TOPIC:
Please prepare a reflective essay that consists of the following three parts:
a. Reflect on your own skills and abilities as an aspiring manager and identify what are your key strengths and weaknesses.
b. Identify and discuss which 3 of the skills discussed in this module (i.e. problem-solving, developing self-awareness, motivation & empowerment, ability to work effectively in groups, communication skills, managing power and conflict, successfully leading change) you would personally like to further develop so as to be a successful manager.
c. Explain why, drawing on relevant theories.
You should start with a brief introduction that states what and how you are going to answer the essay Qs. You should continue answering each of the three essay questions in a critical, reflective, logical and well-referenced manner, including the use of examples.
QA. Provide a reflective account of your 3-4 key strengths and 3-4 key weaknesses as relating to your potential role as a manager. Here you should draw on the literature on managerial work (Taylor, Fayol, Weber, Follett, Barnard, Urwick, Mintzberg, Stewart) to link your reflective account with existing definitions of managerial work.
QB. You should then identify 3 skills among those listed in the essay question (i.e. problem-solving, developing self-awareness, motivation & empowerment, ability to work effectively in groups, communication skills, managing power and conflict, successfully leading change) that you would like to develop further in order to be a successful future manager. This may relate to either strengths that you have that you may want to develop further or weaknesses that you would like to address.
For instance, you may say that you want to improve your self-awareness so that you better understand how you behave towards others, what biases you may have or improve your self-confidence and as a result improve your relationship with those working with you and become a better leader.
Or you could say that you would like to learn how to improve your ability to motivate and empower others so that you can manage teams more effectively.
You should creatively answer the question on skills drawing on the literature on these skills (i.e. see weekly readings on problem-solving, developing self-awareness, motivation & empowerment, ability to work effectively in groups, communication skills, managing power and conflict, successfully leading change) and provide examples from your own behavior and relating to your developmental needs. You should make good use of references from the theories underpinning these skills.
QC. Last but not least, you should explain why it is important to develop these skills and in what ways the development of these skills would make you a better manager.
You should finish the essay with a conclusion and summary of your key arguments.
Redaings :
A Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice By Michael D. Cohen, James G. March, and Johan F. Olsen.
Linking Groupthink to Unethical Behavior in Organizations By Ronald R. Sims.
MASLOW REVISITED: CONSTRUCTING A ROAD MAP OF HUMAN NATURE By Dennis O’Connor,Le Moyne College and Leodones Yballe.