Management Perspectives | Desklib

This article analyzes SA Water to identify its strengths and weaknesses that can determine organizational fitness using self assessment tools and personal SWOT analysis. It also discusses diversity in the organization and how it can be an opportunity or threat for SA Water.

Running head: MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVES
Management Perspectives
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction:
-Who I am
I am presently a management student at the Torres University of Adelaide, Australia
and a management aspirant who aims to achieve success and professional growth in a
management position. My aspiration to be a manager has enabled me to achieve academic
success by enrolling with the esteemed university. Currently I am one of the best academic
performers in the class and have received several accolades from the university about my
management aptitude and knowledge.
-Purpose of the assignment
The purpose of this assignment is to analyze SA Water to identify its strengths and
weaknesses that can determine my organizational fitness in SA Water using self assessment
tools and discussion about the scores from the tools used. Additionally, personal SWOT
assessment is used to find my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, relating them
to the naturally occurring data and personal experiences to understand my position within the
managerial perspectives. In the assignment I shall also discuss diversity in the organization,
how it can be an opportunity or threat for SA Water and how its understanding can support
my management career. Organizational fitness has also been discussed to understand and
justify my future in SA Water.
Summary of Organization:
SA Water is a governmental enterprise that is under the complete ownership of the
South Australian Government. The company was formed through the implementation of
South Australian Water Cooperation Act on July 1st, 1995 and succeeded the Engineering and
Water Supply Department (E&WS) which was established on 1856, two decades after the

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Europeans started settling in Australia. SA Water has undertaken several important projects
on infrastructure such as the Morgan – Whyalla pipeline between 1940 to 1944, Mannum-
Adelaide pipeline between 1949 to 1955, Hope Valley Reservoir which started on 1869,
Mount Bold Reservoir which started on 1932, Bolivar Treatment Works which started on
1961, Adelaide Desalination Plant between 2008 to 2012 and North South Interconnection
System Project (NSISP) between 2010 to 2013. The organization is involved in the
management, maintenance and operation of assets that has an approximate value of 12 billion
AUD and includes water mains of 26,000km, recycled water mains more than 8700 km, 30
plants for water treatment, 24 plans for wastewater treatment, more than 15 reservoirs having
a total capacity of about 200,000 megalitres, a 3MW electricity generating unit (Terminal
Storage Mini Hydro) that is powered by the water which flows to Hope Vallety from Anstey
Hill. In addition the organization owns desalination plants located in Penneshaw and
Lonsdale (sawater.com.au, 2018).
The company is based on the vision of “World-class water services for a better life”
and the value of safety, accountability, genuineness and innovation. The strengths of the
organization include a strong working culture with no gap in gender based pay which is not
seen in any other company in Australia. The company also has the knowledge and expertise
to attract and retain skilled workforce from diverse backgrounds thereby supporting a
culturally diverse workforce. A functional structure is also followed by the organization
based on the functional domains which helps to strategically manage the company which
helps to implement a fixed chain of command. Multiple channels of communication
moreover help to develop effective sharing of information with the stakeholders. The
organizational policy also upholds the value of diversity and respect and provides
employment opportunities with people with disabilities. These factors are significant
strengths of the organization (sawater.com.au, 2018).

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SA Water requires a strong leadership involvement at all levels, which can be
challenging for people in leadership positions to manage the day to day operations. The
diverse work culture can also be a challenge for the management as it leads to diversity in
expectations and mindsets which can lead to conflicts. Maintenance of a zero carbon footprint
of the company is also one challenge that is faced by the company (Mishra, 2018; Kelloway
& Gilbert, 2017).
Methodology:
-How I approached the assignment
The assignment has been approached from a critical point of view to understand how
SA water operates and identify the strengths and weaknesses of the organization followed by
the usage of self assessment tools and SWOT analysis to understand my fitness within the
organization (Bull et al., 2016).
-How the information was sourced
The information was mainly sourced from the company reports and website as well as
online links for self assessment tools.
-Discussion of the self assessment tools used
The assessment tools that were used for the purpose of the self assessment include
The Global Emotional Intelligence Test, Jung Typology Test and VIA Character Strength
Test. These tests help to understand the emotional intelligence scores, personality type and
character strength that can be used to understand my fitness within the organization
(humanmetrics.com, 2018; globalleadershipfoundation.com, 2018; viacharacter.org, 2018).
The tools provided the results below:

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Emotional Intelligence test: Self Awareness: 9, Self management: 5, Social Awareness: 6,
Relationship management: 1
Jung Typology test: ENFP (Extravert 9%, Intuitive 13%, Feeling 12%, Perceiving 10%)
VIA Score: Greatest Strengths: Kindness, Love of learning, Zest and Humour. Greatest
weaknesses: Spirituality. Core values: Wisdom, Courage, Humanity, Justice, Temperance and
Transcendence.
-Discussion about the examples of naturally occurring data that was scored
The Emotional Intelligence test shows that I have high levels of self and social
awareness. This helps me to effectively assess various situations and take decisions
accordingly (globalleadershipfoundation.com, 2018).
The Jung typology test shows that I prefer extraversion over introversion, intuition
over sensing, feeling over thinking and perceiving over judging (humanmetrics.com, 2018).
The VA Character test shows that kindness, interest to learn zest and humor as my
biggest strengths while spirituality as my greatest weakness. My personality is based on the
values of wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance and transcendence
(viacharacter.org, 2018).
SWOT Analysis:
-Table highlighting strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

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(Figure: Self SWOT analysis. Source: self work)
-Discussion of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats with reference to the
modules, naturally occurring data and personal experiences
The self assessment tests showed that my key strengths lies in my ability to show
kindness to others, a keen interest towards learning, completing my tasks with a zest, ability
to exhibit humor and showing self awareness and social awareness. Through kindness, I am
StrengthsKindnessLoveoflearningZestHumourSelfAwarenessSocialAwarenessSWOT

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able to foster a sense of dependence on me as people can confide in me more easily and with
more confidence. My interest to acquire new knowledge also helped me to stay up to date
with new information that can be useful to manage the organization and inform key
decisions, showing zest in my work also ensures that I complete the tasks and responsibilities
that I am entrusted with and see them to their completion, I also have a good sense of humor
which I can use to relieve stress and mitigate challenging situations, self awareness have
helped me to analyze my own strengths and weaknesses effectively and understand the
actions I should take to overcome the weakness and father develop my strengths while social
awareness have helped me to understand and read social situation with great accuracy and
thus understand any problems in the work culture (Rangkuti, 2018).
I am not a spiritual person as I believe in logic and scientific evidences. I also find it
difficult to express certain emotions such as love at certain times. This has challenged my
ability to manage my personal relations effectively, causing personal emotional stress in me.
At times, I also find it difficult to self regulates me and as a result I often indulge in unhealthy
behavior such as binge drinking (Phadermrod et al., 2016).
However, I believe that by effectively utilizing my key strengths I would be able to
further develop my professional aptitude and gain more success in the organization.
Significant threats that I face in my professional career includes a dynamic work
environment that is culturally diverse which challenges my ability to address conflicting
situations. The inability to manage personal relations is another threat that I need to
overcome. The organization with its large and diverse workforce also leads to a high
competition among employees. Technological changes are another threat I face as I
constantly need to be aware and have understanding of new technologies relevant to the
organization and how they need to be used (Jiang et al., 2018).

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-My current position from the management perspective
From the perspective of the management, I am at a favorable position to take upon the
roles of a manager as I have strong management aptitudes.
-Questions that can be asked in my SWOT analysis
Questions that can be asked in my SWOT analysis include:
 How I can incorporate my strengths in my professional practice
 How I can overcome the weaknesses
 Strategies that I can use to overcome the threats and turn them to opportunities
(Jiang et al., 2018; Phadermrod et al., 2016; Rangkuti, 2018)
Diversity:
-Discussion of diversity and if it is a strength or weakness
Workplace diversity can be both strength as well as a weakness for an organization. A
diverse workplace can be more challenging to manage, and can lead to stress among the
management. However, a diverse workplace also helps to instill the values of respect and
teamwork and can support the management to develop creativity and innovation in the
workplace (Guillaume et al., 2017; Bond & Haynes, 2014).
-Whether greater focus on diversity can provide opportunity or pose a threat
Focusing on diversity is a significant opportunity for the organization since it can help
to instill the values of mutual respect and collaboration between the employees. This can also
help to develop the reputation of the organization and help to attract and retain skilled
workers. However it should also be noted that a diverse workplace can also increase the

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chances of interpersonal conflicts which can adversely affect the productivity of the
employees and thus pose a threat to the management (Kim et al., 2015).
-Examples from personal experiences
In SA Water, the management has been able to attract and retain experienced
employees through its workplace diversity policies. This has also helped to develop a culture
of respect and team work which helped to develop amiable relations with the employees and
have greatly supported the organizational growth and success.
-How understanding of diversity can help my career
Understanding workplace diversity have helped me to understand how effective
interpersonal relations, diversity in culture and professional skills and team coordination are
important to organizational performance. This helped me to acquire strategies that can be
used to foster the development and maintenance of a diversified workplace and help me
function as a more efficient manager (Morris, 2015; de Aquino & Robertson, 2017).
Organizational Fit:
-SA Water
Based on the analysis above, I can say that I am well fitted to be a part of SA Water,
as my own strengths and skills are aligned to the values of the organization and can help me
to take care of my responsibilities with great efficacy. My interest to learn new things and
ability to show kindness, zest and humor have helped me to gain trust and respect from others
and this can help me to support organizational goals and values. I believe that such factors
can prove to an asset for the organization and I can lead the workforce towards further
success and growth (Jiang et al., 2018).

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-Projection of my association with SA Water in the light of my personal SWOT analysis
Considering that my abilities are well fitted to partake in the management of SA
Water with efficiency and efficacy, I believe that it can support a long term relation with the
organization in a mutually beneficial way as I can gain experience working here and help the
organization address the challenges in the management of the diverse workforce thereby
helping the organization to grow. I also believe that with the long term association with the
organization, I can be able to rise up to a senior managerial and maybe even a leadership
position within the organization (Guillaume et al., 2017).
Conclusion:
SA Water is a large organization that has a very diverse workforce. The
organizational polices strongly support this diversified culture that is based on the values of
innovation, genuineness and safety. Through my self assessment and personal SWOT
analysis, I was able to identify the abilities that can prove to be of significant importance to
the organization and how they can be used to achieve excellence in the workforce. This I am
of the opinion that my unique skills and capabilities are a perfect fit for SA Water which can
help me to achieve both professional success and also help the organization to grow further.

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References:
Bond, M. A., & Haynes, M. C. (2014). Workplace diversity: A social–ecological framework
and policy implications. Social Issues and Policy Review, 8(1), 167-201.
Bull, J. W., Jobstvogt, N., Böhnke-Henrichs, A., Mascarenhas, A., Sitas, N., Baulcomb, C., ...
& Carter-Silk, E. (2016). Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats: A
SWOT analysis of the ecosystem services framework. Ecosystem Services, 17, 99-
111.
de Aquino, C. T. E., & Robertson, R. W. (Eds.). (2017). Diversity and Inclusion in the Global
Workplace: Aligning Initiatives with Strategic Business Goals. Springer.
globalleadershipfoundation.com. (2018). Emotional Intelligence Test - Global Leadership
Foundation. Retrieved from https://globalleadershipfoundation.com/geit/eitest.html
Guillaume, Y. R., Dawson, J. F., Otaye‐Ebede, L., Woods, S. A., & West, M. A. (2017).
Harnessing demographic differences in organizations: What moderates the effects of
workplace diversity?. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(2), 276-303.
humanmetrics.com. (2018). Personality test based on C. Jung and I. Briggs Myers type
theory. Retrieved from http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp
Jiang, R., Mao, C., Hou, L., Wu, C., & Tan, J. (2018). A SWOT analysis for promoting off-
site construction under the backdrop of China’s new urbanisation. Journal of Cleaner
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Kelloway, E. K., & Gilbert, S. (2017). Does It Matter Who Leads Us?: The Study of
Organizational Leadership. An Introduction to Work and Organizational Psychology:
An International Perspective, 192-211.

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Kim, H. K., Lee, U. H., & Kim, Y. H. (2015). The effect of workplace diversity management
in a highly male-dominated culture. Career Development International, 20(3), 259-
272.
Mishra, A. S. (2018). Organizational Leadership in Changing Times. Effective Executive,
21(2), 5-6.
Morris, K. (2015). Diversity to Inclusion: Expanding Workplace Capability Thinking around
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Phadermrod, B., Crowder, R. M., & Wills, G. B. (2016). Importance-performance analysis
based SWOT analysis. International Journal of Information Management.
Rangkuti, F. (2015). Personal SWOT analysis. Gramedia Pustaka Utama.
sawater.com.au. (2018). SA Water. Retrieved from https://www.sawater.com.au/
viacharacter.org. (2018). Character Strengths Survey, Character Test: VIA Character.
Retrieved from http://www.viacharacter.org/www/Character-Strengths-Survey