The Challenges of Human Resource Management

Introduction

The role of the Human Resource Manager is evolving with the change in competitive market environment and the realization that Human Resource Management must play a more strategic role in the success of an organization. Organizations that do not put their emphasis on attracting and retaining talents may find themselves in dire consequences, as their competitors may be outplaying them in the strategic employment of their human resources.

With the increase in competition, locally or globally, organizations must become more adaptable, resilient, agile, and customer-focused to succeed. And within this change in environment, the HR professional has to evolve to become a strategic partner, an employee sponsor or advocate, and a change mentor within the organization. In order to succeed, HR must be a business driven function with a thorough understanding of the organization's big picture and be able to influence key decisions and policies. In general, the focus of today's HR Manager is on strategic personnel retention and talents development. HR professionals will be coaches, counselors, mentors, and succession planners to help motivate organization's members and their loyalty. The HR manager will also promote and fight for values, ethics, beliefs, and spirituality within their organizations, especially in the management of workplace diversity.

The Challenges of Human Resource Management

This paper will highlight on how a HR manager can meet the challenges of workplace diversity, how to motivate employees through gain-sharing and executive information system through proper planning, organizing, leading and controlling their human resources.

Workplace Diversity

According to Thomas (1992), dimensions of workplace diversity include, but are not limited to: age, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, physical abilities/qualities, race, sexual orientation, educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, religious beliefs, parental status, and work experience.

The Challenges of Workplace Diversity

The future success of any organizations relies on the ability to manage a diverse body of talent that can bring innovative ideas, perspectives and views to their work. The challenge and problems faced of workplace diversity can be turned into a strategic organizational asset if an organization is able to capitalize on this melting pot of diverse talents. With the mixture of talents of diverse cultural backgrounds, genders, ages and lifestyles, an organization can respond to business opportunities more rapidly and creatively, especially in the global arena (Cox, 1993), which must be one of the important organisational goals to be attained. More importantly, if the organizational environment does not support diversity broadly, one risks losing talent to competitors.

This is especially true for multinational companies (MNCs) who have operations on a global scale and employ people of different countries, ethical and cultural backgrounds. Thus, a HR manager needs to be mindful and may employ a 'Think Global, Act Local' approach in most circumstances. The challenge of workplace diversity is also prevalent amongst Singapore's Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). With a population of only four million people and the nation's strive towards high technology and knowledge-based economy; foreign talents are lured to share their expertise in these areas. Thus, many local HR managers have to undergo cultural-based Human Resource Management training to further their abilities to motivate a group of professional that are highly qualified but culturally diverse. Furthermore, the HR professional must assure the local professionals that these foreign talents are not a threat to their career advancement (Toh, 1993). In many ways, the effectiveness of workplace diversity management is dependent on the skilful balancing act of the HR manager.

One of the main reasons for ineffective workplace diversity management is the predisposition to pigeonhole employees, placing them in a different silo based on their diversity profile (Thomas, 1992). In the real world, diversity cannot be easily categorized and those organizations that respond to human complexity by leveraging the talents of a broad workforce will be the most effective in growing their businesses and their customer base.

The Management of Workplace Diversity

In order to effectively manage workplace diversity, Cox (1993) suggests that a HR Manager needs to change from an ethnocentric view ("our way is the best way") to a culturally relative perspective ("let's take the best of a variety of ways"). This shift in philosophy has to be ingrained in the managerial framework of the HR Manager in his/her planning, organizing, leading and controlling of organizational resources.

As suggested by Thomas (1992) and Cox (1993), there are several best practices that a HR manager can adopt in ensuring effective management of workplace diversity in order to attain organizational goals. They are:

Planning a Mentoring Program-

One of the best ways to handle workplace diversity issues is through initiating a Diversity Mentoring Program. This could entail involving different departmental managers in a mentoring program to coach and provide feedback to employees who are different from them. In order for the program to run successfully, it is wise to provide practical training for these managers or seek help from consultants and experts in this field. Usually, such a program will encourage organization's members to air their opinions and learn how to resolve conflicts due to their diversity. More importantly, the purpose of a Diversity Mentoring Program seeks to encourage members to move beyond their own cultural frame of reference to recognize and take full advantage of the productivity potential inherent in a diverse population.

Organizing Talents Strategically-

Many companies are now realizing the advantages of a diverse workplace. As more and more companies are going global in their market expansions either physically or virtually (for example, E-commerce-related companies), there is a necessity to employ diverse talents to understand the various niches of the market. For example, when China was opening up its markets and exporting their products globally in the late 1980s, the Chinese companies (such as China's electronic giants such as Haier) were seeking the marketing expertise of Singaporeans. This is because Singapore's marketing talents were able to understand the local China markets relatively well (almost 75% of Singaporeans are of Chinese descent) and as well as being attuned to the markets in the West due to Singapore's open economic policies and English language abilities. (Toh, R, 1993)

With this trend in place, a HR Manager must be able to organize the pool of diverse talents strategically for the organization. He/She must consider how a diverse workforce can enable the company to attain new markets and other organizational goals in order to harness the full potential of workplace diversity.

An organization that sees the existence of a diverse workforce as an organizational asset rather than a liability would indirectly help the organization to positively take in its stride some of the less positive aspects of workforce diversity.

Leading the Talk-

A HR Manager needs to advocate a diverse workforce by making diversity evident at all organizational levels. Otherwise, some employees will quickly conclude that there is no future for them in the company. As the HR Manager, it is pertinent to show respect for diversity issues and promote clear and positive responses to them. He/She must also show a high level of commitment and be able to resolve issues of workplace diversity in an ethical and responsible manner.

Control and Measure Results-

A HR Manager must conduct regular organizational assessments on issues like pay, benefits, work environment, management and promotional opportunities to assess the progress over the long term. There is also a need to develop appropriate measuring tools to measure the impact of diversity initiatives at the organization through organization-wide feedback surveys and other methods. Without proper control and evaluation, some of these diversity initiatives may just fizzle out, without resolving any real problems that may surface due to workplace diversity.

Motivational Approaches

Workplace motivation can be defined as the influence that makes us do things to achieve organizational goals: this is a result of our individual needs being satisfied (or met) so that we are motivated to complete organizational tasks effectively. As these needs vary from person to person, an organization must be able to utilize different motivational tools to encourage their employees to put in the required effort and increase productivity for the company.

Why do we need motivated employees? The answer is survival (Smith, 1994). In our changing workplace and competitive market environments, motivated employees and their contributions are the necessary currency for an organization's survival and success. Motivational factors in an organizational context include working environment, job characteristics, appropriate organizational reward system and so on.

The development of an appropriate organizational reward system is probably one of the strongest motivational factors. This can influence both job satisfaction and employee motivation. The reward system affects job satisfaction by making the employee more comfortable and contented as a result of the rewards received. The reward system influences motivation primarily through the perceived value of the rewards and their contingency on performance (Hickins, 1998).

To be effective, an organizational reward system should be based on sound understanding of the motivation of people at work. In this paper, I will be touching on the one of the more popular methods of reward systems, gain-sharing.

Gain-sharing:

Gain-sharing programs generally refer to incentive plans that involve employees in a common effort to improve organizational performance, and are based on the concept that the resulting incremental economic gains are shared among employees and the company.

In most cases, workers voluntarily participate in management to accept responsibility for major reforms. This type of pay is based on factors directly under a worker's control (i.e., productivity or costs). Gains are measured and distributions are made frequently through a predetermined formula. Because this pay is only implemented when gains are achieved, gain-sharing plans do not adversely affect company costs (Paulsen, 1991).

Managing Gain-sharing

In order for a gain-sharing program that meets the minimum requirements for success to be in place, Paulsen (1991) and Boyett (1988) have suggested a few pointers in the effective management of a gain-sharing program. They are as follows:

A HR manager must ensure that the people who will be participating in the plan are influencing the performance measured by the gain-sharing formula in a significant way by changes in their day-to-day behavior. The main idea of the gain sharing is to motivate members to increase productivity through their behavioral changes and working attitudes. If the increase in the performance measurement was due to external factors, then it would have defeated the purpose of having a gain-sharing program. An effective manager must ensure that the gain-sharing targets are challenging but legitimate and attainable. In addition, the targets should be specific and challenging but reasonable and justifiable given the historical performance, the business strategy and the competitive environment. If the gain-sharing participants perceive the target as an impossibility and are not motivated at all, the whole program will be a disaster. A manager must provide useful feedback as a guidance to the gain-sharing participants concerning how they need to change their behavior(s) to realize gain-sharing payouts The feedback should be frequent, objective and clearly based on the members' performance in relation to the gain-sharing target. A manager must have an effective mechanism in place to allow gain-sharing participants to initiate changes in work procedures and methods and/or requesting new or additional resources such as new technology to improve performance and realize gains. Though a manager must have a tight control of company's resources, reasonable and justifiable requests for additional resources and/or changes in work methods from gain-sharing participants should be considered.

Executive Information Systems

Executive Information System (EIS) is the most common term used for the unified collections of computer hardware and software that track the essential data of a business' daily performance and present it to managers as an aid to their planning and decision-making (Choo, 1991). With an EIS in place, a company can track inventory, sales, and receivables, compare today's data with historical patterns. In addition, an EIS will aid in spotting significant variations from "normal" trends almost as soon as it develops, giving the company the maximum amount of time to make decisions and implement required changes to put your business back on the right track. This would enable EIS to be a useful tool in an organization's strategic planning, as well as day-to-day management (Laudon, K and Laudon, J, 2003).

Managing EIS

As information is the basis of decision-making in an organization, there lies a great need for effective managerial control. A good control system would ensure the communication of the right information at the right time and relayed to the right people to take prompt actions.

When managing an Executive Information System, a HR manager must first find out exactly what information decision-makers would like to have available in the field of human resource management, and then to include it in the EIS. This is because having people simply use an EIS that lacks critical information is of no value-add to the organization. In addition, the manager must ensure that the use of information technology has to be brought into alignment with strategic business goals (Laudon, K and Laudon, J, 2003).

Conclusion

The role of the HR manager must parallel the needs of the changing organization. Successful organizations are becoming more adaptable, resilient, quick to change directions, and customer-centered. Within this environment, the HR professional must learn how to manage effectively through planning, organizing, leading and controlling the human resource and be knowledgeable of emerging trends in training and employee development.

The Challenges of Human Resource Management
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Dr.Alvin Chan is a Senior Research Consultant at a research think-tank in Asia.

alvinchan@firstquatermain.com

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Basic Management Skills - What Makes a Good Manager?

Basic management skills are necessary to run a small business. Some business owners believe that leading vs managing is most important. In reality, you need to be able to both lead and manage.

What makes a good manager? There are definite business management styles and skills to focus on; specifically for small business owners. If you're the owner or manager of a small business, it's important to understand what those basic management skills are and to try to incorporate them into your own behaviors. Why? Because some skills are more successful than others and because some styles will engage your employees, while others will dis-engage them.

Business management skills such as planning, decision making, problem solving, controlling and directing, and measuring and reporting are needed for the daily operation.

Basic Management Skills - What Makes a Good Manager?

Using their small business plan, effective managers direct the business operation. Communications, benchmarking, tracking and measuring are tactics and strategies that they use to check their direction, to adjust the plan (if necessary), and to move the business forward. Good managers act to achieve the desired results; and they manage people and resources to get where they want to go.

Understanding what makes a good manager, means understanding what motivates employees.  How do you build an environment and culture that encourages employees to participate? How do you increase employee productivity and employee satisfaction; simultaneously? How do you recruit the best talent, and then keep them? How do you train your staff to solve problems, make decisions, and involve others in the process? These are just some of the challenges, and responsibilities, of managing.

As a manager, you need to understand what the common business management styles are (autocratic, paternalistic, democratic, and passive are the most common styles). And you need to understand what your style is, and how that style affects business results.

Four Business Management Styles:

Autocratic: The manager makes all the decisions; a "command and control" (militaristic) management style. Focus is on business; doesn't want any personal 'stuff' to get in the way. The benefit is that decisions are made quickly. The cost is in high employee turn-over as employees find this style difficult, and stressful. Paternalistic: The manager makes all decisions (or most of them) but focuses on what's best for employees. The benefit is that employees feel the business is taking care of them. The cost is that employees don't take care of business - they are uninvolved and have little at risk. Democratic: The manager wants input from the whole 'team' and majority rules. Often good decisions are made and employees feel involved in the business (the benefit to this style) but the process is very slow and you can't always make everyone happy. Passive: The manager abdicates responsibility to the employees; and calls it delegation. The benefit is that employees often step forward and learn in this environment. The cost is that the direction is scattered and there can be numerous false starts because there is no real manager.

Managers typically use more than one style, depending on the situation. If brainstorming creative new product ideas is today's focus, then the manager may want to use a democratic or passive style. If a decision about keeping or firing an under-performing employee must be made, the manager may need to use an autocratic or paternalistic style (hopefully not a democratic or passive style).

In most small businesses, the business owner is also the manager and the leader. In your business, make sure that you have a good understanding of your own business management styles, skills and qualities and learn how to control them and use them as necessary.

Basic Management Skills - What Makes a Good Manager?
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To understand more about what makes a good manager, or the difference between leading vs managing, it is good to focus on the qualities of an effective manager as compared to the qualities of an effective leader.
Kris Bovay is the owner of Voice Marketing Inc, a business and marketing services company. Kris has 25 years of experience in leading large, medium and small businesses. For more pricing strategies and other small business resources and services go to the more-for-small-business website.
Copyright 2008 - 2009 Voice Marketing Inc.

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Management Training - Servant Leadership

Servant Leadership has recently created a paradigm shift in management training. The concept of Servant Leadership was first introduced by Robert K. Greenleaf in 1970 in his book "The Servant As Leader." Servant Leadership is based on the principle that serving employees is more beneficial than dictating or punishing employees.

This management training concept is gaining acceptance and has recently began being implemented in more and more organizations. Servant leaders desire is to serve employees in any way possible to motivate them to become better people, more autonomous, more productive, more confident and happier within their work environment. The end result of this motivation is a more productive workforce where employees want to be servant leaders as well.

Servant Leadership management training teaches the servant leader to devote his energy towards meeting and exceeding the needs of employees by encouraging their skills and providing guidance to help them overcome their shortcomings. This helps employees become happier and more productive within their work environment which ultimately makes them more likely to remain loyal to their company.

Management Training - Servant Leadership

This management training concept will help leaders create an environment within the workforce that is more productive, less stressful and more devoted. Ultimately servant leadership will create an overall feeling of contentment within a workforce. Employees will feel as if their relationship with their leader is more of a partnership rather than a dictatorship.

Starbucks is one company that has adopted the management training concept of Servant Leadership. Starbucks is a hugely successful corporation and one of the major reasons for this is the fact that have created a friendly and inviting atmosphere for its customers largely by creating an environment in which their employees are happy. Starbucks success and growth has been enviable and much of their success can be credited to their adoption of servant leadership as their corporate philosophy.

Servant Leadership management training teaches leaders to work in a partnership with their employees, which motivates them to work in a partnership with the customers. This creates a work environment where information flows from the decision makers unimpeded and helps create a better customer experience that could not be achieved without that flow.

Here are ten characteristics of Servant Leader management training that are considered essential to the development of servant leaders:

Listening: The servant leader should listen to others in an effort to identity the will of the group.

Empathy: They should accept and recognize coworkers for their unique spirits.

Healing: Successful leaders should recognize the emotional pains of others and help to make whole the individuals they come in contact with.

Awareness: Servant leaders should be self-aware as well as aware of pertinent issues, especially those involving ethics and values.

Persuasion: They should seek to convince individuals rather than coerce them. The ability to build a consensus is seen as an asset.

Conceptualization: Servant leaders should have the ability to see what may be coming in the future but maintain the balance of looking ahead while keeping up with the day-to-day.

Foresight: Successful servant leaders should know the likely consequence that a decision will have on the future.

Stewardship: Servant leaders should motivate all stakeholders within an institution to maintain their trust for the betterment of society.

Commitment: They should be committed to the individuals within an organization as well as the organization itself.

Community Building: In order to build a community, servant leaders should lead the way by demonstrating their unlimited liability for a community-related association.

Management Training - Servant Leadership
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Bill Jenkins is the Executive Director of the Office of Institutional Advancement for Grand Canyon University. For more information about Grand Canyon University, visit http://www.gcu.edu

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Property Management Fees Explained

When you hire a property management company to serve as the liaison between yourself and your tenants, you want to be sure you're getting the best possible property management services for the money. The services a property management company provides can range from ala carte to an all-in-one inclusive package. Along with that comes an array of fees for each. There is no set in stone fee structure we can provide you. But we can educate you on what common fees to expect and what each is commonly for. In the end it will be up to you to compare company fee structures and choose the best one that fits within your budget. Below are some of the most common fees and what service they provide.

Commission

This is an ongoing monthly fee charged to the owner to compensate the property manager for the responsibilities of overseeing the management of their property. This fee can vary from as little as 3% to over 15% of the monthly gross rent. In place of a percentage some managers may charge a flat monthly amount which again can vary from to over 0 per month. All property management companies generally charge this fee.

Property Management Fees Explained

Lease-Up or Setup Fee

This fee is charged to the owner to compensate the property manager for their initial time invested and resources used in setting up an owners account; showing property and/or other activities resulting in tenant placement. I guess you could look at it as a "finders fee" for placing a tenant in your property. Once a tenant has been placed and first rent income comes in, the property manager will deduct this fee from the rent proceeds. Some property managers have been known to require this fee upfront prior to tenant procurement. Usually this fee is non-refundable once the property manager has started the process of tenant procurement or any legwork has been initiated with the property. This fee can vary from none to as much as the first months rent, and usually is a one-time fee per tenant.

Lease Renewal Fee

This fee is charged to the owner when a property manager renews a current tenants lease and covers the costs of initiating paperwork or communication involved in implementing the new lease document. A property manager may also justify this fee if they perform a year end inspection of property. This fee can vary from none to 0 or higher, and may be charged every time a lease renewal is implemented.

Advertising Costs

Depending upon the property management company's contract, either they will pay the advertising costs or the owner or they could split the costs. If the manager is willing to cover this cost, most likely they will charge the lease-up or setup fee as outline above. If the management company covers this cost make sure to find out what type advertising or marketing of your property is included. If it's placing your listing on their own web site and other free online classified sites you may not be getting your monies worth. They are many good rental or tenant resource online web sites that bring in qualified tenants for a reasonable fee and you will want to consider these. And don't forget about print media, yard signs, listing on the MLS or even an open house. Nothing is worst than having your property vacant, bringing in no money only because you or your property manager skimped on advertising.

Maintenance Mark-up Charges

This is one of those costs you may never really of known about or had it disclosed to you. A "Mark-up" is a charge over and beyond the final bill on maintenance and/or repair work done to your property initiated by your property management company when using their vendors or in-house maintenance staff. This should be disclosed in your Manager/Owner contract which usually will state the markup as a percentage above the final invoice from vendor. For example, your manager had to call a plumber to replace the dishwasher in your rental property. Total charges for completing the job: 0. If your property manager contract states you will incur a 10% markup on all maintenance work the actual cost to you will be 0. Just one of those things to be aware of as these all eat into your profits.

Early Cancellation Fee

The dreaded "3 months and no tenant". Your property manager insist he or she's doing everything they can to find you a tenant. But here it is 3 months and still no tenant; what do you do. Well, look at your Manager/Owner contract and that might be your deciding factor. I am not a fan of this fee, and believe it to be an unnecessary fee and for you manager out there this could be the deal breaker. I'll tell you why; if a property manager is doing their due diligence and keeping the owners in the loop as far as decision making, market conditions and communication lines open an owner will not be second guessing his property managers abilities. The odds of this scenario happening is unlikely but you must be prepared for it. A cancellation fee can range from none to over 0. To be fair, some managers legitimately deserve this fee especially if they have pocketed advertising costs, incurred lots of legwork and time invested in your property.

"You've Got To Be Kidding Me" Fees - These are ones I have personally had the pleasure of running into.
Your property is vacant, but we still will charge our monthly commission or a small flat fee. "A For-Rent Yard Sign Fee". I believe this was /mo. "Preventive Maintenance Fee". This was to cover the "just in case" and changing out A/C filters. If "just in case" never happens they still pocket the money. I believe this was /mo and I still was charged for filters.

In Summary

Read your Manager/Owner contract, understand what you are signing, ask lots of questions and know what the fees will buy you in services. A good real estate lawyer can help in negotiating the terms in a contract that suit both parties. These contracts are not set in stone. If your property manager will not negotiate, there are other property management companies that are eager to earn your business.

Property Management Fees Explained
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Karen McDaniel
Principal
Property Management Profile LLC dba pmvnetwork.com

PMVnetwork offers the most up-to-date listing of full-service property management companies and property service pros nationwide. We have become a wealth of information and resource for the first-time landlord as well as the seasoned investors.
For any property management company or home repair professionals that is looking to gain national exposure by capturing the attention of out-of-state investors or be found by local clientele, http://www.PMVnetwork.com/property-management-leads is the place to showcase their business model and expertise to these prospective clients. We offer an opportunity for all property management companies and home repair service professionals to list their company on our website, whether you specialize in residential, commercial, vacation or community association management. We accept small to corporate size management companies. We are the most affordable lead generation service out there today.

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Management - 7 Key Management Qualities

Management might not on the face of it appear to be that difficult compared to the technical aspects of the role. Yet succeeding as a manager is as much about who you are and how you behave as it is about what you do. So what are some of the key management qualities?

Quality 1: Honesty

You will have to deal with many problems and challenges. From time to time you will have to make some tough choices. Those that you manage will look to you for re-assurance that everything will be okay. It is not always going to be possible to do that so learn to be honest with people.

Management - 7 Key Management Qualities

Quality 2: Act with integrity

Acting with integrity is about behaving in a way that demonstrates professionalism. There will be times, especially when under pressure where you might be tempted to breach your own standards. Notice when this is happening and catch yourself before you say or do something that conflicts with your values.

Quality 3: Reliability

Your team will look to you for support and help when things are difficult for them. Be there for them and show them that they can rely on you through good and not so good times.

Quality 4: Being accountable

Part of the deal of being a manager is being accountable for what is and what is not delivered. If you are happy taking the rewards that comes with a management role, it is important to make sure that you are willing to take responsibility for results.

Quality 5: Resilience

Good managers have a knack of bouncing back from setbacks and disappointments. In other words they are resilient. They believe in themselves and what they can achieve and see setbacks as an obstacle to overcome.

Quality 6: Determination

Getting results requires both inspiration and determination. Determination is a willingness to keep looking for ways to get the result you want, even when the odds appear to be stacked against you.

Quality 7: Common sense

The final quality that good managers have in abundance and is often overlooked is common sense. When faced with a host of challenges, it is all too easy to lose sight of the obvious solutions.

Bottom line - All managers face challenges. What sets apart those that excel from those that flounder are their qualities. So what qualities are you going to develop?

Management - 7 Key Management Qualities
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Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements (G&A) works with individuals, teams and organisations to develop their management and leadership capability.

With 25 years business experience in a range of sectors, he understands first hand the real challenges of managing and leading in the demanding business world.

You sign up for his free e-course and newsletter at http://www.goalsandachievements.co.uk/

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7 Tips For Effective Financial Management

In some organisations, managers and leaders fall into the trap of believing that financial management is something that the accounts team are fully responsible for. While there will be areas like cash management, payroll, paying suppliers and collecting payments from customers that are likely to be handled by the accounts team, financial management falls into the remit of all managers and leaders. Mangers often have concerns about this area, often believing that it is difficult and complex. The truth is that if you are an expert in your area of the business, you can excel in financial management. So what are my key tips?

Tip 1: Be actively involved in setting a budget

Most businesses now devolve budget responsibility as much as they possibly can. As a result, managers have a chance to be actively involved in determining things like:

7 Tips For Effective Financial Management

o Sales volumes

o Temporary staffing cover for vacancies

o Staffing levels to deliver the sales

o Buying preferences in terms of products that will be used in delivering agreed volumes

o Investment in new equipment or facilities

Don't miss out on your chance to determine your budget.

Tip 2: Be clear on your assumptions

A budget is a plan for the future based on the best evidence you have at the time you prepare it. You will have to make assumptions about things like sales growth, staff turnover, sickness, price inflation, etc. Make sure that when presenting your budgets the assumptions are clearly stated.

Tip 3: Work with your accountant

Your accountant who works with you in the business is essentially your personal business advisor. Use your accountant in this way and you will reap numerous benefits. Your accountant gets a better understanding of your area of the business and what the key drivers of revenues and costs are, which will be immensely helpful when it comes to reviewing performance throughout the year.
In addition, your accountant can model results for you based on different assumptions and help you to get a much clearer picture of the risks that might need to be managed.

Tip 4: Share the budget with your team

As a manager and leader, your success depends on the results of the team. Take the time to share your budget with your team, including the key assumptions on which it is based. If the team know what they are aiming for in terms of financial results, they will look to do the right things operationally to get the best result.

Tip 5: Take responsibility

When the going gets tough it is so easy to start to look elsewhere for excuses. If you have been involved in setting a budget which you have signed up to, focus your energies on getting results rather than the injustice of the current situation.

Tip 6: Monitor performance and take action

Make sure that you have a process in place to carefully monitor your actual performance against the budget. If things are going well see if there is more you can do to boost performance even further. If on the other hand things are not going as well as expected, focus on the changes you need to make or action you need to take to get back on track.

Tip 7: Focus on the most important numbers

When it comes to financial management, managers can sometimes get lost in lots of detail and trivia. Be clear on what are the 2-3 big numbers that you need to pay attention to, as they will more than likely constitute about 90% of your budget. In most businesses this will be:

o Income from sales or services

o Salary costs of employees

o Major non salary cost such as materials

Make sure that you have as good an understanding of what impacts on these numbers at the business unit level so that you can keep things on track.

At the end of the day, internal financial statements such as budgets merely reflect what is happening operationally in a common currency called money. Keep this at the forefront of your mind and you have a great chance to excel as a manager.

7 Tips For Effective Financial Management
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Duncan Brodie helps managers and leaders to achieve their true potential. Sign up today for his free monthly newsletter at http://www.goalsandachievements.co.uk

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Communication - Seven Verbal Communication Skills That Improve Workplace Management Effectiveness

Successful executives, managers and supervisors know that the importance of effective communication in the workplace cannot be underestimated. Poor communication is responsible for mistakes, conflict, and negativity in the workplace. Have you ever thought the following?

"Oops, I know I said that, but what I meant to say was..."    
 

" Why can't I get buy in from the team?"

Communication - Seven Verbal Communication Skills That Improve Workplace Management Effectiveness

"That mistake could have been avoided if I had only said...." 

Two common communication barriers are:
Not being aware of effective communication skills Being in a hurry.
Since effective communication in business is essential to success at your company or organization, it makes sense to improve your communication skills. The good news is that you can learn some basic communication skills and use them today to improve the quality of your workplace relationships with both employees and customers.

Seven Communication Skills for the Workplace

1. Personal Contact

Did you ever wonder why companies spend thousands of dollars sending sales people across the country when they could do a phone call for much less? The reason is that people relate to one another better when they can meet in person and read each other's body language. What's more, people can feel the energy the connection creates. You can also smile and shake someone's hand when you greet them, which creates a powerful connection.

2. Develop a network.

No one achieves success alone. Success in any company requires a team effort.
Make an effort to get to know managers and employees in different departments within your company, Meet new people in professional organizations. Become active in your community.
3. Always be courteous.

Courtesy lets people know that you care.

The words "Thank You" show that you appreciate your employees' efforts, and this is important because appreciation is the number one thing that employees want from management.

A little change like saying, "Would you please..." instead of just, "Please..." will make you sound less dogmatic and will improve your relationships with your employees.

4. Be clear

Since people often hear things differently, and they may be hesitant to ask you to explain what you said, you should ask, "Did I explain this clearly?" This will confirm that people understood you.

5. Compromise

You can decrease the tension associated with conflict  if you always ask, "What is best for the company?" This gives people a different perspective on your requests, and they will be less likely to take any conflict personally.

6. Be interesting and interested

Even though most of your workplace communications will be about business topics, it is also important to share your personal side. Let your staff know about your interests and your family, and ask them about theirs. Telling a few short personal stories about your interesting experiences will make your employees feel more connected to you as a person. Read your hometown paper daily so you know what is going on in your community and what personal concerns your staff may have about them.

7. Listen

Listening attentively to your employees demonstrates respect. Listening isn't easy because everyone's mind tends to wander. So to help you concentrate on what the other person is saying, keep a good eye contact --without staring,  and then make a comment about it or ask a question.

Improving your communication skills is a process that happens gradually over a period of time. The good news is that you have opportunities to practice your communication skills every day at work. Here's a tip to help you improve faster. At the end of each day, take a moment to review your communications during the day. What was effective? What wasn't effective? That way you will continue to learn and improve your communication skills.

Communication is the key to success in business

That is why you should be aware of how you are communicating at all times. As a result... you will become a role model for effective workplace communication skills to your employees. This is important because the ultimate goal of any supervisor, manager or executive is to turn ordinary workers into extraordinary employees. You can take a huge step toward doing this by honing your own communication skills.

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Successful Workplace Communication is one of the 13 essential skills that employees use at work. The Employee Success Toolkit is a professional development course for employees that teaches these essential skills in 13 easy-to-follow lessons. See what these 13 skills are at: http://www.EmployeeSuccessToolkit.com

I also invite you to visit http://www.ConfidenceCenter.com for a free Employee Morale Starter eKit and Employee Morale Calendar Planner

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Project Management Steps - The First Step to Starting Your Project the Right Way

It is important to have basic project management knowledge before getting started. For many us, we became project managers accidentally. Whether your project succeeds or fails, however, will be no accident. Successful project managers don't need to know everything, but they know enough to get started and learn as they go. In its essence, project management is preparing, executing, and closing. By the end of this article, you will have the basic foundation on the project management steps.

The first step is preparing. When it comes to preparing, your focus should be on answering the basic questions. Writing a project charter is a great way to get started. The reason is because it answers the important question: why are you doing this project? A project with a weak purpose will go no where. In addition to giving the project a reason, it will also say what are the expected benefits. The most common benefits are making more money, saving money, and saving time (by making things more efficient).

Another tool to help you in preparing is to speak with the people who are affected by the project. These people are referred to as the stakeholders. Getting their feedback will help you focus on what's important. This is commonly known as the scope. It is equally important to write down both what will and will not be achieved. You want to make sure you know what the stakeholders are expecting.

Project Management Steps - The First Step to Starting Your Project the Right Way

The next component of preparing involves writing the project plan. This establishes the ground rules. The plan will detail what will be delivered and when, who is doing what, and how will things be done. For example, the communications section will let everyone know when and where they can find status updates. Setting budget and deadlines will give you a target. Remember, a project is temporary. Therefore, every project has an ending and finite resources.

The plan doesn't need to be perfect, because it will change throughout the project. More important is that you have a plan. Once you are done preparing, it's time to execute.

Executing is where the rubber meets the road. All the work done in the preparing step is used to guide you. The key thing to remember is to record everything. Following is a checklist of what should be recorded daily:

Write down how the project is progressing. Review the work completed by the project team and make notes of any quality issues. If there is a problem, write it to a problem log. When new risks arise, write those down as soon as you think of it. At the end of the day, record anything you learned.

The last point may seem trivial, but it will make your life easier in the closing step.

In addition to logging information, you will also conduct meetings. These are essential and an effective way to follow up with everyone and to get things done. Notably, you'll get information from your team and make sure everything is on track. If not, this is when you make adjustments to your earlier forecasts.

Depending on the complexity of the project, the executing step may be longer or shorter than the preparing step. You will know the executing step is over once you present the final deliverable mentioned in the plan. That does not mean the end, however. The last step is the closing step.

Closing is a controlled way to end a project. Specifically, this is where you find out if you did a good job. You will look back at the project plan and see if the objectives were met. Was everything in-scope completed? Just as important is to ask the stakeholders if they feel the project was a success, and why or why not? You will also provide a lessons learned report. What did you feel went well? What could you do to make things better? What steps can be combined or omitted? If you've kept a daily lessons learned log, this step will simply be compiling everything you have already written into a report.

You now know the basic project management steps. They are preparing, executing, and closing. While project management is not easy, you have the basic foundation. The best way to learn how to manage a project is to get out there and start managing projects. Don't forget to have fun along the way. If you aren't having any fun, it isn't worth doing.

Project Management Steps - The First Step to Starting Your Project the Right Way
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ProjectManagementSteps.net

Introduction to Project Management Steps

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First Step in Becoming an Excellent Supervisor: Self-management

Managers or supervisors need certain skills and knowledge such as how to delegate, communicate, hire, resolve conflict, and work with difficult people. However the first step for people to become excellent supervisors involves their managing themselves.

Budgeting time multiplies the results gained each day. Time budgeting means a person can and does know how to deal with interruptions, understand and manage procrastination, and learn what to control and what to ignore.

A manager needs to deal with interruptions wisely: Is the interruption necessary, or can it be "put off" until another time or indefinitely? Unless a supervisor can say, "Let me think about this and call you back," or "I'm sorry, but I'm busy right now," then she and her employer lose. Planning ahead can help avoid interruptions; delegating can keep interruptions down; setting up an in-office protocol for when and how to handle emergency situations will avoid many interruptions. Being organized will limit many problems. When unavoidable interruptions occur, as they will, a supervisor who can control her reactions and adjust will find such interruptions managable.

First Step in Becoming an Excellent Supervisor: Self-management

Procrastination is another problem that wastes time. Something that needs to be done or finished, but isn't, shows a lack of self-management on the part of a supervisor. According to Time Management on BusinessTown.com, we procrastinate for five reasons:

1. We haven't really committed to do the activity.

2. We're afraid of the job.

3. We don't place a high enough priority on the job.

4. We don't know enough to do the task.

5. We don't want to do whatever the activity is.

In all five cases, a manager must find a way to do what needs to be done, which means self-discipline is necessary. In some situations, finding the right person to do the job required can solve the problem.

An excellent supervisor stays motivated and under-control, even under trying and difficult conditions. When others become angry or upset, a manager stays in control. He keeps his eye and mind on the goal, the outcome of his job. Sometimes staying motivated means a supervisor should stop fighting change and find a way to accept it.

Being assertive without appearing arrogant or overbearing means staying under control. One man stated that even when he didn't feel confident, he acted as if he were until he was. Being assertive means feeling confident and behaving positively. Developing good communication and negotiating skills helps one be assertive, confident and successful.

Once supervisors can and do manage themselves then they can in turn be managers of others.

Sources:

1. "Procrastination - UIUC Counseling Center," http://www.couns.uiuc.edu

2. "Dealing With Interruptions," OnlineOrganizing.com

3. "Time Management: Can You Really Manage Time?" BusinessTown.com

First Step in Becoming an Excellent Supervisor: Self-management
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After years in business and teaching, Vivian Gilbert Zabel became a writer. An author on Writing.Com, http://www.Writing.Com/authors/vzabel, she also has books on Amazon.com, Hidden Lies and Other Storied and Walking the Earth. This article has been submitted in affliliation with http://www.Facsimile.Com/ which is a site in affiliation with Fax Machines.

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Role of MIS in Business Management

Despite the vast improvements in information technology, computers (on which modern IT is based) cannot as yet take over business management. However, business information systems have transformed the effectiveness, power and efficiency of management.

In an earlier article on business management software, we looked at surface aspects of how modern management information systems help businesses. We saw how computers speeded up and improved the quality of operations. We also mentioned the existence of broad categories of business software - office suites, functional software such as accounting and inventory, and industry software such as retail management software. In this article, we seek to look more analytically at the role of information management systems.

Decision Support, Problem Analysis and Overall Control

Role of MIS in Business Management

Business managers often need to make decisions that can affect the business' fortunes one way or other. For example, a company with sales outlets or distributors spread over a wide geographic area might want to optimize the logistical operations of delivering merchandise to the outlets. The best solution might be affected by numerous factors such as demand patterns, availability of merchandise, distances involved and the option of using external carriers (who can find two way loads and might prove a lesser cost option over long distances) instead of own vehicles.

While it might be possible to use complex mathematical formulas by hand to compute the best solution, computers transform the whole process into a routine task of feeding certain information as input and obtaining suggestions for best solutions as output. The task can typically be done in a few minutes (instead of hours or even days) and it becomes possible to examine several alternatives before deciding upon one that seems most realistic.

Identifying problems and analyzing the factors that cause them also has been transformed by modern computer information systems. In a typical MIS environment, standard reports are generated in a routine manner comparing actual performance against original estimates. The software that generates the report can be instructed to highlight exceptions, i.e. significant variations between original estimates and actual performance. Managers will thus become aware of problem areas in the daily course of their work simply by looking at the reports they receive, without having to do detailed data collection and computations themselves.

Identifying the factors responsible for the problem can also be routinized to some extent by using such tools as variance analysis. Variance analysis is an element of standard costing system that splits deviations from estimates (or standards) into causative factors such as increase in price of materials used, excessive usage of materials, unexpected machine downtimes, etc. With such a detailed report, managers can delve deeper into the problem factor, such as why there was excessive usage of materials.

Control is also exercised through variance analysis. Budgets are prepared for all business operations by concerned managers working in a coordinated fashion. For example, estimated sales volumes will determine the levels of production; production levels will determine raw material purchases; and so on. With good information system management, it then becomes possible to generate timely reports comparing actual sales, production, raw material deliveries, etc against estimated levels.

The reports will help managers to keep a watch on things and take corrective action quickly. For example, the production manager will become aware of falling sales (or rising sales) of particular products and can prepare to make adjustments in production schedules, and purchasing and inventory managers will become quickly aware of any mounting inventories of unused materials. MIS thus enhances the quality of communication all around and can significantly improve the effectiveness of operations control.

Effective MIS Involves Humans and Computers Working together

The major aspect to note is that MIS provides only the information; it is the responsibility of concerned managers to act on the information. It is the synergy between efficient, accurate and speedy equipment and humans with commonsense, intelligence and judgment that really gives power to MIS.

Role of MIS in Business Management
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Gopinathan is a business writer who writes Web content and publicity materials for Web businesses. With first hand business experience as a trained professional with decades of executive and entrepreneurial experience, he can write on business issues with authenticity. And as a trained writer, he can also produce clearly written and readable pieces.

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