Individual Assignment Entry 1

For this assignment, I managed to conduct an interview with my aunt and got to know more about her management role. Despite a really tight schedule, it was really kind of her to spare me some of her time to answer my questions. (:

Celine Au-Yeung

Acting Executive Director and Finance & Administrative Manager

FCCA, AHKSA, ATIHK, MIHRM (HK)

AFS Intercultural Exchanges Limited

1) Briefly describe your job responsibilities as a manager

I am a Chartered Accountant who works in an international non-profit voluntary organization which has been dedicated to promoting international cultural exchange activities for decades. It's aim is to establish mutual respect and understanding among participants worldwide through various exchange programs and a mission to achieving the vision of racial harmony and world peace. Since its establishment in 1983, this organization in Hong Kong has sent over 2,700 participants abroad to over 30 countries.

I have been working in this organization for 12 years. I am the first staff in Hong Kong to have the 10th anniversary service, and I am also the longest serving staff ever. Therefore I have the chance to cover all the staff members’ position in the office to widen my experience.

As a manager in this volunteer based organization, I am responsible for the office management with 6 staff members and managing a team of around 300 volunteers of different ages and background.

In brief, I am responsible for the following:
- Accounting and Financial Management
- Financial Planning/Budgeting
- Monitoring Cash Flow and Line of Credit
- Human Resources management
- Annual Audit
- Compliance with all the external legal and statutory requirements including Inland Revenue Department, Companies Registry, office insurance
- Attending Annual World Congress with partners of over 50 countries
- Attending the Annual Asia-Pacific Initiatives meeting with 10 partners
- Meeting with Donors, Education Bureau, Consulate General, schools, students and parents
- Planning for Staff and Volunteers trainings and development
- Event planning e.g. Annual Volunteer Forum for 200 to 300 people, Annual Intercultural Fair for around 1,000 local students with 100 local and overseas volunteers and students
- Covering other staff members and acting as Executive Director; and take up ad hoc projects as and when needed


2) What is your management style?

This is the longest job in my life so I am treating it as my major career, and all the people in this organization as part of my family members. We have a warm and casual working environment here as we are mainly working with volunteers, students, parents and educators. My style of management is to have appropriate assignment of jobs and responsibilities to the relevant person. If somebody is good at one thing but not the other, it doesn’t mean that they are not a good staff or volunteer – you just have to understand what and where their strength is. I prefer to provide guidelines and explanation to my sub-ordinates and the volunteers, and work with them in a harmony atmosphere. However, when it comes to a conflict between the volunteers and the mission of the organization, I will step in and stay firm in my belief.

I feel that my aunt's style of management is leaning towards the Human Relations School of Management. She also practices Scientific Management.

3) What are some of the difficulties you face as a manager?

To maintain the stability of both the office paid staff and volunteers is never an easy job. I fully understand that a non-profit organization cannot offer high salary or attractive bonus scheme, and not everybody will treasure job satisfaction and invisible return more than the actual cash income. So whenever the job market is good, we have higher risk of staff turnover. Also, there are different life cycles of the volunteers especially for the younger volunteers. Right after they return to Hong Kong from the year of exchange program overseas, they need to concentrate their effort to enroll into a High School, then they work as volunteer for 1-2 years and have to put more time in their final year of High School. They come back as volunteers when they are admitted into the university, but then they will leave us because they need to work hard for their final year in the university, and then striving their way for their career, people networking, job promotion, marriage, becoming parents etc.


4) How do you overcome these difficulties?

It’s difficult to change the reality that we all need to earn a living and support our families. It is also true that everybody must move on instead of staying with an organization forever. Therefore what I can do in keeping and motivating the staff and volunteers are by offering jobs rotation, organizing appropriate Staff and Volunteer Training regularly, Volunteer Exchange from time to time, recognizing them in form of Award Presentation during the Annual Volunteer Forum, and arranging gathering / activities from time to time to raise their morale.

5) In your opinion, what makes a good manager?

In my working career for the past 20 years, I have worked with lots of managers in the Accountancy firm, Commercial sector and non-profit sector. I am very lucky to get to know many good managers who have great impact on me. To me, what’s important to make a good manger includes the following:
- Be responsible and willing to Commit
- Don’t jump into Decision too quickly
- Willingness to listen and be flexible
- Understand the needs, strength and weakness of others
- Be patience especially in time of problem solving
- Ability in Risk Management
- Have regular exercise and balance in life / family / work
- Have a sense of humor – which is very important

So that concludes my interview. (: