When Accoutability Does’t Work

Most managers and politicians do not understand the difference between accountability and responsibility. Responsibility merely points out the person who is to be held responsible for failure or success. It is often set in place to be able to find blame rather than to be able to ensure that the system or process works as intended. Accountability on the other hand is all about what was or was not done to achieve goals or objectives. It focuses on the system or process.

Under a system of accountability, the person who is responsible for the goals and objectives give an account of his/her actions in the pursuit of those goals and objectives. Effective accountability requires a strong sense of purpose coupled with dialogue and negotiation between the person who will be accountable and his/her manager(s).

Defining Sense of Purpose

Purpose must be derived from the shared vision of the organization and from the obligations of the organization and its managers to the stakeholders of that organization.. The vision defines what is possible and what the leadership of the organization would like to accomplish. The obligations define the mission of the organization. The two must work together along with the value system of the organization. Without one or more of these three key elements, the system can not function properly nor can it achieve it’s potential.

Too often, organizations rely on a committee or even a consultant to write a vision for them that sound good and has all of the platitudes that someone in management thinks will impress their clients. I once worked with a president of a company who loved to make a big point of the company’s vision to clients. One of the lines in the vision statement was: “Realizing that our employees are our most important asset…” The trouble was that this company was a service company providing consultants to clients. It’s model required a high rate of chargeability for each of those consultants. If a consultant was not working on chargeable work for two weeks, they were laid off. Their employees were definitely NOT their most important asset, or they would have done more to ensure that they stayed with the organization.

A vision must come from senior management and be communicated to the entire organization. In addition for it to become a shared vision, employees must enroll in that vision rather than “Buy In” to it. “Buy-in” involves coercion and the employees will not be as committed to it as they would be if they enrolled in the vision. Enrollment is a choice based on the idea that there is something for the employee in the vision. Unless the employees are committed to carrying out the vision, it will fail to provide the desired results. Not only must the employees be committed to the vision, they must remain committed over time and this will only occur if they see tangible results from that commitment.

The second element of a sense of purpose is the mission statement. For accountability that mission statement must be based on the obligations that the company and its employees have to the stakeholders of that organization. The first obligation that an organization has is to survive and grow in order to continue to meet the various needs of those stakeholders. Next the organization has an obligation to perform certain types of work, this define what it does to ensure it’s survival. The third step is to define what its products are that it will apply the essential work to. The next obligation defines the market where the products will be made available to customers and finally the organization must define the territory where the product will be marketed. A mission statement based upon these obligations provides the direction and allows the employees to see the benefits to themselves of enrolling in the vision of the organization’s leaders,

The sense of purpose provides the overall direction for each employee. It also provide the framework upon which managers and supervisors at all levels can define the specific work that they will become accountable for.

Negotiating Accountability

Knowing what is required of you is not sufficient to ensure the attainment of goals and objective. These goals and objectives must be realistic and both the manager and his/her boss must have a clear cut idea of what can and can not be accomplished. The boss must state what he/she needs to have accomplished and the manager must determine what he/she can realistically perform. They have to come to an agreement on the activities that the manager will undertake in pursuit of those goals and objectives. It is this agreement that provides the foundation of the accountability system. At periodic intervals, the two can meet and the manager can give account for what was or was not done according to their agreement to accomplish the desired goals and objectives

Applying Accountability

An effective accountability program requires integration of all goals and objectives and that they stem from the vision and mission statement. They must cascade down from the obligations definitions into every department of the organization. The linkage must be clear and obvious to all.

In many organizations that use management by objectives, there is not a clear cut linkage. Many managers create objectives to ensure they get their bonus at the end of the year. These objectives may or may not reflect those of their boss, they play it safe and do what they think they can do regardless of whether or not their objectives are tied to corporate strategy. It is at this point that accountability begins to break down.

It is not uncommon for a manager to have 60% of his/her objectives accomplished by the time they write their objectives for the year, They “coast” with the remaining 40%. Upper management then takes these objectives and develops their plans and budgets for the year. They have it backwards, they must start with effective strategic plans based upon the Vision and Mission of the organization. These plans then are broken down into tactical plans related to what needs to be accomplished by the various departments and individuals which should drive the goals and objectives.

This approach lays the foundation upon which the dialogue and negations upon which effective accountability is based. Any deficiency in this system will result in an ineffective accountability system.

Revisiting Objectives

by Brice Alvord

Many organizations have lost sight of what makes objectives effective and therefore useful to improving the company’s bottom-line. Effective objectives are the result of two things:

1. A commitment by the performing manager to a set of results
2. An agreed upon set of standards (Too often forgotten when writing objectives).

This blog explains the process for deriving a set of objectives from the fundamental work of the department or individual.

Developing Successful Objectives

The secret of success with objectives is:

• An objectives system will be effective only to the extent that all members employ the same defined procedure.
• The preparation of good objectives is not self-teaching (practice does not necessarily lead to improvement)
• Fairly rigid disciplines must be learned and practiced
• Expertise can only be gained by a willingness to extend the effort

Problems With Objectives

Problems with objectives can generally be traced to the following three areas:

• The construction of the objective (how they are worded).
• The negotiation process (how they are established)
• The extent to which they are made a part of the day-to-day operation (How they are used).

Types Of Objectives

There are two types of objectives in the Accountability Focused Management program:

1. Time limited objectives
2. Non-time limited objectives

Time Limited Objectives

A time limited objective is a commitment to a result or condition that is to exist at some specified point in time and where its accomplishment can be determined yes or no. Time limited objectives are the objectives most managers are the most familiar with. They precisely define what is to be accomplished within a defined time period.

Non-Time Limited Objectives

A non-time limited objective is a commitment to a result or condition that should continue to exist and where its accomplishment can be determined yes or no. Non-time limited objectives are the hardest to write, because they contain no time constraint. Each one must be stated so that its accomplishment can be determined, yes or no at any given point in time.

Non-time limited objectives do not have to be rewritten every planning period, because of their continuing nature, the merely need to be updated as needed.

Non-Time Limited Objectives Format

The non-time limited objective is developed by stating the Continuing Vital Activities in the form of a two part statement having a result commitment and standards using the same format as a time limited objective.

Role Of Non-Time Limited Objectives

The role of non-time limited objectives is to:

• Provide on-going guidance to subordinates
• Separate the boss’s work from that of subordinates
• Assure better understanding of the work to be accomplished by each party
• Simplify and reduce the number of objectives
• Measure how well managers perform management work

Measurement Factors

Measurement Factors answer the question: What do I want to measure? There are four universal measurement factors for measuring fundamental work:

• Quantity
• Quality
• Timeliness
• Cost

You are not limited to these four, you can have additional measures, but for the most par, you will want to measure these four factors as a minimum.

Measurement Sub-Factors

Sub-factors are indicators that answer the question; “How will you measure the Fundamental work?” Examples include:

• Amount of product produced
• Cost to produce
• Time required to produce
• Amount produced on time per project schedule

Results Commitment

The results commitment states the overall results that a performing manager needs achieve for the on-going success of the department. The Results Commitment does not contain any standards or any other measurements. Results commitments are written to reflect the conditions that will exist when the fundamental work is completed.

Examples of Typical Results Commitments

Some examples of results commitments include:

• Products meet competitive quality standards
• All work will be accomplished in accordance with company safety standards
• Service will be equal or better than industry standards
• Costs to produce will be maintained at a competitive level
• Products will be delivered on schedule and under budget.

Standards

Standards clarify the acceptable level of performance needed to attain the results commitment .Standards must be balanced between quality and quantity for people to be fully accountable. In other words it is important to balance the standards between what will be done and other standards stating how well it must be done. Standards also must have both a time and quantity dimensions

Time and Non- Time Limited Objectives

Time is the single element which separate time limited and non-time limited objectives. Cost standards while similarly structured are different, they are measurable at any point along the way, making them useful for non-time limited objectives. This seemingly small difference makes it possible standards which are typically considered un-measurable.

Acceptability of Standards

For each result commitment there are “standards” which meet the following conditions

• For each measurement factor mentioned in the result commitment, there is at least one standard.
• Each standard is measurable in time and quantity
• Each standard is concise (just a few words or numbers
• Each standards is easy to revise (numbers are at the end of the statement

Objective Format

The following illustration shows how you would build the result commitment from your fundamental work (from mission statement)

A More Effective Applicant Filter

by Brice Alvord

In today’s competitive market, prospective employers are faced with the challenge of hiring qualified employees. Attracting, identifying and selecting qualified employees is a time consuming and costly process.

Due to downsizing, many Human Resource Staffs are over worked. They are inundated with a flood of resumes and have little time to give each a quality review. Typically someone makes a first cut review looking at resumes and trying to weed out unqualified applicants. Often, good qualified applicants are excluded and unqualified applicants are selected for a second interview. These are further reduced by telephone screening, which may or may not be effective, depending on the interviewer. The phone interviewer tries his/her best to reduce the pile down to a dozen or less applicants and the HR manager conducts a second interview to select three or four people for in-person interviews with the hiring manager or supervisor.

The question often remains – did I get to interview the best group of applicants. One of the best hiring processes I participated in was conducted by a mid-sized pharmaceutical company in New Jersey. Unfortunately, I did not get the job offer, but I got to go through the process far enough to see the value of their process. Basically it was pretty much like the following illustration:

There were approximately 100 applicants, of which 70 were screened out against a checklist of desired capabilities and experience. The resumes were reviewed by at least two people before being rejected or accepted.

From the 30 that made it through the resume screen, the number was further reduced to 12 by conducting phone screen interviews. A customized selection guide was established using desired competencies, personality traits, communications abilities. The twelve were invited to a Job Open house to further acquaint applicants with the job requirements and the working environment. This was also a chance to observe potential applicants in a work environment to see how they interacted with current team members and other applicants. After the open house the hiring team met to determine which three were the best fit for the position. The three selected were then invited for an in-depth interview and testing, to reduce the selection to the individual who will best fit the team and the needs of the organization.

The process resulted in better qualified applicants, more effective use of hiring team’s time, less post-hire issues with the new-hire. This ensured the hiring of the best candidate, not the best interviewee and this in turn led to improving employee effectiveness, and reduced hiring costs.

At the time I interviewed for that position, I also applied to four other companies that were seeking people for similar positions. I was given the opportunity to interview for one of those companies. The interview process was similar to the one described before this process. I did not get a final interview. Of the other three companies, even though my background and experience met or exceeded their requirements, I was screened out early in the process. I have tracked all five companies over the past 6 years. One is no longer in business, one was purchased and all except the pharmaceutical company have had a high rate of turnover in the position I applied for. The person in the position at the pharmaceutical company has been promoted and they refilled the position using the same process.

The key to their success according to the HR director was the open house.

Building strategy based performance structures to support operations

by Brice Alvord

Strategic focus has never been more important than in today’s global business environment. Recent examples of declining profitability, inability to complete and out right poor management have shown that these companies have failed to execute strategy successfully. Closer inspection of many of these “failed” companies were using outdated top-down management processes, financially driven short-term tactics, and ineffective organizational structures that were unable to communicate an accurate assessment of the company’s current state.

In short they were stuck in the old management paradigm of historical observation and reaction. Basically they were focused on fire suppression rather than fire prevention. It is easier to wait until you have a fire and react to put it out than it is to prevent it in the first place. In addition, it is harder to quantify something you can see rather than something that is abstract. In the case of a fire you can measure the difference between the value before the fire and after and determine the loss. In the case of fire prevention, the measures are more abstract and do little to justify fire department budgets. The same hold true in the corporate world. An antiquated cost accounting system prevents managers from creating the types of initiatives required to compete in a world-wide market.

2 Key Continuums For Building Strategic Focus

Strategic focus requires that management look at two key continuums:
• The historic continuum
• The action continuum

The historic continuum is a line plotted between observed history and the anticipated future. The other continuum is the action continuum which is a line between reacting to occurrences to anticipation of future known events.

The New Management Grid

The two continuums can be arranged to form a grid such as the one shown below. This will allow you to plot your company’s position based on how it reacts to the two continuums.

Most companies, especially those that have failed in the recent economic situation, fall in the lower left quadrant represented by the red circle. The challenge for future long-term growth and survival is to transition to the upper right quadrant represented by the blue circle – the “New Paradigm”..

Transitioning to New Paradigm

Making the transition to the new paradigm is not as easy as it looks on the diagram. The transition is fraught with unseen problems and restraining forces. The enabling or driving forces must overcome the negative influences. This can only be accomplished by effective and visionary leadership, complete communications, and a commitment to the initiative.

Half hearted commitment will be quickly telegraphed to the entire organization and they will see such attempts as window dressing or as the flavor of the month. Management must supply sufficient resources in terms of people, equipment and money to ensure success. This commitment must be more than mere lip service; it has to be real and visible.

Creative Thinking Required

Working in the upper right quadrant requires creative thinking. Employees at all levels must become proficient in applying creative thinking to their daily work. Creative thinking is a mix of expertise, creative thinking skills and motivation. It requires that managers and supervisors make a cultural change from the traditional way of managing to team based programs that allow employees to use their heads and not just heir hands. They must be allow to become true partners.

New skills require new training as well as trust and patience on the part of supervision. Supervisors and management must also learn new skills. They will need to learn how to influence their environment.

Influential Impact

The most important aspect of a manager’s job is his/her ability to influence. Unfortunately they often spend most of their time trying to influence that which they have little or no influence over. The following model shows three levels of influence:
1. Self
2. Other people
3. Things

The degree of influence that a manager exerts over these three levels is represented by an inverted triangle. The manager has the most influence over him/herself. This is because there is less resistance and a greater understanding of where the manager is headed. This is controlled by the manager’s vision of where he/she is headed. Next, is the ability to influence others, leadership is the only way to gain this level of influence. The manager can use coercion, but there will be little or no commitment. Finally many mangers attempt to manage things, through complex processes and organizational structures. Managers can not influence in animate objects, they can only organize them and budget for them, which will exert some form of influence. All they can hope to do is to manage resources.

Building A Strategic Focus

Transitioning to the New Paradigm requires that Management rethink their company’s situation and direction. To accomplish any real results from this activity requires a strategic focus. Building a strategic focus requires a sound grasp of the organization mission. It must be written in clear and concise terms that all stakeholders can understand. Knowledge of mission by itself is not sufficient to change the direction of the organization. Mission must be carried out with as concrete set of values subscribed to by all members of the organization. The leadership of the company build upon this foundation by establishing a corporate vision and by sharing it with all employees. The employees must be enrolled in this vision rather than “buy In to it”. Enrollment is by their choice, “Buy In” is coercive.

Getting enrollment requires that the vision be straightforward and honest. The vision can not contain a statement that “our employees are our most important asset” and the company lays them off whenever it is perceived to be economically feasible. They don’t lay off plant equipment, so the vision is a lie.

Once the mission, values and vision have been established and communicated with all employees, the next step is to develop the strategies that will help the company make the transition. Each strategy must have a corresponding measurement system that allows upper management to track progress and to make corrections as necessary. Once the strategy is in place, other levels of management can derive the strategic initiatives required to transform the company and ensure it’s long-term success.

Lower tiers of managers derive their objectives and business goals from the strategic initiatives and then create the budgets to supply the necessary resources for accomplishment. From the individuals objectives come the various projects required to make the changes reality.

Old Management Paradigm

As pointed out earlier, most companies are still operating under the old paradigm. The budget drives the vision and strategies rather than the other way around. Planning and capital allocation are a result of what is available in the budget. The budget is all too often based on historical perspective rather than on what is needed to accomplish what we need to do. It controls the human resources through personal incentives such as contracts and bonuses based on adherence to the budget rather than accountability and real contribution to the long-term health of the company.

Management reviews the budget on a monthly basis and makes corrections and changes based on what is left of the budget and with little or no emphasis on contribution. That is why a CEO can loose $100 Million and still get a $30 million dollar bonus.

New Management Paradigm

The need for the new paradigm has never been more apparent than in today’s economic times. Under the new paradigm, management begins by translating the shared vision in to a strategy, this is followed by realistic business planning using creative and strategic thinking principles. A balanced Score Card is created from these two processes and is sustained by communicating the vision and strategies and linking them to individual performance. This requires a system of accountability for the actions or lack thereof of all managers and staff.

Linking Vision & Strategy

Perhaps one of the biggest failures of modern day management has been to link all strategic elements including individual objectives to the shared vision. Managers often pursue objectives that are guaranteed to get them a bonus and not always linked to company strategies. It is not uncommon for managers to write individual objectives that they know are complete or almost complete in order to ensure their bonus and in some cases so that they can “coast to the end of the year.

Effective linkage requires a framework to ensure that all aspect of the strategic initiative are addressed and considered. These in turn need to have direct linkage to the initiatives of the subordinate manager and so on. A simple strategic framework will accomplish this.

Strategic Framework

The strategic framework is a table consisting of four columns each with 4 rows as shown in the following example. The boxes in the first column are labeled:
• Goal
• Objective
• Output
• Activities

The thinking is that if you accomplish the defined activities, then the outputs will have been produced. If the outputs are all produced, then the objective will have been met. If the objectives have been met, the goal will have been achieved. Typically there are multiple frameworks supporting a single goal. The objectives of one manager typically become the goals of a subordinate manager and the goals of a manager are derived from the objectives of his/her manager. This is where you ensure linkage.

The second column identified the indicators that show the element in the adjoining first column have been met, Column three identifies the means of verification and the fourth column identifies any and all assumptions made about the elements in the first column.

This tool is used not only for planning, but also for managing the strategic initiatives and resulting projects.

Strategy Focused Improvement

Strategy focused improvement requires that the management team breakdown each strategy into sub groups. For example if the strategy is to “Improve Shareholder Value” The management team might determine that this requires two sub strategies:
• The revenue growth strategy
• The productivity strategy

Each of these strategies would in turn be broken down into separate strategic initiatives as shown by the the following diagram. Subordinate managers would in turn develop initiatives such as obtain new revenue sources and leverage current brands and so on

Structure Of A Strategy Map

In the example show below, there are four basic strategies derived from the vision:
1. Financial
2. Customer
3. Internal Processes
4. Learning and growth

The arrows represent the strategic themes or “pillars” for the strategies. Each is based on its own separate hypothesis about what it will take to achieve each strategy. In this case management determined that they needed to:
• Build the business
• Increase customer values
• Achieve operational excellence
• Develop people

Proposed Strategy Map

This structure is translated into an actual strategy map such as the one shown below.

The map contains two strategies that a particular Manager might be assigned:
• The revenue growth strategy
• The productivity strategy
The resulting map show how the manager intends to accomplish these assigned strategies:

This manager intends to increase the return on investment to meet these two strategies intent. This will be accomplished in turn by increasing gross profit and increase asset utilization. Gross profit is expected to increase due to the use of new concepts, adding new customers and increasing the contribution from profit margin. Each step required to accomplish each element above it on the map is spelled out. Of course this map is a simplified version of what you might actually see. However, it is important to try to keep each map as simple as possible for ease of understanding and communication

3 Building Blocks

No matter what you include in your strategy map, keep in mind that as a minimum, you need to include the following basic building blocks:
1. Climate for Action
2. Strategic Technologies
3. Strategic Competencies

Management must build an environment conducive to change based on strategic principles, the three build blocks are essential to accomplish this, Once your strategic plan is established and the proper score cards developed, you are ready to develop an Organization Effectiveness Model similar to the one shown below:

The areas in gray represent the three building blocks described above. Programs to accomplish the strategic intent defined by management are represented by the boxed inside each building block.

The first green box represents the four basic strategies derived from the vision. The final green box represents the overall goal or vision.

Conclusion

This article has given the basic requirements to develop the strategy based performance structures required to support operations and grow the business with a long-term perspective.

Learning To Sail in Troubled Waters

by Brice  Alvord

The most critical step for businesses enmeshed in today’s troubled economy is to take a critical look at the future. Too many executives and senior managers are preoccupied with increasing government intrusion and control, financial survival, and fear of the unknown. The challenge facing most company executives is how to foster a shared vision that will motivate discouraged employees, provide direction through uncharted waters, and survive the ravages of the economy.

The question of “How do we remain competitive in the perfect storm of changing culture, increased reliance on vulnerable technology, and stressed out cash flow? Companies have painted themselves into a corner by reducing resources and placing a greater burden for performance on those that remain. Instead of identifying and reducing waste and getting rid of it, too many managers have simply “papered over” these problems and taken the easy way out for making the bottom line look good – lay offs.

Many managers operate without a clear cut sense of purpose or shared vision. Their focus is on their own survival rather than on the whole organization. They place the greater importance on the attainment of their goals and objectives, failing to see that if they make the entire organization whole, they will meet and exceed their own goals and objectives. This self–centered approach blindsides them when it comes to planning and implementing realistic improvement programs and initiatives. This often leads to lip service type support which in turn results in “just another flavor of the month”.

The management of today’s failing companies is failing their stakeholders because they lack the ability or perhaps worse – the will to take an approach of anticipation and innovation. Instead they react to what has happened in the past and applied ineffective and outdated solutions to problems. They tend to focus on approaches over which they really have little control. They try to control things rather than control the vision and direction of the company.

A manager’s ability to influence self is much greater than his/her ability to manager others or things. This self influence is driven by the manager’s vision; he/she exerts influence by building a shared vision. When people enroll in a manager’s vision, they become much more committed to making it happen. Things are inanimate object and as such are not susceptible to the influence of a human being.

The company’s management team must shift its focus to the long term and address the company’s very survival. They can only accomplish this by building a strategic focus and communicating it to every employee. I was fortunate to be a part of such an initiative when I worked for Nabisco. Mr. Jim Kilts came on board and performed a turn around miracle by just such an approach. He taught his management team to think strategically and then apply that thinking to accomplish the vision he set forth.

To begin with Management must have a sense of the mission of the company and their part in it. The next step is for the Senior Management team to agree on and communicate a vision for accomplishing that mission. It is not enough to just come up with a vision statement, it has to be a shared vision that all employees have enrolled in. Buy-in will not work because it is coercive in nature. People have to “WANT” to be a part of the vision for it to work properly. Another aspect of a successful vision is that it must be “wrapped” in a set of corporate values, by which all employees will operate to accomplish the mission and vision.

Making the Vision a Reality

The vision will be little more than a dream unless it is put into motion with a set of strategies for accomplishing it. The strategy is a high-level look at a set of goals and objectives coupled with a plan of action for accomplishing each strategy. A strategy is a complete waste of time without a measurement system to determine if the goals and objectives are being accomplished in a timely manner.

Once the strategies and measurement system are in place, the management team establishes a set of strategic initiatives to carry out each strategy. Each strategic initiative is then defined by the personal objectives of lower level managers and a budget agreed upon to carry out those planned objectives.

In the recent past, too many managers took very risky short cuts and circumvented the controls which keep the system functioning as it was designed to. To make matters worse, there was little accountability in the system. Without a value system tied to the mission or any accountability for those who did have a defined set of values, the walls came tumbling down.

The Current System Is Built On Fear

When the bubble burst on the housing market and the Sub-Prime scandal came to light, management shifted into a culture of worry and fear. They tool their eyes off of what it takes to keep their companies afloat and the fear spread at an alarming pace. They took the easy way out caring little for those they hurt.

Worry is the misuse of imagination! In this case it was a gross misuse as it took away energy vital to surviving the resulting economic turmoil. The energy should have been applied to creating a new culture of anticipation and innovation. They missed the golden opportunity to create long term stability and profitability.

Sure it was compounded by the instability of the financial markets and the inability to maintain cash flow. The problem is they became self eating hotdogs that did little to help quickly restore confidence to the market and to the financial institutions.

The lack of a systematic long-term approach did more to prolong the impact of the recession than any other factor. Simply put; they were all caught flat footed because they were looking in the wrong direction and failed to see the signs that should have enabled them to anticipate and create. They became paralyzed by fear and selfishness.

The fear continues as the government seizes control of new and uncharted waters in the name of saving the economy. It has been said that we are experiencing a jobless recovery. That is hogwash, for without jobs; there will not be a recovery. We are stretched too thin economically.

Government is not the savior, no matter what they claim.Learning To Sil

The solution to our economic woes lies not in more and more government, but in the inspired leadership of America’s boardrooms and entrepreneurs. Until companies step up to the plate and meet their obligations to their stakeholder, companies will continue to flounder and the economy will be lack luster at best.

It is time to stop making excuses and looking for handouts and to apply that “Yankee Ingenuity” that made this country great and the example for the world. They must provide the leadership and vision necessary to turn their part of the economy around and they must do it quickly. If not, they don’t deserve the pay associated with their positions regardless of whether or not they have a contract.

Ensuring Effective Solutions To Problems

by Brice Alvord

Everyday you and your team face dozens of problems which you must address. The current business environment requires speedy and effective solutions. How can you ensure this? Only with a problem solving model can you achieve consistent results.

A problem solving model is conceptual framework for addressing problems, not a formula for solving them.
People are the actual problem solvers. But teams of people usually need an agreed-upon framework to keep them focused on task.

Though problem-solving models can be highly sophisticated and technical, the model covered in this section has just five simple steps. Despite its simplicity, it is comprehensive enough to address all but the most technical problems. But because of its simplicity, your team is likely to remember and use it.

Purpose of a Model

A problem-solving model can help a team stay on track and work efficiently. Without a model the team may overlook many of its options and step into still other problems.
With a model, a team has a framework to help:
• Air everyone’s concerns
• Look beyond symptoms
• Explore all solutions
• Anticipate problems
• Follow through
• Work productively

Using the Problem Solving Model

The sequence begins with step “1”- Identify the problem” and proceeds clockwise through all six steps:
• Identify the problem
• Analyze The Problem
• Evaluate Alternatives
• Test Implement The Solution
• Standardize The Solution

Model Characteristics

The steps shown in the figure above are arranged in a circle to emphasize the cyclic continuous nature of the problem-solving process. The model has several important characteristics:
• There are no branches or choice points. All five steps are required in the order shown. When one step is completed, your team proceeds counter clockwise to the next step.
• The steps are repeatable. At any step, your team may decide to return to and repeat an earlier step. Analyzing a problem, for instance can lead back to re-identifying it.
• The process is continuous. Implementing a solution does not end the process.
•
Though the steps have discrete names, there is no clear demarcation between them. Identifying and analyzing a problem frequently overlap.

Getting Started

The first step – identify the problem is a broad review of the current situation. In most environments, problems, or improvement opportunities are easily identified. But choosing just any problem may not reap the benefits your efforts deserve. To get the most out of the time that will be invested completing the problem solving steps, focus on a customer-related problem When identifying the problem make sure that you:
• Show the need for improvement in measurable terms
• State the problem
• Establish an interim target and a date for achieving this improvement

Useful tools for Identifying

Useful tools for identifying a problem include:
• Brainstorming
• Interview
• Survey
• List reduction
• Matrix

Guidelines For Developing A Problem Statement

When developing a problem statement:
• Be specific
• Describe a problem, not a symptom
• Relate the current situation to what is desired
• Be free of causes and solution.

Guidelines for Setting Targets

When setting targets you must remember to:
• Express targets quantitatively
• Be aggressive in your selection

When analyzing the problem:
• Identify the root cause(s) of the problem
• Verify each root cause
• Identify the root causes most responsible for the problem
• Targets should be changed as the situation changes
• Establish a long-term target and define intermediate targets

Useful Tools for Analyzing

Useful tools for analyzing a problem include:
• Cause-and-effect diagram
• Flowchart
• Pareto chart
• Brainstorming
• Check sheet

Guidelines For Collecting Data

When collecting data:
• Establish a purpose before collecting data
• Determine if the indicators are reliable
• Track all data needed
• .Record the data carefully

Evaluate Alternatives

When evaluating alternatives:
• Identify actions that will reduce or eliminate the root cause(s)
• Determine which actions will lead to the targeted level of improvement
• Plan the implementation of selected solutions.

Useful Tools for Evaluating

Useful tools for evaluating alternatives include:
• Brainstorming
• Interview
• Survey.

Guidelines for Developing Alternative Solutions

When developing alternative solutions:
• Be creative — identify as many potential actions as possible
• Don’t be constrained by current practice
• Be supportive.

Factors to Consider When Choosing Solutions

Factors to consider when choosing solutions include:
• Effectiveness
• Has this been tried before?
• Will it solve all or part of the problem?
• Will it achieve the target for improvement?
• Feasibility
• Can we implement this solution?
• Is it practical?
• Timeliness
• How fast will it work?
• Is it a long – or short-term solution?
• Can we afford to wait?
• Customer-oriented
• Does it satisfy identified customer requirements?
• Will it improve service quality?

What to Consider

Consider the following:
• Manpower (people)
• Whose support will be needed to successfully implement the solution?
• Materials
• Will your solutions require that new or different materials be utilized?
• Who will procure them?
• Methods
• How will those involved learn how to implement what you propose?
• How will you know if your solutions are working?
• Machinery
• Will your solutions require that new or different equipment be utilized?

Elements of Planning

Elements of planning include:
• The objective is clearly stated
• Each activity is defined
• Responsibility assigned
• Due dates are established.

Test Implement the Solution

When test implementing the solution:
• Implement the plan
• Help the solutions succeed
• Show measurable improvement
• If measurable improvement is not evident, restate the problem.

Useful Tools for Test Implementing

Useful tools for test implementing the solution include:
• Line graph
• Pareto chart
• Pie chart
• Bar chart
• Histogram
• Check sheet.

Ensuring Effective Solutions

In order to ensure effective solutions, you should:
• Communicate the plan
• Monitor plan implementation
• Reinforce each other
• Adjust when necessary.

Standardize the Solution

When standardizing the solution, remember to:
• Ensure that your solutions are made permanent
• Determine if the solutions will be effective elsewhere.

Useful Tools for Standardizing

Useful tools for standardizing the solution include:
• Flowcharting
• Brainstorming.

Steps for Maintaining the Gains

To maintain your gains:
• Make periodic checks
• Clarify work activities
• Develop and follow procedures
• Assign responsibility.

There are numerous problem solving models available. We have found over the years that the one presented above is easy to remember and apply. You and your team can learn it quickly and begin applying it to your work environment immediately.

A Cost-Effective Framework for Performance Improvement Programs

By Brice Alvord and Peter Paola

When working for one of my former employers, I discovered a program called QCDSM. It is a formal quality program to establish competitive manufacturing practices in companies. There are a number of quality systems available to companies. ISO 9001:2008 sets high standards and requires companies to be certified. But, what are the standards that would define a formal quality system?

Here are the ISO guidelines:
1. A set of procedures that cover all key processes in the business. QCDSM is based on this principle. In the initial training – a 2.5-dayseminar called Try Z – the need for and the importance of procedures is trained and used by all attendees.

2. Monitoring processes is necessary to ensure they are effective. QCDSM uses the visual display of charts and timelines in the Green Room to precisely measure every procedure performed on each task against the budgeted hours and time allocated.

Each task is process driven and measured as a result.

3. Adequate records need to be kept. The Green Room meeting process ensures that complete records are kept in that there is a timesheet for every task done against the budgeted hours. Every issue that may arise is recorded and the resultant fix is measured. Procedures result from the solutions. The timesheets are filled out each day by the employees who have worked on those tasks.

4. Checking output for defects, with appropriate and corrective action where necessary. QCDSM is not industry specific! It establishes the principles of Continuous Improvement within a company. It is a Formal Quality Program for companies. The QCDSM process within the Green Room is checking every process and task through the direct recording of the work done by the person. Any issues that arose during the previous day are recorded and corrective measures are suggested and tested and implemented with the whole team present. A database is developed to keep track of these ideas and suggestions and the solutions decided on.

5. Regularly reviewing individual processes and the quality system itself for effectiveness. The QCDSM system has a built in check and balance process that is constantly monitoring the effectiveness of the projects and tasks against the defined procedures. At each meeting continuous improvement is implemented based on compliance with the processes and the issues raised and the ideas and suggestions given by the employees.

6. Facilitating continuous improvement. The people of the company have full information of all the work that is to be done, the results of the work being done each day and the issues that arise. Each task is timed. This is the continuous improvement process that is eventually recorded in procedures. This is direct employee involvement. As you know QCDSM follows the principles of consistent quality, competitive cost, on time delivery, safety and high employee morale.

QCDSM is process driven and every issue that arises when solved will result in a procedure being written, tested and trained to ensure compliance by all. The process for doing this is controlled by a process called “Green Room measurements” that indicate which issues need procedures to be written. These are then written with the full involvement of those who actually perform the work. Building a data bank of these procedures ensures that whoever does the work will follow the defined procedure. The measurement of the result of the procedure is what is visually shown in Daily (Green Room) meetings on pre-determined charts.

In plant after plant where we implemented this program, we saw significant and remarkable results. The program served as a valuable conduit for programs we were implementing like 5S and HACCP, Quick changeover and Operations Performance Improvement teams.

For more information, contact Mr. Peter Paola of QCD Systems, Inc.

The Importance of Competitive Advantage in Turbulent Times

Success for any business is tricky in the current economy. For your business to remain viable, it has to weather the storms of competition. You have to be able to beat the ferocious market forces and overcome volatility. In other words, you need competitive advantage and it must be sustainable and able to endure the test of time

Understanding your competitive advantage is critical to your survival. It is why you are in business. Keep in mind that what you do best is what draws customers to buy your product or service rather than those of your competitor’s.

Gaining a sustainable competitive advantage is not as simple as just being different. Your competitive advantage is not a list of your strengths. Keep in mind that in today’s market, too many companies:
• Have a competitive advantage but don’t know what it is
• Know what their competitive advantage is but neglect to tell clients about it
• Don’t have a competitive advantage but think they do
• Mistake “strengths” for competitive advantages
• Don’t properly focus on their competitive advantages when making strategic and/or operational decisions

Performance Is The Key

Competitive advantage comes from what your people do (performance), not from what they know. How well does your company build and maintain a competitive edge? Five challenges most organizations face in gaining competitive advantage include:
• Recognizing and taking advantage of market opportunities
• Defining product and/or services that create value for customers
• Attracting, retaining and improving the best available resources for providing product and services
• Managing uncertainties in creating and realizing product and service opportunities
• Sharing the resulting benefits with your resources (employees and suppliers)

Attracting, retaining and improving the best available resources is perhaps the most difficult and often overlooked of these challenges.

Performance-based training is one way to meet this challenge. Performance-based training emphasizes proficiency in job tasks essential to your competitive advantage. It is based on clear definition of the tasks, skills and knowledge needed to competently perform each job in your organization.

A performance based training program is a planned, organized sequence of activities designed to prepare persons to competently perform their jobs. Competitive advantage requires that every employee maintain their job performance at the highest levels possible, or improve to meet the need.

Training and Performance Improvement departments must be able to guarantee that every learner can demonstrate full competence on every skill taught. How do you know if the training you are providing is performance-based? True performance-based training applies scientific principles on how people, learn, think, and remember. It requires the application of an instructional system design model that provides for:
• Needs assessment
• Curriculum development
• Course design and pilot delivery
• Evaluation

There are four key characteristics of true performance-based training that will help you determine how your organizations training rates, and where you can potentially make improvements.
1. Does the training provide clearly stated performance objectives?
2. Is the training derived directly from the job?
3. Does the training use vocabulary and examples that learners will relate well to?
4. Does the training focus on providing learners with practice and immediate feedback on all the skills required to perform a job to contribute to competitive advantage?

Role of Management

Enhancing human performance requires a team of managers and supervisors that can perform as both a well organized management team and have an in-depth understanding of people’s basic needs and behaviors. Managers must be able to make your business vision a reality by developing employee’s abilities in team work, problem solving, and critical thinking. It is not enough to merely have a vision, your managers must be able apply corresponding actions to make it happen.

A vision without corresponding action is merely a dream
Action without vision is a waste of time
Vision and corresponding actions will take you to new heights!

- Joel Barker, Business of Paradigms

Corresponding action is derived from the organization’s mission statement. The mission statement will only drive competitive advantage if it is properly designed and cuts across the entire organization (multilevel).
Managers must apply critical thinking to all aspects of the organization and build a strong business case for decisions. Effective critical thinking takes into account sustainable competitive advantages of every process and opportunity.

Considering Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

In making use of SWOT Analysis, start with overall strengths and weaknesses, then find the best combination of relative strengths (and the absence of critical weaknesses) to use against specific competitors in specific markets.

When developing a SWOT Analysis, either for yourself or a competitor, consider these points:
• Generally, even in most complex situation, there should be no more than 3-4 conclusions for each category of a SWOT.
• Both strengths and weaknesses are internal; they are within the direct control of the company
• Both opportunities and threats are usually external; they are outside the direct control of the company
• By definition, a key point for one category cannot be a key point for another category
• Strengths and weaknesses are relative and have limits. No strength or weakness applies against all competitors in all market situations.

Comparing the Competitors’ SWOT Analysis to your own SWOT Analysis can help to identify true strengths and opportunities for you and the competition. For example, if your analysis identified the same strength for you and a key competitor, it is possible that it is not a strength for either of you – but is actually a requirement for competing in this market. Be careful not to define a requirement such as this as a competitive advantage – it is NOT!

Conclusion

Sustainable competitive advantage allows for the maintenance and improvement of your company’s competitive position in the market. It is an advantage that enables your business to survive against its competition over a long period of time. The advantage comes from your company’s unique skills and resources working together to implement strategies that competitors cannot implement as effectively.
Keep in mind that most advantages can be duplicated within a period of time. Approximately 70 percent of all new products can be duplicated within one year and 60 to 90 percent of process improvements eventually spreads to your competitors. Competitive advantage is a dynamic process that demands constant attention. It is NOT a once and done flavor of the month!

Do You Want Efficiency or Effectiveness?

by Brice Alvord

Need to measure the efficiency of your production line equipment. Overall equipment effectiveness is a measurement used to indicate how effectively machines are running. Unlike some uses of the efficiency measure, OEE monitors the machine or process that adds the value, not the operator’s productivity. It gives a complete picture of the machine’s “health”-not just how fast it can make parts, but how much the potential output was limited due to lost availability or poor performance.

A machine’s overall effectiveness includes more than the quantity of product it can produce in a shift. When we measure overall equipment effectiveness, we account for efficiency as one factor:
• Performance – A comparison of the actual output with what the machine should be producing in the same time.

In addition to performance, however, OEE includes two other factors:
• Availability – A comparison of the potential operating time and the time in which the machine is actually making products
• Quality – A comparison of the number of products made and the number of products that meet the customer’s specifications.

Measuring OEE is strictly about improving the equipment or process. It is not an approach for criticizing people. Used as an impartial daily snapshot of equipment conditions, OEE promotes openness in information sharing and a no-blame approach in handling equipment-related issues.

These key differences highlight the importance of OEE as a balanced measure that helps support improvement and profitability.

Employee Motivation and Training – When to Get Outside Help

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Debbie_Norris]Debbie Norris

Employee motivation and training are the cornerstones of employee engagement. Well trained and highly motivated employees are more often engaged at work and are more productive that those who may not have received the proper training. Sometimes company provided training is not providing employees with the knowledge and tools they need to stay motivated and get their job done.

Outside agencies can be a great help in determining the best course of action in getting your employees back on track and fully engaged in their jobs. Many companies hire consulting firms to come in and asses their training and motivational program, suggesting changes and improvements that should be made. Consultants often work with upper management to change and implement policies and procedures to improve training and motivational practices.

Deciding if you need to look outside your organization for help is a personal choice for the executives in your company. You need to look at the resources available and the programs you have in place to reward and motivate your staff. If you can come up with ideas where things can be improved and have the resources you need to get the job done, keeping your reorganization internal is certainly a possibility. If you are lost for ideas, you may want to find someone else to give you a hand.

One great way to get ideas about reworking your training and motivation program is to talk to your staff. Ask them about what areas they feel need work and what would help to motivate them to perform in a higher capacity. By going straight to the source, you can find some of the most unique and effective ideas that will actually work to motivate your employees. You could even discover training weaknesses that you were completely unaware of through your own observations.

When it seems that company provided or on the job training just aren’t enough to bring your staff up to par, you may need to look for outside help with employee motivation and training issues. Once these problems are brought back under control, any problems that you may have with employee engagement in the workplace should dissipate.

Interested in employee motivation and training?

Check out this site. It focuses on helping companies perfect the human side of business. If you’re interested in talent management, discovering and preventing disengagement, building team communication, hiring the right people and matching the right people to the right positions, you don’t want to miss this one: http://www.kabachnick.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Debbie_Norris http://EzineArticles.com/?Employee-Motivation-and-Training—When-to-Get-Outside-Help&id=2489606