A Journal Entry of Management

Learning management has changed my thinking a lot. Before, I always thought that management was a common sense thing. But after I studied Management 101 and dug even deeper when I studied Management 201, I realised that management is really a fascinating and logical subject. After every lecture, I think I learn and I grow. But if I need to pick one thing that’s had an impact on me the most, I would say the thinking and the skill that a manager should have, I especially remember the lectures related to the “Gods of Management Questionnaire.” Many friends tell me that they are not going to major in management because they feel management is only about learning a whole bunch of theories which are very empty. But I disagree in some ways. Yes, we are learning a lot of theories in management, but the most important thing about learning these theories is to understand them, to know how to use them and apply them into real life cases in the future. I had an experience which I used the management theories I learnt from the class and lead me to a good success. I have directed two Chinese Culture shows in Auckland. For the first one, I used the way of the “Zeus God”, which I learnt in MGMT 201 as being described as high personal involvement of the leader and the leader trying to get involved with everything. So at the first show that I directed I felt very tired because I needed to answer questions about everything and arrange everything myself, from how to decorate the show ground to telling the performers they are going up next. So in the second show, I learnt from the experience that I had during the first one. I also combined and applied all four different styles of management which are “The Zeus God, The Apollo God, the Odysseus God and the Dionyssus God”. I used the management skill that I learned so far and made a much better structured show staff team. There were in total 50 show staff and I divided them into 7 groups: Group 1: Design Group - who will design and decorate the show ground. Group 2: Welcome Group – who will help to arrange parking for the audience, welcome and help the people to be sitted and also to check the tickets and hand out the show programme at the door. Group3: Directors Group – who will give orders and advice to all other groups. Group4: Back Stage Group – who will manage all the performers and everything at the back stage. Group5: Property Group – who will control and manage everything on the stage. Group6: Media Group – who will film and take pictures of the show, and write about the show later on for the media. Group7: Atmosphere Group – who will control the order and atmosphere at the show place. Each group had a group leader and each staff member was told exactly what his or her jobs and responsibilities were in detail before the day of the show, so everyone knew what he or she was supposed to do and there were no more unnecessary questions or problems. When a staff member had a question they would ask their group leader, and when a group leader had a question, then they would come to me. So I gave some power to the others, yet in this way I was still on top of management structure and so I didn’t lose my control. I found that actually I had much more control of the situation and everything went a lot smoother this way. We may say that no matter what way something is done, as long as it will work then it’s a good way of management, however; I believe to be well organised and to choose the right theories and apply them to different cases are very important in management. In the class, our lecturer tries to not just give us all the lecture notes or let us just basically copy them from the projector. What he does is to let us think about the situation first, and then have a discussion about it, then finally confirm our thinking with some related theories. I found that very helpful and useful because in this way, I can understand them better. I still remember we actually did a questionnaire related to the “Gods of Management” - I found out that I am more into the style of the “Apollo” now. I also like the way that we have real life cases that we can have discussions on. For example, in the Avon company case, the company was going downward and we tried to use the theories that we learnt to have some critical thinking and try to figure out the ways that the company can use to bring back the profit for the company. Once again, we are not just learning any empty feeling theories in class, but doing some real life practise and getting ready for the future. I think management is an accumulation of knowledge and experience in this field. We can’t be a good manager by just memorising theories. We need to understand them, absorb them, think about them, and then use them in real life. Learning management is also learning the ways to communicate with others. It’s also about working in teams and each group member’s involvement. By doing all these cases in class, I think it will helpful for all of us if one day we really become a manager in a company and use everything we learn. I don’t know what I can expect in life or in class tomorrow. But the thing that I can be sure of is that I am ready, I am ready to meet whatever challenge comes tomorrow. I am willing to learn and to gain. I like management more and more now and I now believe that I’ll be a better manager in the future too. Learning management gives me the way to improve my confidence in many ways. Nancy Hu 10 October, 2003

	1: Some Of My Thoughts
	2: Some of my quotes in English
	3: Some Of My Quotes In Chinese中文版
	4: This Afternoon
	5: "Wen Gu Er Zhi Xin"
	6: There is only one of you!
	7: It will be better
	8: Happy Mid-Autumn Day
	9: Give yourself a chance
	10: Do It Right Away
	11: Enjoy Your Freedom
	12: A Journal Entry of Management
	13: From Titanic
	14: My favorite festival - Chinese New Year