Management in Action Paper Example

On February 21, 2019, I chose to shadow a manager at Disneyland which is subdivided into various departments and the department to which I went was made up of a restaurant and some carts which include a corn dog wagon, churro cart, popcorn together with another cart which had various types of fast foods. I got the opportunity to interact with the manager I was shadowing, and I was capable of drawing some remarks from the way the manager interacts with people. The most interesting part of the job shadowing activity was the individual interaction when the manager was talking about some of the interesting facts about the job and the way he ensures the coordination of the workers within his department to enhance their job satisfaction and the satisfaction of the clients. The organization and coordination of the operations of the duties carried out by other staff members to meet the production goals is one of the significant roles of a manager that was portrayed by the manager I shadowed.

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Additionally, the manager facilitated the operation of activities by subdividing them into manageable divisions and assigning the people the various tasks that they needed to do. For instance, the manager interacted with everyone to ensure that there was anything or any assistance he would offer to them. Also, another example where he applied managerial skills was the instance where he was called to the churro cart to sort out some technical challenges. As a manager, he assessed the cart and advised the worker on the appropriate approach to embark on as he informed the maintenance about the issue with the cart so that they could conduct the necessary assessment to determine the problem.

However, during my job shadow experience, I did not come across anything that I disliked about the experience because it was a significant practical learning opportunity that I appreciated. I witnessed the manager effectively perform his duties like the gathering with various team leaders and discussing the reminders that were necessary to be known for the particular section of the park and the rest of the park. I had the opportunity to have a conversation with the manager regarding the sales for each location in the park as well as the adjustments that were necessary to keep the operations of the park in track regarding the plans and goals of the pack for instance, it could commence from reducing the labor costs due to the lack of demand since the day was slow and the manager was seeking for improved sales that were proportional to the labor input.

Some of the interpersonal skills portrayed by the manager which enhanced his efficiency at the workplace include the fact that he was a clear communicator despite his leadership position. Generally, communication is an essential aspect of life especially within the professional context; hence effective communication creates the distinction between professional success and failure. However, circumstances of poor communication within a professional context, a business is likely to experience significant business failure. The operations of the manager I shadowed seemed to be gearing towards the success of the organization because of the adequate communication that he had with the other employees.

Another managerial skill that was portrayed with by the manager I shadowed was showing empathy and understanding to other employees. For instance, in a circumstance where the individual with the churro cart had difficulties operating the cart, and so he had to be reassigned somewhere else, and the maintenance team had to be summoned to check out the problem with the cart. Generally, having sympathy for others is an essential component for building relations in the professional setting because it helps to take into account the ideas, feelings and the demands of others. Additionally, managers are obligated to identifying, facing and overcoming various challenges at the workplace. Therefore, they should always ensure they have outstanding attention to detail. Thus, the analytical skills portrayed by the manager by solving the problem with the churro cart are an essential aspect of management. Another instance in which the manager utilized adequate problem-solving skills was the instance in which he was required to assess the PX 7 card reader machine at the popcorn cart which seemed to be having some technical difficulty and therefore he had to call the maintenance unit to fix the machine.

Another essential management skill that the manager portrayed is technical skills. Generally, technical skills are critical for low-level managers as compared to top managers. Therefore, one lesson that I learned from the job shadowing activity is the fact that it is significant to demonstrate a complete understanding of the entire business as one of the efficient skills of angling the managerial spot. The manager exercised some technical knowledge of the business processes at the point when the manager used a computer program to facilitate the update of labor input data to determine the various reasons why someone would quit job earlier whether it was due to calling out or as an attempt to cut hours. The program that the manager used allowed for frequent updates for every location within the workplace. Also the technical skills of the manager were evident in the manager used another computer program to record the events at the workplace during his shift so that in case of any later questions, there would some notes filed about it, and similarly, any concerns about the interactions and reports of the maintenance issues would be incorporated as well.

The manager interacted with various employees while I was watching, for instance, the manager interacted with the churro cart operator who was facing some technical challenges, and he assigned him to some other duties leaving the cart to the maintenance unit to take care of the technical difficulty. I also observed the manager interact with the employee at the popcorn cart who was having some problems with the PX7 card reader machine and he had to alert the maintenance to look up to the problem with the device to ensure the effective operation of the machines. The interaction with the various employees was professional and ethical hence facilitated the successful activities at the workplace. The aspect of proper interrelation was evident by the adequate communication skills and the compassionate and understanding skills portrayed by the manager hence the other employees had the freedom to consult and even seek for assistance when they were faced by some workplace challenges.

Conclusion

Consequently, management is a process that implies that all managers coordinate their various roles to achieve the desired organizational objectives. The various functions of management according to Henry Fayol include planning and decision making which merely implies the determination of the course of action, organizing as another managerial function involves the coordination of activities and resources, leading which entails the management and motivation of people and finally, controlling which implies monitoring and evaluating organizational activities. According to Fayol, planning is generally focusing on the future and requires the active participation of all the employees in the workplace. Additionally, Fayol emphasizes that the plan should be coordinated at various managerial level in regards to time and implementation. The manager at the workplace exercised the function of planning and decision making in multiple instances which I witnessed, for example, he determined the next course of action for the worker at the churro cart and summoned the maintenance similar to the PX7 card reader machine at the popcorn cart.