ASSIGNMENT Interview a Manager Assignment: Interview a manager. Write up your interview, and include an analysis of how this manager implements functions of planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Good managers are made, not born. Ask any manager, and you’ll no doubt hear of a journey they had to take to learn effective skills. II. Once again, I’m driving you away from your computer and out into the trenches for information. I want you to hear first-hand of the challenges of managing others, and how it compares to your interview with the business owner you had in a previous week’s assignment. I. Choose a manager to manager. This can be your manager at your job, a friend or family member in a management position, or the manager of a business you frequent. The rule is: the person you interview must supervise at least one other person--the more, the merrier. II. Contact the manager, Explain your project, and ask if s/he will spend an hour or so with you talking about the their job. Don’t be afraid to cold call. Almost everyone is willing to help students with a class project. Be polite and respectful of the manager’s time. Most managers are extremely busy--you will need to meet at the their convenience. III. Prepare for the interview. • Read through chapter 6 in your text, “Managing for Business Success.” • Do as much homework as you can BEFORE the interview about the company. • See Questions for Managers: IV. Have the interview with the manager. • Again, most managers are very busy—be punctual and respectful of their time. They may only be able to spare you an hour or so. • Know that you are a representative of this school and are making an impression for better or for worse--this person may be a valuable contact later. This includes conduct and appearance. • You may find it useful to tape the interview—with the manager’s permission, of course. • On the following pages you will find suggested questions to ask. You’re looking for ways this manager performs the four functions of management (planning, organizing, leading, controlling), and their observations about the role of a manager. • This information will form the core of your write-up. 1 BUS 101 - Introduction to Business • AVOID QUESTIONS ABOUT FINANCE. Don’t ask the manager what sales are, what their salary is, what employee salaries are, etc.. These may seem academic to you, but this information is very personal. • TELL THE MANAGER KNOW AT THE START THAT YOU IN NO WAY WANT TO PRY INTO CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS MATTERS, and to let you know if a question is inappropriate in any way. • ALL information about employees is protected by law, so any specifics about an employee must be avoided. • A brief, handwritten thank-you note to the manager following the interview is entirely appropriate. It will set you apart and leave the door open should you need to contact the manager again for any clarificatio.

1. ASSIGNMENT
Interview a Manager
Assignment: Interview a manager. Write up your interview,
and include an
analysis of how this manager implements functions of planning,
organizing,
leading and controlling.
Good managers are made, not born. Ask any manager, and
you’ll no doubt hear of a
journey they had to take to learn effective skills.
II. Once again, I’m driving you away from your computer and
out into the
trenches for information. I want you to hear first-hand of the
challenges of
managing others, and how it compares to your interview with
the business
owner you had in a previous week’s assignment.
I. Choose a manager to manager.
This can be your manager at your job, a friend or family
member in a management
position, or the manager of a business you frequent. The rule
is: the person you
interview must supervise at least one other person--the more,
the merrier.
II. Contact the manager,
Explain your project, and ask if s/he will spend an hour or so
with you talking about the

2. their job. Don’t be afraid to cold call. Almost everyone is
willing to help students with a
class project. Be polite and respectful of the manager’s time.
Most managers are
extremely busy--you will need to meet at the their convenience.
III. Prepare for the interview.
• Read through chapter 6 in your text, “Managing for Business
Success.”
• Do as much homework as you can BEFORE the interview
about the company.
• See Questions for Managers:
IV. Have the interview with the manager.
• Again, most managers are very busy—be punctual and
respectful of their time. They
may only be able to spare you an hour or so.
• Know that you are a representative of this school and are
making an impression for
better or for worse--this person may be a valuable contact later.
This includes conduct
and appearance.
• You may find it useful to tape the interview—with the
manager’s permission, of course.
• On the following pages you will find suggested questions to
ask. You’re looking for
ways this manager performs the four functions of management
(planning, organizing,
leading, controlling), and their observations about the role of a
manager.
• This information will form the core of your write-up.

3. 1 BUS 101 - Introduction to Business
• AVOID QUESTIONS ABOUT FINANCE. Don’t ask the
manager what sales are, what
their salary is, what employee salaries are, etc.. These may
seem academic to you,
but this information is very personal.
• TELL THE MANAGER KNOW AT THE START THAT YOU
IN NO WAY WANT TO
PRY INTO CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS MATTERS, and to let
you know if a question
is inappropriate in any way.
• ALL information about employees is protected by law, so any
specifics about an
employee must be avoided.
• A brief, handwritten thank-you note to the manager following
the interview is entirely
appropriate. It will set you apart and leave the door open should
you need to contact
the manager again for any clarification or follow-up questions.
If you can’t manage
pen and paper, a thank-you e-mail is the minimum. This is a
skill that will serve you
well in your career.
V. Write up your findings.
• Two pages should be sufficient, but longer is OK.
• Your write-up should be in narrative form (i.e., not a checklist
or question-and-answer

4. format) of about 2 pages.
• Include an introductory paragraph, the body of the
information, and a concluding
sentence or paragraph. Include a brief paragraph comparing
this interview to the
interview you had with a business owner in
• Pay attention to proper word usage, spelling and grammar.
Suggested Questions for Interviewing a Manager
✓ Background
• What products and services does your company offer?
• What is your position in the company?
• How many subordinates do you supervise?
• How many years of management experience do you have and
how has the
experience affected your approach to management?
• What formal business education or training programs have you
received? Has this
education and training helped you to manage more effectively?
✓ General
• What are some of the typical issues or problems that you must
deal with? How do
you try to develop solutions to these problems?
• What’s your favorite part of the job? Least favorite?
✓ Planning
• What planning processes are used at your organization and
what is your role in the

5. organization’s planning?
2 BUS 101 - Introduction to Business
• What do you see as strengths and weaknesses of this planning
process?
✓ Organizing:
• What is your role in determining the company organization?
• Do you allocate/assign of people, time and equipment? At
what level?
✓ Leading
• What have you found are good approaches for motivating
employees? What have
you found are bad approaches for motivating?
• What do you think are effective and ineffective approaches to
leadership?
• What do you believe are keys to effective communications?
What obstacles exist
to effective communications and how do you try to overcome
these obstacles?
✓ Controlling
• How do you evaluate employee performance?
• Is there any type of formal assessment process, and, if so, how
is the assessment
process used?
✓ Conclusion
• What advice would you give to a college graduate about how

6. to perform well as a
manager?
• Thank the manager PROFUSELY for their time.
Questions drawn from:
pages.towson.edu/kopka/mngt361/management_interview.doc
3 BUS 101 - Introduction to Business
Running Head: SEMESTER TOPIC PAPER
1
SEMESTER TOPIC PAPER
2
1) Describe the business case you are using,
The business case which I will use is the Ford Motor company.
The performance of the organization financially will be
determined through the use of ratios and other tools such as
comparing its performance with those of their competitors.
This will help in knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the
company and most importantly understand the opportunities and
threats facing them.
2) The country you have chosen,
The country chose which the company should venture into is
India since it is perceived to have a potential market. This is
because It is perceived to have a lot of raw materials which can
be used as well as other affordable factors of production which
will make it profitable for the company to continue its
activities.
3) Why this is important and feasible
This is very important and feasible since it helps in ensuring
that more revenues are generated to the company. This is
attainable through carrying out multiple investments which
include venturing into different markets and attracting
prospective investors to help boost the productivity of the

7. business.
4) Examples of sources that will provide sufficient information,
particularly financial information to help you assess your case.
The sources which will help in finding the financial information
for the Ford Motors company is the Morning star. It is worth
noting that Morning Star Inc is a global financial service
organization which is located in Chicago, Illinois and was
founded in the year 1984 by Joe Mansueto. This form offers a
wide range of investment research and management services and
the financial statement of organizations.
Reference
Benz, C., Di, T. P., Kinnel, R., & Morningstar (Firm).
(2013). Morningstar guide to mutual funds: 5-star strategies for
success. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.