3-3 Short Essay

My ideal company would be a home renovations company. The product would be the overall end product of the completed renovation. The service I would be providing is allowing people to customize the area of home they wish to renovate, helping clients pick out products for their spaces and allowing them to make changes as the project goes along. Other services I would offer would be trade references, if I wasn’t able to supply a customer with a service I would refer them to some I know that has done quality work in that field.

            Company ethics are a huge part of a company. All work must be done with the highest quality and must follow proper regulations and codes.  As a company we will not sign off on a job that us or another contractor has done unless it meets a regulations. Within the renovations company I would make sure that all employees had empowerment, if they notice something not following proper standards they are allowed to address the issue and help or suggest what needs to be done to correct the problem.  All employees will be treat as equals, everyone is considered a key asset to the team.  If employees manage to get a job done before the scheduled finish date with everything meeting proper codes they would be entitled to a possible bonus or incentive such as an extra day off paid.

            The companies’ social responsibility would be shown through different ways. We would makes sure to use as much environmentally friendly products as possible, we would use energy efficient appliance, products made from recycled items, water efficient products such as shower heads and toilets, etc. We would make sure to recycle any old products that are able to be recycled or if the product is still in good shape and could still be used we would donate it to things like habitat for humanity. Do things like this would help our clients be more environmentally conscious and would help the over all environment by cutting down on waste and things that need to be put in the trash.

            Overall my views weren’t influenced by my generation’s outlook and characteristics. My views come from a standpoint of going above and beyond to make your clients happy. By making your current clients happy it sets up things for the future such as referrals which in the end keeps your business running. Everyone wants to get the highest quality product for the lowest possible price and that’s exactly what we are supplying clients with.

2-2 Forces and Competition

Mountain equipment coop or MEC was founded in 1971 and started as a  small store in Vancouver, MEC growth ahs been very slow and strategic over the last 30 years. “Mountain Equipment Co-op provides quality products and services for self-propelled wilderness-oriented recreation, such as hiking and mountaineering, at the lowest reasonable price in an informative, respectful manner. We are a member-owned co-operative striving for social and environmental leadership.”

MEC started as a company that was known for not liking to outsource to other countries due to them knowing the manner of how the good are produced. MEC is a strong supporter of our environment they produce their products using materials such as recycled polyester and plastic bottles. Over the years with the changes in the global economy it is has made it very difficult for MEC to continue with the same products.

MEC is a very firm believer that of getting feedback from there clientele. While looking at there website it is very apparent that MEC does take there customers feedback very seriously. Many MEC customers are upset that while they are in the store they are seeing more and more products that aren’t locally produced in Canada. On the website MEC responds to this by saying “Due to the nature of todays economy, managers must review all areas of business such as overseas manufacturing in order to continue to maintain high product standards as well as at a price point which consumers want to spend.”  This is tough to try and bring high quality products at the lowest price available while still maintaining products only produced in our country. If MEC doesn’t look to get more affordable products with the same quality then someone else will and people will likely ship there instead.

1-3 Emotional Intelligence and Leadership

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand, assess, and control the emotions of yourself and of others.  Personality is ones emotional responses, attitude or behavior. These two should not be confused as one is about knowing and understanding how people will react to certain situations, knowing how to control them and change the overall outcome. Whereas personality is personal traits that shows who a person is and what sets them apart from others.

Social an emotional intelligence is directly connected to each other as they work hand in hand with each other.  Social intelligence helps you control the outcome of a situation, not only do you need to know what to say but how to act, you need to understand how to properly communicate with gestures, facial expressions, etc.  Understanding social intelligence it allows you to be an effective leader and easily influence others to follow you.

To be an effective leader in the work place it is essential to understand these two concepts.   Understanding these two things will help a leader have many followers. Understanding how people will react to certain situations will allow a leader to help control the overall outcome of situations and help make sure they are overall a positive experience. Being able to understand these allows a leader to maintain and keep things positive within a workplace starting with themselves.

1-1    Evolving Management Positions

I have been in the workforce since I was 16 years old and I have been in the workforce for 7 years, I can’t really say that I have seen management evolve but I can say that I have experienced different management styles. Over the years I have worked in multiple different positions under numerous different managers. I have notice that there is a difference between leaders and managers.

A leader is there to help motivate and lead a team towards a common goal.  Leaders often believe that employees are self-motivated and enjoy coming to work, leaders give more empowerment to employees and encourage them to make decisions.

Managers often tell you specifically what the want to have done and how they want it to be done. This leaves less room for employees to make there own decisions and to be creative.  Managers more like to micro manage there employees so they know constantly what is going on. Many managers believe that employees aren’t motivated to be at work and need to be under constant supervision to stay productive at work.

Working under a leader is much easier to do then working under a manager. I find myself more productive and I enjoy being at work more. I find a leader is there to help me and my team, they help to keep us motivated and work towards a common goal.

I have noticed over the years that managers are attempting less to micro manage there employees and more to give them empowerment and freedom.  They are taking on more of a role of being a leader; they are far more approachable and seem to be there to help employees achieve the goals they set out to achieve within the company.  By taking the leadership approach they are encouraging employees to reach there highest potential and continue to stay motivated.

In the past hard skills were the most important part for managers. Today soft skills are becoming a much larger part management. As soft skills continue to develop more effort needs to be placed on trusting employees more to complete their jobs properly, efficiently and accurately with out having to be under constant supervision.

Welcome to my blog!

I will posting new blog entries on a weekly basis, I have put this blog together for my sait class MNGT-255. The  weekly blog updates will be on various topics related to management, I look forward to sharing my views on these topics with you. Thanks for taking time to visit my blog!