Interview and Reflection Essay

For this assignment, you will write a reflection on what you learned about management in the course. As part of the assignment, you will conduct an interview with a manager of a local business to get a first-hand perspective on the challenges of management and the techniques others have found successful for effective leadership, motivation, and communication.

Select a manager of a local business to interview and contact the person to set up an appointment. You may conduct your interview in person or via phone.

Prepare a list of five to seven questions for your interview. Your questions should focus on how the manager executes the four functions of management functions as well as the challenges related to motivating and communicating with employees and clients in the business environment. In particular, try to discover how the demands of technology-mediated communication, such as communicating via social media channels, impact manager-employee relationships.

Remember that managers have many commitments so try to schedule your interview well in advance of the assignment’s due date. You should present the attached consent letter to the person you intend to interview.

After you complete the interview, write a 1,000-1,250-word reflection on what you learned in the interview and this course. Address the following in your response:

What are the most valuable things you learned about the four functions of management, in a practical sense, as well as motivation and communication techniques?
Identify some of the significant challenges you believe you might face as a manager.
Discuss your own personal strengths and weaknesses as a manager. What do you think you need to work on to improve your own capabilities?
How might you apply what you learned in your interview and this course to be a more effective manager?

In an appendix at the end of the essay, provide an interview summary that includes the following information:

The name of the person you interviewed and number of years the person has been a manager.
The name of the company at which the person is currently employed.
How long the person has been a manager at the current company and what their managerial level is.
Date of the interview and whether it took place in person or via phone or other type of medium.
Contact information for the person you interviewed.
The list of your interview questions and responses provided.
Signed consent letter.

Cite two academic references in your essay. Academic references include the textbook, the additional readings in the course, or any article from the GCU Library. You may use information found online but online encyclopedias (e.g., Wikipedia) and blogs do not count as academic references.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the GCU Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

[Insert Date]

Dear [Insert Participant’s Name]:

Thank you for agreeing to participate in an interview. This interview is part of an assignment for an Introduction to Management Course at Grand Canyon University. The assignment asks students to garner first-hand perspective on the challenges of management and reflect on what they have learned in the course.

Information collected during the interview will be used solely to complete the assignment and may be shared with class members and the instructor. Attached you will find sample questions that demonstrate the types of questions you may be asked during the interview. If you have additional questions or concerns, or you would like to withdraw your consent to participate in the interview process, you can contact [insert your instructor’s name and email address].

Again, thank you for taking the time to participate in an interview and contribute to the educational experience of business students at Grand Canyon University.

Sincerely,

[Type or sign your name]

Sample Interview Questions

What communication strategies have you found most useful for communicating with your employees?

What barriers to effective communication have you experienced? What have you done to overcome them?

What strategies have you found effective for motivating your employees?

What leadership qualities do you think are most important for managers?

How do you manage difficult employees or employee conflict?

What do you think is most important for promoting and maintaining effective manager-employee relationships?

What advice would you offer a novice looking to get into the field of management?

What should students of management be doing in college to prepare themselves for the field?

Interview and Reflection Essay

	1 Unsatisfactory 0.00%	2 Less than Satisfactory 65.00%	3 Satisfactory 75.00%	4 Good 85.00%	5 Excellent 100.00%
80.0 %Content
15.0 %Four Functions of Management	Discussion of most valuable lessons learned about the four functions of management is absent, inappropriate, or irrelevant.	Discussion of most valuable lessons learned about the four functions of management is vague or incomplete. Supporting material is often confusing or inappropriate.	Discussion of most valuable lessons learned about the four functions of management is provided, but at a cursory level and may contain some inconsistencies. Supporting material of baseline acceptable quality and quantity is provided.	Discussion of most valuable lessons learned about the four functions of management is clear and integrated. Supporting material of above average quality and quantity is provided.	Discussion of most valuable lessons learned about the four functions of management is thorough and well integrated. Supporting material of exceptional quality and quantity is provided.
10.0 %Motivation and Communication	Reflection of valuable lessons learned about motivation and communication techniques is absent, inappropriate, or irrelevant.	Reflection of valuable lessons learned about motivation and communication techniques is vague or incomplete. Supporting material is often confusing or inappropriate.	Reflection of valuable lessons learned about motivation and communication techniques is provided, but at a cursory level and may contain some inconsistencies. Supporting material of baseline acceptable quality and quantity is provided.	Reflection of valuable lessons learned about motivation and communication techniques is clear and integrated. Supporting material of above average quality and quantity is provided.	Reflection of valuable lessons learned about motivation and communication techniques is thorough and well integrated. Supporting material of exceptional quality and quantity is provided.
15.0 %Personal Challenges as a Manager	Identification of significant challenges the student may face as a manager is absent, inappropriate, or irrelevant.	Identification of significant challenges the student may face as a manager is vague or incomplete. Supporting material is often confusing or inappropriate.	Identification of significant challenges the student may face as a manager is provided, but at a cursory level and may contain some inconsistencies. Supporting material of baseline acceptable quality and quantity is provided.	Identification of significant challenges the student may face as a manager is clear and integrated. Supporting material of above average quality and quantity is provided.	Identification of significant challenges the student may face as a manager is thorough and well integrated. Supporting material of exceptional quality and quantity is provided.
15.0 %Personal Strengths and Weaknesses	Reflective discussion of personal strengths and weaknesses as well as identification of what is needed to improve personal capabilities is absent, inappropriate, or irrelevant.	Reflective discussion of personal strengths and weaknesses is vague or incomplete. Identification of what is needed to improve personal capabilities is weak or marginal with gaps in presentation. Supporting material is often confusing or inappropriate.	Reflective discussion of own personal strengths and weaknesses is provided, but at a cursory level. A rudimentary identification of what is needed to improve personal capabilities is provided, but may contain some inconsistencies. Supporting material of baseline acceptable quality and quantity is provided.	Reflective discussion of personal strengths and weaknesses is clear and integrated with an identification of what is needed to improve personal capabilities. Supporting material of above average quality and quantity is provided.	Reflective discussion of own personal strengths and weaknesses is thorough and well integrated with an identification of what is needed to improve personal capabilities. Supporting material of exceptional quality and quantity is provided.
15.0 %Application of Interview Lessons	Reflective explanation of how the student can apply lessons from the interview and course to become a more effective manager is absent, inappropriate, or irrelevant.	Reflective explanation of how the student can apply lessons from the interview and course to become a more effective manager is vague or incomplete. Supporting material is often confusing or inappropriate.	Reflective explanation of how the student can apply lessons from the interview and course to become a more effective manager is provided, but at a cursory level and may contain some inconsistencies. Supporting material of baseline acceptable quality and quantity is provided.	Reflective explanation of how the student can apply lessons from the interview and course to become a more effective manager is clear and integrated. Supporting material of above average quality and quantity is provided.	Reflective explanation of how the student can apply lessons from the interview and course to become a more effective manager is thorough and well integrated. Supporting material of exceptional quality and quantity is provided.
10.0 %Appendix	Appendix of items from the interview as specified in the assignment is absent, inappropriate, or irrelevant.	Appendix of items from the interview as specified in the assignment is vague or incomplete. Supporting material is often confusing, inappropriate.	Appendix of items from the interview as specified in the assignment is provided, but at a cursory level and may contain some inconsistencies. Supporting material of baseline acceptable quality and quantity is provided.	Appendix of items from the interview as specified in the assignment is clear and integrated. Supporting material of above average quality and quantity is provided.	Appendix of items from the interview as specified in the assignment is thorough and well integrated. Supporting material of exceptional quality and quantity is provided.
17.0 %Organization and Effectiveness
6.0 %Thesis Development and Purpose	Paper lacks any discernible overall purpose or organizing claim.	Thesis is insufficiently developed or vague. Purpose is not clear.	Thesis is apparent and appropriate to purpose.	Thesis is clear and forecasts the development of the paper. Thesis is descriptive and reflective of the arguments and appropriate to the purpose.	Thesis is comprehensive and contains the essence of the paper. Thesis statement makes the purpose of the paper clear.
6.0 %Paragraph Development and Transitions	Paragraphs and transitions consistently lack unity and coherence. No apparent connections between paragraphs are established. Transitions are inappropriate to purpose and scope. Organization is disjointed.	Some paragraphs and transitions may lack logical progression of ideas, unity, coherence, or cohesiveness. Some degree of organization is evident.	Paragraphs are generally competent, but ideas may show some inconsistency in organization or in their relationship to each other.	A logical progression of ideas between paragraphs is apparent. Paragraphs exhibit a unity, coherence, and cohesiveness. Topic sentences and concluding remarks are appropriate to purpose.	There is a sophisticated construction of paragraphs and transitions. Ideas progress and relate to each other. Paragraph and transition construction guide the reader. Paragraph structure is seamless.
5.0 %Mechanics of Writing (includes spelling, punctuation, grammar, language use)	Surface errors are pervasive enough that they impede communication of meaning. Inappropriate word choice or sentence construction is used.	Frequent and repetitive mechanical errors distract the reader. Inconsistencies in language choice (register) or word choice are present. Sentence structure is correct but not varied.	Some mechanical errors or typos are present, but they are not overly distracting to the reader. Correct and varied sentence structure and audience-appropriate language are employed.	Prose is largely free of mechanical errors, although a few may be present. The writer uses a variety of effective sentence structures and figures of speech.	Writer is clearly in command of standard, written, academic English.
3.0 %Format
1.0 %Paper Format (use of appropriate style for the major and assignment)	Appropriate template is not used appropriately or documentation format is rarely followed correctly.	Appropriate template is used, but some elements are missing or mistaken; lack of control with formatting is apparent.	Appropriate template is used, and formatting is correct, although some minor errors may be present.	Appropriate template is fully used; There are virtually no errors in formatting style.	All format elements are correct.
2.0 %Documentation of Sources (citations, footnotes, references, bibliography, etc., as appropriate to assignment and style)	Sources are not documented.	Documentation of sources is inconsistent or incorrect, as appropriate to assignment and style, with numerous formatting errors.	Sources are documented, as appropriate to assignment and style, although some formatting errors may be present.	Sources are documented, as appropriate to assignment and style, and format is mostly correct.	Sources are completely and correctly documented, as appropriate to assignment and style, and format is free of error.
100 %Total Weightage