A520.5.3.RB_StevensEric

The sense of empowerment as discussed in the text of this article can be defined in different lights depending on the needs of the employees. When you give the employee a sense of empowerment I think and totally agree with this authors understanding of the term of empowerment. I think that if you have to tell the employee that you are giving them a sense of empowerment than you really aren’t.

I had a supervisor that I will have to say clearly defines the role of a leader who gives his employees a sense of empowerment. This supervisor was very good at allowing you to shape your own destiny and making your own decisions on how your career will go. This leader and I can call him this was fantastic on empowering me as an employee to make my own decisions    

In the article the author discusses different types of empowerment where he ends up being defined as a sense of empowerment where the leader defines each type of empowerment the employee can have. The author defines each type of empowerment and uses different examples to show what each term of empowerment means and how these different examples can be used in order to empower the employee. The author also uses the negatives of some of these terms and how not to use these different types of empowerments. The author cautions that by empowering the employee is a task that can back fire if the way the empowering takes place is not done correctly.

I think that I agree with the author that in order to truly empower the employee you should not have to tell the employee that you are empowering them. This should be the employee’s self-motivation in order to empower themselves.  Empowerment is a fluid term that can be determined by the situation and by the employee’s mindset. If the employee is a critical thinker than the chances of successful empowerment can be improved.

A520.4.3.RB_StevensEric

When I first looked at this video I understood the reasoning behind why you wanted to be successful in a business. But looking at the video I can understand that the job is not always about the money. It is the fact that you want to do the best job you can in order to be successful. I can relate to his ideas in the video about the job is not all about the money.

The practices that I use while at work in order to give me in an manner of self-satisfaction are to know that I am doing the best I can on each and every project. There are days that i have noticed that i am in a slump and I know I am not doing the best job I can. When I recognize this I sit back and look at the root problem so I can correct this so I don't continue performing this way. I know that everyday is not going to be 100% and in reality I think that if you expect yourself to excel every single day your chances of having an unsuccessful day will 

I look to make each day the best I can and on the days that I do not meet my expectations I can make this up the following day. As long as each day is not a disaster and that you have more better days then bad it is a successful week of production. As long as you walk away from the case or situation with a sense of satisfaction then the project has been a success. Reward yourself in successes by telling yourself that you have accomplished what you have set out to do.

A520.3.5.RB_StevensEric

 I would implement supportive communication in my current position by allowing my thoughts to be shared above me to my immediate supervisors and below me to my peers. With this thought process I can allow my peers to feel free to voice their opinions in a clear and concise manner. This will allow my appears to approach the upper management and be able to articulate in a clear manner with supporting evidence or documentation as to why a problem needs to be changed.

I can also use this method and apply it to my communication with the upper management. I can explain a situation to the leaders by remaining credible and being able to articulate a problem. I think it is very important in approaching the upper management in this method since facts will often persuade the leaders to first and foremost become active listeners. Once this has been established you can present your ideas with a methodical approach which will be easily understood by these leaders. By taking this approach my peers can duplicate this model which can persuade the upper management to change policy and procedure when necessary to make the work conditions better and more productive.

My expected outcomes to this effort is a more efficient agency with a clearer mission statement and a goal that can be attained by all employees.

A520.3.1.RB_StevensEric

1. What are a few words that describe your decision-making style? Some of the words that I described in my decision making surprised me when I looked at the variety I have chosen. I chose cautious in the first word because I seem to look at all the options before making a quick decision. With this I have  learned from past practices that making a quick decision can sometimes be the wrong one even though it may feel right. The next word I chose was intuitive which I have always used in my decision making process. I have always used the gut feeling that it may be described sometimes. I understand that this can sometimes lead you in the wrong direction when the variables or evidence show you should go with other options. I have learned that variables change therefore the options or solutions change. I seem to be self-motivated in my decision making by being a self-starter and analyzing options before they are fully presented to me. The next that was described to me was rational which I use to look at the variables and see if they make sense and then explore all options then make a decision. I tend to site back and be passive at the beginning of my decision making process and look how others are approaching the problem. I will then present my idea of possible solution to the issue in an assertive manner when I feel the solution is viable.
2. What are the opposites of the words you chose? Risk taking is the first opposite where I can see the benefit of taking this approach but I have seen that there is time and place for this option. If you use this option on a regular basis you can have devastating consequences. By taking the logical approach you can miss clues that have not quite surfaced and disregard signs of option solutions. When you take an emotional approach to a decision you can overlook solutions that go against your feeling at that moment. Taking an active approach to a decision making process you can overlook possible solutions to other people who might have a good solution to a problem.By taking the quiet approach to a decision making process you can miss the opportunity to express your ideas on a solution at a critical time.
3. Could you see any benefits to making decision using an approach that is based on either the opposites or somewhere in-between and what outcomes would you expect to see? I think it it very important to take an approach to a decision using different types of responses. It is important not to be too extreme and and the same time be too conservative. This can make you appear to be either a person who is afraid to make a decision or someone who makes a quick decision and doesn't think it through.

A520.2.6.RB_StevensEric

In the arena of time management I can honestly say that I have been lacking in this area of management. Recently I have been cautious of deadlines for tasks that are due. I have in the past been pretty reliable on how I use my time to accomplish many tasks. I have to admit these skills as of recently have declined.

I have in used time management to accomplish specific goals in the workplace often facing tight deadlines for delivery. I have been tasked several times to put together an operation on as little as eight hours’ notice. This has been challenging since it seemed to always change at the drop of a hat. I have taken these skills that I have learned in time management and applied these to my professional and personal lives. 

The first area would be planning or setting as schedule. The next would be self-discipline to follow this schedule; the last would be evaluation of my time management for the day.

I plan on keeping a schedule for a period of time on the activities that I do throughout the day. I will then evaluate this schedule and look at the pros and the cons of this schedule. In essence I am doing a qualitative study in the short term on my time management. When I study this schedule I will be looking at what I can improve on in my time management. The skills that I have learned so far in the time management techniques have improved my ability to prioritize the events that I have throughout not only my work day but the week. For example this class has taught me to take advantage of the free time that I have to do assignments. I obviously did not do well on this week’s module since I have waited to complete my assignment at the wire. I have learned from these mistakes and realized that on the days that I have off from work I should focus on completing more assignments.

A520.1.6.RB_StevensEric

 I noticed when I started this exercise that the questions asked in the assessment test were very practical. I noticed that there were some areas of this self-assessment test that I felt that I was very comfortable with some of the questions but others I seemed to be unsure how to answer them without doing some self-reflection. I was also surprised when faced with the same questions again in the post test. I seemed to stop and think more clearly about my responses and I began to think more deeply into the responses. I found in this exercise that i was lacking in some of the areas in of the assessment and made me think about the areas that I need to improve on. I felt that a majority of the assessment hit close to home on my own leadership shortfalls. In the same thought I felt that it also improved other areas that I feel are my strengths in leadership. I saw at the end that the ability to lead from a role model style of leadership was shown as a result of the assessment. I think that I have had the ability to lead from the front and become a role model of my subordinates. I have always said that I would not ask my subordinates to do something that I was not will to do myself. I was surprised to find out that I should work on my ability to deal with conflict and improve on this aspect of my leadership abilities. I should learn how to face opposition from my superiors and work on ways to convey my stance on issues in a more thorough and thought out form. I will take this information and apply it to my managerial techniques and improve on my weaknesses and strengthen my traits that seem to be prominent.  

PS: Not sure why this didn't show. I sent it with the first blog but I understand If the grade reflects.

A520.2.3RB_StevensEric

 I am going to use a recent conflict that I encountered at work recently while acting as a supervisor for my shift. I was appointed acting sergeant in charge in the absence of my sergeant. When we are appointed acting supervisor we are called Patrolman in Charge (PIC). We are responsible for the subordinates of the shift which require us to approve reports, make legal decisions, and to ensure that the subordinates are following the policies of the agency.

The conflict was between a technically senior by time in the agency patrol officer. He was faced with a decision that required supervisor approval to proceed with the investigation of a crime by a patrol officer or to forward the case to a detective. The case involved a follow up investigation on a financial fraud crime. The officer submitted a report detailing the events of the subject who fraudulently obtained funds by cashing a stolen company check. The officer did a fantastic job documenting the elements of  the crime according to state statue. The officer developed what we call probable cause for an arrest in the criminal justice system. I called thew officer and asked why an arrest wasn't made in the incident or if he was going to seek an arrest warrant for the subject. The officer said to me that he believed that an arrest was not required at that time based upon his abilities and understanding of current policy that he said required the case be forwarded to an economic crimes detective for follow up. I said to the officer that he had enough to proceed with the case on his own investigative information.

 I asked the officer how we could come to a resolution in the case without appearing that he either one pushed the case off on the detective or cut the detective out of potentially valuable information that could assist in the clearing of outstanding cases. I suggested that he contact the detective by phone and let him or her know the particulars of the case and express his intentions. In the end we both came to an agreeable solution and the detective was very pleased with the work the officer produced and told him to seek an arrest warrant. By doing this the officer presented himself as a valuable asset to the sheriff's office.