Synergism

This concept provides that the sum of the parts working together as a team is greater than the sum of the parts working individually. It is usually represented by the notation 1+1=3 or 2+2=5As a team leader I realized the need for closer interaction that could foster team working to achieve the desired results (Blanchard, 2004).

Leader full organizations

These are organizations that believe in employee empowerment. More employees are empowered with decision making power and responsibility, encouraging a wider input and ownership and focusing on common goals and shared meaning.

As people relate as co owners and leaders, they feel more respected and become more responsible (Wolfred, 2008)

Basing on the above theories my level of interaction was good but can still be improved for better performance.

I would pay more attention to the team. This is because I have realized that the human resource is the most important resource for this project and any other project, other resources are just tools. For you to get the results you need, you must not only respect the team members, but also treat them as internal stakeholders (Cardy, 2001).

d) Looking back on the project / significant operational task what would you do differently and why?

The organizing of my team should have been done with the help of the latest leadership innovations like the Lean Six Sigma.

Skills that was developed over the MBA programme

In the course of the MBA programme, I learn several skills such as;

Organization and time management

I the course of the programme, I managed to organize a team and delegate duties to the team members.

Decision making and problem solving

I made several decisions on the best course of action to take in order to solve certain pertinent problems within the organization and also our team.

Planning

My planning skills were eminent when I planned for the employee motivation courses and talks so as to motivate my team.

Motivation

The process of motivating a team is a very challenging one and is not as easy as motivating an individual (Clark,2004).The individuals within my team operated with different values, expectations and goals. These personalities where united under my leadership to evoke a positive force by allowing the members to contribute their unique capabilities whenever they were needed. The teamwork that I made them realize allowed them to achieve even more under their collaborative effort that when they are working individually. The techniques I used for motivating my team are those that were suggested by Clark & Estes (2002).My objective for motivating them were to make them;

1. Have a mutual respected for each other on the basis of their expertise.

2. Aid each team member in realizing that their efforts are crucial for the success of the team

3. Bring about a shared belief in the collaborative capabilities of the team

4. To make the individual members of the team be accountable for their own contributions towards the team efforts

Delegation

Delegation is an element of good leadership. I was able to delegate duties to my team members in accordance to their key competencies.

Reflection

I reflection of the actions that I undertook with my team using Gibb's reflective cycle (Gibbs,1998) indicate that we accomplished a lot as a team. What happened is that we had to ensure that the government policies were implemented in out ministry. I thought that bthe task would be daunting but we managed to do it as a team. The good experience that we had is team building while the bad one is the lack of corporation from other team members. The sense that I can make of the experience is that teamwork is the key to organizational success. It is important for the entire team to reflect as a group as it fosters collaboration. What could have bee done is to infuse the Balance scorecard approach to the entire organization. I faced with a similar responsibility, would encourage teamwork and innovation in the entire team.

Gibbs reflective cycle (Gibbs,1998)

References

Bettenhausen KL (1991). Five years of group research: what we have learned and what needs to be addressed. J. Manage. 17: 345-381.

Cardy, Robert L, 2001. "Employees as Customers" Marketing Management. Vol. 10 no.3.

Collins, J. (2001a). Good to Great. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Collins, J. (2001b). Good Questions, Great Answers. New York, NY. Retrieved January 28, 2006 from http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/51/goodtogreat.html

Clark, RE (2004). Research-Tested Team Motivation Strategies

http://www.cogtech.usc.edu/publications/clark_team_motivation.pdf

Clark, R.E., & Estes, F. (2002). Turning research into results: A guide to selecting the right performance Solutions. Atlanta: CEP Press.

De Pree, M. (2004). Leadership is an art. New York, NY: Doubleday

Faraj S, Sproull L (2000). Coordinating expertise in software development teams. Management Science

Graslund B (1987). The birth of prehistoric chronology. Cambridge University Press.

Gibbs (1988) In Reflective practice in nursing: he growth of the professional practitioner, d. A.M. Palmer, S. Burns and, Bulman 1994, Blackwell Scientific ublications, Oxford, UK and Boston, USA.

Kozlowski SWJ (2006). Dynamic team leadership: Developing adaptive teams. In C.J. Resick and L.A....

DeChurch (Co-Chairs), Team adaptation to environmental forces: Current research and theory. Symposium presented at the 21st Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Dallas, TX.
Kraut R, Streeter L (1995). Coordination in large scale software development. Comm. ACM.

Kotter, J. (1996). Leading change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press

McQuarrie, Edward (2005), the market research toolbox: a concise guide for beginners (Second edition)

McDonald, Malcolm (2007), Marketing plan (6th ed.), Oxford, England: Butterworth-Heinemann

Sugarman K. (2004), "Understanding the Importance of Teamwork," Brian Mackenzie's Successful Coaching (ISSN 1745-7513), Issue 13

Wageman R (1995). Interdependence and group effectiveness. Admin.Sci. Q. 40: 145-180.

Appendix

An overview of my present position and responsibilities

Responding to this assessment task, "a brief description of your present position and responsibilities," in the context of personal development skills. As a permanent secretary one should be enthusiastic, exhilarating and proud of one's position yet humble enough to be a student for continuous education and learning. Stephen Covey (2008) stated "learning is at the heart of what it is to be human, through learning we recreate ourselves.

The present position of this humble student is permanent secretary of the ministry of agriculture, lands fisheries, marine and the environment. Conceivably, this ministry operates within the public sector environment and is governed by the civil service regulations of Antigua and Barbuda.

My duties as a Permanent Secretary

The Permanent Secretary is the Chief Accounting and Human Resource Officer of the Ministry. As Chief Accounting Officer, the Permanent Secretary shall be responsible to ensure that accounting practices with the Finance Administration Act and Accounting Regulations (Financial Institutions and Stores Rules) are followed.

As Chief Human Resource Officer, he or she is the contact person between the Public Service Commission and the Ministry when dealing with matters pertaining to Civil Servants (Established Employees)

He or she is the Manager for Non-Established Employees attached to his or her Ministry. In this regard, recruitment, promotion, discipline etc. are all his or her responsibility.

There are Civil Service Laws and Regulations, Labour Code and Union Agreements with which the Permanent Secretary should be familiar.

The Permanent Secretary is also the implementer of Government's Policies or Programmes. In this respect, he or she works closely with the Minister to ensure effectiveness.

The foregoing would entail the Permanent Secretary having adequate staff, accommodation, facilities etc.

Other duties would include delegating, mediation, encourage staff efficiency, to ensure employers empowerment and motivation in the work place.

Skill Audit Template -- Personal Rating

Skill

Skill level -- rating

Low High

1 2-3-4 5

Organization and time management

3

Motivation

4

Delegation

3

Planning

4

Decision making and problem solving

4

SKILLS AUDIT TEMPLATE

Activities to Develop Skills

Skills Identified

Comments

1. Organization and time management

2. Decision making and problem solving

3. Planning

4. Motivation

5. Delegation

1. To read relevant books such as:

(i) Behavior Organizational A Diagnostic Approach, 7th Edition, Judith R. Gordon (2002) Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River NJ07458, at least 2 hours each day.

(ii) Human Resource Management, Lyle Schoenfleld, Cynthia D. Fisher and James Shaw (2003) Haughton Mifflin company Boston New York.

2. Organize and implement round table discussion with other permanent secretaries.

3. Visit Websites such http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/erg / http://www.siop.org/Instruct/Motive/sld007.htm

4. Design and implement a Gantt Chart to monitor development plan, implement and participate in specific training workshop twice each year.

Both senior staff members and fellow permanent secretaries will provide feedback with the assistance of appraisal forms and the Gantt Chart and participants will engage in filling the training evaluation forms.

The criteria for skills enhancement will also base on how the permanent secretary handle conflict among staff, delegate responsibilities, motivate staff encourage team work, punctuality, strategic planning, communication and efficiency in the work place.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Comments

Motivation

Planning

Decision making and problem solving skills

Delegating

Organization

and time management

Even though one may be above average where the rating for this is concern, there is room for improvement. Heizer & Render (2006) stated, "practice makes improvement." Critical to this success factor particularly with in the context of a down turn global economy, motivation also goes beyond financial rewards. A pat on the back for a job well done, thank you card, a telephone call, a visit to the team or department and show appreciation. The Permanent Secretary should seek and implement innovative and…