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It is rightly said “Time and Tide wait for none”. An individual should understand the value of
time for him to succeed in all aspects of life. People who waste time are the ones who fail to
create an identity of their own.
Time Management refers to managing time effectively so that the right time is
allocated to the right activity.
Effective time management allows individuals to assign specific time slots to
activities as per their importance.
Time Management refers to making the best use of time as time is always limited.
Ask yourself which activity is more important and how much time should be allocated to the
same? Know which work should be done earlier and which can be done a little later.
Time Management plays a very important role not only in organizations but also in our
personal lives.
i. Effective Planning
ii. Setting goals and objectives
iii. Setting deadlines
iv. Delegation of responsibilities
v. Prioritizing activities as per their importance
vi. Spending the right time on the right activity
Effective Planning
Plan your day well in advance. Prepare a To Do List or a “TASK PLAN”. Jot down
the important activities that need to be done in a single day against the time that
should be allocated to each activity. High Priority work should come on top followed
by those which do not need much of your importance at the moment. Complete
pending tasks one by one. Do not begin fresh work unless you have finished your
previous task. Tick the ones you have already completed. Ensure you finish the tasks
within the stipulated time frame.
Setting Deadlines
Set deadlines for yourself and strive hard to complete tasks ahead of the deadlines. Do
not wait for your superiors to ask you everytime. Learn to take ownership of work.
One person who can best set the deadlines is you yourself. Ask yourself how much
time needs to be devoted to a particular task and for how many days. Use a planner to
mark the important dates against the set deadlines.
Delegation of Responsibilities
Learn to say “NO” at workplace. Don’t do everything on your own. There are other
people as well. One should not accept something which he knows is difficult for him.
The roles and responsibilities must be delegated as per interest and specialization of
employees for them to finish tasks within deadlines. A person who does not have
knowledge about something needs more time than someone who knows the work
well.
Prioritizing Tasks
Prioritize the tasks as per their importance and urgency. Know the difference between
important and urgent work. Identify which tasks should be done within a day, which
all should be done within a month and so on. Tasks which are most important should
be done earlier.
Develop the habit of doing the right thing at the right time. Work done at the wrong
time is not of much use. Don’t waste a complete day on something which can be done
in an hour or so. Also keep some time separate for your personal calls or checking
updates on Facebook or Twitter. After all human being is not a machine.
Organized - Avoid keeping stacks of file and heaps of paper at your workstation. Throw
what all you don’t need. Put important documents in folders. Keep the files in their respective
drawers with labels on top of each file. It saves time which goes on unnecessary searching.
Don’t misuse time - Do not kill time by loitering or gossiping around. Concentrate on your
work and finish assignments on time. Remember your organization is not paying you for
playing games on computer or peeping into other’s cubicles. First complete your work and
then do whatever you feel like doing. Don’t wait till the last moment.
Develop the habit of using planners, organizers, table top calendars for better time
management. Set reminders on phones or your personal computers.
Benefits of Time Management
Time Management refers to making the best possible use of available time. Managing time
well enables an individual to do the right thing at the right time. Time Management plays a
pivotal role in one's personal as well as professional life.
• Effective Time Management boosts an individual’s morale and makes him confident.
As a result of Time Management, individuals accomplish tasks within the stipulated time
frame, making them popular in their organization as well as amongst their peers. People
who understand the value of time are the ones who manage to stand apart from the crowd.
Individuals who finish off work on time are looked up to by others and are always the centre
of attention everywhere.
• Individuals who stick to a time plan are the ones who realize their goals and
objectives within the shortest possible time span. Managing time effectively helps
employees to meet targets way ahead of deadlines and finish off task just when it is
required.
• Better Time Management helps in better planning and eventually better forecasting.
Individuals learn to plan things well and know where exactly they stand five years from now.
• Research says that individuals who accomplish tasks on time are less prone to stress
and anxiety. Remember there is no point in wasting time and cribbing later. Finish off
pending work on time and then you would have ample time for your friends, relatives and
family members.
• Time Management enables an individual to prioritize tasks and activities at
workplace. It is foolish to stay overburdened. Do not accept anything and everything that
comes your way.
Your multitasking abilities are an indication that you are tailor-made to be a media
entrepreneur. You have the ability to prioritize things at work and this allows you to be more
productive and achieve more within a limited time period.
This is an inherent quality. It is only then they can excel in their chosen line of work. As a
successful media person, you have to have passion and this is what allows you to be
productive and overcome obstacles.
Leadership Skills
Leaders are born and not made. Outstanding leadership skills help guide your team towards
the goal.
2. Significance of Team Work and Leadership
The process of working collaboratively with a group of people in order to achieve a goal is
what we understand by team work.
Teamwork is often a crucial part of a business, as it is often necessary for colleagues to work
well together, trying their best in any circumstance. It means that people will try to cooperate,
using their individual skills and providing constructive feedback, despite any personal
conflict between individuals.
There is no greater weapon in a company's arsenal than a great team. When firing on all
cylinders, effective teams have the ability to increase efficiency by taking on more complex
tasks (think "two heads are better than one"), improve communication by facilitating open
discussion and cooperation among team members, maximize output by leveraging each team
member's strengths, provide opportunities for personal growth, and act as a support
mechanism for staff. Unsurprisingly, teamwork at the workplace has also shown to increase
innovation and creativity by allowing team members to bring unique and distinct perspectives
to the table. When leveraged, effective teamwork drives company growth and boosts
performance and success by tapping into each individual's unique strengths and attributes.
Think about your team first - Every individual should think of his team first and his
personal interests should take a backseat. Do not mix your personal issues with your
professional life. Keep them separate.
Never underestimate your team member - Do not neglect any of the members, instead
work together and also listen to them as well. Never try to impose your ideas on any
member. Avoid demotivating any team member.
Discuss - Before implementing any new idea, it must be discussed with each and
every member on an open platform. Never ever discuss with anyone separately as the
other person feels left out and reluctant to perform and contribute to the team.
Avoid criticism - Stay away from criticism and making fun of your team members.
Help each other and be a good team player. Be the first one to break the ice and
always create a friendly ambience. If you do not agree with any of your team member,
make him understand his mistakes but in a polite tone and do guide him. Avoid
negativity within the team.
Transparency must be maintained and healthy interaction must be promoted
among the team members. The communication must be effective, crystal clear and
precise so that every team member gets a common picture. Effective communication
also nullifies misunderstandings and confusions. Confusions lead to conflicts and
individuals waste their time and energy in fighting rather than working.
The team leader must take the responsibility of encouraging the team
members to give their level best and should intervene immediately in cases of
conflicts. The personality of the leader should be such that every team member should
look up to him and take his advice whenever required. He should not be partial to any
member and support each of them equally. It is the duty of the team leader to extract
the best out of his team members.
For better team work, try to understand your team members well. Do not just always
talk business, it is okay if you go out with your team members for lunch or catch a
movie together. It improves the relations and strengthens the bond among the team
members. The team members must trust each other for maximum output.
Avoid conflicts in your team. Don’t fight over petty issues and find faults in others.
One should be a little adjusting with each other and try to find an alternative best
suited to all the team members.
Rewards and Recognition - Healthy competition must be encouraged among the
team members. The performance of every team member must be evaluated timely and
the best performer should be rewarded suitably so that the other members also get
motivated to perform. Recognitions like “The Best Team Player” or the “The Best
Performer” go a long way in motivating the team members. Appreciate the member
who performs the best or does something unique.
What is leadership?
Leadership is the process of social influence which maximizes the efforts of others towards
the achievement of a goal.
Key elements
Leadership involves-
Significance of Leadership
Leadership is the process of influencing others. The mere use of authority by managers may
not lead to results. But when managerial authority is enriched with good leadership,
employees begin cooperating.
Leadership motivates the group to strive for achieving the results that is achieving the
organizational goals. By increasing the levels of commitment and motivations, a good leader
leads the employees to higher levels of performance. Higher performance leads to increased
productivity which results in increased profitability even in competitive market
3. It is an aid to authority
Leadership is the process of influencing others. The mere use of authority by managers may
not lead to results. But when managerial authority is enriched with good leadership,
employees begin cooperating. Thus, formal exercise of authority may not result in the success
authority when combined with leadership, brings success to an organization.
A value-based organization gets increased commitment and loyalty from its employees. Good
leadership being inspirational, it also successfully percolates human values which shapes the
attitude of employees towards work
Qualities of a leader
Importance of Leadership
Leadership is an important function of management which helps to maximize efficiency and
to achieve organizational goals. The following points justify the importance of leadership in
a concern.
1. Initiates action- Leader is a person who starts the work by communicating the
policies and plans to the subordinates from where the work actually get starts.
3. Providing guidance- A leader has to not only supervise but also play a guiding role
for the subordinates. The term “Guidance” here means instructing the subordinates
the way they have to perform their work effectively and efficiently.
4. Vested Interests
Decision-making processes often founder under the weight of vested interests. These vested
interests are often not overtly expressed, but may be a crucial blockage. Because they are
not overtly expressed, it is hard to identify them clearly, and therefore address them, but it
can sometimes be possible to do so by exploring them with someone outside the process,
but in a similar position.
It can also help to explore the rational/intuitive aspects with all stakeholders, usually with
an external facilitator to support the process.
5. Emotional Attachments
People are often very attached to the status quo. Decisions tend to involve the prospect of
change, which many people find difficult.
For more about overcoming this, see our pages on Change Management, but also
remember that
‘deciding not to decide' is also a decision.
6. No Emotional Attachment
Sometimes it's difficult to make a decision because you just don't care one way or the other.
In this case, a structured decision-making process can often help by identifying some very
real pros and cons of particular actions, that perhaps you hadn't thought about before.
Many of these issues can be overcome by using a structured decision-making process. This
will help to:
• Reduce more complicated decisions down to simpler steps;
PROBLEM SOLVING – There are two important things to remember about problems and
conflicts: they happen all the time and they are opportunities to improve the system and
the relationships. They are actually providing us with information that we can use to fix
what needs fixing and do a better job. Looked at in this way, we can almost begin to
welcome problems! (Well, almost.)
Because people are born problem solvers, the biggest challenge is to overcome the
tendency to immediately come up with a solution. Let me say that again. The most common
mistake in problem solving is trying to find a solution right away. That's a mistake because it
tries to put the solution at the beginning of the process, when what we need is a solution at
the end of the process.
Effective problem solving does take some time and attention more of the latter than the
former. But less time and attention than is required by a problem not well solved. What it
really takes is a willingness to slow down. A problem is like a curve in the road. Take it right
and you'll find yourself in good shape for the straightaway that follows. Take it too fast and
you may not be in as good shape.
Working through this process is not always a strictly linear exercise. You may have to cycle
back to an earlier step. For example, if you're having trouble selecting an option, you may
have to go back to thinking about the interests.
This process can be used in a large group, between two people, or by one person who is
faced with a difficult decision. The more difficult and important the problem, the more
helpful and necessary it is to use a disciplined process. If you're just trying to decide where
to go out for lunch, you probably don't need to go through these seven steps!
Don't worry if it feels a bit unfamiliar and uncomfortable at first. You'll have lots of
opportunities to practice!
Identify Problems-
The first step in the process is to recognize that there is a decision to be made. Decisions are
not made arbitrarily; they result from an attempt to address a specific problem, need or
opportunity. A supervisor in a retail shop may realize that he has too many employees on the
floor compared with the day's current sales volume, for example, requiring him to make a
decision to keep costs under control.
Seek Information-
Managers seek out a range of information to clarify their options once they have identified an
issue that requires a decision. Managers may seek to determine potential causes of a problem,
the people and processes involved in the issue and any constraints placed on the decision-
making process.
Brainstorm Solutions-
Having a more complete understanding of the issue at hand, managers move on to make a list
of potential solutions. This step can involve anything from a few seconds of though to a few
months or more of formal collaborative planning, depending on the nature of the decision.
Choose an Alternative-
Managers weigh the pros and cons of each potential solution, seek additional information if
needed and select the option they feel has the best chance of success at the least cost.
Consider seeking outside advice if you have gone through all the previous steps on your own;
asking for a second opinion can provide a new perspective on the problem and your potential
solutions.
Implement the Plan-
There is no time to second guess yourself when you put your decision into action. Once you
have committed to putting a specific solution in place, get all of your employees on board and
put the decision into action with conviction. That is not to say that a managerial decision
cannot change after it has been enacted; savvy managers put monitoring systems in place to
evaluate the outcomes of their decisions.
Follow up-
A follow up system ensures the achievement of the objectives. It is exercised through control.
Simply stated it is concerned with the process of checking the proper implementation of
decision. Follow up is indispensable so as to modify as well as improve upon the decisions at
the earliest opportunity
Evaluate Outcomes-
Even the most experienced business owners can learn from their mistakes. Always monitor
the results of strategic decisions you make as a small business owner; be ready to adapt your
plan as necessary, or to switch to another potential solution if your chosen solution does not
work out the way you expected.
In the process of solving the problem, you will have to gather as much as information related
to the factors and stakeholders involved in the problem. For the process of information
gathering, tools such as 'Check Sheets' can be effectively used.
For this, you can make use of Cause-and-Effect diagrams and Pareto Chart tool. Cause-and-
Effect diagram helps you to identify all possible causes of the problem and Pareto chart
helps you to prioritize and identify the causes with highest effect.
Then, you can move on generating all possible solutions (alternatives) for the problem in
hand.
Conclusion
When it comes to making decisions, one should always weigh the positive and negative
business consequences and should favour the positive outcomes.
This avoids the possible losses to the organization and keeps the company running with a
sustained growth. Sometimes, avoiding decision making seems easier; especially, when you
get into a lot of confrontation after making the tough decision.
But, making the decisions and accepting its consequences is the only way to stay in control
of your corporate life and time.
Conflict
Conflict is when two or more values, perspectives and opinions are contradictory in nature
and haven't been aligned or agreed about yet, including:
Conflict is inevitable and often good, for example, good teams always go through a "form,
storm, norm and perform" period. Getting the most out of diversity means often-contradictory
values, perspectives and opinions.
1. There is no one best way to deal with conflict. It depends on the current situation. Here are
the major ways that people use to deal with conflict.
A. Avoid it. Pretend it is not there or ignore it.
(a) Use it when it simply is not worth the effort to argue. Usually, this approach tends to
worsen the conflict over time.
2. Accommodate it. Give in to others, sometimes to the extent that you compromise yourself.
A. Use this approach very sparingly and infrequently, for example, in situations when you
know that you will have another more useful approach in the very near future. Usually, this
approach tends to worsen the conflict over time, and causes conflicts within yourself.
3. Competing. Work to get your way, rather than clarifying and addressing the issue.
Competitors love accommodators.
A. Use when you have a very strong conviction about your position.