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It is no secret organizations depend on information for their very survival. Companies now boast Chief Information Officers (CIO's), Chief Learning Officers (CLO's), Chief Knowledge Officers (CKO's) and more. These [...]

Organizations must be fast, agile and responsive to survive in today's rapidly changing competitive landscape. Those organizations that remain wed to the past will quickly find themselves being left behind [...]

The press has publicized rage of various types for the past few decades. They have even helped coin new terms for the various types of rages. The general public has [...]

Today's economic environment has encouraged a new round of downsizing in companies across a variety of industries. While still one of the most popular retrenchment strategies, its implementation in far [...]

Corporate America has heard the lesson for over two decades--building a learning organization is an integral component of success in business. While the bottom line lesson for organizations may remain [...]

Managers get things done through other people. So the effectiveness of any manager depends in part on who these other people are. The quality of the manager's staff impacts their [...]

Organizations today are being told that they must be fast, agile and responsive. To be successful, organizations must quickly respond to a constantly changing competitive environment. In their book, Competing [...]

As competition intensifies, Un-certainty increases and change becomes the order of the day, organizations must be constantly ready to respond to this dynamic world. Every firm is encouraged to move [...]

The exit interview is a critical responsibility shared by every organization. While separation is always difficult, a well-organized exit interview can help the employee transition through an emotional time. The [...]

As the slowing economy has generated increased interest in the already popular downsizing strategy, more companies are addressing the problems of how to effectively implement the strategy. A flawed implementation [...]

Business organizations are increasingly acknowledging the reality that human capital constitutes the core of their competitive advantage and their success depends considerably on the work force and the skills employees possess. An emphasis has therefore been placed on the learning organization. Creating such entities entails training workers to acquire, develop and continually enhance the skills they need to compete effectively in the contemporary business setting., 'Today's twin problems of an increasingly competitive business environment and demographic change have done much to heighten awareness of the importance of training as a means of achieving organization effectiveness.' [...]

Globalization has made it necessary for most managers to become culturally sensitive to their managed groups. Technological innovations have redefined the workplace to mean not just the physical office, but all work-related aspects. Managers are advised to maintain a global mindset that is sensitive to the needs of the employees and the environment. Managers must also be open-minded to organizational change and new knowledge from others around the world., 'Now, we have moved beyond cross-border issues toward a world economy, supranational legal agreements, multi-sourced manufactured goods that have no real country-home, and 24-hour stock markets around the globe.... and [...]

The function of the human resource (HR) management is undergoing radical changes. Previously, the HR department has the support role of giving out salaries and managing employee benefits. HR departments are now being given activities which can contribute more value to the organization. Most companies have the HR head as belonging to the top management. One recommendable structure is where each business unit is provided with an HR generalist who gets to learn the details of the business so as to be able to recommend the appropriate HR support., The role of the human resource department is undergoing drastic changes. In the recent past, many organizations thought of the human resource department as simply a support service to the [...]

Companies are advised to adopt a zero tolerance policy towards sexual harassment. A written policy should be clearly communicated to all employees and an educational program set up to inform employees about what is and what is not sexual harassment. A grievance process should ensure that all complaints are dealt with in a consistent and fair manner. A proactive stance towards the problem will help companies deal with it upfront and even avoid its occurrence altogether., Daily headlines in the newspaper have brought sexual harassment to the forefront in American companies. Many are taking a second look at their policies to ensure they are sufficient. Still [...]

Companies can expand their employees' stake in the business by adopting open book management (OBM). OBM, a concept of opening up operating numbers to employees, is one of the management techniques within the 'Ownership Culture' that includes stock options, variable pay, pay-for-performance and employee stock ownership plans. The Ownership Culture benefits companies by reducing employee turnover, improving performance and enhancing employee morale. The ten principles of OBM are presented., Open book management has been one of the latest management techniques to take corporate America by storm. Unfortunately, too many managers still don't understand just what it is. And too [...]

Changes in the environment in which organizations operate in the 1990s have greatly changed leadership characteristics. The new type of leadership is based on two sources of power. Expert power is the capability to acquire knowledge and skills that are beneficial of the organization and its members. Referent power is the ability to influence people. The new leader can also empower other people and create and shape organizational culture and is a doer and a role model to everyone., Leadership today comes with many different labels reflecting the fact it is not the same leadership as organizations experienced in the past two decades. The terms used to describe leadership [...]

Mentoring as a means of knowledge and skills transfer is a very effective training tool that corporate bodies can take advantage of. It has distinct advantages for the protege, the mentor and the organization. The protege learns valuable lessons and skills, is able to expand both business and social networks and is motivated to attain greater goals. The mentor is able to share a legacy of knowledge and skills and to enhance personal value and creativity. The benefits to the company include higher employee morale and loyalty. The characteristics of a good mentor are discussed., 'The reasonable thing is to learn from those who can teach.' - Sophocles While some may consider mentoring just another new management fad, it is not new nor is mentoring [...]

Managers need to realize that the current workplace environment has changed substantially so that previous management methods and strategies are no longer effective. Managers must realize that four functions of management, which are planning, controlling, directing and staffing, have to be viewed in a more open manner as today's environment no longer requires the command and control manager. Moreover, managers should empower or transfer a substantial amount of their power to the employees and establish autonomous and self-managing teams., Everyone is well aware of the workplace revolution. Anyone who has read Scott Adams' comic strip, Dilbert, knows America is in the midst of a revolution in the workplace. Much [...]

Part of the employee's fit with the organization should focus on the core values and beliefs of the organization. Promote From Within and Invest in Employees Promoting employees from within sends a powerful message that the organization's employees are valued. This will increase employees' contributions to the overall success of the organization if they already embrace the core values of the organization prior to their selection. [Extracted from the article]

Managers should address issues associated with the changing workforce now, before the fullest impact of those changes is felt. Forecasts indicate that, by 2000, minorities, women and immigrants will constitute a majority of the incoming work force. The work force is also aging. Questions regarding cultural diversity, child and elder care and illiteracy are examined., We hear so much today about Work force 2000, cultural diversity and a changing work force. Many times, managers think this is an issue for others -- perhaps only human [...]

How many times have we said 'If only he would ...' or 'If I could have just gotten her to ...'? There are several strategies to employ to increase the [...]

Many managers pass over the disabled when hiring. This is due in large part to the myths that permeate our society about the disabled. An often overlooked and tremendously under-utilized [...]

Are you on your way to becoming obsolete? We all read and talk about the obsolescence of our machines, our computers, our factories, our policies and our procedures. But how [...]

This courage for the manager to step back from the detail and yet coach the employee through the task instills confidence in the employee and strengthens the relationship. Each time the organization provides any development opportunities, they are investing in their human resources and in the future of their organization - strengthening bonds with employees. Employees in customer-responsive organizations place great emphasis on the relationship with their customers. The importance of interpersonal skills can not be stressed enough in today's business environment. [Extracted from the article]

workforce development every manager's challenge Workforce development is a key challenge for every manager in today's world. For over a decade, national reports have warned the American workforce would not [...]

For decades the focus of management was on the so-called 'hard' skills. That is, the emphasis centered on the technical skills necessary to effectively perform within the organization. These skills [...]

business etiquette: a renewed interest in a lost art Etiquette is not just for those aspiring to the level of Miss Manners anymore. Today organizations are sending managers in record [...]

stress: a concern for everyone Stress is said to be the illness of this decade. No one can escape it. The best one can do is learn how to effectively [...]

Today's firms have experienced an unprecedented management talent shortage. Taking pride in the current management and overall talent of the firm is great, but this does not address the future viability of the organization. Talent management continues to be at the forefront of most organizations' strategic initiatives. [Extracted from the article]

Talent management continues to be at the forefront of most organizations' strategic initiatives. Taking pride in the current management and overall talent of the firm is great, but this does not address the future viability of the organization. Today's firms have experienced an unprecedented management talent shortage. [Extracted from the article]

Stress is said to be the illness of this decade. Sometimes stress can build to unmanageable levels as a result of the cumulative nature of stress. Those who are not handling stress well may need to change the way they view stress - and most importantly, change the way they react to the stress. Managers can provide more training and involve employees in change efforts to help reduce some of the stress for their employees. [Extracted from the article]

Retaining employees is a challenge to many businesses in the 1990s. The primary reasons why employers want to retain employees are the escalating costs of hiring replacement employees and morale problems brought about by rapid employee turnover that results in even faster employee turnover. There must be a commitment at the top level management to retain employees and a clear communication of this commitment to the rank and file. Methods of encouraging the staff to stay with the firm are presented., The popular business literature bombards workers with messages of mobility in today's workplace. Employees are reminded they will be changing jobs on average every three to four years. And what's [...]

The article discusses the soft skill set of professional polish. It states that professional polish is a portfolio of skills allowing people to project a more positive image in both a professional and personal venue. It comments on how employees represent organizations with the image projected by employees reflecting the organization's image. It suggests that an organization's competitive advantage can be due to its workforce embodying professional polish.

What to do as our workers age We read more and more about the greying of America -- especially from the marketing aspect. But the manager, too, must begin to [...]

Did I understand you correctly? Miscommunication While wood is the carpenter's raw material, information is the manager's raw material. Information is the manager's raw material. The necessary information is acquired [...]

Even the leadership role on a team can evolve informally or rotate to different individual team members as the focus of the team changes. Team success may even require that individual team members develop additional skill sets. And ironically, the very nature of the team environment is such that the individual's success is also endangered as it is tied to the team's success. Participating in team celebrations - both big and small - will help to build a more cohesive team since people enjoy being a part of successful teams. [Extracted from the article]

Today's workplace requires managers constantly be updating their skills. Watching good role models tells managers what to try to integrate into their own style while watching poor managers tells others what to avoid. The astute manager will observe good management techniques and practice them - avoiding as many of these mistakes as possible. [Extracted from the article]

These two fears - fear of criticism and fear of failure - combine to throw still another barrier across the road to creativity. Result: a badly done job and a guilt-ridden employee who may gripe in anticipation of being criticized. Older employees, having interests in common, formed one group, and the younger employees formed another. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the impact of stress to the lost of productivity and the development of violence in the workplace. It highlights several sources of stress including the fear of job loss, the lack of appropriate knowledge and abilities to perform the job and family problems. It also cites the role of the employers to eliminate workplace stressors to ensure a flexible work environment for the employees.

Ideapress Publishing, 168 pp., $34.95 REVIEWED BY PATRICIA M. BUHLER Just as the Chinese general Sun Tzu would never have gone to war without a strategy, employers can't win the war for talent without a strategy. Part of the talent playbook must involve development of oneself and the leadership team. [Extracted from the article]

Any boundary spanning position in the firm, for example, is the front line of operations representing the company to their customers and any external stakeholders. Deals can be made (or blown) as a result of the image that an employee projected in representing the company. Lack of the company sales sour a business deal and sever relationships with customers and clients, to mention just a few. While commonly accepted in a company (and in some cases across a specific industry), this language may actually inhibit the communication process to those working outside the company or to those new to the company. [Extracted from the article]