Since the beginning of this course (Practice of Management), I have worked hard to improve in both the academic score and in character. The course is a frame over which I have put into practice the knowledge and skills learned in class. The exercise has involved self-development as an academic student, a professional, a creative, and as a potential manager. Firstly, I made sure to attend all classes and to undergo all academic evaluations. I began by scheduling my activities in days, weeks, and months, to maintain high attendance in classes and other commitments. Scheduling my activities and using to-do lists have enabled me to meet all the deliverables within deadlines, thus increasing my performance in academics and workplace. Also, I have developed a reading habit for both books and papers on management and related subjects. Through the reading, my knowledge capacity has increased, and I can approach workplace and team issues more rationally, and successfully. Besides, the management theories we have learned in class are more relevant in the real world through an exercise in the workplace and teams. For instance, there was a conflict in the neighborhood’s chess club since the former leader left for another state. I engaged the members in a conflict resolution exercise, where we identified the most appropriate leader through the SWOT analysis. We created ground rules for the team to assist in making similar decisions in the future. Therefore, I have spent the year reading and learning and putting the knowledge into practice.

Figure 1Weekly Schedule

The Tasks

On theme three, we learned about personal development. The module has interactive task sessions that challenge students to test their understanding of the knowledge they have gained in the class. Throughout the theme, we learned about management theory and practice, management psychology, plus critical theories and creativity theories, among others. Consequently, the tests challenged our understanding of them. At first, I had underestimated their relevance, by naively assuming the daily feeds I was reading were the most important since they concern the current state of affairs. However, passing the module was among my goals; therefore, I paid more attention to the revision and participated in group work. It is in the group work that I found the practical approach to theories such as critical theories and creativity theories. For instance, each person would be assigned a task, which we had to present individually. Benchmarking on one another helped me in realizing the creativity gap that would be solved by requesting the top students for assistance. That way, team collaboration helps in identifying gaps that are filled through the development of one another. Also, the task has become an important metric to evaluate one’s ability to meet deliverables. In the management profession, I look forward to meeting deadlines and delivering within deadlines. Therefore, the classwork task is a reference frame for performance in task execution in the management profession.

Team Work

Teamwork is paramount in modern organizations. Fortunately, there is adequate theory and practical assessments that concern teamwork in the management curriculum. It enables one to learn the efficient means of communication and contribution towards the achievement of goals. Besides, teams would allow members to maximize their abilities or learn new skills from peers (Mostert, 2015, p. 44). The course requires that students engage in team development and participate in the teams. From the beginning, I took part in the formation of teems in them one and them two. Since there is adequate literature in the course work concerning teams, most of the skill used in developing them was directly sourced from the books. I have inherent leadership skills; therefore, I have helped in the formation of the teams, the formation of ground rules, and delegation of tasks. Asa leader in a team, the challenge was to maintain collaboration and meet the team’s goals. With the help of team members, we identified the strengths and weaknesses of all members in the early stages of the team cycle. That way, all members would be assigned the tasks that suit their capabilities. It also enhanced creativity since members would explore or make deliverables concerning an area of passion, interest, or expertise. Therefore, I have learned that optimum performance is feasible through appropriate delegation of tasks in a collaborative team culture.

Figure 2 Visual description of collaboration

Creativity

The skills gained and knowledge obtained is a potential guide to my profession. I look forward to improving my personal creativity and utilizing it in life beyond the studies. Therefore, I intend to do the following a creativity enhancement exercise. First, I will foster open and creative working environments (Amabile, 1996). That is, I will work to recognize the abilities of my teammates or subordinates and help them maximize the things that can profit the company and themselves. I have learned that from Google, where workers are allowed to work on their projects at certain off-work periods (D’onfro, 2015, par 2). Secondly, I will motivate the teams to achieve individual and organizational goals. That is practical through incentives, bonuses, gifts, and public appreciation. Thirdly, I will embrace diversity, allowing more people of different calibres into my teams. That way, we will benefit from new skills and knowledge. Fourthly, I will ensure creativity on all members through the provision of power tools and leadership structure. I have learned the value of collaboration in teams; hence, I will engage all members in a horizontal leadership, and brainstorming sessions to work together on goals.

Figure 3 Brainstorming

Conclusion

Psychometric tests are a scientific method used to test the resilience of a person’s mental capacity and their behavioural style. Precisely, they provide all-round information concerning a person, beyond what can be obtained in a face to face interview. They are useful in hiring or developing teams. For instance, a candidate may have good academic certificates, but a psychometric test reveals their real-time capabilities. Using the test, I would encourage colleagues to keep up to date with the recent trends both in academics and career; thus, maintaining a higher score. Management creativity theories concern the methods through which effective leaders foster success through creative leadership approaches. Creativity is revealed through the generation of ideas, problem-solving, and goal achievement, and it is possible to inspire others into being creative. That way, imaginary ideas are transformed into reality. Both in academics and in the profession, I look forward to creating the most appropriate environment, where team members and subordinates will feel free to explore their imagination, to come up with their creative approaches.

References

Amabile, T., 1996. Creativity and Innovation in Organizations. arvard Business School Background , pp. 396-239.

D’onfro, J., 2015. The truth about Google’s famous ‘20% time’ policy. [Online]
Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com.au/google-20-percent-time-policy-2015-4
[Accessed 12 May 2020].

Mostert, N., 2015. Belbin – the way forward for innovation teams. Journal of Creativity and Business Innovation, Issue 1, pp. 35-49.