In many segments that rely on a culture of project management, the project officially begins with the official approval of the project, which is not so in the development sector, where the project life more commonly begins with a Project Identification and Screening Phase. The seed of a project arises merely as an idea – a need or opportunity that is weighed, scrutinized, and eventually developed into a project which is managed through the project life cycle. The most critical question one has to ask would be ‘Are we doing the right project?’ Because a problem well understood is half done. Let us Cruise Through the Ideas in Project Identification and Screening Search for New Ideas What are the objectives? *Brainstorm to generate alternative solutions. -Emerging market trends. –SWOT analysis. -Other constraints *Shortlist candidate ideas for detailed scrutiny. Motivation Projects are a means to accomplish -Individual or family objectives -Organizational objectives -National or global objectives Project Identification begins in response  to the specific need or the objectives  Objectives To increase profitsTo minimize threats of lossesTo become more competitiveTo provide help after a disasterTo train people in a new areaTo reduce pollution in DelhiTo become a successful entrepreneur Download this project planner template to effectively conduct your projects 👇 Minimal-and-Elegant-Project-Planner-TemplateDownload Swot Analysis A tool that detects the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of an organization. In particular, SWOT is a basic, straightforward model that measures what an organization can and cannot do as well as its probable opportunities and threats. The method of SWOT analysis is to take the information from an environmental analysis and distinguish it into internal (strengths and weaknesses) and external issues (opportunities and threats). Once this is over, SWOT analysis determines what may assist the firm in accomplishing its objectives, and what obstacles must be overcome or minimized to achieve desired results. • Objectives • Experience • Resources • Environment pressures -Keeping these factors in mind an analysis of strengths, weaknesses , opportunities and threats is made to identify and select suitable projects. STRENGTHS • Experience and expertise • Financial position • Capital raising capability • Industrial contacts • Foreign collaborations  WEAKNESSES • Newer unfamiliar technologies • Inability to raise huge investments • Lack of experience • Lack of trained personnel • Inability to forecast market trends  OPPORTUNITIES • Emerging technologies • New products with new markets • New processes with better features • Special financing schemes • Government and other incentives  THREATS • Competitors • Poor state of the economy • Outdated technology • Unprofessional management skills • New products and services  BRAINSTORMING • A good means to generate new project ideas • Focus on uninhibited participation by a group • Listing of ideas without suppressing creativity at source • List of ideas subjected to screening and evaluation subsequently  Download this meeting notes planner template to effectively conduct your project meetings 👇 Pink-Yellow-Gradient-Project-Meeting-Notes-PlannerDownload SCREENING OF IDEAS  Poor  Fair  Good  Vgood  Excellent (1)     (2)      (3)      (4)      (5)    Weight •Cost              *                                       20% •Risk                          *                           30% •Return                                 *                 40% •Hazard          *                                        10% •(score = 2×0.2+3×0.3+4×0.4+2×0.1= 3.1)  CRITERIA IN SCREENING PROJECTS • Investment • Rate of return • Risk • Likely profit • Payback • Similarity to existing business • Expected life • Flexibility • Environment impact • Competition Let us look at the following example – Reducing Vehicular Pollution in Delhi Ideas Generated in Brain Storming Restrict registration of new vehiclesEnforce strict emission regulations for vehiclesBan diesel run vehicles on roadIntroduce MRTS – Mass Rapid Transport System for the cityEncourage use of car poolsGrow more trees/ green belts in the cityDeclaring no traffic zones in the cityBan vehicles with an age of ten or more years from plying on the roads These and...

Strategic Evaluation: concerns mainly the analysis and judgment of interventions at the level of strategic goals. One of the noteworthy aspects of strategic evaluation consists of the verification of the adopted strategy with respect to the current and likely social and economic situation. How a firm has performed over time and relatively to its competitors, can be determined with the help of the following quantitative measures. Market price of the sharesMarket shareEarnings on capital employedDividend ratesReturn on equityGrowth in sales volumeProduction costs and efficiencyDistribution costs and efficiencyEmployee turnover, absenteeism, and satisfaction indices. Since there is a high correlation between progress and these indicators, we can say that a firm is successful if majority of the factors show a positive signal. But in reality, one cannot expect a business firm to satisfy all the above mentioned criteria, as performance is also affected by unexpected variations in the external environment. One has to trade-off between the positive and negative indicators and find suitable ways to enhance the performance levels. Effectiveness of a Strategy: The strategic importance of any particular criterion may not remain the same at different points of time. The short run and long run effectiveness of strategy cannot be evaluated using the same criteria. There may be difficulties in computation and different methods of computation that may be encountered in measurement. These factors serve as the bases for firms to identify the elements of success. Yet another way of performance evaluation is to identify critical factors that may be regarded as symptoms of decline and can be treated as early warning signals during the implementation of strategy. If they indicate the necessity of a turnaround or retrenchment strategy, the firm should definitely go for a suitable action without further delay. Such factors may be: Declining profit marginDeclining market shareRapidly increasing debtDeclining working capitalIncreasing managerial turnover What is the Need for Strategic Evaluation? You might be curious to know, what is the need for a strategic evaluation at all in the first instance? See, business firms and corporate companies are always in a position to execute their action plans in the wake of severe competition and retention of market share. A plan without a strategy is like life without a soul and decision making is solely dependent upon strategic inputs. Turnaround Strategy The need for feedback, appraisal and reward, check on the validity of strategic choice congruence between decisions and intended strategy all these help in successful culmination of strategic management process and create inputs for new strategic planning. What’s the difference between Strategy and Tactic? The evaluation need not be based only on quantitative terms, but also on qualitative aspects such as: internal consistency, consistency with the environment, appropriateness of the strategy in the light of available resources, acceptability of the degree of risk involved in the strategy, appropriateness of the time horizon of the strategy...

Spirituality and Management The purpose of correlating spirituality and management might present a weird picture to some. Research of the old Hindu scriptures, epics and Vedas disclose the secrets of management etiquettes coated with spiritual sugar which serves as a road map for us to cherish and follow. As an ardent follower of the BHAGAVAT GITA, THE UNIVERSAL BOOK OF SPIRITUAL SCIENCE, it was really amazing for me to know that the core principles of management have already been defined and dealt with that were formulated at a later date by MANAGEMENT GURUS like PETER DRUCKER, HENRY FAYOL, C. K. PRAHALAD and the like.   I would like to present four qualities that struck me while I was comparing and contemplating. PERCEPTION AND UNDERSTANDING THE INNER SELF SELF MOTIVATION AND SELF TRANSCENDENCE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES LEADERSHIP   The Leader and the Manager: The LEADER IS BEING FOLLOWED willingly, but a manager has to command individuals in order to adhere to his instructions. So, being a good leader starts from soul searching or understanding the nature of one’s inner self. SELF CONCEPTION gives a different dimension to approach problems. Spiritual experiences induce clarity in thinking that leads to ethical decision making. The spiritual experiences of Arjuna, one of the PANCHA PANDAVAS with LORD KRISHNA made him stronger (at will) and sharper (right perception).     Decision Making: “I am the strength of those who are devoid of personal desire and attachment. O Arjuna, I am the legitimate desire in those, who are not opposed to righteousness, “says Lord Sri Krishna. At the war front, Arjuna the GREAT WARRIOR is not sure whether to fight against his own kith and kin. The inspiring words of Krishna motivated him to come out from the state of INERTIA and enter RIGHTEOUS ACTION. It is a testimony of what philosophers call the transcendence from alienation to self confidence to reach ethical decision making.   One can never forego his duty or responsibility, be it his personal life or in the management arena. EFFECTIVENESS IS DOING THE RIGHT THINGS EFFICIENCY IS DOING THINGS RIGHT Management Lessons from Mahabharata from Parth Acharya   Forming a VISION, planning the right Strategies, pooling the resources, hiring right people for the right job, setting goals and objectives, reviewing by MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES, MANAGEMENT BY EXCEPTION, rewards and recognition, all have been dealt with a masterly excellence in MAHABARATHA which talks about the GURUKSHETRA WAR between the PANDAVAS and KAURAVAS or to simply put it, between THE GOOD AND THE EVIL. “The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.”Mind can make you LIBERATED OR BONDED that depends upon your WILL to master it or be a slave. Controlling your mind in turn controls your actions and thought process that leads to well augured efforts that proves fruitful to the human race. Leaders are born and not made goes the saying. But if you are able to be THE MASTER OF YOUR MIND, you are a leader made.   Management Lessons from THE BHAGAVAT GITA   Applicable to both western and Indian school of management, THE BHAGAVAT GITA deals with problems at the GRASS ROOT LEVEL relating to THE HUMAN PSYCHE. Management lessons from Bhagvad gita from singhm91 It enlightens us on all managerial techniques, goading us towards a serene atmosphere and state of affairs in place of the conflicts, stress, and lack of co-ordination, common in most of the enterprises world wide. “Do your duty perfectly, and the results will follow suit”, is the crux of GITA. How many of us...

Management styles vary by company, level of management, and even from person to person. Let us see the different management styles practised in different parts of the world for your better understanding. Managerial practices in Asian countries  The managerial practices in Asian countries like Japan, China and India are quite different from that of economically advanced countries in the west. Industrial nations are in a position to adopt managerial approaches that suits their mode of operations and nature of labor force. In Asian countries, a paternalistic or participative leadership style is followed while directive style of leadership pattern suits the west. Basically, this difference arises due to the cultural background of people influenced by their tradition. Japanese management East Asian countries like Japan have a set of cultural norms that cannot be overlooked or sacrificed for the sake of business.  Their cultural instincts are very strong and they believe in life long employment. Japanese management practice lays emphasis on seniority and shows great concern for each and every employee.  The objectives are set by the lower level employees and it is passed on to the top level management for approval.  These proposals are scrutinized by the supervisors who tactfully suggest the necessary changes, instead of simply accepting or rejecting the proposed objectives. This creates a sense of belonging and the employees identify themselves with the goals of the company. Participative Style  You cannot assure that a participative style of decision making always proves beneficial. Sometimes, managers have to show their individualism by taking tough decisions, when the situation warrants for such an action. Here the leader also becomes the firm decision maker. This is quite common in the west, where the leaders identify themselves with the profession rather than the company. Such solo decision making sometimes result in sub-optimal decisions. We are not going to compare and contrast between the various management approaches and which is better. The discussion aims at throwing light on different approaches and styles of management and how it affects the productivity of an organization. https://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?id=omtjfcspUOE&mid=39197&murl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.udemy.com%2Fcourse%2Fleadership-and-lean-management-masterclass%2F Collective Decision Making Japanese management relies on collective decision making (consensus), where the decision making might take time, but it is implemented quickly. The Japanese management is highlighted in this discussion to demonstrate the effectiveness of their approach which is followed by many western nations to ensure success. The novelty is in the fact that they treat people as human beings and not just another factor in production. The communication flows from bottom to top and back. Care is taken to define the problem with clarity before going for a decision. In the west, managers are criticized to come to conclusions even before defining the problem. https://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?id=omtjfcspUOE&mid=39197&murl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.udemy.com%2Fcourse%2Fnew-manager%2F Bureaucracy Bureaucracy still prevails in most of the Asian countries hindering the progress of business communities. What started as an amazing administrative legacy has now turned authoritarian. Even if the employee knows what the manager says is incorrect; he has to obey the instructions, just because it is issued by his superior. The people are expected to follow the instructions provided and not to question or suggest. Collective Responsibility  Collective responsibility and accountability, an informal organizational structure, common organizational culture and competitive spirit makes participative management approach distinct and successful. When the leader acts as a facilitator and not a dictator, naturally the employees will try to give their best shot. Collective responsibility might sometimes lead to ambiguity of decision responsibility. But individual responsibility and accountability vouches for clear and specific decision responsibility. Quality control circle Quality control circle is another feature that distinguishes Japanese management from others. Workshops are organized in a periodic fashion to arrive at solutions for problem situations, be it worker welfare, bottlenecks or interpersonal skills. The focus is on group performance and peers help one another in enhancing the performance and...