How Women Entrepreneurs are Viewed by the Society An entrepreneur is one person who has the ability to think out of the box, to cash in on the opportunities, to think big and different, to go for innovative ideas, to take warranted risks and to make a difference amongst the ordinary lot. Modern business world and the society as a whole have understood the importance of women emerging as successful and powerful entrepreneurs which has proven good for the growth of a country’s economy. Challenges of being a woman: The challenges start at the grass root level: being a woman is sufficient enough to create a gender bias and to be looked down. Physically the differences are obvious and the strength that a man is empowered with cannot be overruled, but the inner strength and the power to conquer that a woman is empowered with can never be equaled. Running a household is even more difficult than running a corporate business. All your management principles come under the household umbrella. No tactics or strategy is left unturned for the smooth running of the household. A woman needs no training in areas of strategic planning decision making(comes naturally) developing interpersonal relationship delegating authority decentralization managing leadership motivating others and self motivation crisis management impression management quality of work Women CEO’s add Value to their Companies: Nature has blessed her with all these and many more managerial qualities that are needed to manage an organization effectively and efficiently. Gone are the days when they were treated a step down, now most of the corporates have very efficient women CEO’s and their ability is reflected in terms of productivity and profitability. Moreover a woman adds value to the company as responsibility is her second name and this works out in favor of the organization to gain the trust and confidence of its consumers, suppliers and stake holders. A woman can occupy any post of its highest kind including the presidential or prime ministerial positions. The enthusiasm that a woman entrepreneur exuberates is infectious and induces positive vibes in the organization. Be it negotiations, tackling the union leaders and workers, business travels or bargaining, nothing is a problem. She is more efficient in clinching deals and proves adventurous in concluding new business ventures. Work – Life Balance: A woman has to have a balance between her family, relationships, children and work. That is the biggest ever challenge which she handles with ease. The financial pinch that the recent economy has created has served as an eye opener for men in realizing the fact that a house needs two financial paymasters for running the show. Success Ratio of Women Entrepreneurs: Many few women entrepreneurs emerge out as victors as most of them lack support from their counterparts and lack of financial support from banks, financial institutions may also slacken the pace and hinder their progress. The success ratio has considerably increased when compared to olden days but still many of them lack the nerve to start their own business. Ignorance and lack of self reliance are the major factors hindering the development of female entrepreneurs. I have seen many women who are born in business families with natural business instinct and their added advantage would be the already available infrastructure, platform and guidance to grow and make it to the top. Even circumstances force certain women to go in for self owned business and once they taste the essence of success they never want to look back. The society has a bigger role to play in developing more women entrepreneurs by giving positive support. Women have a better judgement on role analysis and perception which turn them into better role models in any field or...

You Can Delegate Authority, but Not Responsibility Responsibility of a Manager: A corporate manager is accorded with the huge responsibility of leading his subordinates in the right direction, by giving proper insights on the tasks to be accomplished. The success rate depends on how well he delegates his authority down the line to get things done. The art of delegation results not only in down sizing his work pressure but also in the empowerment of subordinates, that elevates them to a higher plane of understanding and achievement. An Excerpt from The Art of Delegation: Developing This Essential Managerial Skill Delegation helps you handover the authority of certain tasks to capable team members so that you free up your time to work on more pressing issues. But you still remain responsible to get those completed in proper way. Hence it is essential to have a status check or communication with the team member on regular basis. Accountability of Subordinates: The subordinates, when entrusted with the responsibilities of performing a task by themselves and the necessary authority to make decisions within the area of their assigned duties, are obliged to perform. The necessary assistance and training for the new assignment has to be planned for, by the manager to make them perform as per the expected standards. The thing is right people should be chosen for the entrusted job. They should possess the zeal and enthusiasm to deliver the desired output. Some people perform beyond expectations and they should be rewarded with additional responsibilities. Whatever the case may be, it is a wise thing to delegate simple assignments at the initial stage, and proceed with more challenging jobs depending upon the caliber of the incumbent. THE ENTREPRENEUR’S GUIDE TO DELEGATION Clear and Clever Delegation: Clear and clever delegation facilitates to build a formal organization structure, where the subordinates are trained well and they look up to the manager for direction and guidance. Although the authority is delegated, the manager is held accountable and answerable to the management for the performance output or the end result. Some managers hesitate to delegate, just for the reason that their weaknesses might get exposed. Some don’t have confidence in their subordinates. Some even fear that they might lose their power if the subordinate is very shrewd and exceeds the expectations. Managers fail because of poor delegation; the reasons being personal attitude of managers in delegating authority. Let us understand some of the basic principles to be adhered to while delegating: The authority delegated to subordinates should be adequate enough to ensure their ability to accomplish the expected results. Authority can be delegated but responsibility can never be delegated. Responsibility of subordinates is “performance” and that of managers is “responsibility for the action of their subordinates”. One cannot be held responsible for a task if he has only limited authority. There need to be a balance between authority and responsibility. The presence of a single superior will invoke greater feeling of personal responsibility among the subordinates. Lack of receptiveness on the superior’s part will incur greater loss in terms of performance and efficiency. Instead, a manager should develop a trustful attitude towards his subordinates and should have the patience to explain the policies, objectives and guidelines and give sufficient authority to perform a duty. HOW WELL EMPLOYEES KNOW ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION? Although initially the efforts taken to train a subordinate is time consuming, the more empowered he becomes, less is your time taken to accomplish the enterprise objectives. The superior must be able to create a climate of mutual trust and goodwill, to make delegations effective in the light of expected...

Leader vs. Manager – what is the connecting thread? Who is a Leader? A leader is always looked up to, by his followers as they are truly inspired by his personality, behavior and the power of his words and actions. The intellectual ability of a leader is definitely on the higher scale than a non-leader and also the perceptual ability and decision making skills are amazing. The main idea of pondering over leadership is that how the qualities of a leader make him more successful and how those unique qualities can be acquired by a manager of a firm to influence a group towards achievement of goals. What makes a leader unique? Every individual is bestowed with at least one special quality that makes him unique. A leader obviously is inherent with so many good traits and qualities that influence others and the best part of the story is that he understands his own potential and employs the right skills at the right time. It is basically a personal quality of character in a man that influences the behavior of others in a productive manner.     Top 10 qualities of an effective leader; A man of charisma-the followers should be attracted by his magnetism and willingly contribute to the cause Should have a clear idea of future plans-Here he differs from the manager who is concerned more about the productivity Should be action-oriented, dare to achieve the impossible Should be tough at heart -stick to his principles and not a victim to circumstances Should be  flexible, when it comes to the #welfare of his people Maintain integrity and humility Value-driven to gather trust Open and honest in his endeavors Creative-the ability to think out of the box Should possess sense of humor that makes him an affable person and even serious issues can be dealt with ease     Is Manager a Leader too? Is it necessary that a manger has to be a good leader too? Of course yes. By virtue of being selected for the post of the manger, a person cannot manage the show. Unless he possesses the true qualities of a leader he cannot pull the strings tight and lead the organization in the right track. Without the right elements of leadership, he merely becomes a care-taker enjoying his pay and perks. He will not be liked by his subordinates if he doesn’t have that drive to make a mark of himself as an assertive person and in due course of time either he becomes the entertainer of the firm or he loses his integrity, both of which is not good for the organization’s efficiency and productivity. Roles of an efficient manager: A manager has the necessity to prove himself in terms of planning, formulating strategies, successful completion of targets, increased production, increased sales, acquisition of more orders, managing his team without much conflicts and above all make the team to abide by and obey his rules. A manager to be a successful leader need not be aggressive to prove his point but tough and determined to get things done. Big corporate firms frame ‘systems’ which are nothing but templates of action incorporating all the elements needed for execution in a tailor made fashion. A manager has to now focus on the strategic elements of management since the technicality is being taken care of by the systems. What is the right management approach? Managers expect subordinates to nod their heads in approval to whatever they say. This not the right approach; there should always be a reciprocal relationship between both the parties as in the case of a leader and his followers. A give and take policy makes you more...

Factors That Influence Global Economy The industrial and business environment of developing countries has been subjected to a sea of changes owing to the economic reforms and policies in the light of globalization, privatization and liberalization. A long term economic vision is necessary for these countries to establish themselves in the global market which facilitates the process of becoming self sufficient in due course of time. Let me present you with a synopsis of how this change can happen and how countries are adapting themselves in lieu of the global economic boom. Multi Brand Retail Markets: Many multinational companies have acquired and are trying to acquire a major part of equity in multibrand retail markets of the host country and sometimes they opt for Joint ventures to factorize the economy of scale which also proves to be a win-win situation for both the parties. Developing countries have altered their economic views on foreign direct investment and are very liberal in their attitude in providing with the necessary licenses. The entry of multinational companies and their potential investment has even altered core sectors like power, oil and telecommunications. Moreover, the benefit of cheap labor, economic subsidies for the start of operations in economically backward regions lures foreign investors. Rush of Entrepreneurship: There is a rush of entrepreneurship in the developing countries, in the form of setting up of small scale industries, cottage industries for which liberal subsidies are provided by the governments to encourage the act of entrepreneurialism. Also people want to go for diversification, mergers and acquisitions in the wake of global competition. Capital Markets’ Role: Capital markets have gained new buoyancy. The rapid growth of stock market and its influence over the international economic scenario have made foreign brokers to keenly follow the market changes for potential investment. The one striking feature of the economy of developing countries is that, it is a self made economy and withstands the pressures of the business cycle, such as recession and inflation, unlike foreign markets that have failed to stabilize their markets owing to what is called sub prime lending, a plan that has failed to achieve the desired economic growth. Instead of making the capital market alive with fresh infusions of funds, it has left many banks and financial institutions bankrupt. Banking Sector: Banking sector has scaled to greater heights and has come under a competitive environment. Deregulation of interest rates to attract potential investors, new technology, products and aggressive marketing usher in new competition; disinvestment of government equity in nationalized banks have made banks to operate as commercial institutions and their services get marketed as branded consumer products. Financial services have emerged as a new business and funding options are aplenty increasing the chances of raising capital. This has evolved as a separate and major source of business fetching revenue to the service providers. Private Sector: Private sector is gaining importance in countries like India, where they have entered all the core industries like oil, mining, telecommunications, road building, railways, ports, civil aviation etc. This serves as a revenue source for the government and this kind of economic restructuring has brought a wave of enthusiasm amongst the potential investors. Imports have become an entrepreneurial activity and are out of the government domain and this has been facilitated by relaxation of licensing hassles. These are some of the recent trends in the developing countries that have captured the interest of multinational...

Group Dynamics Any effective group has three core activities: 1. Accomplishing its goals  2. Maintaining itself internally 3. Developing and changing in ways that improves its effectiveness. Let us now try to understand the various dimensions of an effective group that facilitate the above mentioned three core elements to function properly which provide a sense of direction to the productive group. a) Group goals: Must be clearly understood. Be relevant to the needs of the group members. Highlight the positive inter dependence of members.  Evoke from every member a high level of commitment to their accomplishment. b) Communication: Must communicate their ideas and feelings accurately and clearly.  Effective two way communication is mandatory for interaction c) Participation and Leadership: All should participate and all should be listened to. Share responsibilities that eases the burden. Increases the cohesiveness of the group. d) Appropriate decision making procedure: Balance between time and member resources. Flexible decision making to suit the needs of the situation. e) Power and Influence:  · Should be equal · Based on expertise, ability and access to information and not on authority · Coalitions must be formed between group members on the basis of mutual influence and interdependence. f) Conflicts: · Are to be encouraged as they promote involvement in the group’s work, improve quality and creativity in decision making. · Minority opinions should be accepted and used g) Group Cohesion: · Needs to be high · Level of acceptance, support, and trust among the members decide how cohesive the group is h) Problem Solving: · Problems should be resolved with minimal energy and permanently · Existence of problems must be found out quickly and solutions should improve the effectiveness of group behavior  i) Inter-personal effectiveness: · Needs to be high · It is a measure of how all the consequences of your behavior match your intention. ⇓ Picture Courtesy: 6 WAYS TO DEVELOP A WINNING TEAM CULTURE  Group Cohesiveness: This is defined as the average resultant force acting on members to remain in a group. The characteristics or criteria that determine group cohesiveness are as follows: 1. Degree of dependency on the group: The greater the number of individual needs are satisfied, the greater the cohesiveness. 2. Size: If the size of the group interaction is low, it results in low cohesiveness. If the size of the group is small, the members tend to have free and more interaction, leading to high level of cohesiveness and vice versa. 3. Homogeneity: Where the interests and background of the group is similar, you find greater cohesiveness. 4. Outside pressure: Outside pressure minimizes internal conflicts leading to high cohesiveness. You find people responding with greater cohesiveness during times of natural disaster and calamities. 5. Competition: Competition between the members of the same group or intra group competition reduces cohesiveness but competition members of different groups or inter-group competition increases cohesiveness. Group Cohesiveness can be encouraged by the following ways: · Make the group smaller · Encourage agreement with group goals · Increase the time members spend together · Stimulate competition with other groups · Give rewards to groups rather than to a single member · Physically, isolate the group.  ...