The University of Lethbridge – Faculty of Management
To our students, we make a promise:

A promise to do our best, so they can be their best

A promise to foster exploration, to share ideas and information, to teach but also to learn

A promise to build the buildings, acquire the technology, cultivate the partnerships and welcome the
people essential to advancing an environment that excites and ignites learning

A promise to create an environment where professors and students are colleagues and everyone grows
together, an environment that recognizes the power of every student’s dream

And help to make that dream come true.
Management 3080 A
Managerial Skills Development
Instructor: Craig Milner
E-522 329-2362
craig.milner@uleth.ca
Class Time: T/R
Location: L1050
9:00 – 11:50
Office Hours: Wed 12:30 – 13:30
MSN Hours: Sun 13:00 – 15:00
or by appointment
professorcraig@
Pre-Requisites: none
Course Description
Success in management requires knowledge of theoretical principles and perhaps more importantly, the
ability to apply these concepts in the work environment. After all management is something you do.
That’s worth repeating … management is something you ‘DO’.
Increasing business pressures – global competition, faster development cycles, leaner organizations – have
placed considerable stress on organizations. The need for managers with outstanding skills – people,
technical, conceptual – has never been greater. Perhaps most importantly, a manager’s ability to
communicate, motivate, make decisions and resolve conflicts, acts as a sort of ‘glue’ that helps organizations
undergoing seemingly endless change.
This course then, focuses on the conceptual models and practical applications of key managerial skills –
internal skills such as self-awareness/reflection, stress and time management. And the more visible skills
such as the ability to think, do, talk, write and lead.
This is not your typical class.
Learning Outcomes
In general terms, upon successful completion of this course, the student will have:
1. undertaken a learner-driven exploration/development of time/stress management
2. been exposed to at least six key managerial skills (i.e. presentations, planning, reflection, critical
thinking, decision making, coaching, supportive communications and leadership)
3. demonstrated the ability to prepare an informative, concise presentation
4. demonstrated the ability to work in a team environment
Required Text(s) and Materials
There is no text for this class. There is a small mandatory course reader with materials to be used during this
course.
Section “A”
Course Evaluation
This course has nine distinct elements that together will evaluate the learner’s understanding of the course
material. Some evaluations may be individual-based (~45% of grade), others will require working in teams
(~45% of grade).
Course Evaluation will be as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Q&D Quizzes (3 x 5% each)
Manager Interview Plan (team)
Manager Interview (team)
Exams (2 x 10% each)
Presentation (team)
Presentation Critique (team)
Time/Stress Memo (team)
“One Thing” Memo
Feedback/Participation
Total
15%
5%
10%
20%
15%
5%
10%
10%
10%
100%
May 17th, 24th, Jun 12th
May 22nd
May 31st
May 31st, Jun 19th
your choice
Jun 14th
Jun 19th
Jun 19th
Select Assignment Details
1. Q&D Quizzes
The three individual quick & dirty quizzes are my way of testing knowledge, comprehension and
potentially the application of key material discussed in class. Quiz format could include multiple choice,
true/false or short answer questions.
The quizzes are usually designed to take 15-20 minutes. If you take good notes and do all the in-class
work you should have no trouble with this assignment.
Note! The third quiz could include material from the class presentations. As well, while the second and
third quiz is not cumulative ‘per se’ any material covered in class is fair game at any time.
2. Manager Interview Plan (team assignment)
Your team needs to complete a Manager Interview Report later in the semester. So? How are you going
to proceed? How are you going to get it done? What’s the plan?
The purpose of the assignment is to give you the opportunity to practice, develop and demonstrate your
planning skills. Planning after all is the first key management function. And great managers know that
things don’t just get done by accident.
As we will learn in class, plans are not some vague, wishy-washy summary of what you hope or what you
will try to do. There is no room for “hope” or “try” in a plan. A plan is concrete. It clearly describes the
end objective. It lays out the general approach or strategies that will be deployed to get there. And most
of all, a good plan details the tasks and highlights when things will be done and by whom.
Your team needs to put together a plan that clearly explains how you … well plan … to get your manager
interview done.
3. Manager Interview (team assignment)
There’s no better learning experience then talking to actual managers. For this assignment, your team
will arrange to interview at least two managers and write a four-ish page report identifying key learnings
and comparisons from these interactions. Interviewees can be from the public, private or education
sectors.
Research key management skills you wish to probe. Prepare your questions in advance. Analyze your
first interview results and revise your second interview to probe comparisons more thoroughly.
Grading criteria for this assignment includes ability to write a clear and concise communication, depth of
research and findings, ability to detect similarities or differences between interviewees and most
importantly then, the ability to explain those similarities/differences based on learnings from our class.
Again, I am not looking for a regurgitation of your interview. Summarize what you learned into three or
four key observations. And when you are writing – think point, point, point, example, therefore.
4. Exam
The two individual exams are my way of more thoroughly testing your not your knowledge or
comprehension but your application, analysis and/or synthesis of key material discussed in class. Exam
format could include multiple choice and/or true/false but typically are made up of short answer and essay
questions.
The exams are usually designed to take 40-50 minutes – though I typically allow you to use the entire
class time to complete. If you take good notes and do all the in-class work you should have no trouble
with this assignment.
5. Presentations (team assignment)
In order to minimize the amount of research that you will need to do – so that you can focus your efforts
on developing your presentation skills – each team will be given an article that they can use as the basis
for their presentation.
Presentations should be 18 minutes, including 2-3 minutes for questions from the class. All team
members must participate to receive a grade for this assignment.
If you so choose, you may sign up for a dry run with your instructor. I highly recommend this.
Grading will follow the 5 S’s of presentations as discussed in class. As well, your presentation will be
graded on its degree of difficulty.
As well, a portion of your presentation grade will be based on class feedback. After your presentation,
your class mates will be asked to score and comment on your presentation – specifically your ability to
highlight key points, organize your presentation, make your presentation interesting and finally, your
ability to communicate your key points effectively.
6. Presentation Critique (team assignment)
So how did the presentation go? While you’ll get feedback from both me and the class, you’ll also get a
chance to watch yourselves in action after the fact.
This is an in class assignment designed to let you and your team analyze your own performance. Show
me that you can see the theory and techniques we’ve discussed in action. So your critique should be a
fair analysis of what your team did well, as well as suggested improvements.
Again, I am not looking for a regurgitation of everything you noticed. Summarize what you learned into
key observations with suggestions on how improvements could be made in the future.
While length may vary with your ability to deliver a concise summary, I would expect most papers to be in
the three – four page range – max! Space and a half is preferred to allow room for comments. This
assignment can be handed in via email.
Note – time WILL be of the essence in this assignment. This is just as much a test of your meeting skills
as it is about your ability to demonstrate what you’ve learned from the presentation assignment.
7. Time/Stress Memo (team assignment)
This is the “watch-out” assignment. To be honest it’s the one you are most likely to do a poor job on.
Why is that? Because this is a semester-long assignment and my expectations of the quality of your
analysis is based on this assumption. Don’t forget about it – you’ve been warned 
At the beginning of the semester your team is to research key time/stress management strategies.
Discuss these approaches as a team. Then choose two or three time/stress management practices to try
out. Decide as a team who will do what. Hey perhaps this is a second opportunity to practice your
planning skills. I recommend you have your research and plan in place as early in the semester as
possible. Again, you’ve been warned.
For this assignment, regroup as a team and discuss what strategies/action steps worked. Each of you
may want to keep a detailed log of your performance. On a regular basis (once or twice per week?) write
down what you have done, what works and what did not. This log can then be used as the basis for your
team’s analysis and critical evaluation of your application.
Tell me what happened? What worked? What did not? Why? What would you do differently to make
your time/stress management strategies work better?
More importantly, tell me what you learned? In what ways might this experience help you in the long
term? Can you see the value of this process as a future manager? How so? And what will you continue
to do to develop this skill?
Grading criteria for this assignment will include clarity of learning objective and measurement of
successful completion, depth of critical analysis of development progress, effort and scope of the
assignment and finally written organization/presentation of your findings. Don’t underestimate the
importance of a well-organized and written paper to communicate your work.
Again, while length may vary with your ability to write concisely, I would expect these memos to be in the
four - five-ish page range. Writing concise memos is a key manager skill – especially in larger
organizations. Space and a half is preferred to allow room for comments. This assignment can be
handed in via email.
Note this assignment – of ALL the ones done in class – takes the longest to mark. You will notice there is
no return date on the course schedule. It is very likely you will not get them returned before the last day
of class.
8. “One Thing” Memo
This is my favourite assignment in the class as I get to see what concepts in this class really had an
impact on you.
By the end of the semester we will have covered tons of topics (ok, not tons literally – but a lot of material)
and discussed many practical tools you can use as a future manager. While I like to think the material is
so insightful you will find it all of value – it’s also easy to be overwhelmed by so much theory.
So I want you to discuss two things:
First tell me which three topics really made an impact on you – three concepts or discussions we had in
class that stuck with you. Tell me why they are important to you? Can you relate them to a past
experience? Have you already tried using some of the theory/skills discussed in class?
And since we are not about navel gazing here – management after all is all about moving forward. Tell
me the one thing you are going to do differently because of this class. What of all the skills can you see
yourself using in the future – and will make a conscious effort to do so. How? What will you DO
differently starting tomorrow? How will you make sure this one thing you’ve learned in this course will
stick?
This is a short and sweet assignment – two – three-ish pages. Give me a clear powerful opening.
Discuss the three topics that have stuck with you. Remember – point – point – example – therefore.
Space and a half is preferred to allow room for comments. This assignment can be handed in via email.
9. Feedback/Participation
I’m a big fan of feedback. As such, part of your course grade will stem from your involvement in feedback
activities throughout the course. For example, after each presentation the class will be asked to provide
feedback to the presenters. As well, participation during the question and answer portion of the
presentations will also be graded.
At the end of the semester teams will complete peer feedbacks on each other. This “grade” as well as
the quality and thoroughness of the feedback will be part of your feedback/participation grade.
Finally, your preparedness and participation in class discussions as well as your work in the team “breakout” sessions will be graded.
Together, all of these components make up your Feedback/Participation grade.
Grading System
4.0
4.0
3.7
3.3
3.0
2.7
A+
A excellent
AB+ very good
B good
B-
95 – 100
90 – 94
86 – 89
82 – 85
78 – 81
74 – 77
2.3
2.0
1.7
1.3
1.0
0.0
C+
C satisfactory
CD+
D poor
F unacceptable
70 – 73
66 – 69
62 – 65
58 – 61
50 – 57
00 – 49
Student Responsibilities

to demonstrate mastery of the skills and concepts outlined in the course description and learning
outcomes to a minimum of 50%

to come to class on time, actively participate in assigned activities

to be available to write tests/exams on the dates and times scheduled

to do assigned readings and be prepared for the class activities/discussions

to use the scheduled class time for assigned course work and activities (ie no newspapers)

to find out what was studied, and what work was assigned during any classes that have been missed

to complete assignments as outlined by the instructor, and to hand in assignments on or before the
required due dates

to familiarize themselves with the course outline, course schedule, instructional and evaluation methods –
ie assume responsibility for your own learning
Instructor Responsibilities

to provide instruction in the study of managerial skills such that students are able to achieve the course
outcomes

to be in class on time, and to be available (by appointment) for additional assistance

to grade fairly

to be prepared for each class, and to be specific about what is required of the student for projects,
assignments and tests

to ensure that instruction is clear, practical, interesting and stimulating
Academic Honesty
During the learning process, the contribution of others are acknowledged, evaluated, and utilized for further
inquiry. To pass on the contribution and ideas of another person as one’s own is not only cheating, but also
deprives oneself of the challenge and opportunity to learn. For these reasons, academic dishonesty will not
be tolerated.
Academic dishonesty may take many forms, including: the unauthorized use of materials in exams and tests,
the unauthorized copying of another’s work, the falsification of results for reports and lab experiments, and the
submission of another’s work as one’s own. Any student caught cheating or copying (as determined by the
instructor) on any assignment or test, will receive a zero for that assignment or test.
The student will also be reported to the Assistant Dean of the Management Program for possible further
repercussions.
Retention of Student Records
Most examinations and assignments, when corrected are intended to be returned to students. If students do
not pick up these exams and assignments, they will be retained for at least three months from the end of the
month in which the exam period falls.
Any exam and assignment that are not intended to be returned to students (e.g. final exams) will be retained
in accordance with the Alberta Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, s.34 (b), for six months
from the end of the month in which the exam period falls. After the appropriate retention period, these
documents will be destroyed in a secure manner.
Attendance Policy
There is no attendance policy.
However, I am a firm believer that learning should take place in the classroom. If that’s the case then missing
classes will naturally harm a student’s ability to perform.
A Few Final Comments
Please note that lengthy written submissions are not necessarily valued, especially in those cases where
quantity is a substitute for quality. This also applies to the team presentations. Concise communications is
an extremely important manager skill – refer to the article “The Big Three: Clear, Concise, Readable” in your
course pack for guidance.
When answering questions – in particular exam or quiz questions – be absolutely clear on your points. For
example if asked to describe a “good objective” don’t answer that it “should be S.M.A.R.T”. This is only a
good start to the answer – a complete answer explains what S.M.A.R.T stands for. Be sure all your answers
clearly demonstrate that you understand the concepts – not that you memorized them.
When handing in assignments save the fancy reports covers or bindings. A simple cover page with your
name, the assignment, the date and MOST IMPORTANTLY – your section – is all I need.
Assignments are to be handed by 4pm on the due date. Assignments can be brought to class, dropped off
with the faculty of management secretary or where specified – handed in via email.
Assignments handed in past their due date will be accepted but will be subject to a 10% penalty for each day
late.
Students should use the attached course schedule as a guide for their reading and preparation in the course.
Students are expected to read ahead – to at least the weekly assigned chapters in the text before each class.
From time to time it may be useful for you or your team to book a room to work in. To do so, visit or call the
registrar’s office to get the room of your choice.
Please recognize that I do have many responsibilities both within and outside the University. I make every
effort to return assignments in a timely fashion – usually exams are returned within a 7-10 days, assignments
requiring more extensive comments usually take at least two weeks. If you EVER require something back
faster – or would like additional feedback on you performance – please don’t hesitate to come ask.
08 – May– 2007
Craig Milner
Date
Frequently Asked Questions
In the outline it says the paper should be 3-4 pages. Can it be longer?
“3-4 pages is meant to be a guideline. It pains me to put a length on my assignments but have
learned that without one, it's the first question I get asked. sigh. So here is my advice.
If i get to the 4 page point and am thinking "wow this is awesome … it's so insightful ... tell me more",
then there is nothing wrong with 5-6 pages. If I hit the 4 page point and am thinking "when will this
end … there's nothing insightful or interesting in this paper", then perhaps you should have cut your
losses at page four.”
On an exam – can I use point form?