Management Skills

Management Skills

agarbandhu

In order to perform the functions of management and to assume multiple roles, managers must be skilled.

Three managerial skills

Robert Katz identified three managerial skills that are essential to successful management: -Technical,

-Human, and

-Conceptual.

Technical skill involves process or technique knowledge and proficiency. Managers use the processes, techniques and tools of a specific area.

Human skill involves the ability to interact effectively with people. Managers interact and cooperate with employees.

Conceptual skill involves the formulation of ideas. Managers understand abstract relationships, develop ideas, and solve problems creatively.

Thus, technical skill deals with things, human skill concerns people, and conceptual skill has to do with ideas.

A manager's level in the organization determines the relative importance of possessing technical, human, and conceptual skills.

Top level managers need conceptual skills in order to view the organization as a whole. Conceptual skills are used in planning and dealing with ideas and abstractions.

Supervisors need technical skills to manage their area of specialty.

All levels of management need human skills in order to interact and communicate with other people successfully.

As the pace of change accelerates and diverse technologies converge, new global industries are being created (for example, telecommunications). Technological change alters the fundamental structure of firms and calls for new organizational approaches and management skills.

Bojourn................!!!!!!!!!!!!!! agarbandhu

Managerial Roles

Managerial Roles

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To meet the many demands of performing their functions, managers assume multiple roles. A role is an organized set of behaviors.

Ten roles common to the work of all managers

Henry Mintzberg has identified ten roles common to the work of all managers.

The ten roles are divided into three groups: interpersonal, informational, and decisional.

The informational roles link all managerial work together.

The interpersonal roles ensure that information is provided.

The decisional roles make significant use of the information.

The performance of managerial roles and the requirements of these roles can be played at different times by the same manager and to different degrees depending on the level and function of management. The ten roles are described individually, but they form an integrated whole.
The three interpersonal roles are primarily concerned with interpersonal relationships. In the figurehead role, the manager represents the organization in all matters of formality.

The top level manager represents the company legally and socially to those outside of the organization.

The supervisor represents the work group to higher management and higher management to the work group.

In the liaison role, the manger interacts with peers and people outside the organization. The top level manager uses the liaison role to gain favors and information, while the supervisor uses it to maintain the routine flow of work.

The leader role defines the relationships between the manger and employees.

The three informational roles

The direct relationships with people in the interpersonal roles place the manager in a unique position to get information.

Thus, the three informational roles are primarily concerned with the information aspects of managerial work.

In the monitor role, the manager receives and collects information.

In the role of disseminator, the manager transmits special information into the organization.

The top level manager receives and transmits more information from people outside the organization than the supervisor.

In the role of spokesperson, the manager disseminates the organization's information into its environment. Thus, the top level manager is seen as an industry expert, while the supervisor is seen as a unit or departmental expert.

The unique access to information places the manager at the center of organizational decision making.

There are four decisional roles.

In the entrepreneur role, the manager initiates change.

In the disturbance handler role, the manger deals with threats to the organization.

In the resource allocator role, the manager chooses where the organization will expend its efforts.

In the negotiator role, the manager negotiates on behalf of the organization.

The top level manager makes the decisions about the organization as a whole, while the supervisor makes decisions about his or her particular work unit.

short-term outlook
The supervisor performs these managerial roles but with different emphasis than higher managers. Supervisory management is more focused and short-term in outlook. Thus, the figurehead role becomes less significant and the disturbance handler and negotiator roles increase in importance for the supervisor.

Since leadership permeates all activities, the leader role is among the most important of all roles at all levels of management.

Bojourn.............!!!!!!!!!!!!! agarbandhu

Management Levels

Management Levels

agarbandhu

The extent to which managers perform the functions of management - planning, organizing, directing, and controlling - varies by level in the management hierarchy.

The term supervisor could be applied at all management levels of the organization to those who direct the work of others. In common usage, however, the title tends to be used only in the first level of the management hierarchy. If an organization were divided into top, middle, and lower managerial levels, the term generally applies to the lower level.
Supervisors are managers whose major functions emphasize directing and controlling the work of employees in order to achieve the team goals. They are the only level of management managing non-managers. Thus, most of the supervisor's time is allocated to the functions of directing and controlling.

In contrast, top managers spend most of their time on the functions of planning and organizing. The top manager determines the mission and sets the goals for the organization. His or her primary function is long-range planning. Top management is accountable for the overall management of the organization. Middle management implements top management goals. Supervisors direct the actual work of the organization at the operating level.

Keystone in the Organization

The keystone view, identified by Professor Keith Davis, is many people's ideal of a supervisor's job. The comparison between an archway and an organization is very interesting. Without the keystone (supervisor), the arch (organization) collapses.

The keystone is the central topmost stone of an arch. It is an essential part because it takes the pressure of both sides, exerts pressure of its own and uses them to strengthen the overall arch.

The keystone supervisor is the main connector joining management and employees making it possible for each to perform effectively. Supervisors are the level of management linking the operations of each department to the rest of the organization. This view underscores the critical importance of developing people at all levels.

Employees need their jobs and want to know what is expected of them and how their work relates to the whole process. The supervisor is the point of contact in the satisfaction of these needs for employees. By his or her efforts toward productivity and efficiency, the supervisor helps make the company successful, which preserves and creates jobs. By interpreting policies and giving instructions and information and through normal, everyday contact with employees, the supervisor serves as the point of contact with management.

The keystone has determined that he or she will control the job instead of the job controlling him or her.

Thus, It is the confidence in self that will help determine the success of the manager.

Bojourn.............!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! agarbandhu

Managerial Functions

Managerial Functions

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Managers create and maintain an internal environment, commonly called the organization, so that others can work efficiently in it.

A manager's job consists of : planning, organizing, directing, and controlling the resources of the organization.

These resources include people, jobs or positions, technology, facilities and equipment, materials and supplies, information, and money. Managers work in a dynamic environment and must anticipate and adapt to challenges.

functions of management:
The job of every manager involves what is known as the functions of management: planning, organizing, directing, and controlling. These functions are goal-directed, interrelated and interdependent.

Planning involves devising a systematic process for attaining the goals of the organization. It prepares the organization for the future.

Organizing involves arranging the necessary resources to carry out the plan. It is the process of creating structure, establishing relationships, and allocating resources to accomplish the goals of the organization.

Directing involves the guiding, leading, and overseeing of employees to achieve organizational goals.

Controlling involves verifying that actual performance matches the plan. If performance results do not match the plan, corrective action is taken.

Bojourn...............!!!!!!!!!!!!!! agarbandhu

Today's Manager

Today's Manager

agarbandhu

The Industrial Revolution began in the eighteenth century and transformed the job of manager from owner-manager to professional, salaried manager.

Prior to industrialization, the United States was predominantly an agricultural society. The production of manufactured goods was still in the handicraft stage and consisted of household manufacturing, small shops, and local mills. The inventions, machines, and processes of the Industrial Revolution transformed business and management (such as, the use of fossil fuels as sources of energy, the railroad, the improvement of steel and aluminum metallurgical processes, the development of electricity, and the discovery of the internal-combustion engine.) With the industrial innovations in factory-produced goods, transportation, and distribution, big business came into being. New ideas and techniques were required for managing these large-scale corporate enterprises.

examples of control
Two large-scale institutions, the church and the military, served as examples of control for these new managers. Many of the management terms and techniques used today have their basis in ecclesiastical and military authority (for example, superior, subordinate, strategy, and mission). Military commanders need only give orders and then discharge, penalize, and demote those who do not carry them out and reward those who do.
transformation by high technology
Today, business and management continue to be transformed by high technology. In order to keep pace with the increased speed and complexity of business, new means of calculating, sorting and processing information were invented. An interesting description of the modern era is the Information Age that describes the general use of technology to transmit information.

Relevance of immediate knowledge of relevant information
Managers realized that they could profit from immediate knowledge of relevant information. The telegraph was the first instrument to transform information into electrical form over long distances. The telephone, radio, television, and computer expanded instant information. Computers store and handle a vast amount of data, automate manufacturing, and enhance modern communication systems. The mainframe in the 1970s, the PC in the 1980s and the office network in the first part of the 1990s were the platforms that drove massive product development and growth for the technology industry.

Communication and processing technologies are an essential tool in almost every field of business. The Internet, with its interconnection of millions of computers, has evolved to potentially become one of the greatest resources available to businesses today. The World Wide Web (www) offers access to vast information resources and an immense number of sites on the Internet. Managers can access, store and move digital information (voice, sound, text and numbers). Private corporate intranets provide a universal interface for sharing company-wide information and work group level information. Employees can access information, collaborate, and distribute results anywhere, anytime.

The computer and telecommunications industries continue to converge and have resulted in advances in two-way pagers, digital cellular service, desktop video-conferencing, portable satellite phones, mini-dishes and high-speed Internet access. Business documents include graphics and text on computers around the world, sound, video and simultaneous voice communications. Thus, the Information Age implies a time for a revolution in the information environment for business and management. The changes that are taking place may be more significant to management than the Industrial Revolution.

What organisations are ?

Organizations are two or more people working together in a structured, formal environment to achieve common goals. Managers provide guidance, implementation, and coordination so those organizational goals can be reached. The modern manager coaches employees of the organization to develop teamwork, which effectively fulfills their needs and achieves organizational objectives. The traditional autocratic organization with its hierarchical system of management and an overbearing "boss" that forces performance out of people is no longer needed. The modern manager provides an atmosphere of empowerment by letting workers make decisions and inspiring people to boost productivity.

Bojourn..............!!!!!!!!!!!!!! agarbandhu

Planning Process

Planning Process

agarbandhu

Leaders are proactive. They make change happen instead of reacting to change. The future requires corporate leadership with the skills to integrate many unexpected and seemingly diverse events into its planning.

Every organization must plan for change in order to reach its ultimate goal. Effective planning helps an organization adapt to change by identifying opportunities and avoiding problems. It sets the direction for the other functions of management and for teamwork.

Planning improves decision-making. All levels of management engage in planning.

Strategic Planning
Strategic planning produces fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it does, and why it does it. It requires broad-scale information gathering, an exploration of alternatives, and an emphasis on the future implications of present decisions.

Top level managers engage chiefly in strategic planning or long range planning. They answer such questions as "What is the purpose of this organization?" "What does this organization have to do in the future to remain competitive?"

Top level managers clarify the mission of the organization and set its goals. The output needed by top management for long range planning is summary reports about finances, operations, and the external environment.

Strategic planning is the process of developing and analyzing the organization's mission, overall goals, general strategies, and allocating resources. A strategy is a course of action created to achieve a long-term goal. The time length for strategies is arbitrary, but is probably two, three, or perhaps as many as five years.

It is generally determined by how far in the future the organization is committing its resources. Goals focus on desired changes. They are the ends that the organization strives to attain. Traditionally strategic planning has been done annually.

However, many companies are doing away with annual business plans altogether and moving to a system of continuous planning, to permit quicker response to changing conditions. Thus, the strategic plan involves adapting the organization to take advantage of opportunities in its constantly changing environment.

"digital strategy."
Philip Kotler suggest that strategic planning will be replaced by "digital strategy." They make the argument that business change originates with technology -- particularly with new computer-based products and services that transform industries, the way American Airlines' SABRE system transformed travel.

Top management must formulate digital strategies (software and digitally delivered services) that not only support business but also actually dictate how business is done.

The planning process is rational and amenable to the scientific approach to problem solving. It consists of a logical and orderly series of steps. Strategic planning sets the stage for the rest of the organization's planning.

The tasks of the strategic planning process include:
*Define the mission.

*Conduct a situation or SWOT analysis by assessing strengths and weaknesses and identifying opportunities and threats.

*Set goals and objectives.

*Develop related strategies (tactical and operational). *Monitor the plan.

Define the mission. A mission is the purpose of the organization. It is why the organization exists. Thus, planning begins with clearly defining the mission of the organization. The mission statement is broad, yet clear and concise, summarizing what the organization does. It directs the organization, as well as all of its major functions and operations, to its best opportunities. Then, it leads to supporting tactical and operational plans, which, in turn leads to supporting objectives.

A mission statement should be short - no more than a single sentence. It should be easily understood and every employee should be able to recite it from memory.

An explicit mission guides employees to work independently and yet collectively toward the realization of the organization's potential. The mission statement may be accompanied by an overarching statement of philosophy or strategic purpose intended to convey a vision for the future and an awareness of challenges from a top-level perspective.

Conduct a situation or SWOT analysis by assessing strengths and weaknesses and identifying opportunities and threats.

A situation or SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis is critical to the creation of any strategic plan. The SWOT analysis begins with a scan of the external environment.

Organizations must examine their situation in order to seek opportunities and monitor threats. Sources of information include customers (internal and external), suppliers, governments (local, state, federal, international), professional or trade associations (conventions and exhibitions), journals and reports (scientific, professional, and trade).

SWOT is the assumptions and facts on which a plan will be based. Analyzing strengths and weaknesses comprises the internal assessment of the organization.

Assess the strengths of the organization.

What makes the organization distinctive?

How efficient is our manufacturing?

How skilled is our workforce?

What is our market share?

What financing is available?

Do we have a superior reputation?

Assess the weaknesses of the organization.

What are the vulnerable areas of the organization that could be exploited?

(Are our facilities outdated? Is research and development adequate? Are our technologies obsolete?)

What does the competition do well?
Analyzing opportunities and threats comprises the external assessment of the environment. Identify opportunities.

In which areas is the competition not meeting customer needs?

(What are the possible new markets? What is the strength of the economy? Are our rivals weak? What are the emerging technologies? Is there a possibility of growth of existing market?)

Identify threats.

In which areas does the competition meet customer needs more effectively?

(Are there new competitors? Is there a shortage of resources?

Are market tastes changing? What are the new regulations? What substitute products exist?)

The best strategy is one that fits the organization's strengths to opportunities in the environment.

The SWOT analysis is used as a baseline for future improvement, as well as gap analysis. Comparing the organization to external benchmarks (the best practices) is used to assess current capabilities. Benchmarking systematically compares performance measures such as efficiency, effectiveness, or outcomes of an organization against similar measures from other internal or external organizations. This analysis helps uncover best practices that can be adopted for improvement. .

Benchmarking with other organizations can help identify a gap. Gap analysis identifies the progress required to move the organization from its current capabilities to its desired future state. In this way, the organization can adapt to the best practices to improve organizational performance.

Set goals and objectives. Strategic goals and objectives are developed to bridge the gap between current capability and the mission. They are aligned with the mission and form the basis for the action plans.

Objectives are sometimes referred to as performance goals. Generally, organizations have long-term objectives for such factors as return on investment, earnings per share, or size. Furthermore, they set minimum acceptable standards or common-sense minimums. In addition, certain limitations, either explicit or implicit, such as "must provide jobs for existing employees" may exist.

Objectives elaborate on the mission statement and constitute a specific set of policy, programmatic, or management objectives for the programs and operations covered in the strategic plan. They are expressed in a manner that allows a future assessment of whether an objective has been achieved.

Develop related strategies (tactical and operational). Tactical plans are based on the organization's strategic plan. In turn, operational plans are based on the organization's tactical plans. These are specific plans that are needed for each task or supportive activity comprising the whole.

Strategic, tactical, and operational planning must be accompanied by controls. Monitoring progress or providing for follow-up is intended to assure that plans are carried out properly and on time. Adjustments may need to be made to accommodate changes in the external and/or internal environment of the organization. A competitive advantage can be gained by adapting to the challenges.

Tactical Plans
Top level managers set very general, long-term goals that require more than one year to achieve. Examples of long-term goals include long-term growth, improved customer service, and increased profitability. Middle managers interpret these goals and develop tactical plans for their departments that can be accomplished within one year or less.

In order to develop tactical plans, middle management needs detail reports (financial, operational, market, external environment). Tactical plans have shorter time frames and narrower scopes than strategic plans. Tactical planning provides the specific ideas for implementing the strategic plan. It is the process of making detailed decisions about what to do, who will do it, and how to do it.

Operational Plans
Supervisors implement operational plans that are short-term and deal with the day-to-day work of their team. Short-term goals are aligned with the long-term goals and can be achieved within one year.

Supervisors set standards, form schedules, secure resources, and report progress. They need very detailed reports about operations, personnel, materials, and equipment. The supervisor interprets higher management plans as they apply to his or her unit.

Thus, operational plans support tactical plans. They are the supervisor's tools for executing daily, weekly, and monthly activities. An example is a budget, which is a plan that shows how money will be spent over a certain period of time.

Other examples of planning by supervisors include scheduling the work of employees and identifying needs for staff and resources to meet future changes. Resources include employees, information, capital, facilities, machinery, equipment, supplies, and finances.

Operational plans include policies, procedures, methods, and rules. The terms themselves imply different degrees of scope. A policy is a general statement designed to guide employees' actions in recurring situations. It establishes broad limits, provides direction, but permits some initiative and discretion on the part of the supervisor.

Thus, policies are guidelines. A procedure is a sequence of steps or operations describing how to carry out an activity and usually involves a group. It is more specific than a policy and establishes a customary way of handling a recurring activity.

Thus, less discretion on the part of the supervisor is permissible in its application. An example of a procedure is the sequence of steps in routing of parts. A method sets up the manner and sequence of accomplishing a recurring, individual task. Almost no discretion is allowed. An example of a method is the steps in cashing a check.

A rule is an established guide for conduct. Rules include definite things to do and not to do. There are no exceptions to the rules. An example of a rule is "No Smoking."

Monitor the plan. A systematic method of monitoring the environment must be adopted to continuously improve the strategic planning process. To develop an environmental monitoring procedure, short-term standards for key variables that will tend to validate the long-range estimates must be established. Although favorable long-range values have been estimated, short-term guidelines are needed to indicate if the plan is unfolding as hoped.

Next, criteria must be set up to decide when the strategy must be changed. Feedback is encouraged and incorporated to determine if goals and objectives are feasible. This review is used for the next planning cycle and review.

Key Concepts.
Benchmarking is the process of finding and adapting best practices to improve organizational performance.
Budget is a plan adjusting expenses to available income over a fixed time period.
Goal is the end that the organization strives to attain.
Method is a sequence of steps describing how to carry out an individual task.
Mission is an organization's purpose or reason for existing.
Operational Plans are short-term and deal with the daily, weekly, and monthly activities.
Plan is a scheme for accomplishing the goals of the organization.
Policy is a general statement designed to guide employees' actions in recurring situations.
Procedure is a sequence of steps describing how to carry out an activity involving group effort.
Rule is an established guide for conduct.
Strategic Planning is the process of developing and analyzing the organization's mission, overall goals, general strategies, and allocating resources.
Strategy is a course of action created to achieve a long-term goal.
Tactical Planning is the process of making detailed decisions about what to do, who will do it, and how to do it.

Bojourn.................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! agarbandhu

The Art Of Planning: Making Before Taking The Plunge

The Art Of Planning: Making Before Taking The Plunge

agarbandhu

In a time where most things are becoming quicker to do, to achieve and to receive, many people feel that the internet holds all the answers and can help take your life from the dark ages into a new age of instant gratification.

If you think that what I just said does not hold true, do a quick search for “make quick money” on our favourite search engine and take a quick peak at those 60 million results.

As you can see, some false hope has been sprayed around and people are beginning to think that the internet is the next gateway to 24 hour riches.

Whilst the aim of this post isn’t to slander every single Get Rich Quick Scheme out there, I wanted to focus on a method that could actually help you to develop not only income, but success, branding, marketing, content creation much more quickly than before (but still not overnight either).

The name of the game is planning.
And I think you’ve heard this buzzword before.
What Are The Benefits Of Planning?
Some talented individuals always make plans before starting anything new including a new website or internet business or before doing something as simple (or not) as a blog update. These people make sure they know every single step in detail before actually undertaking the project, even though this might cost them 5-10 minutes of their time.

For those skeptics who never plan, here’s a few reasons why you should:

The human memory isn’t bulletproof. I often forget things half-way through a task and try and rack my brains to search for the thing I was thinking about. By writing or typing a plan, you make sure that you don’t leave out an important part of the procedure, which could end up costing you more time in the longrun.

Allow ideas to brew. This point is especially useful in content creation. By jotting down a plan of your next blog post, you can let your ideas brew, and don’t have the pressure of trying to write a post on the spur of the moment, something that guarantees a lack of quality.

Be more productive. Whilst planning takes up some of the precious “action time”, in the longrun, it can actually help you to organize your activities and to make sure you perform the most useful activites whilst you’re in the groove. Our guru ji always mentions making a plan before undertaking any task, so you should too.

How Do I Make My Plan?
Once you’ve decided that planning really is necessary before you take the plunge, then the next step would be to decide how you are going to make that plan. In the world today, there are 2 places where you can write down pre-thoughts; on a screen or on a piece of paper.

jotting things down in rough book
It’s up to you which one you use, I myself personally prefer jotting things down in my rough book .The advantages of doing this, is that you get to step away from the screen a bit (which in turn uses less power), but at the same time, you’re using paper. So from an environmental perspective, you’re doomed both ways. Find out whichever one works for you - experiment a little.

Once you’ve decided upon the medium, it’s time to decide upon the method. Here are a few methods that I’ve used in the past:
1. Spider Diagrams - This method was great, as it allowed me to link factors together, to continually add on top of the ideas I had already formed for the post, and it inevitably led me to realize that I could put together a great series, instead of a single post.
2. The Simple List - ideal for planning events or continuous steps (again great for Wordpress Upgrades). Planning this will help you get rid of uncertainty and will make sure you carry out the task in the quickest time possible. This technique is great also for creating social media linkbait.
3. Flowcharts - again a flowchart can be awesome for planning an event or for detailing your workday. These can also be more visually attractive, helping to detract from that boring, planning experience.

Again, I’ve only detailed a few pieces of opinion here, but the key here is to continually trial and improve upon your planning techniques.

Once you’ve mastered the art of planning, not only will your productivity shoot up, but you’ll be left with more time to focus on aspects of your website, blog or company that are lagging behind and which are causing you to lose potential gains.

Patching up these leaks will guide you to success; sooner rather than later.

Bojourn..................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! agarbandhu

Top 10 Things to Know about Collaboration

Top 10 Things to Know about Collaboration

agarbandhu

Collaboration is a powerful commodity. Collaboration creates powerful results! Collaboration generates a synergy that's moving and inspirational. The synergy in a powerful collaboration creates outcomes bigger and better than what we can create on our own.

1. Collaboration is what happens when we *step outside of our selves* and honor the space we share more than where we each individually come from. Collaboration is what we create when we come together.

2. There is no "i" in team. Powerful collaboration requires leaving our egos behind and putting what occurs between us first. Collaboration requires teamwork, knowing one's purpose and roles, and crystal clear communication skills. It means valuing the collaboration more than the things that get in its way.

3. Acknowledge and appreciate the space that collaboration emerges from and thrives in, and make a commitment to creating that space! Yes, even if it takes work to do so. (It's difficult to be generous when our own needs aren't being met.)

4. Collaboration requires openness. It requires openness to the other as well as to oneself. Be open to the magic that can emerge when interacting with another and there you'll find the seeds of collaboration.

5. Collaboration requires a context of acceptance and shared values. It means sharing a commitment to the goal, outcome and process the collaboration lives within. It means paying attention to the we as much as the I as a context for growth and development. Life unfolds in proportion to the context that we create for it.

6. Collaboration isn't only about outcomes and benefits ­ at its essence, it's about contribution. Stop playing the *success* game, which has an opposite: failure. Contribution has no opposite! Focus on shared goals and vision from the perspective of contribution for maximum effectiveness.

7. Collaboration sets the stage for a universe of possibilities. Our universe of possibility increases exponentially when we're in collaboration with others.

8. Collaboration is the synergy of multiple elements coming together, complementing each other's strengths, challenges, approaches and styles, while moving together towards a goal. This requires agility in communication and responsiveness, as well as an ability to see the world from the perspective of another.

9. A collaborative environment hastens our individual transformation. When we're around others who challenge, inspire and bring out our best, we evolve more quickly. Working with others who stimulate us brings out our strengths and minimizes our weaknesses.

10. Collaboration requires a leap of faith ­ jump in before you know the outcome! Facing one's fears and living from acceptance, as well as a commitment to a higher good are prerequisites for meaningful collaboration to emerge.

Bojourn................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! agarbandhu

Top 10 Qualities of an Excellent Manager

Top 10 Qualities of an Excellent Manager

agarbandhu

An excellent manager taps into talents and resources in order to support and bring out the best in others. An outstanding manager evokes possibility in others.

1. Creativity : Creativity is what separates competence from excellence. Creativity is the spark that propels projects forward and that captures peoples' attention. Creativity is the ingredient that pulls the different pieces together into a cohesive whole, adding zest and appeal in the process.

2. Structure : The context and structure we work within always have a set of parameters, limitations and guidelines. A stellar manager knows how to work within the structure and not let the structure impinge upon the process or the project. Know the structure intimately, so as to guide others to effectively work within the given parameters. Do this to expand beyond the boundaries.

3. Intuition : Intuition is the capacity of knowing without the use of rational processes; it's the cornerstone of emotional intelligence. People with keen insight are often able to sense what others are feeling and thinking; consequently, they're able to respond perfectly to another through their *deeper understanding. * The stronger one's intuition, the stronger manager one will be.

4. Knowledge : A thorough knowledge base is essential. The knowledge base must be so ingrained and integrated into their being that they become *transparent, * focusing on the employee and what s/he needs to learn, versus focusing on the knowledge base. The excellent manager lives from a knowledge base, without having to draw attention to it.

5. Commitment : A manager is committed to the success of the project and of all team members. S/he holds the vision for the collective team and moves the team closer to the end result. It's the manager's commitment that pulls the team forward during trying times.

6. Being Human Employees value leaders who are human and who don't hide behind their authority. The best leaders are those who aren't afraid to be themselves. Managers who respect and connect with others on a human level inspire great loyalty.

7. Versatility : Flexibility and versatility are valuable qualities in a manager. Beneath the flexibility and versatility is an ability to be both non-reactive and not attached to how things have to be. Versatility implies an openness ­ this openness allows the leader to quickly *change on

a dime* when necessary. Flexibility and versatility are the pathways to speedy responsiveness.

8. Lightness : A stellar manager doesn't just produce outstanding results; s/he has fun in the process! Lightness doesn't impede results but rather, helps to move the team forward. Lightness complements the seriousness of the task at hand as well as the resolve of the team, therefore contributing to strong team results and retention.

9. Discipline/Focus : Discipline is the ability to choose and live from what one pays attention to. Discipline as self-mastery can be exhilarating! Role model the ability to live from your intention consistently and you'll role model an important leadership quality.

10. Big Picture, Small Actions : Excellent managers see the big picture concurrent with managing the details. Small actions lead to the big picture; the excellent manager is skillful at doing both: think big while also paying attention to the details.

Bojourn.............!!!!!!!!!!!!!! agarbandhu

Don't Say "Yes" When You mean "No"

Don't Say "Yes" When You mean "No"

agarbandhu

Learn to say "no"…and also to accept a "no"

Managing things is simple when you learn to say no, and also develop the habit of accepting "no" even when others say it.

Each one of us has a capacity to do a small number of jobs and this has to be kept in mind.Similarly, the people with whom we deal – superiors and subordinates – have limited capacities.

keep this fact in mind

If we are to reduce our pressures, we must keep this fact in mind while accepting assignments or giving assignments to others. Let us not forget that we get stressful when we are not able to do the assigned jobs or when others to whom we have assigned jobs are not able to do what they had agreed to. Think before you give commitments. It just requires common sense.

Frankness

Frankness hurts in the beginning but in the later stages it helps you in building your reputation. It reduces your stress and also the stress of others.Follow this policy for 180 days. If necessary, carry out mid-course corrections.

For example, when your boss gives some instruction, you are tempted to say "yes" because you do not want to annoy or disappoint him. Similarly, in other circumstances, you do not want to hurt the feelings of others because you think you are a nice guy.

"No" is the least used word and is the root cause of a majority of problems everywhere in the world.
When you decide to get drunk, you have decided to become stressful the next day. Remember, one NO at the right time would have given you happiness for yourself and your loved ones. When you skip 300 NOS, you become alcoholic and stressful for years.

Very often, a clear and distinct "no" can save a hundred heartaches!Each one of us must learn to say no – tactfully.

Bojourn........ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! agarbandhu

5 - MINUTE MANAGEMENT LESSONS

agarbandhu

Lesson 1:
A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor. Before she says a word, Bob says, "I'll give you $800 to drop that towel, " After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, "Who was that?" "It was Bob the next door neighbor," she replies. "Great," the husband says, "did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?"

Moral of the story If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time,you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

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Lesson 2:

A priest offered a Nun a lift. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg. The nun said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest apologized "Sorry sister but the flesh is weak." Arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went on her way. On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129 It said, "Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory."

Moral of the story If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.

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Lesson 3:

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, "I'll give each of you just one wish." "Me first! Me first!" says the admin clerk. "I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world." Puff! She's gone. "Me next! Me next!" says the sales rep. "I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life." Puff! He's gone. "OK, you're up," the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, "I want those two back in the office after lunch."

Moral of the story Always let your boss have the first say.

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Lesson 4:

An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing?" The eagle answered: "Sure , why not." So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

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Lesson 5:

A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey,"but I haven't got the energy." "Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. They're packed with nutrients." The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree.
The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree. He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.

Moral of the story BullShit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

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Lesson 6:

A little bird was flying south for the Winter.It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was.The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Morals of this story

(1) Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy.

(2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.

(3) And when you're in deep shit, it's best to keep your mouthshut!

Bojourn...............!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!agarbandhu

The art of Leadership

The art of Leadership
agarbandhu

Leadership means setting aside personal desires
Subordinates will often quote their superior's directives in terms of his wishes. They will say, "Mr. Gupta wants us to do (so and so)."

In fact, if Mr. Gupta is at all worthy of his position, he will confine his wants, if any, to his private life. When on the job, he will think of it only in terms of what is needed to get the job done well. As he expects his subordinates to be obedient to him, so he himself should try to be obedient to whatever the circumstances call for. Always he should ask himself, not, "What would I like?" but rather, "What do I feel is needed?" and, "What is right?" He might even phrase the question thus: "What is trying to happen?" For there is a tide in every activity that transcends human dreams and expectations.

Great leaders recognize that they can only catch that tide at its height, and ride with it: They cannot create the tide. While not allowing him to be guided by his personal feelings, however, the leader must keep himself open at least to consider the feelings of others, especially those of his subordinates.

sacrifice of leadership

This is, quite simply, the sacrifice of leadership. For the feelings of others must be recognized as a factor in the formula of "What is trying to happen?" Unless he can win support for his ideas, the best project may amount to nothing, since there will be no one to give it sufficient energy for the project to succeed.

Remember, then, that leadership means:

1. To consider the team more important than the product. Remember, a good team can develop many products.

2. Not allowing your decisions to be influenced by personal likes and dislikes. The more you do so, the narrower your vision will become. Other people's likes and dislikes, however, are a necessary part of the reality you have to work with.

3. Inviting cooperation from others, rather than demanding their obedience. You can always, as the leader, enforce obedience. You will do so, however, at the cost of their willing and loyal support. Without these - indeed, without enthusiasm on their part - you will never receive their best efforts.

4. Enthusiasm: winning others to your ideas by the joy you yourself feel in them.

5. Doing willingly whatever needs to be done.


What is True Success? : The Art of Supportive Leadership :

The definitions of success are legion, as are also the techniques for reaching it. Perhaps the most important "rule" of all is this simply principle: The outcome of any project always reveals, however subtly, the kind of energy that went into its development.

A work of art reveals not only the skill, but also the consciousness, the basic attitudes, the philosophy of life, of the artist. A place of business reveals the general attitudes of its workers: their happiness or unhappiness, their confidence or frustration.

A leader who leads truly, and never drives others, will create in his subordinates the most constructive possible attitudes, and will ensure the best possible long-range results for his and their labors. The true success of an undertaking depends, more than anything else, on the spirit of the people involved in it. And the spirit of those people is a reflection, always, of the spirit of its leader.

In your role as leader or coworker, consider practicing the following principles:

1. Think of your position as an opportunity to serve, not as a trumpet call to self-importance.

2. Hold always to the principle, “People are more important than things.” If you hold to this principle, those who work with you will always give you their best.

3. Give loyalty to those under you, instead of demanding it first of them. Be loyal to those who work for you, whatever their position on the “totem pole.” Loyalty inspires loyalty. By demanding loyalty of others first, you’ll develop “yes men,” and the burden of every decision will rest on you alone.

4. Share with others the credit for any work well done. You will then have their support in all you do. Support is given grudgingly to the leader who claims, “I did it all.” Take from others the burden of blame. For even if the fault was theirs, in renouncing responsibility you renounce your leadership.


Leadership Is Not an 'Ego Game'

What does leadership mean to you?

Does it give you a thrill to think of others looking up to you, awaiting breathlessly for your slightest, but ever-wise, decision; or leaping to carry out your least, but always-firm, command?

If a leader glories in the importance of his position, he will infect his subordinates with the same attitude. Never will he be able to inspire in them the dedication which can bring a project to success. What is important in every creative expression, including that of creative leadership, is not to allow one's creative flow to be blocked by the thought of "I." If one's concentration is on "I, the great inventor," or, "I, the great poet," or, "I, the great general," one's creativity will become blocked by the ego. But if, on the contrary, one's energy-flow is directed outward–toward the thing one wants to invent, or the song one hopes to write or the war one intends to win, one's creative energy becomes liberated, and the flow toward success is assured.

Leadership, then, must be focused on the job to be done. Your own role in the completion of a task should not be the focus of your attention, however vital that role may be to the task itself. The greater one's mental emphasis on himself as the doer, the less he will be able to accomplish–whether as a leader or in any other capacity. The greater his mental emphasis, on the other hand, on the job to be done, the more likely he will be to succeed.

Remember then, that successful leadership depends upon:

1. Being impersonal where your own well-being is concerned, but personally concerned for the well-being of others.

2. Listening to what is really trying to happen in every situation. Be always ready to learn. You'll never lose face, if all you want is the truth.

3. Working with things as they are, not as you wish they were, nor as you think they ought to be: for the "impossible" dream can be attained only in possible stages.

4. Working with others' abilities as they are: not as you wish they were, nor as you think they ought to be.

5. Far-sightedness: gazing beyond

Leadership is an art
Genuine leadership is of only one type: supportive.

It leads people: It doesn’t drive them.

It involves them: It doesn’t coerce them.

It never loses sight of the most important principle governing any project involving human beings: namely, that people are more important than things. Leadership is an art. Bad leadership is usually due more to clumsiness than to ill will. Any tailor knows you can’t merely jam a thread through the eye of a needle.

The same is true of any art. One cannot bluster. One must attune himself sensitively to the requirements of the medium he is using. My hope in these articles is to help people in positions of leadership to see their roles, not as "big shots," but as artists whose medium is the dynamics of human cooperation. Because the suggestions offered are people-oriented rather than job-oriented, they will prove helpful as well to anyone whose lot it is to work with others: parents, for example, in raising their children; teachers interested in drawing the best out of their students; salesmen seeking to interest their customers in the products they sell; or anyone wanting to win others to a point of view.

Even people who live and work alone may find suggestions for drawing the best out of themselves.

In your role as leader, parent or friend, consider these principles:

1. Make truth your "bottom line." Remember, truth alone wins in the end.

2. Bear the larger picture always in mind. Ask yourself, "What are we really trying to accomplish?" Remember: Many a short-termed triumph has blocked the attainment of a long-term goal.

3. Remember also that leadership means even-mindedness: not being elated by success, nor depressed by failure, but simply doing your best, and letting the results take care of themselves. Let nothing that happens affect who you are, inside.

4. Concentrate on what you are doing, not on yourself as the doer. Your ego can either infuse a project with energy, or hinder its execution, depending on whether you give the project energy, or hold it spinning in a vortex of self-adulation.

5. Never ask of others what you would not willingly do yourself. There are leaders, and there are bosses. Be one who leads, not one who drives others.

Bojourn............. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! agarbandhu

Is Leading Different than Managing?

Is Leading Different than Managing?
agarbandhu

Traditional views of management
Traditional views of management associate it with four major functions: planning, organizing, leading and controlling/coordinating. However, many educators, practitioners and writers disagree with this traditional view

View That Separating "Leading" from "Managing" Can Be Destructive

Another view is that to be a very effective member of an organization (whether executive, middle manager, or entry-level worker), you need skills in the functions of planning, organizing, leading and coordinating activities -- the key is you need to be able to emphasize different skills at different times.

Yes, leading is different than planning, organizing and coordinating because leading is focused on influencing people, while the other functions are focused on "resources" in addition to people. But that difference is not enough to claim that "leading is different than managing" any more than one can claim that "planning is different than managing" or "organizing is different than managing".

The assertion that "leading is different than managing" -- and the ways that these assertions are made -- can cultivate the view that the activities of planning, organizing and coordinating are somehow less important than leading.

The assertion can also convince others that they are grand and gifted leaders who can ignore the mere activities of planning, organizing and coordinating -- they can leave these lesser activities to others with less important things to do in the organization.

This view can leave carnage in organizations.

Bojourn.............!!!!!!!!!!! agarbandhu

What is Business management ?

What is Business management ?

agarbandhu

Business management is the process of the planning, co-ordination and control of a business. To survive in the long run, a business must be profitable and liquid. To do so, it must create sufficient value for its customers so that its revenues exceed its total costs. The overall task of business management is to address successfully the problems that confront a business in its role as a value-creating organization.

In addition to their problem-solving abilities and skills, business managers must have knowledge and expertise in the seven functional areas of business: production, marketing, finance, accounting, human resources, management information systems, and product research and development. Moreover, top management must be able to co-ordinate these activities within the business so as to maximize the value of the business to its shareholders and its other stakeholders, such as employees, suppliers, customers and the surrounding community.

Areas of Business Management

Production managers purchase and take inventory of raw materials and semifinished inputs, manage the use of these inputs in the production process, and control final goods inventory and the shipping, transportation and distribution of final products.

Marketing managers conduct of market research to determine which products, at which prices and quantities and with which characteristics, will create value for consumers. They also manage the advertising, promotion and sales of the firm's products.

Finance managers raise capital for the firm from external sources, such as the stock market (see STOCK AND BOND MARKETS), banks (see BANKING), individuals and the PUBLIC DEBT market, and manage the internal allocation of funds within the firm. They also evaluate capital expenditures for plant and equipment and for research and development.

Management accountants collect and evaluate cost data on the wages and salaries of a firm's employees, equipment and materials inputs, and its various sources of capital. They combine these data with revenue data to determine the firm's profits, its assets and liabilities, fund-flow needs and tax liabilities (See ACCOUNTING).

Human resource managers help make hiring decisions, conduct training, co-ordinate the evaluation and reward systems within the firm, and chart and manage the careers of the firm's employees.

Research and development managers develop new process technologies to increase production efficiency and new product technologies to expand the range, quality and performance of the firm's products (See INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT; SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT).

Information systems managers manage information flows within the firm and between the firm and its suppliers and customers. Increasingly, they also provide access to the wealth of data available via the INTERNET.

The firm's overall business strategy and how it is implemented are crucial to its success. Top managers assess the strengths and weaknesses of the firm in relation to other firms in its industry (or industries) both at home and abroad; set the firm's objectives and goals; formulate and implement the firm's strategy; assess the success of the firm in creating value for its various stakeholders relative to its competitors; and, if necessary, over time revise its basic competitive strategies.

One of the most important aspects of business management is to ensure that all employees possess the information, skills, attitudes and motivation to use their full potential to achieve the firm's strategic goals. Top management influences the corporate management style, the corporate culture of interpersonal relationships and values within the firm.

Top management, sometimes with the assistance of the firm's government and community relations departments, is also responsible for the management of the firm's relations with the various levels of government and the general public.

Bojourn.................... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! agarbandhu

Nature of Management

Nature of Management
agarbandhu

Students, let us begin with first understanding what management is all about.

In order to understand management, we will first define who a manager is:
• A manager is someone who works with and through other people by coordinating their work activities in order to accomplish organizational goals – Robbins & Coulter.

• Which means that - Managers work in organizations.

Now let us try to understand what is the concept of an organization:

• An organization is a systematic arrangement of people brought together to accomplish some specific purpose – Robbins & Decenzo.

• Organizations are social arrangements for the controlled performance of collective goals –

Misc. thoughts..................
• Every organization has a purpose and is made up of people who are grouped in some fashion.

• The distinct purpose of an organization is typically expressed in terms of a goal or a set of goals.

• All organizations are put together and kept together by a group of people who are responsible for helping them achieve their goals. These people are called managers.

What do managers do in organizations? : Managers practice management.

• Managers give direction to their organizations, provide leadership, and decide how to use
organizational resources to accomplish goals. – Peter Drucker

• This brings us to the question – What is management?

• The art of getting things done through people. - Mary Parker Follet

• Management refers to the process of getting things done, effectively and efficiently, through and with other people.

• Efficiency means the ability to do things right, and refers to the relationship between inputs and outputs. In the context of the organization, it refers to the proper utilization of resources. These input resources are Men (people), Materials, Machinery (equipment), and Money.

• Effectiveness means doing the right things. In an organization, that translates into goal attainment.

Efficiency and Effectiveness in Management
• Does that mean that everyone who works for an organization is a manager? :

• Everyone who works for an organization is not a manager.

• Operatives are people who work directly on a job or task and have no responsibility of overseeing the work of others. They are not managers.

• Managers direct the activities of other people in the organization. However, some managers have operative responsibilities themselves.

Scope of Management
• We will now delve deeper in order to understand what are all the scope of the activities performed by managers in organizations.

• Managers must make decisions to establish the purpose of the organization and to perform a variety of activities to make the goal a reality.

• All organizations have collective or shared goals, over and above the individual goals of their members, for the achievement of which the organization is responsible to its owners and stakeholders.

• The collective goals of the organization can be achieved by controlling the activities being performed by the individual members of the organization.

This controlled performance means that:

(a) The collective goals are known and understood by all members - planning;

(b) The necessary resources are obtained and utilized efficiently - implementation;

(c) The performance can be controlled and measured to determine the extent of reaching the goals - control.

In order to implement the plan by utilizing obtaining and utilizing the necessary
• Let us now classify managers in the organization.
• Managers are customarily classified vertically in organizations as top, middle, or first-line managers.
• First-line managers are usually called supervisors. They are responsible for directing the day-today activities of operative employees.
• Middle managers manage other managers – and possibly some operative employees – and are typically responsible for translating the goals set by top management into specific details that lower-level managers can perform.
• Top managers are responsible for making decisions about the direction of the organization and establishing policies that affect all organizational members.
• The other major difference in management jobs occurs horizontally across the organization:
• Functional managers are responsible for departments that perform a single functional task and have employees with similar training and skills. Functional departments include manufacturing, marketing, finance, and human resources.
• Line managers are responsible for the manufacturing and marketing departments that make or sell the product or service.
• Staff managers are in charge of departments such as finance and human resources that support line departments.
• General managers are responsible for several departments that perform different functions. Project managers also have general management responsibility, because they coordinate people across several departments to accomplish a specific project.

The Process of Management
• We have now reached the stage where we can describe and categorize what exactly managers do in organizations and exactly how they do this.
• In the early twentieth century, the French industrialist Henri Fayol wrote that all managers perform five management activities of planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling referred to as management process or functions of management.
• Planning encompasses defining an organization’s goals, establishing an overall strategy for achieving those goals, and developing a comprehensive hierarchy of plans to integrate and coordinate activities.
• Organizing includes determining what tasks are to be done, who is to do them, how the tasks are to be grouped, who reports to whom, and where decisions are to be made.
• Fayol called commanding as ‘maintaining activity among the personnel’. It involves instructing and motivating subordinates to carry out tasks.
• Coordinating is the task of harmonizing the activities of individuals and groups within the organization, reconciling differences in approach, timing and resource requirements in the interest of overall organizational objectives.
• Controlling is the task of monitoring the activities of individuals and groups, to ensure that their performance is in accordance with the plans, standards and objectives set for them. Deviations must be identified and corrected.

Bojourn............................!!!!!!!!!!!!!agarbandhu