Reflection on Management Theories, and Learning Process - Essay Example

Reflective Paper Based on Management Theories, and Learning Process. During my first semester at the I lacked confidence as I reported onmy past reflective paper. I was very shy. I didn’t feel comfortable, and I didn’t want to participate actively in the activities of my group. So I had many conflicts to overcome. Now I feel better since I have been successful at getting more confidence on my management skills like communication, presentation, time management, conflict management, planning, organizing, team work, leadership, which have guided me along this semester in my interactions with other students in the group and the teachers. Little by little I have become more active in my group, and I have even organized some activities. I have attended to more presentations, and I have talked much more with my teachers. I have also attended the Learning Center, and I have visited my tutor to find answers to my problems. I have received useful advice at the university that has helped me be more communicative, and at the same time I have developed some of my leadership skills along the way. I have undergone a learning process that has helped me to grow as a better person and a better student. I know that the most difficult human task is self-mastery, and this semester I have experienced this fact throughout my management studies. I have realized that management can help me to take control of myself and other people in order to do positive tasks together. I have understood that management provides me with valuable theories and skills that I can use for my own benefit and the benefit of any organization that I have to manage in the future. I have gone through a learning process that has helped me to improve step by step in acquiring self-confidence and self-mastery. I have seen through reflection that I have to understand the management theories in order to apply the management skills effectively. I have also realized that everything comes down to communication and leadership. I have experienced in this second semester a process of growth in applying my management skills through my interactions in the group, my attendance to presentations and the Learning Center, the support of my teachers and my tutor, my involvement in organizing activities, and the awareness of my need to become a better student and a better person through the knowledge and application of sound management theories. So in the next pages I will sum up what I have learned about management theories, communication, leadership and the learning process that has helped me to enhance my management skills, especially self-confidence, communication, presentaton, time management, conflict management, team work and groups, time management, conflict management, and presentation skills. (Blair, 1993). I find very interesting the fact that management is both an art and a science engaged in making people to be more effective through four basic pillars: plan, organize, direct, and monitor. (Reh, 2008). So I have realized that it is essential to know the management theories in order to be a better manager. During this semester I have improved gradually in my management studies interacting with my fellow students and my teachers through a better understanding of the management theories, communication, leadership, and the learning process. I will take a look at these concepts so we can understand how they have helped me to improve in the classroom. Management theories have always been in an evolving process. Most of them are fads or fashions or forgotten theories. As an example we have the fact that Spell (2001) argues that Management By Objectives (MBO) was described by Smitty in the 1950s according to Greenwood in one of his works published in 1981. Harvard Business Review also asserts that Drucker’s MBO was explained by D. McGregor back in 1957. (Spell, 2001). K. K. Naidoo found out about the useful contributions of Chester I. Barnard. Naidoo considers that Barnard is an overlooked management theorist who integrates the “rationalist” and the “naturalist” schools of management. First, Naidoo gives an account of the five principles of Frederick Winslow Taylor in his work from 1911 entitled “Scientific Management”: “1.- Shift all responsibility for the organisation of work from the worker to the manager; managers should do all the thinking relating to the planning and design of work, leaving the workers with the task of implementation. 2.- Use scientific methods to determine the most efficient ways of doing work; design the worker’s task accordingly, specifying the precise way in which the work is to be done. 3.- Select the best person to perform the job thus designed. 4.- Train the worker to do the work efficiently. 5.- Monitor the work performance to ensure that appropriate work procedures are followed and that appropriate results are achieved.” (2004). Through these principles I have been able to take a more active role in the ETCO group and my management classes. I have realized that a manager has the responsibility of taking charge of the organization through an active thinking process. I have tried to apply these management principles through my active involvement in class trying to be synergic and proactive by taking part in the group discussions, interacting with my fellow students and my teachers with the aim of building my self-confidence, my communications skills, my presentation skills, my teamwork experience, etc. Taylor’s ideas have been a starting point in the direction of establishing sound principles of scientific management as Naidoo explains it before studying Barnard’s influence in the field of management theories. Naidoo claims that Barnard made a contribution to the “rationalist school” remarking that Barnard’s concept of the organisation “was that it was a deliberately constructed tool –a set of rationally designed and monitored tasks.” (2004). Naidoo gives an account of Barnard’s ideas in the following terms, paraphrasing Thompson: “However, Barnard also had a symbolic concept of the organisation –as a set of important values, beliefs and moral codes that motivated and guided people to co-operate in the pursuit of the organisation’s well-being. These values, beliefs and moral codes represent variables not subject to complete control by the organisation and hence not contained within a closed system of logic. With this concept, Barnard also made contributions to the ‘naturalist school’. This school has an open-system strategy and considers that the organisation is a ‘non-rational’ system of values, beliefs and moral codes that motivate people. Central to the natural-system approach is the concept of homeostasis, or self-stabilisation, which spontaneously, or naturally, governs the necessary relationships among parts and activities and thereby keeps the system viable in the face of disturbances stemming from the environment (Thompson, 1967).” (2004). I have found these ideas to be quite useful in my learning process on management theories and management skills since they have given me a greater sense of commitment to my studies at the university during this second semester. They have given a new dimension to my concept about management since I have noticed that there are natural laws behind management practice and organizational theory. I have experienced these natural laws in my own learning process. My emotions have been changing all of the time, and I have been trying to make sense out of my emotions in order to acquire a better understanding of the knowledge that I have been exposed to at the university. Barnard’s ideas seem to be practical as I have experienced in my own life and during this second semester. Naidoo finds an integration of management theories in Barnard’s approach to managing an organisation, paraphrasing Thompson: “Barnard’s combined approaches thus made valuable contributions to both the rational and natural schools of organisation theory. Although this dichotomy in approach is contradictory, Barnard’s work served as a platform for serious and sustained elaboration of his work by the Simon-March-Cyert stream of study which produced a newer tradition evading the closed –versus- open system dilemma. This body of research viewed the organisation as a problem-facing and problem-solving phenomenon in an environment that is uncertain and does not fully disclose itself. Therefore, the organisation must make its decisions in bounded rationality, and decision-making now involves satisficing rather than maximising (Thompson, 1967).” (2004). All along this second semester I have been faced with many challenges trying to gain confidence and to integrate myself in all of the activities at the university. Getting a higher perspective of the meaning and function of an organization and the management principles that can be integrated through the study of Taylor, Barnard, Simon, March, Cyert, and other theorists, I have been able to understand better the need to be proactive and synergic when dealing with management issues. I have been able to get a deeper insight into the organization from a systems point of view and how I am part of that system. In this case the organization is the university and my function as a learner is to adapt to the environment in an active way through my participation in all of the learning activities. I have also to think how my learning process is going on. So I have to be reflective at all times. On the other hand, W. E. Deming’s 14 points in his system of Profound Knowledge is a sound position related to the practical aspects of management (Deming, 1998). Deming remarks the following: “The first step is transformation of the individual. This transformation is discontinuous. It comes from understanding of the system of profound knowledge. The individual, transformed, will perceive new meaning to his life, to events, to numbers, to interactions between people.” (Deming, 1998). I have experienced a transformation process through my learning experience at the university this semester. I have taken part in my group discussions with greater intensity, and I have also attended different presentations that have helped me to acquire a greater degree of confidence, building my management skills like communication, leadership, and teamwork at the same time. So I think that Deming is right when he deals with the issue of transformation in the organization. As a fact, I have been transformed by the learning process at the university this second semester as I have been much more active and thoughtful about the learning experiences that I have gone through. My emotions have changed, and I have had many internal and external conflicts with myself and the environment, but I have been able to succeed in adapting myself throughout this learning process. I have also been aware of my need of communicating more effectively. Good communication is essential in order to become a good manager or a leader. One of the key secrets of a good communication is becoming an active listener, so I have tried to be a better listener in order to enhance my communication skills that can improve my leaderships skills at the same time. According to Clark some of the characteristics of an active listener are the following: “-Spend more time listening than talking. -Do not finish the sentences of others. -Do not answer questions with questions. -Are aware of biases. We all have them. We need to control them. -Never daydreams or become preoccupied with their own thoughts when others talk. -Let the other speakers talk. Do not dominate the conversations. -Plan responses after the others have finished speaking, NOT while they are speaking. -Provide feedback, but do not interrupt incessantly. -Analyze by looking at all the relevant factors and asking open-ended questions. Walk others through by summarizing. -Keep conversations on what others say, NOT on what interests them. -Take brief notes. This forces them to concentrate on what is being said.” (Clark, 2008). All of these traits are very useful when it comes to enhance my communication skillls. I have tried to be an active listener because I know that this will help me also in my leadership skills. I have applied all of this knowledge at the university through my efforts of changing my attitutde about the learning process that I have undergone concerning management theories and management skills. All along this semester I have experienced a transformation through the learning process that I have undergone. Little by little, step by step, this learning process has transformed me giving me new insights, new emotions, new enthusiasm, new motivation, as a learner. My learnin process can be understood through the study of the theoris by David Kolb, Professor of Organizational Behavior at Case Western Reserve University, who is a pioneer in this field since the early seventies. (Clark, 2004). Kolb (1984, 41), quoted by Clark, defines learning as “the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combination of grasping experience and transforming it.” According to Kolb there are six main characteristics in experiential learning: “Learning is best conceived as a process, not in terms of outcomes. “Learning is a continuous process grounded in experience. “Learning requires the resolution of conflicts between dialectically opposed modes of adaptation to the world (learning is by its very nature full of tension). “Learning is a holistic process of adaptation to the world. “Learning involves transactions between the person and the environment. “Learning is the process of creating knowledge that is the result of the transaction between social knowledge and personal knowledge.” (Kolb paraphrased by Clark, 2004). In my case, I can see that Kolb is right about the learning process since I have experienced an evolving change in my theoretical and practical knowledge during this semester. Through my involvement in the group activities, my interactions with the teachers, and my perseverance in my studies, I have been able to learn at the university with a new frame of mind. I was very passive during the first semester, but now I have more confidence in myself due to my active participation in the learning process. Kolb’s theory states that there is a four-stage learning cycle that help us understand the individual learning styles or “Learning Styles Inventory” (LSI) as Kolb named it. Clark (2004) explains Kolb’s experiential learning model as follows: “Kolbs learning model is based on two continuums that form a quadrant: Processing Continuum: Our approach to a task, such as preferring to learn by doing or watching. Perception Continuum: Our emotional response, such as preferring to learn by thinking or feeling.” Thus Kolb’s learning cycle springs out of those continuums as follows: “Concrete experience (feeling): Learning from specific experiences and relating to people. Sensitive to others feelings. “Reflective observation (watching): Observing before making a judgement by viewing the environment from different perspectives. Looks for the meaning of things. “Abstract conceptualization (thinking): Logical analysis of ideas and acting on intellectual understanding of a situation. “Active experimentation (doing): Ability to get things done by influencing people and events through action. Includes risk-taking.” (Clark, 2004). I can see that in my case there has been some balance in my learning process since I have applied all of the above modes of learning at different degrees or levels during my second semester of my management studies at the university. This learning process has motivated me to go on acquiring more experience and more knowledge. Regarding the learning styles, Kolb theorized that there are “four combinations of perceiving and processing” that determine “four learning styles” or “preferences” (Clark, 2004). These learning styles are the following as explained by Clark: “Diverging (concrete, reflective) - Emphasizes the innovative and imaginative approach to doing things. Views concrete situations from many perspectives and adapts by observation rather than by action. Interested in people and tends to be feeling-oriented. Likes such activities as cooperative groups and brainstorming. “Assimilating (abstract, reflective) - Pulls a number of different observations and thoughts into an integrated whole. Likes to reason inductively and create models and theories. Likes to design projects and experiments. “Converging (abstract, active)- Emphasizes the practical application of ideas and solving problems. Likes decision-making, problem-solving, and the practible application of ideas. Prefers technical problems over interpersonal issues. “Accommodating (concrete, active) - Uses trial and error rather than thought and reflection. Good at adapting to changing circumstances; solves problems in an intuitive, trial-and-error manner, such as discovery learning. Also tends to be at ease with people.” (Kolb paraphrased by Clark, 2004). In my case, there has been a mix of these learning styles or preferences. Sometimes I have been reflective and other times I have been active. I have been very flexible at the way I have undergone this learning process during this semester. The most important thing about my learning experience has been the inner transformation that I have experienced. I have turned into a more active student, assuming responsibilities, and a better person in my personal life. I know that I have to be motivated in order to accomplish any task, so I have to face the challenges of life with the right frame of mind. During this second semester I have found a valuable source of motivation within myself. I have tried to overcome my shyness. And I have been successful since I have been much more confident along the way, assuming responsibilities, communicating my ideas and feelings in the group and to my teachers. I have learned a lot from management theories and the learning process in my way of implementing my management skills in a better way at the university. I have undergone a learning process that has enabled me to be a better person and a better management student. I have experienced an enhanced learning process this semester that has helped me strengthen my management skills, especially on the psychological level related to confidence. I have participated more actively in the group meetings, and I have grown much more mature in my personal life. I am also aware that I have to improve in many areas since I still have many weaknesses in my management skills. I need to be a better communicator and a better leader. I need to be a better listener. I need to be a better learner. Even though I hold an optimistic view about the future, and I trust in the love of God leading me to a better future in my career as a manager. I thank all of my fellow students and my teachers for helping me be part of this learning process all along the way at the university. I know that there is a high level of complexity in any organisation, but at the same time I am confident that we can overcome any difficulty with the acquired knowledge about management theories and skills. References Blair, G.M., 1993, April, Basic Management Skills, (online), IEE Engineering Management Journal, available from http://www.see.ed.ac.uk/~gerard/Management/index.html (accessed May 8, 2008). Clark, D.R., 2004, Instructional System Design Concept Map, (online), available from http://nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/ahold/isd.html (accessed May 19, 2008). Clark, D.R., 2008, May 21, Communication and Leadership, (online), available from http://nwlink.com/~donclark/about/about.html (accessed May 22, 2008). Deming, W. E., 1998, June 3, The Deming Philosophy. (online). Deming Electronic Network Website. Created by Clauson, J. Clemson University. Available from: . (accessed May 9, 2008). Naidoo, K. K., 2004, Mar, Fundamental Concepts: The Solution to Contemporary Management Problems –A sine qua non or non sequitur? School of Pharmacy & Pharmacology. University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. South African Journal of Business Management. (PDF) Reh, J.F., 2008, Management 101, (online), available from http://management.about.com/cs/generalmanagement/a/Management101.htm (accessed May 8, 2008). Spell, C, 2001, Dec, Management Fashions: Where Do They Come From, and Are They Old Wine in New Bottles?, Journal of Management Inquiry, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 358-373; ABI/INFORM Global. Nontraditional Research. Washington State University. Read More