Managing in Challenging Times
keeping sanity in a global pandemic …
There is nowhere to hide. Nowhere that the virus has not already been. No strategy that holds for longer than hours! Normality is gone, and so have all the studies and benchmarks that guide business!
No one ever imagined that the world will be brought down on its knees by a simple influenza virus. The peoples of the world and their governments are struck by a calamity that is leaving millions infected, dead and economies in tatters. This pandemic fanned by the need for economies to function is pinpointing how ill-prepared countries’ health systems are to tackle such occurrences, with policy-makers caught totally unawares and countries’ administrations in total disarray. Why?
The Lack of Good Management Skills
Confused messages result from a lack of belief in the necessity of a good management philosophy. Everyone believes that managing is common sense, and a set of skills common to everyone. This fallacy comes from instances where specialists in particular fields of medicine, engineering, politics and finance are promoted to their level of incompetence. They will have ground breaking knowledge about their specialisations, but lack the management skills necessary to take on stringent leadership roles.
It is here that leadership is highlighted and consequently brought under the spotlight. What is leadership? What is ‘good’ leadership? What are the differences (or similarities) between managers and leaders? One cannot really answer these questions in a downright simple manner, but suffice to say that leadership is the art of managing other individuals in achieving common goals or goals for the common good. It would be quite safe to say that a manager can be a leader, but a leader does not have to be a manager. So, whilst leadership is very much dependent upon the situation, the good manager will use adequate leadership styles to ensure the success of the organisation.
Strife molds the best leaders
The most exemplary leaders have been molded during the most terrible and trying of times. Individuals such as Gandhi, Malala, Mandela, and many many others seized the opportunity to instill radically positive changes into their immediate surroundings, albeit the fact that such measures were detrimental to their own well-being.
Are the current leaders ready to sacrifice their own interests for the betterment of those around them and dependent on their accurate, precise and adequate decisions? The answer is that few managers ever find the strength to revoke their own self-interest and apply their attributed powers in a meaningful and determining way, which would ultimately serve as a consolidation of the common good.
The true colours of management can be emancipated in challenging times, not in normal circumstances. In fact, when there is normality there is no real need for managing, because a good manager always sets up good operational systems that simply need good administration.
So what will prepare a really good individual to managerial stardom?
Mintzberg highlights that true managers are making continuous decisions on the spot, sometimes harried and harassed by conflicting demands, with necessary decisions undertaken under the duress of time. A manager is able to foresee events, and take the correct mitigating actions to take on such events — be they positive or negative occurrences that may affect the organisation.
Preparedness. Every individual, at whichever level in an organisation must have the most basic competences to manage, because in order to foretell what will happen in the future, one must have a good knowledge of the tools available to manage well, and also the ability to learn through disruption, while prepared to learn continuously and reverently from those around him/her. Everyone of use can be a leader given the right circumstances, as everyone can be a good manager given the right attributes. But we all know that being a good manager and hence a good leader is tough, tougher than any might care to understand. As a parent admonishes a child for the well-being of that child, as a parent sacrifices his/her interests for the good of that same child, similarly the manager needs to admonish and sacrifice to engage with his/her followers and determine the right way to gain the common good and hence success.
Saint Martin’s Institute of Higher Education is offering the opportunity to read for a Diploma and/or a Degree from one of the most regarded Universities in the world.
Our focus is on sound managerial skills and competences, providing a syllabus from one of the world’s top social sciences universities, the London School of Economics & Political Sciences (LSE).
Saint Martin’s Institute is pleased to offer Maltese and International students the opportunity to read for an undergraduate degree, starting on Monday, September 27th studying as full-time or part-time students (must be over 21 to be accepted as evening students), in;
Diploma in Management & Leadership
The MQF level 5 Diploma in Management & Leadership is equivalent to the first year of the degree with 60 ECTS. Some students may wish to study up to this level, needing such a qualification to prove to their employers their ability to be promoted to middle or senior management, since they will have other competences in their specialist fields.
But for those who want to make sure they will be able to progress if they wish to, the diploma leads directly into BSc (Hons) and later at Master level.
BSc (Hons) in Business & Management
The BSc (Hons) Business and Management programme empowers you to examine contemporary business issues analytically and critically. You will learn how to question and evaluate information, develop informed arguments, and communicate effectively with various stakeholders.
This three year programme provides the academic span and rigour that provide the skills and competences that are increasingly sought after by employers.
The degree equips you with a rich, dynamic understanding of international management topics and prepares you for the demands of a rapidly evolving business landscape. As a student, you will be able to:
develop practical problem-solving skills by applying theoretical models to real world scenarios;
address foundational and contemporary management issues;
analyse business challenges through the lens of various social science disciplines.
BSc (Hons) Business Administration
For those students who are not friendly with mathematics, the BSc (Hons) Business Administration offers a superb alternative to the above degree, since it has more of an applied nature, referring to case studies and requirement of reports as assignments. Progression to this degree is either through the MQF level 5 Diploma in Management & Leadership or through the Diploma in Entrepreneurship.
Get all the details of our portfolio of business & management undergraduate programmes by checking out our prospectus.
Easy Monthly Payment Terms & 70% Money Back on Successful Completion
Embarking on your studies need not bankrupt you. We at Saint Martin’s Institute know full well that money does not come easy, and we are very careful to charge fair and reasonable tuition fees, that will cover our costs in giving you the very best service possible.
We also wish to point out that you may find competing programmes that claim they are offering you a Diploma but in name only. According to the Malta/European Qualification Framework, an accredited diploma must include 300 contact hours which means that reading for a proper diploma at SMI results in less than €10 per hour of in-person tuition!
You may study without paying a single Euro in tuition fees under the Studies Plus+ Scheme and through the GetQualified Scheme you will end up paying only 30% of all the fees due.
Click Here if you plan to study or you are a parent of a full time student
Click Here if you are in employment and wish to study in the evening (21+)
ACT NOW!
Give us a call on +356 21235451 or email us on infodesk@stmartins.edu or through our socials, and we will be very happy to explain how we can help you step up your career prospects. And remember our website on https://www.stmartins.edu
