MGT Portfolio Project

I was given the opportunity to interview Dr. Jodie Hanzlik, Interim Vice Provost for Graduate Studies at Colorado State University (CSU), regarding her management style and experience.

Dr. Hanzlik’s (Hanzlik, 2012) typical day encompasses meetings and more meetings, as well as dealing with crises situations (‘fire-fighting;’ matters which must be dealt with NOW), effort toward long-term projects, and touching base with her office manager on a daily basis. She tells me approximately four percent of her duties are management, with the rest being efforts toward long-term goals of vision and leadership.

Her two most critical managerial problems involve transitioning into her position and ‘fire-fighting’ while still keeping the long-term projects moving. Dr. Hanzlik’s reference to transitioning refers to the fact that she was Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Affairs until March 2011, when she was appointed to the Interim position. In March 2012 she will be named Dean of Graduate Studies, as she has been appointed to the position permanently. Dr. Hanzlik mentioned that she didn’t realize when she stepped into the interim position exactly what the leader of the Graduate School did; it is apparently a much larger job than she thought.

As part of this transition she has worked hard to communicate with her staff on learning the “ins and outs” of the position and changing processes to allow for empowerment of her employees, thereby giving them the ability to see what needs to be done and do it without needing to be told. The ‘fire-fighting’ part of the managerial problems has to do with her being able to keep her focus on long-term projects, as well as the crises in hand.

Dr. Hanzlik cites teamwork, vision, time management...

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...ard, gathered the appropriate people to examine the problem and possible solutions, made definite progress, and persisted until she got the policy changed.

In conclusion, Dr. Hanzlik has demonstrated an awareness of the role of a manager, as well as a willingness to put in the effort needed to run a smooth operation. CSU’s Graduate School is lucky to have her at the helm.

Works Cited

Student Vision. (2012). Retrieved February 28, 2012, from Job Strategies: http://www.studentvision.org/post-doctoral-training.html

Tripod. (2012). Retrieved February 28, 2012, from Conflict and Power Struggle in the Workplace: http://conflictandpower.tripod.com/id1.html

Hanzlik, J. (2012, February 23). Interim Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Studies. (A. Böhm-Small, Interviewer)

Kreitner, R. (2008). Foundation of Managment Basics and Best Practices. Houghton Mifflin.