Business articles
Showing page 52 of 79 - There are 2359 Business articles
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Blame culture blues - how the language of blame manifests organisational underperformance
- If you have ever worked within a large organisation then you are sure to have heard the term 'we will not have a blame culture' at some point. However the sheer fact that this statement can be made is an indication that a blame culture already exists.Where the statement 'don't think of the colour blue', immediately makes one think of blue, the 'no blame culture' statement is more likely to ...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Relationship building - 5 tips and 5 questions
- And is isn't hard - it's more about focusing on people, who they are and what interests them. And that's just where you spend your time. About them - not you, not your business. Create partnerships.5 tips Be natural - by being yourself, you will build relationships with ease. Trust yourself - let yourself go. Be open, share your feelings, but mostly, listen to others. Ask...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Temporary employees and operational problems; your use of temps might reveal warning signs
- A recent Washington Post article, described the life of temporary employees working at an automobile plant in Kentucky. Working at a fraction of what permanent employees make at the plant, some employees had been working as temps for extended periods, as long as three or four years, when early indications had been they would be permanent within six to 12 months.At four years, making two thi...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - An honest look at your business
- There is a difference between being comfortable and being in apathy.It is very comfortable to have a smooth running organization when you have a team that knows what to do and does it. It is comfortable to have this group take care of your company and make it expand, and all you have to do is take care of the team. It is comfortable when the staff will actually handle the discipline problem...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Appraisal systems - not living up to their objectives
- Almost, if not all organisations have them, they've been around for a very long time and some organisations swear by them, however on the whole the average appraisal system fails to live up to the expectations of the organisation and often they can cause more trouble than they are worth."So, minister, here we are at the end of your government and the record doesn't look to good, crime ...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - 3 keys to being a fearless executive
- In my work with business executives, I have come to the conclusion that most individuals in positions of influence got there accidentally. This may sound harsh to those of you in the business world reading this article, but the truth CAN be harsh, much like the medicine our mothers gave us as young children. There is a bright side, however, to this fact: Those of you who put in the effort can rise...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Boost your leadership skills simply by answering the question, what does our organization really...
- The difference between leaders is ears. Good leaders not only ask good questions, but they actually listen to the answers.Ask people in your organization: "What does our organization REALLY reward?" Listening to the answer may help you achieve marked increased in results.Rewards and punishments make up the drive shaft of any organization. But my experience of working with thousands o...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Success at work : people skills : dealing with new ideas
- Re-organizing, re-engineering, re-training, down-sizing, outsourcing, changing-changing-changing. Organizations today think they need to be constantly changing or they will perish. Corporate leaders worship at the alter of new ideas where the motto is, "Any new idea is a good idea".Every organization operates based on work-flow and processes. The reason the current processes are in effect i...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Lateral thinking, logical thinking, applied creativity
- Certain processes enhance creative output and others enhance innovative output. Defining creativity as problem identification and idea generation and innovation as idea selection, development and commercialisation, this article will tackle stages two and three using the three-stage process of lateral thinking, logical thinking and applied creativity.The start of the process involves buildin...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Creativity and innovation directors, consultants and managers
- Creativity and Innovation is essential for competitive advantage, yet the role of Creativity and Innovation Manager is often not viewed as essential. Organizations without such a role will simply not perform as competitively as their rivals.People within and outside of an organization see problems all the time, but rarely are those problems dealt with in time. Tangible negative movements us...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Innovation management - idea selection and valuation issues
- Innovation is different and distinct from creativity in that it is idea selection, development and commercialisation as opposed to creativity, which is problem identification and idea generation. The core issue with innovation management is, therefore, how to select those ideas that are most likely to succeed?Ideas have to pass though an idea funnel as most organizations lack the resources ...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Creativity management and behaviour
- What behaviour maximises the chances of thinking of great ideas? What behaviour maximises the ability to nurture ideas until they begin to reveal their potential?To begin answering the above questions we will briefly explore five areas:a) Creativity versus innovation. It is correct that the above questions are separated, as they refer to two distinct disciplines ? defining problems a...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Creativity management and time pressure
- There is a pervasive belief that time pressure stimulates creativity. This is both true and false.There are a number of forces at work:a) Time pressure increases creative output. By forcing idea production, setting goals and incremental deadlines, a greater number of ideas are produced than if a "do your best" approach is taken. If a leader asks particpants in an idea gener...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Radical creativity from incremental creativity ? large movements from small changes
- Positive radical movement is the holy grail of nearly every decision maker. Every CEO wants to radically shift his profit and loss statement into the black, every inventor yearns to find the next killer gadget and every screenwriter wants to make the next significant leap in film.Radical creativity (also known as transformational and disruptive) is the root of radical movement. The polar op...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - 30 ways to be a butt-head boss
- 1. Trust no one. Not your superiors and not your employees. Especially not your employees. They're probably out to get you anyway.2. Believe that all of your people are lazy, good-for-nothing slackers. Remind them of that frequently.3. Get mad and shout a lot. This will reinforce to your "workers" that you mean business.4. Never grant special favors. Having babies, b...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Does your state like to keep your workers compensation secrets hidden?
- Workers compensation secrets are hidden deep within piles and piles of bureaucratic mumbo jumbo. They are sometimes used as high priced paper weights for over worked government workers who may or may not be totally interested in seeing that you find the exact information that you are looking for. However, this is just an opinion. From what I've seen on the Internet finding information about worker...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - A rare leadership skill: dealing with people who want out by offering crowns for convoy
- As a leader, you'll inevitably be faced with people wanting to leave your team or organization. Dealing with the challenge is critical for your leadership success. Your response will have ramifications far beyond your immediate circumstances. One of the best ways to respond comes from Shakespeare's Henry V.The stirring speech of Shakespeare's Henry before the battle of Agincourt contains ma...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Measure for measure
- Can you imagine playing hockey without a goal? Basketball without hoops and nets? Football without a goal line? Golfing without holes or greens?There may be leagues where it doesn't matter whether anyone is keeping score, but not the big leagues. Champions of the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup, the Masters can only be determined when there is someone keeping score.In hockey, keeping sco...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Ten secrets of super successful meeting planners
- Whoever said that being a meeting planner was easy, lied! Rather, it should be classified under the tough and demanding job category. But, along with being tough, it's also fun, exciting, exhilarating, stimulating, and never, never boring. You have the opportunity to go to exotic places, stay in luxurious hotels, and experience life from a totally different angle. Who could ask for anything more? ...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Satisfied employees, a powerful marketing strategy
- Even in today's still uncertain economic times, there are companies who are doing extraordinarily well. Why is it that some companies are thriving while others are barely making it? You can always blame the economy, but is that the only reason? The answer could be as simple as how respected and appreciated your staff feels.Recently I visited a store to buy pet supplies. I was given a pleasa...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - How to delegate more effectively
- Do this simple excercise, and transform your life.First, Make a list of recurring "to do's". (Daily To-Do's, Weekly To-Do's, monthly To-Do's, Quarterly To-Do's, Annual To Do's, and "Event-Driven" To- Do's)Then, change the titles to "delegation Worksheet" (Daily delegation worksheet, weekly delegation worksheet, monthly delegation worksheet, Quarterly delegation worksheet, Annual dele...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Creative people, innovative people
- The title implies that some people are and others not.This is a myth.First, creativity can be described as problem identification and the generation of a quantity of ideas, a number of novel ideas and a number of diverse ideas. Innovation can be described as idea selection, development and commercialisation. Therefore creative people and innovative people are separate and distinct. A...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Innovation, idea selection, valuation
- There is no sure fire route to commercial success, but one can maximize the chances of selecting those ideas that are most likely to succeed. Organizations short of R & D resources must implement such processes. The Economist (2003) states that 3000 bright ideas result in 100 worthwhile projects, which are winnowed down to four development programmes. And four such development programmes are requi...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Measuring creativity, diy style
- Creativity measurement is often required in order to benchmark existing competencies, monitor improvement, increase output and generally provide tangible and useable processes and structures for clients.Individuals can measure their own creativity, the creativity levels of their group, department or organisation.However, a fundamental lack of understanding of creativity and innovatio...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Organizational structure, creativity, innovation
- Organizational structure can inhibit or foster creativity and innovation. The problem with organizational structure though, is that it is resultant of many factors, including history, organic growth, strategy, operational design, product diversity, logistics, marketing, client base, supplier base and so forth. Therefore, what managers need, are not recipes for complete structural change, but insig...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Organizational culture, creativity, innovation
- It can be concluded with great certainty that certain organizational cultures inhibit creativity and innovation whilst others foster it. Some organizations are just better at identifying problems, generating and selecting valuable ideas and developing and commercialising them - this is why those firms tend to maintain competitive advantage and remain leaders in their field.Another way to lo...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Teaching large companies to think like the little guys
- Q: I am an executive at a large company and in our industry we are seeing a trend wherein smaller companies are gaining market share at an alarming rate. Our CEO believes the reason for this is that smaller companies are more prone to innovation and more entrepreneurial than larger companies. He has instructed me to form a committee to study this trend and make recommendations on how we should dea...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Are you in control of your practice or does it control you?
- One of the most common complaints that business owners have today is that they feel their practice is running them and that they're being pulled in every direction instead of really running the business themselves.Well, I'd like to tell you, when I was in practice I experienced the same thing. I was working too many hours, not seeing my family as much as I should; my staff always came to me...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Productive meetings: how to make your meetings more productive
- There's one simple secret to effective meetings: set an agenda and stick to it. The agenda drives the content and outcomes of the meeting and, where appropriate, should reflect the needs of all attendees so everyone has a buy-in and an interest in the outcomes. Follow these simple steps for planning and running meetings and you'll be amazed at what you can achieve. And, just in case not everyone i...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Coaching champions at work
- I saw Brian Kerr (the Irish national football coach) on television not so long ago and it reminded me of a platform I shared with him at a Banking Institute seminar in Dublin. Whilst I was waiting for my turn I listened to Brian and experienced two emotions ? admiration and jealousy. Firstly I admired what Brian had already achieved at under 21 level and the passion with which he expressed his lov...