- A Manager is often many things. But at each and every level of management within an organization, there is a tool-box of organizational paradigms that can help the manager do his or her job quickly and effectively.
The first of these tools at the manager's disposal is Planning. And while some managers may take an informal approach to this process, often the structure of an organization will help establish a solid foundation from which a plan evolves.
Planning helps establish the standards for controlling and making sure that company resources are not wasted. Planning helps maintain focus on achieving company objectives, keeps a reasonable time-line for the schedule of deliverables and helps motivate staff to keep on track.
Planning is a primary function of management.
It is the manager's relationship to responsibility and authority that defines his or her job. Very often, a company will employ a hierarchy structure – what is known as a “chain of command” which forms an unbroken line of authority that links all persons in an organization and defines who reports to whom.
This not only strengthens the power of individual managers but also helps clearly define each person's job within the organization and clarifies each person's responsibility. While no organization is exactly like another, this chain of command does contain some universal principles that have a net effect of ensuring the least amount of effort is deployed for the most amount of profit.
The chain of command has two underlying principles: unity of command and the scalar principle. The term “scalar” refers to a clearly defined line of authority that includes all employees in the organization. The classical school of management suggests that there should be a clear and unbroken chain of command linking every person in the organization with successively higher levels of authority up to and including the top manager. Unity of command states that an employee should have one and only one supervisor to whom he or she is directly responsible.
That helps keep duplication of work and the waste of company resources. It helps keep projects on-track and ensures effective communication across departments – and even with outside contractors. This helps keep a manger's authority consistent: in a well-organized company, a manager has just the right amount of power to see that his or her department's job gets done.
Which leads to the manager's job of “responsibility.”
Responsibility is the duty to perform the task or activity an employee has been assigned. An important distinction between authority and responsibility is that the supervisor delegates authority, but the responsibility is shared between the manager and his or her subordinate.
One of the best sources of determining how much authority will be necessary to accomplish a task is the person who will be held accountable for that task and that can be a manager's greatest asset. Clear definitions of who needs to do what and when help keep the entire company on-track to be effective, competitive and profitable. At all levels it is the managers who help steer the ship towards the desired goals of an organization.
Without managers and the tools they use, a company cannot expect to be successful. - Customer service has been defined as “…a function of how well an organization meets the needs of its customers.” If you want to be an average person working for an average company that definition will suffice. If you feel as we do, and challenge that definition to exceed the customer’s expectations, this training module is for you.
Good customer service is the lifeblood of any business. You can offer sales and specials and market your product to generate business but if you cannot create customers that want to come back to you, your business won't be “in business” for long.
Customer service touches every business and how you handle your customer can make or break an organization. For many customers, the company can be represented as a single sales or service person. The impression the customer has of the company can be a direct result of his or her interaction with one person and the way that person resolved issues or answers questions can significantly impact the customers’ perception of the company. A company has an 80% chance of losing a very dissatisfied customer, a 40% chance of losing a dissatisfied customer, a 20% chance of losing an indifferent customer, a 10% chance of losing a satisfied customer and a 1-2% chance of losing a very satisfied customer. Without solid customer service skills, you and your business can be in jeopardy.
By earning this Customer Service Certificate you will set yourself apart from others. You will demonstrate to your current or future employer that you can see the big picture and care enough to enhance your skills. The job market is competitive and customer service touches every aspect of business. The great benefit of this certificate is that it can apply to any industry with customer, any industry where you work with people, any industry at all. What sets you apart from others? Sooner or later you will realize that you will need an edge, an edge over the competition and this program can provide you with that edge.
Research has shown that during face to face communication, 55% of the message is conveyed by body language; 38% is tone of voice; and only 7% are the words used. During phone conversations, 82% of the message is conveyed through tone of voice; and only 18% in the words used. Without being armed with the right knowledge, you may be delivering the wrong message – a message that can hurt your business.
This program covers the foundations of the communication model, communication styles, and ways to build rapport with a customer or co-worker. This rapport building outlines the difference between Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic trigger words and how to identify them.
Opening a service event, indentifying customer’s expectations with open-ended and closed-ended questions, proposing a solution, and follow-up expectations are also reviewed. Of course, how to handle upset customers, indentifying their styles and ways to counter their arguments are reviewed. Many of these concepts are in a tabular format so they can be printed and easily referenced.
Sooner or later we will all need to take one step forward to separate ourselves from the competition, we is here to take that first step with you.
If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends. - JEFF BEZOS Project Management is the creation of a plan, the implementation of the plan and consistent oversight from start-to-finish. Shortly after the "drawing board" phase of a product, the Project Manager is brought in by the CEOs and Project Sponsor to evaluate how to take the idea behind the product through manufacturing to distribution. If it was a movie, the Project Manager would be the film's director.
The Project Manager's main focus in ensuring quality. It is that person's job to oversee all the resources devoted to the product creation and manufacture and to get the most out of those resources. Time, Scope and Cost are known as the Triple Constraint that are constantly under the PM's watch. Every part of the process from defining deliverables to setting the project's communication methods to risk assessments are ALL the Project Manager's decisions. The day-to-day operations across all departments associated with the particular product are that person's job.
It is a powerful position with a great deal of responsibility and required knowledge.
Defining Scope
In project management, defining needs and wants is an excellent way to define the scope of the project, which is the first step in project planning. Defining Project Internal and External Deliverables is also an important step towards defining scope.
Once the Project Manager defines the functionality and method of measuring the project's progress, a high-level overview of scope begins to emerge. From here, you have the foundation with which to schedule, budget and assign resources to the task.
Unless the PM gets the scope properly understood, the project will never be under control and almost assures failure.
Defining Time
Time estimates drive the setting of deadlines and provide a measuring stick to gauge the health of the project. These estimates often determine the pricing of contracts and are therefore crucially linked to profitability. Without a proper idea of the time the project will take, no other planning can reliably be conducted. While most manufacturers underestimate the time a project will take, the project manager's experience is essential to mapping a realistic schedule of deliverables.
Defining Resources
Resources are required to carry out the project tasks and it is up to the Project Manager to determine at the beginning a solid estimate of how many company resources it will take at each stage of project development, manufacturing and distribution.
In our modern era when so many products are sold on razor-thin profit margins, it is critical to define how much of the organization's manpower, capital and work will go into seeing this project through from start-to-finish. It is only then that a project can reasonably be given the “go-ahead” and from there, it is the Project Manager's job to see that the assigned resources are suitable enough to get the job done.
These three elements – Scope, Time and Resources ensure that a quality product is produced as an end result. It is these three essentials that define the tough job of Project Management.
Having a great product or service is only part of the equation; you need to know who needs it and how to reach them. You need to know how to price the product or service and how to position it. Marketing starts with finding out what the prospective customers think and what they need and ends with the successful sale to the customer as well as building a strong brand image in the public’s eyes. In today's highly competitive marketplace, marketing has become a crucial skill.
With a marketing certificate from AIMS, you learn the up-to-date principles and concepts to prepare you to contribute more to your organization or take on a new role within the organization. No matter what department you work in, there is a marketing component to it – a component you need to understand. This program is designed for those seeking an understanding of the elements of marketing for both entry-level positions as well as career advancement.
Although marketing is typically considered a business subject, certificate courses are appropriate for and open to anyone who can benefit from an intensive study in the field. Participants in this certificate program will learn core marketing principles as well as marketing segments, product life cycles, perceptual planning, margins, distribution channels, and of course the marketing mix and the famous “4 P’s”. This program will offer practical information that can be applied to any organization within days and help you gain an understanding of the business world you work in.
This program builds on a professional's interest in several related areas and is applicable to small and large organizations, businesses, government or nonprofits. Sooner or later we will all need to take one step forward to separate ourselves from the competition, we is here to take that first step with you.
Customers don't always know what they want. The decline in coffee-drinking was due to the fact that most of the coffee people bought was stale and they weren't enjoying it. Once they tasted ours and experienced what we call "the third place".. a gathering place between home and work where they were treated with respect.. they found we were filling a need they didn't know they had. - Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks