Advice to Management Students

Prepared By: Mensur Boydas

Advice to Management Students

Dear Prospective Student,

In preparing my advice for you I asked myself, “What would Taylor say? I believe he would also start with a joke. Here it is.

A woman is having trouble with her car; it often stalls. So she goes to a garage, and asks them to fix it. They change the transmission and put in new spark plugs. But her car still doesn’t run right, so she takes the car to another garage. At this second garage, the mechanic spends ten minutes around the car, then pulls a screwdriver out of his belt and tightens a screw. Now the car runs perfectly. But the woman gets mad when she gets a bill in the mail for $300. She goes back to the mechanic, and says, “This is crazy! All you did was tighten a screw, and you ask for $300! I want an itemized bill!” So the mechanic takes out a pad and pencil, and writes down an itemized bill, as follows:

Labor: turning screw $10

Knowing which screw to turn: $295

You should get a really good understanding of yourselves and capabilities. You will encounter many problems in your life whether as a manager or an employer, what you need to remember is that considering various possible approaches before acting. If you are reading this letter then you are taking another step into the expectations of yourself and being a potential manager in the chosen field. This course is really a mind-set builder and rather than traditional learning letting you to drive what to do in class. You will have a lot of discussions with your colleagues that will broaden your thinking boundaries and show you the other ways of dealing with the daily dilemmas of work environment. In any situation decision making is one of the most complex issue that managers face. Thus, before making any decision be sure and ask many questions to clarify your next set of actions. You would think that the readings are so off topic, as we did but if you really think thoroughly then you will realize and try to link the anecdotes into the real life situations. Another piece of advice is that read self-help books as many of them focus on people skills that plays the most important role in your career.

The most desirable skill that employers are looking is people skills. The reason is that even if you have the required technical skills you might not get hired because you do not have efficient people skills. The self-help books will guide you in the perspective. I recommend you the two most famous ones that are read by millions: “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie and “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey. These books will give you the insights and skills to overcome the communication and deal with people in the work environment. Take your time whatever project you are working on and never leave the big stuff at the end. If you are going to be a manager, by the time you will be read many management theories and none of the gives away the perfect notions of how to be a good manager however each add to your learning experience of management.

My last message is that:We need to learn!