Essay on career as a salesman

The salesman should know about his own self and the sales career he possesses. It is the career which should be improved. Every career has its own merits and demerits. Selling is a honorable, challenging, rewarding and a professional career. Today, more and more youngsters are going in for selling as a career. The basic reasons for such an attraction are fine. In the first place in sales career, there is variety of jobs or job openings.

Essay on Women and Aids

A striking feature of the global AIDS epidemic is the increasing proportion of women and girls among people living with HIV. This is particularly evident in Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America.

In Sub-Sahara Africa and the Caribbean, this percentage has always been on the higher side, reaching 57 per cent in the year 2004 in Sub-Sahara Africa.

The most affected are those in the youngest age group (15-24 years). It has also been observed that globally AIDS is affecting women most severely in places where heterosexual sex is a dominant mode of transmission of HIV.

The reasons for the greater vulnerability of women and the greater risks they face of acquiring the HIV infection are multiple, biological, social, cultural, economic and therefore lead to complex problems with no easy solutions.

Complete information on the theory of natural selection proposed by Darwin

Charles Robert Darwin published his theory of natural selection in his book ‘Origin of Species’ in 1859. Due to extreme popularity of the theory he is called ‘Father of the Evolution’ and his ideas are known as Darwinism. Darwin based his theory on certain observable facts and deduced some principles.

Explanation

Paragraph on A Thing of Beauty is a Joy For Ever

John Keats has said these lines. He was a great lover of beauty. He worshipped beauty in all its forms. His religion was the worship of beauty. A beautiful thing gives us joy forever. Beauty has an attraction and intoxication of its own.

What Should We Do If We Find That Other Are Doing Big Mistakes and Creating Problems for Everyone?

A lot of our brain / mind powers are wasted in thinking or discussing about these matters.

For example common talks between people are:

Those who live in glass houses do not throw stones at others

It is a well-known fact that finding fault with others is a popular past time of all of us. We sit down in all groups and criticise others for their shortcomings ad lapses. We do forget that we are criticising others for those very faults from which we ourselves are not free. By criticising others without rhyme or reason, we expose ourselves to criticism and condemnation at the hands of others. We must realise that a blind man cannot afford to laugh at other blind man. In the same way, a lame person should not make fun of the lameness of other person. A cock-eyed person must not make fun of another cock eyed person. We all are human beings with several Imperfections and shortcomings. If we ourselves did not have an imperfection then we would be gods.

Essay on Make Hay while The Sun Shines

This quotation means that we should not let an opportunity slip through our fingers. In the understanding of this principle lies the secret of success in life. The ant is a hardworking insect. It collects corn for the rainy days. The cricket makes merry when it should work. So, it suffers. In cold countries like England farmers try to take the fullest advantage of the sunshine.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Geothermal Energy

Some of the advantages and disadvantages of using geothermal energy to generate electricity are:

Advantages of the Geothermal Energy:

(i) Clean technology:

No emission and safe to use.

Importance of the Habitat Characteristics to Estuaries Fisheries and Productivity

Estuaries are known for high productivity sustained by high input of nutrients and freshwater inflow. Increased nutrient loading stimulates phytoplankton production, enriches supply of energy and organic carbon to open waters, and facilitates rapid development into zooplankton-rich ecosystem.

The resultant food web dynamics paves the way to increased fish yield. The abundance, distribution and diversity of finfish and shell fish are, therefore, significantly high raising the value of fisheries resources of estuaries. A number of environmental attributes contribute to the population response in the estuary.

The response mechanisms are strongly influenced by physical variability like changes in hydrodynamic environment (flow pattern, flooding of fringe areas, tide, salinity regime, flushing time, turbidity, nutrient level etc.) as well as the chemical and biological conditions of the estuary.

In addition to providing feeding ground and general living space to for many fish species, the estuaries play the most vital role in nursery function and recruitment and therefore considered as critical habitats for fish productivity. From the ecological perspective, abundant supply of forage fishes is a significant component of estuarine function correlated to important habitat variables favouring prey-predatory distributions in enhancing productivity through the food web.

The knowledge of juvenile habitats and the environmental requirements of different fishes at various life history stages met from a combination of estuarine habitats are essential to fisheries production management.

The fishes found in estuaries may comprise a range of species of commercial importance, while there are vastly large number of ecologically prominent species in terms of biomass and abundance.

The species specific habitat information is grossly inadequate for most of them.

Essay on Floods In India

Countries irrigated by an adequate river system are in many ways blessed. These rivers not only help agriculture, but they provide a cheap and efficient transport system for the development of internal trade.

The saying goes—land divides, seas unite. But waterways bring also a good deal of misery to the people by causing devastating seasonal floods In India, for example, the sub-Himalayan regions of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal and Assam are heavily flooded by the rivers of the Gengetic basin and the Brahmaputra, almost every rainy season. It brings untold sufferings to the people of these low-lying plains.

Millions are rendered homeless; men and cattle die in large numbers; the damage to property including standing crops is incalculable. Besides, floods affect the health of the locality and increase the incidence of cholera, typhoid and other water-borne diseases. In 1922 and 1998 flood in North Bengal left a trail of devastation, essentially in Malda, Murshidabad areas.

Live and Let Live

'Live and Let Live' is a golden principle. It tells us about the importance of the spirit of co-operation and brotherhood. We should practice tolerance in our domestic, social, national and international life. Only then can our most of the problems and disputes be solved. Most of the people are selfish and narrow-minded. They want to live comfortably. They do not bother about the comforts of others. They do not know that all of us are one. God is our father and alll men and women are brothers and sisters. Guru Nanak Dev Ji ,Mahatma Gandhi and later on our beloved leader Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru also stressed the need for fellow-feeling.

Benefits and Risks of Nuclear Technology

There is no doubt that we all are living in nuclear age. The nuclear technology is employed in various fields having both its positive and negative aspects.

It is used in medical field to cure diseases like cancer. The gamma radiations can kill invading cancerous cells effectively but it is not without menace as normal and healthy cells of the body also get destroyed.

Other merit of nuclear technology is that it can generate enormous power in less time. Many developing and even advanced countries have set up nuclear power plants to generate electricity.

However, these power plants are always full of perils because there is always threat of radiation seeping out from these plants, as had happened in Russia and Japan. Extreme precautions, sometimes, cannot avoid such unpleasant happenings.

The worst aspect of nuclear technology is the enrichment of uranium to make bombs and other hazardous weapons. In World War II, unrestrained use of nuclear weapons killed millions of people and paralyzed many generations. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were completely devastated. The fields there failed to produce crops for years.

Literary Journalism: The Window and The Mirror

I. Literary Journalism: The Window and The Mirror

A. Functions in society

B. Characteristics

II. Two early examples

III. As opposed to other works that only include non-fiction

THE CREATED AND THE CREATIVE

Think of a newspaper. Of all the events that occur daily around the world, or in your own city, and how they’re neatly organized into columns, with the occasional highlighted quote from an interview. The formality of it all.

The journalists’ name in capitals right under the title, maybe accompanied by a thumbnail of the latter’s countenance, and picture the actual article: an accurate recall of the who, what, when and where bursting with the facts with which each citizen casually updates himself every morning on the way to work. Such is the traditional journalism.

A droning, detached voice, a text scattered with dates and names and shy adjective here and there, a text that, upon reading, cannot be identified as anything besides what it actually is: a newspaper article.

But, as it always happens, along comes a new genre that changeseverything: a blend between the immersing descriptions of fiction found in novels, short stories and the likes, and the accuracy and the informative quality of journalism.

Paragraph on Adventure Sports

Adventure Sports are different from traditional sports. Sports or Traditional Sports refer to athletic activities requiring skills and physical prowess. These sports are usually competitive in nature. They include     racing,football,wrestling,tennis,hockey,etc. Adventure sports involve activities which are unusual, risky and exciting as well. An adventure sport is a bold undertaking which involve hazardous (dangerous) action and whose outcome is uncertain. Adventure sports comprise of a very wide range of activities.

Pain of a Female

The female is a boon to society, who has the maximum heavenly power. She can bear every pain, she can tolerate every blame and she can keep a male in her womb for nine long months and then with an enormous pain give birth to that devil.

He who commits female-feticide, rape, honour killing, dowry death, dowry harassment and domestic-violence and also imposes several restrictions in order to restrict her from her freedom and development.

The pain of a woman begins before her birth and continues till her reincarnation. The fear of being killed in the womb stops the flow of blood and starts the flow of tears.

Many a times such attempts kill mothers as well. The male attempting such deed forgets that it is not because of the cells of a woman but it is because of his own cells that causes the birth of a girl.

Time and Tide wait for none

Time means opportunity. It comes after a long time. If we make use of the opportunity, we can achieve something to feel proud of later on. If we do not care for it, it will not wait for us and disappear.

Essay on T20 Cricket

Twenty20 Cricket is a modified form of 50-50 overs cricket. It is a quick fix cricket. It is a new format of cricket. The first game of Twenty20 World Cup was the best advertisement for the new format. Fireworks, glamorous cheerleaders and music electrified the atmosphere. The previous type of 50-50 overs cricket was found to be dull and unexciting. Twenty20 game in Johannesburg cheered every minute of the match. Twenty20 cricket has borrowed many of the features of baseball, football, and basketball. The players sit in the dugout in the field .The glamorous girls who act as cheerleaders sit in the stands and spice up the game. The cheerleaders keep grooving to music and the game ends in three hours. By limiting the game to 20 overs, the game of cricket has got rid of a bit of its flab. The basic elements of the cricket have not been tampered with. Boundary ropes are there where they are meant to be. Fielding restriction are in a place only for the first six overs and bowlers come full tilt at the batsman. Batsmen are willing to take risk given the limited number of overs. Twenty20 cricket is nothing but one day cricket without the boring 30 odd middle overs. It is much faster than 50-50 overs game. The bowling as wel as the batting powers of each player is seen at its best. The spectators get three hours of breatheless, fast paced action.

Essay on Saving the Environment

Alarming changes are taking place in weather. The ice is melting. Rain forests are losing their lives. The colour green is getting paler. Industry is destroying the nature. The destruction of nature is destruction of humanity. Nature is our home and all life on this planet, including human,was born from the natural environment. We all want to breathe clean air, to see beautiful flowers.We turn to nature for this. All the money in the world won’t buy the blue sky. The sun and the breeze belong to all of us. Science has improved our lives but we must match the progress of science with our commitment to preserve and protect our environment. People might think that there is no reward for instance in picking up trash others have thrown about. It is an unnatural way to live. But it is important to take such actions out of love for nature. Only through such actions can we live in the best way possible for humans. It is imperative to develop an awareness of environmental protection. We are dependent on the earth, not the other way around. The cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man to see the earth from space, declared that earth is a blue planet. The earth is a water planet sparkling with life. It is important to have a philosophy that recognises everything in universe as living, as sacred. The planet has been kind to us. Therefore, it is important not to devalue our lives. Life is the most precious of all treasures. So, we should try to protect all environment on the earth. We must have profound compassion towards life.

Mall Culture

A mall is a large shopping area where cars are not allowed .Big shopping malls have come up in big and small cities particularly during this decade. There is the spread of mall culture big cities. Malls have got a new role for present day youngsters. They provide a wide social space to them. For this reason many young students from colleges visits malls very frequently. Malls are becoming the destination for every occasion in life – big or small. Boys like to visit mall when one of them tops in the exam or buys a new motorbike or just wants to spend some time with friends and relatives. Malls are providing a lot of social space to youngsters to enjoy their weekend or get together at one place without looking for any alternative place. Malls gives us several facilities. There are eating joints at a mall and from designer clothes to latest gadgets, everything is available.Youngsters like to go to restaurants for giving treat to their friends. Malls are moreover a shopping centre where all requirements could be met under the same roof. Because of their recent origin and with the multinational brand-showrooms ,restraunts,music centres,etc have become fun destination for higher income group people.Just a few years back people had to make choice among shopping and movies or hanging out on a holiday. Now all these things can be performed under the same roof. Wise people do not do much of shopping at the malls but they the favourite spot with youngsters for partying. Malls,in fact, offer complete entertainment package with shopping ,eating and indoor games for children.

Pub Culture

A Pub is public house. It is a building where people go to drink and meet their friends.Pubs serve alcoholic and other drinks and often also
food.Pub culture is an urban phenomenon.A Pub is essentially a place for socialising.Boys and Girls have started going to these places
and engaging in chit chat.Young boys with money to burn like to take their friends among girls to pubs.Sometimes these visits to pubs lead to
inappropriate conduct on the part of youngsters.It is quite possible that parents of pub going boys and girls do not like their ward to go to
these pubsbut they dare not scold them fearing defiance.Probably they report to police to stop them from visiting these pubs.That is why
Chairperson of Orrisa State Commision for women chased the boys and girls sitting in a city park in 'Operation Park'.Soe girks who werw
sitting in a park were brutally beaten by Meerut Police.Bar girls in Mumbai were also warned from going to bars.Recently in Manglore some girls
were beaten by some kind of moral police on the ground that they indulging in activities that were against the Indian culture.There
were supporters and opponents of this kind of pub culture.Owners of pubs support this type of culture because it brings them more and more
business.They want this to continue. They argue citizens of a free country have a right to attend party.Party loving girls are angry at the
suggestion that young women cannot party in an age when they can go to space.Owners of pubs say that opponents ofthe pub culture want to bring
Taliban-like movement.This is a far-fetched view.There are others who say that pub culture is encouraging smoking,drinking and promiscuous
conduct on the part of boys and girls.Such conduct later leads to complications.Indecent songs and films on television and pub culture are
doing a lot of damage to the youth of the country.It is in this context that the harmful side of pub culture should be viewed.Let us not
to be carried away by new fangled practices.A mother advising her grown-up daughter to dress properly and not provocatively is not acting
like a moral police.The nuisance of eve-teasing will become more serious if pub culture becoes prevalent.Let us watch our steps.

Essay on the Cricket Craze

India is in the grip of cricket craze.All the lanes in towns and cities and open spaces in villages and towns are being used for playing cricket.We can see young boys with cricket kits going to be cricket fields or returning after playing cricket.It is cricket,cricket,all the way in India.After India's Victory over Australia,more and more youngsters in the country are taking to cricket like ducks taking to water.There is more money in Cricket.Well-known Cricket players have star value.Their celebrity status is almost at par with that of movie stars . School and College girls drool over cricketers.Cricket players are sought after for their autographs.Cricket Coaches are in demand in school and colleges. Cricketers like M.S.Dhoni are escorted by security guards.Thus the game has glamour and money.Formerly parents in India did not approve of a career in sports.But things have undergone a great change.Other games like hockey,football,volleyball and basketball have been pushed to the background.Cricket has become religion in the country.Most young men have lost interest in regular studies . The reason is growing cricket craze in the country. Some young boys make the grade in cricket but others will have to wring their hands in despair.They must not get carried away by their excessive enthusiasm for cricket.

The advantages and disadvantages of robotics

Abstract

Robots are intelligent artificially created electro-mechanical devices They are designed by human beings to assist in performing some activities that are considered tiresome and boring and at times risky The capabilities of a robot differ are determined by the purpose for which they are created . The human-robot interaction has been one of good and bad . This interaction has led to some conflicts and debate has been going on as to the rights that robots should have . The outlines a brief history of how robots were developed . They are tracedback to when the first robot was made . The improvements that have been done on the making robots are also briefly discussed . The importance of robots in our society has been discussed . This has been broken down into particular fields where robots have been applied . In medicine robots have been used to do complicated surgeries . In industries robots have been used to speed up the production processes . The use of robots in the military has been discussed in which robots have been found made that have the capacity to make decision and launch missiles . Current developments in these fields have been considered and their benefits The examines the various dangers posed in particular fields by the continued use of robots . The dangers posed by the robots include the right of the robots to defend itself by applying force which may cause suffering to humans . The use of robots has also led to many people being rendered jobless as industries mechanize their operations . The use of robots has also seen many people neglect their duties and leaving robots to do them . Some important human responsibilities like childcare and care for the elderly have been left to robots . This is dangerous since robots may misinterpret the feelings of these highly sensitive people This may easily lead to conflicts as the robots force the human do things . The continued use of robot technology is evidently seen to be important . The risk posed by the robots to human beings has been traced to humans themselves because they make these robots.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Robotics

Many definitions of robots have been put forward but is universally accepted . This is because robots have been developed with varying capabilities . The definitions are pegged on these capabilities and this has led to the variation . According to the Robot Institute if America (1979 , a robot is `a reprogrammable , multifunctional manipulator designed to move materials , parts , tools , or specialized devices through various programmed motions fro the purpose of a variety of tasks HYPERLINK "http /cache .ucr .edu currie /roboadam .htm http /cache .ucr .edu currie /roboadam .htm . Robotics is the science of studying the development of robots . From the above definition of robots we understand that robots are programmed to perform various activities Robots are developed to sense their environments and respond to them appropriately 

Inflation and Deflation

Which of the two is better: inflation or deflation? Inflation is a phenomenon of rising prices without causing change in the levels of employment and output. Deflation, on the other hand, is a phenomenon of falling prices accompanied by a fall in the levels of employment and output.

Both inflation and deflation are harmful for society and have undesirable economic consequences. But when the question of a choice between the two evils of inflation and deflation arises, the lesser evil is to be selected. Inflation is the lesser evil.

Thus, inflation is preferred to deflation because the former is lesser of the two evils. In the words of Keynes, "Inflation is unjust and deflation in inexpedient. Of the two deflations is worse."

Inflation in Unjust,

Inflation is considered unjust in the following grounds:

(() Inflation redistributes income in favour of the rich (profit earners) at the cost of the poor (wage earners and consumers).

(ii) Inflation increases economic inequalities through its redistributive effect. It transfers purchasing power from poorer to the richer sections of the society and thus widens the gap between the rich and the poor.

(iii) Inflation is regressive in its effect. It adversely affects those who are already weak and cannot protect themselves. It specially hits the middle classes who suffer most during inflation.

(iv) Inflation affects different people differently and in different degrees and thus alters the economic and social relationships in the country. It takes away wealth from some groups of the society and transfers it to others arbitrarily, ignoring the maxim of equity.

(v) It is socially demoralising. It encourages the spirit of gambling. It promotes speculative activities and diverts business skill and efficiency from productive to speculative activities.

(vi) It creates money illusion and results in artificial prosperity which is short-lived.

(vii) It reduces the value of money and thus erodes real saving of the people.

(viii) When the government adopts the inflationary method of deficit financing to cover up the deficit in its budget, the prices go up and this inflationary rise in prices diverts the goods and services meant for public consumption to the government which is totally unjust and inequitable.

Deflation is Inexpedient

Deflation, is considered inexpedient because of the following reasons :

(i) Deflation, by reducing prices and output, leads to a sharp decline in the national income and thus reverses the process of economic growth.

(ii) Deflation results in mass unemployment. Reduction in prices and profits forces the businessmen to close down their establishments or reduce their production, thus giving rise to large-scale unemploy­ment.

(iii) Deflation leads to depression in the economy. Downward trend of pries and production gives rise to pessimistic conditions in the economy; economic activity contracts; scale of production is reduced, volume of investment falls ; and no new investment is forthcoming due to depressed profit expecta­tions.

(iv) Deflation, once starts, becomes cumulative. It goes on gathering momentum and the economic crisis becomes deeper and deeper with the passage of time.

(v) Deflation is undesirable from all sides. It adversely affects the social, economic, political and moral life of the economy. It curtails economic activity, causes mass unemployment, generates poverty and ultimately results in the complete ruin of the economy.

Inflation is Better than Deflation

Though both inflation and deflation have undesirable effects, but inflation is considered better than deflation. The following arguments justify the preference for inflation.

(i) Inflation, though it redistributes income and wealth in favour of the rich and causes economic inequalities, does not reduce national income. Deflation, on the other hand, has the undesirable effect of reducing national income.

(ii) Inflation is a post-full employment phenomenon, while deflation is an under-employment phenomenon. In other words, during inflationary phase all factors of production are employed in some way or the other, whereas, during deflation, the problem of unemployment becomes more and more acute.

(iii) It is easy to control inflation by adopting various monetary and fiscal measures, but it is very difficult to recover the economy from deflation.

Once deflation starts, it gathers momentum and the cumulative downward process ultimately takes the economy into severe depression.

During depression, the marginal efficiency of capital declines and the businessmen become pessimistic about the future of their investments.

Under such conditions, monetary and fiscal policies become ineffective; they cannot restore the confidence of the entrepreneurs and compel them to increase investment.

(iv) Mild inflation is better than deflation from the point of view of economic development. Moderate monetary expansion by raising the price level and increasing the expenditures, can stimulate economic development in a depressed economy.

(v) Inflation is lesser evil:

(a) Inflation is a single evil because it redistributes wealth in favour of the rich people arbitrarily. Deflation is a double evil because it not only redistributes wealth in the same arbitrary manner, though in favour of the poor people, but also, reduces output and causes unemploy­ment

(b) Inflation makes it increasingly difficult for the people to earn a good livelihood, while deflation deprives the people of their livelihood by rendering them unemployed; in other words, in inflation, people do not get enough, in deflation, they do not get anything at all.

In the end, it is true that Keynes prefers inflation to deflation. But, this does not mean that he is an inflationist. His preference for inflation over deflation is only a matter of choosing the lesser evil.

In fact, nowhere has he preferred inflation over the objective of full employment. He fully realises the dangers of inflation, particularly when it gets out of control and turns into hyper-inflation.

Comprehensive Research on Management Control System – MBO

Abstract:

Every business needs to operate successfully and to attain its full potential in terms of sales and profits, it is necessary to establish managerial planning and control systems. It is the purpose of this paper to introduce the basic concepts of delegation and Management by Objectives (MBO).

Specific methods to apply these techniques are also discussed. The paper argues that execution of MBO needs dynamic and transformational leadership at the top level, and commitment of management at all levels starting from the top-down to the operating level. Finally, this paper provides directions for future research.

WORK, RESPONSIBILITY, AND DELEGATION

It may be difficult for you and your managers to “let go” of portions of the decision-making power and especially so for many owners of small businesses. It is necessary to achieve a fine balance. You should retain operating control so that the business can continue to run smoothly without your being present.

At the same time, you should delegate sufficient responsibility and concurrent authority to subordinates so that the business functions smoothly on a day-to-day basis and subordinates feel that they are part of your business. The problem of delegation requires consideration of several important factors. (Bruce and Robert, 1979)

1) It is most important for you and your managers to be aware of the business goals and see that they are being met. This implies the necessity for developing controls and a system to provide accurate feedback of information. Feedback must be timely so that corrective action can be taken before a situation “gets out of control.” You must orient yourself to “management by exception” and to planning and control. (Koontz, O'Donnell, and Weihrich, 1980)

2) Sufficient authority should be delegated to get the job done, to allow key employees to take initiative, and to keep operations moving in your absence. When delegating responsibility, it also is necessary to delegate sufficient authority to do the job. Hence, the limits of authority should be clearly defined–especially in those areas involving expenditures of funds (approving overtime and making purchases).

3) You and your managers cannot become involved in details at all levels of the operation. There are not sufficient hours in the day. You must spend much time in planning and seeing that the plans are met. You need to have dependable help to attend to the details. You make sure they are accomplished, but let others to do the work. (Mannan, 2001)

4) The best managers are not necessarily the best teachers. Managing may sometimes involve instruction and coaching, but the best managers tell employees what to do and when to do it, not how. Good managers are good scorekeepers, but they need not be good teachers. You must learn to keep score–to see who is performing, who is making the profits for you.

5) There is no “best” management system. One style may work well for you, but not for your subordinates. Good managers do not impose management styles or judge performance on whether the job was done the way the manager would have done it. Results, in terms of profitable output, are the goals worth measuring and rewarding.

6) Channel your energies to meet your abilities, but keep score on every activity. Each of us has special interests and abilities. You should capitalize on these as a manager and let your subordinates do the same. However, if your flair is for marketing and you, therefore, elect to delegate financial duties, it is absolutely necessary for you to establish financial control systems that you understand completely and can monitor frequently. The reverse is also true, if finance is your primary interest. Delegation need not imply loss of ultimate responsibility. (Carnegie, 1986)

7) Those persons to whom you delegate responsibility and authority must be knowledgeable and competent in the technical area for which you hold them accountable. Also, they must be honest–persons of integrity. Other qualities of importance include initiative, interest, self-motivation, imagination, drive, and decisiveness. Chose managers with these primary qualities in mind.

8) Managers must be managers. Some managers will avoid making decisions by bringing problems to you. In fact, some people deep their jobs by always being at the center of a crisis and thereby getting attention. One way to stop this is to require a manager to provide three feasible alternate solutions to any problem he or she brings to you. This, at minimum assures you that the problem will be well thought out, and usually solved, before reaching you. You want the people who work for you to bring you solutions, not problems.

9) People like to know exactly what is expected of them. Consequently, it is every important for you to prepare a list of job duties for each person and especially for managers, which clearly defines his or her area of control and authority. Preparation of these position descriptions has an added advantage of helping you to avoid overlaps. It will aid you in coordination of all job activities and thereby increase productivity. There should be no doubt as to who is responsible for specific jobs and who should take corrective action if it is necessary.(Friedmann J. 1992)

10) A primary responsibility of every manager is to train his or her replacement. This process should start at the time a manager is placed in a position. At any time there should be at least one person trained to take over each manager’s position, and that must include your own. This ongoing training avoids crises and Permits managerial flexibility and growth. The list of possible replacements for each job should be kept in a personnel file, as well as In the Business Plan Personnel Section, and should be updated annually. (Weihrich H. and Buhler D. 1990)

11) Good communication–both horizontal and vertical – is essential to your business. Both Facts and the thinking of you and your employee must be conveyed. Feedback is essential if you are to be a good record-keeper, and one primary characteristic of a good manager is the ability to listen. (Taylor S.2005)

Although there does not exist a “best” management system or organizational structure, the above guidelines have proven very useful. Each organization must be developed around its people – people make up the organization. Individual personal strengths and weaknesses will impact your business as a whole, and the potential must be available for employ. Hence, flexibility is required. Further, as your business grows, your initial organizational structure may not be able to accommodate the needed changes. You should plan to permit orderly, profitable growth of your business and the people who make up your business. (Kerzner, 1989)

MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES

We have discussed some of the aspects of delegating responsibility and authority, but have not yet actually defined what it is a manager does. Most management texts consider the management process as consisting of five functions: planning, organizing, directing, controlling, and coordinating. Many smaller businesses suffer from a lack of planning and control. Management by Objectives (MBO) provides an operational system to strengthen these functions by the establishment of goals and then monitoring progress toward their successful completion. MBO breaks with the traditional job descriptions, which describe processes, and substitutes clearly defined goal-oriented results for simple lists of activities.

MBO provides a formal process to measure performance of at least the key people (and preferably everyone) in your business in an organized, specific, and objective fashion. It requires the establishment of clearly defined, quantifiable, and measurable goals, and then monitoring progress toward their completion. MBO is easy to understand and implement, and, if done well and fairly with monetary rewards tied to performance, it will substantially improve employee motivation, morale, and performance. (Weihrich ,1986)

The basic steps in establishing and operating an MBO program are:

1) Rather than emphasizing activities, each manager’s job is defined in terms of several clearly defined and measurable goals. These goals are probably best established by asking the manager to propose his or her goals to you. Then, you review them together, modify them as required to be consistent with overall company objectives, agree on each goal, and put them in writing, each goal statement consists of three parts:

a) the results to be achieved,

b) the method to be used to measure progress toward and completion of the goal, and

c) time frames for completion of major parts of the goal and the entire goal. (Whitmore, 2009)

2) Once goals are set, the measurement system is put to use, and you now are able to measure specific progress at specific intervals. This helps you with your work as record-keeper. The intervals will depend on the type of job. In some cases they may be daily; in other instances, weekly, monthly, or whatever. The key to the selection of the reporting periods is to allow sufficient lead time for corrective action on your part if something goes wrong. There are tradeoffs. Reporting too frequently is expensive – it takes up valuable managerial time and it may frustrate the manager reporting to you. Waiting too long for reports may permit production slippages that cannot be recovered, or recovered only at a high cost. Of course, in addition to reporting at regular intervals, if a manager predicts a crisis, he or she should be instructed to report it to you (along with proposed solutions) immediately.(Cascio,1996)

3) If goals are not being met or are not on target, remedial action needs to be taken. In some instances, the goal may have been unrealistic to start with, or business conditions may have changed during the reporting period, or the manager may just not be doing the agreed-upon job. By receiving interim reports, you can take remedial action of several kinds to prevent damage to your other goals – and specifically your profit picture. You may need to allocate additional resources, change the timing for completion of the goal to be more realistic (and this may necessitate changing other goals as well – coordination will be necessary), abandon the goal entirely if it is no longer financially consistent with business conditions, put pressure on the manager, or increase the frequency of the reporting periods until the crisis is passed. Keep in mind that one way to get the kinds out of the hose is to turn up the pressure. Sometimes this is necessary. (Hamner, 1989)

4) When goals are being met or exceeded, either both in terms of time and/or measured level of accomplishment, MBO provides an excellent basis for establishing employee reward and incentive systems. It is a simple matter to identify those who are meeting expectations and to reward them appropriately. Further, those who are not meeting expectations know what it is they have to do. Managers are not placed in competitions know what it is they have to do. Managers are not placed in competition; everyone can be a winner – and there is no question as to how to be successful. Also, the losers are easy to identify and do not just get buried in an unprofitable corner. (Griffin, 1996)

Each part of the MBO system is discussed in further detail to emphasize how you may implement the system and maintain it as an on going management tool.

1) Goal setting:

The establishment of goals is the first and crucial part of the program. Goals must be consistent with the objectives of your business. This forces you to review and update your objectives regularly. Further, the goals must be consistent among the various levels of management. This has the great advantage of assuring that everyone is going in the same direction. (Robbins and DeCenzo, 2003)

2) Learning period:

When any new management system is established, it takes time to overcome inertia; many people are reluctant to change. To set up an MBO system, it is probably wise to start with only a few goals for each manager or each employee and to select a limited group of key employees. Although you want employees to stretch too attain their goals, the goals should not be beyond individual capabilities. Don’t set the system up to fail or cause frustration. Frequently, managers tend to set goals that are overly ambitious. It will take some time for people to learn how to plan and measure their performances effectively, and they must learn how to cope with problems that threaten the achievement of their goals.(Griffin, 1988)

3) Stating the goals:

The steps in actually starting a goal may be broken into several parts:

• The specific statement of the end result–what you want them to accomplish, both in terms of quantity and quality.
• The primary steps in completing the job.
• The benchmarks that will be used to measure progress at important intervals and the time associated with each step toward completion.
• A statement of major anticipated problems–red flag items that you and your manager foresee so that he or she can start working to solve them now.
• A statement of the superior’s goal–the goal at the next highest level of management that relates directly to the manger’s goal. Such a statement assures clear communication of both facts and thinking.(Robbins and DeCenzo,2003)

In complex management situations–such as the management of large construction projects where many activities are going on simultaneously, the use of actual time charts showing activities and end points may be desirable. Two such methods have been developed and extensive literature is readily available describing them in detail: Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and Critical Path Method (CPM). (Ahuja, 1997)

4) Types of goals.

There are four different types of goals you will want your managers to establish:

Regular work goals: relating directly to the normal day-to-day activities of the manager; should be designed to improve output, quality, efficiency, and primarily profit.

Problem solving goals: established to help each manager clearly define problem areas and eliminate the problems. The objective is to increase profits.

Developmental goals: developing employees to take on added responsibilities and whenever possible, preparing them for leadership roles; critical to the long-term health of your business. Goals in this area relate to the growth of each employee reporting to a manager. Remember that one good employee may be worth as much to you as three marginal workers–and cost half as much. Develop and reward.

Innovative goals: relating to finding better or more efficient or less costly ways to operate. This type of goal is especially useful in carrying out the capital acquisition program. It encourages and rewards creative thinking. (Martinussen,1997)

5) Progress reporting

The reporting of progress needs to be more than just a report on the current stage of completion of a goal. It should also be a time for review of how the progress was made.

• What resources were utilized?
• Were efficiencies increased?
• What unexpected problems arose and how were they solved?

It will help identify organizational restrictions, inadequate measures of goal achievement, personal strengths and failures, and so on. The reporting of progress can be educational experience for both the manager, his or her supervisor, and you.(Islam, 2001)

The implementation of MBO is critical to its success. It may be desirable to hold a meeting with your managers to explain fully the rationale and mechanics of the program. Your involvement is critical. This is often the failure area. Some owners have difficulty setting goals and simply do not want to be measured against them. Further, business objectives may be unclear. Fuzzy objectives lead to confusion in goal setting. Aside from the difficulties (all of which can be overcome), MBO is perhaps the most useful and productive management system yet developed–and it is especially useful for small firms like yours, which may have limited people and money resources. The whole MBO approach, however, will have only a limited value unless identifiable rewards are tied directly to performance–promotions, salary adjustments, bonuses, or supplemental compensation awards.

Exercise in MBO

Prepare an MBO object following these step-by-step directions:

1.      Define the category of the goal.

a.      Regular work – goals that relate directly to day-to-day activities.

b.      Problem solving – goals designed to solve clearly defined problems.

c.      Developmental – goals designed to develop employees.

d.      Innovative – goals designed to find more efficient and less costly operating methods.

2.      Specifically state the end result you desire and the person who will accomplish it.

3.      State the steps necessary to complete the goal. List them in order of occurrence and date.

a.                                      Date

b.                                      Date

c.                                      Date

d.                                      Date

e.                                      Date

4.      State the benchmarks you will use to measure each step in number 3.

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

5.      State the major problems you predict and possible solutions.

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

6. State how completion of the goal fits into your goal structure.

References:

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Asia Pacific Population Journal Vol.24, No.1, April 2009.

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Hamner, W.C(1989). Behavior modification on the bottom line, Organizational dynamics, Spring.

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Lawler, E. (1984). Gain Sharing: A few questions and Few Answers, Human Resources Management, pp.23-40