Administration experience and training experience - Essay Example

?An explanation of why you took the training experience. My selection as participant in the National Institute Training was sponsored by my company. The training was made up of three workshops, namely : Change and Creativity Workshop, Meetings and Time Management, and Problem-Solving and Decision Making. The National Institute for Training is known for conducting seminars and workshop for both public and private organizations in the Middle East. In fact, NIT has always been tapped by the government to give training workshops for public servants because of its excellent programs. NIT is a leader in providing management related training workshops whether for public administrators or private managers. In fact, NIT has been recognized by the United Nations as premier trainor for public administration. Change and Creativity Workshop - I took this training because I know how important it is to introduce change in an organization to better improve its services. Usually, managers are stuck with the same routines and procedures after being used to their daily responsibilities. It seems that there is no other better way to do some things which is why some problems do not get solved at all. What I envisioned from the NIT workshops was an opportunity to gain stronger understanding of the different ways to improve management skills by making effective decisions while using creativity. I took the training experience for this particular workshop because I am seeking for new approaches to initiating procedures, policies and system. It is in my fervent hope that my management skills would become better after thus workshop. Meetings and Time Management I took the meetings and time management training because I want to enhance my time management skills. Previously, I was burdened my many unimportant tasks because I tried to attend to everything as much as possible. Even insignificant phone calls were answered which preoccupied my time. Likewise, I conducted long meetings that can be already considered unproductive. For this reason, I knew I had to attend the training so I can increase my productivity as a manager by focusing on more important things. I saw myself becoming very effective in time management after attending the training. Problem Solving and Decision Making One of the major functions of managers is to solve problems that can hamper operational efficiency. Part of solving problems is effective decision making that can make a great impact on business processes. I took this training experience because there are many challenges confronting a manager today. Before the start of the training, I was looking forward to new principles about problem solving and decision-making. Also, I knew that there are new approaches to solving problems using different tools or mind maps that can be introduced in the seminar. Usually, managers like myself have been too traditional in approaching problem solving. This time, I wanted something out of the box that can aid me in coming up with more creative ways to solve problems. I also want to come up with decisions that have win-win solutions for all parties involved. Briefly, I want to change and this training experience can help me acquire new skills and knowledge to become an agent of change. Q2. A full description what you learned from this training experience, including underlying principles, concepts, and competencies. During the training, some of the principles and concepts were not actually new to me anymore. Nevertheless, I still learned many things from this training experience. Change and Creativity Workshop- It is very important for managers like myself to become more resourceful and innovative because of the various challenges posed by the highly-competitive business environment. Likewise, the changing forces of globalization place an extra challenge for organizations to cope with ; hence, managers like myself should move forward along with trends. The first module which was Change and Creativity Workshop aimed at making managers agents of change. Usually, people are resistant to changes that are initiated by the administration. However, these changes are badly needed inside the organization to improve organizational performance. The workshop taught us how to introduce change and handle conflicts that may arise from such changes. Also concepts such as “ change management” and “change resistance” were discussed in the seminar. Different strategies for handling change resistance were taught to us since we expect to encounter such anytime we want to introduce change in our organization. Meetings and Time Management Time management is often a common skill possessed by managers ; nevertheless, there were new insights added to these topics. I learned interpersonal skills such as communicating effectively and negotiating with other people. First of all, I tried writing good reports and memorandum so I can communicate to my subordinates relevant information they should know. This includes writing policies and guidelines that employees would find useful. It is not enough for manager to just deal with documents or data; rather, a strong administrative manager can communicate well to subordinates. During the seminar, we were refreshed about how to effectively conduct meetings in the shortest time possible. Most often, managers conduct long meetings that consume the productive time of people. I also learned a very simple but effective principle- work smarter, not harder. I thought that putting so much hours in the job equated to productivity. Instead, a manager must become efficient so he can conserve his time and effort for more productive endeavors. Since I have learned these skills, I immediately applied them and saw results. Problem Solving and Decision Making The last workshop was pretty interesting because it included different techniques in problem-solving. We appreciated the value of fish-bone analysis because we can easily trace the real problem in a given situation. Determining the real problem is very crucial in managing because real solutions can be given. More often, managers miss the underlying cause of the problem and only address the symptoms. Hence, we became more accurate in identifying the root problems, not just symptoms. Because of the workshop, we became more incisive in identifying the problem as well as providing win-win solutions. We acquired competencies such as arriving at decisions at a much shorter time. Also, we learned how to look at reports more objectively before arriving at a conclusion. Regrettably, the seminars were quite short so our exposure to problem-solving cases are limited. Perhaps, another two more days could greatly enhance our skills in this area. Q3.An explanation of how and where you have applied the learning in your professional life. The NIT workshops have given me the chance to improve my management approach and style. This training is very influential because it introduced me to new management concepts and principles that made me a better manager as based on my performance evaluation given to me years go. Learnings from Change and Creativity Workshop- The concepts introduced in the workshops were very applicable. From the change and creativity workshop, I immediately made some changes. After returning from the training, I immediately met with my staff and reorganized some tasks. We learned from the seminar the importance of specialization of roles so I designated the tasks to the right employee. After a few weeks, the results were positive because the productivity increased. The concept of job rotation was also taught to us in the seminar so I chose two employees who were rotated to different tasks. At first, the learning curve was slow but as they became better with their jobs, so did their morale. Increased morale brought increased productivity because the people who participated in the job rotation learned more skills. This increased their self-confidence because they learned something else. As previously, they were afraid of becoming obsolete or getting fired because they were unproductive. Because of that, their enthusiasm for their new found skills are unparalleled as they performed very well. Problem solving and decision-making workshop- From the problem-solving and decision making workshop, I acquired new management principles applicable to problem solving and decision making. I understood the value of all stakeholders in the organization. Customers are not only important but employees as well since they are the internal customers of an organization. I wanted to solve the problems encountered in customer service by fixing the existing problems immediately and shooting for a higher level of quality for customer service. I realized the need for excellence, the need to dispose the mediocre to survive the competition. Before, I only conducted meetings to check on current progress; now, I ask for ideas that would push the company forward. I like the concept of innovation so I immediately conducted a survey from each department about the challenges that they have. Twice a month, I meet with team leaders and evaluate which methods or processes pull us down or make us slower. Even to myself, I applied this evaluation and assessed which part of my usual routine can be delegated such as paperwork. Meetings and Time management – From the meetings and time-management workshops ,I acquired the value of working as efficiently as possible. I introduced new ways to conduct meetings. Gone are the marathon meetings that often ended in dispute. I introduced the concept of brief meetings so everybody can resume their tasks after information or a decision has been disseminated. Moreover, I also rubbed on the new attitude to my employees that refreshed the whole organization. Although they were resistant at first about new policies and procedures, they appreciated the value later. My professional life grew tremendously because I improved my management style by incorporating all the knowledge and skills I have gained from the three different workshops. I believe that the workshops I attended at NIT are valuable. If I were to rate NIT on a scale of 1-10, I would give them a 9.5. The trainors unselfishly shared all their management secrets to us as well as coached us individually. It is just too bad that the time allocated was quite short. Lastly, trainings are one way of moving the whole business forward and making it competitive. Read More