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Student Success & Career Development

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Transition Management: A Practical Approach for Personal and Professional Development
Sandra L. McKee, DeVry Institute of Technology
Brenda Walters

ISBN-10: 0130610518
ISBN-13: 9780130610515

Publisher: Prentice Hall
Copyright: 2002
Format: Paper; 306 pp
Published: 12/06/2001

Suggested retail price: $46.00
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For courses in Life Skills, Career Education, Senior Transition and Personal/Professional Development.

This stand-alone guide/workbook explores the skills necessary for laying a good foundation for a business or personal life-without-struggle—i.e., critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, interpersonal skills, and change-oriented, goal-setting skills. It presents easy-to-understand-and-use tools for achieving goal fulfillment on a minute-by-minute, day-by-day basis through goal setting, positive communication, conflict resolution, self-nurturing, time management, and career planning. By working through a variety of activities that require critical thinking and creativity, students develop a Personal Life Management Plan and discover the power of using new skills to become change agents for themselves.

  • NEW - Chapters on Transitions and Life Changes.
  • Helps students assess where they are headed. Ex.___
  • A blend of theory and specific career area knowledge.

    • Enables students to “get up to speed” quickly in those areas employers describe as deficient in new employees just out of college. Ex.___

  • Professional and personal/relational transition issues addressed.

    • Teaches students a constructive approach to life-changing events that will give them confidence and control in the ups and downs of life, and ensures that their transition experiences support all areas of their lives. Ex.___

  • A workbook format and approach—Can be used with little or no guidance.

    • Uses a conversational tone and style that pulls students in and then “chats” with them about developmental needs. Ex.___

  • A behavioral approach.

    • Helps students move in a stepwise manner. Ex.___

  • Focus on what real people deal with on a daily basis —Features case examples from all walks of life.

    • Outlines a workable plan that takes into account the many demands on busy people's lives. Ex.___

  • Coach's Corner —Offers valuable advice from professional industry trainers in each chapter.

    • Arms students with the secrets to success in the corporate world that most business people learn only through years of experience. Ex.___

  • Transition tips—Hints at what to expect in the professional world from recent graduates.

    • Gives students a “heads-up” in discovering the ins and outs of politics, influence, accountabilities, etc. in a new job. Ex.___

    • Assessment Activities—Requires students to examine their own situations with a critical eye, and to chronicle events, attitudes, and knowledge that pertain to chapter concepts.

    • Walks students through the change process with this variety of short reinforcement activities that challenge students' thought and creativity and supports them until their new behavior becomes an unconscious habit. Ex.___

    • Personal Life Management Plan.

    • Promotes skill development and requires students to apply the chapter ideas to developing a plan for change in their own lives. Ex.___

    • Critical Thinking Cases and questions.

    • Provides immediate reinforcement of concepts and evokes critical thinking to applications outside straight textbook concepts. Ex.___

  • Practice Exercises.

    • Presents students with critical thinking activities involving recall, application, and situation analyses. Ex.___

  • Encouraging statements from the authors.

    • Affirms students' progress so far and urges continuation of the work begun in the unit. Ex.___

  • Internet sites—Lists and supports various needs that occur in the transition process.

    • Encourages students to use relevant, on-line resources that will be available to the new professionals long after they leave the educational experience. Ex.___

  • Charts, diagrams, and illustrations.

    • Supplies students with easy-to-understand conceptual models that clarify concepts and accommodate different learning styles. Ex.___

  • Chapters on Transitions and Life Changes.



 1. Transitions and Life Changes.


 2. Moving Toward Your Goals.


 3. Organizing Time and Tasks.


 4. Maintaining Growth.


 5. Creating a Positive Attitude.


 6. Improving Your Communication Style.


 7. Problem-Solving.


 8. Confronting Conflict.


 9. Self-Nurturing for Survival.


10. Self-Advocacy.


11. Developing a Support Network.


12. Maintaining Personal Relationships.


13. Launching Your Career.


14. Lifelong Career Management.


"The topics...are valuable in a practical kind of way, developmentally appropriate, and up-to-date. In fact, I applaud the author for including so many important aspects involved in transition management." — Allyson M. Tanouye, University of Hawaii at Manoa




"I like the integration of interviews, professional coaching techniques, and application." — Linda Bush, ITT Educational Services, Inc.




"The strengths of each chapter are readability, suitability, and practicality. Our students will love the layout, the format, and the writing style of this textbook. Too, the information is quite up-to-date and the topical coverage is excellent." — T. Clifford Bibb, Alabama State University




"The approach is in sync with the field of transition from college to the workplace." — Bruce Bloom, DeVry Institute of Technology


Sandra McKee's second book, Practical Project Management, is out under the Prentice Hall name. Just returned from her third industrial sabbatical, McKee keeps close tabs on the types of environments and situations the new graduate will find and has fresh, first-hand information on what is required to be successful in those situations. Her professional speaking, coaching, and consulting experiences continually present new situations and challenges in diverse fields, so she has regular exposure to a broad range of industry conditions. Her recent focused research and work with retired military persons making the transition to the civilian corporate world and with adults wrestling with attention deficit disorder bring valuable insights and conclusions to the content of the book. Sandra is a Senior Professor at DeVry Institute in Atlanta, Georgia.

Brenda Walters (B.C.S.W) provides advice to hospitals and treatment centers as a consultant for their mental health patient operations and personnel issues. As a private therapist, she works with clients at all levels, from high-ranking executives to line workers and service providers, giving her superior insight into interpersonal and relational issues in those environments. Directly tied to employee assistance program directors in large and small companies, Waiters is regularly called on to address employee performance problems on both an individual and group level. She has been interviewed on television and radio regarding her work, especially in the area of addictions, and has contributed to publications on the topic of stress management in sports competition. Brenda is a board-certified therapist in private practice in New Orleans, Louisiana.

This book is a roadmap to a satisfying life. Readers will receive guidance in the form of new insights and tools to help them as they face life-changing decisions, events, or circumstances, whether in their personal or career situation. Managing change as a transition to a higher level of satisfaction lets people move forward with their lives in a healthy way. Transition Management: A Practical Approach to Personal and Professional Development will facilitate that process by sharing the years of research and experience the authors have gained in helping clients and students do just that. Whether this book supports a college class, an industry training seminar, or an individual seeking to better direct his or her life, many features make it both useful and appealing:

  • A relaxed and engaging writing style for easy reading
  • Advice and insights from individuals on the other side of successful transitions
  • Life management skills that are readily applicable to daily life
  • Coach's Corner, where industry experts share valuable guidance, in each chapter
  • Real-life scenarios that evoke critical and thoughtful analysis
  • Trade secrets and first-hand experiences to increase career savvy
  • Goal-setting guidance to ensure positive direction for change

View a Sample Chapter PDF:

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Pearson Higher Education offers special pricing when you choose to package your text with other student resources. If you're interested in creating a cost-saving package for your students contact your Pearson Higher Education representative.


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