MBA 715 – Reflections on Module 1 Concepts

This week marked the start of MBA 715, which is all about the creation stage of a business. Throughout the next six weeks I will be studying and understanding all the elements that go into the making of a business.

Three questions are on my list to answer in this weeks blog:

In what stage of the business lifecycle is your current or former organization?

There are six key stages in business development. They are Creation, Launch, Growth, Maturity, Renewal, and Closure. I would say that my current organization is in the renewal stage. Our business started out as a steel processor in 1955. That market has matured over the years and seen a lot of dynamic ups and downs. The reason I say we are in renewal is because we are constantly looking for acquisitions or redefining product lines in order to continue to meet the current needs of the marketplace. We do things to keep us out in the front while maintaining our core product line. This allows the business to be renewed on a regular basis.

Why is it important for a leader to identify environmental trends at his or her organization?

It’s critical to know the trends because a leader is expected to take his followers through each change and hurdle that comes down the path. The leader should always have a sense of what is happening around him in the workplace. By having a good team working with him, he is able to have a good understanding of the environment and how his team is fitting into that environment.

Would you consider yourself a manager or a leader at this stage in your MBA career? Explain your reasoning.

I consider myself stepping over the fence from managing to leading. Management is usually focused on getting the job done while maintaining the bottom line focus. Leaders are more visionary and look at ways to pull their team along with them in order to get the goal accomplished. I have some skills for leading well in my grasp, but one particular area I need to improve on is communicating my idea in a way that encourages buy-in. While I have no trouble speaking to people, I am sometimes challenged at making the communication efficient and effective.

March 30, 2007 | Filed Under MBA 715 

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