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Sometimes doing what you’re told works out well in the long run. I only joined Rotary because the chief executive of our company insisted on it. I still remember the excitement of being appointed to my first branch management position way back in the early ’80′s. One of the things that came as a bit… Continue reading »

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Oct
05

Employee Empowerment Needs an Organizational Culture That Seeks Empowerment

As culture is developed based on traditions, beliefs, rituals, information and language (communication) to develop an organizational culture of empowerment you need to understand how all these factors come about. The primary issues are the development of a shared vision, full understanding by all involved of the mission, setting of clear goals and as I… Continue reading »

Oct
04

Staff Empowerment: What it is, What it isn’t, How it works and Why Empowerment Often Fails

Empowering workers, means truly giving them more authority to make decisions and then act upon them and that’s where many empowerment programs break down. Many (I suggest most) mangers are happy to delegate responsibility however they are reluctant to hand over any real authority. Lack of authority for competent staff can leave them frustrated and… Continue reading »

Aug
20

Management Success and the Value of Failure

I still remember making a mistake as a young supervisor that cost the company I worked for $3,500.00. Of course my immediate thoughts were that I would at best be chastised and at worst be sacked. My punishment was a little loss of face as what I had done became a training bulletin to discourage… Continue reading »

Jul
02

We Often Hear the term “Working Smarter” so WHAT IS WORKING SMARTER?

Working smarter is about finding new ways to get the same results in less time. Working smarter is about “doing more with less” and is the basis for increased productivity. The infamous 80/20 rule suggests that 80 percent of our results come from just 20 percent of our efforts. Conversely I have through experience found… Continue reading »

Jun
13

Leader or Despot Which Management Style is More Like You?

Sometime back a friend asked me if I could come up with a leadership anagram. Bearing in mind that in reality our leadership or management style is probably somewhere along a continuum between despotic through democratic to laissez-faire perhaps the following anagram extremes can at least serve as reminders of the best and worst of… Continue reading »

Jun
06

Working in a Multicultural Environment “National Influences” part 4

Culture on a national level: Individualist and Collectivist Societies What are the differences between individualist and collectivist societies? Well it is “I” v.’s “We”. In individualist societies the wife and kids need me to support them v.’s in collectivist, the ‘extended’ family, parents, uncles, aunts etc., who will protect me in exchange for my loyalty.… Continue reading »

Jun
03

Working in a Multicultural Environment: Continued part 2

NATIONAL PSYCHE EXISTS… MAYBE Admittedly it is dangerous to comment or make judgments regarding another’s culture however sometimes I believe it is necessary. With that said did I once have the misfortune to listen to a young American professor while he advised a willing audience of ‘expats’ and ‘locals’ on the intricacies of dealing across… Continue reading »

Jun
03

Working in a Multicultural Environment: An Introduction

With the fluidity of borders and the rapid migration of workers from country to country there is today more than ever a pressing need in many organizations for us to work effectively with people from many cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds. Even if we work with those from similar backgrounds professional and personal characteristics mean… Continue reading »