Showing posts with label Leadership. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leadership. Show all posts
Friday, November 16, 2012
Why doesn't anyone ever blame Bad Management!?
Why does everyone in the media blame the union?
Goodbye Twinkie, Ding-Dongs and other Hostess "treats" (that possibly may still be exhumed millenia from now without any wear or harm ... it's not the unhealthy products I'm sorry to see go, it's the working class jobs)...
CEO, Mr. Gregory F. Rayburn only holds a masters degree from U of Alabama. I say only because you might think he was a divinely educated businessman extraordinaire, having been in leadership, if not the very top, of so many companies! But about the "so many" companies ... although often having multiple "jobs" at any one of these companies, his resume shows no less than 2 companies between 2000 & 2002, 3 companies from 02-04 (including giving away WorldCom/MCI to Verizon), 3 companies from 04-07 … and one company each in '09, '11 & '12. Associated with the "sin" industry of gambling through Diamond Resorts Corporation as well as being the former CEO of the New York City Off Track Betting Corporation, he was also with the discredited Arthur Andersen LLC as a partner. The man can NOT hold down a job OR, apparently, make any meaningful positive difference. He appears to be a profiteer, blithely skipping from one disaster to the next. As a sort of “cherry” on his sundae, he is also a Member of the American Bankruptcy Institute.
http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=508078&privcapId=598750&previousCapId=333920&previousTitle=AMERISTAR%20CASINOS%20INC
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Can "Job Security" make a comeback?
Job security is an interesting conversation. I'd like to see that come back (it certainly is a corporate social responsibility expression), but I wonder how it can given how our culture has lain bear how disposably companies treat employees (and, therefore, why should employees feel any loyalty ... which we continue to not feel). Beyond a case by case basis, it makes for an interesting business meditation: by what ingredients can job security be re-introduced?
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Michael Porter; a hero disappoints.
or, the danger of the disingenuous subject matter expert (would YOU have caught this lie?)
6/3/2012 2:05:20 PM
I just took pause from my all-day work in front of the computer to have lunch … and as is my habit set myself up in front of the TV and turned on some news. Fareed Zakaria was on (I really like Fareed’s show), and Michael Porter was about to speak. As a student of business, imagine my joy (Porter’s hardly if ever on TV … first time I’d ever see him on TV)!
For the uninitiated, amongst contemporary business literature Porter’s caliber would rank analogously with, say, the Rolling Stones (were business academics rock and roll). He has essentially helped Harvard Business School maintain its vaulted pantheon position, as faculty, as serial author, etc. And I must confess, I cite him regularly (as I variously am either learning or agreeing him.).
When he and Fareed began speaking, it was on the topic of where American business was headed (certainly fascinating). Unfortunately, it appears that Porter may have taken too much grant money from corporate sources (my conjecture)! More than once he cited Americans as not being productive enough!!! Just go to Google images and put in “American productivity chart” (https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1024&bih=614&q=american+productivity+chart&gbv=2&oq=American+productivity&aq=5S&aqi=g1g-S9&aql=&gs_l=img.1.5.0j0i24l9.1547.7094.0.11250.21.13.0.8.8.0.78.842.13.13.0...0.0.aEFu6vXy1Yo). While I didn’t check each and every chart you can readily see that most if not all say, as they should, the same thing. What that same thing tends to be, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis and others, is SO the contrary as to make one ill! Americans are setting records for productivity!
Now, does Michael mean productivity compared to wages elsewhere? Something like that is all I can think of. But honestly, that was the one silver lining of all the off shoring, I don’t want us to lose our minimum wage (it isn’t high enough as it is!). To make matters worse, he hardly looked Fareed in the eye, looking mostly down and to the right … generally a sign of being disingenuous.
What, it begs the question, would prompt such “marketing” (possibly propaganda)? He spoke of a study ... I'll have to keep an eye out for this study!!! If corporations could suppress wages more, somehow extract even greater ROI, then America becomes that much more attractive. Well, that's the simplistic easy thing, isn't it? Corporations have broken the middle class back - there IS no more low hanging fruit!!! How about corporations fulfilling the promise of America shifting from a manufacturing economy to a knowledge economy? Come on, Michael, you’re an old academic – don’t you want to champion corporations promoting, underwriting, etc. our knowledge economy? Why would you help "them" try to squeeze blood from a stone? Is it not time to reinvest? "Americans not being productive enough"? Have you gone mad? This so very much erodes your leadership credibility.
For those in academia you may recognize the old saw about how public schools do not “abuse” the financial aid system the way private institutions do. I am a Professor of Business of some years and actively teach for both kinds of Universities. There may or may not be an imbalance here, and both advantage monies every way they can (they, after all, each “have a business to run”). One thing is very certain, however, the public “research” schools (some, not all ... but as much their public blemish as the private schools have theirs) … are increasingly showing their stripes as paid for and bought.
I am happy to report, I can assure you, I do not teach for any schools that are bought : )
6/3/2012 2:05:20 PM
I just took pause from my all-day work in front of the computer to have lunch … and as is my habit set myself up in front of the TV and turned on some news. Fareed Zakaria was on (I really like Fareed’s show), and Michael Porter was about to speak. As a student of business, imagine my joy (Porter’s hardly if ever on TV … first time I’d ever see him on TV)!
For the uninitiated, amongst contemporary business literature Porter’s caliber would rank analogously with, say, the Rolling Stones (were business academics rock and roll). He has essentially helped Harvard Business School maintain its vaulted pantheon position, as faculty, as serial author, etc. And I must confess, I cite him regularly (as I variously am either learning or agreeing him.).
When he and Fareed began speaking, it was on the topic of where American business was headed (certainly fascinating). Unfortunately, it appears that Porter may have taken too much grant money from corporate sources (my conjecture)! More than once he cited Americans as not being productive enough!!! Just go to Google images and put in “American productivity chart” (https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1024&bih=614&q=american+productivity+chart&gbv=2&oq=American+productivity&aq=5S&aqi=g1g-S9&aql=&gs_l=img.1.5.0j0i24l9.1547.7094.0.11250.21.13.0.8.8.0.78.842.13.13.0...0.0.aEFu6vXy1Yo). While I didn’t check each and every chart you can readily see that most if not all say, as they should, the same thing. What that same thing tends to be, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis and others, is SO the contrary as to make one ill! Americans are setting records for productivity!
Now, does Michael mean productivity compared to wages elsewhere? Something like that is all I can think of. But honestly, that was the one silver lining of all the off shoring, I don’t want us to lose our minimum wage (it isn’t high enough as it is!). To make matters worse, he hardly looked Fareed in the eye, looking mostly down and to the right … generally a sign of being disingenuous.
What, it begs the question, would prompt such “marketing” (possibly propaganda)? He spoke of a study ... I'll have to keep an eye out for this study!!! If corporations could suppress wages more, somehow extract even greater ROI, then America becomes that much more attractive. Well, that's the simplistic easy thing, isn't it? Corporations have broken the middle class back - there IS no more low hanging fruit!!! How about corporations fulfilling the promise of America shifting from a manufacturing economy to a knowledge economy? Come on, Michael, you’re an old academic – don’t you want to champion corporations promoting, underwriting, etc. our knowledge economy? Why would you help "them" try to squeeze blood from a stone? Is it not time to reinvest? "Americans not being productive enough"? Have you gone mad? This so very much erodes your leadership credibility.
For those in academia you may recognize the old saw about how public schools do not “abuse” the financial aid system the way private institutions do. I am a Professor of Business of some years and actively teach for both kinds of Universities. There may or may not be an imbalance here, and both advantage monies every way they can (they, after all, each “have a business to run”). One thing is very certain, however, the public “research” schools (some, not all ... but as much their public blemish as the private schools have theirs) … are increasingly showing their stripes as paid for and bought.
I am happy to report, I can assure you, I do not teach for any schools that are bought : )
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Friday, October 1, 2010
global negotion
Negotiation is an important step in international business. Although both international and domestic negotiations should try to achieve a "win-win" situation, there are some differences between the two. Discuss how international negotiation is different from domestic negotiation. What are some specific points managers must keep in mind when negotiating with people from different cultures? Cite real life examples to support your points.
We begin a conversation about negotiation as if it is a casual add on to the current conversation of multiculturalism. Meanwhile, I am confident that none of us are so cavalier; realizing negotiation to be a highly developed art and science in its own right.Firstly, to recognize the wealth of moving parts alone, even from a generic perspective, can be daunting. We can appreciate this with a cursory familiarity of negotiation and globalism. Then consider:
• What may be a point of advantage in ones domestic culture could have wide ranging implications for the counterpart elsewhere (death among them).
• What may be a poker face or other standard posture of countenance, gesticulation, etc. in ones domestic culture could be interpreted else wise.
Let us assume funds are limited and your entity needs to make a go of things without benefit of hiring a seasoned master. Some recommendations would include:
• Leave no stone unturned. Treat this as a one would a business plan, doing detailed research on every consideration possible. This naturally embraces all the acculturation one can corral, every custom one may unearth, all legal habits, statutes, structures, etc. create a database as to where the culture sits in relationship to one’s own by every metric that has been established (Inglehart-Welzel, Hofstede, comparative height considerations, living standards … everything), etcetera!
• Develop and practice your layered chess game in advance. This includes having an understanding as to who will represent, how the room will look, what they will wear, where they will sit, what they may have with them, who interacts with whom and in what order and so on.
Including the Phatak & Habib graphic should illuminate how even a passing consideration in this direction may be found to be full of surprises. In sum: translate everything.
Lewicki, R. J., Barry, B., & Saunders, D. M. (2010). Negotiation (6th ed. ed.). NY: McGraw-Hill / Irwin.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Case: How Leadership is postured at Saipem
Just over a half century old, subsidiary of the Italian energy group Eni, Saipem, focuses on the petroleum industry and naturally seeks to grow itself. This is an interesting industry to focus on, because the bulk of the workforce is usually from countries other than that of the headquarters.
Robert House initiated the Globe Study, of 62 societies, in the early 1990s to address issues such as might arise when mixing various divergent cultures; beyond seeking acknowledgments of what might be different. It also sought to determine what, if anything, might be the same. Much work along these lines stands on the shoulders of Geert Hofstede's work. Before we look at what may be the same, let's notice first what might be different; indicating potential challenges.
Saipem’s Sustainability Case Study acknowledges countries in the area. However, in the subcontractors and local partners section, we are looking predominately at Indonesians. A quick look at Hofstede's work comparing Italians and Indonesians finds a power distance index for Italians somewhat with an average; in the mid-40s. For Indonesians, the score is even above the average for most Asian countries, clocking in at 78. This is a striking contrast, and indicative of a cultural acceptance toward inequality, vis-Ã -vis power structures and hierarchies for Indonesians. Further exacerbating such naturally inclined disparities finds a world ranking of 43 on the individualism index; Italy hovers around a ranking of 70, Indonesia clocks in at 14!
Consequently, there is real and natural danger for Italians in position of power to take advantage of such natural cultural differences with their Indonesians subordinates. However, we do not see this happening; at least not as graphically as Hofstede's work might indicate.
Saipem is seeking what is the same, and perhaps even looking to err on the side of conservatism as it seeks to establish leadership parameters. With an eye towards the long haul, Saipem has instituted human resources strategies that go above and beyond what one might think is typically offered. This includes a robust internal infrastructure with an eye towards safety and health, a very muscular fabric of corporate posture towards ethics and morality, a ready acknowledgment of the found religious values, as well as standards on pay and benefits (minimum wages and overtime, medical and maternal leaves and a traveling allowance).
This gesture of corporate posture may be seen as ordinary in the West. However, a quick reminder of Hofstede's work, coupled with every corporation's task to increase shareholder wealth, would indicate a path that more commonly played out in years gone by. Indeed, corporations with an eye towards long-term relationships are increasingly ready to embrace that which works universally. The costs outweighed by the benefit.
Saipem goes further, not simply looking to lift up its employees, but its local community relationships as well. It seeks to use local manufacturers, vendors and suppliers, where possible. It even goes the extra step to audit such local businesses to ensure that it is not doing business with an enterprise that might be questionable when it comes to child labor or other issues of human rights.
Questions:
1. Do you think treating foreign labor the way Saipem does is good enough or too much?
2. Insofar as we are dealing with human behavior, and other subjective considerations, how do you think you might go about creating a rubric or metric so that you can address a cost-benefit analysis? What might be some of the components that you would want to include?
3. By what methodologies do you feel you might be able to get a reliable sense of measurable satisfaction from the Indonesian laborers? What are some of the questions that you might want to ask them?
4. In the case study it seems to Saipem polices itself. There are world organizations for labor and human rights, do you think that Saipan should report to such organizations or should such organizations police companies like Saipem?
Robert House initiated the Globe Study, of 62 societies, in the early 1990s to address issues such as might arise when mixing various divergent cultures; beyond seeking acknowledgments of what might be different. It also sought to determine what, if anything, might be the same. Much work along these lines stands on the shoulders of Geert Hofstede's work. Before we look at what may be the same, let's notice first what might be different; indicating potential challenges.
Saipem’s Sustainability Case Study acknowledges countries in the area. However, in the subcontractors and local partners section, we are looking predominately at Indonesians. A quick look at Hofstede's work comparing Italians and Indonesians finds a power distance index for Italians somewhat with an average; in the mid-40s. For Indonesians, the score is even above the average for most Asian countries, clocking in at 78. This is a striking contrast, and indicative of a cultural acceptance toward inequality, vis-Ã -vis power structures and hierarchies for Indonesians. Further exacerbating such naturally inclined disparities finds a world ranking of 43 on the individualism index; Italy hovers around a ranking of 70, Indonesia clocks in at 14!
Consequently, there is real and natural danger for Italians in position of power to take advantage of such natural cultural differences with their Indonesians subordinates. However, we do not see this happening; at least not as graphically as Hofstede's work might indicate.
Saipem is seeking what is the same, and perhaps even looking to err on the side of conservatism as it seeks to establish leadership parameters. With an eye towards the long haul, Saipem has instituted human resources strategies that go above and beyond what one might think is typically offered. This includes a robust internal infrastructure with an eye towards safety and health, a very muscular fabric of corporate posture towards ethics and morality, a ready acknowledgment of the found religious values, as well as standards on pay and benefits (minimum wages and overtime, medical and maternal leaves and a traveling allowance).
This gesture of corporate posture may be seen as ordinary in the West. However, a quick reminder of Hofstede's work, coupled with every corporation's task to increase shareholder wealth, would indicate a path that more commonly played out in years gone by. Indeed, corporations with an eye towards long-term relationships are increasingly ready to embrace that which works universally. The costs outweighed by the benefit.
Saipem goes further, not simply looking to lift up its employees, but its local community relationships as well. It seeks to use local manufacturers, vendors and suppliers, where possible. It even goes the extra step to audit such local businesses to ensure that it is not doing business with an enterprise that might be questionable when it comes to child labor or other issues of human rights.
Hofstede, G. (2009). Geert Hofstede™ Cultural Dimensions. Retrieved from http://www.geert-hofstede.com/
House, R., Hanges, P.J., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P.W., & Gupta, V. . (2004). Culture, Leadership, and Organizations-The GLOBE Study of 62 Societies. Thousand Oaks, CA 91320: Sage Publications.
Saipem S.p.A. . (2008). Asia Pacific Saipem Sustainability Talent Case Study (case study whitepaper [pdf]). Retrieved from http://www.saipem.it/site/download.jsp?idDocument=1113&instance=2: www.saipem.it/
Questions:
1. Do you think treating foreign labor the way Saipem does is good enough or too much?
2. Insofar as we are dealing with human behavior, and other subjective considerations, how do you think you might go about creating a rubric or metric so that you can address a cost-benefit analysis? What might be some of the components that you would want to include?
3. By what methodologies do you feel you might be able to get a reliable sense of measurable satisfaction from the Indonesian laborers? What are some of the questions that you might want to ask them?
4. In the case study it seems to Saipem polices itself. There are world organizations for labor and human rights, do you think that Saipan should report to such organizations or should such organizations police companies like Saipem?
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
thinking ethically - TAINTED BY ASSOCIATION
The World Wildlife Federation periodically issues a report called Deeper Luxury. The purpose of the report is to reveal what they call an ESG performance ( i.e., environmental, social and governance is what is reviewed). The Deeper Luxury report focuses on the fashion industry. It is not surprising that such an organization might spend some real effort in this area when reminded of such media scandals in the relatively recent past as the wide variety of sweatshops, child labor issues, blood diamonds, garments made from endangered species, and so forth.
The report maps out many reasons, and many excuses. Among the various rationale includes such considerations as they need to compete (particularly the smaller or startup designers versus the larger or more established houses) and to the notion that under certain circumstances consumers tend to look the other way. Consider the pressure from the latter arena, when counterfeiting is now widely estimated to account for as much as 10% of the world's consumables coupled with more than 30% of consumers willing to buy knock off items.
Fortunately, the WWF understands the business of business and offers up two approaches to address the issue. One approach is to extend the cachet that luxury tends to be all about being the best. It posits, for example, structures like a certification acknowledging safe and ethical practice, say for gold mining, and marketed as such. This would be analogous to the consumer paying a little more in the organic food movement within the agricultural industry. If that doesn’t work they can always call out the celebrities associated with hawking the stuff.
2. What ethical criteria should you apply to making selection decisions involving people who include in their databases sourcing contacts with which you and/or your organization have ethical issue?
3. How important is it to you to work only for organizations with high ethical standards? Why does it (or does it not) matter to you?
The report maps out many reasons, and many excuses. Among the various rationale includes such considerations as they need to compete (particularly the smaller or startup designers versus the larger or more established houses) and to the notion that under certain circumstances consumers tend to look the other way. Consider the pressure from the latter arena, when counterfeiting is now widely estimated to account for as much as 10% of the world's consumables coupled with more than 30% of consumers willing to buy knock off items.
Fortunately, the WWF understands the business of business and offers up two approaches to address the issue. One approach is to extend the cachet that luxury tends to be all about being the best. It posits, for example, structures like a certification acknowledging safe and ethical practice, say for gold mining, and marketed as such. This would be analogous to the consumer paying a little more in the organic food movement within the agricultural industry. If that doesn’t work they can always call out the celebrities associated with hawking the stuff.
World Wildlife Fund for Nature. (2007). Deeper Luxury. Retrieved August 31, 2010, from http://www.wwf.org.uk/deeperluxury/_downloads/DeeperluxuryReport.pdf
Questions
1. Imagine that you work in the fashion industry. How would you react to a designer’s new line when you find part of what you’ll be marketing has “questionable origins”? How, if at all, would your response change if you worked for a manufacturer?2. What ethical criteria should you apply to making selection decisions involving people who include in their databases sourcing contacts with which you and/or your organization have ethical issue?
3. How important is it to you to work only for organizations with high ethical standards? Why does it (or does it not) matter to you?
Saturday, August 21, 2010
This was for a section entitled: Developing Employees for Future Success
It is commonplace to hear of the rise of Asia. This is for variety of reasons. While this chapter focused on what has become known as the classics of talent management, the development of talent and talent management generally seems headed for a wholesale transformation.
In the summer of 2010 a seminar was hosted by Singapore Management University. Professor Peter Cappelli, the Director for the Center of Human Resources at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, spoke of the larger paradigm of management processes as regards talent.
He poignantly reminded us that the essential tools that we use today are over half a century old. Some of what was pointed out that has been changed irretrievably includes the idea that job mobility was once unheard of when our current tools were devised. Of course, this is now a permanent fixture.
Shifts in global economic trends over the same half-century-plus have also lent their own wear and tear; a wholesale redrawing of the map as it were. This is including a handful of bubbles, as well as recessions; and has been expressed in business through cost-cutting, cutbacks and off shoring, etc. Across the 21st century's first decade, the old guard, North America and Europe were found to be heaving at times. The country of Iceland actually went bankrupt. Meanwhile, many countries in Asia demonstrated significantly more flexibility, with Singapore and China leading the way.
Across this time period, the most graphic expression of global business has been to shift of China from being largely ignored and outside the conversation, a country so challenged at the time as to only represent a potential significance, to a rising first-world icon we all must recognize.
A glaring absence in his narrative thus far has been India; which also cannot be ignored. Although China is on track to eclipse India within the twenty tens as the largest English-speaking country on the planet, India has been that global language of business’ largest speaking country across all of this time. Also being the largest democracy on the planet positions India with similar economic rise and less fanfare.
It might also be noted that in the 1980s the late Peter Drucker disabused the notion that there was any longer a ladder to climb. In the late 1990s and into the twenty hundreds it was generally recognized that the United States had lost its manufacturing base. However, old notions die hard. While one often hears that leaves us with a service economy, we are not recognizing that while we always had a service economy, we have in fact replaced manufacturing with a knowledge-based economy. Indeed, there are those who still feel that there may be a corporate letter to climb.
Against this backdrop what becomes of talent management?
Here’s where I stopped. I would have gone on, however, to conjecture: that an entirely new paradigm will evolve and emerge out of the East, that knowledge talent will supersede location and much else and that employee – employer relationships will relax during the working relationship and strengthen afterwards (compared to now, being employees are seen as disposable) so that employers can continue to call upon former employees as they need to. That there are other considerations afoot as well; including talent gaps already showing up in Asia and an evening of pay East and West.
In the summer of 2010 a seminar was hosted by Singapore Management University. Professor Peter Cappelli, the Director for the Center of Human Resources at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, spoke of the larger paradigm of management processes as regards talent.
He poignantly reminded us that the essential tools that we use today are over half a century old. Some of what was pointed out that has been changed irretrievably includes the idea that job mobility was once unheard of when our current tools were devised. Of course, this is now a permanent fixture.
Shifts in global economic trends over the same half-century-plus have also lent their own wear and tear; a wholesale redrawing of the map as it were. This is including a handful of bubbles, as well as recessions; and has been expressed in business through cost-cutting, cutbacks and off shoring, etc. Across the 21st century's first decade, the old guard, North America and Europe were found to be heaving at times. The country of Iceland actually went bankrupt. Meanwhile, many countries in Asia demonstrated significantly more flexibility, with Singapore and China leading the way.
Across this time period, the most graphic expression of global business has been to shift of China from being largely ignored and outside the conversation, a country so challenged at the time as to only represent a potential significance, to a rising first-world icon we all must recognize.
A glaring absence in his narrative thus far has been India; which also cannot be ignored. Although China is on track to eclipse India within the twenty tens as the largest English-speaking country on the planet, India has been that global language of business’ largest speaking country across all of this time. Also being the largest democracy on the planet positions India with similar economic rise and less fanfare.
It might also be noted that in the 1980s the late Peter Drucker disabused the notion that there was any longer a ladder to climb. In the late 1990s and into the twenty hundreds it was generally recognized that the United States had lost its manufacturing base. However, old notions die hard. While one often hears that leaves us with a service economy, we are not recognizing that while we always had a service economy, we have in fact replaced manufacturing with a knowledge-based economy. Indeed, there are those who still feel that there may be a corporate letter to climb.
Against this backdrop what becomes of talent management?
Here’s where I stopped. I would have gone on, however, to conjecture: that an entirely new paradigm will evolve and emerge out of the East, that knowledge talent will supersede location and much else and that employee – employer relationships will relax during the working relationship and strengthen afterwards (compared to now, being employees are seen as disposable) so that employers can continue to call upon former employees as they need to. That there are other considerations afoot as well; including talent gaps already showing up in Asia and an evening of pay East and West.
Asia: The Battle for Talent
Is Asia responding to the talent crisis?
Thank you for reading Periscope. For enquiries on this issue, please contact Colin Kinghorn at colin.kinghorn@synovate.com. Colin is the Head of Synovate Business Consulting's Thailand office. Synovate Business Consulting (www.synovate.com/businessconsulting) is the strategic business unit that assists clients globally to enter, evolve and expand in emerging and developed markets through fact-based market analysis.
June 2010
Heidrick & Struggles Asia-Pacific Talent Index 2007-2012
Talent Management: Updating Old and Tired Practices
http://www.cfoinnovation.com/content/emerging-markets-global-players
http://www.cfoinnovation.com/content/emerging-markets-global-players
by Knowledge@SMU, 06 July 2010
About the Author: Knowledge@SMU is an online resource that offers regularly updated business insights, information and research from a variety of sources, including interviews with industry leaders and Singapore Management University faculty. The resource can be accessed at http://knowledge.smu.edu.sg/.
© 2010 Questex Asia Ltd., a Questex Media Group company
CFOinnovationASIA
Friday, August 20, 2010
Introduction to Developing Employees for Future Success
Businesses rightfully seek having in house talent. As such the entirety of an employee’s relationship with an organization has been studied and developed.
We will continue to explore this larger process in this chapter. Please understand that what might require an interview in our culture may be eclipsed by a bloodline in another. Different cultures have differing perspectives on trainings; who may be trained, how, etc. Some of this may be based on caste, gender and so on. To “win the war for talent” beyond our own culture one needs to review the “battlefield”; something we take for granted domestically.
In the west, initially new employees need strong direction, they then expect to be able to think independently and treated with respect. However, imagine being somewhat new on the scene and asking your Greek employees to do something in a casually, without specificity. It may not get done. Culturally Greeks tend to expect to be told what to do. They have a high Uncertainty Avoidance Index (see Geert Hofstede’s work).
The precepts are correct, just understand adjustments may need to be made; subtle nuances are always to be assimilated. How both here, and blended with elsewhere, employee development is accomplished is worth considering. Classically, education, experiences, relationships, and personality and abilities assessment will remain.
This chapter explores purpose and activity of employee development. We discuss relationships among development, training, and career management. And, we look at development approaches, including education, assessment, job experiences, and interpersonal relationships.
The chapter emphasizes skill types, knowledge, and behaviors strengthened by each development method, so employees and their managers can choose appropriately when planning for development. The third section of the chapter describes steps of the career management process, responsibilities of employees and employers at each step of the process. We conclude with a discussion of special challenges related to employee development, which will shift from culture to culture — the so-called glass ceiling, succession planning, and dysfunctional managers.
We will continue to explore this larger process in this chapter. Please understand that what might require an interview in our culture may be eclipsed by a bloodline in another. Different cultures have differing perspectives on trainings; who may be trained, how, etc. Some of this may be based on caste, gender and so on. To “win the war for talent” beyond our own culture one needs to review the “battlefield”; something we take for granted domestically.
In the west, initially new employees need strong direction, they then expect to be able to think independently and treated with respect. However, imagine being somewhat new on the scene and asking your Greek employees to do something in a casually, without specificity. It may not get done. Culturally Greeks tend to expect to be told what to do. They have a high Uncertainty Avoidance Index (see Geert Hofstede’s work).
The precepts are correct, just understand adjustments may need to be made; subtle nuances are always to be assimilated. How both here, and blended with elsewhere, employee development is accomplished is worth considering. Classically, education, experiences, relationships, and personality and abilities assessment will remain.
This chapter explores purpose and activity of employee development. We discuss relationships among development, training, and career management. And, we look at development approaches, including education, assessment, job experiences, and interpersonal relationships.
The chapter emphasizes skill types, knowledge, and behaviors strengthened by each development method, so employees and their managers can choose appropriately when planning for development. The third section of the chapter describes steps of the career management process, responsibilities of employees and employers at each step of the process. We conclude with a discussion of special challenges related to employee development, which will shift from culture to culture — the so-called glass ceiling, succession planning, and dysfunctional managers.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
of depth and ateliers
There’s not enough dialog in our culture that punctuates this posture, and I adore it. In Malcolm Gladwell’s What the Dog Saw we find, as a consistent pattern, “the conversation underlying the conversation.” This perspective is senior to simply uncovering a back story. This hyper-conscious completeness is a reveal to an understanding that is uncommon and extraordinary.
Gladwell pulls this off with a balance of sensitivity and passion while maintaining a strong impartial objectivity (no small feat of itself). It leaves the reader with a sense that the narrative quite likely couldn’t have been conveyed any better. Yet moreover, the power of this depth highlights life lessons of context, risk, focus and other disparate qualities across the contemporary universe. After digesting Gladwell’s Outliers, a “Louvre”, it was not a letdown to be secreted off to a series of “ateliers”.
Gladwell pulls this off with a balance of sensitivity and passion while maintaining a strong impartial objectivity (no small feat of itself). It leaves the reader with a sense that the narrative quite likely couldn’t have been conveyed any better. Yet moreover, the power of this depth highlights life lessons of context, risk, focus and other disparate qualities across the contemporary universe. After digesting Gladwell’s Outliers, a “Louvre”, it was not a letdown to be secreted off to a series of “ateliers”.
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