Management Issues
a delicate balance: privacy and the right to know
...these constitutional issues are facing all public agencies in Montana...
Objective To identify the constitutional issues arising from the individual's right of privacy and the public's right to know; to identify statutory and judicial provisions affecting the exercise of these rights.
Who Should Attend In rapid succession, the 1972 Montana Constitution lists the public's right to participate in government, the public's right to know, and the individual's right of privacy. How do we strike the balance among these sometimes competing rights? This seminar addresses the question for mid-managers. It explores how legal provisions and court decisions affect the government manager's response in a variety of situations.
Course Content
The Constitution
- right to know
- right to participate
- right of privacy
- open doors & open questions
The Laws and the Courts
- right to know generally
- public records
- open meetings
- right of privacy
What It All Means
- government and the public
- government and the press
- government and personnel
- employee privacy
- red flag checklist
Competencies addressed in this session:
- Decision making
- Analytical thinking
- Commitment to serve the public
all kidding aside: preventing harassment
...learn to recognize and control all types of harassment in the workplace...
Objective To develop an awareness of the counter productiveness of harassment and to improve means of eliminating all types of harassment from the workplace.
Who Should Attend Harassment takes many forms, both blatant and subtle. Recent court rulings have provided guidance on many forms of harassment. Thus, it is important that all employees understand what harassment is and how to prevent it. This half-day course is appropriate for employees at all levels and in all positions.
Course Content
The Context
- anti-discrimination law
- what is harassment?
- communication between the genders
Defining Harassment
- would this bother you?
- what is sexual harassment?
- setting the tone
- inappropriate actions & communications
- how can we stop or prevent harassment?
Dealing with Harassment
- guidelines and cases
- what should employees do?
- what should managers do?
- do's and don'ts for employees
do's and don'ts for managers
Competencies addressed in this session:
- Interpersonal understanding
- Leadership
- Ethics
alleviating burnout
...how supervisors can recognize and prevent the stress and burnout in their employees that costs billions to American business each year...
Objective To enable participants to recognize stress, burnout, and their causes; to provide personal and organizational ways to prevent stress and burnout.
Who Should Attend This course is designed for supervisors and policy-makers, but all employees faced with increased workload and decreased resources will benefit from becoming aware of stress, burnout, and their prevention.
Course Content
Stress and Burnout
- signs and symptoms
- cost
- effects on employees and organizations
- cultural and organizational factors
- components of burnout
Preventing Burnout
- staff development intervention
- changing the job and role structure
- changing client responsibility
- providing career ladders
- providing management training
- improving employee benefits and employee assistance programs
Competencies addressed in this session:
- Organizational understanding
- Creativity and problem solving
- Interpersonal understanding
- Relationship building
- Teamwork
coping with the angry public
...if you face the public, you face people with complaints, and some of them are angry...
Objective To develop or improve communication skills that will help us successfully cope with angry people.
Who Should Attend This workshop is designed for anyone who works with the public - from front-line receptionists to department heads. It focuses on dealing successfully with the angry public by first focusing on what we want to accomplish during this exchange of information. It looks at those communication skills that can help meet our goals and cope with both the public's anger and our own.
Course Content
Evaluating the Situation
- Mission, goals, and objectives
- Client base
- Office arrangements and requirements for service
- Staff attitudes
- Staff communication styles
Dealing with the Anger
- Handling your anger or withdrawal
- Handling the other person's anger
Communicating through the Conflict
- Listening skills
- Feedback skills
- Handling complaints
Thinking on Your Feet
Competencies addressed in this session:
- Customer Orientation
- Professionalism
- Persuasion
- Commitment to serve the public
creating a motivating environment
...ideas and tools...
Objective To help managers and supervisors create an environment that motivates their employees to do their best.
Who Should Attend Managers often ask, "How can I motivate my employees?" The answer is you can't, because motivation is an internal process that must come from the employee. But managers CAN create an environment that will foster motivation. This half-day workshop will give you ideas and tools to create that motivating environment.
Course Content
What is Motivation?
What Motivates You and Your Employees?
Elements of Performance
Creating a Motivating Environment
- Setting the signals for excellent performance
- Dealing with the performer
- Improving employees results
- Providing positive consequences
- Avoiding negative consequences
- Providing feedback
Competencies addressed in this session:
- Relationship building
- Flexibility and adaptability
- Leadership
- Teambuilding
customer service in the public sector
...a key ingredient to success in any business or government agency is customer service...
Objective To develop or improve skills and techniques necessary for effective contact with the public.
Who Should Attend Customer service is vital to your business success, whether it is a private company or government agency. But many times we don't even realize that our customer base is very diversified. This seminar will provide all public-contact people (front-line receptionists to department heads) with the skills they need to analyze the customer base and provide excellent service to all those "publics".
Course Content
Who are your "Publics"?
Assessing Your Public Relations Quotient
Analyzing and Improving Your Service Cycle
- understanding customer needs
- staff knowledge and authority
- service time requirements
- improving listening skills
- handling complaints
- using feedback sources well
Gaining Staff Commitment
Continued Improvement
Competencies addressed in this session:
- Customer Orientation
- Relationship building
- Commitment to serve the public
- Commitment to the profession
ethical issues in public service
...a seminar on the critical issues of ethics - and what they mean for government managers...
Objective To define and discuss ethics in public service, including democratic values, the public interest, and the nature of public administration; to describe the process of making ethical decisions.
Who Should Attend Recent and widespread public attention on "scandals" at the national level have thrust ethics into the forefront of public debate. Yet a thorough discussion of ethics must reach beyond questions of corruption or misconduct; at issue is the very nature of public service and what it means for public servants.
This one-day seminar explores ethical issues from a broad-based perspective. It explores the meaning of ethics, the public interest, and public service. Through case studies and other activities, participants will engage in a lively discussion of pertinent and thought-provoking issues. This seminar will benefit government managers at all levels; however, it is particularly appropriate for mid- and upper-level managers responsible for implementing government policy.
Course Content
Foundations of Ethics
- values and principles
- administrative power
- defining ethics
- defining the public interest
- responding to ethical problems
- ethical decision-making
- resolution and reflection
Ethics in Action
- case studies
- impediments and traps to ethical action
- the principle of public service
Foundations of Ethics
- values and principles
- administrative power
- defining ethics
- defining the public interest
- responding to ethical problems
- ethical decision-making
- resolution and reflection
Ethics in Action
- case studies
- impediments and traps to ethical action
- the principle of public service
Competencies addressed in this session:
- Ethics
- Commitment to serve the public
- Decision making
- Independence and responsibility
- Professionalism
- Self-knowledge and personal awareness
exploring emotional intelligence
...why do we react the way we do?...
Objective To better understand emotional intelligence and its impact on our wellbeing. To better handle situations involving others.
Who Should Attend "Emotional Intelligence" is for anyone who believes that IQ is the leading determinant of success - and for those of you who have thought differently. While factual knowledge and how-to skills continue to be important, emotional intelligence skills (such as flexibility, teamwork, handling emotions, communications, and enthusiasm) have become even more crucial and valuable. This class provides insights that expand beyond the commonly held views of human intelligence. The information explores how people who possess high emotional intelligence are the people who truly succeed in work as well as play
Course Content
What is Emotional Intelligence and Why is it Important?
The Four EQ Skills
Building EQ Skills
EQ and Job Performance
Competencies addressed in this session
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Self-knowledge and personal awareness
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Flexibility and adaptability
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Interpersonal understanding
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Relationship building
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Teamwork
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Maturity and emotional discipline
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Creativity and problem-solving
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Customer orientation
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Leadership
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Networking
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Efficiency and Focus
generations @ work
...inclusion, control and respect...
Objective To explore and discuss how the four generations at work communicate, prioritize, problem-solve and learn differently.
Who Should Attend This course is for anyone who works with people of different generations. For the first time, there are four different generations currently in the workplace. Multiple generations have worked together before, but usually in a rather rigid hierarchy. Now there is less separation by job description. This challenges us to understand our own preferences, goals, and values; and to understand the preferences, goals, and values of our colleagues. This workshop explores the influencing events and trends of each generation. We will discuss the characteristics of each generation, how they affect the workplace, and how we can better communicate.
Course Content
Dimensions of Diversity
The Four Generations
The Influences and Trends of Each Generation
Characteristics of Each Generation and How They Affect Work
Inclusion, Control and Respect
Bridging the Differences
Competencies addressed in this session
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Interpersonal understanding
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Relationship building
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Self-knowledge and personal awareness
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Flexibility and adaptability
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Interpersonal understanding
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Communications
issues of diversity and harassment
...inclusion, control, and respect...
Objective To explore and discuss some of the ways we are different and how those differences can affect our behavior and communication. To discuss ways of honoring diversity and preventing harassment.
Who Should Attend Our world is growing more diverse. The people we work with and the people we serve have different views of the world than we do. This interactive class will focus on how people are diverse, how we are the same, and how we can better communicate with everyone.
Course Content
Dimensions of Diversity
- organizational dimensions
- external dimensions
- internal dimensions
- personality
Benefits of Diversity
- to ourselves
- to our organization
Dangers of Intolerance
- roots of intolerance
- illegal discrimination
- policy requirement
- problem conduct
Bridging Differences
- inclusion
- control
- respect
Competencies addressed in this session:
- Interpersonal understanding
- Decision making
- Persuasion
- Relationship building
managing performance
...how do you keep performance in performance appraisal?...
Objective To define a standards-based performance appraisal system and to improve skills in all phases of the performance management cycle.
Who Should Attend Don't feel guilty - we've all felt this way: performance management is a tedious, time-consuming, pointless pain, right? It isn't necessarily so. Systematic performance management is a necessary tool for the supervisor - a medium of planning and communication. This seminar discusses what performance management is - and how to make it work. The two-day course is appropriate for all supervisors and managers who would rather control work than have it control them.
Course Content
Performance Management Overview
Planning Performance
Observing Performance
Evaluating Performance
Competencies addressed in this session
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Analytical thinking
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Leadership
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Decision making
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Relationship building
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator series: charting your career with MBTI
...to know where you're going...
Objective To better understand yourself and the career opportunities that match your type preference.
Who Should Attend People who want to create a career plan for the future. This workshop will also help trainers assess their current work environment for areas that need improvement accepting individual personality type preferences.
Course Content
Introduction to MBTI
The Career Satisfaction "Formula"
- temperaments
- strengths and weaknesses
- public and private strengths
- type development
Creating a Personal Career Plan
- ten steps
Competencies addressed in this session:
- Self-knowledge and personal awareness
- Flexibility and adaptability
- Professionalism
- Creativity and problem solving
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator series: introduction to MBTI
...why do you do what you do?
Objective To better understand yourself and those with whom you work.
Who Should Attend Anyone who seeks a better understanding of themselves and others should attend this half-day workshop. Using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, participants will develop a thorough psychological self-portrait and a deeper understanding of themselves and others. With the constant changes in our environment, this knowledge is more valuable than ever before.
Course Content
Introduction to Type Theory
- extraversion & introversion
- sensing & intuition
- thinking & feeling
- perceiving & judging
Exploration of your Individual Type Preferences
- administration of MBTI instrument
- self-assessment
- interpretation of type indicator
Type Development
- are we born with preferences?
Experiencing the Dichotomies
- clarifying the preferences
- exercises
Understanding the People Around You
- setting goals for application
Competencies addressed in this session:
- Self-knowledge and personal awareness
- Flexibility and adaptability
- Interpersonal understanding
- Relationship building
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator series: MBTI and Communication
...how can we grow?...
Objective To better understand yourself and those with whom you work and to improve communications.
Who Should Attend Clear communication is key to successful professional and personal interactions. However, you may not always take time to analyze how your natural ways of interacting affect others. Knowing your natural preferences and the preferences of others can enhance your ability to communicate. This workshop discusses the MBTI preferences and how they affect communications and how we can better understand, appreciate and accommodate individual communication styles. "Introduction to Myers-Briggs Type Indicator" is a prerequisite for this class.
Course Content
Communicating with type in mind
Communication and dominant functions
Communication styles of the sixteen types
Competencies addressed in this session
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Self-knowledge and personal awareness
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Flexibility and adaptability
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Interpersonal understanding
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Relationship building
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Communications
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator series: MBTI and conflict resolution
...this course explores how type can influence your conflict style...
Objective To Identify individual personality type preferences and discover the roles each preference plays during a conflict.
Who Should Attend Anyone who experiences conflict. This workshop quickly reveals how personality type can affect conflict in our daily lives.
Course Content
Introduction to MBTI
Nature & Origin of Conflict
Behavioral Cues
Conflict Management Approaches
- personal conflict styles
- preferred conflict styles of type
Type Watching Approach to Conflict
- five key steps
Conflict Situations
Using Type Preference for Solving Problems
Competencies addressed in this session:
- Self-knowledge and personal awareness
- Decision Making
- Persuasion
- Organizational understanding
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator series: teamwork and type
...it takes all types to make a team...
Objective Using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as a tool, this session is designed to help you:
- Become aware of your own preferences for taking in information and reaching conclusions
- Discovering individual and team problem-solving styles
- Analyzing team's strengths, blind spots, and areas for improvement
- Developing action plans for effective individual and team growth
Who Should Attend This is an introductory workshop on teambuilding using type theory applications. Team members will be asked to take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
Course Content
- Introduction to Type Theory
- Exploration of your Individual Type
- Type and Teambuilding
Competencies addressed in this session:
- Teamwork
- Relationship building
- Self-knowledge and personal awareness
- Analytical thinking
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator series: type dynamics and development
...how can we grow?...
Objective To better understand yourself and those with whom you work.
Who Should Attend So, you've taken the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, found out how the differing preferences impact your personality and your interactions with others, and now you want to know more. This session focuses on the interaction among the preferences and suggests a path for development and growth of each type. It looks at which of the preferences is dominant and whether that preference is introverted or extraverted. It introduces Jung's model of lifelong development and provides practical applications of the model. "Introduction to Myers-Briggs Type Indicator" is a prerequisite for this class.
Course Content
The dynamics of psychological type
Type development: a model of lifelong growth
Conscious type development
Competencies addressed in this session
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Self-knowledge and personal awareness
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Flexibility and adaptability
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Interpersonal understanding
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Relationship building
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Communications
type, teaching and tots: MBTI for teachers
...what's the most effective environment for your students...
Objective To increase knowledge and skills in teaching methods to improve your students' performance.
Who Should Attend This workshop is for all teachers who seek to better understand themselves and their students. Using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, participants will develop a thorough psychological self-portrait. This portrait will help you know your teaching strengths and tendencies, overcome your weaknesses, and help you better understand the students who depend on you.
Course Content
Introduction to Type Theory
Exploring Your Individual Type
Understanding the Children You Teach
- how your type can affect your students
- type and test questions
- type and classroom rules
- type and judging children's performance
- type and student behaviors
- type and the creative process
- type and group discussions
- student and teacher relationships
Creating Environments that Encourage all Children
Competencies addressed in this session:
- Interpersonal understanding
- Self-knowledge and personal awareness
- Analytical thinking
preventing wrongful discharge
...what is wrongful discharge and why do I keep reading about it in the papers?
Objective To define wrongful discharge and employment-at-will. To determine how to avoid costly mistakes while maintaining an effective discipline process.
Who Should Attend Discharge is the "ultimate solution" to serious or chronic conduct and performance problems. However, because of the profound effect of termination on the lives of discharged employees, a growing body of case law has broadened the rights of employees in discharge situations. This course is appropriate for managers who want to learn about employee rights, management rights, and the proper approach to supervision that will preclude wrongful discharge challenges.
Course Content
Wrongful Discharge
Overview
- what is your risk?
- what is "employment at-will"?
- what are the laws?
- legislative immunity
- judicial immunity
The Wrongful Discharge Act
- why was it passed?
- what does it say?
- how does it affect me?
- case studies
Preventing Wrongful Discharge
- awareness of laws & policies
- everyday management practices
- documentation & evidence
- performance appraisal
- disciplinary procedures
- preparing to discharge
- conducting a discharge
- considerations after discharge
- reference issues
Competencies addressed in this session:
- Decision making
- Analytical thinking
- Professionalism
- Organizational understanding
protecting political belief
...public employees enjoy the freedom of political belief...
Objective To define and discuss the legal protections for public employees regarding political belief and its expression - on and off the job.
Who Should Attend This half-day seminar deals not only with Montana law, but also with the practical implications of the law in public agencies. The seminar is appropriate for managers, supervisors, and employees who want to know about the letter - and the spirit - of the law.
Course Content
What is Discrimination?
- protected areas
- disparate treatment
- adverse impact
- harassment
What about Political Belief?
- what do the laws say?
- election and campaign practices
- human rights act
- governmental code of fair practices
- retaliation
So What?
- defining political belief
- political expression protected by law
- political expression not protected by law
- case law examples
- unlawful, discriminatory actions
- preventing the problem
Competencies addressed in this session:
- Commitment to serve the public
- Ethics
- Professionalism
state ethics law
...what standards are we held to?
Objective To overview the state ethics law in plain English.
Who Should Attend The Ethics Act of 1995 significantly amended the statutory Code of Ethics. It strengthened old provisions, added new ones, and established a method of enforcement. Because this law applies to all employees of state and local government, it's important for all employees to know what it says. This seminar will provide an overview of the law in plain English. It will also discuss the results of the recent legislative actions.
Course Content
The Law
- definitions
- the big changes
- enforcement
The Questions
- confusing aspects of the law
- likely interpretations
- complaint procedures
The Rules
- what they say
- why they say it
- what agencies need to do
- what employees need to do
Competencies addressed in this session:
- Commitment to serve the public
- Ethics
WARM: writing administrative rules of montana
...warm up to A.R.M....
Objective To increase knowledge of the rule-making process; to develop or improve skills in writing and noticing administrative rules.
Who Should Attend It's a fact of modern government: the Legislature delegates rulemaking authority to executive agencies. The resulting rules are subject to scrutiny and challenge. For rulemaking to go smoothly and effectively, then, executive branch employees need to know the ins and outs of the process. This day-long workshop explores rulemaking from conception to the noticing of proposed rules. The course is appropriate for employees with actual or potential responsibility for writing or reviewing administrative rules.
Course Content
The Administrative Process
- basics of administrative law
- separation of powers
- delegated authority
Rudiments of Rulemaking
- types of rules
- getting started
- planning the process
- research and resources
Drafting Rules
- from general to specific
- authority and implementation
- reasonable necessity
- substance of rules
- style
- internal review
Special Situations
- emergency rules
- temporary rules
- adoption by reference
- negotiated rulemaking
Noticing Rules
- notice requirements
- publication in MAR
- hearings - to hear or not to hear
- distributing the notice
Competencies addressed in this session:
- Analytical thinking
- Writing effectively
- Organizational understanding
