WEK 4 MANAGEMENT CHALLENGE

Wednesday, October 6, 11:59pm

15%

Word document

600 words

Turnitin, accessible via Moodle

WEK 4 MANAGEMENT CHALLENGE: INTERVIEW SOMEONE ABOUT

MANAGEMENT
Much of our ability to succeed at work depends on our ability to work with and through others, to get
along with others, and to effectively manage others whom we supervise. This week’s challenge allows
you to speak to someone who actually deals with the topics covered in this course in their daily work.
Please interview someone who works in a managerial role (i.e., they lead at least one other employee)
and provide a summary of your insights.

Step 1:
Find an employee who is currently employed full-time in an organisation with at least 5 years of work
experience, who manages/supervises at least one other person, and who is willing to be interviewed by
you. It should not be someone who is employed by UNSW Sydney (i.e., no UNSW students or staff
members).

Consider using this project as an opportunity to reach out to someone working in an organisation, role, or
industry that you might like to work in someday. From experience, most people are happy to talk to
business students about their work, and this challenge is a great opportunity to make new contacts and
build your professional network.

Step 2:
In your interview, ask them to briefly describe their work, and then ask them to share that kind of ‘people
problems’ they experience in their work. What do they think makes an effective manager? What people
problems keep them up at night? What solutions have worked in the past? What do they wish they had
known about managing people when they started in their jobs/careers?

Step 3:
Write a 600-word summary of your interview. Briefly state the person’s name, role, organisation and the
date/time of the interview, and then summarise their main points and try to relate their answers to
specific topics discussed in MGMT1002. What specific course frameworks and theories may or may not
be helpful for them? What insights did the interview give you about yourself and your career aspirations?

Submission procedure: Submit your 600-word summary and analysis of the conversation as a Word
document via Turnitin
TERM 3, 2021