AS101: SOFTSKILLS

DIPLOMA UKUR BAHAN SEMESTER 2

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WHAT IS EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS?

3.0:MANAGEMENT SKILLS

WHAT IS MANAGEMENT SKILLS?

Management can be defined as: achieving goals in

a way that makes the best use of all resources.
Management Skills means self-management as well
as managing people, being a manager, managing your
time. manage yourself and all other resources at your
disposal in order to do a good job.

 To be successful, there are

many skills a manager needs
to master. Through this
Management skills
pyramid show the
increasingly difficult
management skills at each
level and to also display how
these management skills build
on each other to achieve
success in the management
career.

By,
Kammy Hatnes pyramid.

The Management Skills Pyramid, Level 1

The fundamentals of the

management role:
Plan
Organize

Direct
Control

The Management Skills Pyramid, Level 2

This tier of the pyramid

focuses on the development of
the staff.
Motivation

Training and Coaching

Employee Involvement

The Management Skills Pyramid, Level 3

After becoming skilled in

developing your staff you need
to improve your own
development.
Self Management and
Time Management

Time management gets its own

category because it is so important to
your success in all the other skills.

The Management Skills Pyramid, Top Level

The top level of the Pyramid,

the most important set of skills
that set you apart in your
management, is leadership.
Developing your skill as a
leader is entirely different from
management and as you move
from manager to leader, you
achieve the success you truly
want in your management
career.

3.1: Problem Solving Skills

Most people rush to find solution before knowing the real problem.

A problem is the difference between the actual

state and desired state.

A problem is an opportunity for improvement, a

chance for you to do your best.

Most people spend more time and energy going

around problems than in trying solve them.
-Henry Ford-

What is a Problem?

The Concise Oxford Dictionary (1995) defines a problem as:

A doubtful or difficult matter requiring a solution
and
Something hard to understand or accomplish or deal with.

Problem features:

GOALS & BARRIERS

Goals

Problems involve setting out to achieve some objective or desired state of affairs
and can include avoiding a situation or event.
Goals can be anything that you wish to achieve, where you want to be. If you are hungry
then your goal is probably to eat something, if you are a head of an organization (CEO)
then your main goal may be to maximize profits. In the example of the CEO the main goal
may need to be split into numerous sub-goals in order to fulfil the ultimate goal of
increasing profits.

Barriers

If there were no barriers in the way of achieving a goal, then there would be no
problem. Problem solving involves overcoming the barriers or obstacles that
prevent the immediate achievement of goals.
Following our examples above, if you feel hungry then your goal is to eat. A barrier to this
may be that you have no food available - you take a trip to the supermarket and buy some
food, removing the barrier and thus solving the problem. Of course for the CEO wanting to
increase profits there may be many more barriers preventing the goal from being reached.
The CEO needs to attempt to recognize these barriers and remove them or find other ways
to achieve the goals of the organization.

What is Problem Solving??

Problem solving is a tool, a skill and a process

It is a tool because it can help you to solve an immediate
problem or to achieve a goal.
It is a skill because once you have learnt it you can use it
repeatedly, like the ability to ride a bicycle, add numbers or
speak a language.
It is also a process because it involves a number of steps.

Stages of Problem Solving

1.Problem Identification
Involves identifying the problem in
order to find an appropriate solution.

2. Problem Analysis (explore the

problem)
Looking at the problem from
different angles. Such as;

How is this problem affecting.?

Use 4W1H question to analyze the
root cause of the problem.

-What, Why, When, Where and

How???
Once the cause is identified, plans
can be made to solve it. Analyzing
implies gathering information.

3. Plan Development

After having thought about the problem

from different angles, you can identify
their goals to focus on what is the
successful end of the process.

4. Plan Implementation
Look at Alternatives

To collect a list of alternatives, you can use these technique to get

some ideas :

Analyzing past solutions

Reading

Researching

Thinking

Discussing

Brainstorming

Select a Possible Solution

Choose the most relevant and manageable alternative.

try to select your solution based on effectiveness (feasibility and

practicability) for instance, money, time, people, procedures, policies,
rules, and so on.
Implement a Possible Solution

Put the chosen solution into action.

5.Plan Evaluation
The final stage of problem solving is concerned with checking
that the process was successful. This can be achieved by
monitoring and gaining feedback from people affected by any
changes that occurred. It is good practice to keep a record of
outcomes and any additional problems that occurred.

Examine the possible solution for its effectiveness.

You should review the effectiveness of the solution against desired

outcomes.

Did the solution work?

If not, why not?

What went right, and what went wrong?

What adjustments do they have to make to ensure that the
solution works better?
This stage requires careful analysis that improves upon the best
solution.

ACTIVITY:

1.1

1.2

APPENDIX 3.3 PAPER BOATS

Material required
Old News Paper
Activity process

Divide the participants into Teams of 4 or 5 members.

Select/elect a Team Leader.

Instruct the team leaders on the process of making paper boats.

Team leaders demonstrate the process on making paper boats.

Instructions for Team Leaders:

Each team is given 4 sheets of Newspaper.

Prepare 30 boats of the same size. Each boat must withstand till the end of the activity.

The allocated time to prepare the boats is 10 minutes.

PRESENT tHE OUTCOMES

eNd Of ChaPTEr