PBW – Patrick’s Blog World

Managing financial resources

Today was my first day at Henley Business School attending the MFR workshop. It’s quite a good feeling to be here again and meet all fellows.

The workshop is great so far, I have learned a lot and I’m very impressed about our tutors experience and knowledge. I guess that guy knows the answer to every single question out there in terms of accounting and economics.

However, there is a upcoming feeling of tension noticeable. Maybe because the first exams are actually just less than 4 months away and the tutors keeps mentioning what we have to consider when it comes to the exam prep.

But one by one…first I have to pass this module writing an assignment about managing financial resources. Very interesting stuff as it reveals a lot of interesting facts about my own company. On the other hand it’s just highlights how important it is for a manager to understand the economic and accounting principles to perform successfully. Most of the managers are somehow scared when it comes to these things. I’m convinced once you know how to read financial figures and build up ratios and the like you’ll be able to develop a sound understand how your company is working. There is a very true saying: “What gets measured gets done” and this is highly applicable in your company as well.

As a product manager I’m dealing day in and day out with figures, requests, requirements etc. from internal and external stakeholders. Managing financial resources enables me to glue all these tasks together and have a look at the bottom line as well. Not that bottom line is the only measurement but its a pretty good indication and it always should be taken into consideration.

So I guess there are intensive weeks ahead and I’m curious how I’ll cope with all these challenges at the moment. MBA, work, private life….very demanding currently.

Processes

Well, after a fantastic Christmas eve etc. I was required to finish my next assignment about Managing Processes, Systems and Projects. And I did it

I was really looking forward to that subject as I have felt that it’s the module I can apply most to my company. And finally it has been true. Despite the quantity of reading the module was fun and it turned out to be the most holistic module so far. This albeit the fact that the content was actually down to processes etc.

However, I have analysed an issue regarding our internal complaint management process and proposed some changes of the process and the use of the CRM. In order to do so I used a couple of models like:

• Process performance objectives (Quality, Speed, Dependability, Flexibility, Cost)
• Polar diagrams for customer expectations vs. current performance
• Conflicts and trade offs
• Efficient frontier model
• Process strategy matrix
• SIPOC (Suppliers, Input, Processes, Output, Customers)
• Process maps
• 4 V’s demand model
• Little’s law (Throughput time = work in process x cycle time)
• Theory of constraints (especially bottlenecks)
• SERVQUAL – quality management process
• Principle of costs
• Service-profit chain
• Change process by Kotter
• Project management
• Force-field analysis
• Stakeholder power-interest grid
• Risk management
• SIX Sigma DMAIC, FIT SIGMA

However, If you want to know more about these models etc. don’t hesitate to drop me a line. For now, I’m going to focus on Managing Financial resources and Personal development which are the next important modules I’m looking forward to.

So, wish you all a very good start into 2010…

Fireworks

I want to wish you a happy new year and may all your wishes come true in 2010. I guess 2009 brought along many changes to all of us but each experience was valuable.

Finally, I close 2009 with a quote from Confucius:

“They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.”

Patrick

Just a brief entry today for you.

I have finished and already sent in my 2nd assignment about Managing People and Performance. I have to admit that it was quite a hard journey. Having a look at my previous entry about managing people I guess that I found a reasonable way to apply all the required materials. By the way I decided to come up with the introduction of a balanced scorecard to broaden the approach how performance is measured and secondly to use the BSC as a tool to steer strategy.

Kaplan & Norton did a fantastic job with the invention of the balanced scorecard. I can really recommend all the materials about it. Just ask yourself the following questions:

Is your HR linked to your business strategy? Do you measure performance in accordance to your business strategy?

If the answers are no, or “partly” etc. then it might be an idea to have a look at what Norton & Kaplan suggest with their Balanced scorecard. The BSC therefore expands the way how you measure performance at your company because it includes 4 dimensions of measurement:

1. Financials (no, a BSC is not undermining financial measurement, but extends it)
2. Customers (Yes, a very important fact to keep an eye on your customers as well)
3. Internal processes (How can we contribute with internal processes to business objectives)
4. Learning & growth (How can we improve our performance in future)

Balanced scorecard by Kaplan & Norton

In conclusion, the Balanced scorecard is a useful tool to measure performance holistically and to steer and a review your business strategy regularly.

If you want to know more about the BSC I can recommend Kaplan & Norton’s articles on Harvardbusiness.org or just drop me a line….

And now I have to immerse into my next module called: Managing Processes, Systems and Projects which I’m really looking forward to, although the timeline is more than tight and Christmas season is almost here.

HRM tools

This blog entry is dedicated to a lot of HRM materials I’m currently reading. Although some of them are quite fascinating they seem to repeat themselves over and over again…

I can’t help but is this really the truth about people management? Is it really such an unpredictable, soft thing which can’t be controlled? Or are there at least a few models and concepts out there which are “hard facts”?

I have read a lot about Pfeffers Competitive Advantage, Deal & Kennedy’s model of corporate culture, Hofstedes cultural dimensions, Importance of the line manager, Talent war vs. commitment war, Best fit theory, Best practice theory, Resource based view, International HRM, HR strategy, Bath’s people & performance model, Service-profit chain model, Three dimensional people strategy, Chain of command, Control span, Job design, Employee retention, Rousseau’s psychological contract, Employer branding, Soft HRM, Hard HRM, Performance measurement, Balanced score card, Vroom’s expectancy theory, Attribution theory, Equity theory, Herzberg’s two factors, Maslow Motivational pyramid, Emotional intelligence, Mentoring & Coaching etc….. quite a lot of models and suggestions how to handle people.

Nevertheless, in the end it’s always about people. They behave differently under different circumstances. No matter what kind of model you want to apply, you always have to deal with people’s wishes, feelings, and emotions. None of the above mentioned tools can you guarantee success. That’s actually a bit scaring. Does this mean that you don’t have to know about all these intriguing materials?

No, not at all. At least you have some tools which are able to support you managing HR. Life is not a straight line, HRM isn’t as well. The tools absolutely provide some understanding for different situations and how to cope with. Use them with respect but deliberately.

However, listen to what Shelly Lazarus (Chairman and CEO, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide) says about people management: