1. Christine Nguyen 49799272
Professor McLaughlin
Management 05
27 May 2010
Managerial Readiness Self-Analysis
Communication:
Strengths: Communication is very important in many ways. It allows an individual to
express ideas in order to be diverse, it allows managers and employees to acknowledge a
common goal in order to achieve it, and it allows expression of feelings to make a work place
more bearable. I do believe that I have some strength when it comes to written and verbal
communication, communicating a strategic plan with my project members, and giving and
receiving feedback. Through written and verbal communication I am very clear about my
contributions. I understand the goal and much like my team members, I just want to finish that
goal in the best way possible. Communicating strategic plans with my project members involves
collaboration of ideas from my project members and acceptance is required in this; not only
acceptance, but the ability to express yourself about the idea. What if you became a little
distressed about an idea that another project member has come up with? I understand that this is
group project, and that if one person’s idea may not accommodate well with everyone else, I will
be able to express my distress feelings to that group member. Another strength within
communication would have to be diversity awareness. From the Diversity Awareness self-
assessment, I’ve learned that diversity is very important to me, and I feel that it is very important
to others as well. I’ve noticed that it was important to others through the questions and I realized
that I was confidently answering the questions that were supporting diversity. I work at
Abercrombie & Fitch and they are all about diversity. Every day there were articles relating to
diversity and the potential employees that they are always in search for were diverse; even one of
our interview questions revolves around diversity. Diversity overpowers ignorance, and that’s
why it’s important and it’s one of my strengths.
Weaknesses: Although I just described my strengths, I definitely have weaknesses
involving communication. I am horrible at oral presentations because I fear that the idea that I’m
about to present will be rejected publicly. I get nervous, uncomfortable, and not confident what
so ever. I’m good at expressing my ideas in a group because everyone else is expressing their
ideas too, but when it comes to oral presentation, I’m the only person that is presenting to the
crowd.
Teamwork:
Strengths: Teamwork is especially important in group projects. It entails collaborating
with others with acceptance, readiness, cooperation, and contribution into the project. In the
beginning of every project, there are always ideas bounced around from others and acceptance
2. that the idea could potentially is key to teamwork. When I was a lead stock for Hollister Co. I’ve
come across a few projects that were new to me, and there weren’t any rules to look back on in
order to perform this. I asked my employees for their opinions and ideas, because I believe that
everyone is part of the stockroom, I can’t just be doing things the way I want them, but also how
my employees want them too. I would be a poor team player if I was only concerned with my
ideas and disregarded everyone else’s. Readiness and willing is also essential to being a good
team player. It just means that you are open up for any ideas or opportunities that appear within
the process of this project. This factor is also expressed in the example that I have provided
above in my lead stock story. Readiness is also similar to cooperation when you working in a
group project. Within my management team, there will often be complications because we are all
prideful with our jobs. But in one complicated situation that I was in, I set aside my pride and
cooperated with my mangers because being prideful involves too much negative energy and
wastes a lot of time. In the end cooperation makes the job goes by smoother. Lastly contribution
is definitely important in being a good team player. A team player has to contribute ideas,
resources, or help in order to move the process in an efficient way. Even though I upheld a
managerial position, I still contributed into the task of what had to be completed instead of
monitoring if everyone was doing the job. We were all finished with the project sooner than we
expected. Taking the Are You a Team Player self-assessment has also proved that I possess the
qualities of being a great team player. It shows that most of the time on the job, I deliver the
promises that I make, put team goals ahead of mine, encourage others to question how things are,
receive constructive feedback without feeling defensive, and demonstrate willingness to change
my opinion.
Weakness: I don’t think I have a lot of weakness within teamwork because I am a willing
person. But a skill that may be inconsistent is approaching to my team members if something is
wrong. In a position of being a lead stock, I don’t mind approaching to my employees
discussing what is wrong, but in a position as an employee along with everyone else is a different
story. I do have this feeling that it’s not place or right to discuss something is wrong to my
employee because I do fear of being disliked. I do fear that my fellow employee may take it the
wrong way and assumes that I am just being condescending.
Self-Management:
Strengths: Self-Management is the act of managing one’s own behavior. This includes
understanding ethical issues, tolerance of ambiguity, responsibility toward commitments, and
work ethic. I do have an understanding of ethical issues and I do carry out those understandings
through my actions. For example, if I was having a problem with another manager, I should
report to that manager rather than his/her boss. I wouldn’t want to that manager to report to my
boss before me because I wasn’t aware that there was a problem between us. If there I was aware
of the problem, I will try and fix it, and if they don’t see the progress, than they do have every
right to speak to my boss about my behavior. Basically I wouldn’t want what is ethical
3. unacceptable to be performed on me, so I don’t perform it on others. The Personal Value self-
assessment may not relate to the example or my own interpretation of ethics, but this assessment
shows that Family is ranked as my highest personal value and it is true. I wanted to be an
industrial psychologist because it deals with business and psychology and it is one of the higher
paying jobs in the field of psychology. All I want for my family is being a good provider, even if
it means that I may have a career in my desired field. I believe that readiness has much to do
with tolerance of ambiguity because you are required to be open to new ideas, changes, and
opportunities. The Tolerance for Ambiguity self-assessment has also proved my readiness for
open ideas because I according to my low score in the assessment, I view things as promising,
rather than threatening. For example, at Hollister Co. I was going to be receiving a new District
Manager, and as he came into my stockroom, he complemented it but asked me to perform a lot
of projects. I initially was offended because I felt as though my stockroom wasn’t up to his
standards, but I disregarded those negative feelings and convinced myself that these required
changes are challenges to make my stockroom better. After all, there is always room
improvement. From my past manager’s feedback, they have all noticed my work ethics and
sense of urgency and I’m aware of it myself. I don’t believe in wasting time, I don’t believe in
easy way out, and I believe hard work is beneficial to one’s life and morals. I even worked off
the clock on my days off just off I had the best standards. The Work Ethic self-assessment has
also portrayed this since I scored a 24 as a pro-work ethic individual and an 8 as a non-work
ethic individual.
Weakness: The factor that I may be inconsistent with self-management is my
responsibility towards commitments. It’s not that that I don’t perform them at all, I just may not
finish them in the required amount of time. For example, during updates week at Hollister Co. I
was directed to backstock the new merchandise that was going to be shipped into the store. I was
committed to this task, but I fell short on the resources that I needed. I blamed it on external
factors when I could have backstock the merchandise by increments as I was receiving during
the previous week.
Leadership:
Strengths: In my opinion, a lot of people are indecisive in groups because they want to be
fair for everyone, even though it is not most efficient strategy. Every group, organization, and
company needs leadership qualities and they entail developing goals and influencing their
subordinates to achieve them. Such factors include project management, global issue awareness,
diversity awareness and leverage, and strategic thinking skills. I have main strengths in project
management and strategic thinking because I am motivated to come up with the best plans to
finish at the fastest times. Not only that, but I do emphasize the importance of diversity
awareness and leverage. Within leadership, diversity to me means diverse skills amongst my
subordinates and I am the person that must provide that type of training. I always have to think
about what will happen if I’m sick. If the stockroom goes down in shambles when I’m not
present at work, than what does that say about me and my managerial skills of training my
subordinate diverse skills? According to the Leadership Style self-assessment, my leadership
4. style is more towards the people rather than the task. I do consider my subordinates feelings and
contributions. I may have developed the best way to do a specific task, but maybe they have
produced a better way. We learn from each other, and that’s what makes the organization works
better.
Weaknesses: One of my weaknesses within Leadership would have to be global issue
awareness. I definitely lack the global information, but it’s probably because no one has
informed of this sort of information.
Conceptual Skills:
Strengths: Conceptual thinking basically discusses how well someone is thinking. It
involves problem solving, critical/analytical thinking, decision making skills, and creativity. My
strengths would revolve around problem solving, decision making skills, and creativity. Conflict
worries me and it stresses everyone who is involved it will affect their work performance.
Problem solving can involve the work itself or the associates. Once as a lead stock, I had two
associates who were in an indirect personal argument with each other at work. Both of them took
offense whenever one or the other associate makes an inappropriate comment. It not only
affected their work performance but also other associates around them and the mood the
stockroom. I had to stop both them asked them to step outside the store with me work out their
problems. They were not only wasting my time, but the time of others with their distractions.
After openly talking about everything out, the atmosphere of the store was better to work with.
Another example of problem solving deals with the work itself. When there’s unexpected for that
is placed upon us and we don’t have enough resources to get the task done in a timely matter, it
is natural to react in such distress. But no matter how you react to the problem, it will still be
there. In this case it is better to be proactive than reactive. That’s what I’ve always learn from
work and it always applies to school assignments as well. I also have strengths decision making
because I prioritize the tasks. If I don’t get done with my list, at least the most important or
difficult stuff is already taken care of. Not only prioritizing helps with decision, but also listing
out the pros and cons. When it comes to two very close decisions, I have to measure the pros
and cons. And lastly, I have strengths in creativity, especially in organizational times.
Weaknesses: Although I have portrayed majority of conceptual skills, I do lack some
critical/analytical thinking. This skill involves analyzing anything beyond it’s surface, I feel that
I do lack because interpret things a certain way.
Professionalism:
Strengths: Professionalism consists of positive and proper image of yourself and the
company that you represent in the presence of others. Such factors required are personal
presence, initiative, career self-management, and uniqueness. I think positively of myself
because I know I have accomplished a lot for what I set forth for myself. Because of this, I show
5. much strength in my personal presence, initiative, and career self-management, When I am
required to meet with higher managers within the company, I portray a positive image of myself
and for my company. For example, whenever my regional manager is visiting, I show
professionalism through my idea company image and through my work, which is my stockroom.
I show full confidence in both areas, reassuring him that it was never a mistake to hire. I am also
the type of person who is initiative because I want to show that I am aware, head, and I don’t
need anyone to tell me what needs to be done. I look for problems; I don’t wait until someone
directs me.
Weaknesses: I do feel that weakness would have to be uniqueness because I al so focused
on being liked based off on other people’s standards and expectations. If I’m basing perfection
off of other people’s standards, than there is no room for uniqueness.
Throughout my college career so far, I’ve definitely learned a lot through my job as a
lead stock at Abercrombie & Fitch. Not only was a working full time in a managerial position,
but I was also going to school full time. This has taught me time management as well as the
managerial skills that were listed above. During the next year of my undergraduates I plan on
improving my oral presentation skills by insisting to be the group speaker whenever there is a
group project that needs presenting and professionalism by practicing personal presence in the
presence and establish uniqueness. Looking through this paper, I have a minor weakness, but
there is always room for improvement.