Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University
Schedule your own management development track
10% discount for Erasmus alumni
RSM Diploma in General Management
Drive sustainable innovation excellence in your organisation
Boost your management skills and excel in your new leadership role with the stepping stones of the Diploma Programme in General Management at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM). You can tailor the five modules and content to your organisational and career preferences, and complete this management training in one or two years.
You will learn through various learning methods. It starts with readings, online tutorials and exercises from home. Followed by three-day modules with top academics and guest speakers in Rotterdam, where you will also learn from your peers from other industries. You will be graded on each module, and on your in-company research project. You can choose four of the following modules: Team Leadership, Finance for Non-Financial Managers, Foundations of Strategy, Operations Management, Marketing and Value Creation, and Change Management.
Learning objectives
After this programme, you can:
- advance and be effective as first-time manager with your new knowledge and skills
- communicate more effectively within all levels of your organisation
- successfully steer your team towards a common goal
- further align your external and internal stakeholders and shareholders
- understand core leadership competences and use practical management tools for ongoing success
- use academic analysis in your daily operations
- make decisions and plans with more confidence – personally and professionally
- enjoy the benefits and privileges of RSM’s alumni network.
Get personal advice
Monique Collignon
mcollignon@rsm.nl
+31 10 408 1066

Partners in Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Our management and leadership programmes are offered in partnership with Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM). Consistently ranked among Europe’s top business schools, with a world-leading research facility and backed by more than 45 years of experience in business and management education, RSM has a track record of delivering real impact when helping people and organisations to perform at their best.

Claudio Patricio, operations manager at Gate Terminal BV
“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!”
For whom
Find out who the other participants areYou will benefit from this programme if you are a soon-to-be or recently appointed first-time manager, team leader or project manager, and would like to boost your management skills and learn the latest academic management research. Most participants 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.
Course information
An overview of the modulesTeam Leadership
Develop your own practical strategies and solutions to overcome challenges in your team. Develop new knowledge and tools to deal effectively with motivational problems, dysfunctional team members, conflicts and lack of a common direction. Read more
Finance for Non-Financial Managers
Gain essential knowledge of the most widely used financial tools, helping you to understand the financial aspects of your role. Learn more
Foundations of Strategy
Develop a solid understanding of strategy and the analytical and conceptual skills to contribute to the success of your company. Learn more
Operations Management
Learn to deal with your company’s operational challenges and opportunities. Find out how your role and management skills can aid the overall success of an organisation through operations and supply chains. Learn more
Marketing and Value Creation
Acquire a fast, comprehensive understanding of the basic concepts and practices of consumer and business-to-business marketing. Learn more
Change Management
Train to lead change successfully with the theoretical background and the practical know-how to transparently plan, implement and evaluate complex change processes. Learn more
Facilitators
See which academics and practitioners facilitate this programmeDiscover which expert faculty lead this programme
During the RSM Diploma Programme in General management you will learn from RSM professors Dr Meir Shemla, Dr Merieke Stevens, 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.
Merieke Stevens is an associate professor of operations management at RSM. Her research focuses on relationships between organisations. Merieke is particularly interested in inter-firm relationship dynamics over time, co-operation between buyers and suppliers to achieve competitive advantage, trust asymmetries, and power and dependence in the supply chain. Her teaching topics include operational excellence, service operations, lean strategy, procurement in healthcare, and IoT in buyer-supplier co-ordination. Merieke has taught at The Wharton School, the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Economics, and École Polytechnique Paris. She obtained her PhD in operations management at the University of Cambridge.
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.
Dates and fees
Read more about the upcoming programmeDates
RSM runs modules throughout the year. The start date depends on the choice of your first module. You can choose in which order you complete the modules.
Fee
The fee for this programme is € 13,250 – € 14,000 (excl. 21% VAT) * including course materials, lunches, and snacks. This fee does not include hotel accommodation.
10% discount for alumni from Erasmus University Rotterdam and RSM. More information about the discount.
* The fee of the diploma programme is variable, as it depends on the fee sum of your chosen three modules and the required Team Leadership and Applied Research Project modules.
Location
The programme takes place in the Bayle building on the Woudestein Campus of Erasmus University Rotterdam.
Apply now
Take the next step in your careerThe startdate depends on the choice of your first module.