Posted: September 16th, 2017
WHAT DO MANAGERS REALLY DO INTERVIEW PROJECT
WHAT DO MANAGERS REALLY DO
INTERVIEW PROJECT
Each student will interview a manager to find out what he/she does and to compare what you have learned in your Management class with what you discover from interviewing your selected manager. You should gather basic information about the manager’s job and organization. You may choose to focus on the topics from any of the chapters. Ask questions regarding whatever most interests you about management. Do not give the manager the book and ask him/her which management style he/she uses. Ask more general questions and analyze the responses you get in terms of management concepts. Here is a suggested outline of steps:
Identify a manager. The manager should be an active manager at this time. He or she may be a member of your family or a friend. The manager may be employed by an organization for which you would like to work. The manager may be employed by an organization you frequent. Choose a manager that interests you.
Briefly describe the organization: what does it do, where are they located, how many employees, size, competition, and financial status. Check the web for information about the organization.
Develop a list of questions. Plan to spend at least 30 minutes asking questions.
Here are some ideas for questions. You will not have time to ask all of these. You may create your own questions as well.
• Please describe what you do in your job.
• What is your favorite part of being a manager and why is it your favorite part?
• What is your least favorite part of being a manager, and again why?
• What’s been your “favorite mistake” as a manager up to this point in time? What did you learn from the experience?
• What ethical dilemmas, if any, have you had to deal with in your job? How have you handled them?
• How do you think your job will be different in five years?
• What do you think are the three most important things that a managers does and why?
• What obstacles have you faced as a manager? How have you dealt with them?
• What skills do you think a successful manager will need in the future to succeed?
• How has your company dealt with external opportunities and threats?
• What types of organizational changes have you had to deal with in the past few years or are you currently dealing with?
Interview the manager. Call the manager and ask to meet with him or her for 15-30 minutes. Introduce yourself and the reason for the interview (i.e., you are in a Management class at Zayed Unversity and this is an assignment to help you learn more about management). Offer to fax/email a list of questions so that the manager may prepare in advance. Once the manager has agreed to meet with you, remember that he/she has limited time. Be on time. Be prepared with your questions and with some way to record the responses. Be professional. Dress in clean clothes–dress like the person you will be interviewing if possible. Because this interview takes more than ten minutes of a manager’s time, send a written letter or card to thank him/her again for their time and information. Include a copy of this letter/card in your report’s appendices. If you are conducting a telephone interview, the same rules apply. At the end of the interview be sure to thank the manager for his/her time. If you think it is appropriate, ask the manager if she/he would be willing to come to class to share his/her experiences.
Write up a description of the interview.
1) Briefly describe the organization and the manager’s place in the organization (1-2 paragraphs should suffice).
2) Analyze the interview. The majority of your paper should be the analysis section. How did the manager’s responses support or differ from what you have learned about management so far? What new did you learn from the interview? (5-7 pages)
3) Briefly describe your reactions to the manager, the interview, and the profession of managing (1 page). Include your overall impressions, thoughts, and opinions that you had of the job and the person who you interviewed.
4) Appendices – Any additional information that you gathered for this project. Required: There should be a copy of the “thank you” that you either emailed or postal mailed your manager. Optional: If you took pictures or if you received any handouts from the organization include those in your appendix section.
The paper should start with a cover page including your name, student number, time the class meets, and the manager/organization you are writing about. Do not put your name anywhere else in the paper. The written portion should be between 6 to “whatever” pages, double-spaced, 12 point type, and a 2.5 cm (1 inch) margin all the way around the page. Use page numbers. Please use a specific writing format (i.e. APA, MLA, etc.) for the report. General guides include a running page heading, paragraphs indented, title page, appendices (interview questions asked, thank you letter/card, one page summary of this experience, and copies of any other written materials used for this interview), and a blank sheet as the last page.
The paper will be graded on:
1) Content: did you describe the organization, the questions and responses, and your reactions,
2) Reasoning: did you provide quality evidence for claims made, does your analysis show depth of thinking, logical reasoning, accurate conclusions, and do you provide specific examples of the interview as evidence for the concepts you describe,
3) Organization: does organization lead a reader through the text, do parts connect with each other, and does organization capture designated purpose,
4) Use of concepts: do you use management concepts to analyze the manager job, is sufficient knowledge of management demonstrated, does use of concepts demonstrate understanding, is language and format and tone appropriate
5) Grammar and Spelling, and
6) Mechanics: did you use a cover page, did you meet the page length, spacing, type, and margin requirements.
The paper is due when announced in class. Papers turned in after this date and time will receive a 10% deduction in score for each day that they are late.
You will be required to make a presentation before the class of what you discovered in your interview.
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