Developing Your Personal Management, Term Paper Example

Chapter 1 – Innovative Management for a Changing World

Are You Ready to Be a Manager?

As a manager, you must be prepared to lead your team with a set of characteristics and skill sets that are needed to be successful as a manager. There are eight primary areas that managers must be proficient to managed and guide a team of employees. The first step to learning to be a corporate management is learning to adapt to making a list of define tasked. As a manager, there are many responsibilities and distractions that do not allow the manager to be organized.

New Manager Self-Test: Managing Your Time

The new manager must be able to monitor their own progress concerning how well they managed their time. The simple test can be adding up how many hours the manager works each day. The second step would be categorized each task such as reports, counseling, coaching, employee evaluations, discipline and management meetings. This will give you a clear indication why the manager is spending your time. The third step is determining which area has the most time spent during the day. For example, the manager has determine they spend 6 hours a day completing mandatory reports to upper management.

Apply Your Skills: Management Aptitude Questionnaire

The manager that is seeking to improve their skill set must take the Management Aptitude Questionnaire to determine their strengths and weaknesses. In order to completely understand the results and usefulness of the Management Aptitude Questionnaire. I scored a 48% which was surprising because my answers were very conservative however, I learned that the test can uncovered some weaknesses and strengths. The test results indicated I have problems delegating work because I want to check all the work before I release to my managers which I scored a 27. The test indicated I was a very good teacher spending time with others to ensure they understand their task, which I scored a 46 out of 50. In retrospect, I ask some of my friends and fellow students about how they perceived me as weaknesses and strengths. The feedback received from my friends, instructors and college classmates have been informative in evaluating and understanding my weaknesses. The feedback determine that my personality is one who is shy when I meet people for the first time. I understand that I need to be more assertive in individual and group interactions.  My peers shared that my third weakness goes hand in hand with decision-making.

Chapter 2 – The Evolution of Management

Are You a New-Style or an Old-Style Manager?  

The old style manager is the authoritative manager that has to be in charge and does not seeking the support from his management team. There authoritative manager is the dictator just do as I tell you to do without any questions. The authoritative manager does not believe anyone else can make a good decision and they must be micro managed through every phase of a project. He or she believes they are the foremost authority on any subject matter and if you do not do it their way it’s the highway. This type of style does not work in today’s society because of the diverse jobs, different departments, different management styles and different technology.

New Manager Self-Test: What is Your Mach?  

The Mach score can be subjective because each manager has a different view on human nature and how they go about getting things done on a day to day basis. This test determines how the management deals with life and how they engaged and interact with others. This is an behavioral based test that are used is used in other disciplines like the behavioral sciences approach that examines the economics, sociality and human interaction of others. One the behavioral sciences approach is organizational development (OD). This technology helps with organizational development while expanding the scope of the complexity of human nature. The OD can be used in the Mach test learning about different behaviors concerning self-managed teams, building an organization and corporate culture.

Apply Your Skills: Security or Autonomy?  

The manager that wants security and stability in their jobs want a routine that is define with little room for decision making. This autonomy type of manager does not wants the security of having another director or leader share the responsibility. They want to be in charge with the permission to do things their way. The autonomy manager wants the flexibility to work within the framework without stringent rules and regulations. This type of manager may be better seeking their own business opportunities because they want to retain their autonomy. In retrospect, the security manager wants the tenure job that gives them that security of a job. They will do anything to keep that tenure status because they love their secured jobs.

Chapter 3 – The Environment and Corporate Culture

Are You Fit for Managerial Uncertainty?  

The manager that is not ready for a dynamic environment may not be ready for a managerial position. There always business and environmental surprises and changes in instructions and delivery of products. The manager must be ready to adapt to any environment to ensure the job is completed at the end of the day. The manager that is not innovative or a creative thinker would not be comfortable in an evolving environment.

New Manager Self-Test: Culture Preference

The business environment today is very diverse with different norms, values of populations, ages and education levels. The new manager self-test would help them understand their weaknesses when it comes to diversity with the workplace and their ability to adapt to diverse cultures. This social dimension is important in any environment because the organization cannot be cohesive unless they provide training for managers to be sensitive to different cultures. The best example is the Christmas holidays which many different cultures celebrate that day differently or they do not celebrate that day. The organizational understands they now have a diverse culture so they change the name to holiday celebration. This allows each person to celebrate based on their own customs and culture.

Apply Your Skills: Working in an Adaptability Culture

In the business environment today, the diverse teams have become an issue because some companies are not adapting to the diverse cultures. It begins with diversity and culture training to ensure the organization is delivering the right message and learning about other cultures. The managers need the culture sensitivity training because they must have experience adapting to the different in cultures within the organization.

Chapter 4 – Managing in a Global Environment

Are You Ready to Work Internationally?

This is the primary reason diversity training is important because many companies are working abroad. There management teams and employees must be able to adapt to the new global environment. The manager must be ready to understand different languages, customs, cultures and the local traditions to be accepted in a new country. The business model should be they must visit the new country getting acclimated to the local areas and customs before sending an entire staff to work in the region. The team can bring back important intelligence that will help the team in the future adapt to their new surroundings.

New Manager Self-Test: What are Your Social Values?

The social values of the manager can determine how they will interact with a diverse culture while leading a team. The self-test can opening the eyes of a new manager on what are their own social values and how they fit into the organizational goals and working climate.

 Apply Your Skills: Rate Your Global Management Potential

The rating on my global skills would be low because I have not worked in the global environment. However, my ability to work with divers groups in my collegiate and personal life brings a skill set that would be useful in the global management environment.

Chapter 5 – Managing Ethics and Corporate Responsibility

Will You Be a Courageous Manager?

The courageous manager is honest and straight forward with the ability to address any uncomfortable issues as they arise within any department. The manager that is not courageous would wait before confrontation because they want to get along with any tension.

New Manager Self-Test: Servant Leadership

A new manager needs to complete a self-test to determine how to be a servant leaders. A servant leader focuses on the growth of others and their working environment. The servant leadership does not follow the typically pyramid ladder of leadership because a servant leader looks to share leadership responsibilities. The servant leader is a good leader that wants to hear others suggestions and perspectives.

Ethical Work Climates – Apply Your Skills: Experiential Exercise

The ethical climate at work starts with the ethical leadership. The leadership can lead by example showing others how to treat everyone in the organization with respect and dignity.  The ethical leader builds a foundation of trust inside the company promoting participation in social and business activities. The ethical leader teachers and preaches understanding the social and cultural boundaries.

Chapter 6 – Managing Small Business Startups

Do You Think Like an Entrepreneur?

The employee always thinks about the company and how they can contribute to the bottom line of the company. The employee puts the business of the organization before their own personal benefit. They are not concerned with the internal processes and how well the department may function. The entrepreneur is concerned about the day to day processes and how well they can improve the operations. The entrepreneur is looking for that new innovative way to improve customer service or improve how quickly they deliver the product to the customer. They are always concerned about a satisfied customers.

New Manager Self-Test: Perceived Passion

The employee often gets motivation from their manager because they emulate the characteristics of the manager’s work ethics. The employees look for leadership to guide them with leadership, actions, setting examples and how passionate they are about their own leadership position. The customer can see the passion in the manager which makes them feel good that the manager is enthusiastic about their product.

Apply Your Skills: What’s Your Entrepreneurial IQ?

The entrepreneurial IQ has no prediction on the success of the business owner. However, there are some characteristics of the entrepreneurial you must possess. The first is risk-taking in the business because they are willing to take a chance to pursue a dream. The second is self-regulation of their own self because they have to be able to be objective about the business and their own performance. The next quality is patience to wait for the business to build a client base.

Chapter 7 – Managerial Planning and Goal Setting

Does Goal Setting Fit Your Management Style?

Yes, goal setting fits into my management style because the business goals is the roadmap to success. The goal setting manager is a strategic manager which is necessary to understand how to put a plan together and how to implement the plan with action.

New Manager Self-Test: My Personal Mission

My personal missions surround taking personal action towards finding a career development training program that improves my management skills and capabilities. The career development training programs can help be an asset to an organization that is looking for employees that have career aspirations. The goal of the career development program is to help development my career direction to move forward in positive manner while learning more about the company’s way of doing business

Chapter 8 – Strategy Formulation and Execution

What is Your Strategy Strength?

My strategy strength is being able to see the big picture and the internal processes that build up to the big picture. The planning phase of any project requires the understanding of the overall impact and the individual effect of each workflow process. The strategy is looking for bottle necks, possible problems and conflict prior to the completion of the project or task.

New Manager Self-Test: Systemic Thinking

The manager needs to be able to learn the art of systematic thinker. A systematic thinker has the ability to understand and tackle very complex task or issues. They understand and learn every position to learn the overall effect of internal and external decisions. In addition, the manager understands the characteristics of a systematic thinker such as boundaries, learning sub-system, and understanding the process to breaking the complex problems systematically.

Apply Your Skills: Strategic Thinking Blueprints

The strategic blueprint begins with planning regardless of the complexity of the task. The blueprint provides the direction and pathway to accomplish a specific goal. The strategic thinking blueprint is a dynamic working process that never ends. This would include process improvement that leads to the completion of any project but with continuous feedback.  These skills can be learned by any manager but the perfection of the strategic thinking blueprint comes with actual application.

Chapter 9 – Managerial Decision-Making

How Do You Make Decisions?

In making decisions, there is a simple decision tree that considers all the alternatives along with how long each decision will delay or improve the work flow process.

New Manager Self-Test: Intolerance of Ambiguity

The intolerance of ambiguity is a process used to measure and define how employees respond to a specific stimuli in a business environment. The men and women working on the front line assembly have not met the new production standards. The managers decided to change the environment by providing air condition units to cool them off at the end of the line processing and assembly. As result, the men and women took less breaks and increase production because of the new stimuli.

Apply Your Skills: What’s Your Personal Decision Style?

My personal decision style is based on how much information is available to make a solid decision. However, if all the facts and information are not present, I delegate others to find the answers before making a rash decision.

Chapter 10 – Designing Adaptive Organizations

What Are Your Leadership Beliefs?

My leadership belief are based on teaching others to be leaders. It is easy to get bogged down in daily activities and inhibit your own growth and the growth of those you lead. When a person begins to develop their latent leader, there is a change in their thought process. I believe effective leadership and a clear vision and purpose can create leaders for the future.

New Manager Self-Test: Delegation

The art of delegation is an important tool for managers because the manager cannot do every task. The delegation of leadership helps an organization groom their own leaders internally.

Apply Your Skills: Organic Versus Mechanistic Organization Structure

The organic organization has joint specializations and they work together while the mechanistic organization employees work separately on task. The mechanistic organization has very simple processes to complete a task while the organic organizations teams are integrated working on simple and complex issues.

Chapter 11 – Managing Change and Innovation

Are You Innovative?

The ability to be innovative has been one of my talents because I can think outside the box while creating improve processes.

New Manager Self-Test: Assess Your Creativity

The assessment of my creativity has become easy to evaluate because my personal ability to create new ideas.

Apply Your Skills: Is Your Company Creative?

The best companies today are the most creative companies that chose to think outside the box. The company that evolves with time will always be prepared for change. An creative company always seeks to find the most efficient way of completing task regardless of who came up with the best methods.

Chapter 12 – Managing Human Resources

Getting the Right People on the Bus

It is critical to get the right team together to complete the project. The team that has a few non-working parts that do not fit the entire team will suffer. It’s imperative to have the skill set to identify the best talent or potential talent for the team.

New Manager Self-Test: What is Your Focus?

It is important for me to focus on management training in the personal development career plan because it provides a platform for to development management skills wanted by potential employers. In my personal plan, I will take action in improving my personal interpersonal skills along with learning management skills that will improve my marketability to potential employers.

Apply Your Skills: Management Competencies?

My management competencies include the ability to communicate both verbally and written. In addition, I can multi-task multiple projects with strong interpersonal skills. My talent for relating to my peers has been notice by my instructors. One of my instructors has shared that I am very analytical because I get excited about solving problems or multiple solutions. My best strengths are based on what most organizations are seeking from new employees such as organizational skills and communication skills. In my research of best competencies include communication skills, analytical skills, writing skills, computer skills, and organizational skills.

Chapter 13 – Managing Diversity

Do You Know Your Biases?

Yes, the biases are my personal beliefs in being on time. I have difficulty dealing with people that are not timely. This is something I need to work on about being so hard on others concerning time.

New Manager Self-Test: Valuing Workplace Diversity

The value of workplace diversity is important in this era because we are living in times where so many diverse groups are working together. The organization that does not provide diversity training will not be able to succeed in today’s business climate.

Applying Your Skills: How Tolerant Are You?

I am very tolerant of others because everyone learns at their own pace. Some people are visual learns, some are hands on application learners but they must development their own way to learn.

Chapter 14 – Understanding Individual Behavior

Are You Self-Confident?

Yes, I am very self-confident because I believe in myself and my abilities to lead others.

New Manager Self-Test: Expressed Emotions

One of things I learned that a manager must always keep their emotions in check because the employee can read the managers body language and expressions.

Apply Your Skills: Personality Assessment: Jung’s Typology

The personality test by Jung looks at the test results to determine if an individual has certain skill set or competencies from a psychological approach.