Management
Share an instance where you were required to manage a specific event or project.
Throughout my professional life, I have had the opportunity to work on a variety of significant projects. What I find to be really important when establishing a business is to be crystal clear about the objectives from the very beginning and then develop a strategy with milestones. It is also important to me to deal with the most difficult portions of the projects early on so that if there are any serious complications, I will have plenty of time to finish the job before the deadline. I also like to divide major projects into smaller portions, making it simpler to know where to begin. To ensure that a significant project runs successfully, meticulous preparation is essential. For example, I was in charge of a project last year that sought to provide homes to the homeless in my community. I was selected to lead a group of volunteers because of my background in community service and connection with the religious group around my community. Due to the increasing number of homeless in the community, numerous non-profit organizations merged with the local government to address the issues by providing homes. As part of the operation, I was hired to oversee a team of 20 volunteers to assist the not-for-profit organization in offering homes to the homeless.
I first identified the main stakeholders and solicited their feedback on the many aspects of the project’s various components. Afterward, I sketched out the main milestones that would need to be achieved in order to complete the project and worked backward to identify the specific tasks that would need to be completed at each level. As the project leader, I was assigned specific duties aimed at eradicating the challenge of homelessness in our community. The first objective was to develop a strategy that would enable the organization to identify homeless people in the community. For this task, I assigned members of the group I let into small groups to focus on specific areas. Their work was to scavenge the neighborhood in their assigned areas to look for members of the public who were homeless. I issued them with specific “sheets/documents,” which they were to utilize to collect personal information of possible homeless persons.
My team was assigned the main responsibility of identifying and classifying the needs of the homeless based on various identified demographic characteristics. My role was to ensure that each volunteer under my supervision has identified and documented the required information appropriately as the team leader. More so, I was required to provide periodical reporting to the community leader who oversaw the process of identifying the homeless in the area. Specifically, I was required to provide the status report in the morning and in the evening regarding how the assigned volunteers are performing. Furthermore, I was to provide the details of the homeless people identified and that they have been assigned a specific code, which will be used when allocating homes. More so, I was required to provide periodical reporting to the community leader who oversaw the process of identifying the homeless in the area. Specifically, I was required to provide status reports in the morning and in the evening regarding how the assigned volunteers are performing. Furthermore, I was to provide the details of the homeless people identified and that they have been assigned a specific code, which will be used when allocating homes.
Moreover, as part of my supervision of the project, I was required to identify some of the challenges that phased the process of identifying the homeless in the streets. I made a list of all the potential risks that may prevent us from meeting those goals, and I built in some additional time to the timetable just in case anything unexpected came up. I also made sure that my position and obligations in the project were as straightforward as possible so that I was aware of precisely what I was expected to do. All of the information as mentioned above I was to submit to my supervisor upon the completion of the project, which was to be concluded within a period of two weeks.
Although the project was finished on schedule, I now recognize that there were certain issues that may have been prevented. To give you an example, I would have altered the letter “Z” in order to eliminate some of the minor scheduling issues we encountered. Even so, it’s usually simpler to identify the lessons learned after a project has been done, and I’ve identified what I would do the next time differently around as a result of my experience.
Analyze your approach
This section will analyze my approach (or the approach I witnessed as a team member) to the situation that I have shared in the section above. The management functions will be used to guide the discussion. By definition, management function consists of key principles that define management; they include planning, organizing, leadership, and controlling.
Planning
The planning process is a critical phase in the project I participated in. planning enables the project to be successful by outlining the key objectives to be achieved. Nevertheless, the not-for-profit organization had an overall plan, which dictated the specific plans for various groups and stakeholders who were part of the project. Coherently, as a project supervisor, I was issued a specific objective that was part of the overall plan. Notably, my objective was to ensure that my team successfully identified and categorized the type of homeless people in the community. This meant that I had to develop a “small” plan for accomplishing the main objective assigned. Thus, I plan how I would assign the twenty volunteers to specific areas within the community to identify the homeless. The step of the planning involved gathering information regarding the geographical knowledge of the volunteers. This information was to be critical in assigning volunteers in specific areas. The second phase of the plan was to assess if all the volunteers had the organization’s required tools. Such a plan was instrumental in directing the course of action that was in line with the general objective of the organization.
Organizing
After putting a strategy in place, a manager must arrange her team and materials in accordance with the plan she has created. The assignment of labor and the delegation of power are two critical parts of organizational structure. Organizations include assigning tasks, categorizing tasks into departments, distributing authority, and allocating resources throughout an organization’s many departments. In the organizing process, managers coordinate the efforts of personnel, resources, policies, and procedures to achieve the objectives set forth in the plan. As the project supervisor, I was responsible for organizing the activities of the group based on the assigned objective. The first test was assigning tasks. I assigned each volunteer with the task of collecting information on the hopeless. Part of the assessment was recording personal details of the families and grouping them as either single, married, families or others. More so, I required each volunteer to collect personal information of the homeless population in possible where they are situated. The information/ data collected from the homeless had to be organized in a formal manner. Therefore, I assigned five of the twenty participants to sort the collected information. This ensured that the compiled or sorted data could be transferred to the senior supervisor overseeing the whole project.
Leadership
A manager must do more than simply plan, coordinate, and staff her team to accomplish a goal. She must also motivate her workforce. She must also take the initiative. Motivating others, connecting with them, leading them, and encouraging them are all important aspects of leadership. The manager is responsible for providing workers with coaching, assistance, and problem-solving opportunities. The success of my role as the supervisor largely depended on how I demonstrated leadership over my team. One of the main things I did as a leader motivated the volunteer to accomplish the tasks assigned. I motivated them in a number of ways. First, I ensured that there was effective communication; each volunteer was aware of their role and function in executing the task. More so, in the event of a problem, I provided various forms of communication where questions or issues could be raised and solved. Furthermore, I participated in group work. This means that I would join the group as they complete their assignment in different areas. Each day, I would engage with a different group to supervise and motivate the teams to complete their tasks. Similarly, I would encourage the team members to propose ideas on how the tasks can be accomplished effectively within a short period. This demonstrated my ability as the leader in “welcoming new ideas.”
Controlling
Management’s control function may be described as the process through which subordinates, supervisors, and employees at all levels of an organization work together to achieve the outcomes that have been intended. The controlling function aids in the measurement of progress toward organizational objectives, the identification of deviations, and the recommendation of remedial action. One of the main controlling actions as the project supervisor was ensuring that the team operates or delivers within the stipulated timeline. This means that each day the volunteers were required to complete assessing a given area for homeless families or people as dictated. Thus, I had to ensure that each documented report was consistent with the area the geographical area covered by the staff. In so doing, I was able to ascertain or verify the performance based on the plans of the non-profit company. This ensures sufficient progress in completing the task within the stated period. Moreover, I was required to submit a daily report on my team’s activities on a daily basis. This served as part of the controlling function because I had to link my team’s progress to the senior supervisor as part of the overall objective.
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