Becoming an employer – (2)

Managing your business/organization

An employer is a person, business, firm, etc, that employs workers. Before anyone or organization can be said to be an employer of labour, such must be involved in business. Business refers to an enterprising entity or organization that carries out professional activities. They can be commercial, industrial, or others. For-profit business entities do business to earn a profit, while non-profit ones do it for a charitable mission. Managing a business requires that one gives special attention to the following areas of business development:

Product Management

Product management is an organizational function that guides every step of a product’s lifecycle – from development to positioning and pricing – by focusing on the product/service and its customers first and foremost.

Process Management

Process management is a systematic approach to ensure that effective and efficient business processes are in place. It is a methodology used to align business processes with strategic goals. Leadership is a critical function in processes and businesses. It is the ability to create rules and to set goals. It is the capacity to follow through to see that rules are followed and goals are accomplished. Process works efficiently when employers consistently emphasize on the vision of labour and empathize with workers over division of labour. The former is a way to inspire workers to connect to, and understand the lofty goals, aspirations and missions of the organization while they commit to, and undertake the tasks committed into their hands. The latter is a way to ensure workers are fairly apportioned the right tasks, with commensurate remuneration and rewards.

Productivity Management

Productivity management is an organizational setup or framework that helps individuals and teams improve productivity. Productivity measures how efficiently an organization or its employees convert inputs, like labour and capital, into outputs, like goods or services. Every year on June 20th, World Productivity Day recognizes the importance of being productive. It is also a day for people to learn how to increase their productivity. Productivity is defined as the efficiency of production of goods or services. The quality of producing something is also another definition for productivity. Productivity management is also about business profitability and profit stability. The profitability of a business rests solely on the viability of the product(s)/service(s) being offered among other things, while profit stability rests on the availability of quality (loyal and dedicated) workers among other things. The kind of people organizations employ determines their productivity level and profit stability. It is commonplace for business owners to hire and fire workers chiefly due to the need to improve productivity and decline in productivity respectively.

MICROMANAGING: A HINDRANCE TO PERPETUAL ORGANIZATIONAL PRODUCTIVITY AND EFFICIENCY

Organizational productivity is the capacity of a business to produce desired results with a minimum expenditure of resources (time, money, human resources). Organizational efficiency is the process of using fewer resources, as well as less time and less money, to achieve the same goal. Micromanaging means to control every part, however small, of (an enterprise or activity). While it is important to model how work is meant to be done efficiently, it is counter-productive to hinder workers from taking initiative and being creative in their own right by monitoring every smallest detail in the team or workplace. Micromanaging is the exact opposite of having confidence in team members, giving them freedom, and having faith in their skills and abilities. “Managers should encourage their employees to perform their tasks independently for what they are hired for and need to exercise control. This approach will teach employers to be confident, capable, and independent. As a result, there’ll be an increase in productivity, creativity, morale, and job satisfaction.”

When employees are micromanaged, they doubt every action and feel they can’t do anything right. These negative feelings significantly impact work performance as they kill the ability of the team to do great work. Also, employees become stressed out and may not care how well they complete the project. Employers must learn to look for creative individuals, retrain and retain them. It is important that they also allow them participate independently in the pursuit of the overarching and overall organization’s goals. “As a leader or business owner, it is natural to ensure you are working with productive employees who are doing the best job they can. However, it often leads to walking the harmful path of micromanagement. It’s important to note that there is a fine line between supporting your employees and micromanaging every little thing. Nothing is more frustrating and de-motivating than a boss who tries to take control of every little step of your day.”

Before you retain, retrain and do not restrain. Do not micromanage. The negative effects of micromanaging will hurt the business in the long run. It impacts mental health, job satisfaction, employee happiness and productivity, and workplace connection. All of these aspects are crucial to making workers stay by your side and avoid retention issues. One of the negative effects of micromanaging is that, it stifles creativity and teamwork. According to Dr. Edward de Bono’s “Six Thinking Hats”, the green hat represents creativity. It explores possibilities, alternatives, and new ideas. This hat can be intimidating, because many people tell themselves that they’re not creative. Like a muscle, creativity can be developed and strengthened with practice. The green hat gives people a safe space in which to think creatively.Creativity is the spark that drives the development of new products or services or ways to do business. It is the push for innovation and improvement. It is continuous learning, questioning, and thinking outside of prescribed formulas. Businesses thrive on creativity and teamwork to solve problems and get ahead of the competition. Unfortunately, micromanagement cannot let thrive such an entrepreneurial culture. It doesn’t allow the employees to think outside of the prescribed formulas, and their ideas are not encouraged.

EMPLOYER’S GUIDE:

READ-TEAM-PLAN-LEAD

Read Every day And Discover – (READ)

Think Every day And Manifest – (TEAM)

Pray, Listen And Note – (PLAN)

Learn Every day And Discover – (LEAD)

READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE