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Module 8 Controlling Performance and Operations 

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Module 8 Controlling Performance and Operations 

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A big question that kept popping into my head during this module was in the tracking of inventory is that big of a deal to organizations/ businesses. After doing research, I found this website that had three different articles. Each one talked about the advantages, slow inventory, and what just-in-time inventory is. Overall, this article allowed me to see that tracking and monitoring inventory is very important as it allows the business/ organization to profit from your inventory. Knowing the inventory status allows an organization to make figures and understand potential figures and organizations that may be needed. understanding the inventory a manager has allows a company to understand the flow of the process and know when new/ refills of inventory are needed. This is a good artifact for wanting to future the understanding of why tracking inventory is important and the advantages of doing so. This is important to my learning because it helped me build on what was taught in the lesson since there was not a whole lot discussed compared to other topics.

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The Advantages of Monitoring Inventory. Your inventory represents a significant investment by your company and the potential for profits. One of the ways that you can maximize your inventory’s profitability is by monitoring inventory activity. There are a number of advantages to monitoring inventory…

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Module 8 Controlling Performance and Operations 

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Module 8 Controlling Performance and Operations 

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Businesses are always looking for ways to build productivity and keep employees productive. I wanted to know the why behind productivity. Why is productivity so crucial for an organization to have? This article breaks down the "why" and 13 ways it is beneficial to have productivity in an organization. Some of the reasons I really liked growing my knowledge on were how it optimizes resources, reduces waste & environmental impacts, and reduces employee burnout. When reading the module I didn't think of how having productivity can actually reduce so much compared to enhancement. When you read this article artifact it gives you many reasons as to why productivity is helpful in an organization but decreasing burnouts and environmental impacts were two things learned. I think this is an important article if you want more information to answer the big "why" question about productivity but also great points about what makes it useful in an organization. Productivity is a great tool to have in any business/ organization. I definitely want to add productivity to my business in the future and now in my job to help me not get burnout as often.

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Most people in business are well aware of the multitude of business benefits to be gained from having more productive employees as well as from more efficient production lines. Productivity benefits are obvious and widely felt when implemented in a business environment. If you weren't already convinced, here are thirteen reasons why productivity should be on your agenda for 2018.

1. Increasing profitability

Companies experience an increase in profitability when it becomes less expensive to produce their goods and services. When workers become more efficient, less labour is required to produce the same amount of goods. The company could choose to reduce the number of employees to produce the same output, but if it chooses to maintain the same amount of labour, it will benefit from an increase in output.

2. Lowering operational costs

Companies can reduce operational costs through a number of initiatives. If individual workers improve their personal workflow, they will either produce more in less time or reduce the amount of hours they need to work to achieve the same output. Operational costs can often be reduced through an investment in technology, and over time improved processes can lead to a reduction in labour costs. The introduction of flexitime and three day weeks can see productivity increase when people feel more valued and engaged and suffer less from stress as a result of less commuting. Often people can achieve the same amount of work in three flexi days as they might previously have done in a week.

3. Optimising resources

Often companies don't use their resources to the best potential. Employees are busy some of the time and looking for work to do at other times. Better human resource management offers a great opportunity to reduce costs and increase productivity. Better role distribution and more effective staffing can make a massive difference, the difference between profit and loss. Optimal workforce utilisation should be on the agenda for change. Improved workflow systems will identify places that roles are overlapping. Companies can rectify situations where employees aren't being used to their maximum potential, and they can start to use their resources efficiently.

4. Improving customer service

Improvements in productivity are usually felt all over an organisation. One of the external benefits comes when customers are given more time and atten- tion. Systems run better, and the customer feels the benefit. Of course, when the customer is benefiting, the company benefits because happy customers lead to happy managers and happy shareholders.

5. Seizing the opportunity for growth

An increase in productivity is always an opportunity for growth. How this increase is used is up to management. If the productivity increase results in more time for employees, it's important to control how this time is spent. Far too easily, this time can get used up by mundane tasks and time wasting activities that pose as valid tasks. Don't be deceived: a time suck is always a time suck, and if it wasn't important enough to take up your time before your productivity enhancements, it certainly doesn't merit your time now.

6. Reducing waste and environmental impact

The environment suffers when people aren't efficient. If you're not organised and take ten hours to do work that could be done in six, you use four hours of extra electricity that doesn't need to be used. When you don't look closely at the way you're doing things, you waste time, money, and resources. Heating can be optimised and not wasted. When you do this, you create a more pleasant and healthier working environment, which results in higher productivity and focus amongst employees. Good building design that maximises natural light leads to a reduction in lighting costs as well as an increase in workers' productivity and well‐being due to good levels of daylight in the building. Lighting levels can have a significant impact on productivity and the mood of the people who work in the office.

7. Improving competitiveness

Anything you can do faster, more efficiently or better than your competitors gives you an edge. Increased productivity leads to increased competitiveness. If you can produce your products at a lower cost than your competitor, you can charge less. If you can deliver your service more quickly than your competitor, you can serve more clients or you can increase time spent on customer service, increasing your value add to the customer.

Everyone is aware of the multitude of benefits that organisations gain from productivity increases, but the benefits for employees may not be as widely known as those noticed by the accountants and financial people.

8. Reducing employee burnout

When people have too much to do and not enough time to do it, it can result in stress, exhaustion or total burnout. Working more efficiently whether a reduction in time spent on daily processes or a reallocation of roles and responsibilities - results in people being able to cope better with their work- load and complete their responsibilities in the time allocated to them. This is a positive consequence for both employer and employee. Better time manage- ment leads to more organised, relaxed and efficient employees who can focus on their daily tasks rather than worry about all the things they're not getting to.

9. Enhancing wellbeing

Another benefit of improved productivity is personal well‐being. Well‐being can be described as a state where you're healthy, comfortable and happy. When you're more in control of your workload, you can be more in control of your life, having time to include exercise, to cook healthy food and rest when you need to relax. With less stress, you can listen to your body and give it more of what it needs. All the good things in life are within your reach. All it takes is a few little changes, and you'll see them all add up to stunning results.

10. Improving morale

When companies help employees become more organised and productive, they're investing in the well‐being of the employee. Many workers see pro- ductivity as a way to squeeze more work out of the worker. This vision has to change. Increased productivity is a positive outcome for all involved. When employees understand what improving their efficiency can mean to them reduced stress and increased control, well‐being and focus - they can then embrace the process and accept the benefits that can be gained. When employees reap the benefits of increased efficiencies, it usually improves their morale and commitment toward the company.

11. Increasing engagement

More productive workers are usually more engaged in their work. Engagement is a result of a number of factors, which are often linked to the quality of leadership, the amount of autonomy an individual feels and the degree to which they feel in control of their work and workload. When the effort your put into your work makes a difference and your aren't just treading water, you'll be more focused and engaged. When employees take control to get their work lives organised, it usually leads to increased focus, commitment and engagement, or they will move on to another job role that they feel is more suitable for them.

Ciara Conlon is the author of 'Productivity for Dummies' and 'Chaos to Control', a Productivity Expert, Leadership Coach and Motivational Speaker, located in Dublin, Ireland

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11 Reasons Why Productivity Should be on your Business Agenda

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Most people in business are well aware of the multitude of business benefits to be gained from having more productive employees as well as from more efficient production lines. Productivity benefits are obvious and widely felt when implemented in a business environment. If you weren't already

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Bottom- up leadership a type of leadership I have not heard of till doing my research on the different types of leadership. This Article by Forbes talks about this style and having it in a business environment. Unlike traditional leaderships styles, this style is based on the philosophy that the entire business plays a part in leading, charting, and directing the flow of the company compared to a hierarchy leadership style. This article goes on to talk about the three benefits of using this style and they are it empowers each team member, frees up resources, and that empowered employees are happier employees. This also plays into the modules lesson motivation. As the empowerment of an employee is essentially the same as motivating them in similar ways. I added this artifact, as it has a different leadership style I had not come across and it peaked my interest in understanding that there are always evolving styles of leadership being put to the test.

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Jeanette is the CEO of , a no-code website & landing page builder that helps entrepreneurs start and grow their business online.
Most people in the business world are familiar with top-down leadership and the notion that the leader of a company sets the direction and manages direct reports. Fewer people, however, are familiar with bottom-up leadership, which is the idea that direct reports manage upward by setting expectations and leading by example.

From a hierarchical perspective, top-down leadership begins with the CEO who charts the overall course and direction for the entire company. From there, the CEO's guidance is carried out by upper management, middle management and further down the chain throughout the company. This is the management style used by a majority of business organizations.

Bottom-up leadership is a philosophy in which the entire business organization plays a part in charting, directing and leading the overall course of the company. This type of management style embraces a collaborative approach to decision-making and encourages employees of all ranks and levels to actively share their ideas. It focuses on empowering employees throughout a business organization to contribute to the company vision.
1. Empowers Each Member Of Your Team
While determining the best and most effective approach to running a business is rarely cut and dry, there is much to be said about embracing a bottom-up leadership style. Here are three reasons why nurturing a culture of leadership is an effective business strategy that can help steer your organization down the path of productivity and success.

If we define the role of a leader as someone who is dedicated to helping other people achieve their full potential, then creating a culture of leadership is truly in the best interest of everyone at a company.

One way to nurture this is to empower each and every member of your organization's team. When applied to a workplace setting, allowing employees a certain degree of autonomy and responsibility for making decisions and managing their overall workloads and activities is known as employee empowerment. This type of empowerment allows team members-regardless of their level within the company-the confidence to succeed and the means in which to do so.

A few notable benefits of employee empowerment include:

* A heightened level of trust in leadership.

* Increased levels of creativity and motivation.

* Improved employee retention.

There are many ways to incorporate employee empowerment into your business strategy. One is to listen to your employees and inquire about their concerns and day-to-day challenges. What issues are they facing? Are there certain tools or effective communication strategies that could be implemented to decrease frustrations and increase productivity? What business-related concerns are at the forefront of their minds? Simply listening to your employees builds trust within your workforce and gives each member of your team a powerful voice in how your business functions.

Other employee empowerment strategies include offering or providing professional development opportunities, such as training programs or classes, recognizing and rewarding employees for achievements, and delegating new responsibilities and projects to team members so that they can aspire toward new goals.
2. Frees Up Resources
Empowering your team enables employees throughout your company to feel confident when making decisions independent of management. It also encourages others to lead by example and creates a more collaborative environment.

The success of your organization relies heavily on each employee's ability to get work done in an efficient and reliable manner. While a team member's output is hindered by many factors, one sure-fire way to bring productivity to a screeching halt is having to constantly seek a manager's approval over small, work-related decisions.

However, if your employees feel empowered to make certain decisions without having to ask a manager for approval, it frees up valuable company time that can be put toward other more important business goals.
3. Empowered Employees Are Happy Employees
Allowing employees to make decisions on their own results in more productivity. It also promotes increased trust in the organization, encourages a greater sense of ownership and responsibility, and helps strengthen loyalty and commitment.

Your employees are the most valuable assets of your business. Without their energy, hard work and dedication, it's difficult for your business to grow and thrive. This is why the No. 1 reason your business should nurture a culture of leadership is that empowering your employees leads to improved morale.

Whether you're a small-business owner, a mid-level manager or a leader of a large organization, there's no denying that when a person feels a sense of ownership over their work, they become more invested and passionate about making sure the job is done well.

When you empower your employees with opportunities to make their own decisions or manage their daily activities, you allow them more freedom to handle their job, which, in turn, encourages them to become more invested in the success of the company.
Employee Empowerment Leads To Success
This strategy translates into real business results, such as higher levels of productivity and improved employee retention.

Implementing a bottom-up leadership management approach into your overall business strategy is an excellent way to usher in and nurture a culture of leadership. Empowering each member of your team will produce confident employees who lead by example, free up valuable time and resources, improve productivity and lead to a better workplace culture.

Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?

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Council Post: The Business Case For Nurturing A Culture Of Leadership

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Jeanette is the CEO of , a no-code website & landing page builder that helps entrepreneurs start and grow their business online. Most people in the business world are familiar with top-down leadership and the notion that the leader of a company sets the direction and manages direct reports.

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Leadership is a never-ending practice based on what this video is talking about. The gentleman in this video when being interviewed talks about how he is always learning and others should do too when in leadership. I really connected with what he said about how others see his organization as perfect and having no problems but just like others he too runs into difficulties. I think what he is saying about how leaders should always be learning. When leaders state that they already know better what is being discussed is a bad trait; I can see how it is as learning is always happening in a leadership position. You will never know too much to be an expert in leadership. I think this is a great artifact for others to see as it is an interesting opinion and really makes you think hard about the skill of leadership.

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No One is an Expert in Leadership | Simon Sinek

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Module 6 Communications and Managing Human Resources 

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Module 6 Communications and Managing Human Resources 

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Communication is everywhere....the computer, phone, tablet, social media, letters, blogs, reports, in-person, and so much more. Communication will always be around in business and in daily life. Understanding that there is effective and ineffective communication is key. I added this photo as an artifact because it showcases the daily communication devices that we use. Mostly every person in this day and age has used their phone, computer, or talk in person at an establishment today. Communication is a common tool everyone uses but using it professionally and effectively is completely different. This photo is important to remember that today it's no longer just in-person communication only but also media communication too. In the world of an organization a CEO, manager, or other employees now commonly use technology to communicate projects, updates, and tasks. Making sure that you are effective and use good communication skills is vital to being a great communicator.

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Module 6 Communications and Managing Human Resources 

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Module 6 Communications and Managing Human Resources 

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Human Resource is a huge part of any organization and like many jobs in the world, Human Resource jobs are often forgotten about even though the job itself is crucial for a business to run. This article goes into the importance of Human Resource Management just like the module talks about. I thought this article was important because it not only tells the importance, roles, and meaning of human resources but also why one should go into the growing industry of human resources. I wanted to include this article because it shares so much on the topic of human resources and actually gives great reasons and points as to why it is important. The topic of why a job in human resources can be beneficial as it is always needed to continue the growth of a company was interesting. I agree with the article as HR is all about the employees, employment, benefits, hiring, firing, and retirement of the staff. This is an important role in an organization and falls in line with the information module six had to talk about.

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Why Human Resource Management Is Important

Employees are the foundation of every successful business. This is why human resource (HR) management is so important.

The HR department performs a wide variety of duties and is responsible for helping employees feel safe, valued and properly supported. Exceptional human resource managementensures that the HR department runs smoothly and continues to evolve over time.

If this sounds interesting to you and you're curious about a career inhuman resource management, read on to learn why it's so valuable in the professional world.

What is Human Resource Management?

The simplest human resource description would be to say it's the department of a company or organization that handles the relationship between employees and leadership.

Human resource management (HRM) is the sector of HR that oversees these departments.

HR covers a number of positions, responsibilities, and aspects of company efficiency and staff well-being-and each area of human resources requires strong leadership from an experienced manager.

Some of the most important responsibilities within the HRM department include:

Hiring and Training New Employees

An HR professional holding a management position is often in charge of recruiting, hiring, and training new employees. This means the HR team is responsible for finding candidates who meet the necessary qualifications for specified positions and fully vetting a company's hires.

Human resource managers are also expected to embrace and promote diversity among staff, orient team members to their new work environment, and ensure healthy interactions between employees and organizational leadership.

But what does a human resource manager do exactly when it comes to hiring and training? Some of the most common tasks for this type of HR manager may include:

Conducting interviews and reading resumes

Performing background checks on applicants

Overseeing or leading training procedures

Implementing new training techniques

Writing job descriptions, posting job listings, and recruiting potential candidates

Making a good impression on behalf of the company (HR is usually the first department candidates will meet)

The bottom line -An HR professional is often the face of the company for potential new employees. Recruitment, hiring, and training policies are supervised and improved upon with the help of HR managers.

Keeping Employees Safe and Happy

A human resource department is also in charge of keeping employees safe, healthy, and satisfied. With proper HR management, workplace policies keep up with necessary protective measures and implementation and provide solutions to issues between team members, avoiding risk for the company and its employees.

Daily duties for an HR manager who specializes in employee relations may include:

Creating workplace safety policies

Ensuring the organization follows federal and state occupational laws

Addressing employee concerns and complaints

Preventing and dismantling harassment or discrimination in the workplace

Managing employee relationships

Facilitating communication between leadership and employees

The bottom line - HR managers are in charge of many duties, but employee well-being should always remain a top priority. As a human resource manager, you'll spend a lot of time speaking to employees, listening to concerns, and managing workplace relationships. The main goal of a successful, strategic HRM should be to ensure the staff feels safe, respected, and heard at all times.

Managing Company Risk

The HR department works with organizational leadership to help manage risk and compliance. Human resource managers should be well-versed in business law, ethics, statistics, and problem-solving in order to help manage their company's risk.

As an HR manager, you may be put in charge of the following risk management responsibilities:

Analyzing statistical risk using company data

Addressing and preventing potential lawsuits

Supervising firing practices

Properly training other managers

Implementing diversity and Title IX training

Protecting the organization's data and upholding privacy for sensitive information

Vetting new hires and improving hiring procedures

The bottom line - Human resource management is intended to protect the company and its employees. As a risk management specialist, you'll help manage your company's risk in a manner that involves statistical analysis, knowledge of business law, and overall improvement of company policies and practices.

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The importance of HR management presents itself in several of the responsibilities and positions that keep a company's employees satisfied. Read on to learn more.

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Module 5 Organizational Structure and Processes

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Module 5 Organizational Structure and Processes

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In Module 5 organization and its process are talked about a lot and one of the structures that can be used by organizations is called customer-based structure. When doing research for this lesson on the structures to understand them better I came across this article where they call the structure customer-centric and tips on how to become an organization that uses it. The eight tips are to anticipate customers' needs, collect feedback, be easily accessible, meet in person, have proactive customer service, adopt customer service tools, look farther than the purchases, and create an onboarding process. This article allowed me to not only learn more about a customer-based structure but also tips that can be applied to have an organization that uses this structure effectively. I thought this article was relevant to the module and taught me a great deal more on the structures discussed.

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Twice a month, I receive a message at the top of my Inbox from Gusto with the headline: "🎉 Hooray! Ben, you got paid today."

It's a simple product feature, but regardless, it brings a smile to my face. The HR software is demonstrating a customer-centric framework by celebrating what is normally an insignificant moment for companies, but a meaningful day in the lives of employees.

Gusto understands that when employees are happy, companies (Gusto's customers) are happy. By going the extra mile, a core value of their brand, they are able to build experiences that please time and time again. Brands that take the steps to please the customer in every encounter - from in-app copy to email drips and phone calls - understand the importance of customer centricity.

And today, being acutely aware of service is more important than ever. So as a leader, how do you build and maintain an organization that not only emphasizes customer service but fosters a customer-oriented outlook at every possible moment? By building customer-centricity into the DNA of your business.

Building a customer-centric organization in today's digital world is increasingly complicated. While new technologies have allowed companies to roll out changes quickly, there's now an expectation from customers for greater attention.

Why Customer Centricity Is Important

There's a whole host of reasons that motivate entrepreneurs to create new enterprises - passion, money, fame, glory, independence. But regardless of the motivation behind the establishment of a company, there's one tenant that's common to all enterprises:

If you don't acquire and retain customers, you won't survive.

And from this simple statement, you can understand the importance of a customer-centric approach to business. An organization that forgets about customers is destined to fail. They'll build the wrong products, invest in the wrong resources, and lose goodwill with customers.

A customer-centric brand proves quite the opposite case. Every team member listens to customers and is aligned on that goal. In turn, the company builds products that meet customer needs, anticipates customer wants, and they provide a level of service that keeps customers coming through the door and advocating for the brand.

So, how do you keep up with this modern workplace challenge? Create a customer-centric culture.
Click here to download free customer survey, email, and profile templates.
The Value of a Customer-Centric Culture

If your goal is to become a customer-centric organization, there's one sure fire way to make the value spread like wildfire through your organization: Make it a core value. By including a customer-focused core value, you'll have a vision that the whole team can get behind. Literally putting your value up on the wall and your website commits the concept to your leadership, your entire team, and your customers.

At Proof one of the core values is "be customer obsessed." Everyone knows the value by heart, and we can use it as a reference point every day at work. If we're deciding on a feature to launch or whether to pursue a partnership, we can ask "Does this help our customers?" If the answer is no, we generally stay away from it. That guiding question has helped us build a customer-centric culture on our marketing, sales, and customer service teams.

The Customer-Centric Strategy

Having a solid strategy for customer centricity is key to executing it properly. The two primary ways you can center the customer within your business include customer-centric marketing and customer-centric selling.

Customer-centricity doesn't stop with your marketing efforts, though. Your sales team can also get on board with this strategy.

And when someone does something that benefits our customers, we celebrate that victory as a team - because a win for our customers is a win for our team.

If you're looking to develop the same approach for your business, take a look at the next section for the steps your team can take to become customer-centric.

How to Become a Customer-Centric Company

As we mentioned in the last section, customer-centricity begins with your company's culture. If your goal is to learn how to be customer-centric, then your business needs to make a company-wide commitment to your customer's success. The steps below explain what your organization can do to make that commitment to your customers and examples of how top brands put customers at the center of everything they do.

1. Anticipate Customer Needs

There's a great quote from Henry Ford that says:

"If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses."

You may be wondering why I am bringing this up when it seems counter-intuitive to the concept of customer-centricity. But hear me out:

Ford is saying that if he had only listened to what customers thought he could build, he wouldn't have produced a car. He was thinking light-years ahead of his competition, and for that reason he created a product that anticipated the market's future needs. Ford knew what the customer wanted before the customer knew they even wanted it - that's a game-changing business move.

We can see similar styles of future-forecasting in Steve Jobs and Elon Musk. These visionary CEOs pushed the envelopes on what people would want in the future, giving the world the iPhone, iPad and the Model X - and companies with valuations of $1.08 trillion and $48 billion, respectively.

While most customers are able to accurately provide an account of what they want today, gauging what they want on a longer time horizon is extremely difficult for most people. They rely on companies to do that work for them to anticipate their needs - and make helpful suggestions accordingly.

2. Collect Customer Feedback

It may seem obvious, but to create a great, customer-centric company, you need to communicate both frequently and regularly with your customers.

In today's digital world, there are countless encounters where you can collect feedback. Here are a few touchpoints that you might already use to communicate with customers:

Chat

Email

SMS

Phone calls

In-app messages

FB Messenger

Message boards

Today, valuable communication can occur on so many different platforms.

Every department should be using all of the communication channels at their disposal to learn about customers - and the sheer volume of quantitative insight you receive from these messages can help you greatly as you adjust your product roadmap.

But there's also a level of qualitative feedback that you need to be proactive about collecting. While the aforementioned communication is likely already occurring at your company, user research is something you might be ignoring.

Here are three customer research techniques to consider if you're not already:

Conduct a Survey

By telling your customers that you're not perfect, you can gain insight and track your performance. The most successful companies in the world already know the value of surveys, and by conducting a regular customer satisfaction survey or product survey, you can provide an avenue for great feedback.

Launch User Testing

Ask any designer or PM the value of user testing, and they'll sing their praises. Modern digital marketing tools such as Usertesting.com and Hotjar provide a simple framework to collect feedback from real people about your product. In the quest to build a customer-centric organization, this can help validate your hunches and guide your work towards the highest-impact projects.

Make Direct Calls

Have a friend that always insists on talking over the phone rather than text? I'd take a gander that that friend is one of your closer confidants. There's something more personal about a conversation outside of the digital realm - by simply picking up the phone, you're able to get a more robust form of feedback from customers.

And an added plus? You can adjust your line of questioning in real-time to adapt to each situation.

Our CTO J.P. Morgan practices this technique weekly - and he swears by the feedback he collects from his customer calls:

"Talking to customers is probably the most important thing I do all week. While there's a level of product development that requires you to take a stance and anticipate needs - it's impossible to do that without an understanding of your customer's current situation."

3. Be Easily Accessible

We all know the concept: make it difficult to contact support, and you'll spend less time servicing those difficult customers.

There's a huge financial and time expenditure used in servicing customers, so many brands (especially digitally-built businesses) hide their support behind many layers of pages.

For instance, try to find a phone number on Facebook's Help Page. It's nearly impossible. They'd rather communicate through help articles and live chat before giving out their number.

On the other spectrum, there's Zappos, the online shoe retailer with a completely opposite approach to customer success.

Zappos identifies that when a customer wants to talk to them, they should make it as easy as possible. Note how they include their phone number prominently on the top bar of every page with the note "Available 24/7."

Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos, describes his rationale for that decision as:

"A lot of people may think it's strange that an internet company would be so focused on the telephone, when only about 5% of our sales happen by phone. But we've found that on average, our customers telephone us at least once at some point, and if we handle the call well, we have an opportunity to create an emotional impact and a lasting memory ... Our philosophy has been that most of the money we might ordinarily have spent on advertising should be invested in customer service, so that our customers will do the marketing for us through word of mouth."

Make sure your 'Contact Us' page is highly visible and easy to access - and that it actually answers common customer questions you see crop up time and time again.

4. Meet With Customers In-Person

One of the biggest epidemics facing modern organizations is the loss of feedback from in-person meetings. Looking back 50 years, before the advent of the Internet and our diversified global economy, it was far easier for a business to interact with an end customer.

Direct, human contact happened on a daily basis simply because it was a necessary part of commerce. If you wanted an item, you went to a store, talked to a salesperson, and bought it in-person. That feedback could be used by a business to improve the consumer experience.

Today, in most businesses, this is not the case. Don't get me wrong, the other advances from the digital economy have provided great benefits. While your potential touchpoints for feedback are far greater due to technology, there is less in-depth contact.

How do you combat this? By bringing back the in-person experience.

It may seem old school, but hosting in-person events can be beneficial in your quest to customer centrism. By hosting an event, you provide value to two parties: the customers and the brand.

For instance, consider Sofi's initiative to host community events across the country. While it's likely a substantial expense, there's a positive externality. And they don't hide it. They claim the benefits of a direct channel to interact with and get feedback from their members, as well as a way to build brand affinity. Not to mention, it's lots of fun, too.

5. Provide Proactive Customer Service

One of the best ways to differentiate your business from its competitors is to provide your customers with added value that extends beyond the point of purchase. This shows them that you're truly invested in creating a delightful customer experience and will go above-and-beyond to deliver it to them.

One way to provide added value is to include proactive customer service features. Proactive customer service gives your customers resources that help them solve problems on their own, without having to reach out to your business for support. This way they can resolve simple issues and avoid waiting on hold for your customer service team.

WashCard Systems is one company that has profited immensely from adopting proactive customer service. They used HubSpot to create a pricing page so customers wouldn't have to reach out to a live rep to see how much its products cost. This accelerated the company's sales process as customers knew immediately whether or not WashCard Systems would fit their budget.

A pricing page may seem like a simple addition, but it completely changed WashCard Systems' lead generation process. In 2018, the pricing page became the website's most visited page and was responsible for nearly two-thirds of the company's online conversions. Rather than dissuading customers, the pricing page encouraged them to reach out to WashCard Systems and learn more about what the business had to offer. This type of proactive customer service demonstrated the business's customer-centric approach to improving the buying experience.

6. Adopt Customer Service Tools

The customer's experience with your brand is just as important as the product or service you're providing. Customers don't just want a sale, they want to enjoy the entire buying experience. Even if your product is great, you'll lose customers to competitors who are able to make their customer interactions enjoyable and productive.

Adopting the right customer service tools plays a major role in creating a customer-centric experience. These tools help customer service teams create seamless, omni-channel support systems that provide customers with immediate solutions to their problems. By doing so, customers are more satisfied because the business is investing in their short- and long-term success.

One company that does an excellent job of utilizing customer service tools is the insurance company, Lemonade. Lemonade recognized that one of its most difficult challenges was changing the customer's perception of its industry. Most people loathe speaking with insurance companies because the customer experience is typically dull and frustrating. So, Lemonade invested in chatbots to help change that experience for its customers.

Lemonade's chatbot, "Mia," creates a light-hearted and friendly conversation with its users. Mia provides customers with clear and concise answers and advises them on plans that will best fit their budgets.

In an interview with HubSpot's The Growth Show, the company's CEO, Daniel Schreiber, highlighted that this chatbot has made their customer service experience more "playful and instantaneous." Additionally, Lemonade has been able to cut costs and reduce prices for customers as a result of added automation.

7. Look Beyond the Purchase

At the end of the day, your business's goal is to get customers to purchase your product or service. However, when customers buy once, you'll want to ensure they buy again. After all, studies show that it costs nearly five times more to attain a new customer than to retain an existing one.

But, how do you motivate your current customers to purchase from you again? Well, the best way is to provide them with added benefits that extend beyond the point of purchase. These benefits should help customers achieve their goals and create a more memorable customer experience. By doing so, customers will begin to affiliate their success with your company's products and services.

One example of this can be seen with the industrial clothing company, Rocky Mountain Industrial Supply, or RMI. RMI sells flame-resistant clothing to labor crews operating in industrial worksites like oilfields and mines.

In addition to its clothing, RMI creates added value for its customers by providing them with free safety certification courses. Customers take these courses to receive credible certifications that will qualify them to operate a product or piece of machinery. This not only helps customers avoid costly mistakes but also gives them the tools needed to excel in their careers. As they take more courses and enhance their skill set, customers begin to rely on RMI to assist with their long-term goals.

8. Create an Onboarding Process

If you want to create a customer-centric culture, your team can't abandon customers after you make a sale. Instead, make sure your customers get the most from your product and services. That way they'll be more inclined to return to your business when they're ready for an additional purchase.

One of the best methods for optimizing your product's value in the eyes of the customer is setting up a detailed onboarding process. An onboarding process introduces your products and services to the customer and explains how to use them to fulfill their specific needs. Each customer's needs will be unique, so your team should personalize this process to ensure every customer is properly set up for success.

One company that has profited from adopting an onboarding service is the SaaS business, Chargebacks 911. Chargebacks 911 used HubSpot's flywheel concept to analyze different pain points in the customer's journey. After assessing their sales and marketing tactics, Chargebacks 911 realized a major flaw in its customer experience: new customers were churning during the setup process.

To remedy this, the company decided to enact a new policy where the customer's sales rep would assist during the onboarding process. The benefit of this was that the sales reps could reference customer needs outlined during previous interactions. Then, the onboarding rep could identify products and features that would help the customer fulfill those needs. This ensured Chargebacks 911's customers were deriving the most value possible from their purchases.

Measuring the Success of Customer-Centricity

Many of the benefits of a customer-centric strategy come in the form of anecdotal evidence or from brand recognition, but there are tangible ways to determine whether your customer-focused efforts are working.

Loyalty programs are a great way to understand customer behavior which makes them prime for measuring the effectiveness of a customer-centric strategy. You can compare customer behaviors like purchase amounts or time-to-close before and after you've implemented the strategy to assess how well it's working.

It's inevitable that customers will experience a problem at some point, but the way those problems are solved can be a tell-tale sign of how well your customer centric efforts are going. If you find that customer service reps are spending less time per call or are receiving fewer calls overall, that's a good sign.

See what your new and existing customers think about your company with a net promoter score survey. This survey not only tells you how much they like doing business with you, it tells you how likely they are to advocate for your business to their friends and colleagues.

More Customer-Centric Company Examples

1. Chick-Fil-A

Chick-Fil-A's dedication to the customer experience is what makes them an example of a customer-centric company worth studying. The customer is prioritized from the moment they place their order on the app, at the drive-thru, or in-store by personalizing their order with their name. From there, the order is hand-delivered to the customer (no bags sitting on the counter here!) before they're wished a heartfelt farewell. Occasionally for app users, managers that the customers most frequented location will offer rewards that keeps them coming back for another great experience.

You can implement a cheerful customer-centric like Chick-Fil-A by paying close attention to a few things:

Attentiveness: Whether your customer is a party of one or a large corporate entity, show attention at every stage of the customer journey. Use personalized direct mail and proactive phone calls to show clients your undivided attention.

Speed: Consider the time it takes your customer to make a purchase or solve a problem with a past purchase. If there are any redundancies or unnecessary steps, work with your team to eliminate them.

Generosity: Although you're in the business of making money, you could stand to gain more customer loyalty and advocacy when you share the wealth. You could choose to give meaningful rewards to your customers, or even donate to a charity of their choosing.

2. Spotify

Whether you use it to download the latest My First Million podcast episode or listen to the latest hits, you can be sure Spotify's algorithm is working overtime to curate a playlist that's unique to your tastes. The day-to-day experience isn't the only way Spotify displays customer-centricity, it pushes the envelope on customer advocacy in a unique way with Spotify Wrapped. This end-of-the-year compilation of your favorite audio is presented in an engaging format that's easy to share on social media which makes it a fun community experience that furthers Spotify's customer loyalty and growth.

If you want to generate customer advocacy as a result of the customer-centric strategy, try these tactics:

Build Community: Your customers don't have to feel alone after they've made a purchase. You can start a moderated Slack channel or Reddit thread for community support which can lead to new innovations in your product or service.

Encourage Customer Advocacy: If your organization doesn't have user-specific data that can be shared in a fun and engaging way like Spotify, you can still encourage customer advocacy by asking them to write reviews on public platforms like Yelp, Google Play, or Facebook.

Build a Culture that Values the Customer

The customer-centricity framework can help the smallest and largest companies attract, engage, and delight their customers. When your team is aligned with the customer's needs, you'll reap the rewards of loyal customers who become advocates for your brand. Use this guide to inform your next strategic planning session.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in May 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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8 Tips for Becoming a Customer-Centric Organization

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How can you champion the customer experience the way Chick-Fil-A and Spotify do? By building customer-centricity into the DNA of your business-here's how to do it.

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Module 5 Organizational Structure and Processes

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Module 5 Organizational Structure and Processes

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Hierarchy a word that often is used to describe bad things usually like being the small guy or being at the bottom of a pyramid. I found this cartoon to be amusing because the man is talking about him being a little square on the chart while smiling as the women in the cartoon looks confused. I felt like the women at the beginning of this lesson on understanding why is hierarchy is business. I have come to find that hierarchy is important to help a organization lay out the roles, departments, and positions easier so that when errors or necessary information is needed everyone can know where to go. Hierarchy is often seen in pyramid charts and is talked about so roughly but understanding that most on the top of the pyramid where once on the bottom and they too had to learn, follow, and understand the roles they use to have to get to where they are now. I think this cartoon is important because it stands as a reminder that yes the man is a square on a chart but he is still smiling and happy that he is one that chart.

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This is a YouTube video that I used to help me understand the PESTEL analysis better. The lesson broke it down in this module but I was still confused about what it was and examples of it. This video was great for me as it broke down every part and gave examples of what could be considered in that part. The video really helped me as a visual learner understand what the political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal entails and what can be considered in those breakdowns. Watching this video also made me see why when planning or making a decision one using the PESTEL analysis would use it. It really does cover everything that a business should cover when going to make a new decision or change. The PESTEL is an analysis I want to use now and later in my job and business to make sure all bases are covered when planning.

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This is a photo of construction workers laying the foundation for a building to be built on top. I included this photo because it was a way for me to remember what goes into a decision or planning in an organization. A plan is not just made and a decision is something that has to be built and thoroughly reviewed. Just like the decision tree structure, there needs to be the foundation of decision 1 to be broken down into the outcomes that can come out. This photo also made me think of brainstorming. Every time a new alternative is generated more of the foundation is being poured to go build on top. I thought that this photo was a great way to represent the brainstorming outcome and also the decision tree structure in my own way.

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This article is about the globalization of Starbucks. This article helped me see what Starbucks has done in the globalization of its company. Starbucks is known for selling Ethiopian coffee and had to write and agree to policies and agreements on the selling and marketing of the coffee. Starbucks had to make an agreement with the country of Ethiopia and make a public press release on the agreement of the company to protect the country's crop as Starbucks grew. This article also talked about property laws that Starbucks follows that have helped the company become what it is today. I found this important to add as an artifact because this article talked about the laws, policies, agreements, and somewhat planning that Starbucks has had to do to successfully go into other markets outside of the United States making it one of the biggest commercialized coffee organizations.

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This article was a really great article; I found out about the seven steps to making a company go global. I included this article since it had steps that were discussed in the module. Two of the steps that were just like the module is the cultural sensitivity and also doing research. For example, I am half german so my family goes to Aldi's grocery store quite often but while there my mum always makes comments on how the products they claim to be authentic german foods are actually quite processed and not like the ones she has grown up with. I thought that the module and this article made the steps of research and cultural sensitivity important. My family shops at Aldi's for produce more than their "authentic" German brands. This really showed me that when going into the American Market Aldi's probably didn't do a lot of research as they thought Americanizing german foods would be accepted since they are german founded. Having done proper research and being culturally sensitive to making sure German- Americans can also use their products would have been nice. Instead, Aldi's changed and produced items to meet an American's attention as to what they believe Germans eat. Making it easier to go into the American market but changing the foundation of their organization to being authentically German.

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There's a whole wide world out there with a target audience interested in what you have to offer. So far, you've stayed within your comfort zone - your own city, state, or country borders - because you weren't ready to grow your company globally. However, you are now ready to forge new territories and take on the world. These seven steps will help take your company global:

1. Research and narrow down your markets of opportunity

In a rush to show the world what you have to offer, you may bite off more than you can chew. You need to narrow down the markets for the first phase of global growth by determining which markets are most viable for what you offer. Market entrance and size, cost efficiency, labor and resource supply, geographical constraints and legal regulation must also be considered.

2. Be culturally sensitive

Prepare content that is culturally sensitive to particular areas. As with all content, whether it's a landing page or website, engaging with your customer is crucial. You must understand how to engage your target audience. You cannot assume that what works at home will work abroad because creating an emotional connection in a global context is challenging. Use visuals and content that resonate with the culture and its various nuances.

3. Leverage local experts

To speed up your learning curve, turn to local experts for insights on engaging your target audience. Let them know you have their best interests at heart, help them understand your message and accept their help on everything from content to social media. Ask local experts about the local market and listen to their advice.

4. Learn the language

Language barriers can slow down your march across the globe. If you only offer content in your native tongue, don't just assume your audience understands it. Use location-detection tools to convert your content into another language. Consider hiring a freelancer translator to generate multiple versions of your website in different languages. A great option is starting with English-speaking countries until you are ready to take on other languages.

5. Visit each country and start establishing personal relationships

While more people enjoy the convenience of doing business online with companies all over the world, it doesn't replace the face time that is necessary to build personal relationships and trust. Visiting each country where you plan to do business also helps you gain a better understanding of who you are working with, including interacting with outsourced staff, vendors and partners, customers and the media. Show some pics on your site with local people showing you sharing their customs with appreciation.

6. Focus on international marketing strategies

During your research you most likely gathered information on what type of marketing mechanisms and platforms are most widely used, including social media, search marketing, and online advertising. Use this information and continue gathering other data on blogs, forums, email marketing, and other channels where you can get your marketing messages out in the most effective way possible.

7. Set up your billing and payments system for international customers

Currency exchange and varied payment systems can put off small businesses from going global. However, with new billing and payment tools, it has become a lot easier to work with customers in different countries. There are now easy ways to deliver an online invoice in various languages and currencies that also include the appropriate tax and fee guidelines for that particular country. You can also access affordable international credit card processing solutions that help you expand the type of payment options you can offer your customers. More countries are opening up to the idea of international transactions so this aspect of global expansion will become much easier.

Although it takes considerable effort to expand your business globally, there are more tools and strategies now available that make it more convenient, secure, and affordable. Remember to build your empire slowly and enjoy the new revenue streams and experience of serving customers from all parts of the world, one step, one country, at a time.
What steps will you take to prepare your company for global growth?

SEO and marketing professional.

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How to Take Your Company Global in 7 Steps | Startup Grind

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There's a whole wide world out there with a target audience interested in what you have to offer. So far, you've stayed within your comfort zone - your own city, state, or country borders - because you weren't ready to grow your company globally.

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Module 2 Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility

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Module 2 Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility

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When I started this module I knew quite early what I wanted one of my artifacts to be. I knew that Santa Clause and the list he checks so frequently is what needed to be added. Santa Clause and his list is a lot like this whole module. Think of Santa as a CEO of an organization and all the kids on the list are his suppliers, manufacturers, employees, and so on. The Head of the Organization AKA Santa has certain ethics ingrained into him and he wants that reflected in the people he checks off on that list. Santa isn't going to work with the Grinch when he steals Christmas which goes against his ethics. So, why would an organization with certain ethics and responsibility go against it by working with wrong unethical partners? The list Santa checks off is a lot like the policies and rules set up in an organization that ensures social responsibilities are being maintained and monitored. I have to admit Santa is a weird artifact to have but his list that he double-checks made me think of how an organization double-checks to make sure they withhold certain corporate social responsibilities and ethics.

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Module 2 Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility 

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Module 2 Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility 

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Would you believe that your nuggets may not belong to an ethical organization. When we got into this module it made me think hard about the stores, organizations, and companies I support. I never really thought a fast food place would be unethical let alone one as big as the brand McDonald's. I mean I have grown up here, eat there regularly, and have 4 locations in a 10-mile radius of my home alone. I included this article because when looking for information on unethical businesses in this class I came across a list of companies and was shocked to see McDonald's on the list so I did more research and found this article. This article breaks down what makes Mcdonald's unethical and its lack of environmentalism, sustainability, health/ nutrition, and workforce complaints. Mcdonald's has had numerous reports of the wages and hours forced on employees and the waste and pollution Mcdonalds goes through daily are terrifying. I never thought a place like McDonald's could be considered unethical but after this module and seeing the accusations listed I can see common factors that were talked about in class about not being ethical towards their employees and the environment. This module and this article really got me thinking about, " Do I really know the stores I support?" and the answer is "No" but I can make a new start by looking up and keeping tabs on places I frequent or support to make sure I am keeping an ethical and positive business open instead of an unethical one.

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McDonald's is one of the most influential, powerful, profitable, and recognizable companies in the entire world, and with that comes great responsibility.

With its immense impact on our planet and lives, you might wonder, is McDonald's ethical? Does it use its influence for good? I've researched the matter, and here's what you need to know!

Is McDonald's Ethical In 2022?
Despite its public claims of commitment to high ethical standards in both its food and social interactivity, most don't consider McDonald's to be an ethical company as of 2022. This is due to questionable sourcing of its food products, misleading marketing, and advertising, and complaints of workforce exploitation, among other reasons.
Let's get into the nitty-gritty and examine why McDonald's is considered a bad company by many, how McDonald's treats its employees, how much pollution the fast-food chain causes, and so much more!

Why Is McDonald's Considered An Unethical Company?

Those Golden Arches bring a smile to many people's faces, but unfortunately, they're also symbolic of the rampant ethical violations McDonald's has faced down over the years.

Founded in 1940 by the McDonald brothers of San Bernardino, California, Ray Kroc famously purchased the chain from them in 1953 and changed the course of history.

Since then, McDonald's has become an international conglomerate, the world's largest fast-food chain, and second-largest private employer.

When operations become this large, ethical considerations may start to slip. So, let's look at some of the major ones.
Environmentalism And Sustainability
While McDonald's strives for environmental and sustainable best practices, there's no denying that the company has a massive impact on the health of our planet - and not in a good way.

Knowing this, the fast-food chain seemingly updates its commitment to sustainable food sourcing regularly.

But the sheer quantity of food, be it beef, chicken, fish, or bread, that McDonald's requires to operate and feed the hungry masses is a major environmental concern.
Nutrition
McDonald's has worked hard to shed its "bad-for-you fast-food" image, especially with healthier-seeming fast-casual concepts like Panera eating into its target audience.

In 2013, McDonald's announced a revamp of its menu, with healthier options for kids, like fruits and veggies, marketed to make them "fun."

To make their food healthier, the company also managed to "cut salt, fat and sugar content in its burgers...".

But "healthier" doesn't always mean healthy.

So, even while its website promotes its "more balanced Happy Meal" and disclosure on menus of nutritional information, McDonald's should be a rare treat, not a diet lifestyle.

For example, a regular cheeseburger might seem reasonable at 250 calories, 10 grams of fat, and even dietary fiber and potassium. However, the whole thing is still highly processed food.

Therefore, we shouldn't trick ourselves into thinking McDonald's sells healthy food, and the company shouldn't be portraying itself as such, either.
Workforce Complaints

McDonald's has faced criticism for its treatment of employees, both in stores and at the corporate level.

Recently, McDonald's workers in ten US cities staged a walk-out in response to the corporation's handling of the alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl.

According to Forbes.com, this is the fifth time McDonald's employees have walked out due to mishandling of on-the-job crimes such as these.

Also, the largest fast-food chain in the world has a long history of criticism for its low wages and has been part of the focus of the Fight for 15 campaign (a standard $15 minimum wage).

That said, one employee made only $11 an hour, despite being part of the management team of his store.

McDonald's, for its part, is getting on board with higher starting and ongoing wages.

Even though the wages may be higher, McDonald's can afford it. For example, despite employing well over a million people, the company generated $19.21 billion in revenue in 2020.

Is McDonald's Socially Responsible?

The world is diverse, and more and more people are calling for companies to reflect that, McDonald's among them.

In response, McDonald's announced in February 2021 that it was actively diversifying its leadership positions.

That said, McDonald's hopes that by 2035, at least 35 percent of its upper-management and leadership roles will be filled by minority and underrepresented groups, including women and people of color.

However, this announcement came after McDonald's faced a news-making lawsuit by two Black executives for racial disparity and treatment.

Does McDonald's Treat Its Employees Well?

While anecdotally, employees have reported that McDonald's is a fair company to work for, the chain's overall record isn't so good.

After all, the word "McJob" - indicating a low-paying, laborious position - wasn't coined with a nod toward McDonald's for nothing.

On top of that, the COVID-19 pandemic made the shabby treatment of many fast-food employees, not just at McDonald's, all the starker.

That said, there are several articles detailing the long hours, low wages, and unsafe working environments that McDonald's employees faced.

For example, an article from Mashed.com also highlighted McDonald's employees' unequal access to paid sick leave.

How Much Pollution Does McDonald's Cause?

When beef is the most harmful food - not just meat, but food - on the planet, McDonald's burgers pose a huge problem.

And not only that, but the company is responsible for 1.5 million tons of trash, much of which consists of plastic that won't (or can't) get recycled.

Further, with 53.7 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, McDonald's generates more than the entire country of Norway.

Does McDonald's Have Sweatshops?

Back in 2000, several news outlets reported that McDonald's plastic toys were made using exploited child labor in Hong Kong sweatshops.

After that, McDonald's responded by "warning" the partner company and launching its own investigation.

That said, it's unlikely that McDonald's would continue this association today, as it surely would have been reported on recently.

But, it does illustrate how difficult it is for a company of McDonald's' size to manage major ethical, and in this case, human rights violations happening right under its nose.

To learn more about McDonald's, you can also see our posts on McDonald's statistics, McDonald's competitors, what oil McDonald's uses, why McDonald's drive-thru is so slow, and the biggest McDonald's in the world.

Conclusion

McDonald's is undoubtedly a successful fast-food chain, but the larger it gets, the harder it is to meet the public's expectation for ethical best practices with its operations.

As you can see, the fast-food chain has a lot of work to do to meet its ethical goals, but one thing is for sure: we have to keep applying pressure and challenging it to do better.

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Is McDonald's Ethical In 2022? (All You Need To Know)

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McDonald's is one of the most influential, powerful, profitable, and recognizable companies in the entire world, and with that comes great responsibility. With its immense impact on our planet and lives, you might wonder, is McDonald's ethical? Does it use its influence for good? I've researched the matter, and here's what you need to know!

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This is an article done by the Harvard Business Review. I have often read the articles here in the past for other classes. This is an older article that they had posted in 2005 but the article is still true to this day. The whole article itself explains what makes a manager great but to me, it was a statement on how great managers play chess figuratively. I found that interesting to see it in that way. The game checkers is often moving a group of uniformed pieces to coordinate to get to a goal. After reading the comparison Harvard Business gave it made me see that management and managers are a lot like the game chess. I for one have never been a winner at the game of chess but still, I can see what Harvard means. Managers have to be able to take a uniform group of people like me for example and be able to coordinate me to where I need to be, do, and use my gifts or skills to the best they can be. Just like in chess, managers are moving pieces to get to the goals set for them the pieces just happen to be the employees. The article had a lot of information on managers and what makes one succeed but for me, it was the reference of a manager to chess that made me find this artifact interesting.

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Much has been written about the qualities that make a great manager, but most of the literature overlooks a fundamental question: What does a great manager actually do? While there are countless management styles, one thing underpins the behavior of all great managers. Above all, an exceptional manager comes to know and value the particular quirks and abilities of her employees. She figures out how to capitalize on her staffers' strengths and tweaks her environment to meet her larger goals.

Such a specialized approach may seem like a lot of work. But in fact, capitalizing on each person's uniqueness can save time. Rather than encourage employees to conform to strict job descriptions that may include tasks they don't enjoy and aren't good at, a manager who develops positions for his staff members based on their unique abilities will be rewarded with behaviors that are far more efficient and effective than they would be otherwise.

This focus on individuals also makes employees more accountable. Because staffers are evaluated on their particular strengths and weaknesses, they are challenged to take responsibility for their abilities and to hone them.

Capitalizing on a person's uniqueness also builds a stronger sense of team. By taking the time to understand what makes each employee tick, a great manager shows that he sees his people for who they are. This personal investment not only motivates individuals but also galvanizes the entire team.

Finally, this approach shakes up existing hierarchies, which leads to more creative thinking.

To take great managing from theory to practice, the author says, you must know three things about a person: her strengths, the triggers that activate those strengths, and how she learns. By asking the right questions, squeezing the right triggers, and becoming aware of your employees' learning styles, you will discover what motivates each person to excel.

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Much has been written about the qualities that make a great manager, but most of the literature overlooks a fundamental question: What does a great manager actually do? While there are countless management styles, one thing underpins the behavior of all great managers.

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This YouTube video is a great for understanding the key points of management. This YouTube video made it easier for me to grasp what management is. The lesson gave great detail but understanding the key topics was confusing for me. In this video, it hits every topic talked about in module 1 Management and it allowed me to play the video and refresh myself while out of my dedicated school time. This video made it easier for me to take notes also while in this lesson as I could add the layouts of the information shown beside my lesson information. I wanted to include this video because it was like a study guide and refresher that I needed to help me understand management better and in my own way as I am a visual learner rather than a book learner. This video talked about what is management, the functions of management, characteristics, the importantance of management, levels and types of management, and the skills needed to be in management.

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What is management? Concept of Management, Levels of management #management