10 Sep READ THE FOLLOWING: *Developing Management Skills (PAGES 3-33)

READ THE FOLLOWING:

*Developing Management Skills (PAGES 3-33)

· Author: David A. Whetten and Kim S. Cameron

· Publisher: Pearson

· Edition: 9th edition

*The Critical Role of Management Skills

The Management Skills course is designed to develop and manage dynamic, constantly changing work environments. In the business world today managers need the personal, interpersonal, and group skills to address questions such as:

· “How do I get my people to accept this new approach?”

· “How do I explain the need to change to my ‘seasoned’ employees without creating a defensive reaction?”

· “How do I help the ‘survivors’ of a downsizing company, group, etc. handle their sense of loss, grief, and guilt?”

· “How do I use existing organizational rewards to reinforce the need for change?”

The ability to communicate, motivate, make critical decisions, and resolve conflicts are some of the key points we will be discussing. This course, the textbook, and supplemental materials are designed to help you improve your personal management competencies – to change your behavior.

“We are in one of those great historical periods that occur every 200 or 300 years when people don’t understand the world anymore, and the past is not sufficient to explain the future, ” according to Peter Drucker. The only thing that has not changed is people’s needs of freedom, dignity, trust, love, and honesty in relationships.

The Importance of Competent Managers

With the current everchanging and stressful environment, time management becomes critical. Competent managers are of utmost importance. In one study of 968 firms representing all major industries in the United States, effective management resulted in a 7% decrease in employee turnover, increased profits per employee, more sales per employee, and more in stock market value per employee. How’s that for productivity! In a separate study conducted by the U.S. government, results revealed two factors contributed to the record number of bank failures during the 1980s. Almost 90%of the failures resulted in poor management and about 35% of these failures experienced depressed economic conditions.

The Skills of Effective Managers?

What skills are the most effective for managers? The management skills are based on emotional intelligence quotient. EQ consists of the skills of self-awareness, self-control, motivation, empathy for the emotional and behavioral actions of others, and interpersonal skills. Results in a study conducted by the University of California-Berkeley found EQ was four times more powerful than IQ in predicting success.

Key Management Skills

The most frequently cited skills of effective managers are:

1. Verbal communication (including listening)

2. Managing time and stress

3. Managing individual decisions

4. Recognizing, defining, and solving problems

5. Motivating and influencing others

6. Delegating

7. Setting goals and articulating a vision

8. Self-awareness

9. Team building

10. Managing conflict

What are Management Skills?

First, management skills are behavioral – not personality attributes or styles. Management skills are identifiable actions that individuals perform that lead to certain outcomes. Others observe these skills. Second, management skills are controllable. Skills can be consciously demonstrated, practiced, improved, or restrained by individuals. Effective management skills engage other people and require cognitive work. Third, management skills are developed and improved through competency in skill performance and feedback. Fourth, management skills are interrelated and often are on a combination of skills used to achieve desired results. Fifth, management skills can be contradictory or paradoxical. They are a combination of soft and hard skills. They may be individual or team-based. The most effective managers use a combination of both participative and hard-driving, both nurturing and competitive. They are flexible and creative, but also controlled, stable, and rational.

An Approach to Skill Development

This course will identify skill competency and knowledge of our behaviors as managers. Scientifically based principles and guidelines are included to understand behaviors. Practice exercises and feedback are an important part of identifying skill development. Improvement in management skills is primarily the learner’s responsibility. People learn things best if they are affected personally and see an immediate effect on their lives.