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Management & Leadership Certificates

Gain concrete skills and earn credits towards an MBA

On-Demand Learning for In-Demand Skills

Bentley University's graduate certificates were designed in response to today's rapidly changing global economy and the needs of the modern workforce. They take less than one year to complete and equip students with the real-world skills and expertise that employers are in need of, for the jobs of today and tomorrow.

Learning for Every Level of Leadership & Management

Certificate Program Information


 

Management Skills for First Time Managers

Management Skills for First Time Managers

 

Becoming a first-time manager is recognition that your organization believes you have the ability to positively influence others and successfully lead a team. There is a playbook for doing so, and this certificate will provide you with the insight and skills needed to avoid some of the mistakes that slow down or derail the careers of first-time managers. Learn how to use emotional intelligence, team design, negotiation, and other skills to make your first management assignment a success. Upon completion of this certificate, should you apply for and be accepted to a Bentley Master’s program, certificate courses are stackable towards a MBA degree as long as a minimum 3.0 GPA is achieved. 

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Required Courses

Students must take the following two courses as part of their three course requirements.

MG 632 Leading Effective Work Teams

Organizations use a variety of complex work teams to accomplish their objectives. Unfortunately, many organizational teams are not particularly effective. This course is designed to help students lead, participate and work effectively in a variety of team environments – including virtual teams and groups. Students will develop a greater understanding of group dynamics, of their own behavior in teams, and team leadership skills. The course is highly experiential and involves working in teams on graded and non-graded assignments. These assignments include team presentations and written and oral analysis.

MG 635 Negotiating

This course explores the theory and practice of negotiating, with an emphasis on bargaining within an organizational context. It develops the knowledge of bargaining concepts and models, as well as skills to apply this knowledge in real-life negotiating situations. The course uses multiple negotiating case role plays to increase involvement and to deepen understanding of negotiating principles in face-to-face and virtual online negotiating environments.

Elective Course

Students have the option to take either MG 630 or XD 620 as part of their three course requirements.

MG 630 Emotionally Intelligent Leadership

This course develops a conceptual foundation based on theories of emotional intelligence and interpersonal dynamics as essential elements of the leadership role. It considers such topics as perception, personality and attitudes, interpersonal communication, and relationships. The course applies these models and concepts to behavior in the workplace, especially leadership and other managerial and organizational issues. It enhances emotional intelligence and interpersonal competence by developing key skills, such as active listening, assertive expression and conflict resolution.

XD 620 Managerial Communication

This course approaches effective communication both as an essential professional skill and as an important function of management. It discusses the elements of communication (argumentation, structure, style, tone and visual appeal) and presents techniques for increasing one's effectiveness in each area. Students read, discuss and write about cases based on tasks that managers commonly face, such as explaining changes in policy, writing performance evaluations, analyzing survey results or other numerical data, and communicating with employees, shareholders, the press and the public. Methods include group work, oral presentations, several writing assignments and role playing. Drafting and revising and computerized word processing are stressed.


 

Project Management Consulting

Project Management Consulting

 

While most professionals may not carry the formal title "Project Manager," virtually everyone manages projects from time to time. Managing projects successfully requires technical, business, and people skills. In addition to acquiring essential project management skills such as resource planning, time management, cost assessment, management of procurement and supply chains, and team building, sharpen your negotiation and social influence skills. Learn key project management methodologies and frameworks that will improve your positioning for the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification process for those interested in a formal project manager career. This certificate will give you the knowledge to pursue consulting and project management careers across a diverse set of industries. Upon completion of this certificate, should you apply for and be accepted to a Bentley Master’s program, certificate courses are stackable towards a MBA degree as long as a minimum 3.0 GPA is achieved. 

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Required Courses

Students must take the following three courses as part of their three course requirements.

MG 635 Negotiating

This course explores the theory and practice of negotiating, with an emphasis on bargaining within an organizational context. It develops the knowledge of bargaining concepts and models, as well as skills to apply this knowledge in real-life negotiating situations. The course uses multiple negotiating case role plays to increase involvement and to deepen understanding of negotiating principles in face-to-face and virtual online negotiating environments.

MG 651 Project Management

This course presents the specific concepts, systems and techniques for managing projects effectively. It leads students through a complete project life cycle, from requirements analysis and project definition to startup, reviews and phase-out. The role of the project manager as team leader is examined, together with important techniques for controlling project costs, schedules and performance. Lectures, case studies and group discussions are combined to develop skills needed by project managers in today's environment.

MG 704 Management Consulting Skills

Teaches the fundamentals of management consulting. Students learn the basics of internal and career consulting as well as how to be good consumers of consulting services. Topics include the consulting process; project, team and client management; ethics of consulting; careers in consulting; and issues surrounding the use of consultants. Exploring the nature of consulting from the vantage points of both consultant and client, the course is designed for graduate students who may be interested in a consulting career, find themselves serving as an internal consultant, do occasional consulting outside their primary job, or need to hire or work with external consultants. Case studies and experiential exercises will be used extensively. Students will learn process of consulting through a hands-on, in-class consulting project with actual client.


 

Inclusive Leadership

Inclusive and Responsible Leadership

 

Research has shown that inclusive leaders who can harness the power of diverse backgrounds and perspectives are more effective and successful. This certificate will provide you with the knowledge you'll need to apply inclusive leadership to an organization in a rapidly changing world and then benefit from the diverse backgrounds of members of your organization, customers, and stakeholders. COVID-19 crisis and Black Lives Matter Movement have changed the way we live and work already, with far-reaching impact. Leading with compassion and caring for our workforces and communities is more essential than ever. Bentley has a long history of promoting responsible business, and the power of diversity in the business world. Upon completion of this certificate, should you apply for and be accepted to a Bentley Master’s program, certificate courses are stackable towards a MBA degree as long as a minimum 3.0 GPA is achieved. 

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Required Courses

Students must take the following two courses as part of their three course requirements.

MG 670 Leading in a Diverse Workplace

This course addresses the knowledge, skills and attitudes leaders need to more fully employ all the resources of the increasingly diverse workforce. The course examines the dynamics of different social identities in the workplace, in the context of exploring how people who are different from each other can work together effectively. Investigates the impact of diversity on individuals, groups, teams, and the organization as a whole.

GR 603 Leading Responsibly

This course examines the multiple roles of ethical and responsible leadership and the challenges associated with leading organizations and teams in a rapidly changing environment. Through discussion, case analysis, and team-based experiential exercises; students explore the complex issues of responsibly leading and guiding organizations and teams in contemporary society. Focus is placed on the development of the student as evolving leader. Students assess individual strengths and weaknesses as a leader, identify and develop a range of leadership competencies, and then apply these leadership skills to a variety of situations.

Elective Course

Students have the option to take either MG 632 or MG 645 as part of their three course requirements.

MG 632 Leading Effective Work Teams

Organizations use a variety of complex work teams to accomplish their objectives. Unfortunately, many organizational teams are not particularly effective. This course is designed to help students lead, participate and work effectively in a variety of team environments – including virtual teams and groups. Students will develop a greater understanding of group dynamics, of their own behavior in teams, and team leadership skills. The course is highly experiential and involves working in teams on graded and non-graded assignments. These assignments include team presentations and written and oral analysis.

MG 645 Leading Change

This course seeks to improve participant awareness of change dynamics, including: the changing nature of change; understanding the enhanced change complexities in a global, virtual environment, readiness for a change versus continuous change; and the challenge of building change capacity (skills and capabilities). The course focus includes key individual, group and organization-level factors essential for informing leaders and followers as they navigate change efforts in organizations.


 

Entrepreneurship and Strategic Leadership

Entrepreneurship and Strategic Leadership

 

This certificate will provide students with skills and analytical tools that prepare them for careers as autonomous entrepreneurs, family-business entrepreneurs, or entrepreneurs in corporate settings. In addition to critical thinking and analytical thinking, entrepreneurial thinking and creative thinking are essential for successful managers. The entrepreneurial and creative mindset also drives a culture of innovation, which is the engine of economic growth. Therefore, it is not surprising that human skills such as creativity, originality, and initiative are highly sought-after skills by 21st century employers. Sharpen your skills to become entrepreneurial, creative, and an innovative manager by completing this certificate at Bentley. Upon completion of this certificate, should you apply for and be accepted to a Bentley MBA program, certificate courses are stackable towards the degree as long as a minimum 3.0 GPA is achieved.

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Required Courses

Students must take the following three courses as part of their three course requirements.

MG 600 Entrepreneurial Thinking

This course focuses on all aspects of starting a business: selecting promising ideas, initiating new ventures and obtaining initial financing. It concentrates on how ventures are begun, how venture ideas and other key ingredients for startups are derived, and how to evaluate new venture proposals. This course explores business plan development and legal and tax considerations.

MG 652 Strategic Innovation

In the increasingly complex and global marketplace, innovation is becoming a necessity for competitive strength and survival. Creativity and good ideas alone are not enough for success; they must be transformed into viable goods and services and offered to customers through innovative business models. This course focuses on strategies that leaders use for stimulating and implementing innovation in the workplace. It looks at innovation strategically at the level of the firm and industry. The innovation strategies of successful and unsuccessful firms are highlighted. The course covers topics such as sources of innovation, design thinking, disruptive innovation, business model innovation, first mover advantage/disadvantage, value innovation, and dominant design and standards battles. During the semester, the students will tour innovative companies, and hear from experts in the financing and valuation of small innovative firms.

MK 758 Enhancing Creativity

This course focuses on the nature of creativity and the creative process. It discusses several definitions and theories of creativity, and applies these theories to enhance students' own creativity. Several techniques will students recognize and remove barriers to creative thinking. These techniques will be applied to develop creative approaches to business and marketing cases and students' own business and academic problems. While the focus of the class is on individual creativity, it will also discuss the pros and cons of team creativity and apply techniques to improve team efforts. Organizational creativity and implementing creative solutions will also be covered.


 

Explore More Graduate Certificates

Flexibility Meets Stackability

  • Online education has never been more important than it is today. Each course of your graduate certificate will be held in a live virtual format, where you will meet once or twice per week over Zoom.
  • Certificate students who complete their program are eligible to waive many requirements for admission to our MBA or Master of Science (MS) programs.

Learn More about Bentley Graduate Certificates

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