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Minimum degree requirements:
60 quarter credits
- Core courses (50 cr.)
- Capstone (10 cr.)
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Four Easy Ways to Promote Collaboration at Work
Add the knowledge from a business degree to your skills and experience to become an expert team-builder leading a culture of collaboration.
Collaboration is more than a buzzword. It’s a business imperative.
Research shows that companies with cultures of collaboration are five times as likely to be top performers.1 Prescribing “teamwork!” on annual reviews as the Rx for lagging performance, as many managers do, isn’t going to get you there. Achieving peak performance starts with an action plan. But don’t call in the consultants. Here are four easy ways to promote workplace collaboration:
1. Lead.
Team members take their cues from what their leaders say and take note of what their leaders do. Model the collaborative skills you want employees to emulate. When they see you working effectively interdepartmentally, they’re learning what collaboration looks like and seeing the benefits. Be sure to find opportunities to broaden staff members’ cooperative activities. Teamwork isn’t just for special projects. If you recognize that promoting teamwork isn’t your strength, find training or identify a mentor whose style you’d like to emulate. It also might be a good time to take classes in an online MBA program. You will gain skills you can immediately use.
2. Focus.
If you have more than three priorities, you don’t have any, says Good to Great author Jim Collins.2 Keeping your team tightly focused on a short list of priorities fosters a culture of collaboration. Establish your company or departmental goals and check in with your team at reasonable intervals to track progress, recognize achievement, reinforce the plan, and motivate future behavior. Visualize it as a huddle on the football field: your team united and engaged before moving on to achieve a goal.
3. Manage.
Whether you’ve built your team or inherited it, it’s up to you to keep the gears turning smoothly. If some employees aren’t communicating well with others or are struggling with collaborative tasks, meet with them individually to explore what’s causing the disconnect and devise steps to sync performance with expectations. Workplace dynamics are complex, and much of what happens takes place out of a manager’s direct view. Check in at regular intervals; don’t wait until problems develop.
4. Respect.
Amid deadlines and other work pressures, always remember to honor the MVPs: your team members. In a culture of collaboration, leaders play to their team’s strengths; there is no room for a one-size-fits-all management style. Compensate them well and provide rewards and incentives, which can seed the workplace for collaboration.1 If commute times are long, offer more opportunities to work remotely. Provide tools and technology for working efficiently and effectively. If staffers want to earn a degree, encourage your company to subsidize online classes from an accredited university. Skip the team-building day at the ropes course or escape room and find out what the real game-changers are for your staff.
How Can a Master of Business Administration (MBA) Help Me Now?
When you pursue an online MBA degree, you can accumulate skills and knowledge to use in real time to foster collaboration as a member of management or as an individual contributor. An advanced business degree also can open doors to new careers, promotions, and higher pay. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment in management occupations will grow 9% through 2030—fueled both by the expansion of existing businesses and the formation of new ones.3
And online graduate degree programs are an advantageous choice for working professionals who want to continue their education without giving up the jobs they love.
How Long Does It Take to Get an MBA?
The choice is yours. Walden University’s online MBA degree program has three completion options, so students can choose the learning path that best fits their life and experience:
- Course-Based MBA:
If you prefer an instructor-led approach and learning on a predetermined schedule, Walden’s course-based format may be your best option.Students complete one course per eight-week term (two courses per academic semester). Specializations: Healthcare Management, Human Resource Management, Project Management, Self-Designed
- Fast-Track Course-Based MBA
If you can devote significant time to your studies, Walden offers a fast-track option. Students can double up on courses and earn their MBA in half the time of a traditional program.4
- Competency-Based MBA
If you prefer a flexible learning experience with no set weekly deadlines, allowing you to earn your business degree at your pace and on your schedule, the Tempo Learning® competency-based format may be for you. With its self-paced format, you control the time it takes to earn your online MBA. You make the schedule that supports your individual learning goals.
Walden University's Master of Business Administration (MBA) program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), and delivers the skills you need to compete in today’s marketplace.
With an online MBA degree, you’ll be ready to lead collaboratively and leverage the strength that comes from teamwork.
Walden University is an accredited institution offering a Master of Business Administration degree program online with multiple specializations. Expand your career options and earn your degree in a convenient, flexible format that fits your busy life.
1Source: www.forbes.com/sites/adigaskell/2017/06/22/new-study-finds-that-collaboration-drives-workplace-performance/#7f8decb53d02
2Source: www.inc.com/kimberly-weisul/jim-collins-good-to-great-in-ten-steps.html
3Source: www.bls.gov/ooh/management/
4Time to completion and cost are not estimates of individual experience and will vary based on individual factors applicable to the student. Factors may be programmatic or academic such as tuition and fee increases and/or the student’s transfer credits accepted by Walden; program or specialization changes; unsuccessful course completion; credit load per term; part-time vs. full-time enrollment; writing, research, and editing skills; and individual progress in the program. Other factors may include personal issues such as the student’s employment obligations, caregiving responsibilities or health issues, leaves of absence, or other personal circumstances.
Walden’s BS in Business Administration, Master of Business Administration (MBA), Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), and PhD in Management programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). The MS in Accounting and BS in Accounting programs are also accredited by the ACBSP and have earned the organization’s separate accounting accreditation.
Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, www.hlcommission.org.