Entry 2: Be A Manager

The Media Event I had the privilege to attend was an exhibition dubbed, Neither East nor West: Asians in Monochrome Event, organized by the National Heritage Board. The event has been running from the 23rd of October 2008 and would come to a close on the 1st of February 2009. Situated at the Special Exhibitions Gallery at Asian Civilization Museum Empress Place, the event is having a special guided tour on the 16th of January, for the public to get the story behind the personalities and portraits of Neither East nor West.

The objective of the exhibition was to showcase the portraits taken from the Lafayette collection, even boasting those of important Asian dignitaries who played a significant role in bridging the gap between East and West. Furthermore, it aims to reinforce the idea that differences, be it in geography, race, religion or culture, does not count when individuals from different backgrounds collaborate.

The exhibitions were set based in the late 19th to early 20th century. In that particular era, portraits taken in London were deemed luxurious. Those who were of status and wealth could have their pictures taken at the Lafayette Studio in London’s New Bond Street. Today, the original negatives are housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum located in London. As of date, there are a total of 40 historic portraits from the collection and 12 more from G.R. Lambert & Co.

The event was publicized in the form pamphlets which were left at the counters in Community Centres(CC), and handed out at tourist attractions and several heartland malls. Posters were displayed along the streets near the CBD area. Information on this event was also readily available on the websites of the places of attractions.

The event was not reported as it was an ongoing event. It was on going for a period of about 4 months. As the museum held many other exhibitions, this event was not the only exhibition held at the museum. Hence to report on it would not be fair to the other exhibitions held in the museum. Nevertheless, this event received quite a lot of publicity.

The event was a success to a certain extent as it met its objectives managed to reach its objectives. It did reinforce the idea that differences is of no consequence when people come together peacefully. The exhibits shown were in tact and well presented. Furthermore, the explanation provided by the museum was also very detailed. There were also people of different races who visited the exhibition thus reiterating the objectives of the exhibit.

However, the event received quite a disappointing amount of visitors, while I was there. Improvements could be made in the form of appealing to more visitors perhaps in the form of more aggressive marketing and event awareness.

In order to achieve greater success for this event, I would provide media coverage for this event. The news could be engaged to report on this event therefore increasing awareness among the public. With increased awareness, there is bound to be a larger turnout. I would also place a couple of exhibitions along the streets next to the museum as a preview to entice the public viewing the entire collection in the museum. I’ve observed that performances have always been a hit when it comes to events. Therefore, engaging relevant performances in tie with the museum would draw a crowd and would also encourage them to view the exhibits. Finally, a more hands on approach have also been more interesting than just a passive display of articles. The exhibit could do with more interactive pieces so as to provide better understanding of the culture of the exhibit as well.

Entry 1: The Manager

My interview was with an operations manager from Campaign Complete Solutions Company. My interviewee is Mr Ragunathan.

Mr Ragunathan, an operations manager working with CapitaLand started working with Campaign Cleaning Services in 1998 as a supervisor. The building that he was assigned to be in charge of was a prestigious building by the name of Raffles City Shopping Center. Though it was an honor to look after a Shopping Centre which many people come to and is one of the busier ones in town, Mr Ragunathan felt that it was a heavy responsibility and that it was his rightful duty to look after the building well and delegate necessary jobs properly in order to maintain order and smooth progression in the Shopping Centre.

In year 2006, based on his good performance and recommendation from the Raffles City management, he was promoted as an Operation Manager. Being an operation manager meant that he had more duties to fulfill than a supervisor. Nevertheless, he readily took on the job. It has been about 3 years since Mr Ragunathan has been given the post of an operations manager.

Mr Ragunathan felt that a manager was to understand very well the product and services that the company is into. Once it was understood, it would make the objective clearer and delivering it will be meaningful. Therefore, he had taken the approach of understanding his job in order to get it done well.

As a manager, Mr Ragunathan had several duties which include:

• To ensure the building cleanliness being taken care off.
  
• To have a preventive and corrective maintenance in place
  
• To oversees 88 cleaners and 6 supervisors
  
• To ensure materials and chemical stocks in place
  
• To ensure the machine and equipment in order
  
• To coordinate assignment with Raffles City management representative
  
• To ensure proper training for cleaners and supervisors
  
• To attend meeting with company head office.

In order to manage this company, Mr Ragunathan has to have a certain style. Based on the interview I had with him and the different management styles that I have been taught, I feel that Mr Ragunathan’s style of management is classical management- administrative management and human relations.

Firstly, administrative management is observed as Mr Ragunathan follows Henry Fayol’s 14 principles quite closely. According to him, he believes in understanding the work before doing it in order to accomplish it well. Mr Ragunathan believed in explaining and providing reasoning as he noticed that it is with reasoning that there would be better outcomes. He also stresses that there must be a systematic approach in handling the situation or project in order for it to be in place. For instance, if there are VIP visit, he feels that it would always be good if the timing and the expectation was provided, thus the follow up will be in accordance to the expectation.

Secondly, he also follows the human relations school of management as he believes that the productivity is also affected by the people. As mentioned in the Hawthorne Studies, productivity is affected by the human aspects of work and not the physical conditions. He also believes in motivating the workers in order for them to do a better job and it would also make them enjoy doing their work. In Herzberg’s Hygiene and Motivator Factors, it mentions that the management must recognize a dual typology of employee needs in order to maintain job satisfaction. This branches out into two parts namely, hygiene, which is the physical working environment and motivators which are namely recognition and achievements.

Mr Ragunathan handles 88 cleaners and 6 supervisors under his management. This is not an easy task as he needs to understand his worker’s behaviour. Handling human behaviour to him is a challenge. As most of his workers are from the golden age, he feels that he must be careful in handling them as they might be a little more sensitive than usual or that they might not be as fit as others. Therefore, facing each and individual cleaners working style, attitude, health, and welfare will be the toughest. Thus Mr Ragunathan feels that knowing their background will be of great help.

Mr Ragunathan concluded that in order to be a good manager, he personally feels the person must have a few requirements which should be met in order to manage the company successfully. And naming few are as follows:

• The person must understand company objective and goals
  
• Good inter personal communication,
  
• Presentable and approachable, knowledgeable
  
• Good motivator, care and share
  
• Positive, work safety and health concern

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