The system of Kaizen scorecard is based on a Japanese philosophy which states that continuous improvement improves worker productivity. It is the concept of changes during the progress of work and its improvement. The small improvement did make lot of changes in business. Every department of the company like business, marketing, manufacturing etc. should be improved constantly so that they gain more profits and become more efficient. By this practise the company gains more revenue and the cost is reduced while providing the company to compete with other competitors in the market.

It is beyond doubt that, as a concept, Kaizen is quite attractive, but idea alone is not sufficient to induce an organization for its adoption. the Kaizen budgeting process plays the role of the much needed motivator by providing a financial tool for improvement throughout the organization on an ongoing basis. For example, to compel constant improvements , in this system of budgeting a lower amount than the previous corresponding period is provided to a department. Unless the department is able to improve upon its performance, it incurs expenditure beyond the amount allotted to it in the budget.

The employees who practice Kaizen business should be well trained to think creatively, from constraints, and most important make them result oriented. Once they start making improvements to their routines work with the help of Kaizen concept, then automatically their efficiency increases and productivity increases resulting in good business and turnover for the company. An example is how building muscle trims fat faster. Likewise we also have to give benefits to employees, otherwise the improvements will slow down and will stop altogether.

For this purpose, a fund is often built into the Kaizen budget for rewarding any significant improvements made by employees who are found to be winners. This provides significant incentive to the employees to keep coming up with improvements. It also provides a good way to measure whether or not an employee is contributing. As time goes on, thanks to Kaizen budgeting the company grows stronger, healthier, more efficient, and more profitable.

Innovation is the key factor behind the success of every business establishment. The tremendous growth of businesses in Japan is the best example for this. The business giant Wal-Mart corporation has been expanding multi-fold through innovative designs. Any company can grow, only by application of new ideas and methods and introduction of new products, which activate the markets and maintain clients. Behind the success story of any establishment, one can see the motivated workers, who help decrease wasteful expenditure and increase profit margins. One can achieve this, only by patience, dedication and diligent efforts. This is the strategy for every one to follow in the success line of business.

Plan Do Check Act

As you commence the fishbone analysis to find the root cause, ensure that you discover and then keep track of the categories for your problem. Define the problem precisely then take time to address all conceivable causes. No idea is ignored during this part. Causes can be apparent or even unlikely and even tricky to describe. Consider employing brainstorming sessions in order to discover a wide array of factors. Appreciate that some causes may just be a matter of opinion while some are completely supported by statistics, details, or diagrams, along with Pareto charts.Full engagement of various experts is required to pull together the list of inputs. From all the impacted processes and departments, there should be management and front-line representatives in this group. After the starting of this, the potential improvements to the products, services or processes can be kicked off.

Through the process of recognizing inputs, we develop a fishbone diagram. Rather than specifically going for a good-looking diagram we should concentrate on all of the important inputs. With the recognition of each input, some additional reasons are also identified. The shape of the diagram comes from branching of larger bones which are due to additional inputs. As the process continues, branching goes to several levels on the Ishikawa diagram. Every cause is represented by a small bone. The following categories are regularly used in a 5m fishbone manufacturing scenario:

1. Measurement – including using measuring devices from the kaizen manufacturing concepts to identify source causes and defects under that scope.
2. Man – Brainstorming exercises have many benefits including identification within a specific section as a support in the implication on the causes started by the people inside a particular step.
3. Machine – To precisely trace the origin of the machine defect it is crucial for one to figure out whether one or multiple machines are to blame. Machine defect sources should therefore include the defect sources from machines in the entire working environment.
4. Method – encourage reflection upon matrix organizational procedures. Often minimizing the occurrence of defects can be as simple as making slight changes to procedure. Routines can make people blind to inefficiencies and problems. When ingrained routines are broken up, it becomes easier to see these opportunities for improvement and product benefits from increased book quality.
5. Material – including any raw materials or other pieces requiring quality review during the process. At times, material used in the work stream may be the cause of defects identified by the end of the manufacturing process.
6. Environment – Quality of work scorecard is generally affected by environment. The cause of negative effect due to environmental factors has to be analyzed and moderated positively.

Project Management Impacted by Falling Economies

Everyone is going through a tough time as European and the U.S. economies are again showing a sign of slow down with fears that they might even further slump down to recession.  As precautionary measures, the businessmen are trying to reduce their operational costs. However, without proper project management training, sometimes their efforts result in penny-wise but pound foolish economy.

Many companies have undertaken projects to save money, but they are doing so without any proper project management in place thus making a serious mistake at the very beginning. Without hiring proper management expertise, these companies are trying to cut cost by all means, including team size reduction and outsourcing. Some of them even have designed projects to phase out the entire IT department. Without additional management expertise, the projects are being handed over to those who barely know the project management basics or the internal project management staff is being overburdened.
Effective resource management can certainly save these companies money. A good project manager will have foresight, he will see issues before conflict sets in, and he might bring solutions to problems before they become terribly serious.  A good project manager will plan accordingly to manage the input and output of various subsystems so that the project is harmoniously carried out without any waste of resources in waiting for a given subsystem to be finished before project may continue.

Many times, there is an incorrect perception about project management expertise – that folks with these skills are just an unnecessary burden on the company. The reason for this is that it’s very difficult to motivate executives to understand  how foresight and planning avoided a particular problem, as senior management might think that it never ever was a threat in reality.

Under the conventional management approach, projects are considered independent units and their success and failure depends upon the metrics with financial ratios. But under an improved approach, projects are considered as part of whole business strategy and not mere isolated independent entities. Though this sounds very simple, yet still a good framework or effective mode of action has to be evolved under this approach.

By reducing project management training, the companies are themselves are inviting problems like delay and associated escalation in cost. Companies fail to realize that the delays in project implementation will cost them more than savings made by reducing project manager costs.

The new organizational approach should evolve new metrics and charts to evaluate the projects. Business strategy should be flexible enough to allow variations in budget or schedules so that the project is bound to deliver benefits to the organization. If projects are not aligned to business strategy, they can not operate in functional areas. So the entire project management expertise should come forward to take strategic responsibility and deliver results not only at the end of the project but even during the project implementation as well.

Complex tasks require fantastic project management software in addition to tools meant for scheduling such as PERT and Gantt charts, however scores of less demanding projects that necessitate few personnel in a short time period can also indicate a less demanding methodology to achieve. This indicates that, more often than not, a straightforward undertaking will merely use a handful of steps. These work elements will frequently be dependent on every one of the other steps that come before them. They might furthermore be rather effortless to manage for the leadership in charge of these tasks.

A Gantt chart is a tool currently in use by project managers for tasks which are not overly complex and also on other projects. An example of such an activity could be creating and executing an advertising and marketing plan. A sole owner business could make a plan using the Gantt chart. However, it should be noted a Gantt chart could make a simple project more complicated. It is possible that using the Gantt chart would be overkill for a simple planning job. All the project members should thoroughly understand a tool like a Gantt chart so that good communication is maintained with involved parties. It may be much more useful to simply use an action plan or a time timetable for simple planning needs. As long as all those involved get their time table and plan things should go smoothly. Members may need to be involved in motivatingthe project stakeholders to adjust the time table and the management may want to use calendars or diaries for records.

With the projects being measured and monitored than they will be requiring deadlines and will have control points. It does not mean that the project will end if the deadline is missed. New time frames can be negotiated and there could be further discussions and assessment by the members in some of the cases. A Gantt Chart might be required if the deadline is regularly crossed or in case a project gets too complex, however the workforceshould be well versed with the use of this tool.

A listof actions and tasks, such as an action plan, can be used to reach a single goal or outcome such as a specific project. Good action plans will focus on reaching one goal. The actions may be put into a to-do list or action calendar, though such lists may also cover more many goals.

Getting a project on track once it has been derailed can be quite complicated. When a task has fallen behind or a worker has quit then management may need to make compromisesto recover the overall goal. The reassigning of resources may be required. The order of tasks may be affected or the specified scope of specific tasks altered.

Even the best project managers have to deal with reallocating resources. This is one of the first challenges to be overcome by managers once they discover that there are not enough resources or tasks. Then, it becomes necessary to focus on critical tasks and provide them with resources originally assigned to other less important tasks. In addition, those resources no longer required for some tasks can be used for more difficult tasks. It may also be detectedthat a planned task is not needed anymore.

When faced with challenges changing the sequence of tasks may be needed. It may be easier to substitute some tasks currently and leave the more challenging ones for a later time. It may also be possible to rearrange tasks to enable multitasking when things are behind. A Gantt chart can be useful in planning for the possible roadblocks a project may run into. When a manager can see the whole plan laid out before them it may help them to see where problems may arise or where time and resources may be better used. This can help to avoid problems before they arise. 

The Maslow hierarchy of needs transcends nearly all aspects of life, however none more so than the business world. Staff members are at such staggered stages of living that the odds for tension are of significant concern in business. Even as a boss may well have reached the self-actualizationpoint with a spouse and kids, an entry-level employee might barely be hoping to obtain her first residence.

The considerable difference among workers of different stages of Maslow’s theoryis most quickly shown with the prior case in point. The stress intensity of somebody who is barely getting by, having anxiety with their physiological as well as safety requirements is of immense concern. Somebody experiencing that much strain can have their job start to suffer.

If a person has their basic needs met such as a place to live, a rewarding family experience, and financial stability, they are more likely to excel in the workplace. It is hard to focus on the job at hand, especially if you don’t have the ability to focus. When you are able to focus you are more efficient and effective at work.

This is why a wise business owner puts prospective employees through a thorough interviewing process. Through interviews it’s easy to identify those with stable environments. In Maslow’s terms, smart supervisors want to recruit employees in the self-actualization and esteem stages. Both of these stages usually take other people into account when working.

Workplace competition generates a higher quality of product and promotes employee cohesion. Esteem stage employees make a great fit for your business due to their more competitive need to excel, combined with their need for attention and the respect of their coworkers. Esteem stage employees are better at maintaining excellent interpersonal workplace relationships and can provide your business with quality work.

Employees in the self-actualization stage are also useful employees. These employees are focused on the task at hand. They have a calmer demeanor, knowing their self-worth and not having the lesser of life’s struggles bearing down on them. Also, since people do not stay in a single stage, and my slide back down the pyramid, it is better to have someone who is still high enough on the pyramid, even with a backslide, who will still be a confident, efficient worker.

The business world can benefit from a Maslow-like overhaul of its practices. If carefully studied, we’ll see that employees with greater focus and competency mean a more successful business. It naturally follows that the quickest and most efficient route to success is to recruit members from the top tier of Maslow’s hierarchy.

The class is taking a break now, so I thought I’d try out this neat WordPress mobile feature.

It has been observed throughout the history of mankind that people tend to work lazily when they have more freedom or are not bound by an obligation. This gives rise to competition from others who are motivated by the ‘chance’ to pass ahead of the lazy ones. The rabbit and tortoise story aptly fits in here.

The question then arises, how does one ensure productivity rise if members of a team feel lazy? The answer is: Proper management of the team. One can always take pleasure in mentoring workers under him/her and see the team growing thereby adding to the overall development of the organization; but it sometimes lead to unpleasant experiences and conflict management opportunities as pushing a person too much isn’t always straightforward or simple.

Maslow's Needs Hierarchy

Studies and research have been done on motivation and two popular theories that came out are Maslow’s and McGregor’s. The former’s theory talks about hierarchy of worker needs and the latter’s divided into two parts:  Theory X and Theory Y. These theories had a sense of self explanation and reasoning in them and they seemed quite logical to be followed.

Talking particularly about Theories X and Y, McGregor divided the managers into two kinds — one who has quite some faith in his team (Theory Y) and the other who is either skeptical or completely in distrust about the members (Theory X).

In Theory X, the kind of approach adopted by a manager is similar to offering a combination reward and punishment, whereas Theory Y gives preference to participation from all members. There was another theory on which McGregor was working (Theory Z) but he died during the process.

Looking at the two theories listed above, one may think that a Theory Y manager would be immensely successful, but it could be an illusion and there are many failed stories of managers trying to be too kind. The reason could have been that the employees tend to take him for granted at times.

In today’s world, Theory X dominates heavily and, in most organizations, work is assigned to workers with (possibly) harsh deadlines and severe consequences in the event of work not being completed within the deadline. This could be deemed a good strategy to get the job done in time, but it only infuriates the workers towards the organization and they start to do work halfheartedly with no particular interest or passion. This is an unfavorable scenario for a company and its development.

McGregor articulated the two distinct assumptions or strategies regarding employee motivation. He referred to the belief that people inherently dislike work as Theory X. Workers, according to the Theory X assumptions, must be coerced and controlled to achieve work objectives.  The lazy proletariat try to avoid responsibility and have relatively little ambition.

However, Theory Y is bit more consistent with the way we think nowadays, suggesting that employees see that work is as normal for adults as play is for kids. Theory Y managers believe that people will learn to seek and accept responsibility and will exercise self-direction towards achieving workplace goals and objectives. Looking at your workplace, which theory tends to predominate in philosophy and practice: Theory X or Theory Y?

Disenfranchised and unmotivated workers can cause serious problems. The end impact can go far beyond poor quality and reduced production to high employee turnover which costs organizations substantially.  This malaise translates to the entire company performing at or below mediocre.  Engaged and motivated employees exist when a company really understands and employs the values that form the core of human behavior.

How does a Theory Y Manager Act?

A Theory Y manager nurtures and develops a new employee into a productive, self-sustaining team members. One of the things that stands out in nature shows out is how, in the wild, newborns are nurtured by their parents as a way of ensuring the continuance of the species.

Many human managers are not so wise, particularly those managers who abide by Theory X thinking that workers have to be watched closely or they will screw around, employees are stupid, micro-managing is a necessity, and when things go wrong you must find someone to fire.

Many companies of all sizes provide new hires with the bare minimum information and training they need to succeed in their new jobs. That’s’ the Theory X way: toss them in the deep end of the pool to see who makes it out alive. It’s the basis of Donald Trump’s popular TV reality show, The Apprentice.

Theory Y managers, however, take a more natural approach to enabling new hires to become fruitful in the workplace. A Theory Y manager wants the new partnership to be long, advantageous for more fun and profits.

Here’s how a manager can turn a new hire’s first experiences into a lasting and prosperous relationship that will ensure the long-term financial and competitive sustainability of the business.  Regard these new hires as equals.  New hires have a perspective on the business that legacy employees do not.  A company can learn a lot and keep its perspective fresh on its business by engaging new hires in exposing the good, the bad, and the ugly about the business and its culture – as long as they keep an open mind when hearing these new perspectives.

The question of employee or human motivation is one that has intrigued leaders and workplace scientists for generations. What is motivation? It is the willingness to exert an effort toward a goal that fulfills a need. When we are motivated to act, that motivation comes from an internal need to attain a given outcome. A simple example is hunger.   As a result, we arrange our lives so that we can attain food.

Are you a Theory X manager, or a Theory Y manager?

Having defined the work breakdown structure, you should have a list of tasks which would need to be finished in order to produce the desired outcomes. These tasks will have dependencies and durations and hence can be scheduled. Now’s the time for the PERT or network chart software to be used. You can concentrate on the logic of the task relationships: the software should do the scheduling for you, including calculating the critical path.

Once the precedence has been defined and the schedule has been created, the result can be displayed on the Gantt chart. It’s often best not to show the dependencies (links) on this chart, especially if there are a lot of tasks and complex dependencies between them. It’s also helpful if you can produce separate Gantt Charts for different WBS levels or Stages/Products, as they will be more understandable with fewer tasks in them. Summary Gannt charts showing higher levels in the WBS may also be useful.

How Would Gantt Charts Have Helped

A Gantt Chart would have acted as a baseline plan for monitoring the progress, had it been created at the contract stage. The extra tasks required to be done by the company could have been added and the duration of the existing tasks could have been changed as and when the customer asked for changes in the specifications: the slippage in the handover date could have been clearly shown by this. The customer could have been then asked to agree to a revised end date and sign the amendment to the contract.

By not having these tools at their disposal, the company could not illustrate that the delays were not due to their incompetence (although it may be argued that by not having this type of project management software, they were indeed being incompetent).

Gantt Chart Software

The Microsoft Project software has a Gantt chart generator. In order to be able to use a Gantt chart correctly you must understand what it is. A Gantt chart is simply a chart that helps you plan your project. You must know your project inside out and the deadline for the completion of each task. This software can be useful as you can utilize it to plan your project to the last detail. The stacked bar chart in Microsoft excel can be a substitute but it is not the easiest to work with. In order for you to use any software for your project, you should have a clear idea of all the activities to be carried out in your project. You should also be aware of those that depend on the completion of others. There has to be a timeline for the most important events in your project and you should fill in the other events in the desired order so as to be in a position to complete the project on time.

PMP Training to Prepare for Exams

Project management training courses are focused on furnishing the participants with project management concepts and knowledge needed to pass the PMP certification exam and earn the prestigious credential of certified project manager. There are so many factors impacting your ability to pass the exam, such as gaining credentials that establish you as professionally capable to handle intricate project management tasks.

Therefore, many individuals embark on PMP training as one of the methods to get necessary PMP exam prep. If you are unsure where to located the best PMP training programs, book, or classes, the internet offers huge array for that. Beware of possible scams when searching for PMI or ITIL project management schools. The cost of lessons, the exam, and books can be quite high, so you want to make sure you get the best value from your education fees.

Focus of Project Management Training

Successful project management produces tremendous positive impacts on organizations which use it,  It stems from the management team up to the employees  who realize the value from the methods you have created. Several individuals who apply for a PMP certification exam hoping to propel a career in project management engage in PMP training programs to create more focus in their knowledge-acquisition process.

Here are major areas that are validated for competence during the PMP exam:

• Ability to utilize available resources and create strong teams.
• Familiarity with fundamental tools of project management such as Process Flow Charts, Gannt Charts and Pert Charts.
• Identification of project risks and ability to quickly devise plans to mitigate those risks.
• Efficient usage of the resources assigned to your project.
• Creating a step-by-step action plan that was subjected to intense examination and risk assessment.

Training to Re-Learn PM Skills

Although the PMP certification exam is has questions which are multiple-choice, the test requires you to hone the skills and theory that which has been gained throughout your project management career. Of course, all PMP exam prep methods require you to begin your study with theory, later evolving into action-driven methods that employ the theory previously learned.

Project management courses are quite effective as a PMP exam prep for various reasons. But the most basic reason is basically due to its ability to help an individual re-learn basic skills that are fundamental in a project management task.

First, a good project management course is one that enables you to turn information into the driving force of your project. Unless you have the proper knowledge and information, you often get stuck in your project. So, information is the motor that keeps everything running.

Your ability to interact with people is another vital skill you will learn through PMP education. This is closely tied up with your ability to gather and handle information since your personnel are basically the ones to put into effect your strategic planning.

Taking PMP preparation training course are quickly becoming the best way to prepare for the PMP exam and to earn the high salary that being a top-notch project manager can bring. There’s a fine line that distinguishes theory from practice but these are fused together in a training curriculum for effectively studying for the PMP certification exam.

Photo by Kelly Walters