Over the last few years i have got the opportunity to explore the artistic side of management and have been intrigued by it. Management as an art starts where science leaves off. Science deals with the measurable, the calculable and the predictable- mostly found when one is introduced to management early in the career. But, when management extends outside this field, which it does at numberless points in any business everyday, science is powerless; it has no base to work from and consequently no guidance to offer and it is the art of management that comes to play. 'Art' in the context of management is about 'sensing' the situation. Like Knowledge in any organisation exists as Explicit- which can be documented, shared, taught and transferred without much complexities and tacit knowledge is the one that re-defines business- knowledge that cannot be documented- it has to be felt. Tacit knowledge is 'artistic' it has to be experienced to learn- like cricket cannot be taught in a classroom it has to be played to master it. One of the greatest challenges that organisations face today is the (Tacit) knowledge gap that exists between the decision makers and the rest. A challenge probably globalisation and demographic changes in work force (off shoring) has got with it.
The greater the skill and artistry with which management is conducted, the less the fuss and effort needed to cope with situations. Partly because real skill like artistry always looks so easy. The skilled manager, like the brilliant batsman appears to be taking things easily; his skills make the situation, like the bowling, look easier than it is. It seems no effort to send the ball to the boundary. This circumstance leads some people, particularly those under good management without realising it, that many of the functions done by high management could be done by anyone and those at the top are having an idle time, getting a handsome salary for doing nothing.Infact the need for an instant and flexible response to situations, alterations, plan etc should make it clear that the highest levels of mgt cannot be dispensed with. Higher management reaches the summit of art when it represents, to those below it, wisdom by suggestion and without dictation, and is least seen, yet always present when asked for.
Tuesday 28 September 2010
Friday 27 August 2010
Influence of Moral Behavior and Social setting on employee performace
The reason for me to start this discussion is to understand the influence of Moral behavior and social setting on employee performance and engagement. Any inputs from readers will be of immense help. In the continuing blogs I will try to touch upon the various unconventional aspects that influence or enhance employee performance.
Games sometimes provide us with an illuminating analogy for other more serious activities- mainly social activities. Politics, economics, scientific, sports even war. One thing that has always intrigued me is how we will define a ‘game’.
What governs games and what makes it most interesting is the very fact that all actions are governed by rules- without the existence of rules and without any control- games cannot be played or there can be no games. How do we now relate this back to our day to day life- any relationships that becomes stereotyped and repetitive and in which ulterior motives are at work have been termed as ‘life games’.
Even workplace- which constitutes of million relationships, mainly complex are governed by some rules-Some very explicit- some implicit. These rules are derived mainly from the ‘values’ in which the organization is built and can be found explicitly mentioned in the contract letter and day to mails on ethics and behavior. What about the unwritten ones- the rules that we mainly get to know only when we break them. Moral behavior and social environment in the work place contributes heavily to this.
So, what makes a person accepted easily in an organization, especially in a globalised world- is it complying with the written rules and values or understanding and adapting to the unwritten rules. In other words, what employees do in organizations (public) may not accord with what they do in private- in other words the individuals moral behavior is shaped not only by his character but also by his immediate social context, the nature of his relationship to other people and the social pressures of work.
Games sometimes provide us with an illuminating analogy for other more serious activities- mainly social activities. Politics, economics, scientific, sports even war. One thing that has always intrigued me is how we will define a ‘game’.
What governs games and what makes it most interesting is the very fact that all actions are governed by rules- without the existence of rules and without any control- games cannot be played or there can be no games. How do we now relate this back to our day to day life- any relationships that becomes stereotyped and repetitive and in which ulterior motives are at work have been termed as ‘life games’.
Even workplace- which constitutes of million relationships, mainly complex are governed by some rules-Some very explicit- some implicit. These rules are derived mainly from the ‘values’ in which the organization is built and can be found explicitly mentioned in the contract letter and day to mails on ethics and behavior. What about the unwritten ones- the rules that we mainly get to know only when we break them. Moral behavior and social environment in the work place contributes heavily to this.
So, what makes a person accepted easily in an organization, especially in a globalised world- is it complying with the written rules and values or understanding and adapting to the unwritten rules. In other words, what employees do in organizations (public) may not accord with what they do in private- in other words the individuals moral behavior is shaped not only by his character but also by his immediate social context, the nature of his relationship to other people and the social pressures of work.
Wednesday 12 August 2009
HOPE!!!
When two companies are in similar dire straits, what enables one leader to turn it around while the other fails?
When stranded on the space station for five months as it spiraled out of control, what role did a forgotten Russian scientist’s research play in saving the life of one of America’s greatest astronauts?
Hope carries the burdens of failure but also of success. Hope carries meaning.According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average twenty-five to thirty-four-year-old puts in 2.9 years before moving on to the next job. This is one-third the time that their parents invest in a job. As one would expect, people in the fifty-five to sixty-four age bracket are more loyal to their current employers, investing 9.6 years, on average, before looking for greener pastures. Commitment has become passé. One wonders, what do people lose first? Interest or hope? And who is responsible for our commitment-phobic culture? According to a wealth of research on employee turnover and job satisfaction, employees often cite a lack of leadership as one of the primary reasons for a premature departure—hence the axiom that “people don’t leave companies; they leave people.” Confusing the issue even further is that most leaders and their followers disagree about what matters in a job. Leigh Branham’s analysis of nearly twenty thousand exit surveys from companies in seventeen industries illustrates that 89 percent of managers believe that retaining good employees is about the money, while 88 percent of employees cite reasons other than pay for leaving. Although leaders and followers typically look for the light at the end of the tunnel together, they often see it through very different lenses. Their divergent opinions about what matters makes the future more difficult to see. And when people cannot see light at the end of the tunnel, they have two options: stop and subsequently get hit by oncoming traffic, or turn around and get the hell out of the tunnel. In the absence of leadership, people are left waffling, spinning their wheels, and ultimately out of control. “Turnover” isn’t the only title on the soundtrack of our age. If entertainment is any indicator, powerlessness is pervasive. Consider this: the best-selling video game of all time is one that allows gamers to create and manage the lives of a simulated family. The Sims (Sim is gamer-speak for “simulated person”) actually lets players “play God.”
***Some of the contents in this Blog have been used from various reference books---Sanjeev***
Hope!!!.... A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead.
When stranded on the space station for five months as it spiraled out of control, what role did a forgotten Russian scientist’s research play in saving the life of one of America’s greatest astronauts?
Hope carries the burdens of failure but also of success. Hope carries meaning.According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average twenty-five to thirty-four-year-old puts in 2.9 years before moving on to the next job. This is one-third the time that their parents invest in a job. As one would expect, people in the fifty-five to sixty-four age bracket are more loyal to their current employers, investing 9.6 years, on average, before looking for greener pastures. Commitment has become passé. One wonders, what do people lose first? Interest or hope? And who is responsible for our commitment-phobic culture? According to a wealth of research on employee turnover and job satisfaction, employees often cite a lack of leadership as one of the primary reasons for a premature departure—hence the axiom that “people don’t leave companies; they leave people.” Confusing the issue even further is that most leaders and their followers disagree about what matters in a job. Leigh Branham’s analysis of nearly twenty thousand exit surveys from companies in seventeen industries illustrates that 89 percent of managers believe that retaining good employees is about the money, while 88 percent of employees cite reasons other than pay for leaving. Although leaders and followers typically look for the light at the end of the tunnel together, they often see it through very different lenses. Their divergent opinions about what matters makes the future more difficult to see. And when people cannot see light at the end of the tunnel, they have two options: stop and subsequently get hit by oncoming traffic, or turn around and get the hell out of the tunnel. In the absence of leadership, people are left waffling, spinning their wheels, and ultimately out of control. “Turnover” isn’t the only title on the soundtrack of our age. If entertainment is any indicator, powerlessness is pervasive. Consider this: the best-selling video game of all time is one that allows gamers to create and manage the lives of a simulated family. The Sims (Sim is gamer-speak for “simulated person”) actually lets players “play God.”
***Some of the contents in this Blog have been used from various reference books---Sanjeev***
Hope!!!.... A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead.
Friday 28 November 2008
Measurements---a necessary evil in an organisation?
In the real world, a company’s measurement systems typically deliver a blizzard of nearly meaningless data that quantifies practically everything in sight, no matter how unimportant; that is devoid of any particular rhyme or reason; that is so voluminous as to be unusable; that is delivered so late as to be virtually useless; and that then languishes in printouts and briefing books without being put to any significant purpose.... In short, measurement is a mess.
We use two percent of what we measure. The rest is FYI/A. . . We are masters of the micro. We measure paper clip acquisition times . . . The appearance of precision substitutes for substance . . . We measure far too much and get far too little for what we measure because we never articulated what we need to get better at, and our measures aren’t tied together to support higher-level decision making.
I am wondering in this world of numbers and trying to figure out if there is a world outside of 6 sigma,Lean,Poka-Yoke,TQM etc that will make measurements more meaningful and thought provoking. which eventually will help laymen like you and me interpret and infer information to better the place we work in!!!
We use two percent of what we measure. The rest is FYI/A. . . We are masters of the micro. We measure paper clip acquisition times . . . The appearance of precision substitutes for substance . . . We measure far too much and get far too little for what we measure because we never articulated what we need to get better at, and our measures aren’t tied together to support higher-level decision making.
I am wondering in this world of numbers and trying to figure out if there is a world outside of 6 sigma,Lean,Poka-Yoke,TQM etc that will make measurements more meaningful and thought provoking. which eventually will help laymen like you and me interpret and infer information to better the place we work in!!!
Value---How to define it in an organisation
Performance Management is an effective way to understand value creation. Value is an ambiguous term. Does it refer to customer value or shareholder value? In the context of describing an organization’s assets, I am referring to shareholder value—the monetary view. Sustained value creation is another task of the senior executives. But here again executives are running into a problem. The sources of value have been shifting. Ideas are taking the place of land and property in establishing value. Organizations are now much more knowledge-based. Working smart seems to beat working hard.
A simple definition of long-term assets is things one purchases which depreciate as period expenses with time.
In 2001, for every U.S. dollar of market capitalization, only 15 cents represented tangible assets. This means that 85 cents of investor-valued worth came in the form of brands, relationships, and employees. Employees are intangible assets. The knowledge of workers who go home each night and return in the morning is what produces value in many organizations today. A simple definition of this type of intangible asset, in contrast to a tangible asset, is something with potential that grows with time, rather than depreciates.
The sources of value creation are in people’s know-how and their passion to perform. You don’t supervise a product development engineer or advertising editor to create a better product or ad copy. Rather, they do it, given the right environment. PM powers an organization as an economic engine by recognizing that social systems are the fuel. This is not to say that the organization’s mission is not fundamental—it is. It simply means that performance requires cooperation, teamwork, and people giving effort for the benefit of the whole. Value creation is central to the purpose of an organization.
Some publicly-traded corporations feel investor pressure to cut costs to meet earnings expectations, which usually translates into laying off employees. But right-sizing decisions based solely on head count and cost reductions can rob an organization of its key talent. Human resource systems need to acknowledge employees as valued intangible assets, each with unique skills and experiences. Inevitably management must come to grips with increasing bottom-line by getting more from its existing resources rather than removing them with layoffs. This imperative adds to the interest in performance management.
Despite this substantial shift toward valuing intangible assets, current accounting and performance measurement systems still reflect outdated industrial models. Recent accounting scandals, like Enron’s sudden collapse, have alerted the general public that accounting practices have failed as early warning signals. The trio of accounting watchdogs—external auditing firms, boards of directors, and stock analysts—are failing to detect or report impending disasters. The solution is not to meddle with more accounting regulations. Rather than tweak the status quo, where each party likely has vested interests in preservation, the accounting industry should take an investor’s perspective. It should provide disclosure and financial transparency of operating processes. The performance of processes does not suddenly improve or degrade—it changes gradually.
A simple definition of long-term assets is things one purchases which depreciate as period expenses with time.
In 2001, for every U.S. dollar of market capitalization, only 15 cents represented tangible assets. This means that 85 cents of investor-valued worth came in the form of brands, relationships, and employees. Employees are intangible assets. The knowledge of workers who go home each night and return in the morning is what produces value in many organizations today. A simple definition of this type of intangible asset, in contrast to a tangible asset, is something with potential that grows with time, rather than depreciates.
The sources of value creation are in people’s know-how and their passion to perform. You don’t supervise a product development engineer or advertising editor to create a better product or ad copy. Rather, they do it, given the right environment. PM powers an organization as an economic engine by recognizing that social systems are the fuel. This is not to say that the organization’s mission is not fundamental—it is. It simply means that performance requires cooperation, teamwork, and people giving effort for the benefit of the whole. Value creation is central to the purpose of an organization.
Some publicly-traded corporations feel investor pressure to cut costs to meet earnings expectations, which usually translates into laying off employees. But right-sizing decisions based solely on head count and cost reductions can rob an organization of its key talent. Human resource systems need to acknowledge employees as valued intangible assets, each with unique skills and experiences. Inevitably management must come to grips with increasing bottom-line by getting more from its existing resources rather than removing them with layoffs. This imperative adds to the interest in performance management.
Despite this substantial shift toward valuing intangible assets, current accounting and performance measurement systems still reflect outdated industrial models. Recent accounting scandals, like Enron’s sudden collapse, have alerted the general public that accounting practices have failed as early warning signals. The trio of accounting watchdogs—external auditing firms, boards of directors, and stock analysts—are failing to detect or report impending disasters. The solution is not to meddle with more accounting regulations. Rather than tweak the status quo, where each party likely has vested interests in preservation, the accounting industry should take an investor’s perspective. It should provide disclosure and financial transparency of operating processes. The performance of processes does not suddenly improve or degrade—it changes gradually.
Thursday 27 November 2008
Troublesome times
Amid today's impressive technological innovations, business leaders sometimes forget that work is—at its core—a fundamental human endeavor.During the days of uncertainity the only factor that keeps organisations active and competetive in the markets is 'employees'. As Maslow once said 'A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be. This need we call self-actualization. … It refers to man's desire for self-fulfillment, namely to the tendency for him to become actually in what he is potentially: to become everything one is capable of becoming'.The same holds good fr organisations, afterall these institutions are made up by people like you and me.
While i am writting this blog i just get to hear that the terrorists in India have burned down 3 more floors of a high profile restaurant.Why do the terrorists do this? Is there a way we could link this back to maslow? where in the hierarchy of needs will the need to create destruction fall?
Lets get back to the topic 'troublesometimes'.During these days of financial uncertainity,job loses, redundency, off shoring companies seem to be only concentrating on the need to survive this downturn.The need for being successfull has diminished or holds little or no value. The junkbond crisis, Dot com bubble burst and then Lehman brothers have got Newton to act on all of us and the gravitational force is keeping all of us on the ground (9.8 also seems to be quite a hand full now).The start of off shoring brought in a lot of opportunities that were first unheard of to the sub continent.Youngsters were given more than they could chew and liquid cash could be seen everywhere.The goverment also went on to change the basic education system to suit the needs of the industry. BPO/IT...ITeS. Half baked or semi literate individuals were out in the market vying for roles in MNCs doing graveyard shifts, speaking the language of the West, smoking cigrattes and drinking beer.The west culture was slowley creeping in.
Individuals out of college now never had a thought or intention of studying any further. They could make a fast buck anywhere.call centers which existed in window less offices was the talk of the town.everyone wanted to be a part of it. Selling bra's, airline tickets,printers, comps, financial data was the so called domain expertise. Major players in the software industry also joined the bandwagon.
This inturn created a lot of jobs and easy money. the Number of Pubs in bangalore tripled. The average beer consumption also went up. The number of divorces also went up. the number of abortions went up. The number of people in the rehab centers also went up.The number of car sales also went up. The number of personal loans taken also went up. the number of housing loans also went up.The number of flats and builders in bangalore also went up. Loans were given upto 100% of the house value. everything was fine, a 24 year old was capapble of owning a house for 24L INR. paying a monthly EMI of 20K, the rest of his money on cig and pubs.The loans kept increasing. I will not get into explaining the sub prime crisis, but definetly a prime crisis has hit us...all of us in some way or the other.
The relationships no longer exists. For me the growth of any organization is simply the accumulated growth of the individual relationships that constitute it. And relationships largely are influenced by a lot of external factors.
Relationships are all there is. Everything in the universe only exists because it is in relationship to everything else. Nothing exists in isolation. We have to stop pretending we are individuals that can go it alone especially during these troubled times.Spider webs are both the strongest and the most fragile structures in the world. Pound for pound, spider webs are stronger than steel, yet they can stretch to nearly 40 percent of their length. They can also break with just the touch of a finger.The construction of spider webs is an apt metaphor for relationships long before the World Wide Web became our new medium for meeting and greeting. Relationships can be resilient or tenuous. They can stretch when tested, or they can break at the first sign of heavy winds.
Our traditional organizations are designed to provide for the first three levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: food, shelter, and belonging. Since these are now widely available to members of industrial society, our organizations do not provide significantly unique opportunities to command the loyalty and commitment of our people. The ferment in management will continue until organizations begin to address the higher order needs: self-respect and self-actualization.
Most economists think of employees as "units of production," customers as "units of consumption," and investors as "units of investment." I came to realize that there is no one unit of production because employees are influenced by their motivation, capacity, and the tools we've made available to them, and their results are a function of these influencers. Similarly, not all customers or investors approach their relationship with a company in the same way. In sum, many business observers view these "units" as fixed commodities (like steel) when in fact they truly are flexible (like a web), depending on how these relationships have been nurtured or "spun."
Human capital, unlike other assets, does not depreciate over time. Like good wine, it actually improves with age.
While i am writting this blog i just get to hear that the terrorists in India have burned down 3 more floors of a high profile restaurant.Why do the terrorists do this? Is there a way we could link this back to maslow? where in the hierarchy of needs will the need to create destruction fall?
Lets get back to the topic 'troublesometimes'.During these days of financial uncertainity,job loses, redundency, off shoring companies seem to be only concentrating on the need to survive this downturn.The need for being successfull has diminished or holds little or no value. The junkbond crisis, Dot com bubble burst and then Lehman brothers have got Newton to act on all of us and the gravitational force is keeping all of us on the ground (9.8 also seems to be quite a hand full now).The start of off shoring brought in a lot of opportunities that were first unheard of to the sub continent.Youngsters were given more than they could chew and liquid cash could be seen everywhere.The goverment also went on to change the basic education system to suit the needs of the industry. BPO/IT...ITeS. Half baked or semi literate individuals were out in the market vying for roles in MNCs doing graveyard shifts, speaking the language of the West, smoking cigrattes and drinking beer.The west culture was slowley creeping in.
Individuals out of college now never had a thought or intention of studying any further. They could make a fast buck anywhere.call centers which existed in window less offices was the talk of the town.everyone wanted to be a part of it. Selling bra's, airline tickets,printers, comps, financial data was the so called domain expertise. Major players in the software industry also joined the bandwagon.
This inturn created a lot of jobs and easy money. the Number of Pubs in bangalore tripled. The average beer consumption also went up. The number of divorces also went up. the number of abortions went up. The number of people in the rehab centers also went up.The number of car sales also went up. The number of personal loans taken also went up. the number of housing loans also went up.The number of flats and builders in bangalore also went up. Loans were given upto 100% of the house value. everything was fine, a 24 year old was capapble of owning a house for 24L INR. paying a monthly EMI of 20K, the rest of his money on cig and pubs.The loans kept increasing. I will not get into explaining the sub prime crisis, but definetly a prime crisis has hit us...all of us in some way or the other.
The relationships no longer exists. For me the growth of any organization is simply the accumulated growth of the individual relationships that constitute it. And relationships largely are influenced by a lot of external factors.
Relationships are all there is. Everything in the universe only exists because it is in relationship to everything else. Nothing exists in isolation. We have to stop pretending we are individuals that can go it alone especially during these troubled times.Spider webs are both the strongest and the most fragile structures in the world. Pound for pound, spider webs are stronger than steel, yet they can stretch to nearly 40 percent of their length. They can also break with just the touch of a finger.The construction of spider webs is an apt metaphor for relationships long before the World Wide Web became our new medium for meeting and greeting. Relationships can be resilient or tenuous. They can stretch when tested, or they can break at the first sign of heavy winds.
Our traditional organizations are designed to provide for the first three levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: food, shelter, and belonging. Since these are now widely available to members of industrial society, our organizations do not provide significantly unique opportunities to command the loyalty and commitment of our people. The ferment in management will continue until organizations begin to address the higher order needs: self-respect and self-actualization.
Most economists think of employees as "units of production," customers as "units of consumption," and investors as "units of investment." I came to realize that there is no one unit of production because employees are influenced by their motivation, capacity, and the tools we've made available to them, and their results are a function of these influencers. Similarly, not all customers or investors approach their relationship with a company in the same way. In sum, many business observers view these "units" as fixed commodities (like steel) when in fact they truly are flexible (like a web), depending on how these relationships have been nurtured or "spun."
Human capital, unlike other assets, does not depreciate over time. Like good wine, it actually improves with age.
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