Are you moving into the role of a manager or supervisor for the first time? You will need techniques and competences for running your team smoothly and effectively; you also have to deal with pressure from your manager and team members. But you can’t navigate this phase in your career relying only on the skills you learned in your undergraduate studies.
The RSM Diploma in General Management is a modular management programme that provides you with carefully designed stepping stones that will boost your management skills, and help you excel in your new leadership role. The modules and content can be tailored to your personal and professional preferences. You will experience a wide variety of learning methods; you’ll prepare at home with reading, online tutorials and exercises before you come to the workshops to learn from your teachers. You will also learn from your peers in sessions facilitated by our top faculty.
You are eligible to receive your RSM Diploma Programme in General Management when you complete four courses and your in-company research project. Each module requires two to three days in the executive education classroom in Rotterdam.
We recommend you to follow the modules Team Leadership (mandatory), Finance for Non-Financial Managers and Digital Strategy. In addition you will choose a fourth subject that will equip you with the skills and knowledge to excel in your new leadership role.
Discover the full overview of short courses
The Diploma Programme in General Management is made up of four modules plus an Applied Research Project. There is no specific order in which you need to follow the modules. The modules run throughout the year and the start date of the diploma programme depends on the choice of your first module.
Each module that is part of the diploma programme will be completed with a practical assignment. You will conclude the programme by completing your Applied Research Project. The whole programme can be completed within one to two years, and you must complete the Team Leadership module and the Applied Research Project in order to gain your diploma.
The Team Leadership and Applied Research Project modules are mandatory. For the three other modules, you can choose from a selection of short programmes. We recommend you to follow the modules Team Leadership (mandatory), Finance for Non-Financial Managers, Digital Strategy, and a fourth subject that will equip you with the skills and knowledge to excel in your new leadership role.
Do you have the skills to be an effective team leader? Are you struggling with team leadership challenges and issues, or need to boost your skills to manage your team to collective excellence? In this three-day workshop, you will learn relevant team leader skills from RSM Executive Education's top faculty members. Your new knowledge and tools to deal effectively with motivational problems, dysfunctional team members, conflicts and lack of a common direction can be applied into your work immediately.
After this programme, you will be able to:
Acquire a strong grounding in the most widely used financial tools. In two days on campus – plus some online work prior to and after the course – you will learn about financial reporting in balance sheets, cash flow and income statements, and how these are used for decision-making, performance management, business improvements and valuation. From November, RSM's Finance for Non-Financial Managers will include an individual assignment and a follow-up feedback session with your professor to discuss your progress.
When you have completed this programme, you will be able to:
Learn how to take advantage of emerging disruptive technologies that are threatening to disrupt your industry, such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and block chain. Learn how to effectively compete in tomorrow’s digital landscape by anticipating digital trends and competitors’ responses.
When you have completed this programme, you will be able to:
The Applied Research Project (ARP) is the final and capstone module of RSM’s Diploma Program in General Management. It offers a unique experiential learning opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills developed in the diploma modules on a real-world business problem in your own working environment. After successfully completing the Applied Research Project, the Team Leadership module and your chosen three modules, you will be eligible to get your diploma.
This programme is for soon-to-be or recently appointed first-time managers, team leaders or project managers who would like to consolidate their management skills and update them with the latest academic management research. Most candidates will already have led projects and project teams. Many will also have a few years of post-graduate experience, and are keen to boost their leadership development.
You should comply with two of the following requirements if you wish to take part in the Diploma Programme in General Management:
You have no or limited managerial experience: you are or soon will be in your first managerial position
You have or will have budget responsibility either as a line manager or a project manager
You are or will be involved in implementing the strategy of your organisation and thus have influence on the organisation’s strategy
This programme makes new managers go out of their comfort zone. You learn great tools to think strategically, to present, to explore new trends and projects in a constructive manner, and also how to deal with the dynamics of your team. The strategic project and applied research project can make a real difference in my company. And the sessions with my coach were always productive to make more improvements. The practical tips are easy to remember and I can apply them in daily situations at work.
Julie Seuront, Marketing operations manager EMEA and APAC at OCLC
This was my first general management course – it was a fruitful one! Most of the knowledge we learned in the different modules was new to me. It is a great starting point for professionals who have been appointed manager for the first time, independently of their background. The next step for me is to acquire more knowledge in key areas such as strategy. RSM has really helped me get a feeling of the skills I need to further develop.
Eva Ramos, technical manager innovation at Lawter
RSM’s Diploma Programme in General Management is very well organised and structured. It focuses on fundamental key elements of management, helping managers to improve their competences. I chose RSM because of its reputation and I was not disappointed: the lectures were extremely professional and with a strong professional background. There was a pleasant work and training environment, and a relaxed atmosphere which added value. I highly recommend this programme!
Claudio Patricio, operations manager at Gate Terminal BV
This was a great way to learn about finance, leadership, working in teams – and I could put this knowledge into practice in my job right away. Through the general management programme, I got a better understanding of those units and business aspects in my organisation. I advise anyone who is interested in business in general to follow these modules. It’s a great concept to understand topics which you are not yet familiar with.
Rick Balk, logistics manager at Access World and EMBA participant at RSM
During the RSM Diploma Programme in General Management you will learn from Dr Meir Shemla, Dr Raymond van Wijk, Dr Hannes Leroy and Dr Arjen Mulder. Occasionally we may substitute other faculty members according to the content of the programme and their availability.
Meir Shemla is an assistant professor at RSM. His work focuses on exploring factors that help teams realise their potential. He has particular interest in how diversity in teams can be leveraged to increase innovation and performance. Meir’s area of expertise include: team leadership, diversity management and policy, and leadership and emotions. He teaches team and diversity management to students, executives, and corporate clients.
Ting Li is a professor of digital business at RSM, and the academic director of the MSc Business Information Management programme, and of the Erasmus Centre for Data Analytics. Her teaching expertise covers information strategy, digital commerce, social and mobile analytics, and social networks. Before joining the academic world, she worked for General Electric and IBM in e‐business in supply chains, web services, and grid computing. Ting’s research interest focuses on the strategic use of information and its economic impacts on consumer behaviour and company strategy. She has worked with Shell, KPMG, PwC, Accenture, Coolblue, Wehkamp, Zelf, Tweakers, Shop2Market, Dutch Railways, and RET among others.
Hannes Leroy is an associate professor at RSM, and academic director of the Erasmus Centre for Leadership. His expertise is in authentic and inclusive leadership, and how to develop it. His talent is facilitating personal development by bringing people out of their comfort zones. He has published research on effective leadership in organisations, particularly on how to develop leaders. A particular interest is authenticity and the development of authentic leadership, a leadership style that is anchored in the unique identity of each leader. He taught at Johnson School of Business, Cornell University, and has a PhD in applied economics and organisational leadership from the University of Leuven in Belgium.
Arjen Mulder is an Assistant Professor in Corporate Finance at RSM. He earned his doctorate in business at Erasmus University Rotterdam. His research interests are corporate finance and government interventions in private sector decision-making, such as taxation and investment subsidies for otherwise uneconomic investments. Arjen worked at the Netherlands Economic Institute (now Ecorys) prior to obtaining his PhD. His teaching activities focus on corporate finance and value creation.
You are eligible to receive your RSM Diploma Programme in General Management when you complete four courses and your in-company research project. The whole programme can be completed within one to two years.
We run modules throughout the year. The start date depends on the choice of your first module
RSM Diploma Programme in General Management 2023 > Apply now
€14,825 - €15,425 (depending on modules chosen, excl. 21% VAT) * including course materials, lunches, and snacks. This fee does not include hotel accommodation.
25% discount for alumni from Erasmus University Rotterdam and RSM.
Our general terms and conditions apply when you register for an open programme. Please review them to learn more about our policies for cancellation, deferral and substitution.
The programme takes place in the Bayle building on the Woudestein Campus of Erasmus University Rotterdam.
We recommend Novotel Rotterdam Brainpark Hotel, adjacent to the university and less than five minutes’ walk from campus. Participants benefit from special rates.
