If you want to advance your career, consider taking advantage of the top online courses for business management. These courses will equip you with valuable skills and knowledge that can help you succeed.

Continuous learning is essential for any business owner or manager. In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, staying updated with new trends and best practices is crucial to stay ahead of the competition.
Online courses provide a convenient way to achieve this. They offer flexibility, allowing you to study at your own pace and on your own schedule. Additionally, these courses provide access to world-renowned experts in business management, enabling you to learn from the best.
Given the numerous benefits, it’s no surprise that an increasing number of professionals are enrolling in online courses each year.
However, with hundreds of online business management courses available, how do you ensure that you’re investing your time and money wisely?
Our list reviews and ranks the top business management courses online based on various factors, including content, instructor, duration, and price.
For each course, we provide key information such as the number of hours of content, cost, syllabus details, and more.
Use this comprehensive list to choose the right business management course for your needs.
Nội dung chính
What are the Best Online Business Management Courses in 2023?
Here are our top picks for online business management classes:
1. Business Strategy from Wharton: Gaining a Competitive Edge (edX)
Duration
This intermediate-level course, suitable for students and professionals, takes approximately 6 weeks (3-4 hours per week) to complete.
Offered by the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, this online business management course is taught by Nicolaj Siggelkow, a renowned management professor specializing in competitive advantage.
The course comprises 4 modules and teaches you how to develop and implement strategies for gaining a competitive edge in the market. It equips you with the necessary skills and frameworks to create and execute successful plans.
What You Will Learn
- Evaluate your current and future strategic environment
- Identify different customer segments and understand their purchasing motivations
- Identify and overcome obstacles hindering your company’s growth
- Analyze the core and subsidiary strategic activities of your organization for efficient operations
- Distinguish between organizational effectiveness and strategic positioning
2. Business Foundations (edX)
Duration
This course can be completed in 6 weeks, with a recommended commitment of 3 to 5 hours per week.
Offered by the University of British Columbia, this introductory online business management course is suitable for individuals interested in earning a business degree or launching and successfully running their own startup.
This self-paced course requires no prerequisites and provides an in-depth exploration of the ideal business model. It covers various business operations such as human resource management, stock and supply, manufacturing and distribution, marketing, finance and accounting, media and PR, and other essential procedures.
By the end, you will have a broad understanding of business and how different operations come together to support strategic decision-making.
What You Will Learn
- Comprehend the structure and operations of a business
- Analyze industry disruptions and their causes
- Understand the fundamentals of competitive dynamics in the industry
- Gain a basic understanding of financial statements
- Explore the interrelationships between different business activities

3. Business and Technology (edX)
Duration
This extensive course spans 12 weeks, requiring an average commitment of 5-8 hours per week.
Taught by Brian Coyle and offered by ACCA on edX, this course helps you understand the role of accountants in ensuring successful, efficient, and ethical organizational functioning.
It covers the environmental aspects impacting businesses, such as economic, legal, and regulatory factors affecting governance, employment, health, safety, and more
While this course does not offer an edX certificate upon completion, it better prepares students for the ACCA Accountant in Business (AB)/FAB test.
What You Will Learn
- Identify different types of businesses and their objectives, along with their relationships with stakeholders and the external environment
- Gain knowledge of business structure and critical activities, including corporate governance
- Understand the functions of accounting and auditing
- Learn essential leadership, management, and human resources concepts such as motivation
- Recognize the importance of personal effectiveness and ethical conduct in building a foundation for team success and organizational focus
- Prepare for and pass the ACCA Business and Technology test (BT)
4. Effective Time Management for Increased Productivity (MEW Learning)
Price
$19.99
Duration
56 lessons over 3.5 hours
Time management plays a crucial role in successful business management. This course, taught by bestselling Amazon author Alex Genadinik, focuses on the fundamentals of time management and how they contribute to enhanced productivity.
The course covers various topics, including goal-setting, prioritization techniques, delegation, and decision-making processes to maximize efficiency.
Additionally, you’ll learn about effective tools and apps available to aid time management, as well as how to create an optimal work environment.
Enroll today and start learning how to accomplish more in less time!
What You Will Learn
- Automate and outsource daily tasks
- Prioritize tasks and make informed decisions
- Understand the importance of goal-setting
- Delegate tasks effectively
- Eliminate distractions from your day
- Utilize technology to optimize productivity
- Explore the impact of sleep, exercise, and diet on productivity
5. Introduction to Business Management (FutureLearn)
Price
Starts at $13.99/month
Duration
This course is developed by King’s College London and is designed for refugees, displaced individuals, and community members supporting them in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
The course aims to enhance basic business management knowledge and improve English language and communication skills in a business context.
Topics covered include self-management, financial management, managing people and stakeholders, and managing information. By the end of the course, you’ll be able to analyze success, sustainability, and social responsibility while reflecting on your management and leadership style.
What You Will Learn
- Determine your abilities, interests, and ideas, and continue improving them
- Examine the benefits and drawbacks of teamwork, listening skills, providing feedback, and negotiation
- Apply business principles, techniques, and terminology to real-world scenarios
- Explain the importance of business management to yourself and your community
- Identify your expertise and continue growing in that area
- Apply your knowledge to practical situations
6. Business Foundations Specialization (Coursera)
Price
$79 per month with a certificate upon completion
Duration
Self-paced
This Wharton course, available on Coursera, offers a solid foundation in business literacy. It is suitable for beginners looking to transition to a new career, start their own business, or pursue a business degree.
The specialization consists of 6 modules, each taught by specialized instructors. Modules cover topics such as marketing, financial accounting, managing social and human capital, corporate finance, and operations management. The final module includes a capstone project to apply the acquired knowledge.
What You Will Learn
- Understand customer loyalty, branding, and marketing methods
- Analyze financial statements and the influence of accounting standards
- Manage people and create incentive systems for individual achievement
- Apply financial principles to personal and business decision-making
- Analyze and optimize business processes in services and manufacturing
7. Business Fundamentals: Management and HR Management (Udemy)
Duration
1.5 hours
This Udemy course is designed for beginners who want to learn the fundamentals of different business and marketing strategies. It provides valuable skills for managers, corporate executives, business owners, entrepreneurship students, and MBA graduates.
Topics covered include staffing, controlling and directing, productivity management, value chain management, forecasting, recruitment, orientation, training, and more.
This course consists of 27 lectures divided into categories such as an introduction, getting started, the planning function, the organization function, the staffing function, and the leading function.
Upon completion, you will receive a business management certificate and gain access to 3 downloadable resources.
What You Will Learn
- Understand the skills required for effective management
- Analyze different management positions within a firm
- Comprehend various management skills, such as stress management and recruitment and selection
- Learn skills required for team motivation and employee encouragement
- Understand the responsibilities of a manager
8. Exceptional Leadership: Strategies for Success (Udemy)
Price
Varies
Duration
Self-paced
This Udemy course is one of the best options available for business management. Taught by Ron Carucci, co-author of the bestselling book Rising to Power: The Journey of Exceptional Executives, the course is based on extensive research involving over 2700 leaders.
It focuses on the challenges that leaders commonly face in higher-level positions and provides tips for overcoming them. It discusses the typical issues leaders encounter and provides strategies for success.
What You Will Learn
- Avoid common challenges faced by leaders as they progress through different ranks
- Respond effectively to the dynamics of higher-level organizational leadership
- Create a strategy tailored to your unique personality for transition in your career
- Adopt the four leadership characteristics that distinguish successful leaders: Context, breadth, choice, and connection
9. Fundamentals of Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Managers
Price
Three pricing plans:
- $2445 for non-members
- $2195 for AMA members
- $2079 for GSA price
Duration
2 days
This course is not a quick fix to acquiring all essential finance skills in just 2 days. However, it does provide valuable knowledge to make yourself more valuable to your firm by learning financial and accounting skills.
By the end of this course, you’ll be equipped to make informed financial decisions that benefit your job and address the financial aspects of your work. It teaches non-financial managers the concepts, skills, and techniques to make impactful decisions.
What You Will Learn
- Enhance your understanding of financial aspects
- Grasp financial principles and take steps to achieve your short- and long-term goals
- Use financial data to improve decision-making and bottom line
- Increase your value to the company through proactive collaboration with finance specialists
- Examine a company’s financial position and management performance through financial ratios
- Assess a company’s financial health using annual and 10-K reports
10. Introduction to Negotiation: A Strategic Playbook for Effective Negotiators (Coursera)
Duration
Self-paced
Offered by Yale and taught by Barry Nalebuff, co-author of six books, including Thinking Strategically, this course equips you with the knowledge and skills to become an effective negotiator.
The course introduces a framework for analyzing and leading negotiations, enabling you to persuade others using principled arguments. It helps you uncover the interests underlying seeming disputes and make predictions, analyze behavior, and modify it.
Upon completion, you’ll be better equipped to negotiate effectively, remain neutral, persuade others, handle differing perspectives, and understand the importance of information and alternative options.
What You Will Learn
- Negotiate without taking a position
- Persuade with principled arguments
- Handle different perspectives on the same subject
- Present ultimatums and remove alternative choices
- Explore considerations and bargaining strategies when disclosing information
- Use game theory in negotiations
11. Practical Business Management: Strategy Business Game (Udemy)
Duration
Self-paced
Learn management skills through fun and interactive multiplayer business games. These games simulate challenges such as strategic planning, financial, operational, and marketing issues.
You can play individually or with friends. The game consists of 2 practice rounds and 10 actual rounds, spread over 6 weeks with a new game starting each Monday.
This Udemy course provides lifetime access to all resources and offers a certificate upon completion.
What You Will Learn
- Make pricing decisions
- Perform financial analysis
- Manage production and inventory
- Create and understand product lifecycle analysis
- Conduct competitor analysis
12. Foundations of Performance Management (LinkedIn Learning)
Price
One-month free trial, then $29.99/month for LinkedIn Learning access
Duration
Self-paced
This course by Professor Nigel Cumberland focuses on performance management, teaching techniques to optimize team performance by setting clear, measurable, and realistic goals.
The course covers methods to identify learning needs, create training and development plans, manage high and low performers, and foster a performance-oriented work environment.
What You Will Learn
- Develop performance management skills
- Create job descriptions and define position requirements
- Select appropriate goals and key performance indicators (KPIs)
- Provide and receive effective feedback
- Conduct performance evaluations in an impactful manner
- Reward and recognize high performance
- Conduct team learning needs analysis and develop growth plans
- Analyze causes of poor performance and address them
- Build and sustain a high-performing culture
A Final Word on Online Business Management Courses
Taking online business management courses offers numerous benefits for students and professionals alike. These courses provide flexibility, allowing you to earn credits, gain valuable skills, and stay updated without interrupting your work or personal life.
By enrolling in these courses, you can increase your critical thinking, problem-solving, and time management skills — all essential for success in business.
Whether you’re a student or a working professional, online business management courses provide an opportunity to enhance your knowledge and skills for better career prospects.
Remember, many online course platforms offer free trials or auditing options. Take advantage of these to explore courses before committing.
Do you have any questions about our top online business management courses? Let us know in the comments below.