Discovering Myself

Discovering Myself: An Examination of my Future Career Dawn Clayton Georgia Gwinnett College MGMT 4100-03 Professor Schilpzand 11/21/2011

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Part I: I picked “Quality Assurance Manager” as the position that I would pursue after graduating from Georgia Gwinnett College. When I accessed our nation’s leading source of occupational information, O*NET OnLine, the closest job title listed was “Quality Control Systems Manager” who are defined as individuals that “plan, direct, or coordinate quality assurance programs” (O*NET OnLine, 2011). After reading the skills, abilities, and work environment, the information provided a very accurate representation of what can be found in this field. I have firsthand knowledge of this because for over ten years I was involved with Quality Assurance, in some form or fashion—including two and a half years as a QA Manager.

In the table that follows, I have placed all of the pertinent descriptions to facilitate comparisons between the national standards and the results of my self-assessments.

Topic Knowledge

Skills

Abilities Job Design

Work Environment

Type Schooling varies, but most have Bachelors Degree + QA training Operating budget methods; Ethics training Communication at/for all levels of the organization Individual Training Sessions for the following:  Analysis of data/information  Continuous Improvement/Preventive Actions  Documentation procedures/criteria/control  Best Practices for purchases of goods or services for QA  Current and trending methodology Confer with other departments on customer requirements Create/implement procedures and instructions Identify Corrective & Preventive Actions/Implement Plan Communicate effectively, Critical thinking/Brainstorming Cooperation & Teamwork; Set measurable goals Direct testing activities; Monitor QA performance Oversee workers; Training & Development tasks Produce reports and other documentation Audit/inspect/analyze situations then find workable solutions Manufacturing—office & production/operations floors Various physical conditions—heat/cold Mid to upper level management tier

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Part II: Big Five Personality Factors I retook my Big Five Personality Factors assessment and I came up with the following results.

The highest scoring categories were in Conscientiousness (6.7) and a tie in

Agreeableness and Openness to Experience (6.1). Extraversion (4.9) and Emotional Stability (4.0) were ranked comparatively low on the scale.

In a subordinate role the Conscientiousness and Openness to Experience would be my strengths and Agreeableness could become a great liability for me. I am slightly reserved, as shown in the score for Extraversion, and tend to withhold judgment on an issue until I have as much information as I can gather in the time frame allotted. That does not mean that I cannot act on a moment’s notice, if the situation calls for it—I feel like this is highlighted by the Emotional Stability section. When I openly display a committed outlook to an issue, I can be extremely vocal about it. The demonstration of this tends to be misunderstood, though. Some take my passionate reactions as an attack on them personally, when it is really all about the subject.

As a manager my Conscientiousness and Emotional Stability would be my strengths and Agreeableness could once again be a liability. I am willing to show my employees my commitment to the goals set by the company and be supportive of their needs and concerns at the same time. The trap lies in becoming a “yes” man, instead of a trend setter—regardless of the direction of the communication. It takes continued monitoring of the situation and my position on the issue, to allow me to remain steadfast on my point and relay this stance to all parties involved. This becomes especially critical to the situation at hand when the leader has to sway employees to perform an activity that they do not see the profit in following.

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In the role of an organizational team member, my Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience, and Extraversion would be my greatest strengths because these would be needed to interact within a goal setting group. In this role, both the Agreeableness and Emotional Stability sections could become liabilities. These two sections can lead to “group think” or infighting during discussions which would undermine the effectiveness in execution of the tasks assigned to us.

Colors of Leadership Exercise When I took this assessment in class I finished it with ties for my highs and lows. I scored fifteens in both the Gold and Green sections, while I received tens in Orange and Blue.

During the class discussion, I was placed in Green which tends to look at things very analytical, remains composed under pressure, leans towards perfectionism, and willingly seeks answers to the problems faced. While I find all of this is true of me, I cannot discount the Gold traits such as dependability, punctuality, organization, and consideration (of others) that I have also. That being said, I do not feel like I should discount the other two categories either. I have some traits from those sections also which I firmly believe augmented over time. If I had completed this assessment ten or twenty years ago, the outcomes may have been extremely different. As far as the Big Five comparison, if you only take the first color I was placed in (Green), then you miss some of the areas that were identified previously. If you add the mixture of Gold to it the correlation is closer, but again, I think that all of these color scores are too close to allow for a decisive answer on “you are just this.”

I had my son complete this exercise the day we received it and the adage of “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” is very true. He had received double ties also, but his were Gold and Blue for the high and Orange and Green for the low. Only then did I let him complete the

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assessment on me. He reaffirmed my results and even his fiancé agreed. I do not think that taking this particular assessment and finding the results would change the way I conduct myself around others. This is due mostly to the fact that I am usually slow to react, but am passionate about the activities I participate in. This is quickly discernable when someone meets me (and can be offputting sometimes), but it is not something I am willing to change.

I believe that (all of) these traits allow me to excel in the area of leadership. As we discussed in class, the only way a leader is truly a leader is if anyone is willing to follow them through the course of action they are taking. One of the things that I have found though my previous experiences as a trainer and a manager is that if you are prepared to leave your office (or “other” cushy spot) to actively assist the subordinates in resolving their problems as they occur, they will have respect and an automatic compliance in the things that you request done.

For the flip side of the situation, I believe that the Green and Gold sections play a large role in negotiating the ins and outs of management expectations. Having the ability to strive for perfection and being prepared and organized go a great distance in relieving workplace induced stresses.

Job Diagnostic Survey I retook this survey also and came up with the following results. My MPS was 341 and my GNS was a 5.5 making both of these in the high category. I believe that my Growth Needs Strength number is relatively high because I am constantly seeking out new information. This is especially true with regards to the materials I engage in during my free time. I challenge myself to learn something new each day—even if it is a small insignificant piece of detail. I constantly check news sources for the latest in current events, I have also found a kinship with historical eras (although I do not profess to be an expert), and love science related topics (especially

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space). This is the score that I expected to see due in large part to the transitions I went through in Junior and Senior High Schools. I went form an “average” student straight to honors after taking one look at my reading class and decided it wasn’t where I wanted to be. My goal starting this January is to begin researching (at least once a week) articles about the latest trends in Quality Assurance, which will assist me in attaining my chosen career goal.

Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) I am a little hesitant to comment on this section at this time. I am going to send this survey out to two of my former associates to gather some feedback and verify if my scores were not overinflated. That being said, I scored high across the board (24-29) in all categories. For the most part I believe that these are scores a leader would need because I have previously used the Challenged the Process by continuously asking questions of all of my coworkers. Enabling Others allows the leader to delegate responsibilities to others, and I have always encouraged everyone to “own” what they were doing. Inspiring a Shared Vision is not always the easiest thing for a leader to accomplish. This was the category that I was the weakest in and I think it is more of a challenge because the leader has to devise a way to reach each person. Sometimes this creates a need for a different approach for each one which is a time consuming activity that some leaders may not want to spend time on.

I think that Modeling the Way and Encourage the Heart (score 28 and 29) make up for some of the lack in the previous section. This is because any leader who is willing to be actively involved in what the current status is and any perceived problems present on the production floor goes further than any “lip service” that some other managers from my past have used. The “do as I say” only goes so far in convincing subordinates to follow a leader. Both of these categories are

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ways to illustrate that you are committed to the goals you have set. They have played a large role in my past dealings with associates and I intend to continue utilizing these steps.

During class I picked my former boss at my old job, Ron Windbigler. Ron’s strengths were dependability, took an active role in tasks in all areas of the plant, trustworthy with business decisions as well as personal issues, was willing to listen to any employee, and leads by example.

When we worked together we were under extreme pressure due to a new ($10m) customer acquisition, but everyone in the plant quickly became reliant on his guidance to lead us through the craziness of the ramped up production. Although I think that I do most of the things that Ron does already, I will still admit that I need to work on my listening skills. Even though he has moved back to Indiana, he is still willing to be one of my mentor figures.

Emotional Intelligence My overall Emotional Intelligence score is an 83 which is considered high. The one section where I only scored a moderate was in the Self-Management section. I willingly placed an additional scoring constraint because of how I typically handle stress and overcoming obstacles in life. I did this because even though I do not handle this section as well as I should, I do resolve the matter. I have the tendency to dwell on things until they are completely irrelevant to my situation. To put it in a nutshell, I’m a worrier and do not like to let things go after what would be considered a reasonable amount of time. Regardless, my Emotional Intelligence score verifies that I am secure with my interaction in life. Because I am aware of the detractors that I mentioned earlier, I can internalize my bad days and force myself to look objectively at an assignment. This was especially true during one of the presentations in Ethics class; I knew it, so I refrained from “posting” any bitter comments.

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Listening Skills When choosing another self-assessment, I debated on which one to use first. I opted for listening skills because it is something that plays a big role in being a Quality Assurance Manager and knew that I should have an objective look at this subject. When I took this during class, I intentionally rated myself harshly which put my score solidly in the moderately good range. This is in large part due to an overabundance of items that I deal with on a daily basis.

My mind can wonder away from the current conversation, especially if I think that the other subject carries a higher personal priority. This is not a good practice and as I am aware that I might do this, I continue to remind myself to put the other matter away (on the shelf) for the time being and get through the subject presently in front of me. One of the ways that I can do this is to actively maintain eye contact with the person I am having the conversation with. I also attempt to clear away my pressing business during the times of day where interruptions will be minimal (coming in early or staying up late).

How Ethical Are These Behaviors I was paging through our book when one of the first things that I came across was the Ethical Test (Kinicki and Kreitner, 2009). I thought this was a fitting one to pick because Quality Assurance Managers are confronted on a continuous basis with this issue. Because this position holds so much power over so many different areas of a location being asked to “fix documentation” or “lessen the severity” of a finding during an audit are commonplace. I remember taking this during class, but decided to retake it. This time I scored a 1.58, which is slightly higher than the average for the United States (1.49), but is lower than some of the countries in Europe (1.70 and 1.66) and all ten countries combined (1.66).

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Most of the reason my number was skewed is because of the previous work environment I was involved in. When your work week entails 60-80 hours, doing small personal things during working hours is going to be a necessity. It falls on the individual to monitor (and restrict) the amount of times spent on these extraneous activities. The only other portion of this test that pushed my average up was the question about receiving gifts. Sometimes it is necessary to accept a gift when conducting business because of cultural expectations—but it is what you do with those gifts after you receive them that make all the difference. I believe that it is best to share the benefits with the rest of your coworkers whenever possible. That being said, I would do as much as I could to avoid presenting a gift with the expectation of a future favor. I believe that doing this increases my integrity and reputation.

Part III: When comparing the style of leadership a person in this position must have, it can be noted that to be most effective a QA Manager must be willing to interact with members from all levels of the organization. This is especially true for those managers that are in charge of various areas of training. Communication of concepts becomes critical to the success of the business.

Should the manager relate inaccurate or confusing information and the employees “permit” nonconforming product to reach the customer, it could have deeply felt ramifications. This includes conducting analytical studies for fact finding resolution that can be implemented to that the ensure customer requirements are met.

This position also has an extremely high level of stress, especially immediately before, during and after an audit. Being a QA Manager tends to be a thankless job because it is rare that praise will be worth coming, normally all this person hears is bad news—which means that everyone else hears bad news too. Because of this, it is essential that all personnel are given the

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tools they need to succeed. The opposing view of all of this is the accolades that can be bestowed on excellent work practices displayed by individual and groups of employees. When the program is working correctly, it is the QA Manager’s responsibility to inform everyone of this and to urge everyone to continue to do the things that are working. Constant encouragement is the key to ensuring a successful program.

Because of the high level of stress involved in these employment duties, it can be a liability to have a lower emotional stability rating. This can even translate into scheduling too many things at once that deadlines start being missed. This can have catastrophic results—on the manager and the rest of the plant. Also, sometimes the position (and the compensation package) is not valued as much as they should be in the company. When this occurs, all the hard work that the QA Manager is completing will be next to worthless.

I believe that this is still a good job for me to pursue, because I already know what to expect in the position because I held it previously. One thing that I will attempt to do differently is to align myself with a company that is respectful of the role that a Quality Assurance Manager does on a daily basis. I thoroughly enjoy being able to go into a store and find something that I help make (even when it’s indirectly). Also, now that I will have my Bachelor’s degree, I will be able to combine it with my previous experience and be able to pass through the early stages of recruitment and selection without being kicked out for only having just job training on my side.

Part IV: In conclusion, I know that I will have to be diligent in continuing my education both on the Masters level and in staying attuned to the current best practices. In part I have already taken steps in these areas by finding the college that will confer the specialized courses in Quality

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Assurance. Furthermore, I have also joined the American Society for Quality which has additional training opportunities, job postings, and current news in the industry. I will also have to stay vigilant with regards to polishing my listening skills. I would be willing to take what would be a lower to mid-level position to get myself inside the door, but I would definitely want to have advancement choices in the future. I also realize that to do this I might have to move to another location to accomplish these goals.

As far as how I found this job and where I plan on taking it again. I quite honestly fell into the job by accident. Back in 1998 our family had to make a fundamental shift in wage earning duties that literally had to be decided overnight. On Monday morning we went to see the temporary agency where my husband had been employed with, and even without filing out an application I was sent to a location we were vaguely familiar with. This particular company did (and still doesn’t) have the best reputation for being able to keep employees—mostly due to job design. They were leery of taking me on, but within two weeks I astounded them with my work on the production line. As this was going on, this particular plant was attempting to become ISO certified. I actually helped them get the initial certificate of compliance.

I learned practically every job description over seven and a half years until I became indispensible. Even to the point that I was the “designated trainer” and the special projects person. When the opportunity to move into the Quality Assurance Manager’s position, the outgoing manager went on the offensive and convinced the rest of the management team that I was the only qualified individual that could undertake getting the approval for that new customer I mentioned earlier, AND do all of the rest of the duties I would have been responsible for. I grabbed at the chance—even though I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy experience. For over two and a half years I was willing to sacrifice other areas of my life. Then the economy tanked

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and I was left grasping for a new opportunity in the hopes that the next location (same industry) would appreciate the things that I had to offer. THAT only lasted six months! I’m ready for a “change” back to the indispensible days again! I’m definitely ready to say, “I’ve helped make that!” and “It’s awesome because our team does such a great job exceeding our quality assurance standards!”

An Examination of my Future Career

13 Works Cited

Kinicki, Angelo, and Robert Kreitner. "How Ethical Are These Behaviors?" Organizational Behavior: Key Concepts, Skills & Best Practices. 4th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2009. 28. Print.

O*NET OnLine. "11-3051.01 - Quality Control Systems Managers." O*NET OnLine. 2009.

Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-3051.01>.