Topic: Compare and Contrast

Order Description No outside source need Go over each of the individual reports; compare and contrast the answers you got from your managers. (1) Our Managers: Shortly, who were the 4 managers interviewed (i.e. their organizations, fields, departments, managerial levels)? You can use bullets here. (2) Differences Among the Managers: Write about any differences among the managers’ approaches, responsibilities, priorities, preferences, and actions, etc. What primary factors cause these differences (e.g. the employees that manage? their industry? the size of their organizations? their managerial level? etc.) Grading rubric: 1. Effort invested in this work. The writing reflects that the team put much effort and attention comparing and contrasting the managers (based on class topics) and writing their own conclusion / analysis. 2. The writing provides in-depth coverage of the required topics/sections, and assertions are clearly supported by class topics and evidence. 3. The writing clear titles/sections showing all of the required topics. Paragraphing and transitions are clear and very good 4. The writing has no major errors in word selection and use, sentence structure, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Siavash Ahmadi MHR 301 Professor Zeynep Aytug Real-Life Manager Interview Introduction A manager has to work hard to move his/her way up in the company to the managerial position. With the position comes many new responsibilities and powers provided to the manager. This means that the manager will have to work harder but also lead more people under his/herself in order to get things done for the company. The manager I chose to interview was my direct manager David Acevedo. David is the Fitness manager at 24 Hour Fitness, a gym that I currently work as a trainer. David is one of the youngest managers we have on staff at work and he worked his way up very fast, for this reason I chose to interview him to see what it was he did to move up and how I could use his insights to do the same myself. Roles and Responsibilities David is the Fitness Manager at 24 Hour Fitness. His responsibilities include: running the training team, setting budget goals for the month, and ensuring that the training staff meets their monthly goals. He is a vital part of the club, considering that the gym is all about working out, the training staff has to be up to par to ensure that the gym runs smoothly. His job is to make sure that happens and that we all exceed expectations. Management Approach David’s own words about his management approach were, “A manager should always be there to support and help his team. When someone does something wrong, the manager should see this is a sign that they need a little help in that area and address it. Most importantly a manager should have a friendly relationship with his team in order to ensure that the team members don’t feel like they are being overly scrutinized or picked on. It’s all about finding a good dynamic and making sure everyone feels like they fit in to that dynamic.” Analysis and Recommendation David’s management approach seems to be centered around a humanistic approach. He sees human relations as a very important part of the job and understands that the employee will work harder and more effectively when they are happy with their job and management of the company. David believes that his approach is the right one for our company’s style, and his proof is in the numbers he’s been able to continually produce. David’s team is consistently the number one training team in the district when it comes to training sales and client re-signs. Moving Up to Management When asked what he did to move his way up to a management position David stated, “I held myself to a higher standard than everybody else. I wanted to make sure that I was the best trainer on staff at any club I went to. So once the management position opened up, I was asked to apply, instead of asking for the position. The company knew what I could do and wanted me to do more. They noticed the high level of production I was putting out and that the other trainers I worked with were improving vastly as well.” Analysis and Recommendation This really shows through David’s management style. He’s always working at making his team better, and I have personally seen the results from his guidance and help throughout my own training career. Once I noticed his work ethic I began holding myself to a higher standard as well, and since then I’ve seen a large improvement in my personal production. To move up in any company you have to set yourself apart from the rest of the pack. To do this you have to make sure that you are the clear choice for number one and the upper management notices. My only recommendation for David on the subject would be that as a team member, you have to help better everyone around you. It is definitely good to set yourself apart by doing better but in the same sense, to show that you are/will be a good manager if promoted, you must show that you can lead the team and make it stronger as a unit. Ethical Challenges David explained that while working for the company he has faced many ethical challenges. The fact that our pay comes from commission always brings up an ethical issue, considering most would do anything to make the sale since it directly affects their paychecks. David said he’s faced that same issue when he was a trainer and even more so now as a manager because he has to oversee his training staff, ensuring that they make wise ethical decisions, while also making sure that every managerial decision he makes is ethical as well. In our organization there are many rules and regulations when it comes to selling training, and also for the actual act of training a client as well. These are there to make sure nobody is dishonest and that the trainer and the client are both happy with the arrangement. David says that his biggest ethical challenge that he faces is knowing when to recommend a smaller training package to a potential client who may not have a need for one of the larger ones, despite their willingness to purchase the bigger package. Analysis and Recommendation Although our job is based on commission, we as trainers got into the field to help people improve their lives, not for the money. We help a wide array of clients, from young clients who want to get buff, to older clients who just want to increase their body’s functionality. We help people who want to lose/gain weight, and many other people who have different goals that need to be reached. We have a moral obligation to help those people to the best of our ability, all the while making sure that we don’t abuse their trust or extort them for their money just to increase our production numbers or commission. Lessons Learned To be a manager you face many difficulties every day. Some are ethical issues, others are organizational problems, and some are purely personal. To be effective as a manager you must know how to handle each one of these issues, as delicate as they are, in the most efficient and morally correct way. I agree with David’s views on management and overall management style. The insights he gave me during the interview helped me realize what I need to do to move up into that management role myself. I’m going to start utilizing this information right away at work and make sure that I hold myself to a higher standard so that I can have the opportunity to lead my own team and find my own management style in the future.