Manager Interview Essay

Introduction

Last month I got an opportunity to interview Mr. George Smith a manager in UPS Stores. Apparently, I conducted the interview to have a grasp on his experience on management practices. The main topics of discussion were about the roles of the manager, challenges experienced, technology, teamwork and skills required in a management role. Noteworthy, the role of management is not attained within a brief period but rather learned through a lot of experience over time.

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Managers do require a unique trait that is outstanding for them to own the managerial seat. These traits include teamwork in that, a manager engages his employees in decision making, in the installation of new systems for them to feel as part of the organization and boost their morale, persistence, dedication to one's work, quality, efficient work, and timely reports. Mr. Smith explained his roles as handling the checks percentages that are received by the company but not sent to the customers. In the same regard to checks, he confirms accuracy and efficiency when sending checks to customers to avoid disappointments and complaints from clients. Additionally, he ensures that the number of employees is as required to enable a good flow of work as well as ensuring the employees are punctual. A manager is responsible for the reports generated by the employees and presenting the reports to the executive management. In decision making, Mr. Smith used Eisen Decision Matrix to enable prioritization of work. Despite how good the managerial position seems to be, there are certain drawbacks experienced. For instance, when working with a big team, there can be misunderstandings, gossip, misinterpretations which lead to inefficient work.

Mr. Smith says that automation of activities will greatly affect employment rates since machines will soon take employees roles. Organizations experience virtual teamwork which can be conducted via conference calls. It has various drawbacks that may lead to the deficient performance of the organization. For instance, managers will have to go through all the reports one by one, since the work of the employees can sometimes be shady due to lack of supervision which can lead to inferior performance. Therefore, there will be value and assessment pedals to ensure reports are of quality. On the other hand, technology has to be learned by every employee of an organization. This is because to assess the data input by the staff should be done independently by the managers. Thus, training the whole organization's staff.

In addition, given a chance, Mr. Smith could rectify the relationship between the top management and the staff. In most cases, the staff only know the executive management by name but do not meet. Therefore, showing up in the office occasionally will be a positive thing especially for the staff. It can boost their morale, they will feel appreciated since the top management will be looking out for them and they will be more engaged in their work. Primarily, working as a team has more pros than cons. Mr. Smith, reveals that he prefers working in a big team since it has people of all expertise and helping each other will allow him to accomplish other duties.

Reflection and Response

I found Mr. George Smith's interview interesting and informative. Even though some of the details are usual facts, for instance, the needed requirements for one to be a manager, the details were quite involving. He talked about persistence from a manager which is a characteristic of a person who is a leader. In most cases, there are similarities between a leader and a manager where success is established. Moreover, decision-making skills is another imperative aspect and in this case, is demonstrated when Mr. Smith uses the Eisen Decision Matrix that involves importance and urgency and technical skills involved, methods, procedures, and techniques that one acquires as they gain experience in their career paths. Therefore, I would agree with Mr. Smith when he says that, he earned the managerial position after years of persisting to be a leader and years of experience.

The drawbacks that are faced by managers are immense. Without a plan, it is hard for a manager to crack through the role. Therefore, the problems given by Mr. Smith about misinterpretation, misunderstanding in a big team can be handled in such a situation. However, gossip is something that cannot be controlled and therefore, it is the responsibility of each employee to focus on the objective of working in the company. Nevertheless, he talks about the decision making in the cycle of invoicing. Apparently, lack of key interest in decision making Mr. Smith can make mistakes that can affect the whole organization. On the other hand, Engaging the whole organization is a key concept that can be adopted in an organization, just as Mr. Smith explained. When top management shows up at the office can be a sign of interest in the well-being of staff. However, I would add that, engaging employees in decision making could motivate the employees and feel like a part of the organization.

Although Mr. Smith talks about the cons that can come up once the corporate sector is fully automated, there are advantages that come about with technology. For example, efficiency in the organization, decision making, and support can be made efficiently through the use of technology. In recent times, various businesses can be done online; for example, digital marketing, production planning, and control can be faster when using a machine that uses laborers, data management of the organization and easy retrieval of reports or data from past years. Mr. Smith also talks about the involvement of the management with the employees. Primarily, this way, they feel appreciated and they have the morale to keep working. In addition, I do agree with Mr. Smith on training all employees of the organization including the manager. It is for efficiency purpose while assessing reports. Teamwork is essential in an organization that is why Mr. Smith prefers working in a team although a big team. However, from my perspective, size of a team does not matter so long as the number of team members is sufficient. Reason being, team members are experts in that field and they are conscious of their duties. Therefore, concentrating on the duties as a manager should not be disrupted by the size of the team.