Evaluating the Importance of Decision Making Successful decision making is one that is devoid of any ambiguity or tentativeness. Although there is a wide range of choice and alternative techniques to arrive at a decision, timely decision making is what adds value to the decision. The objective is to execute the action plan immediately to avoid delays that might prove costly in terms of productivity. Defensive behavior of managers: Managers who are the key figures to make decisions sometimes play defense to avoid action, blame or change. They exhibit a variety of defensive behaviors which is a wasted effort; this also makes the workers lethargic in their attitude. Avoiding action is considered to be the best political strategy. Some managers always talk about the rules and regulations that have been followed for ages in that company and want every action to be rigidly adhered to the precedence and neither allows nor admits the need to consider the nuances of a particular case. Policies and Procedures: Policies and procedures are of course the prerogative of the top level management, but it is the duty of the manager to suggest reforms in those policies that are obsolete by bringing it to the perusal of the ultimate authorities. How long will you sing the same song “The rules clearly state that”! Also don’t try to pass the buck or play duals, that clearly showcases your inability to handle things and nobody nowadays is prepared to believe false pretense. Expectation of Sub-Ordinates from the Superiors: Subordinates look up to their superiors for support as well as quick solutions for problems of any kind that comes their way; only a person who is quick in reacting to situations with presence of mind and consideration is well liked by and approved of. If you distance yourself from problems or try to prolong a task in lieu of your inability to make a decision, in the short run it might prove helpful in covering up making you look busy and productive. But what happens in the long run? It leads to organizational rigidity and stagnation in terms of productivity and a sag in the morale of the employees. Fifty Models for Strategic Thinking  Playing it Safe is not Always Safe: Playing safe is not always safe. Some managers always like to lead a team that has taken up viable projects with a high probability of success. There is no pain but lots of gain. This tactics makes you devoid of risk taking -which according to me is the prime and supreme quality that a manager or a team leader must possess or at least try to develop. Also taking a neutral position in #conflict situations makes you a dull leader and not a person to be much sought after. What is the result of Poor Decision Making? The first and foremost thing that managers have to understand and admit is that, poor decision making is the root cause of failed course of action. They should have the guts to admit and take up the responsibility for the negative outcome and not to seek some strategically helpless defense mechanisms. Making others a scapegoat for your helplessness doesn’t shield you for long but puts you in the defending territory forever. Ddefensiveness delays decisions, affects organizational success, sets a bad precedence, increased group conflicts, interpersonal tensions and leads to unreliable evaluations. The long and short of the discussion clearly highlights the importance of recruiting not only a qualified manager but a committed and reliable person who has the ability to take risks and tackle crisis situations with ease and steer the organization smoothly without any hitches by greasing it...

What is Grapevine? In every organization there exists an informal channel of communication called the grapevine in operation. It is called so because it stretches throughout the organization in all directions irrespective of the authority levels. Organizational Benefits that come along with Grapevine It is quite natural for a group of people working together to be interested in one another and talk about appointments, promotions, retrenchments or even domestic affairs. Some people derive extraordinary pleasure from gathering such ‘secret’ information and transmitting it to others. They are the leaders who control the grapevine. Soon this info reaches everybody and becomes an ‘open secret.’ Grapevine is more a product of a situation than of a person. Certain situations like insecurity of service, uncertainty over promotions, special increments to a colleague, certain innovations in the organization that are likely to affect the job prospects of the employees, are sure to activate the leaders of the grapevine that instantly spreads all kinds ofrumors in the organization. Communication Network of an Organization: The channel’s network is in a horizontal fashion as the communication is only between the workers of the same level of hierarchy. Apprehensions experienced by workers on matters like promotions and retrenchments become an obsession with them. Talking about them may not alleviate their fears, but it certainly provides them emotional relief. The existence of the grapevine proves that the workers are interested in their associates. The very fact they talk among themselves helps to promote organizational solidarity and cohesion. The management should work up this kind of situation to their advantage. How? Well, all information cannot be transmitted to the employees through the official channels. If there is some useful information unsuitable for being transmitted through official channels, it can be done through grapevine. The speed with which information is transmitted through the grapevine is just remarkable. Spot the Key Persons: The management should try to spot out the key persons involved in this process and keep them well informed to block harmful rumors reaching the employees. Also the grapevine can be used as an “acid test “to check the pulse of the employees. If there is any false rumor the management should immediately use the official channels to contradict and to dispel the fears from the minds of the employees. Grapevine might be Harmful Too: One of the major drawbacks of the grapevine is that it may spread baseless or distorted news which may sometimes prove harmful even to the employees. The information is sometimes incomplete leading to ambiguities. The swiftness with which the grapevine transmits information may even be damaging, before the management becomes aware of it and can take any rectifying steps. How to Handle the Rumor-Mongers? If the workers are associated with decision-making, the rumor-mongers will be automatically frustrated. If the workers are already aware, say, that the plant is to be modernized but the modernization process is not going to involve any retrenchments, the arrival of new machinery and engineers will not cause any undue apprehensions among them. Thus the harmful effects of the grapevine can be successfully counteracted. Organisations should indulge themselves in sending positive signals to the employees to win their trust and...

Power and Balance in Corporate Governance Power has the ability to disorient a person’s behavior and attitude. When properly used it leads to height of efficiency, when misused it calls for calamity and disorientation in the entire business firm. It is nothing but the authority that comes with your job which has to be utilized for constructive purpose and at the same time to ascertain that things are “going in the right direction.” Precise use of power leads to a congenial atmosphere in your business arena”. Otherwise in course of time you might have to tackle warfare with your subordinates and the “undercurrent of animosity” might ruin your business success. How it affects Inter-Personal Relationship: When we talk about POWER it usually fits well into the top level management cadre, as managers and senior managers are assigned with huge powers in order to lead the firm in times of crisis as well as maintain the consistency of the nature of the firm. So when there is abuse of power consciously or unconsciously, people create a space between themselves and that particular person who misuses the power. So the result would be a lack of interpersonal relationship between the manager and the employees. Managers generally acquire and use influence that has its impact not only on the behavior of the individuals, but also on the organizational effectiveness as a whole which in turn affects productivity. Use Power as a Constructive Tool: In fact, authoritative behavior is often misunderstood by most of the managers in the business setup; there is a need for the managers to skillfully use their power in order to extract work from their teams as well as to maintain a balance between the extent to which authority must be used and the tolerance level of the employees’ (mind set). So it is more of a psychology which involves much critical analysis on the part of the manager to understand the constructive aspects of his authority and how employees at a lower level will always look up to him for support and guidance and not indifference. Power covers and affects the following important aspects, Discretion Crisis management Dependence of employees Responsibility Leadership Governance Interpersonal relationship Change management Environmental influences Reward systems Collaborative management Success of the firm and so on. In order to maintain his own integrity as well as the organisations’ the manager must be able to appreciate the relevance of power in management just by not looking into the literature but act in accordance with the situation. A detailed analysis of power dynamics makes the manager more effective in dealing with behavior inconsistencies in the organization. Try to be more open in your communication and make your employees feel that “You are always there” to support and guide them. This in turn will make your “Boss to have a second look at you” for a promotional pay. This discussion is from the manager’s perspective and there is more to be discussed and considered from an employee’s...

Ideal Team Development How to effect ideal team development? As the saying goes, there is no ‘I’ in TEAM WORK. Every organization should understand the importance and highlight the need for TEAM DEVELOPMENT amongst their employees. In a small group there are chances for the ‘WE’ feeling to predominate for obvious reasons. In case of larger groups as seen in big corporate, individual interaction becomes complex and gives rise to conflicts which hold back the progress.     The “I” Factor: Even philosophers don’t support or advocate the “I” FACTOR in individuals. It is purely a result of SUPER EGO as Sigmund Freud has put it rightly. Man is a MYRIAD OF EMOTIONS and his mind always picks up wrong cues and signals perfectly. So, TRAINING plays a major part in tuning the individual’s mind or shall I say, SYNCHRONISING his understanding with that of the organisation’s.   Try to clearly explain during the induction as to: What is the ultimate goal of your organization in terms of productivity? What is expected of each individual in his own capacity? What is the culture of the organization? What is the leader of the organization like? How do you interact with your team mates? Code of conduct and disciplinary procedures What is his role regarding the team’s development?   Picture Courtesy: Popyourcareer.com   Self Awareness: Self awareness is the key factor for the growth of any individual.A mind that is PHILOSOPHICALLY BENT would prove prosperity to the team as well as the organization. Western countries have realized the importance of keeping the mind cool which can be well achieved through MEDITATION AND YOGA. Sensitivity training is of paramount importance to any organization as an intervention for achieving the overall goals of the organization.   Inter Personal Human Behavior: Effective human interactions are the backbone of efficient organizations and this is not possible unless the interpersonal human behavior is CONTROLLABLE AND OPEN TO DISCUSSION. There should always be SCOPE for improvement and SPACE to express one’s feelings and offer ideas, i.e., sense of participation must be groomed. Team leaders and Managers are to be suitably trained to steer their ship and also rewards are welcome to motivate the crew. Why don’t leaders experiment with new behavior of effective leadership casting away conservative methods and also design flexible norms? It will constitute for a well behaved group and paves way for your organization to be UNIQUE. While organizing a group, a manager should carry out the process with a humane perspective taking into account, the human values, vision, creative thinking and better means of motivation. These factors align and bind the organization together paving way for holistic thinking and collaborative...

Values and Beliefs in Organizations What are Values and Beliefs in an Organization: An organisational value is “a belief that a specific mode of conduct is preferable to an opposite or contrary mode of conduct.”  Infosys Narayanamoorthy on Value System : Our team was unique in our commitment to a strong value system. We believed in putting the interest of the company ahead of our own interest. We believed in legal and ethical business. A sound value system is what differentiates long-term players from others.   Core Values of an Organization: Increasingly, organizations are setting out the core values that they think should govern the behavior of all their employees. Value statements may be produced which define core values in areas such as: Care for customers Concern for people Competitiveness Enterprising Excellence Flexibility Growth as a major objective Innovation Market/customer orientation Productivity Quality Teamwork But, is that all? By just defining what you think is important to guide the action of your employees may not suffice the cause. How do you put them into action! That’s where the secret lies.     Imitating the Boss: How do you make people do what you want them to do! Just by being a precedence or role model for your followers, is that not true? The best example that can be cited is the school atmosphere, where the kids take to their teachers. They simply, blindly follow or imitate whatever their masters do. I think IMITATION is the right word, because it makes people easily inclined to the behavior that is appreciated by the organisation’s atmosphere. When you imitate your boss you get a surreal feeling of being a boss at least for that time being.     Coercion is not the Right Approach: It is a general fact that it is very difficult to train or mould people the way we want to. And again it can be argued that people can be trained or molded very easily when you have the right kind of motivation and guidance. The core values should be INBUILT; it should be there RIGHT FROM THE START. If you have able managers to run your teams it becomes a cake walk for you to train the individuals without much COERCION. The authority and influence which the team leader has over the team says it all. Influencing the Employees the Right Way: Everybody in an organization plays their own role in cherishing the values imbibed and focus on achieving results, and keenness to “GET GOING AND KEEP GOING”. High work output is expected from a clerical staff, the Supervisor can be depended on for effective organization and control of teams and their work. THE MANAGER is clear about what “success “means for the business and is resourceful in overcoming obstacles. THE SENIOR MANAGER maintains focus on the “BOTTOM LINE” despite continuous changes to procedures and systems, and the EXECUTIVE is focused on results even when dealing with very diverse complex tasks and proactive in tackling mistakes.     Performance of Value Oriented Organizations: Value Oriented Organisations perform definitely better than others and achieve their targets in a quick manner. Values give direction to the firm backed up by solid principles to guide the action of the employees and also the commitment and determination to achieve whatever is due. Reliance Industries Limited stands as a testimony for a single man’s dream and vision and his core value was CUSTOMER SATISFACTION. To scale to greater heights, you also need STRONG WILLED PEOPLE RIGHT ATTITUDE ACTION PLANS STRATEGIES PERSISTENCE DETERMINATION and PASSION Values add integrity and honor to your organization and you should always remember that to hold your values you...