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Business management: people management and leadership

If you want to become an effective and inclusive people manager and leader, this microcredential will introduce you to critical tools and techniques to succeed. You’ll develop your understanding of people management as a living and changing practice and the skills to adapt to different contexts and challenges. You’ll investigate and review how you can support and lead others with care, gaining the skills to create a culture where your team and colleagues feel motivated, included and valued.

Key features

  • Learn practical skills that you can apply to your work straight away
  • Explore engaging case studies from managers practising in a variety of fields
  • Interact with co-learners and a course mentor to further support your learning
  • Created by academics from The Open University’s triple-accredited Business School (AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS) with input from industry experts
  • The course has a global focus and delivers transferable skills for diverse sectors and organisations

What is a microcredential?

Microcredentials are professional development short courses with academic credit designed to help you quickly build in-demand career skills and knowledge that you can immediately apply. Learn more about microcredentials.

Module

Module code

BZVM303

Credits

Credits

  • Credits measure the student workload required for the successful completion of a module or qualification.
  • One credit represents about 10 hours of study over the duration of the course.
  • You are awarded credits after you have successfully completed a module.
  • For example, if you study a 60-credit module and successfully pass it, you will be awarded 60 credits.
10

Study level

Across the UK, there are two parallel frameworks for higher education qualifications, the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications in England, Northern Ireland and Wales (FHEQ) and the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). These define a hierarchy of levels and describe the achievement expected at each level. The information provided shows how OU module levels correspond to these frameworks.
Level of Study
OU SCQF FHEQ
3 10 6

Study method

This microcredential is studied entirely online

Module cost

See Module registration

Entry requirements

See Entry requirements

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What you will study

On this undergraduate microcredential, you’ll build the skills to become an effective manager and leader in the modern workplace. During this 10-week course, you’ll cover the following topics.

  • What is meant by ‘people management’ and ‘leadership’
  • People management in different contexts and changing situations
  • Leading mindfully to influence others while ensuring people also feel valued, supported and cared for
  • Your identity as a manager and how this shapes how others see you
  • Mentoring and coaching as learning processes and how they can help managers develop and advance in their career
  • Working with equality, equity, diversity and inclusion, and why they are important for people management
  • Recruitment, selection and socialisation, and how to ensure employment practices are fair
  • Performance management systems, why they are important, including the role of Human Resource Management (HRM) in maintaining, monitoring and encouraging performance
  • The future of work, including advances in technology, the implications of remote working and how managers can adapt to support their teams

You will learn

By the end of this Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course, you’ll be able to:

  • identify appropriate actions for your personal development and the development of others
  • develop your own identity as a leader and manager
  • apply different frameworks and ideas to your own practice
  • demonstrate awareness of ethical issues in people management
  • develop your own approach to a supportive and inclusive work culture
  • reflect critically on the relevance of different ideas and frameworks.

Skills you will gain

  • Analysing and framing problems
  • Influencing people
  • Informed decision-making
  • Working inclusively
  • Self-reflection
  • Organising tasks in a collaborative environment
  • Managing performance
  • Motivating others
  • Effective communication

Vocational relevance

Materials include real-world examples and industry insight, ensuring your learning is relevant to the workplace. The course is particularly suitable for professionals who are:

  • new to a management role but lack formal qualifications
  • middle managers looking to develop their people management skills
  • junior professionals who would like to progress to management
  • self-employed people looking to develop their skills and knowledge
  • managers who are keen to develop their employees and organisational performance.

Created by leading academics from The Open University’s triple-accredited Business School

  • Dr Inge Hill has significant experience as a leader working within a diverse range of teams. She is an educator and researcher in entrepreneurship. Her practical leadership experience as a former managing director of an SME and long-standing non-executive directorship career in social enterprises inform her teaching and research on leadership and organisational management.
  • Professor Emma Bell is a researcher and educator who has published over 40 research articles, eight books and over 20 chapters about how people behave in organisations.
  • Dr Cinzia Priola is a professor of work and organisation studies at the OU and a chartered psychologist. She specialises in people management, diversity and inclusion in organisations.
  • Dr Saoirse O'Shea is a senior lecturer at the OU, specialising in leadership, equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and human resource management (HRM).

Teaching and assessment

Study support

  • Learn 100% online on the OU’s learning platform with a mix of video, audio and written materials.
  • Engage in interactive learning through self-assessment questions, polls, tasks and reflection.
  • Share ideas and experiences in discussion with other learners, building skills, confidence and knowledge.
  • Receive support from mentors who guide discussions and answer questions.
  • Study at a time that suits you with the flexibility to access the course from your desktop, tablet or mobile device.

Assessment

You’ll take part in weekly tasks and discussions with co-learners to support and consolidate your learning. Towards the end of the course, you’ll submit a project or assessment demonstrating the skills you’ve acquired. This will be marked and graded by subject matter experts and make up 100% of your final mark.

What you will gain

10 UK credits at undergraduate level from The Open University*. Academic credits are awarded on passing the final assessment. These will be at undergraduate level 6 of the Framework for Higher Education (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) / level 10 of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework.

*Academic credit may be used towards selected OU qualifications. For more details, including eligible qualifications, visit Counting microcredentials towards OU qualifications. The credit awarded may also be used at another university, subject to the agreement of the receiving institution.

Future availability

Business management: people management and leadership typically starts twice a year – in March and October. This page describes the microcredential that will begin in October 2025.

Regulations

As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the academic regulations which are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.

Course work includes:

End-of-module assessment


Entry requirements

This undergraduate-level microcredential will benefit anyone interested in developing their people management and leadership skills.

You don’t need any prior experience or qualifications to enrol. All the required skills and foundational knowledge are covered in this microcredential.

Please note

  • The course material doesn’t assume learners are working. Past experiences will be just as relevant.
  • All teaching is in English, and your English proficiency needs to be adequate for undergraduate study. As a guide, this corresponds to Level 5.5 of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). However, you won’t need to provide a formal English language score to enrol.

Course length

This 10-week course requires approximately 10 hours of self-paced learning per week, totalling around 100 hours for completion.  
 

Register

Start End England fee Register
27 Oct 2025 Jan 2026 £550.00

Registration closes 26/10/25 (places subject to availability)

Register
This module is expected to start for the last time in January 2027.

Additional Costs

Study costs

There may be extra costs on top of the tuition fee, such as set books, a computer and internet access.

If your income is not more than £25,000 or you receive a qualifying benefit, you might be eligible for help with some of these costs after your module has started.

Ways to pay for this module

Microcredentials

Most people pay for their microcredential with a credit or debit card. You may also consider approaching your employer to cover the cost.

Open University Student Budget Account

The Open University Student Budget Accounts Ltd (OUSBA) offers a convenient 'pay as you go' option to pay your OU fees, which is a secure, quick and easy way to pay. Please note that The Open University works exclusively with OUSBA and is not able to offer you credit facilities from any other provider. All credit is subject to status and proof that you can afford the repayments.

You pay the OU through OUSBA in one of the following ways:

  • Register now, pay later – OUSBA pays your module fee direct to the OU. You then repay OUSBA interest-free and in full just before your module starts. 0% APR representative. This option could give you the extra time you may need to secure the funding to repay OUSBA.
  • Pay by instalments – OUSBA calculates your monthly fee and number of instalments based on the cost of the module you are studying. APR 5.1% representative.

Joint loan applications

If you feel you would be unable to obtain an OUSBA loan on your own due to credit history or affordability issues, OUSBA offers the option to apply for a joint loan application with a third party. For example, your husband, wife, partner, parent, sibling or friend. In such cases, OUSBA will be required to carry out additional affordability checks separately and/or collectively for both joint applicants who will be jointly and severally liable for loan repayments.

As additional affordability checks are required when processing joint loan applications, unfortunately, an instant decision cannot be given. On average the processing time for a joint loan application is five working days from receipt of the required documentation.

Read more about Open University Student Budget Accounts (OUSBA).

OUSBA is not available as a payment method for microcredentials.

Employer sponsorship

Studying with The Open University can boost your employability. OU courses are recognised and respected by employers for their excellence and the commitment they take to complete. They also value the skills that students learn and can apply in the workplace.

Over 30,000 employers have used the OU to develop staff so far. If the module you’ve chosen is geared towards your job or developing your career, you could approach your employer to see if they will sponsor you by paying some or all of the fees. 

  • Your employer just needs to complete a simple form to confirm how much they will be paying and we will invoice them.
  • You won’t need to get your employer to complete the form until after you’ve chosen your module.  

Credit/debit card

You can pay part or all of your tuition fees upfront with a debit or credit card when you register for each module. 

We accept American Express, Mastercard, Visa and Visa Electron. 

Mixed payments

We know that sometimes you may want to combine payment options. For example, you may wish to pay part of your tuition fee with a debit card and pay the remainder in instalments through an Open University Student Budget Account (OUSBA).


Please note: your permanent address/domicile will affect your fee status and, therefore, the fees you are charged and any financial support available to you. The fee information provided here is valid for modules starting before 31 July 2026. Fees typically increase annually. For further information about the University's fee policy, visit our Fee Rules.

This information was provided on 25/04/2025.

Can you study an Access module for free?

Depending on eligibility and availability of places, you could apply to study your Access module for free.

To qualify, you must:

  1. be resident in England
  2. have a household income of not more than £25,000 (or be in receipt of a qualifying benefit)
  3. have not completed one year or more on any full-time undergraduate programme at FHEQ level 4 or above or successfully completed 30 credits or more of OU study within the last 10 years

How to apply to study an Access module for free

Once you've started the registration process, either online or over the phone, we'll contact you about your payment options. This will include instructions on how you can apply to study for free if you are eligible and funded places are still available.

If you're unsure if you meet the criteria to study for free, you can check with one of our friendly advisers on +44 (0)300 303 0069, or you can request a call back.

Not eligible to study for free?

Don't worry! We offer a choice of flexible ways to help spread the cost of your Access module. The most popular options include:

  • monthly payments through OUSBA
  • part-time tuition fee loan (you'll need to be registered on a qualification for this option)

To explore all the options available to you, visit Fees and Funding.

What's included

All learning materials, exercises and activities are delivered entirely online. 

While certain content can be downloaded, some content is exclusively accessible online, requiring a reliable internet connection for viewing. Please consider this if you are travelling.

Computing requirements

  • Primary device – A desktop or laptop computer. It’s possible to access some materials on a mobile phone, tablet or Chromebook; however, they will not be suitable as your primary device.
  • Our OU Study app operates on supported versions of Android and iOS.
  • Operating systems – Windows 11 or latest supported macOS. Microsoft will no longer support Windows 10 as of 14 October 2025.
  • Internet access – Broadband or mobile connection.

If you have a disability

The course is delivered online and makes use of a variety of online resources. If you use specialist hardware or software to assist you in using a computer or the internet, you can contact us about the support that can be given to meet your needs. 

To find out more about what kind of support and adjustments might be available, contact us or visit our disability support pages.