Archive for June, 2008

Tips on How To Delegate as a Manager

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Managers of any kind of group have many character traits that are the same and show why they are in their specific roles. Even though there are many things in common in their personalities, leaders are also extremely different in their ways of handling different things. There are several things that separate successful managers from unsuccessful managers, one of which includes the wisdom and appreciation of knowing how to delegate.

Business owners and even managers of any type of organization must understand how to successfully delegate to other people in order to be successful in their leadership roles. Delegation skills come either naturally to people or they are obtained through several years of managing experience. Either way, effective leaders know how to wisely delegate and that is one of main reasons that they are or become successful.

When the importance of delegation is embedded into a manager’s character, the proper techniques and methods of delegation must also be acquired and applied to the business or corporation. The following are a few thoughts and suggestions on how leaders can effectively delegate to other people.

Managers must be very selective with who they will delegate important jobs and responsibilities to within their business. If a very crucial responsibility is given to someone who is not capable of successfully completing the given job, than it would have been better for the manager to do it by him or herself. Different tasks must be given to people who also have great characteristics and are motivated to complete the task with the highest of quality.

When selecting people to perform various duties and responsibilities, leaders must remember to look for people who have a lot of perseverance and patience. They must also delegate important tasks to people who have a strong work ethic and who have the capability of solving potential problems on their own. A leader should not have to constantly look over a person when an assigned task is to be completed.

When the manager has selected a capable and driven individual to finish a job, they must then provide detailed directions on how to complete the task. Detailed descriptions and instructions of a responsibility are essential to its successful completion. This way the person who receives the delegation knows exactly what to do and how to do it.

While the job is in the process of being finished, effective managers should expect feedback and updates concerning the task’s progress. Constant feedback through the task’s process will inform the leader of what exactly is going on. This allows the leader the opportunity to make any necessary changes or additions to the task before it is finally completed.

An effective manager not only knows how to watch over employees, but also how to give positive feedback to people for finishing successful jobs. Even before a certain task is delegated, a manager must know how that person will be rewarded when the task is successfully completed. Different types of rewards help to motivate employees to work hard and encourages them in their future assignments.



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Posted by admin on June 30th, 2008 No Comments

The Fine Line Between Business Management and Business Administration

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For most in the business world, the distinction between business management and business administration is clear. Business management is associated with the personnel related and day to day operations of a business while business administration is often considered an upper tier position that focuses on the management of a business’ overall objectives.

The truth lies somewhere in between, as effective business administration shares many of the common traits of business management best practices. Decisions involving the management of personnel can be likened to decisions involving the allocation of company resources, where assets are utilized to produce the best results possible. Where production is concerned, managers often rely on data to determine where weakness can be improved. Likewise, administrators are responsible for the same data but from all departments, locating areas of concern company wide. .

Even in the world of education, the similarities are less than evident. A postgraduate business administration degree or more aptly master’s of business administration is considered a doorway to business management on a grand scale. Still, the lessons of personnel management skills taught in a typical business management program are applicable to administration at higher levels. It’s no secret that an organization’s expectation of success starts at the top, yet many company’s administrative leaders are more concerned with how resource allocation and profit margins can affect the bottom line than how personnel can be motivated to make the most of those resources. The realization of profit is more than just a matter of buying low and selling high, as the old adage goes. No matter what the industry, successful management encompasses every area of business and seeks to determine how the melding of human and hard capital can be used efficiently and effectively.

This is an area of concern that business administration is often deficient in recognizing, and one that could be properly dealt with through the simplicity of business management. There’s a lot more to management than simply motivating personnel. The way in which managers are proficient at balancing the allocation of resources on a smaller scale in the context of employee production can be used departmentally as well. For administrators, dealing with management personnel should be approached in the same way.



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Posted by admin on June 28th, 2008 No Comments

Manage Motivate and Inspire Others (article Two)

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Use Your Imagination

I am going to ask you to use your imagination to conjure up some mental pictures. We can use them to make some valid points about management techniques.

Picture in your mind an airline pilot. Do you now have an image in your head? Describe him. How does he dress? Is his hair in a particular style? Does he wear a moustache or beard? Think about his uniform. Does he wear epaulets? Now, having created your mental picture, would it be fair to say that all airline pilots tend to look extremely similar? If so why is this?

Hold that thought for a while.

Now imagine a tramp, hobo or drunk lying half awake on a park bench.

Now answer this question. If he were to apply for a career as an airline pilot, would he get the job?

I suspect your answer is no. If this is the case I would now like you to consider why this is.

There is certainly an element of feeling comfortable about how the pilot appears. Most people would prefer to be in total control of their life. Unless you are a trained pilot you will need to relinquish control to some other person and obviously you would prefer that person to be totally reliable and dependable. Certainly not someone that might fall asleep at the controls.

Going back to your mental image of the typical airline pilot - a pilot wears a uniform to indicate he is adequately trained. This badge of office is the epaulet. Gold braid suggests quality. Numerous bars of gold braid indicate rank and experience.

It is hard to imagine the tramp, hobo or drunk making the transformation from Mr Unreliable to immaculate master of the skies. Our opinion of him is heavily coloured by his appearance.

Think about this for a moment. Who would you describe as your best friend? Picture that person now. Now answer this simple question: does your best friend like you?

This seems a blatantly obvious statement, yet it clarifies an important point in human behaviour. We tend to like people that like us. This same rule applies in the work environment. If your employees think you like them, they will like you.

If someone were to tell you that your best friend has been saying unpleasant things about you, then you will quickly begin to question how much you really like your so-called best friend.

Depending on the nature of the information you receive, you may relegate the person from best friend to just friend. If you are particularly low after hearing the comments supposedly said you could go so far as to drop your one time best friend to that of acquaintance.

Think back to the time when you last looked at a group photograph in which you appeared.

Perhaps a photograph taken showing a class you were in at school or university. Who was the first person you look for when initially viewing the picture? I would be surprised if you came up with a name other than your own. Of course you are extremely interested in yourself. We usually love ourselves. If we didn’t do so who would?

Unless our self-love becomes excessive it is perfectly normal. Narcissus was a mystical youth that was in love with his own image when seen reflected in water. To be deemed to be a narcissistic person you are generally considered to be uncaring towards other people and their feelings or needs. Such people tend to favour a ‘me first’ philosophy to the total exclusion of all others. I suspect you do care about others and enjoy the company of a partner or spouse.

Next time you are out and about town take particular attention of young teenage couples. Notice whether they dress in a similar way. Do they have similar physical features?

You will find that very often they do look alike in dress and appearance. You could be forgiven for thinking that they could be mistaken for brother or sister. The only way to be sure that they are not is to see if they are holding hands. Anyone who has teenage children will know from experience that it is impossible to get them to hold hands in public!

I remember my daughter taking her first educational holiday organised by the school. It also happened to be the first holiday without other members of her family.

She telephoned home so excitedly to tell everyone she arrived at the destination, the sun was shining and she was looking forward to a welcome break. After she had spoken to her mother and I, the telephone was passed to her brother who was then in his early teens.

He was at the time in his life where he was reluctant to speak with his sister if at all possible. I insisted he do so in the hope that he might say something nice, like he was missing her. He grudgingly grabbed the telephone to tell his sister, ‘I never knew you had so many interesting girly things hidden in your bedroom’.

Thankfully this awkward stage of adolescence does eventually pass and males acquire a more acceptable relationship and interest in the opposite ***.

People’s interest in potential partners is a fascinating area.

Have you ever considered what attracted you to your partner? Often we will choose a partner or spouse that looks a little like us. I do not mean that my wife wears a beard but that she had similar characteristics to me, which determined my initial interest.

In the United Kingdom teenagers tend to socialise in public bars. Men congregate together, often standing around in small groups and drink beer. Women also tend to socialise in the company of other women.

When I first met my wife it was in a pub in London. She was standing some distance from me chatting to other women. My initial attraction was to her physical appearance. Her nose looked familiar. No wonder, as it was similar to mine.

After the initial introduction pleasantries we then start looking for other similar characteristics. Is the person from a similar social background to me? Are they of a similar intellect, educational level, etc?

Square Pegs and Round Holes

So, in the above section we have run through a wide range of common sorts of behaviour. Now let’s transfer some of what we have been imagining and examining to the workplace. We need to see how the things we subconsciously make assessments on can affect the way we reach decisions and assessments concerning those around us.

It is obviously important to use mainly objective testing against relevant standards when attempting to assess a job applicant’s suitability. How often, in your experience has appearance been part of the criteria used? In its place, as part of an objective recruitment process, appearance has a role to play. Regrettably, I have known recruiters who place an over-emphasis on this aspect and let their personal prejudices skew their assessment of the candidate. It is one thing to have a requirement for a smart, sensible dress code, and quite another to be, for example, totally against all men who wear moustaches, or ladies with white handbags.

Have you ever considered why you were hired for your job? Spend a little time now and think about it.

Unfortunately, on many occasions candidates for a job are selected as they walk through the door of the interview room. As they enter, the interviewer thinks to himself, ‘this is the right person for the job.’ They then waste the next 30 to 45 minutes attempting to find evidence that will justify what was little more than a gut feeling.

Successful managers put some thought into the recruitment process and will understand the need for objectivity in making an assessment.

Let us assume that you have been tasked with finding a replacement for a receptionist who is leaving. Take a few moments at this point to consider what skills and abilities are necessary in the replacement.

You might be thinking along the lines of polite, friendly, reliable, good telephone manner, copes under pressure, works well with others, etc. I am sure you could come up with a much longer list if you spent longer on this.

Of course the one thing managers often lack is time itself. That is why good managers often delegate such tasks to others, who may in fact be better placed to decide the criteria needed.

Let me ask you another question. Whom do you consider to be best placed to list the skills and abilities that are necessary for the job of receptionist?

In many cases, the answer is another receptionist! After all, who knows most about the demands and requirements of the job?

A good manager may well ask employees to list what they consider to be the qualities and skills required for the job that they hold. If you do this as part of an annual assessment program, you will develop a useful insight into how each person sees their job. Naturally, you will need to review the information and adjust it as necessary in the light of your viewpoint as a manager. You may be aware of aspects of the job that you wish to develop in future, for example. If you can put together such a list, you will also have an interview aid that will assist you in checking whether a candidate has the necessary qualities to perform the job.



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Posted by admin on June 27th, 2008 No Comments

Where Do I Find a Manage Payroll Solution?

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This issue of how to manage payroll is a huge deal. The ITWeb link to the article on a manage payroll news shows, sure you can use just manage payroll, but why not use an advanced solution to manage payroll?

 

When looking around for a solution to manage payroll, be aware of what your unique and needs are to manage payroll. There are many manage payroll systems available on the market, so choose wisely. Make sure the manage payroll option allows for full flexibility and functionality to manage payroll.

 

No matter how similar they appear, all options offer differing features to manage payroll. Some manage payroll platforms have room for electronic timesheets and scheduling whereas other options help HR manage payroll. Why, there is even a manage payroll solution that can keep track of reports. Whichever manage payroll solution you choose, be sure to request a demo of all the manage payroll features to help you successfully manage payroll.

 

HourDoc offers a solution that is far superior to help manage payroll. HourDoc’s manage payroll solution takes into account PTO, electronic timesheets and other valuable manage payroll features. Many clients using the HourDoc manage payroll system, clearly state that these manage payroll tools that HourDoc provides, helps them better manage payroll.

 

Choosing a manage payroll tool that offers a premium manage payroll features that allow increased productivity. It amazes some people how even the simplest manage payroll tool can save huge amounts of money, let alone time. To ensure you have found the best manage payroll tool for the money, run a cost/benefit analysis of that manage payroll solution.

 

Then look deeper into the platform helping manage payroll. Find out which features you like to help manage payroll. Explore which manage payroll platform price-point works. Read all articles about manage payroll ideas and other publications in the manage payroll industry. Foresee any manage payroll changes on the horizon and finally, make sure your final choice helps manage payroll.

 

Basically the article outlines how manage payroll systems are key to making any advanced manage payroll flowchart work. Once a manage payroll idea is chosen, you will see your manage payroll issues being addressed, as the manage payroll solution begin saving employee time.

 

Save money, order a toll to manage payroll now. Save time, look into how a solution can help manage payroll. Implement a manage payroll solution and see the savings for your business.

 

If you’re going to streamline find ways to manage payroll. The manage payroll industry is becoming a force, as more companies better manage payroll and handle their manage payroll solution needs. Basically, by removing human error caused when manage payroll related data is transferred into the system is not how to successfully manage payroll. Many common mistakes of importing data into manage payroll solution include forgetting to double check what was put into the system, leading to bad manage payroll dilemmas. Cutting these various mistakes can help better manage payroll.

 

Companies eliminate mistakes in its manage payroll process by simply implementing a solution to manage payroll. Yes, a solution can be expensive, but it helps manage payroll better. Not all payroll solution systems are expensive so you can effectively manage payroll easily. Any manage payroll solution will drastically increase payroll accuracy.

 

Not every solution to help manage payroll has confusing payroll solution features that would mess up manage payroll tasks, or block easy navigation through the program designed to manage payroll. Often a manage payroll solution offers employee attendance cards options understood by the end-user and facilitates how you manage payroll.

 

When looking at options to mange payroll, make sure that the manage payroll solution choice that handles your unique needs. By taking a payroll solution demo look at how quickly it helps manage payroll and the manage payroll solution software closely, ensuring you make the best choice to manage payroll.

 

 



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Posted by admin on June 18th, 2008 No Comments

The Role Of Project Managers

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A project manager is one, who looks into the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to describe, organize, oversee and control the various project processes. Having said that, the roles and responsibilities of a project manager differ from company to company. It is important to understand what role a particular project manager will play in a certain company or organization.

The tasks to be handled by a project manager to successfully manage a project include:

- Integration Management- This is developing and managing the direction of the project

- Scope Management-This includes planning, defining and managing the scope of the project.

- Time And Cost Management-This covers developing a schedule, allocating resources and managing funds for the project.

- Quality Management-This involves taking care of the quality of the process in question such that it meets or even exceed various quality parameters set earlier.

- Human Resource Management- A manager needs to take care of his team, encourage and motivate them and make sure the team moves in the right direction.

- Communication Management- The manager needs to prepare a communication plan and make sure that there is a healthy communication, both horizontally and vertically.

- Risk Management- Various risks involved in a project should be identified and a mitigation and contingency plan needs to be developed to ensure that the project is not derailed at any point.

- Procurement Management- Various materials needed during the project needs to be procured and managed with the vendors and suppliers for successful completion of project.

A project manager is usually responsible for the success or the failure of the project. They first need to define the project and then build its work plan. If the scope of the project is not very clear, or the project is executing poorly, the manager is held accountable. However, this does not mean that the project manager does all the work by himself (which is practically impossible). There is an entire team under the project manager, which helps to achieve all the objectives of the project. However, if something goes wrong, the project manager is ultimately accountable.

Apart from this, depending on the size and the complexity of he project, a project manager may need to take on multiple roles. The project manager may need to assist with gathering business requirements, help to design a database management system or may prepare project documentation. A project manager may work full time on a large project, or may work part-time on various projects of smaller nature; or may alternatively handle various projects as well as handle other responsibilities like business analysis and business development.

At times, a project manager may have accountability but not authority. For example, he may be using certain resources but might not have direct control over those resources. At such times, the manager might find certain limitations over task execution, which might not take place as they might have liked. Not having direct control over the state of finances and finance allocation might cause ambiguity.

In order to be successful, the project manager must be given support by upper management and authority.



Serious Entrepreneurs ONLY Beyond This Point!

Posted by admin on June 15th, 2008 No Comments

100% Successful Management - The Ten Winning Behaviours

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Management is all about being the one who facilitates business or organisational success. Delivering the required results. It can be daunting, yet with these ten simple ideas, it might not be the impossible challenge…

Business is complicated. Organisations are horribly complicated. Yet within that there are people who manage, who have ‘cracked the code’ for success. Success for themselves, their people and overall, the organisations they run.

So if there are just 10 actions a great manager takes to deliver the excellence way above the rest, what might they be?

Here are some ideas. The use and implementation of them is up to you…

1.Talk to your people

Top of the list is always how you relate to your people. Regular, easy-going interactions (we call them conversations and chats), make for relationships that work. Talk to and above all listen to them. And respond to what you hear. You will find great information which will help you develop them for the future.

2.Have Clear Expectations

Every one of your people is desperate to please and be seen to be doing a great job. To do this you need to ensure that they are all very clear indeed about what you want them to do. Some need more help with this than others.

3.Build Trust

Trust falls in many ways. Doing what you said you would; treating everyone fairly; being consistent; keeping criticism private; creating confidential time for those who need it; behaving yourself how you expect your people to; being as open as possible; taking personal responsibility for your actions. Invaluable.

4.Focus on Value

Management is about results. So whatever steps or actions you take must always be measured against their contribution to the results you want. If the action is not value creating, then it’s not required. Sometimes you might have to take a risk with an investment, especially in time or people. And that’s OK

5.Go Customer Crazy!

Whatever you do, you will manage the delivery of products or services. Your customers are your lifeblood. So make it easiest for your customer-facing people by giving them licence to delight! Challenge every process or system rigorously to check the customer offer is perfection. You will not succeed unless you get this right. Remember internal customer colleagues too!

6.Deliver Great Product

Your customers are waiting to receive. They want to buy from you with their readies in their hot little hands. So have an excellence of product or service and buying experience for them - have it available when they want it and make easy for them to get it. And don’t overpromise.

7.Test Yourself Regularly

By setting in place checks and measures that you are delivering excellent products or services, when your customers want it, with fabulous people, you are continuously improving. There is no ceiling on what you can achieve - no ‘we’re done!’ Once you are satisfied, get twitchy and up the stakes. You and your people will love it!

8.Lead a Top Team

Teams run organisations. Not a top leader. But you need to be that leader to manage your Top Team. Recognising the qualities and strengths of every single one of your people in a most constructive and creative way, makes for excellent leverage. You drive it, they deliver it whichever way they can. For outstanding results.

9.Be a Model

As the ‘boss’ you have a lot of personal freedom. Yet if you decide to abuse that, your people will not respond. A rule for one and different for the rest is not going to work. This doesn’t mean that you have to do all the work yourself - far from it. But you do need to be very clear indeed on the business priorities and keep focus.

10.Show Passion for your Business

The ‘Zapp’ you have in your day is infectious. Your people will hugely respond to how you respond to their efforts. Recognition of their performance will crank up their involvement and engagement even more. If you love the work you are in, show it. If you don’t, find something that you do love (it will be better for everyone, most of all you).

Of course there are other tweaks you can make to these ideas. But if you use these ten as your template, toss them around with your team and tease out the detail, you will be well on your way to being a 100% Successful Manager.



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Posted by admin on June 12th, 2008 No Comments

How to Manage Employee Personal Problems in the Workplace

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We humans are complex beasts. We live, love, hate, befriend, stress, grieve, excite, depress, yearn and everything in between. To make matters worse, we are a potpourri; a hodgepodge buffet of everything so that the best and worst can even occur within the same psyche.

We are in both an incredibly fantastic web of neurons and a real mess.

Will Rogers said he never met a man he didn’t like. He could have easily said the reverse. Paradox, ambiguity, confusion, uncertainty and foolish pride just stir the pot.

We try our best to generalize, stereotype, and simplify but we human beasts defy attempts to ‘get figured out’. The same system that allows us to create and accomplish extraordinary feats also allows us to fail and anguish in misery and yet still call it a learning experience or positive cognitive exercise.

Additionally we bring our mixed bag of social evolution and personal circumstance to the workplace. When we walk into the office or punch in we are still the same person even though we may flip the ‘work switch’ or ‘put on the office face.’

When pain and stress enters our personal lives it can spill over into the workplace. The result can be a sour attitude, reduced productivity, lack of cooperation, lack of focus, etc.

Under ideal circumstances we should come to work, be happy we are employed, focus on our tasks and responsibilities and make the business agenda our agenda. At least during work hours.

The demands of the workplace and the demands on our personal lives are putting greater pressures on us and forcing us to look at how we cope and try to maintain a balance.

And throughout it all the frazzled manager has to manage and ‘keep the ship afloat.’ So you might question are there not some employee tricks and strategies the good manager uses that the bad manager does not?

Good managers know personal problems can make a productive worker useless. The astute manager does not take serious personal problems lightly.

They also know many employees have potential that will never be realized because of personal problems. Some people choose self destructive lifestyles that create a steady stream of problems.

Some even will find relief, meaning and comfort in going to work. These employees bring little value to the company and the best approach is to avoid hiring such character types and consider firing the ones you do have. It’s just not fair to your good people.

The good managers know that when an employee has a major personal problem it may be impossible for them to focus on work. They consider giving the employee time off to handle the problem.

Lovers and teenagers are frequently found in this category; being a successful manager is not so much a question of being a sensitive manager as learning how to be a productive one.

Good managers know their people. If an employee is showing a big shift in affect or behavior, the manager takes them aside and discreetly asks if there is a problem. Slight shifts in behavior are normal and we all have them. But major behavioral shifts are not normal and can signify a more fundamental problem.

Good managers show genuine interest, avoid gossip and respect confidentiality. And they avoid playing the hero. Most employees can work out their own personal problems on their own. That is not to say an expression of concern by the manager is not appreciated…

And make it clear that at work business comes first. Without the means to support a family things go sour quickly. As members of a team each employee has to carry their own load…

Good managers also understand that an employee’s personal problems are not the manager’s personal concern. The concern happens when these problems affect the workplace.

Good managers give the employee time to work through their problems but set a time limit. Some personal problems can never be resolved and the manager should then consider the employee’s appropriateness for the position. The company cannot be expected to wait forever.

Consequently good managers support their employee’s efforts to solve or resolve their own problems. If their company does not offer employee counseling benefits the good manager at least considers allowing the employee time off.

And finally, the good manager takes care of herself. As a manager, who is going to hold your hand when you need help?



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Posted by admin on June 12th, 2008 No Comments

Managing the Hobby Greenhouse

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The successful management of a hobby greenhouse depends upon following simple rules regularly and applying common sense. A greenhouse is a responsibility rather like a dog or cat, for no day goes by without its inhabitants demanding some attention.

Regular watering may seem obvious, but it is surprising how many gardeners water when they have to, to the detriment of the plants. Good stable growth can never be achieved by irregular watering.

A humid atmosphere is beneficial, especially during the summer months. Regular spraying of the path and gravel under the benches helps. Avoid getting water on the foliage of plants during hot sunny weather. The droplets of water serve as small magnifying glasses during bright sunshine and the leaf tissue beneath becomes scorched.

During the late spring and peak summer period the greenhouse must be provided with some kind of shading. Roller blinds are expensive, but very effective, although most of the sun shade products that are mixed with water and applied with a brush are equally functional, if not as visually pleasing.

Ventilation should be applied freely during warm weather and moderately during cooler periods. The free circulation of air amongst plants helps to reduce the incidence of common fungal diseases like botrytis.

During the duller days of winter and early spring ensure that maximum light is admitted to the greenhouse. Clean the glass in the fall and then again during early spring. Cleanliness is important in all parts of the structure if pests and diseases are to be successfully controlled. The thorough cleaning of the rafters, brickwork and other fixtures during the winter with a strong garden disinfectant will pay dividends.

Dead leaves and discarded plants should be disposed of regularly and should not be allowed to accumulate beneath the staging where they will harbor pests and diseases. Regular cleaning and maintenance results in healthy plants and a trouble-free structure in which to produce them.

One of the on-going activities in a well managed greenhouse is re-potting. This applies to all permanent plants and those that are growing on and need periodic removal to a larger pot size. Some flowering plants like pot chrysanthemums and primulas are completely exhausted after flowering and are best discarded rather than re-potted. They rarely regain their former glory.

Re-potting often causes some consternation, particularly to new gardeners, for there is believed to be a certain mystique surrounding the operation and an uncertainty as to when to perform it. It is obviously better to re-pot a plant just before it needs it, but the beginner may have difficulty in recognizing just when that is, so plants are often allowed to go beyond that point and start to deteriorate.

Paleness of foliage and gaunt appearance is the overall aspect of a plant that is in need of re-potting. The pot-ball will be hard and congested, often with roots pushing out through the drainage holes of the pot. The compost surface will also probably have a stale look about it heightened by the presence of mosses or liverworts.

When re-potted, pot-bound plants rapidly recover from their ordeal, but it is better to catch them before they go into decline so that strong healthy growth can continue unchecked. During the active growing period do not be frightened to turn a plant out of its pot and inspect the root-ball. There is no need to pull it about, but a regular inspection will indicate whether everything is in good order.

Do not pay too much regard to the concentrated presence of roots towards the sides of the pot, for it is quite natural for them to gravitate there. It is not necessarily an indication that the plant must be re-potted. Similarly roots that push through the drainage holes may not always indicate congestion within the pot, for if the pot has been stood on a gravel tray in moist conditions it is quite normal for roots to probe around outside.

The best way to tell whether a plant needs re-potting is to pinch the root-ball with your fingers. If there is any flexibility in the compost it shows that the pot-ball has not been completely ramified by roots and therefore nothing need yet be done. If the root-ball feels hard and solid, then re-potting is clearly a matter of priority. Re-potting is also necessary if you spot tiny flies jumping around on the surface of the compost. These are feeding on decomposing organic matter in a compost that has passed its useful life. They disappear immediately after re-potting.

Most greenhouse plants need feeding if they are to give of their best. This is most effective when they are in active growth, either immediately after they have started to sprout or following the formation of flower buds. The feeding program is different for individual plant types, but the exact rates that should be used will be found on the containers of modern proprietary plant foods. The levels of nitrate, phosphate and potash are also noted, so that a suitable feed can be chosen depending upon whether it is to be directed to fruit and flower production or foliage and root development.

It is important to introduce a general spraying program to the greenhouse. Irrespective of the plants being grown, insect pests and fungal diseases will appear. Check carefully that the fungicide and insecticide mix so that you can spray in one go. Instructions will be clearly stated on the package. These will also indicate any plant sensitivity to the product.

Systemic pesticides are the only ones that can be used for such a spraying program. These are absorbed by the foliage, taken into the sap stream of the plant and serve as an inoculation. To maintain the protection, spraying will be required every three weeks or so. There are certain pests and diseases that are not controlled effectively by systemic products and these need dealing with individually with contact pesticides.



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Posted by admin on June 8th, 2008 No Comments

Business Management Training 101

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One of the main reasons why new business owners fail is because they do not learn how to run their businesses with the same marketing savvy and organizational skills as the big businesses.

Successful managers learn. Even after four years of university and a BA, they continue to learn. They take training courses, attend lectures, and read books. Business management is a race. The leaders gain the largest number of clients and customers.

Business managers do not need to attend university to succeed. Surf the web, sign up with associations, participate in forums, follow the industry research, and join networking groups.

Learn to network with people who have skills that you do not have. Some people write good ad copy. Others are good at bookkeeping. Others can run good forums. And, others have a knack for collecting statistics.

The new skills that you learn will improve your ability to run your business. It will also give you the ability to judge whether you are getting your money’s worth when you outsource.

“Learning is a lifelong experience”. Ignoring your own skills and talents is measured in the profit and loss statements for your business. When you start to learn, you’ll be introduced to dozens of key elements of marketing, and secrets of business management that will give you an edge over the competition such as Targeted Diversification.

Targeted Diversification

This is where you expand your current products into related products or services that your market needs. Unfortunately, many people just do not ‘get’ this concept.

A real estate agent will market several products that do with real estate, but none of them solve their consumer’s problems.

The key is to provide solutions to your ‘target market,’ that complement the product or service you already offer.

Become the one-stop solution seller and make backend more money from new and existing customers.

This takes a consistent training and research. It is impossible to sell to a market that you are unfamiliar with. However, thousands of business managers try to do this every day. They pick a product based on profit and loss margins.

They may choose to sell the product because they are told it is a hot seller, or because they bought a franchise.

Unfortunately, no matter how well developed the business plan is, it is impossible to sell to the general public without knowing what the general public wants from their products.

The Buyer as a Sale’s Tool

Two mistakes that kill most businesses is funnel vision. Many business managers believe that ‘A Buyer, is a buyer, is a buyer.’ Unfortunately, the consumers are a vast well of information and experience that can be used to build your business.

Allowing your customers into the “Inner Circle” will turn them into a sale’s tool. There are many people who are “belongers”. These people pride themselves in being a ‘part’ of an elite group and highly valued customers.

Learning to find and network with these buyers can make all the difference between becoming an industry leader, or fading into the background with thousands off other businesses that are attempting to sell your product.



Create Success!

Posted by admin on June 7th, 2008 No Comments

Generating Successful Outcomes Depends on What you Focus on

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Successful business owners and administrators need to be very pleasant about what outcomes they yearn. Goals, objectives or targets are the considerations that you’re ultimately judged. Outcomes unearth whether your business is a hit or a washout .

If you’re an employed manager, you’ll acquire them in your job description or contract and I’m sure your boss will occupy thoughts on them at your next performance review. Outcomes are what you’re paid to accomplish.

Various business owners and managers allow themselves to be distracted and diverted from their outcomes. They get involved in all sorts of situations that take their “eye off the ball.”

At the start of workshops they ask the directors to draw a map on a large sheet of flip chart paper of all the things they do in their job. Managers almost inevitably fill that page with all sorts of tasks and activities. Increased often than not they surprise themselves with what’s on the page.

Facilitators then ask them to identify and daniel with a large cross, their real priorities, and the outcomes that they’re ultimately judged on. Out of all the tasks and activities on the page they usually cross only five or six priorities and sometimes subordinate.

What we do procure however is that the priorities that they cross are not allocated the time they deserve on a day to day basis. The administrators will often blame their senior manager for countless of the tasks which divert them from their priorities, which is perfectly fair. However there are bountious tasks that a manager takes on because:

1. They don’t like to say “no” or -

2. They don’t trust anyone else to do it or -

3. They just ‘like’ to do it themselves.

Facilitators then spend time in the workshop showing managers how to communicate with their senior manager and their other colleagues in order to minimise the number of tasks that don’t contribute to their outcomes.

Countless managers fall into the trap of believing that their manager will distinguish why they haven’t hit their target or quota. They seem to think that because the senior manager has handed out all sorts of other tasks, then they’ll accept your bungle to carry out your target.

This will definitely NOT be the case!

Some business owners presuppose that their bank manager or investors will deduce all the reasons why they haven’t achieved their business outcomes. However, bank supervisors and investors only desire to hear that you’ve achieved what you said you’d do.

The successful business owner or manager keeps very focused on outcomes and doesn’t allow anyone or anything to divert them without agreeable reason.

It’s also essential to focus on outcomes as far as your team are concerned. In numerous cases the people in your team will be only too happy to do other little jobs and tasks that you ask them to do.

Salespeople may echo - “Oh, I’ll deliver that to the customer, it’s on my way.” Customer service people will say - “I’ll go and talk to distribution or finance department about that.” You have to keep asking yourself the question, “Is what they’re doing helping me to achieve my outcomes?” If the answer is “no” then don’t let them do it.

Make it luminous to your team what the outcomes are and don’t concern yourself too much about how they get there. That doesn’t mean that you stimulate a salesman to get a sale at any cost, or a chef to use inferior ingredients. You obviously don’t want a maintenance engineer cutting corners that could jeopardize safety.

Facilitators at these workshops often pay attention to a salesperson speaking to a customer and acquire themselves thinking - “That’s not the way I’d do it.” The inclination is to jump into the conversation or speak to the salesperson afterwards. Bounteous have learned to keep their mouth shut, because bounteous times the salesperson closed the business, the customer was happy and it probably was greater than they would do it.

The successful manager defines the outcomes to the team members and then lets each person procure their way of getting there. That doesn’t mean you walk away or have no idea what’s going on. You need to be constantly out there with the team, watching and listening and supporting what they’re doing.

Two characteristics of successful business owners and directors are -

1. They get the job done and

2. They do it in the easiest and least stressful way.

To try and control your team’s activities and get them to do things the way you require them done, is extremely stressful. It can also mean that you de-motivate the team and then it’ll be much harder to fulfill your outcomes.

Discover how you can generate augmented business by motivating your team!



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Posted by admin on June 5th, 2008 No Comments