Minor amendments to first draft of TMA 1

Thankfully there only needed to be a few minor amendments to first draft of TMA 1.  I will print out draft 2 and have another look tomorrow before passing it on to a couple of people to read through.  This process served me well when I studied for my MA a couple of years ago.  I only wish I had been organised and disciplined enough to do it during my undergraduate years!  However, I suppose that is what working does for you i.e. you develop a work ethic.

Further thoughts on my Management Experiences

The table below considers each of the four management situations identified in the post Managing Experiences dated 7 May, against the different levels of influence:

Management situation	Me	Team	Organisation	Business context	Wider environment
Being managed in a workplace environment	Given a large degree of autonomy. External stakeholder support to project	Failure to garner support of key decision makers despite broad interest in the project.	The Capability area for the Royal Marines is quite small within the Navy HQ and it is constantly torn between generating current capability and planning for future capability.	Paralysis in advance of a predicted SDSR	Affect of Afghanistan was underestimated.
Managing in a work-based situation	My previous experience in the Navy HQ is highly advantageous.	A need to sell the capabilities of the Maritime Reserves to the rest of the Navy.	Under significant financial pressure to make efficiencies whilst maintaining operational output in the midst of 2 conflicts.  A risk of sacrificing current and future capability to solve a current cash flow problem.	Defence has a huge financial black hole.  The Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) did not solve the financial issues.	The Government/country is under severe financial constraints.  The impact of uncontrollable events e.g. Libya
Being managed in a non-work situation	ENTJ personality Self aware & adaptable	My wife has a different personality type which means that both of us need to understand the different ways in which we operate to ensure we avoid conflict.	Broader family commitments		Effects of the austere financial climate.
Managing in a non-work situation	ENTJ personality Self aware & adaptable	Self awareness is crucial.  The direct approach is not always the best approach; however it can be highly effective in certain situations.		Different groups have different attitudes and dynamics.

In summary, I believe that it is essential to strive for self awareness at all times and that if you can be honest and dispassionate about issues it allows you to conduct an analysis of the situation in which you are either managing or being managed.  Moreover, it is important to attempt to see the situation from as many angles as possible - or what I would refer to as "Red Teaming" a problem.  This comes from the fact that in military tabletop exercises historically the enemy is always portrayed in red.  We now operate in a much more complex operational environment so other players are now considered and they are assigned other colours.

Learning Log for 1-12 May 11

Date of event:

• 1-12 May 11

What was the development activity?

• Introduction activities for Unit One of B716
• I have established my timeline for completion of TMA 1
• I have started scoping TMA 1 and began discussions at work as to how to integrate the EBI into my activities
• I have read and understand the assessment process so I am content that I know where to apportion my efforts
• I have completed the reading for MDA1 and MDA2
• I have started a learning log
• I am content with the use of the OU library and I have already accessed it to get copies of some of the key texts eg Mintzberg
• I have made contact with Portsmouth University and I now have access to their library (via Sconul) as and when I need it for books.
• I have completed/submitted the tasks required for activity 1-4 and read the other submissions in the TGF 

What was I expecting to learn?

• How to learn with the OU
• Experiences of managing and the context within which I manage and am managed

What have I learned?

• That other people in the TGF face similar issues that I do albeit in completely different work contexts.  This implies that issues regarding management are common.

How will I apply this learning?

• To broaden my knowledge and enable me to put the theory I am about to learn into a work context

Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange

Start of a learning Log

This is the start of my OU MBA Learning Log.  The aim will be to capture what development activity I have completed.

The structure of a learning log attempts to answer the following questions:

Date of event:

What was the development activity?

What was I expecting to learn?

What have I learned?

How will I apply this learning?