What I Learned in My Dynamics of Management Class

What I Learned in My Dynamics of Management Class

        They say, in life, we’re all dealt the same cards and that life is a game and we should play it. It’s not a mistake to be born poor, but to die poor is one’s choice. Either you look at a glass half-empty or half-full.  Everything is just a matter of individual perspective. The warm water that softens the potato hardens the egg, so they say. In the end, it all boils down to attitude, character, and making the right choices.

        The first day of my Dynamics of Management Class has been nostalgic. We were reminded to approach the subject not through the perspective of an insufferable know-it-all but rather in the context of a half-full glass; initial content is already there, compact, but there must still be room for more. It was a caveat. After all, what’s the use of a seemingly full glass which can’t already be filled but otherwise hollowed with bubbles on the inside? Somehow, that warning was useful.

        When I enrolled in MBA 111, I had the stereotypical outlook of management in my mind, the product of ignorance. Management is simply supervising, overseeing, directing, running, operating, and directing people, an organization, or a business. It is a no-brainer. I assumed I would just breeze through it. Or so I thought. Little did I know that this class would introduce my mind into the intricate labyrinth of management. The Dynamics of Management class awakened in me a desire to know more with a curiosity to dive deeper into the paradox of the human mind and behavior. I began to understand the different cultures comprising an organization or business, to embrace open-mindedness in the face of conflict, to examine various perspectives within a group, and to determine which perspective holds the strongest decisive power. Apart from that, there are also five personal principles I learned:

        Management is dynamic. In my engineering undergrad, I took up Engineering Mechanics. It was in that class that I learned to examine various forces at play in our surroundings and its effect on rigid bodies, on us for example. Our weight is a force in itself but what constitutes it? Our weights are products of our respective masses multiplied by the force of gravity which is a constant at 9.81 meters per second. Furthermore, Engineering Mechanics was divided into two parts: the first part deals with statics and the second part deals with dynamics. Statics was relatively easier since it only consider effects and distribution of forces on bodies which are at rest and remains at rest. Dynamics on the other hand, was a bit more complex since it considers moving bodies. The force of the weight of a bus on a bridge while stationary varies greatly from the force of its weight on the same bridge whilst in motion. Needless to say, I had a difficult time. In the Dynamics of Management class, I never expected management to be more complex beyond mundane. The connectivity of various factors from an individual’s personal goals meshed with the company’s goals, to the interaction of various organizational cultures intertwined with varied perspectives, to critical decision-making, which must all lead to a singular positive cause made me realize that the common management definition per se is just the tip of the iceberg; below the surface is a strong and massive foundation formed by a constant and never-ending cycle of interaction between the workers (operators), the planners (engineers), and the administrators (CEOs).