(Solution Manual) Building Management Skills An Action-First Approach

Daft, Marcic, 1

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Author(s): Daft, Marcic

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Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 1 Chapter 1 Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses Instructor Manual Chapter Outline 1. Manager Challenge Video Incident: Bakery Rivalry 2. Discover Yourself Questionnaire 1 Questionnaire 2 Questionnaire 3 GO ONLINE to find additional questionnaires 3. Discover Knowledge Discover Your Strengths Leading Words Ten strengths Related to Manager Performance 7 Steps to… Interpret your Score: Manager Strengths What about Personal Weak points or Limitations What’s Your Problem? Six Killer Constraints Interpret Your Score: Manager Weaknesses Using Emotional Intelligence to Avoid the Killer Constraints Interpret Your Score: Emotional Intelligence Need to Know 4. Action Learning Deliberate Practice Exercises In-Class Team Exercises Field Team Exercise 5. Test Your Mettle Role Play Simulations Video Application Case Incidents 6. Personal Skills Log 7. References Teaching Notes Manager Challenge Video Incident Part 1 1. If you were Jane, how would you have handled the meeting? Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 2 Jane should have prepared an agenda, distributed copies of the agenda in advance , and finished discuss ing all the items on the agenda. She should have taken control of the meeting and not allowed Carlos a nd Carrie to dominate and disrupt . She should have used time management skills and prioritized agenda items. 2. What do you see as each person’s strengths and weaknesses based on the above information? Jane’s strengths include humor, self -restraint, open -mindedness , and social intelligence while her weaknesses include time management, abil ity to organize, lack of self -confidence, failure to clarify direction, inability to motivate others, and inability to develop cooperation. Carrie’s strengths include self -confidence, initiative, a goal -directed mindset, while her weaknesse s include lack of emotional control and lack of social intelligence. Jason’s strengths include self -confidence, focus, a goal -directed mindset and his weaknesses include lack of self -restraint, lack of emotional control, and lack of social intelligence. He ather’s strengths include emotional control, kindness, modesty, and social intelligence, but her weaknesses include lack of focus, lack of self -confidence, and lack of bravery. Carlos’s strengths include persistence, bravery, and authenticity while his wea knesses include lack of teamwork, lack of self -regulation, and lack of social intelligence. Chapter 1 Part 2 Follow -up Video (see the DVD) Suggested Use: The Six Killer Constraints (Exhibit 1.4) 1. How did Jane handle the meeting after receiving m anagement training? She used leadership and time management skills more effectively instead of exhibiting the killer constraint of “Being a marshmallow.” She kept the meeting on track according to the agenda, did not allow interruptions and comments to sa botage the meeting, and encouraged cohesiveness and teamwork. 2. Do you think she showed increased management skills since the previous video case in this chapter? Explain. Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 3 Jane has shown improvement in the ability to organize by setting the ground rules for the meeting and leading the team with firmness. Jane did not allow talking unless it was talking to everyone. Jane used kindness and avoided the killer constraint of “Running Roughshod Over Others.” 3. What else does Jane need to learn in order to deal more effectively in the future with the management team ? Answers will vary. Jane needs to use humor more effectively. She makes little jokes that are perceived by the team as being stupid rather t han funny. As a result of her jokes, her team does not respect her as an authority figure and discounts what she has to say as a manager. Discover Yourself Students taking these questionnaires on paper will find guides to interpreting their self -tabulated scores Daft/Marcic Assessment Library, an online, interactive library containing all of these self -assessments, as well as comparative data that is updated as mo re students complete the self -assessments. Instructors will find additional self -assessment questionnaires to use as handouts under Free Online Resources in the Management CourseMate product . Tips for Using the Self -Assessment Questionnaires One way to use the questionnaires in class is to have students complete one or more questionnaires before class and bring their results to class. Consider having the students discuss their results in small groups. Then you could collect so me data on the scores to show the distribution of scores by having students raise their hands or write their scores on a piece of paper and turn them in. Then you can write this distribution on the board. The small group discussions and the distribution on the board should allow the students to understand how their scores compared to others in the class. (Only those students using the online Self -Assessment Library will have access to the continuously updated comparative data.) You may want to have a cla ss discussion about how the students feel about their assessment scores. Students also like to hear your thoughts about the meaning and value of the concept underlying each questionnaire. Additional Assignment: Have the students write a brief paper outsid e of class reporting their scores on multiple Discover Yourself assessments and analyzing their results. This paper might be called a “Self - Assessment Analysis” or a “Balance Sheet Paper” that analyzes personal strengths and weaknesses. This assignment would typically include assessments across multiple chapters. This paper could also include attaching copies of the actual assessments and/or a summary table of scores. Questionnaire 1: Manager Strengths. The purpose of this questionnaire is to have stud ents reflect on themselves and how they rate on the 10 management strengths discussed in the chapter. Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 4 Interpretation of this score and comparative data can be found on p age 50 of the text. (Only those students using the online Self -Assessment Library will have access to the continuously updated comparative data.) One suggestion is to have students talk about their highest scores and lowest scores. Additionally, this assessment can be used as a point of discussion later in the lecture when the 10 manageme nt strengths are covered. Questionnaire 2 : Management Weaknesses. The purpose of this questionnaire is for the studen ts to assess how they rate on the managerial weaknesses or fatal flaws discussed in the chapter. Interpretation of this score and comparative data can be found on page 55 of the text. (Only those students using the online Self -Assessment Library will hav e access to the continuously updated comparative data.) One suggestion is to have students talk about their highest scores and lowest scores. Additionally, this assessment can be used as a point of discussion later in the lecture when management weaknesse s are covered. Questionnaire 3 : Emotional Intelligence. The purpose of this assessment is to have students assess their level of emotional intelligence, which is discussed at the end of the chapter. Interpretation of th is score and comparative data can be found on page 58 of the text. (Only those students using the online Self - Assessment Library will have access to the continuously updated comparative data.) One suggestion is to have students talk about their highest scores and lowest scores. Addition ally, this assessment can be used as a point of discussion later in the lecture when emotional intelligence is covered. Furthermore, at the end of the chapter you may want to have students discuss their scores on Questionnaire 2 and 3 together since emoti onal intelligence is helpful in minimizing some of the aspects of the fatal flaws. Discover Knowledge This chapter opens with the story of Tami Heim of Thomas Nelson Publishing. It highlights how an individual will become an effective manager more quickly if he /she discovers his /her own unique set of strengths and capabilities and learns how to make the most of them in an organizational setting. Everyone has strengths but many fail to recognize and apply them. Only when one knows his/her strengths can these abilities be effectively applied in work and personal relationships. 1. Discover Your Strengths This section highlights Warren Buffett, who finds investing to be fun. It discusses the importance of finding what fits one ’s mental makeup and finding something that you love. These points are highlighted in the quotes found in Leading Words . a. Talent, Knowledge , and Skills Strength –arises from natural talent that is supported and reinforced with both learned knowledge and skills i. Natural Talent is a Starting Point Talents – your naturally recurring patterns of thought, feeling, or behavior which happen naturally and don’t need to be forced. ii. Add Knowledge to Put Talent to Use Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 5 Knowledge – facts, information, and experiences that are linked together to become meaningful. Facts and information become knowledge only when absorbed and linked with experience and applied. iii. Solidify Your Strengths with Skills Skills – accumulated knowledge that has been formalized into behavior steps needed to adequately perform an activity. Leading Words b. Why Discover Your Strengths? It is difficult for individuals to see themselves clearly. Most people tend to have an inflated or distorted view of themselves, but most people can enumerate their weaknesses much more readily than their strengths. i. The Role of Positive Psychology The area of Positive Psychology was founded by Martin Seligman in 1998. Positive Psychology includes 6 higher -level virtues that embodied 24 personal strengths, which are listed in Exhibit 1.1 Twenty -Four Person Character Strengths. 1. A personals signature strength would include: a. A sense of ownership of the strength b. A feeling of excitement while displaying or using the strength c. A rapid learning cure when using the strength d. A yearning to use the strength e. Invigoration rather than exhaustion when using the strength f. A felling of motivation to use the strength. ii. Focus on the Strengths Concentrate on your strengths, not your weaknesses. When engaged in one’s strengths, tasks, activities, and relationships proceed smoothly without much effort. When people use their strengths, they feel good because they are performing activities they en joy, that come without effort, and that provide feelings of self -efficacy. Self-efficacy – people feel they are being effective and making a positive contribution. 2. Ten strengths Related to Manager Performance This section begins with the story of Lani Hay who was medically disqualified from being a pilo t and flying with the Blue Angel s but went on to become the founder and CEO of Lanmark Technologies, a company that provides technological administrative support to a dozen or so U.S. government agencies. The story highlights the importance of key management strengths such as self -confidence, determination, focus, and initiative when starting a company. a. Self-confidence assurance in one’s own ideas, judgments, and capabilities. b. Emotional control – being able to keeps one’s emotions in check so that they don’t interfere with relationships and goal attainment. i. Self-restraint – the ability to think before one speaks or acts . Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 6 c. Focus – keep one ’s attention centered on a topic, situation, or task, screening out distractions and completing the job rather than becoming sidetracked by les s important activities. d. Objectivity – the ability to mentally stand back and take a bird’s eye view of self and others to understand the rational basis for how to solve a problem e. Relati onship Building – the ability to network and work with others. 7 Steps to…Fixing a Damaged Relationship 1. Determine the cause and strive for objectivity 2. Watch your step 3. Apologize like you mean it 4. Make the first move 5. Don’t give up too soon 6. Take personal responsibility 7. Know when to move on f. Initiative – having a strong capacity to begin an activity without procrastinating. g. Goal -Directed Mindset – ability to look forward and define a goal or vision for the future, then formulate plans to take action steps needed to accomplish it. h. Ability to Organize – capacity to arrange people, resources, ad activities into a system i. Time Management – the ability to appropriately estimate the amount of time needed to accomplish a project and to be able to juggle tasks in order to complete the most important jobs first and still have time to finish other necessary activities. j. Agility – ability to revise and adjust your plans and change course when faced with obstacl es, setbacks, new data, or mistakes. Interpre t your Score: Manager Strengths 3. What about Personal Weak Points or Limitations This section begins with the story of Michael Arrington who started TechCrunch , which publishes an influential tech blog. Since Arrington knew that he was weak in managing people , as the company grew , he hired Heather Harde to be CEO. The story highlights the importance of recognizing one’s weak points and how one can compensate for weaknesses. a. Internal Constraints Limit You Theory of constraints – every system or process has one or a few weaknesses that prevent it from achieving maximum performance i. Everyone Has Internal, Personal Constraints 1. There are minor constraints don’t affect one’s work or management ability 2. There are constraints that managers can hire someone else to do for them 3. There are maj or constraints that can prevent a manager from performing as needed ii. You Cannot Correct What You Don’t See or Understand iii. A Manager Who Lea rns to Minimize or Resolve a Significant Constraint Will Be a Winner Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 7 What’s Your Problem? This section presents a brief question about someone who dislikes working as a manager and provides a brief answer to his/her problem. b. The Problem of Poor People Ski lls i. Why Managers Derail 1. A few clues to the importance of people skills were found by The Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina. In a study of successful and derailed executives , they found that 75% of successful executives had good people skills. Only 25% of the derailed executives were described as having good people skills. ii. A Survey of Failures 1. In a survey of over 1,000 managers from approximately 100 organizations undergoing change , managers were asked: Based on your experience, why do managers fail to get the desired results in rapidly changing organizations? Exhibit 1.3 shows the ten most frequent causes of management failure as reflected by the survey 4. Six Killer Constraints This section begins with the story of Ruth Namie and her husband Gary who founded the Workplace Bullying Institute because they know first -hand how damaging it can be to work for a boss who is a bully. This story highlights that while everyone has weaknes ses, when a manager is a bully , employees and the company suffer. Exhibit 1.4 shows the Six Killer Constraints or Fatal Flaws. a. Never Feeling Good Enough Not having enough self -confidence can be damaging and can cause managers to sabotage themselves. Nega tive self -judgments limit potential and impair performance by blocking one’s underlying creativity and initiative. b. Being a Marshmallow When a person’s nurturing and care -giving goes beyond what is good for them or for those around them c. Running Roughshod Ov er Others Some people are dominant to an extreme. It is critically important to recognize when one is running a patter n or roughshod over others, as it is one of the most dangerous of the killer constraints. d. Playing Mr. Spock Some individuals sometimes do not recognize the role of human feelings and motivations in organizations. These individuals are typically highly rational and look at problems as objective issues to be solved, devoid of a complex human component. e. Demonstrating Low Self -Control Individu als with this behavior pattern are very easily distracted and lack self -discipline. They can’t stay focused on a long -term goal. f. Being Overly Critical Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 8 Individuals with an inner critic that is harsh in its view of other people. The person points out what is not working rather than what is working. Interpret Your Score: Manager Weaknesses 5. Using Emotional Intelligence to Avoid the Killer Constraint This section highlights Mike Krzyzewski, coach of the Duke University Blue Devils. His coaching style is emot ionally charged and he says he coaches “by feel.” This story highlights that his success is linked to his ability to build personal relationships with his players. Emotional Intelligence – person’s abilities to perceive, identify, understand, and successfully manage emotions in self and others. a. The Components of Emotional Intelligence Exhibit 1.5 illustrates the competencies and abilities of emotional intelligence i. Self-awareness – ability to recognize and understand one’s emotions and how they affect life and work ii. Self-Management – ability to control disruptive, unproductive , or harmful emotions and desires. iii. Social Awareness – one’s ability to understand others. People with this ability practice empathy, which is the ability to put themselves in other’s shoes. iv. Relationship Management – ability to connect with others and build positive relationships b. The Emotionally Competent Manager A manager using the components of emotional intelligence h as built a strong base for avoiding the six killer constraints. Emotional intelligence is important because a manager’s emotional state impacts the entire team, department, or organization. Emotional contagion – the “catching” of emotions from others . Interpret You r Score: Emotional Intelligence This provides the score in terpretation for Questionnaire 3 . 6. Need to Know a. You will develop into an effective manager more quickly if you discover your strengths and capabilities and learn how to make the most of the m. Everyone has natural talents, and you can turn your natural talents into strengths by supporting and reinforcing them with learned knowledge and skills. b. Ten strengths related to manager performance are self -confidence, emotion control, focus, objectivity, relationship building, initiative, goal directed mindset, ability to organize, time management, and agility. c. It is equally important for managers to understand limitations and weak points. Some personal weaknesses can be serious enough to cons train effective management and can derail a manager’s career. d. Having poor people skills is one of the most serious constraints for being an effective manager. e. One survey found that the top two causes of manager failure are poor communication and poor work relationships. Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 9 f. Six killer constraints, or fatal flaws, are: never feeling good enough, being a marshmallow (being too soft and nurturing), playing Mr. Spock (failing to feel or understand emotions), running roughshod over others, demonstrating low self -control, and being overly critical. g. Managers can develop emotional intelligence to overcome or avoid the six killer constraints. Four components of emotional intelligence are self awareness, self management, social awareness, and relationship management. Emot ional intelligence can be learned, and your success as a manager will depend as much or more on your emotional competence as on your technical abilities. Guide to Action Learning The Action Learning section allows students to put their new knowledge to practice. You will want to use some of these exercises in each chapter that is covered in the course. Be facilitators during the activities and provide guidance when needed. After each exercise debrief students to see if the concepts and applications they learned were appropriately applied in each activity. Consider having students individually respond to some questions about the activity, work in small groups to discuss what was learned from the activity , or have a class discussion around the activity. If the exercise did not go as planned or did not seem to work, acknowledge this and discuss with the class the problems that occurred during the activity. Deliberate Practice Ex ercises These exercises are either active or reflective. In the text there is a notation next to each exercise to indicate the type. These exercises are designed to be done outside of class and the students can bring in their results from completing the exercise. High Performance Strengths (Reflective) The purpose of this assignment is for students to identify their strengths. This links into the discussion in the chapter related to positive psychology and the idea that focusing on one’s strengths is important. When assigning this act ivity you may want to spend 2 -3 minutes in class asking whether students have any questions regarding the assignment. Use yourself as an example and identify a successful experience that you had and go through the 6 questions found in the chapter. Practice Your Strength (Active) The purpose of this activity is to have students focus on one strength for a week. After the students complete the activity, one option would be to have them turn in Steps 2 and 3 of the exercise. If you choose to discuss the activity in class, have students work in small groups to discuss what they learned from practicing their strength. Ask the students to volunteer some of what they found and have a class discussion around it. Your Killer Constraints (Reflective) The purpose of this activity is to have students identify their killer constraints. Ask them if they have any questions or concerns about the exercise . You want to encourage them t o be as honest as possible and Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 10 discuss how this will help them in the future. After the students complete the activity, one option would be to have them turn in Steps 2 and 3 of the exercise. Suggest that students think back to their responses to Questio nnaire 2 in the chapter or have them compare their results from the questionnaire to their responses to this exercise. In-Class Team Exercise These are team based exercises designed to have students put their new knowledge to practice. The first exercise , High Performance Strengths: Another Viewpoint , is in the text and the second exercise , Strength Impression , can be found under Free Online Resources in the Management CourseMate product . High Performance Strengths: Another Viewpoint The purpose of this exercise is to have students learn from others and to share their s trengths. This links into the Discover Your Strengths section in the beginning of the chapter and emphasize the importance of first identifying your strength so that yo u will be able to use it . Refer to the beginning of the chapter to stress the importance of identifying a person’s strength. Below are the instructions provided in the text for the exercise . Instructions: Divide into pairs or small groups as directed by your instructor. Take turns describing your High Performance stories from Deliberate Practice 1 above. Provide enough detail so the others will understand what you did and what you went through. Ask the other person(s) the two questions below and make no tes of the answers. Also take your turn providing feedback to the other person(s) about the high performance strengths that come through in their stories. Exercise Structure 1. Divide the class into pairs or small groups. I would suggest assigning the pairs or small groups so that students are not just talking with their friends. This can be done by having students count off or by just going down the class list and assigning gr oups. 2 minutes 2. Have each student share their strengths from the Deliberate Practice Exercise, “High Performance Strengths.” Make sure you emphasize that they need to provide enough details for others to understand what they did and what they went through. It is impor tant to get the students talking. If you find that students are hesitant to share, go around to the pairs/groups and help to facilitate the discussion. This can be done by simply asking them to share a High Performance story with you. You can ask a foll ow-up question, such as, H ow did you feel in the situation? 5-10 minutes 3. Have the students ask the questions provided in the text and make notes on the responses: • What patter ns does the person see in how you handled these 5-10 minutes Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 11 three situations? • What other ins ights can that person share about you and your strengths? Each student should also provide feedback to the other person about the high performance strengths that came through in the stories. 4. Class Discussion and Debriefing After the pairs/groups option would be to have some of the groups share w hat they found out from the discussions. Another option would be to write up some results on board for multiple groups and see if there are any patterns that developed or to see what the students think when looking at the results from multiple groups. Also, ask th e students : What they should do now that they have identified their strengths. Can they create a career around their strength? If they find this question challenging, have them think through or work in groups to help them answer this. For ins tance, if they say they find that their strength is organizing their friends to go out, suggest that they be an event coordinator or a party planner. Mention the individuals who are highlighted in the case for using their strengths such as Warren Buffett and Tami Heim. It is critical that students not only identify their strengths, but also to determine what they should do now that they have identified them. 10 minutes Estimated Total Time Depending on the size of the groups estimated time can vary. You would want to allocate at least 5 -10 minutes per student in the group. If a group is particularly quite you may want to encourage conversation by engaging the group and helping to get the d iscussion started. The debriefing of the exercise may vary depe nding on how detailed of a wrap -up you want. 22-27 Minutes Strength Impressions This exercise can be found under Free Online Resources in the Management CourseMate product. The purpose of this exercise is to have students identify the strengths of others and also to see what strengths others identify in them. Bring some copies of the table to class or post it up on the board so students can see the table they will be completing . 1. Instructio ns: Divide into groups of four. You should be in a group with people you either d o not know at all or don’t know very well. 2. Refer to Exhibit 1.1 in the chapter. 3. Based on your first or early impressions, choose two strengths for each of the other three people in your group. Write them down below. Be prepared to explain to each person why you chose that particular strength for that person. Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 12 Person’s name Strength #1 Strength #2 1. 2. 3. 4. Someone should volunteer to go first. If that person is Peter, for example, the other three people will go around the group, one by one, and each say ONE of the strengths they put down for Peter and why. Peter can ask one or two questions. Then move on to the next person, who will hear what the other s think is her strengths. When you’ve gone through everyone, start over. By the time you are finished, everyone will have shared the two strengths they listed for each group member. 5. Write the strengths below that others ascribed to you. List the strength s they said you have What reason they gave to ascertain that you have this strength ? 6. As a group, discuss: a. What did you learn about your own strengths? b. What did you learn about first impressions? c. What kinds of behaviors do you exhibit that makes people identify the strengths they chose for you? Exercise Structure 1. Divide the class into groups of four . I would suggest assigning the groups so that students are not just talking with their friends . This can be done by having students count off or by just going down the class list and assigning groups. Alternatively, you can tell students to form groups with people they do not know as well . If there is an odd number try to keep the groups the same size and around 3 -5 students. Tell them they will need to have their textbooks with them when they are in the groups. At least one person should have a book in each group. 2 minutes 2. Have the groups refer to Exhibit 1.1: Twenty -Four Personal Character 5 minutes Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 13 Strengths, in the Chapter and instruct each student to choose two strengths for each of the other three people in the group and write them in the table provided. As sure them that if they do not know the others in their group well, they should use their first impressions of the students. Each student should be prepared to explain to each of their group members why they cho se the strength . 3. After each student has completed the t ask, ask one person in the group to go first and share ONE strength they put down for each individual in the group. If that person is Peter, for example, the other three people will go around the group, one by one, and each say ONE of the strengths they p ut down for Peter and why. Peter can ask one or two questions. Then move on to the next person, who will hear what the others think are her strengths. During the activity, walk around the groups and make sure they are following the directions and ask ing if they have any questions. Help facilitate the discussion in any of the groups that are quiet by helping students figure out good questions to ask. Once students have completed the exercise ask for volunteers to share what they have found. This can be done by having one person share all the strengths others identified in him/her. Or you could have one person identify the strengths they saw in each of their group members and describe how they saw each strength. 10 minutes 4. When t he group has gone through everyone, start over. By the time the activity is finished, everyone will have shared the two strengths they listed for each group member. 10 minutes 5. Have each student write down the strengths the others ascribed to them in the table prov ided 5 minutes 6. Class Discussion and Debriefing As part of the debriefing, refer the students to the beginning of the chapter which discusses strengths and positive psychology. Also, at this point you can discuss objectivity. Asking the following questions will help to facilitate the discussion : a. Do you think that others ’ assessments of your strengths were accurate? b. How do the assessments of others compare to your self - assessment of your strengths which you identified in the Deliberate Practice: Exercise High Performance Strengths ? c. How did the assessment relate to Questionnaire 1: Manager Strengths? Then discuss how h aving objectivity is important and being able to identify the strengths others see will help in using them. If students don’t find the assessment of their strengths as accurate, ask them 10 minutes Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 14 why. What did they see that was inaccurate? Remind them that they completed the survey so either they are not really seeing their strengths or they are not being honest on the assessment. Estimated Total Time 32 Minutes Field Team Exercise The field exercises are designed to be done outside of class and may take a significant amount of time. Consider determining at the beginning of the semest er how many of these you would like to assign during the semester. The intent of the authors is not to have students c omplete every Field Team Exercise , but one is included in each chapter. Popular Media and Strengths The purpose of this exercise is for students to identify how positive and negative characteristics that they can see in others by viewing movies and to work together as a team. You can assign the teams or let them pick the teams. The directions in the text for the exercise are provided below: As a group, watch one movie that has at least one positive and at least one not -too-positive character. Fill out the table below, completing column A on your own. Then fill out column B as a group. When you assign this exercise in class allocate about 2 -3 minutes to explain the assignment , allow the students to ask questions , and assign teams. Then, g uide the teams in selecting the movie by suggesting any of the Harry Potter stories, Star Wars , Lord of the Rings , almost any Disney animate d film , Margin Call, Drive , Gone Baby Gone . One option is to have each group watch a different movi e. If the movie is from a series, such as Harry Potter , consider having only one group using a Harry Potter movie since many of the same good and evil characters appear in the multiple movies. Another option is to have each group analyze a different Harr y Potter , then have a group discussion of how the characters changed or evolved during the series. Emphasize to the students that they need to answer 7 questions provided on page 64 of the text. They first respond individually (column A), then they dis cuss their responses with the group and record the group responses (Column B), and then after these two columns are completed they record their own thoughts (Column C). For this last column you can tell students to write down such things as if they agreed or disagreed with the group or if they changed their response to the question after talking with the group. Have the students focus on the characters and encourage them to watch the movie more than once. It may be best if students watch the movie individually and take notes, so they are no t influenced by their teammates’ comments. If they watch the movie as a grou p, tell them not to discuss what they observe until after they have completed Column A of the exercise. Column C should be completed after they discuss the characters with their teammates. The students should have their textbooks with them when Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 15 they watc h the movie, so that they can refer to the specific strengths and weaknesses that are identified in the chapter. If you choose to discuss this activity in class after it is completed, allocate 10 -20 minutes for each team to share what they found from co mpleting the exercise. You may find the groups very talkative since they likely will want to talk about the characters in the movie. One way of guiding the discussion is to ask the students the following questions: Had they seen the movie before? Did the y watch it more than once? What was different about watching the movie from the perspective of analyzing the characters? If they had to create a character with positive characteristics and not -so-positive characteristics, what traits would they possess ? Alternative Assignment: When the exercise is completed, have each group write a summary of their results and present their findings in class. When they present, you can use the questions above to guide a discussion after the presentations. Test Your Mettl e This section test s the students further by applying their new knowledge to problems role plays and cases. Consider videotaping some of the exercises such as the role plays. These videos can be shown to the class after the exercise is completed as a way of analyzing and discussing the case. It is important to be sensitive to the students in the class because not all will be comfortable in the role plays or being videotaped. Role Play Exercises The role plays should be used during class. The primary focus of role plays is to have the student as practitioner, emphasizing the application of management/organization concepts to actual circumstances. Additionally, active classroom participation creates a more positive learning environment and increases se lf-awareness. It is recommended that you read all the roles and the instructions before the class session. One of the challenging aspects of running role plays in class is getting students to get into character and really get involved. One option is to c onduct the first few role plays in class with one group in the front and the rest of the class observing. Another option is to ask for volunteers for the first role play conducted in class in order to get students who want to participate in the role play, but do not limit all role plays to those who want to volunteer to avoid the same students being the only role play participants . Additionally, provide some incentive for the students to get into their role. For instance, have the class vot e on “Best Actor” in the role play after it is completed. Consider having the students work in small groups and assign the specifi c roles or have them pick a role . Those not assigned specific roles may be observers who have to take notes and/or critique the role play. Make sure that students rotate between observing and playing roles. Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 16 You should emphasize that students should only read their role. The first role play in the chapter , Bakery Rivalry , refers to the Video Incident at the beginning of the chapter. If you find that students are not getting actively involved in the role plays, you may place yourself in a minor role in the role play to facilitate the role play. Bakery Rivalry This case builds on the Video Incident at the beginning of the chapter. Consider reshowing or reviewing the video before the role play. The instructions provided in the text are below: Re-read the case study at the beginning of the chapter. Your instructor will assign class members to play the roles of Jane Sutton, CEO, Carrie Fishman, Director of Operations, Jason Wong, Sales Manager, and Carlos Hernandez, CFO. The setting is the meeting room where the action takes place. Jane has called everyone in to their weekly staff meeting, starting at 10 AM. Role P lay Structure 1. Assign the roles of Jane, Carrie, Jason, Heather and Carlos. If you are doing this in groups you should make the groups at least 6 in size so that you have at least one observer . Alternatively, this role play can be done in the front of the class with those who are not selected to play roles being observers. 5 minutes 2. Allow time for each person to think about their role and how they are going to portray their character in the meeting. Have them think about the most important thing they want to accomplish during the meeting. Give each person some time to write down some notes. Students should be encouraged to really ta ke on their role. A way to assist them into getting into their role would be to allow them some to time look through their role and determine if their character has any of the Ten Management Strengths or Six Killer Constraints discussed in the chapter a nd if their character shows a high or low level of emotional intelligence. Those observing the role play should not read the role play parts. They should take notes during the role play and try to identify the characteristics they see in each individua l. Have them answer the following questions: a. What managerial strengths do you see? And how do you see them? b. What managerial weaknesses do you see? And how did you see them? c. Did you see anyone display emotional intelligence? If so, when and how? If the role play is conducted in front of the class, one option is to 5-10 minutes Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 17 assign specific people in the class to focus on analyze a specific character. For instance, you could have three people who are analyzing Jan Sutton and have them answer the above quest ions for just Jane. Alternative structure: Consider having everyone who is playing Jan Sutton meet in a group to analyze her characteristics, while everyone portraying Carrie Fishman does the same and so forth. At this time the observers could work to gether to analyze the questions and discuss what they are looking for while the role play is occurring. Be careful using this structure because it may cause everyone who each character to respond the same . 3. Conduct the role play. During the role play observe the interaction of the students and take notice of how the students are portraying their roles. S ee what evidence you see of the managerial strengths and weaknesses, as well as if you see evidence of emotional intelligence. W hatever you observe, you will want to share with the class during the debriefing. 10-20 minutes 4. Class Discussion and Debriefing At the end of the exercise share with the class all the information provided for each role. Ask those who portrayed each character if it would have changed how they acted had they known the information about the other characters. If so, how would they ha ve acted differently? Discuss how we don’t always know others ’ motives and how often , as a manager , we are working with incomplete information. 10 minutes Estimated Total Time Estimated time may vary depending on how involved the students get with the role play and how detailed a discussion and debriefing you conduct after the role play. 28-42 Minutes Out of Control Below are the instructions for t he second role play , Out of Control , which is found on line under Free Online Resources in the Management CourseMate product . This is a two -person role -play. Your instructor may ask two people to do the role play for the whole class or to divide into groups of 3 -4, with 1 -2 persons as observers. In the role play, one person is Chris, the boss, and the other person is Pat, the direct report. Confidential information for Chris, the boss: Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 18 Your employee, Pat, has been doing research and reports for 18 months and you’ve been very pleased with the quality of the work. Then something happened. In the pa st six weeks, Pat’s work has slipped, turning in reports past deadline and coming in late. You suspect the married Pat must be involved in an affair, but you have no hard evidence for this, only your intuition. Plus you know you cannot ask direct questio ns about such topics, so you don’t really know what is going on. You’d like to avoid firing Pat, but you are ready to do this if there is not a good explanation. The previous two talks you’ve had with Pat did not bring any improvements. Knowing Pat is ca pable of a good job, as well as your knowledge that the job market in this area is very tight, you are hoping you can keep Pat employed. But only if there is a good reason for the slippage. Talking nicely to Pat has not worked, so you’ve decided to take a hard line today. Confidential information for Pat, the employee: Your boss, Chris, has asked you for a meeting —again. You are tired of the nagging and complaining. Chris has used your good writing in the past as a means of Chris’s advancement in the co mpany. You suspect Chris has even passed on your writing as Chris’s, but you don’t know this for certain. To bring this up, if it weren’t true, would create lots of tension. So you keep your mouth shut. You know you’ve done a good job. Recently, though, your alcoholic spouse has required a lot of attention. This is something you don’t want anyone to know about. Not only would it make you look bad in the eyes of others, but this knowledge would humiliate your spouse, who would likely descend into a worse alcoholic depression. Maybe you’ve turned in a few reports late. So what? Chris underpays you, anyway, and seems to have become unreasonably demanding. Still, you can’t lose this job, because your spouse needs the health insurance for detox and recovery. So, you better come up with some strong language to let Chris know you are tired of the nagging. Leave you alone so you can get your work done! After the role play, discuss these questions: 1. How did each person handle self -restraint and emotional contro l? 2. When did those behaviors work? 3. When were they ineffective? 4. What are common mistakes people make in controlling their own emotions? Role Play Structure 1. You should break the students into small groups of 3 -4, with 1 -2 people as observers. If you hav e larger groups, assign more observe rs. 2 minutes 2. Assign the role of Chris and the role of Pat to students in each group. Once roles are assigned, allow each person a few minutes to think about their role and how they are going to portray their character in the meeting. Have them think about the most im portant thing they want to accomplish during the meeting. Give each person some time to write down some notes. Students should be encouraged to really take on their role. Those observing the role play should not read the role play parts. Have the obser vers focus on the strengths and 5-10 minutes Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 19 weakness that they see and if they see any evidence of emotional intelligence. They should take notes during the role play. I f the role play is conducted in front of the class, assign half the observe rs to take notes on Chr is and half to take notes on Pat. 3. Conduct the role play. During the role play observe the interactions of the students and take notice of how the students are portraying their roles . See what evidence you see of the managerial strength s and weaknesses, as well as if you see evidence of emotional intelligence. Whatever you observe, share with the class during the debriefing. 10 minutes 4. Class Discussion and Debriefing After the role play is completed, have the observers share what they saw during the role play and related t o the four questions provided: 1. How did each person handle self -restraint and emotional control? 2. When did those behaviors work? 3. When were they ineffective? 4. What are common mistakes people make in controlling their own emotions? At the end of the role play highlight how the role play addresses the importance of emotional intelligence. Ask if they saw any of the killer constraints displayed. For instance, is Chris being overly critical of Pat? Also, share with the class all the information provided for each role. Ask those who portrayed each character if it would have changed how they acted had they known the information about the other characters. If so, how would they have acted differently? Consider m ention ing that we don’t always know other s’ motives and often as a manager we are working with incomplete information. 10 minutes Estimated Total Time 22-27 Minutes Video Application Strengths and Weaknesses at Modern Shed After showing students the video clip of Modern Shed: Managerial Planning and Goal Setting, discuss the following questions: 1. What do you consider Scott Pearl’s management strengths? How is Pearl taking advantage of his strengths? Can you detect any management weaknesses? Explain. Encourage students to think in terms of talents, knowledge, and skills. Ryan, the company owner, describes some of Scott’s natural ta lents and personality traits, such as being subtle, Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 20 steady, thoughtful, and focused. Scott himself also indicates some of his natural talents for prioritizing and creative thinking. From his description, students should also be able to identify Scott’s are as of knowledge that come from his ability to research, and they should point to Scott’s skills in setting goals, listening to the market, and listening to others. Scott also exhibits many of the 10 strengths, including confidence, focus, ability to build relationships, initiative, goal -directed mindset, organized, and effective time management. Scott is using all of these strengths to drive sales at Modern Shed. Students may have difficulty identifying any weaknesses in this self -aware and socially aware p erson. 2. How would you say Pearl’s strengths differ from those of Modern Shed’s founder, Ryan Smith? How do you think the two management styles might complement each other? Relatively little is revealed about Ryan’s strengths, except that he does have a clear vision of where he’d like to take his company. Students might be able to deduce from Scott’s comments that Ryan was overly focused on creating and designing the product, and was not as focused on sales as he could have been. But then this is part of what is making their relationship successful —they each have complementary areas of talent, knowledge, and skill. 3. Would you rather work for Smith or Pearl? Why? Students’ opinions may vary but should reflect some thoughtful analysis . Some may like the fac t that Scott Pearl is subtle and steady, while others may think he’s overly driven and wonder if he push es his employees too hard for results. Ryan Smith, on the other hand, appreciates his employees’ strengths and is very complimentary, yet some students might say they’d find it challenging to work for someone who is more focused on the product than the overall business. Case Inci dents The students should read and prepare responses to the case incidents outside of class. You may have them turn in a written assignment for each case answering the questions at the end of the case. The cases can also be used as a discussion in class. Students can work in pairs or small groups to discuss how they responded to each question. MacLuren ’s/Gold Group Salons Discussion Questions: 1. What positive and negative managerial traits does Ta’Shauna possess? The case provides a few details about Ta’Shauna that indicate she is a good worker , such as her experience and skill as a hairdresser, her large client base while a hairdresser , and her willingness to work long hours. Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 21 While these points indicate she is a good worker, being a manager isn’t the same as being a good worker. However, she does possess a few positive management traits. She has a goal - directed mindset , which is seen in her ability to move up in the organization and her desire to more up even further by applying for the Riverwood Mal l job. She has the ability to organize which is evident in that she oversees a staff of 30 in a variety of positions. She has shown that she can build relationships since hairdressers want to work for her and she contacts another manager to discuss her p roblems. She shows some initiative and time management ability by prioritizing the report and deciding to deal with Holly and Carol Jean another day. On the negative side, Ta’Shauna seems to lose her focus when she gets distracted to deal with the angry customer. A big part of managerial work as described in the introductory chapter is dealing with distractions. Other negative traits she displays include a lack of emotional control by snapping at her staff. A negative or sharp overreaction toward a direc t report can damage the relationship. She indicates that she is a marshmallow since she is allowing Holly and Carol Jean to get away with missing work, and Ta’Shauna states that she wishes she had the “guts” to fire them. She seems to lack self-confidence because she is concerned that Victoria will take away her dream job. She may also lack the ability to look at herself with objectivity since she seems to have had some success as a manager (others state that she is a manager who works very hard ), but she is still concerned that she won’t get the Riverwood Mall position. This also shows that she may never feel good enough , which is one of the killer constraints. 2. How do these traits help or hinder her potential to get to the top position at the Riverwood Mall? This is a question where students should apply the traits they identified in Question 1. Students should think about how both the positive and negative traits identified may be viewed by those responsible for hiri ng at the Riverwood Mall. For instance, Ta’Shauna’s ability to organize and her goal direction should work on her behalf. Others see this too since they refer to her as a hard working manager. But her tendency to overreact would likely harm relationships (emotional control ) and not holding people accountable (marshmallow ) would hurt performance, both of which would probably not fit a higher -level salon. Furthermore , if she never feels good enough or lacks objectivity about her performance, then others ma y see that she lacks self-confidence and may be concerned how she will handle a busier salon. 3. How do you think Ta’Shauna should have handled each of the following scenarios? Marianne Holly and Carol Jean Victoria You may want to have students debate or d iscuss what they would do for each person. There isn’t a right or wrong answer to this question, but there are multiple possibilities. Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 22 For Marianne, you should exp ect students to mention Ta Shaun a’s lack of emotional intelligence . Additionally, if the case is discussed in class, you may first want to ask the students if they have ever been snapped at and how it felt or the impact it had on them. Then you could ask students to think about how Marianne felt when she was snapped at just for delivering a m essage. Then you could ask how else Ta’Shauna might have handled the situation using the skills specifically outlined in the chapter. If the students do not make the connec tion to the chapter topics, you may want to guide them to reviewing the emotional intelligence section. In the case of Holly and Carol Jean, you may ask the students what should be done if they do not provide documentation for being sick. A few students could be assigned to the alternatives of: a. Whether to fire Holly and Carol Jean b. Whether to discipline them in some other way c. Whether to let the incident go Students should be asked to think about the implications for each action. You could then have the students defend their position s and try to convince others in the class why their action is appropriate. With Victoria, you may want to survey the class first to see if they think Ta’Shauna is reacting appropriately or over reacting to Victoria’s helpfulness. Is Ta’Shauna assuming cor rectly that Victoria is looking to apply for the Riverwood Mall job? What is the cause of her assumption? It would also be good to ask students to think about what problems might arise if Ta’Shauna stops delegating tasks to Victoria. 100 Days The point of this case is to see a manager ’s thoughts and feelings from the inside out and to assess potential manager strengths and weaknesses from this perspective. 1. What do you make of Michael Collins’ approach to management? How would you characterize his style? At the end of the case Collins characterizes his approa ch to management as being hands -on and he considers himself a Renaissance man. He mentions that he generates ideas and expects follow -up and accountability and he sets the bar high. You can ask students to address if they believe this is true based on reading the case. It seems that when Collins is focused on what he loves, such as marketing, he is very hands on, but managing a business is not just marketing and he doesn’t se em to enjoy interacting with his employees who have complaints. So it is a bit unclear whether he is truly being objective about his assessment of himself. Also, Collins might have a management style that is a little bit like Mr. Spock because he does no t seem tuned into people’s feelings and he could be showing some signs of Running Roughshod Over Others . 2. What specific strengths and weaknesses can you identify within Collins? Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 23 Throughout the article it is clear that he loves marketing, not management. When he is doing what he loves it comes easy to him, such as his discussion with the marketing staff exploring customer satisfaction levels. When he is not using this strength but when he is trying to manage, he is exhausted. This exhaustion is seen in h is series of interviews with the employees, and suggest s that he is impatient, which is part of emotion control . He does have focus and initiative . He wants to take initiative to implement change and he does not seem to procrastinate . He also mentions that he has good connections , which show s a strong peer relationship building , a positive characteristic of a manager. However , he does not seem to want to build relationships with his subordinates, since he does not enjoy the meetings he has with them. Furthermore, he may be overly critical since he refers to his discussions with some of them as “rants ” and shows some signs of being a Mr. Spock , since he doesn’t seem to care about his subordinates’ emotions . 3. What do you forecast about the fut ure success of Collins’ region? What is the basis for your forecast? Collins’ knowledge and experience with marketing suggest that a good outcome in the region is possible. He has great ideas to implement that may improve performance. His industry conne ctions should also help him have a positive outcome. However, his lack of interest in subordinates may suggest a problem getting people to buy in to his new ideas. So while he has initiative, p oor relationships with direct reports could spell trouble in the long run. Furthermore, if he becomes so focused on his way of doing things he may be Running Roughshod Over Others , which is an extremely problematic fatal flaw. You should encourage students to use the information they provided in Questions 1 and 2 t o help them de velop their forecast for Collin s. You may also redirect the question during the discussion to see what people think he will have to improve upon in order to be successful. You can ask students which of the management strengths he is missing . You may ask them if they see any indication that he has any of the fatal flaws and if so, how he could fix or compensate for this flaw. You may want to direct the conversation back to the section What About Personal Weak Points or Limitations? And have the class discuss how Collins can compensate for his limitations. Personal Skills Log This log is a valuable tool where students can write down and crystallize their learning “takeaway” for each activity completed. The authors of the text sometimes ask students to complete one or two relevant rows of the log during the last few minutes of class. Other times it works well to have students complete some rows outside of class. The Personal Skills Log proved to have very high value for our students’ learni ng, perhaps because student insights often disappear if not written down. Crystallizing what they learned in order to write it down increases engagement and retention. Chapter 1: Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 24 Additional Assignment : At the end of the course, an excellent assignment is to ask students to write a short paper analyzing the patterns and themes they can find within each vertical column (e.g., takeaway column, strength, weakness, and application columns) across all the logs. For example, students would study all their entries in th e “strengths” column to find underlying patterns in their perceived strengths across the semester. Students can be advised to make a copy of the log sheets so they can study each vertical column for all the logs simultaneously This activity captures and s ummarizes each student’s major learning patterns from the entire term and provides new self -insight as well. Chapter 2 : Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses 1 Chapter 2 Your Manager Strengths and Weaknesses Chapter Outline 1. Manager Challenge Video Incident: Never Good Enough 2. Discover Yourself Questionnaire 1 Questionnaire 2 Questionnaire 3 Questionnaire 4 Questionnaire 5 GO ONLINE to find additional questionnaires 3. Discover Knowledge Know Yourself The Importance of Self -Awareness What’s Your Problem? Interpre t your Score: Johari Window Key Individual Differences Interpret Y our Score: Big Five Personality Dimensions 7 Steps to… Interpret Y our Score: Herrman Whole Brain Model Thin king Styles Interpret Y our Score: Jung Personality Typology Underlying Values Interpret Your Score: Rokeach’s Instrumental and End Values Leading Word s Using Self -Awareness to Build Management Skills Need to Know 4. Action Learning Deliberate Practice Exercises In-Class Team Exercises Field Team Exercise 5. Test Your Mettle Role Play Simulations Video Application Case Incidents 6. Personal Skills Log 7. References Teaching Notes