REVIEW OF MANAGEMENT COURSES TAUGHT AT UNIVERSITIES
The following is brief summary of common management courses taught at universities:-
(A) HOW MANAGEMENT TASKS ARE CLASSIFIED OR DIVIDED
For example, management processes are taught as concepts in standard textbooks:-
(1) Planning (Process, Comparing, Decision)
(2) Organizing
(3) Commanding
(4) Coordinating
(5) Controlling
Management Tasks are often classified conceptually as:-
(1) Technical
(2) Financial
(3) Commercial
(4) Security
(5) Account
(B) COMMON MANAGEMENT COURSE CONTENTS
The American Management Association has listed the following management courses as being provided by various universities in USA:-
Administrative Professionals
Communication
Customer Service
Finance and Accounting
Finance for Managers
Human Resources
Leadership
Managerial Skills
Manufacturing/
Operations Management
Personal Development
Planning
Project Management
Purchasing
Quality
Sales and Marketing
Supervision
Team Building
Time Management
(C) COMMON MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES- OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
The following are some of the common management methodologies taught in the standard management textbooks:-
(I) ORGANIZATIONAL AND SYSTEMS
Organizational Systems and Processes
Work Flow Management
Project Management
Quality Assurance
Documentation and Records
IT in Operations and Management
(II) FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
The Profit and Loss Statement
The Balance Sheet
Financial Ratios and their Applications
Cash Flow and Management of Working Capital
Costing
Budgets
(3) MARKETING MANAGEMENT
Overview of Marketing
Understanding Consumer Behavior
Market Research
Market Segmentation
Product Portfolio
Developing Marketing Strategies
The Marketing Process
The Selling Process
(4) HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Organization Structure
Employment Procedures and Conditions
Deployment and Supervision
Performance Appraisal and Counseling
Training and Development
Organization Development
(5) MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM
Facts (Generated, stored and retrieved)
System (Integrated analysis procedures)
Communication
Decision
Manager
Instructions,
Targets,
Responsibilities
Measuring
Control
Exceptions
(6) PLANNING MANAGEMENT
In the book MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS AND APPLICATION, 2ND EDITION, 1988, STEPHEN P. ROBBINGS had established the planning approach as follows:-
(a) Planning is a process of determining objectives and the way these objectives can best be achieved.
(b) Planning gives direction, reduces impact of change, minimize waste and redundancy and sets standards to facilitate control.
(c) Strategic plans cover an extensive time period (usually 3 or more years),
broad issues and include formulation of objectives. Operational plans cover shorter periods of time, focus on specifics and assumed that objectives are already known.
(d) Directional plans are preferred over specific plans when uncertainty is high and when organization is in its formative and decline life-cycle stages.
(e) 5 Contingency factors in planning: (1) Size of organization (2) Manager’s level in organization (3) Life stage of organization (4) Degree of environmental uncertainty (5) Length of future commitment.
(f) A manager should plan just far enough ahead to see through those commitments he or she makes today.
Stephen P. Robbins further elaborated the PLANNING STEPS as consisting of:-
(a) Being aware of opportunities: setting realistic objectives depends on this.
(b) Establish objectives: setting objectives for entire enterprise and then for each subordinate unit. Objective indicates the end point of what is to be done, where the emphasis is to be placed and what is to be done, where the primary emphasis and what is to be accomplished by a network of policies, procedures, rules, budgets, programs and strategies.
(c) Premising: To establish obtain agreement to utilize and disseminate critical planning premises. These are forecast data of a factual nature applicable basic policies or existing company plans. Premises are planning assumptions the future setting in which planning takes place. Forecast is important to premising: what kind of market will there be? What quantity of sales? What prices? What products?
(d) Premises are arranged in 3 groups (1) Uncontrollable such as population growth, future price level (2) Semi-controllable – firm’s assumption as to share of market, character of labour turnover and labour efficiency (3) Controllable – expansion into new market, adoption of aggressive research program.
(e) Because the future environment is so complex, it would not be profitable or realistic to make assumptions about every detail of future environments in a plan. Therefore, premises must be as a practical matter limited to those which are critical, strategic to a plan that is which most influence its operation.
(f) Lack of planning coordination through use of manager of different sets of premises can be extremely costly to a company.
(7) BREAKTHROUGH APPROACH
Various management writers and researchers have tried to use individual result-oriented management approaches like the breakthrough approach to solve problems.
(8) ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL AND SPECIALIST SKILLS
There are diverse administrative and technical management skills to suit different situations as given below:-
Managing Today’s IT and Technical Professionals
Managing a World-Class IT Department
Information Technology for the Non-IT Executive
Enhancement Skills
OTHER MANAGEMENT SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE
Other technical detailed functional knowledge are regularly taught in certain areas:-
(a) Fundamentals of Strategic Planning
(b) Innovation and Creativity: How to Improve Performance and Foster Growth
(c) Interviewing Skills for Managers and Supervisors
(d) Managing a Multicultural Team
(e) Women in Business: Strategies for Success
(f) Coaching and Counseling for Outstanding Job Performance
(g) How to Build a More Positive Work Environment
(h) Planning and Managing Organizational Change
(i) Strategies for Effective Problem Solving and Decision Making
(j) Moving from an Operational Manager to a Strategic Thinker
(k) Creating High Performing Teams Using the MBTI® Instrument
(l) Confronting the Tough Stuff: Advanced Management Skills for Supervisors
(m) Mastering Organizational Politics, Influence and Alliances
(n) A Manager’s Guide to Human Behavior
(o) The Complete Training Course for Managers
(p) Communication Skills for Managers
(q) Corporate Governance: What it Means for Managers
(r) New! Delegating for Business Success
(s) Updated! Fair, Square, and Legal
(t) How to Be an Effective Facilitator
(u) How to Manage Conflict in the Organization
(v) Leadership Skills for Managers
(w) Managing and Achieving Organizational Goals
(x) Managing Conflict (audio)
(y) Performance Appraisals: How to Achieve Top Results
(z) Performance Management
There is simply a total lack of translating of all the concepts and principles no matter how useful into hands-on integrated component management tasks which can be applied in practice to actual practical management by staff.
NEEDS AND ASPIRATIONS IN MANAGEMENT
Against the above-stated overview of existing management systems and methodologies let us review the needs and aspirations of many people concerned with management:-
(1) Need - tasks should be defined and made tangible for follow-through actions easily understood and performed by all across all jobs and industries.
(2) Need - tasks should be performed with quality-time-cost controls and macro- and micro-decisions with minimal instructions and interventions like the computerized lego-like process applications.
(3) Need - tasks should be performed with good corporate governance consisting of Financial Control, Human Resource skills, Marketing strategy, Project and Engineering solutions, etc integrated into daily works of staff so as to implement all decisions and policies without complexities.
(4) Need to avoid ad hoc, judgmental and intuitive conceptual methodology in order to upgrade management efficiency and productivity.
OSP CALL-CENTRE PROCESS MANAGEMENT
OSP stands for Objective-Steps Processing Management System which as its name implies translates concepts, objectives and goals into attainable follow-through component work processes being performed by staff as part of their daily routines.
Hence, OSP divides tasks universally in 4 attainable task-steps:-
OSP Step (1) Study of Ideas, (Feasibility, Plan, Outline, Scheme, Details)
OSP Step (2) Enquiry,(Follow-up on ideas)
OSP Step (3) Securing Contracts (Seizing opportunities)
OSP Step (4) Contract Administration (Detailed functional tasks),
Based on the above-stated 4 task-step an enterprise is now easily set up as follows:-
(1) An Organization Structure, (Departments and personnel)
(2) Assign roles and duties of departments and staff,
(3) Set up Controls, coordination, for corrections of deviations and results.
ADMINISTRATIVE FORMS
All tasks are performed with in-built quality-time-cost controls, coordination and knowledge application at all levels.
These divisions and sub-divisions of tasks are arranged and integrated such that they are performed with quality-time-cost control of OSP Processing File List.
WORK FORMS - LAID IN 10 DEPARTMENTS
All business activities consist of the above-stated 4-step macro-level management control and detailed functional tasks set up in 10 departments:-
1.(General) 2.(Human Resource) 3.(Revenue) 4.(Accounts) 5.(Marketing) 6.(Services-all outsourced activities) 7.(Facility) 8.(Enforcement) 9. (Production) 10.(Compliance).
A Call Centre is set up to monitor overall performances of business activities under the control of hands-on task-lines with auto-corrections as follows:-
1. 3-4 Core Activities are listed in Department Report for consistent performance.
2. Each core activity is performed against 2-3 quality-time-cost croteria.
3. Perform Core Activities to pre-set time-schedules and parameters.
4. Inspect and asssess performance of each core activity with "1" for non-attainment, "2" for attainment and "3" for excellence.
The performance variances or "1" are processed in two-way communication task-lines with self-corrections by each department through the call centre.
COORDINATION AND KNOWLEDGE APPLICATION THROUGH CALL CENTRE
Call Centre processes all tasks in compliance with quality-time-cost criteria and technical constraints on expenditure, cost saving, revenue collections, marketing, enforcement, and logistics etc.
The bosses will now be able to oversee entire business activities with hands-on controls to reach results with coordination, knowledge application and corrective actions at three levels, viz:
Level 1: Management Report (call centre)
Level 2- Department reports – oversee operations giving variance feedbacks.
Level 3 - Work forms - sequential knowledge application.
FINAL GOAL - ORGANIZATIONAL EFFICIENCY
In addition, an over-site Clearance Form ensures coordination of all operations e.g. housekeeping, security, logistic and operational departments to attain organizational efficiency.
Hence, management is no longer conceptual but conducted in 4-step 10-department Call-Centre Processing forms and work-forms to increase efficiency and productivity and company profitability.
KEY STEPS:-
So hesitate no more and start your call-centre process management with following actions:-
(1) Identify existing administrative forms and work forms.
(2) Set up call centre processes as listed in OSP File List.
(3) Process tasks in 4-part task-line and close task-lines at month end via the administrative and work forms.
Review the works and services of each department at month end for each department against the call-centre management report. You should realize increased efficiency and profitability as a result of such OSP hands-on processing system of management within 3 months.
Note: “Objective-Steps Processing Management System” is a book published by Robert Teh Kok Hua. Enquiry: Tel: 63565622; Email:robertkhteh@hotmail.com