「交換學生Day99」- 學校開始有點聖誕氣氛了

我必須要很認真地承認今天過得非常無聊，早上大概十點多起床，明明就說好八點結果最後賴床賴到10點多..

然後就一邊跟綸綸聊天一邊弄我的manager interview，因為下午的演講課停課所以我有整個下午可以弄paper跟ppt，不過還是效率非常低落就對了，最後弄到三四點時準備去圖書館做最後衝刺順便把東西都印出來，在圖書館讀書或做什麼的效率總是比較高，尤其是需要用電腦打字的東西在圖書館都用得比較快。

既然今天沒做什麼事情就用paper來唬弄一下好了ＸＤ

Manager and Questions

Manager: Huey Shi Chew (The director of international student and scholar services)

Questions:

1. What are the goals of the organization and what strategies do you take to achieve these goals?

The goals of the Office of International Student and Scholar Services Office are as follows:

a) To provide non-classroom support to international students (F1 and J1 visa status) during their stay at the university

E.g. New student orientation, social programming through the International Student Club, Workshops ( Career, immigration)

b) To provide immigration advisement to students to help them maintain their status as international students

E.g. Immigration Session during New Student Orientation, e-mail reminders about immigration matters throughout the semester, workshops

c) To be the resource point for international students dealing with a variety of issues.

The office adopts the open door policy whereby international students needing help could walk in for help. Appointments would be encouraged but if the students need immediate help, they normally would be attended immediately by the staff at the office.

2. What characteristics do you think is necessary for a manager to be a leader? And why?

a) Integrity

Without integrity , a leader will most likely lose credibility or respect from others.

b) Team player

A leader understands the one does not work alone and will need to collaborate with others to be successful.

3. How useful have you found written standard operation procedures in helping you manage your area?

SOP is Very important especially when it comes to legal stuff, like immigration and university policies.

4. How do you use power of authority to get what you want done?

Not very often actually. I like to work with people to get their buy-ins and create a more collaborative work environment. I think that approach pays better in the long run.

5. What do you consider to be the most challenging thing about being a manager?

Being fair.

It is hard to practice fairness to your employees when you have not much control to the resources available to you to manage.

6. How do you make your management more efficient?

Setting up procedures ( Standard Operating Procedures ) , promoting teamwork among my student staff and my colleague so that we could achieve more together,

Reviewing or evaluating process or policies or practices on a regular basis to ensure continuous improvement in the office.

    Summary

       The Office of International Student and Scholar Services achieves different goals during different periods. When the time near the new semester's beginning, their work is to prepare for welcoming the coming of new international students. The welcoming activities include new student orientation, informing them about F1 and J1 visa status, holding international student club, providing immigration advisement. In the semester, the goal is to helping international students deal with a variety of issues. As a manager, Ms.Huey Shi Chew thinks that the characteristics to be a leader of manager are integrity and team player. For the former, she states that without integrity, a leader will most likely lose credibility or respect from others. On the other hand, for the latter, she said that a leader understands the one does not work alone and will need to collaborate with others to be successful. One method to make the management more efficient is to Set up procedures ( Standard Operating Procedures ) , which not only is important when it comes to legal stuff, like immigration and university policies, but also promotes teamwork among my student staff and my colleague so that we could achieve more together. The other method is to review or evaluate process or policies or practices on a regular basis to ensure continuous improvement in the office. Personally, the manager think using power of authority is not necessary and she uses it not very often because she likes to work with people to get their buy-ins and create a more collaborative work environment and she thinks that approach pays better in the long run. The most challenging thing she thinks about being a manager is being fair. The reason is that it is hard to practice fairness to the employees when the manager have not much control to the resources available to he/she to manage.

1. Why did I choose this person

      Although I major in business, I still want to work in a college in stead of financial companies because I really enjoy the life in school. I hope my job in the future can let me be in touch with students because I like to be in young environment. However I won't get P.H.D in the future, so what I can do might be an administrative staff rather than a professor. Because I have an experience to study abroad, I think working in the Office of International Student in a school might be a choice for me. That's why I choose Ms. Huey Shi Chew, the director of international student and scholar services, as the manager to interview.

2. Discuss what was most valuable to me from the conversation. What did I learn about management/leadership?

      The most valuable thing to me from the conversation is that I totally understand what the content of the job. Also, before I make the interview of her I do not know that the administrative staffs do not have summer or winter break as professors. The greatest news for me is that to work in the job you don't have to major relative subject, which means it doesn't matter what you study for in college, everyone has a chance to get the job. The manager in the office have a great time with other employees and that make me expect to work in this kind of place in the future.

The manager sometimes don't have to take a superior attitude. Getting along with employees is important to a manger. In the long run, it's significant to make employees agree with you and respect to you. The method to make that is to respect employees first. Do not always think to control them by using the power of authority, instead, try to communicate with them and understand their thinking. Although being fair sounds an easy task, sometimes it's hard to make a balance.

3. How can I apply what I've learned to my own development as a manager?

If one day I become a manager, I will be more careful about being integrity and fair. A method I’m thinking about is setting rule or policy for all the employees to obey. What's more, I will focus on paying attention to employees and teamwork. Having a great relationship between manager and employees not only makes things go efficiently but also let employees agree with the manager easier. To improve the efficiency, I will set up many different kinds of procedures and review or evaluate every process and outcome after achieving each periodical goal.

Reference

Huey Shi, Chew. Personal interview. 22 Nov. 2013

不知道有沒有說過，從小到大的志向一直是當個老師，尤其是高中老師，覺得能夠參與學生最重要也最具影響力的時刻，希望周遭都一直是年輕的心靈，默默的期許著樣能夠確保自己不會脫離年輕世代太遙遠。只是可惜我一向選的科系都不是與教學相關，雖然曾經考慮過要修教育學程但最後也還是放棄了，不知道耶或許家裡面對我的期待從來就不是只是一個小小的高中老師這樣的職位而已，但或許吧，年輕的時候可以多去闖闖做一些有挑戰的工作，但還是希望以後有機會還是可以踏入教育工作者的領域，想要用很多人生的故事來告訴他們哪些路不該走哪些路可以去嘗試。

好像有點扯遠了，嘻。

晚上的管理學蠻多人沒有來的，大概是因為提早放自己感恩假期了吧，不過原以為今天會輪到我演講結果也是下下個禮拜（下禮拜停課），有點後悔自己沒有今天自願舉手上去，但總覺得今天準備的或許還是不怎麼夠，所以還是下次吧。

上完課之後就回宿舍，突然很想大吃一餐不過最後還是忍住回宿舍煮了一堆東西來吃，然後休息一下準備迎接明天，明天下午寫作課要交final paper然後早上十點有預約writing center幫我修作文，所以大概又是個需要早起的早晨了。