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Group 5 welcomes you to our discussion blog!

Here you will find our main points.  Please click on each point to view our discussion summaries!

~Amy, Catherine, Katie, Kathleen & Tina~

Chapter One: The importance of understanding what management is and what a manager does.

Lecture 1: You need to have the right tools in your toolbox and know how to use them.

Lecture 2: How to find your own management style.

Chapter Two: Building your management style on a good foundation is vital to your success.

Lecture 3: Planning is imperative to good management. 

Chapter Four: The importance of understanding diversity inside and outside of the organization. 

Chapter One: What is Management?

Understanding what management is and what a manager does are key points in Chapter One. 

What is management?

Management is "the process of accomplishing things through people," (Evans and Ward, 2007).  Amy noted that "management is getting people to produce," which is a good definition.  The person behind that motivation is a manager. So....

What does a manager do? 

POSD CoRB. This acronym covers the many functions of a manger.

• P is for planning
• O is for organizing
• S is for staffing
• D is for directing
• Co is for coordinating
• R is for reporting
• B is for budgeting

The importance of POSD CoRB was agreed upon by our entire group.  Amy pointed out that "management is a process, not just a 'wing-it' thing."  POSDCoRB supports that point.  These are definite functions that a manager must perform in order to successfully manage.  In the LIS field, all of these functions are utilized.  Amy shared her experience with POSD CoRB.  In her former job, she noticed that her supervisor was great at POSRB, but she was somewhat lacking in the coordinating and directing aspects of management.  As Amy put it, "she was too rigid in her direction on the one hand, but on the other hand, her rigid directions were not clear, this led to confusion and frustration."  This insight was very helpful.

 Work Cited

Evans, G. Edward and Ward, Patricia Layzell. Management Basics for Information Professionals. (2nd ed.) New York:Neal-Schuman, 2007. Print .

 

Lecture 1: The Importance of a Toolbox

What should be in a manager's toolbox? 

• Communication skills
• Ethical Standards and Behaviors
• Ability to manage change
• Ability to motivate
• Analytical/Problem solving skills
• Vision

These "tools" help the manager deal with the a variety of situations in an ever changing environment.  Open lines of communication keep chaos at bay and ethical standards and behaviors create a positive environment. Preventing outbreaks of chaos can be achieved by having a contingency plan in place to deal with change quickly and effectively.  Amy stated that a person must realize, "that change IS and must be expected." Being prepared for change is vital, and as Kathleen pointed out, "it is important to be flexible." Flexibility is key to dealing with change. A positive, encouraging attitude can motivate others, and it can minimizes minor outbreaks of stress. Looking at a problem, seeing the whole picture, and analyzing the possible outcomes of any action can prevent bigger issues. Seeing the big picture, or having a vision, can provide a manager with a road map to getting things done.  Using these tools can minimize stress, and promote effective management.  Libraries see changes daily, whether it is due to politics, economics, or technology, and knowing how to react is important.  Some of these changes can make staff less motivated, but a manager's job is to find a way to encourage and inspire their staff. I have worked as a librarian for the past eight years, after being at the library for about four years a new director was hired.  When she took the helm the economy was starting to tank, and she did some very good things for the library system as a whole, but she failed to communicate to the staff, and she failed to listen to the staff.  The library wen through a major restructure, which has put us on sound financial ground, but the cuts were made in the branches while jobs were created and hours increased at Headquarters.  I think a lot of the frustration for staff could have been avoided, if the vision for the future had been communicate before the cuts came down.  Some of the positions at Headquarters have been eliminated, because they were not needed.  I think a better analysis of the "big picture" would have helped.  One positive is that our director has communicate better with staff recently, and she did concede that some aspects of the restructure need to be evaluated again. 

 

(Credit: Ed Batista, 2009)

Lecture 2: Finding Your Own Style

 (Credit: Peter Welleman)

This lecture emphasized the importance of developing your own style of management.  Here are some ways to develop a style of your own:

• Be flexible;
• Know the foundations of management;
• Don't focus on one approach;
• Take the good aspects of many approaches and combine them together;
• Keep researching and studying management science; 
• Be willing to try new things.

Katie pointed out, "there are many distinct approaches to management and it's important to be aware of them and combine them in different situations."  Kathleen mentioned a quote, from the textbook, that she liked, "a person's management style 'must change as situations and the persons involved change'" (Evans and Ward, 35).  These points really seem to emphasize flexibility and knowing the foundations.  The film clip, which introduced the FISH philosophy, illustrated the importance of trying new things.  Katie directed us to http://www.fishphilosophynetwork.com to find  more about this philosophy.  Kathleen and I both mentioned the basic concept of the FISH philosophy is that you choose your attitude, so make it a good one.  Amy summed it up with this thought, "start to think like a manager, shop around for a style/approach by looking at the different tools."

Studying styles of management has been going on for a long time, so take time to research, study, and learn about the styles.  Find out what works for you, what fits a particular situation, be flexible, have a good attitude and don't form yourself to one approach, because they are not "one-size fits all." 

  Credit: Fishphilosophy.com

 Work Cited

Evans, G. Edward and Ward, Patricia Layzell. Management Basics for Information Professionals. (2nd ed.) New York:Neal-Schuman, 2007. Print .

Chapter Two: Laying the Foundation

(Credit: Ken Dlevidian, 2011)

Understanding the history of management theory provides a foundation for developing a personal management style. The book discusses eight approaches and their founders:

1. Scientific Management-
2. Administrative;
3. Behavioral;
4. Management Science/Quantitative Systems;
5. Contingency;
6. Systems approach;
7. Quality approach;
8. Composite approach 

 Harrington Emerson, a scientific theorist, came up with 12 principles, five of which apply to management in general and are important to developing a managerial foundation.  These principles are:  

1. Have clear defined goals;
2. Use common sense when making decisions;
3. Appeal to competent people when seeking advice;
4. Be fair and consistent when applying rules and regulations;
5. Treat employees fairly and deal honestly with them. 

These approaches and the principles developed within them provide a foundation for establishing a management style.  Looking at different models and mentors will help us fashion our own management styles.  

So study, learn, research....and then incorporate and implement your own style.  Begin to think like a manager.  

Lecture 3: Plan, Plan, Plan

• P is for planning, and planning is something a manager absolutely must do.  

• Planning takes time, and is a road map guiding your path.  Without planning an organization will flounder.  

• Strategic planning determines what direction your organization is heading in and what the next move will be.  

• Planning requires evaluation. Using a PEST and/or a SWOT analysis will help evaluate your organization.

Planning focuses on:

1. Mission: the why?
2. Vision: the moral, ideal place the organization wants to be
3. Goals: how to achieve the Mission 
4. Objectives: strategies for attaining goals
5. Action planning: the who, what, and when 

WHY PLAN? WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

• Provides a realistic goal;
• Communicates the direction of the organization;
• Creates an effective environment for using resources;
• Makes progress measurable;
• Defines the purpose, values, and direction of an organization;
• Looks at the bigger picture.

 (Credit: Dave Hallmon, 2011)

 

Chapter Four: Managing Diversity

Diversity exists inside and outside the walls of a library. Diversity is all around us, and in library and media centers we see diversity in many forms.  Knowing how to manage diversity, in both internal and external settings, is important because we live in a culturally diverse world, but not only is our world culturally diverse, it is also, socially, economically, physically, and educationally diverse. For a library, that diversity exists in both internal and external customers.  Diversity requires a manager to be flexible and to plan accordingly in an ever changing environment.  Being able to see things through another person's eyes is difficult, but we must try. Kathleen commented "everyone sees/experiences things differently," so a manager must try to understand where another person is coming from, what their experiences might be.  In order to do that, a manger must be clued into the community that they and their organization are serving.  Katie mentioned the importance of  focusing "on diversity in both populations that you serve and also in staffing."  Amy echoed that thought by stating the relevance of "looking at the community being served outside and the staff inside, too."  Libraries are anchors in their communities and knowing the population being served is vital to maintaining a libraries relevance.  With so many technological advances a library must stay in touch with the community it serves, it must know the needs of the people it is serving and understand the diversity of those being served in order to meet those needs.  Inside the library, a manager must understand the diversity among staff members. Failure to acknowledge diversity in the workplace can have legal, as well as ethical and moral, implications.  

(Credit: Gardenswartz & Rowe, 1995)