Final Course Summary

Management is a course that seeks to introduce the student to the world of corporate and organizational management with a focus on the roles functions and responsibilities of a manager , as well as introduce how effective management often results to organizational success and competitive advantage . I had enrolled in this course with a basic knowledge of management and it comprised of how managers are thought to be the leaders of the organization . I have always associated management with leadership because popular media and most articles refer to CEO 's and managers as

leaders . I was surprised when in just a few days of class , the instructor was quick to point out that we would discover in this class that leadership and management are completely different concepts but at the same time are related and intertwined . And true to his words , I did come out of this class more able to distinguish what is management and how different it is from leadership . Moreover , I also have a number of realizations and insights that I believe had prepared me for the more specific management courses that I might be taking in the following terms

I now know that management has numerous functions that are all geared towards planning , monitoring , controlling and motivating the organization or a group . One of the key management functions is to make sure that the organization is functioning effectively , all organizational units are operating efficiently and to set-up procedures and systems that would ensure the continuous operation of the organization . In relation to this , I realized that leadership is a skill that a manager should be able to possess and to use it to motivate and plan for the organization . However , I also realized that leadership is a skill that each person can possess and develop even if he /she is not a manager or have any management functions

Leadership has different styles and a leader subscribes to this leadership style as a matter of individual choice . Some leadership style work well with certain groups of people while others would not , this tells me that a manager should be able to use leadership styles depending on the characteristics of the group he /she is leading

I also learned that management styles should not be a fixed trait and that an effective manager has the ability to change and apply certain management styles based on the kind of group or teams that the manager is handling . Moreover , a manger may have several management traits that are intertwined to produce a certain management style that is unique to him /her self

Managing is a complex process it is a tough job that some people are more suited to become than others . Most of the self-assessment exercises that we had during the course had made me realize that I can probably be an effective manager but it would probably take a lot of training and learning for that to happen

I learned that adults are more difficult to train and manage...