SELF-REFLECTIVE PORTFOLIO
SELF-REFLECTIVE PORTFOLIO
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SELF-REFLECTIVE PORTFOLIO
Pre-subject Reflection
Before enrolling for this subject (Managing, Leading, and Stewardship), I assumed that managing is all about controlling and monitoring activities and ensuring that the team members execute assigned tasks according to the team leader’s instructions and decisions. On the other hand, leading entails the activities that outline strategies and a common goal of the firm and getting inspiration to achieve that common goal. That leading depends on the leader’s strategic vision. While stewardship involves not having knowledge and experience about managing and leading.
I expect the subject to teach me about managing and leadership concepts to help me climb the leadership ladder successfully. Climbing the leadership ladder entails job promotion, and it stands in for the career and life success that everyone desires. When I just read the name of the subject, I felt that I would be able to learn enough about how to tackle employee disagreements, inspire them, and lead them effectively. Therefore, I hope I will be able to acquire such leadership skills. What I’m not sure about this subject is definitions and differences in managing, leading, and stewardship, and it usually confuses me. I do hope I will be able to learn about existing differences in managing, leading, and stewardship deeply. Learning that will help me confirm my assumptions about managing, leading, and stewardship. Before enrolling in this subject, I had gathered much experience in the management field by meeting various directors and managers with distinct personalities and knowledge from different companies. The lesson I acquired enabled me to enroll in the subject.
As a newly promoted supervisor with only one and a half years of experience, the promotion plunged me into many challenges. The challenges that I experienced in my career included feeling pressured due to the change in my role in the managerial position. Senior employees had many misconceptions about my supervisory skills and experience, and it was a challenge for me when I was promoted. In this case, I felt so pressured that I couldn’t even lead my team members. Additionally, when I had different opinions about the views or strategies of the senior employees, I found them not caring about my ideas. It was, therefore, difficult to deliver my thoughts, and for sure, they had backups to reject my ideas. Therefore I hope the subject will help me sort such cases.
Moreover, as a recently promoted young manager, I was happy to be promoted, of course, but the issue of regional discrimination was pressuring me. Regional discrimination was not my appetite at all when it comes to developing employees. In our organization, I understood that employees from the same region with the company’s directors have the upper hand when it comes to promotion. So when I was promoted, several questions were pressuring my mind if I could accept the offer and stay in the same company or leave it and seek new job opportunities. Due to such pressures, I needed to know what it means when managing, leading, and stewardship in the organization, and I hope I will learn from this subject.
Furthermore, in the past years, the economy of China aggressively increased; hence the sales volume of our company increased. But recently, the economy has been decreasing, and it negatively reduced our sales volume, which created disagreements between the marketing and the sales department. Since I was working in the sales department as the supervisor, I didn’t know much about the marketing department. Surprisingly I did not know how to communicate with the marketing department staff to solve the issue. I hope the subject will help me understand how to tackle such a problem in our company. I hope at the end of the subject, I will be able to communicate and hold consultative meetings with my employees. The subject of Managing, Leading, and Stewardship seems to be the foundation of the ability to work efficiently, leading, and managing skills, and thus I hope that I will acquire them at the end of the subject.
As a supervisor in the sales department, we had to go overtime to boost our sales. However, the company must pay employees for working overtime as part of complying with the government directive. But, they were not paid since the organization was focusing much on the profits. Additionally, working overtime subjected the employees more to harsh working conditions and raised the employees’ safety issues. Despite such poor working conditions and no pay for overtime, employees would not complain since they would be replaced immediately to prevent production interference as the company was focusing on boosting sales. Such situations confused me about how I can successfully manage and lead my team and how to ethically increase the efficiency of my employees to meet the needed sales volume. Therefore I expect this subject to help me tackle such situations efficiently and effectively for the benefit of us all that is the organization and the employees.
Additionally, I need to learn about the origin of managing, leading, and stewardship. The originality of managing, leading, and stewardship and its definitions will help me amalgamate know-how in regards to leadership and the management. I also hope to understand the management power and politics. Lastly, I do hope I will appreciate some of the theories found in the subject as well as its applications and assumptions. The critical areas related to managing, leading, and stewardship that are of my concern are the key differences between managing, leading, and stewardship and application of its theories in the practical leadership and management field.
Mid-Subject Reflection
At this stage of my studies, I have learned about the theories of managing, leading, and stewardship. Also, I have learned about their definitions and differences. My earlier assumptions that I had in my mind before I enrolled for the subject have now been confirmed. But in some ways, it has been challenged. My initial assumptions about the subject clicked with those in the class resources. The class discussions, lectures, and reading have deepened my understanding of managing, leading, and stewardship. The book of Ann Cunliffe and J.T Luhman (2012) has helped me increase my knowledge of the organizational theories’ crucial concepts and how they are influencing the management of the organization. The book has made me consider the importance of understanding the organization’s theories as to the foundation of managing, leading, and stewardship. It has also helped me recognize the importance of experience in corporate management practice. The book of Ann Cunliffe (2014) has helped me learn about legitimacy as the fundamental principle in organizational management. It has made me consider the significance of legitimacy in corporate management practices.
When the organization supports and conforms to the values, expectations, and social norms, legitimacy is awarded to such an organization (Cunliffe 2014, p. 88). Therefore, the organization needs to support the rights of their employees. Hazardous work environment jeopardizes the health and safety of employees; thus, as a decent leader, I believe it is our responsibility to ensure that our employees are working in a safe environment. Cunliffe (2014, p. 131) notes that employees need to be provided with a better working environment. Employees need to be protected from any form of harassment and violence. I now believe that the leader should be responsible for taking care of the employees’ health and safety apart from making profits for the company. In this case, the book has enriched my management perspectives.
According to Cunliffe (2014, p. 90), legitimacy can be derived locally and globally. To earn legitimacy, the organization should not push their employees to work overtime without any payment. In my supervisory role, I drove my team to work overtime to achieve the company’s sales target. But, now I believe that it is not morally right to push them as it is a means of overloading them and would possibly rise to disapproval and dissatisfaction of my management; thus, legitimacy will not be earned. In the future, l will strive to ensure my employee’s welfare is well taken care of within my scope of authority in the organization. There is also a need to pay much attention to the employees’ working environment by creating an enjoyable and relaxed working environment. Now, I believe that focusing on the safe working environment in the organization; helps boost the employees’ morale. It also increases work effectiveness in the organization and reduces employees’ disagreements since it improves work discipline. Therefore, the class resource has enriched my management approach.
According to Cunliffe and Luhman (2012, p. 42), stewardship is concerned with moral responsibility and legacy that benefit the higher good of employees and the organization. When a person does so, it is because of a higher level of satisfaction. The stewardship theory has supported the concerns of stewardship. According to Davis et al. (1997, p. 20), people are naturally inspired to work for companies to realize assigned duties and responsibilities. It also argues that people are not individualistic; instead, they are pro-organizational towards the achievement of societal, group, or organizational goals. It also depicts followers as trustworthy and collectivist. Stewardship theory has helped me to understand different behaviors of the management in the organization. I now understand that as a leader, I should weigh different perspectives to arrive at the optimal decision that benefits all my followers and the organization. Also, I should arrive at a management solution that promotes collectiveness and trust in the organization since my followers will act on what I will decide. Doing so boosts the moral and personal responsibility of my followers. Such resources have enriched my understanding of what stewardship theory is all about in the field of management.
According to Hernandez (2008, p. 121), stewardship promotes personal responsibility for the benefit of society and the organization. Building moral courage and institutional trust foster stewardship in the organization. Therefore, I now do understand that, as the leader, promoting stewardship behavior in our organization helps build moral courage and personal responsibility among our employees hence boosting employee ethical practices. Leaders also need to inspire their followers to execute assigned duties effectively and efficiently. In this case, I understand the importance of stewardship in management.
According to Messick and Bazerman (1996, p. 9), today’s business management is challenged with ethical requirements. The business executives are challenged by the trade-off between the company’s ethics and profits, which may result in poor decision-making by disregarding other people’s welfare and interests. Also, the manager’s beliefs may affect the managerial decision-making process. Messick and Bazerman provided moral guidance to the organizational executives on how to identify unethical situations and enhance them in making quality ethical decisions. Through this book, I now understand what stewardship is: making decisions that take care of others’ welfare and interests apart from taking care of the organizational benefits. It has enriched my understanding of what is needed for making better and informed management decisions in the organization while tackling its challenges.
Post-Subject Reflection
After this subject, I can look back and think of my assumptions about managing, leading, and stewardship, and now I can see a higher level of insight into how these concepts interweave. I see my journey towards management roles in the company has been shaped significantly by the different thoughts and ideas and management theories we discussed in the class, what I read and watched, and class lectures.
One of the business management issues currently is about female employees taking managerial roles, which were presumed to be male employees. During the class and group discussions, many classmates suggested different thoughts and ideas on the issue of management discrimination and the parts of female employees. An example of such cases is that a female management team presumed that more and more companies in Australia would give an upper hand to female employees when it comes to job opportunities and promotions. The reason is that females have the upper hand in administrative positions, accounting, and human resources in such companies. Additionally, compared to male executives, female executives are much more logical as well as they can easily communicate with the employees. Before my class attendance, I was ignorant about the roles and abilities of female executives and employees in an organization. But now I feel enriched as far as female employees’ managerial positions are concerned. After such class discussions, I think the company’s management team should focus more on female employees and ensure gender balance is maintained. From my job experience, 70 percent of employees in the sales department were male because it involved many business trips, and the job was stressful. Due to the nature of the sales position, a large number of tasks were assigned to the male employees. Now, I have gained a more in-depth understanding of the importance of female employees in business management; therefore, in the future, I will pay more attention to female employees, giving them more opportunities, including business trips. Additionally, the human resource department should now consider providing equal opportunities for female employees.
When I think of business management, I think of power and politics, which was one of my past tensions, and I needed to explore more about it. In my job experience in China, it was clear that the company leadership was all about power and politics since employees from the same region with the director had the upper hand in terms of job employment and promotions since they had power in the organization. In this case, many employees were bribing to get promoted. But now, through class discussions, lectures, and reading, I have gained a deeper understanding of what is all about power and politics in management.
According to Taylor (2004, p. 7), when the organization is systematically ruled such that it cooperates efficiently, no one can compete with such an organization. Through this book, therefore, I have understood that the leader who has the power to rule the organization has better ability and understanding of managing and organizing their organization than other ordinary employees. Also, I now know that the organization needs to have capable employees, and they can understand the demands of their positions so they can work effectively and efficiently. In the recruitment process, the organization should assess the applicants’ skills and allocate them with the positions in which they are well compatible. When it comes to position promotions, the employees should be well monitored in terms of their capabilities and leadership skills to enhance fairness in the promotion process. In this case, the organization will be systematically ruled through well-written policies and procedures, and thus, the organization will develop smoothly and gain its competitive advantage. Through such an understanding of leadership in the organization, in the future, I would propose the company to set up a monitoring and evaluation department, which will operate independently and assess the performance of the employees annually. Additionally, the organization’s recruitment and dismissal process should be discussed openly rather than the autonomous decision made by the Board of directors.
Moreover, when it comes to the management, the moral principles of the leader comes in hand. Taking care of other people’s interests and welfare is a significant concern of a steward leader. According to Hernandez (2008, p. 122), steward leaders possess sound morals principles since they work harmoniously with their followers and towards a common goal. Therefore steward should balance the trade-off between making profits and taking care of the interests of the society to act morally and ethically. In this case, it has enriched my understanding of the importance of steward leadership in business management.
While studying this subject during my free time, I watched a film titled “The Wave.” The film was released in 2008, and it is all about National Socialism in school. It depicts management theories of how people are managed. It shows the students following a teacher within two weeks of top authority. Despite the film showing various incidences of extreme power, bureaucracy, and politics, it helped me to appreciate the importance of using symbols and labels to represent the culture of the organization and its shared values. In the past, I used to think that the organizational culture is just its formal protocols. But, now I understand the importance of shared values and sense of belonging in the organization as I believe it makes the organization more effective. In the future, I will ensure my employees are inspired towards that.
My Action-Guiding Principles
As I climb the ladder of leadership as a steward leader, I will consider the interests and welfare of others while making managerial decisions since it is the moral responsibility of the steward leader. In the past, I was too focused on the organizational profit motive. But now I know how to balance the company’s profit motive and welfare. I want to make quality ethical decisions to boost the ethical practices of my organization and its sustainability. I now know how what it means to be managed and how to manage my employees. In the sales department, I will ensure that I represent their welfare and interests to the management to enhance the working standards. Also, I want to work closely with my employees by strengthening trust and transparent communication and leadership as it boosts productivity. I will ensure the employees’ demands are well represented in the management, and each one is treated fairly in terms of promotions and work assignments.
Furthermore, establishing a close working relationship with my employees enhances teamwork and a collaborative working environment, which I believe it boosts productivity and effectiveness in the organization. Therefore, I will ensure that I work closely with my employees, and I will always hold consultative meetings to discuss pertinent issues in the organization. Doing that will enhance openness and trust between the management and the organization’s employees since it enhances information sharing. I believe it is the best way to lead and manage the organization since the challenges we often face as the organization will be solved quickly and effectively.
References
Cunliffe, A.L. and Luhman, J.T., 2012. Key concepts in organisation theory. Sage.
Cunliffe, A.L., 2014. A very short, fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about management. Sage.
Davis, J.H., Schoorman, F.D. and Donaldson, L., 1997. Toward a stewardship theory of management. Academy of Management review, 22(1), pp.20-47.
Hernandez, M., 2008. Promoting stewardship behavior in organisations: A leadership model. Journal of business ethics, 80(1), pp.121-128.
Messick, D.M. and Bazerman, M.H., 1996. Ethical leadership and the psychology of decision making. MIT Sloan Management Review, 37(2), p.9.
Taylor, F.W., 2004. Scientific management. Routledge.
