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MANAGEMENT MENTOR helps you evaluate management skills and fine tune
them. A comprehensive self-assessment inventory, MANAGEMENT MENTOR uses
questionnaires to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses in 12
management categories. A separate emphasis-selection process helps
decide which questionnaires are most relevant to you. Results can be
read on screen and printed.
For an additional fee, registered users get expert consultation in any
of 244 management skill areas.
MANAGEMENT MENTOR is a comprehensive self-assessment inventory for managers,
allowing the user to evaluate his/her strengths and weaknesses in twelve
management categories. A separate "Emphasis-Selection Process" can be used to
decide which questionnaires are most relevant. The "Skills Listing" makes it
possible to get a breakdown of the skills involved in all twelve categories,
without first completing a questionnaire. Results are saved in separate files
so they can be read on screen first and then printed. The program also contains
telecommunication software that can be used (for an additional fee, for
registered users) to get guidance from an expert consultant regarding
development in any of 244 separate management skill areas.
File Descriptions
MM.EXE Executes program
USER.DOC User documentation
HELP.MSG Text for on-screen "Help"
RELATED.PRD Text for "Samples of Related Products"
*.INT Questionnaire and Emphasis-Selection Process instructions
*.DAT Questionnaire and "ESP" results files
*.LST "Skills Listing" files
*.BEP Text to follow bar-chart displays of questionnaire and "ESP"
results
PROFILE Stores results (created when questionnaire or ESP completed)
LPT Print file
Disk No 1156
Program Title: MANAGEMENT MENTOR version 1.00
PC-SIG version 1
MANAGEMENT MENTOR helps you to evaluate management skills and fine tune
them. A comprehensive self-assessment inventory, MANAGEMENT MENTOR uses
questionnaires to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses in twelve
management categories. A separate "Emphasis-Selection Process" helps
decide which questionnaires are most relevant to you. Results can be
read on screen and printed.
For an additional fee, registered users get expert consultation in any
of 244 management skill areas.
Usage: Management Skill Evaluation.
Special Requirements: None.
How to Start: Type GO (press enter).
Suggested Registration: $35.00
File Descriptions:
MM EXE Executes program.
USER DOC User documentation text.
HELP MSG Text for on-screen "Help."
RELATED PRD Text for "Samples of Related Products."
??????? INT Questionnaire and ESP instructions (18 files).
??????? DAT Questionnaire and "ESP" results files (12 files).
??????? LST Skills listing files (12 files).
??????? BEP Bar-chart display results (10 files).
PROFILE Stores results.
LPT Print file.
PC-SIG
1030 E Duane Avenue
Sunnyvale CA 94086
(408) 730-9291
(c) Copyright 1988 PC-SIG, Inc.
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ <<<< Disk No 1156 MANAGEMENT MENTOR >>>> ║
╠═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ To start the program, type MM (press enter) ║
║ ║
║ To copy the documentation to your printer, type MANUAL (press enter). ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
MANAGEMENT MENTOR
Written by: Gerald de Jaager
Design and Programming Services: Mike Rufflo,
Teresa Rufflo, and Jim Houha
This is a SHAREWARE PROGRAM. If you like this program and
intend to use it beyond an initital preview, please send
$35.00 to:
Jerry de Jaager
Box 1666
Palo Alto, CA 94302
As a REGISTERED USER, you will receive:
o A printed manual
o Program updates and scoring norms as they are
developed
o $25 dicount on certain related products
SPECIAL NOTE: If you refer others who become registered
users, you will receive a $7.50 referral fee when they
include your registration number with their payment.
Contents
Special Option: Teleconsulting Tailored to Your
Individual Needs and Interests ......................... 1
I. Getting Started ................................... 3
II. Program Overview .................................. 4
III. The Questionnaires ................................ 6
IV. The Emphasis-Selection Process .................... 9
V. About the Questionnaires and Their Interpretation.. 12
Appendix A: Teleconsulting Staff ....................... 13
SPECIAL OPTION: TELECONSULTING TAILORED TO YOUR INDIVIDUAL
NEEDS AND INTERESTS
MANAGEMENT MENTOR gives you advice about the specific skills
that will make you a more effective manager.
You can get expert assistance in developing those skills.
Use our teleconsulting service to obtain personalized
guidance from an expert consultant who will help you carry
out a targeted development program. (For biographies of some
of our consultants, see Appendix A, page 13). Examples of
the available services can be viewed from the Browsing Menu
on your program disk.
HOW TELECONSULTING WORKS
1. You select a topic you want to learn more about. The
questionnaires on your program disk will help you do this
with precision.
2. Using the free built-in telecommunication software that
is available to registered users, you simply send a message
to our Message Center, requesting the service that you
desire.
3. Within three working days, your consultant will reply
with a personalized learning exercise. You use the built-in
telecommunication program to pick up this message, at your
convenience. If you ask for a reading, the assigned article
will be mailed to you.
4. When you have finished the learning exercise, you send a
message to your consultant answering the assigned questions,
describing how you will put your skills to use, and asking
any questions that have occurred to you.
5. Your consultant reviews your progress, comments on what
you have done, answers any questions you have asked, and
offers further guidance. You pick up this message at your
convenience.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
To send and receive messages, you need a Hayes-compatible
modem. You use your own word-processing software to compose
your messages.
FEES AND REGISTRATION
Each teleconsulting module consists of four parts: your
initial message to your consultant; the consultant's
response and follow-up assignment; your reply; and the
consultant's comments on your reply. The fee for each module
is $35. You must register for a minimum of three modules.
Use the coupon in the front of your manual for a $25
discount on your first teleconsulting services.
--1--
You must be a registered user of MANAGEMENT MENTOR to use
the teleconsulting services. See first page for information
about that registration.
You register for teleconsulting by sending a check for
$105.00 ($80 if you use the coupon) to:
Connections Software
Box 1666
Palo Alto, California 94302
Within ten days you will receive your system password, the
Message Center telephone number, and easy-to-follow
instructions.
The full amount you submit is applied toward teleconsulting
services--nothing is deducted for registration or
administration. You can begin using the service as soon as
you receive you information package.
FREE TO REGISTERED USERS
As a registered user, you have access, at no charge, to more
than 250 lists of carefully-selected readings, covering
every topic in the MANAGEMENT MENTOR program. These lists
are updated regularly. See your program's BROWSING
MENU/SAMPLES OF RELATED PRODUCTS for more information.
REFUND POLICY
If you decide, at any time, to cancel your registration, you
will receive a refund of the remaining balance in your
account, less an administration fee of $15.
TELECONSULTING STAFF
Appendix A (page 13) contains information about the
consultants available to help you with the development of
your management skills.
--2--
I: GETTING STARTED
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
MANAGEMENT MENTOR can be used on any IBM or IBM-compatible
computer with at least 256K of memory. The display is
suitable for either color or monochrome monitors.
MAKING BACKUPS
Your disk is not copy protected, so you can make a backup
before you begin. While you are making your backup copy, you
may also make other copies to distribute to people who would
be interested in the program. See the first page for
information about the referral fees you can earn when others
register.
STARTING THE PROGRAM
Boot DOS. At the DOS prompt, insert your MANAGEMENT MENTOR
disk, type "MM" and press the RETURN key.
--3--
II. PROGRAM OVERVIEW
SELF-ASSESSMENT
MANAGEMENT MENTOR provides focused guidance about the
specific skills you should develop to become a more
effective manager.
There are twelve separate questionnaires, allowing you to
evaluate your skills in any or all of the following
categories:
Managing Projects Organizing
Communication Representing the Organization
Creating A Motivating Climate Planning
Financial Decision-Making Management Control
Managerial Problem-Solving Staffing
Business Development and Sales Influencing Others
You access these questionnaires by selecting the Management
Skills Assessment Menu from the Main Menu. For information
about completing the questionnaires, see page 6.
The Emphasis-Selection Process helps you identify the
general management categories that are most important in
your present job, or in some desired future job. It is
accessed from the Management Skills Assessment Menu. For
information about completing the Emphasis-Selection Process,
see page 9.
RESULTS FILES
After you have completed a questionnaire or the Emphasis-
Selection Process, your results are saved in a file that can
be accessed from the Management Skills Assessment Menu.
THE BROWSING MENU
To view samples of the unique teleconsulting services that
are available to registered users, select Samples of Related
Products from the Browsing Menu.
The Skills Listing, also accessed from the Browsing Menu,
allows you to obtain a listing of the skills that make up
any of the twelve questionnaire categories, without first
completing a questionnaire.
PRINTING
You can print your questionnaire results, Emphasis-Selection
Process results, the Samples of Related Products, or the
Skills Listing. Just type "p" when you are asked whether you
--4--
want your results sent to the screen or to your printer. If
you turn off your printer before a printing is completed,
you will exit the program. If you want to print your
questionnaire or ESP results after you have read them from
the computer screen, you can do that by going to the
"Results" files and selecting the print option.
HELP
A general help screen is accessed by pressing F1.
--5--
III: THE QUESTIONNAIRES
SELECTING A QUESTIONNAIRE
If you already know which questionnaire you want to begin
with, select Questionnaires from the Management Skills
Assessment Menu, and then select the questionnaire you
want.
On the other hand, if you would like to think about how each
category relates to success in your present job (or in a
future job), you should begin with the Emphasis-Selection
Process, accessed from the Management Skills Assessment
Menu. The Emphasis-Selection Process will tell you where the
greatest differences exist between a category's importance
and your capability level; these are the most important
general gaps for you to address.
For more information about the Emphasis-Selection Process,
see page 9.
ANSWERING THE QUESTIONNAIRES
An instruction screen precedes each questionnaire, telling
you how to enter your response to each question. The end
points of the scale are defined each time, and the procedure
for responding is also depicted on the screen.
You can also use the number keys at the top of your keyboard
to enter your answers.
Ten questionnaires use the same format for responding, a 9-
point scale ranging from "completely untrue" to "completely
true." You use the left and right arrow keys to move the
cursor, and then press the return key to register your
answer.
Two inventories use a different format, a 5-point scale
which asks you to assign a value to each of a series of
topics. These scales range from "Not Important At All" to
"Extremely Important." You enter your responses in the same
way, using either the arrow keys and return key, or the
number keys at the top of your keyboard. (If you want to
know why these questionnaires use a different format, please
see page 11.)
You must answer all the questions. If you feel that a
question is not applicable to you, answer it to the best of
your ability, or select the mid-point response--5.
--6--
Reviewing Or Changing Your Answers
As you proceed through a questionnaire, you may want to take
a second look at your previous answers. You can do this
easily: press F3 and it will return you to the preceding
question. The answer you gave to that question is shown on
the screen. You can leave the answer as it is, or change it
by using the same process you used to enter the original
answer. Continue using F3 to go back to any previous
question. To go forward, use F4.
Quitting A Questionnaire
At any time while you are taking a questionnaire, you can
quit by pressing F10. Your answers will not be saved. An
item counter in the upper-right corner of the screen tells
you which question you are on, and how many questions there
are in the entire questionnaire.
QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS
Each time you complete a questionnaire, your results are
presented, and their management development implications are
described. Your results are also saved in the Results of
Questionnaires file, which is accessed from the Management
Skills Assessment Menu. If you take a questionnaire more
than once, your most recent results are saved in this file.
As you review your questionnaire results, you will see
identifying codes after each skill that is listed. For
example:
Obtaining commitment (III.E.4)
Rehearsing a presentation (XI.B.3)
Each code designates a carefully-selected reading list that
is available either through telecommunication (free to
registered users) or in the 414-page book, The Best
Management Resources. The Best Management Resources contains
reading lists and audiocassette recommendations for every
topic in the MANAGEMENT MENTOR program. It has been hailed
by reviewers as "a treasure chest of references for anyone
interested in better management" and "a tour de force of
management knowledge." To order the 1988 updated version,
which costs $80.00 ($55.00, if you use the discount coupon
in the front of your manual), contact:
Seiler-Doar Books
Box 1666
Palo Alto, California 94302
(415) 857-0280
--7--
Printing Questionnaire Results
You have the choice of reading your results on your computer
screen, or sending them to your printer. If you decide to
read them on-screen first, you can then print them by going
to the Results of Questionnaires file and selecting the
print option. Bar charts are not printed.
INTERRPRETING QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS
Generally, the dimensions in which your scores are lowest
are those where you should develop your skills. Where
further evaluation would be beneficial, a section called
"Interpreting Your Scores" appears on the screen.
Further information about interpreting questionnaire results
is provided on page 12.
TELECONSULTING
MANAGEMENT MENTOR allows you to obtain expert advice and
guidance in developing your management skills. After
registering for teleconsulting services, you use the
program's built-in communications software to send and
receive messages. See page 1.
--8--
IV: THE EMPHASIS-SELECTION PROCESS
OVERVIEW
The Emphasis-Selection Process (ESP) guides you to the
questionnaire that will be most relevant to your management
development. You should use it if you are not sure which
questionnaire to begin with.
The ESP has two parts. In the first part, you rank the
skills needed in your job. In the second part, you evaluate
your own capabilities.
You don't have to use your present job for the ESP. You may
wish to use some desired future job, to help you think about
the skills you should develop in order to achieve your
career-advancement goals.
ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS
Part 1 of the ESP: Defining Job Requirements
As each pair of categories is displayed on the screen, use
the left arrow or right arrow key to indicate which of the
two items is more important. A brief definition of each
category appears at the bottom of the screen. There is an
item counter in the upper-right-hand corner, which keeps
track of how far you have proceeded. There are 66 pairs to
compare in the first part of the ESP. The item counter uses
78 as its basis, not 66, because there are 12 questions to
answer in the second part of the ESP.
Part 2 of the ESP: Evaluating Your Capabilities
Here you are asked to rate your capabilities in each of the
management skill categories, using a 9-point scale. Use the
left and right arrow keys, then press RETURN. You can also
use the number keys at the top of the keyboard.
Reviewing Or Changing Your Answers
As you proceed through the ESP, you may want to take a
second look at your previous answers. You can do this
easily: press F3 and it will return you to the preceding
question. The answer you gave to that question is
highlighted on the screen. You can leave the answer as it
is, or change it by using the same process you used to enter
the original answer. Continue using F3 to go back to any
previous question.
To go forward, use F4.
--9--
When you have reviewed or changed as many of your previous
answers as you want, you can return to the next unanswered
question by pressing F9. This feature is only available in
Part 1.
Example: You have just answered Item 20. You want to review
your previous answers. Pressing F3 returns you to Item 19,
where you can either revise your answer or let it stand.
Pressing F3 again returns you to Item 18, and so on.
If you want to go forward from, for example, Item 15 to Item
16, pressing F4 accomplishes that.
When you have reviewed as many answers as you want, pressing
F9 returns you to the next unanswered item--Item 21, in this
example.
Taking The ESP More Than Once
You can take the ESP as many times as you want. Since the
questionnaire has previously been completed, the F9 key
(which returns you to the next unanswered item) does not
work the second time through.
Quitting The ESP
At any time while you are taking the ESP, you can quit by
pressing F10. Your answers will not be saved, so it is
recommended that you begin the ESP when you have the twenty
to thirty minutes you will need to finish it.
ESP RESULTS
When you finish the Emphasis-Selection Process, your results
are presented, and you receive a suggestion about which
questionnaire would be most valuable to begin with. These
results cannot be printed, but you can print a summary of
your results by accessing Results of Emphasis-Selection
Process (from the Management Skills Assessment Menu) and
choosing the print option. Only scores from the most-
recently-taken ESP are saved.
Interpreting ESP Results
Results are displayed in a bar graph format on three
screens. The first bar graph shows the importance you
assigned to each management category. 11 is the highest
possible importance ranking, and the lowest is 0.
The second graph reviews your self-rankings regarding your
capability level in each category. The highest possible
capability ranking is 9, and the lowest is 1.
--10--
The final bar chart displays a visual representation of the
difference between your capability ranking and the
managerial demands of your job. The closer the score
approaches to zero, the more evenly your skill is matched to
the job's requirements. Bars extending to the right of the
center line indicate skills you possess to a greater degree
than your job requires. Those extending to the left indicate
areas where your skills fall short of meeting the
requirements of your job. The farther left the bar extends,
the greater the gap between the job requirements and your
skills.
Remember that these are comparisons in ratings, not absolute
values. Negative numbers, for instance, do not mean that you
are "bad" at something, but only that your capabilities do
not match the requirements of your job, as you defined them.
Two tables are then presented, showing the six categories
where the greatest difference exists between job
requirements and skills, and suggesting a questionnaire to
begin with.
--11--
V. ABOUT THE QUESTIONNAIRES AND THEIR INTERPRETATION
BACKGROUND
The questionnaires were originally published in 1984 in a 78-
page book, The Management Skills Inventory, which
HRD Quarterly called "the most comprehensive paper-and-
pencil inventory we have seen....a find for management
development departments!" 1 After reviewing the results
from over 2,000 managers' use of the questionnaires, they
were revised and incorporated into the MANAGEMENT MENTOR
program.
The goal of the book, and the program, is to present a
comprehensive array of self-assessment inventories, without
the requirement that the manager answer questions that are
irrelevant to his or her personal development needs.
Wherever possible, the questions ask about the outcomes of
management skills, not about the skills directly. This
approach allows for the assessment of development needs
based on real-world results, not on some arbitrary
"checklist" of desired skills.
NORMS
As these questionnaires are used in management settings,
statistical norms for responses will de developed.
Registered users will be provided with that information when
it is sufficient to allow for the development of reliable
norms. While these norms may add an additional level of
interest or insight for the user, they are not necessary for
the program's primary purpose--self-assessment.
THE TWO "DIFFERENT" QUESTIONNAIRES
The different format used for the "Organizing" and
"Financial Decision-Making" questionnaires stems from the
program goals described above. These are important
categories, which should be included in any comprehensive
inventory, but managers' skill levels are not easily
discernible from the results of their activities. For
example, a poorly-structured organization can still perform
successfully, because individuals make adjustments to get
the job done (through the "informal organization"); the
consequences of imperfect financial decisions are often
diluted by other factors, or are not immediately apparent.
Furthermore, there are many topics in those two categories
which may be unfamiliar to many managers, but which deserve
consideration as areas of development. Those topics include
understanding the organization as an information-processing
system, organizing to manage uncertainty, human resource
accounting and social-responsibility accounting.
--12--
APPENDIX A: TELECONSULTING STAFF
BACKGROUND
Teleconsulting is part of the growing use of communications
technology to make learning easier, and to put you in
direct, one-on-one contact with experts. In a May 9, 1988
article, headlined "Long-Distance Learning Gets An 'A' At
Last," Business Week says that more than 500,000 people are
using this convenient, personalized approach to learning.
Services provided by our teleconsulting faculty have earned
comments like these:
"I thank you for the encouragement, motivation and
understanding you provided. . . I am curious as to how many
students you handle, but I felt that you were working with
me on an individual basis. I have enjoyed working with you
very much. Thank you for a job WELL DONE!"
--PROJECT ENGINEER, TELEPHONE COMPANY
"I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for
your time, support, and commitment to quality. It had been
so long since I attended formal college courses, I was not
sure I still had the capacity to learn. With your patience
and help, I now know I can do it. I cannot thank you
enough."
--INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGER, AT&T
"This course has brought a myriad of loose ends into a
whole part and I have the confidence and enthusiasm to
create opportunity for myself. It has always been there to
some degree but the loose edges have been finely honed and
polished up. THANKS."
--FURNITURE STORE MANAGER
"It would like to say what a pleasure it has been to
study with you. Thank you for your kind words of
encouragement. I am not very comfortable putting things in
writing, I guess I'm a verbal person, but you have made it
easy and fun."
--PARTS AND SERVICE MANAGER, HONDA DEALERSHIP
TELECONSULTANTS
The following are brief biographical sketches of our
teleconsulting staff.
TED COCHEU headed a sizeable training staff at Burroughs
before establishing his own consulting and training
practice. He has published numerous articles on performance
--13--
TELECONSULTING STAFF (CONTINUED)
management, customer service and product quality, and is the
creator of the "Performance Manager" multi-media program
used in many companies.
JERRY DE JAAGER developed the questionnaires that comprise
Management Mentor. He has been a management consultant and
trainer for more than 20 years, during which time he has
trained over 25,000 managers. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of
Yale, Jerry taught at Yale, where he was rated as one of the
ten best teachers.
MARY ANN GALLAGHER has twenty-five years experience in
management development. Holding a Doctorate in Education
from Harvard, she has held high-level staff positions with
the United States Department of Labor, the China Lake Naval
Weapons Center, and the U.S. Forest Service.
PATRICIA NOVICK combines executive experience with a broad
consulting and educational background. She served for five
years as Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at
McDonald's, was on the faculty of Roosevelt University in
Chicago, and has consulted with companies from Alaska to
Florida.
DON RUDISUHLE holds an M.B.A. from Cornell. Specializing in
financial decision-making, he served in management positions
at Bristol-Myers and Foremost-McKesson before launching his
own consulting practice, which has taken him to more than 32
overseas locations in addition to his extensive U.S.
practice.
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DESCRIP TXT 1317 6-21-88 7:59a
ESP INT 107 4-22-87 9:47a
ESPA INT 671 1-07-88 11:06p
ESPB INT 655 1-07-88 11:06p
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