Poor Management Outline Essay

The rationale behind my choice of this as my capstone project topic can be quite simply summed up by a necessity to stem the tide of departures by top notch performers within our division, the requirement that change in a positive way be undertaken to correct current managerial deficiencies, and the enlightenment of all employees when dealing with one another in a professional manner which can build camaraderie or esprit de corps. My belief is that this project will fit in well within my program as it will help solidify many of the managerial aspects I have learned through my studies. In regards to my professional interests it is paramount that my division corrects many of its deficiencies in regards to policy and planning. It is also important for me on a professional and personal level to ascertain how things have gone badly and how they could be prevented or made better in this process. Page 2 The literature included in my search that deals with my capstone project comes from many Internet sites dealing with the varying topics of management written about with vast sums at such sites as management-issues. om, quintcareers. com, humanresources. about. com, and allbusiness. com. The key word searches I performed for my online research via Google. com included â€Å"effects of poor management† and â€Å"working with bad managers† among other less successful combinations that were inputted. Books I’ve used and that were found highly useful during my research include Peter Drucker’s Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, and Practices; Leadi ng Geeks by Paul Glen and David H. Maister; and Motivating the â€Å"What’s in It for Me? † Workforce by Cam Marston. Luckily, there is no shortage of information available on the topic of management and for that matter proper managerial techniques or even methods used by managers who perform poorly. In addition to the Internet sites and books that I have mentioned I will be incorporating a revised version of the workplace climate survey which our office recently completed. These are the foundation of my research and I will merge my personal interviews and research with those from the Internet and literary works in book format. Page 3 The research question that I have developed for this proposal is: Can changes be made within the management of my workplace that will positively affect the quality of work produced by our business unit, an increase in the productivity of our personnel, enhancement of improved job satisfaction, and a turn around for our current problem with retention of key employees? A thesis statement, although not asked for, would be something along the lines of: Our business unit will have a higher quality of work produced by a more energetic and proactive workforce who possess a far better job satisfaction level while retaining the best personnel through the creation of a more professional and people centric management. A specific objective is to determine the varying effects that subpar managers and an overall poor managerial environment have upon my business unit. The specific department I will research intensively is the business unit in which I work while also including a broader arena as necessary to bring together all data that I have discovered and researched. The approach taken is one of descriptive studies and will in the end provide some coursed of action to take for our unit to change its current underperformance. A key area of study will be managerial inadequacy and personnel issues. Page 4 The form of my research project will be descriptive in nature as my research will be primarily used to describe what is going on or what exists. Since I will be describing my work environment and using data collected from personal interviews as well as a workplace climate survey I believe this is the appropriate style. The quality of data is dependent on open and sincere answers from my colleagues, managers, and subordinates. I have had great success with requests for participation however this does not necessarily mean that the answers given are completely honest. My Internet research along with the information attained through the exploration of the books I have chosen will help develop some proposed corrections and alternatives to the present methods of management, productivity, and personnel decision processes. Combining the hands-on work that I have accomplished along with he data collected via the Internet and literature acquired should allow the formulation of some concrete steps to take when moving toward a better professional workplace while taking into account the personal aspects which have thus far been almost singularly denied. The current environment in which my colleagues and I work is one that has several issues that need to be reviewed and examined thoroughly. Page 5 In the undertaking of this capstone project I hope more so than expect to have a positive effect on my professional environ ment. My desire is to invigorate the mindset of some of our more set in their ways managers while attempting to engage colleagues and subordinates in a way that is positive and helps development of a better working atmosphere. Some alternatives I foresee could be as extreme as resentment by management and trepidation by colleagues who reside professionally in fear of persecution; as well as the possibility of a real change in operations and procedures; or this capstone project may be an exercise in futility as time goes on and changes are not made to the system. Personally I feel that this capstone project is an opportunity for me to show my organizational skills that I possess and have honed during my university studies. Professionally my greatest hope is for some positive changes to be made throughout the organization in which I work. The organizational benefits which could be derived if I do well in my presentation of this project could be higher levels of production by employees and management, a greater commitment to employee satisfaction, improved quality of work, and retention of superior performers. Page 6 I believe a successful project for me would involve validation from my coworkers that I have hit on the key talking points that need to be addressed at our workplace. If management would take my proposals into account when determining a course of action to go forth with in the future when dealing with personnel and work related issues that would provide more satisfaction but since this may not occur no matter how well my points are made I view this alternative at some level as â€Å"frosting on the cake†. At this point in my research and the stage of development which I am at in my project I can state that my colleagues are very interested and fully supportive. The criteria I will use in evaluating my current status would be the critiques and recommendations of my managers, coworkers, and subordinates. I can be judged by many different aspects on this capstone project but I truly feel as though the one that is the single greatest measure will be the feedback provided by those who work with me on a daily basis within the business unit.