managing for Momentum
    • The need for both political and managerial competence
    • The four dimensions of momentum
    • Facilitative vs. directive leadership
    • Structural Momentum
    • Creating hierarchies, while sustaining groups
    • Providing resources without going too far
    • Giving autonomy and defining parameters
    • Performance Momentum
    • Being clear about results, while remaining objective
    • Making adjustments without over-reacting

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Describe the dimensions of effective leadership and their implication on the long-term success of their agenda
    • Identify the four dimensions of momentum and explain why you need to manage all four to ensure the success of your agenda
    • Choose facilitative and directive leadership approaches, as appropriate
    • Recognize and respond appropriately to changing conditions within the organization
    • Balance multiple considerations in building and maintaining the capacity of their organization
    • Evaluate performance and make corrections
    
    
• Sustaining Momentum: Motivating Through Vision, Culture, and Political Agility

  • Leaders need to provide the vision, exercise political agility, and establish the organizational culture necessary to keep their initiatives vital and moving forward. Proactive leaders must have the skills to keep the “soul” of their coalition alive and relevant to the needs of the organization.

    This course is designed to help learners:

    • Manage organizational culture to sustain momentum.
    • Become politically agile in ensuring continued support for their agenda.
    • Manage their coalition—and their agenda—for the long-term.
    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Cultural Momentum
    • Creating a problem-solving culture
    • Developing the collective while supporting the individual
    • Celebrating results without "worshiping idols"
    • Political Momentum
    • Keep the coalition mindset alive
    • Don’t feed the Trojan horse
    • Beware of counter-coalitions
    • Proactive Leadership
    • Putting your agenda together, from idea to implementation
    • Planning your next agenda and leveraging current success.

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner
    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Create a culture of motivation that helps people learn and problem-solve while providing opportunities for affiliation and re-affirmation
    • Become politically agile: anticipate conflict and continuously mobilize support to ensure that their agenda remains vital
    • Build on current success and plan their next agenda
    • Focus on the big picture - from acting on an idea to implementing for long-term results - in their organization
    
    
• Executive Decision Making

  • In today’s fast-paced, competitive business climate, executives need to be prepared to make smart decisions quickly and decisively. Making strategic decisions involves weighing risk and considering long-range implications for the organization.

    In this course, participants will learn how to apply formal decision-making processes in order to reduce risk and maximize benefit. Learn best practices and techniques for gathering data and making critical decisions with limited time and resources.

    Course Format

    All eCornell courses are delivered online and are self-paced. An eCornell instructor leads the online discussions, grades any course projects, and is available to answer specific questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • The Executive's Decision-Making Tasks
      • Organizational factors and personal characteristics that affect decision making
      • Framing and categorizing situations to aid in making effective, objective decisions
      • Conducting decision-tree analyses
      • Gathering data and evaluating it for completeness, relevance, and possible bias
    • Formal Methods for Executive Decision Making
      • Most common formal methods and when to use them
      • Bayesian analysis

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner

    After completing this course, participants will be able to:

    • Gather crucial data and resources to inform the decision-making process
    • Identify appropriate situations for involving others in a decision-making process
    • Ascertain risks, uncertainties, and ambiguities in an executive decision-making environment
    • Overcome organizational factors that complicate decision making
    • Apply formal methods such as decision trees and Bayesian analysis to arrive at appropriate decisions

    
    
• Leading Through Creativity

  • Leaders that actively encourage creative thinking in their employees are often the ones that drive organizational innovation. The creative power of individuals in the workforce can and should push the development of new products and services to make the business more competitive.

    Mastering the creative process and spurring on innovation isn’t a matter of having the gift of creativity; it is a matter of applying technique and intelligence. Creative innovation is essential to growing market share and increasing profits.

    In this course, participants will learn to cultivate organizational creativity through a series of individual and group exercises to develop new ideas. Participants will also learn to enhance their own capacity for creative thought.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning, and our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. All courses are self-paced, and are facilitated by an eCornell instructor, who leads the online discussions and is available to answer any questions about the course content.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • Developing Your Creativity
      • Characteristics of creative people in business environments
      • Using visualization techniques for enhancing your creativity
      • Techniques for developing creative approaches to business challenges
    • Developing Your Organization's Ability to Innovate
      • Creative techniques and processes for groups, including some that can be implemented online
      • Features that limit an organization's creative potential
      • Fostering creativity throughout the organization

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner
    Participants who complete this course will be able to:

    • Greatly expand their own capacity for creative thought
    • Foster creativity throughout a department or organization
    • Utilize techniques for developing creative approaches to business challenges
    • Identify and overcome features in an organization that limit creative potential
    • Recommend steps to foster creativity
    
    
• Unlocking Your Leadership Potential
  • Leaders are not born; they are developed. This course helps managers identify and enhance the particular leadership style that matches their personal strengths. By providing participants with a range of assessment tools, including an online 360-degree evaluation, this course builds critical leadership competencies essential to career development and advancement. Linked to Cornell University?s Johnson Graduate School of Management Leadership Model, the online 360-degree evaluation is designed to identify participant?s management strengths and weaknesses. Participants will create a Leadership Development Plan designed to guide their career development.
    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning; our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. This course is self-paced and an eCornell instructor is available to coach students to interpret their assessment results and help ensure their successful completion of the course requirements.

    This course is based on an online 360-degree assessment which is administered at the outset of the course. You will be asked to nominate up to ten colleagues to complete online assessments of your leadership capabilities. Your Leadership Assessment will be available during the first module of the course and will form the basis for the creation of your Leadership Development Plan.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • The Successful Leader
      • Leadership Models
      • Derailment
      • Calibration
    • The Leadership Development Plan
      • Getting Feedback
      • Analyzing Feedback Data
      • Writing the Leadership Development Plan
    
    
    Benefits to the Learner
    Participants who complete this course will be able to:

    • Identify leadership strengths and weaknesses in the context of your own career, through feedback from colleagues and through self-assessment
    • Develop strategies to build a network within your organization to support your leadership development
    • Create a development plan you can use to address leadership weaknesses and build competencies
    
    
• Overcoming Challenges to Leaders and Their Teams

  • As managers take on new roles and responsibilities, the risks and consequences of failure become much greater. In this course, participants gain skills in identifying and overcoming the obstacles and pitfalls they may face at different stages of their careers.

    Participants revise an existing personal Leadership Development Plan to guide them through leadership transitions and make them more effective managers and members of their organizations. (Participants must bring a completed personal leadership development plan to the course; either one they created in LSM509, Unlocking Your Leadership Potential, or one they've created in their workplace.) They also develop strategies for helping their team of direct reports grow and change when faced with new assignments.

    Course Format

    eCornell takes a problem-based approach to learning; our courses are built around realistic case studies and scenarios. This course is self-paced and is designed to be completed within two weeks of the course start date.

    This course contains the following modules:

    • A Career of Leadership
      • The Three Stages of Leadership
      • The Three-Wave Pattern of Activity
      • Plan for the Next Stage
    • Leading Your Team
      • The High-Performing Team
      • Team Assessment
      • Team Development

    
    
    Benefits to the Learner
    Participants who complete this course will be able to:

    • Define the leadership skills and competencies needed for improving your own performance and the performance of your team
    • Implement an action plan that outlines the required leadership skills to be developed, specific actions needed to acquire those skills, and a timeframe for doing so
    
    

Accreditation / CEUs

HRCI Recertification

The courses in this certificate series have each been approved for six (6) recertification credit hours toward PHR, SPHR, and GPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute. Some courses have been approved for six (6) Strategic Management recertification credit hours toward SPHR and GPHR recertification or six (6) International HR Management recertification credit hours towards the GPHR designation. See individual course descriptions for more information. Please contact the Human Resource Certificate Institute (HRCI) for further information about certification or recertification.

Accreditation

Participants who successfully complete all eight required courses and four elective courses in this certificate series will receive a Certificate in Business Leadership Skills from Cornell University.

CORE REQUIRED COURSES -Mastering the Time Value of Money HAME507 -Understanding Financial Statements HAME513 -Developing an Agenda for Change ILRMS509 -Mapping the Political Terrain of Allies and Resistors ILRSM510 -Negotiating Support and Buy-In for Your Agenda ILRSM511 -Mobilizing the Coalition for Action ILRMS512 -Strategic Thinking LSM502 -Scenario Planning LSM503 ELECTIVE COURSES - SELECT FOUR -Executive Decision Making LSM506 -Leading Through Creativity LSM507 -Making Capital Investment Decisions HAME508 -Using Ratio Analysis to Evaluate Financial Performance HAME514 -Risk and Return: How to Identify, Measure, and Incorporate Into Capital Budgeting Decisions HAME509 -Raising Capital: The Process, the Players, and Strategic Considerations HAME510 -Unlocking Your Leadership Potential LSM509 -Overcoming Challenges to Leaders and Their Teams LSM510 -Internal Consulting Skills for HR Professionals ILRHR513 -Establishing Momentum: Managing Structure, Resources, and Performance ILRSM513 -Sustaining Momentum: Motivating Through Vision, Culture, and Political Agility ILRSM514