Management Aptitude Analysis

Management Aptitude Analysis

The results of the management aptitude questionnaire were fairly conclusive and useful in regards to my propensity for this particular application in organizational behavior. My scores point out both my strengths as well as those areas in which I can use improvement. Additionally, this information is valuable to see what exact management skills I would be best suited to employ to help a contemporary organization progress.

The most encouraging part of this questionnaire was my score in conceptual skills, in which I achieved 25 points out of 30. In some ways, conceptual skills are the most important for a manager to possess, although human skills are becoming increasingly valuable as well (Daft, 2011, p. 11). However, conceptual skills are those in which a manager is cognizant of how the specific parts of an organization coalesce and work together. More importantly, conceptual skills are those which enable a manager to successfully adjust these different parts in order to improve performance and achieve organizational objectives. Conceptual skills are absolutely necessary for upper level management in large organizations; my high score in this department certainly supports the fact that with practice and improvement in the other two areas, I have the capacity to become a successful manager.

The area in which I need to improve the most is human skills, which is the foundation for working well with others. There are many qualities of prudent management that are based around people skills such as empathy, active listening, encouragement, and many others. I need to focus on practicing these skills and prioritizing them -- and those that I work with -- so that I can do more than simply know how an organization is supposed to function and what it needs to do so, but also so I can effectively motivate and galvanize employees to actually making it happen. I also need to improve my technical skills, although I am somewhat bolstered by the fact that the higher an individual goes up in management, the less valuable technical skills become (Daft, 2011, p. 11).

Based on my aptitude assessment, I believe the management style that best suits my particular skillset is the contingency view. This management theory posits the notion that the most effective method of management is contingent upon a host of factors, one of the most eminent of which is the particular industry in which an organization is involved. I believe that contingency theory will suit my abilities because I am fairly proficient in my conceptual skills, which allow me to understand how various aspects of an organization work together and what sorts of improvements can be made to enhance it. Therefore, I believe I could use benchmarking techniques to ascertain the type of management style that is most prudent for the particular industry any organization I am a part of is, and tailor that style of management to meet the specifics of it.