31 December 2009 
Year 2000 Roll Over, 10 Years Past: Technology or People Management?
The Y2K Bug
Credit: Hannah Yoest
The world was coming to an end at midnight 31 December, 1999.
We had planned for it for years. It was, as one techno-wag said, “a disaster with a deadline.”
The Year 2000 roll-over was going to be big; world wide. No escape.
We knew this would be no mere technology challenge to be solved with exceptional American ingenuity. Y2K was problematic with unknown unknowns.
The internet would crash. Cell phones dead. The power grid dark.
Armageddon.
In the late 1990′s one-half of the world’s internet traffic passed through the Commonwealth of Virginia, thanks to America On Line – AOL.com. And maybe another Northern Virginia entity in Arlington: the Pentagon. I think that was a secret.
Your Business Blogger(R) had the Y2K responsibility for Health and Human Resources, a $5 billion enterprise in the Virginia government. The boss, governor Jim Gilmore, a former military intelligence officer, knew what we could and couldn’t do to combat the Y2K Bug.
There was a lot we couldn’t do. And it wasn’t all technology.
It was a condition of continued employment that there were to be no interruptions or adverse incidents to the citizens of the Commonwealth and the rest of the World.
(We worker-bees could not get it wrong. The world ends AND get a bad employee appraisal. A sub-par job performance would not be a simple career-ending/world-ending mistake. Going out with a bang, so to say.)
Business literature notes the adrenaline rush of the “peak experience.” The Governor of Virginia had this as he had The Whole World In His Hands.
The web had to run for the wide world and more: Virginia’s hospital doors had to remain open; the prison doors closed. Fresh water and waste water valves had to direct flow in the correct and desired directions.
Local first responders had to be able to coordinate communications across jurisdictional silos. Governor Gilmore was among the first to realize the importance of seamless radio traffic between Fed-State-Local law enforcement. (It still wouldn’t be fixed years later. Re: 9.11).
Lots of challenges beyond government resources. So Gilmore hired the biggest IT consulting firms on the planet and bought their solutions packages. In my weekly staff meetings I had a dozen of the smartest experts in the business. I was not one of them.
They let me think I was in control at the head of the table. And maybe so. But these consultants wouldn’t let me, a mere bureaucrat, make a mistake.
But there were some mistakes the professional tech-gurus could not save me from.
One of the first steps was to inventory hardware, software for both the public sector and those private vendors who supplied the government. Every computer and bit of software that touched the government had to be inspected and brought into a procedure for standardized compliance. Verified with a form. With signatures. Every laptop. Everywhere.
I started by reviewing the vendors for the $400 million Department of Health. It had over 11,000 suppliers.
—Easy MBA 101 stuff—
So I directed the staff to report on the number of vendors that did most of the business with us, say 80-90% of the dollar volume.
—More smarty-pants MBA inquiries—
To no one’s shock and awe, save mine, we learned that 900 vendors did 90% of the business with that government agency.
I addressed the staff. “You mean,” says I, “We have to manage over 10,000 vendors to deliver 10% of our purchase orders?” My chin thrust with smug disbelief.
“So?” the staff asked as one man.
—Shortly, know-it-all MBA would meet political realities—
I strongly suggested that we should look to consolidate some vendors and look at ways to reduce the number of transactions and paper work. Time and motion studies demonstrated that processing each purchase order cost $150. I would fix this! The efficiency of Frederick Taylor.
The staff left the room. Slowly. They knew something I did not.
But they got on the job and the machinery of government began to move. I so pride myself on getting completed staff work.
The staff saw the wisdom of my directives. The efficiency! The simplicity! The savings!
I leaned back in chair pleased with the MBA-intellect the governor hired.
The Governor would have done better to hire a politician.
In mere hours the calls came in. No, not from disgruntled vendors, but from locally elected officials representing the disgruntled vendors who were about to be shut out of government business.
No one was happy that rice bowls were going to be broken.
And the fact that this all took less than a day alerted me that back channels were working at the speed of light.
The vendors and the politicians were aided and abetted by an army of helpful bureaucrats who pushed all that paper around.
The populace clamors for efficient government as long as suppliers and jobs are cut in someone else’s backyard.
I didn’t have a chance. Nor did the citizens’ tax dollars.
This was my first rude lesson in ‘multiple points of accountability.’ In government a civil servant answers to his boss, of course. But he also must be mindful of other politicians, the press, the public, the unions, the lobbyists and peers making a grab for his budget.
The supply chain efficiency fight wasn’t worth the political capital necessary to win. There are real reasons why governments seem to be so inefficient.
My lesson learned, I quickly moved on to other battles where I had half a chance.
Virginia spent $215 million and nothing happened here or the rest of the world. There were some problems in Nigeria. We now think it was some kind of scam.
Nothing crashed. Except for that super-secret three-letter-agency satellite…and some defibrillators. Not my fault. No one died.
The lesson learned was that managing technology was the easy part. The real challenge was in managing people.
It always is.
Jack Yoest is an adjunct professor at the Northern Virginia Community College. He teaches management, sales, marketing and new media.
Thank you (foot)notes:
Be sure to follow Your Business Blogger(R) and Charmaine on Twitter: @JackYoest and @CharmaineYoest
Jack and Charmaine Yoest, Ph.D., also blog at Reasoned Audacity and at Management Training of DC, LLC.
15 December 2009
Practice Questions Business 200 Exam 2 Management
1. ____ is the process of finding, developing, and keeping the right people to form a qualified work force.
a. Functional resource planning
b. Human resource management
c. Work force forecasting
d. Recruiting
e. Human resource implementation
2. Which of the following statements about federal employment law is true?
a. This body of law has not changed during the last two decades.
b. The intent of anti-discrimination law is to make factors such as gender, race, or age irrelevant in employment decisions.
c. Federal law prohibits the use of gender, race, and age as the basis for employment decisions under all circumstances.
d. All federal laws are administered by the Department of Labor.
e. Federal employment laws do not deal with training and development activities.
3. To which of the following aspects of the human resource management process does federal employment law apply?
a. selection decisions
b. compensation decisions
c. performance appraisals
d. training and development activities
e. all of these
4. The fact that a 98-pound job candidate is not hired as a dock worker to move 60-pound boxes of produce is legal as a result of ____.
a. the four-fifths rule
b. adverse impact rulings
c. bona fide occupational qualifications (BFOQs)
d. gender selectivity
e. benefits and features for occupational quality (BFOQs)
1. Diversity ____.
a. exists in all organizations
b. is used to create affirmative action
c. is federally mandated
d. can exist in an organization’s employees and its customers
e. is accurately described by all of these
2. A modem factory owned by 3Com in Morton Grove, Illinois, has 1,200 workers who speak 20 different languages. This factory illustrates ____.
a. acculturation
b. diversity
c. affirmative action
d. cultural organization
e. organizational plurality
3. In order to achieve diversity, organizations must have variety among their employees and their ____.
a. regulatory agencies’ inspectors
b. customers
c. external environments
d. shareholders/investors
e. all of these
1. According to the text, ____ is the set of forces that initiates, directs, and makes people persist in their efforts to accomplish a goal.
a. attitude
b. self-management
c. persistence
d. motivation
e. compliance
2. The three components of ____ are initiation of effort, direction of effort, and persistence of effort.
a. compliance
b. self-management
c. motivation
d. performance
e. efficiency
3. According to some industrial psychologists, ____ is a function of motivation times ability times situational constraints.
a. leadership skill
b. creativity
c. job performance
d. performance valence
e. compliance
4. According to some industrial psychologists, job performance is a(n) ____ function of motivation, ability, and situational constraints.
a. circular
b. multiplicative
c. nonlinear
d. additive
e. corollary
5. Asa and Ruby both sell insurance. Asa is married, has three children, and a new house. Ruby is single and has recently purchased a new Lexus. According to some industrial psychologists ____.
a. they will be motivated by the same needs
b. Asa can be motivated through need, and Ruby cannot
c. Ruby has no needs
d. how well their employer motivates them relates directly to their individual needs
e. none of these is true
6. A sales manager has carefully selected the members of two sales teams so that they have, as nearly as possible, identical skills and abilities. Both are assigned potential customers in the same industry. Both groups are offered the same rewards. One team makes the sale, and the other does not. This information tells you that ____.
a. performance and motivation are unrelated
b. the concept of synergy is faulty
c. one of the components that leads to job performance was weak
d. nothing motivates some people
e. all of these are true
1. Effective managers define ____ as the process of influencing others to achieve group or organizational goals.
a. management
b. leadership
c. interpersonal influence
d. supervision
e. autonomy
2. Which of the following is a major concern of managers (as opposed to leaders)?
a. maintaining the status quo
b. inspiring and motivating others
c. taking a long-term view
d. promoting change
e. organizational improvements
3. One of the criticisms of the television industry is the networks’ desire to maintain ratings by thinking in terms of next week’s programming. The networks are also more concerned with how to get high program ratings quickly than achieving the ratings through giving viewers time to become acquainted with high-quality programs. Problem solving in terms of show placement or guest stars seems to be more important than inspiring great television innovations. This criticism assumes ____.
a. doing the right things is more important than doing things right in the television industry
b. the television industry benefits from strong leadership
c. long-term strategy is more important than tactics in the television industry
d. the television industry has a shortage of effective leadership
e. the television industry attracts more architects than builders
4. Which of the following is a major concern of leaders (as opposed to managers)?
a. controlling and limiting the choices of others
b. solving problems so that work can be done
c. preserving the status quo
d. inspiring and motivating others
e. a focus on productivity and efficiency
5. Ford Motor Company has always attracted and nurtured capable managers, but it has failed to do the same for leaders. So, as part of an overhaul of the automaker’s organizational culture, Ford is embarking on a sweeping attempt to mass-manufacture leaders. It wants to build an army of “warrior-entrepreneurs.” Ford’s “warrior-entrepreneurs” will be expected to ____.
a. take a long-term perspective
b. inspire and motivate employees to embrace change
c. realize that results are more important than processes
d. be architects rather than builders
e. do all of these things
6. Airline companies have blamed their recent financial problems on labor unions, the events of September 11, and a weak economy. Those airlines in financial difficulties have tried to solve the problem through short-term price reductions, firings and early retirements, and asking for employees to take pay cuts. The CEOs of these companies have not tried to motivate employees to create long-term solutions to the problems facing the companies. The CEOs of these troubled companies ____.
a. are true leaders
b. are more interested in doing the right thing than doing things right
c. are promoting long-term change
d. tend to focus on organizational visions, missions, goals, and objectives rather than organizational efficiency and productivity
e. are more than likely managers rather than leaders
7. When Jack Welch went to work for General Electric, he immediately began to make drastic changes in the company’s structure and product lines. He envisioned a bloated, inefficient General Electric becoming an efficient, profitable organization over time. He inspired and motivated his employees to change. Jack Welch ____.
a. would be characterized as a leader
b. had a short-term perspective
c. emphasized means rather than ends
d. acted as a builder rather than an architect
e. would be characterized as a manager
1. Which of the following statements about the importance of communication is true?
a. Many of the basic management processes cannot be performed without effective communication.
b. Oral communication is the most important skill for college graduates who are entering the work force.
c. Poor communication skill is the single most important reason that people do not advance in their careers.
d. Communication is especially important for top managers.
e. All of these statements about the importance of communication are true.
2. The last step in the perceptual process is ____.
a. Interpretation
b. Retention
c. Attention
d. Organization
e. Action
3. In the perceptual process, ____ is the process of noticing or becoming aware of particular stimuli.
a. retention
b. organization
c. interpretation
d. attention
e. activation
4. In the perceptual process, ____ is the process of remembering interpreted information.
a. apprehension
b. organization
c. interpretation
d. retention
e. activation
5. Which of the following statements about perception and perceptual filters is true?
a. People pay attention to similar things.
b. People organize and interpret what they pay attention to similarly.
c. People remember things similarly.
d. People are unaffected by differences in stimuli.
e. People perceive according to personality-, psychology-, and experience-based filters.
6. ____ is the process by which individuals attend to, organize, interpret, and retain information from their environments.
a. Active hearing
b. Passive listening
c. Perception
d. Apprehension
e. Participative communication
7. Because of ____, people exposed to the same information will often disagree about what they saw or heard.
a. defensive biases
b. feedback variables
c. differences in communication media
d. perceptual filters
e. communications deviations
8. Perceptual filters may occur as the result of ____.
a. stimulus-based differences
b. physiology-based differences
c. situation-contextual differences
d. personality-based differences
e. all of these
9. The steps in the basic perception process include all of the following EXCEPT ____.
a. attention
b. organization
c. analysis
d. interpretation
e. retention
10. The steps in the perceptual process in order are ____.
a. interpretation, attention, organization, action
b. organization, attention, interpretation, retention
c. attention, organization, interpretation, retention
d. attention, interpretation, organization, retention
e. attention, decision, intention, and action
1. The basic control process begins with ____.
a. either benchmarking or keystoning
b. the establishment of clear standards of performance
c. the comparison of actual performance to expected performance
d. problem identification
e. determining what corrective action will be if actual performance does not equal or exceed expected performance
2. ____ is the regulatory process of establishing standards that will achieve organizational goals, comparing actual performance to those standards, and then, if necessary, taking corrective action to restore performance to those standards.
a. Implementation
b. Goal-setting
c. Control
d. Suboptimization
e. Benchmarking
3. ____ are a basis of comparison for measuring the extent to which organizational performance is satisfactory or unsatisfactory.
a. Standards
b. Potentials
c. Autonomous goals
d. Degrees of centralization
e. Resource goals
4. The objective of the company that manufactures Jägermeister liqueur is to grow its international business. It determined its success in the international market in 2005 by comparing its annual exporting data for that year with the data gathered in 1998, the first year it had double digit growth in exports. For this company, the 1998 exporting data provide a(n) ____.
a. autonomous measurement
b. standard
c. value ratio
d. dependence measurement
e. performance predictor
5. In October 2005, Cadbury Schweppes said higher commodity prices and the bankruptcy of one of its U.S. bottling plants had increased its production costs and led it to scale back its financial projections for the remainder of the year. These financial projections were ____ for the beverage company.
a. autonomous measurements
b. standards
c. value ratios
d. dependence measurements
e. performance charts
6. Companies may determine standards by ____.
a. benchmarking other companies
b. implementing vertical loading
c. using outsourcing
d. taking corrective action
e. doing all of these
7. Ford Motor Company has been attacked by its own sustainability committee for failing to do enough to cut vehicular greenhouse gas emissions. According to the committee’s 2005 report, “Ford has failed to define a goal for reducing global emissions from the company’s products.” The report called for the company to set clear targets to improve fuel economy and to cut factory emissions. This committee wants Ford to establish emission control ____.
a. autonomous measurements
b. standards
c. value ratios
d. dependence measurements
e. performance predictors
8. ____ allows a trucking company not only to compare its safety performance with other companies but to also adopt those practices found to be superior. A trucking company can gather data on how its competitors deal with total accidents per million miles, numbers of high severity accidents by type, missed deliveries, spills, driver out-of-service by type, and vehicle out-of-service by type and use this information to improve its own safety record.
a. Benchmarking
b. Data decentralization
c. Information processing
d. Mirroring
e. Comparative criterion
9. When Marriott decided to improve the quality of service it offered its customers, it asked special corporate guests to comment on the good and bad issues of their stay and also to tell what the competition is doing that is better than Marriott. The Marriott acted accordingly. In other words, it used ____.
a. benchmarking
b. data decentralization
c. information processing
d. mirroring
e. comparative criterion
1. According to ____, the cost of computing will drop by 50 percent as computer-processing power doubles every 18 months.
a. Moore’s law
b. Gordon’s law
c. the Peter principle
d. the rule of e-commerce
e. Gresham’s Law
2. The term ____ refers to facts and figures depicted in a manner that is not usable.
a. nonspecific information
b. processed data
c. raw data
d. perceived knowledge
e. relevant information
3. The first company to use new information technology to substantially lower costs or differentiate products or services often gains ____.
a. first-mover advantage
b. lower profits
c. less market adaptability
d. increased synergy
e. all of these
4. According to the text, ____ is derived from ____.
a. information; raw data
b. raw data; perceived knowledge
c. perceived knowledge; raw data
d. raw data; information
e. influential knowledge; perceived knowledge
5. Pages listing all of the felony crimes perpetrated in New York during the last decade would be an example of ____.
a. a resource allocation table
b. traditional knowledge
c. raw data
d. perceived knowledge
e. information
6. Why is information strategically important for organizations?
a. Information can be used to obtain first-mover advantage.
b. Information is derived from perceived knowledge, which limits its availability.
c. Information cannot be used as a medium of exchange.
d. Information creates suboptimization opportunities.
e. All of these are examples of why information is strategically important for organizations.
7. A table showing the order frequencies as well as the average dollar value of the orders of different segments of a catalog retailer’s market would be an example of ____.
a. an MIS
b. perceived knowledge
c. raw data
d. information
e. influential knowledge
8. In 1921, realtor Billy Ingram closed his real estate company and opened White Castle restaurants to sell hamburgers. In 1921, hamburgers were thought to be made from rotten beef and not fit for human consumption. Ingram ground fresh beef in front of customers to prove it was safe and was the first to successfully sell hamburgers to the middle class. Today Ingram is credited as the founder of the fast-food industry. Understanding that Midwesterners wanted clean, convenient food when they were away from home was the information Ingram used to ____.
a. acquire a source of perceived knowledge
b. create a tactical advantage
c. create a first-mover advantage
d. pioneer sales in the consumer food industry
e. sustain a competitive advantage
9. Which of the following is one of the critical issues companies need to address in order to sustain a competitive advantage through information technology?
a. Who will have access to the information technology?
b. Will the purchase of the information technology be viewed as an expense or as an investment?
c. Does the firm’s use of the information technology violate any ethical standards?
d. Is the firm’s use of information technology difficult for another company to create or buy?
e. What government regulations may influence the company’s use of information technology?
10. The key to sustaining competitive advantage is ____.
a. faster computers with more memory
b. using information technology to continuously improve and support the core functions of a business
c. the Internet
d. the ability of the managers to delegate
e. how important the company’s culture perceives conceptual skills
11. In 1921, realtor Billy Ingram closed his real estate company and opened White Castle restaurants to sell hamburgers. In 1921, hamburgers were thought to be made from rotten beef and not fit for human consumption. Ingram ground fresh beef in front of customers to prove it was safe and was the first to successfully sell hamburgers to the middle class. Today Ingram is credited as the founder of the fast-food industry. Yet, today White Castle has 330 locations, and McDonald’s has 25,000 stores. From this information, you know ____.
a. tactics are more influential than strategies
b. the competitive advantage White Castle achieved from being first was not sustainable
c. White Castle lost its pioneering differential
d. product diffusion rates were slow
e. none of these
1. ____ is a measure of performance that indicates how many inputs it takes to produce or create an output.
a. Reliability
b. Performance accountability
c. Productivity
d. TQM
e. Effectiveness
2. At their core, companies are ____ systems that combine inputs such as labor, raw materials, capital, and knowledge to produce finished products and other types of output.
a. organizational
b. production
c. social
d. predictable
e. sociocultural
3. Which of the following shows the correct relationship for productivity, outputs, and inputs?
a. productivity = (inputs/outputs)
b. productivity = [(inputs outputs)/100]
c. outputs = (productivity/inputs)
d. productivity = (outputs/inputs)
e. inputs = (productivity/outputs)
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: 327
TOP: AACSB Analytic KEY: Operations Management
4. Which of the following statements about productivity is true?
a. Productivity is a ratio of benefits to costs (i.e., benefits divided by costs).
b. For companies, higher productivity can lead to lower costs.
c. For countries, higher productivity produces a lower standard of living.
d. Productivity decreases make products more affordable.
e. All of the statements about productivity are true.
5. Why is productivity important to countries?
a. Productivity matters because it produces a higher standard of living.
b. Greater productivity results in lower wages.
c. Productivity increases supply and reduces demand for products.
d. Productivity reduces taxation.
e. None of these statements explains why productivity is important to countries.
e
6. ____ productivity is a measure of performance that indicates how much of a particular kind of input it takes to produce an output.
a. Breakdown
b. Segregated
c. Unifactor
d. Partial
e. Fractional
7. The CEO of a company that manufactures maple wooden cutting boards has determined that it takes a piece of maple lumber 18 inches square and two inches thick, 2 hours of labor, a planer, a sander, an electric saw, and $5.67 to make one maple cutting board. The CEO has determined the ____ productivity of his company so he can compare its operation with that of its competition.
a. Integrated
b. Multifactor
c. Segregated
d. Functional
e. Breakdown
8. ____ productivity shows how much labor, capital, materials, and energy it takes to create an output.
a. Temporal
b. Multifactor
c. Functional
d. Continuous
e. Quantitative
9. If the manager of a company that manufactures signs was interested in how much glass tubing was needed to produce a Las Vegas casino neon sign, the manager would be interested in ____ productivity.
a. Composite
b. Multifactor
c. Partial
d. Breakdown
e. Fractional
10. In general, managers should use ____ to directly compare their overall level of productivity to that of their competitors, and ____ to analyze the contributions of individual components to that overall productivity.
a. efficiency measures; a productivity analysis
b. partial productivity; multifactor productivity
c. integrated productivity; segregated productivity
d. fragmented productivity; complete productivity
e. multifactor productivity; partial productivity
11. The American Society for Quality defines quality as ____.
a. a product free of deficiencies, or the characteristics of a product or service that satisfy customers’ needs
b. a product that customers perceive as free of deficiencies
c. any product made from error-free components
d. a product produced according to a sacrificing design plan
e. none of these
11 December 2009
7 Rules for Organizational Communication
Gossip, by Norman Rockwell
Ten percent never get the word, Army cliche.
Alert Readers know Your Business Blogger(R) teaches management at the local college and trains leaders to develop teams that can take appropriate action in the absence of orders.
But.
Most of the time the managers are more concerned with having the direct reports do what they are told. Simply to do what the organization needs: compliance to directives.
The CEO’s directives get lost in translation.
Norman Rockwell’s painting, Gossip illustrates the chain of custody of information as data moves between people. As the reader can well imagine, the tidbit of info at the start of the exchange is very different from the last transaction. Note that the lady who starts the linkage is also seen in the final conversation.
From her expression, The Alert Manager will sympathize: The direction that was first given is not what s/he may now be hearing down deep in the corporate hierarchy.
The Manager’s initial order was not what was received by the troops in the trenches.
This is why managers make and deserve so much money– dealing with the imperfection of the crooked timber of the human condition.
Even technology has this challenge seen in dropped cell phone calls and packet loss on the internet. However, technology can be improved much faster than human interaction. This is why we need higher education and continuous improvement (which is, in fact, assured continuous employment for consultants, thankyouverymuch).
IBM recently ran a print advertisement on a study on data. It showed that some 43 percent of the information on which managers base decisions is wrong. [citation needed] IBM was correctly selling the pain of working with incorrect information.
So. Managers, ten percent of your team will never get your commands.
Data will be garbled in transmission.
The information will be wrong.
The team will execute the directive wrong.
And the manager will make the wrong decision about half the time.
How on earth can organizations get anything right…?
Let us return to IBM (an unpaid endorsement).
From IBM, click to enlarge,
It’s 1940 and these 22 young men are operating an electric accounting machine installation somewhere in IBM. We know it’s an IBM installation because visible in the photograph are an IBM job time recorder (for logging the start and end of various accounting jobs), one photo of Thomas J. Watson, Sr. and five THINK signs. Can you spot them?
So what do managers — even today — want most from their teams, including outside vendors?
To simply,
How to get people, indeed the organizational organism, to think, to anticipate, to learn?
To communicate effectively?
Following are seven rules for effective (note: not efficient) communication:
1) A real Effective exchange of information is done in real life in real time. IRL. A direct conversation is Effective. See indirect Gossip above. This is not efficient: In-person is effective.
(The Alert Manager is Effective; s/he may not be Efficient)
2) An Efficient exchange of information can be done on email. But it may not be Effective. Imagine the errors and misunderstandings. Fast, but wrong, because,3) 85 percent of all communication is non-verbal.
4) Communication is a sales pitch. In every transaction in office politics someone is selling and someone is buying. The highest close rate in sales is face-to-face.
5) If an in-person-pitch is not possible, write out the missive and have it hand-delivered by a trusted messenger.
6) Teach Completed Staff Work emphasizing the Commander’s Intent.
7) Keep it short. Winston Churchill and Proctor & Gamble are legendary for keeping memos to a single page. War and Marketing. Sometimes hard to tell the difference… Think Napoleon’s Corporal.*
Finally, a short story from our British brethren on communication across large organizations.
Friend, the story is told of a Colonel who issued the following statement to his executive secretary:
“Tomorrow evening at approximately 2000 hours Haley’s Comet will be visible in this area, an event that occurs only once every 75 years.Have the men fall out in fatigues, and I will explain this rare phenomenon to them. In case of rain, we will not be able to see anything, so assemble the men in the theatre and I will show them films of it.”
The executive secretary passed the order on to the company commander: “By order of the Colonel, tomorrow at 2000 hours, Haley’s Comet will appear above the battalion area.If it rains, fall the men out in fatigues, then march to the theatre where the rare phenomenon will take place, something which happens only once every 75 years.”
The company commander passed the order on to the lieutenant: “By order of the Colonel in fatigues at 2000 hours tomorrow evening, the phenomenal Haley’s Comet will appear in the theatre.
In case of rain in the battalion area, the Colonel will give another order, something which happens once every 75 years.”
The lieutenant told the sergeant: “Tomorrow at 2000 hours, the Colonel in fatigues will appear in the theater with the phenomenal Haley’s Comet, something that happens every 75 years.
If it rains, the Colonel will order the comet into the battalion area.”
The sergeant gave the following orders to the squad: “When it rains tomorrow at 2000 hours, the phenomenal 75-year-old General Haley, accompanied by the Colonel, will drive his Comet through the battalion area in fatigues.”
From Steve Myers, USNA-At-Large@yahoogroups.com and BlackfinSS322@aol.com
Thank you (foot)notes:
* Napoleon’s Corporal, is described by James (Jim) E. Hall, cited in his Keynote Address to the 7th International IEEE Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems, Monday, October 4, 2004. Mr. Hall was President Clinton’s Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board.
[T]he tale of Napoleon’s corporal. The story goes that Napoleon would always have a corporal at hand who was judged to be the stupidest man in his entire army. Every time Napoleon wanted to issue an order, he would first read it to the corporal and then have him explain what he’d just heard. Napoleon would not issue the order to his entire army until his dumb corporal could understand it. The point is that we must never underestimate the human ability to misunderstand and to fail, for accidents to happen.
I don’t need to remind you that 80 percent to 90 percent of all transportation tragedies are the result of human error.
Aviation maintenance documents are written at a third-grade level – not because mechanics are illiterate – but to ensure that the instructions can be easily understood. However, the same approach is not being used in regard to the computer systems designed to fly the planes. As a result, we are seeing more and more aviation accidents caused by a failure in the interface between human and computer.
Be sure to follow Your Business Blogger(R) and Charmaine on Twitter: @JackYoest and @CharmaineYoest
If the sales pitch/communique is important, show up in person. There are three events in life that demand, command a person’s presence:
Births
Deaths
Marriages
Jack and Charmaine also blog at Reasoned Audacity and at Management Training of DC, LLC.
5 December 2009
Career Management Tips for Military Officers
John Howland from USNA-At-Large@yahoogroups.com posted this career advice. It deserves a wide audience.
Career Tips:
How to get ahead the “smart” and ethical way and avoid running your career aground—
My point of view
by Dick Nelson ‘64
1. Always remember and apply the basic leadership trilogy: “Know your Stuff; take care of your people; and be true to yourself.” This one says it all.
2. Keep your head on a swivel. Threats come at you from 360 degrees, especially when you least expect it. Why do you think the Japanese picked a Sunday to attack Pearl Harbor? Review the Japanese and U.S. tactics in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, which demonstrate—on both sides—how easy it is to be caught napping by making the wrong assumptions. Remember what happened to USS Stark, USS Cole [Good Plebe questions!] and the World Trade Center [WTC]. When you stand a watch, the welfare of the ship and the crew (or the Marine unit) has been entrusted to you. That’s why you get the “big bucks.” Don’t let them down.
3. Trust your subordinates, but verify their performance. Corollary: Trust your superiors, but quietly back them up by cross-checking their assumptions, especially in matters of navigation. Cliché: Watch my back, and I’ll watch yours!
4. Never quit learning—no one is smart enough to completely master the environment for which he/she is responsible. If you think you know everything there is to know about a professional topic, you are likely to get a nasty surprise.
5. Empower your subordinates, especially in front of their people. Corollary: Never tear your subordinates down in public.
6. Adapt Admiral Lord Nelson’s custom (no relation) of getting input from subordinates before a major operation for which you are responsible. More ideas and points of view can never hurt. Also, the key players are then invested in a successful outcome, and will feel that they have ownership in the results.
7. Be decisive and execute your plan aggressively. However, when conditions change unexpectedly, be flexible and adapt. Always have an alternative, or tactical option. Don’t forget to bring the rest of your team along as you change tactics. Every ball-carrier needs blockers. By the way, all of life’s challenges can be distilled into a football metaphor. Even I know this, and I was cut from Plebe football.
8. Whatever your specialty is, try to learn the fundamentals and terminology of other specialties that are part of the Navy-Marine Corps team. If you are a Marine aviator, spend some time with the Grunts. If you are a Naval aviator, learn how the ship works, and try to get qualified as OOD underway. Don’t be a pest, but be professionally inquisitive. Find out how and why your organization members do things. As you rise in rank, you will need to even understand how the other Services operate and how best to integrate their capabilities into a total force response.
9. Sooner or later, you will find yourself working for a difficult superior. Never criticize that person to anyone, because “a bird of the air will tell the matter,” and you will regret it. Moreover, your criticism will not change anything for the better. Many, if not most of these poor leaders inherently know they have deficiencies, and they don’t appreciate being reminded. If, in your ego-centric moments you really think you are a better officer, there are three things you should do:
a. Talk privately with the superior, and ask him or her how you can improve your performance, and what he/she expects of you, beyond the obvious. Thank the superior for his/her suggestions. This is not “butt kissing.” It merely reaffirms that you know who is in charge, and that you are not going to be pulling in the wrong direction. Even problematic personalities can’t resist seeing themselves as teachers or coaches, and this approach opens the door for a positive relationship.
b. If you see that your superior has problems in some administrative or operational process, take it private again and ask if you can help by taking some of that load. Show that you are sincere in wanting to be a team player. Obviously, you don’t need to say “You’re doing a lousy job, and I can do it better.” Just say, “Sir, with your oversight, I would like to take that problem on.” Examples might be maneuvering in formation, preparation for airborne assault, or in-port ship handling.
c. Always conduct yourself in a manner that shows the rest of team that you are loyal and backing up your superior. Don’t fool yourself—everyone can read your tone of voice, body language and facial expressions as well as verbal content. Whether you know it or not, your Sailors or Marines are always watching your every move.
10. When your troops screw up, stick up for them with your boss when possible, and counsel them in private. For example, you can earn a lot of loyalty from your troops if you go to Mast with them, and if appropriate, request that they be placed under your direct “probation” supervision instead of having the book thrown at them. If they subsequently let you down, then unload on them as appropriate. This sends a powerful message.
11. Always empower your CPOs or SGTs [non-commission officers]. These people make the Navy and the Corps work. Without them, and their respect and support, you are DEAD, sometimes literally. Try to work through them, especially in personnel matters, and don’t circumvent them, which diminishes their authority with the team.
12. Early on, get your senior non-comms (see above) in a private one-on-one and simply say something like, “I have a lot to learn from you, and I promise you I will be a fast learner. I need you to keep an eye on me until I get some experience.” This sounds like you are abdicating your rank, but the effect is just the opposite. The non-comms will respect you because you are honest, and because you recognize their vital role and experience in the organization. These fine people can keep you out of a world of trouble and make you look good, if they want to.
13. Remember that no one cares about your Academy record after you graduate. In the eyes of the Fleet and the Corps, all graduates are the same: newbies. Just because you were a Regimental Commander, were on the Supe’s List, or were a big jock, save that information to bore your grandchildren. The Fleet and Corps are going to judge each of you only on your current performance as officers, and some of you Academy “stars” are going to have problems with this cruel transition. Life is really unfair. And by the way, the value of a post-graduate degree is debatable, unless you are leaving the Service. If I had my choice for a combat command position between an officer with a Masters and one with superlative years of operational experience, it’s a no-brainer. I want someone who knows which end of the weapons to point at the enemy.
14. Show that you are willing to take more than your share of the tough assignments or missions. This is one of the ways t hat you will form your reputation as an officer. It is also important that your peers see you as a team player, and not just out for yourself and your own image factor.
15. Whatever your specialty is, learn it cold. You should strive to be the best bridge watch-stander, the best engineer, the best pilot, the best navigator, the best weapons officer, the best platoon leader, the best logistics manager, etc. You will never achieve perfection, but you can be the best.
16. If you are the junior OOD on the bridge (or the Marine platoon leader), when you see something going off track, even if the CO ordered it, let someone know in the most appropriate manner. This keeps platoons from getting ambushed, ships from running aground, and aircraft from crashing. Even if your concerns are unfounded, at least you showed that you were paying attention to detail. Better to be embarrassed than stupid and let your entire unit be devastated.
17. Navigation errors are particularly unforgiving, whether you are a Marine platoon leader or an OOD on the bridge. Maintain situational awareness at all times—your life and the lives of your people depend on it. This is not a profession where you can relax and day-dream. If there are two words to live by, they would be “constant vigilance.” Nothing will destroy your credibility faster than getting “lost.”
18. Lend your peers a hand and don’t be a “know-it-all.” Don’t be like that guy or gal in class that quickly raises their hand after every instructor’s question. If you know your Stuff, it will quickly become known and you won’t need to advertise it. Be helpful to peers when they have a problem, and never usurp credit for their successes. Doing favors for others, such as trading watches, etc., will also make your stock go up faster with everyone. Even if you are competing with your peers for advancement, you want them to like and respect you. Your peers can often help your career later in unforeseen ways. Never be a “back-stabber” to get ahead, because that will become part of your reputation.
19. Push hard to get the “career path” assignments. Do everything you can to avoid getting side-channeled. For Navy ship and sub types, staying at sea—especially in combatant ships—is crucial. For Naval Aviators, get every flying billet possible, especially in combat squadrons. For Marines, stay with the Air Wings or the ground combat units. For all, avoid the temptation of taking “Hollywood” jobs like embassy assignments, admiral’s aide, White House or Congressional liaison, or any training command billet. If you want to reach Flag rank, push to always be “at the point of the spear,” or in a major staff that aims it, like the theater commands such as CENTCOM. While it seems like you will be a junior officer forever, remember that you only have a small, finite block of time during your career to amass the necessary professional experience and show what you can do before the big lottery begins at about the O-6 level. Each assignment is of cumulative importance. Don’t waste it on “gedunk” billets that don’t advance your career ball. Who would you want for a battle group commander, an officer that had been Naval Attaché to Liechtenstein, or a hard-charger that had amassed combat experience and excelled at several prior unit commands? What factors would you look for if you were in charge of making important operational assignments and approving promotions? Just like in a NASCAR race, it is very easy to get bumped off the track, into a graveyard assignment. Fight hard, but professionally, for your career assignments. Learn to use your “detailer” at BUPERS to achieve your goals.
20. When you are in a difficult operational environment (e.g., combat), construct a mental playbook of threat responses or tactical engagements. You can’t think of everything, but you can “pre-program” your response and reduce your reaction time as a leader if you have thought through the most likely or most troublesome scenarios. How should I maneuver? What weapons should be employed? Where should my assets be deployed? What logistics issues will arise? What are my communications protocols? What “external” assets are available (armor, artillery, air support, unmanned vehicle surveillance, other force units, etc.)? This is why football teams have playbooks, and adjust as necessary at the line of scrimmage with “audibles.”
21. Learn to play an excellent game of golf. This sounds silly, but it’s absolutely true! In the military, as in the private sector, the game of golf carries a disproportionate influence. It becomes a common denominator and upscale social activity that can be enjoyed by all genders and ranks. You will meet influential people on the golf course that you never would have met otherwise, even if you are a top operational performer. For junior officers, it presents an opportunity to have many hours of informal conversation with Flag or General officers, or civilian government officials. Many important deals have been forged, and professional relationships have been established while playing golf, and you need this skill and exposure! (Sadly, I was a tennis player—and I can tell you tennis doesn’t work!)
Good luck and smooth sailing!
by Dick Nelson ‘64
30 November 2009
Any PR Is Good As Long As They Spell Your Name Right, Right?
Your Business Professor has students regularly misspell my name. On a deliverable assignment.
The Alert Student will know that such critical attention to detail might be a prerequisite to earning an “A.”
Students and Media, it seem, have the same challenge with ‘Yoest.’
When you tangle with print, radio, or visual media your name and identifiers are sometimes going to be mangled. It is not always deliberate. Donald Rumsfeld, our former Secretary of Defense, says to never confuse a conspiracy with incompetence.
But how does one tell the difference?
Charmaine, on the Right (as usual) on MSNBC
The wife of Your Business Blogger(R), Charmaine, appeared on Joe Scarborough’s show a while back. She prepped using the 10 Tips for Your Big Show Biz Break. She was debating some of our some liberal friends over a New York Times article.
It said that cheating on a spouse can be good.
Your Business Blogger(R) advises against cheating on a spouse. Bad for the job. And business is a jealous mistress.
Who?
Anyway, Charmaine does her homework. And provides name, rank and serial number to the producer. Including her Ph.D. suffix. Those three letters cost me a million dollars and ten years. I insist on the lettering. She doesn’t care — I do.
I’m the shallow one; she’s not.
So. MSNBC would be considered — by some — to be a world-class organization committed to attention to detail.
But an MSNBC producer slipped up on the names and by-lines. Mistakes will happen. Guaranteed. Like leaving off suffixes.
And when the goofs go live, the professional doesn’t say die.
Whenever there is any kind of error in any form, in any forum, continue with your act.
Keep talking; keep singing; keep dancing, keep moving.
The show must go on.
At Last, The Correct By-line
Most of the time, your audience will never see the goof-up. The audience will see and remember the passion in your play.
It doesn’t matter if there is a conspiracy. Or merely incompetence.
Deliver your sound bite. Make the sale. And you will please your audience.
Thank you (foot)notes: See the adultery clip on Scarborough Country, MSNBC, here. Courtesy Peter Shinn.
Be sure to follow Your Business Blogger(R) and Charmaine on Twitter: @JackYoest and @CharmaineYoest
Jack and Charmaine also blog at Reasoned Audacity and at Management Training of DC, LLC.
Management Training Tip: If you will cheat on your wife, you will cheat on your business partners. Even if the New York Times approves.
28 November 2009
Business in the Values Vacuum
Originally Published for the
Scripps Howard News Service, 1997
Doing Business in the Values Vacuum
THE Holiday Inn in Colorado Springs has the notice “Certified Breakfast Bar” proudly displayed above the juice and jelly. I understand certifying elevators, accountants and jet engines, but a breakfast bar?
What has happened in America where even my croissants must now be credentialed?
The answer reveals important changes in our culture. There was a time when a man’s word was his bond. Today your every thought must be bonded. From the cynicism of Dilbert to the wariness of Harvey Mackay’s advice on swimming with sharks, everywhere you look in the business world, trust has evaporated.
Business abhors a vacuum just as much as nature does. In 1950 there were 184,000 lawyers; today there are 966,270 “and counting,” according to the American Bar Association — a five-fold increase.
Alienation and litigation have replaced trust and relationships as the ruling order. You can’t sell a cup of coffee in this country today without a warning label attached.Certification, whether it is croissants or CPAs, is a trend emerging as an answer to a growing cultural anomie.
Significantly, our increasing reliance on litigation has paralleled our decreasing consensus on character. Forty years ago we had “In God We Trust” inscribed on our coinage and script. Indeed, President Eisenhower once said: “Our form of government has no sense unless it is founded in a deeply felt religious faith, and I don’t care what it is.”
But today, America is a post-Christian nation, says Chuck Colson, Nixon’s aid and now leader of Prison Fellowship. This is significant because without common moral commitments there is no basis for trust. The biblical injunction, “Thou shall not steal,” provides business a boundary. With its command to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” Scripture’s Golden Rule provides a check on unfettered capitalism.
Today in business the Golden Rule is mocked: “He who has the gold rules.” The result? Trust and trust worthiness are not common and are not given and received without extensive “due diligence.”
Nobel laureate Milton Friedman has said that a cultural prerequisite of capitalism is the holding of truthfulness as a common virtue. When you can trust a merchant’s word, says Friedman, “it cut[s] down transaction costs.” Without adherence to common moral principles we must substitute external controls to govern business behavior; efficiency demands a framework of standards and accountability.
The 18th-century atheist philosphe, Voltaire, recognized this problem. Eventhough he believed Christianity was an “infamy,” he wrote that “I want my attorney, my tailor, my servants, even my wife to believe in God.”
Voltaire wanted this accountability to God not for his vendors’ eternal salvation, but as a Total Quality Management System. “…Then I shall be robbed and cuckolded less often,” he concluded.
Voltaire’s earthly needs were best met when his suppliers had some accountability to a third party. Nevertheless, even though it might be a good idea, I don’t see corporate chaplains becoming a growth industry.
American government, however, is a growth industry. Not surprisingly, legislation is cropping up in this area. Reacting to the vacuum left by the demise of trust, legislators are looking at mandating professional integrity and quality by establishing regulatory parameters for certification. This year, for example, Virginia introduced legislation for “licensing …to promote competent management….” Fortunately, the bill died in committee.
Facing a regulatory solution to the trust vacuum, the private sector must catch up. We need certification, not legislative fiat. The International Standards Organization (or ISO 9000) certification has now expanded beyond product and process to include people for precisely this reason.
Certification provides a benchmark for the two essential moorings of capitalist business: standards and accountability. The French observer deTocqueville noted that we Americans were a nation of joiners, of private association. Certification is one such association.
Bonding members of a professional community together with adherence to a common code of ethics and behavior provides both standards and accountability. While the growing certification trend is an important one, we should not be too sanguine about the loss of trust it represents. Certification is not a full replacement for personal integrity and the Judeo-Christian world view. It is simply a narrow substitute in the post-Nietzchian age.
Looking to Europe’s example, clearly demonstrates the dangers of giving up on old-fashioned American virtues and relying on the law. Bob Buzzell, professor of international marketing at George Mason University, says that, to the detriment of European business life, “What is not forbidden, is mandatory.” Integrity and honor are internal controls upon men and women that external artifice cannot hope to replicate.
There is, however, an important place in public life for recognition of an honorable man. The military provides a model for external certification of internal value.
Napoleon once remarked that men would make great sacrifices, even be killed for a scrap of ribbon. The ribbons were marks of distinction to certify the bravery of the soldier. The military understands the centrality of trust. “I will not lie, cheat or steal, nor tolerate anyone who does” is chiseled in stone prominently in our service academies.
Likewise, those words need to be chiseled into every businessman’s soul. Certification would then recognize that integrity, as battle ribbons recognize courage, and provide us a compass for finding the road back to trust.
John Wesley Yoest Jr. is [the former] vice president of Certified Marketing Services International, a consulting firm in Northern Virginia. December 1997 [He is currently an adjunct professor of business at the Northern Virginia Community College]
23 October 2009
How To Write A Business Case Study
The Business Case Study Method permits the student or researcher to conduct a critical analysis to solve a problem or to exploit an opportunity. Or to answer a hypothetical “what if?” scenario. (In contrast to politics where hypothetical questions should never be addressed.)
There are a number of outstanding formats and templates (see below or at the jump) for organizing the business case study.
Your Business Blogger(R) as Your Business Professor prefers a simpler, story telling formula: Problem, Solution, Result. (The use of such PSRs as narrative outline are also most helpful in job interviews.)
A Problem defined is half solved. It is useful to state the problem as an inquiry (think the game show Jeopardy or Larry King or Dr. Laura, “What’s your question?”).
The subject for the content on Business Case Studies is one of my former companies. The Alert Student will also select a company where s/he worked, is working or wishes to work. Students who have first-hand knowledge or a compelling interest deliver the best case studies. Let’s start with the backgrounder.
Menlo Care, Inc. was a medical device start-up manufacturer and direct seller with an outside sales team of 35 experienced, senior, account managers in the 1980′s and 90′s. The company had a proprietary process to manufacture a new intravenous catheter. The venture was funded with $500k in seed money from Raychem Corporation where the technology was developed and spun off. The product is based on a material science of a polymer that was as rigid as Teflon when dry but became as soft and flexible as silicone when wet.
The polymer-plastic was extruded or formed into an intravenous catheter for insertion into the venous blood system.
The new technology improved patient care in a cost-effective manner. However, the new IV catheters had two major marketing concerns:
1) They were 100 times the price of the existing, nearest competitive substitute.
2) The Menlo Care products required advanced one-on-one inservice training to insert or to pass” the I.V. catheters.
At the time, Menlo Care was still operating on venture capital investment and had significant negative cash flow typical of early stage start-ups entering the marketplace.
The high “burn rate” of capital would not allow the hiring of the estimated 35 full-time instructional nurses; one teacher for each sales territory.
Nurses prefer to be taught by their peers – other nurses, not necessarily company sales representatives. Sales teams have the time intensive responsibility to peddle the product and to manage the territory logistics.
The question: How can a manufacturer teach and sell new medicine across the USA within 90 days?
The issue is an extension of the classic challenge of marketing with no money or no budget and the need for an intensive face-to-face sales process.
A Solution was developed from a number of options and recommendations. The final sales-education idea was an innovative combination of well-known teaching-marketing strategies reconfigured into a unique delivery process.
The answer to the problem would involve having per diem or part-time nurse clinicians conduct training classes. Each of the 35 sales representatives would identify, recruit, train, motivate and manage the advance practice nurses who were the thought and opinion leaders in the medical community (e.g., presidents of local chapters of oncology nurses, certified I.V. nurses’ associations and leaders in the home health care business). These nurses would come from the small cadre of existing users of the Menlo Care catheters. The solution was simply to hire the customers to teach.
Key nurses from a local area would be invited in for a day-long training program. The area account manager/sales representative would host the event and act as the “master of ceremonies” where the class of nurses would be taught about the new medical devices.
The hook for attendance would be the concern and the warning that local hospitals might start to see the new Menlo Care I.V. catheters on those patients who might be admitted into emergency rooms. Clinicians need to know what products are being used on patients using IV therapy in case the patient has an emergency. Especially of concern were those being treated as out-patients in the home health care market.
The attending nurses who received training and inserted a catheter on a patient became credentialed as a “Landmark Nurse” and were awarded a framed certificate and lapel pin to recognize their expertise and achievement.
(A credential can be done by private associations in contrast to a certification which is awarded by a state licensing authority. Common certifications are MD, LPN and RN.)
The Results were immediate and measurable. Sales increased from near zero to over $12 million on a yearly run rate. The product line and technology commanded such attention that a number of major medical device manufactures expressed interest.
Menlo Care, Inc, was sold in 1994 to a division of Johnson & Johnson satisfying investors and stockholders.
Also see marketing with no budget in 10 steps.
Refer to the syllabus for length and style.
See One, Do One, Teach One
Medical School Cliche
Your Business Blogger(R) has taught thousands of clinicians new medicine in classrooms, at hospital bedsides and in operating rooms. For nearly two decades I trained advance-practice nurses and physicians on state-of-the-art medical devices including flow control devices, temperature monitoring equipment and all manner of medical disposable products.
The medical teaching profession has it right: the best method to learn is to observe, to preform and then to teach. Business management, like medicine is called a “practice.”
One of the most effective teaching tools is the Business Case Study. The student will understand in detail a narrow business-management problem and can use the experience to understand broader business challenges.
My students and clients review a typical business case study, research and write an original paper and then present their findings before peers — at the workplace or classroom.
A number of my medical device clients have published their studies.
From Best practices.
By Stephen Wayhart, at http://www.marketingprofs.com/ea/profile.asp?userID=235761
http://www.marketingprofs.com/ea/profile.asp?userID=235761
Also see http://www.brandmill.com/
The “Case Study” analysis/approach was first coined and implemented at Harvard Business School.
The steps.
1. Define the Key-Central Problem in one sentence
Seems easy, but very tough to do. For example, a retail firm I worked with in the past had lots of problems. Was it poor advertising? Maybe? Was it close rates – actually close rates were actually high for the industry. Net, the central problem was that “We did not get enough foot traffic through our doors!!”
2. List Assumptions
Assumptions are statements of conditions that will stay in effect if you choose to do nothing. For example, “Our advertising is controlled by national marketing and we will have little influence over our message.”
3. List Alternatives
“We could spend more money and advertise a local message.” List more here.
4. Recommendation (choice of one Alternative)
5. Rationale (why you chose your recommendation)
Say way you chose your alternative and provide a convincing fact-based Point of View.
How to Make a Case Study Format
Step 1
Title of your Project or Case Study
Example: Distributors Improves Customer Service Faster Respond
Step 2
Make a Executive Summary
Example:
Customer name:
• EMCOR Incorporated
Industry:
• Retail
Employees and Customer
• 2000 employees
• 140 Store VisMin
• More or less 500,000 individual customers or households
Step 3
Make a Recommendation or Solutions
Example: Business Challenge
• Consolidated all branches onto a single unified communications system
• Provided presence information, so that employees can see if their co-workers are available
• Gave employees one interface for all their communications tools
Network Solutions
1. Cisco Unified Communication or (Voice over Internet Protocol)
Results
1. Made it easier for customers and employees to reach the right person, the first time Enabled employees to work productively from any workspace, including home
“With information available from Presence, employees can see whether their co-workers are available before transferring a call, so customers can talk to a live person instead of having to leave a voicemail.”
Step 4 Make a Brief Background of your Project
Example:
Challenge
Emcor Inc. Company distributes and customizes hydraulic, pneumatic, instrumentation, and automation systems and components for customers in the Southern Mindanao. The company has 140 locations and 2000 employees. Emcor Inc. previously maintained separate private branch exchange (PBX) systems in each location, which only provided headquarters and one branch office. That meant that customers who called branch offices sometimes had to be transferred multiple times before finally reaching someone who was available.
Emcor Inc. decided to make a change when maintenance costs for the aging PBX systems began increasing. “Our corporate management team directed the ICT Solutions group to look at the company’s long-term needs for communication and collaboration rather than simply replacing the voice system,” says Manolo del Rosario and Jan Canonigo, information communications technology systems and solutions, Emcor Inc. Company. “We concluded that we needed a communications solution that would unify our 140 locations into a single site.”
The main goal for the new communications system was to help customers as well as employees reach each other on the right device, the first time. This solution would improve the customer experience and therefore strengthen loyalty. For example, customer service would improve if employees knew that a co-worker was available to pick up the phone before transferring a call.
Step 5
Make a Cost-benefit Analysis
Example:
Below is a cost-benefit analysis on the proposed IP PBX Telephony or Voice over Internet Protocol. Based on the quantitative analysis, total one-time project cost of USD 153,932.67 plus monthly E1 Internet costs of USD 600.00 or USD 7,200.00 a year, will be recouped from estimated cost savings as a result of the automation. Of course, there are also several positive qualitative factors to consider. Details of cost-benefit analysis follow:
Step 6
Quantitative Analysis
Make a Quantitative Analysis
Example:
See attached image
Step 7
End
A. Case Abstract: One paragraph, identifying the company, the relevant Global Compact
Principles and research question addressed, and a brief statement of the company actions.
B. Company Profile: A brief description of the company, major products or services, age and location, sales and revenues, recent trends, brief background on key company decision makers featured in the case, and other relevant information.
C. Straightforward account of the case “story” and analysis. The account includes: a
statement of the problem and issue addressed; identification of the “drivers”, motivation and key internal and external players; description of the process, challenges, perceptions and responses; outcomes and impacts; and unanswered questions, usually underscored by quotes from people interviewed. The analytical framework for each type of case study – internalization versus case studies about partnership projects – is different (see below).
There should be special emphasis on “how” the company did what it did, what did not work as well as what did work and what the company would have done differently if it had the opportunity to go back in time. In other words, the lessons learned are particularly important and valuable.
D. Conclusion. The conclusion of the case study should sum up the main lessons from the experience described in the case study and include, where appropriate, implications for others contemplating undertaking similar actions.
E. Discussion questions. To encourage greater use of the case study method by a variety of
audiences, case authors are also asked to provide a list of five discussion questions to
accompany the case study and facilitate discussion relating to the case.
Bill Bennett & The First Law in Public Debate
Yoest, Yoest, Bennett, c. 1998
Bill Bennett, host of Bill Bennett’s Morning in America made a statement a few years ago in his commentary and “committed news” in main stream media.
He said, words to the effect, if every black child were aborted we’d have less crime.
His transgression was not merely the unfortunate unknown terrible cause and effect, but that Dr. Bennett violated the First Law in Public Debate known by media savvy professionals:
1) Don’t do Hypotheticals.
If a question or a rebuttal starts with, “If” change the subject. If you are thinking “If” change you mind.
“I don’t deal in hypotheticals,” is the only verbiage used if “If” comes up.
Bill Bennett is guilty of nothing else.
Full Disclosure: Your Business Blogger(R) was awarded his very first consulting contract in a minor role for Bill Bennett when he was Secretary of Education under President Ronald Reagan.
Thank you (foot)notes:
Ace has Freakonomics backstory.
Junkyard Dog has busybody in chief.
Outside The Beltway has more on Bennett.
Right Voices has making a point?
Mudville Gazette has Open Post.
Drakeview has this week’s Carnival of the Capitalists.
The Political Teen has Open Trackbacks.
Captain Ed has Bogus Journey.
La Shawn Barber is thinking about writing on Bennett. She could add to the debate.
15 October 2009
National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship Final Report
This is a trip report on the Seventh Annual National Association of Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) conference that was held in Chicago on Sunday, October 11th through Wednesday afternoon October 14th.
I had the opportunity to represent the Northern Virginia Community College on two panels and a round table discussion.
The panelists addressed topics for college presidents, entrepreneurs, educators and funders. We fielded questions on business start-up concerns to college departmental politics to benchmarks from major donors.
My round table was titled, “Why Academics…and Entrepreneurs Can’t Manage.” Overview at end.
This trip report will also include the interim report at end.
Speakers included:
Heather Van Sickle, Executive Director, NACCE
Mike Hennessy, President, Coleman Foundation who donated over $600,000 toward the NACCE.
Deidra J. Lewis, Interim Chancellor, City Colleges of Chicago
Jim Tyree, Chairman and CEO Mesirow Financial, who just purchased The Chicago Sun Times.
Carl Kuttler, St. Petersburg College
Cameron Johnson, teenaged millionaire
Marc Schulman, Eli’s Cheesecake Company
Charles Guengerich, Wright College, Chicago
John Hughes, Coleman Foundation
Topics, observations and comments, concerns included,
“No one makes it on your own…coaches, teachers make me what I am.”
“Business people should be teaching entrepreneurship.”
“Has the professor ever had to meet a payroll?”
“What are the program’s exit stats? How many students actually start a business?”
Attended workshops on How to Establish a Business Enterprise Center at a Community College and B2B Sales Training to Expand Entrepreneur Opportunities.
Key note by Sir Harold Evans — on his book, They Made American.
He is more comfortable as a writer because, he says, he’s, “naturally didactic and cannot keep a secret as a journalist.”
How America was made — through innovation — not merely discovery nor invention – innovation
other land masses lag behind American — Evans seems to hold for American exceptionalism.
America succeeded by innovating — who are we? A culture that takes risk. Evans chronicled the achievements of America’s known and little known innovators.
America’s, “Best asset is not oil but people who are entrepreneurs.”
A new movie release, the two hour Young Entrepreneurs Society YES!, was previewed and has, I submit, limited utility.
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This is a mid-term trip report on the Seventh Annual National Association of Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) conference being held in Chicago Sunday from October 11th closing Wednesday afternoon October 14th.
Traditional conference format: Keynote speakers, concurrent sessions, round table discussions, best practices panels.
eMarketing Strategy Overhaul was the first Pre-conference session presented by WorkSmart Integrated Marketing, with Brad Kleinman and David Toth. (It came at an additional $25 charge.)
The instructor, Brad, has experience in higher education and broke the group down into “accountabil-a-buddy” teams as an effective icebreaker.
Brad reviewed opportunities in the marketing of continuing education through on-line media. He made a compelling pitch for educators to integrate web tactics into any outreach planning.
His learning objectives:
1. Learn the importance of establishing and customizing a marketing system.
2. Investigate the power of the various eMarketing Techniques, and determine several specific action steps you will take immediately to improve your marketing.
3. Share industry best practices.
Brad reviewed all manner of on-line social media including: blogs, YouTube Channels, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
His first suggestion was for every faculty member to have a public, business Facebook page. He reviewed the measurement of marketing programs using tools such as Google Analytics.
Brad was especially persuasive in recommending on-line marketing because the efforts can be measured faster and cheaper than traditional marketing campaigns.
Mark Taylor, Ph.D., education consultant was the keynote speaker Sunday night. He reviewed the challenges of teaching GenX students with short attention spans, connected by technology with ‘helicoper’ and ‘snowplow’ parents close by. He suggests that we have the students actively participant — have the students do most of the speaking in class; to do most of the work instead of having the professor do all the lecturing. We were lucky at NOVA to have him speak with us a few months ago.
Your Business Blogger(R) arrived Saturday night October 10th at the host hotel Hyatt Regency near O’Hare Airport.
The NACCE conference can be followed on Twitter at @NACCE and at #NACCE7. Your Business Blogger(R) can be followed on @JackYoest
Almost 400 attendees registered.
Round Table Discussion
Why Academics…and Entrepreneurs Can’t Manage
At the completion of this presentation, the attendee will understand,
1. The Management Equation: Vocational Time vs. Management Time
2. How Management Really Works: The Network of Management
3. The Mistake of Micro-Management: The Nervous Manager
Why Academics…and Entrepreneurs Can’t Manage
Entrepreneurs and Academics are typically poor managers. Not only because they might lack a particular skill set, but because of the expectation of vocational perfection. They share the passion for the perfect in their products.
But to understand and practice management, a “batting-average” model of non-perfection is needed.
There is a fundamental difference between the work of the individual contributor and the contribution of a manager. The entrepreneur, as an individual contributor, brings a new vision for a new product or service. But introducing the Next Big Thing requires basic management.
The teacher and new-product visionary are individual contributors whose work is the creation of “perfection.” But management does not — must not — deal only in this perfection. Because it is the managerial skill set which brings the individual contributor’s perfect product to market to do business.
The entrepreneur as individual contributor understands the basic formula: Work = Results. But the teacher working with the individual contributor, who needs to become a manager, must emphasize that work alone will not have the world beat a path to the inventor’s door.
Management has a more complicated formula with an additional variable: Network. This ‘Network of Support’ is the ability of the entrepreneur as manager to get the support of investors, advisors, external stakeholders, customer, staffers and subordinates.
The entrepreneur should see his role as manager with a new formula: Work + Network = Results.
The results and success of the entrepreneur’s venture depends as much on his ability to manage as his brilliance in new product creation.
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Jack Yoest is an Adjunct Professor at the Northern Virginia Community College and is president of Management Training of DC. He worked with Menlo Care, a start-up medical device manufacturer as part of a team that moved sales from zero to over $12 million, resulting in a buy-out by Johnson & Johnson.
He also served as Assistant Secretary for Health and Human Resources in Virginia, where he was responsible for the successful Year 2000 conversion for the $5 billion, 16,000-employee unit.
Jack has been published by Scripps-Howard News Service and has contributed to Small Business Trends, Small Business Trends Radio, The Business Monthly, Business & Media Institute and National Review Online. His web-log was nominated for Best Business Blog in 2006. Jack is a former Captain in the Army.
He earned an MBA from George Mason University and completed graduate work in the International Operations Management Program at Oxford University.
9 October 2009
Business 200 Principles of Management Test
2. When Ruth was hired to be the second-in-command at Graham Mailing Services, she was told that her job was to deal with the employees to make sure they got the mailing done to the customers’ specifications. She was not instructed on how to run machines or in any other technical area because hers was a job in:
a. marketing
b. relationship control
c. management
d. customer service
e. strategizing
ANS: C
Management is getting work done through others.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: 3 TOP: AACSB Analytic
KEY: Leadership Principles | HRM
3. A manager striving to improve organizational ____ is accomplishing tasks that help fulfill organizational objectives.
a. efficiency
b. effectiveness
c. functionality
d. synergy
e. productivity
ANS: B
Effectiveness is accomplishing tasks that help fulfill organizational objectives.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: 4 TOP: AACSB Analytic
KEY: Leadership Principles | Strategy
4. In 2004, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo spent a total of $75 million to launch mid-calorie sodas, C2 and Pepsi Edge, banking on the low-carb trend. Carb-conscious consumers rejected the drinks en masse since one of their key tenets is avoiding refined sugar in any amount. The new brands grabbed a combined market share of less than 1 percent. Given that the objective of both soft drink manufacturers was to increase their market share, the introductions were notably:
a. synergistic
b. empathetic
c. inefficient
d. autonomous
e. reciprocal
ANS: C
Efficiency is getting work done with a minimum of effort, expense, and waste.
PTS: 1 DIF: Difficult REF: 3-4 TOP: AACSB Analytic
KEY: Operations Management | Strategy
5. Frederick Taylor is famous for____.
a. developing time and motion studies
b. first defining the functions of managers
c. developing the fourteen principles of management
d. creating the principles of scientific management
e. doing all of these
ANS: D
Taylor developed four principles of scientific management (see Exhibit 2.2); Henri Fayol is responsible for the fourteen principles of management (see Exhibit 2.5). Although Taylor did some time studies, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth are best know for time and motion studies.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: 26-27
8. Which of the following is NOT part of the principles of scientific management?
a. Use group dynamics to ensure organizational goals are met.
b. Give employees rest breaks throughout the day.
c. Find the one best way for doing each task.
d. Divide the work and the responsibility equally between management and workers.
e. Scientifically select, train, teach, and develop workers to help them reach their potential.
ANS: A
The importance of group dynamics was not realized until the Hawthorne Studies.
PTS: 1 DIF: Difficult REF: 26-27
17. Which of the following statements about division of labor is true?
a. Division of labor is an element of bureaucratic management.
b. By using division of labor, managers can assign the best qualified people to perform tasks.
c. Division of labor is designed to improve both effectiveness and efficiency.
d. In division of labor authority is clearly defined.
e. All of the above statements about division of labor are true.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: 30-31
4. Which of the following is a type of company most likely to be facing a dynamic environment?
a. a video game manufacturer
b. a bakery
c. a brewery, winery, or distillery in the liquor industry
d. a manufacturer of pet food
e. a cereal manufacturer
ANS: A
A dynamic environment is one in which the rate of change is fast. A video game maker faces short product life cycles and rapid changes in technology.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: 42 TOP: AACSB Analytic
KEY: Environmental Influence
17. Which of the following is a component of Coca-Cola’s specific environment and will directly influence how it does business?
a. Pepsi-Cola
b. laws concerning sanitation
c. Inflation
d. the increased popularity of energy drinks
e. the development of vending machines that accept debit cards
ANS: A
Pepsi is a direct competitor and thus a component of Coke’s specific environment.
PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: 48 TOP: AACSB Analytic
KEY: Environmental Influence | Strategy
1. Which of the following statements about ethics is true?
a. Acting ethically is always easier than any other form of action.
b. Employees assume no risk when they conduct themselves ethically.
c. Ethics can be specifically defined, like other laws.
d. If an act is legal, it must by definition be ethical.
e. Ethics is the set of moral principles or values that defines right and wrong for a person or group.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: 58
TOP: AACSB Ethics KEY: Ethical Responsibilities | Legal Responsibilities
8. To create a compliance program that is acceptable under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, a company should ____.
a. establish standards and procedures to meet the company’s business needs
b. put upper-level managers in charge of the compliance program
c. encourage employees to report violations
d. train employees on standards and procedures
e. do all of these
ANS: E
See Exhibit 4.3.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: 63 TOP: AACSB Ethics
KEY: Legal Responsibilities | Ethical Responsibilities | HRM
1. In 1997, Royal Dutch/Shell earned $8 billion in profit. In that year, top management decided to strive to increase the company’s profits to $17 billion annually by 2001. Which classical management function would be instrumental in achieving this goal?
a. motivating
b. research and development
c. planning
d. marketing
e. optimizing
ANS: C
Planning is defined as choosing a goal and developing a strategy to attain that goal.
PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: 76 TOP: AACSB Analytic
KEY: Leadership Principles | Strategy | Creation of Value
2. Planning is ultimately based upon ____.
a. how a planner deals with bounded rationality
b. choosing a goal and developing a method or strategy to achieve that goal
c. the relationship between organizational line and staff personnel
d. whether the mission statement is internally or externally oriented
e. the personality type of the individual engaged in planning
ANS: B
This is the definition of planning.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: 76 TOP: AACSB Analytic
KEY: Leadership Principles | Strategy | Creation of Value
3. One of the benefits of planning is how it ____.
a. encourages people to work faster
b. encourages people to try a variety of different ways to do others’ jobs
c. reduces employee turnover
d. eliminates all discriminatory practices
e. does none of these
ANS: E
Section 1 of the chapter offers four benefits from planning: (1) intensified work effort, (2) increased persistence toward goals, (3) direction, and (4) creation of task strategies that lead to stronger performance.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: 78 TOP: AACSB Analytic
KEY: Strategy | Creation of Value | HRM
4. When making travel plans, many tourists have selected Thomas Cook, a British tour operation, because they perceive the tour company as being superior to all others. No other tour service can duplicate the customer service and satisfaction that Thomas Cook has provided over its years of operation. Thomas Cook has apparently created a sustainable competitive advantage by using ____ resources.
a. synergistic
b. valuable
c. tangible
d. nonsubstitutable
e. rare
ANS: D
Nonsubstitutable resources are defined as those that produce value or competitive advantage and have no equivalent substitutes or replacements.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: 97 TOP: AACSB Analytic
KEY: Strategy | Environmental Influence
5. Deutsche Bank is the largest bank in the world. Would this give it a sustainable competitive advantage?
a. yes, because it would make its operations synergistic
b. no, because size is not a criteria for sustainable competitive advantage
c. no, because large institutions make more effective use of resources
d. no, because large organizations are always targeted for anti-trust activities
e. yes, because size is directly and positively related to efficiency
ANS: B
Competitive advantage is defined as providing greater value for customers than competitors can. There is no evidence of a direct correlation between a company’s size and the value it provides to its customers.
PTS: 1 DIF: Difficult REF: 96 TOP: AACSB Analytic
KEY: Strategy | Creation of Value
3. Creativity was needed to improve efficiency without raising costs at DaimlerChrysler. Over the last few years, the company has successfully implemented a creative engineering program that allows its plants to produce more than one type of car from the same assembly line. This successful change to a flexible manufacturing system is an example of ____.
a. corporate synergy
b. organizational innovation
c. assembly networking
d. organizational networking
e. reverse engineering
ANS: B
Organizational innovation is the successful implementation of creative ideas in organizations.
PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: 114
TOP: AACSB Analytic| AACSB Technology
KEY: Creation of Value | HRM | Operations Management
4. McDonald’s restaurants are involved in a long-term, worldwide movement to change consumers’ perceptions of its products by selling food that is healthier. McDonald’s is engaged in ____.
a. organizational change
b. reverse engineering
c. demarketing
d. market diversification
e. product revitalization
ANS: A
A company has experienced organizational change when its a form, quality, or condition changes over time.
PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: 115 TOP: AACSB Analytic
KEY: Creation of Value | Strategy
11. The U.S. Rice Millers’ Association claims that if the Japanese rice market were opened to imports by lowering tariffs, the resultant lower prices would save Japanese consumers about $6 billion annually. The Japanese government continues to use the high tariffs to make sure local farmers can earn a living. The tariff on rice is an example of ____.
a. a voluntary government restriction
b. geocentrism
c. protectionism
d. a security quota
e. a bureaucratic subsidy
ANS: C
The aim of the Japanese policy is to shield domestic competitors from foreign competition, an aim consistent with protectionism.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: 135
TOP: AACSB Diversity| AACSB Analytic
KEY: Environmental Influence | Ethical Responsibilities
12. A ____ is a nontax method of increasing the cost or reducing the volume of imported goods.
a. tariff
b. nontariff barrier
c. trade roadblock
d. risk-aversive boycott
e. subsidy quota
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: 135
TOP: AACSB Diversity| AACSB Analytic
KEY: Environmental Influence | Ethical Responsibilities
1. As a class project, Senora is working with other classmates to create a company that would market NASCAR memorabilia. Senora’s teacher has instructed her to use the traditional approach to create the organization’s structure. What should Senora do?
a. create an organizational structure with vertical and horizontal configurations
b. use an organizational process to create a matrix design
c. create a virtual organization
d. use the organizational structure to control creativity
e. create a matrix structure that will adhere to the unity of command principle
ANS: A
Organizational structure is the vertical and horizontal configuration of departments, authority, and jobs within a company.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: 152-155 TOP: AACSB Analytic
KEY: Leadership Principles | Group Dynamics | Individual Dynamics
2. ____ is the collection of activities that transform inputs into outputs that customers value.
a. Reengineering
b. Functionalization
c. Organizational structure
d. Production positioning
e. Organizational process
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Easy REF: 152-154
TOP: AACSB Analytic
KEY: Creation of Value | Operations Management | HRM
2. A local hospital ran into a funding problem when it tried to build a new state-of-the-art pediatric unit. The hospital management asked a group of physicians, hospital volunteers, and administrative staff to develop and implement a plan to raise the necessary money. This group of people with complementary skills formed a(n) ____.
a. semi-structured team
b. autonomous unit
c. work team
d. functional department
e. venture team
ANS: C
A work team is a small number of people with complementary skills who hold themselves mutually accountable for pursuing a common purpose, achieving performance goals, and improving interdependent work processes.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: 172 TOP: AACSB Analytic
KEY: Group Dynamics
3. Allen-Edmonds is keeping its shoe manufacturing business in the United States by investing in new machinery and creating new processes. The strategy is a gamble and the outcome is uncertain. The president of the company is hoping a million-dollar refitting will save 5 percent on each shoe, but he could save 60 percent tomorrow if he moved his manufacturing to China. Staying here means average wages of $15 per hour plus benefits, as opposed to $100 per week if the company moved. To cut costs and improve efficiency, the company’s old assembly line is being replaced by a system of employees working in groups, with each person doing several jobs, and each trained to do the others’ tasks. Allen-Edmonds is using ____.
a. semi-structured teams
b. ad hoc committees
c. work teams
d. functional departments
e. venture teams
ANS: C
A work team is a small number of people with complementary skills who hold themselves mutually accountable for pursuing a common purpose, achieving performance goals, and improving interdependent work processes.
PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate REF: 172 TOP: AACSB Analytic
KEY: Group Dynamics | Motivation Concepts