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Friday, July 23, 2010

How to Avoid Managing a Negative Office Environment

Employees that are relaxed and happy in their working environment tend to work harder and are more solid in their performance. Obviously as a manager it is not your responsibility to fulfill every wish and dream of the employee in order to achieve this. It is worth remembering that happiness is often comparative. An employee who has worked in a very negative environment will benefit from a few simple things you can do as a manager to make a positive space.

As a manager it is necessary to be transparent as possible. Employees will respect that some things cannot be discussed due to their confidential business nature. It is however important to ensure that everything else is discussed and you appear open with your staff. People do not like surprises and if some sort of change is going to happen then include the staff in discussions on the reasons for the change and possible solutions. Staff who are included in discussions will feel respected and that they have an active participation in decisions surrounding their working life.

While being as transparent as possible, attempt to be as honest as possible. People are aware that you cannot always make decisions that make them happy, but will respect your honesty about why a decision was made. If you are seen as a manager who is dishonest then the staff will talk amongst themselves and may rally together against you. I once worked in an office where the staff would regularly go out to lunch together and talk about their irritations with the manager. Their dislike for his behaviour unified them in hatred, but did not induce them to increase their performance.

This led to a negative office which felt very oppressive since it was fuelled more by active dislike than teamwork. It is particularly important to create a positive environment when negative people are present in it. Sarcastic and depressive people do tend to suck in everyone around them thus spreading the misery. As a manager it is your responsibility to ensure that staff can see that these people are not justified in their assessment.

At all costs avoid favouritism and confidantes from within the people you manage. If one person is seen to be a favourite and this is not based on merit then this will cause resentment for the manager and that person. Teamwork is important when creating a positive environment and if some team members are resented or not trusted then it is counter-productive. It is also the case that employees will recognise that your decisions about promotions and work etc. are not based on performance and they will have no incentive to work harder for you. Rewards such as promotions, responsibilities and particularly coveted items of work should be given to staff that merit the responsibility. If there is an employee who you regularly confide in, similar resentment will ensue since you are not managing people with equality.

The surroundings in which people work are very important. Offices that tend to have clients coming in regularly are usually decorated to a higher standard to give a good impression. Do not underestimate the benefits of creating a positive physical environment for your staff after all it is likely they are spending at least thirty seven hours there a week. If they dread coming in then you will not enjoy their best performance. Make sure that all staff are comfortable at their desks. A few plants and pictures can generate an appealing area to work in.

The key to avoiding a negative working environment is to ensure that staff are aware that you are also managing their own needs as well as the needs of the company as a whole. Hold regular reviews which emphasise the positive achievements and adopt a congratulatory and encouraging stance towards the work. When a staff member does something right, make sure that they and everyone else knows it. If the leader of the working environment is positive then this will filter through to staff as people feel encouraged and valued.

Show that you care about them as people and take a personal interest in their comfort. Ensure that they take regular breaks for example and if possible provide a place for this to happen. With these simple steps a positive working environment can ensure that happy staff are working hard and productivity will increase.

Monday, June 7, 2010

The Process of Organizational Change Management

In this day and age, companies are constantly seeking ways to improve their relationships with their employees and provide better forms of communication to them. Change management provides a new way of creating an atmosphere of improvements and advancement. This also means providing a much needed plan of change in any given organization. When looking at change management, many forms can come to ones mind. The most common form of the word change management refers to the organizational change management. The process of organizational change management is the process of developing a planned approach to change in an organization.

Typically the objective is to maximize the collective benefits for all the people or employees involved in the change and minimize the risk of failure of implementing the change. Also ensuring that the change is addressed as simply as possible and without apprehension. The basics of change management deal primarily with the human aspect of change, and are related to pure and industrial psychology.

Furthermore, in regards to change management it can be classified as reactive or proactive. If the change management is considered to be reactive the case management is responding to the changes that occur in the macro-environment. However, if it is considered to be proactive the case management is responsible for imitating a change that will achieve the desired goal. Furthermore, change management can be processed on a regular basis or even on a program by program basis. Change management can be reached by using a number of different angles and applied to a various number of the organizational processes. Information technology management, strategic management, and process management, are most commonly used when enforcing change management.

In order to receive the best results, change management must be multi-disciplinary, meaning that it should touch all aspects of the organization. This also consists of dealing with all the aspects of human behavior and the attitude towards change. However, at its core, implementing new procedures, technologies, and overcoming resistance to change are fundamentally human resource management issues. To really grasp a change management process in the business, the company must provide emerging evidence from systems thinking and complexity science which will indicate large systems that will show a different behavior than their single parts.

In this process the system theory talks about organizations as "non-trivial machines", in the non-trivial machines, their behavior cannot be predicted or calculated by a computer. The latest sciences are applied to organizational development and change. In this area the change management is done in Appreciative Inquiry, Open Space Technology, and Systemic Constellations. Each company must determine the best method of originations change management that is the simplest for them to implement with the least resistance from the employees. Change is like knives, which either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or the handle.

Jerome Cedicci is renowned Real Estate Developer in USA; Robin Trehan is an M&A Expert. He can be reached at contact@creditcapitalfunding.com
www.creditcapitalfunding.com
By Robin Trehan

The Key Alignment of Change Management

Some project managers thought change management is a stand - alone initiative where it becomes a daily reality. The introduction of new technologies, new legislation, new ideas, new management, new customers, new global competitors, new geopolitical shocks/crises, new investors, etc., force organizations to change the way they do business. The American Management Association in 2006 did a survey concluded the following:

"1,400 executives and managers and found that 82% of them reported that the pace of change experienced by their organizations has increased compared with five years ago. Further, 7 out of 10 noted their organizations experienced disruptive change during the last year."

Certainly project managers need to accept the fact that organizational change is inevitable and won’t be stable forever! Organizations these days constantly need to seek to adapt keeping pace with new demands, otherwise they will run the risk of under-performing in the market and, ultimately, being forced out, from there I note that project managers probably require specific training to become truly effective proactive Change managers.

One of the PMP says: "Most project managers measured the success of projects (as project delivered) by the three traditional criteria of cost, quality, and schedule (based on PMI methodology). These three traditional values fall short today because the importance of stakeholder / customer satisfaction is being recognized as more important that any of the traditional measures. That is, the project is considered a success if the project stakeholders are happy with the results", in my opinion definitely I agree BUT along with considering the recognized traditional measures of PMI, Setting stakeholder expectations and assembling the appropriate project team is the first and most important phase of change management.
Perhaps we need to provide everyone with a concrete reason for the change. If not, we go for lack of adoption, give those that do accept change incentives and rewards. This will encourage them to persuade others to adopt the idea of change; change management must be looked at as something more than just a problem to solve, it must have a unique set of solutions for each individual project. It won't help to group the proposed change with every other issue that the organization is facing.

Future is part of change management process if what we do in any project celebrates success, this is a good time to rely on the project's results and determine how we got there by asking our selves, Did team members work well and deliver the goal? Did they follow the rules of your change management process? The most important challenge for organization’s implementing such change is to achieve the cultural or behavioral change that is often required to reach the planned benefits, even when it is approved that change is required.

Successful change projects will identify and communicate the vision, letting the employees know they are expected and empowered to play an active role in realizing the planned benefits, therefore change management is not the goal in itself.

An overall comparison with change management and project management in tasks achieving, project management tasks like create work breakdown structure, estimate time and schedule, assign and level resources and build detailed budget completed by the project manager himself, although prepare change management plans, communicate the business reasons for change, build a coalition of leaders to drive the change and manage resistance completed by change management team member and sponsor, change management, therefore, is not simply a collection of processes and tools applied by a change manager or a change management team, but is the implementation of processes and tools that are applied by key players in the organization.

We may redefine the meaning of change management as following:
"Change management is the creation and implementation of the roles, processes and tools that each of these groups use to effectively manage the people side of change."
An example of planning process of change management is often conducted by a change management team in a project to build customized strategy and approach based on the specific change and groups being impacted.

A core aspect of project manager’s role is to manage change within the project successfully; this is achieved by understanding the business and system drivers requiring the change, documenting the benefits and costs of adopting the change and formulating structured plan for implementing the change within the alignment of the new concept of change management defined in this article.
By Dr.Mohamed Selim El kayyali

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Management Consulting

What do Management Consultants do exactly? If you have always wanted to become a consultant, you should really know what it would entail...Learn more about Management Consulting...Management consulting also known as strategic consulting refers to the industry that helps organizations to improve their performance through detailed analysis of existing challenges faced by the business and propose development plans for improvement. Many organizations seek the services of management consultants to gain an external perspective and objective advice sans personal bias.

Management consulting primarily involves assessing an organization’s current and potential areas of opportunity, propose strategic plans and guide the organization to strengthen or expand their employee and client base, create decision-support systems that eliminates a fair amount of risk from decision making. It aims to help an organization to develop the roadmap to achieve their chosen level of growth and development and to achieve their proposed objectives in a planned manner. Managing an organization is tough as it encounters complex problems and faces tough competition. When an organization hires management consulting services, it enhances the management decision making process and helps in improving the business process. Management consultants ensure the growth and bottom line of the business through transforming strategies.

Management consultants offer their services in various domains such as area strategy, marketing and sales, organization, operations, innovation, project management, process design and customer management. High-quality services improve customer satisfaction and increase their competitive edge.

High Impact Services
Management consultants provide services that have a high impact on the business. They assess the current status of the company in terms of the company’s goals and objectives, human resources, performance records till date, company revenue, market share and positioning. After a thorough analysis of various aspects of the organization, they advise and design programs to fill the gaps between the current levels to the desired levels.

After a detailed analysis, consultants propose new measures that may result in:
• Developing management and supervisory skills and know-how
• Improving internal and external organizational communications
• Raising the bar in terms of organizational performance and achievements
• Expanding the company’s customer base and market share
• Identifying training and operational needs to improve productivity and work performance
• Improving employee morale and higher levels of motivation

Playing Multiple Roles!
The Management expects their consultant to play multiple roles and seek help or advice on various aspects. A consultant should not only be a problem solver, but also needs to be a good coach or mentor who leads the organization in realizing its mission and in having a focused vision that is implemented and executed in its entirety over a period of time.

The consultant should ideally display thorough knowledge about the domain or industry to make important and informed financial decisions on behalf of the company. S/he must be someone with business integrity on whom the organization can place trust in order to reveal its classified information. Also, consultants must ensure that they maintain confidentiality and protect sensitive information that is vital to the company. They must act in the best interests of the company under any circumstances.

The ideal Management Consultant would possess in-depth knowledge of the domain in which the company operates and would be able to articulate and communicate the company’s objectives very well with his/her excellent communication skills. S/he is a leader, who drives the vision of the company, guides, coaches and leads by example. S/he constantly tries to self improve – both personally as well as professionally.

Management Consultants are invaluable to every organization as they are the driving forces of every development and growth within an organization. Their deep insight and futuristic solutions are intangible assets that form part of the intellectual property of the company.
Management consulting as a domain has highly evolved as a lucrative career option in the current scenario, with multitude companies mushrooming in every sector. It facilitates companies to focus and leverage on their core competencies while eliminating operational inefficiencies and non-value added activities.

Management consulting has transformed the face of the business and the economy to greater heights and has shown a very bright future to look forward to!
By Janani Rajagopal

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Overcoming the Dark Side of Your Business

There's a Dark Side to every business; the part of the business you hate doing. Whether it's innovating, promoting, dealing with customers, negotiating deals, sales, bookkeeping, building your business or streamlining your operations, there are parts of doing business you enjoy and parts you could do without. The good news? There are people who love doing the parts you hate. Also some notes on amphibian cuisine.This diagram is from Roger Hamilton's Wealth Dynamics program and shows the eight wealth profiles he identifies. Can you identify whether you are a Creator, Star, Supporter, Deal Maker, Trader, Accumulator, Lord or Mechanic just from the name?

If your Million Dollar Desire is to start your own business, or to take your existing business to the next level, you are in for interesting times. But as fun, as interesting and as challenging as it might be to run a business, there are some things that aren't fun for a business owner. I call these the Dark Side of running a business. The Dark Side of your business are the absolutely have-to-do's you don't like to do and avoid like the plague. The bad news is that these are the areas which can and will cause you to fail in your business. The good news is that there are people who would love to do the things you hate doing.

Your Dark Side in business is on the other side of the Wealth Dynamics square from your profile. Most people are naturally inclined to be brilliant at one of these profiles and to have some talent in the adjacent areas. I am good at innovation (Creator); I also have some talent at promotion (Star) and systemization (Mechanic). My Dark Side lies on the opposite end of the circle: Trader (sales), Accumulator (accounting) and Deal Maker (making great deals).

Any business person knows that some were meant to innovate, and some were made to sell, some were made to play and some were meant to keep score. But how do you identify those people? As opposed as I generally am to profiling, Roger Hamilton in his Wealth Dynamics books and material suggests eight distinct profiles for business people that are helpful in making sense of a complicated set of relationships.

Record keeping , for instance, is my nemesis. I used to think everyone hated accounting; imagine my surprise at finding someone who loved to track every penny and make things balance. It was almost a religion for them, a vision of the underlying order in the universe. There are people who enjoy bringing order to the chaos, and they can be just as surprised to find someone, like me, who enjoys creating the chaos and living in it. (Maybe not. I think there's more like me than them.)

Bottom line: I believe you can start and run a business by yourself, but you will not enjoy all its aspects, or its financial rewards, until you find people to bring light to your Dark Side. Ideally, you will find people to cover all of the activities on the Wealth Dynamics square with their primary and secondary inclinations. When we begin a business, we naturally gravitate towards and want to partner with people who are like ourselves. We need instead to find people who enjoy doing the things we do not, even when we aren't completely comfortable with those people.

Common interests make good friendships; common causes make good partnerships. Make sure you are enthusiastically heading in the same direction down the same road, even if you are pulling different parts of the wagon

Here's a synopsis of the eight business activities I've extrapolated from the Wealth Dynamics square, and the wealth profile associated with each:

Innovation - creative ideas, products, new ways of doing, thinking and being; Creator.
Promotion - becoming known, name recognition, identification, publicity; Star.
Support - helping, providing solutions, supporting customers; Supporter.
Deal Making - Pursuing large value/volume business arrangements; Deal Maker.
Trading - Generating transactions and revenue, sales; Trader.
Accumulating - Tracking income and expenses, accounting, building assets; Accumulator
Profit Building - Generating empire through investments, subsidiaries, subcontractors, residuals; Lord.
Systemization - Systems formalization, replication and improvement, quality control, franchising; Mechanic.

What do you do until you meet and bring on the missing members of your team? You can use the Wealth Dynamics' diagram to keep you on track, wear each hat you're missing, think about what you would do for your business if you were that profile, and then produce the work that needs to be done by that profile when it needs to be done, rather than letting it fall by the wayside.

For example, let's say you're an introvert, and you hate talking to people, especially in front of a large group, but you put on the Star hat and you realize a presentation needs to be done now for the good of your business. You'd rather eat a frog. What do you do?

Eat the frog. Even though the frog is from the Dark Side, it is a necessary frog. Every day, before breakfast you practice. You set up the presentation. You commit. You do it. You promise yourself to find a Star to do this for you next time, but you eat your frog now.

If you can eat your frog, every day, you will set your dream team and your Million Dollar Desire speeding towards you.

(See the The "Green Frog" Secret To Acheiving Anything You Want video on YouTube for more cute tips on eating the frog.) Wealth Dynamics Website
Want to learn more about Roger Hamilton, Wealth Dynamics and his wealth profiles? Check out this website. By John Donna

Overcoming the Dark Side of Your Business

There's a Dark Side to every business; the part of the business you hate doing. Whether it's innovating, promoting, dealing with customers, negotiating deals, sales, bookkeeping, building your business or streamlining your operations, there are parts of doing business you enjoy and parts you could do without. The good news? There are people who love doing the parts you hate. Also some notes on amphibian cuisine.This diagram is from Roger Hamilton's Wealth Dynamics program and shows the eight wealth profiles he identifies. Can you identify whether you are a Creator, Star, Supporter, Deal Maker, Trader, Accumulator, Lord or Mechanic just from the name?

If your Million Dollar Desire is to start your own business, or to take your existing business to the next level, you are in for interesting times. But as fun, as interesting and as challenging as it might be to run a business, there are some things that aren't fun for a business owner. I call these the Dark Side of running a business. The Dark Side of your business are the absolutely have-to-do's you don't like to do and avoid like the plague. The bad news is that these are the areas which can and will cause you to fail in your business. The good news is that there are people who would love to do the things you hate doing.

Your Dark Side in business is on the other side of the Wealth Dynamics square from your profile. Most people are naturally inclined to be brilliant at one of these profiles and to have some talent in the adjacent areas. I am good at innovation (Creator); I also have some talent at promotion (Star) and systemization (Mechanic). My Dark Side lies on the opposite end of the circle: Trader (sales), Accumulator (accounting) and Deal Maker (making great deals).

Any business person knows that some were meant to innovate, and some were made to sell, some were made to play and some were meant to keep score. But how do you identify those people? As opposed as I generally am to profiling, Roger Hamilton in his Wealth Dynamics books and material suggests eight distinct profiles for business people that are helpful in making sense of a complicated set of relationships.

Record keeping , for instance, is my nemesis. I used to think everyone hated accounting; imagine my surprise at finding someone who loved to track every penny and make things balance. It was almost a religion for them, a vision of the underlying order in the universe. There are people who enjoy bringing order to the chaos, and they can be just as surprised to find someone, like me, who enjoys creating the chaos and living in it. (Maybe not. I think there's more like me than them.)

Bottom line: I believe you can start and run a business by yourself, but you will not enjoy all its aspects, or its financial rewards, until you find people to bring light to your Dark Side. Ideally, you will find people to cover all of the activities on the Wealth Dynamics square with their primary and secondary inclinations. When we begin a business, we naturally gravitate towards and want to partner with people who are like ourselves. We need instead to find people who enjoy doing the things we do not, even when we aren't completely comfortable with those people.

Common interests make good friendships; common causes make good partnerships. Make sure you are enthusiastically heading in the same direction down the same road, even if you are pulling different parts of the wagon

Here's a synopsis of the eight business activities I've extrapolated from the Wealth Dynamics square, and the wealth profile associated with each:

Innovation - creative ideas, products, new ways of doing, thinking and being; Creator.
Promotion - becoming known, name recognition, identification, publicity; Star.
Support - helping, providing solutions, supporting customers; Supporter.
Deal Making - Pursuing large value/volume business arrangements; Deal Maker.
Trading - Generating transactions and revenue, sales; Trader.
Accumulating - Tracking income and expenses, accounting, building assets; Accumulator
Profit Building - Generating empire through investments, subsidiaries, subcontractors, residuals; Lord.
Systemization - Systems formalization, replication and improvement, quality control, franchising; Mechanic.

What do you do until you meet and bring on the missing members of your team? You can use the Wealth Dynamics' diagram to keep you on track, wear each hat you're missing, think about what you would do for your business if you were that profile, and then produce the work that needs to be done by that profile when it needs to be done, rather than letting it fall by the wayside.

For example, let's say you're an introvert, and you hate talking to people, especially in front of a large group, but you put on the Star hat and you realize a presentation needs to be done now for the good of your business. You'd rather eat a frog. What do you do?

Eat the frog. Even though the frog is from the Dark Side, it is a necessary frog. Every day, before breakfast you practice. You set up the presentation. You commit. You do it. You promise yourself to find a Star to do this for you next time, but you eat your frog now.

If you can eat your frog, every day, you will set your dream team and your Million Dollar Desire speeding towards you.

(See the The "Green Frog" Secret To Acheiving Anything You Want video on YouTube for more cute tips on eating the frog.) Wealth Dynamics Website
Want to learn more about Roger Hamilton, Wealth Dynamics and his wealth profiles? Check out this website. By John Donna

Overcoming the Dark Side of Your Business

There's a Dark Side to every business; the part of the business you hate doing. Whether it's innovating, promoting, dealing with customers, negotiating deals, sales, bookkeeping, building your business or streamlining your operations, there are parts of doing business you enjoy and parts you could do without. The good news? There are people who love doing the parts you hate. Also some notes on amphibian cuisine.This diagram is from Roger Hamilton's Wealth Dynamics program and shows the eight wealth profiles he identifies. Can you identify whether you are a Creator, Star, Supporter, Deal Maker, Trader, Accumulator, Lord or Mechanic just from the name?

If your Million Dollar Desire is to start your own business, or to take your existing business to the next level, you are in for interesting times. But as fun, as interesting and as challenging as it might be to run a business, there are some things that aren't fun for a business owner. I call these the Dark Side of running a business. The Dark Side of your business are the absolutely have-to-do's you don't like to do and avoid like the plague. The bad news is that these are the areas which can and will cause you to fail in your business. The good news is that there are people who would love to do the things you hate doing.

Your Dark Side in business is on the other side of the Wealth Dynamics square from your profile. Most people are naturally inclined to be brilliant at one of these profiles and to have some talent in the adjacent areas. I am good at innovation (Creator); I also have some talent at promotion (Star) and systemization (Mechanic). My Dark Side lies on the opposite end of the circle: Trader (sales), Accumulator (accounting) and Deal Maker (making great deals).

Any business person knows that some were meant to innovate, and some were made to sell, some were made to play and some were meant to keep score. But how do you identify those people? As opposed as I generally am to profiling, Roger Hamilton in his Wealth Dynamics books and material suggests eight distinct profiles for business people that are helpful in making sense of a complicated set of relationships.

Record keeping , for instance, is my nemesis. I used to think everyone hated accounting; imagine my surprise at finding someone who loved to track every penny and make things balance. It was almost a religion for them, a vision of the underlying order in the universe. There are people who enjoy bringing order to the chaos, and they can be just as surprised to find someone, like me, who enjoys creating the chaos and living in it. (Maybe not. I think there's more like me than them.)

Bottom line: I believe you can start and run a business by yourself, but you will not enjoy all its aspects, or its financial rewards, until you find people to bring light to your Dark Side. Ideally, you will find people to cover all of the activities on the Wealth Dynamics square with their primary and secondary inclinations. When we begin a business, we naturally gravitate towards and want to partner with people who are like ourselves. We need instead to find people who enjoy doing the things we do not, even when we aren't completely comfortable with those people.

Common interests make good friendships; common causes make good partnerships. Make sure you are enthusiastically heading in the same direction down the same road, even if you are pulling different parts of the wagon

Here's a synopsis of the eight business activities I've extrapolated from the Wealth Dynamics square, and the wealth profile associated with each:

Innovation - creative ideas, products, new ways of doing, thinking and being; Creator.
Promotion - becoming known, name recognition, identification, publicity; Star.
Support - helping, providing solutions, supporting customers; Supporter.
Deal Making - Pursuing large value/volume business arrangements; Deal Maker.
Trading - Generating transactions and revenue, sales; Trader.
Accumulating - Tracking income and expenses, accounting, building assets; Accumulator
Profit Building - Generating empire through investments, subsidiaries, subcontractors, residuals; Lord.
Systemization - Systems formalization, replication and improvement, quality control, franchising; Mechanic.

What do you do until you meet and bring on the missing members of your team? You can use the Wealth Dynamics' diagram to keep you on track, wear each hat you're missing, think about what you would do for your business if you were that profile, and then produce the work that needs to be done by that profile when it needs to be done, rather than letting it fall by the wayside.

For example, let's say you're an introvert, and you hate talking to people, especially in front of a large group, but you put on the Star hat and you realize a presentation needs to be done now for the good of your business. You'd rather eat a frog. What do you do?

Eat the frog. Even though the frog is from the Dark Side, it is a necessary frog. Every day, before breakfast you practice. You set up the presentation. You commit. You do it. You promise yourself to find a Star to do this for you next time, but you eat your frog now.

If you can eat your frog, every day, you will set your dream team and your Million Dollar Desire speeding towards you.

(See the The "Green Frog" Secret To Acheiving Anything You Want video on YouTube for more cute tips on eating the frog.) Wealth Dynamics Website
Want to learn more about Roger Hamilton, Wealth Dynamics and his wealth profiles? Check out this website. By John Donna