Journal of Education for Business
ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
Teaching Self-Management: The Design and
Implementation of Self-Management Tutorials
Megan Gerhardt
To cite this article: Megan Gerhardt (2007) Teaching Self-Management: The Design and Implementation of Self-Management Tutorials, Journal of Education for Business, 83:1, 11-18, DOI: 10.3200/JOEB.83.1.11-18
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.83.1.11-18
Published online: 07 Aug 2010.
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ducators’ ultimate goal—one could argue—is to prepare their students as well as possible for the issues and challenges that the students willfacewhentheyleavetheclassrooms andentertheircareers.Thus,educators must ultimately teach the students to manage themselves. As we enter the 21st century, organizations are becom-ingflatterandareusingfewerlevelsof supervision. As the structure of these organizations changes, organizational leadersareexpectingemployeesacross all disciplines to have proficiency in theskillsofself-management:knowing howtomanagetheirownprogressand having the ability to effectively plan, monitor,andregulatetheirdevelopment andperformance(Allen,Renn,&Grif-feth,2003).
Academics and practitioners agree thattheeducationoftomorrow’swork-force must include self-management training.Self-managementhasbecome a “defining element” (Castaneda, Kolenko,&Aldag,1999,p.101)ofthe new organization and is often the dis-tinctiveelementofthebestfirms(Hout & Carter, 1995). In a recent survey, human resource executives cited self- managementskillsascrucialforfuture managerial careers (Allred & Snow, 1996). Indeed, Luthans and Davis (1979) have referred to self-manage-ment as “the missing link” (p. 43) in organizationaleffectiveness.
Self-Management:AnOverview
Mills(1983)definedself-management aseffortsbyanindividualtocontrolhis or her own behavior. Self-management involves assessing problems, establish-ing goals, monitorestablish-ing time and envi-ronmental issues that may hinder the accomplishment of those goals, and using reinforcement and punishment to regulate goal progress and attainment (Frayne,1991).Bytheeducators’train-ing the students to evaluate, monitor, and regulate themselves, the students becomeresponsibleandaccountablefor theirownprogressandperformanceand essentiallybecomeself-managers.
The first step in self-management is to conduct a self-assessment. Through this stage, an individual discovers the problems that stand between the indi-vidualandthegoalsthatheorshewants to accomplish. This discovery leads to thesecondstepofestablishingandcom-mittingtospecificgoals(Kanfer,1987). Iftheindividualdoesnotsetandcom-mit to these goals, the next step—self-monitoring—will have little impact on theindividual’sbehavior(Simon,1979). Self-monitoring involves individuals’ active monitoring of their own time andenvironmentalmanagementandthe identificationofissuesorsituationsthat may prevent individuals from reaching theirgoals.Thefourthandfinalstepin self-management is theself-evaluation
TeachingSelf-Management:
TheDesignandImplementation
ofSelf-ManagementTutorials
MEGANGERHARDT MIAMIUNIVERSITY OXFORD,OHIO
E
ABSTRACT.Learningtheskillsof self-managementisanessentialtaskfor studentsinthe21stcentury.Atotalof223 undergraduatestudentsparticipatedin4 self-managementtutorialsthatpresented thecomponentsofunderstandingandmas-teringself-managementskillsincluding(a) self-assessment,(b)goalsetting,(c)time management,and(d)self-regulation.The authorassessedstudents’self-management skillspre-andposttrainingandreactions tothetutorials.Resultsrevealedsignifi-cantincreasesinself-managementskills posttrainingandfavorablestudentreac-tionstothetutorials.Follow-updataona subsetofparticipants(n=44)2yearslater indicatedadditionalsignificantincreases inuseandperceivedusefulnessofself-managementskills.
Keywords:goalsetting,self-management, timemanagement
Copyright©2007HeldrefPublications
stage, wherein the individuals evaluate thesuccessoftheirplanandrefinetheir tacticsifnecessary.
ImpactofSelf-Management Training
Over the past 20 years, organiza-tionalbehaviorscholarshaveadvocated the use of self-management training in organizational and educational settings (Luthans&Davis,1979;Manz&Sims, 1980; Mills, 1983). Such scholars see self-management as a way to decrease theneedforemployeesupervision,meet employee demands for autonomy and challengingjobs,andhelpmeetdemands for home offices and telecommuting. Researchersofoccupationalrealmshave found that self-management training leads to increases in job performance anddecreasesincounterproductivework behavior, such as absenteeism (Frayne & Geringer, 2000; Frayne & Latham, 1987).
Self-management skills have also beenassociatedwithsuccessintheaca-demicrealm.Self-managementhasled toimprovedacademicproductivityand achievement (Dean, Malott, & Fulton, 1983). Self-management programs that are specifically designed to increase theamountoftimethatstudentsspend in studying have had positive results (Champlin & Karoly, 1975; Miller & Gimpl, 1972). Researchers have found that more than 70% of participants in self-management training programs typicallyreachtheirdesiredgoalsafter the training is complete (McGaghie, Menges, & Dobroski, 1976; Rakos & Grodek,1984).Todate,thepastefforts of educators to teach these techniques have been successful (e.g., Jones,
Nel-occupational and academic realms, the importance of self-management skills thatemployerscite,andthesuccessof trainingsuchskillsthatresearcherscite, masteryoftheseself-managementskills isanimportantelementforinclusionin collegiate level education. Employers are clearly sending the message that theywillrequiretheseskillsfromtheir cessful integration of individual self-managementtrainingintoamanagement education course and (b) to assess the impactoftheseself-managementtutori-alsonstudentreactionsandlearning.
IntegratingSelf-Management TrainingintheClassroom
I compiled a series of four self- management tutorials to teach self- management skills and to reinforce several important concepts in a man-agement course. The goal of the tuto-rials was to help students understand the importance and impact of learning self-managementandcomprehendhow these skills are based in management theory.Usingthestagesofself-manage-mentastheframework,Idevelopedfour corresponding tutorials for use in an introductory management course. (See Appendix for example. Appendix also provides an overview of the tutorials that this article does not present fully. Contact Dr. Megan Gerhardt for more detailsonadditionalonlinetutorials.)
A total of 223 undergraduates partici-pated in the self-management tutorials. Each tutorial was designed to teach the
Fortheout-of-classcomponent,stu-dents completed a set of online exer-cises. The online tutorials provided detailed information about the nature of each stage and then provided the students with hands-on opportunities to apply the concepts to themselves andtotheirlives.Thein-classcompo-nent of the tutorial took place during the class period immediately follow-ing the completion of the out-of-class assignment. In class, the instructor discussedconceptsofthecurrentself- managementstageandstudentsviewed theoverallresponsesoftheirclassmates tothehands-onexercisesthattheyhad completed online. The instructor con-ductedaclassdiscussiononwhyeach set of skills was important for aca-demicandcareersuccess.
In the following sections, I review the overall concepts that each tutorial discusses.Inaddition,Ireviewstudent reactionsandinputassociatedwiththeir onlinetutorialexercises.
Tutorial1:Self-Assessment
The first self-management tuto-rial presents general information about self-management and also takes stu-dents through the first step of self- management: self-assessment. In the tutorial, the instructor presents self-agement as a way to control and man-age one’s own behavior in life and at work and discusses the importance that 21st-century organizations place on self- managed workers, emphasizing the stu-dents’ ability to learn and apply these skills.Thepurposeoftheself-assessment stageistoenablestudentstopinpointtheir ownpersonalareasforimprovement.
During the online component of
Duringthein-classsession,theinstruc-tor emphasized that self-management is anindividualizedprocess,witheveryone accountableforone’sbehaviorandchoic-es.Thestudentsandinstructordiscussed that although their current areas of con- cernwereprimarilyacademic,thesecon-cerns would later evolve as they entered the workplace. Researchers have proven self-managementskillstobeeffectivein highly supported theories of individual motivationisgoal-settingtheory(Locke, rial 2, students were introduced to the coreconceptsofgoal-settingtheoryand the standard characteristics of effective goals: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic,andtime-oriented(S.M.A.R.T.). Thestudentswereaskedtosettwoaca-demicgoalsandtorevisethesegoalsto meetthestandardeffectivegoalcriteria. Bytheendoftheonlinecomponentof Tutorial 2, students had set two goals that were personally important to them thatmeteffectivegoalcriteria.
During the in-class session, students discussed the impact of goal setting on performance, and the instructor reviewedresearchsupportingthiseffect (e.g., Klein, Wesson, Hollenbeck, & Alge, 1999; Latham & Baldes, 1975). Toemphasizethewideapplicabilityof theseskills,studentsandtheinstructor talkedaboutcreatinglifegoalsandaca-demic goals. The instructor asked stu-dentstogeneratelistsoflifegoalsand unrealistic for one to expect to simply
set a goal and reach it without bumps along the way. To be successful as a self-manager,individualsmustbeready for potential obstacles and be skilled in the techniques that are necessary to overcometheseobstacles.Determining whether one is adequately ready and skilledisthepurposeofthethirdstage ofself-management:self-monitoring.
During the online component of Tutorial 3, the students were asked to honestly assess how they spent their time and whether their current envi-ronments and time management prac-tices helped them accomplish their goals.Thestudentswereaskedtorate their current time-management skills andhowoftentheytendtouseproven time-management techniques (such as keeping a planner or schedule). The students were also asked to evaluate theircurrentlivingandstudyingenvi-ronmentsandtogenerateideasforhow they could better manage their time andenvironmenttosuccessfullyreach the goals that they had previously set forthemselves.
During the in-class session, students discussedtheimpactofpoortimeman-agementonstressandjobperformance and revealed to the whole class their overall class responses about their time- and environmental-management tendencies. Of students, 4.2% felt that they were “very successful” at manag-ingtheirtime,and53%ofstudentsfelt theywerenotstudyingasmuchasthey needed to. The student responses also revealedthatthestudentsvariedintheir perceptionoftheidealenvironmentfor studying:Somestudentspreferredabso-lutequiet,whereasothersneedednoise to concentrate. The instructor empha-sized the importance of understanding theiruniquepreferencesandtendencies. Studentsdiscussedhowtobestmanage their schedules and surroundings to be as successful as possible in reaching theirgoals.
Tutorial4:Self-Regulation
The final stage in self-management is learning self-regulation skills. The principles of self-regulation are close-ly linked to learning theory, specifi-cally the theory of operant condition-ing (Skinner, 1938). Self-monitorcondition-ing
involvestheevaluationofone’sprogress toward successful goal attainment and the use of the principles of reinforce-mentandpunishmenttokeepbehavior on track. If individuals are progress-ingtowardtheaccomplishmentoftheir goals, they should reward or reinforce thisbehaviortoincreasethelikelihood that such behavior will be repeated. If thebehaviorisnotleadingtowardgoal accomplishment, such behavior should besubjecttoapunishment,whichwill increasethelikelihoodthatsuchbehav-iorwillnotberepeated.
This final piece of self-management integrates all of the previous steps. To beasuccessfulself-manager,individuals must(a)beawareofareasforimprove-ment,(b)seteffectivegoals,(c)monitor theirtimeandsurroundingstoallowthem to reach those goals, and (d) actively evaluatewhethertheirbehaviorisgetting themclosertogoalachievement.
DuringtheonlinecomponentofTuto-rial 4, the students were instructed to honestly evaluate how they were pro-
gressingtowardtheirgoalsandhowsuc-During the in-class session, the instructorreviewedtheself-management steps that the students had completed throughoutthesemester.Inaddition,the studentsdiscussedtheoverallprogressof theclass.Ofthestudents,41%reported that they were actively pursuing both of the academic goals they had set for themselvesearlierinthesemester,57% reportedpursuingoneofthetwogoals, and45%reportedthattheynowfeltthat theywereaboveaverageintheircurrent time-managementskills.
Students and the instructor discussed the relationship of self-evaluation to the conceptsoflearningtheoryandhowpro-viding rewards for the achievement of self-setgoalswouldhelpstudentsbecome moresuccessfulatself-management.Stu-dents shared with the class samples of rewards that they had chosen, such as a night out with friends. Many students felt that knowing that they were making progresstowardimportantgoalsandfeel-ingthattheyweresuccessfullymanaging theirtimewererewardsinthemselves.
Studentsandtheinstructordiscussed whattrulymadeself-managementeffec- tive:knowingtheskills,activelypractic-ing the skills, believtive:knowingtheskills,activelypractic-ing that self-man-agementwillleadtosuccess,andhaving adesireandwillingnesstoputforththe effort and practice to become a skilled self-manager.Theinstructorencouraged the students to evaluate what they had learned and determine what aspects of thisprocessworkedwellforthem.
ImplicationsandImpact
After completing four self-man-agement tutorials over the semester, students learned about the concepts and importance of self-management skills—bothfortheiracademicsuccess andfortheirlong-termcareersuccess. However, as is the case with any new teachingtool,itwasnotinitiallyclear eitherwhatkindofanimpacttheself-management tutorials had on the stu-dents or what their perceptions of the trainingwere.
Toassesstheimpactoftraining,Kirk-patrick (1996) identified four potential levels of training evaluation: reactions, learning, behavior, and organizational results.InstructorsassessLevels1and2 immediatelyaftertraining,whereasthey evaluateLevels3and4latertoevaluate transferoftraining(Noe,1999).Forthe purposesofthisstudy,thefocuswason Kirkpatrick’s first two levels: reactions andlearning. 93.3% were White and 6.7% were of other races or ethnicities.The mean age was 20.24 years (SD= 1.52 years).The
ofstudentsfeltthattheself-management tutorials had a positive impact on their experiencewiththemanagementcourse.
Thesecondleveloftrainingevalua-tionislearning(Kirkpatrick,1996),an evaluation of the students’ mastery of skillandconcept.AccordingtoCamp-administered a simple 4-item measure of the use of self-management skills before and after the training. I con- ductedapaired-samplesttesttoevalu-ateself-managementscoresbeforeand after the training. Results indicated a significant increase in self-manage-ment scores following the self-man-agement training,t(222) = −3.55,p < .001. This finding supports the use of self-management tutorials as a simple and successful tool for teaching self- management.
LastingImpact:A2-YearFollow-UpAssessment
Toassesswhethertheself-management training had any impact lasting beyond thesemesterinwhichthestudentslearned skills. Although contacting this sample was a challenge because most students hadgraduated,andmanye-mailaddresses werenolongervalid,44studentsrespond-ed to the survey, for a response rate of 19.7%. Of the follow-up sample, 46.5%
backaboutthelong-termusefulnessand impact of the self-management training ontheirbehaviorandperformance.
Results of the follow-up survey indi-catedthat63.6%ofparticipantsfeltthe self-management skills that they had learnedhadprovenusefultothemsince thecompletionofthecourse,and65.9% felt that the self-management skills had consequently increased their over-all performance. The survey also asked which—ifany—oftheself-management techniquesthattheylearnedhadproven mostuseful.Participantsratedtime-man-agement techniques (36.4%) and goal-setting techniques (36.4%) as the most useful and rated self-assessment skills (6.8%) and self-regulation skills (4.5%) asmuchlessuseful.
Participantsappearedtohavecontin-ued to increase their self-management skillsandbehaviorsafterthecompletion ofthetraining.Apaired ttestcompar-ingposttrainingself-managementskills with current self-management skills of the follow-up sample indicated a sig-nificantincrease,t(43)=−2.58,p≤.01. This result suggests that participants continuedtouseandimprovetheirself-management techniques beyond the training.An overwhelming majority of respondents (84.1%) agreed that self-managementtechniquesshouldcontinue tobeincludedaspartofthecurriculum in management classes, with 47.7% of participants respondingstrongly agree tothisquestion.
LimitationsandFutureResearch This study provides educators with a set of straightforward and success-fulself-managementtutorialsthatthey canimplementintoacollegiatecourse. Immediate and long-term follow-up
Anotherlimitationofthisstudywasits lackofrigoranddepthinexaminingthe impact of these self-management tutori- als.Anexcitingendeavorforfuturepeda-gogicalresearcherswouldbetoconducta morerigorousandextensiveexamination ofthatimpact.Onepossibilityisresearch-ers’useofcontrolgroupstodeterminethe amount of improvement in self-manage-ment skills for participants in the tutori-als as opposed to students who do not participate.
Finally, this study focused on the impact of self-management tutorials in terms of the two most basic levels of trainingoutcomes:reactionsandlearn-ing. Future researchers should further explore trainee outcomes by examin- ingtheothertwolevelsoftraineeout-comes—behavior and organizational results—ingreaterdepthtomorecom-pletelyassessthesuccessoftransferring theskillsofself-management.
Conclusion
The most valuable outcomes of this research are (a) the notion that self-management can be taught in a college classroom through straightfor-ward tutorials and (b) the finding that students view the process of learn-ingself-managementskillsasvaluable and worthwhile. The use of tutorials for self-management training in this management course provided students with hands-on experience in useful and important skills that are essen-tial for personal and professional suc-cess in today’s world. Follow-up data indicate the usefulness and value of the self-management skills to partici-pantsbeyondtheimmediatecontextof the training. Self-management train-ing tutorials give educators a tool to provide students with important and necessary skills. The opportunity to teach timely, applicable skills while
tyingtheseskillstoestablishedtheory createsauniqueexperienceinmanage-menteducation.
NOTES
Dr. Megan Gerhardt’s research interest is studying the impact of individual differences on motivation,leadership,andlearning.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dr. Megan Gerhardt, assistant professor, Department of Management, Miami University,307LawsHall,Oxford,OH45056.
E-mail:gerharmm@muohio.edu
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APPENDIX
Self-ManagementTutorial1:Self-Assessment
WhatisSelf-Management?
Throughoutthissemester,youwillcompleteonlineandin-classlessonsonself-management.Thefollowingpageswilldescribemore aboutwhatself-managementisandwhyitisimportant.Readcarefully,asyouwillbeaskedseveralknowledgecheckquestions.
Self-managementtrainingisaprogramthatteachesindividualshowtoeffectivelycontroltheirownbehavior(Frayne,1991).Thisisdone bylearningtechniquessuchasgoalsetting,timemanagement,andself-monitoring.
Self-managementtraininghasbeenusedtoimprovejobperformanceaswellasacademicachievement(Frayne&Latham,1987). Throughthisprogram,wehopetoteachyouhowtobeabetterself-managerinyouracademiclifeandalsoshowyouhowthosetoolscan beappliedintheworkplaceasyoubeginyourcareer.
Organizationsinthe21stcenturywantemployeeswhoareskilledself-managers.Weareinanageofcareerself-management—meaning youmustmakethebestofallopportunitiesthatcomeyourway.Thismeansitisuptoyoutosetpersonalandprofessionalgoals,have clearpriorities,bewell-organized,skillfullymanageyourtime,andlearntheskillsassociatedwithsuccessfulself-management.
Theself-managementskillsyouwilllearnherewillconsistoftimeandenvironmentalmanagement,goalsetting,andself-regulation.You willlearnmoreabouteachofthesethroughoutthesemester.Alloftheseskillsarecloselyrelatedtoconceptswewilllearnfromyour textbookandfromlecture—organizationalbehaviorisasmuchaboutsuccessfullymanagingyourselfasitisaboutunderstandinghowto manageothers.
Organizationsalsotraintheiremployeesinself-management,withoverwhelminglypositiveresults.Employeeswhocompleteself-management trainingarelesslikelytomisswork,aremorelikelytoarriveontime,andhavehigherlevelsofjobperformancethandoemployeeswhodonot gothroughself-managementtraining(Frayne&Latham,1987).
Self-Assessment
Thefirststepoflearningself-managementistodoaself-assessment.Youareuniquelyqualifiedtoassessyourownstrengthsandweaknesses, moresothananyoneelse.Therefore,youcanbestidentifyareaswhereyouwanttoimprove.
Thinkaboutbehaviorsyouwishyoucouldchangeorparticularareasyouwanttoimprove.Weencourageyoutochoosebehaviorsrelated toyouracademiclife—suchasbetterclassattendanceorbetterperformanceonexams.Youwillconcentrateonimprovingthesebehaviors throughoutthesemester,somakesurethisissomethingthatisimportanttoyou.
Nameoneacademicbehavioryouwouldliketochange(e.g.,Iwanttoperformbetteronmymidtermexams).
Howimportantisittoyoutochangethisbehavior? a)Veryimportant
b)Somewhatimportant c)Neutral
d)Notveryimportant e)Notimportantatall
Inthepast,howmuchefforthaveyouputintochangingthisbehavior? a)Agreatdealofeffort
b)Someeffort c)Notsure d)Hardlyanyeffort
APPENDIX(continued)
Howimportantisittoyoutochangethisbehavior? a)Veryimportant
b)Somewhatimportant c)Neutral
d)Notveryimportant e)Notimportantatall
Inthepast,howmuchefforthaveyouputintochangingthisbehavior? a)Agreatdealofeffort
b)Someeffort c)Notsure d)Hardlyanyeffort e)Noeffort
Howmucheffortareyouwillingtoputintochangingthisbehavior? a)Agreatdealofeffort
b)Someeffort c)Notsure d)Noeffort
Congratulations!Youhavetakenanimportantfirststeptowardmasteringself-management.Byidentifyingareaswhereyouwantto improve,youcanproceedthroughtheself-managementprocessandtakestepstosuccessfullychangethesebehaviors.
Pleasemakeanoteofthetwobehavioralareasthatyouhaveidentified,asyouwillbeaskedtoworkwiththesethroughoutthesemester. Successfulstudentsandemployeesarenotpeoplewhosimplyknowmorethanothersdo.Tobesuccessful,youmusthaveeffectivestrategies andmotivationtousetheknowledgeyouhaveandthewillingnessandabilitytochangeyourstrategiesiftheydonotworkforyou.
Throughoutthesemester,youwilllearnandsharpenyourself-managementskills.Althoughsomeofyoumaybelieveyouarerelatively goodself-managers,andothersbelieveyouarenot,everyonehasroomforimprovement.
Wewilldiscussmoreaboutself-managementandself-evaluationduringourin-classsession.Thiscompletesyourfirstonlinetutorial.
Journal of Education for Business is introducing Professional
Perspectives—a new section—beginning with the 2006 volume
year. Professional Perspectives aims to supplement JEB objectives by providing practitioners’ perspectives on current issues in the business fi eld. Changes in today’s business world and in the business professions fundamentally infl uence the competencies that business graduates need. Thus, JEB offers a forum for authors addressing those areas or proposing new theories and analyses of controversial issues. The section will address current issues facing the business community today such as diversity, discrimination, marketing strategies, ethics in leadership, accounting restraints, globalization, outsourcing, downsizing, and recruiting.
Submissions for Professional Perspectives should include: an overview of the issue being addressed; historical perspectives on the issue; current workplace examples of the issue; potential outcomes in terms of impacts on personnel, costs, legal matters, and other parameters; impact of proposed business models on creativity and innovation; how the proposed model relates to trends in industry or business in general; and recommendations to business faculty as to what they may do to assist in resolving the issue. The submission must be between 1500 to 2500 words.
