Archive for Better Management
01.26.10
Posted in Better Management, Marketing Stuff, Miscellaneous at 4:21 am by admin
Standing out at a Career Faire can make a difference in your career search. Career Faires are starting to pick up, and Dice is running some nice ones, called Targeted Job Fairs. At a Bay Area Career Faire in January, 10 companies as showing up, and Dice has 82 career fairs scheduled for this year across the States.
How do you rise above the crowd at a Career Faire? The rivalry can be sizeable, but you can help yourself jump out from the herd with early planning. At AA-Careers, we have a straight-forward 6-step process to get ready. Planning to go? Here’s how to prepare:
First, investigate the companies that are going and pick your targets. Use the internet to check out the organizations that are there before you go. Go to their sites and see if they have their openings posted. Pick a moderate number to go after, and get ready to spend an hour or more researching each one. It’s hard to do more than eight in a day, and four to six is a much more reasonable target. For each hiring company, you want to know: recent news, key product lines, and exectuve names. Try to see if you know anyone at the target companies. You will end up with with a page or two of research for each company/job.
Second, if there are job postings on the web, read them to see what the company is looking for. Create a mapping of your achievements and skills to the prerequisites of the job. Make the language match. If the hiring company calls customers "clients", your resume should do the same thing. The accomplishments should be written in the style of the hiring organization.
Third, create a ‘brief sales pitch’ for each potential organization/job combination. Write down a ninety second ‘thumbnail’ that you can repeat out loud showing why you are a special prospect for that position. You’ll use this in your resume and when you meet people at the job stall.
Fourth, modify your resume for each job type. The objective on your resume should exactly match the position you’re going after. The executive summary should be a written form of your “mini sales pitch” for the job. Then choose the achievements and skills that most clearly match the job prerequisites. Especially at a Career Fair, the purpose of your resume is a sales tool for you – to get you on-site job interviews. It should be obvious to see that you’re a match based on your resume.
Fifth, dress and prepare as if you’re doing on-site interviews. Dress nicely and be fittingly groomed. Don’t over do-it (this isn’t a date!) and don’t underdress (no jeans or t-shirts, no matter how much you paid for them). Avoid strong cologne or perfume.
Finally, rehearse your ‘mini-sales-pitch’. Collect your research and the resume for each opportunity - bring a couple of copies for each – and put each in a clearly marked folder. Keep them in a light briefcase or folio.
Remember to smile, and good hunting!
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11.14.09
Posted in Better Management, Miscellaneous at 5:10 pm by admin
Numerous managers believe that, by providing staff with training in workplace safety, they now have everything they require to prevent an emergency. The truth of the matter is that, regardless your industry, staff should have much more than just a basic education in health & safety and risk assessment. You need to supply your staff with an enthusiastic supervisor, not to mention provide the right safety gear and give them the chance to practice.
All teams must have a great supervisor to watch over the shop floor, however this individual also needs to fulfill another function on the floor. The supervisor you employ is required to see the necessity of health & safety instruction and have the ability to get everyone excited about it. On top of ensuring conformity with health & safety regulations, a supervisor’s job also often includes maintaining employee efficiency. Naturally it’s not easy to achieve all this at once. An effective supervisor is advised to possess an extensive understanding of the industry best practice and manufacturing operations in addition to a high standard of understanding of the safety laws, the identification of hazards, and first aid.
It’s just not enough to offer your employees health & safety education. Your employees need to gain practical experience of risk assessment and the recognition of problem areas. They have to know how to eradicate safety risks and also how best to manage when disaster strikes. Only when these processes become automatic are staff properly educated. Training is ineffective without the necessary safety supplies. Without the appropriate equipment or alternatively should workers find that equipment is not functioning correctly in a crisis, even the most advanced instruction is not going to help them. It is essential to perform thorough checks on a regular basis to make sure that all the required apparatus is there and that it’s all in good repair. If an item is in poor order, be sure to get it remedied as promptly as is feasible and return it to the proper location. Health & safety training is important for the well-being of your personnel, however they must have good quality equipment, the opportunity to practise, and a supervisor with infectious enthusiasm. Then following all the safety regulations before long be part of the workforce’s working habits rather than something everyone has to try to remember.
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10.24.09
Posted in Better Management, Healthy Stuff, Miscellaneous at 6:49 am by admin
Nowadays some human resource managers feel that, since each employee has enough health and safety training, they now have everything they might need to prevent an emergency. In reality however, staff need more than simply education in health and safety legislation. Equipping staff, selecting a good supervisior and coordinating regular practise are essential to the safety of staff. Each team must have an approachable supervisor to oversee employee performance, yet this individual also needs to take another function in the company. Whomever you employ as the supervisor needs to realise the importance of health and safety instruction and have the ability to share their excitement about it. On top of checking conformity with health and safety legislation, the supervisor must also make sure that each employee performs efficiently. This is not a easy job. Excellent product knowledge is a must for a supervisory role in addition to a high standard of understanding of current regulations with regard to safety, risk appraisal and emergency assistance techniques.
Just having health and safety training really is not enough for your staff. They need to practise risk assessment and the recognition of hazards. Staff in addition must have insights into the required safeguards that they will need to take as well as understanding what to do when disaster strikes. Your workers are only really prepared when everything has become automatic.
Safety equipment is just as important to the your workers’ well being as the education itself. Without the right supplies or if workers see that equipment is not working correctly in a crisis, the education they have already completed will have been wasted.
You must check on a regular basis to ascertain if you have all the essential apparatus and to check that it’s working well. If something is in poor order, make sure that it’s remedied ASAP and returned to the proper place. Health and safety education is important for the well-being of your personnel, but they also must have good quality apparatus, frequent practises, and a supervisor who has the sort of enthusiasm that people find infectious. If you implement these steps you should find health and safety legislation will soon become a normal part of working life and no longer something challenging for employees to remember.
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10.05.09
Posted in Better Management, College Education, Help 4 U at 9:06 am by admin
You have graduated from high school or college and now youre standing by for your first true vacancy. You have posted out Curriculum Vitae and have been called in for your elementary job interview. How can you do well at the job interview so you end up being presented the vacancy? It is always worth considering going for a medical interview course
Clothe professionally. No midriff shirts, low-cut blouses or flip-flops since youre going to work and not the beach. While its not necessary to procure a suit, it is specifically important to look professional. If youre trying to get a situation in a old school office such as an accounting firm, do not clothe as if you were going away to a recital. If you are applying for a retail position, you have a little more choice. Rather than list what garments is and is not pleasing, I would tell you to dress as if you were going to meet one of the most critical individuals in your life- since you are!
There are countless other ways in which you could get yourself better ready for your upcoming job interview. You could insure that you know how to get to the locale so that you wouldn’t be late. You could search the unit so that you can ask pertinent questions and try to appear keen and educated. You could ask the current employees what they think of the unit. That way, you will not only be able to better value whether the post is worthy for you, but also learn some valuable insights that could help you secure the post.
First impressions matter, and you aspire to let the interviewer know you hanker after the situation, are willing to work hard and will do your best. You might not necessarily be the most qualified candidate, but still land the job since you were the most outstanding one. Good luck with your job interview!
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08.29.09
Posted in Better Management at 12:33 pm by admin
Numerous businesses think that, if all of their staff have adequate health and safety education, they are adequately equipped to manage any situation. The truth of the matter is that, irrespective your industry, employees should have more than basic training in safety regulations and risk assessment. You must provide your staff with competent supervision, not to mention provide the right safety gear and give them the chance to practice.
A supervisor has a greater role to play than simply general supervision. Your choice of supervisor needs to understand the importance of health and safety instruction and have the ability to encourage others to share their enthusiasm. As well as enforcing all of the rules and regulations, the supervisor must furthermore make sure that employees perform all their tasks well. This isn’t a easy job. The supervisor must have comprehensive understanding of both the industry and manufacturing procedures not to mention an extensive understanding of up-to-date regulations involving safety, risk appraisal and emergency assistance techniques.
Simply providing basic training in health and safety actually isn’t sufficient for your employees. They must get practical experience of risk assessment and the identification of problem areas. Staff have to know how to eliminate safety risks as well as how to react when something unexpected happens. Staff are only totally protected when their training and procedures have become a habit. Education is by all accounts ineffective without the necessary safety gear. If they don’t have apparatus that is necessary, or determine that they’re not working correctly only after a crisis has occurred, even the most advanced training can not help them. Frequent maintanence of your equipment is a necessity. Should you have a fault with your safety equipment, make sure it is mended or call out a maintenance professional as a matter of urgency.
Health and safety education is important for the well-being of your staff, but they require the correct equipment, the chance to practise, and a knowledgeable supervisor who can get everyone excited about being healthy at work. When you implement these steps you will find health and safety legislation will before long be part of the workforce’s working habits and no longer an inconvenience everyone has to try to remember.
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06.06.08
Posted in Better Management at 8:57 pm by admin
It happens easily.
You’re conducting a meeting and suddenly a small side meeting starts. Then two side meetings develop. Soon you have many meetings going at once, and all of them are out of control.
Or maybe someone introduces an unrelated issue. Someone else ridicules the new issue. Everyone laughs, except the person who mentioned the idea. Then someone insults the person who told the joke. Two people stand up and walk out. Others complain that the meeting is a waste of time.
So, how do you prevent things like this from happening?
Or how do you bring your meeting back on track?
Let’s begin with basic strategies for dealing with unproductive behavior in meetings.
Respect other people.
Always treat others with respect, even if they are doing things that seem wrong. Their “bad” behavior could be based on many things, such as a lack of skill, a misunderstanding, or a response to a threat. It could also be a simple mistake. Or maybe they’re expressing an indirect warning, complaint, or cry of pain. If you respond with disrespect, such as with a counterattack, you will make a bad situation worse. They will either retreat, which means they stop contributing to your meeting, or they will retaliate, which can escalate to an argument that ruins your meeting.
Ask questions.
Use questions to find out what is really happening. For example, if someone introduces a new issue, respond by saying, “That sounds interesting, and I wonder how that relates to what we are working on.” Notice that this is a neutral, gentle question. It is not a trick question like, “What are your trying to do, ruin my meeting?” and it is not a command like, “Hey, stick to the topic.” Hostile responses are bad because they put the other person in an awkward position, which always ruins cooperation.
Focus on the behavior.
Your goal is to hold an effective meeting — not teach lessons. If you attempt to punish people, through admonitions, ridicule, or threats, you will make enemies. In the short term, that can ruin the effectiveness of your meeting, and in the long term it can ruin your career. So, when unproductive behavior appears in your meeting, talk about the behavior. For example, if a side conversation starts, you could say, “We seem to have more than one meeting going on now, and that’s preventing us from working on the budget.”
Apply diplomatic courage.
Leaders project strength and confidence; losers project negativity and fear. Detach from the behavior that seems bothersome, realizing it is simply something that the other person is doing. Assume that there is no personal intent to hurt you. Just talk about what is happening and ask for what you want to happen as shown in the above paragraph.
Show what you expect.
Be a model of effective meeting behavior. If it is your meeting, or if you hold a leadership role in your organization, realize that others regard you as the standard for their actions. If you arrive on time for meetings, others will interpret this to mean that they should come to your meetings on time. If you make positive, appropriate contributions in meetings, others will infer that this is what you expect from them.
Apply these strategies to make your meetings effective.
This is the first of a seven part article on Managing Monsters in Meetings.
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Steve Kaye helps leaders hold effective meetings. He is an IAF Certified Professional Facilitator, author, and speaker. His meeting facilitation and leadership workshops create success for everyone. Call 714-528-1300 for details. Visit www.stevekaye.com for a free report.
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05.28.08
Posted in Better Management at 3:38 am by admin
Alistair clearly knew his subject - but what was frightening him was the thought of the major presentation that he was going to be making in a month’s time.
Sheepishly, he acknowledged that he had managed to avoid making presentations in the past - choosing instead to delegate the task to his assistant manager.
But on this occasion, his assistant was working on a two month contract abroad - leaving Alistair with little choice but to get to grips with his fear of standing up in front of two hundred people for an hour.
Firstly, I asked Alistair to describe the emotions he was feeling regarding the prospect of making the presentation. Not surprisingly, he said that he felt overwhelming fear - particularly at the thought of making a fool of himself.
I spoke briefly with Alistair about the sub-conscious mind - and pointed out that its role as a “slave” meant that it would tend to deliver whatever Alistair spent his time thinking about.
By focusing on fear and the thought of making a fool of himself, Alistair was actually asking his sub-conscious mind to make this a reality for him. I cited the example of a client of mine who insisted that every Christmas he would come down with a cold.
Alistair’s eyes lit up with dawning comprehension when I pointed out that my client actually had no need for a cold each Christmas, but that because he believed he would have one, he was effectively programming his mind to produce a cold for him.
What Alistair needed was more than just positive thinking. I asked him to describe how he physically knew that he was experiencing fear. He explained that he felt his throat constricting and his stomach had “butterflies”.
I enquired whether he enjoyed roller coaster rides at fun fairs - and Alistair vigorously nodded and smiled. He acknowledged that before a ride he felt a great sense of anticipation and excitement.
“And how do you physically experience anticipation and excitement?” I asked. Again, Alistair replied that he experienced both emotions physically as throat constriction and butterflies in his stomach.
It wasn’t hard for Alistair to make the connection between the physical sensations that he was experiencing and the labels that he was giving them. After employing a few Neuro Linguistic Programming techniques with him, Alistair was soon able to envisage his forthcoming presentation with a sense of anticipation and excitement.
Finally, I asked him to spend ten minutes each morning and evening focusing on his giving a brilliant presentation - and to imagine the elation he would experience when everyone started clapping at the end of the event, perhaps even giving him a standing ovation!
© Olivia Stefanino 2004
Olivia Stefanino is a leadership development consultant and excecutive coach, who works with blue chip organisations, SMEs and individuals. To find out more - and to download your free e-booklet “128 ways to harness your personal power”, visit http://www.beyourownguru.com
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05.25.08
Posted in Better Management at 6:54 am by admin
The business in the 21st century is far from what it was 200+ years ago. Centuries ago business was mainly traditional. With people or organizations trading goods with other parties for their goods. Now business is fast. The “Global Village” is becoming smaller and smaller. There is a science to running a business. It involves entrepreneurial skills, and the ability to take risks. A major part in running a business is making sure it is efficient. Weather you run your business traditionally or on the information super highway (the internet); it is critical that it be run economically.
Economics involves the way you use your resources. It involves knowing your business’s limits and knowing how to push sales or production to its maximum. Many owners fail to realize the importance of knowing your business’s limits and how to push those limits outwards.
One of the key ways to run your business economically is to understand the numbers behind the receipts and bills. A strong understanding of how money works and the way it relates to a business is important. To achieve this you must keep up to date and have accurate records. A strong knowledge of accounting is very important. Understanding the numbers involved in the business will show you how one decision affects another and what must be done to achieve a particular result.
It is also important to understand how your resources go to work. Placing all your resources and capital in one product, or selling will affect another. For example if you sell books and videos on your website, and you place all your effort, skills and marketing towards selling videos, your book sales will significantly decrease.
Finding a common ground is important. Or placing 100% of your resources into selling one product will make you more efficient and productive when selling that product. For example websites such as www.boxingglobal.com specialize in information about boxing but have a little side focus on other sports. If this website focused on providing information equally the product will not be as rich. Finding a common ground is very important.
A major source of running a business economically is the use of labor. Labor can be defined as any work that is either physical or mental. For you to be economical about your business, you need to make sure your labor (weather it be just you or hundreds of employees) is highly motivated. You need to set goals and reward your labor for work and results.
In economics it is understood that a business can only achieve so much profit. There will be a point where you just can’t earn any more money. For example if you own a local barber shop don’t expect to earn millions of dollars.
For you to reach a point that is beyond your economic limit, you must expand. Economists generally have three major categories to choose from in order to expand your earning limit. This is through labor, resources, and capital.
Labor as I explained above can be both physical and mental. Acquiring a larger or more skilled labor force will push your earning boundary further out. Work and the quality of it will defiantly help your business.
Resources include factors such as the people you know, the places you know, and how close and easily attainable something is. For example if you know Bill Gates, that is a huge resource to have.
The final Major factor is Capital. Capital includes: money, equipment, buildings, or anything that can be considered an asset. Capital maybe the most important of the three resources because, what you put into your business increases the probability that it will be successful.
Every one of the above three categories can then be multiplied into numerous categories. But the above three are very important to expand in order to increase the production possibilities of your business. Keep caution through that expanding too fast in a category will result negatively. The key is to expand slow and steady.
Business’s need to run economically. The decisions you make will directly affect the development of your business. You need to understand how to run a business efficiently and how you will manage your labor, resources and capital.
By: Mark Jacobs
Mark Jacobs is a professional website promoter, promoting sites such as http://www.boxingglobal.com
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04.24.08
Posted in Better Management at 12:51 pm by admin
Before you are going to do something, there is nothing as sensible as goal planning. A plan as we know it is something thought about and chalked out in advance before the real action takes place and is actually a recipe for success. Pretty good definition, huh? I made it up myself.
But then, the word ‘plan’ does not need much of a definition. It has been used so much that it has become quite hackneyed. So, we all know what it means, but how many of us really resort to planning before we start a course of action.
No, I’m not referring to a mental picture that we chart out in our minds that is in one word, vague. I mean a real plan in black and white, that is, put down on a piece of paper. Please do not underestimate the importance of a written down plan. Once we write down something it clears up a lot of hazy areas and opens aspects that we probably overlooked.
And the most important of all is that with a plan and only with a plan can we get a rough estimate at least, of how much time the course of action would take. Plans should always be time bound and there we get the relation between time management and planning. In fact, planning is as fundamental to time management as organizing and prioritizing. The advantages of planning are given below.
The advantages of planning
- Planning helps us to have a better idea about the course of action that we propose to take.
- Planning better defines the course of action that we propose to undertake.
- Planning gives a rough estimate of the time required for a project.
- Planning gives us a fairly good idea about the expenses involved in the project. In fact a budget is also a plan, a financial plan.
- Planning helps us to get prepared for emergencies that may arise during the course of the project.
- A well though about plan gives us a clear idea about what is to be done every day, every week and every month.
- Planning helps avoid duplication of labor.
- If a plan is followed, every one will have a clear idea about his or her role.
A point that I would like to add while we are talking about planning is, we should have both short term plans as well as long term strategy plans. At the same time we should also try to draft out contingency plans to deal with a crisis if it arises. There are lots of good free planning resources online. Just try a search and you’ll have a long list of sites to choose from.
I thought it would be useful for you to have a brief overview of the different steps involved in planning.
The steps in planning are
- Set objectives
- Assess you present situation
- Survey your alternatives
- Decide on the course of action
- Provide for control
- Implement the plan
But whatever be the plan, I again want to stress the point that a plan should always be time bound. As the project moves along, the plan should be flexible in the sense that it should incorporate any changes that might prove necessary once the project is put into action.
Terje Brooks Ellingsen is a writer and internet publisher. He runs the website 1st-Self_Improvement.net Terje is a Sociologist who enjoys contributing to the personal growth and happiness of others. He tries to accomplish this by writing about self help issues from his own experience and knowledge. For example, successful self improvement goal accomplishment and relationship success.
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04.22.08
Posted in Better Management at 3:58 pm by admin
“I have spent many days stringing and unstringing my
instrument while the song I came to sing remains unsung.”
- Rabindranath Tagore
Statistics predict that about 45% of you are setting up your
goals and resolutions for the New Year. Unfortunately, in six
months 46% of the 45% will have lost contact with those
resolutions.
It is part of our human nature to be ever evolving, setting
goals, and heading towards something. It is a wonder to me
that there are so many people helping so many people
accomplish what they want to do. You’d think it would be
easier than that.
What really gets in the way? After 30 years of working with
people to help them get where they want to go, I find that the
number one reason that people don’t get what they say they
want is that they just don’t take action. Not enough action.
Not inspired action. Not prolonged action. Not considered
action. Not informed action.
We live a lot of our life in our heads. Visualization and
imagery are important parts of goal attainment. But when
you spend more time visualizing, imagining and thinking
about your goals, resolutions and intentions than you do
carrying them out, that is pretty much where they are likely to
stay - in your head.
It is true that you can not make something happen by forcing
it into manifestation. So action designed to manipulate
results hardly ever works. And you have very little direct
control on the results of your actions. All you can be
committed to is taking the inspired action and regulating
your relationship with the actions you take.
The reason that people don’t take action is because they
really prefer what they are doing now or they definitely don’t
like the action that is needed to get the results they want.
Sure we would like the results to already be in place. But we
are just not that keen on doing the things to bring about
those results.
What you are doing now and the life you are living now are
perfectly aligned to give you the results that you have now. If
you want something different you have to do something
different. This is so obvious that we tend to let it slip by us
without really grasping its meaning. The more truthful we
are with ourselves the more we will notice that things
around us are not changing because we are not changing. If
we want the results around us to fundamentally change, we
have to fundamentally change and take fundamentally
different actions than we are taking now.
If you want radically new results (not just a rehash of the
same old same old), you have to take radically new actions.
And for most of us, radically new actions are scary.
So, what to do…?
The short answer is to just do something - anything -
radically different. It would be nice if it is an inspired radical
action that has something to do with your intended goal. But
even if the radical new action does not seem to be directly
connected to your intended goal - try it anyhow.
Doing anything radically different is like a passport to a New
World where there is a new you waiting. Take a calculated
risk. A strategic chance. A considered tactic. Don’t hurt
yourself - don’t gamble away everything in one play. But do
take a leap.
You can not travel to a New World if you are taking the same
old train every day. Be bold. Be outrageous. Get used to
being scared and feeling out of place and just do something
radically new.
Some radical new actions for 2006:
- Run for public office
- Submit a book proposal
- Ask your sweetheart to marry you
- Apply to go on the Amazing Race
- Audition at a Broadway theater
- Become a news reporter
- Find out if you have food allergies
- Take a Vision Quest
- Start a magazine
- Go back to school
- Get the best lipid profile you have ever had
- Find out if you have adrenal stress
- Start eating fresh food
- Get a handle on your brain chemistry
- Volunteer at your local Habitat for Humanity
Or some other radically, outrageous action calling to you. Be
bold. Be brave. Be radically different this year and see what
shows up.
“Vision is not enough, it must be combined with venture. It is
not enough to stare up the steps, we must step up the
stairs.”
-Vaclav Havel
Mary Ann Copson is the creator of the Evenstar Mood
and Energy Management System for Women. With
Master’s Degrees in Human Development and in
Psychology and Counseling, Mary Ann is a Certified
Licensed Nutritionist, a Certified Holistic Health
Practitioner, a Brain Chemistry Profile Clinician, a
Professional Life Coach and Human Development
Consultant. For resources about reconnecting to your
natural rhythms through better management of your
physical, emotional, mental, psychological and spiritual
energy visit http://evenstaronline.com
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