Reflective Journal

This Reflective Journal provides insights on planning, organizing, leading, and controlling in management. It covers the conceptual understanding, application, self-reflection, and ethical considerations. Gain knowledge on different leadership styles and the importance of proper planning and organizing in business organizations.

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Reflective Journal
6/4/2019

Reflective Journal
Table of Contents
Reflective Journal..................................................................................................................................2
Planning.............................................................................................................................................2
Conceptual Understanding.............................................................................................................2
Application....................................................................................................................................2
Self-Reflection...............................................................................................................................2
Think Differently...........................................................................................................................3
Ethical and Social Sustainability Considerations...........................................................................3
Organizing.........................................................................................................................................3
Conceptual Understanding.............................................................................................................3
Application....................................................................................................................................3
Self-Reflection...............................................................................................................................4
Think Differently...........................................................................................................................4
Ethical and Social Sustainability Considerations...........................................................................4
Leading & Controlling.......................................................................................................................5
Conceptual Understanding.............................................................................................................5
Application....................................................................................................................................5
Self-Reflection...............................................................................................................................5
Think Differently...........................................................................................................................6
Ethical and Social Sustainability Considerations...........................................................................6
References.............................................................................................................................................7
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Reflective Journal
Reflective Journal
Planning
Conceptual Understanding
The course provided me with the ability to understand the planning aspect of management.
Planning includes the set of guidelines and steps that shall be followed in order to achieve a
specific set of goals. There are different planning activities involved in the management
process and numerous plans are developed to implement the same. These may include
operational plans, strategic plans, budget planning, schedule planning, and many others. In
the organizations, these plans and planning activities are carried out at three broad levels as
tactics, strategy, and operations (Laslo, 2010).
Application
These concepts can be applied in the organization to manage the human and non-human
resources and the business processes. For example, in every organization, human resources
are the primary assets. The management of the human resources can be done by adequate
strategic in place. The strategic plan will keep the human resources involved and will lead to
better productivity levels. There are also other organization areas that require planning before
the execution and implementation activities begin. Without a properly planned project
schedule, the tracking and control of the project activities cannot be performed. Similarly,
planning is needed in the areas as budgeting, stakeholder management, communications, etc.
(Joslin and Muller, 2015)
There are issues of insufficient planning that are reported in media as well. There are cases of
project failures reported due to lack of proper planning.
Self-Reflection
I could learn a few things about myself after gaining the lessons on the planning area under
management. I realized that I have to include planning as a dedicated activity in all of the
professional tasks and activities that I perform. Currently, these plans are restricted to a high-
level state only; however, I need to include planning as an in-depth process so that I may
achieve better results. For example, planning of the short-term and long-term goals or
planning schedule or project budget are the activities that I have not paid much attention to in
the past. I need to make changes in the approach (Gladden, 2012).
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Reflective Journal
Think Differently
I am able to think differently after studying the topic of planning under management as I have
understood the relevance of proper planning in the projects. Earlier, I did not pay much
thought to the planning processes and wanted to begin with the execution phase. I did not
consider planning a relevant activity a found in unnecessarily time-consuming. However,
studying the topic and gaining an understanding on the planning concerns has now made me
think differently in terms of the relevance of the topic.
Ethical and Social Sustainability Considerations
There are a number of ethical and social sustainability considerations in the case of planning.
For example, the management and project plans that are made shall keep make sure that there
is no violation to the business ethics. The social sustainability shall be maintained in terms of
the fulfilment of the expectations of the project team members, internal stakeholders, and
external stakeholders.
Organizing
Conceptual Understanding
There are several elements in a business organization that need to be organized so that
smooth functioning of the business operations is assured. In order to organize the
organization resources, there is organization structures defined. These structures include the
classification of the employees across different levels for the purpose of management,
reporting, and communication. Some of the popular organizational structures that are
normally witnessed are functional, divisional, and matrix structure. The functional structure is
the one in which the grouping of the resources is done as per the functions assigned to them.
The divisional structure is the one in which there are departments formed to group the
employees. Matrix structure is the one that involves multiple lines of reporting (Weigelt and
Miller, 2013).
Application
The topic has a direct application in the business organizations as the organization structures,
such as functional, divisional, and matrix are observed in the business organizations. It is also
necessary to form such structures to manage the hierarchy of the resources and carry out the
reporting activities accordingly.
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Reflective Journal
The reports around the organization structures adopted by the different organizations and the
changes made in them are commonly reported in the media.
Self-Reflection
I earlier used to believe that the resources in the business organizations are only classified
and grouped on the basis of their roles in the project and on the basis of the skill sets of the
resources. I did not know the primary purpose behind these groupings and the impacts that
these may have on the flow of information sets.
After studying the information around the topic, I could understand the basic idea behind the
development and the implementation of the organization structures. I could understand that
these are primarily defined to determine and specify the organization hierarchy and to carry
out the reporting tasks and activities accordingly.
Think Differently
The topic made me think differently in terms of the resource structuring in the business
associations. I believed that they are just ordered and assembled based on their jobs in the
task and based on the ranges of abilities. I didn't know the basic role behind these groupings
and the effects that these may have on the progression of data sets. Subsequent to considering
the data around the theme, I could comprehend the fundamental thought behind the
improvement and the execution of the association structures. I could comprehend that these
are basically characterized to decide and indicate the association hierarchy and to do the
detailing communication and reporting tasks in like manner (Burton, Obel and Hakonsson,
2015).
Ethical and Social Sustainability Considerations
There are several ethical and social sustainability considerations that need to be made during
organizing processes. For example, there are culturally diverse resources that can be observed
in the business associations of the present times. During the organization of these resources,
the employees of a particular cultural group or community should not feel left behind. The
structuring shall be done so that there are no biases involved and the organization is done
completely on the basis of the skills, functions, or departments.
If such a case occurs, then the organization atmosphere will be impacted in a negative
manner.
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Reflective Journal
Leading & Controlling
Conceptual Understanding
Leadership plays an important role in the business organization as all of the organization
tasks and activities are managed as per the guidelines provided by the leaders. However, the
role of these leaders has changed over the years. The leaders of the present times have
adopted the transformational and transactional styles. Also, the controlling tasks and
activities have also transformed. Earlier, the leaders and managers were required to put strict
controls on the resources. However, the time has changed and the managers collaborate with
the resources to guide and set up the policies (Hutchinson and Jackson, 2012). Governance is
one of the processes that lead to the exertion of controls on the organization and the
associated resources.
Application
Leadership and controlling is an integral part of the business organization and has numerous
applications in the organizational environment. It is always essential that the resources have a
primary point of contact and the leader that may resolve the internal issues and conflicts.
Also, the management of different project areas is done by the leader. There are numerous
controls also necessary to be applied on the internal and the external parties involved with the
organization and the projects.
There are certain issues reported in the media regarding the ineffective leadership skills
leading to project failures or inadequate project controls applied.
Self-Reflection
The topic provided me with the ability to gain knowledge on different styles of leadership. I
was only aware of the autocratic and bureaucratic forms of leadership earlier. However, I got
to gain information on the other leadership concepts, such as transformational leadership
during the course.
I also did not have much information on the hierarchy of controls that are applied to manage
the project tasks and activities. I could gain knowledge on these controls and the managerial
processes that are followed in the business projects and organizations (Bernroider and
Ivanov, 2011).
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Reflective Journal
Think Differently
The topic provided me with the ability to think differently in terms of the roles and
responsibilities that are assigned to the leaders and managers. I have understood the idea of
collaboration and I now know that the leaders and managers need to collaborate with the
members of the organization and the respective projects to exert the controls. I will also
explore the new ideas and techniques of leadership in terms of the cross cultural leadership
and role-based leadership to determine the pros and cons of each of these techniques. I will
be able to manage and control the projects in a better way in this manner.
Ethical and Social Sustainability Considerations
There are certain ethical and social sustainability considerations involved in the process. For
example, the leaders may show biased and favourable behaviour during the setting up of the
employees or organization policies. There are certain groups of employees that may feel
neglected due to their community or cultural background. Such scenarios shall be avoided as
these may lead to the disturbance of the organization atmosphere and will also be unethical.
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References
Bernroider, E. and Ivanov, M. (2011). IT project management control and the Control
Objectives for IT and related Technology (CobiT) framework. International Journal of
Project Management, 29(3), pp.325-336.
Burton, R., Obel, B. and Hakonsson, D. (2015). How to get the Matrix Organization to Work.
Journal of Organization Design, 4(3), p.37.
Gladden, R. (2012). Book Review: The Project Risk Maturity Model: Measuring and
Improving Risk Management Capability. Project Management Journal, 43(5), pp.101-101.
Hutchinson, M. and Jackson, D. (2012). Transformational leadership in nursing: towards a
more critical interpretation. Nursing Inquiry, 20(1), pp.11-22.
Joslin, R. and Muller, R. (2015). Relationships between a project management methodology
and project success in different project governance contexts. International Journal of Project
Management, 33(6), pp.1377-1392.
Laslo, Z. (2010). Project portfolio management: An integrated method for resource planning
and scheduling to minimize planning/scheduling-dependent expenses. International Journal
of Project Management, 28(6), pp.609-618.
Weigelt, C. and Miller, D. (2013). Implications of internal organization structure for firm
boundaries. Strategic Management Journal, 34(12), pp.1411-1434.
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