Managing People in Organizations

Individual Assignment 1

Bertha Brown

Managing People in Organizations

 Dr. Karen Leonard

July 22, 2018

        1. In reading the chapter on self-awareness, there was discussion of a best self-portrait. In about one page, define self-awareness and self-portrait, giving as an example your own best self-portrait. What elements are included in your best self-portrait. Are there any areas that you may need to work on?  

        When I started this assignment, I experienced a myriad of emotions because of my past. I became anxious, flustered, and even mad because deep down I felt that I was at war with myself.

        Whenever I look into a mirror, I see someone that has been through a lot of strife. However, I have overcome these obstacles, and it has made me a stronger person today. When I was deployed in Afghanistan, I had toxic leadership and lower enlistees that tried to diminish my character. When the opportunity to speak on my behalf came, I had evidence that proved that I was the victim of character assassination. This life lesson has really taught me to be aware that not all people have good intentions. Self – awareness is knowing your strengths, weaknesses, limitations, and motivations. It helps to understand how these factors influence your judgment, and interactions with other people.

Identifying who I am. What I want out of life, and how am I going to make it happen. How am I going to get there? These are the critical points of my self-portrait. I see myself as a person that gives her all in everything from school, work, and relationships with other people without asking for anything in return. I believe that my return will come back to me many fold. However, “In some ways we expect this portrait to be fairly accurate.” (Stone, 2015)

        A self- portrait is a description of your identity. It involves how a person sees themselves whether it is good or bad. When I have the opportunity, I love to help people. It is motivating and humbling to be able to help someone because I see a lot of problems that are beyond their control. I feel that I can assist them by sharing vital information that I may possess to provide the assistance that they need. If it is within reason, ethical and legal, I will give a person my undivided attention and help them where needed. In my opinion, I believe that to be trustworthy is to be accountable, and consistent in my actions regardless of any situation.  The areas I feel that I need to work on are to be more open to people and not let my past deter me from reaching my goals.  

        2. You are putting a team of four members (including yourself) together to work on an assigned class project given by the Professor. In one page, discuss three elements to consider that would make the team work best together.

        According to Dr. Bruce Tuckerman, the factors of team development are “norming, forming, storming, and performing” which all parts contribute in building a competent team to accomplish their goal in each stage of process. (Whetten & Cameron, 2016)

In my opinion, to develop a team, the most important thing they should have is effective communication, soft skills, and the ability to adapt to change in their working environment. Communication is vital because it fosters camaraderie amongst the team, alleviates confusion, and helps during brain-storming sessions on how to complete tasks and meet deadlines on time. Soft skills in a group show that each member can work together and sort out conflicts in a manner that reflects in problem solving. The ability to adapt to change in the working environment is vital because it allows a team to be flexible and find an alternate solution whenever their progress is halted.

1. Each communication consists of various parts, as shown in the textbook. Define communication and in ½ page, discuss which part of communication might be most important and why.

        Communication is a two-way interaction between an individual or group to share their ideas, thoughts, and doubts amongst each other. Communication helps to foster understanding in case of any disputes and it provides a chance to offer solutions to the organization’s stakeholders. However, when people follow an organizational form of communication, it brings stability during decision making and less chaos in the work-place. Also, communication between the manager and employee produces an understanding of their roles, and they are better able to understand what is required of them as an employee and management within the organization. As stated in the Developing Managing Skills “face- to – face, one- on- one communication that dominates all the other types in predicting managerial success”. (Whetten & Cameron, 2016)

        In my opinion, effective communication is a gateway to build interpersonal relationships between manager and employee because it produces positive reinforcement and a more productive environment.

1. Think of a problem that you are facing at work or at school that creates anxiety or discomfort for you. In about one page, divide the problem into smaller parts or subproblems (no more than three) and discuss what actions you can take to cope successfully with the problem. Using the textbook, explain why these actions would be useful.

 As a veteran I have different stressors that contribute to my anxiety and depression. Every day is a challenge for me because I experience fear. At times it takes me away from specific activities, family and even gets to the point my school work suffers, but I manage to bounce back and prioritize what must be completed. I am working on why or how to overcome my anxiety, I realize that it will take time for me to learn how to adjust. There are certain triggers that I do have that makes my anxiety worse such as crowds(situational), and racing thoughts (anticipatory stressors). Also, while at school test taking (time stressors) and social interactions (encounter stressors) with others are a significant concern because they cause feelings of disconnection with my classmates.