The Art Of Management

TheArtofManagement

Everybody thinks being a Manager is easy and anyone can become or do the job of a

manager. I have to beg to differ and state that it does in fact take a particular type of

personality, skills and experience to be a productive and coherent Manager. We will look in

to this in more detail to establish exactly what it takes to be a Manager.

What Is Management?

Management is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and

objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively. Management comprises

planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization (a group

of one or more people or entities) or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal.

Resourcing encompasses the deployment and manipulation of human resources, financial

resources, technological resources and natural resources.

Since organizations can be viewed as systems, management can also be defined as human

action, including design, to facilitate the production of useful outcomes from a system. This

view opens the opportunity to 'manage' oneself, a pre-requisite to attempting to manage

others.

The verb manage comes from the Italian maneggiare (to handle, train, be in charge of,

control horses), which in turn derives from the Latin manus (hand). The French word

mesnagement (later ménagement) influenced the development in meaning of the English

word management in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Some definitions of management are:

� Organization and coordination of the activities of an enterprise in accordance with

certain policies and in achievement of clearly defined objectives. Management is

often included as a factor of production along with machines, materials and money.

According to the management guru Peter Drucker (1909–2005), the basic task of a

management is twofold: marketing and innovation.

� Directors and managers have the power and responsibility to make decisions in

order to manage an enterprise when given the authority by the shareholders. As a

discipline, management comprises the interlocking functions of formulating

corporate policy and organizing, planning, controlling, and directing the firm's

resources to achieve the policy's objectives. The size of management can range from

one person in a small firm to hundreds or thousands of managers in multinational

companies. In large firms the board of directors formulates the policy which is

implemented by the chief executive officer.

� In the 21st century observers find it increasingly difficult to subdivide management

into functional categories in this way. More and more processes simultaneously

involve several categories. Instead, one tends to think in terms of the various

processes, tasks, and objects subject to management.

� Branches of management theory also exist relating to non-profits and to

government: such as public administration, public management, and educational

management. Further, management programs related to civil-society organizations

have also spawned programs in non-profit management and social

entrepreneurship.

� Note that many of the assumptions made by management have come under attack

from business ethics viewpoints, critical management studies, and anti-corporate

activism.

� As one consequence, workplace democracy has become both more common, and

more advocated, in some places distributing all management functions among the

workers, each of whom takes on a portion of the work. However, these models

predate any current political issue, and may occur more naturally than does a

command hierarchy. All management to some degree embraces democratic

principles in that in the long term workers must give majority support to

management; otherwise they leave to find other work, or go on strike. Despite the

move toward workplace democracy, command-and-control organization structures

remain commonplace and the de facto organization structure. Indeed, the

entrenched nature of command-and-control can be seen in the way that recent

layoffs have been conducted with management ranks affected far less than

employees at the lower levels. In some cases, management has even rewarded itself

with bonuses after laying off level workers.

� According to leading leadership academic Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries, senior

management will often exhibit traits of certain personality disorders. For example,

he claims that "If you are a CEO you usually have a ' magnificent obsession'... [You]

are obsessed by certain things having to do with business." He also suggests that

"you need a solid dose of narcissism to be able to function properly," but that many

executives exhibit destructive forms of narcissism.

Management Theories

At first, one views management functionally, such as measuring quantity, adjusting plans,

setting and meeting goals, fore sighting/forecasting. This applies even in situations when

planning does not take place. From this perspective, Henri Fayol (1841–1925) considers

management to consist of six functions: forecasting, planning, organizing, commanding,

coordinating and controlling. He was one of the most influential contributors to modern

concepts of management.

Some people, however, find this definition useful but far too narrow. The phrase

"management is what managers do" occurs widely, suggesting the difficulty of defining

management, the shifting nature of definitions and the connection of managerial practices

with the existence of a managerial cadre or class.

One habit of thought regards management as equivalent to "business administration" and

thus excludes management in places outside commerce, as for example in charities and in

the public sector. More realistically, however, every organization must manage its work

through leading employees, people, planning, controlling and organizing processes,

technology, etc. to maximize effectiveness. Nonetheless, many people refer to university

departments which teach management as "business schools." Some institutions (such as the

Harvard Business School) use that name while others (such as the Yale School of

Management) employ the more inclusive term "management."

English speakers may also use the term "management" or "the management" as a collective

word describing the managers of an organization, for example of a corporation. Historically

this use of the term was often contrasted with the term "Labour" referring to those being

managed.

The Deming Cycle

The Deming cycle, or PDSA cycle, is a continuous quality improvement model consisting of a

logical sequence of four repetitive steps for continuous improvement and learning: Plan, Do,

Study (Check) and Act. The PDCA cycle is also known as the Deming Cycle, or as the Deming

Wheel or as the Continuous Improvement Spiral. It originated in the 1920s with the eminent

statistics expert Mr Walter A. Shewhart, who introduced the concept of PLAN, DO and SEE.

The late Total Quality Management (TQM) guru and renowned statistician Edwards Deming

modified the Shewart cycle as: PLAN, DO, STUDY, and ACT.

Along with the other well-known American quality guru-Joseph Juran, Edwards Deming

went to Japan as part of the occupation forces of the allies after World War II. Deming

taught a lot of Quality Improvement methods to the Japanese, including the usage of

statistics and the PLAN, DO, STUDY, ACT cycle.

The graphic above shows Deming's Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle. (Deming himself called

it the 'Shewhart Cycle' but Deming's work in Japan has led to it commonly being named

after him.) In BPE, everything is done with the discipline of PDCA. At all levels of the

organisation we:

� Plan what we are going to do. In this step we assess where we are, where we need

to be, why this is important, and plan how to close the gap. Identify some potential

solutions.

� Do try out or test the solutions (sometimes at a pilot level).

� Check to see if the countermeasures you tried out had the effect you hoped for, and

make sure that there are no negative consequences associated with them. Assess if

you have accomplished your objective.

� Act on what you have learned. If you have accomplished your objective, put controls

into place so that the issue never comes back again. If you have not accomplished

your objective, go through the cycle again, starting with the Plan step.

Frequently, a particular project will define sub-objectives, run thorough the PDCA cycle one

or more times to accomplish the sub-objective, then define the next objective and go

through the cycle again. Thus, many projects end up "turning the wheel" many times before

completion. In on-going management activities, we find a similar use of the cycle.

What we are trying to avoid by using the PDCA discipline is the "Ready, Fire, Aim" fallacy

where people jump to the solution without identifying the problem and assessing if their

proposed solution fixes it, or even results in another problem. The Act step makes sure we

don't have to fix it again in a couple of years.

Problems with Deming Cycle

The Deming Cycle's application was intended for quality control purposes and proposed

continuous improvement in quality of products/experiments. The simple cycle works well in

this application, but it is debatable that it should be applied to major organizational

improvement. ISO recognized the need to provide better guidance in this regard and

published the ISO standard ISO 9004:2000, which replaced the use of the term continuous

improvement with continual improvement. The change is not trivial, it recognizes that

organizational quality system performance improvement requires significant effort and

needs pauses to consolidate change (hence continual and not continuous improvement)

(ISO 9004:2000).

The Deming Cycle has an inherent circular paradigm; it assumes that everything starts with

Planning. Plan has a limited range of meaning. Shewart intended that experiments and

quality control should be planned to deliver results in accordance with the specifications

(see meaning above), which is good advice. However, Planning was not intended to cover

aspects such as creativity, innovation, invention or Complex Adaptive Systems. In these

aspects particularly when based upon imagination, it is often impossible or

counterproductive to plan (see referenced Wikipedia pages for why this is so). Hence, PDCA

is inapplicable in these situations.

The Deming Cycle approaches often do not get to the root cause of a problem, especially in

adaptive situations which call for an experiential approach but demand much more rigour in

analysis and data collection. An adaptive challenge exists where there are no visible

solutions to problems, and can exist, for example in areas where chaos, uncertainty, and

ambiguity exists, such as new frontiers, and existing complex systems such as Healthcare.

Do and Act have the same meaning in English. Dictionaries (Shorter Oxford) provide the

following relevant definitions:

� Do: verb 1 perform or carry out (an action). 2 achieve or complete (a specified

target). 3 act or progress in a specified way. 4 work on (something) to bring it to a

required state.

� Act: verb 1 take action; do something. 2 take effect or have a particular effect. 3

behave in a specified way.

The 'Act' in the Deming Cycle is meant to be interpreted to have a different meaning to ‘Do’;

otherwise it could be as easily have been PDCD or PACA. In PDCA, 'Act' is meant to apply

actions to the outcome for necessary improvement (see meaning above), in other words

'Act' means 'Improve' (applying PDCA to itself could result in PDCI).

The Deming Cycle is a set of activities (Plan, Do, Check, and Act) designed to drive

continuous improvement. Initially implemented in manufacturing, it has broad applicability

in business. First developed by Walter Shewhart, it is more commonly called the Deming

cycle in Japan where it was popularized by Edwards Deming.

Deming Cycle is also known as Shewhart cycle, PDCA, Plan-Do-Check-Act

The Diamond Model

The Competitive Advantage of Nations of Michael Porter

The Diamond model of Michael Porter for the Competitive Advantage of Nations offers a

model that can help understand the competitive position of a nation in global competition.

This model can also be used for other major geographic regions.

Traditionally, economic theory mentions the following factors for comparative advantage

for regions or countries:

A. Land

B. Location

C. Natural resources (minerals, energy)

D. Labour, and

E. Local population size.

Because these factor endowments can hardly be influenced, this fits in a rather passive

(inherited) view towards national economic opportunity.

Porter says sustained industrial growth has hardly ever been built on above mentioned basic

inherited factors. Abundance of such factors may actually undermine competitive

advantage! He introduced a concept of "clusters," or groups of interconnected firms,

suppliers, related industries, and institutions that arise in particular locations.

As a rule Competitive Advantage of nations has been the outcome of 4 interlinked advanced

factors and activities in and between companies in these clusters. These can be influenced

in a pro-active way by government.

These interlinked advanced factors for Competitive Advantage for countries or regions in

Porters Diamond framework are:

1. Firm Strategy, Structure and Rivalry (The world is dominated by dynamic conditions,

and it is direct competition that impels firms to work for increases in productivity

and innovation)

2. Demand Conditions (The more demanding the customers in an economy, the greater

the pressure facing firms to constantly improve their competitiveness via innovative

products, through high quality, etc.)

3. Related Supporting Industries (Spatial proximity of upstream or downstream

industries facilitates the exchange of information and promotes a continuous

exchange of ideas and innovations)

4. Factor Conditions (Contrary to conventional wisdom, Porter argues that the "key"

factors of production (or specialized factors) are created, not inherited. Specialized

factors of production are skilled labour, capital and infrastructure. "Non-key" factors

or general use factors, such as unskilled labour and raw materials, can be obtained

by any company and, hence, do not generate sustained competitive advantage.

However, specialized factors involve heavy, sustained investment. They are more

difficult to duplicate. This leads to a competitive advantage, because if other firms

cannot easily duplicate these factors, they are valuable).

The role of government in Porter's Diamond Model is "acting as a catalyst and challenger; it

is to encourage - or even push - companies to raise their aspirations and move to higher

levels of competitive performance”. They must encourage companies to raise their

performance, stimulate early demand for advanced products, and focus on specialized

factor creation and to stimulate local rivalry by limiting direct cooperation and enforcing

anti-trust regulations.

Porter introduced this model in his book: The Competitive Advantage of Nations, after

having done research in ten leading trading nations. The book was the first theory of

competitiveness based on the causes of the productivity with which companies compete

instead of traditional comparative advantages such as natural resources and pools of labour.

This book is considered required reading for government economic strategists and is also

highly recommended for corporate strategist taking an interest in the macro-economic

environment of corporations.

Overview of the Competitive Advantage of Nations (The Diamond Model)

� Porter is a famous Harvard business professor. He conducted a comprehensive study

of 10 nations to learn what leads to success. Recently his company was

commissioned to study Canada in a report called "Canada at the Crossroads".

� Porter believes standard classical theories on comparative advantage are inadequate

(or even wrong).

� According to Porter, a nation attains a competitive advantage if its firms are

competitive. Firms become competitive through innovation. Innovation can include

technical improvements to the product or to the production process.

The Diamond - Four Determinants of National Competitive Advantage

Four attributes of a nation comprise Michael Porter's "Diamond" of national advantage.

They are:

1. factor conditions (i.e. the nation's position in factors of production, such as skilled

labour and infrastructure),

2. demand conditions (i.e. sophisticated customers in home market),

3. related and supporting industries, and

4. firm strategy, structure and rivalry (i.e. conditions for organization of companies, and

the nature of domestic rivalry).

1. Factor Conditions

• Factor conditions refers to inputs used as factors of production - such as labour,

land, natural resources, capital and infrastructure. This sounds similar to

standard economic theory, but Porter argues that the "key" factors of production

(or specialized factors) are created, not inherited. Specialized factors of

production are skilled labour, capital and infrastructure.

• "Non-key" factors or general use factors, such as unskilled labour and raw

materials, can be obtained by any company and, hence, do not generate

sustained competitive advantage. However, specialized factors involve heavy,

sustained investment. They are more difficult to duplicate. This leads to a

competitive advantage, because if other firms cannot easily duplicate these

factors, they are valuable.

• Porter argues that a lack of resources often actually helps countries to become

competitive (call it selected factor disadvantage). Abundance generates waste

and scarcity generates an innovative mind-set. Such countries are forced to

innovate to overcome their problem of scarce resources. How true is this?

1. Switzerland was the first country to experience labour shortages. They

abandoned labour-intensive watches and concentrated on innovative/high-

end watches.

2. Japan has high priced land and so its factory space is at a premium. This lead

to just-in-time inventory techniques (Japanese firms can’t have a lot of stock

taking up space, so to cope with the potential of not have goods around

when they need it, they innovated traditional inventory techniques).

3. Sweden has a short building season and high construction costs. These two

things combined created a need for pre-fabricated houses.

2. Demand Conditions

• Michael Porter argues that a sophisticated domestic market is an important

element to producing competitiveness. Firms that face a sophisticated domestic

market are likely to sell superior products because the market demands high

quality and a close proximity to such consumers enables the firm to better

understand the needs and desires of the customers (this same argument can be

used to explain the first stage of the IPLC theory when a product is just initially

being developed and after it has been perfected, it doesn’t have to be so close to

the discriminating consumers).

• If the nation’s discriminating values spread to other countries, then the local

firms will be competitive in the global market.

• One example is the French wine industry. The French are sophisticated wine

consumers. These consumers force and help French wineries to produce high

quality wines. Can you think of other examples? Or counter-examples?

3. Related and Supporting Industries

• Porter also argues that a set of strong related and supporting industries is

important to the competitiveness of firms. This includes suppliers and related

industries. This usually occurs at a regional level as opposed to a national level.

Examples include Silicon Valley in the U.S., Detroit (for the auto industry) and

Italy (leather-shoes-other leather goods industry).

• The phenomenon of competitors (and upstream and/or downstream industries)

locating in the same area is known as clustering or agglomeration. What are the

advantages and disadvantages of locating within a cluster? Some advantages to

locating close to your rivals may be

1. potential technology knowledge spill-overs,

2. an association of a region on the part of consumers with a product and high

quality and therefore some market power, or

3. an association of a region on the part of applicable labour force.

• Some disadvantages to locating close to your rivals are

1. potential poaching of your employees by rival companies and obvious

increase in competition possibly decreasing mark-ups.

4. Firm Strategy, Structure and Rivalry

1. Strategy

a. Capital Markets

o Domestic capital markets affect the strategy of firms. Some countries

capital markets have a long-run outlook, while others have a short-run

outlook. Industries vary in how long the long-run is. Countries with a

short-run outlook (like the U.S.) will tend to be more competitive in

industries where investment is short-term (like the computer

industry). Countries with a long run outlook (like Switzerland) will tend

to be more competitive in industries where investment is long term

(like the pharmaceutical industry).

o What about Canada?

b. Individuals Career Choices

o Individuals base their career decisions on opportunities and prestige.

A country will be competitive in an industry whose key personnel hold

positions that are considered prestigious.

o Does this appear to hold in the U.S. and Canada? What are the most

prestigious occupations? What about Asia? What about developing

countries?

2. Structure

• Porter argues that the best management styles vary among industries.

Some countries may be oriented toward a particular style of

management. Those countries will tend to be more competitive in

industries for which that style of management is suited.

• For example, Germany tends to have hierarchical management

structures composed of managers with strong technical backgrounds and

Italy has smaller, family-run firms.

3. Rivalry

• Porter argues that intense competition spurs innovation. Competition is

particularly fierce in Japan, where many companies compete vigorously

in most industries.

• International competition is not as intense and motivating. With

international competition, there are enough differences between

companies and their environments to provide handy excuses to

managers who were outperformed by their competitors.

The Diamond as a System

• The points on the diamond constitute a system and are self-reinforcing.

• Domestic rivalry for final goods stimulates the emergence of an industry that

provides specialised intermediate goods. Keen domestic competition leads to more

sophisticated consumers who come to expect upgrading and innovation. The

diamond promotes clustering.

• Porter provides a somewhat detailed example to illustrate the system. The example

is the ceramic tile industry in Italy.

• Porter emphasizes the role of chance in the model. Random events can either

benefit or harm a firm competitive position. These can be anything like major

technological breakthroughs or inventions, acts of war and destruction, or dramatic

shifts in exchange rates.

• One might wonder how agglomeration becomes self-reinforcing

• When there is a large industry presence in an area, it will increase the supply of

specific factors (i.e.: workers with industry-specific training) since they will tend to

get higher returns and less risk of losing employment.

• At the same time, upstream firms (i.e.: those who supply intermediate inputs) will

invest in the area. They will also wish to save on transport costs, tariffs, inter-firm

communication costs, inventories, etc.

• At the same time, downstream firms (i.e.: those use our industry’s product as an

input) will also invest in the area. This causes additional savings of the type listed

before.

• Finally, attracted by the good set of specific factors, upstream and downstream

firms, producers in related industries (i.e.: those who use similar inputs or whose

goods are purchased by the same set of customers) will also invest. This will trigger

subsequent rounds of investment.

Implications of the Competitive Advantage of Nations for Governments

• The government plays an important role in Porters diamond model. Like everybody

else, Porter argues that there are some things that governments do that they

shouldn't, and other things that they do not do but should. He says, "Governments

proper role is as a catalyst and challenger; it is to encourage - or even push -

companies to raise their aspirations and move to higher levels of competitive

performance"

• Governments can influence all four of Porter’s determinants through a variety of

actions such as

1. Subsidies to firms, either directly (money) or indirectly (through

infrastructure).

2. Tax codes applicable to corporation, business or property ownership.

3. Educational policies that affect the skill level of workers.

4. They should focus on specialized factor creation. (How can they do this?)

5. They should enforce tough standards. (This prescription may seem

counterintuitive. What is his rationale? Maybe to establish high technical and

product standards including environmental regulations.)

• The problem, of course, is through these actions, it becomes clear which industries

they are choosing to help innovate. What methods do they use to choose? What

happens if they pick the wrong industries?

Criticisms about the Diamond Model

Although Porter theory is renowned, it has a number of critics.

1. Porter developed this paper based on case studies and these tend to only apply to

developed economies.

2. Porter argues that only outward-FDI is valuable in creating competitive advantage,

and inbound-FDI does not increase domestic competition significantly because the

domestic firms lack the capability to defend their own markets and face a process of

market-share erosion and decline. However, there seems to be little empirical

evidence to support that claim.

3. The Porter model does not adequately address the role of MNCs. There seems to be

ample evidence that the diamond is influenced by factors outside the home country.

The Fishbone diagram

The fishbone diagram (or Ishikawa diagram or also cause-and-effect diagram) is the

brainchild of Kaoru Ishikawa, who pioneered quality management processes in the Kawasaki

shipyards and in the process, became one of the founding fathers of modern management.

It is simply a diagram that shows the causes of a certain event. It was first used in the 1960s,

and is considered one of the seven basic tools of quality management, along with the

histogram, Pareto chart, check sheet, control chart, flowchart, and scatter diagram. See

Quality Management Glossary. It is known as a fishbone diagram because of its shape,

similar to the side view of a fish skeleton.

Causes in the diagram are often based around a certain category or set of causes, such as

the 6 M's, 8 P's or 4 S's described below. Cause-and-effect diagrams can reveal key

relationships among various variables, and the possible causes provide additional insight

into process behaviour.

Causes in a typical diagram are normally arranged into categories, the main ones of which

are:

• The 6 M's

Machine, Method, Materials, Measurement, Man and Mother Nature (Environment)

(recommended for manufacturing industry).

Note: a more modern selection of categories used in manufacturing includes

Equipment, Process, People, Materials, Environment, and Management.

• The 8 P's

Price, Promotion, People, Processes, Place / Plant, Policies, Procedures & Product (or

Service) (recommended for administration and service industry).

• The 4 S's

Surroundings, Suppliers, Systems, Skills (recommended for service industry).

It can also be used in connection with the Neuro-linguistic programming model of the

Neurological Levels created by Robert Dilts: with Identity, Beliefs and Values, Capability,

Behaviour, Environment.

A common use of the Ishikawa diagram is in product design, to identify desirable factors

leading to an overall effect. Mazda Motors famously used an Ishikawa diagram in the

development of the Miata sports car, where the required result was "Jinba Ittai" or "Horse

and Rider as One". The main causes included such aspects as "touch" and "braking" with the

lesser causes including highly granular factors such as "50/50 weight distribution" and "able

to rest elbow on top of driver's door". Every factor identified in the diagram was included in

the final design.

Appearance of Fishbone Diagrams

Most Fishbone diagrams have a box at the right hand side in which is written the effect that

is to be examined. The main body of the diagram is a horizontal line from which stems the

general causes, represented as "bones". These are drawn towards the left-hand side of the

paper and are each labelled with the causes to be investigated, often brainstormed

beforehand and based on the major causes listed above. Off each of the large bones there

may be smaller bones highlighting more specific aspects of a certain cause, and sometimes

there may be a third level of bones or more. These can be found using the '5 Whys'

technique. When the most probable causes have been identified, they are written in the box

along with the original effect. The more populated bones generally outline more influential

factors, with the opposite applying to bones with fewer "branches". Further analysis of the

diagram can be achieved with a Pareto chart.

The Fishbone Diagram

The Fishbone diagram is the brainchild of Kaoru Ishikawa, who pioneered quality

management processes in the Kawasaki shipyards and in the process, became one of the

founding fathers of modern management. The cause and effect diagram is used to explore

all the potential or real causes (or inputs) that result in a single effect (or output). Causes are

arranged according to their level of importance or detail, resulting in a depiction of

relationships and hierarchy of events. This can help you search for root causes, identify

areas where there may be problems, and compare the relative importance of different

causes.

Causes in the Ishikawa diagram are frequently arranged into four major categories. While

these categories can be anything, you will often see:

� manpower, methods, materials, and machinery (recommended for manufacturing)

� equipment, policies, procedures, and people (recommended for administration and

service).

These guidelines can be helpful but should not be used if they limit the diagram or are

inappropriate. The categories you use should suit your needs. At SkyMark, we often create

the branches of the cause and effect tree from the titles of the affinity sets in a preceding

affinity diagram.

The Fishbone diagram is also known as the fishbone diagram because it was drawn to

resemble the skeleton of a fish, with the main causal categories drawn as "bones" attached

to the spine of the fish, as shown below.

The Fishbone diagram, as originally drawn by Kaoru Ishikawa, is the classic way of displaying

root causes of an observed effect.

The Ishikawa diagram or in other words cause and effect diagrams can also be drawn as tree

diagrams, resembling a tree turned on its side. From a single outcome or trunk, branches

extend that represent major categories of inputs or causes that create that single outcome.

These large branches then lead to smaller and smaller branches of causes all the way down

to twigs at the ends. The tree structure has an advantage over the fishbone-style diagram.

As a fishbone diagram becomes more and more complex, it becomes difficult to find and

compare items that are the same distance from the effect because they are dispersed over

the diagram. With the tree structure, all items on the same causal level are aligned

vertically.

The cause and effect diagram can also be drawn with right angles, which makes it less

tangled, and easier to see what layer of causality is being considered at any given time.

To successfully build a cause and effect diagram:

1. Be sure everyone agrees on the effect or problem statement before

beginning.

2. Be succinct.

3. For each node, think what could be its causes. Add them to the tree.

4. Pursue each line of causality back to its root cause.

5. Consider grafting relatively empty branches onto others.

6. Consider splitting up overcrowded branches.

7. Consider which root causes are most likely to merit further investigation.

Other uses for the Cause and Effect tool include the organization diagramming, parts

hierarchies, project planning, tree diagrams, and the 5 Why's.

Linking Pin Model

The Linking Pin Model is an idea developed by Rensis Likert in which an organisation is

represented as a number of overlapping work units in which members of one unit are

leaders of another. In this scheme, the supervisor/manager has the dual task of maintaining

unity and creating a sense of belonging within the group he or she supervises and of

representing that group in meetings with superior and parallel management staff. These

individuals are the linking pins within the organisation and so they become the focus of

leadership development activities.

Likert have given the idea of linking pin model for connecting various parts of the

organisation.

The model is based on two basic characteristics of the organisation. First, organisation can

be seen as system of interlocking groups; and second, the interlocking groups are connected

by individuals who occupy the key positions of dual membership serving as linking pin

between groups. Thus every individual functions as a linking pin for the organisation units

above and below him. He is the group leader of the lower unit and a group member of the

upper unit. In the linking pin structure a group-to-group, as opposed to traditional man-to-

man, relationship exists.

The linking pin model is an idea developed by Rensis Likert. It presents an organization as a

number of overlapping work units in which a member of a unit is the leader of another unit.

In this scheme, the supervisor/manager has the dual task of maintaining unity and creating a

sense of belonging within the group he or she supervises and of representing that group in

meetings with superior and parallel management staff. These individuals are the linking pins

within the organization and so they become the focus of leadership development activities.

Force Field Analysis

Force field analysis is a management technique developed by Kurt Lewin, a pioneer in the

field of social sciences, for diagnosing situations. It will be useful when looking at the

variables involved in planning and implementing a change program and will undoubtedly be

of use in team building projects, when attempting to overcome resistance to change.

Kurt Lewin assumes that in any situation there are both driving and restraining forces that

influence any change that may occur.

Driving Forces

Driving forces are those forces affecting a situation that are pushing in a particular direction;

they tend to initiate a change and keep it going. In terms of improving productivity in a work

group, pressure from a supervisor, incentive earnings, and competition may be examples of

driving forces.

Restraining Forces

Restraining forces are forces acting to restrain or decrease the driving forces. Apathy,

hostility, and poor maintenance of equipment may be examples of restraining forces against

increased production. Equilibrium is reached when the sum of the driving forces equals the

sum of the restraining forces. In our example, equilibrium represents the present level of

productivity, as shown below.

Equilibrium

This equilibrium, or present level of productivity, can be raised or lowered by changes in the

relationship between the driving and the restraining forces.

For illustration, consider the dilemma of the new manager who takes over a work group in

which productivity is high but whose predecessor drained the human resources.

The former manager had upset the equilibrium by increasing the driving forces (that is,

being autocratic and keeping continual pressure on subordinates) and thus achieving

increases in output in the short run.

By doing this, however, new restraining forces developed, such as increased hostility and

antagonism, and at the time of the former manager's departure the restraining forces were

beginning to increase and the results manifested themselves in turnover, absenteeism, and

other restraining forces, which lowered productivity shortly after the new manager arrived.

Now a new equilibrium at a significantly lower productivity is faced by the new manager.

Now just assume that our new manager decides not to increase the driving forces but to

reduce the restraining forces. The manager may do this by taking time away from the usual

production operation and engaging in problem solving and training and development.

In the short run, output will tend to be lowered still further. However, if commitment to

objectives and technical know-how of the group are increased in the long run, they may

become new driving forces, and that, along with the elimination of the hostility and the

apathy that were restraining forces, will now tend to move the balance to a higher level of

output.

Managers are often in a position in which they must consider not only output but also

intervening variables and not only short-term but also long-term goals. It can be seen that

force field analysis provides framework that is useful in diagnosing these interrelationships.

Force Field Analysis

Understanding the Pressures For and Against Change

Force Field Analysis is a useful technique for looking at all the forces for and against a

decision. In effect, it is a specialized method of weighing pros and cons.

By carrying out the analysis you can plan to strengthen the forces supporting a decision, and

reduce the impact of opposition to it.

Using Force Field Analysis

To carry out a force field analysis, first download our free worksheet and then use it to

follow these steps:

• Describe your plan or proposal for change in the middle.

• List all forces for change in one column, and all forces against change in another

column.

• Assign a score to each force, from 1 (weak) to 5 (strong).

For example, imagine that you are a manager deciding whether to install new

manufacturing equipment in your factory. You might draw up a force field analysis like the

one in the following Figure:

Once you have carried out an analysis, you can decide whether your project is viable. In the

example above, you might initially question whether it is worth going ahead with the plan.

Where you have already decided to carry out a project, Force Field Analysis can help you to

work out how to improve its probability of success. Here you have two choices:

• To reduce the strength of the forces opposing a project, or

• To increase the forces pushing a project

Often the most elegant solution is the first: just trying to force change through may cause its

own problems. People can be uncooperative if change is forced on them.

If you had to implement the project in the example above, the analysis might suggest a

number of changes to the initial plan:

• By training staff (increase cost by 1) you could eliminate fear of technology (reduce

fear by 2)

• It would be useful to show staff that change is necessary for business survival (new

force in favour, +2)

• Staff could be shown that new machines would introduce variety and interest to

their jobs (new force, +1)

• You could raise wages to reflect new productivity (cost +1, loss of overtime -2)

• Slightly different machines with filters to eliminate pollution could be installed

(environmental impact -1)

These changes would swing the balance from 11:10 (against the plan), to 8:13 (in favour of

the plan).

Key points of Force Field Analysis

Force Field Analysis is a useful technique for looking at all the forces for and against a plan.

It helps you to weigh the importance of these factors and decide whether a plan is worth

implementing.

Where you have decided to carry out a plan, Force Field Analysis helps you identify changes

that you could make to improve it.

Pareto Chart

A Pareto chart is a special type of bar chart where the values being plotted are arranged in

descending order. The graph is accompanied by a line graph which shows the cumulative

totals of each category, left to right. The chart is named after Vilfredo Pareto, and its use in

quality assurance was popularized by Joseph M. Juran and Kaoru Ishikawa.

The Pareto chart is one of the seven basic tools of quality control, which include the

histogram, Pareto chart, check sheet, control chart, cause-and-effect diagram, flowchart,

and scatter diagram. See glossary of quality management.

Typically on the left vertical axis is frequency of occurrence, but it can alternatively

represent cost or other important unit of measure? The right vertical axis is the cumulative

percentage of the total number of occurrences, total cost, or total of the particular unit of

measure. The purpose is to highlight the most important among a (typically large) set of

factors. In quality control, the Pareto chart often represents the most common sources of

defects, the highest occurring type of defect, or the most frequent reasons for customer

complaints, etc.

Their use gives rise to the 80-20 Rule that 80 % of the problems stem from 20 % of the

causes.

Pareto chart is also called: Pareto diagram, Pareto analysis

Variations are weighted Pareto chart, comparative Pareto charts

Description

A Pareto chart is a bar graph. The lengths of the bars represent frequency or cost (time or

money), and are arranged with longest bars on the left and the shortest to the right. In this

way the chart visually depicts which situations are more significant.

When to Use a Pareto Chart

• When analysing data about the frequency of problems or causes in a process.

• When there are many problems or causes and you want to focus on the most

significant.

• When analysing broad causes by looking at their specific components.

• When communicating with others about your data.

Pareto Chart Procedure

1. Decide what categories you will use to group items.

2. Decide what measurement is appropriate. Common measurements are frequency,

quantity, cost and time.

3. Decide what period of time the Pareto chart will cover: One work cycle? One full

day? A week?

4. Collect the data, recording the category each time. (Or assemble data that already

exist.)

5. Subtotal the measurements for each category.

6. Determine the appropriate scale for the measurements you have collected. The

maximum value will be the largest subtotal from step 5. (If you will do optional steps

8 and 9 below, the maximum value will be the sum of all subtotals from step 5.)

Mark the scale on the left side of the chart.

7. Construct and label bars for each category. Place the tallest at the far left, then the

next tallest to its right and so on. If there are many categories with small

measurements, they can be grouped as other.

Steps 8 and 9 are optional but are useful for analysis and communication.

8. Calculate the percentage for each category: the subtotal for that category divided by

the total for all categories. Draw a right vertical axis and label it with percentages. Be

sure the two scales match: For example, the left measurement that corresponds to

one-half should be exactly opposite 50% on the right scale.

9. Calculate and draw cumulative sums: Add the subtotals for the first and second

categories, and place a dot above the second bar indicating that sum. To that sum

add the subtotal for the third category, and place a dot above the third bar for that

new sum. Continue the process for all the bars. Connect the dots, starting at the top

of the first bar. The last dot should reach 100 % on the right scale.

Pareto Chart Examples

Example #1 shows how many customer complaints were received in each of five categories.

Example #2 takes the largest category, "documents", from Example #1, breaks it down into

six categories of document-related complaints, and shows cumulative values.

If all complaints cause equal distress to the customer, working on eliminating document-

related complaints would have the most impact, and of those, working on quality

certificates should be most fruitful.

Quality Circles

The concept behind quality circles is widely believed to have been developed in Japan in

1962 by Kaoru Ishikawa as a method to improve quality, though it is also argued that the

practice started with the United States Army soon after 1945, whilst restoring the war torn

nation, and the Japanese adopted and adapted the concept and its application.

A quality circle is a volunteer group of employees from the same work area who meet

together to discuss workplace improvement. The circle is empowered to promote and bring

quality improvements through to fruition. Though quality circles are not the silver bullet

solution for quality improvement, with the right top end management commitment,

resources, and organisation, they can support continuous quality improvement at shop floor

level.

Because of the social focus of a Quality Circle group, they can not only improve the

performance or an organisation, but also motivate and enrich the work lives of fellow

employees. A typical Quality Circle group will display a good approach to:

� Analysing the context of a problems and its situation

� Define exactly what the problem is and the relationship between its component

parts

� Identify and verify that the causes are indeed causes, ensuring that solutions address

the real problem

� Define, quantify and measure the impact of a given problem

� Understand the quality objectives

� Create a solution to a given problem

Quality Circle groups generally address issues such as improving safety, improving product

design, and improving manufacturing process. Because Quality Circle groups remain intact

from project to project they have the advantage of consistency, though they retain the

option to call in expertise or request training when needed.

Techniques used by a Quality Circle group will usually consist of process capability flow

charts, lot sampling, brainstorming, cause and effect analysis, reverse engineering, value

analysis, and Pareto analysis.

Japanese Quality Circles demonstrated the effectiveness of worker teams in identifying and

solving process problems in their own work areas. However the more serious quality

problems from non-manufacturing organisations often arise in activities that span more

than one department or function.

A Quality Circle

A Quality Circle is a volunteer group composed of workers (or even students) who meet to

discuss workplace improvement, and make presentations to management with their ideas,

especially relating to quality of output in order to improve the performance of the

organization, and motivate and enrich the work of employees. Typical topics are improving

occupational safety and health, improving product design, and improvement in

manufacturing process.

The ideal size of a quality circle is from eight to ten members.

Quality circles have the advantage of continuity; the circle remains intact from project to

project. (For a comparison to Quality Improvement Teams see Juran's Quality by Design.

Quality circles were first established in Japan in 1962, and Kaoru Ishikawa has been credited

with their creation. The movement in Japan was coordinated by the Japanese Union of

Scientists and Engineers (JUSE).

The use of quality circles then spread beyond Japan. Quality circles have been implemented

even in educational sectors in India and QCFI (Quality Circle Forum of India) is promoting

such activities.

There are different quality circle tools, namely:

� The Ishikawa diagram - which shows hierarchies of causes contributing to a problem

� The Pareto Chart - which analyses different causes by frequency to illustrate the vital

cause

� The PDCA-Deming wheel - Plan, Do, Check, Act, as described by W. Edwards Deming

Management Styles

Management styles are characteristic ways of making decisions and relating to

subordinates. Management styles can be categorized into two main contrasting styles,

autocratic and permissive. Management styles are also divided in the main categories of

autocratic, paternalistic, and democratic. This idea was further developed by Robert

Tannenbaum and Warren H. Schmidt (1958, 1973), who argued that the style of leadership

is dependent upon the prevailing circumstance; therefore leaders should exercise a range of

management styles and should deploy them as appropriate.

People - Management styles

What makes a good leader or manager? For many it is someone who can inspire and get the

most from their staff.

There are many qualities that are needed to be a good leader or manager.

• Be able to think creatively to provide a vision for the company and solve problems

• Be calm under pressure and make clear decisions

• Possess excellent two-way communication skills

• Have the desire to achieve great things

• Be well informed and knowledgeable about matters relating to the business

• Possess an air of authority

Do you have to be born with the correct qualities or can you be taught to be a good leader?

It is most likely that well-known leaders or managers (Winston Churchill, Richard Branson or

Alex Ferguson?) are successful due to a combination of personal characteristics and good

training.

Managers deal with their employees in different ways. Some are strict with their staff and

like to be in complete control, whilst others are more relaxed and allow workers the

freedom to run their own working lives (just like the different approaches you may see in

teachers!). Whatever approach is predominately used it will be vital to the success of the

business. “An organisation is only as good as the person running it”.

There are three main categories of leadership styles: autocratic, paternalistic and

democratic.

Autocratic (or authoritarian) managers like to make all the important decisions and closely

supervise and control workers. Managers do not trust workers and simply give orders (one-

way communication) that they expect to be obeyed. This approach derives from the views

of Taylor as to how to motivate workers and relates to McGregor’s theory X view of

workers. This approach has limitations (as highlighted by other motivational theorists such

as Mayo and Herzberg) but it can be effective in certain situations. For example:

• When quick decisions are needed in a company (e.g. in a time of crises)

• When controlling large numbers of low skilled workers.

Paternalistic managers give more attention to the social needs and views of their workers.

Managers are interested in how happy workers feel and in many ways they act as a father

figure (pater means father in Latin). They consult employees over issues and listen to their

feedback or opinions. The manager will however make the actual decisions (in the best

interests of the workers) as they believe the staffs still needs direction and in this way it is

still somewhat of an autocratic approach. The style is closely linked with Mayo’s Human

Relation view of motivation and also the social needs of Maslow.

A democratic style of management will put trust in employees and encourage them to make

decisions. They will delegate to them the authority to do this (empowerment) and listen to

their advice. This requires good two-way communication and often involves democratic

discussion groups, which can offer useful suggestions and ideas. Managers must be willing

to encourage leadership skills in subordinates.

The ultimate democratic system occurs when decisions are made based on the majority

view of all workers. However, this is not feasible for the majority of decisions taken by a

business- indeed one of the criticisms of this style is that it can take longer to reach a

decision. This style has close links with Herzberg’s motivators and Maslow’s higher order

skills and also applies to McGregor’s theory Y view of workers.

Summary of management styles

Description Advantages Disadvantages

Autocratic Senior managers take

all the important

decisions with no

involvement from

workers

Quick decision making

Effective when

employing many low

skilled workers

No two-way

communication so can

be de-motivating

Creates “them and us”

attitude between

managers and workers

Paternalistic Managers make

decisions in best

interests of workers

after consultation

More two-way

communication so

motivating

Workers feel their social

needs are being met

Slows down decision

making

Still quite a dictatorial

or autocratic style of

management

Democratic Workers allowed to

make own decisions.

Some businesses run

on the basis of majority

decisions

Authority is delegated to

workers which is

motivating

Useful when complex

decisions are required

that need specialist skills

Mistakes or errors can

be made if workers are

not skilled or

experienced enough

Autocratic

An Autocratic style means that the manager makes decisions unilaterally, and without much

regard for subordinates. As a result, decisions will reflect the opinions and personality of the

manager; this in turn can project an image of a confident, well managed business. On the

other hand, strong and competent subordinates may chafe because of limits on decision-

making freedom, the organization will get limited initiatives from those "on the front lines",

and turnover among the best subordinates will be higher.

There are two types of autocratic leaders in this world:

1. the Directive Autocrat makes decisions unilaterally and closely supervises

subordinates;

2. the Permissive Autocrat makes decisions unilaterally, but gives subordinates latitude

in carrying out their work

Consultative

A more paternalistic form is also essentially dictatorial; however, decisions take into account

the best interests of the employees as well as the business. Communication is again

generally downward, but feedback to the management is encouraged to maintain morale.

This style can be highly advantageous when it engenders loyalty from the employees,

leading to a lower labour turnover, thanks to the emphasis on social needs. On the other

hand for an autocratic management style the lack of worker motivation can be typical if no

loyal connection is established between the manager and the people who are managed. It

shares disadvantages with an autocratic style, such as employees becoming dependent on

the leader.

A good example of this would be David Brent or Michael Scott running the fictional business

in the television shows The Office.

Persuasive

A persuasive styled manager shares some characteristics with that of an autocratic

manager. The most important aspect of a persuasive manager is that they maintain control

over the entire decision making process. The most prominent difference here is that the

persuasive manager will spend more time working with their subordinates in order to try to

convince them of the benefits of the decision that have been made. A persuasive manager is

more aware of their employees, but it wouldn't be correct to say that the persuasive style of

management is more inclusive of employees.

Just as there are occasions where the use of an autocratic style of management would be

appropriate, there are also instances where a company will benefit from a persuasive style

of management. An example of this being, if a task that needs to be completed but it is

slightly complicated it may be necessary to rely upon input from an expert. In such a

situation as this, the expert may take to time to explain to others why events are happening

in the order in which they will occur, but ultimately the way in which things are done will be

that person's responsibility. In those circumstances, they are highly unlikely to delegate any

part of the decision making process to those who are lower down in the hierarchy.

Advantages to a persuasive style of management:

1. Decisions are able to be made quickly. This is also true with the autocratic style of

management; persuasive managers are able to make decisions very quickly because

they don't use a consultation process with employees.

2. The employees will have a clear understanding of what's likely to happen and what

their role will be. As all of the decisions are made centrally and the communication is

entirely top-down, employees will be able to perform their tasks in an efficient

manner.

3. Difficult or tedious situations are able to be managed effectively. Just as an

autocratic manager will be able to navigate through challenging situations, a

persuasive manager will be in a position which allows them to steer an organization

towards a challenging outcome as well.

Disadvantages to a persuasive style of management:

1. There may not be enough or even an entire lack of support from employees for

management. Seeing as how the employees will have no input into the decision

making process. They also may not trust the decisions that are made.

2. A system that has no input from employees minimises access to one of the most

valuable resources that a business has; the ideas of the people who are working on

the "front line". As a result, employees will show no initiative, which can reduce

productivity.

3. One-way communication models are unlikely to be effective when compared to

Two-way communication.

Democratic

In a democratic style, the manager allows the employees to take part in decision-making:

therefore everything is agreed upon by the majority. The communication is extensive in

both directions (from employees to leaders and vice-versa). This style can be particularly

useful when complex decisions need to be made that require a range of specialist skills: for

example, when a new ICT system needs to be put in place and the upper management of

the business is computer-illiterate. From the overall business's point of view, job satisfaction

and quality of work will improve, and participatory contributions from subordinates will be

much higher. However, the decision-making process could be severely slowed down unless

decision processes are streamlined. The need for consensus may avoid taking the 'best'

decision for the business unless it is managed or limited. As with the autocratic leaders,

democratic leaders are also two types i.e. permissive and directive.

Laissez-faire

In a laissez-faire leadership style, the leader's role is as a mentor and stimulator, and staffs

manage their own areas of the business. Thus it is only successful with 1] inspirational

leadership that understands the different areas of initiative being taken by subordinates,

and 2] strong and creative subordinates who share the same vision throughout the

organization. It is a style that is best for strong, entrepreneurial subordinates in an

organization with dynamic growth in multiple directions. This style brings out the best in

highly professional and creative groups of employees; however in cases where the leader

does not have broad expertise and ability to communicate a strong vision, it can degenerate

into disparate and conflicting activities. Lacking a strong maestro as leader, there is a risk in

both focus and direction.

MBWA

Management by Walking Around (MBWA) is a classic technique used by managers who are

proactive listeners. Managers using this style gather as much information as possible so that

a challenging situation doesn't turn into a bigger problem. Listening carefully to employees'

suggestions and concerns will help evade potential crises. MBWA benefits managers by

providing unfiltered, real-time information about processes and policies that is often left out

of formal communication channels. By walking around, management gets an idea of the

level of morale in the organization and can offer help if there is trouble.

A potential concern of MBWA is that the manager will second-guess employees' decisions.

The manager must maintain his or her role as coach and counsellor, not director. By leaving

decision-making responsibilities with the employees, managers can be assured of the fastest

possible response time.

One downside is that MBWA poses the threat of the manager losing authority as the

employees feel that they can run the business.

Paternalistic

An autocratic style means that the manager makes decisions unilaterally, and without much

regard for subordinates. As a result, decisions will reflect the opinions and personality of the

manager; this in turn can project an image of a confident, well managed business. On the

other hand, strong and competent subordinates may chafe because of limits on decision-

making freedom, the organization will get limited initiatives from those "on the front lines",

and turnover among the best subordinates will be higher.

Asian paternalistic

Like consultative and easily confused with autocratic and dictatorial; however, decisions

take into account the best interests of the employees as well as the business, often more so

than interests of the individual manager. Communication is downward. Feedback and

questioning authority are absent as respect to superiors and group harmony are central

characteristics within the culture. This style demands loyalty from the employees, often

more than to societies' rules in general. Staff turnover is discouraged and rare. Worker

motivation is the status quo with East Asians often having the world's highest numbers of

hours worked per week, due to a sense of family duty with the manager being the father,

and staff being obedient children, all striving for harmony, and other related Confucian

characteristics. Most aspects of work are done with a highly collectivist orientation. It shares

disadvantages with an autocratic style, such as employees becoming dependent on the

leader, and related issues with seniority based systems.

An Asian Paternalistic style means that the manager makes decisions from a solid

understanding of what is desired and best by both consumers and staff. Managers must

appear confident, with all answers, and promote growth with harmony, often even if hiding

harmful or sad news is required.

Management Skills

Basic roles

• Interpersonal: roles that involve coordination and interaction with employees,

networking.

• Informational: roles that involve handling, sharing, and analysing information.

• Decisional: roles that require decision-making.

Management skills

• Political: used to build a power base and establish connections.

• Conceptual: used to analyse complex situations.

• Interpersonal: used to communicate, motivate, mentor and delegate.

• Diagnostic: the ability to visualize most appropriate response to a situation.

Formation of the business policy

• The mission of the business is the most obvious purpose—which may be, for

example, to make soap.

• The vision of the business reflects its aspirations and specifies its intended direction

or future destination.

• The objectives of the business refer to the ends or activity at which a certain task is

aimed.

• The business's policy is a guide that stipulates rules, regulations and objectives, and

may be used in the managers' decision-making. It must be flexible and easily

interpreted and understood by all employees.

• The business's strategy refers to the coordinated plan of action that it is going to

take, as well as the resources that it will use, to realize its vision and long-term

objectives. It is a guideline to managers, stipulating how they ought to allocate and

utilize the factors of production to the business's advantage. Initially, it could help

the managers decide on what type of business they want to form.

Implementation of policies and strategies

• All policies and strategies must be discussed with all managerial personnel and staff.

• Managers must understand where and how they can implement their policies and

strategies.

• A plan of action must be devised for each department.

• Policies and strategies must be reviewed regularly.

• Contingency plans must be devised in case the environment changes.

• Assessments of progress ought to be carried out regularly by top-level managers.

• A good environment and team spirit is required within the business.

• The missions, objectives, strengths and weaknesses of each department must be

analysed to determine their roles in achieving the business's mission.

• The forecasting method develops a reliable picture of the business's future

environment.

• A planning unit must be created to ensure that all plans are consistent and that

policies and strategies are aimed at achieving the same mission and objectives. All

policies must be discussed with all managerial personnel and staff that are required

in the execution of any departmental policy.

• Organizational change is strategically achieved through the implementation of the

eight-step plan of action established by John P. Kotter: Increase urgency, form a

coalition, get the vision right, communicate the buy-in, empower action, create

short-term wins, don't let up, and make change stick.

Policies and strategies in the planning process

• They give mid- and lower-level managers a good idea of the future plans for each

department in an organization.

• A framework is created whereby plans and decisions are made.

• Mid- and lower-level management may adapt their own plans to the business's

strategic ones.

Levels of management

Most organizations have three management levels: low-level, middle-level, and top-level

managers. These managers are classified in a hierarchy of authority, and perform different

tasks. In many organizations, the number of managers in every level resembles a pyramid.

Each level is explained below in specifications of their different responsibilities and likely job

titles.

Top-level managers

Consists of board of directors, president, vice-president, CEOs, etc. They are responsible for

controlling and overseeing the entire organization. They develop goals, strategic plans,

company policies, and make decisions on the direction of the business. In addition, top-level

managers play a significant role in the mobilization of outside resources and are

accountable to the shareholders and general public.

According to Lawrence S. Kleiman, the following skills are needed at the top managerial

level.

• Broadened understanding of how: competition, world economies, politics, and social

trends effect organizational effectiveness.

Middle-level managers

Consist of general managers, branch managers and department managers. They are

accountable to the top management for their department's function. They devote more

time to organizational and directional functions. Their roles can be emphasized as executing

organizational plans in conformance with the company's policies and the objectives of the

top management, they define and discuss information and policies from top management to

lower management, and most importantly they inspire and provide guidance to lower level

managers towards better performance. Some of their functions are as follows:

• Designing and implementing effective group and intergroup work and information

systems.

• Defining and monitoring group-level performance indicators.

• Diagnosing and resolving problems within and among work groups.

• Designing and implementing reward systems supporting cooperative behaviour.

Low-level managers

Consist of supervisors, section leads, foremen, etc. They focus on controlling and directing.

They usually have the responsibility of assigning employees tasks, guiding and supervising

employees on day-to-day activities, ensuring quality and quantity production, making

recommendations, suggestions, and up channelling employee problems, etc. First-level

managers are role models for employees that provide:

• Basic supervision.

• Motivation.

• Career planning.

• Performance feedback.

• supervising the staffs.

To be successful, there are many skills a manager needs to master. I adapted Kammy

Hatnes' pyramid structure to show the increasingly difficult management skills you must

master at each level and to also display how these management skills build on each other to

help you achieve success in your management career. The result is the Management Skills

Pyramid shown here. Each level of the Management Skills Pyramid is listed below and is

discussed in more detail on the linked pages.

Level 1 Management Skills

Level 1 of the Management Skills Pyramid shows the basic skills any beginning manager

must master. It is the foundation of the management skills pyramid, which shows the skills a

manager must master to be successful and shows how these management skills build on

each other toward success.

Basic Management Skills

There are four basic management skills anyone must master to have any success in a

management job. These four basic skills are plan, organize, direct, and control and are

discussed separately in detail below.

Plan

Planning is the first and most important step in any management task. It also is the most

often overlooked or purposely skipped step. While the amount of planning and the detail

required will vary from task to task, to skip this task is to invite sure disaster except by sure

blind luck. That's what gives us the adage of the 6 P's of planning (or 7 P's depending on how

you count).

Level 2 Management Skills

Level 2 is the team building skills any developing manager must master. It is the next level of

the management skills pyramid, which shows the skills a manager must master to be

successful and shows how these management skills build on each other toward success.

Team Management Skills

There are three categories of team management skills anyone must master to have any

success in a management job. These are motivation, training and coaching, and employee

involvement and are discussed separately in detail below.

Motivation

The most fundamental team management skill you must master is motivation of your team

and of the individual members of the team. (We will discuss self-motivation later in this

series.) You can't accomplish your goals as a manager unless your team is motivated to

perform, to produce, to deliver the results you need. Motivating each of the individuals on

your team requires recognition on your part that each team member's motivation needs are

different. And motivating the team requires a different approach from motivating the team

members.

Motivating Individuals

• The Lesson of the Red Horse

What does a nine-year old drawing animals on scraps of paper have to do with

motivation? A lot really. The Lesson of the Red Horse stresses the importance of

employee motivation and its effect on performance.

• Larry Doesn't Work Here Anymore

For employee retention employee motivation is key. Putting each person in the right

job is a critical part of that. See what a difference you can make by using your people

in the spots where they can do their best.

• How To Give Positive Feedback

Another key to successful motivation is the way you give feedback. You have to

provide feedback to your employees and they have a right to expect it. Try to focus

first on giving positive feedback and resort to negative feedback only as a last resort.

• The Coffee Cup

One of your best management tools may be a coffee cup. The simple act of taking

someone to coffee gives you an opportunity to sit with them, listen, and learn. That

kind of a conversation can be powerful employee motivation.

Training and Coaching

It is unlikely that you will ever manage a team where everyone is adequately trained. It is

even more unlikely that you will have a team that never needs coaching. You need to be

able to identify the training needs of your team members and be able to get that training for

them. And you need to coach all the members of your team, even the well trained ones, to

help them achieve their best levels of performance.

Training

• New Employee Training

Regardless whether you spend a few hours or a few months orienting new

employees, there is a cost. New Employee Orientation (NEO) can save you money in

the long run if you take the time to properly train new people.

• Cross Training Employees

Cross training is training someone in another activity that is related to their current

work. It is good for managers, because it provides you more flexibility, which saves

money in labour costs. It is good for the employees too. It lets them learn new skills,

makes them more valuable, and can combat worker boredom.

• Learn at Lunch

Learn at Lunch, is a program to help employees grow and advance. Learn how to set

one up so both the company and the employees benefit from it.

Coaching

• Employee Coaching: When To Step In

You have to let people make mistakes if they are going to learn. The trick is knowing

when to step in and when to hang back and let them try on their own.

• What Professional Baseball Can Teach Professional Managers

The same factors apply in baseball as in business. Generally the teams with the best

managers make it to the playoffs and to the World Series. In business, too, it is

usually the best managed companies that succeed. Are you the best managed

company in your market?

• Performance Management Instead of Layoffs

It costs too much to leave an incompetent manager in place. If the employee won't

request a return to a level at which they were competent, the company must take

action. Specific training can be part of this.

• Coaching, An Essential Management Skill

One of the most important things we do as managers is coach our subordinates. One

of the most important skills you can develop as a manager is that of a good coach.

Here are some more resources that can help you improve your skill.

Employee Involvement

All the training we do as managers, all the motivation we attempt, all that positive feedback

and morale building are all aimed at one thing. Increasing employee involvement. If your

employees are not involved, if they just come to work to warm a seat, you won't get their

best performance. If you don't get their best, everything they do will cost you more than it

should have. It might be in a high error or rework rate. It might be in an innovative new idea

that they didn't share with you. Whatever the issue, it will cost you.

So how do you get your employees engaged and committed? Here are the basics.

• Inspire and Admire

One of the biggest mistake a manager can make is to ignore their employees. The

same attention you paid to their work assignments, to their satisfaction levels, to

their sense of being part of a great team needs to continue for as long as they are in

your group. As soon as you start to slack off, their satisfaction and motivation

decreases and you lose them.

• How to Innovate in Business

Give your employees the freedom to think for themselves. Don't be a micro-

manager. If they have a little breathing room they will be more innovative and more

committed to your goals.

• Employee Retention Tips

The same things that reduce turnover and increase employee retention are the

things that increase employee involvement. Give them clear goals and honest

feedback.

• How To Give Positive Feedback

For some reason, we are much better at telling people when they do something

wrong than when they do something right. Yet this positive feedback is critical to

keeping employees engaged. It has to be deserved and it has to be honest, but don't

omit it.

• Delegate, Don't Just Dump

Delegation is another way to increase employee engagement. When you actively

delegate a task to an employee they have an opportunity to grow and tackle new

challenges. It stimulates them and makes them think beyond just punching a time

clock. Just be sure you actually delegate properly and don't just dump more work on

them.

• Tip: Get your people involved

Participative management is key.

Level Three Management Skills

Level 3 is where the developing manager must master personal development. It is the next

level of the management skills pyramid, which shows the skills a manager must master to be

successful and shows how these management skills build on each other toward success.

Personal Management Skills

There are two areas of personal management skills you must master to be successful as a

manager. These are self-management and time management. We discuss these in detail

below.

Self-management

By this point in your development as a manager, you are good at assigning work to your

employees and coaching them through the difficulties so they can produce their best work.

You know how to motivate them and discipline them. You have built them into a team. But

are you as good at managing yourself as you are at managing others? Do you stay focused

on the tasks that are truly important and not just urgent? Do you do your job the best you

are able?

• Take Ownership of Your Job

Every job you do has your "signature" on it. Do it the best you can; do it the best it

can be done. That is how you succeed.

• Scruples Are a Good Thing

There is a reason for that little voice in your head. Listen to it. Don't just do things

right, but also do the right thing. You will do a better job as a manager if you don't

have to waste time remembering what lies you told to whom.

• Pareto's Principle - The 80-20 Rule

It is important that as a manager you focus on what is truly important, not just what

appears urgent. The 80-20 Rule can help you do that.

• Ten Things to Do Today to Be a Better Manager

Here are ten areas you can focus on to improve as a manager.

Time Management

If you have learned nothing else in your management career, you have learned that there is

never enough time to do all the things you feel need to get done. That is why it is critical to

your success as a manager that you be skilled at managing time.

• A To Do List That Works

You can't do everything so use a To Do list to keep you focused on the important

ones. It can be simple or complicated, but develop one that works for you - or use

mine.

• Don't Multi-task When You Can Use Chunking

Human beings can't really multi-task. We can do different tasks in rapid succession,

but not at the same time. Chunking lets you spend less time in "restarting" and more

time getting things done. It takes practice to make it work, but it is well worth the

effort.

• Meeting Management

Managers spend a lot of time in meetings and a lot of time running meetings. You

have less control over meetings you attend than over the one you set up. Make sure

you get the most out of your meetings by following a few simple tips.

• Managing Projects: Time and Schedule

Time management also is a critically important skill for any successful project

manager. Project Managers who succeed in meeting their project schedule have a

good chance of staying within their project budget.

Thirteen Skills Needed to Become a Good

Manager

1. Communication There’s a lot of communication when you’re a manager. You have to communicate

with each of your employees. You have to communicate “sideways” with your co-

workers and customers. And you have to communicate upwards with your own

manager or executive. You need some substance in the communication, of course —

you need to have something worthy of being communicated. But substance isn’t

enough — if you know what you’re doing and can’t properly communicate it to

anyone else, then you’ll never be a good manager.

2. Listening Skills This is a part of communication, but I want to single it out because it’s so important.

Some managers get so impressed with themselves that they spend much more of

their time telling people things than they spend listening. But no matter how high

you go in the management hierarchy, you need to be able to listen. It’s the only way

you’re really going to find out what’s going on in your organization, and it’s the only

way that you’ll ever learn to be a better manager.

3. A Commitment to the Truth You’ll find that the higher you are in the management hierarchy, the less likely you

are to be in touch with reality. Managers get a lot of brown-nosing, and people tend

to sugar-coat the news and tell managers what they want to hear. The only way

you’ll get the truth is if you insist on it. Listen to what people tell you, and ask

questions to probe for the truth. Develop information sources outside of the chain of

command and regularly listen to those sources as well. Make sure you know the

truth — even if it’s not good news.

4. Empathy This is the softer side of listening and truth. You should be able to understand how

people feel, why they feel that way, and what you can do to make them feel

differently. Empathy is especially important when you’re dealing with your

customers. And whether you think so or not, you’ll always have customers.

Customers are the people who derive benefit from the work you do. If no one

derives benefit from your work, then what’s the point of keeping your organization

around?

5. Persuasion Put all four of the preceding skills together, because you’ll need them when you try

to persuade someone to do something you want done. You could describe this as

“selling” but it’s more general. Whether you’re trying to convince your employees to

give you a better effort, your boss to give you a bigger budget, or your customers to

agree to something you want to do for them, your persuasion skills will be strained

to their limits.

6. Leadership Leadership is a specialized form of persuasion focused on getting other people to

follow you in the direction you want to go. It’s assumed that the leader will march

into battle at the head of the army, so be prepared to make the same sacrifices

you’re asking your employees to make.

7. Focus The key to successful leadership is focus. You can’t lead in a hundred different

directions at once, so setting an effective leadership direction depends on your

decision not to lead in the other directions. Focusing light rays means concentrating

the light energy on one spot. Focusing effort means picking the most important thing

to do and then concentrating your team’s effort on doing it.

8. Division of Work This is the ability to break down large tasks into sub-tasks that can be assigned to

individual employees. It’s a tricky skill — maybe more an art than a science, almost

like cutting a diamond. Ideally you want to figure out how to accomplish a large

objective by dividing the work up into manageable chunks. The people working on

each chunk should be as autonomous as possible so that the tasks don’t get bogged

down in endless discussion and debate. You have to pay careful attention to the

interdependencies among the chunks. And you have to carefully assess each

employee’s strengths, weaknesses and interests so that you can assign the best set

of sub-tasks to each employee.

9. Obstacle Removal Inevitably, problems will occur. Your ability to solve them is critical to the on-going

success of your organization. Part of your job is to remove the obstacles that are

preventing your employees from doing their best.

10. Heat Absorption Not all problems can be solved. When upper management complains about certain

things that can’t be avoided (e.g., an unavoidable delay in a project deliverable), it’s

your job to take the heat. But what’s more important, it’s your job to absorb the

heat to keep it from reaching your employees. It’s the manager’s responsibility to

meet objectives. If the objectives aren’t being met, then it’s the manager’s

responsibility to:

o Make sure that upper management knows about the problem as early as

possible.

o Take all possible steps to solve the problem with the resources you’ve been

given.

o Suggest alternatives to management that will either solve the problem or

minimize it. These other alternatives may propose the use of additional

resources beyond the current budget, or they may propose a change in the

objective that’s more achievable.

o Keep the problem from affecting the performance or morale of your

employees.

11. Uncertainty Removal When higher management can’t give you consistent direction in a certain area, it’s

up to you to shield your employees from the confusion, remove the apparent

uncertainty, and lead your employees in a consistent direction until there’s a good

reason to change that direction.

12. Project Management This is a more advanced skill that formalizes some of attributes 7 – 11. Although both

“Management” and “Project Management” contain the word “management,” they

aren’t the same thing. Management implies a focus on people, while Project

Management implies a focus on the project objective. You can be a Manager and a

Project Manager, or you can be a Manager without being a Project Manager. You can

also be a Project Manager without being a Manager (in which case you don’t have

people reporting to you — you just deal with overseeing the project-specific tasks).

13. Administrative and Financial Skills Most managers have a budget, and you’ll have to be able to set the budget and then

manage to it. You’ll also have to deal with hiring, firing, rewarding good employee

performance, dealing with unacceptable performance from some employees, and

generally making sure that your employees have the environment and tools they

need to do their work. It’s ironic that this is skill number 13 (an unlucky number in

some cultures), because a lot of managers hate this part of the job the most. But if

you’re good at budgeting, you’ll find it much easier to do the things you want to do.

And hiring and dealing with employees on a day-to-day basis is one of the key skills

to give you the best, happiest and most productive employees.

Conclusion This article explains some of the things you’ll need to learn before you become a successful

manager. You can probably become a manager without having all of these skills, but you will

need all of them to be really successful and to get promoted to higher levels of

management.

For every one of these skills, there are various levels of performance. No one expects a new

manager to be superior at every one of these skills, but you should be aware of all of them,

and you should do everything you can to learn more about each skill. Some of that learning

will come through education (like reading the articles on this web site — you might want to

subscribe). But much of the learning will come through experience — trial and error.

Just learn as much as you can about each skill, take nothing for granted, and focus on doing

the very best that you can do. Learn from your mistakes and try not to repeat them. And ask

for feedback — in many cases you won’t know what you could do better unless someone

tells you.

Five Personal Management Skills

Why is it that we allow the everyday hustle to impede our progress in becoming the

ultimate warrior of our professional lives through successful personal management? Some

people even allow personal management to take a backseat to the results produced by their

actions, claiming their success as evidence contrary to their need for better personal

management techniques. What these people fail to realize is by failing to practice personal

management skills they are failing to become elite and productive ninjas of efficiency in

their work life. All that is required is the honing and polishing of five simple personal

management skills for being awesome!

1. Time Management and Planning Skills

“It is vain to do with more what can be done with less” – William of Occam, the originator of

Occam’s razor

Pareto’s law states that 80 % of our output is generated by 20 % of our efforts. Imagine if

you could work less and gain more ground weekly than you have been able to make up in

the past few years. Time management is the key to this personal management skill. All of

the awesome and productive workers that I have met successfully manage their time. You

could probably work less and be much more at peace with yourself with some quality time-

management training.

Having time management skills is simply having the ability to recognize and solve time

management problems. It is as the old adage says, to never put off for later what can be

done right now. You can develop this personal management skill by keeping a calendar and

beginning to schedule everything. You heard right, everything. This includes scheduling your

free time and the time it takes to get from one meeting to another.

Think about what happens when your scheduled meeting ends at 3:00pm and your next

appointment is scheduled for 3:00pm. You are either going to leave the first meeting early

or you will be late to your next appointment. You failed to schedule travel time between the

meetings. When you take the time to plan your day’s activities and practice the discipline of

following your daily plans you will develop the ability to start and finish projects when you

are supposed to. You will also become much more adept at estimating how long a project or

a task will take to accomplish. In addition, whatever you do, do not procrastinate.

Procrastination is the number one offender against your ability to manage time.

2. Financial Management Skills

“It is not how much you make that counts but how much money you keep” – Robert Kiyosaki,

investor, businessman, and author of best-seller Rich Dad Poor Dad

Money management is the wall upon which your personal management skills sit lopsidedly

like humpty dumpty. On one side, through the disciplines of successful financial

management comes successful personal management as well. There is no need for all the

king’s horses to put anything back together. On the other side, humpty falls to the ground

and the rest of his personal management skills shatter into the pieces of a broken shell. The

reason being is the discipline required for successful financial management is powerful

enough to bleed its way into just about every aspect of your life. When you can assert

yourself over your financial situation, you can assert yourself to the realization of your goals.

Personal management becomes an even greater aspect of your life.

A 27 year old woman once stated that she was going to become a millionaire. You might

scoff at such a remark but after ten years, she had earned ten million dollars and had given

3 million dollars away to charities. The woman was determined to manage her financial

status in a way that brought great wealth. She used personal management skills to achieve

her goal.

You can perfect your financial management skills by trying a few of the following:

• Create a budget and tailor your spending to meet its requirements.

• Save every receipt from every purchase that you make in one month and find out

how much money you’re really spending. You might be surprised to find out where

your money is actually going.

• Create income and expense reports that allow you to see the bigger picture of your

financial situation.

• Manage your personal finances as if you were managing a business’s finances.

When you are on the road to successfully managing your financial situation, you are growing

exponentially towards becoming awesome.

3. Communication Skills

“The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality

of our lives” – Anthony Robbins

Until you know your voice and can confidently share what is on your mind, personal

management will not become a larger part of your affairs. Knowing your own voice gives

you the ability to carry a healthy inner dialog, which then confidently guides you towards

your goals. With great communication skills comes the power to influence and encourage

others and yourself. You won’t be able to practice personal management until you’re able to

listen to that inner dialog and understand where you are headed. A few tricks to improving

your communication skills are:

• Practice active listening. Try to look the person speaking in the eyes and think only

about the words that they are speaking.

• Speak slowly and ask questions to test whether the listening party understands what

is being communicated.

• When writing, always write a first draft and edit the draft into a final copy after

asking whether the purpose of your communication is clear and understandable.

• When you find yourself caught up in your own thoughts, try to relax and “Watch”

the thinker thinking those thoughts. You are not your thoughts. You are greater than

your thinking.

4. Organizational Skills

“Organizational effectiveness does not lie in that narrow minded concept called rationality.

It lies in the blend of clearheaded logic and powerful intuition.” – Arialdi Minino

Personal management would be incomplete without the ability to stay organized. We

cannot accomplish any goals without the resources required to get the job done.

Some people have desks and drawers cluttered with papers and junk. They feel they need

these things “just in case”. However, they are probably wasting more time trying to find the

things they need than getting the job done anyway. You can greatly increase your personal

management skills by getting organized. The best part is you already have the skills required

to be organized, you just need to start putting them to good use. Here are a few great

organizational skills that will improve your personal management techniques:

o Throw stuff in the garbage. Most people can get away with throwing 50% of

the things they save away without any negative consequence.

o Use a PIM (Personal Information manager) such as Outlook or a Day Runner

planner / organizer.

o File paperwork away in a manner that is consistent and understandable.

o Reduce your information collecting points. Most people have multiple email

inboxes, paper inboxes, voice mailboxes, snail mailboxes, etc. That is too

many locations to manage incoming information. Try to whittle it down to

only a couple.

5. Continued Self-Development Skills

“Everything we would ever need to become rich and powerful and sophisticated is within our

reach. The major reason that so few take advantage of all that we have is simply, neglect.” –

Jim Rohn

This is the most important personal management skill of them all. Without the ability to

continue moving forward with personal development you will be unable to recognize the

areas that need to be corrected in order to increase your time, financial, communication,

and organization skills. Without continued self-development, your personal management

skills will falter and the awesome person that you are will fail to reach its full potential.

A few ways to increase your continued self-development skills are:

o Schedule a weekly appointment with yourself in order to evaluate your

progress and your setbacks

o Spend time each morning focusing on what it is you’re going to accomplish

for the day

o Review your day at its closing and accept the areas that need work and praise

yourself for the day’s victories

o Remain open-minded and flexible. Remember, change is inevitable.

o Create goals and long term objectives

o No matter what, continue moving forward

Conclusion

By practicing these 5 personal management skills you will assert yourself towards

productive personal management. You will find yourself much more confident and relaxed

in your everyday dealings. Your finances will be more of a blessing that a pain. You will be

understood and you will know exactly where you are heading. Through personal

management your integrity will far outshine your faults and you truly will

become…awesome.

The main role of a manager in any organization is to lead, motivate and encourage

employees to work together, to achieve the organizational goals. To achieve the goals, a

manager has to plan, organize and control the available resources including the human

resource of the organization. For this he needs to possess certain skills and qualities, so that

he is able to perform his job to the best of his ability. Below is the list of management skills,

which include some of the most important qualities that a manager should possess in order

to be successful.

List of Business Management Skills Interpersonal Skills

A manager should be a people's person. He should have the ability to deal and work with

people of different temperaments, backgrounds and educational qualifications. He should

be well-aware what motivates his team members in order to bring out the best in them. A

manager should be good at building relationships with his subordinates and be fair in his

dealings with them, so that there are no ill feelings among the team members. A manager

should possess good team building capabilities as well.

Communication Skills

It is very important that a manager possesses good communication skills. A manager who is

a good communicator can very aptly explain his vision and strategies to his team. Good

communication skills are crucial for the effective functioning of the team and aids in

decision-making as well. Along with being a communicator, a manager has to be a good

listener too. He should respect the views and opinions of his subordinates. Strong

communication skills can help in building a long-lasting relationship with team members and

earn their respect and trust as well.

Decision-making Skills

The list will be incomplete without decision-making and problem-solving skills. It is an on-

going process in every organization. A manager is required to take a number of decisions

every day. He should therefore be a quick thinker, with excellent logical and critical thinking

skills to ascertain a problem and take decisions that benefit the organization. In critical

situations, a manager should know how to keep his calm, so that he is able to take the most

appropriate decision.

Leadership Skills

Leadership skills are a must for all managers. A leader is a person who motivates guides and

leads his team members, provides them with the right resources so that goals can be

achieved. A leader recognizes the strengths and weaknesses of his team members and

allocates them tasks accordingly. A good leader is the one who empowers his team

members to act independently if the situation demands. A manager should possess all these

leadership skills to be successful.

Technical Skills

Since majority of the organizations today depend upon computers and software to carry on

their activities, it has become mandatory for managers to have adequate knowledge of

computers and other technical skills along with the basic management skills. Also, a

manager should be well-versed in the usage of tools, equipment, etc. needed in his work.

For example, a manager should be aware of some of the controlling tools used today, such

as charting techniques, budgeting, standard operating procedures, scheduling, etc. as only

then he will be able to keep a check on and monitor the organizational resources.

Time Management Skills

It is very important for managers to develop strategies for effective time management. A

manager that is able to manage his time effectively can meet the conflicting demands of the

business; meet deadlines without having to rush himself. For this, one needs to prioritize his

tasks and focus on the important tasks first. A manager must realize that it is not possible

for him to carry out all the tasks at hand. So he should organize his schedule in such a way

that some tasks are delegated to other people, so that he can devote his time for other

important assignments.

Conceptual Skills

A manager should develop sharp conceptual skills. This helps to view the organization from

a wider perspective. A manager with strong conceptual skills can analyse and study a

complex situation deeply and develop strategies for the smooth functioning of the

organization. It also influences the decision-making process in an organization.

A good manager should also have the ability to foresee change and multitask when

required. A manager who possesses all these effective skills is much more likely to generate

profits for the business, which is the ultimate goal of all businesses.