Friday, March 19, 2010

Management has no real commitment to accountability

The lack of the most visible results of its CEO and some executives of today's economy highlights the need for accountability in all organizations and companies. Authority is able to avoid liability for their services, since the parties agree, not been able to provide them the appropriate rules. Responsibility acceptable program is not yet available. Government has sought to impose liability, but have the responsibility to be confused withDisclaimer.

The problem is that responsibility in the ethics of a concept with multiple meanings. For our purposes, the liability is simply stated as "being responsible for their actions." The responsibility is more than "Jones is liable if Smith Jones is obligated to inform described by Smith Jones (past or future) actions and decisions, justify, and / or punish any wrongdoing in the case of suffering"

What is the responsibilityand what is not!

As mentioned, accountability is often confused with the responsibility, is not the same. Responsibility for any expectation or belief must describe the behavior. This is a standard of personal and professional that you accept. Empowerment of May will be dictated or implied by law, regulation or by mutual agreement. The responsibility is not necessarily associated with the agreement. It focuses on debt and non-operatingconcentrated.

Importance for the success of your business

The importance of personal responsibility and accountability at work can not be overestimated compared to the success of your business. Because it focuses on process improvement rather than blame, is a basis for continuous improvement and overall productivity.

For positions of responsibility and recognition will be responsible forActions, products, decisions and directives. This includes the administration, management and operations in the role of the employee or of the situation and the obligation to inform, explain and responsible for the consequences.

Management by objectives and is therefore not in business for more?

Many of management by objectives (MBO) programs in the business world today are results oriented and Disclaimerconcentrated. This explains the frequency of less than spectacular performance on organizational performance. When I have never seen most of the objectives that have been written by managers and were hit from the moment they put on paper. Often in these cases, we find that the compensation program, the authority and responsibility of driving is not provided, a system of accountability throughout the organization. When this happens, the MBOThe program is not accepted as a condition of employment, is not compatible, but excited by managers and subordinates as a tool to conduct an extraordinary result.

Reliant usually non-poor among the objectives of multiple levels of managers and subordinates. Often, the goals of a manager's special, is not one of the objectives reflect subordinates two levels down. In some cases, the operator of the connection, but only because he or she expectedsubordinated to create your list of target

The impact of a program of good relations

A program of responsibility should be a roadmap for the effective functioning of the organization. There must be a link with the corporate mission, the obligations of the Company and its direct participation in society. It is an expression of connection between different levels of organization and across the board and the organization of staff. Only by definingThus, the organization can ensure that a responsible organization requires, for example. Remember, the responsibility of the head of the organization of a system that will be printed in both visible and controllable, and consistent with the vision and business mission.

Accountability is only half the battle

Remember that the responsibility is a process agreed at the bottom, you agree to be responsible for some activitiesHead from you is so important to success. In exchange, they agreed that could meet at some point and some other restrictions. This process requires a high degree of strategic and operational planning. You must follow a structure that people are more likely to register as a "buy-in. This should be a simple structure that is based on performance. Objectives should be realistic, based on time, with reasonable results, as expected, which means that theyreached. The work of each person must be mapped to show their vital activities and the important work that has considered the leader, whose work on the faculty of the mind.

Management, as usual is not enough

The type of performance management, we have seen in society, the government has "saved" will continue in all areas, if an effective system of accountability established in all enterprises. Director General will continueefficient, cost many jobs and trips to bankruptcy court. Companies need to have a good hard look at themselves and their results and see if it will finance activities in all sectors, a few inches

The parties must address all levels of responsibility for performance management. You must take a systematic approach to accountability and performance. Performance bonuses should be linked to performance through a framework of accountabilityProcess or program.

Companies with the adoption and adherence to a structured program of responsibility for global economic crisis will be strengthened and sustained growth for long.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Performance Management is the conversation

Why is one of the most important parts of dealing with people, the part that is often overlooked or avoided? Help others present on the labor market to succeed is a central task of leadership. However, many managers avoid difficult conversations with employees.

Have you ever avoided a conversation with an employee because of something you feel uncomfortable? Issues of customer service, support, poor workmanship, lack of teamwork. This happens on every calljust for conversation, which should not be avoided!

The next time the behavior of an employee who is expected to change and yet the feeling of fear growing in his chest, remember:

1 defines the behavior that is not productive. As a person has an impact on work or other team members? Work more specifically, you can feel the additional objective of the exhibition.

2 Describe the behavior you expect. What should be the person whoInstead what they do now? Focus on behavior, not the attitude of employees.

3 focus on results. Ask yourself, "What happens when I discussed with employee representatives in relation to the conduct 'or' What if I am to avoid a conversation with the staff of the problem?" These questions usually take into account that the problem is solved, or not to change the behavior before you begin the conversation.

4 Just do it. Waiting for the"right time" to obtain what is believed to be a difficult conversation that you have an excuse to avoid the situation. Often expect to have the conversation, makes the situation even worse. Before starting the conversation is more likely that the employee can improve performance, and before that can happen to the nicest things.

Sometimes, when the conversation is all that is needed to solve problems at work. Do not let the human tendency to avoid conflict, or "bad news"be done in the way of what is needed.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Successful Project Management is Critical!

Project Management is of fast growing importance to organizations whether large or small because it deals effectively with the management of change. As a small business owner you know that your business environment is changing all the time. As a business owner that successful project management is all about setting and achieving reasonable and attainable goals. In business, project management is an art, a skill, and a demanding full-time job. The fact of the matter is that project management is a human issue of people needing to work together. And you as the business owner are the leader when it comes to project management.

Project management is about being able to create transparency and build trust. It's about finding solutions that help each team member be better in what they are doing while building teamwork. Project management tracks actual progress against the goals and timelines set forth before the project even began. This permits a better understanding of whether you should adjust your strategy, staffing, or timelines in light of the way in which the project is developing.

Project management has come into its own in recent years. A project manager can do some very useful things. Balancing limited labor, materials, and other resources is a difficult task. And eventually you are going to need people that can do that on a consistent basis. For as your business grows so too will your projects. And as your own tasks become even more varied you're going to need good project managers because you won't always be able to look over their shoulders. You've got to be able to trust that they can deliver what you promised to someone. And for whoever you task with delivering a project "on time and under budget" they can expect a great deal of job satisfaction assuming that you also recognize their good work. The job offers the opportunity to lead, and new projects keep the work fresh and challenging.

Typically, projects are managed by focusing on the delivery of the tasks that make up the project, in the seemingly reasonable belief that if these tasks are done on time, the project will be done on time as well. No wonder project management is such a challenging endeavor. Protecting the value of a project involves dealing with the uncertainty that will be associated with its delivery. The role of project management is to assist in turning uncertain events and efforts into certain outcomes and promises. The project manager has a lot of responsibility thrust upon him or her. But hopefully with experience will come consistent success. For many businesses the types of projects encountered are similar. If you build houses for a living then each house you build will be unique in its own ways but it will share many similarities with other houses you've already built. If you capitalize on that experience then you should have many more successes.

Project management is a skill valued in every major industry. Project management is rapidly becoming a key skill that underpins progress and prosperity. As your projects grow larger and more diverse hiring people who have that experience will be of great value to your business.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Measurable Goals For Performance Management

In a recent email to me, mezhermnt subscriber Corina from Hong Kong asks:

"This will be the first year my company uses the SMART approach to do performance management. As a manager, I am supposed to set up measurable objectives for my subordinates. It's not a problem for me to set up measurable objectives for my assistant managers as they have deadlines to meet. But when it comes to my secretary and the clerical staff, I am not sure how to set measurable goals for them as their duties are very routine and tedious. Could you give me some examples?"

Are deadlines the only thing worth measuring?

Corina mentions that setting up measurable goals for her assistant managers is relatively easy because they have deadlines to meet. Does this mean that the only results worth measuring for the assistant managers is whether they complete things by their deadlines?

What about completing the right things, instead of wasting time and effort and money on doing things that really don't need to be done at all?

And what about completing things well, instead of rushing to get it done on time but producing an end result that falls below the standards required?

Spend the time to think about results, before thinking about goals and measures.

So this is the first key to setting measurable goals for performance management: first spend some time to define the most important results that the person, in their role, is responsible for achieving. And check that you've got the right balance among those results using a checklist something like this one:

* timeliness (finishing the work on time, or with as short as feasible cycle time or total effort)

* quality (the goodness of the output produced, perhaps in terms of customer expectations or standards)

* quantity (the total amount of work performed, or output produced)

* cost (the total amount spent to perform the tasks)

* efficiency or productivity (the best use of time and resources)

So what are some examples of measurable goals for a secretary or personal assistant?

First we need to talk about the results that are important for a secretary or personal assistant to achieve, rather than get hung up on the duties they perform. For example, rather than focusing on the duties of "send agendas for meetings" and "schedule appointments", one key result might be "their boss is always able to focus on the priorities and not distracted by administrative tasks".

Next, what could be some goals for a secretary to strive for over the coming year? One goal, in line with the above result, could be to "Reduce the proportion of administrative items that go into the boss's in tray or diary."

And lastly, how could you measure this goal? One way could be to add the total hours the boss spends on administrative tasks (or tasks that are not in their list of priorities) and divide it by the total time the boss works, to give a proportion of time spent in administrative tasks. Clearly the goal is to reduce this amount.

See how this thought process gets you monitoring important results, instead of just measuring activity, like how many agendas were produced or how many appointments were scheduled?

So next time you're setting goals and measures for your staff, make sure the conversation starts with a clear statement of the results they are responsible for producing, as opposed to the tasks they perform. Measure the results, not the tasks.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Painting Business Management Functions and Principles

Company Policies - Manual of Operations

Everything comes with instructions, why not a painting company? Call it automating your business, any time you can automate a procedure you free up your time. An automated business can run without a manager, you. Can your company run for any length of time without you? Can you take a vacation?

Did you ever see a McDonald's go out of business?

Certainly one reason that helps them to succeed is their operations manual. Go in any McDonald's from Alaska to Florida and they are the same. Another reason for McDonald success, no matter where the McDonald's is in the US, you can get the same burger, and that makes people feel safe, so that they know they can fell assured that they will get what they ask for. The next really smart thing about McDonald's Policy manual is that they can take totally inexperienced people and have the store function consistently by just following the manual.

And while a painting company has many jobs that need specialized skills, there are many tasks that are repetitious and can be laid out in the form of an instruction manual. Estimation, payroll, sales can be almost totally formulated. Even a foreman's skills of running the job will benefit from policies or directions describing the way we do it.

Imagine how large you want your business to be in a few years, then by establishing relationships and then by visualizing the flow of work or information between the relationships. Now define these relations with job descriptions. Such as Sales manager, marketing manager, accounting, and then when you know the people you need to hire, create a detailed job description for each one. Of course you won't need to hire these people immediately; because, you will still be doing most of the work.

Here is an example of an outline of a business operations manual:

1. Plan, mission statement
2. Your Flo-chart
3. Employee Information
4. Human Resources (hiring/firing, vacations, overtime, payroll, etc.)
5. Services
a. The Industry
b. Our Organization
c. Business Management
d. Daily Operating Procedures
e. End of Week, End of Month, End of Quarter and End of Year Procedures
6. Sales, Policies and Procedures
7. Customer Service, Policies and Procedures
8. Marketing
9. Reports & Records
10. Safety
11. Legal

Consider the manual a work in progress. Use it and keep modifying it as you use it.
Making changes and simplifying the manual will improve it. Although a lot of work can go into this, be assured that the rewards are well worth the effort.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Restaurant Management - Tips for buying Restaurant Equipment

Nothing is more frustrating for the management of a restaurant in a device that breaks. Of course, the computer can not only during a fever Friday night, just before the weekend, when the repairs are difficult to reconcile. In addition to the management and repair services for customer problems, time spent working on equipment, security and waiting for parts and services in many hours, which may be more effective transfer of waste.

After three restaurants, many years and manyErrors, here are some ideas for my drive to save thousands of dollars and many hours of work and personal mental health.


Buy new or used equipment? The answer is both. You must make some decisions before you begin your search. Ask yourself these questions
What is the importance of the device for my operation? In other words, a microwave oven to heat the second is as important as their boats in an operation of seafood if the ship goes down, your pet can go toWeeds and input from clients on two occasions.
How soon can I get equipment?
What can I do to maximize the money from my purchases? For example, if you need a new flat top grilled cheese is melting, which is optional on most models as a backup to my salamander? If I buy a convection oven, I was a combination convection / steam, or perhaps one of the turbo-fast cooking ovens
When I update a model or a combination, you can add flexibility to my menu?
What willmy budget allows? If the investments have the potential to generate new markets?

If you are cash rich and fast delivery are important for testing new equipment for the road. On the other hand, if you're like most restaurant operations and every penny that is being studied, then use the computer can be a reasonable solution. Used may be difficult to buy without thinking about the purchase of any problem. If you buy used, follow these suggestions;


Even more important --The maintenance of the system if they need to work before you buy. Ask if you call a technician for advice regularly.
If possible, a provider of security for a specified period.
Never any good deal to buy the restaurant, through the Internet, when you configure and understand the shipping charges. Only buy from a seller on the Internet, accepting credit cards. The credit card companies to offer a small amount of protection against fraudulent offers.
RememberWhen you replace equipment, there are many technical problems. So, for example 220 volt connectors are different phases. Gas appliances should also apply to most electric motors and electronics. Current varies with the number of devices. 15 for a toaster may withdraw from the amplifier, and another to develop up to 20 amps, reducing congestion in the circuit and the need for an electrician, a new song (if installation is possible).

Buying new equipment is less a game than before, but it's worth and luxurylong-term security and a reliable device. The biggest problem with the new equipment is still in use. What happens if they break? It 'good to have a guarantee for long, but if the service must come from another area, it can take days or weeks, not buy. A nightmare of 5,800 dollars, that we had was a large convection oven was bought new and used heavy five years. When we need a theme for them, are not part of the population. The question came from Germany and we had to findsomeone who works there. After one or two weeks of discussions, you buy a new device for the interruption of service to the customer.

Well, if all conditions are perfect, and has cash reserves, the new computer is the best way to eliminate the headaches in the future - at least during the lifetime of the device. There are some good books sometimes used equipment available. An example is the opening of numerous restaurants, the chain and close with regularity. You can find some exceptionalBargain if you can find the wholesaler of computers in the chain of restaurants. Some wholesalers have warehouses full of relatively new equipment.

Remember to focus not only on the computer to Best Buy. Impact factor of the operation without the proper equipment when it fails. Hospitality begins with customer expectations. Do not ruin your chances of faulty equipment.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Performance Management - Five Steps to Success

A company is nothing but an idea without people in place to act and the employer. And how does a company is a direct reflection of their employees.

Over time, a practice of performance management in most companies has been to ensure that employees not only the jobs they were engaged, so it is not known, but doing well and we are proud of the work.

Performance management involves planning, monitoring,The development, evaluation and compensation of employees. Let's see more ...

1. Your business workload

The design is exactly what it sounds like: planning is not only necessary to complete tasks, but as you should always be done. Employee involvement in this process because by participating in the review, feel more part of the process and less like monkeys, who are trained to jump on command.

In other words, the participation of workers inThe planning process improves morale. It also helps that no gap remains in communication in order to implement the plans. After the planning phase, all employees must have a clear idea of what is expected of them.

2. Oversight agencies and individual performance

Monitoring is also self-explanatory. Monitoring provides monitoring of employees by their bosses to make sure you do your job efficiently and helpsReflect on how employees can work.

Monitoring ensures that no unrealistic expectations set by management or employees, not only follows that what is done, but that is still ongoing.

3. Individual and team development

Development refers to employees to evolve to keep and increase the level of need after the millennium, the work. Could this be the teaching of new skills, implementing newProcedures to improve work processes more accessible.

Sometimes, the assignment of new responsibilities to employees who seem to have exceeded his age. Development ensures growth of employees and society.

4. Assessment of individual performance

The evaluation is how to evaluate the performance of employees. E 'imperative that employees receive a card "Report" on a regular basis. Areas of assessment in May, the worker needs to grow and to addressAreas where they excel.

Provides a clear map for the employee is at this date and time and is important to ensure that the employee has provided a good pace of development in society.

5. Rewarding Great Performance

Rewarding employees is probably the most important outcome of management. A happy employee is an employee productivity and reward employees whose work is exceptional, is a key factor to ensure that their level ofdoes not deteriorate.

Everyone wants to make sure that you see. Studies have shown that employees are rewarded for their work, are much more motivated to consider when implementing a high level as to insult or punishment "are more than satisfactory.

Performance management is a method by which a business that your company is growing steadily and has reached the desired level.

It 'easy to useeffective and efficient system to ensure achievement of business objectives.