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This is king of how this class felt to me. Hopefully my future career wont be as bad!

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Poking a little fun at assessment tests.

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Once again while working on the final assignment I had a question come up. Exactly how accurate are assessment tests in gathering information about potential employees?

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Official Tickets and Your Source for Live Entertainment | AXS.com

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AXS.com brings you inside access to tickets, artist news, and exclusive stories on concerts, tours, sports teams, family events, arts, theater, and festivals - nationally and in your town.

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After doing our final assignment I realized that I might someday want to work for Enterprise, therefore I went in search of job opportunities in the area.

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Enterprise Rent-A-Car Jobs - Jobs in Jacksonville, FL

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Enterprise Holdings/Enterprise Rent-A-Car/Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental seeks and values people of all backgrounds because every employee, customer and business partner is important. Enterprise Holdings is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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A simple chart of what exactly a good manager is.

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After doing the discussion question for this module I decided to look a little more into HP. I found it surprising that even with all their drama, they still make the list for most valuable brands.

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Hewlett-Packard on the Forbes World's Most Valuable Brands List

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Hewlett-Packard #42 on the Forbes World's Most Valuable Brands List

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This is an article about workplace coaching. Coaching helps to
equip people with the tools, knowledge, and opportunities they need to fully develop themselves to be effective.

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Behavioral Coaching is Transformational

Successful people are successful because of their behavior. They do things right, they do the right things and they get the right results. But in nearly every case, these successful people also have blind spots that have been with them all their lives and that cause them to exhibit behaviors that sabotage their success. They are successful in spite of their problem behaviors. But what if they could change? The change would be transformational.

When the Behavior of a Manager or Employee Becomes a Problem

Some managers have a real problem: their authority has gone to their heads and they alienate their employees through their "my way or the highway" behaviors. Unfortunately, many good employees will choose the highway, resulting in excessive turnover and low morale.

Other managers are so "nice" that they avoid confrontation with employees, and when they do attempt to confront, they sugar-coat the problem and nothing changes.

Some employees have anger and aggression problems that they can't seem to control. They may be very good workers, but they tend to intimidate and alienate ther co-workers.

Other employees hold grudges, and their passive-aggressive behaviors impede teamwork and productivity.

So what do you do?

When good people exhibit bad behavior, you can send them to a public seminar. But clearly that won't solve the problem. Anger management class is basically a punishment; a slap on the hand. The manager or employee may learn a few things, but the only real value is in the warning: that there is a behavior problem that needs to be solved.
Behavior Coaching is the Solution
Behavior coaching is a better solution than sending someone to a seminar. It sends the message that behavior needs to change - but whereas they can hide in the back of a classroom and learn nothing, they can't hide in a one-on-coaching program.

In many cases we recommend a full-day, face-to-face, one-on-one coaching workshop with Roger Reece, followed by a series of follow-up telephone coaching sessions designed to bring about lasting change.

In every case we discuss the history of the situation with you and work with you to develop the first draft of the coaching plan. Then, in the initial session with the manager or employee, Roger finalizes the coaching plan, and together they work out the solution to the problem.
Behavior Coaching: Your Best Alternative in Solving Behavioral Problems
Behavior coaching is not a punishment. It is a manager or employee development program designed to enhance the individual's career and help her/him achieve success. If you have a manager or an employee with a behavior problem, contact us today for a behavior coaching solution.

Can people change self-defeating behaviors that have been with them since childhood? The answer is yes, and this is the goal of behavior coaching.

Behavior Coaching is Not About Changing the Person. It's About Changing the Person's Behavior
"That's just the way I am. I've always been this way."
Don't confuse who you are with what you do. We learn coping behaviors at a young age, and then reinforce them throughout our lives. Behavior is not encoded in your DNA and it doesn't define who you are. In fact, in many cases it sabotages your ability to be all you can be.

Behavior coaching helps successful people to see the incongruencies between their values, their desired outcomes, and their behaviors. More importantly, behavioral coaching gives them the tools they need to break the patterns that are sabotaging their success.

Behaviors That Can Sabotage Your Success

In spite of all their great behaviors, successful people often sabotage their success by exhibiting behaviors such as:

Avoiding conflict

Talking down to people

Hurrying through conversations and not listening

Treating people like objects

Allowing hostility to build in their relationships

Failing to build trust and respect

Giving in by saying yes when they need to negotiate a win-win agreement

Blaming others rather than working together to solve the problem

Speaking to others in a harsh or condescending tone

Failing to build strong relationships with decision-makers at higher levels

Political maneuvering that is perceived as self-serving manipulation

Complaining rather than taking ownership

Failing to show appreciation to team members

Taking the actions of "difficult people" as personal attacks

Frequently miscommunicating without realizing it

Offending people without realizing it

Getting defensive when challenged, criticized or corrected

Failing to admit mistakes

Putting personal agendas ahead of team goals

Failing to tune into the needs and feelings of others

Treating people harshly or disrespectfully

Harboring resentment and not resolving the issue

Needing to be right in disagreements

Disorganization and lack of structure in managing projects

Poor follow-up in solving problems and keeping commitments

Focusing too much on the task at hand and not enough on the people involved

and many other self-defeating behaviors.

Behavior Coaching Helps You to Identify and Break the Habits that Are Holding You Back

Blind spots can keep you "repeating the same behaviors and expecting different results" (Einstein's definition of insanity). Behavior coaching will help you to clearly see the behaviors that need to change, and why they need to change. Roger Reece will work with you, over the phone or face-to-face, in order to identify your self-defeating behaviors; and in some cases, he may conduct a 360 to go deeper (a "360" is an automated survey or a series of live interviews with people 360 degrees around you - including your manager(s), your peers and your direct reports).

Once the behaviors to be changed are identified, a coaching plan will be developed, focusing on your objectives. If you are a manager seeking coaching for one of your direct reports, the coaching plan will be developed with that individual, using your feedback as key criteria for the plan.

Behavior Coaching Helps You to Form New Habits and Skills to Take You to the Next Level

You can attend training classes, read books and listen to self-help CDs to gain useful knowledge about the habits and skills that will take you to the next level in terms of behavior, performance and results. But your blind spots have a way of filtering what you take in, making it difficult for you to get clarity and make the necessary changes on your own. Self-help is great for building on your strengths, but it is less effective in helping you to overcome your weaknesses.

Behavior coaching, in contrast, relies on a skilled coach to help you through the process. In our case, that skilled coach is Roger Reece. Roger will work with you to not only to develop a success plan, but also to help you to implement it in order to achieve your goals. How long does behavior coaching take? It depends on the scope of the plan and the results you intend to achieve. In some cases, a coaching program may only span a few months. In other cases it may span a year or more. Your coaching program will be designed to achieve optimal results as quickly as possible.

Behavior Coaching Workshops for Individuals and Small Groups

Coaching workshops are coaching sessions where new behaviors and skills are learned in a highly interactive, direct and personal environment. Real problems are discussed and specific solutions are worked out. Coaching workshops are focused and practical, and they combine training content with the behavior coaching process. We can structure a training program to include a combination of full group classroom training, small group coaching workshops, and one-on-one coaching.

Behavior Coaching for Management & Leadership Development

Many managers have come up through the ranks. They have a lot of years in the business and they know their job. Or do they? When an individual contributor gets promoted to supervisor or manager, entirely new sets of skills need to be developed. And what is the best way to teach those skill sets? Behavior is a type of on-the-job training program for supervisors and managers. Many of your managers and supervisors are currently involved in difficult employee situations where they may be doing more harm than good. Behavior coaching focuses on current situations. A Management/Leadership behavior coaching program is designed to guide your supervisors and managers through the behavioral changes and new-skills development that they need in order to be really good at what they do.

If you are a supervisor or manager, behavior coaching is for you. It's the quickest, most effective way to get to the result you want: to be a great manager. Classroom training is good, but it doesn't help you through the employee problems and challenges you are embroiled in right now. Our coaching programs allow you to pick up the phone when you need help and advice. Our programs help you to develop in the key areas where you need strength. Our programs are not the training classes that put you to sleep. They are about solving today's problems now - problems with your employees, productivity problems, problems with your manager, and any other problems you are facing. And our programs are about making you the kind of leader that people want to follow.

Behavior Coaching for Conflict Resolution

When members of a team don't get along, everyone on the team knows it. Unresolved conflicts between team members, and between managers and their employees, don't tend to go away through avoidance. The conflicts generally get worse - and they may escalate into EEO complaints.

Roger Reece is a behavior coach who is also a conflict mediator. Contact us any time you need help resolving conflict, and coaching the individuals involved in the skills of conflict management. For more information about our conflict management training and coaching programs please visit our Conflict Management Workshops website.

Behavior Coaching for Improving Attitudes, Relationships & Teamwork

How do you fix a team-member's bad attitude? You can accuse that individual of having a bad attitude, but that generally just makes the situation worse. Behavior coaching is about helping people to see what they aren't seeing. It's an individualized approach to changing attitudes.

How do you fix a bad working relationship? You can tell people to work it out, but they may not have the skills or the desire to make the relationship work. Behavior coaching is about helping people to get along together. It's about teaching them how to communicate without generating hostility, about building mutual trust and respect. It's about building teamwork.

Although we offer team building workshops, if you're having attitude and behavior problems with a few specific individuals, a department-wide team building workshop is probably not the answer. Behavioral coaching applies the remedy directly to the problem. Get a coaching program started with the persons at the root of the problems, and get those problems fixed - then have a team building workshop. If you ignore the problem, then sooner or later the rest of your team will lose their positive attitudes, and then you will have a bigger problem. But if that's already happened, contact us and we will outline a coaching and training program to improve the attitudes, relationships and teamwork across the entire group.

Behavior Coaching for Time Management & Productivity Improvement

Poor time management habits are behaviors. Effective time management habits are also behaviors. Roger Reece is a productivity consultant, so his behavior coaching often focuses on helping individuals to implement new tools and workflow processes to improve personal and team productivity. Visit our Time Management Workshops website for information about time management training for your group.

Behavior Coaching for Career Development

How is your career progressing? A decade can pass quickly, and so can important career opportunities. You may be working hard, but is it paying off in terms of career advancement? Behavior coaching is also career coaching. Your behaviors can hold you back, or they can bring about the achievement of your career goals. In truth, if your career isn't where you want it to be, you have your behavior to blame. But behavior coaching isn't about playing the blame game. It's about getting your career into gear by initiating the behaviors that will make the difference.

Roger Reece will help you in the process of making career choices, and he will give you guidance in building relationships and in developing/executing the right strategies for the enhancement of your career. Don't wait until it's obvious that your career has tanked. Get on track with a career development coaching program.

Executive Coaching for Personal Development

We offer executive coaching for all aspects of personal development. If you're an executive who wants to improve your effectiveness at work and in your personal life, behavior coaching is for you. You may be trying to achieve balance between family and work, and you may need help in setting and achieving personal goals. You may need help in dealing with your CEO or the Board of Directors; or, you may be the CEO, and have issues everywhere you turn. Roger Reece is a highly effective executive coach with 25 years of corporate executive management experience, in addition to his years of coaching experience. Contact us to set up a phone call with Roger to discuss your needs.

The Barriers are Low and the Benefits are High

It doesn't take much to get started with behavior coaching. It's as easy as scheduling a meeting. Contact us for information about our telephone and onsite coaching rates and programs. The barriers to getting started are very low. You can start with a one-hour telephone coaching session, and then decide whether or not to move forward into a coaching program. When your behavior changes, the outcomes of your efforts change. Get started with the transformation today.

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Workplace Behavior Coaching for Individuals and Groups

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Behavior coaching for individual managers, supervisors, employees and for small teams

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The Vroom-Yetton-Jago decision model in the textbook was a bit confusing for me. This model was much easier for me to understand.

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Deciding How to Decide

How you go about making a decision can involve as many choices as the decision itself.

Sometimes you have to take charge, and decide what to do on your own, but you don't want to appear autocratic to your team (particularly in situations where you need their input). At other times it's better to make a decision based on the group consensus, but this can use up precious time and resources. So how do you decide which approach is best?

Every manager needs to be able to make good decisions. A systematic approach to decision making, such as the Vroom-Yetton Decision Model, allows you to bring consistency and order to a process that might otherwise feel idiosyncratic and instinctive. It can also help you to determine the most effective means of reaching a decision.

Understanding the Model

The Vroom-Yetton model is designed to help you to identify the best decision-making approach and leadership style to take, based on your current situation. It was originally developed by Victor Vroom and Philip Yetton in their 1973 book, " Leadership and Decision Making."

No single decision-making process fits every scenario. Instead Vroom-Yetton offers a number of different processes and directs you toward the best one for your situation. For example, if speed and decisiveness are required then it will likely point you toward an autocratic process. If collaboration is what's needed, then it will nudge you toward a more democratic process.

Researchers have found that managers are more effective, and their teams more productive and satisfied, when they follow the model. The simplicity of Vroom-Yetton also means that anyone - from the boardroom to the factory floor - can use it.

Although a little long-winded at times, it can be particularly helpful in new or unusual situations. Practice using it, and you'll quickly get a feel for the right approach to take, whether you're making a decision about a day-to-day issue or dealing with a more complex problem.

Before you start using the model, you'll need to consider these three factors:

Decision quality - Sometimes, making the "right" decision is critical, and you'll need to use a large number of resources (people, time, information, and so on) to ensure that the action you take has been well thought through and is of high quality.

Team commitment - Some of your decisions will have a major impact on your team, while others will go unnoticed. When a decision will likely impact your team, it's best to use a collaborative process. This will improve the quality of the decision, and you'll likely deliver a successful result faster.

Time constraints - When the issue at hand isn't time sensitive, you have more "space" to research your options and to include others, which will help to boost the quality of your decision. If your time is limited, however, it may not be feasible to include others or to undertake thorough research.

Specific Leadership Processes

Figure 1, below, shows the Vroom-Yetton model. The framework poses seven "yes/no" questions, which you need to answer to find the best decision-making process for your situation.

As you answer each of the questions, you work your way through a decision tree until you arrive at a code (A1, A2, C1, C2, or G2). This code identifies the best decision-making process for you and your team. (Note that, in some scenarios, you won't need to answer all of the questions.)

Figure 1: The Vroom-Yetton Decision Model

The following codes represent the five decision-making processes that are described by the model:

Autocratic (A1): You use the information that you already have to make the decision, without requiring any further input from your team.

Autocratic (A2): You consult your team to obtain specific information that you need, and then you make the final decision.

Consultative (C1): You inform your team of the situation and ask for members' opinions individually, but you don't bring the group together for a discussion. You make the final decision.

Consultative (C2): You get your team together for a group discussion about the issue and to seek their suggestions, but you still make the final decision by yourself.

Collaborative (G2): You work with your team to reach a group consensus. Your role is mostly facilitative, and you help team members to reach a decision that they all agree on.

In general, a consultative or collaborative style is most appropriate when:

You need information from others to solve a problem.

The problem can't be easily defined.

Team members' buy-in to the decision is important.

You have enough time available to manage a group decision.

An autocratic style is most appropriate when:

You have greater expertise on the subject than others.

You are confident about acting alone.

The team will accept your decision.

There is little time available.

Note:

Vroom-Yetton is a useful model, but it's not necessarily appropriate for all eventualities. It misses out several important considerations, and its rigid structure means that it fails to take into account subtleties, such as the emotions and dynamics of your team, and the task's complexity. The seven questions are imprecise, too - "importance" and "quality," for example, are vague terms - and it can be difficult to give straight "yes" or "no" answers to them.

Vroom and Arthur Jago addressed these weaknesses and amended the original model in their 1988 book, " The New Leadership." The newer model is more complex and includes several additional questions, which allow users to take other constraints, such as geographic location, into account when making their decision. It also uses a mathematical formula to help people to pinpoint the optimum decision-making process for their situation. The newer version of the model is often referred to as either Vroom-Jago or Vroom-Yetton-Jago.

Key Points

The underlying assumption of the Vroom-Yetton Decision Model is that no single leadership style or decision-making process fits all situations.

To find the process best suited to your situation, you need to consider a number of factors. These include time constraints, the level of team participation required, and the quality of the final decision.

The model walks you through these factors logically, to help you to identify the most appropriate process and style. It is particularly useful for managers and leaders who are trying to balance the benefits of participative management with the need to make decisions effectively.

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The Vroom-Yetton Decision Model: Deciding How to Decide

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Deciding How to Decide How you go about making a decision can involve as many choices as the decision itself. Sometimes you have to take charge, and decide what to do on your own, but you don't want to appear autocratic to your team (particularly in situations where you need their input).

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After learning about HR departments I became interested in the type of jobs that were available in human resources and what type of money you could make. I was pleasantly surprised to see the results.

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Human Resources Managers : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Human resources managers plan, direct, and coordinate the administrative functions of an organization. They oversee the recruiting, interviewing, and hiring of new staff; consult with top executives on strategic planning; and serve as a link between an organization's management and its employees.

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Interpersonal communication involves interchanging ideas with others using an assortment of methods, such as words, gestures, voice tone, facial expression and body posture. Interpersonal skills are the lifeblood of organizations because effective communication dictates operational efficiency and facilitates teamwork. It underlies the efficiency of key business functions such as managing, training, selling and resolving conflicts within an organization

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The Effects of Interpersonal Communication in an Organization

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Interpersonal communication involves interchanging ideas with others using an assortment of methods, such as words, gestures, voice tone, facial expression and body posture. Interpersonal skills are the lifeblood of organizations because effective communication dictates operational efficiency and facilitates teamwork. ...

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Your emotional intelligence is the foundation for a host of critical skills—it impacts most everything you say and do each day. Emotional intelligence is the single biggest predictor of performance in the workplace and the strongest driver of leadership and personal excellence.

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I cover emotional intelligence and leadership performance. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

As the bestselling coauthor of Emotional Intelligence 2.0, I'm often asked to break down what emotional intelligence is and why it's so important. Here goes...
Emotional Intelligence Is the Other Kind of Smart.
When emotional intelligence first appeared to the masses in 1995, it served as the missing link in a peculiar finding: people with average IQs outperform those with the highest IQs 70% of the time. This anomaly threw a massive wrench into what many people had always assumed was the sole source of success-IQ. Decades of research now point to emotional intelligence as the critical factor that sets star performers apart from the rest of the pack.

Emotional intelligence is the "something" in each of us that is a bit intangible. It affects how we manage behavior, navigate social complexities, and make personal decisions that achieve positive results. Emotional intelligence is made up of four core skills that pair up under two primary competencies: personal competence and social competence.

Personal competence is made up of your self-awareness and self-management skills, which focus more on you individually than on your interactions with other people. Personal competence is your ability to stay aware of your emotions and manage your behavior and tendencies.

Self-Awareness is your ability to accurately perceive your emotions and stay aware of them as they happen.

Self-Management is your ability to use awareness of your emotions to stay flexible and positively direct your behavior.

Social competence is made up of your social awareness and relationship management skills; social competence is your ability to understand other people's moods, behavior, and motives in order to improve the quality of your relationships.

Social Awareness is your ability to accurately pick up on emotions in other people and understand what is really going on.

Relationship Management is your ability to use awareness of your emotions and the others' emotions to manage interactions successfully.

Emotional Intelligence, IQ, and Personality Are Different.

Emotional intelligence taps into a fundamental element of human behavior that is distinct from your intellect. There is no known connection between IQ and emotional intelligence; you simply can't predict emotional intelligence based on how smart someone is. Intelligence is your ability to learn, and it's the same at age 15 as it is at age 50. Emotional intelligence, on the other hand, is a flexible set of skills that can be acquired and improved with practice. Although some people are naturally more emotionally intelligent than others, you can develop high emotional intelligence even if you aren't born with it.

Personality is the final piece of the puzzle. It's the stable "style" that defines each of us. Personality is the result of hard-wired preferences, such as the inclination toward introversion or extroversion. However, like IQ, personality can't be used to predict emotional intelligence. Also like IQ, personality is stable over a lifetime and doesn't change. IQ, emotional intelligence, and personality each cover unique ground and help to explain what makes a person tick.
Emotional Intelligence Is Linked to Performance.

How much of an impact does emotional intelligence have on your professional success? The short answer is: a lot! It's a powerful way to focus your energy in one direction with a tremendous result. TalentSmart tested emotional intelligence alongside 33 other important workplace skills, and found that emotional intelligence is the strongest predictor of performance, explaining a full 58% of success in all types of jobs.

Your emotional intelligence is the foundation for a host of critical skills-it impacts most everything you say and do each day. Emotional intelligence is the single biggest predictor of performance in the workplace and the strongest driver of leadership and personal excellence.

Of all the people we've studied at work, we've found that 90% of top performers are also high in emotional intelligence. On the flip side, just 20% of bottom performers are high in emotional intelligence. You can be a top performer without emotional intelligence, but the chances are slim. Naturally, people with a high degree of emotional intelligence make more money-an average of $29,000 more per year than people with a low degree of emotional intelligence. The link between emotional intelligence and earnings is so direct that every point increase in emotional intelligence adds $1,300 to an annual salary. These findings hold true for people in all industries, at all levels, in every region of the world. We haven't yet been able to find a job in which performance and pay aren't tied closely to emotional intelligence.
Emotional Intelligence Can Be Developed.

The communication between your emotional and rational "brains" is the physical source of emotional intelligence. The pathway for emotional intelligence starts in the brain, at the spinal cord. Your primary senses enter here and must travel to the front of your brain before you can think rationally about your experience. However, first they travel through the limbic system, the place where emotions are generated. So, we have an emotional reaction to events before our rational mind is able to engage. Emotional intelligence requires effective communication between the rational and emotional centers of the brain.

"Plasticity" is the term neurologists use to describe the brain's ability to change. Your brain grows new connections as you learn new skills. The change is gradual, as your brain cells develop new connections to speed the efficiency of new skills acquired.

Using strategies to increase your emotional intelligence allows the billions of microscopic neurons lining the road between the rational and emotional centers of your brain to branch off small "arms" (much like a tree) to reach out to the other cells. A single cell can grow 15,000 connections with its neighbors. This chain reaction of growth ensures it's easier to kick this new behavior into action in the future. Once you train your brain by repeatedly using new emotional intelligence strategies, emotionally intelligent behaviors become habits.

-----

More by me

My book: Emotional Intelligence 2.0
Emotional Intelligence Training Emotional Intelligence Certification

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As the bestselling coauthor of Emotional Intelligence 2.0, I'm often asked to break down what emotional intelligence is and why it's so important. Here goes... Emotional Intelligence Is the Other Kind of Smart. When emotional intelligence first appeared to the masses in 1995, it served as the missing link in a peculiar [...]

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Factors Influencing Group Communication

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A simple to understand video about basic corporate structure.

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Investopedia Video: Understanding A Company's Corporate Structure

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All publicly traded companies share the same basic corporate structure. Find out how the management hierarchy works, what responsibilities belong to whom, and who's looking out for shareholders.<br>

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This article explains the importance of having a well planned meeting. A bit or information I found interesting in this artcle is that the average employee spends up to 30% of his or her work time in meetings.

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Effective Meetings: The Importance of a Well-Organized Group Meeting

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A well-planned group meeting is the key to productive and successful teams; however, understanding how to plan effective meetings can be difficult. This article identifies the importance of a well-planned group meeting and identifies the characteristics of effective meetings.

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In this module I learned how useful a meeting agenda can be, also rather boring. This cartoon livens things up.

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While doing the coursework in this module it made me think of my own organizations structure. Here is a brief overview.

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This article talks about an alternative to a SWOT analysis call TOWS matrix. The main difference between a SWOT analysis and a TOWS matrix is that SWOT focuses on the external threats while TOWS
focuses on the internal threats. Basically, a TOWS matrix is an expansion on a SWOT analysis.

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Developing Strategic Options From an External-Internal Analysis

TOWS Analysis is a variant of the classic business tool, SWOT Analysis.

TOWS and SWOT are acronyms for different arrangements of the words Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

By analyzing the external environment (threats and opportunities), and your internal environment (weaknesses and strengths), you can use these techniques to think about the strategy of your whole organization, a department or a team. You can also use them to think about a process, a marketing campaign, or even your own skills and experience.

Our article on SWOT Analysis helps you perform a thorough SWOT/TOWS Analysis. At a practical level, the only difference between TOWS and SWOT is that TOWS emphasizes the external environment whilst SWOT emphasizes the internal environment. In both cases, this analysis results in a SWOT (or TOWS) Matrix like the one shown below:

In this article, we look at how you can extend your use of SWOT and TOWS to think in detail about the strategic options open to you. While this approach can be used just as well with SWOT as TOWS, it's most often associated with TOWS.

Identifying Strategic Options

SWOT or TOWS analysis helps you get a better understanding of the strategic choices that you face. (Remember that "strategy" is the art of determining how you'll "win" in business and life.) It helps you ask, and answer, the following questions: How do you:

Make the most of your strengths?

Circumvent your weaknesses?

Capitalize on your opportunities?

Manage your threats?

A next step of analysis, usually associated with the externally-focused TOWS Matrix, helps you think about the options that you could pursue. To do this you match external opportunities and threats with your internal strengths and weaknesses, as illustrated in the matrix below:

TOWS Strategic Alternatives Matrix

This helps you identify strategic alternatives that address the following additional questions:

Strengths and Opportunities (SO) - How can you use your strengths to take advantage of the opportunities?

Strengths and Threats (ST) - How can you take advantage of your strengths to avoid real and potential threats?

Weaknesses and Opportunities (WO) - How can you use your opportunities to overcome the weaknesses you are experiencing?

Weaknesses and Threats (WT) - How can you minimize your weaknesses and avoid threats?

Using the Tool

Step 1: Print off our free SWOT Worksheet and perform a TOWS/SWOT analysis, recording your findings in the space provided. This helps you understand what your strengths and weaknesses are, as well as identifying the opportunities and threats that you should be looking at.

Step 2: Print off our free TOWS Strategic Options Worksheet, and copy the key conclusions from the SWOT Worksheet into the area provided (shaded in blue).

Step 3: For each combination of internal and external environmental factors, consider how you can use them to create good strategic options:

Strengths and Opportunities (SO) - How can you use your strengths to take advantage of these opportunities?

Strengths and Threats (ST) - How can you take advantage of your strengths to avoid real and potential threats?

Weaknesses and Opportunities (WO) - How can you use your opportunities to overcome the weaknesses you are experiencing?

Weaknesses and Threats (WT) - How can you minimize your weaknesses and avoid threats?

Note:

The WT quadrant - weaknesses and threats - is concerned with defensive strategies. Put these into place to protect yourself from loss, however don't rely on them to create success.

The options you identify are your strategic alternatives, and these can be listed in the appropriate quadrant of the TOWS worksheet.

Tip:

When you have many factors to consider, it may be helpful to construct a matrix to match individual strengths and weaknesses to the individual opportunities and threats you've identified. To do this, you can construct a matrix such as the one below for each quadrant (SO, ST, WO, and WT).

This helps you analyze in more depth options that hold the greatest promise. Note any new alternatives you identify on the TOWS Strategic Alternatives worksheet.

Step 4: Evaluate the options you've generated, and identify the ones that give the greatest benefit, and that best achieve the mission and vision of your organization. Add these to the other strategic options that you're considering.

Tip:

See the Mind Tools Strategy and Creativity Sections for other useful techniques for understanding your environment, and analyzing your strategic options. And see our Problem Solving and Decision Making Sections for techniques for understanding these options in more detail, and deciding between them.

Key Points

The TOWS Matrix is a relatively simple tool for generating strategic options. By using it, you can look intelligently at how you can best take advantage of the opportunities open to you, at the same time that you minimize the impact of weaknesses and protect yourself against threats.

Used after detailed analysis of your threats, opportunities, strength and weaknesses, it helps you consider how to use the external environment to your strategic advantage, and so identify some of the strategic options available to you.
Download Worksheet

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The TOWS Matrix: Developing Strategic Options from an External-Internal Analysis

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Developing Strategic Options From an External-Internal Analysis TOWS Analysis is a variant of the classic business tool, SWOT Analysis. TOWS and SWOT are acronyms for different arrangements of the words Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

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During our SWOT analysis of IN-N-OUT Burger I got curious as
to if they were really going to expand. This article proved otherwise.  It also discusses why they choose not to
expand. I also like the fact that this company chooses "food
quality, restaurant cleanliness and its overall image" over being a giant
corporation making loads of money.

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Given the amount of fanfare that surrounds In-N-Out Burger, one would think that the fast-casual chain was fairly ubiquitous. While 281 stores is nothing to shrug at, the locations are only in five states in the Western U.S., so East Coasters are forced to take a cross-country trip to get a bite of a double-double (well, unless they happen to chance on one of the occasional international In-N-Out pop-ups).

In an interview with the Orange County Register, In-N-Out president Lynsi Torres, America's youngest female billionaire, explains why the company hasn't expanded to more of the country.

For one, In-N-Out doesn't franchise any of its stores, which the chain argues helps it maintain control over "food quality, restaurant cleanliness and its overall image," the OC Register explains.

Second, none of the restaurants have freezers or microwaves, so all of its food comes fresh from two distribution facilities, one in California and one in Texas. Opening up locations in areas that are farther away would result in a need for more distribution facilities and a big change to In-N-Out's supply chain.

"We're definitely not franchising, and we're not going to sell," Torres tells the paper. ( Read the whole interview in the OC Register here.)

It's interesting to compare In-N-Out's expansion strategy to that of Shake Shack, the 9-year-old New York-based burger chain that also inspires a herd of rabid fans. While In-N-Out has been around for 65 years, has a relatively unchanged menu and expands mostly within a defined geographical area, Shake Shake is almost doing the exact opposite. The chain customizes certain food offerings based on each location and is expanding to places far from its home base, like London and the Middle East.

Worth noting, however, is that Shake Shack has not yet made attempts to open in areas where In-N-Out restaurants are located. Smashburger, another growing fast-casual burger concept chain, is planning to take on California, though. And Five Guys, another threat to In-N-Out's burger dominance there, has already done so.

What does this exactly mean for In-N-Out? Will its strategy of low and slow growth be able to compete against chains that are growing bigger, faster? Given how much the brand still resonates, despite being considerably older than its competitors, we're wondering if the newer chains are the ones that should be worried.

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Given the amount of fanfare that surrounds In-N-Out Burger, one would think that the fast-casual chain was fairly ubiquitous. While 281 stores is nothing to shrug at, the locations are only in five states in the Western U.S., so East Coasters are forced to take a cross-country trip to get a bite of a double-double (well, unless they happen to chance on one of the occasional international In-N-Out pop-ups).

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After doing our SWOT assignment I decided to look in the strategy a little more. I came to find SOAR. Some businesses are saying it the next great thing in strategic planning. I however thought it was just a revamped version of a SWOT.

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Strategy and tools in business - To SWOT or SOAR?

Over the years a lot of good and bad things have been said by many HR and consulting practitioners about the SWOT analysis. Certainly it is not the most robust of tools in its basic form. But when used in the way it was originally developed, it is a powerful methodology and framework.
Some people have argued that it is time to move on from the SWOT analysis to other tools and techniques. In this piece we explore SOAR an Appreciative Inquiry tool.

An interesting article on this topic was published in AI Practitioner magazine ( http://preview.tinyurl.com/2bvobg ) (it is available here http://preview.tinyurl.com/26wk4v - or here) for those that are not subscribers).

SOAR stands for Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations and Results.

The authors propose it as:

Many proponents of the SOAR method talk of it as being a "positively re-framed SWOT analysis".

Having read the article mentioned, along with several others of a similar vein, the SOAR approach to my mind, makes the same mistakes (in the context of strategic planning) that many people attempting to use the SWOT analysis do. That is they miss the context.

When the (highly researched) SOFT was changed to SWOT the new authors missed the point of explaining the context of its use. In my experience this is one reason why the tool is often miss-understood. It (SWOT/ SOFT) was never designed to stand on its own. Nor was it ever to be part of the direct action phase. SWOT was a diagnosis and data capture tool.

The authors of this piece on SOAR to my mind make two fundamental mistakes:

1) They assume that all applications of SWOT are in the way they describe
2) They appear to ignore weaknesses and threats - apparently believing that their solution will soar (pardon the pun) over any difficulties.

Evidence of the authors' assumptions can be seen in the way they describe SWOT:

SOAR is biased towards what they can do rather than consider what areas they should avoid. This completely misses the point about opportunities being created by the omissions of others or changes in customers patterns.

In the context of SWOT, Weaknesses are supposed to be internal weaknesses. Factors which may inhibit the organization from delivering its promise. It is not supposed to look externally at 'who might outperform us'.

Would the shareholders of Enron be in the position they are now in (extinct) if they had faced up to their threats and weaknesses, rather than focus on what they thought were their strengths?

The SOAR article clearly states in its summary

"This article has attempted to address the strategy-to-execution gap. In doing so, we have discussed , a strengths-based framework that builds on the best points of SwOt (strengths and opportunities) in order to move beyond the "as-is" state of the organization's environment to the "to-be"."

Yes this as a framework can be used as the authors state to take SWOT data and apply it. But SOAR in itself is not a diagnostic or orientation tool.

Anyone using SOAR as a diagnostic tool is going to make the same errors as 1000's of people have done with inappropriate use of SWOT.

Rear view mirror?

Some proponents of SOAR go as far as to say

"The reason is that 50% of the SWOT process keeps organizations looking in the rear view mirror focusing on trying to fix weaknesses and swat away real or imagined threats. Unfortunately, it keeps most organizations stuck in the status quo and saps the energy and enthusiasm necessary to move forward."

Is this true? Is a SWOT really just looking in the mirror? Or is it about using the forward view, taking account of the rear view and side mirrors before making a manoeuvre? There is no point 'changing lanes' if there is a semi-truck right next to you - it's all about context and timing. Sure SWOT for personal development is not the best tool, and maybe SOAR is a better fit - but for true strategic planning it's not one OR the other but BOTH....?

Appreciative Inquiry has its place

Appreciative Inquiry is a particular way of asking questions and envisioning the future that fosters positive relationships and builds on the basic goodness in a person, a situation, or an organization proponents. In so doing, it enhances a system's capacity for collaboration and change.

Appreciative Inquiry utilizes a 4-stage process focusing on:

DISCOVER: The identification of organizational processes that work well.

DREAM: The envisioning of processes that would work well in the future.

DESIGN: Planning and prioritizing processes that would work well.

DESTINY (or DELIVER): The implementation (execution) of the proposed design.

The basic idea is to build organizations around what works, rather than trying to fix what doesn't. It is the opposite of problem solving. AI focuses on how to create more of what's already working.

This method is more positive in nature than many others, however it is as a strategy naive in that it assumes success breeds success - many organizations are in fact where they now because by prioritising they did solve problems and did not just focus on what works.

Would a company that currently makes plastic carrier bags be advised to use SOAR exclusively - or look at the external factors which MAY bring about a reduction or indeed the end of the need for their product? Customer pressure, Environmental impact, Cost of provision etc...

Equally any diagnostic process needs to look holistically at the people and the processes, from an internal and external perspective. Not just one or the other.

Is SWOT redundant?.....

No but it is sure made to be a more reliable process with additions of other models in the transition to application. So to

To SWOT or SOAR? Or are they just different tools with a different purpose?

Page reviewed April 2015

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SWOT or SOAR? - Strategy and tools in business

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Over the years a lot of good and bad things have been said by many HR and consulting practitioners about the SWOT analysis. Certainly it is not the most robust of tools in its basic form. But when used in the way it was originally developed, it is a powerful methodology and framework.

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After seeing which US companies were operating globally, I decided to take a look into which companies the US had free trade agreements with. This is what I found.

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Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) have proved to be one of the best ways to open up foreign markets to U.S. exporters. Trade Agreements reduce barriers to U.S. exports, and protect U.S. interests and enhance the rule of law in the FTA partner country.

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After reading about global organizations I decided to see which US companies were global and I stumbled up this list. The Global 2000.

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Chinese banks held on to the top three spots in the FORBES Global 2000, a comprehensive annual ranking of the world's largest public companies.

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This article was basically an add for a new book about managing a global organization. However, it gave me some really good insight to how complex managing a global organization can be.

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PREMIUM If there was any further need to prove the interconnectedness of our global economy, the biggest financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression has delivered it.

In previous crises a variety of boundaries (in the housing, banking and industry sectors, as well as between nations, or at least regions) confined and limited the impact of actions and decisions to a defined space. This...

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How to manage complexity in global organizations

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PREMIUM If there was any further need to prove the interconnectedness of our global economy, the biggest financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression has delivered it. In previous crises a variety of boundaries (in the housing, banking and industry sectors, as well as between nations, or at least regions) confined and limited the impact of actions and decisions to a defined space.

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The World Trade Organization website gave me some more in depth information. a

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The WTO is the only international body dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, the legal ground-rules for international commerce and for trade policy.

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Some effective listening tips that can be applied to any and everything.

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Chapter 5

How to Be an Effective Listener

The first four chapters discussed the need for effective listening, fallacies about listening, the process of listening, and the types of listening. They provided the background you need to improve your listening skills. This chapter is a prescriptive one. It offers practical suggestions on how to be a better listener.

While there are many ways to construct a list of suggestions, we will consider them in terms of what works best in three major categories:

1. What you think about listening.

2. What you feel about listening.

3. What you do about listening.

You can learn to listen effectively; look now at the components of that learning: thinking, feeling, doing.

What You Think about Listening

Although thinking, feeling, and doing go hand in hand, the thinking (or cognitive) domain of learning is perhaps the best place to begin. After all, effective listening takes effortit requires maximum thinking power. Here are six suggestions.

1. Understand the complexities of listening. Most of us take good listening for granted. Therefore, we dont work very hard at improving. But listening is a complex activity, and its complexity explains the emphasis given in previous chapters to understanding the fallacies, processes, and types of listening.

Knowing the fallacies about listening can keep you from being trapped by them. Knowing that the process involves more than just receiving messages will help you focus on not just receiving, but the other components as well. Recognizing the five major types of listening will help you to consciously direct your energies toward the type of listening required for the circumstance of the moment.

Listening requires an active response, not a passive one. Effective listening doesnt just happen; it takes thoughtand thinking can be hard work. But there is no other way to become an effective listener. Think about the complexities of listening, and work to understand them.

2. Prepare to Listen. Preparation consists of three phaseslong-term, mid-term, and short-term. We said earlier that becoming an effective listener is a lifetime endeavor; in other words, expanding your listening ability will be an ongoing task. But there are two things you can do to improve your listening skills for the long term: (a) practice listening to difficult material and (b) build your vocabulary.

Too many people simply do not challenge their listening ability. Since most of todays radio and television programs do not require concentrated or careful listening, your listening skills do not improve through continued exposure to them. And you have to stretch if you want to grow. Force yourself to listen carefully to congressional debates, lectures, sermons, or other material that requires concentration.

Building your vocabulary will improve your conversational skills and your reading skills as well as your listening skills. And the more words you learn, the better listener you will become.

Mid-term preparation for listening requires that you do the necessary background study before the listening begins. Background papers, prebriefs, and an advance look at a hard copy (or an electronic display) of briefing slides or charts will assist you in being ready to listen.

Short-term preparation may be defined as an immediate readiness to listen. When the speakers mouth opens, you should open your ears. That is not the time to be hunting for a pen, reading a letter from home, or thinking about some unrelated subject. Good listenersreally good listenersare in the spring-loaded position to listen. It is important to prepare to listen.

3. Adjust to the situation. No listening situation is exactly the same as another. The time, the speaker, the messageall change. But many other variables also affect listening, though less obviously so: physiological variables such as rest, hunger, comfort, endurance; psychological variables such as emotional stability, rapport with the speaker, knowledge of the subject; and physical factors such as size and color of the room. Obviously, some of these things will have a positive effect on your listening while others will have a negative effect.

A thick foreign accent, poor grammar, a room with poor acoustics, and the subject of the previous speakerall may present special barriers to effective listening. However, being aware of the barriers and thinking about how to overcome them can help you improve the situation.

Good listeners are never trapped into thinking that any communication transaction or listening situation is exactly like any other. The Grecian philosopher Heraclitus said it well: You cant step into the same stream twice. Things change. By thinking about the unique factors of the situation, you can do your most effective job as a listener. Adjust to the situation!

4. Focus on ideas or key points. At times, you may understand the process, you may have prepared well, and you may be able to adjust to the situationyet you fail as a listener. This failure results because you didnt listen to the right things. For example, you may remember a funny story the speaker told to make a point; but you missed the point.

Others boast, I listen only for the facts. By concentrating exclusively on individual supporting facts, they may actually miss the main ideas. Facts A, B, and C may be interesting in their own right, but the speakers reason for offering them is usually to develop a generalization from them. Generalizations, not facts, are usually most important.

In studies conducted some years ago at the University of New Mexico, I discovered that students who did best on all but rote memory examinations were those who listened for key points and ideas. Interestingly, those who attempted to memorize minute details did only slightly better on low-level rote memory exams than the individuals who focused on ideasand they did much worse when long-term retention was the criterion. While there are some exceptions, as when listening for directions to someones house or memorizing a mathematical formula, it is usually best to focus on ideas or key points.

5. Capitalize on the speed differential. Thought can operate much faster than speech. An average person may speak two or three words a second120 to 180 words a minute. In bursts of enthusiasm, we may even speak a little faster. Most public speakers speak somewhat slower, especially to large audiences. Yet most listeners can process up to 500 words per minute, depending on the nature and difficulty of the material.

I have a machine that compresses speech on tape, but without the distortions normally associated with fast forwarding a tape or simply playing a tape or record at a faster speed. Compression is accomplished through systematic removal of small segmentsso small that distortion is not noticed by listeners. Experiments in which listening time is cut in halfan hour lecture is listened to in half the timereveal little, if any, significant loss in listening and learning. Admittedly, listeners are ready for a break because there is no time for their minds to wander. Effective listening requires hard thinking, especially if the material is challenging.

The results of these experiments point to the possibility of capitalizing on the speed differential. Unfortunately, the differential between speed of thought and speed of speech promotes daydreaming or concentrating on something other than what is being said. This is not the case with good listeners, however; they use the time differential to good advantage. They summarize, anticipate, and formulate questions based on the speakers message. This type of time usage may explain why top listeners at the Air War College recently reported that they learned more from lectures than from any other method of instruction. They have learned to capitalize on the speed differential.

6. Organize material for learning. Obviously, speakers can enhance listening through careful organization and presentation of ideas. And if questions are appropriate, you can seek clarification of any points you fail to understand. Often, however, questioning is not permitted or, perhaps due to time constraints or the size of the audience, is inappropriate. What can you do?

Remembering that the speed differential exists, you can arrange the material in your mind or in your notes as its being presented. This will help you understand and remember it later. You can prepare yourself to retain the information to be presented by asking these questions: What point is the speaker trying to make? What main ideas should I remember? How does this information relate to what I already know?

Reorganizing the material you need to learn, and seeking relationships between the new material and what you already know, requires concentrated thinking. It is easier to simply tune out. There was a time in my early college years when I could not, for the life of me, see the relevance of some required classes to my course of study. A professor for whom I had great respect explained it to me this way: John, someday you will come to understand that all information is part of a large mosaic or universe of knowledge. When that happens, you will value all learning. Always look for how the information relates to what you already know and what you need to know, and you will always find something. You know what? He was right!

What You Feel about Listening

We began by discussing what you think about listening because effective listening requires rigorous cognitive processing, or thought. But possession of the sharpest mind will not make you a good listener if your feelings are wrong. In other words, what you feel about listening is important. Here are six suggestions for improving your feel for listening.

1. Want to listen. This suggestion is basic to all others, for it simply says that you must have an intent to listen. We can all recall having been forced to listen to a speech or a briefing that we didnt really want to listen to. And listening under duress seldom results in understanding or enjoyment, although there are exceptions. Perhaps you have attended a meeting or a social event out of a sense of duty, yet found it to have been profitable. The reason? Probably, since you were there, you decided to make the best of the situation; that is, you made up your mind to listen.

Sometimes you dont want to listen. At other times, your actions may indicate that you dont want to listen when you really do. And at still other times, you may be unaware that you dont want to listen. All three of these situations are affective or attitudinal; that is, they involve your feelings about listening.

Individuals often stop by my office and ask if they can talk for a few minutes. Perhaps they are seeking advice, telling about a project, or seeking clarification on a directive. Whatever the case, if I am not meeting with someone else or working against a deadline, I invite them in. But I must honestly admit that my mind sometimes wanders and I find myself looking at phone messages, fiddling with a paper clip, or looking at my guest with a blank stare. The visitor usually becomes uneasy, hurries the discussion, and offers to come back another time. I protest that I am really listening, but my actions betray me. It is difficultindeed, nearly impossibleto really listen if you dont have a mind to. You must want to listen.

2. Delay judgment. There are times when you must be a critical or judgmental listener. You must weigh the merits of what the speaker is saying. At times, you must make crucial decisions based on what you hear. There are also times when you must judge the speaker. Job interviews, campaign promises, speech contestsall are examples of where judgment of the speaker is important. The problem is, though, that you may be judgmental when you shouldnt be. You may judge the speaker instead of the content, or you may form judgments before the speaker has finished.

A boy who was one month shy of being 16 decided to confess to his father that he had driven the family car on the previous night. His younger sisters promised ride to gymnastics class hadnt arrived, and it was the night of her final rehearsal before a performance. So he made the decision to take her even though he did not yet have a drivers license. He was also quite sure that he hadnt been seen and would never be found out. Still, his conscience was bothering him and his family had stressed honesty and openness. He decided to tell his father.

Upon hearing that the boy had taken the car, his father became furious. He scarcely heard the reason, and he failed to consider that the boy had taken it upon himself to confess. He told the boy that the act would delay his getting a drivers license by two months.

Then the father rethought the situation and said, Son, I acted hastily. My emotions got the best of me. You were wrong to drive the car because you broke the law. But, frankly, I am proud of you for three reasons: you got your sister to gymnastics rehearsal, you were honest about it, and you are my son.

Supervisors often wonder why people in their organization wont level with them. They need only to consider the messenger in ancient Rome who paid with his life for bringing bad news. An ancient Turkish proverb says, messenger with bad news should keep one foot in the stirrup. Delaying judgment and judging the content rather than the speaker will lead to better listening and more honest communication.

3. Admit your biases. Lets face it: Everyone is human! We all have likes and dislikes; some things turn us on, others turn us off. These characteristics are natural and to be expected. The problem comes when we let our biasesour likes and dislikesget in the way of understanding the speakers message.

For example, suppose you have had three bad experiences with people from Chicago and you learn that the speaker you have come to hear is from Chicago. You may have a tendency to immediately distrust him, or to discredit whatever he has to say. Only by admitting your prejudice against people from Chicago will you be able to think beyond your past experience and listen effectively to what this speaker has to say.

Before you reject the above example as irrelevant, consider a time in your past when you got sick after eating a certain food. You knew the sickness was caused by a virus and not the food, but it was quite a while before that food again tasted good to you. In a similar way, bias from past experience can influence what you hear and the meaning you derive from it. If you want to be an effective listener, you must know and admit your biases.

4. Dont tune out dry subjects. Whenever you are tempted to tune out something because you think it will be boring or useless, remember that you cannot evaluate the importance of the message until you have heard it. By then, it is probably too late to ask the speaker to repeat everything that was said; the opportunity to listen effectively will have passed. As was stated earlier, you must intend to listen.

Here are several things you can do to stay focused, even if the subject seems dry.

a. Put yourself in the speakers place. Try to see the speakers point of view, and try to understand the speakers attitude toward the subject.

b. Review frequently what the speaker has said. Try to summarize the message as the speaker would summarize it.

c. Constantly ask yourself positive questions about what the speaker is saying: How can I use this information? How can I share this information with others? What else could be said about this subject?

d. Ask yourself, What does the speaker know that I dont?

e. Find at least one major application or conclusion from every message you hear. In other words, ask whats in this message for me? Then find the answer.

f. Listen as though you are going to be required to present the same message to a different audience later.

Effective listeners have discovered the value of listening to messages they might have initially considered to be dry. Sometimes the messages arent so dry after all. And even when they are, there still may be something of value in them.

5. Accept responsibility for understanding. Dont assume this attitude: Here I am! Teach meif you can. Such listeners believe knowledge can be poured into them as water is poured into a jug. And they believe the responsibility rests with the one doing the pouring; that is, they believe it is the speakers fault if effective listening does not occur.

Admittedly, the basic assumption in Speaking Effectively: A Guide for Air Force Speakers is that the speaker bears a large responsibility for how well the audience listens. And the speakers clear organization, engaging support materials, and appropriate delivery do in fact aid listening. But good listeners are good because they accept the responsibility for listening and understanding.

6. Encourage others to talk. This point applies to those situations in which you find yourself one-on-one, in a small group discussion, or any other setting that requires exchanges of vocal communication. But you cant listen if no one is talking. The first two guidelines of this section (communicating that you want to listen and being willing to delay judgment) are sources of encouragement to speakers. The discussion below covers several other things you can do.

a. Stop talking. You cant listen if youre talking.

b. Give positive feedback. Look and act interested. Positive head nods, alertness, and smilesall offer encouragement to the speaker.

c. Ask questions. Questions that show interest and attention encourage both speaker and listener. Show your interest.

d. Empathize with the speaker. Put yourself in the speakers place; this will help you understand the message.

e. Keep confidences. If the information is sensitive, dont share it with others.

f. Share information. We tend to tell things to those who tell us things. So if you want the speaker to share information with you, share information with the speaker.

What You Do about Listening

What we think about listening and what we feel about listening are both fundamental to skillful listening. But the skills themselves are crucial. Skills form the psychomotorthe doingelement of listening. Here are six crucial skills.

1. Establish eye contact with the speaker. Studies show that listening has a positive relationship with eye contact. In other words, the better eye contact you have with the speaker, the better you will listen. And while eye contact is especially important in relationship listening, it is also important for the other kinds of listening: informative, appreciative, critical, discriminative.

There are several things you can do to establish positive eye contact with the speaker:

a. In one-on-one or small group settings, sit or stand where you can look directly at the person doing the speaking.

b. In large groups, sit to the front and center of the audience. You can more easily establish eye contact with the speaker from this vantage point.

c. Dont get so involved in taking notes that you fail to look often at the speaker. The speakers gestures, movements, and facial expression are often an important part of the message.

d. Resist the temptation to let something about the room, or objects within and around the room, distract you. Focus on the speaker and the message.

e. Dont look at others who enter or leave while the speaker is speaking. This practice not only interrupts your train of thoughtit adds to the distraction of the speaker.

f. Speakers sometimes exhibit a visual aid too soon, or neglect to remove it when they have finished using it. Focus on the visual aid only when it is an asset to the point being discussed.

A final point deserves discussion: Never sleep when someone is talking to you! This point may seem self-evident. But lets face itin the busyness of our lives, we tend to become passive whenever we listen. Passivity promotes reduced attention, which in turn allows drowsiness to occur. In most cases, it is better to stand up, or even to leave the room, rather than fall asleep.

2. Take notes effectively. Some people recommend that you not take notes so you can focus your attention wholly on what the speaker is saying. This practice works well for listeners who are blessed with a great memory; most of us arent. Taking notes will not only help you remember, it will help you organize what the speaker is saying. And it may even aid your understanding and retentionafter all, effective note taking will require you to think.

There are many different ways to take notes; for example, linear outlining, mindmapping, and key word methodology. Ask different people what method they use, then find what works best for you. Whatever method you select or devise, several things are worth considering.

a. Dont attempt to write everything down. As mentioned earlier, effective listeners focus on the key ideas or main points.

b. Write clearly enough that you can understand your writing later. If not, make certain that you allow time to decipher your notes before they grow cold. Its disheartening to review your notes two weeks later only to find that they make no sense.

c. Dont rely on listening later to a tape of the speech. Think! Will you have the time? Looking at your notes for five minutes is generally sufficient, and is much more time-efficient than listening to the entire speech again.

d. Circle or highlight the most important points.

3. Be a physically involved listener. Just what does this statement mean? As you have already seen, listening requires more than just hearing. You have also seen that making eye contact and taking notes will help to keep you from becoming passive. But there is more: Active listening takes energy and involvement.

Here are some physical behaviors that will ensure your involvement and help your listening.

a. Use good posture. Sit up straight, yet comfortably. Good posture aids breathing and alertness. It also communicates positive interest to the speaker.

b. Follow the speaker. If the speaker moves, turn your head or rotate in your chair to maintain eye contact and attention. This movement also aids in keeping you alert.

c. Dont be a deadpan. Facial expressions, head nods, and tilts of the head show your involvement and provide positive feedback to the speaker.

d. Use your hands not only to take notes, but to show approval by applause when appropriate.

e. Participate when audience involvement is encouraged. Ask questions. Respond when a show of hands is called for. Be an active listener.

f. Smile.

4. Avoid negative mannerisms. Everyone has mannerisms. Watch anyone for a period of time and you will be convinced of this fact. If your mannerisms do not cause a negative reaction, dont worry about them. If a mannerism is positive or encouraging and brings a positive response, make a mental note to do it more often. Unfortunately, some mannerisms are negative or distracting. These should be avoided.

Here are some examples of listener mannerisms that either hinder listening or have a negative impacton the speaker or on other listeners. Avoid these mannerisms.

a. Fidgeting, tapping a pencil, or playing with a rubber band or some other object. The effect on you may be neutral, but such things distract other listeners and are an annoyance to the speaker.

b. Continually looking at the clock or your watch.

c. Reading a paper, balancing a checkbook, rearranging items in your wallet, or engaging in other behavior which takes focus away from the speaker.

d. Displays of arrogance, superiority, or lack of interest in the speaker and message.

In short, any mannerism or behavior that detracts from the speaker or the message should be avoided. Such things hinder the speaker, divert the attention of other listeners, and prevent you from being the best listener you can be.

5. Exercise your listening muscles. Actually, there are no muscles technically involved with listeningbut this thought reminds us that listening takes practice. Just as an athlete must work out regularly and a musician must practice daily, so you must work consistently to be an effective listener.

But consistent practice in itself is not enough. The difficulty of the message is also important. Exposure to challenging material and difficult listening situations will stretch your ability and build your listening muscles. For example, suppose you knew that you would be required to carry a 50-pound weight one hundred yards in less than a minute. You wouldnt practice by carrying a 30-pound weight. You would practice by carrying at least a 50-pound weight, and you probably would condition yourself to carry it more than 100 yards in less than a minute. With this kind of practice, you would be more than equal to the task. And so it is with listening: Practice to at least the level you will be required to performperhaps a bit above.

Finally, s-t-r-e-t-c-h your vocabulary. Weve said this before, but nothing will pay greater listening dividends. Learn the meanings of new words and acronyms. Listen to and read material that contains challenging words. Keep a dictionary nearby. Look up new words as you read them, or jot them down as you listen so you can look up the meanings later.

6. Follow the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The central focus of all effective communication is other directedness. There are exceptions to most other listening rules. For example, there are times when a listener shouldnt prepare; preparation may prevent openness to new ideas. There are times when the objective is not to focus on key points, but to listen for subordinate ideas or supporting material. There are times when we should not delay judgmentwe must act! But while these and other rules have exceptions, not so for the Golden Rule. The effective listener is always other directed, focused on the other person.

Be the kind of listener you want others to be when you are talking. Ask How would I want others to listen to me? Thats how to be an effective listener.

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Listening Effectively - How to Be an Effective Listener

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Chapter 5 The first four chapters discussed the need for effective listening, fallacies about listening, the process of listening, and the types of listening. They provided the background you need to improve your listening skills. This chapter is a prescriptive one. It offers practical suggestions on how to be a better listener.

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This article expands on the idea of corporate social responsibility (CSR) I found it interesting that organizations that promoted CSR did not better or no worse then those organizations that do not promote CSR.

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We increasingly hear that corporate social responsibility has become a business imperative. Newspapers, magazines and books glowingly describe the business benefits of behaving responsibly--and caution managers about the business risks of a poor CSR performance.

Executives are repeatedly informed that by demonstrating concern for the environment, human rights, community development and the welfare of their employees both in the U.S. and abroad, they will make their firms more profitable. Their firms will gain a competitive advantage by appealing to the growing numbers of socially and environmentally oriented consumers, investors and employees.

The belief that corporate responsibility "pays" is a seductive one: Who would not want to live in a world in which corporate virtue is rewarded and corporate irresponsibility punished? Unfortunately, the evidence for these rewards and punishment is rather weak. There is a "'market for virtue," but it is a very limited one. Nor is it growing.

One can certainly find examples of firms with superior CSR performance that have done well, as well as firms with poor CSR reputations that have performed poorly. But there are at least as many examples of firms with good CSR records that have not done well and firms with poor CSR reputations that rewarded their shareholders.

The good news is that firms with superior CSR performance have not performed any worse than their less virtuous competitors. But the disappointing news is that neither have they done any better. For most firms, most of the time, CSR is largely irrelevant to their financial performance.

Revealingly, the long-term performance of socially responsible investment funds has been no better, or worse, than those of funds that use other criteria to predict future shareholder value.

Part of the reason why CSR does not necessarily pay is that only a handful or consumers know or care about the environmental or social records of more than a handful of firms. "Ethical" products are a niche market: Virtually all goods and services continue to be purchased on the basis of price, convenience and quality.

Although ethical mutual funds have grown in size, they have had no measurable impact on share prices. Mainstream investors still rarely consider a firm's CSR record in deciding which shares to buy, sell or hold. While many business students now profess an interest in working for more responsible firms, their less responsible competitors appear to have no difficulty in attracting top talent.

Starbucks provides a good example of the limited importance of CSR to financial performance. The firm enjoys a strong CSR reputation due to its generous labor policies and its commitment to improve the earnings and environmental practices of coffee growers in developing countries.

Yet since the beginning of 2008, its shares have recently declined nearly 50% (at last glance the S&P 500 is down "only" 36%). The stock's disappointing performance has absolutely nothing to do with CSR: It is entirely due to the firm's overexpansion and, most recently, the increasing unwillingness of consumers to pay as much for a cup of coffee as for a gallon of gasoline.

Other CSR icons, such as Levi Strauss, Gap , Whole Foods and Timberland , have also fared poorly in the marketplace.

General Electric has been widely applauded by environmentalists for its "Ecomagination" line of more energy efficient and environmentally responsible products. These products have sold well, prompting many observers to conclude that for corporate America, "green" has become the new "green."

Before the recent market chaos, GE's share price had been stagnant for nearly six years. Whatever GE's current or projected earnings from Ecomagination, as well as from the firm's substantial investments in alternative energy, they have been overshadowed by Wall Street's disappointment with GE's overall earnings. In fact, GE performed much better under Jack Welch, who was not known for his interest in environmental responsibility. Moreover, GE also continues to make substantial, and highly profitable, investments in the financing and construction of coal-fired power plants, indicating that there is still money to be made by less environmentally responsible behavior.

The firm with possibly the world's poorest environmental reputation is Exxon Mobil , largely due to its reputed indifference to the problem of global climate change and its continued focus on fossil fuels. Yet Exxon-Mobil is one of the world's most profitable corporations. Over an extended period of time, it has performed far better financially than BP , which changed its brand to Beyond Petroleum to emphasize its responsibility to help reduce the world's dependence on fossils fuels, and which, unlike Exxon-Mobil, has supported mandatory greenhouse gas reductions.

The contrast between Exxon-Mobil and BP reveals another limitation of the business case for corporate responsibility. It is often difficult to distinguish responsible and irresponsible firms. While BP may have a more responsible record than Exxon-Mobil when it comes to the issue of global climate change, Exxon-Mobil has recently been far more successful in preventing accidents and avoiding oil spills. It is thus not obvious which firm is more 'responsible.'

To take another well-known example: Merck has been widely applauded for its development and free distribution of a drug to cure river-blindness, a dreadful disease which affects tens of millions of the world's poorest people. Yet this same company withheld important information regarding the safety of its highly profitable drug Vioxx.

These examples are not unusual: Few firms are consistently responsible--or irresponsible--across all their business operations.

One can find examples of successful firms for whom CSR has been a core element of their business strategy. Patagonia and Seventh Generation come readily to mind. Other firms such as Dupont , Alcoa and IBM have reaped substantial savings from reducing their energy use while Toyota has successfully marketed hybrid cars.

But it is important not to generalize from these examples. To assume that the business environment has fundamentally changed and that we are entering a new world in which CSR has become critical to the success of all or even most firms is misinformed. The market has many virtues, but reconciling corporate goals and public purposes is unfortunately not among them. Managers should try to act more responsibly. But they should not expect the market to necessarily reward them--or punish their less responsible competitors.

David Vogel is a professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley and the author of The Market for Virtue: The Potential and Limits of Corporate Social Responsibility (Brookings, 2005).

See Our Complete Coverage on Corporate Social Responsibility

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We increasingly hear that corporate social responsibility has become a business imperative. Newspapers, magazines and books glowingly describe the business benefits of behaving responsibly--and caution managers about the business risks of a poor CSR performance. Executives are repeatedly informed that by demonstrating concern for the environment, human rights, community development and the welfare of their employees both in the U.S.

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This diagram helped me in our assignment pertaining to corporate governace

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I find this cartoon relevant to the material we covered this module because I feel that too many companies and people still poke fun at diversity. The "Old Boys" network is alive and well.

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I found learning about Steve Jobs to be very interesting this module.

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An innovator and pioneer of modern technology, Steve Jobs, has passed away - definitely before his time - at the age of 56. Jobs was considered an American icon for his development of the Apple brand which included personal products services such as the iPod, iPad, iPhone, Macintosh computer and the iTunes music store.

Jobs' death was the result of a long battle with pancreatic cancer that caused the CEO to step down from his position this past August. He leaves behind four children and his wife, Laurene.

Upon is death it is expected that Jobs will be compared to the likes of his idols including Henry Ford and Walt Disney. Jobs had once said of Disney and his influence on Jobs' work, "Computers are commodities with a six month shelf-life; classics like snow white and Fantasia are passed from generation to generation." That is exactly what Jobs created with the Apple brand.

Since its founding in Jobs' parents garage in 1976, Apple has made its way into the homes and lives of millions of people worldwide - young and old. Because of its '"groundbreaking design and style" and "technological usefulness," Apple products became " objects of intense desires by consumers all around the world."

Having grown up simultaneously with the growing success and popularity of Apple, our generation interacts with these impressionable products on a daily basis. An "Apple girl" myself, I find that I could not survive without my MacBook Pro or my iPod, something I am positive many other students can relate to. Jobs' extreme ingenious in developing not only the products of Apple but the entire brand is something that will not die with the passing of its father and is sure to only continue on the upward climb it has started.

Bill Gates, one of Jobs' fiercest competitors and founder and CEO of Microsoft said the following of Jobs: "The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come. For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely."

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Loss of an Icon: Steve Jobs dies at 56 - College Magazine

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An innovator and pioneer of modern technology, Steve Jobs, has passed away - definitely before his time - at the age of 56. Jobs was considered an American icon for his development of the Apple brand which included personal products services such as the iPod, iPad, iPhone, Macintosh computer and the iTunes music store.

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This article helped me to understand the very basics of management and how important having good manager is.

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IMPORTANCE OF MANAGEMENT: Managers influence all the phases of modern organizations. Sales Managers maintain a sales force that markets goods. Personnel managers provide organizations with a competent and productive workforce. Plant managers run manufacturing operations that produce the clothes we wear, the food we eat, and the automobiles we drive.

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Steve Jobs. I added this cartoon because I found reading about Steve Jobs and the way he approached management to be very interesting. This cartoon also gave me a good laugh.

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The description for Principals of Management has lured me in. I am very excited to start class and tackle all the course work. This is one of my final classes for my A.A. degree, and it makes me want to dance a jig. Hopefully no one winds up dead in the water  and has a great semester! 

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The description for Principals of Management has lured me in. I am very excited to start class and tackle all the course work. This is one of my final classes for my A.A. degree, and it makes me want to dance a jig. Hopefully no one winds up dead in the water  and has a great semester! 