Understanding Self as Key to Good Management - Personal Statement Example

Understanding Self as Key to Good Management Name Class Unit Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Organisation structure and design 4 Brief review of assessment findings 4 Critical analysis of the findings 4 Strengths and weakness 5 Action plan 5 Understanding groups and teams 6 Brief review of assessment findings 6 Critical analysis of the findings 6 Strengths and weakness 7 Action plan 7 Leadership 8 Brief overview of the findings 8 Critical analysis of the findings 8 Strengths and weakness 9 Action plan 9 Motivating employees 9 Brief overview of the findings 9 Strengths and weakness 10 Action plan 11 Conclusion 11 References 12 Introduction Managers have a major role in overseeing other people work to ensure that the organisation goals are accomplished. As the work environment changes, previous non-management jobs have been required to perform management activities. This requires one to coordinate activities done by others with an aim of ensuring that they are completed in an efficient and effective manner. A manager is expected to have skills that will enable them to carry out their tasks effectively (Yukl, 2010). Being able to understand one self is a vital aspect in developing good management skills. One is able to analyse their strengths and weakness and work on their weakness. The process of self assessment also helps in managing change, coping with distress, managing one’s emotions. Through understanding oneself, it becomes possible to unlock key human qualities which include; leadership, motivation and empathy (Gold, Thorpe & Mumford, 2010). This report will conduct a critical analysis of four self assessment activities that I have conducted. The activities are; organisation structure and design, motivating employees, understanding groups and teams and leadership. It will then state my score in each activity, analyse the finding, determine my strengths and weakness and come up with an action plan. Organisation structure and design Brief review of assessment findings My self assessment score in this area is 62. This implies that I prefer working in a mechanistic structure where there is extensive departmentalisation, high formalisation, limited information network and centralisation. This score implies that I may find problems in finding an organisation that matches my expectations. Most of the organisations are moving towards organic structure and very few organisations are mechanistic. Critical analysis of the findings My results show that I prefer a mechanistic structure of organisation. Mechanistic and organic structures act as two different types of structure possibilities. My result on this assessment shows that I prefer rigid hierarchical structure which has high levels of formalisation. These are organisations that rely heavily in rules and policies (Etzioni, 2010). According to my results, I prefer organisations that have centralised decision making and where communication flows from top to bottom. According to research, there is no organisation that is purely organic or mechanistic. Most of the organisations fall in between the two types of structures. According to mechanistic structure, the organisation different functional roles have their definite rights and obligations. According to Etzioni (2010), this is leadership where there is different status in each hierarchical level. Most of the organisations are in between mechanic structure and organic structure which makes it hard to find a purely mechanistic structure organisation. According to Burns and Stalker, mechanisation structure is best suited in stable conditions. Etzioni (2010) assert that organic structure is best suited for fluid set arrangements. The different demands of the organisation environment have led to organisations having both structures. Due to contemporary challenges facing mechanistic organisations, most of them have been moving towards organic structure. This is due to innovation experienced in organic structure. Strengths and weakness As a manager, I will be rigid to change. This is due to fact that mechanistic structures require an approval for one to make any change. Being unable to effect change in a fast manner may lead to problems. I will be unable to evade repetitive problems since my response to change is slow. I am also very likely to impact low morale on employees. Employees will be involved in repetitive tasks which can lead to dissatisfaction. My management style will also lead to lower levels of innovation. This may lead to the firm becoming irrelevant. Working in a mechanistic organisation will need more emphasis on quantity rather than quality. This implies that the organisation will require working with least cost possible. These are highly efficient organisations but quality may be risked at expense of low cost. My strengths lie on the fact that I can lead to economies of scale in the company. Employees in the departments will share the available resources more efficiently. Job specialisation will lead to economies of scale since employees will gain high proficiency leading to efficiency. As a manager I will have a very clear chain of command as each function have its own power and responsibilities. Action plan I have to ensure that I increase my preferences towards organic structure. This is due to fact that most organisations are moving towards organic structure. I can achieve this by being more active in defining goals and not being too dependent on bureaucratic structures. I have to take more control in my actions and not rely too much on hierarchy. Understanding groups and teams Brief review of assessment findings I scored 18 on my attitude towards team work. This implies that I am not a team player and prefers working alone. I do not enjoy being part of any team. Critical analysis of the findings Being in a team ensures that one is able to work smart not just hard. This makes it possible to work towards the desired results. My score indicates that I am not a team player. The main challenge is the fact that individual brilliance does not guarantee the success of a project. The success or failure of a project is determined by the joint effort of the whole team (Adams, 2005). Working together ensures that there is employee motivation. Through teamwork, an organisation is able to use equipment and people in an efficient and effective manner. The fact that I am not a team player makes it hard to tackle different tasks. Through a team, members are able to maximise their strengths and skills. This enables them to tackle different tasks. Being a poor team player may lead to the organisation lagging in productivity and innovation. Katz & Miller (2013) asserts that organisations that have been able to embrace team work have high rates of job satisfaction, productivity and high quality outputs. This has been the main drive for most firms to have interest in team work (Cole, 2010). Preferring to work alone implies that there is low motivation and commitment. This implies that I will not be able to add value to the organisation. Studies have proved that when one have negative attitude towards teamwork, they are less likely to contribute. Teams are instruments of socialisation and helps I determining fulfilment of individual social needs. Teams can also be defined as effective workgroups. The effectiveness is determined by the level of motivation, coordination and the group purpose. When one is not able to work in a team, it leads to reduction in effectiveness (Cole, 2010). Team effectiveness is defined as the compatibility between team members. There is need for the personality traits of team members to match for them to work together. The fact that I am not a team player implies that I will not be able to contribute to team effectiveness. The main problem is the fact that my personality traits will lead to increasing team weakness. Strengths and weakness The fact that I am not a team player presents my management task with a lot of challenges. It implies that I cannot create team in the organisation. Team building is a very vital part of organisation management. It helps in ensuring that there is open communication among the employees and management. I will not also be able to come up with professional teams. This may lower the organisation productivity. Being unable to work in a team may also affect employee motivation and lower their trust. Being a team player is much needed by management to ensure that organisation perfoamcne does not decline. Action plan As a manager, being a team player is vital. I have to engage in team building exercises to ensure that I am able to improve my ability to work in team. I will have to participate in feedback activities that will help in having the courage to speak and contribute. I am also going to be involved in team activities and try to improve my participatory skills. Taking roles during team works will also help me in gaining confidence and skills that can help me in team activity. Leadership Brief overview of the findings My score in leadership is 37. This implies that am in the middle range. Scores that are above 45 means one can be trusted while those below 27 implies one cannot be trusted. To be an effective leader, one has to build trust between themselves and those they lead. Critical analysis of the findings My trust level from the assessment portrays me in the midrange. This implies that I have to improve a lot in order to score above 45 so as to be perceived as trustworthy. According to Bass (2010) for leaders to have a close relationship with their followers, trust must be established. Through trust, it becomes possible to have openness, acceptance and cooperation. Several researches have been able to prove the importance of trust and its relationship to organisational effectiveness. Trust is an important component of organisation social capital (Yukl, 2010). It has been proved that leaders who have been able to realise the importance of trust and integrity have improved organisational results (Brown & Treviño, 2006). This implies that if I want to be a successful leader, I have to improve my trust level. I have to score above 45 points in order to get rewards such as engaged workforce and retain top talent in an organisation. Trust is directly associated with confidence (Lapidot, Kark & Shamir, 2007). This implies that the workforce have confidence that you are not taking advantage of them. Having trust as a leader ensures that one can create commitment towards organisation goal (Yukl, 2010). This is what I lack which implies that achieving organisation goals is difficult. Strengths and weakness The fact that I have not achieved the required level of trust makes it hard for me to lead effectively. Poor level of trust implies that the organisations can experience high turnover. Not being perceived as trustworthy will encourage grapevine and fear among employees (Six, De Bakker & Huberts, 2007). The organisation I lead may also experience low levels of commitment. My low level of trust is being brought by the fact that I succeed by stepping on other people. I have also been trying to get upper hand in arguments and in most cases gets out of my commitments. These are areas which I have to improve on so that I can be perceived as trust worthy. My main strengths as a manager lies on the fact that I am honest and I keep my word. Action plan I have to work on improving on my score so that I can have a score higher than 45 points. I will work on being fair to others and avoid situations where I take advantage of others especially those who are venerable. Being more transparent in my actions and speaking my mind will also help me in building trust with others. I can also enhance my score through being fair, telling the truth and ensuring that I always fulfil my promises and commitment. Building trust will require a lot of commitment and I am willing to do it. Motivating employees Brief overview of the findings My achievement score is 24, affiliation score is 8, autonomy score is 23 and my power score is 14. This implies that I have a great desire to improve on past perfoamcne. My affiliation score shows that my desire to interact socially and be accepted by others is very low. My autonomy score is high which means that I have high desire to be self directed. My desire to influence and direct others is medium. Critical analysis of the findings employee motivation is a very vital sector in any organisation. Leaders have a task to motivate employees with an aim of achieving the desired goals (Doyle, 2004). Leaders use human resources available in order to achieve the organisation goals. Motivations range from financial incentives to non financial incentives. The most important motivation is making employees feel important while at the same time ensuring that it’s done in a strategic manner. From my assessment, I score highly on desire to improve on my past perfoamcne. My desire to excel and improve implies that I can be motivated in an organisation that values hard work. This can be through recognition and awards. The fact that I have poor social interactions makes it hard to be motivated in a team setting. I also have high desire to work independently. This implies that I can be more motivated through personal recognition. According to Doyle (2004) it is important to know that people are motivated when doing what they like in the best environment. I can also be self motivating since I like doing things myself. Research have proved that every employee have their own ideas (Baldoni, 2012). This implies that they have to be given a chance to exercise their creativity to avoid them being frustrated. Strengths and weakness My weakness in motivating employees lies on the fact that I do not like being on leadership position. I am also reserved and do most of my work alone. Failure to work together as a group may lead to reduced motivation. There is poor synergy and one may become bored by repetitive tasks. Being reserved due to poor affiliation need may lead to underachieving which can be frustrating leading to poor morale. My strengths lie on the fact that I work hard to perform the best at. This implies that I can easily satisfy my need for achievement. I’m also a hard worker and can work under minimum supervision. This implies that I have high level of self motivation. Action plan I have to work hard to improve on my affiliation score which is low. This is due to fact that working as a team leads to high levels of motivation. Teams make sure that all individuals participate and are adequately motivated. Being socially accepted by others enhances motivation. It is hard for a manager to motivate employee when there is poor affiliation. Conclusion From the self assessment activities that I have done, I have realised that I prefer working in a mechanistic structure. Due to fact that most organisations are moving towards organic structure, I have to ensure that ensure that I change my preference towards organic structured organisations. I am not a team player which may compromise my effectiveness as a manager. I have to engage in team building activities in order to improve. My trust level is low which can compromise my position in leadership. I have to follow the action plan in order to score above 45 points. The main problem in employee motivation is my low affiliation. I have to work in improving my level of affiliation in order to be able to have high motivation and also motivate others. The report have been able to critically look at my assessment in organisation structure, groups and teams, leadership and employee motivation and come up with action plans for improving them. References Adams, M. J 2005, Teamwork. Columbus, Ohio: SRA/McGraw-Hill Baldoni, J 2012, Great Motivation Secrets of Great Leaders. New York: McGraw Hill. Bass, B 2010, The Bass handbook of leadership: Theory, research, and managerial applications. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. Brown, M. E. & Treviño, L. K. 2006, “Ethical leadership: A review and future directions”. Leadership Quarterly, Vol.17, no.2, pp. 595-616. Cole, L. 2010, A handbook on transformational teamwork: Putting the work in teamwork to work. Conway, AR: TeamMax. Doyle, S.2004, The Manager's Guide to Motivating Employees. Amherst: HRD. Etzioni-Halevy, E 2010, Bureaucracy and democracy. New York, NY: Routledge. Gold, J., Thorpe, R & Mumford, A 2010, Gower handbook of leadership and management development, Burlington, VT: Gower. Katz, J. H & Miller, F. A 2013, Opening doors to teamwork and collaboration: 4 keys that change everything. San Francisco: Barrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. Lapidot, Y., Kark, R & Shamir, B 2007, “The impact of situational vulnerability on the development and erosion of followers' trust in their leader”, The Leadership Quarterly, Vol.18, no.1, pp.16-34. Six, F. E., De Bakker, F & Huberts, L 2007, “Judging a corporate leader's integrity: An illustrated three component model”, European Management Journal, Vol. 25,no.2, pp.185-194. Yukl, G. 2010, Leadership in organizations (7th ed.), Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Read More