Managing Communications, Knowledge and Information - Assignment Example

Task Decision-making is critical to the survival of business. As per the various types of decisions proposed by these decisions are made at three levels: strategic, operational and tactical1. Strategic level decisions will be made at the senior level regarding the organization’s intended path. For Classic Badges this may mean becoming market leader in the industry. Operational level decisions are decisions to be made on daily basis regarding functioning of the routine business. In this case, regular ordering of stocks of badges and setting a production schedule of producing 1000 badges each month would be operational decision. Finally, Tactical decisions involve facilitation of strategic decision. In this case, the decision to hire additional workers or invest additional funds as the business grows as well as scheduling overtime would be tactical decision for Classic Badges. Both tacit and explicit knowledge will be required whereby the former would refer to intuitive knowledge and know-how such as the experience of owner of Classic Badges in selling custom-made hand-crafted badges. Explicit knowledge, on the other hand, is formalized and codified knowledge 2. Explicit knowledge which is quantitative in nature would include the size of the market for badges as well as the potential sales whereas qualitative knowledge would include consumer behaviour (demographics, psychographics, geographic segments of consumers) of local authority, schools, youth organizations, health service and local dental surgeries. For instance, managers will need to know by what percentage sales revenue will increase if price of custom-made badges is reduced by 15%. If this information is fully available then the decision made will be certain. However, if managers do not have 100% accurate sales figure for Classic Badges 10 years from now, it’ll result in uncertain decision. First and foremost, market research would be conducted which would require converting raw data from quantitative and qualitative sources such as questionnaires, interviews, focus groups and others into information by using data analysis tools such as SPSS. This information would be put up in tabular form and charts, reflecting the needs of various customers. Internal information may be gained from various departments within the company. Financial information may be gained from Classic Badge’s financial department which will include profit and loss statement and cash flow statement. Marketing information may include market trends, market size, competitor analysis, sales reports and forecasted revenues. HR information will pertain to the skills, training requirements, performance, pay and productivity of employees. Finally, manufacturing information will include cost of production, materials and other supplies for badges. Classic Badges will require continuous monitoring of the badges industry in order to keep pace with latest technological trends. Furthermore, it must ensure coordination between the team , management, information systems and decision making. This will be ensured by staff training on how to use and make use of information systems. It must develop customer relationship management systems to ensure that corporate relationships are efficiently handled. Too much time must not be spent in consultation; rather, the use of directive decision-making tools such as decision matrix and T charts is suggested. Decision support systems would be worth installing as these would reduce ambiguity and streamline the overall process. This would come in handy especially when Classic Badges plans to increase in size and scope as well as grow internationally. Competitor intelligence would also be required in order to adopt suitable marketing strategy in terms of pricing, product quality etc. Task 2 The stakeholders would include internal and external stakeholders whereby the former includes managers, employees, suppliers and the latter include customers, investors, and environmental protection groups 3. The production manager, for instance, shall be able to determine the approximate manpower, machinery and time required to produce custom-made badges. Similarly, employees(team) would determine quality standards that need to be met along with development of unique designs for the badges tailored to local authority, schools, youth organisations, health service and local dental surgeries. Employees from across the team would determine the along with the size and specifications. The suppliers would further determine the cost of raw material (plastic, pins, buttons etc.) As far as external stakeholders are concerned, investors would decide the amount of capital they will invest based on forecasted profitability provided by management. Customers will be the lifeblood of the start-up, providing information regarding their tastes, preferences and product characteristics. Finally, environmental protection groups may express concern regarding environmental degradation from plastic used in the badges. All of this will ultimately be incorporated into decision making. Both formal and informal methods of contact will enhance business relationship with these stakeholders. Formal communication typically follows the authority chain within organisations and pertains to professional activities of members4. Both upward and downward communication would be used as a method of contact between managers and employees. This communication would take place via the media: paper-based or electronic letters, memos, meetings, presentations as well as take the form of direct face-to-face communication. As for suppliers, integrated supplier relationship management systems will ensure constant flow of formal information. Informal methods, on the other hand, have higher reliability although it is not bound by rules and procedures. This would include communication over lunches, weekend get-togethers and “hallway” talks. The stakeholder communication plan is as follows: Stakeholder Group What is to be communicated Communication Frequency Communication Method Responsibility Project Manager Launch of start-up, deadline for project completion Weekly Meeting (team-based) Owner Employees Work schedule, employment contract, performance appraisal Monthly E-mail Project Manager Suppliers Product specifications, order quantity of badges, customer demand, inventory management Weekly Supplier Management System (software) Employees/Project Manager Customers Delivery of badges, mode of delivery, pricing Monthly Customer Management System (CRM) Employees Investors Profitability of company, cash flow, forecasted budgets, mission and vision Monthly Conference calls, annual reports (E-mail) Managers Environmental protection groups Social responsibility initiatives Bi-Annually Annual Reports, Telephone conversation with representatives, Press Conference Managers Personal networking entails one of the most obvious challenges regarding lack of knowledge of professional subjects beyond one’s own. This reduces one’s ability to find common grounds with people outside one’s own area of expertise and can be improved with joining professional associations as well as trade associations such as dental organizations, schools and youth organisations in this case. Polishing one’s social skills is also essential and strategies such as proactively engaging in at least two-three social activities in a week can boost confidence. Furthermore, personal networking would be improved by forming casual relationship with team members by communicating with them over weekend lunches and informal events. One of the major issues arises when people view individuals as avoiding tough issues rather than dealing with them. While communicating with my personal network I would pay attention to what my teammates have to say and follow-up with them frequently. These deep-rooted human relationships would create healthier work relationships. Most importantly, it would be important to have a handful of key individuals from the team that can help unite the team. Ultimately, personal networking has the potential of providing referrals and creating new clients which would be possible with aforementioned strategies. Task 3 Tesco employs the structured and formal method of “steering wheel” to organisational communication. It is considered as a driver of performance. The symbol signifies the four key areas of customer, financial, operations and employee performance. Updates are provided to each store of Tesco on a monthly basis whereby the store is communicated its performance vis-à-vis the four metrics. Furthermore, the company uses its newspaper “the one” which customers can take home. Other formal methods used are colleague forums and notice boards. The weekly, five minute face-to-face communication with team members, however, increases better understanding of communication messages. Serious accounting frauds have been averted as a result of strong internal communication between CEO and employees. External communication is done through Tesco cards, billboards, television adverts and the company website. One of the major pitfalls of Tesco’s current communication processes is that the use of e-mails, for instance, creates the disadvantage of not knowing when the message will be read. This becomes a drawback as the company has expanded. Furthermore, the importance of informal/grapevine communication is undermined as informal channels of communication have not been encouraged as much. Hence, employees would not have any channel to vent their grievances on a personal level and personal relationships are undermined as formal communication lacks the “personal” touch derived from informal communication. Tesco must ensure that the face-to-face communication held on a weekly basis lasts longer than just five minutes so that employees are not restricted by time in the communication of their message. Integration of communication systems is quintessential for Tesco in today’s globalized era. To this end, it is recommended that the management reduces distortion of and delay in messages by introducing flatter organisational structures. This will allow employees to engage in greater informal and personal communication as more individuals will report directly to their supervisors rather than middle managers. Furthermore, given that Tesco operates in various countries, it requires an integrated global system that can bind people from different cultures and languages under one corporate culture. To this end, the company must conduct regular meetings whereby employees have a chance to suggest problems underlying current communication systems. The plan for improving my personal communication skills is as follows: Skills Current status Target Opportunity for development Timescale Criteria for success Presentation unstructured and lacks focus on key areas resulting in lack of audience engagement Increased confidence and effective communication of message Brainstorming techniques and mind mapping to generate new ideas for audience engagement. Engaging in public speaking activities and enrolling in speech communication training Six months Ability to present effectively and confidently with positive feedback from audience Social skills/Communicating with team members Lack of confidence, inability to connect with team members Become extrovert and build strong relationships with team members Attend social gatherings and weekend lunches and stop to communicate with others in the hallway Six months to a year Increased acquaintance and social participation Effective written communication Use of excessive words, disorganised and illegible Improved writing standard Enrol in online writing courses and practice for at least an hour a day One year Improved feedback from mentors Dealing with criticism Anger, frustration and stress when dealing with criticism Increased awareness of one’s weaknesses and how to convert them into strength Encourage close colleagues to point out flaws One year Ability to positively handle such instances Task 4 Tesco uses knowledge management systems whereby it offers the option of online purchases through its website to customers. These systems are linked with suppliers and warehouses. The company uses soft systems approach whereby the emphasis is on managing relationships and information systems help the company achieve that. This is more qualitative in nature as opposed to the hard approach which is more quantitative in nature. One of the biggest examples of the soft approach application by Tesco is its steering wheel approach which is a communication platform used by Tesco to manage its relationships with its stakeholders. The company uses local Intranet whereby it can exchange information with internal stakeholders. Relationships are further managed with Electronic Point of Sales (EPOS) whereby minimum stock levels are communicated to suppliers and customers can record their purchases on club card with the system. The club card allows Tesco to not only capture data pertaining to customer tastes and preferences but also analyse the data to facilitate decisions related to marketing strategy. Much too often team members do not share unique information and share information they are all aware of5. This issue was encountered in Tesco as well whereby team meetings were not very productive because agendas weren’t clear. Tesco should therefore use clearer agendas to ensure individual reports rather than common information. The company uses a centralised model of Management Information Systems (MIS) which poses challenges of standardisation across various cultures. To this end, Tesco must ensure that it provides adequate cross-cultural training to ensure that staff is able to adopt a centralised system. It is important that Tesco creates cross-functional teams whereby cross-departmental communication is encouraged. It will have to ensure that employees do not lose track of the overall mission of Tesco in an attempt to understand the systems. Confidentiality of information must be maintained specially when it comes to customer-related information and a confidentiality contract must be in place between employees and the management. High speed network access is also required to order ensure that there is seamless transfer of information and knowledge across the organisation. Strategic thinking is a way of “leading up” which refers to actions performed for the benefit of organisation6. Tesco shall be able to improve access to systems of information and knowledge by first analysing its strengths and weaknesses. For this purpose it must engage in SWOT analysis. Access may be improved by adopting online cloud storage whereby company stakeholders can access information online. The company can use various cloud storage systems such as Drop box, Sky Drive and Google Drive for this purpose. Furthermore, application software may be used to ensure that the right user is able to access data. Special needs of employees must be catered to; specifically those with visual impairment or disabilities. Furthermore, workshops will have to become a constant part of organisational learning and must incorporate Cross-cultural teams. All stakeholders must be engaged online to reduce delays in decision making arising from geographical distances. Bibliography Baldoni, John, ‘What does the organization need me to do?’ Journal for Quality and Participation, April, 11 Bazerman, M.H. and Chugh, D. ‘Decisions without blinders’, Harvard Business Review, 84/1, (2006), 13 C. Michael A., Knowledge Management and Competitive Advantage: Issues and Potential Solutions (Advances in Knowledge Acquisition, Transfer, and Management) (Hershey, Pennsylvania: IGI Global, 2013), 151 Montana, P.J. and Charnov, B.H., Management (New York: Barron’s Educational Series Inc., 2008), 94 Torrington, D., Hall L. and Taylor, S., Human Resource Management (Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited, 2007), 720 Robbins, S. and Judge, T., Organizational Behaviour (New Jersey: Pearson Education limited, 2013), 338 Read More