Question # 2

Describe The Managerial Skills You Need To Develop To Be An Effective

Manager, And Suggest How You Can Achieve These Skills.

8 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR MANAGERIAL SKILLS

            Each year, thousands of people make the switch from staff engineer or scientist to manager.

            And, although many of us look forward to the change, we find it frustrating once we get there.

            When we were engineers, we were rewarded for our technical skills and labors in direct
proportion to what we accomplished.

            But now, as a manager, our success is measured not by our own output hut by the output and
productivity of the people we supervise. And that sense of not being in direct control can be a
frustrating feeling.

            Fortunately, working with others and getting them to give you their best can be just as rewarding
as technical accomplishments . . . once you get the hang of it. Here are eight tips that will help you to
manage and to guide your people more effectively.

The Human Touch

            The most valuable qualities you can develop within yourself are patience, kindness, and
consideration for other people. Although machines and chemicals don't care whether you scream and
curse at them, people do.
            Your subordinates are not just engineers, scientists, administrators, clerks, and programmers
they're people, first and foremost. People with families and friends, likes and dislikes. People with
feelings. Respect them as people and you'll get their respect and loyalty in return. But treat them coldly
and impersonally and they will lose motivation to perform for you.

            Corny as it sounds, the Golden Rule "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you'' -is a
sound, proven management principle. The next time you're about to discipline a worker or voice your
displeasure, ask yourself, "Would I like to be spoken to the way I'm thinking of speaking to him or her?''
Give your people the same kindness and consideration that you would want to receive if you were in
their place.

Don’t Be Overly Critical

            As a manager, it's part of your job to keep your people on the right track. And that involves
pointing out errors and telling them where they've gone wrong.

            But some managers are overly critical. They're not happy unless they are criticizing. They rarely
accomplish much or take on anything new themselves, but they are only too happy to tell others where
they went wrong, why they're doing it incorrectly, and why they could do the job better.

            Don't be this type of person. Chances are, you have more knowledge and experience in your field
than a good many of the people you supervise. But that's why the company made you the boss! Your job
is to guide and teach these people not to yell or nit-pick or show them how dumb they are compared to
you.

            Mary Kay Ash, founder and director of Mary Kay Cosmetics, says that successful managers
encourage their people instead of criticizing them. " Forget their mistakes," she advises, "and zero in on
one small thing they do right. Praise them and they'll do more things right and discover talents and
abilities they never realized they had."

 
 

Let Them Fail

            Of course, to follow through on Mary Kay's advice, you've got to let your people make some
mistakes.

            Does this shock you? I'm not surprised. Most workers expect to be punished for every mistake.
Most managers think it's a "black eye" on their record when an employee goofs.

            But successful managers know that the best way for their people to learn and grow is through
experience and that means taking chances and making errors.

            Give your people the chance to try new skills or tasks without a supervisor looking over their
shoulders but only on smaller, less crucial projects. That way, mistakes won't hurt the company and can
quickly and easily be corrected. On major projects, where performance is critical, you'll want to give as
much supervision as is needed to ensure successful completion of the task.

Be Available

            Have you ever been enthusiastic about a project, only to find yourself stuck, unable to continue,
while you waited for someone higher up to check your work before giving the go ahead for the next
phase?

            Few things dampen employee motivation more than management inattention. As a manager, you
have a million things to worry about besides the report sitting in your mailbox, waiting for your
approval. But to the person who wrote that report, each day's delay causes frustration, anger, worry,
and insecurity.
            So, although you've got a lot to do, give your first attention to approving, reviewing, and okaying
projects in progress. If employees stop by to ask a question or discuss a project, invite them to sit down
for a few minutes. If you're pressed for time, set up an appointment for later that day, and keep it. This
will let your people know you are genuinely interested in them. And that's something they'll really
appreciate.

Improve the Workplace

            People are most productive when they have the right tools and work in pleasant, comfortable
surroundings. According to a study by the Buffalo Organization, a comfortable office environment
creates an extra $1600 of productivity annually for professionals and managers.

            Having the right equipment is equally important. One of my clients recently hired a full-time
technical writer at a salary of $25,000, but was reluctant to invest $2500 in a word processor for him to
use.

            I explained that, in my experience, a word processor can easily double the productivity of a writer.
Therefore, if the writer was expected to produce $25,000 worth of work with a typewriter, he could
produce $50,000 with a word processor an extra $25,000 a year in productivity for a $2500 investment!
The client bought the computer. Both the company and the writer were delighted with the results.

            Be aware that you may not be the best judge of what your employees need to do their jobs
effectively. Even if you've done the job yourself, someone else may work best with a different set of
tools, or in a different setup because each person is different.

            If your people complain about work conditions, listen. These complaints are usually not made for
selfgain, but stem from each worker's desire to do the best job possible. And by providing the right
equipment or work space, you can achieve enormous increases in output . . . open with a minimal
investment.

 
A Personal Interest in People

            When is the last time you asked your secretary how her son was doing in Little League or how she
enjoyed her vacation?

            Good salespeople know that relating to the customer on a person-to-person level is the fastest
way to win friends and sales. Yet many technical managers remain aloof and avoid conversation that
does not relate directly to business. Why? Perhaps it's because engineers are more comfortable with
equations and inanimate objects than with people, and feel uncomfortable in social situations.

            But just as a salesperson wants to get to know his customer, you can benefit by showing a little
personal interest in your people their problems, family life, health, and hobbies. This doesn't have to be
insincere or overdone just the type of routine conversation that should naturally pass between people
who work closely.

            If you've been ignoring your employees, get into the habit of taking a few minutes every week (or
every day) to say "hello" and chat for a minute or two If an employee has a personal problem affecting
his mood or performance, try to find out what it is and how you might help. Send a card or small gift on
important occasions and holidays, such as a 10th anniversary with the firm or a birthday. Often, it is the
little things we do for people (such as letting workers with long commutes leave early on a snowy day, or
springing for dinner when overtime is required) that determine their loyally to you.

Be Open to Ideas

            You may think the sign of a good manager is to have a department where everybody is busy at
work on their assigned tasks. But if your people are merely "doing their jobs," they're only working at
about half their potential. A truly productive department is one in which every employee is actively
thinking of better, more efficient methods of working ways in which to produce a higher quality product.
in less time, at lower cost.
            To get this kind of innovation from your people, you have to be receptive to new ideas; what's
more, you have to encourage your people to produce new ideas. Incentives are one way you can offer a
cash bonus, time off, a gift. But a more potent form of motivation is simply the employee's knowing that
management does listen and does put employee suggestions and ideas to work. Quality Circles, used by
Westinghouse and other major firms, are one way of putting this into action... The old standby, the
suggestion box. is another time tested method.

            And when you listen to new ideas, be open minded. Don't shoot down a suggestion before you've
heard it in full. Many of us are too quick, too eager, to show off our own experience and knowledge and
say that something won't work because “we've tried it before” or “we don't do it that way.”  Well,
maybe you did try it before, but that doesn't mean it won't work now. And having done things a certain
way in the past doesn't mean you've necessarily been doing them the best way. A good manager is
open-minded and receptive to new ideas.

Give Your People a Place to Go

If a worker doesn't have a place to go a position to aspire to, a promotion to work toward then his job is
a dead end. And dead-end workers are usually bored, unhappy, and unproductive. Organize your
department so that everyone has opportunity for advancement, so that there is a logical progression up
the ladder in terms of title, responsibility, status, and pay. If this isn't possible because your department
is too small, perhaps that progression must inevitably lead to jobs outside the department. If so, don't
hold people back; instead, encourage them to aim for these goals so that they will put forth their best
efforts during all the years they are with you

A manager's job is varied and complex. Managers need certain skills to perform the duties and activities
associated with being a manager. What type of skills does a manager need? Research by Robert L. Katz
found that managers needed three essential skills. These are technical skills, human skills and
conceptual skills. Technical skills include knowledge of and proficiency in a certain specialized field, such
as engineering, computers, financial and managerial accounting, or manufacturing. These skills are more
important at lower levels of management since these managers are dealing directly with employees
doing the organization's work. Human skills involve the ability to work well with other people both
individually and in a group. Because managers deal directly with people, this skill is crucial! Managers
with good human skills are able to get the best out of their people. They know how to communicate,
motivate, lead, and inspire enthusiasm and trust. These skills are equally important at all levels of
management. Finally conceptual skills are the skills managers must have to think and conceptualize
about abstract and complex situations. Using these skills managers must be able to see the organization
as a whole, understand the relationship among various subunits, and visualize how the organization fits
into its broader environment. These skills are most important at top level management.A professional
association of practicing managers, the American Management Association, has identified important
skills for managers that encompass conceptual, communication, effectiveness, and interpersonal
aspects. These are briefly described below:

Conceptual Skills: Ability to use information to solve business problems, identification of opportunities
for innovation, recognizing problem areas and implementing solutions, selecting critical information
from masses of data, understanding the business uses of technology, understanding the organization's
business model.

Communication Skills: Ability to transform ideas into words and actions, credibility among colleagues,
peers, and subordinates, listening and asking questions, presentation skills and spoken format,
presentation skills; written and graphic formats

Effectiveness Skills: Contributing to corporate mission/departmental objectives, customer focus,

multitasking; working at multiple tasks at parallel, negotiating skills, project management, reviewing
operations and implementing improvements, setting and maintaining performance standards internally
and externally, setting priorities for attention and activity, time management.

Interpersonal Skills: Coaching and mentoring skills, diversity skills; working with diverse people and
culture, networking within the organization, networking outside the organization, working in teams;
cooperation and commitment.
In today's demanding and dynamic workplace, employees who are invaluable to an organization must
be willing to constantly upgrade their skills and take on extra work outside their own specific job areas.
There is no doubt that skills will continue to be an important way of describing what a manager does.

Question # 3

Pick A Country Of Your Choice And Study Its Resources, Government,

Political And Legal Systems And Physical Infrastructure. What Type Of
Business Would Thrive In Such A Country And Why?
Coming soon If urgent required email us

Question # 4

Explain In Detail The Different Types Of Decisions Managers Take At

Different Levels In An Organization.
Purposeful selection from among a set of alternatives in light of a given objective. Decision-making is not
a separate function of management. In fact, decision-making is intertwined with the other functions,
such as Planning, Coordinating, and Controlling. These functions all require that decisions be made. For
example, at the outset, management must make a critical decision as to which of several strategies
would be followed. Such a decision is often called a strategic decision because of its long-term impact on
the organization. Also, managers must make scores of lesser decisions, tactical and operational, all of
which are important to the organization's well-being.

A decision is a choice made between 2 or more available alternatives.

Decision Making is the process of choosing the best alternative for reaching objectives.

Managers make decisions affecting the organization daily and communicate those decisions to other
organizational members.

Some decisions affect a large number of organization members, cost a great deal of  money to Carry out,
or have a long term effect on the organization. Such significant decisions can have a major impact, not
only on the management systems itself, but on the career of the manager who makes them.
Other decisions are fairly insignificant, affecting only a small member of organization members, costing
little to carry out, and producing only a short term effect on the organization.

TYPES OF DECISIONS:

PROGRAMMED DECISIONS: 

Programmed decisions are routine and repetitive, and the organization typically develops specific ways
to handle them. A programmed decision might involve determining how products will be arranged on
the shelves of a supermarket. For this kind of routine, repetitive problem, standard arrangement
decisions are typically made according to established management guidelines.

NON PROGRAMMED DECISIONS:

Non programmed decisions are typically one shot decisions that are usually less structured than
programmed decision.

5 ELEMENTS  OF THE DECISION SITUATION:

1. The Decision Makers

2. Goals to be served
3. Relevant Alternatives
4. Ordering of Alternatives
5. Choice of Alternatives

DECISION MAKING PROCESS:

Decision making steps this model depicts are as follows:

1. Identify an existing problem                                                                      

2. List possible alternatives for solving the problem                       
3. Select the most beneficial of these alternatives.                           
4. Implement the selected alternative.                                                        
5. Gather feedback to find out if the implemented alternative is solving the identified
problem.