21779 Management Skills

Subject level: Postgraduate

Handbook description

Students develop insight into the interpersonal skill requirements of managers and establish a basis for the future development of skills. This subject deals experientially with the interpersonal skills needed by managers to lead teams successfully and takes the individual's awareness of his or her skills and interpersonal style as its starting point. It goes on to examine basic communication skills such as listening, counselling and non-verbal behaviour. It deals with applied skills including interviewing, time management, goal setting, delegation, group facilitation and meetings management, decision making, conflict management and negotiation, and organisational communication.

Subject objectives/outcomes

On successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

1. describe the range of intra and interpersonal skills and competencies that research and practice have shown to be of critical importance for success in managing and leading in organisations of growing complexity and diversity
2. demonstrate an understanding of the key principles and theoretical underpinnings of behavioural skill learning as a platform for ongoing skill development
3. demonstrate a conceptual (theory/research based) understanding of the dimensions of intra and interpersonal competency and skill practice
4. demonstrate increased self-awareness and proficiency in nominated skill areas.

Contribution to graduate profile

Self-management and interpersonal skills have continued to be acknowledged as areas of most critical skill requirements for managerial effectiveness. The findings of the Industry Task Force on Leadership and Management Skills in 1995 not only highlights this fact, but placed such skills as fundamental components in meeting what has been called 'the challenges of the Asian-Pacific century'. The findings further alerted us to the fact these skills remain significantly underdeveloped in Australian managers compared to world best practices.

In an environment of continued and unprecedented change the need for increased levels of competency in the areas of self-management, interpersonal skills, communication in a variety of diverse business environments, and capacity to take leadership roles in business takes on an added challenge. Not only do students need to be operating at the highest proficiency but even more importantly we need to understand the nature of on-going learning and the mechanisms for continued change and development of our skill base. Managing in an environment of globalisation, virtual organisations, cultural diversity, and knowledge management are just some of the continued challenges students will need to face.

Teaching and learning strategies

Cognitive input comes from lectures, discussion, text and references. Experiential input comes from weekly workshops and other activities. A major task for students is to reconcile cognitive and experiential activities with their personal reactions and reflections on your functioning. This type of reflection is strongly supported by the use of a diary for personal reflection.

Content

• The importance of interpersonal competencies and management skill for managerial and leadership effectiveness; differing skill requirements within different management context.
• The centrality of diversity within organisations including cultural, inter-cultural, gender and the issue of ethics.
• Behavioural change theories and the experiential/group learning model.
• Theories of human development; managing personal change and the centrality of self-awareness in personal development.
• Goal setting, stress management, time management.
• Interpersonal skills of relating to others including listening skills, non-verbal communication, assertion, responding and feedback skills.
• Applied skill of delegation, meeting management, group skills, presentation skills, decision making skills, problem solving skills, conflict resolution, negotiation skills, interviewing skills, networking, influence and leadership skills.

Assessment

Assessment item 1: Literature Review and Managerial Skill Analysis (Individual

Assessment item 2: Personal Skill Development Project (Individual)

Required text(s)

Carlopio, J, Andrewarthur, G and Armstrong, H, 2005, Developing Management Skills: A comprehensive guide for leaders, 3rd edn, Prentice Hall, Australia.

Recommended text(s)

Bolton, Robert, 1998, People Skills: How to assert yourself, listen to others and resolve conflicts, Simon and Schuster, Australia. (Whilst dated, this is an inexpensive text that covers a significant number of the interpersonal topics for the course.)

Indicative references

Websites

Australian Institute of Training and Development www.aitd.com.au

Australian Institute of Management www.aim.com.au/nsw

The Institute of Type Development www.itd.net.au

Australian Human Resource Institute www.ahri.com.au/index.php

The Social Psychology Network www.socialpsychology.org