You are in business to accomplish several goals. The main goal, and rightfully so, is to make a profit! Seems like a simple enough end result for all of the hard work you and your teams have poured into your business craft.

Well, perhaps not, especially if your firm’s basics are in disarray. Without a concrete process, without objectives that are executable, and without management accountability, profit may be a lofty goal continually strived for but rarely obtained.

Software Solution

To realize profitable projects, to ensure internal efficiencies and tasks remain on track, a fully integrated project management system is, especially these days, mandatory for most business operations. Software that manages project planning is usually comprised of two methodologies: a complete, turnkey system, or one that is modularized. The former affords a company a total project management system that incorporates all of the nuts and bolts, while the latter modularizes various project planning components.

No matter the type of software employed, a write-once system is preferable. Such reduces input errors and definitely improves the integrity of the data being examined. If your software can also bring into play your customer data, you’ve avoided the dreaded input error bug that can skew your final reports.

Most integrated project management or project planning software systems offer charts, graphs and reports. What is of interest to management is that the system also facilitates the communicative and collaborative aspects of the projects. Workgroup centralization for clients and project co-workers is important in managing the entire process from start to finish.

The software solution must also be able to meet the demands of the end-user and the customer. Sometimes these demands can occur quite suddenly. Unresponsive software or a truculent program module that cannot flex around suddenly imported difficulties becomes an anchor that weighs heavily on the company’s bottom line.

A well-tooled project planning software system also minimizes the need for additional development work on the system itself. Training employees and consultants on the use of the software should be, if not effortless, worth the investment. When time and money are saved, and valuable resources can be applied to the projects in a more immediate fashion, a “win-win” situation occurs for both client and company.

Reporting Results

A complete project management software system will be able to grow with the company and report all of the required data quickly and accurately. The system should be able to handle:

- Unlimited projects and tasks as well as track all project aspects such as hours logged, project costs, what has been billed and what remains to be billed

- Billings accomplished in light of the project budget

- Detailed work logs for each client and all related support issues

- Specific resource assignments to the project’s various tasks

- Budget comparison reports in relation to spending

- Tracking and setting project budgets

- Document management, plans and process flows within a complete record of the project

- Changeable levels of access to the data via role-based permissions for different users

- Billing rates that can be varied when associated with different project consultants

- Incorporation of a calendaring component

With a complete system, the approval process becomes far easier for managers. They can review the project status at any time they wish, view charges, and approve time and expenses to keep the project on track. With the single project management software system in place, accountability becomes a reality.

A View To Success

The last element any project manager wishes to experience is project management software that adds complexity to administrative efforts. Additionally, the software should be fully capable of presenting a visual status of the projects underway without the necessity of a manager having to cull through reams of reports for an overview. A plus also occurs when management is able to view a project from the “hundred-thousand mile altitude” level, as new perspectives can be realized and applied to increase flexibility and apply new company capabilities in completing the projects.

Endgame

The goal of software should be to streamline the entire project management process. When the updating of tasks can be handled quickly and still result in the acquisition of complete detail levels, a triumphant conclusion is the much-sought consequence.

The result of successful project planning is a satisfied customer. A satisfied customer, under most circumstances, will return to the company that has already proven they can meet client needs. Both the client and the company win!

Team Interactions Inc. of Carlsbad California, develops and markets Enterplicity. Enterplicity is project management software that greatly improves project workflow and transparency. The vision for the Enterplicity came from experience in product development projects, and the lack of an easy to use, easy to implement, centralized tool for the organization.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hartley_Lesser

When I was a little girl my father would ask me what I thought to be very strange mind bending questions. Once asked, they would send me off on a never ending search for answers. One of his favorites that always stuck with me was…

"If a camel is carrying a bag of feathers and he's carrying as many feathers as he can, can the camel carry one more feather?"

Strange question, right? At six years old I exclaimed, "sure why not, it's just a feather". My father would simply shake his head—no. It wasn't until years later that I realized I had been misapplying the principle. I had set up the problem all wrong.

Logic told me that feathers didn't weigh much, so the weight of one more feather would be insignificant. I only thought about the weight of the feather and not the capacity of the camel.

This is what we do in the workplace. We overlook people as a critical part of the performance equation. When demand is high we raise expectations, giving them more work to do and think little about whether they have everything that they need to do it.

Everyone carries different loads. And, no matter the job or the level of responsibility, we are all limited by our individual capacity. Combined our abilities represent the full capacity of the organization.

How much extra weight are your people carrying? Is is possible for them to take on one more project, work late into the evening, or keep working themselves in circles?

There are limits to everything and at some point even one single feather is too much too carry. It is important that everyone in the organization carry their own weight, but there are more effective ways to increase organizational performance. So, if you want the best performance from the camel, watch how you stack the load.

What are you doing to lighten the load? How are you going to grow their capacity?

If you really want to move further faster, you need to grow the capacity of your employees. Rather than continuing to pile on, maybe you should look for ways to share the load.

The capacity of your people is dependent on your ability to:

   1. Lead the way with a clear vision, purpose and map of where you’re headed and how you expect to get there. Commitment starts at the top, but needs to flow down and through every level of management and across every business unit to create a culture of trust, respect and accountability.
   2. Communicate strategy, clear job expectations, and measures of success to employees. Provide them with timely and appropriate feedback about their performance.
   3. Support performance by creating and aligning systems, processes and policies. Provide tools needed for better productivity and access to a wide variety of quality resources and people.
   4. Honor their contributions, dedication, hard work, long hours and efforts with fair reward, recognition, incentives, and compensation. Appreciation goes a long way toward building relationships and bridges between the needs of the business, customers and the spirit of employees.
   5. Connect the line from strategy to jobs; from systems to performance; from performance management to daily work activities; from efforts to results; and from business results to their own advancement and growth opportunities.
   6. Develop the skills and full capability of all employees to participate. Create the success you want by developing the right skills and knowledge that will aid them now and carry them into the future.

Today’s employee needs more than technical skills and job knowledge. They need to understand the business, the market, its customers and most importantly how to learn at the speed of change.

Valarie is CEO of Think 6 Results -- a knowledge broker passionate about learning and improving performance in organizations. She’s a writer, presenter, and executive coach on a mission to get every employee and organization focused on and thinking about the SIX business driving goals that matter.

We want you to share this article with others. Feel free to copy this article when you include the copyright and contact information listed below.

Contact Valarie at [email protected] or by calling 630-705-1189. Visit us at http://www.Think6Results.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Valarie_Washington

So how did you do? Really. No "nicey nicey" banal comments please on how it was "great". What really worked - and why? And what really didn't work - and why not? What role did you have? In the success? In the failures?

After a project or an event, it's rare that anyone, either individually or as a team, sits down to reflect on what has unfolded.

Ironically, the learning from an event comes primarily from the debrief rather than from the event itself. That's worth repeating because it is so profound and so often overlooked: the learning from an event comes primarily from the debrief rather than from the event itself.

It's a delicate art to conduct a retrospective that's powerful and useful and not a destructive critique.

Most of us don't bother with a post-event analysis. But even when we do, they can be painfully horrible affairs: a combination of passive-aggressive politeness with no one willing to mention the "dead moose" (or "dead elephant" or "dead kangaroo", depending on your country of origin) that is in the room. (For those unfamiliar with the phrase, we're talking about the thing that's big and rotten and getting in the way of everything).

An After Action Review (AAR) is focused primarily on learning and building community. It is founded on two related principles:

• This is not to judge success or failure (and hence apportion blame) but rather the focus is on what can be learned for moving forward.

• There's a belief (what Norman Kerth calls the Prime Directive) that regardless of what's discovered, the participants understand and truly believe that everyone did the best job they could, given what they knew at the time, their skills and abilities, the resources available, and the situation at hand.

With that in place, there are five simple and profound questions to ask.

1. What did you intend?

• This can be a simple restatement of your objectives. What were you trying to achieve?

2. What happened?

• This is useful for just getting a sense of what really happened. You can rest assured that your perspective of events is only one of the versions.

• The objective here is to collect both "the facts" (such as costs, number of people involved, figures, etc) and differing opinions on what worked and didn't work, what circumstances influenced what happened, and other factors.

• When commenting on others' roles, capture specific behavioural events (what they did, what they said) rather than your conclusion about what they did (X did a poor job because...).

3. What can we learn about it?

• There will be different levels of learning here, from the very specific ("don't wear Brand X socks - they give you blisters") to the more abstract ("this project wasn't close enough to my life purpose for me to be motivated").

• Don't forget to ask here "what did we do well that we need to discuss or else it will be forgotten?" It's very easy to jump to "the mistakes". It's most powerful to start with what's been working.

• Capture also "what still puzzles us?" You won't be able to figure everything out. Be explicit about what it is that still is a mystery.

4. What should we do differently next time?

• This is powerful because it plants seeds for the "next time" conversation. Without these seeds, we default back to a collective memory of "this is how we do things around here" which most often does not capitalize on the collected wisdom.

5. What should we do now?

• There may well be actions to take right now: things to do, people to connect with.

• As with all actions, set up accountability: what will be done, by whom and by when.

Something to Practice:

Look back on a recently completed project or event. It might be a family holiday. It might be a project at work. It might be a date with your girlfriend or boyfriend. Thinking about what happened, write down your answers to these five questions:

What did you intend?

What actually happened?

What did you learn?

What will you do differently in the future?

What should you do now?

If you're feeling bolder, invite the others involved in the process and have the conversation with them as well.

Michael Bungay Stanier is the author of Get Unstuck & Get Going ...on the stuff that matters. A certified coach and Rhodes Scholar, he offers coach training as well as business coaching. Visit:http://www.getunstuckandgetgoing.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Bungay_Stanier

t’s late Friday afternoon and everyone is packaging up to go home for the weekend except Janette. Her desk is still piled high with all those important assignments. Why does Janette still have work when no one else does? She just can't let go. Others have a life, but she's too busy ensuring her importance to the company and working late. If she has her finger in every piece of the pie it will make her more important? The reality is that she does not impress anyone. Others may question her ability to perform (she always has work to do and has to stay light to do it.) The favorable portrait she hopes to paint may actually be a negative one. What can Janette do? She can set boundaries. Pick the assignments she can accomplish and do well. She should delegate the rest.

Renee has just been promoted; she is taking the workload for three people while her team has nothing to do. She is overcome with the need to validate her recent promotion. It’s important to her to show the boss just how well placed his trust was in her by giving her the promotion. The reality is that her boss may reconsider just why he placed his faith in her. He didn't promote her to become a workhorse but rather to lead a team of successful productive team members.

What can Renee do? She can start by evaluating the workload. Does she really need to handle each and every piece of paper? It’s imperative that she regroup and let go of some of the tasks she has assigned herself. She will be validated in her boss’s eyes with happy and productive employees who work together for a common goal. She needs to lead and delegate responsibilities to ensure the team’s success.

Wendy is the new kid on the block. She is a whirlwind of activity. She's sure she is on the fast track and accepts any and all assignments that come her way (whether she can accomplish it or not). Wendy equates looking busy with productivity. She is also a little full of herself and believes she can do any assignment better than her peers. She can't say no to what she perceives as her opportunity. She is reluctant to share the glory. What can Wendy do? The reality is that Wendy can't do it all. She can begin by taking a serious look at her skill set. What does she do best and most effectively? What does she like to do and what does she not enjoy doing? From this list she needs to hone down the essential responsibilities. She needs to pick those that she can really bond with and delegate the rest.

It does not matter what if you are a Janette, Renee or Wendy. It does not matter what the position or title everyone, at one time or another, needs to delegate some of his or her responsibility. It’s not an easy thing to do. We suffer from the worry that if we delegate the job won't be done right or worse, not at all. We are reluctant to let something move outside our control. In some psychologically repressed instances, we are hesitant to delegate responsibility for fear that it will be perceived as a weakness. We fear it will look as if we aren't good at our jobs or that the situation is more than we can handle.

Ever had these thoughts? It’s time to unmask the real issues behind why we are reluctant to delegate. Before we can start we need to identify and understand exactly what delegation entails. Delegation is an art – it is the art of assigning part of your responsibility or empowering someone else to do a portion of your job. It is synonymous with giving out, entrustment, handing over, and allocation. It is not a way to unload unwanted responsibilities or to pawn off some task we hate.

Does delegating make you nervous? Trusting in someone else to get the work done is a tough concept for some leaders. We are all guilty of the superwoman syndrome, which as a point makes delegation a four-letter word. We are so busy doing it all, controlling everything, and thinking we doing it perfectly that it never occurs for us to think of letting someone else do some of the work. Additionally, the control part of the delegation process makes many us uncomfortable with passing on or sharing responsibility. We are sure that no one can do it as well as we can and at times we even need that validation. Well, GET OVER IT.

Delegation is an essential business skill we must all learn. The sooner you learn the ropes of delegating the better your job, health, and outlook will be. The more you learn to delegate, the easier it will become to do so. The key is to delegate with a plan in mind. This equates to more free time to do the things that you really want to do and like to do.

OK – stop thinking about yourself for a minute. The delegation process can have positive outcomes for both parties. It’s a little like grooming your own successor. You trust someone else to take a role in some of the workload. It actually gives that person a path to success. Now, back to you, you can't move up the food chain if you are snowed under with supposed “responsibilities." The best managers are those who learn to delegate. If you are not preparing those under you to accept more responsibility then there is no way you can move on with your career. Remember everyone had to start somewhere. Giving someone else a leg up is a great feel-good thing. Just make sure to make it a positive experience.

Before you run out and start handing off your most loathsome tasks, consider when and what you should delegate. It’s not just a course for unloading the assignments you have to do. Delegation is not just blindly handing off assignments without careful consideration as to who and what assignments should be given. It’s not telling someone else solve a problem you can't. It’s not giving someone part of a job to do and retaining the fun or most visible parts for you. What it is is a series of opportunities or actions that allow you to give some responsibility to others. Ultimately, delegation allows both parties to proceed more effectively and efficiently.

However, some people are truly incapable of delegation. They hold on to the responsibility. Some end up sinking their own ship, but they simply cannot imagine delegating. Control is a big part of it, but there are other concerns for those who are reluctant to delegate.

• You are superwoman. You can have it and do it all.

• It’s quicker to do it yourself - no time to train someone.

• No one can do it as well as you can.

• You are afraid delegation will be seen as a weakness.

• You believe that being overworked equates to being needed.

• You are worried that your job may be in jeopardy.

Consider these factors when deciding whether or what to delegate.

• It’s always best to start small. A small task is more easily managed and will enable you to discern whether your faith in delegating to a particular person is justified.

• Delegate tasks to only those people you trust and those who have good business acumen. Any project can get off tract, but don't start off on the wrong foot by picking the wrong person to begin with.

• Spend additional time with a first time delegate.

• Make sure you cover thoroughly how you expect the communication to flow. Maintain open lines of communication. Encourage the delegate to discuss any problem with you immediately (You don’t want any surprises).

• Discuss probable outcomes and any unusual problems that might surface.

• Control the process but don't control the outcome. Give autonomy to the delegate to proceed in there own manner after giving them the guidelines first.

• Encourage initiative and keep an open mind. The project may not follow the initial directions. If things aren't going well don't snatch the project back. It’s important to build a rapport and comfort factor not only with this delegate but with others who you might assign work too. Keep in mind that you may not get any takers in the future if your reputation is one of an Indian giver.

• Keep feedback positive and don't hover. The whole purpose in assigning the project was to free up your time.

• Treat the delegate as an equal. This is not a parent child relationship. You are building business bonds and strengthening lines of communication. Don’t micro manage the situation.

• Remember you need to evaluate the delegate’s performance. Don't gloss over a job poorly done just because you need to pass out other assignments. If the outcome is negative turn it into a positive experience.

Discover the easy way to make yourself stand out from others. How to become an expert in your field; How to write a better resume; How to write a personal press release; How to accomplish things no one else is doing and to get people to think about you in ways they have not thought before and much more including critical checklists for those important business meetings.

This indispensable workbook will show you specific ways to accomplish your personal branding goals and launch your career into the stratosphere. We have done all the work for you with guidelines, cheat sheets and easy-to-use templates to customize for your own use.

So don't put off building your brand any longer. Don't wait till your associates get your promotion or raise or even a better job.

Order Packaging Yourself now @ http://www.packaginguniversity.com/pkgustorefront.htm

If you find that the strategies and tactics in these materials don’t work for you or in your business, we don’t feel like we should keep your money. We want you to try them for 30 days with zero risk.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=JoAnn_Hines

There are a number of issues to consider:

Blocks to creativity and organisational culture

What are the blocks to creativity and how can they be overcome? We can all be more creative, so what is stopping us? There are many blocks such as evaluation apprehension (in its many forms) and lack of adequate finance and resources. Separating creative from critical thinking, incremental productivity, tools that draw out tacit knowledge and using frameworks to trigger flow are some of the effective unblocking techniques. What is psychological safety and freedom? What properties of an organisational culture cultivate productivity?

Organisational structure

What properties of an organisational structure most foster creativity? There are many reasons why an entity has a particular organisational structure: history, logistics, market segmentation, product line, strategy and so forth. It is often unreasonable to ask a firm to change its organisational structure, so how do we get around this problem?

Group structure

What is the most effective team structure? Many people who are acknowledged to have made great contributions to society have worked alone, but it is very easy for individuals to go "off track" and feedback is required to some degree, as well as other things. It is also very difficult to separate the idea from its influences. Many others work in pairs or small teams, as this reduces the negative effects of large groups. Successful firms generally start off as very small, creative enterprises. Many people think that brainstorming in large groups enhances creativity, but large groups bring with them politics, status differentials, group think, dilution of ideas and conformity among other things.

Learn more…

The Complete MBA dissertation on Creativity Management and other tools can be found at http://managing-creativity.com/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop, MBA

**********************************

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made, the author's name is retained and the link to our site URL remains active.

Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. His specialities include Knowledge Management and Creativity and Innovation Management. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached at http://managing-creativity.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kal_Bishop

There is a big difference between how well you think your school is performing to how it actually is! You measure exactly how your business is performing accurately by keeping statistics like keeping score in a game.

Statistics are like the dials in an aeroplane’s cockpit; imagine getting on a plane with no dials! How comfortable would you be just relying on the pilot’s judgement on how fast and high he needed to fly, which was the right direction to go in and how much fuel he had left to get you safely to your destination? Scary thought right, well running your business without keeping statistics is exactly the same, your heading for a crash!

Statistics help you do the following:

Set goals and track your progress

You can set yearly and monthly goals for your school such as no of students or income to be achieved. Keeping daily statistics will help you to monitor your progress towards your goals and you can go back to previous statistics to help set future goals by realistically looking at previous performance.

Identify areas of weakness that you can get to work on

For example you had 10 enquiries in a week and only 2 were converted to appointment. This would tell you that something is going wrong with the telephone script – action, practice role playing the scripts.

Improve the results you get from the same number students

By being aware of figures you are currently achieving and working on systems to improve results.

i.e. your previous enquiry to appointment stat was 50%, so from 10 calls you made 5 appointments. You improved your percentage by 30% and you now achieved 8 appointments from those 10 calls, which means you have an extra 3 people that you have the opportunity to enrol in your school. That’s working smarter and not harder!

You can download the daily stats form from this section, record your statistics daily and then start reviewing them on a weekly basis.

"What You Are Aware Of, You Control, What You Are Unaware Of Controls You!"

Lee Mainprizer is a martial arts business expert and founder of http://www.mainstructor.com "the ultimate instructors tool"

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Mainprize

Different methods of allocating costs

First, we will start with Direct Costs. In the previous article I indicated that it is advisable to allocate direct or (known) costs to the product or service whenever possible.

There are a number of methods used. The most common one being used by service type industries such as the local mechanic:-

DIRECT COSTS

Job Costing

For some, this takes the form of a docket book in which they write down each expense relative to the job being undertaken. In larger workshops and small factories there is often a job sheet or card that follows the product along the assembly line. These can be specially printed, or with many of the Small to Medium Enterprises (SME) the accounting package used may print one.

On jobs that extend over a longer period if these cards are collected and entered into the accounting program then the value of Work in Progress for each job may be obtained. It is also possible to see how actual costs compare with those in the quotation.

One of these expenses is of course Workshop Labour. Few firms are ever able to track each employee's direct labour cost as the employee often is shifted from one job to another too frequently for this to be practicable. The clerical cost of this recording of labour is also prohibitive.

Once a firm has been able to establish a cost history for labour the most sensible way of allocating this is to establish how many different categories of employee are on the payroll. That is, an average cost may be established for a supervisor, another average cost for leading hands, another for permament tradesmen and yet another for casual employees. With apprentices, there may be different average rates based on years of training.

All these labour rates should take into account not only gross wages paid, but also such extra costs as employer superannuation contribution, WorkCover levy, any regular tool or car allowances, and any salary sacrifice costs that affect the employer.

Process or Batch Costing.

The theory here is not much different to Job Costing except that instead of the costs being allocated to a specific job to be charged out, they are being allocated to a production run of some product. The end result is that an average cost can be established for one of a number of products being processed at one time.

Standard Costs

These are established by larger firms such as automotive manufacturers. When a production run is scheduled the costs are accumulated at standard contract rates as soon as Purchase Orders are issued. A detailed analysis is subsequently undertaken of the costs of over or under supply of materials and labour. Even the costs of wear and tear of plant are charged against the run based on standard machine hours that should occur. I consider that it is unlikely that any SME would need to consider seven variable Standard Cost reporting.

INDIRECT COSTS

These are usually associated with the cost of running the front office, sales team costs, advertising and any other cost that can not be reasonably allocated direct to the Job or Process Cost.

As mentioned in the previous article all costs have to be recovered, and provision made for replacement of plant (as distinct from depreciation of historic cost by the Tax Agent), and of course a profit for the investors. The most usual method of applying these indirect or on-costs is as a percentage to be added to the Direct or known costs.

Modern accounting software for SME provides for Plussage to be added to purchase cost e.g. in MoneyWorks Gold, and when the selling price is shown, the percentage mark-up can be set to also show on the screen. This then enables the salesperson to know how much they can safely reduce the price if bargaining is practiced.

A future article will deal with the concepts of budget setting in more detail.

Peter Robertson ACIS, CPA, PNA is not a Registered Tax Agent, however, he had forty years of practical experience covering both industrial and government accounting, and including efficiency and effectiveness audits. He has decided to pass on some proven costing and general accounting theories in the hopes that it may assist prospective entrepreneurs. Peter may be contacted through http://www.money-works.com.au.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Robertson

Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a national business group with a focus on health, recently took a survey among 275 employers to find out the key issues affecting employee productivity.

Their findings show the stress was identified by 72% of the employers as a key issue relative to productivity.

Stress has been building in the workplace as employers find it increasingly necessary to have more work done by fewer employees. The result has been that employees have been asked to take on additional responsibilities, work longer hours, cross train with other departments, and do more multitasking.

After stress in the survey, 59% said a key issue affecting employee productivity were personal and family issues. Personal and family issues include such items as day care, family illnesses, marital stress, financial troubles, and other personal issues.

Following close behind in third place, 58% cited chronic medical conditions. This issue barely squeaked ahead of unscheduled absences.

Stress becomes an issue because so many people are unable to deal with stress. A certain amount of stress is necessary and an important part of daily life. However people often will ignore this routine stress until it amplifies and starts to take a toll on their life.

What you can do

As an employer, you are able to do many things to help reduce stress in the workplace. Here are just some suggestions:

==> increase the lighting, particularly natural lighting, it has many workplaces as possible

==> do not overcrowd your employees, provide as much space as possiblespread live plants throughout the workplace as they create calmness

==> align an individual employees ability to handle stress with the normal stress of each position -- the use of employee of assessments is vital in this endeavor

==> encourage employees to cut absenteeism through programs that reward attendance or unused sick payprovide stress management classes for your employees -- companies like Max Impact offers viable stress management classes on-site or online

The bottom line with stress is that an employer can have a huge impact on the stress levels of the employees.

Through proper training and proper site management, stress can be significantly reduced.

------------------

Rick Weaver is an accomplished business executive with a wealth of experience in retail, market analysis, supply chain enhancement, project management, team building, and process improvement. Building on a strong retail background, Rick moved to full supply-chain involvement, working with hundreds of companies to improve sales, processes, and bottom-line results.

As Rick's interaction in varied industries expanded, he became troubled as he increasingly noticed that people and companies had untapped or unfocused talent.

Coupled with Rick’s passion for training and development, popular style of interactive workshops and seminars, and strong desire for continuous improvement, he founded Max Impact Corporation to be singularly focused on helping individuals and organizations achieve high performance.

Rick is a popular speaker at seminars, workshops, and conferences. He has spoken in 43 states, including Alaska and Hawaii, and in Canada and Puerto Rico. He is available to speak at groups of all sizes.

Contact Rick at 248-802-6138 or [email protected].

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rick_Weaver

I recently had the opportunity to speak at a regional conference for long-term care professionals. It was very exciting to be selected to speak and to share what I had learned about employee online and computer based education. Not to mention a little bragging about our new corporate education center.

While I was waiting for my scheduled time to present I couldn’t help but notice how many speakers were not practicing administrators or directors of nursing. The session’s speakers were mostly consultants, academics or government experts.

The underlining message the speakers were giving was buy my services and I’ll give you this information for a fee. Which on its face value is fine if that is the only view you wish to evaluate. We flock to hear these experts pronounce what should be done to solve our problems simply because in most cases it is easy.

It got me wondering why more practitioners aren’t sharing their knowledge and experience. After all we are the ones with the hands on experience and practical knowledge that is applied everyday on the job. We constantly solve problems and create new opportunities for success without the help of consultants, academics or government experts. But we don’t share our knowledge and experience.

Sharing information, knowledge, experience, or a technique is the best and fastest way to become famous, particularly if your knowledge helps someone solve or prevent a problem. I also believe it is a hallmark of a skilled professional. So why don’t we seek out other practitioners, a fellow administrator, director of nursing, department manager or supervisor to learn from, to give presentations with or to write articles with? It is inexpensive, quick, fun and you share similar experiences. It is more practical and does not require any translation from a consultant, academic or government expert who has never done what we do daily to apply the information immediately on the job.

Is it because we are uncomfortable speaking in public, or self-conscious of our writing skills, don’t have the time, or don’t know where to start? Are we concerned about what others will say about our efforts? No one knows more about the job than those of us who are doing the job. Or are we afraid we will lose a base of power and control that then makes us vulnerable to others taking our positions? Or is it that we are simply more interested in entertainment that learning?

It is time to place that self-consciousness behind you and never look back, creating a legacy for future administrators, director of nurses, department managers and supervisors. It is a gift that will live beyond our tenure in our profession. Don’t think about it, do it. Share your knowledge and experience.

Pick up a pen, sit at your keyboard and write an article, a book, a course, give a speech, leave an easier path for the next generation of health care workers. Ask for help from a friend if you’re not sure where to start. In fact E-mail me [email protected] and I’ll help you get your message out and make you famous!

There is no try, there is only do! And I know you can do it.

Kenneth E. Strong, Jr., MS, is co-founder 0f http://www.greateststrategies.com a web based community devoted to educating, supporting and developing life-long learners

Mr. Strong has been a Health Care executive for 30 years. Mr. Strong received a Bachelor of Science in Health Services Administration from Providence College and a Master of Science in Health Care Administration from Salve Regina College He has had articles published by the American Geriatric Society and has spoken on a variety of topics for the American College of Health Care Administrators and the New England Not-for-Profit Providers Conferences. Mr. Strong has also served as Adjunct Professor at Stonehill College. He is also an evaluator for the Continuing Care Accreditation Commission and a certified Retirement Housing Professional. He is certified by Walden University as an online instructor and certified by Langevin Learning Services as an Instructional Designer/Developer and Master trainer.

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The cost, speed and quality leaps of Lean Six Sigma are obtained through the application of appropriate tools. We conclude by reviewing some tools from the Analyse, Improve and Control phases of DMAIC.

The Analyse Phase

Purpose of Analyse:

In implementing Lean Six Sigma this phase identifies and verifies the relationships between causes and their effects. It helps in the discovery of factors that affect key process inputs and outputs. The analyse phase seeks to find patterns in the data obtained during the measure phase in order to make sense of it all.

Tools for Analyse:

Scatter Plots:

Two variables are plotted against each other on a graph. The resulting picture gives a visual indication of how well correlated the variables are.

Regression Analysis:

This can be regarded as a mathematical equivalent of the scatter plot. Here an equation is derived to express the dependence of one of the variables on one or more others. The equation can then be used to predict values of the dependent variable for given values of the independent variables.

Fish bone diagram:

A large arrow is drawn with the effect whose causes are being analysed show on the right at the end of the arrow. Main categories of probable causes are shown on branches emanating from the main line. For each category, detailed causes are brainstormed and indicated against the corresponding branch. x-process

Time Trap Analysis and Capacity Constraint Identification: A time trap is a process activity that inserts delays into the process and may be due to capacity constraints or other operational inefficiencies. Whatever the source of the delays, it finally shows up as long lead times. A capacity constraint is a sub-process or activity whose output per unit time is less than that of the preceding and/or subsequent sub-process or activity.

Non Value-Added Analysis:

From the as is value stream map, each process activity is examined to determine its contribution to customer requirements. Those which do not contribute to customer valued outcomes and are not necessary for other business reasons (e.g. regulatory requirements) are eliminated.

The Improve Phase

Purpose of Improve:

In the previous phases, defects (variability outside the customer's specifications) and wastes (non-value added activities and costs) have been identified, measured and their causes found through analysis. The purpose of the improve phase is to eliminate the defects and wastes.

Tools for Improve:

To Be Process Maps: A map of the desired process is created, in which identified non-value added activities have been eliminated

Setup reduction:

From the capacity constraint and time trap analysis carried out in the Analyse phase, we can determine whether the major source of delay was due to long setup times. In that case, the following steps are applied.

* Document and classify setup procedures

* Improve organisation-Study work area layout and analyse required movements. Use 5S if necessary to remove inefficiencies. Brainstorm improvement opportunities in the setup steps.

* Where possible convert internal (setup activities that are done with the machine down) to external (setup activities that do not affect the running of the machine) procedures. In transactional situations, this means converting serial procedures to parallel.

* Improve the remaining internal setup procedures.

* Eliminate need for adjustments.

5S: This lean tool results in a clean and organised work area, with a place for everything and everything in its place. The steps of the methodology are:

* Sort

* Straighten

* Shine

* Standardise

* Sustain

Applying 5S eliminates inefficiencies resulting from lack of organisation by reducing the amount of unnecessary motion and transportation.

Total Productive Maintenance

Where downtime is a major cause of low process cycle efficiency, total productive maintenance, which aims to reduce the percentage of downtime, should be applied.

Mistake Proofing:

By proper design of the processes and equipment, the possibility of errors (and with them the need for inspections) is eliminated. Examples are designing online forms that cannot be submitted if data is incompletely entered, or if the wrong type of data is entered. Similar to this are parts that can only be assembled in one way.

Design Of Experiments:

This is the statistical design of experiments to enable you determine the impact of two or more variables on another variable of interest. This tool also accounts for interaction effects between variables.

Hypothesis Testing:

This is a statistical tool for testing the validity of assumptions. In this case the assumptions might relate to the impact of causes on effects. For example, if performance is suspected to be operator dependent, tests might be carried out to verify whether observed differences in performance between two operators are statistically significant.

Solution Selection Matrix:

Generally there will be more than one possible solution identified to the problems under consideration. The selection matrix compares them using a set of weighted criteria to determine the most appropriate.

Project Management:

Actual implementation of agreed solutions will be in the form of a project, and will require use of the usual project management tools for planning, communication, risk assessment, and monitoring.

The Control Phase

Purpose of Control:

The purpose of the control phase is to ensure that the gains from the improve phase become embedded in the organisation.

Tools for Control:

Standard Operating Procedures:

The improved process design will certainly include new operating practices. These must be codified in an operating manual to which operators can refer. Having a standard operating manual helps prevent slippage into old inefficient practices.

Statistical Process Control:

Control charts, reflecting the improved capabilities of the process must be constructed and used to monitor process performance over time.

Visual Management:

The essence of visual management is captured in the idea that an employee should be able to walk through the work area and come away with 90% of the information. This is achieved through 5S organisation, illustrations of process steps placed close to the process, SIPOC diagrams and value stream maps, the use of shadow boards etc.

Conclusion

The list of tools considered in this article and the last are only a few of the several available. On any one project, only a few are likely to be used.

Samuel Okoro is the CEO of Leapfrog Alliance Ltd, a management training and consulting firm that helps organisations to reduce costs and improve quality through better business processes. His personal passion is to help move Third World business to world-class levels. For further details please visit http://leapfrogalliance.com or email
[email protected]

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It’s late Friday afternoon and everyone is packaging up to go home for the weekend except Janette. Her desk is still piled high with all those important assignments. Why does Janette still have work when no one else does? She just can't let go. Others have a life, but she's too busy ensuring her importance to the company and working late. If she has her finger in every piece of the pie it will make her more important? The reality is that she does not impress anyone. Others may question her ability to perform (she always has work to do and has to stay light to do it.) The favorable portrait she hopes to paint may actually be a negative one. What can Janette do? She can set boundaries. Pick the assignments she can accomplish and do well. She should delegate the rest.

Renee has just been promoted; she is taking the workload for three people while her team has nothing to do. She is overcome with the need to validate her recent promotion. It’s important to her to show the boss just how well placed his trust was in her by giving her the promotion. The reality is that her boss may reconsider just why he placed his faith in her. He didn't promote her to become a workhorse but rather to lead a team of successful productive team members.

What can Renee do? She can start by evaluating the workload. Does she really need to handle each and every piece of paper? It’s imperative that she regroup and let go of some of the tasks she has assigned herself. She will be validated in her boss’s eyes with happy and productive employees who work together for a common goal. She needs to lead and delegate responsibilities to ensure the team’s success.

Wendy is the new kid on the block. She is a whirlwind of activity. She's sure she is on the fast track and accepts any and all assignments that come her way (whether she can accomplish it or not). Wendy equates looking busy with productivity. She is also a little full of herself and believes she can do any assignment better than her peers. She can't say no to what she perceives as her opportunity. She is reluctant to share the glory. What can Wendy do? The reality is that Wendy can't do it all. She can begin by taking a serious look at her skill set. What does she do best and most effectively? What does she like to do and what does she not enjoy doing? From this list she needs to hone down the essential responsibilities. She needs to pick those that she can really bond with and delegate the rest.

It does not matter what if you are a Janette, Renee or Wendy. It does not matter what the position or title everyone, at one time or another, needs to delegate some of his or her responsibility. It’s not an easy thing to do. We suffer from the worry that if we delegate the job won't be done right or worse, not at all. We are reluctant to let something move outside our control. In some psychologically repressed instances, we are hesitant to delegate responsibility for fear that it will be perceived as a weakness. We fear it will look as if we aren't good at our jobs or that the situation is more than we can handle.

Ever had these thoughts? It’s time to unmask the real issues behind why we are reluctant to delegate. Before we can start we need to identify and understand exactly what delegation entails. Delegation is an art – it is the art of assigning part of your responsibility or empowering someone else to do a portion of your job. It is synonymous with giving out, entrustment, handing over, and allocation. It is not a way to unload unwanted responsibilities or to pawn off some task we hate.

Does delegating make you nervous? Trusting in someone else to get the work done is a tough concept for some leaders. We are all guilty of the superwoman syndrome, which as a point makes delegation a four-letter word. We are so busy doing it all, controlling everything, and thinking we doing it perfectly that it never occurs for us to think of letting someone else do some of the work. Additionally, the control part of the delegation process makes many us uncomfortable with passing on or sharing responsibility. We are sure that no one can do it as well as we can and at times we even need that validation. Well, GET OVER IT.

Delegation is an essential business skill we must all learn. The sooner you learn the ropes of delegating the better your job, health, and outlook will be. The more you learn to delegate, the easier it will become to do so. The key is to delegate with a plan in mind. This equates to more free time to do the things that you really want to do and like to do.

OK – stop thinking about yourself for a minute. The delegation process can have positive outcomes for both parties. It’s a little like grooming your own successor. You trust someone else to take a role in some of the workload. It actually gives that person a path to success. Now, back to you, you can't move up the food chain if you are snowed under with supposed “responsibilities." The best managers are those who learn to delegate. If you are not preparing those under you to accept more responsibility then there is no way you can move on with your career. Remember everyone had to start somewhere. Giving someone else a leg up is a great feel-good thing. Just make sure to make it a positive experience.

Before you run out and start handing off your most loathsome tasks, consider when and what you should delegate. It’s not just a course for unloading the assignments you have to do. Delegation is not just blindly handing off assignments without careful consideration as to who and what assignments should be given. It’s not telling someone else solve a problem you can't. It’s not giving someone part of a job to do and retaining the fun or most visible parts for you. What it is is a series of opportunities or actions that allow you to give some responsibility to others. Ultimately, delegation allows both parties to proceed more effectively and efficiently.

However, some people are truly incapable of delegation. They hold on to the responsibility. Some end up sinking their own ship, but they simply cannot imagine delegating. Control is a big part of it, but there are other concerns for those who are reluctant to delegate.

• You are superwoman. You can have it and do it all.

• It’s quicker to do it yourself - no time to train someone.

• No one can do it as well as you can.

• You are afraid delegation will be seen as a weakness.

• You believe that being overworked equates to being needed.

• You are worried that your job may be in jeopardy.

Consider these factors when deciding whether or what to delegate.

• It’s always best to start small. A small task is more easily managed and will enable you to discern whether your faith in delegating to a particular person is justified.

• Delegate tasks to only those people you trust and those who have good business acumen. Any project can get off tract, but don't start off on the wrong foot by picking the wrong person to begin with.

• Spend additional time with a first time delegate.

• Make sure you cover thoroughly how you expect the communication to flow. Maintain open lines of communication. Encourage the delegate to discuss any problem with you immediately (You don’t want any surprises).

• Discuss probable outcomes and any unusual problems that might surface.

• Control the process but don't control the outcome. Give autonomy to the delegate to proceed in there own manner after giving them the guidelines first.

• Encourage initiative and keep an open mind. The project may not follow the initial directions. If things aren't going well don't snatch the project back. It’s important to build a rapport and comfort factor not only with this delegate but with others who you might assign work too. Keep in mind that you may not get any takers in the future if your reputation is one of an Indian giver.

• Keep feedback positive and don't hover. The whole purpose in assigning the project was to free up your time.

• Treat the delegate as an equal. This is not a parent child relationship. You are building business bonds and strengthening lines of communication. Don’t micro manage the situation.

• Remember you need to evaluate the delegate’s performance. Don't gloss over a job poorly done just because you need to pass out other assignments. If the outcome is negative turn it into a positive experience.

Discover the easy way to make yourself stand out from others. How to become an expert in your field; How to write a better resume; How to write a personal press release; How to accomplish things no one else is doing and to get people to think about you in ways they have not thought before and much more including critical checklists for those important business meetings.

This indispensable workbook will show you specific ways to accomplish your personal branding goals and launch your career into the stratosphere. We have done all the work for you with guidelines, cheat sheets and easy-to-use templates to customize for your own use.

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If you find that the strategies and tactics in these materials don’t work for you or in your business, we don’t feel like we should keep your money. We want you to try them for 30 days with zero risk.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=JoAnn_Hines

There are a number of issues to consider:

Blocks to creativity and organisational culture

What are the blocks to creativity and how can they be overcome? We can all be more creative, so what is stopping us? There are many blocks such as evaluation apprehension (in its many forms) and lack of adequate finance and resources. Separating creative from critical thinking, incremental productivity, tools that draw out tacit knowledge and using frameworks to trigger flow are some of the effective unblocking techniques. What is psychological safety and freedom? What properties of an organisational culture cultivate productivity?

Organisational structure

What properties of an organisational structure most foster creativity? There are many reasons why an entity has a particular organisational structure: history, logistics, market segmentation, product line, strategy and so forth. It is often unreasonable to ask a firm to change its organisational structure, so how do we get around this problem?

Group structure

What is the most effective team structure? Many people who are acknowledged to have made great contributions to society have worked alone, but it is very easy for individuals to go "off track" and feedback is required to some degree, as well as other things. It is also very difficult to separate the idea from its influences. Many others work in pairs or small teams, as this reduces the negative effects of large groups. Successful firms generally start off as very small, creative enterprises. Many people think that brainstorming in large groups enhances creativity, but large groups bring with them politics, status differentials, group think, dilution of ideas and conformity among other things.

Learn more…

The Complete MBA dissertation on Creativity Management and other tools can be found at http://managing-creativity.com/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop, MBA

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You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made, the author's name is retained and the link to our site URL remains active.

Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. His specialities include Knowledge Management and Creativity and Innovation Management. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached at http://managing-creativity.com/

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There is a big difference between how well you think your school is performing to how it actually is! You measure exactly how your business is performing accurately by keeping statistics like keeping score in a game.

Statistics are like the dials in an aeroplane’s cockpit; imagine getting on a plane with no dials! How comfortable would you be just relying on the pilot’s judgement on how fast and high he needed to fly, which was the right direction to go in and how much fuel he had left to get you safely to your destination? Scary thought right, well running your business without keeping statistics is exactly the same, your heading for a crash!

Statistics help you do the following:

Set goals and track your progress

You can set yearly and monthly goals for your school such as no of students or income to be achieved. Keeping daily statistics will help you to monitor your progress towards your goals and you can go back to previous statistics to help set future goals by realistically looking at previous performance.

Identify areas of weakness that you can get to work on

For example you had 10 enquiries in a week and only 2 were converted to appointment. This would tell you that something is going wrong with the telephone script – action, practice role playing the scripts.

Improve the results you get from the same number students

By being aware of figures you are currently achieving and working on systems to improve results.

i.e. your previous enquiry to appointment stat was 50%, so from 10 calls you made 5 appointments. You improved your percentage by 30% and you now achieved 8 appointments from those 10 calls, which means you have an extra 3 people that you have the opportunity to enrol in your school. That’s working smarter and not harder!

You can download the daily stats form from this section, record your statistics daily and then start reviewing them on a weekly basis.

"What You Are Aware Of, You Control, What You Are Unaware Of Controls You!"

Lee Mainprizer is a martial arts business expert and founder of http://www.mainstructor.com "the ultimate instructors tool"

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Mainprize

Different methods of allocating costs

First, we will start with Direct Costs. In the previous article I indicated that it is advisable to allocate direct or (known) costs to the product or service whenever possible.

There are a number of methods used. The most common one being used by service type industries such as the local mechanic:-

DIRECT COSTS

Job Costing

For some, this takes the form of a docket book in which they write down each expense relative to the job being undertaken. In larger workshops and small factories there is often a job sheet or card that follows the product along the assembly line. These can be specially printed, or with many of the Small to Medium Enterprises (SME) the accounting package used may print one.

On jobs that extend over a longer period if these cards are collected and entered into the accounting program then the value of Work in Progress for each job may be obtained. It is also possible to see how actual costs compare with those in the quotation.

One of these expenses is of course Workshop Labour. Few firms are ever able to track each employee's direct labour cost as the employee often is shifted from one job to another too frequently for this to be practicable. The clerical cost of this recording of labour is also prohibitive.

Once a firm has been able to establish a cost history for labour the most sensible way of allocating this is to establish how many different categories of employee are on the payroll. That is, an average cost may be established for a supervisor, another average cost for leading hands, another for permament tradesmen and yet another for casual employees. With apprentices, there may be different average rates based on years of training.

All these labour rates should take into account not only gross wages paid, but also such extra costs as employer superannuation contribution, WorkCover levy, any regular tool or car allowances, and any salary sacrifice costs that affect the employer.

Process or Batch Costing.

The theory here is not much different to Job Costing except that instead of the costs being allocated to a specific job to be charged out, they are being allocated to a production run of some product. The end result is that an average cost can be established for one of a number of products being processed at one time.

Standard Costs

These are established by larger firms such as automotive manufacturers. When a production run is scheduled the costs are accumulated at standard contract rates as soon as Purchase Orders are issued. A detailed analysis is subsequently undertaken of the costs of over or under supply of materials and labour. Even the costs of wear and tear of plant are charged against the run based on standard machine hours that should occur. I consider that it is unlikely that any SME would need to consider seven variable Standard Cost reporting.

INDIRECT COSTS

These are usually associated with the cost of running the front office, sales team costs, advertising and any other cost that can not be reasonably allocated direct to the Job or Process Cost.

As mentioned in the previous article all costs have to be recovered, and provision made for replacement of plant (as distinct from depreciation of historic cost by the Tax Agent), and of course a profit for the investors. The most usual method of applying these indirect or on-costs is as a percentage to be added to the Direct or known costs.

Modern accounting software for SME provides for Plussage to be added to purchase cost e.g. in MoneyWorks Gold, and when the selling price is shown, the percentage mark-up can be set to also show on the screen. This then enables the salesperson to know how much they can safely reduce the price if bargaining is practiced.

A future article will deal with the concepts of budget setting in more detail.

Peter Robertson ACIS, CPA, PNA is not a Registered Tax Agent, however, he had forty years of practical experience covering both industrial and government accounting, and including efficiency and effectiveness audits. He has decided to pass on some proven costing and general accounting theories in the hopes that it may assist prospective entrepreneurs. Peter may be contacted through http://www.money-works.com.au.

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