Management for Organizations - Maintaining Quality and Successfully Expanding - Term Paper Example

? Management in Organization Introduction Management for organizations is very technical and an efficient structure for managing the company is the key element to a successful organization. The basics principles of a company remain the same while the rest of the management and its practical details truly depend upon the company’s priorities. I worked at ABC Inc. for over three years. The firm is a contact center company that takes care of many segments of this industry, including selling credit cards packages, travel coordination, holiday planning, food orders and their delivery management, taking complaints about gas, telephone lines and electricity, and also providing customer services to electronic companies supplying electronics ranging from small household items like microwave oven to washing machines and electric shavers. No matter which segment of the industry this contact center provided services to, the fundamental principles of management never changed. Effectiveness and efficiency are the two governing principles. While the other five changed from one to other depending upon the nature of client and the objectives it set. For instance, if a government organization like the national sui gas company would like to take services of the contact center, the primary concern would be to take care of the orders and try to convince the customers in whichever way possible. This allowed the call centers agents and operators to get aggressive or sometimes even hang-up on customers that were not really converting into sales. As the government departments don’t really need to sell to be able to generate cash. They have different set of rules. On the other hand, when it’s the private companies, they need to be able to retain their customers and be able to develop a real presence with them, as they need to give them better services than the competition. Here are five elements and their implementation at the ABC Inc; Planning Whenever a task needs to be started, it starts with proper planning. Each goal is derived from a specific service response (Nelson, 2008). Like every other successful company ABC Inc. also undertakes planning very seriously as the whole progress depends upon this blue print (planning). For instance when a new client approaches the company to start providing services the top managers and the client representative sit together to figure out the details. The top managers ask almost every possible detail they can extract from the client so that they put in all factors in the planning process. This would involve the budget they have, their short term and long term goals, their priorities, their desired customer portfolio and their weekly milestones. This list is matched with the company’s current services, and the bargaining is done to make sure that every detail is settled right at this planning phase. When this agreement is made then comes the internal planning of the company. An in house meeting is held where all the people from concerned department are gathered. The top manager gives a presentation about the new client and the respective project. This presentation is customized and is kept brief as the pre planning is done at the agreement time. This phase is scheduled for working forward from the briefings given by the top manager with the approval of the chairman and the president. Then the senior HR manager comes to give his part of the presentation to describe the plan. This part is extremely crucial as each task is broken down and assigned to the relevant person/department. Participants to the meeting are encouraged to ask questions, raise their concerns or even argue if they think there is a better alternative. Leading Leading comes after the panning is done. Without leading there is no following, and eventually there is no productivity. At ABC Inc. leadership is given paramount importance, as there have been many times when a project is very difficult, pays very low or is extremely difficult to run. However, when the effective leader like the VP or the floor manager steps in and takes the project by the horns, the impossible starts seeming possible. When a successful leader makes a decision, the person knows within that this decision is subject to further change and elaboration (Adizes, 2004). Even when the project is difficult the leader leads from the front and shows how it is done. The floor manager shows each man’s job to him as if to demonstrate how it can be done more effectively. This gives the employees an example to copy as well as a standard they needed to match. Team leaders also play their role in terms of leadership. After every milestone is completed a meeting is held under the team leader, and each member’s performance is evaluated. The leader is then supposed to talk to them and give them what really works for each individual. This is really important as the top managers are not usually aware of each individual’s temperament and their likes and dislikes but the team leader is aware of these facts as he is working along with them. It is not always the words and encouragement that motivates an employee. Other physical incentives like promotion and increase in salary are the other two most common ways to motivate people. However at ABC Inc. there isn’t a general rule for such incentives because not everything motivates each individual equitably. The leaders (team leaders) refer their suggestions to the HR department regarding each individual. Organizing To keep operations in order and to run smoothly, organization is required. At ABC Inc. every operation, regardless how small it is, is always properly documented and communicated to the right person. After that it is also archived in computer database for future referencing. This is archived with date and time to make sure that no issues arrive out of misunderstanding. Rigid perfectionism is detrimental to successful decision making (Felton & Sims, 2009). For this reason the employees at ABC Inc. work in ‘8 hour’s shifts’ and this schedule also keeps rotating. Each shift schedule is displayed at assigned spaces. These are especially put where each employee can easily read and correct any mistakes. Moreover, the schedules are also emailed to each employee and are asked to acknowledge that they have received the new schedule. This part of organization is managed by both the team leaders and the HR managers as sometimes, the team leader needs to make slight changes in schedules (for that the HR department is not contacted). Each individual’s assessment is also archived in the proper format and is organized so that all managers that have access to employees’ accounts can access the information. Staffing Managerial talent is a crucial resource for every organization (Caruth, Caruth & Pane, 2008), which is why staffing managers is considered critical at the ABC Inc. The staffing is managed by the HR department. The HR team manages all the resumes and relevant information about each employee. The team is always on the lookout for fresh blood that can strengthen the company. Whenever there is a vacancy an advertisement is put out in newspapers, on Internet (company’s website) and relevant job search websites. The filtering process is very rigorous. Each candidate needs to pass through two interviews. One is the preliminary, where the basics are sorted out. The second interview is very detailed and the candidate needs to qualify all the criteria set for this process. For example, if a telecom project requires operators that would tell people how they can enhance their telecom services or how they can get better services, the HR manager needs to make sure that the right candidate has either previous education in telecom or at least is capable of understanding. Controlling This is the part that employees hate but it is the necessary evil. A quality control system lets the firm achieve profits that are sustainable in the long term (Mitra, 2012). And ABC Inc. knows that very well. Controlling at this company is done through the Quality Control Department. They hold sessions with the employees and tell them their mistakes and how they can improve them. Surprise inspection is a frequent thing, The employees are inspected on the calls through an quality control executive sitting in a quiet room and listening to the recording of the calls. Or the same executive can even be present right beside the employee telling him/her that something is not right. The executive simply takes notes about the agent and the way the call is being handled. Conclusion Maintaining quality and successfully expanding requires proper corporate procedures and their implementation. While the basics of management remain the same at each company, the other aspects of management truly depend on the client and the resulting customers. As discussed above The ABC Inc. is the company that has its management based around client satisfaction. And for that they have their in house developed structure and guidelines. Referencing Adizes, I. (2004) Leading the leaders: How to enrich your style of management and handle people whose style is different from yours. The Adizes Institute Publishing. Caruth, D. L., Caruth, G. D. & Pane, S. S. (2008) Staffing the contemporary organization: A guide to planning, recruiting, and selecting for human resource professionals third edition. ABC-CLIO.   Felton, S. Sims, M. (2009) Organizing your day: Time management techniques that will work for you. Revell. Mitra, A. (2012) Fundamentals of quality control and improvement. John Wiley and Sons. Nelson, S. S. (2008) Strategic planning for results. American Library Association. Read More