Best Free MOOCs In Business For November by: Jeff Schmitt on November 02, 2016 | | 3,778 Views November 2, 2016 Copy Link Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email Share on LinkedIn Share on WhatsApp Share on Reddit What do managers fear most? You guessed it: Giving feedback. Somehow, it never works out well. Some employees will shake their heads and make promises ā and then go right back to their old ways. Others will crawl into a shell and tune out. Of course, a few brave souls will toss what their managers say right back into their faces. NOT WHAT YOU SAY, BUT HOW YOU SAY IT (AND WHY YOU SAY IT) According to Columbia University neuroscientist Kevin Ochsner, people only apply feedback 30% of the time ā and it makes matters worse 40% of the time. That turns giving feedback a delicate proposition. In some cases, employees are too self-important or thin-skinned to take criticism. Feedback hones in on what they fear most: being challenged, exposed, and held accountable. However, feedback can also reveal larger issues under the surface, like poor leadership and training. It can carry the wrong tone, with negative sentiments lingering long after the positive feedback fades away. Too often, managers wield feedback as a weapon, a shaming device designed to show off their power. In fact, feedback response is often a gauge of how a manager ā and the culture as a whole ā is perceived. The message may be, āYou need to improve.ā But it begs the question: how do you deliver it in a way that motivates employees to change their behavior without stripping them of their dignity? Thatās the subject of a new MOOC from the University of Colorado, āGiving Helpful Feedback.āĀ Here, feedback is still viewed as a gift…if it is given the right way (with the right intentions). Most managers know what to do when they deliver feedback. You need to be specific, immediate, and positive. You rehearse what you say, focused only on the issue at end, emotions under control and an end squarely in mind. Simple right? Thatās easy to say, not so easy in practice. Thatās where this MOOC excels. A mixture of proven advice and cases, āGiving Helpful Adviceā helps students picture everything that can go wrong ā and right āwhen they have to someday say, āCan you come to my office?ā In particular, the cases look at what works and what doesnātā¦and in which scenarios. Even more, it tackles the issue that has bedeviled managers for eons: When do you know itās time to cut someone loose? LEADERSHIP AND ANALYTICS HEADLINE NOVEMBER OFFERINGS Thatās just one of over 40 MOOCs coming out in November. This month, teamwork and self-improvement have emerged as key topics. At the University of Pennsylvania, for example, youāll find āThe Power of Team Culture,ā to help students better recognize and personify the values of their organization. Penn also offers āOptimizing Diversity on Teams,ā enabling you to harness differences to foster innovation and results. For a more introspective approach, there is āSelf-Awareness and the Effective Leaderā from Rice University, a primer for understanding how your communication style may be undermining your message and credibility (and what to do about it). If youāre trying to figure out where your Industry (and your career) is going next, check out HEC Parisā āAnticipating Your Next Battle, in Business and Beyondā for a guide to organizational and personal transformation. Marketing is continuing to evolve from an art to a data-driven effort. This monthās MOOCs reflect that. The University of Virginia is launching āMarketing Analyticsā to help you better measure your performance and uncover hidden opportunities. Similarly, Emory University continues to expand its analytics repertoire with āForecasting Models for Marketing Decisions.ā Marketing isnāt the only area drawn to analytics, with MIT unveiling āSupply Chain Analytics,ā showing you new ways to get products from point A to point B faster and cheaper. Looking for a treat? The University of Michiganās Gautam Kaul, a master teacher and MOOC pioneer, has opens a new self-paced course, āFinancial Decision Rules for Project Evaluation,ā in November. For professionals looking to get a taste of the Ivy League, Wharton and Columbia are rolling out new sections of their popular āIntroduction to Corporate Financeā and āFinance Engineering and Risk Managementā courses respectively. To learn more about these courses ā and register for them ā click on the links below. Leadership Giving Helpful Feedback / November 7 / University of Colorado Power of Team Culture / November 7 / University of Pennsylvania Self-Awareness and the Effective Leader / November 7 / Rice University Optimizing Diversity on Teams / November 21 / University of Pennsylvania Anticipating Your Next Battle, in Business and Beyond / November 7 / HEC Paris Organizational Analysis / November / Stanford University Ā Marketing Marketing Analytics / November 7 / University of Virginia Forecasting Models for Marketing Decisions / November / Emory University Finance Financial Decision Rules for Project Evaluation / November / University of Michigan Introduction to Corporate Finance / November 7 / Wharton School The Global Financial Crisis / November 7 / Yale University Corporate Finance Essentials / November 14 / IESE Business School Finance Engineering and Risk Management (Part 1) / November 7 / Columbia University Ā Operations Supply Chain Analytics / November 2 / MIT Ā Entrepreneurship Beyond Silicon Valley: Growing Entrepreneurship in Transitioning Economies / November 7 / Case Western Reserve Other Courses Continue ReadingPage 1 of 17 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Questions about this article? 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