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In module eight, we learned about the roles that a production and an operations manager play within a business.

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Production and Operations Management - Meaning and Important Concepts

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Production and operations management talks about applying business organization and management concepts in creation of goods and services.

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In module eight, we learned the data and information are typically used interchangeably but as a manager, these two things mean something completely different.

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In module eight, we learned about the difference between power and control in relation to being a manager.

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What's the difference between power and control? Can they exist independent of each other?

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Answer (1 of 5): defined by L. Ron Hubbard taken from his works. Power the amount of work which can be accomplished in a unit of time, or the amount of force which can be applied in a unit of time. Power has the connotation of being potential.

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In module eight, we learned about the struggles of Toyota and the problems that can occur when you lack quality.

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Toyota & Scion Safety Recall Power Window Master Switch - Car Recall Information - ABTL Auto Extras

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http://www.autobytel.com/car-recalls/ By now you probably have heard of this massive vehicle recall by Toyota. The problem is a faulty power window switch in located in the driver's side door. This recall affects a dozen different vehicles from both Toyota and Scion spanning from the 2007-2009 model year.

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Its no secret that in order for a business to be successful it must have good employees. In module seven we learned about the importance of having good employees.

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Employee performance can make or break your organization's success.

Business image by Poirot13 from Fotolia.com

The objective of business owners is profitability. Your organization's success depends on your employees' performance; poor performance is detrimental to your company's success. Creating a well-rounded approach to managing and coaching your work force requires the expertise of a human resources leader and the support of your company's executive leadership.

Performance Management Basics

Performance management begins when an employee joins your workforce. The employee's job description, new hire orientation and initial discussions with his manager are fundamental steps in creating a performance management plan. Employers generally provide guidance and closer oversight during the employee's first few months of employment. During this time, your employee will likely encounter a learning curve. Learning new processes, meeting colleagues, participating on work teams and becoming accustomed to company policies and rules consume a great deal of time. Effective department leaders observe new employee performance so any deficiencies can be addressed right away.

Customer Service-Performance Management Connection

Customer service and employee performance are interrelated. When your employees provide excellent customer service, they are exceeding job expectations. The popularity of your service or product is based, in part, on the level of service your customers receive. For businesses that provide services, your reputation is based almost solely on your employees' performance. When your organization identifies its goals, consider the impact of performance management and employee performance. Employees who possess outstanding interpersonal relationship and communication skills are the employees you want up front handling your customers' business needs.

Product Quality-Employee Performance Connection

If your business focus is the development of an innovative, high-quality product, employee performance plays an integral role in achieving your business goals. The design, engineering, quality assurance and marketing of your company's product are essential components--employee performance in these areas is critical to your business success. Customers who purchase your product expect a quality product that meets their needs. Once customers find a company that provides the product they need, repeat business helps you build a strong customer base. When loyal customers swap stories about the best products and services for their needs, and if your customers are extremely satisfied with your product, your business can increase as a result of word of mouth.

Recognizing Employee Performance

Another aspect of employee performance and business success is employee recognition. Annual employee appraisals aren't enough--employees appreciate frequent and regular feedback. When your management team provides regular feedback, it motivates employees to maintain consistently good performance. Inc. magazine's article "Employee Reward and Recognition Systems" notes that, "By rewarding and recognizing outstanding performance, entrepreneurs will have an edge in a competitive corporate climate." Having that edge strengthens your position in the industry and brings you closer to your business objective, which is greater profitability.

Engaging Employees in Business Success

Share your organizational goals with employees. In "How to Align Employee Performance with Business Strategy, author Jim McCoy writes, "Often, because employees are close to the customer, they can give useful feedback about what customers really value, help you identify metrics that truly evaluate performance, and tell you where there is disconnect between strategy and everyday reality." Employees who are well-informed about the business they work for are likely to have higher levels of employee engagement. When your company attains a goal, congratulate your most valuable resource--your work force. Your organization's human capital is paramount in helping your achieve your goals and objectives.

About the Author

Ruth Mayhew has been writing since the mid-1980s, and she has been an HR subject matter expert since 1995. Her work appears in "The Multi-Generational Workforce in the Health Care Industry," and she has been cited in numerous publications, including journals and textbooks that focus on human resources management practices. She holds a Master of Arts in sociology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Ruth resides in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C.

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Importance of Employee Performance in Business Organizations

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The objective of business owners is profitability. Your organization's success depends on your employees' performance; poor performance is detrimental to your company's success. Creating a well-rounded approach to managing and coaching your work force requires the expertise of a human resources leader and the support of your company's executive leadership.

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There are many obstacles that occur in the work place. In module seven, we learned about the issues that a manger may encounter and how to overcome them.

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Top problems leaders face in the workplace and an innovative way to overcome them

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The top challenges leaders face are often very similar despite the diversity of their organisations, the situations they face and their context and culture. Research by the Centre for Creative Leadership found six consistent challenges faced by 763 leaders from seven different countries, China/Hong

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In module seven, we learned about leadership styles that could be useful in the work place.

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In module seven, we discussed the relationship and differences between leading and managing.

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Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

Leaders influence. Managers direct. While it may not be that black and white, leaders generally do focus on what matters and why as managers focus on how. Both use different forms of influence and direction at different times. But leaders have a bias to influencing by inspiring and enabling through advice and counsel while managers have a bias to command and control.

Coca-Cola's Doug Ivester was crystal clear on the difference. Sometimes he'd come to us and say,

This is your decision to make. I'd like to give you my thoughts as input.

Since he was the CEO, we always considered his thoughts. Most of the time we did things the way he suggested. Sometimes we disagreed. We quickly learned that going back to the CEO and telling him that we decided he didn't know what he was talking about did not make for pleasant meetings. But it did work when we went back to him and said,

Wanted to follow up on the decision we made on this subject. After we talked to you, we did some more digging and uncovered five things that you could not have known about. Given those new findings, we decided to go a different direction than what you had suggested.

He was fine with that.

Other times he'd say,

See these stripes. I am the CEO of this company. I'm going to give you some direction which you will follow.

It was extraordinarily helpful to know when he was giving us input for us to consider in our decision and when he was giving us no choice but to follow his direction.
Decision versus input
The more companies I help with their executive onboarding and team onboarding, the more I'm becoming convinced that clarifying decisions versus input solves a whole host of other problems.

The most important thing for any two people to understand as they are working together is which of them is going to make which decisions so they know when they should be deciding and when they should be providing input into the others' decision.

Page 1 / 2 Continue

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The Fundamental Difference Between Leading And Managing: Influence Versus Direction

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Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Leaders influence. Managers direct. While it may not be that black and white, leaders generally do focus on what matters and why as managers focus on how. Both use different forms of influence and direction at different times.

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In module six, we learned about formal and informal communication. We learned about the advantages and disadvantages to both.

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Someone said correctly "The very attempt of, not to speak, speaks a lot."Communication plays a crucial role in our life, as people interchange their ideas, information, feelings, opinions by communicating. Formal communication is one that passes through predefined channels of communication throughout the organization. On the contrary, Informal communication refers to the form of communication which flows in every direction, i.e. it moves freely in the organization.

Communication could be verbal - spoken or written, or non-verbal i.e. using sign language, body movements, facial expressions, gestures, eye contact or even with the tone of voice.

In an organization, there are two channels of communication - formal communication and informal communication. People often confuse between these two channels, so here we have presented an article which explains the difference between formal and informal communication network.

Content: Formal Communication Vs Informal Communication

Comparison Chart

Basis for Comparison

Formal Communication

Informal Communication

Definition of Formal Communication

The communication in which the flow of information is already defined is termed as Formal Communication. The communication follows a hierarchical chain of command which is established by the organisation itself. In general, this type of communication is used exclusively in the workplace, and the employees are bound to follow it while performing their duties.

Example: Requests, commands, orders, reports etc.

The formal communication is of four types:

Upward or Bottom-up: The communication in which the flow of information goes from subordinate to superior authority.

Downward or Top-down: The communication in which the flow of information goes from superior to subordinate.

Horizontal or Lateral: The communication between two employees of different departments working at the same level.

Crosswise or Diagonal: The communication between the employees of two different departments working at different levels.

Definition of Informal Communication

The communication which does not follow any pre-defined channel for the transmission of information is known as informal communication. This type of communication moves freely in all directions, and thus, it is very quick and rapid. In any organization, this type of communication is very natural as people interact with each other about their professional life, personal life, and other matter.

Example: Sharing of feelings, casual discussion, gossips, etc.

The informal communication is of four types:

Key Differences Between Formal and Informal Communication

The following points are substantial, so far as the difference between formal and informal communication is concerned.

1. Formal communication is also known by the name of official communication. Informal Communication is also known by the name of grapevine.

2. In formal communication, the information must follow a chain of command. Conversely, the informal communication can move freely in any direction.

3. In formal communication, full secrecy is maintained, but in the case of informal communication maintenance of secrecy is a very tough task.

4. Formal communication is written, whereas Informal communication is oral.

5. Formal communication is time-consuming as opposed to Informal communication, which is rapid and quick.

6. Formal communication is more reliable than Informal communication.

7. Formal communication is designed by the organization. Informal communication starts itself due to the urge of 'human to talk'.

8. In formal communication, the documentary evidence is always available. On the other hand, in the case of informal communication, the supporting documents are not available.

Conclusion

A very deep discussion on the difference between formal and informal communication has been done in this article. Nowadays, many big Transnational Organizations has started an open-door policy, in which any employee of any department can communicate directly with the head of an organization, about their complaints, grievances, and requests. This results in reducing the complexity of the formal communication.

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Difference Between Formal and Informal Communication (with Example and Comparison Chart) - Key Differences

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Ten significant differences between formal and informal communication are enclosed here, along with examples, in tabular form and in points. One such difference is Formal communication is also known by the name of official communication. Informal Communication is also known by the name of grapevine.

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In module six, we had to conduct a survey in our work place. This article explains the importance and how to structure a survey.

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What's the true purpose of a survey? It may seem like an obvious question to ask, but too often this phase of planning is brushed over. Each survey you design and distribute should have clear goals by which you can measure the success of your project.

People run surveys for all kinds of reasons, but all great surveys have a few things in common. Great surveys:

Have a clear purpose

Are easy to administer

Are easy to to take

Produce accurate data

Let you confidently make informed decisions

So of course, you want your survey to be great. But how do you get started?

The foundations of all the best survey projects are laid long before the first responses come rolling in; they start during what we call the Need phase of survey design, and that's what we'll be covering here.

It's tempting to jump right into writing questions and choosing colors, but without a thorough understanding of why you're asking these questions, you run the risk of endangering your data.

Why Great Survey Design

Taking time to plan your survey design results in:

1. Surveys that run more smoothly

2. Happier respondents

3. More accurate data

4. Easier reporting

Basically, you look smart because the project goes well and gives your team the data it was after. So it's definitely worth taking the time up front to dive into the tough questions about the purpose of a survey.

Why Do You Really Want to Run A Survey?

When deciding to run a survey, you need to understand its goals and objectives. Sure you want to ask some specific people some questions, but what do you plan to do with their answers?

Before you create a single checkbox, brainstorm with all the stakeholders involved to determine the exact purpose of the survey, and what it is you hope to accomplish. Once you've set out these goals, you can more easily select and refine the more detailed objectives. This helps all concerned parties know what action will be taken based on the survey results.

Questions to Help You Determine The Purpose of a Survey

So that we're all thinking about the same thing during this discussion, let's establish a shared definition of what a survey is:

A survey is a collection of questions asked repetitively to a sample of a population to mathematically derive characteristics of the total population.

This tells us that at least some of our goals should probably center around things that our audience has in common (or things we suspect they might have in common).

When trying to determine the needs you're hoping to meet with your survey, it can be helpful to ask yourself and your team some of these questions:

What exactly are we trying to figure out?

Why do we want to know?

What do we hope to do with this data when we're done?

What kinds of reports or data do we need?

Who is our intended audience or population?

How are we going to access that target audience?

Questions about your company or brand might include:

How well known is our brand?

Will customers buy this product?

If we offer X benefit, will our employee happiness go up?

Will my product do well in a new market?

Get the Ebook

Setting a Survey Goal

Once you've gotten a handle on the need behind your survey, it's time to identify a survey goal. Remember, a goal is not a single learning objective (we'll get to those later). A goal is what you're going to do with the data you collect, and why.

A good survey goal: Use a survey to determine which markets are a good fit for our existing products so we can expand into those markets.
A bad survey goal: Make more money.

The first example mentions the original survey need (expand into new markets), as well as how the survey will meet that need (determine which markets are a good fit for existing products). Of course the goal of expanding into new markets is almost always to make more money, but that type of overgeneralization won't be helpful farther down the road when it comes time to write actual questions or design survey reports.

Why Do Companies Do Surveys?

Surveys are one of the absolute best ways to get input from potential and/or existing customers before you've invested too much time or capital in a new venture. They also allow organizations to keep a finger on the pulse of their current clients or audience so they can be alert to any unusual shifts, either positive or negative.

Some of the most common reasons behind survey projects are:

Investigate possibilities for expanding into new markets or market segments

To prove or disprove a hypothesis about their audience, competitors, etc.

Track customer satisfaction levels

Compare awareness of their brand with those of their competitors

Measure changes in employee happiness over time

Get feedback on new or potential products

Determine Your Learning Objectives

Learning objectives are the specific pieces of information you want to glean from your survey results. Basically, each one is a step that should help you reach your survey goal.

Three is a good number of learning objectives for a single survey, and don't ever set more than five.

To come up with learning objectives for your survey we recommend organizing a brainstorm session. It should include anyone who will work on the survey, as well as all stakeholders.

Let everyone brainstorm on their own separately for 5 minutes. Make sure that everyone gets a chance to have their ideas heard. Have a scribe to make sure you capture all ideas. Let ideas flow freely - no judging!

Remember that there are no bad ideas.

Make sure your scribe takes particular note of the ideas submitted by the stakeholders. That way you can be sure to write questions that address their particular needs or concerns.

Refining Brainstorm Ideas

After the brainstorm session, take the ideas and begin the process of turning them into clear learning objectives. Look for patterns, repetition, and commonalities. These are likely going to become your objectives.

List your top three, and include a couple that you could investigate but don't seem to be as high of a priority. Offer the list to your stakeholders for review, and let them choose their top three.

You may also find that the brainstorm generates lots of question ideas too. Take note of those for future work, but make sure you're only choosing the questions that you REALLY need to ask.

Above all, make sure everything ties back to your original survey goal.

Connecting Survey ROI (Return On Investment) and Goals

Surveys take time and money. If the cost to conduct it is more than what you will gain from it, then your survey may not be worth running.

Therefore, if you can't determine the ROI with at least some accuracy, then there's no incentive to take action on what you learn.

This means that all of your questions need to be tied to specific learning objectives. Without this connection, you may find yourself unable to act on the data you collect. This makes your survey just an expense, with no return on the time and money you invested in it.

Why You Should Ask Why

Survey goals and learning objectives are the bedrock of successful projects. Without them you may find yourself sinking in unusable data or unable to take concrete action despite having a beautiful survey.

Take the time to collaborate with your team, explicitly lay out your goals, and then use our Guide to Great Survey Design to complete your best possible project.

Running a survey can be hard. Great Survey Design makes it easier.

Over many years and thousands of surveys, we here at SurveyGizmo have made some discoveries. We've compiled our knowledge into this comprehensive Guide to Great Survey Design, which is yours with a simple click of a button:
Download the Guide

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Defining The Purpose of a Survey, and The Importance of Goals

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What's the true purpose of a survey? It may seem like an obvious question to ask, but too often this phase of planning is brushed over. Each survey you design and distribute should have clear goals by which you can measure the success of your project.

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Part of being a good manager is recognizing who is an asset to your business. In module six we learned how to evaluate an employee.

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An employee performance appraisal is a process-often combining both written and oral elements-whereby management evaluates and provides feedback on employee job performance, including steps to improve or redirect activities as needed. Documenting performance provides a basis for pay increases and promotions. Appraisals are also important to help staff members improve their performance and as an avenue by which they can be rewarded or recognized for a job well done. In addition, they can serve a host of other functions, providing a launching point from which companies can clarify and shape responsibilities in accordance with business trends, clear lines of management-employee communication, and spur re-examinations of potentially hoary business practices. Yet Joel Myers notes in Memphis Business Journal that "in many organizations, performance appraisals only occur when management is building a case to terminate someone. It's no wonder that the result is a mutual dread of the performance evaluation session-something to be avoided, if at all possible. This is no way to manage and motivate people. Performance appraisal is supposed to be a developmental experience for the employee and a 'teaching moment' for the manager."

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL AND DEVELOPMENT

While the term performance appraisal has meaning for most small business owners, it might be helpful to consider the goals of an appraisal system. They are as follows:

1. To improve the company's productivity

2. To make informed personnel decisions regarding promotion, job changes, and termination

3. To identify what is required to perform a job (goals and responsibilities of the job)

4. To assess an employee's performance against these goals

To work to improve the employee's performance by naming specific areas for improvement, developing a plan aimed at improving these areas, supporting the employee's efforts at improvement via feedback and assistance, and ensuring the employee's involvement and commitment to improving his or her performance.

All of these goals can be more easily realized if the employer makes an effort to establish the performance appraisal process as a dialogue in which the ultimate purpose is the betterment of all parties. To create and maintain this framework, employers need to inform workers of their value, praise them for their accomplishments, establish a track record of fair and honest feedback, be consistent in their treatment of all employees, and canvass workers for their own insights into the company's processes and operations.

A small business with few employees or one that is just starting to appraise its staff may choose to use a prepackaged appraisal system, consisting of either printed forms or software. Software packages can be customized either by using a firm's existing appraisal methods or by selecting elements from a list of attributes that describe a successful employee's work habits such as effective communication, timeliness, and ability to perform work requested. Eventually, however, many companies choose to develop their own appraisal form and system in order to accurately reflect an employee's performance in light of the business's own unique goals and culture. In developing an appraisal system for a small business, an entrepreneur needs to consider the following:

1. Size of staff

2. Employees on an alternative work schedule

3. Goals of company and desired employee behaviors to help achieve goals

4. Measuring performance/work

5. Pay increases and promotions

6. Communication of appraisal system and individual performance

7. Performance planning

Size of Staff

A small business with few employees may choose to use an informal approach with employees. This entails meeting with each employee every six months or once a year and discussing an individual's work performance and progress since the last discussion. Feedback can be provided verbally, without developing or using a standard appraisal form, but in many cases, legal experts counsel employers to maintain written records in order to provide themselves with greater legal protections. As a company increases its staff, a more formal system using a written appraisal form developed internally or externally should always be used, with the results of the appraisal being tied to salary increases or bonuses. Whether the appraisal is provided verbally or in writing, a small business owner needs to provide consistent feedback on a regular basis so that employees can improve their work performance.

Alternative Work Schedules

Employees working alternative work schedules-working at home, working part-time, job-sharing, etc.-will most likely need to have their performance appraised differently than regular full-time staffs in order to be fairly evaluated. An alternative work schedule may require different duties to perform a job and these new responsibilities should be incorporated into the appraisal. A small business owner should also be careful to ensure that these employees are treated fairly with regard to both the appraisal and resulting promotions.

Company Goals and Desired Performance

The performance of employees, especially in a smaller firm, is an essential factor in any company's ability to meet its goals. In a one-person business, goal-setting and achieving is a matter of transforming words into action, but moving the business towards its goals in a larger firm means that the employer has to figure out each person's role in that success, communicate that role to him or her, and reward or correct their performance. It also means that the appraisal should incorporate factors such as collaborative ability and sense of teamwork, not just individual performance.

Measuring/Assessing Performance

Once a list of tasks and attributes is developed, a small business owner or manager needs to determine how to measure an employee's performance on these tasks. Measurement provides another objective element to the appraisal. Ideally, measurement would be taken against previous performance, whether of the individual employee, the group, or the company at large. If a company is just developing its appraisal system or does not have a baseline performance to measure against, it should develop realistic goals based on business needs or on the similar performance of competitors.

Pay Increases and Promotions

When developing an appraisal system, a small business owner needs to consider the connection between the appraisal and pay increases or promotions. While performance feedback for development/improvement purposes may be given verbally, a written summary of the individual's work performance must accompany a pay increase or promotion (or demotion or termination). It is crucial, therefore, that a manager or small business owner regularly document an employee's job performance.

The method of pay increases impacts the appraisal as well. If a small business uses merit-based increases, the appraisal form would include a rating of the employee on certain tasks. If skill-based pay is used, the appraisal would list skills acquired and level of competency. Appraisals and resulting salary increases that take into account group or company performance should include the individual's contributions to those goals.

Communicating the System

A performance appraisal system is only effective if it is properly communicated and understood by employees. When devising an appraisal system for his or her company, an entrepreneur may want to consider involving staff in its development. Supporters contend that this promotes buy-in and understanding of the plan, as well as ensuring that the appraisal takes into account all tasks at the company. If the small business owner is unable to involve her staff, she should walk through the system with each employee or manager and have the manager do the same, requesting feedback and making adjustments as necessary.

Communicating Performance and Planning

Part of the appraisal system is the actual communication of the performance assessment. While this assessment may be written, it should always be provided verbally as well. This provides an opportunity to answer any questions the employee may have on the assessment, as well as to provide context or further detail for brief assessments. Finally, the employee and the entrepreneur or manager should make plans to meet again to develop a plan aimed at improving performance and reaching agreed-upon goals for the following review period. This planning session should relate company and/or group goals to the individual's tasks and goals for the review period and provide a basis for the next scheduled review.

TYPES OF APPRAISALS AND ASSESSMENT TERMS

Traditional

In a traditional appraisal, a manager sits down with an employee and discusses performance for the previous performance period, usually a single year. The discussion is based on the manager's observations of the employee's abilities and performance of tasks as noted in a job description. The performance is rated, with the ratings tied to salary percentage increases. However, as David Antonioni notes in Compensation & Benefits, "The traditional merit raise process grants even poor performers an automatic cost of living increase, thereby creating perceived inequity'¦. In addition, most traditional performance appraisal forms use too many rating categories and distribute ratings using a forced-distribution format." Antonioni suggests the appraisal form use just three rating categories-outstanding, fully competent, and unsatisfac-tory-as most managers can assess their best and worst employees, with the rest falling in between.

Self-Appraisal

Somewhat self-explanatory, the self-appraisal is used in the performance appraisal process to encourage staff members to take responsibility for their own performance by assessing their own achievements or failures and promoting self-management of development goals. It also prepares employees to discuss these points with their manager. It may be used in conjunction with or as a part of other appraisal processes, but does not substitute for an assessment of the employee's performance by a manager.

Employee-Initiated Reviews

In an employee-initiated review system, employees are informed that they can ask for a review from their manager. This type of on-demand appraisal is not meant to replace a conventional review process. Rather, it can be used to promote an attitude of self-management among workers. Adherents to this type of review process contend that it promotes regular communication between staff and managers. Detractors, though, note that it is dependent on the employees' initiative, making it a less than ideal alternative for some workers with quiet, retiring personalities or confidence issues.

360-Degree Feedback

360-degree feedback in the performance appraisal process refers to feedback on an employee's performance being provided by the manager, different people or departments an employee interacts with (peer evaluation), external customers, and the employee himself. This type of feedback includes employee-generated feedback on management performance (also known as upward appraisals). As a company grows in size, a small business owner should consider using 360-degree feedback to appraise employees. Communication in a business of ten people varies wildly from that of a company of 100 persons and 360-degree feedback ensures that an employee's performance is observed by those who work most closely with him. Small business owners or managers can either include the feedback in the performance review or choose to provide it informally for development purposes.

LEGAL ISSUES

Given that the results of a performance appraisal are often used to support a promotion, termination, salary increase, or job change, they are looked at very closely in employee discrimination suits. Besides providing a written summary of the appraisal to the employee, a small business owner would be well-advised to ensure the following with regards to the system at large:

Job expectations as well as the appraisal system and its impact on employee's work status are adequately communicated to all employees

Performance measures are related to the job being performed

Managers or co-workers providing input into the appraisal must be sufficiently trained as to be able to provide objective input

Employees are given timely feedback on performance and a reasonable amount of time and support in improving their performance

Assistance in developing a system is available through a variety of sources including consultants, periodicals and books, and software. In addition, given the legal implications of appraisals, small business owners should have their companies' performance assessment processes, including training of managers and employees, reviewed by a qualified attorney.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Antonioni, David. "Improve the Performance Management Process Before Discontinuing Performance Appraisals." Compensation & Benefits, Vol. 26.

Grote, Dick. "Performance Appraisals: Solving Tough Challenges." HR Magazine. July 2000.

"How to Conduct a Performance Review." Personnel Today. 14 February 2006.

Koziel, Mark J. "Giving and Receiving Performance Evaluations." CPA Journal. December 2000.

Myers, Joel. "How to Evaluate Your Evaluation System." Memphis Business Journal. 9 February 2001.

Olsztynski, Jim. "How to Critique, Criticize Important for Supervisors." Snips. December 2005.

Thomson, Sally. "Food for Thought: Giving feedback to staff is a great test of a manager's skill." Nursing Standard. 23 November 2005.

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An employee performance appraisal is a process-often combining both written and oral elements-whereby management evaluates and provides feedback on employee job performance, including steps to improve or redirect activities as needed. Documenting performance provides a basis for pay increases and promotions.

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In module six, we learned about in house recruiting and outside agency recruitment. Which do you believe is the best route to take

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Recruiting Resources: How to Recruit and Hire Better

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Many recruiters face the choice between agency and in-house recruiting careers. To help you make the right choice for you, here's an overview of their similarities and differences and a summary of the qualities you'll need to succeed in each role:

Similarities between agency and in-house recruiting careers:

Both have to be excellent sourcers: Good recruiters know that they need to use multiple sources to attract hard-to-find talent, regardless of where they work. Both agency and corporate recruiters engage in proactive sourcing, aiming to build talent pipelines and fill vacancies quickly.
Whether you work for an agency or in-house, sourcing is a powerful tool. Download our complete sourcing guide for free.

Both have to be familiar with the best HR tools: Technology helps streamline the recruitment process. Recruiters use project management and email tools for their administrative duties, Applicant Tracking Systems and resume databases to manage candidates and online platforms to source their next hires.

Both have to be excellent relationship builders: The key to being a successful recruiter is developing strong, long-term relationships. Good recruiters build these relationships by developing strong interpersonal skills, sending personalized messages and always following up with people.

The main differences between agency and in-house recruiting:

Scope of responsibilities:

Qualities and skills:

Salary and bonus options:

Branding:

Career development:

How to move from a staffing agency to a corporate recruiting role (and vice versa)

Agency and in-house recruiting may seem worlds apart. But, switching from one role to the other could be a smart move for your career, once you find what kind of work environment fits you best.

Panos Zervas, the Recruitment, Training and Development Manager at Bioiatriki SA shares some insights from his previous experience as a staffing recruiter.

You should be prepared to adapt to a different way of working. Also, think of what kind of environment will showcase your skills.

Though many of your daily duties might be similar, you should expect to face new challenges:

When deciding which path to choose, you should consider the main differences between staffing and corporate recruiters and determine which option best suits your personality and career goals. Whichever career path you choose, you need the same basic qualities to be a successful recruiter. You need to be able to understand people and develop long-term relationships.

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Agency recruitment vs. in-house recruitment

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Many recruiters face the choice between agency and in-house recruiting careers. To help you make the right choice for you, here's an overview of their similarities and differences and a summary of the qualities you'll need to succeed in each role: Both have to be excellent sourcers: Good recruiters know that they need to use multiple sources to attract hard-to-find talent, regardless of where they work.

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In this module we learned about the different cultures within an organization and how to recognize them. Module five.

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If you want to provoke a vigorous debate, start a conversation on organizational culture. While there is universal agreement that (1) it exists, and (2) that it plays a crucial role in shaping behavior in organizations, there is little consensus on what organizational culture actually is, never mind how it influences behavior and whether it is something leaders can change.

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What Is Organizational Culture? And Why Should We Care?

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What leaders need to know to change orgs for the better.

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We learned about the difference between horizontal and vertical dimensioning. This article points out the differences between the two when it comes to many different scenarios encountered in the work place.

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Differences Between Horizontal & Vertical Organizations

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Organizational structure within an organization clarifies employee roles, facilitates communication and establishes a chain of responsibility to help determine strengths and weaknesses. Before you determine whether your organizational structure should be vertical or horizontal, you need to understand the differences ...

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In module five, we learned about rewarding your employee. This article gives examples of how to effectively recognize an employee.

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In module five, we learned about the importance of motivating employees. This article provides tools to add in your toolbox.

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We learned how to identify problems and asses them In the work place. Module four.

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Some bad managers bully their employees.

Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

Both employees and managers have a vested interest in identifying business management mistakes in a company or department. These mistakes can encompass everything from managers undervaluing employees to a failure in communication between management and workers, leading to unclear goals and uncertain returns. Every organization has problems in how it manages its business. But not every organization works to recognize and correct those problems.

1. Assess your organization or department's goals. One of the primary business management problems that occur in organizations is a lack of clear and concrete goals. Examine your goals as a manager or the goals your manager has set out and see if they adhere to a set timeline and seek to achieve quantifiable objectives. If the goals are vague, such as "Increase the department's customer base," then changes need to be made.

2. Poll employees to identify weaknesses in the management communication structure. If employees are consistently in the dark, don't understand what their managers expect of them or feel their boss isn't sharing important information, a management communication problem exists.

3. Examine how work is delegated in the office. If managers are failing to delegate even simple tasks, there is a problem with the organization's business management. A failure to delegate can create ill will among employees who believe they have adequate skills to perform tasks. When employees are telling you that they are underused, not trusted with important tasks or that they are not given opportunities to develop their skills, chances are, management is failing to appropriately delegate jobs among employees.

4. Solicit feedback from employees on their managers' performance and openness. Even if managers are consistently increasing profits, they may be failing to develop the human talent in their department. If employees are consistently identifying their managers as distant, unresponsive or uninterested, you have a business management problem on your hands.

5. Talk to employees about how appreciated they feel at work. This can reveal another serious management problem: managers' failure to give credit to their employees. This management problem doesn't require huge bonuses paid out to employees or higher commission rates, it simply means managers need to pay more attention to their daily interactions with employees, delivering small measures of encouragement to those who merit it in order to raise office morale and employee self-worth.

6. Sit in on routine departmental meetings. Meetings are supposed to be important gatherings where goals are communicated and plans are made. More often, they can be monumental wastes of time where a few employees or managers dominate the conversation. Observe who speaks the most, what their contributions are and how the manager handles employee comments and interactions. Meetings and planning sessions can be easily dominated by bold or brash employees who contribute little to the discussion while edging out valuable voices. It can be a severe management problem when superiors fail to curb this behavior and let everyone have the floor.

About the Author

Michael Batton Kaput began writing professionally in 2009. He is an editor at two magazines and a freelance writer. He has been published in "Egypt Today," Egypt's leading current affairs magazine, and "Business Today Egypt," Egypt's number one English-language business magazine. He attended Denison University where he earned a degree in political science and English literature.

Photo Credits

Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

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How to Recognize Problems in Business Management

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Both employees and managers have a vested interest in identifying business management mistakes in a company or department. These mistakes can encompass everything from managers undervaluing employees to a failure in communication between management and workers, leading to unclear goals and uncertain returns. Every organization has problems in how it manages its business.

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In module four we discussed how to effectively assign task to employees.

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Managers have some tasks that they need to do, but their primary job is to make sure that others are doing what they have been assigned to accomplish the mission and goals of the organization. Effective managers know what responsibilities to delegate to allow themselves time to plan, to collaborate with others in the organization, and to monitor the performance of their employees, making sure to give them adequate feedback and development opportunities.

Often, managers think that they are delegating when they assign tasks to employees. Sometimes this is merely dumping on people. Real delegation is assigning responsibility for outcomes along with the authority to do what is needed to produce the desired results.

Why is this not done well in most organizations? A major factor is the failure of organizations to assure that the supervisors and managers know how to delegate effectively. Many managers have never received training in delegation.

Other reasons why managers do not delegate as much as they could include:

The belief that employees cannot do the job as well as the manager can.

The belief that it takes less time to do the work than it takes to delegate the responsibility.

Lack of trust in employees' motivation and commitment to quality.

The need to make one's self indispensable.

The enjoyment of doing the work one's self.

Guilt associated with giving more work to an overworked staff.

Some reasons for not delegating are legitimate. For example, if an organization is understaffed or managers have no one reporting to them, obviously it is very difficult to delegate responsibilities. However, most such arguments do not stand up to rational analysis. Managers need to delegate because they are not supposed to do all of the work themselves. They need to interact with other managers about goals; plan for possible changes in economic conditions, competitive factors and the like; and communicate with other managers about how to improve operations and develop new strategies. In addition, managers need to devote time to their own development through training and by keeping up with technology and other innovations relevant to their industry and their organization.
Managers are responsible for developing their employees to ensure that they are well trained, to identify future leaders, and to prepare their own successor when they move up or move on to other organizations. Delegating responsibility is a powerful statement to employees about how much they are trusted and how competent and valued they are considered to be to the company.

Delegator's Dozen: A Preparation Checklist

1. Keep a delegation attitude. Ask yourself frequently: "Who else could do this?" Question every task, particularly those you have done for years.

2. Define the desired outcome. Ask: "What is the result I want accomplished?" Learn to assign responsibility for achieving results rather than unloading tasks.

3. Select the person. Consider more than one criterion when choosing to whom to delegate something. Some things to consider: Who has experience and skills? (Be careful not to overload this person.) Who needs to learn how to handle this responsibility? Who has the time to accept this responsibility? Who would like to have this opportunity?

4. Get input from others. Ask for ideas about what to change, who to involve and how to define the results. Consult one's own team, other managers who interact with the team, one's boss and customers.

5. Assign the responsibility and define the time factors. What is the deadline? When will you want progress reports?

6. Provide training and guidance. Does the person need training before assuming this responsibility? What guidance will they need to succeed? Remember to allow them freedom for independent thinking.

7. Define the authority level. How much power will they need? What kinds of power? Who else needs to know that this person has the authority to act? Be sure to inform them to assure cooperation with the employee.

8. Agree about the control process. What kinds of controls are needed? How can one feel in control and still empower employees to act independently?

9. Monitor progress. Pay attention and maintain control of the situation. Managers are still responsible for the success or failure of this person and for achieving the desired results.

10. Provide feedback. Stay in touch, giving plenty of positive reinforcement and coaching when needed.

11. Identify the lessons learned. What did the employee learn? What did you learn? Often, the person with the new responsibility will figure out better ways to get things done and such improvements need to be identified, documented and shared.

12. Evaluate performance. Give the person helpful feedback. What did they do well? Where can they improve? How can the results be improved? How can the manager do a better job of helping them succeed?

Once managers have prepared to delegate certain responsibilities, the next step is to communicate with the person or person chosen to handle the newly assigned responsibility. Following is a four-part communication process that can help ensure successful delegation.

Meet face to face without time pressure. This is very important communication, and face-to-face interaction is the approach most likely to convey the message that this discussion is important. Make arrangements so that you are not interrupted. Explain why the person was selected for the assignment and what results need to be achieved. Remember, you are assigning responsibility for producing outcomes-not just performing tasks. Encourage the other to ask questions. This needs to be a dialogue, not a monologue. Be sure to agree about timing and the control process by the end of the discussion.

Confirm employees' understanding and commitment. This is a common failure in delegation discussions. It is very important for managers to confirm that those to whom they've delegated responsibility have understood what they need to know; ask them to restate what has been said. Asking, "Do you understand?" almost always elicits the answers "Yes" or "I think so" even if the employee is totally confused. Do not, however, come across as testing them. Instead, say, "I want to be sure that I have communicated what I have intended to communicate. Will you please tell me what you have heard so far?" This communicates that you want to make sure that you have communicated without suggesting anything negative about the other's listening abilities.

Define employee's authority level. What kind of power will the person need to accomplish the results? Inform whoever else needs to know that you have delegated this responsibility to ensure their cooperation with the employee.

Follow up and provide coaching and guidance if needed. Don't abandon the person. You are delegating, not abdicating. Be available for questions and to help resolve resistance from others. But remember not to look over the shoulders of those to whom you have delegated responsibility. Instead, provide feedback to reinforce what has been done well and to help them learn when they make mistakes or encounter problems that require learning. Mark the calendar for checkpoint dates and updates on progress.

Sam R. Lloyd is president of the training firm SuccessSystems, Inc. and author of the book Accountability: Managing for Maximum Results (Course Technology (Thomson, 2002).
Adapted with permission from SuccessSystems, Inc. © 2012. SuccessSystems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Managers Must Delegate Effectively to Develop Employees

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Effective managers know what responsibilities to delegate in order to accomplish the mission and goals of the organization.

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In module four we further discussed the importance of a good communicator when it comes to being a manager.

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In module four we further discussed the importance of a good communicator when it comes to being a manager.

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The conversation took place years ago, but I still remember it well.

I was a young manager then and felt management was plenty difficult. I was attending an in-house management seminar on "employee attitudes" - a precursor to employee engagement. During a break the HR executive who had organized the seminar and I were talking - she was far more experienced than I, and I was eager to pick her brain about some of the challenges of management.

"Well, you don't have to worry too much," she said to me. "You're a good manager." Her comment surprised me. At that stage of my career I was still learning to deal more directly with conflict and performance-related issues, and didn't feel at all competent at it. "Why do you say that?" I asked - not fishing for a compliment so much as curious to understand what she considered the elements of good management. To this day, decades later, I still remember her five-word answer.

"You talk to your people," she said.

When I asked her what exactly she meant by that, she added: "I've seen how you relate to them - you communicate with them, you have some idea what's going on with them."

"You mean a lot of managers don't?" I asked.

"You'd be surprised," she said.

It was only much later that I came to understand her comments more fully. I realized: Over the years I never met a manager who wasn't a good communicator. It's a foundational management skill. But of course, you might say, that's just common sense. Indeed it is. But as I often say: When it comes to management, just because something is common sense doesn't mean it's commonly practiced.

Don't just take it from me - there's a nice concise description from an article last year in Harvard Business Review that gets at the core importance of basic nuts-and-bolts everyday communication. The piece is titled What Great Managers Do To Engage Employees, by James Harter and Amy Adkins.

Extensive Gallup research, they write, finds "that engagement is highest among employees who have some form (face-to-face, phone, or digital) of daily communication with their managers. Managers who use a combination of face-to-face, phone, and electronic communication are the most successful in engaging employees. And when employees attempt to contact their manager, engaged employees report their manager returns their calls or messages within 24 hours."

In short, nothing fancy, just reliable normal communication. Be available to talk and provide guidance when needed, and return messages efficiently and respectfully.

In the inherently stressful world of employee-manager relations, small things make a big difference. Over the years I learned that simple communication one can count on goes a long way to building manager-employee rapport. And rapport builds trust... trust builds engagement... and engagement yields productivity.

If as a manager you really don't like communicating with your people, you're probably in the wrong business.

As that HR executive first opened my eyes to years ago, the best managers - always - communicate.

* * *
Victor is author of The Type B Manager: Leading Successfully in a Type A World.

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The Best Managers - Always - Communicate

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The conversation took place years ago, but I still remember it well. I was a young manager then and felt management was plenty difficult. I was attending an in-house management seminar on "employee attitudes" - a precursor to employee engagement.

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In module four, we discussed In-N-Out Burger and the reasons why they won't expand outside the west coast.

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Flickr/punctuated

Fans of In-N-Out have been begging the chain for years to open restaurants on the East Coast.

The fast-food chain, which is based on the West Coast, has slowly expanded eastward over its 70-year lifetime to Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and more recently to Houston, Texas. The company has also been holding "pop-up shops" around the world, where burgers tend to sell out within minutes .

All signs seemingly point to a plan for expansion.

But four major factors make it highly unlikely that East Coasters will get to experience the joy of an In-N-Out in their neighborhood anytime soon.

Here's why:

1. Quality control: There are no freezers or microwaves in In-N-Out restaurants because the company has a strict policy of serving its food fresh. Therefore, all locations must be within 300 miles of the company's distribution facilities.

I Am Second

"At In-N-Out Burger, we make all of our hamburger patties ourselves and deliver them fresh to all of our restaurants with our own delivery vehicles," In-N-Out vice president of planning and development Carl Van Fleet told Business Insider in a previous interview. "Nothing is ever frozen. Our new restaurant locations are limited by the distance we can travel from our patty-making facilities and distribution centers."

2. Exclusivity: Everything has more appeal when it's not available to everyone, and the exclusivity of In-N-Out has helped the restaurant gain such a rabid following of fans.

In response to pleading from a local politician for an In-N-Out to open in Denver, Van Fleet made it clear the company was not planning to expand farther east.

Yelp

"You continue to give us the biggest compliment possible with your efforts to interest us in Colorado," he wrote in a letter obtained by The Denver Post. "That said, at this time, we're still not looking to add a sixth state and we're just focusing our growth efforts in the five states where we currently operate."

Since then, In-N-Out has expanded to Oregon - which is the chain's sixth state of operation.

3. Competition: The East Coast has numerous burger joints that would offer tough competition for In-N-Out, including Shake Shack and Five Guys.

4. No franchising: In-N-Out President Lynsi Snyder has said the company will "never" go public or franchise its restaurants.

"The only reason we would do that is for the money, and I wouldn't do it,"Snyder told CBS.

"M y heart is totally connected to this company because of my family, and the fact that they are not here - I have a strong tie to keep this the way they would want it."

A large-scale expansion without franchising would require a massive amount of up-front capital from the company.

"In-N-Out remains privately owned and the Snyder family has no plans to take the company public or franchise any units," the company reaffirms on its website.

SEE ALSO: Everything we know about In-N-Out's reclusive 35-year-old president who just became one of the youngest billionaires in America

NOW WATCH: Here's what happened when I ordered Shake Shack's secret menu burger

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Why In-N-Out Burger won't expand to the East Coast

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Fans of In-N-Out have been begging the chain for years to open restaurants on the East Coast. The fast-food chain, which is based on the West Coast, has slowly expanded eastward over its 70-year lifetime to Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and more recently to Houston, Texas.

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We learned about the risks involved when dealing with international business in module three.

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When an organization decides to engage in international financing activities, it takes on additional risk along with the opportunities. The main risks that are associated with businesses engaging in international finance include foreign exchange risk and political risk. These risks may sometimes make it difficult to maintain constant and reliable revenue.

What Is Foreign Exchange Risk?

Foreign exchange risk occurs when the value of an investment fluctuates due to changes in a currency's exchange rate. When a domestic currency appreciates against a foreign currency, profit or returns earned in the foreign country will decrease after being exchanged back to the domestic currency. Due to the somewhat volatile nature of the exchange rate, it can be quite difficult to protect against this kind of risk, which can harm sales and revenues.

For example, assume a U.S. car company receives a majority of its business in Japan. If the Japanese yen depreciates against the U.S. dollar, any yen-denominated profits the company receives from its Japanese operations will yield fewer U.S. dollars compared to before the yen's depreciation.

Foreign exchange risk typically affects businesses that export and/or import their products, services and supplies.

What Is Political Risk?

Political risk transpires when a country's government unexpectedly changes its policies, which now negatively affect the foreign company. These policy changes can include such things as trade barriers, which serve to limit or prevent international trade. Some governments will request additional funds or tariffs in exchange for the right to export items into their country. Tariffs and quotas are used to protect domestic producers from foreign competition. This also can have a huge effect on the profits of an organization because it either cuts revenues from the result of a tax on exports or restricts the amount of revenues that can be earned.

Although the amount of trade barriers have diminished due to free-trade agreements and other similar measures, the everyday differences in the laws of foreign countries can influence the profits and overall success of a company doing business transactions abroad.

In general, organizations engaging in international finance activities can experience much greater uncertainty in their revenues. An unsteady and unpredictable stream of revenue can make it hard to operate a business effectively. Despite these negative exposures, international business can open up opportunities for reduced resource costs and larger lucrative markets. There are also ways in which a company can overcome some of these risk exposures.

For example, a business may attempt to hedge some of its foreign-exchange risk by buying futures, forwards or options on the currency market. They also may decide to acquire political risk insurance in order to protect their equity investments and loans from specific government actions. What a company must decide is whether the pros outweigh the cons when deciding to venture into the international market.

For further reading, see Forces Behind Exchange Rates and Investing Beyond Your Borders.

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The risks businesses face in international finance

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When an organization decides to engage in international financing activities, it takes on additional risk along with the opportunities. The main risks that are associated with businesses engaging in international finance include foreign exchange risk and political risk. These risks may sometimes make it difficult to maintain constant and reliable revenue.

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In module three, we learned about international and transnational organizations.

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by George Boykin

The relaxing of trade barriers in many countries previously off-limits to international business created tremendous growth opportunities for small and medium-size businesses in countless product and service categories. According to Zurich-based consulting firm, KOF Institute, the share of the planet's population that makes up the international market was at 95 percent in the first decade of the millennium, up from 15-20 percent just 30 years earlier.

Despite the opportunities, many SMB operators get confused about the unique terminology used to describe the various business strategies used in international business. For example, some people may interpret transnational as a synonym of similar terms used to describe global companies. In fact, transnational describes one of four business strategies used by companies in global markets. Transnational is a hybrid strategy that incorporates element of the other three, but is quite dissimilar from the international strategy.

International Business Strategies

The four primary business strategies companies use to address the above mentioned issues are:

International Business Strategy

Multinational Business Strategy

Global Business Strategy

Transnational Business Strategy

International Business

These are basically importers and exporters. International businesses do not make direct investments in the host countries where they operate. International businesses may customize products or services for local markets on a limited basis, but customization is generally not a priority. All financial, operating and managerial decisions are centrally located at the company's main office. A typical example of the international business model is the small manufacturer that exports to neighboring countries.

Multinational Business

Often called a multidomestic strategy, multinational businesses make direct investments in host countries where they operate. Similarly, decision-making authority is delegated to host-country business units. Each business unit customizes products or services to suit local-market preferences.

Global Business

Companies that use the global business strategy operate as if the entire globe was one huge domestic market. Global companies have strong centralized management control and standardized, uniform products or services in all countries where they operate. Like multinationals, global businesses make direct investments in host countries when appropriate. However, management makes all investment decisions, which are mainly to achieve economies of scale as opposed to responding to local-market preferences.

Transnational Business

The transnational strategy uses a central control structure similar to international and global business models. However, the transnational strategy is different from the international strategy mainly because the "control" is more about coordinating the activities of local-market operating units to achieve integrated and interdependent synergies among the operating units.

Each operating unit specializes in what it does best to make its own contribution to the organization. For example, an operating unit in China might do the manufacturing. Another operating unit in India might be responsible for technical support.

One overarching theme of transnationals is adaptability to local markets. As such, they tend to be quite aggressive about being flexibility and nimble to respond to local-market conditions. They develop standardized products and services that can be readily customized for local markets. Some transnationals take this a step further with mass-customized products made in mini-factories strategically dispersed around the globe.

About the Author

George Boykin started writing in 2009 after retiring from a career in marketing management spanning 35 years, including several years as CMO for two consumer products national advertisers and as VP for an AAAA consumer products advertising agency. Boykin mainly writes about advertising and marketing for SMBs.

Copyright © Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Media, all rights reserved.

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The Differences in International & Transnational Businesses

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by George Boykin The relaxing of trade barriers in many countries previously off-limits to international business created tremendous growth opportunities for small and medium-size businesses in countless product and service categories. According to Zurich-based consulting firm, KOF Institute, the share of the planet's population that makes up the international market was at 95 percent in the first decade of the millennium, up from 15-20 percent just 30 years earlier.

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In module three, we learned we learned about effective ways to manage an organization effectively.

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Most organizations today are in a constant state of flux as they respond to the fast-moving external business environment, local and global economies, and technological advancement. This means that workplace processes, systems, and strategies must continuously change and evolve for an organization to remain competitive.

Change affects your most important asset, your people. Losing employees is costly due to the associated recruitment costs and the time involved getting new employees up to speed. Each time an employee walks out the door, essential intimate knowledge of your business leaves with them.

What is Effective Organizational Change Management?

A change management plan can support a smooth transition and ensure your employees are guided through the change journey. The harsh fact is that approximately 70 percent of change initiatives fail due to negative employee attitudes and unproductive management behavior. Using the services of a professional change management consultant could ensure you are in the winning 30 percent.

In this article, Pulse Learning presents six key steps to effective organizational change management.

1. Clearly define the change and align it to business goals.

It might seem obvious but many organizations miss this first vital step. It's one thing to articulate the change required and entirely another to conduct a critical review against organizational objectives and performance goals to ensure the change will carry your business in the right direction strategically, financially, and ethically. This step can also assist you to determine the value of the change, which will quantify the effort and inputs you should invest.

Key questions:
* What do we need to change?
* Why is this change required?

2. Determine impacts and those affected.

Once you know exactly what you wish to achieve and why, you should then determine the impacts of the change at various organizational levels. Review the effect on each business unit and how it cascades through the organizational structure to the individual. This information will start to form the blueprint for where training and support is needed the most to mitigate the impacts.

Key questions:
* What are the impacts of the change?
* Who will the change affect the most?
* How will the change be received?

3. Develop a communication strategy.

Although all employees should be taken on the change journey, the first two steps will have highlighted those employees you absolutely must communicate the change to. Determine the most effective means of communication for the group or individual that will bring them on board. The communication strategy should include a timeline for how the change will be incrementally communicated, key messages, and the communication channels and mediums you plan to use.

Key questions:
* How will the change be communicated?
* How will feedback be managed?

4. Provide effective training.

With the change message out in the open, it's important that your people know they will receive training, structured or informal, to teach the skills and knowledge required to operate efficiently as the change is rolled out. Training could include a suite of micro-learning online modules, or a blended learning approach incorporating face-to-face training sessions or on-the-job coaching and mentoring.

Key questions:
* What behaviors and skills are required to achieve business results?
* What training delivery methods will be most effective?

5. Implement a support structure.

Providing a support structure is essential to assist employees to emotionally and practically adjust to the change and to build proficiency of behaviors and technical skills needed to achieve desired business results. Some change can result in redundancies or restructures, so you could consider providing support such as counseling services to help people navigate the situation. To help employees adjust to changes to how a role is performed, a mentorship or an open-door policy with management to ask questions as they arise could be set up.

Key questions:
* Where is support most required?
* What types of support will be most effective?

6. Measure the change process.

Throughout the change management process, a structure should be put in place to measure the business impact of the changes and ensure that continued reinforcement opportunities exist to build proficiencies. You should also evaluate your change management plan to determine its effectiveness and document any lessons learned.

Key questions:
* Did the change assist in achieving business goals?
* Was the change management process successful?
* What could have been done differently?

Is your business going through a period of organizational change? PulseLearning can assist in managing the change process to meet business goals and minimize the associated impacts. PulseLearning is an award-winning global learning provider experienced in change management consultancy and developing engaging and innovative eLearning and blended training solutions.

References:
1. Torbenrick - Change Management

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6 Steps to Effective Organizational Change Management | PulseLearning

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Most organizations today are in a constant state of flux as they respond to the fast-moving external business environment, local and global economies, and technological advancement. This means that workplace processes, systems, and strategies must continuously change and evolve for an organization to remain competitive. Change affects your most important asset, your people.

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As we learned in module two, diversity makes a different in the work place. In this article they compare the differences between diverse and non diverse companies and the success that diversity attributes to a company.

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As we learned in module two, diversity makes a different in the work place. In this article they compare the differences between diverse and non diverse companies and the success that diversity attributes to a company.

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If companies want to prosper and retain their business advantage, they would benefit from having a diverse workforce, new McKinsey research finds. Of 366 public companies analyzed, those in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have financial returns above national industry medians.

Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15% more likely to have financial returns above their national industry peers.

While correlation does not equal causation - greater diversity doesn't automatically mean more profit - the link indicates that companies committed to diverse leadership are more successful.

"More diverse companies, we believe, are better able to win top talent and improve their customer orientation, employee satisfaction, and decision making, and all that leads to a virtuous cycle of increasing return," states the report.

The research also suggests that other types of diversity such as age, sexual orientation and global mindsets, are also likely to bring some level of competitive advantage for companies that are able to attract and retain diverse talent. Currently 97% of U.S. companies fail to have senior leadership teams that reflect the country's ethnic labor force.
How Do You Diversify Your Teams?
Diversity is a catchphrase that is, sometimes, more trendy than it is helpful. I've attended countless meetings, seminars, networking events all waxing lyrical about the importance of it. The world's most innovative companies - , Facebook and Apple, spend corporate dollars and branding towards promoting gender and racial diversity at their organizations. Yet, when it comes down to actual numbers, very few companies have a workforce that reflect our nation's demographics. In fact, tech companies are notorious for the lack of ethnic and gender diversity.

But fostering a culture of inclusiveness starts at the top, says Shellye Archambeau, CEO of MetricStream. The Silicon Valley-based governance, risk and compliance firm raised $60 million from investors last fall, and a total of $125 million since its inception in 1999.

Archambeau, who sits on Verizon's Board of Directors, is also the first African American female CEO of a Kleiner Perkins venture-backed company.

MetricStream's chairman Gunjan Sinha is of Indian descent, and the company's U.S. workforce is now over 56% non-white. But diversity at the company has been a long and focused effort. Archambeau advises companies against investing in blanket diversity initiatives that end up being more like bandaids than fostering a cultural change. Here are three that impacted representation at MetricStream.
Set Targets not Quotas
For diversity to make a business impact, representation must show at the top, says Archambeau.

Archambeau says more companies should be aware of the types of candidates they hire at every level, but especially for leadership roles. "It's worth asking 'are we looking at women candidates when screening for the top positions. Are we looking at racially diverse candidates?'"

Organizations often don't reflect on where their talent pool is being drawn from. "Even asking these questions tend to drive our overall behavior," she says.

Instead of quotas, she suggests setting targets. "I really don't like quotas. Targets at every level ensure you have focused activities to execute on an overall objective," she says. Forcing a quota on an organization doesn't always ensure you have the best person for every role.
Reach Beyond Traditional Networks
Most people are likely to have people who look like them, in their immediate networks. Archambeau says modern workplaces must encourage hiring managers and HR support functions to start looking beyond their traditional networks when creating the talent pipeline. "Recognize and reward managers that are creating diverse teams," she adds.

It's a missed business opportunity if your clients and consumers are of different backgrounds and genders, but your team is homogenous. "Diversity really helps teams thrive. Even an all-female team of the same ethnicity is not as successful as a mixed team."
Start Now and Don't Give Up
It's daunting to change numbers at larger organizations that have a certain demographic entrenched within their organization. But even if it takes time to make a change, the business case for diversity is too strong to ignore.

"Even if you start today, it really takes a while for numbers to come through." Don't let that deter you. "Diversity is not just a short-term, one-act solution," says Archambeau. It takes longer commitment and an ability to quickly pivot if certain initiatives are not changing the ratio.

"What you're really doing is changing behavior in the talent pool and organization structure, and to make a dent in that number, it takes time," she concludes.

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Racially Diverse Companies Outperform Industry Norms by 35%

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Companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 30% more likely to have financial returns above national industry medians. Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15% more likely to have financial returns above their peers, finds new McKinsey Research. Here's how to commit to diversity initiatives that yield results.

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In module two, we learned about making decisions as managers. In this article it tells the reader about the steps we should take when making a decision.

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Managerial decision-making involves a systematic thought process.

man thinking image by forca from Fotolia.com

Small business owners and managers make decisions on a daily basis, addressing everything from day-to-day operational issues to long-range strategic planning. The decision-making process of a manager can be broken down into six distinct steps. Although each step can be examined at length, managers often run through all of the steps quickly when making decisions. Understanding the process of managerial decision-making can improve your decision-making effectiveness.

Identify Problems

The first step in the process is to recognize that there is a decision to be made. Decisions are not made arbitrarily; they result from an attempt to address a specific problem, need or opportunity.

A supervisor in a retail shop may realize that he has too many employees on the floor compared with the day's current sales volume, for example, requiring him to make a decision to keep costs under control.

Seek Information

Managers seek out a range of information to clarify their options once they have identified an issue that requires a decision. Managers may seek to determine potential causes of a problem, the people and processes involved in the issue and any constraints placed on the decision-making process.

Brainstorm Solutions

Having a more complete understanding of the issue at hand, managers move on to make a list of potential solutions. This step can involve anything from a few seconds of though to a few months or more of formal collaborative planning, depending on the nature of the decision.

Choose an Alternative

Managers weigh the pros and cons of each potential solution, seek additional information if needed and select the option they feel has the best chance of success at the least cost. Consider seeking outside advice if you have gone through all the previous steps on your own; asking for a second opinion can provide a new perspective on the problem and your potential solutions.

Implement the Plan

There is no time to second guess yourself when you put your decision into action. Once you have committed to putting a specific solution in place, get all of your employees on board and put the decision into action with conviction. That is not to say that a managerial decision cannot change after it has been enacted; savvy managers put monitoring systems in place to evaluate the outcomes of their decisions.

Evaluate Outcomes

Even the most experienced business owners can learn from their mistakes. Always monitor the results of strategic decisions you make as a small business owner; be ready to adapt your plan as necessary, or to switch to another potential solution if your chosen solution does not work out the way you expected.

About the Author

David Ingram has written for multiple publications since 2009, including "The Houston Chronicle" and online at Business.com. As a small-business owner, Ingram regularly confronts modern issues in management, marketing, finance and business law. He has earned a Bachelor of Arts in management from Walsh University.

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What Are the Steps in the Decision-Making Process of a Manager?

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Small business owners and managers make decisions on a daily basis, addressing everything from day-to-day operational issues to long-range strategic planning. The decision-making process of a manager can be broken down into six distinct steps. Although each step can be examined at length, managers often run through all of the steps quickly when making decisions.

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In module two we learned about corporate social responsibility and this article explains how CSR can affect brand strategy

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In module two we learned about corporate social responsibility and this article explains how CSR can affect brand strategy

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Corporate social responsibility is typically associated with large companies, not small businesses. But as companies of all sizes are quickly learning, social responsibility is a contemporary business imperative. In particular, education-driven initiatives are popular with small and mid-sized business owners. Two out of three mid-sized business owners say they are seeking to improve community engagement through education initiatives aimed at younger community members, according to Business News Daily. Unfortunately, despite the best of intentions, CSR often becomes an after-thought for small business owners who are too busy growing their business to focus on secondary initiatives like CSR. It doesn't have to be.

CSR goes hand-in-hand with a smart brand strategy. Consumers vote with their wallets, supporting companies that demonstrate concern for employee welfare, community development, environmental sustainability, and human rights.

"We live in a customer-centric and highly connected world where consumers not only want to feel good about their purchase but also want to make use of social media to share the story behind the purchase. Consumer sentiment can make or break a business. Having a positive social purpose and a core message that resonates with your audience can be the key business differentiator." says Creative Brand Strategist Andrew Miller, who works closely with small businesses to help them structure effective CSR programs.
When Good CSR Goes Wrong: How to Ensure Mutually Beneficial Partnerships
When it comes to successfully executing CSR strategy, even big corporations make mistakes, especially if they fail to consider the long-term impact of their efforts to give back. Case in point: Toms Shoes. From a marketing standpoint, Toms Shoes "Buy One, Give One" model is a winner. It's easy for consumers to connect with a concrete concept like putting shoes on a poor child's feet, rather than a more abstract concept like donating 10 percent of profits to research. But while the slogan may be good for business, critics say that the "Buy One, Give One" model creates dependency, zaps local initiatives, and ultimately hurts local businesses. As Michael Matheson Miller, the director of PovertyCure, a group promoting entrepreneurial solutions to poverty, tells Knowledge@Wharton, "Poor people aren't poor because they lack stuff; they're poor because they lack the infrastructure to create wealth." Ultimately, donating a pair of shoes may do more damage to the local economy than good.

In other cases, donating a pair of eyeglasses may be just fine if these donations don't undermine an existing local industry. Warby Parker, for example, uses money from every pair of glasses the brand sells to train locals at giving basic eye exams and then sell glasses at a significantly reduced rate. This turns an otherwise needy beneficiary into a responsible consumer, which Warby Park co-CEO Neil Blumenthal says empowers rather demeans the recipient. The company partners with Vision Spring, a like-minded nonprofit, to manage the training and eyeglass sales.

So how can you ensure your program is more than just well-intentioned but actually effective? For businesses that wish to alleviate poverty, Miller recommends focusing efforts on ways to create prosperity for families, such as removing barriers to education. In other cases, a "buy one, give one" approach may work, as long as the recipient's needs and environment are carefully considered. Other companies have found success in providing microloans or making scholarship donations that restore community health, rather than just alleviating symptoms or causes.

Katherine Klein, the vice dean of Wharton"s Social Impact Initiative recommends businesses embrace the spirit of innovation and experimentation with their CSR models as "it's not clear yet which approaches have the greatest sustainability and impact."
Starting Your Own CSR: 5 Steps to Success

1. Pick the right partner. Small businesses are simply not equipped to manage every aspect of a CSR program on their own, nor should you try. Attempting to do so will simply deplete program resources, along with the energy and enthusiasm your employees have for the program. Let the experts help! Choose a partner nonprofit that naturally aligns with your company's core mission and services. For example, if you run a small optometry practice, you may not be able to fund a "Buy a Pair, Give a Pair" program on the scale of Warby Parker, but you can still support vision initiatives, like the Vision Experience Foundation.

2. Structure for sustainability. You may mean well with your CSR, but if it's not aligned with your business model, it will become a one-time project rather than a sustainable program. Look for ways to blend financial support with volunteer service or in-kind contributions. Consider how your customers or clients will be involved. Don't limit involvement to simply donating a percentage of your annual profits. Consider sponsoring a "day of giving" in the community, where customers, clients, and employees can work together to complete a volunteer project aligned with your CSR.

3. Support community education. Looking to make an immediate impact on your local community? College or advanced degree scholarships are one of the most popular CSR choices that make a direct impact on the recipients' lives. David Resnick & Associates, PC recently launched a scholarship essay contest for students pursuing a two-year or four-year college degree who are interested in attending law school. "The cost of attending college leaves too many students crippled with loan debt or unable to pursue advanced degrees," says David Resnick, the firm's founder. "We chose to offer a scholarship competition in order to empower deserving students to achieve their legal education dreams."

4. Don't shy away from personal causes. When a cause is near and dear to your heart, your passion for this cause will naturally shine through, inspiring your fellow employees as well as customers and clients. For small businesses, choosing personal causes that are closely aligned with the local community will also inspire community-wide involvement that goes beyond just your current employees and customers. For example, Colorado law firm The Sawaya Law Firm gives out "The Sawaya Awards", which recognize Coloradans who are committed to helping themselves and members of their community reach their full potential. The firm also helps community members in need through the Sawaya Foundation, which recently launched a matching fundraising drive to support a Denver police officer who was severely wounded during a routine traffic stop.

5. Monitor customer impact. In addition to monitoring the success of your CSR program, you'll also want to understand how customers and clients perceive them. For example, when Tom's started getting pushback from customers about their "buy one, give one" donations, the company reworked their program to make it more sustainable and less disruptive to local communities. (They now invest in companies that match their CSR mission, too.) While it's unlikely that customers will approach you directly about your CSR, if they feel strongly about it one way or another, they probably will discuss it on social media. I like Brand24 and Follow for monitoring social media chatter. You can use these platforms to set alerts for online mentions and specific keywords related to your CSR.

Bottom line:
There's no need to rush head first into a huge CSR program. Start slowly and grow with time. Whether your company is a small business or a major corporation, choose a CSR program that realistically reflects your business's ability to give back. For small businesses, this could be a scholarship program like the one recently launched by David Resnick's law firm or the "Sawya Awards" for outstanding community members. Other great options include a company-wide volunteer day such as Habitat for Humanity (invite your customers/clients to join in!) or a recurring donation to a nonprofit aligned with your business's services. Whichever approach you choose, be sure that your program is fully integrated with your business's core mission for long-term, sustainable growth.

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Why Corporate Social Responsibility is Essential for Brand Strategy

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Corporate social responsibility is typically associated with large companies, not small businesses. But as companies of all sizes are quickly learning, social responsibility is a contemporary business imperative. In particular, education-driven initiatives are popular with small and mid-sized business owners.

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Diversity is something we hit hard in module two. This article discusses diversity in the work place and the benefits of being diverse.

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As you look around your office, is everyone just like you? Probably not. The demographics of the American workforce have changed dramatically over the last 50 years. In the 1950s, more than 60% of the American workforce consisted of white males. They were typically the sole breadwinners in the household, expected to retire by age 65 and spend their retirement years in leisure activities. Today, the American workforce is a better reflection of the population with a significant mix of genders, race, religion, age and other background factors.

The long-term success of any business calls for a diverse body of talent that can bring fresh ideas, perspectives and views to their work. The challenge that diversity poses, therefore, is enabling your managers to capitalize on the mixture of genders, cultural backgrounds, ages and lifestyles to respond to business opportunities more rapidly and creatively.

Here are two examples of the challenges inherent in managing a diverse workforce:

An American health insurance company hired employees from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds. The variety of different native languages and cultures, however, did not mix. Instead of making employees feel that they had a sub-group within their larger team, it gave rise to paranoia ("They must be talking about me.") and assumptions ("They think they are smarter than everyone else."). When the group needed to learn a new intake system, rather than pull together, they became even more estranged and productivity and morale plummeted.

In an American subsidiary of a global bank based in Japan, a few Japanese female workers complained to management that their older Japanese male bosses were being disrespectful to them. The human resources manager questioned all of the women in the office. Every Japanese woman reported problems with the Japanese men. In contrast, the American women reported no problems at all. Confused, the human resources manager questioned the Japanese male managers. The answer? The Japanese men responded that they understood American expectations related to sexual harassment, so they were careful about what they said to the American women. They were perplexed by the responses of the Japanese women. "What is the problem?" the Japanese men wanted to know, "They know that we don't mean anything. Any Japanese person would understand." Communication, which has never been straightforward and easy in the first place, is becoming even more complicated as organizations take on global partners.

Diversity is no longer just a black/white, male/female, old/young issue. It is much more complicated and interesting than that. In The Future of Diversity and the Work Ahead
of Us, Harris Sussman says, "Diversity is about our relatedness, our connectedness, our interactions, where the lines cross. Diversity is many things - a bridge between organizational life and the reality of people's lives, building corporate capability, the framework for interrelationships between people, a learning exchange, a strategic lens on the world."

A benefit of a diverse workforce is the ability to tap into the many talents which employees from different backgrounds, perspectives, abilities and disabilities bring to the workplace. An impressive example of this is found on the business cards of employees at one Fortune 100 technology company. Employees at this company have business cards that appear normal at first glance. On closer inspection, the raised Braille characters of employee information are evident.

Many companies, however, still face challenges around building a diverse environment. Part of the reason is the tendency to pigeonhole employees, placing them in a different silo based on their diversity profile. If an employee is male, over 50, English, and an atheist, under what diversity category does this employee fall? Gender, generational, global or religious? In the real world, diversity cannot be easily categorized and those organizations that respond to human complexity by leveraging the talents of a broad workforce will be the most effective in growing their businesses and their customer base.

So, how do you develop a diversity strategy that gets results? The companies with the most effective diversity programs take a holistic approach to diversity by following these guidelines:

1. Link diversity to the bottom line. When exploring ways to increase corporate profits, look to new markets or to partnering with your clients more strategically. Consider how a diverse workforce will enable your company to meet those goals. Think outside the box. At a Fortune 500 manufacturing company, Hispanics purchased many of the products. When the company hired a Director of Hispanic Markets, profits increased dramatically in less than one year because of the targeted marketing efforts Your new customers may be people with disabilities or people over the age of 65. How can your employees help you reach new markets?

2. Walk the talk. If senior management advocates a diverse workforce, make diversity evident at all organizational levels. If you don't, some employees will quickly conclude that there is no future for them in your company. Don't be afraid to use words like black, white, gay or lesbian. Show respect for diversity issues and promote clear and positive responses to them. How can you demonstrate your company's commitment to diversity?

3. Broaden your efforts. Does diversity at your company refer only to race and gender? If so, expand your definition and your diversity efforts. As baby boomers age and more minorities enter the workplace, the shift in demographics means that managing a multi-generational and multi-cultural workforce will become a business norm. Also, there is a wealth of specialized equipment available to enable people with disabilities to contribute successfully to their work environments. If your organizational environment does not support diversity broadly you risk losing talent to your competitors. How can your recruitment efforts reach out to all qualified candidates?

4. Remove artificial barriers to success. The style of interview - behavioral or functional- may be a disadvantage to some job candidates. Older employees, for example, are less familiar with behavioral interviews and may not perform as well unless your recruiters directly ask for the kind of experiences they are looking for. Employees from countries outside the US and non-Caucasian populations may downplay their achievements or focus on describing, "who they know" rather than "what they know" Train your recruiters to understand the cultural components of interviews. How can your human resources processes give equal opportunity to all people?

5. Retain diversity at all levels. The definition of diversity goes beyond race and gender to encompass lifestyle issues. Programs that address work and family issues - alternative work schedules and child and elder care resources and referrals - make good business sense. How can you keep valuable employees?

6. Provide practical training. Using relevant examples to teach small groups of people how to resolve conflicts and value diverse opinions helps companies far more than large, abstract diversity lectures. Training needs to emphasize the importance of diverse ideas as well. Workers care more about whether or not their boss seems to value their ideas rather than if they are part of a group of all white males or an ethnically diverse workforce. In addition, train leaders to move beyond their own cultural frame of reference to recognize and take full advantage of the productivity potential inherent in a diverse population. How can you provide diversity training at your company?

7. Mentor with others at your company who you do not know well. Involve your managers in a mentoring program to coach and provide feedback to employees who are different from them. Some of your most influential mentors can be people with whom you have little in common. Find someone who doesn't look just like you. Find someone from a different background, a different race or a different gender. Find someone who thinks differently than you do. How can you find a mentor who is different from you?

8. Measure your results. Conduct regular organizational assessments on issues like pay, benefits, work environment, management and promotional opportunities to assess your progress over the long term. Keep doing what is working and stop doing what is not working. How do you measure the impact of diversity initiatives at your organization?

In the book, Beyond Race and Gender, R. Roosevelt Thomas defines managing diversity as "a comprehensive managerial process for developing an environment that works for all employees." Successful strategic diversity programs also lead to increased profits and lowered expenses.

The long-term success of any business calls for a diverse body of talent that can bring fresh ideas, perspectives and views and a corporate mindset that values those views. It's also no secret that the lack of diversity can affect your ability to communicate effectively with diverse clients. Link your diversity strategies to specific goals like morale, retention, performance and the bottom line. Build your business with everything you've got, with the complex multi-dimensional talents and personalities of your workforce, and make diversity work for you.
Judith Lindenberger, Principal, The Lindenberger Group, LLC

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Diversity and the Workplace | Experience

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Diversity and the Workplace on Experience | As you look around your office, is everyone just like you? Probably not. The demographics of the American workforce have changed dramatically over the last 50 years. In the 1950s, more than 60% of the American workforce consisted of white males. They were...

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Some would find the smell of smoke overwhelming but not me. Their's so much you can do with it, ribs, pork butts, chicken. It gathers family and friends and feeds them all. The Florida temperature is unpredictable and unstable but not my cooking tool. I give it my all because it truly shows in the end product.  I must practice patience due to the grilling amount of hours I spend doing it.

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In module one, we learned about the concepts of management.

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In this module we learned the importance of communications between leaders and their employees. This articles highlights soliciting feedback, listen and leading by example.

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Effective Communication Between Management & Employees

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Management functions have long been partitioned into categories - planning, organization, staffing, leading and controlling - combined with other functions inside and outside the company, ...

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In module one we learned about the we learned about the concepts of organization and fundamental management.

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Management Basic Concepts: The Four Functions of Management.

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In module one, we learned skills that help you be successful as a manager. This article runs through several more traits that add to our toolbox.

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10 Most Important Leadership Skills for Team Success

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What does it take to be a really great leader? Here's our personally-curated list of the most important qualities.