Emmalyn B.

Carreon
MAED
Martiniana A. Sibala, Ed.D.

REFLECTION PAPER NO. 2

TOPIC 2:
Foundations of Management

A. Managing

Management is a process of planning, decision making, organizing, leading,

motivation and controlling the human resources, financial, physical, and information
resources of an organization to reach its goals efficiently and effectively. Managing is one
of the most important aspect of every business. This can make or break the organization.
When it comes to managing, I am proud that I was able to work with Dr. Manila, the
President of our organization and Dr. Eva Melon, our VPAA. They are the epitome of what
managing an organization is. They are not very stiff nor they are very lenient when it
comes to communicating the expectation they want from every one of us.
B. The Evolution of Management

Management has evolved from a simple task giving to more precise and structured
assignments given by managers. A lot of tools have been established to help managers
attain their goals and focus on what matters most.

A lot of times before when I feel that Strategic Plan, Balance Scorecards, Project
Charters were taxing and laborious. I have always think of it as a burden. I really don’t
feel that it was helping me in a way. Probably because either I was pessimistic about the
idea being relayed to me or it was given abruptly. Now, as I looked back, it was one of the
many tools I can use to make my department go about our plans smoothly. It gave me an
advantage rather than a disadvantage. I know better now when it comes to planning,
organizing, motivating, and controlling all aspects of my department. I am thankful
because management has evolved into a one-man team to becoming a team of people with
promising ideas to achieve a common goal.

C. The Extended Environment and Organizational Culture

You cannot change your reflection in the mirror if you want to change how you look
and feel about yourself. YOU have to change and the reflection changes accordingly. Same

EDUC 207 | REFLECTION PAPER

is true with organizational culture, you cannot change instantly. If you want culture to
change, you have to first change your intent, behavior, systems, processes, mindset and
then narrative. Trying to change an organization’s culture only through narratives (tall
mission statements, values on the wall and lip service) is like trying to change the
reflection in the mirror. It doesn’t happen. An organization is a dynamic structure. It has
its own life and it marks the life of its members in a sense of identity and belonging. Many
recent researches are focusing on the organizational culture with the intention to explain
the evolution of an organization and trying to delineate some useful coordinates for an
efficient management. The analysis of the organizational culture can provide useful
information in order to help managers face the change and its implications in the
organization’s life.

In our organization, our President, Dr. Manila, would always give us and remind us of
our organization culture. She believes that everyone should be a team player because at
the end of the day, it is our bread and butter. I believe that as a President, she focused
more on educating us the organizational culture of Metro Dumaguete College. This is to
also make ourselves aware of our own behavior and how we can better communicate our
concerns in the organization.

D. Managerial Decision-making

One of the most important skills a manager could have is decision-making skills. This can
either hurt or boost the growth of their own department or the organization as a whole. I
remembered before when I started teaching I was handling freshman class. I would get
close to my students to a point that it hindered me from resigning even though I have
bigger opportunities outside of the school. It hindered me because I would make sure my
students graduate and when I see them graduate another class would take over and then
the cycle continues. Now as I looked back, I realized that if only I had made my goals and
thinking way and above my emotions, I could have been trained more and blossomed
more.

Now, being the Marketing Head of MDC, I am always faced with decisions that I
make sure have a meaningful impact on my office. I would always look at the best
practices of how others made their decisions. I always see both ways, I ask myself and my
staff. I decide once I have all their inputs. I have always challenged myself and look at the
bigger picture. This made me strong when it comes to tough decisions. But I would like to
believe that I made good decisions. Bad decisions are always part of my career, but I don’t
dwell on them for the longest time. I have made a conscious effort to move on and have a
grateful heart so I don’t get sick. This made me who I am now and I still have a lot more
to learn.

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EDUC 207 | REFLECTION PAPER