AAI Management
All Aspects of the Industry Aspect Concerned with Managing Resources
Management is the aspect from All Aspects of the Industry that provides educators guidelines to teach students about how businesses manage different resources.
The Management aspect of the All Aspects of the Industry guidelines is designed to expose students studying industry based careers about the different ways in which that industry or a specific organization makes and follows through on management decisions. The Management aspect does not promote training for a specific career; instead it gives a framework for students to learn how an industry operates. Specifically, this includes concepts such as how to expand and diversify tasks, organizational and production methods and workplace culture. It is ideal to teach management within the context of a specific industry, such as engineering or food service, but otherwise the ideas for how to teach it are similar.
Potential Topics
Management is a broad topic that means different things to different industries. Managing the information to communicate to customers about a new bank feature will be different than communicating to customers that a popular toy is sold out. Time management for a biotechnology firm is different than time management for a construction site. There are also other aspects to management that students need to be exposed to, including:
- The interdependence of businesses and industries on national and international economies
- How “Chain of Command” works
- Organization of and communication between departments or teams
- Different types of management styles
- How marketing affects the business and employees
- Differences in roles and responsibilities between small and large as well as private and public businesses
- How cultural diversity and workplace culture affects a business
Implementing Management Activities
Creative thinking and communication activities are ideal for including the Management aspect in the curriculum. These can be individualized or used as group projects. Students should be exposed to a variety of scenarios; consider using a case study or a specific scenario and having students create a final product to demonstrate understanding. Examples for activities include:
- Create pamphlets or brochures to communicate with customers.
- Collect and analyze information from a local business that includes information such as the number of people who work there, if the business is public or private, and the roles and responsibilities of employees (including managers).
- Create an organizational chart representing a business in a case study.
- Create a mission statement for a start-up company in a specified industry.
- Create an outline of the procedures involved in the ordering, distributing and control of supplies for a given business.
Internships
Classroom activities can be enhanced by internship or job shadow opportunities. A field trip could also expose students to the variety of management scenarios within a company. In either situation, require students to write about what they see. This could include evidence of supply or equipment procedures, how departments communicate and their impression of the work environment or culture.
