Choose a manager (who supervises multiple employees) with whom you can sit face-to-face for 30 minutes to ask some managerial questions.
Required interview questions:
How many employees do you supervise directly? What do they do? (generally, e.g. clerks, technicians, auditors, managers, etc.) What kind of information about them do you keep track of (e.g. their experience, skills, etc.) that is necessary to manage them effectively?
Do you manage employees individually or as a whole group?
Do you keep track of or measure any workplace attitudes (e.g. job satisfaction, employee engagement, etc.)? Why? How do you measure them?
How do you motivate your employees?
Can you give me some tips on how to be an effective leader?
How do you resolve conflicts in the workplace? Do you need to play politics sometimes?
You can ask additional or follow-up questions as well. After the interview, organize the answers and prepare 4- to 5-page, essay-type report that consists of the following titles/sections:
Managers Name – Title Organization General responsibilities
Employees Supervised (questions 1-2)
Workplace Attitudes of Interest (question 3)
Motivation Methods-Tools (question 4)
Effective Leadership Tips (question 5)
Conflict Resolution Methods (question 6)
Analysis & Recommendations
Lessons Learned
Under the header analysis and recommendations, critically analyze each of the managers answers BASED ON CLASS TOPICS/MODELS/THEORIES WE COVERED.
Make recommendations and suggest improvements for the manager.
Under lessons learned, report the lessons you learned in this interview and how you can use this new understanding in your own career. Give specific examples of how you will do this in your career (at school, work, sports club, etc.).
