Learning expectations and challenges in a principles of management course

¶ … Management Course

The reasons that determined me to attend this university refer to the high quality of the professors and the courses provided here. One of the most interesting courses in my opinion is the Principles of Management course. Along with other courses, this one provides suitable information for students that want to improve their knowledge in the field or to pursue a career in management.

My expectations regarding this course were very high. I expected to gain sufficient knowledge that I can use at my workplace. I also expected this course to help me improve my managerial skills in order to increase the level of my performance. In addition to this, I expected this course to help me build a knowledge base that could enable me to continue my education in this field. I also expected to understand what the most important issues in management are.

Expectations of the Course

The Principles of Management is one of the most important courses for most students. This is because this course establishes the foundation of the knowledge students should have in this field. Therefore, it is important that this course is properly organized by the professors. Each student has his or her own set of expectations. These expectations are based on previous knowledge that students have on different topics in the field. In addition to this, students' expectations regarding this course can be biased. This is a factor that must be taken into consideration when professors analyze the reports of students' expectations.

In my case, these expectations refer to the management abilities I expected to gain from this course. I am interested in following a career in management, which makes courses like this very important. I consider that my performance as a manager is likely to be significantly influenced by this course and by other related courses. Therefore, in my case it is very important that the issues addressed by the Principles of Management course are clearly presented and explained by the professor. Regarding this issues, I must admit that my expectations were met entirely.

However, I also expected that the materials provided in this course would make it easier to absorb the information taught in class. The materials were very complex and provided students with deep information and knowledge regarding the practice of management. These materials represent an important part of the course because they help students expand the knowledge provided by their professors in class.

Challenges during the Course

Same as in the case of most courses, the principles of Management course can be associated with certain challenges. In my opinion, the most important challenge I encountered is represented by the large volume of information that had to be learned and used in a limited period of time. The large volume of information that was associated with other courses taken at the same time with the Principles of Management course made it difficult to properly address all the information in this course. Therefore, my recommendation would be to extend the duration of this course or to modify its structure so that it takes this factor into consideration.

Another challenge is represented by the fact that the information provided by the Principles of Management course had to be supported by information from other related courses. This situation required that these different courses are synchronized so that students can corroborate the information they are presented. But this was not always the case. There were certain topics that were not yet addressed by related courses before being addressed by the Principles of Management course.

In addition to this, the projects required to students in this course also represented an important challenge that I had to address. The difficulty of the projects was slightly high in comparison with the educational background of students. I think that students should have been more supported in order to accomplish the tasks referring to projects. However, I managed to successfully address these challenges. With the help of colleagues and teachers I managed to develop the required projects.

Strategies

Same as other students, I tried to use certain strategies in order to learn better and to get bigger grades. In other words, I tried to develop a system that would help me reach this objective. It has always been easier for me to learn the theory by addressing it in practice. Therefore, I tried to identify the theories and aspects discussed in class in my workplace.

I observed the behavior of managers and different heads of divisions and departments. I tried to identify and establish whether their behavior was similar to what I was learning in class, or whether they expressed different types of behavior that were not address by the literature in the field. I must admit that I was able to recognize the patterns described in the Principles of Management course in the behavior of most of these managers. It has always been useful for me to actually observe the theoretical notions I am learning about. This allows me to better understand them and to sediment this knowledge.

Another strategy that helped in understanding and learning the course material refers to identifying processes of management and their application in different aspects of life. I think that the information provided by this course can be used in successfully approaching any situation in the everyday life. Therefore, I recommend this course to all individuals that want to improve their professional life, expand their knowledge, and become successful in the activities they are interested in.

Beliefs about the Course

I had certain opinions about management and managers before taking this course. I must admit I was not taking management as seriously as I do after taking this course. The Principles of Management course has changed some of my beliefs. I used to think that most of the managers' job relied on delegating their tasks to subordinates, and that being a manager was all about giving orders. But in this course I learned the complexity of managers' jobs. I also understood the difficulty of the decision making process that managers are usually associated with.

It is difficult to understand managers' job from the outside. This course allows students to realize what such are about and what it takes to be a manager. I also thought that the course was not going to thoroughly address management topics. But it seems that the course is able to successfully address these issues in a thorough manner, allowing students to significantly expand their knowledge.

Benefits of the Course

The Principles of Management course has benefitted me in numerous situations. As mentioned above, theories on management can be successfully applied in most everyday situations. The time management techniques I learned in this course helped me better organize my activities and to make the most of my time. Such techniques can be used by all individuals in order to improve their performance.

In addition to this, the course is very useful as a starting point for learning more on different topics regarding management. Although the course should be considered an introduction into the vast subject of management, it is course that presents useful information to managers. Therefore, I recommend this course to people that want to become managers, to improve their skills, and to improve their performance. The principles of Management course can be successfully used by people in different fields of work that want to improve their business.

Reference list:

1. Henry Fayol's 14 Principles of Management (2008). Management Innovations. Retrieved November 6, 2011 from http://managementinnovations.wordpress.com/2008/12/04/henri-fayols-14-principles-of-management/.

2. Clarck, D. (2010). Communication and Leadership. Retrieved November 6, 2011 from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadcom.html.

3. Wong, R. (2000). Motivation: A Behavioral Approach. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved November 6, 2011 from http://books.google.ro/books?id=Vt6_hhe6DokC&printsec=frontcover&dq=motivation&hl=ro&ei=U-22TubeGYm5hAfSlLWhBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false.

4. Planning Function of Management (2011). Management Study Guide. Retrieved November 9, 2011 from http://www.managementstudyguide.com/planning_function.htm.

5. Controlling Function of Management (2011). Management Study Guide. Retrieved November 9, 2011 from http://www.managementstudyguide.com/controlling_function.htm.