REFLECTIVE BLOG ASSESSMENT 1-1 : EVOLVING MANAGEMENT POSITIONS

In the first chapter of "Essential of Contemporary Management" (Jones, George, Rock, Haddad) we are introduced to Roger Martin, the Dean of the Rotman School of Management, in Toronto, Ontario. Who has developed and analyzed the theory of opposable thinking in his book "The Opposable Mind". The analysis compares and contrasts traits of opposable and oppositional thinking. The oppositional thinking style follows how managers in s business traditionally take an "either-or" approach to decision making. Whereas, opposable thinking follows a "both-and" approach.

A situation I experienced in the past where I used an opposable thinking approach for my decision making approach would be when I was paired in a group of two to work on an assignment in my Business Computers class. Each of the members was from different generations. One member was from Generation X and the other was from the Baby boomer generation. Immediately there was conflict between them. I was caught in the middle of this argument and I took a step back and realized the generation gap and how the tension was affecting the group. I told the member from Generation X to go on ahead with the next exercise because I knew they were confident enough with the computer program as he was taught how to use it through most of his academic life. Then I sat down with the member from the Baby boomer generation and walk them through how to use the program, eventually this student was able to go through the program as if it was second nature to them.

In 2005, I began working to gain some work experience and to pay for food mostly. Most of my work experience comes from the retail industry. This means I had to deal with mainly customer service, to do this I had to develop a lot interpersonal skills to deal with customers and coworkers if I wanted to be successful. I have noticed many changes in the management roles over the 7 years I've employed. I found the communication channel between employer and employee became smaller and smaller. In the beginning, my managers would just give me the instructions on the assignments and goals for the day in face-to-face meeting.  Eventually the managers gave more empowerment to his subordinates which turned into self-managed teams.  So now the employees do not need to ask their managers what needs to be done, the only reasons someone talks to their managers now is if they have issues or concerns. This is not beneficial to employees who are looking for some sort of guidance or direction from their leaders. I personally can adapt to mostly any situation, so I have handle the transition well. 

In my opinion the changing of management roles has to do with the demand for freedom from employees and the demand for solid results from managers. There has been a need for change on both sides. Aside from internal changes there are also external changes in the world we are living in, especially a cultural diversity movement. This affects the workplace ethics towards the gay and lesbian community that make up a large portion of employees and customers who deserve the respect to be treated as equals. 

According to Henry Mintzberg, a McGill University management professor, what businesses today need are "heroic" managers who have the skills that demand solid results. To do this, they must first have formal education, training, and experience which will help them acquire three principal types of skills: conceptual, human, and technical. ["Essential of Contemporary Management" (Jones, George, Rock, Haddad)]  Each of these skills will be needed more so than the others depending on your level of management in the management hierarchy. The top management managers tend to need to have conceptual skills, the middle management managers require each three skills equally, and the first-line managers will need to have the majority of his expertise in technical skills. Overall, it is important to understand which level of management you belong to and then to be prepared to craft your skills to meet the needs of the employees and customers. This is the difference it takes in becoming not just a good manager but a great one.