Monday, August 30, 2010

Consolidation #1 - Management

People skills are important in management, at least that's what the textbook and other materials are trying to teach us. People skills has an immediate conotation of being a friendly, out-going person who can charm a room or be the life of a party. But is that what people skills mean in the context of being a good manager? No, these people skills are more about being able to lead, motivate, and earn the respect of your team. There is no one way to achieve those ends, but whatever the leadership style, having good people skills means that you are able to marshal the skills and energies of your team to achieve an objective. These kinds of people skills are not the sole domain of those people who have been conditioned to make friends easily. These skills, like any other body of knowledge, can be learned.

If leadership (or effective management, the differentiation between the two is open to debate) is a technical skill that can be learned, what is the established body or knowledge or research perspective that provides a theoretical foundation to gain the knowledge needed to become a more effective manager? Organizational Behavior combines the study of individual traits, how those individual traits interact in a team environment, and how the structure of an organization effects the work or individuals and teams. OB strives to systematically study how particular variables (which are usually contigent on the context of the behavior being studied) impact the efficiency and effectiveness of a work group (be that one person or a collection of individuals). OB is frequently deemed less important by uninitiated students because the research simply appears to confirm common sense intuitions about how people work. OB research looks for the unquestioned or unacknowledged assumptions that frequently underlie our intuitive judgements. Rather than simply accept a truth because it seems to so obvious or has become so enmeshed in a corporate culture, OB designs experiments to identifiy causal linkages between aspects of the work environment and the quality of the work product.

This is the value of statistics in this type of research. Stats provides the tools to identify how much of a particular observation is due to a particular variable in the environment and how much it is due to other, uncontrolled or seemingly unrelated conditions. The three social sciences that underlie OB, psychology (the individual), sociology (groups), anthropology (the organizational culture), and a little bit of poly sci all use the tools of stats to provide an objective evaluation of their quantitiative data. The use of stats is intended to make the research objective and scientific (in the sense that it is based on evidence and not the judgement of the individual). The cause and effect relationships that these studies demonstrate allow managers to lead by applying evidence based decision making processes rather than simply relying on experience or intuition. This does not mean that a manager should abandon all judgement to the rigidity of evidence. There are very few absolutes in OB. Deductive reasoning is not a very effective tool. Understanding the nuances of the managerial situation and the contingent conditions of a particular study is a vital skill to effectively applying OB research in a business environment.

The textbook identifies behaviors that OB is meant to reinforce and how the application of OB findings can reduce undesirable traits like absenteeism, deviant workplace behavior, and high turnover rates. Those kinds of applications strike me as outdated. The kind of research they seem interested in is more directed at production and manufacturing jobs. Those jobs are going away. The focus really needs to be on how to lead creative work groups that rely on high educated teams working on ill-defined and open ended problems. (Is there reseach out there that supports the management philosophy of Netflix? Is that an isolated system that is too small to provide justification for more sweeping conclusions?)

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Resolution Achieved & my first impression of class online

I finished my Dickens book for the year about 20 minutes ago. I just completed Nicholas Nickleby. I can now add this to the list of other Dickens books that I have read (Great Expectations, The Old Curiosity Shop, David Copperfield, Our Mutual Friend, Bleak House, A Tale of Two Cities). I have read half of Dombey and Son (that's no small feat, the book is 1000+ pages) so I wouldn't mind trying to wrap that up this year. If I do manage to finish that book, it will have to wait until some time right before the new year. I start working on my MBA tomorrow.

My classes are up on the Marist iLearn website. I expected there to be some kind of video lecture as part of each class, but it looks like everything is done via post to the iLearn sites and discussion on different forums that have been set up for each class. A few people have already been making posts to the Management class forums. I was actually thinking about doing that myself tonight, but I've had my two beers for this weekend (I'm working on slimming down (with some progress) and cutting back on beer is an easy way to lower my calories for the week; I had the surprisingly good Road Dog Porter from Flying Dog Brewery) and am feeling a little too buzzed for school work at the moment. I plan on putting a bunch of due dates into a Google calendar tomorrow. I get the feeling that keeping track of when I need to do what will be my biggest challenge, at least until I get into the flow of each class. The classes are organized around a book chapter per week. I am going to try to take advantage of this structure and set up a weekly schedule for myself. I have a very detailed schedule in mind, with each study time associated with a particular task. I'm currently thinking that lunch, random work time, and the weekends will be spent on management with my evenings spent on finance. The finance syllabus is very detailed, even down to how long I should allow myself for each weekly test. I start in earnest next week. I will find time to write about my experience here.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Finding my groove

My Management Foundations book is a piece of crap. I feel like I'm wasting my time when I read it. Do I really need the key words with their definitions at the bottom of each page? There is no flow to the ideas and the treatment of different topics feels very superficial. Maybe that's to be expected in an introductory course that is probably more survey than deep dive. While the text of each chapter blows (at least the first two), there are references to research papers and reviews that flesh out the concepts in a much more comprehensive and interesting way. Organizational behavior is a very interesting field of research. I would rather read through a pile of research papers than that piece of crap textbook that cost me $150 or so dollars.

My little rant above suggests two possibilities for the next couple months of my new academic project. I do not want to turn into the know-it-all jerk with the PhD who thinks the advanced degree makes him an authority on all topics. My issues with the book could come off as issues with the topics of the class. For all I know, the professor will say that the book is a piece of crap and direct us to particular footnotes for papers that do a better job of describing an area of organizational behavior research. I want to contribute to the class, but I will try very hard to make constructive and informed comments in whatever medium we use to discuss the readings. The tone of my comments will be critical. I also need to keep in mind that this is a prerequisite class for what I expect will be a more in depth treatment in an MBA class. The content of this class should really be comparable to what you would see in a similar undergraduate class (or classes).

If the class ends up being a fairly superficial trip through a cliche textbook, I guess that will just leave me more time to read interesting papers cited in the footnotes. I get out from these classes what I put in. I can do what the class requires, take my grade, and move on, or I can use the class as an opportunity to develop my own ideas about how to run an organization. I don't know how hard I'll have to try to develop my own thinking after reading this presentation by Reed Hastings of Netflix. I will just us all of their thinking to guide my own. I see a tendency in my class textbook to implement programs that will help the company fit the needs of the employee. I like how Netflix has defined how the company will work and seeks employees that fit that vision rather than fitting their vision to the employees. The Hastings presentation is a good lens to look at all of this organization behavior research discussed in the textbook. I hope to use the good of the presentation to make something meaningful for myself from the textbook.

I say all this while still a week outside of my first online class. My view of where the book fits into the value of the class may change after one or two classes.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Business Card study plan

After getting slightly uneasy with the the realization that I wasn't making much progress on retaining what I've read in my finance book, I stumbled on what has every appearance of being an efficient study technique. I've been summarizing sections of my finance book on the back of my old business cards. The small size forces me synthesize the information, the cards are easy to carry, and I have a couple hundred of them just sitting around. I can carry them in my new computer bag and pull them out to grab a few minutes review here and there throughout my day. Just lining them up helps me see how different sections of the chapter are organized. If nothing else, it's a good start on an efficient system.

I have also been forcing myself to read through the entire chapter rather than skipping sections that aren't mentioned in the summary at the end of the chapter. I tried that skipping around business when I was an undergrad and it didn't work too well. I have also decided that I want good grades. While not doing awesome will not be a hindrance, doing really well has the potential to help me out at some point in the future. Besides, I'm competitive. I want to be the best.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

To convince myself that playing fantasy football is not a complete waste of my time and cognitive surplus, I try to take something from fantically watching the score ticker at the bottom of the screen during football games that I can apply to other aspects of my life. Two elements of the fantasy football experience always rise to the top during these episodic affirmations. One, much of life is due to random chance that I can do little to control. We live in a probablistic universe after all, why shouldn't the laws that govern the basis of our physical world apply to a simple sport as well? Two, following the herd is the shortest route to mediocrity. Mindlessly applying the word of a fantasy "expert" or doing what is right based on some consensus of the best player or strategy will only get you so far. You have to position yourself to take advantage of those times that chance falls in your favor.

While I don't expect random chance to be much of a factor in my MBA classes (although you just never know), the probability that I will be dealing with experts of dubious distinction is unity. I know this because I have already encountered a couple of these experts in chapter 1 of my management foundations textbook. I have found a study style that will suit this class quite well, argue against the points these management technicians make about how organizations behave. The tone of chapter 1 runs counter to much of how I would like to lead once I'm in a position to use others to achieve goals (which is their definition of management). This definition of management sets the tone for their analysis, as the rest of the chapter goes on to describe how they are going to teach us how to manipulate people like the software and machines that are used to get so much done in business.

I knew that I would have to built a fort around the perspective on management and other areas of business that I have developed over the years. Chapter 1 warns that one of the challenges of organizational behavior is seperating people from their intuitions on how to manage people and replace those ideas (which are likely based on their experience actually working in organizations) with concepts developed using the tools of social science. What I am defending is not a few cliches about how people behave in organizations, but a philosophical position on the best way to work with people to achieve goals assigned by the organization while pursuing goals that we have given ourselves (which, ideally, will benefit the company and shape the future assigned goals by providing higher level executives with a more complete picture of our organization's capabilities). I have my ideas. We'll see how they withstand the onslaught of formal education. Let the battle begin.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Practice

My experiment in trying to live like a part-time student has been slow to really get off the ground. I did sit down and read for an hour and a half or so on Tuesday or Wednesday night. Other than that, I haven't really done much. I feel asleep for an hour after Project Runway ended last night. I came down stairs to take care of a few things after I woke up, but I didn't have the mental energy to psuedo-study. I came down stairs tonight planning to study, but I spent awhile writing in my wife's anniversary card (11 years tomorrow). Then I read her latest blog post, felt like an ass, left a comment, and came back to write this post. It's still early. As soon as I'm finished I will move over to the kitchen table and do something school-like.

I have decided to use the desk as my study spot. The room is a touch cluttered, but I think it will be better studying in there rather than trying to use a common area of the house. I was talking to my wife about it and mentioned that I would just move a dining table chair up there to replace the super squeaky chair that's at the desk now. She suggested that I buy a new chair. After all, she tells me, I'm going to be taking classes for years. I've been so focused on getting everything in place just to start taking classes that I tend to de-emphasize the amount of effort this is going to take. This is going to be hard.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Diversions

I plan on using the next few weeks to see how well I can switch from reading to working out to some other kind of study activity. Writing this blog post isn't working on something for one of my classes (I keep reminding myself that I'll be taking two classes, my planning always seems to focus on one class), but going from one activity to another as smoothly as possible is the real trick. I have a tendency to take 15 minutes reading blogs or some other online activity before getting down to whatever task I have planned for a particular evening (working on grad school applications, writing posts, that kind of thing). I need to smooth out those transitions to stay efficient and on task.

I may also look for some good study techniques. I have studying science (well, chemistry anyway) down cold, but it's been a long time since I thought about how to study out of a text book that is mostly text. I was never very efficient at studying from textbooks in college. Do I try the summarizing each paragraph in the margin? Do I put everything in the context of my imaginary research company? I guess I should try to figure these things out before classes start. Well, maybe it's not a matter of how I go about studying, but what I want to get out of each class. It's easy to fall back into the conditioned response of going for the grade in school. I don't need good grades to get an interview for the summer job that will lead to my first hire post-MBA, but I do want to learn something from these classes. I need to keep asking myself how the material impacts what I do now and what I want to do as my career progresses. I really want to use these foundations classes as a way to get the business perspective on my company and the industry. I look at it as a scientist. How do other people in the company view the same organization? Maybe these classes will help me figure that out.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Rising to the Challenge

I just finished working out. I tried to get on the computer to write this post as quickly as possible in an effort to simulate what going straight from a workout to hitting the books will be like. I took on the Spartacus Workout and managed to get through two cycles. That's about the hardest workout I can manage here at home. Oscar's post about his week at a martial arts camp reminded me that I need to push beyond my comfort level if I'm going to lower my 1000 m time on the rowing machine or get rid of my gut. Pushing past my limits is the only way to make meaningful progress. Why take the time to workout if I'm not going to push myself hard enough to get anything out of it. With that idea in mind, I kept pushing when I felt like sitting on the steps and calling it a night.

I need to get in the habit of staying on task when I would rather be doing something else. The class schedules and the associated text books are pretty easy to find on the Marist website. I have decided to take Management and Finance over Accounting and Analytical Tools. (I'll register as soon as I get my login and password.) Almost the entire first chapter of the Finance textbook is available as a preview on Amazon. I took a look at it last night to get a feel for what I'll be up against. The content of the book was not overly intimidating, but I could feel the heft of the book through my internet browser. It's almost 1000 pages. Throw in the supplemental materials online, and I'm looking at well over 1000 pages. And that's just one class.

In reading through the online preview, I found myself approaching the text like I did as an undergrad. While that approach would likely get me through the class, I want more from these classes than a grade. The whole point of taking on this challenge is to open opportunities for my career. My last month at work has been spent on a research project that is not directly linked to the development of a new product. The deeper I get into the project, the more I think my group should be focused on similar problems and projects. I know there is value in this kind of work. Taking the time to understand what we're doing could result in a much improved product development process. Top science talent will flock to a lab that allows them to pursue problems that push their research abilities. There is value in taking on hard problems. Rather than simply absorb and purge the content of my MBA classes, I plan on using what I learn in my studies to help me design a business plan for my vision of a research facility. Finding a way to make my vision a reality is far more engaging than trudging through a thick textbook so I can answer questions on an exam.

Keeping things moving in my career, staying involved with my family, lowering my 1000 m time on the rowing machine, and working hard in my MBA classes is going to require plenty of hustle on my part. I want the challenge. It may mean that I don't get to watch much football this season and I may have to skip watching Survivor or the Amazing Race. I know that I need to find that next level of performance to take my career to the next level. Doing this right will require me to push past my limits to find a higher performance level.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Nature of Knowledge about Nature

I'm a big fan of shows that talk to scientist. There is a great episode of NOVA where the guys who were trying to be the first to generate Bose-Einstein condensates recount what it was like in the lab moments before their breakthrough. While I don't know much about that area of science, I was captivated by their description of what they were experiencing in those tense hours leading up to their successful experiment. The race to be the first to observe something new in science is high drama as far as I'm concerned. The achievement brought them a Nobel Prize (which is probably the only reason that NOVA made a show about them to begin with), but it also verified a theoretical prediction that had been made decades earlier by, well, Bose and Einstein.

There can be little doubt about the veracity of the predictions made by Bose and Einstein after seeing the exotic state of matter that they predicted be created in a lab. But what about theories that attempt to describe long standing observations? How good does the data need to fit the experiment before we can say that the theory is correct? Any reasonable solution that gives a reasonable fit to a data set can be considered a viable theoretical explanation. How is consensus reached on which explanation is the accepted one? Why is the Big Bang so widely accepted over other explanations for the origin of the universe? People have been looking at the stars for as long as there have been people on the planet. We are awash in data about the nature of the universe. How well do the theories that account for these observations fit the data?

To hear the scientist that they talk to for shows like Through the Wormhole or The Universe, the big questions of cosmology have pretty much been worked out. All that's left is working through the finer details of the Big Bang theory and the origins of our expanding universe. These are the models that the astronomy establishment have accepted as the best possible explanation for the origin and nature of our universe. There are very few people outside of the astronomy researchers who have the technical skills and knowledge to assess the validity of these models to any significant detail. We all just talk their word on it when they invoke terms like dark matter or dark energy to describe why the universe is expanding or some other cosmological observation.

I have never gotten a warm, fuzzy feeling for things like dark matter and dark energy. It's rather odd to think that the vast majority of the energy and matter in the universe is something that has never been detected or experienced. That's not to say that these proposed universal constituents are not present all around us, but at this point they're little more than theoretical predictions. There are plenty of research groups scrambling to observe dark matter or dark energy. They want to win a Nobel Prize and have their own episode of NOVA too. Seeing matter and energy and where we have never seen either feels a little arbitrary, but that's the best explanation that the established astronomers and cosmologists have been able to develop for their expansive data set about the nature of the universe.

It's no wonder that a new theory that claims to explain unexpected aspects of the universe without resorting to vast amounts of unknown energy and matter comes from Institute of Statistics at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan. Wun-Yi Shu has written a paper that uses physical "constants" as conversion factors for other physical properties of the universe. I really have no way to evaluate his theory (although those that do have several issues with the paper, although I could have done without commentary on the formatting, like that really matters), but the paper does point out that our current theories do not fit the data as well as we might like. The presence of this paper is a reminder that for all that we think we know about the universe, much of that knowledge rests on large assumptions, generalizations, and reasonable conjecture (ie, guessing).

While this paper will likely disappear without leaving a lasting impact on physics, other papers that are just as ridiculed when they first appear may provide revolutionary insights into the workings of our universe. Science is dynamic and evolving. Our imperfect knowledge is constantly being revised. Even the most highly regarded theory can be undermined by a short paper from an unlikely source. That's just the way the world works.