This course was quite insightful in various aspects. I learnt quite a lot that will be of help in my career as I work with people of various kinds and backgrounds. The notion of the manager engaging in politics was particularly interesting. In the past, I have always perceived politics as a disruption to one’s endeavors, especially where one indulges in political matters while engaged in other commitments. When I heard the title of Gilley’s book The Manager as a politician, I wondered how a manager can commit him- or herself as a manager on one hand and be part of the political realm, on the other. I was eager to know what this author had to say about a manager operating in the political realm.
Gilley (2006) presents politics in a positive light in alignment with the way of life of managers and companies. I do agree that politics should not always be considered a threat to industrial endeavors. The fact that companies survive in the midst of various regulations that that are overseen by government officials qualifies the manager’s engagement in political endeavors for the betterment of his or her firm.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Politics is closely linked to the notion of power which is exercised in every organization in one way or the other. The manager is one of the organizational personnel who are vested with the power to control various undertakings. One of the most insightful ideas I learnt in alignment with the way power is exercised in organizations is that there are various kinds of power with each fitting the context as per the wish of the person exercising it. The reward power was quite attractive to me and would wish to apply it at some point in my profession if given a chance. I am aware of the feelings associated with being rewarded or punished for an action or inaction. In this sense, reward power emerges as a powerful motivational tool, particularly when a manager knows how and when to use it. In comparison to coercive power which involves the use of force for the sake of predetermined outcomes, I believe reward power would make an employee feel a sense of belonging to the organization, a factor that enhances commitment to the set goals whose accomplishment is critical to the sustainability of a firm (Petrini & Pozzebon, 2010).
The idea of conscious competence was another thing alien to me. The attainment of the skills necessary to perform competently in a specific task takes time. While one can learn by interacting with others in the work place, active participation in undertaking a task is necessary for one to attain conscious competence (Gilley, 2006). An exploration of the phrase “conscious competence” led to my realization that it is one of the four stages an individual undergoes before becoming fully equipped with the skills needed to engage successfully in a specific endeavor. This is the third stage before one goes to the final stage referred to as unconscious competence. The latter is associated with high-level skills in which an individual can demonstrate to and teach others how to undertake a specific task. Conscious competence entails a stage where one can demonstrate but not teach others how to do something (The Open University, 2017). Conscious competence may be likened to the idea of using the computer’s keyboard without struggling to check the location of a specific letter or number. People who can type with their eyes closed and accomplish the intended outcome can be said to possess unconscious competence.
In conclusion, this course had quite much to offer. It has boosted my knowledge base in various ways, particularly by exposing me to the importance of politics to a manager, the utilization of power to accomplish intended outcomes, and the notion of conscious competence which opened my eyes to other kinds of competencies as demonstrated in the four stages that an individual has to undergo to be fully competent.
References
Gilley, J. W. (2006). The manager as politician . Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.
Petrini, M. & Pozzebon, M. (2010). Integrating sustainability into business practices: Learning from Brazilian firms. Brazilian Administration Review, 7 (4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1807-76922010000400004
The Open University (2017). Skills acquisition- the ‘conscious competence’ model. OpenLearn. Retrieved from http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=20108§ion=3.2
