Dealing with bias, gaining supervisory skills to be topics of June MDC workshops

By FHSU University Relations

Two workshops, one on dealing with subconscious biases and another on learning to supervise, will be offered in June by the Management Development Center of the W.R. and Yvonne Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship at Fort Hays State University.

Both will be in the Memorial Union’s Stouffer Lounge. A 15-percent discount for Hays Area Chamber of Commerce members applies to both workshops.
Registration for both workshops is available online through the registration link on the page at www.fhsu.edu/mdc. To learn more about these workshops or additional upcoming trainings, contact Hannah Hilker by phone at 785-628-4121 or by email at hehilker@fhsu.edu.
The first workshop, new to the MDC lineup, is on bias. One thing all humans share is the fact of biases. Very often, these exist despite conscious efforts to be fair and objective. “You’re Racist (But Then Again, We All Are): Understanding Subconscious Bias,” will help participants uncover and explore this aspect of themselves.
It is from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 5.
Dr. Brett Whitaker, assistant professor of leadership studies, will lead participants in the exploration of bias and show how those biases influence behavior. Whitaker will also present tools that can help people control implicit bias when working with others.
At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to define different types of biases, understand how biases influence behavior, assess personal implicit biases, and use this knowledge to deploy strategies to control for bias in the workplace.
Each person who completes the workshop will receive a completion certificate and .3 Continuing Education Units. The cost is $119.

Next up, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 13, is supervisor skills, and what better way to learn about supervisor skills than attending bootcamp with a retired Army sergeant?
“Supervisor Bootcamp” will include a complimentary lunch.
Dr. Seth Kastle, assistant professor of leadership studies at FHSU and a retired Army Reserve first sergeant, and Sabrina William, director of the Management Development Center at FHSU, will facilitate.
Following the introduction of the five fundamental supervisory skills, participants will use theory and practice to dive deeper into: Guiding the Work, Organizing the Work, Developing Your Staff, Managing Performance, and Managing Relations. Practical tools will be discussed to equip managers to lead, manage, and develop their employees.
The course objectives are perfect for anyone who is a current supervisor, people recently promoted to supervisor, or anyone targeted for a future supervisor promotion.
Each person who completes the workshop will receive a completion certificate.
The cost is $219.
The Management Development Center at Fort Hays State University is recognized by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) to offer professional development credits for “Supervisor Bootcamp” for SHRM Certified Professionals or SHRM Senior Certified Professionals.

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