Strategic Self Management - Motivation 1 - Recession 0

Throughout history, man has been studying motivational training but to date motivation is still a very complex and misunderstood word. We easily go from an energy state of high motivation to spiraling into a total realm of negativity just based upon the information we receive, whether it is verbal or non-verbal. We can be highly charged and energized one minute and feel flat and deflated the next by this outside stimuli. For example sending out our resumes searching for a job we feel we are perfectly fit to accomplish but upon hearing a negative response or no response we can easily fall into the psychological state of panic.

We can develop thoughts of worry (What if I can't get a job? What if nobody hires me?). We can develop the fear of the unknown (How will I pay my mortgage? How will I care for my children?). Loss of motivation based upon an outside event triggering our raw emotions thus interfering in our ability to move forward.

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Perhaps we have a great business idea only to find looks of disbelief by family and friends who have underrated our talents, skills, and abilities immediately throwing us back into the state of uncertainty and feelings of inadequacies from the discouragement of lack of support. Either way easily influenced by society making it particularly difficult to maintain our self-motivation. Each of us must determine our own level of motivation based upon previous life conditioning and experiences in order for us to remain in control. For this reason alone, we must look inside for what we want for our true selves.

"Know thyself" the Greek Philosophy and "to thine own self be true" are statements that have been around for centuries and are powerful in assisting in reminding us to identify what inner form of spirit we could rely on to develop our life long goals. It is evident nobody can do the work for you so determining your inner yearning is of utmost importance! After all, it is your life, your thoughts, your motive, your reason.

Forms of motivation include working for pay raises, building dream homes, raising a healthy family, working for the good of humankind, investment, self-employment, higher learning, respect, integrity, credibility. The list and reasons for why we do things is endless and requires deep internal processing by each of us in order for us to sustain our drive of personal action.

During the trying times it is critical we protect ourselves from the onslaught of negativity. We must instead force ourselves to focus on identifying what we want, why we want it and what we need to do in order to get there as this is the difference between whether we will increase our energy towards the accomplishment of our deepest desires or not. This is the critical key. It is our desires not others.

The good news is self-motivation is clearly that. It is the self. It is you. It is your thought energy. The only true power you hold in this world is by your thoughts. You are the provider of your perception. It is your responsibility to provide action towards your goals from the motive of reason determined by you. It is your motive for action, which will drive and sustain you through the difficult times in your life. Motivation is merely your thought energy, your reason for being which in turn shifts into physical action.

So how do you self-motivate in times of recession? How do you go on with your dreams and your life when your home is about to be for-closed on, or you find yourself lacking in a job, perhaps your spouse has left or any other major life altering event due to the recession? How do you cope with the additional burden of job responsibility with the cutbacks and having to do two jobs in place of one?

First, you have to come to terms with how you feel about what is occurring. You have to allow your emotions to go through the cycle of healing. If you do not take this vital time at some point later you will find what you suppressed will be expressed in the least opportune time. Go ahead and feel bad now. Try not to struggle with it just feel your emotions.

Take the necessary time to deal with these sentiments. It is okay to be angry, disappointed, scared, depressed, numb, anxious, worried, fearful, or any other emotion you are feeling. It should tell you, you are alive! Give yourself all the time you need to sort through your challenges. The important part is that you work through the emotions yourself so that you come to terms with it and come out with a clearer understanding as to what you really want.

Be vigilant of your surroundings to prevent from being, unduly influenced by others for when we are at a low emotional state, we are at a very high level of sensitivity for influence. We must take care that the choices we make in our lives are truly ours and not for the satisfaction or gratification of others.

Another critical key is to separate yourself from others viewpoints while identifying new strategies for your future. Redefining your own motivation based upon your own individuality. At this stage, if you rely too heavily on the influence of others, you run the risk of living your life as others would see for you instead of living the life pre-determined by you.

Try taking long walks, meditating, or simply sitting with your worries and staring into space. Silence will help you to identify what is truly important to you in your life. It will help you to clear some of the ghosts, which no longer work for you. Sit as quiet as you can until you start to hear the strength of your own internal voice guiding you in a more positive direction.

What you will experience is your real self. You will hear your own words telling you what you really want in your life. Take care to be gentle with yourself and allow yourself the opportunity to explore these ideas. Go ahead and write down anything you feel has value to you. You will soon see a pattern begin to emerge.

Soon you will find one of your ideas will create a spark of excitement in the form of renewed energy within you. Follow this idea and learn as much as you can. Do everything humanly possible to learn everything you can about it. By doing this you are fueling the embers of a fire stirring deep within and suddenly you know what you have to do and why you are doing it.

Once this has occurred you are ready to kick yourself in the butt and start back into life. You will find your focus will attract to you everything you need to accomplish your vision.

I have personally found it extremely helpful to start an exercise program at this point. I find exercise helps to strengthen against attacks of negativity, which can greatly drain the young fresh spiritual ideas you are developing. By implementing a solid exercise program into your life, you increase oxygen to your brain allowing for increased focus, concentration, and stamina for your new founded ideas to take shape.

Add to it vitamins and a nutritional program and you are now ready to run 24/7 inspired with high energy and ready to realize your new dreams. As you take your life back into control, you feel a powerhouse of energy develop within you. This is motivation!

For more information on Time Management and Goal Setting strategies visit: http://www.strategicselfmanagement.com

Good luck and may all your hopes, dreams and wishes be turned into motives for action.

Strategic Self Management - Motivation 1 - Recession 0

Marianne, the owner and founder of Ontario Home Care Assist, works with the elderly to assist them in maintaining their independence in their own homes for as long as possible. For more Senior information and free downloads go to [http://www.OntarioHomeCareAssist.com]

Organizational Management - Management Structure

In this installment of our guide to organizational management we look at management structure...

The process of planning, organizing, and controlling human and other resources in order to meet an organizations goals, is known as management.

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Typically, a company will be set up to include different types of managers, which can include managers with responsibility for a specific department or division of the entity, as well as regional managers who supervise activities in a particular geographic region. The types of management positions will vary in accordance with the size of the business.

Management structure (also known as organizational structure) is the method by which staff, departments, divisions and regions work and interact with one another. There are two main types of such structures, known as flat and hierarchal.

Whats known as a flat management structure promotes a decentralized decision-making process, which increases staff involvement and is achieved by very few or no management layers between front-line workers and the company's leadership.

By elevating the level of responsibility of baseline employees, and by eliminating layers of middle management, comments and feedback reach all personnel involved in decisions more quickly. Since the interaction between workers is more frequent, this management structure generally depends upon a much more personal relationship between workers and managers.

The hierarchal management structure has a set chain-of-command - that is each unit in the organization (except that at the very top) is subordinate to another unit or division. That means that each individual communicates directly with an immediate supervisor or subordinate and does not jump over layers of management to get to the top leader.

The benefit of a hierarchal structure is also its primary limitation in that it will reduce the level of communication that goes directly to the top. The hierarchal configuration, however, is the most prevalent for large corporations, governments, and even organized religions.

Flat management structures will typically only work well in smaller companies, or within smaller defined units of a large organization. Once an entity reaches a certain size, this type of structure will not work as well and could end up having a negative impact on productivity. An organizations complexity can be related to its size and how widely distributed it is geographically, and it is this complexity that governs which management structure is most beneficial to the company.

Organizational Management - Management Structure

Want to know more? Click here to continue reading our guide to organizational management: Organizational Management

How to Improve Management Performance

Managing Performance is the procedure of assessment of progress, of an establishment, towards a sought-after goal. It is the measure, analysis and optimization of resources to render a service to a level that has been agreed upon. It concentrates on the delivery of service.

The initial idea behind performance management is a procedure over which the management merges the individuals, schemes and strategies, to maximise both potency and efficiency to be able to present the preferred outcomes. Plainly put, the statement entails, doing the precise things and doing the things right. That is, an up-and-coming organization should admit one system that integrates leadership, and the other that insists on accomplishing excellent.

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An competent performance management in an establishment can achieve leadership skills that can be elevated alongside mental attitudes, interpersonal skills and behaviors. This is a important aspect of managing performance as it helps in keeping back and holding individuals who embody the basic human capital of the organizations. as they are the ones responsible for the implementation of the primary plans of the business.

It is exceedingly essential for a commercial enterprise to have a strong, performance management. It should be able to engage the systems, individuals and schemes actively, for the successful execution. This should further result in an growth in the gross revenue and a better profitability that would credibly not be reachable, if the procedure was not carried through.

With an active performance management, business concerns will prosper like never before. It is an highly essential process of business management, that is employed by directors of people, as an efficient tool, that is utilised by them to reach the objectives of the establishment.

Performance Management should be able to fulfill the next business concerns objectives: The missing link between Ambitions and results: Now, commercial organizations are progressively aware that it is normally not their strategy but the integrated endeavour and abilities of their employees to accomplish the scheme that makes all the difference to their expanding business. Thus, it becomes the duty of top level managers to fill in the gap between the missing links of aspirations and results, by motivating their employees, over management of their performance.

To grow the potential of an organisation, in order to accomplish its scheme, it is important that the establishment develops and makes the capabilities of its employees. Impressive individuals management is the only key to better the businesses functioning.

The most important purpose of Performance Management is to increase the potency of the employees. This should be done, in order to improve the performance of the commercial enterprise.

Managing Performance is connected with paperwork, challenging conversations and bureaucracy, and is therefore ofttimes put away as a chore no one wants to do. Even So, Performance Management is a operation that involves individuals and managers, that use the operation on a frequent basis, to increase their effectiveness towards the employer's establishment.

How to Improve Management Performance

P Abbey owns and runs http://www.managementperformanceadvice.com/benchmarkingperformance.html

Benchmarking Performance

Functions Of Management

Performance of management is necessarily a subject to its functions. Earlier management was segregated into five functions which were-

o Planning

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o Organizing

o Staffing

o Directing and

o Controlling.

With changing times and increasing business complexities, the functions of management also increased and functions like reporting, co-ordinating, budgeting etc. was identified. Primarily, this step was taken to ensure departmentalization of management functions so that effectiveness and efficiency could be enhanced. However, different management thinkers differ on the numbers of functions. Essentially a creative problem solving methodology, the purpose of management is achieved through these functions. The basic objective of these functions is maximum utilization of resources available at company's disposal so that organization's mission and policies could be achieved in the best possible way.

As we delve deeper in every function, planning is the first function which is basically a logical thinking process that decides what needs to be done in order to achieve organization's goals and objectives. It focuses on the broader perspective of the business as well as taking into consideration, the tactical methods to get the desired results.

Organizing is about setting up and maintaining the internal organizational structure in accordance with objectives mentioned in planning stage. It also involves assigning tasks to various individuals for the larger goal of organization's missions and objectives.

Staffing is the process of choosing right people for organization. It can be associated with human resource management and involves recruitment, hiring, training and compensating the workforce.

Directing is guiding people in the organization through the means of counselling, instructing, motivating and various other modes of communication. It helps in channelizing the activities and conduct of employees so that organizational goals can be accomplished.

Controlling is the sum total of process which ensures all the plans are executed and implemented in the desired way. It also decides about whether some corrective and preventive methods need to be taken. It is meant to ascertain problem areas and remedial measures.

Apart from these, minor functions include reporting, budgeting and co-ordinating which are designed to perform specific functions.

Functions Of Management

MBA in India [http://www.mbainindia.in] and across the world is divided into different categories based on the functional aspect. Some motivational short sayings or inspirational speeches can inspire you to learn the progressive functions of management.

Basic Management Skills - What Makes a Good Manager?

Basic management skills are necessary to run a small business. Some business owners believe that leading vs managing is most important. In reality, you need to be able to both lead and manage.

What makes a good manager? There are definite business management styles and skills to focus on; specifically for small business owners. If you're the owner or manager of a small business, it's important to understand what those basic management skills are and to try to incorporate them into your own behaviors. Why? Because some skills are more successful than others and because some styles will engage your employees, while others will dis-engage them.

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Business management skills such as planning, decision making, problem solving, controlling and directing, and measuring and reporting are needed for the daily operation.

Using their small business plan, effective managers direct the business operation. Communications, benchmarking, tracking and measuring are tactics and strategies that they use to check their direction, to adjust the plan (if necessary), and to move the business forward. Good managers act to achieve the desired results; and they manage people and resources to get where they want to go.

Understanding what makes a good manager, means understanding what motivates employees.  How do you build an environment and culture that encourages employees to participate? How do you increase employee productivity and employee satisfaction; simultaneously? How do you recruit the best talent, and then keep them? How do you train your staff to solve problems, make decisions, and involve others in the process? These are just some of the challenges, and responsibilities, of managing.

As a manager, you need to understand what the common business management styles are (autocratic, paternalistic, democratic, and passive are the most common styles). And you need to understand what your style is, and how that style affects business results.

Four Business Management Styles:

1. Autocratic: The manager makes all the decisions; a "command and control" (militaristic) management style. Focus is on business; doesn't want any personal 'stuff' to get in the way. The benefit is that decisions are made quickly. The cost is in high employee turn-over as employees find this style difficult, and stressful.


2. Paternalistic: The manager makes all decisions (or most of them) but focuses on what's best for employees. The benefit is that employees feel the business is taking care of them. The cost is that employees don't take care of business - they are uninvolved and have little at risk.


3. Democratic: The manager wants input from the whole 'team' and majority rules. Often good decisions are made and employees feel involved in the business (the benefit to this style) but the process is very slow and you can't always make everyone happy.


4. Passive: The manager abdicates responsibility to the employees; and calls it delegation. The benefit is that employees often step forward and learn in this environment. The cost is that the direction is scattered and there can be numerous false starts because there is no real manager.

Managers typically use more than one style, depending on the situation. If brainstorming creative new product ideas is today's focus, then the manager may want to use a democratic or passive style. If a decision about keeping or firing an under-performing employee must be made, the manager may need to use an autocratic or paternalistic style (hopefully not a democratic or passive style).

In most small businesses, the business owner is also the manager and the leader. In your business, make sure that you have a good understanding of your own business management styles, skills and qualities and learn how to control them and use them as necessary.

Basic Management Skills - What Makes a Good Manager?

To understand more about what makes a good manager, or the difference between leading vs managing, it is good to focus on the qualities of an effective manager as compared to the qualities of an effective leader.
Kris Bovay is the owner of Voice Marketing Inc, a business and marketing services company. Kris has 25 years of experience in leading large, medium and small businesses. For more pricing strategies and other small business resources and services go to the more-for-small-business website.
Copyright 2008 - 2009 Voice Marketing Inc.

Role of MIS in Business Management

Despite the vast improvements in information technology, computers (on which modern IT is based) cannot as yet take over business management. However, business information systems have transformed the effectiveness, power and efficiency of management.

In an earlier article on business management software, we looked at surface aspects of how modern management information systems help businesses. We saw how computers speeded up and improved the quality of operations. We also mentioned the existence of broad categories of business software - office suites, functional software such as accounting and inventory, and industry software such as retail management software. In this article, we seek to look more analytically at the role of information management systems.

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Decision Support, Problem Analysis and Overall Control

Business managers often need to make decisions that can affect the business' fortunes one way or other. For example, a company with sales outlets or distributors spread over a wide geographic area might want to optimize the logistical operations of delivering merchandise to the outlets. The best solution might be affected by numerous factors such as demand patterns, availability of merchandise, distances involved and the option of using external carriers (who can find two way loads and might prove a lesser cost option over long distances) instead of own vehicles.

While it might be possible to use complex mathematical formulas by hand to compute the best solution, computers transform the whole process into a routine task of feeding certain information as input and obtaining suggestions for best solutions as output. The task can typically be done in a few minutes (instead of hours or even days) and it becomes possible to examine several alternatives before deciding upon one that seems most realistic.

Identifying problems and analyzing the factors that cause them also has been transformed by modern computer information systems. In a typical MIS environment, standard reports are generated in a routine manner comparing actual performance against original estimates. The software that generates the report can be instructed to highlight exceptions, i.e. significant variations between original estimates and actual performance. Managers will thus become aware of problem areas in the daily course of their work simply by looking at the reports they receive, without having to do detailed data collection and computations themselves.

Identifying the factors responsible for the problem can also be routinized to some extent by using such tools as variance analysis. Variance analysis is an element of standard costing system that splits deviations from estimates (or standards) into causative factors such as increase in price of materials used, excessive usage of materials, unexpected machine downtimes, etc. With such a detailed report, managers can delve deeper into the problem factor, such as why there was excessive usage of materials.

Control is also exercised through variance analysis. Budgets are prepared for all business operations by concerned managers working in a coordinated fashion. For example, estimated sales volumes will determine the levels of production; production levels will determine raw material purchases; and so on. With good information system management, it then becomes possible to generate timely reports comparing actual sales, production, raw material deliveries, etc against estimated levels.

The reports will help managers to keep a watch on things and take corrective action quickly. For example, the production manager will become aware of falling sales (or rising sales) of particular products and can prepare to make adjustments in production schedules, and purchasing and inventory managers will become quickly aware of any mounting inventories of unused materials. MIS thus enhances the quality of communication all around and can significantly improve the effectiveness of operations control.

Effective MIS Involves Humans and Computers Working together

The major aspect to note is that MIS provides only the information; it is the responsibility of concerned managers to act on the information. It is the synergy between efficient, accurate and speedy equipment and humans with commonsense, intelligence and judgment that really gives power to MIS.

Role of MIS in Business Management

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