Four Essentials for Effective Management

Far too many managers and business owners find themselves so pressured by the stress of daily crises they face, they dread going to work, begin their day with a negative attitude and are generally miserable. Hopefully, this article will provide some resolve to this vicious cycle, ease the pressures and make life more enjoyable again, not only for the manager, but for his or her subordinates as well. Although this article is directed at both genders, the male reference will be used only for the sake of simplicity. No offense to the many female managers/owners intended.

PLANNING
All too often a manager spends the majority of his time putting out fires, making rushed decisions and discovers at the end of the day he accomplished very little. To stop this vicious cycle, the first technique that must be mastered is Planning. In order to get ahead of the daily deluge of questions, phone calls, emergencies, etc., decide when you want to finally get on top of things. Let's say, for example, Monday is your target for a new beginning. First, you must find a quiet time and a quiet space where you are uninterrupted, whether it means staying late on Friday night or coming in on a Saturday, but you must make the commitment to change.

Planning can take many forms and has many uses. The president of a company might be making one, or two, or even five year plans for the company, requiring the input of Sales, Finance and Operations. A department manager, on the other hand, might be planning the production schedule for the next Monday, assigning workers, machines, material, orders, etc. In either case, the methods are the same. Priorities, goal and objectives must be transferred from the mind to a document. All too often, managers and owners think they have everything worked out in their head, only to find that some essential element, some key detail was omitted or momentarily forgotten. Putting plans on paper is a discipline that must be followed in all cases. Paper never forgets. Paper can be copied and handed out, so the entire company or department are all "on the same page".

A plan usually lists activities that must be accomplished, with deadlines for each activity and these activities are usually listed in descending time or date order. If appropriate, the assignment for each activity on the plan is also noted. A manager's plan for Monday might include not only his "to do list" for the day, but It may be the work assignments or a list of orders that must be filled.

ASSIGNMENT
Execution of the plan is the next step. Now that the manager has the plan in writing, it is a simple matter to transfer that plan into individual or team assignments. This should also be a written document or form, with the appropriate worker's name, the identity of the assignment, the order in which the assignments are to be accomplished and, let this be emphasized as essential, the amount of time the worker is given to complete the assignment. If Joe is operating punch press number 3 and his assignment is to punch a 3/16" hole in each corner of 100 sheets of aluminum, the manager should know how long that assignment should take. Once Joe is made aware that he has 45 minutes to accomplish this task, he now has a goal to achieve. This is called an assignment. One principle to remember is, 'work will always expand to fill the time allotted to that task'. If a president assigns the accountant to prepare a profit and loss statement for the previous month, the president should tell the accountant when he expects the statement on his desk.

After all the assignments are handed out, the manager or president should have in the planning document they prepared then next assignment, or even better, assignments listed for the entire day for every worker or team in the department. This method of planning and assignment will greatly reduce the chaos and pressure that ensues from scrambling to come up with the next assignment once a worker has completed his work.

One key rule to always adhere to, especially when running a small business is, only perform the duties that no one else besides you can perform. Everything else in the company should be delegated, or assigned. It is extremely unproductive for a president or manager to answer incoming calls, empty the trash or open mail. Assign someone else whose capabilities and experience best match the assignment. Following this rule of business will maximize the utilization of everyone in the company.

FOLLOW-UP
This is one of the most neglected activities in business and is the greatest cause of inefficiency, poor quality, wasted time, material and PROFIT. It is common to assume that Joe finished his task of punching holes in the 100 sheets of aluminum, but if the manager does not follow-up, determine that the 100 sheets were actually completed, with no defects in the time allotted for that task, the manager is not performing his duty of managing. The definition of management is to manage what? PEOPLE!! If he allows Joe to only produce 95 sheets, damaging 6 sheets and lets him take over an hour to finish, the manager is failing in his responsibility. Instead, the manager should determine was the work completed, is the work acceptable and how long did it actually require to complete. If Joe finished the job perfectly in the 45 minutes, his score is 100% for that assignment. Joe should then be told, in so many words, "good job". If Joe finished the job perfectly in only 41 minutes, he should be given a score of 110%. Joe should then be asked how he did such a great job in less time and if there is a new method Joe could share so the other punch press operators could benefit? This is true follow-up. Once the department is aware that the manager is truly following up on all assignments and providing positive feedback to the workers, productivity and morale will both increase. If production records are maintained through regular follow-up of all assignments, a reward or incentive system could even be established, with monetary bonuses, a worker of the week parking spot near the building, or free coffee for the following week. Follow-up creates awareness and that awareness can lead to a much improved operation.

REPORT
Far too many companies have little or no clue of their actual production costs. They will know payroll costs, material costs, how many orders were processed and how many products were produced, but on a department by department basis, without accurate production figures, based on the follow-up of daily assignments, the true cost of producing a component or operation is usually lost in the shuffle. With consistent follow-up, reports on production times, production quantities, quality defects in production and the all important percent of completion on assignments is achievable. These reports can be analyzed and all sorts of useful information can be derived. For example, the most productive workers can be identified, as well as those producing the most defects. The methods of the most productive workers can be observed, analyzed and their methods taught to other worker, thus making them more productive. Reporting is the key to discovering problem areas, resolving these problems, making improvements, increasing productivity and positively effecting profits.

An organized operation is an effective operation. It all begins with a plan. Plan the work, then work the plan. Assignments prepared in advance from the planning will make life much smoother for the manager, giving him more time to do the things most beneficial for the company, rather that continually putting out fires. The manager will then have the time for effective planning, assigning, follow-up and producing effective reports, showing the improvements his planning, assignments and follow-up were able to produce. That is effective management.

The organized manager can now look forward to coming to work, knowing he is in control, has conquered the chaos and this positive attitude will be passed on to his department and definitely noticed by his superiors.