1.

0 Current position and responsibilities

The managers that I interviewed are:

Lee Ming Kuan, a branch manager who have 8 years’ experience and work at education

centre.

Chee Su Ann, a project manager who have 1-year experience and work at wedding house.

As a branch manager, Lee Ming Kuan has the responsibilities to:

Direct all operational aspects including distribution operations, customer service,

human resources, administration and sales

Assess local market conditions and identify current and prospective sales opportunities

Develop forecasts, financial objectives and business plans

Meet goals and metrics

Manage budget and allocate funds appropriately

Bring out the best of branch’s personnel by providing training, coaching, development

and motivation

Locate areas of improvement and propose corrective actions that meet challenges and

leverage growth opportunities

Share knowledge with other branches and headquarters on effective practices,

competitive intelligence, business opportunities and needs

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 Address customer and employee satisfaction issues promptly

Adhere to high ethical standards, and comply with all regulations/applicable laws

Network to improve the presence and reputation of the branch and company

Stay abreast of competing markets and provide reports on market movement and

penetration

As a project manager, Chee Su Ann has the responsibilities to:

 Planning and Defining Scope

 Activity Planning and Sequencing

 Resource Planning

 Developing Schedules

 Time Estimating

 Cost Estimating

 Developing a Budget

 Documentation

 Creating Charts and Schedules

 Risk Analysis

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 Managing Risks and Issues

 Monitoring and Reporting Progress

 Team Leadership

 Strategic Influencing

 Business Partnering

 Working with Vendors

 Scalability, Interoperability and Portability Analysis

 Controlling Quality

 Benefits Realisation

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2.0 Expectation of subordinates from you on the job

An institution's or executive leaders have high expectations of the company's

branch managers. They expect branch managers to run locations as their own businesses.

Branch managers are responsible for growing the location's customer base, elevating the

perception of the brand in the community and growing the branch's customer base. For

this reason, branch managers are expected to take a proactive approach to networking in

the community to bring new business in the door and to increase revenue.

Previous Experience Matters

Branch managers must have significant experience in the sector. Hiring institutions look

for job candidates with related experience as well as proven leadership experience. Such

institutions also seek branch manager job candidates who have a track record of related

job. Employers expect branch managers to be knowledgeable about company regulations.

Once hired, branch managers have the freedom to choose their teams, but they must

ensure the team's success as branch employees.

For the project manager, subordinates expected that we can help them to achievee

excellence and add value. It is not enough to meet targets, we need subordinates that

provide positive value and intelligence. They must innovate and bring positive change

where necessary. Being hard working is fine but we need their mental power as well.

Work hard and meeting targets are fine, but we need people who make positive change

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and add value. Besides, subordinates should be given clear, defined goals. Some are

target achievers or doers but if we have someone that gives us ideas he should be taken

care of.

3.0 Major stresses and challenges that face on the job

The two major stresses and challenges faced by branch manager are dealing with

underperforming employees, dealing with outstanding employees and hiring the right

people.

Not all your employees will do their best. Some will have personal issues that

interfere with their work. Technically it’s not your problem, but in reality, any issue that

contributes to an underperforming employee is your problem. You’ll help employees

cope with personal issues, you’ll provide motivation and counsel, maybe steer them to

appropriate resources inside or outside your company. You’ll “carry” your

underperforming employees to a point, and then beyond that point you’ll have to ease

them out of your organization. You’ll be humane, but you must balance the needs of the

organization with the needs of the employees.

Some of your employees obviously outperform the others. That’s good news for

your organization, but it presents its own set of challenges. Outstanding employees need

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special treatment. You want them to keep doing an exceptional job but that usually means

that you’ll have to pay them special attention. They need recognition for their talents and

efforts. They need encouragement, training and guidance. And above all they need to

know that they have a career path in your company, even if that career path takes them

out of your organization.

You’ll be tempted to hold on to your outstanding employees and keep them from

being promoted out of your organization. You shouldn’t do that. When an employee star

outgrows your organization, the best thing for your company is to make sure that the

employee finds a home in another part of your company where he or she can continue to

contribute. And ultimately, you’ll be rewarded for your good deed of helping the

employee achieve his or her potential. Your reputation as a “team player” and good

manager will grow, and your own career will be enhanced.

No matter how happy your employees are, you’ll get occasional turnover. And if

your organization is successful then you’ll often find that your budget and headcount will

grow as you are assigned more and more responsibility. Either way, you’ll need to hire.

Hiring is easy, but hiring the right person is extremely difficult.

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The trick in hiring is to get an understanding of how an employee will perform the work

— not just how the employee does in interviews. Interviews are seldom a good predictor

of work and work habits, so going beyond the interview is crucial.

However, for the new project manager, the two stresses and challenges are

effective communication with your employees and shifting your mindset along with your new

role.

Building effective communication with your employees will give you a strong

foundation in your new role as a manager. The way that we speak – and the way that we

listen – play a vital role in collaboration and teamwork. Not only that, the quality of

communication on your team impacts levels of trust and vulnerability, which are essential

to creativity and innovation.

As a new manager, it’s important for you to understand the communication

dynamics on your team so you can optimize the strengths and find ways to improve any

weaker areas. Every team is different and learning the communication styles that work best

on your team will really strengthen how you work together.

In your old role as an employee, your focus was on accomplishing your tasks. Now,

your focus is on helping others accomplish their tasks. The key more than anything in this

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transition is to shift your mindset and take on a new approach. Before you were in charge

of yourself but now you’re a leader.

It’s your responsibility to oversee and guide your team, and this will

involve developing your soft skills. Listen and pay attention to the needs of your employees

to help them achieve the collective goals of your team.

4.0 Do you dislike about the job?

Both like their jobs so much although there are many obstacles. This is because they

know man grows rapidly in adversity. Once they solved a problem, they will get a

precious experience. They can broaden their knowledges by solving problems and share

the experiences to their subordinates, so they can help the company’s employees to have

great minds think alike.

5.0 What do you like best about the job?

Challenge

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They love how their boss constantly believes in them. Boss pushed them to endeavor on

projects that they thought were way beyond their abilities for both their age and

knowledge.

They have a feeling a sense of accomplishment when they are up against a

deadline and they only have one shot to get it right and it turns out better than they could

have imagined. Having a boss that appreciates the work they do and always thanks them

for the hard work at the end of the day.

Helping Others

As a Wedding Planner, Author and Speaker and what Sue Ann love most about her job is

helping to create (write and speak about) the most magical day of a couple’s life. She

love the fact that it’s filled with the start of all their possibilities and in a small way she is

part of that.

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6.0 Critical differences between average managers and top-performing managers

Average managers are satisfied with good performance. Top performing

managers won't settle for anything less than exceptional results, and they understand that

the responsibility for change rests with them as the manager. Whether you're running an

industry giant or a small startup business, don't think that you have to be raking in

billions or making radical technological advances to prove yourself as an exceptional

leader. Author Jim Collins, in his management study "Good to Great," found that some of

the most extraordinary leaders ran companies that appeared "dowdy" and uninteresting.

Company Focus

Forget the stereotypical ideas of a leader. Extraverted, flashy examples of great

leadership are not necessarily the best examples of top performing managers, even though

they tend to be the most prominent. In fact, the top managers tend to be people you might

not even notice -- until their achievements are too overwhelming to ignore. Top

performing managers are humble. Their top priority is the company, and they focus on

the company's success rather than their own.

Long Term View

Great managers are unlikely to believe in the idea of a quick fix. They know that

shortcuts for hard work don't exist, and they are prepared to put in the effort to succeed

over the long term. Top performing managers are unlikely to give up when they

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experience setbacks. Instead, the top performer will critically examine what went wrong

and what part he had to play in the failure. The top performer won't blame others for

mistakes but will analyze his own behavior to identify potential improvements.

People Skills

In a survey of more than 80,000 managers, followed with several more in-depth

studies, leadership consultant Marcus Buckingham determined that "good managers play

checkers; great managers play chess." While good managers use the skills of the

workforce to move in a common direction toward shared goals, top performers leveraged

the individual skills of each employee for the best possible performance. Top managers

take a win-win approach, looking to make the best match of human resources and

company strategy for the ultimate competitive advantage.

Work-Group Dynamics

In some cases, what takes a certain manager from a good performer to a top

performer isn't necessarily a trait innate to the manager, but the ability of the leader to

adapt his behavior to that of his subordinates. In other cases, it may depend on whether

the manager has the fortune to be matched with workers who complement his natural

style. In a study of pizza companies, Wharton professor Adam Grant found that

performance and productivity was directly affected by the workplace dynamics. Proactive,

motivated workers performed better with a less-extroverted leader who allowed

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employees to provide input and drive the work process. Conversely, an extroverted leader

was more successful directing the operations of a passive work group.

7.0 The skills and knowledge that you need to be effective in your job and how to

acquire them

Many graduates harbour management aspirations. To impress business employers

and climb the career ladder, we'll need to brush up on the following management skills

Interpersonal skills

Management jobs are all about people and being able to build successful relationships is

integral. If we want to lead a team, we'll first need to earn the respect of our colleagues

and to do this we need to know how to effectively deal with other people.

Setting time aside to get to know our team members on both a personal and

professional level, perhaps through social activities or team-building training, while still

maintaining professional boundaries, will go a long way to earning their respect.

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 We need to demonstrate your managerial qualities and authority while

maintaining the ability to play our part as a member of a team.

Communication and motivation

Effective leaders must master all forms of communication including written, verbal and

listening skills. As a team manager we 're the line of communication between frontline

staff and senior management, so we 'll need to be able to communicate with a variety of

people from entry-level employees to heads of departments and CEOs in a number of

different ways such as via email and social media, over the phone and in presentations,

meetings and one-to-ones.

As a leader we 'll need to establish a trusting relationship with our employees so

they feel comfortable sharing information with you and vice versa. To ensure that lines of

communication remain open we 'll need to make yourself readily available and accessible

to our employees to discuss any issues or concerns that arise. Putting in place an open-

door policy or weekly or monthly team meetings should facilitate this. When

communicating let our staff know that they matter by keeping eye contact, smiling and

listening attentively.

Projecting an open, positive attitude at work goes a long way to creating a happy

and healthy work environment. Don't shut ourselves off or put ourselves on a pedestal.

Simple things such as active encouragement, recognising achievements and taking an

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interest in the lives of our employees boosts morale and ensures that staff feel valued by

the company. If people are a product of their environment, a positive workplace creates

happy, motivated employees.

Organisation and delegation

On a day-to-day basis a manager must juggle multiple responsibilities so excellent

organisational skills are vital. We will need to manage your own workload, oversee the

work of other employees, attend meetings and training sessions, carry out appraisals and

review company policies. Sloppy working practices, tardiness and a general lack of

organisational ability will not be tolerated at this level and could set a bad example to our

staff. Effective organisational skills reduce stress, save time and ensure that important

deadlines are met.

Many managers ease their own busy workload by delegating tasks to colleagues.

To do this effectively we need to analyse and identify the skills of our employees and

assign duties to each depending on their skillset. Delegation is far from a sign of

weakness and can in fact multiply the amount of work that a manager can accomplish,

while developing an employee's confidence and skills.

Forward planning and strategic thinking

It's a manager's job to think of the big picture, so as well as focusing on today's tasks and

responsibilities we need to plan. This means setting priorities in line with company goals,

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reviewing systems and policies, and attending training and managing the CPD activities

of our team. As a strategic thinker we'll encourage innovation and change in order to

make our team and the organisation more productive and profitable.

Problem solving and decision-making

As a manager we 'll be tasked with spotting and solving problems on daily basis. This

requires outstanding attention to detail and the ability to remain calm under pressure. To

ensure that our team is productive and that the workflow runs smoothly we 'll have to

think on our feet when problems arise. Creative thinking will help us to come up with

innovative solutions that minimise the impact on our team and the business as a whole.

Thinking on our feet also comes in useful when we must make a snap decision about how

to successfully complete a task or meet a business goal. Being able to quickly weigh up

the pros and cons of a situation and make an informed decision is essential.

Commercial awareness

This skill is in huge demand among business employers, in fact according to recruiters,

commercial awareness is something that most graduates applying for management roles

lack.

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 If we want to progress to management level, it’s imperative that we understand the

marketplace in which a business operates and of what makes a business successful. To

demonstrate this, we 'll need to show that we:

 are aware of the organisation's mission and aims

 understand the sector that the company belongs to

 possess knowledge of political and economic issues affecting the business

 know all about the company's competitors.

Mentoring

As well as being business-focused decision-makers, managers also need to play a

supportive role. If we 've reached this senior level we have proven experience, knowledge

and skills and it's our job to pass this knowledge along and share our skills with other

colleagues.

This involves training and advising staff and building their confidence and skills.

In a management position we 're charged with overseeing the continued professional

development of all employees and will be the driving force behind the progression of

team members.

How do I develop my management skills?

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To become a successful manager, we need to be multi-skilled and the good news is that

we can develop all the required competencies relatively easily.

All the above skills can be learned, honed and developed through a number of activities

such as:

 Joining student societies - gaining experience in leadership roles is easy while at

university so be sure to take advantage of all opportunities. We could work our

way up the ranks and become the captain of a sports team or sign up to chair a

pre-existing club. If our area of interest isn't represented, we could use our

initiative to create and president our own society, or alternatively we could apply

to represent the student body as a students' union officer. Learn more

about standing for student elections and the importance of extra-curricular

activities.

 Internships and volunteering - upon graduation we could take part in an

industry internship. These look great on our CV and provide a first-hand glimpse

of what it's like to manage a team. As well as building up our skills and

confidence, internships also provide us with a list of useful contacts, which could

help us secure a job in the future. To gain experience in a supportive capacity, we

could volunteer as a mentor or sports coach. This could see we working with

adults in the community or with children in education settings. Other

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 relevant volunteering activities include leading a community team on an

environmental project and managing a group of charity fundraisers.

 Part-time work - management and leadership skills can also be built through part-

time employment in team/department leader and supervisory roles. It doesn't

matter where we work, we could manage bar or hospitality staff, supervise retail

or factory workers, man reception desks or lead admin teams. All experience is

valuable, especially when we're in a position of responsibility.

 Studying for professional qualifications - CMI research has discovered that three

quarters of employers believe more graduates should undertake professional

qualifications since these provide evidence of, and help to develop, practical

managerial skills. To find out what training is on offer, see management courses.

When it comes to job interviews use specific examples from our own experience to

explain how we've acquired the necessary skills and to demonstrate how we've used them

effectively.

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8.0 Conclusion

Management is about getting things done. Leadership is about achieving goals by

creating a direction for a business and inspiring employee to take initiative and make the

right decisions.

Enterprise managers need the skills to motivate, lead and influence others.

Enterprise aims to employ people who can take on a leadership role and help to grow the

business for the longer term. Its management and training programmes help to provide

employees with the skills necessary to lead others.

This study illustrates that within a business, there are leaders at different levels

within the hierarchy. Depending upon the circumstances, leaders will use different

leadership styles.

By developing leaders who can make decisions at a local level, Enterprise can

respond more closely to customer needs within a competitive service industry. Its high

levels of customer service provide it with competitive advantage over its rivals.

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9.0 Coursework

Question 1: An important category of communication is electronic media. Explain

disadvantages and advantages of electronic communication.

Advantages of electronic communication are numerous and dramatic.

Within firms, the advantages include the sharing of more information and the speed and

efficiency in delivering routine messages to large numbers of people across vast

geographic areas. Business-related wikis such as Social text let project teams post their

ideas in one forum for others to add contributions. Social text allows project leaders to

grant users access based on their need to know and participate. Web Crossing uses wikis

for product development. Michael Krieg, vice president of marketing, says the wikis save

the company "untold amounts of paper, postage, meetings, travel budgets, conference

calls, and the time required to coordinate it all."

Communicating electronically can reduce time and expenses devoted to traveling,

photocopying, and mailing. When a fire caused by a truck accident closed a major

freeway route in the San Francisco Bay area, Valerie Williamson skipped the traffic mess

by visiting with her colleague Brian Friedlander at her company's virtual office in Second

Life, the online virtual world. Williamson and Friedlander used avatars (animated images

of themselves) to navigate their meeting in the online conference room of their real-world

business, Electric Sheep Company. Participants in Second Life can use their avatars to

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perform such business communication activities as giving PowerPoint presentations,

streaming audio and video and asking questions.

Some companies, including Boeing, use brainstorming software that allows

anonymous contributions, presuming it will add more honesty to internal discussions.

Some research indicates more data sharing and critical argumentation, and higher-quality

decisions, with a group decision support system than is found in face-to-face meetings.

But anonymity also offers great potential for lies, gossip, insults, threats, harassment and

the release of confidential information.

Disadvantages of electronic communication include the difficulty of solving

complex problems that require more extended, face-to-face interaction and the inability to

pick up subtle, nonverbal, or inflectional clues about what the communicator is thinking

or conveying. In online bargaining-even before it begins negotiators distrust one another

more than in face-to-face negotiations. Alter the negotiation (compared with face-to-face

negotiators), people usually are less satisfied with their outcomes, even when the

outcomes are economically equivalent.

Although organizations rely heavily on computer-aided communication for group

decision making, face-to-face groups generally take less time, make higher-quality

decisions, and are more satisfying for members. E-mail is most appropriate for routine

messages that do not require the exchange of large quantities of complex information. It

is less suitable for confidential information, resolving conflicts, or negotiating.

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 Employees have reported being laid off via e-mail and even text messages. Not

only do these more impersonal forms of communication cause hurt feelings, but an upset

employee can also easily forward messages and forwarding often has a snowball effect

that can embarrass everyone involved. Like e-mail, IMs can help people work together

productively, but they can also leak sensitive information.

Companies are worried about leaks and negative portrayals, and they may require

employees to agree to specific guidelines before starting blogs. Some general guidelines

are to remember that blogs posted on a company's Web site should avoid anything that

could embarrass the company or disclose confidential information. Bloggers should stick

to the designated topic of any company-sponsored blog. If members of the media contact

you about reporting on a blog you have written, get official approval before proceeding.

Most electronic communications are quick and easy, and some are anonymous.

As a result, one inevitable consequence of electronic communication is "flaming":

hurling insults, sending "nastygrams," venting frustration, snitching on co-workers to the

boss, and otherwise breaching protocol. E-mail, blogs, and Ming liberate people to send

messages they would not say to a person's face. The lack of nonverbal cues can result in

"kidding" remarks being taken seriously, causing resentment and regret. Some people try

to clear up confusion with emoticons such as smiley faces, but those efforts can further

muddy the intent. Also, it is not unheard of for confidential messages-including details

about people's personal lives and insulting, embarrassing remarks-to become public

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knowledge through electronic leaks.

Other downsides to electronic communication are important to know. Different

people and sometimes different working units latch onto different channels as their

medium of choice. For example, an engineering division might use e-mail most, but a

design group might rely primarily on instant messaging and neglect e-mail. Another

disadvantage is that electronic messages sometimes are monitored or seen inadvertently

by those for whom they are not intended. Be careful with your IMs: make sure you don't

accidentally send them to the wrong person and that they don't pop up on the screen

during a PowerPoint presentation. One way to avoid sending to the wrong person is to

close all IIVI windows except those you're currently using for active conversations.

Deleting electronic messages-whether e-mail, TIVIs, or cell phone text messages-does

not destroy them; they are saved elsewhere. Recipients can forward them to others,

unbeknownst to the original sender. Many companies use software to monitor e-mail and

TA/Is. And the messages can be used in court cases to indict individuals or companies.

Electronic messages sent from work and on company-provided devices are private

property-but they are private property of the system's owner, not of the sender.

An e-mail golden rule (like the sunshine rule in the ethics chapter): Don't hit

"send" unless you'd be comfortable having the contents on the front page of a newspaper,

being read by your mother or a competitor. And it's not a bad idea to have a colleague

read nonroutine c-mails before sending.

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Question 2: Management is the process of working with people and resources

achieve organization goals. List the four traditional functions of management and

explain briefly.

Planning: Delivering Strategic Value

Planning is specifying the goals to be achieved and deciding in advance the

appropriate

actions needed to achieve those goals. Planning activities include analyzing current

situations, anticipating the future, determining objectives, deciding in what types of

activities the company will engage, choosing corporate and business strategies, and

determining the resources needed to achieve the organization's goals. Plans set the stage

for action and for major achievements.

The planning function for the new business environment is more dynamically

described as delivering strategic value. Value is a complex concept. Fundamentally, it

describes the monetary amount associated with how well a job, task, good, or service

meets users' needs. Those users might be business owners, customers, employees, society,

and even nations. The better you meet those needs (in terms of quality, speed, efficiency,

and so on), the more value you deliver. That value is "strategic" when it contributes to

meeting the organization's goals. On a personal level, you will do well when you

periodically ask yourself and your boss, "How can I add value?" Answering that question

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will enhance your contributions, your job performance, and your career.

Historically, planning described a top-down approach in which top executives

establish business plans and tell others to implement them. Now and in the future,

delivering strategic value is a continual process in which people throughout. Managing

organization use their brains and the brains of customers, suppliers, and other

stakeholders to identify opportunities to create, seize, strengthen, and sustain competitive

advantage. This dynamic process swirls around the objective of creating more and more

value for the customer. Effectively creating value requires fully considering a new and

changing set of stakeholders and issues, including the government, the natural

environment, globalization, and the dynamic economy in which ideas are king and

entrepreneurs are both formidable competitors and potential collaborators.

Organizing: Building a Dynamic Organization

Organizing is assembling and coordinating the human, financial, physical,

informational and other resources needed to achieve goals. Organizing activities include

attracting people to the organization, specifying job responsibilities, grouping jobs into

work units, marshaling and allocating resources, and creating conditions so that people

and things work together to achieve maximum success.

Historically, organizing involved creating an organization chart by identifying

business functions, establishing reporting relationships, and having a personnel

department that administered plans, programs, and paperwork. Now and in the future,

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effective managers will be using new forms of organizing and viewing their people as

perhaps their most valuable resources. They will build organizations that are flexible and

adaptive, particularly in response to competitive threats and customer needs. Progressive

human resource practices that attract and retain the very best of a highly diverse

population will be essential aspects of the successful company.

Leading: Mobilizing People

Leading is stimulating people to be high performers. It includes motivating and

communicating with employees, individually and in groups. Leading involves close

dayto-

day contact with people, helping to guide and inspire them toward achieving team and

organizational goals. Leading takes place in teams, departments, and divisions, as well as

at the tops of large organizations.

In earlier textbooks, the leading function described how managers motivate

workers to come to work and execute top management's plans by doing their jobs. Today

and in the future, managers must be good at mobilizing people to contribute their ideas-to

use their brains in ways never needed or dreamed of in the past.

Controlling: Learning and Changing

Planning, organizing, and leading do not guarantee success. The fourth function,

controlling, monitors performance and implements necessary changes. By controlling,

managers make sure the organization's resources are being used as planned and that the

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organization is meeting its goals for quality and safety.

Monitoring is an essential aspect of control. If you have any doubts that this

function is important, consider some control breakdowns that caused serious problems.

After an explosion at BP's Texas oil refinery caused the deaths of 15 people,

investigations suggested that widespread failure to implement safety measures was

behind the tragedy. In spite of a year of record profits, BP's chief executive announced

plans to retire early, and his bonus was cut almost in half. Other lapses in controlling can

hurt customers. A recent outbreak of salmonella infections-which can cause fever,

Managing diarrhea, dehydration, and even death-was traced to Peter Pan and Great Value

peanut butter made by ConAgra Foods in its Sylvester, Georgia, factory. Processing the

peanuts generally kills salmonella and other germs, so the likely culprit was

contamination of jars or equipment. ConAgra quickly announced a recall, but more than

400 people in 44 states reported being infected, and 71 of them had to be hospitalized.

The recall alone was expected to cost ConAgra at least $50 million; lawsuits, cleanup of

the facility, and damage to the brands' reputation are adding to those costs. As you can

see, control failures can take many forms.

When managers implement their plans, they often find that things are not working

out as planned. The controlling function makes sure that goals are met. It asks and

answers the question, "Are our actual outcomes consistent with our goals?" It then makes

adjustments as needed. To learn how Elon Musk applied this function to make needed

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adjustments at Tesla Motors, see the "Management Close-Up: Taking Action" feature.

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