Time Management Skills and Models - Essay Example

Time Management By Time Management Time management refers to the process or the act of organizing or planning on the amount of time to spend on specific activities (What is Time Management? n.d). The main aim of time management is to optimize production by increasing effectiveness and efficiency in carrying out one’s daily duties and responsibilities in lie. Since time is a limited resource, prudent management of time is crucial for success of any business organization. This is because with prudent time management, a business organization is able to achieve much within a limited a short period of time. For successful and prudent time management in the operations and activities of a business organization, the business organization must apply some skills and some principles of prudent time management in their operations and their activities. The main aim of this project is to discuss the various elements of prudent time management with a view to showing how hospitality organizations can successfully apply the skills and the principles of time management in their activities and operations so as to optimize productivity. The main aim of choosing this topic is that I believe prudent time management is central in the success of any business organization; I believe that a business organization cannot achieve its goals and its objectives without prudent time management. Also, I believe that many business managers lack skills in time management and that is why I want to explore this topic with a view to showing how the managers of business organizations, especially the managers of hospitality organizations, can apply the skills and the principles of business management in the operations of their businesses so as to increase efficiency, effectiveness and productivity. I have collected information on this topic by doing a thorough research on the topic and by interviewing professionals in the hospitality industry on prudent time management. This project has three main sections: the Introduction, the Body, and the conclusion; the body section is the largest part of the project and it has subsections: principles of time management, skills in time management, and conducive environment; the body section also has a subsection on the insights that I have got from an interview that I have conducted on time management with the professional in hospitality industry. Let us begin our discussion on time management by first defining three concepts on time management. Firstly, let us look the meaning of the concept time management skills or time management models. Time management skills or time management models refers to the different methods of managing time that ensure effective and efficient use of time in carrying out one’s duties and responsibilities; different scholars have different models or skills of time management. Secondly, let us look at the meaning of the concept time management principles. Time management principles refer to the guidelines or to the rules that should be adhered to so as to ensure prudent use of time. Lastly, conducive environment in relation to time management refers to creating an environment in workplace that minimizes wastage of time and ensures that time is utilized in an effective and efficient manner. Having defined the three basic concepts in time management, let critically discuss each of the three concepts and give examples explaining the importance of this topic and these concepts in hospitality organizations. Let us begin discussing the time management skills or time management models. Time Management Skills or Time Management Models As we have already seen, time management skills or models aim at ensuring that activities in an organization are carried out in an effective and efficient manner within the shortest time possible. For that reason, therefore, business management skills require that prudence should be used in giving priorities to the activities that need to be carried out in a business organization; prudence in prioritizing activities is one of the most important elements in time management skills. The main question that the issue of prioritizing activities in relation to time management is, should the first priority be given to urgent activities or to important activities? A critical look at this question shows that, although, urgency is an important factor to consider in prudent management of time, urgency alone, however, is not a sufficient reason why we should give an activity the first priority. This is because some activities are urgent but not important. For this reason, therefore, the importance of the activity to be carried out is of paramount importance in prioritizing activities so as to ensure prudent time management. One of the scholars who has discussed this issue at length is Stephen Covey. According to Covey, in his Time Management Grid, activities should be prioritized based on their importance rather than their urgency; for Covey, however, urgency is also an important factor to consider in prioritizing time but it should come only after considering the relative importance of the activities to be carried out (Covey, 1999). Time management skills are quite relevant in hospitality organizations. This is because, in hospitality organizations, there are various activities that need to be carried out and for that reason the management of hospitality organizations should be very prudent in prioritizing the activities to be done. Having looked at the skills or the models of time management, let us look at the principles of time management. Principles of Time Management The following are the main principles of prudent time management (12 Principles of Effective Time Management, 2014). First, one should give the first priority to what is important and urgent. Secondly, one should not over commit; what this means is that one should not make commitments to too many activities that he/she is unable to accomplish; one should only make commitments to activities that he/she is sure of accomplishing. Thirdly, one should have a plan or a schedule for his/her time; the time plan will help one to stick to his or plan, thus avoiding wasting time. The fourth principle of time management is to allow time for the unexpected; in an organization, unexpected events and activities that demand our time and attention occurs and it is important, therefore, to have a provision for unexpected activity in one’s time plan. The fifth principle of time management is to create realistic deadlines; creating realistic deadlines helps one to avoid taking too long in doing an activity that can be done short time. The sixth principle of time management is to focus on one thing at a time; focusing on one thing at a time allows one to concentrate fully on the activity that he/she us doing, thus minimizing time waste on the activity. The seventh principle of time management is to leave time for fun and play; time for fun and play gives one an opportunity to rest so as be able to work in a more effective and efficient way when he/she resumes work. An application of the principles of time management in hospitality organizations can help a great deal in maximizing productivity within the organizations. This is because, with the application of the principles of time management in hospitality organizations, there would be more effectiveness and efficiency in the operations and activities of the hospitality organizations. Conducive Working Environment In order to minimize time wastage, business organizations should create conducive wok environment so as to ensure that the workers are confortable in performing their various duties and functions; the management of business organizations also should provide the workers with effective work materials that they need so as to ensure that the workers perform their work effectively. Conducive environment in business, therefore, helps to avoid time wastage. In relation to hospitality organizations, creating conducive environment for the employees helps to increase effectiveness and efficiency in work, thus reducing time wastage in workplace. An Evaluation and an Explanation of how the Concepts of Time Management can be Applied and Implemented in hospitality organizations Based on my experiences, the concept of time management is quite applicable in the hospitality organizations. The concept of time management can be applied in hospitality organizations in the following two ways. First, in instances where the customers call the managers demanding for some information or some services, the management should put the interests of the customer first, before any other interest. In my experience, I have seen some managers in hospitality organizations ignore the requests of customers’ because they are pre-occupied with other managerial responsibilities. In order to ensure that the interests of customers are given he first priority, hospitality organizations’ management should have a provision for unexpected activity in their time plan. Secondly, the management of hospitality organizations should ask their employees to have plan for their time; through having plan for their time, the employees of hospitality organizations will be able to commit themselves to their time plan, thus avoiding time wastage. Although, however, it would be challenging to implement such principles of time management in hospitality organizations, with effort and commitments, the managers of hospitality organizations will be able to successfully implement the principles. Conclusion In conclusion, a critical reflection on time management shows that prudent time management has a number of advantages to business organizations. Prudent time management ensures greater efficiency and productivity in a business organization; prudent time management also leads to less stress among the employees in an organization. This is because with prudent time management, employees will be able to effectively and efficiently accomplish their various duties and responsibilities within the shortest time possible and have time for rest; this fact is true considering that prudent time management plan should allow time for fun and play. Prudent time management also helps the employees of an organization to have a better professional reputation. This is because, with prudent time management, the employees of a business organization will be able to effectively and efficiently achieve their goals, thus earning respect from other people for carrying their various duties in a professional way. Another important advantage of time management is that it creates improved opportunities for advancement; this is because, with prudent time management, the employees of a business organization will have some free time to grow their carriers, either through doing some further studies, or through looking for ways and means to be more effective in their carriers, thus enhancing their chances of promotion. Due to the many advantages of prudent time management in business organizations, I make the following recommendations for hospitality organizations. First, I recommend that, in prioritizing on the activities that need first attention, hospitality organizations should base their decisions on the relative importance of the various activities, rather than on urgency only. Secondly, I would recommend that the management of hospitality organizations should have time plan or time schedule that clearly stipulates what they are supposed to do at various times. The time plan will help the management of hospitality organizations to avoid wasting time juggling their various managerial responsibilities together in a disorderly order without proper planning. Thirdly, I would recommend that the management of hospitality organizations should allow time for fun and play in their time plans. Through allowing time for rest, play, and fun, the managers of hospitality organizations will be able to live balanced lives which take into account various elements of human needs; the management of hospitality organizations also should also allow their juniors to have time for rest, play, and fun. I would also recommend that the management of hospitality organizations should concentrate on one thing at a time, and they should also ask their juniors to concentrate on one thing at a time. This move will substantially reduce time wastage in hospitality organizations. Lastly, I would recommend the management of hospitality organizations to create conducive environment for their employees, so as to ensure that the employees work effectively and efficiently, thus reducing time waste. References 12 Most Effective Time Management Principles. (2014).Web. Covey, S.R. (1999). Seven Habits of Successful People. USA: Simon &Schuster Publishers What is Time Management? (n.d.).Web. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc =s&so urce=web&cd=3&c> Read More