Assessment Task 2: Interview with a manager on management styles. ‘New Manager self-test’, textbook p. 291.
The objectives of the analysis are to:
? Improve your knowledge of specific concepts and theories of management
? Develop your ability to apply theories and concepts to practical situations
? Encourage you to consider the effectiveness of various management theories and models as they relate to organisational functioning
? Develop your skills in research, critical thinking and analysis
? Develop your skills in academic writing
Length: 1,200 – 1,500 words (4 questions; note Q4 is worth the most marks).
Weighting: 30 marks; 30% of the final grade.
Due: Week 10, Wednesday 24th September. To be submitted online by 11pm.
Criteria for assessment: at the end of this Course Description.
Accessing the questionnaire: The ‘New manager self-test questionnaire’ is from the textbook, p. 291
Assignment instructions.
Complete the questionnaire on yourself and then select a person you can interview to do the questionnaire on them. Then answer the following four questions.
Q1. Draw an organisational chart showing the interviewee’s position in the hierarchy. Indicate on the chart the person who you interviewed.
Q2. Include both your answers and their answers to the questionnaire items 1-8 on p. 291. Draw a bar chart, graph or other figure to show Strategic Implementer and Strategic Formulator results for the manager you interviewed. Include your own self-score results as a comparison.
Q3. Provide a summary of the responses regarding the manager’s view of Strategic Formulator and Strategic Implementer styles in relation to his/her position.
Q4. Discuss how the manager’s formulator or implementer skills suited, or did not suit, the nature or their organisation’s environment and his/her work requirements.
Notes for the assignment
1. Who to interview?
You can interview anyone who has had any kind of supervisory responsibility, not just an official “manager”. People you can interview include sports coaches, casual shift supervisors, volunteer coordinators and organisers of religious events and activities; a family member who is or has been a supervisor or manager is perfectly acceptable. The main criterion for suitability for interview is that the person has coordinated and/or scheduled other people to complete an activity or objective. If you are in doubt as to who you should interview see the lecturer well in advance of the due date for the assignment.
2. What’s the best kind of interview?
Face-to-face, in-person interviews are preferable, but this is not always possible (for example, for international students with overseas contacts). Phone and email interviews are acceptable including international phone or email interviews.
3. What am I trying to achieve with the interview?
Your main purpose is to understand the person’s approach to strategy formulation and implementation. Make sure you understand these points before concluding the interview. If you run out of time during the interview note the reason(s) why on your assignment.
4. Additional reading
Your answers should be based on the information from the textbook – so read widely in the textbook, not just the section in which has questionnaire. But you are also expected to read beyond the textbook for this assignment. Wider reading beyond the textbook and appropriate use of relevant academic models and theories will be rewarded with higher marks for the relevant assessment criteria.