Vancouver Island University

Observe a Manager

Dawson Cuthbert
MGMT 192
Chris Jaeger
March 15 2017
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................ 3
Managers Types.......................................................................................................... 3
Efficiency and Effectiveness....................................................................................... 3
Management Functions.............................................................................................. 3
Management Skills..................................................................................................... 3
Omnipotent or Symbolic view..................................................................................... 4
Organization Culture................................................................................................... 4
Strong Culture............................................................................................................ 4
Subcultures................................................................................................................ 4
Stories and Rituals...................................................................................................... 4
Organization Environment.......................................................................................... 5
Stakeholder Relationships.......................................................................................... 5
Global Perspective...................................................................................................... 5
Strategic Alliances...................................................................................................... 5
Social.......................................................................................................................... 5
Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 6
References.................................................................................................................. 6

Introduction
For This Management Essay, I Interview the President of Barkley Project
Group; Iain Cuthbert. Barkley Project Group is a project management consultant
company. By interviewing Mr. Cuthbert, it became easier to make connections from
the management text book to the work of local managers. Over the course of an
hour we discussed the following topics of the textbook and related them to the daily
work of Mr. Cuthbert. The following topics are not in order of discussion, but in order
of the textbook for easy referencing.

Managers Types
When Mr. Cuthbert was asked about the types of managers in his
organization, he said there are two types. He is a top manager, and two of his
partners at the firm are middle managers (Iain Cuthbert, personal communications,
February 13, 2017). Being a top manager he does make decisions, plans and goals
that affect the entire organization (Robbins, Coulter, Leach & Kilfoil, p. 3). His
partners also do the same but are more a project managers. This allows the other
employees to understand who to go to depending on the project.

Efficiency and Effectiveness

We discussed the differences between efficiency and effectiveness. At
Barkley Project Group, they try to be more effective by doing the right things. By
being effective, projects that they complete have less follow up problems. global
sourcing with efficiency was discussed together, because at this firm they do things
right and get the most output with the least input by finding the best deals on
resources and people (Robbins, Coulter, Leach & Kilfoil, p. 5).

Management Functions
Management functions are divided into four parts in the textbook: planning,
organizing, leading, controlling (Robbins, Coulter, Leach & Kilfoil, p. 7). Mr. Cuthbert
uses planning to ensure projects have clear goals and scheduled meetings to keep
things on track. For organizing he makes sure everyone has work to do, by choosing
a specific person for every project. The specific person is then the project manager
for that project. This allows the team to know what needs to be done and who to
report to for that project. For leading he leads by example. This is done by working
with others and making it seem like more of a team then a just individual. This
allows for others to aide each other and reach goals. Effective communication is one
of his strategies for leading that helps to deal with issues. Controlling is the least
important at Barkley Project Group, because the employees are professionals of
their field. When he is needed to control the situation, he will step in to ensure that
the work is getting done on time and properly (Iain Cuthbert, personal
communications, February 13, 2017).

Management Skills
The most interesting topic was the management skills and how they change
in use with time. Management skills is separated into three fundamental skill types:
Technical, Human and Conceptual (Robbins, Coulter, Leach & Kilfoil, p. 8). He talked
about how at his level of management the most used skill type is Conceptual; ideas
generating, abstract thinking and other mental processing. Following is Human
skills; dealing with people, communicate with all types of people, leading and
motivating people. Lastly is technical skills; field knowledge and tool use. This fit the
graph on page 9, that the higher the management level is, the more conceptual and
less technical skills are needed (Iain Cuthbert, personal communications, February
13, 2017).

Omnipotent or Symbolic view

After explaining that omnipotent view meant that the manager is responsible
for the success or failure of an organization, and the symbolic view is that managers
arent due to external forces outside of the managers control; Mr. Cuthbert said he
has a Symbolic view (Iain Cuthbert, personal communications, February 13, 2017)
(Robbins, Coulter, Leach & Kilfoil, p. 36). He explains why but talking about an
experience on a project that ended poorly. Due to external forces, this job ended up
costing an extreme amount of money because of poor communications between
companies and sloppy work. Because of this the employees can also have a big
impact on the organization in terms of failure and success.

Organization Culture
The culture at Barkley Project Group is very professional. It is focused around
completing projects as a team, this means everyone is focused on the task at hand
and most communication amongst employees is based on meeting goals and
working together. It also means it is a very supportive culture, they act like a very
serious family who is there to help you develop your career. At Barkley group, they
work less like Employees, and more like colleagues who collaborate and learn from
one another. The organization is a lot like the example on page 40, organization B.
They encourage new ideas, taking risks and change things when needed. This
culture also shares the idea that failures are learning experiences, that you learn
from your mistakes. The rules and regulation of employees is almost non-existent,
this is due to the employees being professional and very trust worthy. The
organization B also talks about treating people right, Mr. Cuthbert believes all
employees are well compensated for and they get a bonus annually for the work
and improvement they have shown (Iain Cuthbert, personal communications,
February 13, 2017). The work is divided into projects and is team oriented (Robbins,
Coulter, Leach & Kilfoil, p. 40).

Strong Culture
Mr. Cuthbert stated that the culture is strong at Barkley Project Group (Iain
Cuthbert, personal communications, February 13, 2017). It is strong because it is
apart of every conversation and the way people act. They mostly share the same
beliefs when it comes to work habits. It is also a good culture, it doesnt lead to any
internal problems and it encourages people to improve their own capabilities.

Subcultures
There is more then just this culture at Barkley, there is also a culture amongst
the administers. I was not introduced to this culture but I did understand that they
are different, because the administers are more focused on completing the work as
oppose to the project managers who want to learn from the work.
Stories and Rituals
There is a story that Mr. Cuthbert shares with both employees and clients.
This story focuses on making it clear how Barkley Project Group is unique. It gives
the listener an idea of their values and beliefs, how they are focused on
environmental sustainability, economic opportunities for locals and sustainable
economical development. The organization does not really have any rituals
however.

Organization Environment
Being a smaller and regional company, the environment of Berkley Project
isnt as intense or as complicated as that of a larger organization. Every
organization get affected by the specific environment, Mr. Cuthbert talked about
how when they plan where the hydro power plant will go sometimes the placement
will change due to the observation of the environment. The environment can affect
the company physically, like an area to build being washed out, or socially, where it
may be better if changed for political reasons. Mr. Cuthbert said he is very content
with being located on the island because of the general environment and the local
clients (Iain Cuthbert, personal communications, February 13, 2017).

Stakeholder Relationships
There are three types of stake holders that Barkley Project Group deals with
often and they are clients, government regulators and Industry competitors. They
are managed by being professional, using good communication, taking the initiative
and collaborating Mr. Cuthbert said (Cuthbert, 2017).

Global Perspective
Ethnocentric attitude, polycentric attitude and geocentric attitude make up
the types of global perspective (Robbins, Coulter, Leach & Kilfoil, p. 64). After
discussing their meanings with Mr. Cuthbert, He thought ethnocentric suited him
best. The reason is he believes most countries abuse the environment and dont
look for greener options in his field, and that Canada has laws and regulation on
pollution that help keep big organizations from exceeding excepted amounts of
damage to the environment. It isnt that other countries dont have the ability or the
knowledge to be more environmentally friendly, its that they choose profit over
environment (Iain Cuthbert, personal communications, February 13, 2017).

Strategic Alliances
We talked about strategic alliances, at this firm they have many alliances.
Usually every project has at least one other firm working with them, this insures
that the right people are on the job. For Barkley Project Group, they usually hire the
same companies to do the construction, engineering and other types for each hydro
power plant. Not only do they have strategic alliances but they also team up with a
lot of local first nation governments and communities. They team up but creating a
joint venture by building on first nations land and sharing the profits and resources
that come with the plant. They make sure that each project is environmentally
sustainable and offers economic opportunities for the first nation communities.

Social
Barkley Project Group is a great example of a company that goes beyond
making a profit and meeting the norm in terms of social responsibility. They go out
of their way, including losing money, to make sure that the project is not only
meeting the requirements but is sustainable economical development. They have a
socio-economic view and are more focused on the social responsibility then the
social responsiveness (Robbins, Coulter, Leach & Kilfoil, p. 111). This is because of
their green energy background so it echoes throughout their work.

Conclusion
I learned a lot by doing this project. It made it easier to relate the in class and
textbook information to real daily work of managers. Mr. Iain Cuthbert has a lot of
experience and it is easy to notice that he has had to do a lot of work to get to that
point. He is a good example of a top manager and suits the description well.
Studying Management is useful as the information taught can easily be applied to
the real work of a manager.

References
Robbins, S. P., Coulter, M. K., Leach, E., & Kilfoil, M. (2012). Management. Toronto:
Pearson.