Thursday, November 5, 2009
India: Desperately Seeking Talent
With India's economy on a tear, these are heady times for Bombay-based Larsen & Toubro Ltd. The company, India's top construction and engineering outfit, has seen its sales jump by 35% in the past year as Delhi boosts spending on roads and ports and India Inc. invests in more factories and office parks. But L&T Chairman Anil Manibhai Naik isn't celebrating. That's because he can't hire enough mechanical engineers to keep up with all the work. Despite boosting wages for rookie engineers by 25% -- to roughly $5,700 per year -- Naik is still losing potential recruits to the software industry, multinational competitors in India, or rivals in the Persian Gulf that pay twice his current rate. Says Naik: "Everyone is growing fast, and India is facing a talent shortage."
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Coping With the Talent Crunch
Training employees ensures future loyalty, If economic incentives are your only tool for coping with the talent crunch, you may win the battle (putting bodies in the cubicles), but lose the war (creating long-term competitive advantage).
This scene tells the story:
The leadership team of a $100 million manufacturing company is sitting around the conference table rejoicing in their increased sales, but concerned about turnover, inability to attract competent new hires and no heirs apparent for their positions. They consider adding benefit incentives that reward longevity, thus creating "golden handcuffs."
Most businesses are struggling with the need for talent. Whether the arena is fast food, technology start-up, big-time consulting or mature manufacturing, the challenge is great From where is the talent going to come to navigate the bumps on today's business racetrack?
Faced with the problem, many employers have demonstrated great creativity in designing ads, tailoring benefit packages, flexible work hours, signing and recruiting bonuses, etc. An argument could be made that those unique salaries and benefits create "golden handcuffs," keeping people in place who don't want to be there. They may cause employers to attract and retain the "wrong" people for their business.
Those "wrong" people may stay despite the fact that they don't fit with the business and jobs, simply because the compensation is good. At best, these attractions are necessary to compete, but only keep you even with the competition.
This scene tells the story:
The leadership team of a $100 million manufacturing company is sitting around the conference table rejoicing in their increased sales, but concerned about turnover, inability to attract competent new hires and no heirs apparent for their positions. They consider adding benefit incentives that reward longevity, thus creating "golden handcuffs."
Most businesses are struggling with the need for talent. Whether the arena is fast food, technology start-up, big-time consulting or mature manufacturing, the challenge is great From where is the talent going to come to navigate the bumps on today's business racetrack?
Faced with the problem, many employers have demonstrated great creativity in designing ads, tailoring benefit packages, flexible work hours, signing and recruiting bonuses, etc. An argument could be made that those unique salaries and benefits create "golden handcuffs," keeping people in place who don't want to be there. They may cause employers to attract and retain the "wrong" people for their business.
Those "wrong" people may stay despite the fact that they don't fit with the business and jobs, simply because the compensation is good. At best, these attractions are necessary to compete, but only keep you even with the competition.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Right skilling addresses talent crunch’
You should have an open mindset and if you recognise the need to globalise and accept people from different cultures you are okay.
It’s a weekend but there is no let-up for the indefatigable Director, Human Resources of software major Infosys Technologies Ltd, T.V. Mohandas Pai. Just back from a long trip to the US, Pai is soon after in Chennai to speak at an event organised by this newspaper. It’s a few days before the company’s results for the last quarter of ’07 are to be announced, so Pai is wary of giving away anything pertaining to its business plans saying it’s the quiet period. But ask him about the software industry’s main asset, brainpower, and Pai is at his loquacious best. The New Manager interviewed Pai in the car from the airport to glean his views on a variety of issues that confront Infosys and the industry. Excerpts:
How do you react to the charge by other industries that software is sucking up lots of talent; that students from other disciplines are all heading to software.
It’s true that the IT industry is attracting a lot of good talent, it’s also true that other industries are feeling constrained. It has to do with the culture of Indian industry where for very long they had access to very good people paying very low wages. I remember several years ago, engineers used to get Rs 6,000-7,000. CAs used to get less than a lakh a year and now they get Rs 10 lakh. So, it’s a sea change, which means that talent is getting priced right and you have to compete for it. So each industry has to work on its employee brand and come out with a set of attributes that will attract people and industry has to work with academia to have backward linkages and make sure you put your capabilities in front of potential employees and compete for talent. I think it’s a good thing for the middle-class and a good thing for India.
So, you think employers from other industries complaining about the great software suck-up of talent is unwarranted?
It’s not fair to say it’s unwarranted. But society exists for individual members and not for management of companies; society as a whole is made of individuals like you and me and our interests are paramount to society’s so if someone complains then it’s the wrong thing to do because it will only prove that they are not popular employees. But, yes, as a society we should all accept that we should have adequate talent and enable industry to grow as everything cannot be IT and indeed IT is not the solution to India’s challenges; it’s a small part of the solution. But we need to understand the dynamics of the labour market and come out with appropriate strategies.
For example, the construction industry for very long has not invested in civil engineering in academia. Today, they are paying more money than the IT industry to get good talent; it’s a good thing but beneath all that there is one thing all of us need to do — that is right skilling. For too long Indian industry has had overqualified people doing under skilled jobs.
Now the only solution for India, including IT, is to do right skilling to find out the attributes of job needs and match that with the skills required and find the right kind of people for jobs.
For example, in our BPO industry we had high attrition and our HR head came up with an idea – she said we would find people who were happy doing the job, who were contented and we went to the smaller towns and found a different class of people who were happy doing that job. They have a different view of life and so are their aspirations. You go to an urban, middle-class young man who has passed out of a top city college, his aspirations are totally different. Right skilling is the way out and if we sit down and do that, then there is enough talent for everybody.
The rapid growth of the IT industry has seen younger people assume huge responsibilities and roles…
We have been pushing young people one or two rungs up but this could have its repercussions because if you push young people up too fast they could falter somewhere up the line. It takes time to handle people, to develop managerial skills and if you push them up too fast, they find that they don’t fit and burn out. I’ve seen it happen in the IT industry, because not everybody who is pushed up fast makes it to the top. People need time to grow. In earlier generations, there was stability. Once you promote people every two years, give them more responsibility, stress levels also go up; not everybody has the capability and not everyone can grow at the same pace.
With the recession in the US, what are the overall indications for IT hiring for the year?
It is part of the global industry which sees up and downs. If things are growing well in the West, which is our major market, then you will see higher growth. But if things don’t go well, they want to cut costs and come to us to outsource more work. So, the Indian IT industry is fairly well positioned but how long will there be a gap between the global economy cooling down and more outsourcing work coming to India – that’s the challenge.
You employ 89,000 people across 23 countries, 60 nationalities, how do you manage this diversity?
We have a distributed leadership model and we try to create a common value system across the enterprise. We are also trying to create a common culture. But it’s going to be very difficult to have a common culture that binds the organisation across geographies and at the same time have a culture that is unique to the location where we are situated, because in every location we need to have local talent coming to us. Right now, the Indian IT industry is configured with a large percentage from India and very small numbers from other nationalities, but that should change. It’s because India has a huge reservoir of talent unlike other countries but nevertheless as we penetrate markets further afield we create local development centres and try and get in local leadership and create a HR framework that suits the local environment. So, globalisation has its challenges for management.
So, how many people from other nationalities do you employ today?
We have about 3.5 per cent today and we hope to grow that percentage faster than the growth in the other 96.5 per cent.
Do you have problems of cultural adjustment?
Yes, there are challenges, because, remember all policies and everything that you do, is subconsciously determined by the people who design the policies; there are so many local nuances, local needs and everybody is learning. You should have an open mindset and if you recognise the need to globalise and accept people from different cultures you are okay.
How are you developing the second rung from your Mysore leadership institute?
We have been successful in creating a second rung of leaders. We have a newly created executive council where four senior people — members of the board — are part of this council. These people are taking additional responsibilities and then we have a unit head who is part of this council; we have used this framework to invest in people and develop this capability; it’s been fairly successful. Has it been a total success? We have to still write the full story.
In IT, leaders identify themselves. We give them more responsibilities and this is not a deliberate act like in other companies, it comes naturally. The industry is young and everybody is a fast tracker. But it has its own repercussions, many people burn out, many leave, there is attrition, much more so than in other industries, and there are people who just cannot take it any more.
What’s the next bastion for the industry?
In the top ten in the world today you could have three Indian companies, perhaps not in revenue terms but in terms of people or consultants; because of our model we get less revenues per person than companies overseas. In the next two years, we should get at least 2-3 players in the top five. And on the business side, the challenge is to build up our end-to-end business services and become trusted advisors. We have the technology and domain expertise, we need to scale it up and expand it dramatically, that’s the big challenge. We need to get more overseas people in the top management, reconfigure the way we run our business.
What about recruitment this year, given the impending recession coming on in the US?
We had said last quarter that we were in line for the hiring for the quarter and now ’08 is over. And, for ’09, we have 18,000 offers already in the market.
If the slowdowns continues, analysts say that the lateral-to-fresher hiring ratio will change as clients may no longer want a low-end service?
We need to understand that the market is constrained by the availability of laterals. Barring application development maintenance there is a shortage of laterals in other areas. Most corporations aspire to go up the value chain for which they have to be more domain intensive, more tech intensive and need more experienced people. It’s not coding work, which means that you should have an appropriate ratio of laterals to freshers. Right now we are at a ratio of 34:66. But when you hire a fresher you are building future capacity, 16 weeks of training, it takes 9-12 months for them to be billable and since attrition levels are higher at this level you need to hire more of them. We find many leaving to do MBA and M.Tech programmes. Companies that have invested in training will be the ones that will be successful.
It’s a weekend but there is no let-up for the indefatigable Director, Human Resources of software major Infosys Technologies Ltd, T.V. Mohandas Pai. Just back from a long trip to the US, Pai is soon after in Chennai to speak at an event organised by this newspaper. It’s a few days before the company’s results for the last quarter of ’07 are to be announced, so Pai is wary of giving away anything pertaining to its business plans saying it’s the quiet period. But ask him about the software industry’s main asset, brainpower, and Pai is at his loquacious best. The New Manager interviewed Pai in the car from the airport to glean his views on a variety of issues that confront Infosys and the industry. Excerpts:
How do you react to the charge by other industries that software is sucking up lots of talent; that students from other disciplines are all heading to software.
It’s true that the IT industry is attracting a lot of good talent, it’s also true that other industries are feeling constrained. It has to do with the culture of Indian industry where for very long they had access to very good people paying very low wages. I remember several years ago, engineers used to get Rs 6,000-7,000. CAs used to get less than a lakh a year and now they get Rs 10 lakh. So, it’s a sea change, which means that talent is getting priced right and you have to compete for it. So each industry has to work on its employee brand and come out with a set of attributes that will attract people and industry has to work with academia to have backward linkages and make sure you put your capabilities in front of potential employees and compete for talent. I think it’s a good thing for the middle-class and a good thing for India.
So, you think employers from other industries complaining about the great software suck-up of talent is unwarranted?
It’s not fair to say it’s unwarranted. But society exists for individual members and not for management of companies; society as a whole is made of individuals like you and me and our interests are paramount to society’s so if someone complains then it’s the wrong thing to do because it will only prove that they are not popular employees. But, yes, as a society we should all accept that we should have adequate talent and enable industry to grow as everything cannot be IT and indeed IT is not the solution to India’s challenges; it’s a small part of the solution. But we need to understand the dynamics of the labour market and come out with appropriate strategies.
For example, the construction industry for very long has not invested in civil engineering in academia. Today, they are paying more money than the IT industry to get good talent; it’s a good thing but beneath all that there is one thing all of us need to do — that is right skilling. For too long Indian industry has had overqualified people doing under skilled jobs.
Now the only solution for India, including IT, is to do right skilling to find out the attributes of job needs and match that with the skills required and find the right kind of people for jobs.
For example, in our BPO industry we had high attrition and our HR head came up with an idea – she said we would find people who were happy doing the job, who were contented and we went to the smaller towns and found a different class of people who were happy doing that job. They have a different view of life and so are their aspirations. You go to an urban, middle-class young man who has passed out of a top city college, his aspirations are totally different. Right skilling is the way out and if we sit down and do that, then there is enough talent for everybody.
The rapid growth of the IT industry has seen younger people assume huge responsibilities and roles…
We have been pushing young people one or two rungs up but this could have its repercussions because if you push young people up too fast they could falter somewhere up the line. It takes time to handle people, to develop managerial skills and if you push them up too fast, they find that they don’t fit and burn out. I’ve seen it happen in the IT industry, because not everybody who is pushed up fast makes it to the top. People need time to grow. In earlier generations, there was stability. Once you promote people every two years, give them more responsibility, stress levels also go up; not everybody has the capability and not everyone can grow at the same pace.
With the recession in the US, what are the overall indications for IT hiring for the year?
It is part of the global industry which sees up and downs. If things are growing well in the West, which is our major market, then you will see higher growth. But if things don’t go well, they want to cut costs and come to us to outsource more work. So, the Indian IT industry is fairly well positioned but how long will there be a gap between the global economy cooling down and more outsourcing work coming to India – that’s the challenge.
You employ 89,000 people across 23 countries, 60 nationalities, how do you manage this diversity?
We have a distributed leadership model and we try to create a common value system across the enterprise. We are also trying to create a common culture. But it’s going to be very difficult to have a common culture that binds the organisation across geographies and at the same time have a culture that is unique to the location where we are situated, because in every location we need to have local talent coming to us. Right now, the Indian IT industry is configured with a large percentage from India and very small numbers from other nationalities, but that should change. It’s because India has a huge reservoir of talent unlike other countries but nevertheless as we penetrate markets further afield we create local development centres and try and get in local leadership and create a HR framework that suits the local environment. So, globalisation has its challenges for management.
So, how many people from other nationalities do you employ today?
We have about 3.5 per cent today and we hope to grow that percentage faster than the growth in the other 96.5 per cent.
Do you have problems of cultural adjustment?
Yes, there are challenges, because, remember all policies and everything that you do, is subconsciously determined by the people who design the policies; there are so many local nuances, local needs and everybody is learning. You should have an open mindset and if you recognise the need to globalise and accept people from different cultures you are okay.
How are you developing the second rung from your Mysore leadership institute?
We have been successful in creating a second rung of leaders. We have a newly created executive council where four senior people — members of the board — are part of this council. These people are taking additional responsibilities and then we have a unit head who is part of this council; we have used this framework to invest in people and develop this capability; it’s been fairly successful. Has it been a total success? We have to still write the full story.
In IT, leaders identify themselves. We give them more responsibilities and this is not a deliberate act like in other companies, it comes naturally. The industry is young and everybody is a fast tracker. But it has its own repercussions, many people burn out, many leave, there is attrition, much more so than in other industries, and there are people who just cannot take it any more.
What’s the next bastion for the industry?
In the top ten in the world today you could have three Indian companies, perhaps not in revenue terms but in terms of people or consultants; because of our model we get less revenues per person than companies overseas. In the next two years, we should get at least 2-3 players in the top five. And on the business side, the challenge is to build up our end-to-end business services and become trusted advisors. We have the technology and domain expertise, we need to scale it up and expand it dramatically, that’s the big challenge. We need to get more overseas people in the top management, reconfigure the way we run our business.
What about recruitment this year, given the impending recession coming on in the US?
We had said last quarter that we were in line for the hiring for the quarter and now ’08 is over. And, for ’09, we have 18,000 offers already in the market.
If the slowdowns continues, analysts say that the lateral-to-fresher hiring ratio will change as clients may no longer want a low-end service?
We need to understand that the market is constrained by the availability of laterals. Barring application development maintenance there is a shortage of laterals in other areas. Most corporations aspire to go up the value chain for which they have to be more domain intensive, more tech intensive and need more experienced people. It’s not coding work, which means that you should have an appropriate ratio of laterals to freshers. Right now we are at a ratio of 34:66. But when you hire a fresher you are building future capacity, 16 weeks of training, it takes 9-12 months for them to be billable and since attrition levels are higher at this level you need to hire more of them. We find many leaving to do MBA and M.Tech programmes. Companies that have invested in training will be the ones that will be successful.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Human Resource Management be considered an issue of strategic importance.
In the epoch of various occurrences such as globalization, industrialization and technological advancement, the international workplace including its particular areas and systems is overly affected by the fundamental processes manifested and brought about by these occurrences. Among the observable area and system that was affected by such emerging conditions particularly in the business world are the human resources and its management. Initially, human resource management (HRM) is one of the most significant attribute of business organization. There are many useful applications of HRM in a profit or non-profit organization.
This paper provides answers to the question - why should human resource management be considered an issue of strategic importance? This essay also argues that HRM maintains an acceptable working environment, HRM regulates management and workforce relationship, HRM plays a great role in management planning, and HRM contributes to employee effectiveness and overall organizational performance and development. Also, it shows that effective implementation of HR functions is an important task that the management and HR managers as well as staff should consider and pay attention with.
This paper provides answers to the question - why should human resource management be considered an issue of strategic importance? This essay also argues that HRM maintains an acceptable working environment, HRM regulates management and workforce relationship, HRM plays a great role in management planning, and HRM contributes to employee effectiveness and overall organizational performance and development. Also, it shows that effective implementation of HR functions is an important task that the management and HR managers as well as staff should consider and pay attention with.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
HR will Be More Business-Focused and Less Dependent On Internal IT: Recent Trend in HR
HR will Be More Business-Focused and Less Dependent On Internal IT
The traditional HR shop has been heavily focused on managing records in monolithic systems, processing routine transactions, and dealing with compliance and legal issues. This type of HR function has been viewed by top management as a candidate for outsourcing, along with other back-office tasks. The more enlightened HR organization is focused on talent as a strategic resource to make the overall business successful. HR professionals are acquiring more business acumen as HR processes and talent initiatives are becoming more integrated with the day-to-day operations of the lines of business. On the technology front, HR is becoming less technophobic, more self-sufficient, and less dependent on corporate IT. HRM applications are being designed to
be owned and managed by the business stakeholders while also being deployed via a vendormanaged, SaaS model. These parallel developments signal the ascendancy of the HR function as a more prominent player in strategic business growth.
The traditional HR shop has been heavily focused on managing records in monolithic systems, processing routine transactions, and dealing with compliance and legal issues. This type of HR function has been viewed by top management as a candidate for outsourcing, along with other back-office tasks. The more enlightened HR organization is focused on talent as a strategic resource to make the overall business successful. HR professionals are acquiring more business acumen as HR processes and talent initiatives are becoming more integrated with the day-to-day operations of the lines of business. On the technology front, HR is becoming less technophobic, more self-sufficient, and less dependent on corporate IT. HRM applications are being designed to
be owned and managed by the business stakeholders while also being deployed via a vendormanaged, SaaS model. These parallel developments signal the ascendancy of the HR function as a more prominent player in strategic business growth.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
KEY AREA FOR FOCUS IN 2009, HRM
For Business Process & Applications Professionals
Human resource management (HRM) will be a key area of focus in 2009 as companies and government organizations put in place strategies to cope with the economic crisis and recovery. The so called “war for talent” is on the backburner as the focus shifts to hiring freezes, benefits and compensation cost management, and workforce reductions in the hardest-hit segments. HRM technology solutions can help savvy human resources (HR) professionals strategically manage through the crisis and prepare as the climate shifts to the upside. Trends that we will follow in 2009 include managing and developing talent, embracing HRM analytics, Web 2.0 adoption, and HR technology strategy.
Human resource management (HRM) will be a key area of focus in 2009 as companies and government organizations put in place strategies to cope with the economic crisis and recovery. The so called “war for talent” is on the backburner as the focus shifts to hiring freezes, benefits and compensation cost management, and workforce reductions in the hardest-hit segments. HRM technology solutions can help savvy human resources (HR) professionals strategically manage through the crisis and prepare as the climate shifts to the upside. Trends that we will follow in 2009 include managing and developing talent, embracing HRM analytics, Web 2.0 adoption, and HR technology strategy.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
CHANGEING TRENDS IN HRM
Human resource management, if we see it from definition perspective “it is a process of bringing people and organizations together so that the goals of each others are met”.If we see in practical situation the above definition its just one side of a coin which has limited HRM involvement but HRM today is a different story, it have changed the way we work, and also it helps an organization to survive in recessionary period. Managing and attracting the human resource in today’s time is very difficult task. The role of HR manager has changed a lot (Dancing differently on changing tunes of life) from being protector and screener to the role of Savior who acts as planner and change agent affecting bottom of the pyramid where it is blue collar workers & at the Top & Middle level executives. The trends in human resource industry are dynamic in nature which contributes towards to achievement of organization goals. Over the years, highly skilled and knowledge based jobs have increased while low skilled jobs are decreasing. This calls for skill mapping through proper HRM initiatives.Change is inevitable as said and that’s what Indian organizations are witnessing in management cultures, systems and working style. Alignment with global companies has forced Indian organization accept and incorporate change in every day life which makes role of HRM all the more important.Some of the recent changes are as follows:• The policies of many companies have become people centric, traditionally the policies mainly focused on achievement of organizational goals showing negligence towards the human resource.• Attracting and retaining of human resource has become difficult as loyalty factor is losing its shine, today HR personnel have to motivate and design healthy career road map to make them stay in the company.• Human Resource Outsourcing is the new name in the industry to replace the redundant traditional HR department. Many HR outsourcing companies in India are already established and some are coming up to support increasing demand of corporate India.• With the increase of global job mobility, recruiting competent people is also increasingly becoming difficult, especially in India. Therefore organizations are also required to work out a retention strategy for the existing skilled manpower. HR managers today are focusing on policies (trust, openness & equality), Motivation, Relations. Due to new trends in HR the manager should treat people as resources, reward them equitably and integrate their goals with that of the organizational goals through suitable HR policies.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Industrial relations reform
In Australia, both the unions and federal government are mounting major advertising campaigns about proposed changes to the federal industrial relations laws by the Australian government. The changes are part of the government’s industrial relations reforms.
Whilst I do not want to debate the merits of the union and government cases, I do want to continue discussion of the theme of employee engagement covered in a previous employee engagement article.
The Australian union movement, through the ACTU (Australian Council of Trade Unions), has mounted a national advertising campaign.
One TV advert features a mother, obviously enjoying a healthy work/life balance, being confronted with the threat of dismissal by an employer requesting a change of roster.
Another union advert features an employee being forced under threat to change his employment status by the employer representative.
There is much debate in Australia about whether the scenarios depicted will actually be possible under the proposed reforms
Whilst I do not want to debate the merits of the union and government cases, I do want to continue discussion of the theme of employee engagement covered in a previous employee engagement article.
The Australian union movement, through the ACTU (Australian Council of Trade Unions), has mounted a national advertising campaign.
One TV advert features a mother, obviously enjoying a healthy work/life balance, being confronted with the threat of dismissal by an employer requesting a change of roster.
Another union advert features an employee being forced under threat to change his employment status by the employer representative.
There is much debate in Australia about whether the scenarios depicted will actually be possible under the proposed reforms
Industrial relations reform
In Australia, both the unions and federal government are mounting major advertising campaigns about proposed changes to the federal industrial relations laws by the Australian government. The changes are part of the government’s industrial relations reforms.
Whilst I do not want to debate the merits of the union and government cases, I do want to continue discussion of the theme of employee engagement covered in a previous employee engagement article.
The Australian union movement, through the ACTU (Australian Council of Trade Unions), has mounted a national advertising campaign.
One TV advert features a mother, obviously enjoying a healthy work/life balance, being confronted with the threat of dismissal by an employer requesting a change of roster.
Another union advert features an employee being forced under threat to change his employment status by the employer representative.
There is much debate in Australia about whether the scenarios depicted will actually be possible under the proposed reforms
Whilst I do not want to debate the merits of the union and government cases, I do want to continue discussion of the theme of employee engagement covered in a previous employee engagement article.
The Australian union movement, through the ACTU (Australian Council of Trade Unions), has mounted a national advertising campaign.
One TV advert features a mother, obviously enjoying a healthy work/life balance, being confronted with the threat of dismissal by an employer requesting a change of roster.
Another union advert features an employee being forced under threat to change his employment status by the employer representative.
There is much debate in Australia about whether the scenarios depicted will actually be possible under the proposed reforms
Sunday, September 6, 2009
New business implication
Technology has rapidly become a workplace fixture and is increasingly being woven into our lives and lifestyles, providing new options for communication, personal productivity and community interaction, and expanding career and business opportunities.
The capabilities of personal computing and the Internet are becoming remarkable tools to help people with disabilities overcome many of the challenges they face. Implementing accessible technology can amplify and accelerate these opportunities and serve as an equalizer.
The aging workforce of information workers includes more than 44 million workers aged 40 or older, nearly one-third of the entire U.S. workforce. With fewer younger cohorts entering the workforce and increasing numbers of retirements being significantly delayed, the proportion of older workers is growing, as is the importance of accessible and assistive technologies.
The capabilities of personal computing and the Internet are becoming remarkable tools to help people with disabilities overcome many of the challenges they face. Implementing accessible technology can amplify and accelerate these opportunities and serve as an equalizer.
The aging workforce of information workers includes more than 44 million workers aged 40 or older, nearly one-third of the entire U.S. workforce. With fewer younger cohorts entering the workforce and increasing numbers of retirements being significantly delayed, the proportion of older workers is growing, as is the importance of accessible and assistive technologies.
Business practicenor and policy maker
One of the greatest challenges for business practitioners and policy-makers today is to converting ideas and intangible assets into economic wealth, and to translate innovations into higher levels of welfare. In particular, issues of IP (intellectual property) are becoming a key element to management of innovation, given the continuous change and the rising level of knowledge intensity of economic activities.
The conference aims to stimulate the scientific and policy debate on current controversial IP topics, such as the validity of different methods for assessing the value of IP, from patents to trademarks, the obstacles to the development of efficient markets for technologies, the costs of strategic patenting and patent litigation, and IP policy harmonization across countries. These are key issues in the economics and management of IP whose profound understanding still entails much theoretical and empirical work. From this perspective, we aim to stimulate and collect novel theoretical, empirical and policy-oriented works with different approaches, from quantitative to qualitative, in-depth case studies.
The conference aims to stimulate the scientific and policy debate on current controversial IP topics, such as the validity of different methods for assessing the value of IP, from patents to trademarks, the obstacles to the development of efficient markets for technologies, the costs of strategic patenting and patent litigation, and IP policy harmonization across countries. These are key issues in the economics and management of IP whose profound understanding still entails much theoretical and empirical work. From this perspective, we aim to stimulate and collect novel theoretical, empirical and policy-oriented works with different approaches, from quantitative to qualitative, in-depth case studies.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Book review: Management and marketing have opposite ideas
The problem with management, according to marketing consultants Al and Laura Ries, is that managers don't have the brains for marketing.
This reflects a difference in brain dominance. Managers tend to be left-brain dominant, focusing on logical and analytical ways of dealing with the world. Marketers tend to be right-brain dominant, getting their ideas more intuitively and holistically.
This bifurcation leads to divergent ideas of what constitutes a good campaign. The conflict creates a War in the Boardroom, the title of the Rieses' new book.
While the marketing department may have a better grasp of how marketing works, say the Rieses, a father and daughter team, management always makes the final decisions. And that can lead to companies basing marketing strategies on management thinking.
Where the two differ:
•Management deals in reality; marketing, in perception. Most managers believe that producing a better product is the key to success. Yet, time and again, new products with perfect benchmarks fail, such as Volkswagen's Phaeton (a luxury car with top ratings) and beverage Miller Clear. Miller Clear tasted like regular beer, if you closed your eyes. "(But) when you drank Miller Clear with your eyes wide open," the Rieses write, "it tasted like watery beer. Perception always trumps reality."
•Management focuses on the product; marketing, on the brand.
Pepsi-Cola and Coca-Cola are similar soft drinks. Although Pepsi consistently wins blind taste tests, Coke outsells Pepsi by more than 50% in the USA, and even more internationally.
•Management wants a diversified market strategy; marketers prefer to focus in one area. Motorola introduced the first commercially available mobile phone in 1983, while Nokia came later to the cellphone market. However, Nokia began selling off non-cellphone holdings, while Motorola added computers, radio, even satellite communications. By 1998, Nokia could boast cellphone supremacy.
•Management targets the center of the market, while marketing targets the ends. Management sees the market as a bell curve with a large middle; marketers see it as bifurcated between a low end and high end.
Southwest Airlines succeeded by ignoring the first-class market and sticking to discount fares. Kmart failed by attempting to target the middle ground between low prices (Wal-Mart's specialty) and designer goods (Target's specialty).
•Management wants better products, while marketing wants different products. Management's response to a rival is often to try to do the same thing better. The marketing response is to do something different and create a new mental category.
Rather than fight Ivory Soap's pureness campaign, Dove responded with "cleansing cream." Rather than fight the hardware of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Nintendo released the Wii. It's still a video game system, but it creates its own category — as well as more sales and profits than the other consoles.
•Management wants a single brand; marketing wants many brands. Management wants the big brand name on everything to justify the money spent on brand recognition. Marketing wants to launch new brands, because often the new product isn't a good match for the old brand name.
Xerox was well-known in copiers, but Xerox computers fell flat. Kodak was a leader in film photography, but Kodak digital cameras didn't move. On the other hand, Levi's launched a workplace casual line with Dockers, and Toyota managed a luxury brand called Lexus. No doubt a "Toyota Elite" would have gone the way of VW's Phaeton.
In short, the Rieses believe that management wants good products that appeal to everyone, while marketing wants a powerful brand that dominates a mental category.
Because management makes the decisions, marketing folks should learn to speak in left-brain terminology. The book is a good place to start lessons. Examples are well-explained and down-to-earth. As for managers, even the most logical and analytical types should be able to see the reasoning behind "marketing sense."
This reflects a difference in brain dominance. Managers tend to be left-brain dominant, focusing on logical and analytical ways of dealing with the world. Marketers tend to be right-brain dominant, getting their ideas more intuitively and holistically.
This bifurcation leads to divergent ideas of what constitutes a good campaign. The conflict creates a War in the Boardroom, the title of the Rieses' new book.
While the marketing department may have a better grasp of how marketing works, say the Rieses, a father and daughter team, management always makes the final decisions. And that can lead to companies basing marketing strategies on management thinking.
Where the two differ:
•Management deals in reality; marketing, in perception. Most managers believe that producing a better product is the key to success. Yet, time and again, new products with perfect benchmarks fail, such as Volkswagen's Phaeton (a luxury car with top ratings) and beverage Miller Clear. Miller Clear tasted like regular beer, if you closed your eyes. "(But) when you drank Miller Clear with your eyes wide open," the Rieses write, "it tasted like watery beer. Perception always trumps reality."
•Management focuses on the product; marketing, on the brand.
Pepsi-Cola and Coca-Cola are similar soft drinks. Although Pepsi consistently wins blind taste tests, Coke outsells Pepsi by more than 50% in the USA, and even more internationally.
•Management wants a diversified market strategy; marketers prefer to focus in one area. Motorola introduced the first commercially available mobile phone in 1983, while Nokia came later to the cellphone market. However, Nokia began selling off non-cellphone holdings, while Motorola added computers, radio, even satellite communications. By 1998, Nokia could boast cellphone supremacy.
•Management targets the center of the market, while marketing targets the ends. Management sees the market as a bell curve with a large middle; marketers see it as bifurcated between a low end and high end.
Southwest Airlines succeeded by ignoring the first-class market and sticking to discount fares. Kmart failed by attempting to target the middle ground between low prices (Wal-Mart's specialty) and designer goods (Target's specialty).
•Management wants better products, while marketing wants different products. Management's response to a rival is often to try to do the same thing better. The marketing response is to do something different and create a new mental category.
Rather than fight Ivory Soap's pureness campaign, Dove responded with "cleansing cream." Rather than fight the hardware of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Nintendo released the Wii. It's still a video game system, but it creates its own category — as well as more sales and profits than the other consoles.
•Management wants a single brand; marketing wants many brands. Management wants the big brand name on everything to justify the money spent on brand recognition. Marketing wants to launch new brands, because often the new product isn't a good match for the old brand name.
Xerox was well-known in copiers, but Xerox computers fell flat. Kodak was a leader in film photography, but Kodak digital cameras didn't move. On the other hand, Levi's launched a workplace casual line with Dockers, and Toyota managed a luxury brand called Lexus. No doubt a "Toyota Elite" would have gone the way of VW's Phaeton.
In short, the Rieses believe that management wants good products that appeal to everyone, while marketing wants a powerful brand that dominates a mental category.
Because management makes the decisions, marketing folks should learn to speak in left-brain terminology. The book is a good place to start lessons. Examples are well-explained and down-to-earth. As for managers, even the most logical and analytical types should be able to see the reasoning behind "marketing sense."
Copyright 2009 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The Economics of the European Patent System: IP Policy for Innovation and Competition
by Dominique Guellec, Bruno van Pottelsberghe de la Potterie
In this book, two chief economists of the European Patent Office (EPO), Dominique Guellec and Bruno van Pottelsberghe de la Potterie, investigate the economics of patent systems, review the organization of EPO, and propose changes .
Reviewed by Zi-Lin He
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Information Management Issues in Mergers and Acquisitions: A Manager's Briefing
by
David O. Stephens, CRM, CMC, FAI ISBN: 0-933887-95-7
This Manager's Briefing addresses the subject of mergers and acquisitions in a very authoritative and practical manner. Through the introduction of the subject in a two-page Executive Summary, the author highlights the areas of management concern and the role played by records and information management practitioners in merger and acquisition activities. A number of key issues associated with the subject are covered: legal and regulatory concerns, organizational and staffing issues, policy and procedures matters, and records retention and storage issues. This is a big order for a publication that contains only 18 pages, but the topics are organized in a logical sequence, and key points are emphasized in an outline or highlighted format.
The role of records and information management is presented in a manner that emphasizes its strategic value in supporting merger and acquisition efforts. A case study provides a major corporation's vision statement for the future of RIM in a merged organization. The interesting point here is that the two key elements cited for RIM's successful involvement are proper organizational placement and well-documented policies and procedures. These are traditional needs for any successful RIM program. Yet, they take on added meaning in the critical area of changing organization environments. Whether it is a merger, acquisition, divestiture, or liquidation, information is a key ingredient in the preplanning, transition, and post-transition stages of these changes.
The retention issues addressed in this Briefing are not directed at specific retention periods for varying categories of records, but rather the general concern with records that are received or transferred as the result of a merger or acquisition action. The emphasis is on the need for a RIM transition team to examine existing retention policies and to make them applicable based upon the legal position of the companies involved. Guidelines are also provided for the disposition of old, unscheduled stored records. The bottom line is clear: The organization with the best RIM program will serve as the guide for future applications. The emphasis again falls on the need for a RIM transition team to develop a plan detailing the systems conversion/ integration process.
Not cited in the Briefing is the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (HSR Act) requiring a premerger notification form. A working records retention schedule can be of special value in meeting the requirements of this premerger agreement. Like many other laws, unfortunately, the HSR statue identifies several categories of records that may be requested without specifying how long they should be kept. The document requirement applies mainly to studies, surveys, and reports that may have been prepared to help a company evaluate a proposed merger.
The publication adds authoritative support to the need for a close working relationship between RIM professionals and information technology departments. The parties to a merger and acquisition transaction must have information systems and architectures, as well as recordkeeping systems, that are compatible. Failure to resolve these possible incompatibility issues can undermine the overall objectives of such transactions. It is the responsibility of the transition team to make certain that both disciplines work together and play an active role in the effort.
In the final section of the Briefing, standards and best practices are covered. These include a summary review of the pending ISO standard (ISO 15489) on records management, the Department of Defense (DoD 5015.2) standard for records management applications, ISO 9000 on quality records, and electronic document standards. The inclusion of these standards adds little to this treatment of mergers and acquisitions except as a reminder that standards are of overall importance to RIM programs under any conditions. The space could have been used more productively for an expansion of the M&A subject. A recommended list of books and articles on the subject is also provided.
PUBLISHER: ARMA International
PUBLICATION DATE: 2000 LENGTH: 18 pages PRICE: $22 ARMA members / $32 non-
SOURCE: ARMA International Bookstore, www.arma.org or 888-241-0598
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Human Relations Movement
Human Relations Movement
(1930-today)
Eventually, unions and government regulations reacted to the rather dehumanizing effects of these theories. More attention was given to individuals and their unique capabilities in the organization. A major belief included that the organization would prosper if its workers prospered as well. Human Resource departments were added to organizations. The behavioral sciences played a strong role in helping to understand the needs of workers and how the needs of the organization and its workers could be better aligned. Various new theories were spawned, many based on the behavioral sciences (some had name like theory “X”, “Y” and “Z”).
(1930-today)
Eventually, unions and government regulations reacted to the rather dehumanizing effects of these theories. More attention was given to individuals and their unique capabilities in the organization. A major belief included that the organization would prosper if its workers prospered as well. Human Resource departments were added to organizations. The behavioral sciences played a strong role in helping to understand the needs of workers and how the needs of the organization and its workers could be better aligned. Various new theories were spawned, many based on the behavioral sciences (some had name like theory “X”, “Y” and “Z”).
Human Relations Movement
Human Relations Movement
(1930-today)
Eventually, unions and government regulations reacted to the rather dehumanizing effects of these theories. More attention was given to individuals and their unique capabilities in the organization. A major belief included that the organization would prosper if its workers prospered as well. Human Resource departments were added to organizations. The behavioral sciences played a strong role in helping to understand the needs of workers and how the needs of the organization and its workers could be better aligned. Various new theories were spawned, many based on the behavioral sciences (some had name like theory “X”, “Y” and “Z”).
(1930-today)
Eventually, unions and government regulations reacted to the rather dehumanizing effects of these theories. More attention was given to individuals and their unique capabilities in the organization. A major belief included that the organization would prosper if its workers prospered as well. Human Resource departments were added to organizations. The behavioral sciences played a strong role in helping to understand the needs of workers and how the needs of the organization and its workers could be better aligned. Various new theories were spawned, many based on the behavioral sciences (some had name like theory “X”, “Y” and “Z”).
Human Relations Movement
Human Relations Movement
(1930-today)
Eventually, unions and government regulations reacted to the rather dehumanizing effects of these theories. More attention was given to individuals and their unique capabilities in the organization. A major belief included that the organization would prosper if its workers prospered as well. Human Resource departments were added to organizations. The behavioral sciences played a strong role in helping to understand the needs of workers and how the needs of the organization and its workers could be better aligned. Various new theories were spawned, many based on the behavioral sciences (some had name like theory “X”, “Y” and “Z”).
(1930-today)
Eventually, unions and government regulations reacted to the rather dehumanizing effects of these theories. More attention was given to individuals and their unique capabilities in the organization. A major belief included that the organization would prosper if its workers prospered as well. Human Resource departments were added to organizations. The behavioral sciences played a strong role in helping to understand the needs of workers and how the needs of the organization and its workers could be better aligned. Various new theories were spawned, many based on the behavioral sciences (some had name like theory “X”, “Y” and “Z”).
Monday, August 24, 2009
Book Review: Usability Management bei SAP-Projekten
Usability Management bei SAP-Projekten
By Petra Abele, Jörn Hurtienne, & Jochen Prümper
Until now, there was no specific approach available for usability management in SAP projects and SAP implementation projects in particular.This book is targeted at decision makers and consultants who implement SAP software systems in companies. The topics covered in the book, such as user productivity, total cost of ownership (TCO), and occupational safety and health conditions are of relevance to many companies.The book is based on a cooperation project with SAP AG that was conducted by BIT e.V. Bochum, bao GmbH Berlin, and TBS NRW Dortmund.One of the project's goals was to enable managers and consultants to understand and successfully apply methods of user-centered design in their implementation projects. Therefore, the book includes a chapter on SAP user-centered design, written by two SAP User Experience colleagues.
Based on the Accelerated SAP (ASAP) implementation approach for R/3 systems and following its five steps, the authors offer an easy to understand approach to user requirements gathering and other activities that result in a better user experience of the final system.For each ASAP phase, there is a collection of selected methods, tools, and activities that will ensure the overall usability of the implemented system.
Here is an overview of the ASAP process and some examples of how the steps are addressed in the book:
Phase 1: Project Preparation – define usability objectives
Phase 2: Business Blueprint – gather user requirements and business requirements, define the future system
Phase 3: Realization – evaluate the application
Phase 4: Final Preparation
Phase 5: Go-Live & Support – continuous evaluation
All of the chapters in the book are illustrated with examples from real projects.
In my opinion, this is an important and very useful book, although not always an easy read. As a non-expert audience is targeted, the authors introduce all relevant concepts in the beginning of the book. Another benefit of the book is that the authors also provide insights into the legal context of such projects in Germany. Furthermore, the book has the right amount of information to provide a basic level of understanding for the implementation team. Therefore, it is a good reference guide for German implementation projects. It helps answer the question "What can I do at this stage?" and it also helps to understand at what stages in an implementation project expert’s support is needed.
Regrettably, the book was only published in German, so it is limited to a German speaking audience. As SAP is a globally operating company, meaning that our customers are everywhere in the world, it would have been useful, if more international terms were used in the book and, even better, if it were written in English (which would, however, require that also international legislation is covered). But leaving theses gripes aside, I can and would like to recommend the book to my (German) colleagues from consulting.
Based on the Accelerated SAP (ASAP) implementation approach for R/3 systems and following its five steps, the authors offer an easy to understand approach to user requirements gathering and other activities that result in a better user experience of the final system.For each ASAP phase, there is a collection of selected methods, tools, and activities that will ensure the overall usability of the implemented system.
Here is an overview of the ASAP process and some examples of how the steps are addressed in the book:
Phase 1: Project Preparation – define usability objectives
Phase 2: Business Blueprint – gather user requirements and business requirements, define the future system
Phase 3: Realization – evaluate the application
Phase 4: Final Preparation
Phase 5: Go-Live & Support – continuous evaluation
All of the chapters in the book are illustrated with examples from real projects.
In my opinion, this is an important and very useful book, although not always an easy read. As a non-expert audience is targeted, the authors introduce all relevant concepts in the beginning of the book. Another benefit of the book is that the authors also provide insights into the legal context of such projects in Germany. Furthermore, the book has the right amount of information to provide a basic level of understanding for the implementation team. Therefore, it is a good reference guide for German implementation projects. It helps answer the question "What can I do at this stage?" and it also helps to understand at what stages in an implementation project expert’s support is needed.
Regrettably, the book was only published in German, so it is limited to a German speaking audience. As SAP is a globally operating company, meaning that our customers are everywhere in the world, it would have been useful, if more international terms were used in the book and, even better, if it were written in English (which would, however, require that also international legislation is covered). But leaving theses gripes aside, I can and would like to recommend the book to my (German) colleagues from consulting.
Note: The book contains a chapter, SAP User-Centered Design-Prozess, written by SAP User Experience colleagues Ulrich Kreichgauer and Gerd Waloszek.
Petra Abele, Jörn Hurtienne, & Jochen Prümper Usability Management bei SAP-Projekten. Grundlagen – Vorgehen – Methoden. Vieweg, 2007. ISBN: 383480244
Usability: Customizing
Usability: Customizing
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Motivating People to Peak Performance
It often happens that many people find their motivation decreasing or disappearing altogether. When this happens you tend to feel stuck and you're not really moving forward. You may feel frustrated because you're not making any progress. Seeing yourself making progress is one way to be motivated. But if that's not there, it becomes a vicious circle, because when you're not making progress, you don't feel motivated and vice versa.
When you want to increase your motivation, it's worth remembering that there's a difference between it and inspiration. Motivation is an external source which encourages you and gives you ideas. Inspiration comes from within and the encouragement and ideas are your own. When it comes from within, you own it and will feel inspired. When you feel inspired you'll take action and taking action is the key to achieving what you want, whether it's increasing your business, making changes in your life or progressing towards your dreams.
So, we're really looking to increase your inspiration here and not necessarily just to motivate you. I've found that people's inspiration drops when they've been doing the same thing over and over again for some time. You may feel you're stuck in a rut; it's become a bit of a drag. If you're feeling this way, it's no wonder your inspiration has decided to 'wander off'.
Sometimes you just need to take a break or have a rest from what you're doing and your inspiration may well come back. This break also allows you to re-assess what you've been doing and not doing. Perhaps then you'll see there are some changes you want to make, perhaps deciding to implement a different strategy or action plan.
Taking a break will mean different things to different people and you need to determine for yourself what this break will be. Perhaps, you'll decide take a day or a week off work, to play and have fun. Or you may decide to go for a brisk walk. I'm even inclined to suggest to you that, while taking this break, you tell yourself that you're not allowed to do or think about anything related to work or whatever it is that you're taking a break from. It's surprising how much most of us react to being told we can't do or have something. The rebellious part of us often surfaces and wants to fight it.
Taking a break from whatever it is you've been doing will probably make you feel apprehensive. All your fears about how much you have to get done, you're wasting time, what if I don't want to go back to doing this, are likely to surface. It's a natural reaction, but the fear is usually much worse than the reality. You need to trust yourself, face up to the fears and know that you can handle any situation.
After a break, you'll feel refreshed and when you feel refreshed, your enthusiasm and inspiration will return. Then, you'll be ready to start moving forward again.
When you want to increase your motivation, it's worth remembering that there's a difference between it and inspiration. Motivation is an external source which encourages you and gives you ideas. Inspiration comes from within and the encouragement and ideas are your own. When it comes from within, you own it and will feel inspired. When you feel inspired you'll take action and taking action is the key to achieving what you want, whether it's increasing your business, making changes in your life or progressing towards your dreams.
So, we're really looking to increase your inspiration here and not necessarily just to motivate you. I've found that people's inspiration drops when they've been doing the same thing over and over again for some time. You may feel you're stuck in a rut; it's become a bit of a drag. If you're feeling this way, it's no wonder your inspiration has decided to 'wander off'.
Sometimes you just need to take a break or have a rest from what you're doing and your inspiration may well come back. This break also allows you to re-assess what you've been doing and not doing. Perhaps then you'll see there are some changes you want to make, perhaps deciding to implement a different strategy or action plan.
Taking a break will mean different things to different people and you need to determine for yourself what this break will be. Perhaps, you'll decide take a day or a week off work, to play and have fun. Or you may decide to go for a brisk walk. I'm even inclined to suggest to you that, while taking this break, you tell yourself that you're not allowed to do or think about anything related to work or whatever it is that you're taking a break from. It's surprising how much most of us react to being told we can't do or have something. The rebellious part of us often surfaces and wants to fight it.
Taking a break from whatever it is you've been doing will probably make you feel apprehensive. All your fears about how much you have to get done, you're wasting time, what if I don't want to go back to doing this, are likely to surface. It's a natural reaction, but the fear is usually much worse than the reality. You need to trust yourself, face up to the fears and know that you can handle any situation.
After a break, you'll feel refreshed and when you feel refreshed, your enthusiasm and inspiration will return. Then, you'll be ready to start moving forward again.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Half of global companies significantly affected by recession
Kate Maddox
Story posted: August 18, 2009 - 12:00 pm EDT
New York—The effect of the recession has been “largely” or “extremely” significant for half of international corporations, according to a recent report by market researcher B2B International.
The report was based on an online survey of about 400 senior marketers at global companies.
It found that 66% of companies have cut marketing budgets as a result of the economic downturn, and 70% have realigned their focus from a wider offering to core products and services.
When asked about their views on the economy over the next 12 months, 60% of b-to-c marketers were optimistic, compared with only 44% of b-to-b marketers.
The most important issue faced by b-to-b companies is the struggle to keep their sales high, while the two main challenges for b-to-c companies are maintaining sales levels and keeping costs low.
Story posted: August 18, 2009 - 12:00 pm EDT
New York—The effect of the recession has been “largely” or “extremely” significant for half of international corporations, according to a recent report by market researcher B2B International.
The report was based on an online survey of about 400 senior marketers at global companies.
It found that 66% of companies have cut marketing budgets as a result of the economic downturn, and 70% have realigned their focus from a wider offering to core products and services.
When asked about their views on the economy over the next 12 months, 60% of b-to-c marketers were optimistic, compared with only 44% of b-to-b marketers.
The most important issue faced by b-to-b companies is the struggle to keep their sales high, while the two main challenges for b-to-c companies are maintaining sales levels and keeping costs low.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
THE CHANGING TRENDS
The Changing Trends of HRM:Proceed with Caution (bY S. Chandrasekar )
Change is always permanent and so is the innovation. It enters almost periodically when certain concepts get obsolete or redundant to follow. Innovation is not new, it exists since the Ages of Stone, Bronze and Neolithic; of course, it is a natural phenomenon. So a change in practice leads to adaptability to change management. Mother Nature is a role model to this. Forest fire ravages the wild growth during summer and provides room to new fauna and flora. Innovation is born out of destruction.
When we, humans, look forward to new trends in our life style, why not HRM? On these lines, innovation is defined as `any deliberate and radical change in existing products or services, processes or the organization practices in order to gain a total competitive advantage over others'. This is the apt definition in the post-modern era where practices in the past yield to refinement in the present and project formulations for the future.
Universally, it has been seen that innovation happens in three domain functions, namely new product, new technological process and new organizational management practices. Quite a number of new systematic innovations have taken place in a decade. Whatever be the innovation, it has to be in line with the general practices governed by an organization. In some cases, say, for medium-sized companies with decent annual turn over, average employee retention and moderate pay structure, the applicability of new trends may not apply at all as the basic concept of Human Resource (HR) would just suffice in ample sense. Here the innovation itself becomes redundant.
Change is always permanent and so is the innovation. It enters almost periodically when certain concepts get obsolete or redundant to follow. Innovation is not new, it exists since the Ages of Stone, Bronze and Neolithic; of course, it is a natural phenomenon. So a change in practice leads to adaptability to change management. Mother Nature is a role model to this. Forest fire ravages the wild growth during summer and provides room to new fauna and flora. Innovation is born out of destruction.
When we, humans, look forward to new trends in our life style, why not HRM? On these lines, innovation is defined as `any deliberate and radical change in existing products or services, processes or the organization practices in order to gain a total competitive advantage over others'. This is the apt definition in the post-modern era where practices in the past yield to refinement in the present and project formulations for the future.
Universally, it has been seen that innovation happens in three domain functions, namely new product, new technological process and new organizational management practices. Quite a number of new systematic innovations have taken place in a decade. Whatever be the innovation, it has to be in line with the general practices governed by an organization. In some cases, say, for medium-sized companies with decent annual turn over, average employee retention and moderate pay structure, the applicability of new trends may not apply at all as the basic concept of Human Resource (HR) would just suffice in ample sense. Here the innovation itself becomes redundant.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Book Review-Accountability: Freedom and Responsibility Without Control
Accountability: Freedom and Responsibility Without Control, by Rob Lebow and Randy Spitzer. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
In the spirit of Theory Y, the authors argue for giving people freedom, assuming each takes responsibility for his or her own actions. The book details how this approach yields creative innovations and organizational improvements, impossible under control-based organizations. Part one explores the control versus freedom dilemma; part two examines the transformation of an organization from a control- to a freedom-based environment. A primary focus is freedom-based leadership, but the book explores a wide range of key organizational elements. The message, conveyed through a dialog, is driven home through facts and a hard-hitting, convincing argument. The book is strongly recommended for practising and student managers.
Management Accounting by E.Gordon
About the Book: Management accounting in recent years has become one of the important thrust areas of commerce and management inviting the attention of academicians to include it in the curricula of commerce and management studies of almost all universities and professional bodies. Indeed management accounting renders novel services enabling the modern management to arrive at concrete and sound decisions in the midst of complexities by serving not only as 'information retrieving system' but also as information dissemination system. However, for formulating appropriate financial strategies to operate with increased financial strength and with good corporate governance, one should have an exposure to the different ramifications of the management accounting system. Keeping in view the above facts, a humble attempt has been made to sketch the various important aspects of management accounting and we know fully well that it is a very stupendous task to describe such a sprawling subject under one cover. Yet, all efforts have been taken to present the text covering the vital aspects of management accounting in a lucid and simple style but in a precise way. All concepts have been explained with minute details and with comprehensive illustrations so that the learners could understand the intricacies of management accounting from the grass root level to the most advanced and complex level in a logical sequence. To facilitate recapitulation and to have a better grasp of the subject, a large number of objective type questions and test problems have been given at the end of each chapter. This book owes its consummation to various distinguished personalities who have expressed their views on this subject in different books, journals and magazines.
Book Contents:
Nature and Scope of Management Accounting
Financial Statement Analysis
Ratio Analysis
Funds Flow Statement
Cash Flow Statement
Working Capital Analysis
Marginal Costing
Budgeting and Budgetary Control
Capital Budgeting
Standard Costing and Variance Analysis
About the Author(s): E.Gordon is a M.Com., M.Phil., and is a Professor of Commerce at A.N.J.A. College Sivakasi.
Publisher: Himalaya
Edition Number: 1
EAN: CHIMPUB100925
About the Book: Management accounting in recent years has become one of the important thrust areas of commerce and management inviting the attention of academicians to include it in the curricula of commerce and management studies of almost all universities and professional bodies. Indeed management accounting renders novel services enabling the modern management to arrive at concrete and sound decisions in the midst of complexities by serving not only as 'information retrieving system' but also as information dissemination system. However, for formulating appropriate financial strategies to operate with increased financial strength and with good corporate governance, one should have an exposure to the different ramifications of the management accounting system. Keeping in view the above facts, a humble attempt has been made to sketch the various important aspects of management accounting and we know fully well that it is a very stupendous task to describe such a sprawling subject under one cover. Yet, all efforts have been taken to present the text covering the vital aspects of management accounting in a lucid and simple style but in a precise way. All concepts have been explained with minute details and with comprehensive illustrations so that the learners could understand the intricacies of management accounting from the grass root level to the most advanced and complex level in a logical sequence. To facilitate recapitulation and to have a better grasp of the subject, a large number of objective type questions and test problems have been given at the end of each chapter. This book owes its consummation to various distinguished personalities who have expressed their views on this subject in different books, journals and magazines.
Book Contents:
Nature and Scope of Management Accounting
Financial Statement Analysis
Ratio Analysis
Funds Flow Statement
Cash Flow Statement
Working Capital Analysis
Marginal Costing
Budgeting and Budgetary Control
Capital Budgeting
Standard Costing and Variance Analysis
About the Author(s): E.Gordon is a M.Com., M.Phil., and is a Professor of Commerce at A.N.J.A. College Sivakasi.
Publisher: Himalaya
Edition Number: 1
EAN: CHIMPUB100925
Monday, August 10, 2009
REVIEW OF BOOK
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
By S.K. Bhatia, Deep and Deep Publications Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, 2006.
The book under review deals with various concepts, strategies and challenges in human resource management, with a focus on attracting and retaining talented work force in knowledge era. The book, in nine units, covers the various issues of HRM; human resource management in global environment; knowledge management; strategies for hiring talent; retention strategies; career opportunities and development; performance ...
By S.K. Bhatia, Deep and Deep Publications Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, 2006.
The book under review deals with various concepts, strategies and challenges in human resource management, with a focus on attracting and retaining talented work force in knowledge era. The book, in nine units, covers the various issues of HRM; human resource management in global environment; knowledge management; strategies for hiring talent; retention strategies; career opportunities and development; performance ...
Thursday, August 6, 2009
India HR and Recruiting Issues Update - 2006
By Ames Gross and John Minot
December 2006
Published in SHRM International Focus, a publication of the Society for Human Resources Management
This article provides updates on important changes in HR and recruiting issues in India during 2006. Topics including contracts and termination, compensation, pension programs, and disability programs are covered. The article also discusses recent recruiting and retention trends in India.
By Ames Gross and John Minot
December 2006
Published in SHRM International Focus, a publication of the Society for Human Resources Management
This article provides updates on important changes in HR and recruiting issues in India during 2006. Topics including contracts and termination, compensation, pension programs, and disability programs are covered. The article also discusses recent recruiting and retention trends in India.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
RETAINIG EMPLOYEES
Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision in Business
by Carter McNamara, published by Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Provides step-by-step, highly practical guidelines to recruit and retain the best employees for your business. Research shows that employee turnover is often the result of poor supervision -- this book shows you how to supervise employees so that the needs of both the business and its emplyees are always being met. Includes tips and tools to effectively lead yourself, other individuals, groups and organizations. Also includes guidelines to avoid burnout -- a very common problem, especially among employees of small businesses.
by Carter McNamara, published by Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Provides step-by-step, highly practical guidelines to recruit and retain the best employees for your business. Research shows that employee turnover is often the result of poor supervision -- this book shows you how to supervise employees so that the needs of both the business and its emplyees are always being met. Includes tips and tools to effectively lead yourself, other individuals, groups and organizations. Also includes guidelines to avoid burnout -- a very common problem, especially among employees of small businesses.
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