Managing People

I wrote this blog a while ago, but only posting it now, due to the pressures of the exams and year-end work commitments. 

This was probably the most enjoyable subject for me this year. The readings were interesting, lectures engaging and group discussions fascinating. As a line manager, I was surprised to learn about the impact of the psychological contract on employee performance and how good recruitment and induction practices can help employees and managers in setting the expectations. It is apparent to me that breaches to the psychological contract, can seriously impact performance if employee engagement is negative.

I have also begun to appreciate the role that line manager’s play in the organisation and how good communication and involvement of employees can improve commitment and performance. I am grateful to work for a company whose performance management process measures fairly well against the best practices mentioned in the course material, although additional training to line managers is required.

I identified pragmatist as my preferred learning style (Honey and Mumford from Peter, 2015). This makes sense as my recommendations tend to be practical and realistic. As a line manager, good training, techniques and 'how to' guides will positively improve my impact on managing people. I do understand that my preferred learning style is different to others and I should seek to understand how others learn and manage accordingly.

With this assignment done and dusted, it was time to prepare for the 2015 Exams.

…ME 

A Beach Life

 

A Beach Life

It was great to get away for a few days to the idyllic and serene surroundings of Pointe Aux Piments in Mauritius. I was really struggling with lack of sleep due to stress regarding work and my studies. Feeling burnt out, I decided a beach life ... for a few days was required to revive the energy and get the juices flowing.

Jumping for joy

We spent 5 nights at the Beachcomber Le Victoria. This was my second visit to Le Victoria having visited here almost 10 years ago for our honeymoon. We travelled with our 5 year old daughter and hence got to experience the kid friendly areas of the resort

Welcome and arrival – Transfer from the airport to the resort was good and comfortable. The drive takes about 75 minutes (depending when you arrive). We arrived at 7pm. Check-in was smooth and quick. Nice refreshing drink and cool towel at arrival

Room – Rooms are quite large and spacious. They setup a sleeper couch for my daughter and still the room have enough space. Bathroom is well designed, with a large shower and double basin. We stayed on the first floor superior room overlooking the garden and beach. The towels are quite old and should be replaced. For a 4star superior, I was disappointed with the lack of amenities and complimentary water. The robes were dirty and needed replacement on arrival. The WiFi is good and free.

Clear sea water

Beach and Pool – Beach is lovely. Please do take beach shoes with as there is a lot of coral on the beach. Plenty of beach chairs and umbrellas available. Beach towels are also very old and need replacing. The beach staff are friendly and efficient. Pool is awesome – overlooking the beach. The kid’s pool area is small but we did not mind that.

Kids Club – Awesome kids club with enough activities to keep them busy and happy. The staff really go out of their way to care for the little ones.

Activities – Loads of free activities available including glass bottom boat, kayak, paddle boats, aqua aerobics and volleyball.

Food – Hotel caters for halaal during breakfast with separate halaal food stations. Large variety but can be improved with more yogurts and fruit. The hotel should also look at creating a kids atmosphere with kid friendly cutlery. Dinner was buffet with a great seafood and veggie selection. Drinks are ridiculously priced (over R30 for a can of coke).

Awesome Sunsets

Overall this is still a good hotel that needs to conduct a few improvements if it wants to maintain its “superior” status.

The highlights of the trip included: 

• Beautiful sunsets 
• Speed tube rides 
• Glass bottom boat tour
• Frisbee on the beach :) 
• Building sand castles 
• Watching people build sand crocs 

We did not visit the main towns of Port Louis or Grand Baie as we just needed the sea and sand :)

Croc Sand Castles

Counting down to the next trip إنشا الله 

 

...ME

 

 

Managing Financial Resources (MFR)

Managing Financial Resources 

I was quite nervous at the start of this module as I always believed that finance and accounting were very complex subjects. I was concerned about quickly grasping the theory, especially on economic concepts and financial ratios, as my experience in project environments never exposed me to the depth of finance covered in this module. I had to ask myself, 

what learning process would allow me to adequately understand the core concepts? 

So, I volunteered to assist one of the business managers at work to get hands on experience of managing financial resources in our environment and relate the module content to this work. It worked to an extent only.

The math portion of this module was great – developing cash flows, income statements, balance sheets etc. Even the ratio calculations and subsequent analysis and conclusions made on the ratios was easy to grasp. Sounds like an easy module, right? Wrong! I struggled with the economics portion of the module. For example, I understood Porters 5 forces, but struggled to use the actual finance numbers to justify my conclusion. Decision making was another section that took a lot of time to understand. Once again, I understood the decision making techniques but could not relate it back to the numbers. This was also true for budgets.

This module has taken me out of my comfort zone, and allowed me to work closely with the business managers in the Chief Operating Officer’s business unit. When interpreting the company’s financial statements, I realized how large our company really is and the considerable amount of work that goes into preparing these statements as well as the impact of decisions taken based on the analysis of the financials. 

I just passed the assignment, which was disappointing, but a true reflection of my understanding of the module. I have a lot more to do on this module and cannot say I fully grasped all the concepts. 

2 more assignments and 3 exams left for this year!!

An eye opening ... ME

Managing Processes & Systems (MPS)

This topic of the MBA was fantastic. I got to improve my skills on processes (analyzing, documenting and making recommendations), project implementation and risk management. The textbook “Operations and Process Management” is an excellent read, especially if you can get the e-book, as it has useful videos and practice apps.

The assignment allowed me to gain more insight on SIPOC, Performance Objectives and drawing Spider Diagrams to interpret performance objectives. The MPS approach provides models and frameworks that allow organisations to analyse the strategic importance and impact of its systems and processes to meet customers’ and market requirements and expectations. It also provides a holistic assessment of these systems and processes in order to improve, enhance, terminate or continue with them. A purely systems and process approach will not work without looking at the people involved in the process. Understanding the soft system approach is vital to ensure that the people involved in the processes understand it and can play an active role in improving it.

When viewing the suppliers, inputs, processes, outputs and customers, I am able to notice the failure points and areas of waste. The knowledge obtained will allow me to use the models and tools to resolve these issues and allow our organisation to quickly adapt to the changing demands of our customers.

3 more assignments and 3 exams left for this year!! 

...(a lean) ME

My first MBA Assignment

After a lot of reflecting and SWOT analysis, I finally decided to manage my MBA this year. I consulted with my lovely wife, and we decided that the timing was right to begin this journey. I chose the Henley MBA, which is ranked number 34 in the world and number 2 in the UK according to the Economist (http://www.economist.com/whichmba/henley-business-school/2014). No South African institute makes the Top 100. Henley also offers a flexible and family friendly MBA, which was exactly what I was looking for.

After the first set of lectures on Personal Development, I realised how much importance Henley placed on leadership, self knowledge and self discovery. You ultimately have to know yourself before you can know and lead others. 

The first assignment was exactly about that - a self-discovery journey where the aim is to reflect on our past to plan a better future. I was initially quite scared about the assignment as I did not know what to expect. I knew the lecturers required us to think critically about the models we used and what our analysis, reflection and  questioning made us conclude. 

My tips for future MBA students is to journal all your thoughts as you go through the assignment and use that to develop your plan and manage it going forward. I even used an Agile Techniques called Scrum to help manage my time. I received a 'Proceed' for my assignment which means the first hurdle is done. 4 more assignments and 3 exams left for this year!! 

إنشا الله I make it through!! 

...(an enlightened) ME

 

4 days in Hong Kong

• Time of year traveled:January 
• Weather: No rain or humidity (positive), however cold weather 
• Visa: Not required for South Africans 
• How to get there: Direct with SAA or via Dubai with Emirates. The latter is much cheaper (approx. R 7500 pp) 

Day 1: 

Ocean Park

As soon as you arrive in Hong Kong you realise how densely populated the place is. Yes, space is a problem but the sights, sounds and smells are very unique. The trains run with the same efficiency as Swiss Rails but once again they are busy. Getting from the airport is easy with the Airport express and free shuttle that drops you off at your hotel, provided its on the route.

View from Cable Ride

Hong Kong has two great amusement parks - Ocean Park and Disneyland. We chose the former as it combines thrilling rides, zoo, cable car ride, underwater train, aquarium and a firework and laser show. That's not bad for R 450. That is also about R 300 cheaper than Disneyland. TIP: Check online or at the 7-11 for great admission rates. 

Getting to the park is clearly described on the site and is quite accurate. Don't miss the last bus leaving the park or else you have to catch a cab (which are pricey). 

Ocean Park is an entire day activity. Halaal food is not available at the park, so you have to fill up on drinks and snacks. 

Day 2: 

Macau Tower

We took a ferry from Hong Kong to Macau at a cost of approx. HK$ 150 pp. The ride is smooth and the entry into Macau is quick and painless. We decided to take a tour from the airport. A personal tour guide took us around Macau to see the various sites. You can also use the free Casino shuttles but the sites are limited. A must see is Little Portugal, Macau Tower and the Dragon show. 

Views from the top of the Peak

Day 3: 

After 2 hectic days, we take it easy and visit Hong Kong Park,a free park in the middle of the concrete jungle. From here its a quick walk to the Victoria Peak tram, which is a must do, for awesome views of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. When leaving here, you can also pop by a few HK Island markets. We then took a walk on the promenade and walk of fame, before waiting for the Symphony of Lights show. TIP: Make sure you take a boat from Kowloon to HK Island (bring exact change). 

Stanley Beach

Day 4: 

We took a bus to Stanley Beach, which is really beautiful and serene. There are some nice markets on this side of Hong Kong. Less crowded but slightly more expensive. We end the day with a visit to some of the malls and markets in Kowloon. 







... Me

  

Switzerland in South Africa

View from the top of the resort

Amidst the majestic Drakensberg Mountains, resides the very picturesque resort of Little Switzerland. The resort did lack some of the finesse of a Swiss hotel and while we were impressed with the location and layout of the resort, the rooms were very basic for the price we paid (almost $150 per night). The Drakensberg itself is definitely a place to visit in groups as it can get quite boring during the evenings, unless you want a nice romantic getaway.

 

...Riaz