Mind Mapping by Jolito Ortizo Padilla

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I participated a learning programme  during my stint in one of the colleges in the Middle East with the topic "Teaching Methodology". I felt I was in a kindergarten classroom with the way the trainor was conducting the learning process  and the materials used were not updated.

A poor experience in training can be hugely demotivating for staff. It is also a waste of money for business and a waste of time for all involved ; particularly if the trainor don't have the ability to connect with the trainee and failed to form an association of thoughts and ideas.

Mind mapping isn't new, but are people being given the opportunity to learn using this technique in order to help them solve problems and make decisions? How many times you have been on a learning programme which is instantly forgettable? That's because learning isn't a "one size fits all" solution. Different people need different types of training- some respond best to the traditional lecture, some think in pictures, others like to put it down in words. Mind mapping is a recognized technique to help people think more creatively and incisively, using their own preferred style of learning.

Mind maps are an excellent way to improve learning and retain information. This makes them ideal in assisting people to learn new management approaches , or improve problem-solving and decision- making skills.

Business practices have changed beyond recognition over recent years.Today's business leaders look for innovative training and development solutions that will engage , empower and challenge their employees. Mind mapping can engage employees by teaching them to think and learn effectively.

Types of Learner

In training people prefer different styles; also when it comes to learning and applying new knowledge -people prefer to learn in different ways. That is why mind maps are so useful- they can be drawn in different ways , to suit the individual. The most memorable mind map is the one each person draws for himslef; but they can also be developed by a group in a classroom, or prepared in advance , then discussed with the group and or used as a revision aid.

In a learning context , mind maps have a real value for the learner; they are a dynamic tool. The conversations the group have in the development of a mind map mirrors or "maps" how they came to understand the ideas. It doesn't matter that the drawing itself is a little scrappy -a mess even -it's a growing picture , with which the group can recall the discussions. 

There are four basic types of learner:

- Aural-: well served by traditional lecturing, "chalked-and talk" type teaching. These people are likely to be natural listeners, happy to experience the more traditional whiteboard , flipchart or PowerPoint presentation. ( But note, nowadays there is less tolerance for PowerPoint, which often bores the listener by subjecting them to an information overload.)

- Visual: people who doodle generally think in pictures and are comfortable with illustrations of abstracts ideas, processess and organizations.

- Intellectual: these are comfortable with the abstract models but they need to see the "big picture" first. They have less tolerance for being drip-fed information; they like to "see the wood as well as the trees."

- Kinaesthetic:these people prefer"hands on", tactile learning experiences. They tend to be active ; this type is well represented among senior managers. The worst thing you can do to this kind of learner is to make them sit behind a desk for long periods and ask them to listen -they prefer to learn through trial and error.

Most of us have one preferred or dominant style for learning, but we also have secondary styles as well. The best approach when designing a mind mapping session is to assume that all four types of learner will be present, and to coach in a way that will appeal to each type.

Most of us use the visual mode of learning as either our primary or secondary preferred style;mind maps work well with this. The "intellectuals" values  the "see -it-all-at-once-joined-up" aspects of mind maps. The "kinaesthetics" appreciate the drive of mind maps and the "aurals" really want to talk them through.

Recall

When trying to maximize the effectiveness and appeal of any learning experience , one important area is often neglected; the need to help the learner manage their recall. Most of us never really forget experiences , but are often unable to recall them. The brain is likely to be able to recall information when it is strongly associated with a key image., a mnemonic or other word, which is probably why mind maps work so well.

Basically, all management theory is a sort of mental grid, against which we interpret reality. The power of mind maps is that they immediately show these grids in a concrete , visual way.

Results

There is a simple test of the effectiveness of a business investing in mind mapping-results. This can work in several ways to help businesses get control and become more effective. Just as people learn in different ways, so they can use mind mapping in different ways: to plan meetings or to encourage people to put forward their ideas and suggestions. When a group of people needs to come up with ideas quickly, these can be easily captured on the map; this has added benefit of people feeling included in the thinking process. Above all , mind maps can help people orientate themselves in a chaotic , confusing business environment ;this helps to clarify and strengthn a business.





Sustainable Integrated Management System by Jolito Ortizo Padilla

GA Business and Management Consultancy
The Real Best in Asia

Whether an organization is a global company or a small- or medium- sized enterprise , the effective management of environment ,health and safety and quality performance is key to an organization's sustained success. However, managing these system can be a resource -thirsty task. Improving informationa management practices is therefore at the heart of the drive toward sustainability.

One solution for organizations is to use the internet and internet-based technology to improve their information management practices and ultimately improve the performance of their management systems and .business as a whole. The top 2,500 global companies spend , on average 56m sterling pounds on all aspects of environmental management -and up to three times that for environmental , health, and safety and quality management. Of this, as much as 64% relates solely to the costs of information management. Consequently, for every pound spent on environmental, health and safety and quality management , another 1.75 sterling pounds is spent managing information behind it. Environmental , health and safety and quality managers spend two-thirds of their time gathering , analyzing, storing and sharing information -and little of this time is value added.

A study involving more than 300 EHSQ managers at top industrial companies indicated that the costs  of EHSQ information management are incurred in four areas.
    These are;
1. Ad-hoc and duplicate processes to support EHSQ information management.
2. Informal , individual, independent and non-standardised EHSQ information systems.
3. Diversity and complexity of EHSQ information.
4. Rework due to lack of quality control and quality assurance applied to EHSQ management processes.

The Internet solution
Web technology continues to change the way that companies operate. Organizations are adopting technologies -for corporate -wide communication or online EHSQ management- and are becoming much more efficient , more responsive and, ultimately, more sustainable. One particularly effective way of improving EHSQ performance is through the use of the web and /or a corporate intranet for standard EHSQ management system applications. An effective solution would:
 - Be a client server application whereby users (client PC) would connect to a single, central server' where the application and data are all stored.
 - Be accessed in real- time and allow multiple users to simultaneously access and use a common and single application.
- Provide a common framework for template for site-specific and independent ESHQ management system development while simultaneously providing areas for shared and corporate-wide resources.
- Provide the ability to link to other web and /or intranet-based applications and information.
To meet these needs, it is important to consider whether a tool or application should be;
- A web and /or intranet application accessed using a traditional browser.
- Modular so as to enable integration and streamlining of any combination of environmental, quality and /or health and safety management system components
-Scalable to the extent that new sites and users could be added as and when required.

Benefits for the organization
Two of the most significant benefits of using web-based solution are the reduction in time and cost system implementation. By providing a standard system framework and a management system template for each office , the time required for system implementation can be reduced substantially. Additionally, when using a networked solution, all management systems are 'connected' because they are all contained within the same application and data is generally stored in the same databases. So it is possible to cut , paste and modify management system information from one company site to another.

Local Implementation
Consequently, local EHSQ managers can quickly and easily develop their own EHSQ management system by either copying and modifying an example EHSQ management system information  developed by the organization for implementation purposes, or by copying and  modifying EHSQ management system information  already developed by others in the wider organization. As a senior manager of a single multi-site business stated: "If you consider the work instructions required by a single management system at a single site, it would take approximately five days to write the 20 or so work instructions required . Using our intranet -based EHSQ solution with functional instructions sites, this now takes about five minutes."

Whether it is managing documents , tracking overdue action items, preparing reports or any other system maintenance tasks, traditional methods of EHSQ system maintenance can be particularly time-intensive. However, with electronic and networked EHSQ system solutions , virtually all traditional system maintenance is either done automatically (for example. document control and versioning) or done in real-time at the press of button (for example, tracking and reporting).

By taking the potentially repetitive and time-consuming actions out of the equation, EHSQ managers can spend less time managing the EHSQ system itself and more time managing environmental , health, and safety and quality improvements. Furthermore, as such a system is electronic ; it is possible to reduce or altogether avoid the costs of document printing and distribution.

Reporting
If an EHSQ management system is electronic and in a web or intranet environment with integrated system modules, all system information is contained in the same location( typically in a single database) . Reporting all or any EHSQ management  information simply becomes an attribute of the application rather than a management task. As a result, users can instantly report system information and be guaranteed that any reports generated include the very latest information in the system.

Additionally, if system information is contained within a single database , new and /or custom reports are simply a matter of redefining and presenting data correlations between the existing data sets. Whether sub-categorising , combining, consolidating or re-grouping information , tasks such as data interrogation or root cause analysis reporting become a query rather than a job description.

With a solution housed in a single database , management system information only ever needs to be entered once for subsequent use by other users of the management system. This prevents data entry duplication and avoids the time wasted on duplication efforts.

Additionally, as all system data is stored centrally, users can automatically track and report overdue action plans, responsibilities, active non-conformances and overdue audits. As a result much more time can be spent improving performance rather than tracking and reporting. If users are able to run reports instantly and in real-time based on the efforts of others who have entered that data , there is no need to waste time collecting, collating and re-presenting information already collected.

Knowledge retention
With web and/or intranet -based systems , all system data is stored in one location. As such, all information vital to ongoing system management and performance improvement, for example action plans, procedures and work instructions , is retained within the system and not with people who operate it. This retention of knowledge enables everyone in the organization to have indefinite access to a continually growing knowledge base of information developed from years of management experience. Conversely, if the intellect of a management system is not recorded and accessible , when those who have access to that information leave, that experience and knowledge also leaves with them.

With traditional management systems, system information is often in the form of ring binders on a shelf or in a folder in a site's computer network. In these cases, for users to tend to the management tasks allocated to them, they have first find and then browse through those binders or folders to locate the documents and information that are relevant to them.Whether a user needs full access to key performance indicator information or read-only privileges for the site's health and safety management system, with a browser -based solution access and privileges can be tailored quickly and easily to streamline operations or even completely change a user's view of the system.

Benefits for the larger organization
Given the networkability of web technology , there are a number of additional benefits that can be realized by a multi-site organization when developing , implementing or maintaining an EHSQ management system.

One clear benefit of a single networked application is the multi-site consistency and comparability of site specific management system data. All sites work within an identical framework but are able to enter management data specific to their own site and circumstance, so it is possible to present effective and meaningful comparisons across any number of sites within the organization.

Common understanding
All users of this type of system share a common understanding of the management system components, terminology, methodology and practices of EHSQ management. When a complete understanding of the system is common across all sites, an organization can transfer people between sites either temporarily or permanently with little or no disruption to either the system or the people. By using a web and /or intranet based EHSQ template common to all sites, all sites understand each other , can help each other , can report and compare results easily and can, ultimately speed and streamline the process of management system development and administration.

In addition to being able to compare management system components (such as action plans, objectives and targets and non-conformances, across sites, when using a networked application that provide a common framework for all users , it is also possible to establish and set requirements for the monitoring of key performance indicators across organization. Standard KPIs provide the basis for a regular, systematic and consistent approach to data collection and presentation and improve the credibility and usefulness of KPI data.

By stipulating and setting corporate KPI parameters such as units of measure, frequencies of measurement, reporting intervals, benchmark values and indeed performance indicators themselves, while simultaneously providing a mechanism for sites to quickly and easily enter performance data, there is increased quality , comprehensiveness, comparability and confidence in the information. It also gives managers a greater ability to implement effective performance improvement both at a site and across the organization.

Increased communication
Although a networked solution enables EHSQ managers to communicate quickly and easily at the site level , the true power of such application lies on the ability to communicate on a broader scale. Managers will be able to facilitate easy and instant communication between sites and people , whether it is sharing of best practices , providing consultancy support , or chasing an individual's overdue action items.

In addition to the superior reporting capabilities inherent in computer based solution , if the solution is networked , corporate reporting across any number of sites becomes a very powerful management tool. As networked solutions allow instant reporting and data interrogation , such applications eliminate the administration involved in regularly tracking and reporting audit findings and non-conformances.

As stated by  a senior -level manager of a multi- site organization :"Our intranet based EHSQ system provides a method of finding answers quickly and easily. The numerous report that the package includes means that we can rapidly assess where we are on any number of issues."

"The biggest time savings are to be had with the tracking of non-conformances and the communication module, which allows easy access to people with specific duties related to them. To prepare a report of all active non-conformances between any two dates would normally take a minimum of 30 minutes. Using the intranet-based EHSQ system this same task now takes less than seven seconds".

Supplies and Auditors
With a central data store, data is only ever entered once, which avoids duplication while simultaneously enabling other users (with suitable access privileges) to instantly view information entered. Whether it is a corporate -wide information for all to access or independent site-specific information , it is possible to provide remote access to anyone connected to the network anywhere in the world. So multi-site managers , auditors, external certifiers or corporate representatives are able to view the system information wherever they are and can significantly reduce the time, costs and environmental impacts of travel by simply logging on to the network to view, review , audit , assess or simply browse for management system information.

If a site or corporation uses a web and/ or intranet EHSQ solution, not only will it improve the way it does business but they are able to allow others who interact with their EHSQ system to improve theirs. Whether it is suppliers completing their own online evaluations, certifiers conducting audits and assessments of sites, legislators accessing compliance status or waste hauliers completing their own waste transfer notifications with a web and /or intranet based application , extending the scope of stakeholder participation throughout your supply chain is simply a matter of issuing a new username and password.

Economies of scale
When using a paper -based or even single site PC- based management system, if an organization grows or needs to develop management systems for additional sites or business units , it is very difficult to realistically take advantage of previous system development. There will inevitably be disparaties in the system framework and content of the system developed.

In such an environment , the "duplicability" of systems is very low and the marginal effort required for new system development is considerable. On the other hand, if an organization uses and/or intranet based network solution, adding sites is often as simple as "turning them on" and importing relevant system information. The marginal effort in adding sites is low and continually decreases with the number of sites in the network. Also, if a EHSQ solution is network -enabled it is possible to link to any other network-enabled  resource, such as national legislation databases or online  material safety data sheets.

As all sites develop their management system in the same framework, it is also possible to take advantage of a number of economies of scale when providing system implementation and maintenance training and support. With a web and/or intranet-based application, access can be provided to anyone anywhere in the world (as long as they can connect to the web or your corporation intranet). Therefore, certifiers can potentially audit much of the system from a distance and audit those aspects of the system more efficiently.

Furthermore, as third- party certifiers can be guaranteed that all sites use the same application and use an identical management system framework , corporate certification  can be based on the assessment of a random sample of the organization's sites rather than an assessment of every site to be certified. Although the costs and requirement for certification vary between certifiers, by using an intranet-based EHSQ system and allowing certifiers to conduct documentation reviews from their own offices and certify the entire organization based on a random sample of 20% of sites, a large multi-site organization can significantly reduce the cost of and simultaneously improve the quality of both their initial certification audits and subsequent surveillance audits.

Driving sustainability
Without doubt, effective EHSQ management and perfromance improvement can be fundamentally underpin and support the drive towards global sustainability. In the long run, all businesses that have activities and products with environmental and safety and health impacts will be required -whether by regulation, international trade requirements or public pressure -to track report and improve EHSQ management performance. Installing a system helps EHSQ managers to spend their time on improving performance , rather than managing information.

There are huge opportunities to increase the efficiency of EHSQ management practices and ultimately improve EHSQ management performance through the use of web and intranet technology, whether it be within a larger organization or an SME . Internet-based technology  represents an unparalleled opportunity to not only improve EHSQ data management but to  actually change the management process to drive cost savings, improve performance management and ultimately increase the long-term potential for sustainable business practice.

PUNS-written aboard Singapore Airlines bound for a Holy Week Vacation to Pinas. SIA TV Ads concept by GA Consultancy.

Puns are often regarded as the lowest form of humour-but they do make you laugh! The English language has many words that sound the same but are spelled differently, or are spelled the same but have several meanings. Punsters are fond of wordplay; here are a few choice examples to amuse you. If at  first you don't see the point, try reading them aloud.

The fattest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.

No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.

Two silk worms had a race . They ended up in a tie.

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

Two bats were hanging on a bat rack in a hallway.One bat said to the other" You stay here; I'll go on a bead".

The midget fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.

A backward poet writes inverse.

If you jumped off the bridge in Paris, you'd be in Seine.

Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, "I've lost my electron."
The other says, "Are you sure?" The first replies, "Yes I'm positive"

A man rushed into a busy doctor's office and shouted, "Doctor! I think I'm shrinking!" The doctor calmly responded, "Now, settle down. You'll just have to be a little patient.

Is Sustainability the same as just being able to sustain? Jolito Ortizo Padilla investigates.

Over the last 20 years there has been a sea change in organizations' attitudes and understanding of sustainability and sustainable development. Awareness of corporate social responsibility and environmental impact has grown alongside the need to consider ethical factors and financial stability to create an overarching ideal of what it means to be sustainable.

There has been a large-scale change in the public perception of the importance of the environment and, as a reflection of that, businesses have changed as well.

This changes in attitudes can be attributed to increasing global demands on resources such as food, water and energy and the impacts of climate change that have focused international efforts to minimize the damage to our environment for future generations. Greater public awareness through the activities of organizations such as Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Fund and the United Nations Division for Sustainable Development , has put added pressure on governments and organizations the world over to work in a more sustainable way.

Fraser Paterson, sustainability adviser at global engineering , construction and technical services firms URS Scott Wilson believes there are three cornerstones to organizational sustainability:social , ethical and environmental sustainability . "Sustainability is concerned with ensuring the human rights of stakeholders through health and safety and equal opportunities practices, " says Frasier.

"The environmental aspects are concerned with tackling climate change and lessening your impact in the environment through responsible sourcing , waste management and energy efficiency. The ethical side is bound up with standards, codes of conduct and anti- corruption legislation as well as organizational values of transparency and honesty."

These three elements are increasingly being linked to a fourth element-that of economic sustainability. With the number of socially responsible investment funds  increasing and tough conditions for business loans, the finance sector is looking towards long term stability rather than short term balance sheets.

Becoming sustainable
With financial , stakeholder  and regulatory pressures to  become more sustainable, it seems only common sense that organizations should work to lessen their negative impact on the environment and increase their  positive impact , but it's not always easy. Frazier says: " To be successful with sustainability , organizations need to address four key areas : business integrity , technical innovation , human capital  and leadership. Without a coherent approach and top-level commitment in these business areas, organizations cannot be truly sustainable."

Business integrity is all about setting the core values of an organization and gaining the trust of all stakeholders; both suppliers and customers. To do this businesses have to ensure effective corporate governance and transparency.

A famous example of an organization that does this well is the John Lewis Partnership, founded in 1929, which works against a constitution which sets out a founders' ideals.The framework available online , defines the partnership's principles and the way it should operate. Tessa Colman, John Lewis Kingston explains:" The partnership was ahead of its time in recognizing that commercial success depended on showing the highest level of good citizenship in its behavior within the community. The approach seems to work well with Waitrose , the supermarket arm of Partnership.

Similarly, Marks and Spencer 's approach to sustainability , Plan A , publishes its 180 commitments to becoming" the world's most sustainable major retailer" online. The company's plans are split into five areas:
  - Climate change- with the target of making its UK and Irish operations carbon neutral by 2012.
  - Waste- with the target of no clothing or packaging ending life as landfill
  - Sustainable raw materials- ensuring high standards of animal welfare and sustainable resources of clothing materials.
  - Fair partner- to set a new standard in ethical trading and improve the livelihoods of its suppliers and their communities
  - Health - helping its customers to choose a healthier lifestyle.
Mark and Spencer openness with its targets and plans reiterates its commitment to sustainability , which in turn boosts its reputation for integrity.

According to Fraser, organizations should also be working to push forward technical innovations to ensure their sustainability. "Businesses need to look at their market place and come up with solutions that will help to drive the company forward and creates value," he says. " It could be developing new products or services , or a new approach that creates fewer green house gas emissions."

The creation , by Proctor and Gamble's washing powder brand  Ariel, of a new washing gel  that could clean clothes at 15 degree centigrade is a particularly good example of an organization using innovation to push sustainability. The new product helps to ensure consumers are saving energy , lowering the company's overall energy consumption, and enhances the brand's reputation as a market leader.

People Power
Innovation and integrity obviously offer businesses great help with sustainability , but without engaged people throughout an organization these ideals will fall at the first hurdle. Ben Eavis, Sainsbury's head of corporate responsibility says. " You need to have both a top-down and a bottom-up approach. Buy-in from senior management is crucial to gain traction with initiatives and to demonstrate why they are important for business, but without colleagues in store who display our values on a daily basis we would get nowhere."

One way in which Sainsbury's  has worked to engage its staff with their store's impact on its local environment is to give each store control of its charitable funds. The company asks each  store's staff and customers to nominate the local charity they think it should be supporting. "It means that everyone is really passionate about it and gets involved because it means something to them and their customers."

When it comes to the environmental side of sustainability. Max argues that the most important element for success is in educating people. "Businesses must teach their staff about how their actions influence the wider environment and will help organizations to become more sustainable. Without that basic understanding in the workforce a business plans for sustainability won't take off."

Equally important to internal staff is an organization's relationship with its suppliers. Max says: " Inherently sustainability is about ensuring your organization is sourcing everything it needs as responsibly as it can. The simplest and most effective approach is to source what you need from organizations that are certified as being able to create products in a sustainable fashion.

" One very good example is sourcing paper products from organizations certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Alternatively, ensuring that your suppliers or contractors are certified to a management system standard such as ISO 14001, is a good way of ensuring that your organization is reducing its impact on the environment by influencing the people that supply you."

Future Challenges
Organizations' relationship with their suppliers are going to be even more important in the future according to Ben. " As food security , water security, climate change and population growth impact us as a business, we have to get closer to our suppliers to ensure they are as financially and environmentally efficient as possible so we can continue to offer the products that we do now long into the future.

" One example in how we are tackling this is our daily development group. It was set up in 2006 to help 325 dairy farmers more sustainably. We have growth targets and we want to be able to share those rewards with our suppliers, but we need to be sure they can grow with us. It's sustainability , but it's also business sense."

The biggest challenge facing organizations future commitment to sustainability is current financial pressures. Max says: "From the mid-1990s until a couple of years ago there was a period of real positivity about businesses becoming more environmentally responsible. Now, as the economy struggles , businesses are looking to cut wherever they can and while sustainability is seen as important, the principle is under threat because of strained finances.

"While some business can tie the financial side of their business to their environmental and CSR side nicely, for others that's just not the case. They are perfectly able to function well without doing so because there is no regulatory or stakeholder pressure for them to do it."

While the concepts of sustainability are clearly important , it could be that some organizations' approaches will be reliant on the wider financial situation.Max warns: "If the economy recovers relatively quickly there won't have been too much damage done, but the situation is very much dependent on the results of the drastic cuts the government is making now."

Fraser agrees that organizations' top priority in tough times is to remain financially viable, but argues that doesn't mean that they can stop considering sustainability . "Organizations can't just work sustainably in good times , they have to do it all the time!People have to get into the mindset that sustainability is a win-win situation. If you are working to ensure your business is environmentally, socially and ethically responsible, then you will enhance long-term profitability.

At Grand Hyatt Hotel- Singapore
May 5-7, 2011
Jolito Ortizo Padilla is a Resource Speaker

Case Study: Mystery Shoppers, Balanced Scorecard, Total Quality Management...

GA Business and Management Consultancy
The Real Best in Asia

Case study : mystery shoppers
The organization concerned is a multi-use venue, dealing with everything from exhibitions to sports events, from weddings to conference. The customer base is therefore just about as varied as it is possible to imagine.


We were to look at several aspects of the business with a view to developing a training program for staff in the sales, hospitality and administration teams.


After a brief review of the business as a whole , we saw that problems existed at a more fundamental level than a simple need for personal or professional development.


We asked if we could use "mystery shoppers" to test our theories about areas of the company's performance that were raising red flags for us as outside observers.


Our mystery shoppers made a range of inquiries in person, by email and on the telephone. Our findings threw a spotlight on three aspects of the business that caused concern:
- An unhealthy and aggressive sense of competition between the sales and the hospitality team. Each department saw the other as an enemy to be beaten rather than as complementary aspects of a complex business machine . As a result, there was little or no coordination between departments , and there was an expensive and wasteful duplication of effort in a couple of key areas.
- The reception area was manned by people who seemed to reserve their "people-skills" for their friends, while treating clients and visitors as an unwelcome distraction. They sheltered behind a chest-high barrier , making visitors feel like intruders.
- A telephone system almost guaranteeing that each call would take a longer than necessary , and leave callers unhappy about their experience.


We saw that each of these flaws was directly caused by poor internal communication. This had knock-on effect by creating poor communication between the company and its potential market.


Case study : Balanced scorecard
Ministry of Works-Bahrain
As part of the kingdom's long-term strategy for economic and social transformation , each of Bahrain's 16 government ministries  was tasked with ensuring its own strategy was fully aligned to the 2030 goals. A result , Bahrain's Ministry of Work carried out an exercise to map its strategy against this vision.


Raja Al Zayani, chief strategic planning, explains: "We held open space knowledge cafe style sessions with more than 200 key staff where we explored and discussed how our present strategies, as described through the balanced scorecard, aligned with the Bahrain national vision.


The process began in 2006 with strategy  management and balanced scorecard awareness workshops. The strategy was revisited and out of this came a revises mission statement to "provide public works services to enhance the quality of life", and a vision to become " a leading organization providing quality services."


Next , four cross-  functional teams of managers worked to build sections of the strategy map. A workshop was held to integrate the themes within a draft strategy map. In line with reports from other organizations, Raja stresses the value of taking the time to ensure that a consensus is reached as to the key corporate scorecard objectives. She says: " This was quite challenging as people had different views of strategic priorities. But once a consensus was reached greater buy-in and commitment was achieved and it became much easier to agree, on measures , targets and initiatives."


Case study : Total quality management
Process Management International
The Chairman of Process Management International, has seen many reorganizations implement the concept of total quality management. Here he presents a case study of a  project that went very well.


"The challenge was to accelerate the assembly time for complex aerospace modules from several months to ten days. Deming's four part model provided the foundations for a remarkable achievement.
1. Address the whole system , improving planning and procurement , not just assembly.
2. Understand and reduce variation-no one had any idea which were the initial variables, nor how quickly the operations could run, never mind the distinction between common and assignable causes of variation.
3. Applying the theory of knowledge helped to clarify the many confusions between different departments and functions and ensured that the plan-do-study-act cycle helped people to learn , not just inspect and report. one
4. Last but not least , remembering to use aspects of psychology to help  everyone to see that the goal was worthwhile and that everyone had a vital part to play in working together for their own satisfaction as well as the company.


"Working across the organization with these principles ensured that the right tools were used at the right time and the goal was achieved. Within six months the ten-day dream became reality and was later extended to other products in this and other factories.

The importance of good English in business by Jolito Ortizo Padilla



What a Wonderful Life

"What is required is correctness, a consistent friendly , approachable style, and a consideration of what the intended readership will be able to understand easily"

  Why is good written English important and when should you use it.
Good English conveys facts and ideas clearly and gives readers favorable impression. In contrast, poor English gives an impression of ignorance, carelessness, low intelligence and unreliability. Good English has correct grammar, spelling, punctuation and word choice. It is practical , effective communication.

A business executive should use good English for written communication with others , within or between firms.It is essential for instructions , letters, reports , memos, contracts and all professional publications. Managers often have to write under pressures , but a conscious effort to write concise, plain, clear English saves time; it reduces the need for follow-up corrections and clarifications.

What is required is correctness , a consistent friendly , approachable style , and a consideration of what the intended readership will be able to understand easily. Your reader should not normally need to consult dictionaries or background reference works. Terms that are very familiar to you might not seem like meaningless jargon to a wider audience.

Grammar, spelling , word- choice and punctuation
If you make mistakes in the basic aspects of communication, such as grammar, spelling, word-choice and punctuation , can reader trust the accuracy of your deductions, forecasts, calculations and what you say are facts about business matters?

When you use a compound subject, such as industry and commerce, it must have a plural verb. If you use a compound adjective, it needs a hyphen unless the first word is an adverb;e.g. a high -risk strategy-the two words used as adjectives qualify the noun strategy jointly, not separately. A clear, bold strategy would not be hyphenated as the adjectives apply separately to the noun.

English nouns have only two cases: the common (subject and object) case and the possessive case. Be sure to put the apostrophe in the right place in the possessive case. Pronouns, however, have three cases, including the object case, as in me, you, her, us, and them.If the pronoun is a direct or indirect object, it should be in the object case.

Plurals need some care, especially when irregular, but sometimes alternative forms are acceptable , as in stadiums/stadia, fish/fishes. In compound expressions , think about which words need to be plural, as in trade unions and brothers- in-law.

It may seem illogical , but quantities are usually treated as singular, as if the words "an amount of " are understood: $3,000 is too much; 100 tons of steel is arriving tomorrow.

It is important to write names correctly, whether of people, places, firms or things. Titles of books are usually given in italics, with the main words having initial capital letters, as in How to Understand Macroeconomics.

Care is needed with tenses and timing. In 2010, a student copied from a 1998 textbook a passage stating that a certain matter had occurred at the beginning of the  century. One should have changed it to at the beginning of the last century. One should distinguish between perfect tenses, where the action is completed , and the continuous tenses, where the action is continues: I paid him has a different meaning from I was paying him.

Errors , word choice
It is amazing how many educated people make errors in word choice , using the wrong one out of two similar words. For example, complimentary means congratulatory (of remarks) or free (of tickets), but complementary means completing each other. Watch out, a single letter differentiates these words!

Be careful to make the right choices out of : assume/deduce, biannual/biennial, defuse/diffuse, discreet/discrete, ensure/insure, fewer/less, formerly/formally, infer/imply, its/it's, lay/lie, passed/past, practice/practise, stationary/stationery, their/there, whose/who's. To affect means to have some influence on (helping or hindering), while to effect means to accomplish fully. A fire in your warehouse might affect your profits but would not effect  them. Take care also with principal (main,chief) and principle (a rule, fundamental truth or ethical guide).

For clarity , correct punctuation is essential . The wrong punctuation can change the intended meaning. If you are not sure when to use commas, semicolons, colons, hyphens, dashes and apostrophes, consult an appropriate book. These are essential marks with different functions. The semicolon is particularly useful for joining two complete sentences ; this avoids unwieldy run-on sentences.

Capital letters can affect meanings. Sir Richard Branson's daughter Holly was correctly described as the Virgin heiress. The virgin heiress would have a different meaning. It is the River Thames, not the river Thames. In English , adjectives of nationality should have an initial capital letter: English wine, French brandy,Filipino basi.

Watch out for ambiguity , whether from double meanings , poor punctuation or even from word order. For example, it is better to write, This carpet badly needs cleaning, than This carpet needs cleaning badly. If you are dictating a report , be aware that English has many homophones (words sounding alike but with different meanings), such as their/ there, right/write/rite and cite/site/sight. A newspaper that Nikon speed cameras used censors buried under the road, when sensors was intended.

Precision
Be as precise as you can; it is better to say that your costs rose by 23% in the second quarter of 2010 than they recently rose a bit. Think how many decimal places are needed for a particular figure; always give the units where relevant. Your accountant might want to know that you have 102.33 employees (full time equivalent including part-timers), but saying approximately 100 employees is sufficient for most purposes. Your average profits per quarter for the first three quarters of the year might come up on the computer $60, 889.56, but calling that around $61,000 will usually be adequate.

Logical progressions
When writing a letter, report or exam answer, aim for a logical flow of ideas. Jot down in rough the main points that you wish to include. Look through them to decide on the most logical order, with one idea leading easily to the next. Start writing and cross item off as you include it. At the end, check that all points have been included. As you write , further ideas will probably occur to you. Jot them down before you forget them; incorporate them where relevant. With word-processing , such changes are easy to make. If you are going to use graphics , decide whether tables, graphs, pictures or other  display items should go near to the text referring to them, or be grouped together at the end.

Checking
For any important piece of writing (such as an exam paper), checking is essential. It is quite easy when writing or typing to omit an important word, which may change the meaning. You might choose the wrong word out of two similar words, such as prescribe instead of proscribe. A decimal point may be wrong. Check whether numbers make sense. Even a space can change a meaning. Her cake was noticed/Her cake was not iced.

Never rely on spell-checkers as they fail to distinguish  between similar words of different meaning. If you are using a computer, it is helpful to check for colored underlinings produced on screen by grammar-and spell- checkers , but do not automatically accept any suggested changes. use your brain.

Conclusion
There are many aspects to writing good English that apply to everyday business English , where correctness , good style and easy flow will create a favorable impression.

Guide to Management Ideas- A Series of Interesting Selection of How Business Works.



GA Business and Management Consultancy
The Real Best in Asia

 Our series of management ideas continues as we focus on  issues : "SWOT ANALYSIS" and "THE GLASS CEILING".

SWOT ANALYSIS
SWOT stands for Strength , Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. How can an organization manage SWOT in a way that will optimize its performance? A second four letter acronym is sometimes brought into play here: USED. How can be the strengths be Used; the weaknesses be Stopped, the opportunities be Exploited; and the threats be Defended against?

The process starts by listing a firm's attributes under the four headings. These are then given scores according to what is seen as likely to be the company's business environment over the next few years.

The four features can be divided along two main dimensions:
- Internal/ external . The internal features are the company's own strengths and weaknesses. Analyzing them is a matter of analyzing the state of the company. They are things that already exist. The external features are the organization's opportunities and the threats to its future performance. These exist only on the horizon , and they are less easy to assess and measure; and
- Positive/negative. The positive things are the strengths and opportunities; the negative ones are the threats and weaknesses.

A SWOT analysis can be applied to different aspects of a company's business. The simplicity and intuitive wholeness of the framework have helped to make it extremely popular with the corporations and governments.

There are, of course, critics. One of the main criticisms is that, in the end , such an analysis invariably relies on subjective judgments. Objective measures of all the ingredients in the balance simply do not exist. Some say that this does not matter, because the process of doing the analysis is more important and revealing than the results of the analysis themselves. The journey is more important than the destination.

THE GLASS CEILING
The expression " the glass ceiling" looks at the persistent failure of women to climb as far up the corporate ladder as might be expected from their representation in the working population as a whole. The idea behind the expression was that a transparent barrier, a glass ceiling , blocked them. Invisible from the bottom, when women started their careers , it was steely strong in stopping them attaining equality with men later on.

A second issue is that of woman's pay. There is evidence that even when women do reach the highest levels of corporate management , they do not receive the same pay as men for the same job. And rather than getting better over time, the position seems to be deteriorating.

The US Glass Ceiling Commission focused on barriers in three areas:
- The filling of management and decision-making positions;
- Skills-enhancing activities; and
- Compensation and reward systems.

Needless to say, the problem did not disappear. Several theories have been presented to explain the glass ceiling:
 - The Time Factor: First class female graduates have not yet had time to work through the pipeline and reach the top of corporate hierarchy. Qualifications for a senior management post usually include a graduate degree and 25 years of continuous work experience.
- Motherhood. Women are said to be distracted from their career path by the need to stay at home and rear children.
- Lack of role models. Because women are so often a token female in their work environment they stand out from the rest. This makes them (and their failures) much more visible, and exaggerates the difference between them and the dominant male culture.

Your Career Questions Answered by Jolito Ortizo Padilla - A letter sent by my Former Student at Bernardo College-Las Pinas City working at Radisson Blu Hotel -Dubai

Thank you  Leo for reading my book " Human Resources Management in Action" at IPad

The Problem: I have to axe gym membership for staff due to budget cuts. What low-cost benefits can I offer to keep staff happy?

The Solution: First of all, how important was the gym to staff? If popular, staff may wish to fund it themselves with management negotiating a better deal. Organize a frank discussion with key members of staff, such as  good communicators, including those who organize social activities and have a positive influence, and ensure there is understanding of current realities and the decisions that have been made. With staff buy-in , great things are possible. This think-tank can brainstorm ideas, such as:
    - Lunchtime groups-book clubs, presentations and discussions
    - Early Friday- extend each day by 15 minutes and allow staff to leave an hour earlier.
    - Homework -give staff  one day a week/ month to work from home.
    - Study time- allow paid days a year to attend a self -funded course
    - Stress Management - visiting masseurs, yoga and Pilate instructors
    - Free tickets- negotiate deals for theater and cinema
    - Sports activities- low cost team-building games such as rounders or buy a table-tennis table.
    - Family day- invite realities for a summer picnic

With effective facilitation, the working party can get creative and produce a list twice this size. It could incorporate a general cost-cutting program with a prize for the best cost cutting idea, which may result in having the funds to buy back the gym membership.

Poor Learning Costs Money by Jolito Ortizo Padilla

At Grand Hyatt Hotel- Singapore on May 4,5,6, 2011.
Jolito Ortizo Padilla as a Resource Speaker

The key question in today's climate is not how much can we save on training but how much will it cost us if we stop learning. This is a business critical factor- not just to survive but to thrive , claims Jolito Ortizo Padilla.

Organizational learning is not one of those issues that Chief Executives tend to get excited about. It is often seen as an academic concept that one should nod sagely about before quietly ignoring. But if you stop for a moment and consider your organization's top five successes and failures, it will become pretty obvious that many of the component of success have to be learned , and many a failure could have been prevented or minimized by better organizational learning. Achieving more of the former , and avoiding the latter, is precisely what what Chief Executives do get excited about.

In some respects organizational learning is like individual learning but on a grander scale. It is about acquiring , storing and using the right knowledge to make the best decisions. It is about building and deploying the right skills to make those decisions. And it is about connecting people and ideas in ways that generate innovation, unleash talent and extend organizational capability.

Mechanisms and systems can be created to help embed this into organizational practice . Some organizations have a knowledge capture process when someone leaves a key position. They also have post-project reviews so that lessons can be captured and held ready for next time. But getting learning into the fabric of how you do business , into the culture, is a more complex challenge.

Interested in how that would work in my own organization, I set out to do some detailed qualitative research. What emerged was quite striking. Some of the most valuable learning was spread across the organization through informal conversations. These conversations were not just about passing on facts, they also expanded the learning, generating new ideas and possibilities. Structured communications, training and IT systems all had a part to play; but far and away the biggest factor was the propagation of knowledge by staff-through casual conversations, often over a coffee-and these were neither planned nor coordinated by the organization itself. It is cheap, fast,allows people to access the subtler aspects of learning and is inherently stimulating to the people involved. Unfortunately; on its own, it is not sufficiently reliable and robust for us to sit back and do nothing else.

In bigger organizations, especially those geographically distributed, it is not easy to know what, much less to access it informally. Yet, incredible knowledge, experience and hidden skills exist within every organization. A number of organizations use knowledge sharing tools to spread good practices across internal boundaries. Getting "the rest up to the standard of the best" has to be a prime business imperative. This is fairly universal issue. Undoubtedly; the character of how  you share knowledge may vary from culture to culture . I know from my own work in Singapore, China and Hongkong, for example that factors like deferring to authority play an important role. But I also know that the pragmatic desire to improve is also a potent force wherever you are in the world.

Understanding the psychological dimension of organizational learning is vital if you are to find effective ways to enable it to flourish. What you really need is to have a "CLUE":
  - Culture: a culture of curiosity, a spirit of collaborations and critical mass of people who can make connections;
  - Leadership: leaders that learn and share  learning; actively demonstrating that this is a strength and not a weaknesses;
 - Understanding: a shared understanding of the importance of learning , how best to share  it, recycle it and exploit it; and
 - Engagement: the energy , commitment and concern for others that embodies great employee engagement; going the extra mile in learning as well as performance.

It is not just the academic research that suggests these human factors need to be in place -experience at the front line of operations confirms it. Try this simple test; take a walk around your office or factory just listening and observing. Look to spot when learning is happening organically and when knowledge is being sought and shared.I bet that what  you will see and hear is human interaction.  And, even without being telepathic. I bet that you will pick up many of the factors shown above. I bet you won't spot a centrally contrived process or system. The more you can learn about what happens naturally, the more you can work with the energy and flow that already exist.

That said, really substantial organizational learning often needs a critical impetus and mechanisms to embed it in the organizational memory.

The consequence of learning ,or not learning , can have a profound effect on individuals, communities and the economy as well as organizations. In the current economic climate, most businesses are looking to access whatever resources they can in order to keep their foothold in the marketplace and survive. What is great about organizational learning is that it is often already there; latent , but ready to be harvested. And it is an asset that holds its value when times are good as well as when  they are tough. And I said: "Learning is the only sustainable source of competitive advantage.