The notion of companies looking beyond profits to their role in society is generally termed Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).  It refers to a company linking itself with ethical values, transparency, employee relations, compliance with legal requirements and over all respect for the communities in which they operate.
The entirety of CSR can be discerned from its three significant words: corporate, social, and responsibility.  Therefore, CSR covers the responsibilities corporations have to the societies within which they are based and operate.  It involves a business identifying its stakeholder groups and incorporating their need and values within the strategc day-to-day decision-making process.

(more…)

With the raging dispute that is slowly and painfully crippling the organization that I have grown to love, I could not help but construe that we are trekking the path towards a full-blown war. In cases of organizational discords, it is conceivable that people will be made to choose. Choosing who and what to believe coincides with the truth to which one strongly stands for. Because of the sensitivity of the matter, I will not be divulging any other information that could aggravate the scenario. I would, however, take heed on Sun Tzu’s words of wisdom as he outlines them in his classic book- The Art of War.
(more…)

Management by Objectives
The term was coined by Peter Drucker in his book- “The Practice of Management”.
MBO is a management approach that uses objectives as the primary means for managing an organization.  It is a process through which specific goals are set collaboratively as an organization.  The goals are then used as bases for planning, managing organizational activities, and assessing and rewarding contributions.  Here, managers and employees define goals for every department, project, and person and use them to monitor subsequent performance.
Objectives set for MBO must be SMART.  This essentially means that objectives must meet the following criteria – S-pecific, M-easurable, A-chievable, R-elevant, and T-ime specific.
There are four specific steps involve in the MBO process:
(more…)

A corporation’s scanning of the environment should include analyses of all relevant elements in the task environment. Managers need to consider the competitive environment, also referred to as the task environment or industry environment.  The profitability of the firm and the nature of competition in the industry are more directly influenced by developments in the competitive environment.

Industry Analysis
Industry – group of firms producing a similar product or service.
The firm interacts with a more specific environment, the industry.
4 main components that exert influence on industry:
1. Suppliers
2. Competitors and potential substitutes
3. Potential entrants
4. Buyers

(more…)

INFLUENCE
Influence is any action or examples of behavior that cause a change in the attitude or behavior of another person or group.  It is the process of guiding the activities of organization members in appropriate directions.  It involves the performance of four management objectives: leading, motivating, considering groups and communicating.  Appropriate directions are those that lead to the attainment of management objectives.

Influence System involves people taking the roles of influencer and influence.  It refers to situations wherein behavioral changes occur as a result of relationships among people.  These relationships involve interaction which is direct or indirect.

SPECTRUM OF MEANS FOR INFLUENCING BEHAVIOR
1)Emulation – requires no direct contact between individuals; yet it is a powerful influencer in behavior.  It is a subtle phenomenon which is more indicated in our reference to celebrities.  In organizations, certain individuals become aware of the behavioral patterns of their co-workers that they tend to model this behavior in hopes of attaining similar success.
2)Suggestion – involves direct and conscious interaction between individuals or between individuals and a group.  It explicitly attempts to influence behavior by presenting an idea or advocating a course of action.
3)Persuasion – implies urging and the use of inducement in order to evoke a desired response.  Skinner’s operant conditioning can be viewed as a form of persuasion.
4)Coercion – involves forcible constraint, including physical pressure.  In organizations, salaries and promotions and even threat of dismissal can be used to constrain or influence behavior.
(more…)

During these trying times, it is really a challenge for managers to keep employee motivation at its peak… The same holds true for our organization…   Studies have attested that employees who are highly motivated give their optimal performance in their jobs.  In consideration of their findings, managers should always be in the know as far as motivation theories are concerned… Below is a short refresher article discussing Maslow, Alderfer and Herzberg’s motivation theories…

What is motivation?

(more…)