Reflection of LIS 580: Managment

I am thrilled that the iSchool requires LIS 580 to help us learn not only to be competent information professionals, but also leaders in our field. To be taking classes from so many brilliant and top-notch instructors, and to be able to work with diverse and intelligent classmates enhances my education.

In LIS 580 we studied Management. More specifically, management of projects and people. Working in groups we played out scenarios such as the example if we were the manager during a re-model of an academic library, in which the library building would be inaccessible for 2 years but still had to be open for business. So much has to go into such projects, like defining what “open for business” means and what aspects are dependent on other aspects happening first (like moving in desks before moving in computers).

We studied different management styles, and how management has been viewed in the past. The most interesting discussion for me was the differences between a manger and a leader. These roles may be played by the same person, but they are, in fact very different. Nancy described the differences as the leader “has their eye on the horizon” where as the manager “has their eye on the bottom line.”

Our final project for LIS 580 was compiling a case study of an organization. I chose to focus on American Girl (that company that makes dolls, books, clothing, and magazines for girls ages 8-12), and how management handled a situation in which some customers were not pleased with who American Girl chose to partner with. It is attached here. Enjoy!