OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- know the skills required in executing and managing a specific job;
- see the benefits of planning and co-ordinating in complex situations;
- schedule time and resources in organizing yourself;
- see how intelligence, knowledge and skills are applied in executing tasks effectively;
- measure and compare actual results with desired results for better control;
- list the qualifications and skills appropriate for executive careers, with the help of career guidance kit.
INTRODUCTION
Most young boys and girls, just out of college, hardly know anything about the business world outside. They have little idea of what types of job/career opportunities exist; which of these would best suit them and what supervisory and managerial skills they need, to be able to perform well as effective executives and managers in their own chosen areas of work.
In this chapter, we will discuss the generic, work-related, executive and managerial skills required, whatever be the specific nature of one's job. They are :
Setting forth clear goals/objectives and planning one's tasks
Organising oneself and mobilising resources
Executing and Directing the tasks effectively
Controlling the tasks to achieve the goals/objectives.
Almost all tasks, simple or complex, would require some or all of these skills. They are applicable, whether the tasks are short-term or long-term in nature.
Take for example, the simple task of reaching office on time (not so simple, for those who have to change several buses/trains before reaching the work place). Of course, you must know your reporting time. Assuming your reporting time is 9 a.m. You work backwards from that time. You need an hour of commuting time, let us say. The bus stop is 10 minutes by walk from your house and so you must leave the house at 7.50 a.m. To be on the safe side, you must plan to leave the house earlier. Breakfast time should probably be around 7.20 a.m. and so on and so forth. The really smart folks keep their clothes and other items ready on the previous night, so that they can then be relatively relaxed in the morning. They also cut out entertainment or recreation beyond a reasonable hour on working days. They learn all about bus routes; if they own personal vehicle like two-wheelers, they make sure they are in perfect condition, and have sufficient fuel.
It is obvious that even such a simple task involves a lot of planning and co-ordination. If you take a more complex situation, for example, arranging a marriage in the family, it involves much more of planning and co-ordination.
Let us now see each of these four elemets, namely, planning, organizing, executing and controlling, in detail.
PLANNING
Goals/Objectives
Clear-cut goal(s) are essential for the success of any activity. Nothing can be achieved if the goals are not clearly understood. Setting goals/objectives is an essential part of planning. At the macro level you need long-term objectives and at the micro level you need to plan your task and time meticulously, to be successful at work.
Let us say you are a Sales Executive. At a macro level, you should set for yourself a reasonable sales objective for a given period, say, one year. You should also set for yourself certain broad guidelines about your work. For example, as a Purchase Officer, you may set a certain level of quality of work (no more than 1% mistakes in your purchase decisions), or a certain level of efficiency in your work (releasing at least 15 Purchase Orders a day). You may decide that all the targets/deadlines you set for yourself will always be fulfilled and that you would come to be recognized as a go-getter.
At a micro level, again as a Sales Executive, on every sales call, you should be clear about the objective of your call. You should know what you want to accomplish during the visit - do you want to introduce your organization to the customer or get him interested in your product; identify how much of your product the customer needs, or get a particular sales order?
Plans
To be able to accomplish the goals/objectives, plans are essential. Planning is an attempt to make certain things happen in the future exactly the way you visualize them now. The future is uncertain, but you cannot work without a plan. Be reasonably cautious about over-committing, but once you commit yourself, ensure that you achieve the results.
Plan Duration
You must plan for the long-term, say, for a year, and for the short-term, every day. Long-term plans may mean setting specific deadlines for accomplishing specific milestones. For example, as a Material Planning Executive for a certain class of items, you may want to bring down the inventory from the current level of 45 days to 40 days in three months' time and to 35 days in a year's time. This will remain a mere wish unless you have a detailed action plan to make all this happen.
Everyday's work must be planned at the beginning of the day, leaving a certain 'cushion' time for unexpected schedules. You should ensure that the pending work is kept to a minimum (and if possible at zero) at the end of the day. If, for some reason, you foresee that it may not be possible for you to complete all your work, then plan an alternative course of action. For example, talk to your Manager and get part of it done by someone else or decide to drop some non-priority tasks from your list. Or consciously push some of the job for tomorrow or a later day. At the end of the day, review the day's actual work and convince yourself that your time has been put to the best possible use.
Time Management
Time management is an important component of planning. If you split the work of an executive or a manager (a knowledge worker) into various components, you will find it to be a combination of reading, making or answering telephone calls, writing letters, interacting with executives in other departments and customers, analyzing data, preparing reports, taking briefs, reporting to the boss, etc. An analysis of the time spent on each of these activities will be very revealing. In the first place, on a on day-to-day basis, you should have clarity about the work you need to do. You should have an understanding of the urgency/importance of each of these activities and the approximate time it would take.
Prioritize your activities and execute them in the sequence in which they should be done. Do not take up the first item that comes to mind. Do not give preference to the work you like to do over what you have to do. This requires an organized way of working. If you mismanage your time, you will fail to manage your work. Use of a diary and Things-to-do pads and proper co-ordination with others about what they have to deliver to you and what you have to deliver to them are all methods by which you can manage your day and your work well.
ORGANIZING
Immediately after planning, before you get down to the actual work, you need to organize. It involves collecting the data you need, gathering all the facilities/tools you require, and mobilizing the resources you need to carry out the work. For example, if you are a Sales Executive and are on the way to meet a customer, you should check if your visiting cards and required brochures are ready on hand. (Also, check the status of delivery of items on the customer's previous Purchase Order). Rehearse the questions that may come up during the discussions and be ready with the answers before you meet the client. Disorganized working will result in failure, or in high cost to achieve success.
As a Stores Manager, you have to ensure that the stores under your control are well-organized, every day, to receive the expected material receipts. For example, this may mean that your store officers and store keepers help rearranging the existing items well before new items arrive, as there will be no time once the materials arrive. You should have them have the cranes, trolleys, people, etc., ready at hand to unload new materials. They should have kept the Quality Control Inspector informed about the receipt for the day, so that he can come well prepared for inspection. You should have trained your people to be organized.
EXECUTING AND DIRECTING
Executing
This refers to the actual work expected of the executive. The executive must be equipped enough in intelligence, knowledge, skills and attitudes to be able to deliver results. Conviction about the importance of your role in the organization and commitment to work are essential for successful execution. They act as stimulants to function successfully.
Where you lack in knowledge, skills or attitudes, do not hesitate to speak to your Manager and get his help in equipping yourself adequately for the job. External training programs, even if generic, sometimes help.
Executing is about producing results. There are three types of executives: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what is happening. It is the first category that succeeds.
Apart from intelligence, knowledge and skills, to make things happen you also need inspiration - a burning desire to do, to achieve results.
There are broadly three categories of people. One - those who work because they have to survive. Once their basic necessities of life are taken care of, they have no more reason to work. You can't see any life, enthusiasm, interest, inspiration in their work. They are mere passengers and are a great liability to their organization. They are also known as vegetators.
Two - those who work because they can earn money with which they need to enjoy the goodies of life. They need fat salaries to fulfil all their desires. To this end, they are prepared to put in extra work, however hard it may be; but, if shortcuts will help them grow faster, they don't mind taking such shortcuts. Their reason to work comes out of the results, the benefits that they can get out of work.
They will never be see satisfied whatever benefits they get - they remain greedy. You can see life and interest in their work because they realize that it is their work that will give them all that they desire. However, what they lack is inspiration. They don't enjoy the process of working; it is only the results that they are ever looking forward to, so that their personal goals could be met early. They do achieve temporarily results for their organizations, but they are NOT the soul of the organization. They are not leaders; they are followers. They are not producers for the organization or society; they are only customers. They would like to consume more than they can produce.
Even a bright young person can turn out to be a follower if he gets to work in an area which does not interest him. The same person, can become a leader in a work that is close to his heart.
We now come to the third category - those who work not for the results they get out of the work, but because they love and enjoy their work, whatever the outcome may be. Of course, they strive to work for very positive results, but if the results turn out otherwise, they don't lose heart. Every crisis is an opportunity to them. They are always on the look out for ways and means to cut costs, improve productivity, quality and efficiency/effectiveness at work, even without being asked to do so. They work well in a team and do not seek only personal achievements. They may or may not need a great deal of money; money takes secondary importance in relation to their work. As a matter of fact, even if their work doesn't give them the money they require, they would still do their work and find some other way of meeting their financial needs. They will never be satisfied with their work related achievements but be satisfied with their material possessions.
They will be full of life, energy, interest, inspiration when it comes to their work. They are leaders whatever be their designation and role. They need not be told their job; they just do it. Even if jobs to be done by some one else remain unfinished, in the interest of their organization, they do it voluntarily, willingly. They are the soul of the organization, even if they are at a very junior level. They are producers, leaders for the organization and society. They want to produce more than they consume because they know that they can contribute to a great extent.
Society consists of a majority of passengers, a large number of mercenaries and a few producers.
Even producers do not necessarily start off as producers from day one of their work life, though there are a few exceptions. In most cases, they graduate from being mercenaries to producers when they achieve their 'self-realization'.
Ultimately, your own attitude to work, your own life and society around you will dictate what you become.
Apart from these general traits, of course, there are the job-specific qualifications, knowledge, skills and personality traits which are necessary for anyone to succeed in his job.
Every executive and manager should be good at the basic skills essential for his specific job. It is difficult to go on in a general vein far when it comes to executing because it is highly job specific. While a Purchase Manager needs skills to negotiate, dictate/write letters, a Market Research Analyst needs a good grounding in statistics and aptitude for working with a team.
Directing
Directing is a process by which a manager or executive leads his team so that all the members of the team perform their tasks in the desired fashion thereby meeting the said goals.
There are three types of executives: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what is happening. It is the first category that succeeds.
Directing includes issuing orders and instructions to subordinates, guiding and monitoring them, motivating, communicating and effectively leading them.
a. Issuing Orders
Important aspects to be noted while issuing orders are:
- Clear and few words.
- Complete but brief instructions.
- Correct scope, tone and words.
b. Communication
It is a system by which information is communicated by one to another or all. The communication system can operate from top to bottom. Communication can be oral or written, in the form of reports or instructions. It can also be formal or informal. Proper communication leads to better productivity and industrial relations.
A vertical communication is from the management to the staff, while horizontal communication is across the same level.
In formal communications, face-to-face contacts, open-door-policies, etc ., - is the path to communicate with higher hierarchy. Chain of commands, group meetings, etc., - are channels for communicating to subordinates.
There are also some barriers in effective communication when the receiver is not receptive and indifferent.
Effective communication helps in better understanding. Hence, the message should be direct, simple, timely, face-to-face, devoid of emotion, etc.
c. Leadership
The next important step in directing is leadership. Leadership must inspire confidence and trust, so that organizational goals are met as programmed.
To be a successful leader you have to have good qualities which could be natural or acquired over a period of time.
Leaders can be authoritative, democratic, persuasive, and functional.
Some of the qualities of good leadership are: intelligence, positive attitude, technical knowledge, maturity, an innovative and energetic mind, responsibility and open mindedness.
An effective leader is an achiever of goals, who is good in communication and is a role model.
CONTROLLING
Murphy's law states that if anything can go wrong it will. And an extension to Murphy's law states that even things that cannot go wrong will. The most interesting thing about failures is that even when things have gone totally out of control, most people may not even be aware that things have gone wrong. The objective of controlling is to ensure that things do not go wrong, and when they do, you should be aware of it so that you can take corrective action in time.
To be able to control any activity, you should be able to measure and compare it with the desired results. This means that in the planning stage, there should have been a clear statement of the expected level of achievement, which should also be measurable, and in the execution stage, the actual measurement of the result must take place.
For example, if you are an Administration Manager, you have a responsibility to control office expenses within reasonable limits. let us assume that you find the telephone bills to be very high. Then you would compare it with the budgeted value, analyze the previous telephone bills, identify possible ways of reducing telephone expenses without affecting business, and then you would draw a set of guidelines for a certain duration of time, say, by the next monthly bill. You would discuss these with the concerned people, gain their acceptance of your findings and agree on an action plan. You would then remember to look into the telephone bill after the month period is over, find out whether it has been controlled to the extent envisaged, and if not, take further corrective action.
CONCLUSION
In real life you would find that most executives and managers do not follow a disciplined approach, probably because no one has taught them to do so. No wonder the effectiveness of their functioning in most organizations is far below the desired levels. However if you are going to be disciplined, and work to a plan, you will go up the ladder very fast and achieve success in life.
RECAPITULATION
- Generic work skill requires the following:
- Setting forth clear goals/objectives and planning one's work
- Organizing oneself and one's job
- Executing the tasks effectively
- Controlling the tasks to achieve the goals/objectives.
- Setting goals helps plan and execute action in achieving objectives.
- Planning helps in making certain things exactly the way you visualize.
- Planning should be long-term, intermediate and short-term.
- Organizing involves:
- collecting the data you need
- having tools you require, and
- utilizing the resources you need to carry out the work.
- Time management is an important component of organizing.
- Intelligence, knowledge, skills and attitude are necessary for commitment to work and in knowing one's role in the organization.
- The objective of controlling is to ensure that things do not go wrong.
- To be able to control anything, you should be able to measure and compare it with the desired results.
- Identifying the best career line and preparing to get into the chosen career are the two steps involved in career planning.
- It is better to apply for a few jobs with adequate preparation and planning, than applying for all vacancies advertised offline and online.
