MBA 745 – Reflections on Module 1 Concepts
Consider your own leadership traits. Do you more closely fit with the creative nature from MBA 715, the organizational nature of MBA 725, the growth nature of MBA 735, or the mature nature of MBA 745? Explain your response.
I am definitely more of the creative type. I do my best in “uncharted” territory. Thinking outside the box and coming up with new ideas are areas where I am most comfortable. This type of thinking will also be be beneficial in the mature stage if the business. Being able to creatively repackage or innovate old products is important during the maturity phase as well.
Reflecting on your personal past experiences, discuss an idea you developed, only to have it fail after the implementation. Why could you not sustain it after the implementation?
The only thing that comes to mind initially is some database programming I did at one time. The software, while functional and working, was too difficult to use. It did the job that was necessary, but the learning curve was not easy enough to make the tool worthwhile. Since it was not easy enough to learn, long term usage failed.
Think of the products/services of your current organization. How can the products/services be enhanced to appeal to larger segments of the current markets?
The biggest way we try to improve our products is by identifying new markets. Our products are fairly mature and not much can be done to redesign the base product. What we do is come up with new packaging configurations for the accessories that come with it. By finding out what accessories our customers want with the product, we are able to rejuvenate the sales of our product.
MBA 735 – Reflections on Module 6 Concepts
I have survived! This entry will wrap up my last week of MBA 735, the growth phase of a business. It’s been a good class, particularly because we got into a lot of the mechanical portions of the business… finance, capital budgeting, HR and so forth. Next up will be MBA 745, the Maturity stage of the business. Just one question to address this week…
What are the key leadership characteristics needed to lead an organization during growth?
The number one characteristic, in my opinion, is that a leader has a good understanding of him or herself. A leader needs to know where their strengths and weaknesses lie. When a business moves into growth, particularly rapid growth, there are very few leaders who are “jack-of-all-trades”. A good leader will know when they need to hire in the expertise necessary to perform well through the growth phase. This will allow the leader to focus on his or her skills. The leader also needs to be skilled at bringing together those who are in various waves of change… agricultural, industrial, knowledge, and judgment. A growing business will have many waves represented, and the good leader will get them all performing well together.
MBA 735 – Reflections on Module 5 Concepts
Even if you are not the top decision maker of an organization, why is it important to understand your organization’s competitors?
In order for a business to remain competitive, it is important that everyone understand the competition to some degree. While a “C” level person may have a good overview of the competition, they are often not aware of the “detail” information. Those who report to the executive level should be even more aware of competitive information to be able to provide the necessary details.
What are your personal competitive advantages? What do you do better than your counterparts in your current job? In your industry? Compared to workers in general (in and out of your field of expertise)?
I am very well versed in database tools and data analysis. My particular strength is in understanding retailer data systems (Wal-Mart’s RetailLink, Target’s Info Retriever, and so forth). I learn very rapidly and can quickly pick up new systems.
As a company grows, will its competitive advantages change? Have you seen this happen in your place of business? Is this good or bad? Explain your responses.
To an extent, competitive advantages change. As the company grows, it learns. The more experience it gets in the marketplace, the more it knows what works and what doesn’t. The core drivers and the advantages they entered the market with usually do not change. Advantages should improve as the business grows.
MBA 735 – Reflections on Module 4 Concepts
How will your knowledge of information management help you in your future projects and proposals?
Knowledge management is already a part of my everyday work life. It will continue to be important to me in order to have an understanding of who and what I am dealing with. Maintaining the right data in the correct amounts will make proposals and analysis considerably easier than having to go out and find the needed information.
How can you work to improve the internal marketing activities at your organization?
Improving internal marketing can be done in a lot of ways. One in particular is making my voice heard. If I see better ways of communicating internally, then it is up to me to make the suggestion or recommendation. If I do not make my voice heard, then my suggestions will never have the chance of being reviewed and possibly implemented, thus no improvement.
How will your preference of the four-lens approach impact your ability or desire to assist new employees in becoming acclimated to the culture of your organization?
I am more on the relational and creative side. I enjoy training and instructing, so I’m able to show new employees “the ropes” with minimal discomfort. Some personalities do not do well in showing others the road to follow and would prefer to stay off on their own. Where I am challenged is in organizing and planning the methods to acclimate.
MBA 735 – Reflections on Module 3 Concepts
Week three has wrapped up and 735 is halfway complete. As we continue to pursue the concepts of the growth stage of a business, here are some questions for review.
How will your knowledge of the financial concepts help you in your future projects and proposals?
In order to better analyze projects in my job, the financial concepts reviewed in this week of class will be very beneficial. Understanding capital expenditure budgeting will be of particular importance. There are often projects that I get the chance to review that will involve capital expenditures and it is important to have the knowledge of how to budget these expenses.
Does the risk level of a leader come into play when making such financial decisions? How so?
A leader’s characteristics will most always bleed over into all of the decisions he or she makes. If an entrepreneur, for example, is a risk-taker, he will most likely be more aggressive in making his business decisions. If a leader is more conservative in her approach, she will probably be more likely to be conservative when budgeting for business decisions.
Will the decision-makers’ preference of the four lens impact his or her decision making based on the financial models reviewed in this module? Why?
A decision maker will be impacted based on their four lens preference. If a decision maker is more analytical, then the financial documentation for decisions to be made will probably need to be very detailed when delivered for review. If a decision maker is more direct, then he or she is most likely going to want to see just the bottom line results of the analysis for the impact on the company.
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This blog was originally created as part of an assignment to track my MBA journey. Hope you enjoy...
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