In the 21st century the outlook of business is completely different. Before now a lot business people were contented to service the local population, that is those who are in their immediate environment. But today, in a world that has been made much smaller, via communications and supersonic transportation, standards of products and services have to be world class or they will lose their value immediately they come off the shelf! The obsession with making profit from every sale that a businessman can get his name on has filtered down to adding value to the customer, so that he would keep coming back to purchase more of the product or patronize the service again. There are 10 principles that are very apt for every modern business person to bear in mind, if he wants survive in the global environment that the world has become.
1. The market is global! Where ever you are and whatever you do, bear in mind that you have to make sure that your service is up to the standard recognized the world over. You need to keep tabs on developments in the sector in which you operate and ensure that you are up to date. I once asked a class of young managers in Accra, if you were taken, abruptly from your station in Ghana, and were dropped in New York City, New York or Tokyo, Japan would you be able to do your job? Are you confident that your skills are world class? Or are you just getting by? How quickly would you be able to adjust to a radical change of environment? The global perspective does not rest on human beings alone, it also has a lot to do with goods or products. Suppose a company were to ship your products to the UK market for sale, would they be able to compete favorably without you there to defend them. Would you have to bellyache about the conditions and environment in which you are producing them? When we say the market is global, its a challenge to every manager on the face of the earth to up his game.
2. Measure Only Against the Best! Bench marking is a traditional way of knowing how well we are doing in our area of operations. When we want to measure the quality and standards of our goods or services its only right that we measure against the best. Look for the market leader and see what they do and how they do it, and determine if we have met the quality level of services or goods that they have provided. Sometimes the best is our competition and that means we are working hard to meet up and possibly surpass the competition. One approach to this is to look at areas where the competition is weak and see if we can capitalize. No product or service is perfect. Everyone has weaknesses and limitations, we strive for perfection, but we hardly ever meet it.If you can cash in on the competition's weaknesses, you are on the way up! More over if you can understand the operating processes of the best in the sector and know how to out do them, you will succeed.
3. Change is Constant! Every manager knows that change is constant and must be managed in order for us to make headway. We continually find ourselves in a changing environment where managers have to be on their toes and absorb large swings in weather, economies, technology and human behavior. The ability to adopt to all of these ensures our continuity and viability in whatever we do. The manager often has to take up the task of a change agent to ensure that his organization is ready for change. This is a role expected of key people in every organization.
4. Relationships matter! The people we work with can be skilled, but their attitude to work is another kettle of fish. In order for us to encourage the right attitude from people we work with, it is crucial for us to get a hold of our work relations and ensure that we get along with all the people in our work environment. Cordial relationships enhances work-ability. This does not mean we have to be friends with everyone in the work environment, that is could be a tall order. What it does mean is we ought to have a rapport with all the people in our workplace and in our circle of influence.
5 Manage information through people! This certainly is the information age. In major economies, in order for all of us to keep up with developments we need the right information. Businesses and companies need access to information about raw materials, prices, changes in production processes etc. The internet, mobile phone, cable TV, satellite and internet radio have all become veritable tools in business which cannot be ignored. All the information that we get on a daily basis has to however be verified and filtered so that we are not misled before we get people on it.
6.Technology is the future! Using technology to advance our productivity is certainly the future. We ought to strive to be cutting edge not because it is the vogue, but because when we do it, it benefits us on the long run. If modern technology is not useful for our business process and does not enable us to compete effectively, then there is not point changing to it. It not enough to be bitten by the bug of upgrading. We should upgrade because its necessary.
7. Investment in Training and Development is important! Training is often the first casualty in a depressed economy. We often think training is only relevant when a business is doing well, well its important to train even when we have a loss or when business is going south. The workforce has to keep up, know how to work efficiently in all circumstances. That is probably why the multinationals see training as a part of the DNA of an organization. Smaller companies need to find ways to train and up date their workforce, in order for them to develop so that there will be no gaps.
8. Unity of Direction is important! Everyone in an organization ought to work towards the same goal or direction. Our individual objectives should merge to ensure that the outcome leads to progress for the entire organization. If every one can put the organization first all the time, then we would have unity of direction and we should succeed in meeting the goals we have laid out for ourselves.
9. Equity is expected! When operatives in an organization know that they are treated fairly, it boosts their morale and they are able to work without inhibition. The psychology of a work place could be turned on its head if workers feel that they have been cheated in any way. Management has the task of setting the feelings of every employee right. The aggrieved should be familiar with a process that would help them assuage their feelings.
10 Initiative is expected! Even in a work environment where the managers are hands on micro managers, initiative is expected. Every person in a work place ought to be able to use his initiative to solve problems of every nature. The modern organization should not always have people referring to higher authority to solve organizational problems. That is a misnomer and such organizations that always rely on the leaders for solutions would not be able to grow leaders from within.
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