Disclaimer: The advice and strategies found within may not be suitable for every situation.

This work is sold with the understanding that neither the author nor the publisher are held
responsible for the results accrued from the advice in this book.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner
whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief
quotations in a book review.

First Edition, 2023

Author: Theolearn Academy
 Table of Contents

01 Introduction to Management Training for Managers in the UK

02 Skills that Every New Manager Must Develop

03 Essentials of Employment Law in the UK

04 Preventing Discrimination in the Workplace

05 Health & Safety at Work

Effective Management Communication Skill: Overcoming

06
the Barriers

07 Assertive Communication Skills

08 Communication and Leadership

09 Leadership and Management

10 Team Building

11 High-Performance Team Formation

12 Brainstorming & Reverse Brainstorming

13 How to Solve Problems and Make Swift Decisions

14 Anger Management Fundamentals

15 Preventing Anger

16 Managing Anger at Home & Work

17 Team Motivation

18 Retaining The Motivation

19 Health, Safety and Welfare of Employees

20 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

21 Performance Management
 Table of Contents

22 The Importance of Training & Development in the

Workplace

23 Talent Management

24 Succession Planning

25 Communication Hack: Positive Self Image

26 Conflict Management

27 Operational Risk Management

28 Project Management Fundamentals

29 Time Management Tips for Managers

30 Developing Interpersonal Skills

31 Task Management Tips for Manager

Chapter : 01
Introduction to
Management Training
for Managers in the UK
Chapter Goal
A manager's ongoing judgement and expertise are constantly required. Here we
will discuss the basic concepts of management training for managers, their
responsibilities, and the skills they need. Managers can also benefit from this
chapter by learning how to manage their tasks effectively.
Learning Outcome
Find Out The Definition & Aims of Management
Know about Manager’s Roles
Understand The Importance of Management Training
Get Task Management Tips for Managers
What is Management?
There is a possibility that you already have some management
experience, either directly or indirectly. Although readily understood, the
term 'management' is difficult to define, partly because it is used to
describe a wide variety of behaviours.

Management is the process of deciding what to do and then getting it

done through the effective use of resources, including people. A
manager's most important resource is their people since all other
resources - knowledge, finance, materials, equipment, etc. - are managed
through them. Therefore, management can be described as an interactive
and dynamic people process that involves the manager personally.

Managers are constantly required to use their ongoing judgement and

expertise in a dynamic, interactive team environment so that
management can be viewed as more of an art than a science.
Aims of Management

Management aims to achieve goals by making effective use of human, financial, and material
resources within identified contexts and targets. You and the people who are responsible for
managing your organisation must contribute expertise and commitment to add value to these
resources.

The management ensures that the right standards are followed for goods and services produced.
During production, management also aims to reduce wastage without compromising quality.

Management also aims to maintain discipline in the workplace and boost employee morale by
whatever means necessary. In order to motivate employees, management can make use of
various incentives and delegate duties and authority so that tasks can be completed efficiently.
 Manager’s Roles

In today's ever-changing environment, the manager's role is even more

challenging. Organisational change today is complex and fast, and
managers must be able to deal with it. Unlike their predecessors,
today's managers must deal with rapidity, complexity, and frequency of
change.

Managers are not responsible for what they accomplish alone. Roles of
managers are given below:

Leader: Leaders look beyond the day-to-day needs of their

organisations and determine where they need to go. Strategic
thinking helps leaders move their organisations forward. To build
and maintain the organisation's reputation, they form relationships
beyond the organisation.
Director: A director is capable of defining a problem and taking the initiative to come up with
a solution. The director determines what to delegate and ensures that individuals understand
what is expected of them.

Contributor: Contributors should be task-oriented and work-focused, ensuring their own

productivity and motivating others to ensure the organisation's productivity is at its peak.

Coach: Creating a caring, empathetic orientation through coaching involves being helpful,
considerate, sensitive, approachable, open, and fair.

Facilitator: In addition to building cohesion and teamwork and managing interpersonal

conflicts, the facilitator fosters a collective effort for the organisation.
Observer: As an observer, you pay attention to what is happening in the unit, determine if
people are meeting their objectives, and observe if the unit is meeting its goals. In addition,
the observer is responsible for understanding what the team needs to know and avoiding
information overload.

Innovator: A successful innovator facilitates adaptation and change by paying attention to

the changing environment, identifying trends that impact the organisation, and determining
the necessary changes to ensure success.

Organiser: It is the organiser's responsibility to plan work, organise tasks and structures, and
then follow up to ensure that work is done by attending to technological needs, staff
coordination, crisis handling, etc.
Required Skills for
Managers
There are lots of qualities and skills that every manager needs in the UK. Amongst
them, the important skills are:

Interpersonal Skills
Communication and Motivation
Organisation and Delegation
Forward Planning and Strategic Thinking
Problem Solving and Decision Making
Commercial Awareness
Mentoring
Interpersonal Skills

Being able to build successful relationships is essential to management jobs. To lead a team, you
must earn your colleagues' respect. You must know how to handle people effectively in order to
accomplish this.

You will earn their respect by spending time with team members on both a personal and
professional level through social or team-building activities while still maintaining professional
boundaries.

The ability to play your part as a member of a team must be maintained while you demonstrate
your managerial qualities and authority.
Communication and Motivation

The ability to communicate effectively includes the ability to write, speak, and listen. Team
managers are the link between frontline staff and senior management.

Your employees must feel comfortable sharing information with you, and you must establish a
trusting relationship with them. In order to maintain open lines of communication, you need to
make yourself readily available to your employees whenever they have questions or concerns. An
open-door policy or weekly or monthly team meetings should facilitate this. Maintain eye contact,
smile, and listen attentively to your staff to let them know they matter.

Creating a healthy work environment begins with an open, positive attitude.

Organisation and Delegation

Managing multiple responsibilities requires excellent organisational skills. As a manager, you'll

need to manage your own workload, supervise other employees' work, and attend meetings and
training sessions.

Organisational skills reduce stress, save time, and ensure that important deadlines are met.
Managers often delegate tasks to colleagues in order to ease their own busy schedules. In order
to accomplish this effectively, you need to analyse and identify the skills of each of your
employees and assign tasks accordingly.
Forward Planning and Strategic Thinking

You'll need to plan for the future as well as focus on today's tasks and responsibilities as a
manager. To improve the productivity and profitability of your team and your organisation as a
whole, you must be a strategic thinker who encourages innovation and change.

Problem Solving and Decision Making

In a managerial position, you will be responsible for spotting and solving problems on a daily
basis. It requires outstanding attention to detail and the ability to remain calm under pressure.
Your team's productivity and smooth workflow will depend on your ability to think on your feet
when problems arise. Innovative solutions will minimise the impact on your team and the
organisation as a whole if you think creatively.
Commercial Awareness

Most graduates lack commercial awareness, according to recruiters.

Understanding the marketplace in which a business operates and what makes a business
successful is essential for progressing to the management level.

You'll need to demonstrate that you understand the company's mission and aims, as well as the
sector in which the company operates. Your knowledge of economic and political issues
affecting the company also enables you to identify its competitors.

Mentoring

The goal is to train and advise staff and build their confidence and skills. Management positions
require you to drive team members' progress. In addition to being business-focused decision-
makers, managers should also be supportive. It is your responsibility to share your experience,
knowledge, and skills with others if you have reached this level.
Importance of Management
Training
Management training is imperative for a number of reasons, including allowing managers to get
the best performance out of their employees, enabling them to address issues quickly,
improving communication with internal and external stakeholders, and grooming the next
generation of leaders.

The ability to engage and motivate subordinates is one of the best skills a manager can develop
in training. The result will be a more engaged and committed workforce, which will result in
higher quality results in less time. A manager must be prepared to make and implement
important decisions in an environment where circumstances can change in a matter of hours
rather than weeks. Managers should be able to make short-term decisions and act as needed.
Management training also develops the ability to communicate information clearly and concisely.
Any manager who communicates with external parties like clients, vendors, suppliers, or
investors needs to portray competence and confidence in the organisation. As a result, the
company will be viewed favourably, and the manager will be regarded as an effective and
trustworthy representative of the company. The importance of internal communication cannot be
overstated. It is often managers' responsibility to convey information about their departments or
segments to executives.

Strategic decisions are made based on this information. Inaccurate or misunderstood

information will be used by executives, which could result in detrimental decisions being made.
Job Prospect
At a relatively young age, you can enter the workforce and advance your career with a business
management degree. The dynamic business environment helps you sharpen your critical
thinking, analytical, and organisational skills.
In the United Kingdom, the job market is more competitive than ever, with applicants looking for
more than just the best salary. Young people are becoming smarter and more certain of what
they want - namely, a job that is pretty accessible and pays well, and that is potentially
satisfying.

The most lucrative job of the year might be that of an audit manager. Audit managers, who
compile audits, can expect a high salary and comfortable working hours.
The most desirable and highest paying jobs are in management. In addition to overseeing
financial management and economic strategies, these jobs become extremely important for
developing tactics that will help a company grow economically.

The title of marketing manager is among the best for graduates from British business schools.
This means they are responsible for maintaining the image of a brand while focusing on
campaigns that would boost growth and sales.

In the UK and Europe, there is a high demand for well-qualified graduates, which has led to a
competitive talent market for commercial managers. There will be numerous opportunities to
train interns and manage contracts and projects at the most prestigious universities in the UK
and Europe.
Task Management Tips for
Managers
The following tips will help you improve your task management skills:

1. Create a To-do List: To make task management easier, listing tasks is an old-school yet
highly effective tactic. You can stay disciplined and focused on your daily goals by creating a
to-do list. It gives you complete control over your tasks, sets timelines, and guides you in the
right direction. Make a list of primary and secondary tasks. Start with the most important and
then move on to the less urgent ones. Break complicated tasks down into manageable
subtasks. Make sure each task is given the proper amount of time. To keep track of the tasks
you've completed, check them off your list so you know what's been accomplished and what
needs to be carried forward.
2. Schedule Your Tasks: It is crucial to schedule your tasks in order to maintain workload and
execute both primary and secondary tasks effectively. The ideal schedule guides you and your
team regarding which tasks need more attention and when they should be completed.
After every major task, give yourself some breathing room. If you overburden yourself and your
team, you may achieve immediate results, but you won't ensure quality, error-free results.
3. Conduct Regular Team Meetings: Meetings are crucial for identifying and nipping task
management challenges in the bud. Keep your team on track with discussions at various stages
of the project.
Meetings should be held once a week or once every fifteen days. Meetings should be short and
focused on discussing specific task-related challenges faced by your team members.
4. Delegate Tasks: You cannot be responsible for all your tasks at once. You will have to
delegate them at some point to meet deadlines and quality standards. It's impossible to
be perfect at everything. In some areas, you might have deep expertise, and in others, you
might not have the necessary skills. Therefore, it's crucial to know your strengths and
weaknesses, as well as those of your team, and delegate tasks accordingly. By doing this,
you will be able to deliver superior quality deliverables on time.

5. Collaborate: Taking stock of your resources, assets, and support channels is part of task
management. The advantage of working in a company is having access to team
members you can ask for assistance from and collaborate with.
6. Don’t Give Up on Your Team: Regardless of how experienced your team is, they will always need
your guidance to complete tasks effectively and efficiently. They may lose motivation to
complete the assigned tasks if they find you uninterested in the process. Ensure that goals are
achieved on time by supporting your team on urgent tasks, giving valuable suggestions, and
providing valuable input.
7. Focus On Change Management: Task management has never been easy, and new change
requests seem to make things more complicated. A sudden change in goals or deadlines will only
delay deliverables. Take a look at what changes clients want you to make. Accept the change
requests if your team has not done what was discussed in the first place and ensure they do so
properly this time. Conversely, if you feel the changes are illogical, explain to clients why they
aren't worth incorporating.

8. Use Task Management Software: When it comes to managing and tracking tasks, a powerful
task management tool can come as a blessing in disguise. Choose a tool that has a powerful
dashboard that you can use to manage, assign, and track tasks.
9. Keep Patience: Poor team collaboration and unexpected client demands are common
challenges during the project development cycle. These challenges can be annoying and make
task management even more difficult. In this situation, it's important for you to remain calm and
consider how to regain control. As a project progresses, challenges are inevitable, and you can
only deal with them by being patient and open-minded.

10. Keep Things Simple: There is something magical about simplicity. In life, as well as in task
management, keeping things simple will make the journey easier. Throughout the task execution
process, be logical with deadlines and simplistic. Trying to manage multiple tasks when it's not
necessary, creating issues unnecessarily, and making a mountain out of a mole can affect team
productivity.
Chapter Synopsis
Management is the process of deciding what to do and then getting it done through the
effective use of resources, including people.
Creating a caring, empathetic orientation through coaching involves being helpful,
considerate, sensitive, approachable, open, and fair.
A successful innovator facilitates adaptation and change by paying attention to the changing
environment and determining the necessary changes to ensure success.

A manager must be prepared to make and implement important decisions in an environment

where circumstances can change in a matter of hours rather than weeks.

Taking stock of your resources, assets, and support channels is part of task management.
Chapter 02
Skills that Every New
Manager Must Develop
Upon Becoming a
Manager
Chapter Goal
It is the manager's responsibility to ensure that all parts of the organisation work
efficiently as a whole. This Chapter will help you learn about the definition of
management skills and the types of management skills. Furthermore, you will learn
about various managerial skills that are essential for anyone who wants to become
a new manager.
Learning Outcome
Know about Different Types of Skills that A Manager Requires to be
Successful
Get Tips on Achieving Management Skills
Learn about Management Process
What are Management
Skills?
An executive's ability to manage effectively in an
organisation is defined by a set of attributes or abilities.
Among them is the ability to perform executive duties in
an organisation while avoiding crises and solving
problems as soon as possible.

By learning and practising, managers can develop their

management skills. Having these skills enables
managers to relate well with their coworkers and
manage their subordinates, allowing activities within the
organisation to run smoothly.
An organisation's success and achievement of its goals and objectives depend on good
management skills. When a manager fosters good management skills, internal and external
hurdles and objections to a company's mission and vision can be minimised.

Both management and leadership skills involve planning, decision-making, problem-solving,

communication, delegation, and time management. A good manager is almost always a good
leader as well.

Managers play a critical role in ensuring that all parts of the organisation function cohesively
in addition to leading. It is inevitable that failure will occur without such integration. A
company's top leadership, intermediate supervisors, and first-level managers all need
management skills.
Types of Management
Skills
There are three basic types of management skills:

Technical Skills
Conceptual Skills
Human or Interpersonal Skills

Technical Skills: Managers with technical skills are able and knowledgeable about using different
techniques in order to accomplish their goals. As well as operating machines and software, production
tools, and pieces of equipment, these skills also include boosting sales, designing different types of
products and services, and marketing these offerings.

Conceptual Skills: A manager's abilities to think abstractly and formulate ideas are included in these
skills. An effective manager sees the whole picture, analyses and diagnoses a problem, and comes up
with creative solutions. By doing so, the manager can predict hurdles that their department or the
business may encounter.
Human or Interpersonal Skills: Human or interpersonal
skills refer to the manager's ability to work with, interact
with, or relate effectively with others. Using these skills
enables managers to maximise human potential and
motivate employees for greater success.
Examples of Management Skills

In order to run an organisation effectively and efficiently, management must possess a wide range of
skills. To fulfil their duties, managers should possess the following six essential management
skills:

Planning

An organisation's planning is crucial. The ability to plan activities in accordance with set guidelines
while staying within the limitations of available resources, such as time, money, and labour. As well it
is the process of developing a set of actions or strategies to achieve certain goals or objectives.

During the planning process, achievable goals are identified, strategies are developed, and tasks
and timelines are outlined. A good plan is essential for success.
 Communication

A manager must possess excellent communication skills. By determining how well information
is shared within a team, you can ensure a unified team effort. An organisation's success is also
determined by how well a manager communicates with the rest of his/her team, how well
procedures are followed, and how well tasks and activities are completed.

Whether formal or informal, verbal or written, vertical or horizontal, communication facilitates the
smooth operation of an organisation. An organisation's communication channels enable the
manager to collaborate with the team, prevent conflicts, and resolve issues as they arise.
Managers with good communication skills can easily relate to their employees and accomplish
the company's goals and objectives.
Decision-making

Decision-making is another essential management skill. Making decisions is a key component of

a manager's success, whether knowingly or unknowingly. Taking the right decisions results in
the organisation's success, while making poor or bad decisions may result in the organisation's
failure.

In order for an organisation to run effectively and smoothly, clear and right decisions must be
made. Managers must be accountable for every decision they make as well as take responsibility
for the results of those decisions. In order to achieve organisational goals, a manager must
possess excellent decision-making skills.
Delegation

Another key management skill is delegation. It involves passing on work-related tasks and/or
authority to other employees or subordinates. You can reassign or reallocate your tasks or those of
your employees based on current workloads. When a manager has good delegation skills, he or she
can reassign tasks and give authority to the right employees effectively and efficiently. Delegation
facilitates efficient task completion when done effectively.

By delegating, managers can avoid wasting time, increase productivity, and ensure employee
responsibility and accountability. The manager must be able to delegate effectively in order to
achieve optimal results and achieve the required productivity levels.
Problem-Solving

Another essential skill is problem-solving. To be a good manager, one must be able to solve the
frequent problems that arise in a typical workday.

Management involves identifying a problem or situation and then finding the best way to handle it
and get the most effective solution. Being able to figure things out even when conditions aren't
ideal.

A manager who possesses great problem-solving skills distinguishes himself/herself from the
rest of the team and gives subordinates confidence in his/her abilities.
Motivating

Motivating employees is another important skill in an organisation. The motivation of employees

or certain stakeholders leads to desired behaviours or responses.

Motivation tactics can take many forms, and choosing the right one depends on factors such as
company culture, team personality, and more. Managers can use two types of motivation.
Among these are intrinsic motivations and extrinsic motivations.

Regardless of the role or organisation, management skills help professionals stand out and excel.
Having these skills is essential to running an organisation well and achieving business goals.
 Management Process

It is a complex process that requires an excellent manager with

adequate management skills to balance all the different
components. Depending on their level/role, their balance can
vary. When they are utilised in a systematic fashion, all four
functions are signs of a great manager.
Human resources, financial resources, raw materials, technology, and information are all inputs. An
organisation's processes and technology transform these inputs into finished products/services
through its staff's activities, management functions, and management functions.

Products and services are outputs, as are financial results (profits or losses) and human results such
as employee productivity and job satisfaction.

Additionally, the success of the system depends on its effective interaction with its environment,
which includes the institutions and groups that it relies on. Among these groups/institutions are
financial institutions, labour unions, suppliers, customers, government agencies, etc.

In addition, the sale of products and/or services generates revenue, which pays taxes, and wages,
buys more inputs, repays loans, and generates profits for any organisation. It is impossible for an
organisation to survive if the revenues are not sufficient to meet the different demands of the
environment.
Chapter Synopsis
Both management and leadership skills involve planning, decision-making, problem-solving,
communication, delegation, and time management.
Managers with technical skills are able and knowledgeable about using different techniques in
order to accomplish their goals.
An effective manager sees the whole picture, analyses and diagnoses a problem, and comes
up with creative solutions.
During the planning process, achievable goals are identified, strategies are developed, and
tasks and timelines are outlined.
An organisation's communication channels enable the manager to collaborate with the team,
prevent conflicts, and resolve issues as they arise.
Chapter 03
Essentials of Employment
Law in the UK
Chapter Goal
A new manager must understand the basics of UK employment law. According to the CIPD report,
40% of employees who reported bullying and harassment at work blamed their line manager. Line
managers do not need to become experts in more technical aspects of employment law, but they do
need a basic understanding of UK employment law. It will help them understand what they can and
cannot do to run their organisation's HR processes. Developing a basic understanding of
employment law and HR issues will help line managers to thrive in their roles while creating a great
place to work. This module will introduce you to the basic concepts of UK Employment Law, the
sources of Employment Law and the types of employees. You will also get a short overview of
employment courts in the UK.
Learning Outcome
Learn the Basics of UK Employment Law
Understand The Three Main Sources of UK Employment Law
Learn about Three Major Types of Workers In The UK
Understand How A Worker’s Legal Dispute Can be Resolved In The UK
Basics of Employment Law

About 4 million limited companies operate in the UK, employing up to 21 million full-time workers.

Business owners who operate and grow their business on a daily basis may be overwhelmed by
employment law, especially when it is so complex and varied.

UK employment laws ensure the safety of both employers and employees. These laws cover
dismissal, holidays, pay, discrimination, and more, protecting worker rights as well as
safeguarding employers' interests and preserving a fair relationship between them.
Basics of Employment Law
Businesses are protected by employment laws (of which there are many) by outlining their
obligations toward their employees and what protections they have as business owners. Both
parties are treated fairly in the employment relationship.

The UK employment law, for example, provides guidelines for what should be included in a
contract, such as holiday entitlements, disciplinary rules, and formal notice periods. Having a
contract protects employers because it provides clarity and a reference point to ensure that both
employee and employer are on the same page.

Moreover, UK employment laws provide protection for employees in a variety of ways, from
hiring practices to workplace conduct to ensuring fair pay.
Businesses in the UK, for example, are obliged to pay their employees a National Minimum Wage
based on their age, and employees over the age of 23 are also entitled to a National Living Wage.

An employee is protected by the Equality Act 2010 from the moment he or she applies for a job.
It prohibits discrimination against candidates (and employees) based on a set of nine protected
characteristics, which include gender, race, and disability.

Staff members are also protected by Health & Safety laws set out in the Health & Safety at Work
Act 1974. The purpose of these laws is to ensure that all employees are working in a safe
environment.
Sources of UK
Employment Law
There are three main sources of UK employment law: the common law, statute and European law (in
the form of both European Directives and decisions of the European Court of Justice).

Common Law
Statute
European Law

Common Law: Employer-employee relationships in the UK are governed by the common law
(especially the law of contracts). An employment contract does not have to be in writing but is
usually documented in writing. The parties have the option of specifying which law governs the
contract. There are, however, certain mandatory statutory employment rights that apply regardless of
the contract law. Additionally, employers' liability for the acts of their employees, as well as industrial
accidents, are governed by tort law.
Statute: As the common law rules have been supplemented by employment protection legislation
since the early 1970s, it has grown rapidly. The main employment law statutes are:

Equal Pay Act 1970

Health & Safety at Work Act 1974
Sex Discrimination Act 1975
Race Relations Act 1976
Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992
Disability Discrimination Act 1995
Employment Tribunals Act 1996
Employment Rights Act 1996
Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998
Data Protection Act 1998
National Minimum Wage Act 1998
Human Rights Act 1998
 Employment Relations Act 1999
Employment Act 2002
Employment Relations Act 2004
Disability Discrimination Act 2005

The employment relationship is also affected by secondary legislation in the form of regulations.
There are times when legislation is supported by Codes of Practice developed by government
agencies. In some cases, Employment Tribunals must take into account the Codes when
determining whether an employer has complied with its statutory obligations, even though they
have no direct legal effect.
European Law: Individuals may invoke the EC Treaty in the UK
courts if UK domestic law fails to properly implement EC Treaty
obligations. “Equality pay, discrimination, and employee rights on
business transfers” have been particularly impacted by EC
legislation.

Aside from that, the European Court of Justice is the final arbiter
regarding questions pertaining to the interpretation of obligations
derived from European Directives because it is the final arbiter.
Types of Workers in the UK

In the UK, there are traditionally three main types of workers: self-employed independent contractors,
agency workers or temp workers, and employees, each of whom has different employment protection
rights. In recent years, a fourth category, 'workers', has emerged. A confusing aspect of this category is
that it overlaps with others.

Independent Contractors: As the name implies, an independent contractor is an individual who runs his
or her own business and makes his or her own decisions regarding how the work is performed. When
an employer and employee have a relationship of this nature, the employer is free from most statutory
employment protection legislation, and the employee enjoys favourable tax treatment.
Agency Workers: An employment agency may hire or engage workers who then provide their
services to a hirer. In spite of the fact that the agency worker has many Employment Protection
Rights that employees enjoy, the hirer owes certain statutory duties (for example, duties under
discrimination and health and safety legislation). Although temporary engagements may last
several months or even years, agency workers are generally employed on a temporary basis.

Employees: The majority of British workers are employees of the companies they work for. It is
not legal to distinguish between blue-collar workers, white-collar workers, and senior directors
other than according to their employment contracts. All employees are protected by the
common law and statutory employment laws.

Independent contractors and agency workers do not have the same statutory employment
protection rights as employees who meet the applicable qualifying conditions. An employee who
has served one year will have the right not to be unfairly dismissed.
Workers: In UK law, the concept of a separate legal category for 'workers' is relatively new. The
concept is derived from European law. Generally, a worker is someone who provides personal
services under a contract of employment or other agreement. Additionally, for an individual to
qualify as a worker, their employer cannot be a client/customer of their profession or business.
Independent contractors, for instance, may be considered workers.

The rights of workers are fewer than those of 'full' employees, but they still benefit, for example,
from rights concerning the number of hours they work, the amount of annual leave they might
take, and their pay.
UK Employment Courts
A worker's legal dispute with their employer can be resolved in three different forums:

Employment Tribunals,
The Common Law Courts (the High Court or County Court) and
The arbitration scheme operated by a government body called the Advisory Conciliation &
Arbitration Service (“ACAS”).

Employment Tribunals: The majority of disputes between employers and staff are heard in these
specialist employment courts. These courts deal primarily with employment protection claims, such as
unfair dismissal and discrimination. They can also hear contractual claims (up to a maximum award of
£25,000) arising from the termination of employment. An employment tribunal is usually comprised of
three members: a chair whose qualifications are legal and two lay members (one from the trade union
sector and one from the management sector). The Employment Appeals Tribunal can review their
decisions.
Common Law Courts: A person may elect to bring a contractual claim (such as a notice pay claim) in
either the County Court or High Court instead of the Employment Tribunal. Generally, only claims
worth more than £15,000 may be brought to the High Court. There is usually more formality and
length in the High Court and County Court process than in the Employment Tribunal, although the
successful party can usually recover most of their costs from the unsuccessful party, which is not
the case at the Employment Tribunal.

ACAS Arbitration Scheme: A voluntary scheme came into effect on 21st May 2001 and provides an
alternative to employment tribunals that is faster, non-legalistic, and more cost-effective. This
process is currently only available for resolving straightforward unfair dismissal complaints and
disputes related to flexible working.

It must be agreed upon by both parties to participate in the scheme. An ACAS arbitrator can award
exactly the same remedy as an Employment Tribunal if the hearing is conducted in private.
Chapter Synopsis
UK employment laws ensure the safety of both employers and employees.
UK employment laws provide protection for employees in a variety of ways, from hiring
practices to workplace conduct to ensuring fair pay.
An employment contract does not have to be in writing but is usually documented in writing.
An independent contractor is an individual who runs his or her own business and makes his or
her own decisions regarding how the work is performed.
All employees are protected by the common law and statutory employment laws.
Chapter 04
Preventing
Discrimination in the
Workplace
Chapter Goal
Creating a work environment free from discrimination and harassment is not an easy task, and
managers must work hard to eliminate as many grey areas as possible. Creating a pleasant,
affirmative environment should be one of your top priorities as a manager if you want to bring
productive and happy employees to your company.

This module discusses the basics of discrimination, its types, race, disability, and age discrimination.
In addition, we will examine indirect and direct discrimination, victimisation, and equal pay for
employees.
Learning Outcome
Understand Discrimination & Different Types of It
Learn about Victimisation
Know The Legislation on DIscrimination
Learn about Sex Discrimination, Age Discrimination, Race
Discrimination
Get to Know The Equal Pay Rights
Know The Rights ofThe Part-Time Workers
What is Discrimination?

In a nutshell, discrimination means presenting a special favour or disfavour to someone. The act
of positively discriminating against someone is to single them out for special treatment.

Discrimination in this context refers to negative discrimination. Singling someone out for
disfavour means making a decision that disadvantages them. Taking such a decision, for
example, based on gender, race, or disability, is unlawful and discriminatory. Discrimination can
take three forms according to the law:

Direct discrimination
Indirect discrimination
Victimisation
Direct Discrimination
Direct discrimination refers to treatment that is less favourable because of a person's sex,
marital status, race, or disability. Discrimination in this manner is overt or blatant. Examples of
direct discrimination include:

Refusing to hire a woman with four children who may not be able to work when they are ill;
Interviewing white candidates with equivalent qualifications and experience but refusing to
interview a black candidate;
Discriminating against disabled people due to their disabilities
 Indirect Discrimination

Hidden or covert discrimination is indirect discrimination. It is possible

for an action that appears not to discriminate at first to indirectly
discriminate against a group of people when the action is viewed in the
long run.

Examples of indirect discrimination include:

An unfair requirement that disadvantages part-time workers,

especially women;
Work practices that disadvantage workers with young children;
A language test that would exclude many persons from ethnic
minorities;
A requirement that applicants live in a specific area may exclude
predominantly ethnic areas.
Victimisation
Discrimination occurs when a person is victimised because of his prior or current involvement in
a complaint against his employer. It is possible for the person to have:

Previously filed a claim against the employer for discrimination or another type of claim;
Grievance proceedings at work have begun; or
Provided evidence for a colleague in tribunal proceedings or assisted him with proceedings.

A victimisation claim requires the employee to demonstrate that he has been treated less
favourably because of his actions. The following are other examples of victimisation:

When an employer pressures you to withdraw a discrimination complaint;

Refusing requests for holiday leave;
Referencing poorly;
An excessive amount of timekeeping and monitoring of work.
Discrimination and
Legislation
Currently, there is comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation in the UK, which will soon include
age discrimination as well. As a result of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, the Race Relations
Act 1976, and the Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 and 2005, discrimination on the basis of
gender, race and disability is prohibited. Additionally, employees can claim equal pay with
comparable employees of the opposite gender under the Equal Pay Act 1970 (as amended).

In 2000, legislation prohibited discrimination against part-time workers, and in October 2002,
legislation prohibited discrimination against fixed-term workers.

In December 2003, additional regulations prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation

and religion. In 2006, legislation preventing discrimination on the basis of age became effective.
Sex Discrimination

According to the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, it is unlawful to discriminate against someone
based on their sex or marital status. Victimisation and discrimination are recognised both
directly and indirectly. Despite the fact that sex discrimination is typically associated with
discrimination against women, section 2 of the Act states that it applies equally to discrimination
against men.

Employers are prohibited from discriminating during or after the recruitment and selection
process under the 1975 Act. The law does not apply to any special treatment given to women
during pregnancy or childbirth or for health and safety reasons.
The Sex Discrimination Act of 1986 amended the 1975 Act. It focuses primarily on discrimination
in collective bargaining and retirement age. The 1975 Act is the sole subject of this section.

The Sex Discrimination (Indirect Discrimination and Burden of Proof) Regulations 2001 added
new sections 1 and 3. There is no change to the general scope of the sections. To comply with
the EC Directive on the Burden of Proof in Sex Discrimination Cases (77/80/EC), changes were
made to the legislation.

On 19 July 2003, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Amendment) Regulations 2003 took effect.
In these regulations, it is stated that:

1. A Chief Constable will be held accountable for sex discrimination committed by

officers in his/her force during the course of employment.
2. After an employee's employment has ended, an employer may not commit sex
discriminatory acts against the employee.

A person cannot be discriminated against because he or she is married under Section

3 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. The law prohibits discrimination based on
gender or marital status.
Employers may also indirectly discriminate on the basis of sex by applying unjustified
provisions, criteria, or practices that adversely affect particular sex or marital status.

In October 2001, Regulations amended this prohibition to include unjustified "practices" as well
as written rules and regulations. It is most likely that indirect sex discrimination occurs if an
employer refuses to allow a working mother to work part-time (because few women are able to
work full-time due to childcare responsibilities).

It may be found liable for indirect discrimination unless the employer can demonstrate objective
justification for the requirement or condition.
Equal Pay
Women (or men) in the same employment have the right to equal pay under the Equal Pay Act
1970 (as amended) if they are employed on the same work or work rated as equivalent, or work of
equal value, that is, if they have the same contract of employment as an employee of the opposite
sex.

A claim under the Equal Pay Act can be defeated by proving that the difference between the
contractual terms is genuinely due to something other than gender.
Equal pay claims can be brought to an Employment Tribunal up to six months after leaving the
employment. When a claim for equal pay is successful, the claimant's pay is raised to the
comparable pay of the comparator.

A claimant's contract must be treated as if it contains all beneficial terms in the comparator's
contract that are missing from their contract. Any term in the claimant's contract that is less
favorable than the same term in the comparator's contract should be improved so that it is as
good as the comparator's contract.

Also, the Tribunal can award compensation for financial losses incurred by the claimant in the
six years prior to the date on which the claim is filed.
Race Discrimination
Discrimination on the basis of colour, race, nationality, ethnicity, or national origin is prohibited by
the Race Relations Act 1976. The main provisions of the legislation are similar to those of the
Sex Discrimination Act 1975. Race Relations Act 1976 prohibits direct discrimination, indirect
discrimination, victimisation discrimination, and positive discrimination, among others.

In July 2003, the Race Relations Act was amended to clarify the definition of racial harassment,
which occurs when, on the basis of race or ethnicity or nationality, a person engages in unwanted
conduct that violates another's dignity or creates a hostile, humiliating, intimidating or offensive
environment.

The employer is liable if its employees commit acts of racial discrimination during the course of
their employment unless it can prove that it took reasonable steps to prevent the discrimination.
All employees must receive Equal Opportunity/Diversity Training.
 Disability Discrimination

Upon the adoption of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995

(Amendment) Regulations 2003 on 1st October 2004, the small
employer exemption was abolished, making it unlawful for any
employer to discriminate against employees for a disability.

Physical or mental impairments which have a substantial and long-

term adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out everyday
activities are considered disabilities under the legislation. An
impairment will be considered "long term" if it has lasted or is likely to
last at least 12 months.
The law was amended in two important ways on the 5th of December 2005.

The first benefit is that people with mental impairments may be able to bring claims more easily
since their impairment will no longer have to be "clinically recognised".

A second benefit is that people living with HIV, MS, or most forms of cancer will automatically
be protected without having to prove that their condition affects their daily lives.

Unless the employer knows, and cannot reasonably be expected to know, that the
worker/applicant is disabled, employers must make reasonable adjustments to their workplaces
or employment arrangements if they substantially disadvantage a disabled worker or job
applicant.
Discrimination Based
on Religion
The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 prohibit employers from
discriminating against workers or job applicants on the basis of religion or belief as of 2
December 2003.

According to the legislation, religion or belief refers to any religion, religious belief, or similar
philosophical belief. Philosophical or political beliefs are not included (unless they are similar to
religious beliefs).

As case law develops, the Regulations will define which types of beliefs are protected.
Employees are also protected from harassment and victimisation based on their sexual
orientation, and they continue to enjoy protection after their employment ends.

When an employee with a particular religion or belief has a genuine occupational requirement to
perform the job, discrimination may be permitted.
Part-Time Workers
No part-time worker should be treated less favourably than comparable full-time workers unless
the treatment can be justified objectively. If there is objective justification for treating part-
timers differently, they should receive the same pay and benefits (including pensions, sick pay,
maternity pay, parental leave, holidays, and share options) as comparable full-timers.

An individual who previously worked full-time but returned part-time after a period of fewer
than 12 months (for example, sickness or maternity leave) shouldn't be treated less favourably
(e.g., in terms of pay and benefits) than they were prior to the period of absence.

Part-time work can, however, be applied for under the Flexible Working Act.
To qualify for protection, an individual does not have to work a certain number of hours per week.
Part-time employees are defined as anyone who is not a full-time employee, taking into account
the employer's customs and practices in relation to employees under the same type of contract.

Part-time employees who believe they have been treated less favourably may request that their
employer provide them with a written statement within 21 days explaining the reasons.
Additionally, part-timers who believe their employer has violated the Regulations may file a claim
with an Employment Tribunal.
Age Discrimination
Under the legislation, employees have a statutory right to apply to stay on beyond 65, the upper
age limit for claiming unfair dismissal has been removed, and service-related pay and benefits
have been limited. There has also been a change in the calculation of statutory redundancy pay
(the basic awards made by the Employment Tribunal).

The new laws came into force on 1st October 2006.

Chapter Synopsis
Direct discrimination refers to treatment that is less favourable because of a person's sex,
marital status, race, or disability.
A victimisation claim requires the employee to demonstrate that he has been treated less
favourably because of his actions.
As a result of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, the Race Relations Act 1976, and the Disability
Discrimination Acts 1995 and 2005, discrimination on the basis of gender, race and disability
is prohibited.
Equal pay claims can be brought to an Employment Tribunal up to six months after leaving the
employment.
Part-time employees who believe they have been treated less favourably may request that
their employer provide them with a written statement within 21 days explaining the reasons.
Chapter 05

Health & Safety

at Work
Chapter Goal
A manager should have good knowledge of workplace health and safety protocol and the laws governing
it. In this module, we will cover workplace health and safety legislation, breach of duty lawsuits and other
relevant regulations that every manager must know.
Learning Outcome
Learn about The Aims & Sources of Health and Safety Law
Understand What Happens When There Is A Breach of Duty Lawsuits
Learn about Workplace Compulsory Insurance
Know about The Importance of Hiring Competent Co-Workers
Health and Workplace
Safety
The provision and maintenance of health and safety standards in the workplace is an important issue
for both employers and employees. Thousands of employees are injured at work each year. In 2005/6,
there were 212 reported fatal workplace accidents. This is the lowest reported figure in recent years.
During the same period, 28,605 employees were reported as having major injuries due to workplace
incidents.

Health and safety at work are encouraged by the law. Employees and employers are expected to do all
they can within reasonable limits to ensure a safe work environment.

Any employee who alerts their employer to a safety issue or takes steps to protect themselves from
serious and imminent danger should not face retaliation.
Aims of Law

The law has two objectives when an accident occurs at work:

The employer should be punished for not providing enough health and safety protection to
prevent the accident;
In order to compensate the injured employee for his injuries, he may file a claim for damages.

Both criminal and civil law are used in this process. Employers can be punished under criminal
law, and employees can sue for compensation under civil law. Common law and legislation work
together in health and safety cases.

After an accident, the injured employee may claim both a breach of contract and a breach of
statutory duty. It is also possible that his employer could be prosecuted by the HSE if they
breached the duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Sources of Health and
Safety Law
Health and safety laws can be found in the following forms:

Common law
Legislation
Regulations
Approved codes of practice
Guidance notes

Common Law: Employees are expected to be protected from reasonably foreseeable hazards by their
employers under common law. It is the employer's 'prudence' or reasonableness that must be met.
Employee safety is an implied contractual duty and is governed by the law of negligence.

Legislation: Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 is the main statute in this area. Employers have a
general duty to their employees under this Act. Under this Act, regulations can be made that affect
particular industries or occupations.
Regulations: The Secretary of State makes health and safety regulations based on
recommendations from the Health and Safety Commission.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 provides for specific types of workplace problems and
industries. Those who violate a regulation may be prosecuted for their crimes. A breach of
statutory duty may also give rise to a civil claim. It is possible to make a claim like this unless the
specific regulation prohibits it.

Regulations such as the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and the
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) are
examples.
Approved Codes of Practice: Acts and regulations are supplemented by approved codes of
practice. Employers can use them to stay up to date with safety developments in their field. The
law requires employers to provide a safe working environment if they follow the provisions of a
code. A violation of a code does not constitute a crime in itself but will be considered in any legal
proceedings. An employer who fails to meet the standards set in an approved code will not be
favoured by a court or tribunal.

Guidance Notes: The Health and Safety Commission and the Executive issue guidance notes.
They provide guidance on what constitutes good health and safety practices. Often, they are
produced according to approved codes. Any area of workplace safety can be covered by
guidance notes.
Liability at Common Law
It is the employer's duty to take reasonable care to ensure the safety of its employees. To prevent
workplace injuries, employers must do everything possible. Employers are only expected to take
'reasonable' care and to do what would be considered reasonable in each case.

The employer will be responsible for damages if he breaches this duty and has no defence.

Despite the best accident-prevention measures, many workplaces are hazardous environments.
Providing absolute safety at work is not expected of employers. There are no impossible
requirements in the law. Having such a system allows employers to balance the risk of accidents
occurring against the costs and inconvenience of preventing or reducing those risks.
If employers can demonstrate that they have taken reasonable care, they will not be in breach of
their common law duty.

A company is only responsible for preventing injuries that are foreseeable at the time they
occur. If an employee's hearing is impaired because of excessive noise levels, his employer is
only liable for the injuries if the employer knew the noise would harm him.

It is the employer's responsibility to minimise the risk of harm as soon as the danger of the
method of doing work becomes apparent.
Compulsory Insurance

By law, employers have to carry employer's liability insurance to protect themselves from injuries
and fatalities at work. In 1998, the Employer's Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations
increased the minimum insurance amount to $5 million.

Personal injury or fatal accident claims by employees or their estates are covered by the
insurance. A copy of the employer's insurance certificate should be displayed at work. Failure to
do so may result in a fine.

Funds are available for successful claims under the Act, but there is no right to compensation.
The 1969 Act is enforced by the Health and Safety Executive.
Breach of Duty Lawsuits
Employees who have been injured may claim compensation either for a breach of duty of care or for a
breach of an implied term in their employment contract. Employers are responsible for ensuring the
safety of their employees. Essentially, these claims are based on the same duty of care. To prove
negligence, the employee must show:

It was his employer's responsibility to ensure his safety;

This duty was breached by the employer;
He was injured as a result of this breach.

Breach of contract claims are based on the implied duty to take reasonable care for the safety of
employees. Both cases allege that the employee has been injured at work due to the employer's
negligence.
Providing Competent Co-
Workers

Employers are responsible for hiring competent employees. Whenever an incompetent employee
injures a colleague, their employer has failed to fulfil this duty.

In that case, the employer would be liable to pay damages to the injured employee. It is the
employer's responsibility to provide employees with adequate training and supervision.
Employees may act in a way that damages another without realising it.

In addition to employing suitably qualified individuals, employers must develop, train, and
supervise them.
Breach of Statutory Duty
The employee may also bring a claim under the common law if their employer breached a
statutory duty. An employee must prove negligence on the part of his employer in a negligence
claim. The employee must only show that his employer failed to meet a statutory or regulatory
requirement to prove a breach of statutory duty. Failure to provide a machine guard is in violation
of the 1961 Factories Act, for example.

Employees must prove that their employer's breach caused their injury. It is possible for an
employee to claim that both the general duty of care and the statutory duty were breached by his
employer. As a result, the employee claims damages for both breaches.
It is not possible for an employee to bring a claim for breach of statutory duty in every case
where an injury occurs. Civil claims are usually allowed under the statute in question. According
to s 47 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, a breach of the general duties under ss 2–8
does not give rise to civil liability. A breach of the Act cannot constitute a breach of statutory
duty.

Health and Safety Regulations may be construed as a breach of statutory duty, unless they state
otherwise.
Vicarious Liability
In vicariously liable situations, employers may be held accountable for the negligence of their
employees although they have committed no wrong themselves.

The injured person may also sue the employee who caused the accident, but since the employee is
unlikely to have the financial resources to pay damages, this may not be worthwhile. Due to the
employer's compulsory insurance, he is in a better position to pay the injured person's damages.
There are situations in which vicarious liability does not apply.

According to this claim, employers should be held liable for the negligent acts of their employees
committed "during the course of employment".
The Health and Safety at
Work Act 1974
By imposing general duties on employers, employees, designers, manufacturers, suppliers,
importers and non-employees, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSAWA 1974) regulate
health and safety at work. In contrast to civil law, the 1974 Act imposes criminal penalties on
employers who fail to meet health and safety standards. This Act promotes health and safety at
work and prevents accidents.

HSAWA 1974 replaced a number of statutes regulating workplace health and safety before it was
implemented.

As a result of the various Acts in force, the law was piecemeal. Standards were inconsistent, and
some occupations were not covered. There was too much complexity and ineffectiveness in the
law. Several of these old statutes still have some effect today.
Health and Safety Regulations
Besides the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, regulations are made as
well. Almost any health and safety regulation can be made under the 1974 Act since it is an
enabling Act. A few regulations apply to specific problems, such as noise at work or providing
first aid, while others conform to European law.

The European Community adopted a Framework Directive on 12 June 1989 to improve the health
and safety of workers. In the Directive, general principles are laid down regarding the
identification and control of occupational risks, the protection of health and safety, as well as the
informing, consulting, and training of workers and their representatives.
Health and Safety Regulations 1981
Having adequate equipment, facilities, and personnel in the workplace for administering first aid is
required by these regulations. Depending on the size of the workforce, adequate equipment will
vary. Some accidents can be handled by an employee appointed to deal with accidents and a first
aid box. It may be necessary for the employer to provide a first aid room and a nurse who can
handle all accidents. Divers and some shipping and mining operations are exempt from the
regulations.

To inform employees where to go for first aid treatment and which member of staff is able to
handle accidents, notices, or other forms of communication must be used.
Enforcement
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and its regulations are enforced by the Health and Safety
Executive. HSE inspectors may also be assisted by local authority environmental health officers.

A safety inspector from the Health and Safety Executive may:

Any reasonable time can be used to enter premises;

When obstructed, be accompanied by authorised persons and a police officer;
Investigate using the necessary equipment or materials;
Measure, take photos, and take samples;
Allow work areas to remain undisturbed;
In the event of imminent danger, take possession of articles, substances, or equipment;
Obtain statements from appropriate individuals;
Documents should be examined and copied;
An improvement notice should be issued;
A prohibition notice should be issued.
Chapter Synopsis
Any employee who alerts their employer to a safety issue or takes steps to protect themselves
from serious and imminent danger should not face retaliation.
Employers can be punished under criminal law, and employees can sue for compensation
under civil law.
A company is only responsible for preventing injuries that are foreseeable at the time they
occur.
Personal injury or fatal accident claims by employees or their estates are covered by the
insurance.
An employee must prove negligence on the part of his employer in a negligence claim.
Chapter 06
Effective Management
Communication Skill:
Overcoming the
Barriers
Chapter Goal
Effective communication skills are essential for business leaders. Many workplace conflicts,
productivity barriers, and misunderstandings are caused by miscommunication. By strengthening and
improving communication skills, a manager can prevent these problems. Managers must regularly
communicate with their teams, ensuring they are up-to-date on what's happening. Establishing an
open communication channel that works both ways instils confidence in your team.

Communication barriers, however, often make it difficult for managers to communicate. We will
describe these barriers in this chapter in order to help you understand and overcome them, as well as
improve your communication skills.
Learning Outcome
Know The Barriers to Good Communication
Understand The Reasons Why The Barriers Occur
Develop Skills to Overcome The Barriers During
Communication
Communication Barriers
From The Sender and The
Receiver
Every communication involves a sender and a receiver. Imagine that you are communicating with
one of your employees. You are the sender, and your employee is the receiver of this
communication. We will first look at the common communication barriers between senders and
receivers and then work on overcoming them.

1. Barrier from The Sender

We often face the following barriers when we want to start communicating with others:

We are not clear about what we want to say

We don't look at the person we are talking to
We impose our own ideas without considering others
We add too much detail or are unclear about what we are saying
We take into account the feelings of the person you are speaking to
We talk about potentially difficult topics at the wrong time and place
We become vague and do not give any concrete examples to make things clear
We start acting fake by pretending or exaggerating
We Talk so much that the other person cannot respond or ask questions
We annoy the receiver by putting them down, ridiculing or attacking someone else
We assume that the other person understands something just because we do
We use incongruent words that do not correspond with the body language and behaviour
We do not occasionally summarise to check whether the other person understands
We speak monotonously instead of varying both our tone and pace
We often speak in a detached, disinterested manner
2.Barriers From The Receiver

If receivers do not respond appropriately, communication barriers may arise. Let's suppose you
are not paying attention to your team member who comes to talk with you about something.
Then, as a receiver, you are creating barriers to communication.

Let’s find out some common communication barriers from the receiver’s end:

We often Interrupt the speaker to give our views, thus disrupting the flow
We do not look at the speaker or look bored
We are often become immersed in our own thoughts while someone is talking
We tend to Ignore how the speaker feels about what they are saying
We negatively dismiss what is being said
We seek points to disagree with rather than points to agree with
We suddenly try to change the subject
We often do not summarise what we hear to ensure accuracy
Oftentimes, we do not face the speaker directly and rather lean slightly towards them
Other Barriers to Communication

Language

Foreign speech and accent

Dialect – regional accents
Unspecific meaning of words
Double meanings
Jargon (except for experts in these fields)
Technical language
Woolly use of language, rambling
Giving insufficient information
Psychological

Emotional problems – shy, aggressive

Emotive word
Reactions to situations
Personality clashes
Lack of interest

Frames Of Reference – Bias, Prejudice

Education
Status
Intelligence
Physical Environment

Noise
Not enough room
Hot or cold
Distance
Time

Human Disability

Deaf
Blind

Organisation Structure

Communicator
Unable to use skills adequately
Inability to deal with people
Lack of sufficient knowledge
Overcoming Barriers to Communication

Now we know the communication barriers. We will now quickly discuss some ways to overcome them.
To overcome the common obstacles to effective communication, we can do the following;

Ask Questions

Ask yourself the following questions to improve your communication skill.

What:

How should I communicate?

Is it clear to me what it is?
What does the recipient of the message already know?
When:

When is the best time to communicate?

Should I allow enough time for the message to be communicated and understood?

Why:

Why am I communicating?

How:

Is my chosen method of communication the most effective one?

Who:
Am I the best person to give this message to?
 Check to Understand

Errors often occur because communicators assume that people understand what they have said
without checking. When you ask people if they understand what you have said, they will answer
“yes” just because they do not wish to appear stupid. If you use open questions, you avoid the
"yes" or "no" answer and effectively verify that your message was understood. "Kipling's six" can
help "open" the questions.

For example: “What did you think of the exhibition you have just visited?”
 Follow The Do’s and Dont’s of Communication

As the Sender – DON’T do the followings. Don’t:

Make assumptions that the person hears what you are sending out
Use inappropriate language or jargon
Fidget or distract with diverting mannerisms
Make the sound like a test when checking understanding, e.g., ‘Can you repeat back what I
have just told you?’
As the Receiver – DON’T do the following things. You should not:

Change the subject

Jump to conclusions. Check out that what you have heard is accurate
Let forming your next question distract you from listening
Focus on minor details while ignoring the main point
Switch off too early
Send or receive in a win-lose style. Work for outcomes where senders and receivers are
equally satisfied.
Chapter Synopsis
Before speaking, we should take our time and think about what we are going to say.
If receivers do not respond appropriately, communication barriers may arise.
Errors often occur because communicators assume that people understand what they
have said without checking.
Chapter 07
Assertive
Communication Skills
Chapter Goal
Effective managers know how to motivate without being pushy, overbearing, begging or
pleading. Managers who are assertive can provide guidance to their employees to get the
job done while commanding respect from them. By improving your communication skills,
interaction skills, and conflic management skills, you will become a more effective
manager.
Learning Outcome
Learning about Defining Assertive Communication
Achieving Success with Assertiveness
Find out about Assertiveness and Aggression
Discover the Benefits of Being Assertive
Learn about the Risks of Being Assertive
Get to Know Assertive Communication Techniques
Learn about The Assertive Body Language
Defining Assertive
Communication
Generally, managers can be classified as aggressive, passive or assertive. A manager who is too
aggressive may accomplish short-term goals but struggles to maintain positive relationships with
their employees over time. It is easy for passive managers to build relationships but difficult for
them to motivate others and solve problems. A manager who is assertive can lead employees
and command them simultaneously.

It is the ability of managers to lead that determines an organisation's success, and this ability is a
combination of their communication skills, ability to build relationships, and ability to handle
conflict with composure. Your organisation will be led confidently and effectively by managers
who are able to find a balance between aggressive and passive management styles.
 Assertive Behaviour

Assertiveness is about defending your rights and others' rights as well. Assertiveness depends
heavily on one's ability to express these rights in speech, in-text, and through non-verbal
communication.

In developing our assertiveness, we will often have to be prepared to negotiate our rights to
balance these points with others:

Complementing others
Valuing People
Being responsible
Being problem solver
Being solution-oriented
Being non-judgmental
Great eye contacting
Congruent (What's said is confirmed and supported by body language and also congruent by
always delivering on promises.)
Seeing the real person
Respecting the rights
Living with example
Being proactive & fearless
Never complaining
Being on time & thorough
Giving opportunity
Focusing on facts & listens
Gathering info, not evidence
Acknowledging emotions
Taking ownership
Being confident & accountable
Being humble & appreciative
Stating what they want
Stating what they need
The assertive person looks the other person in the eye, not by staring them out like the
aggressive person, but by having a generally confident degree of eye contact. This is
crucial when it comes to interviewing and being interviewed. Sit or stand in a way that
conveys confidence, e.g., not slouching or standing erect, but in a comfortable yet confident
posture.

People who are assertive repeat their message several times until they are acknowledged or
appreciated.
Achieving Success with
Assertiveness
The ability to assert yourself is a key skill that can help you better manage yourself, people, and
situations. Using it can help you gain acceptance, agreement, or change in behaviour from others.
Aside from other valuable skills, managers who rated highest as leaders used assertiveness.
Try to be assertive by:

Connect with people and spend time communicating.

Give honest, helpful, and fair feedback.
Make decisions based on moral judgment.
Adapt to change.
Establish and maintain excellent relationships.
Collaborate whenever possible.

Managers who are assertive can be highly successful in both their personal and professional lives.
Assertiveness and
Aggression
Identifying assertive behaviour isn't always easy. Assertiveness and aggression have a fine line,
and people often confuse them. In order to clearly distinguish the two behaviours, it's useful to
define them:

Balance is the key to assertiveness. While taking into account the rights, needs and wants
of others requires being forthright about your wants and needs. Assertive people are self-
assured and use this confidence to get their points across firmly, fairly, and empathically.

The goal of aggressive behaviour is to win. You act in your own interests regardless of
others' rights, needs, feelings, or desires. The power you use when you are aggressive is
selfish. Pushy or even bullying behaviour may come across as yours. It is common for you
to take what you want without asking for it.
Benefits of Being Assertive
When you are assertive, you can communicate your wants and needs more authoritatively
while remaining fair and empathic. Additionally, it can improve your mental health as well as
your self-confidence.

The benefits of assertiveness extend beyond your workplace to other areas of your life as well.
People who are assertive generally:

Make excellent managers. By treating people fairly and respectfully, they get things done,
and they are treated the same way in return. As a result, they are often well-liked and
considered to be good leaders.

Successfully negotiate "win-win" solutions. Despite differing viewpoints, they can quickly
find common ground with their opponent.

Do better and solve problems better. When faced with a problem, they feel empowered to
find the best solution.
Risks of Being Assertive
Assertive behaviour may be considered rude or offensive in some organisational and national
cultures. Assertive behaviour can be perceived differently based on gender, with men more likely
to be rewarded for it than women. It is important to be bold while avoiding naivety at the same
time.

It is also possible to go too far. Too much assertiveness may lead you to stop listening to
others, even if they have good ideas. As a result, you will alienate your colleagues and damage
your relationships. Start by experimenting with small steps at first until you find what works for
you. You can develop your profile and self-esteem by asserting yourself at the right time.
The process of becoming more assertive isn't always easy, but it is possible. You may
want to work on the following areas to help you get the balance right if your
disposition or workplace tends to be more passive or aggressive than assertive:

1. Value your rights and yourself: In order to be more assertive, you must gain a
good understanding of yourself and believe in your inherent value. The basis for
self-confidence and assertive behaviour is self-belief. You will be able to
recognise the importance of being treated with dignity and respect, you will gain
the confidence to stand up for what's right for you and defend your boundaries,
and you will be able to remain true to yourself.
2. Confidently express your needs and wants: To perform at your best, you need to make sure
that your needs and wants are met. Don't wait for others to recognise what you need. Start
identifying what you want now and take the initiative. Setting goals will help you achieve them.
When you've done this, you can clearly and confidently communicate what you need from your
boss or colleague to help you achieve these goals. Make requests without sacrificing others'
needs. Asking for things in an overly aggressive way is likely to discourage people from helping
you and may damage your relationship.

3. Don't try to control the behaviour of others: You shouldn't accept responsibility for how people
react to your assertiveness. Avoid reacting in the same way if they act angry or resentful
toward you, for example. When things get tense, stay calm and measured. You can only
control yourself and your own behaviour. When you behave respectfully and do not violate
someone else's needs, you have the right to say or do what you want.
4. Expressing self in a positive way: Even when dealing with a difficult or negative issue,
it's important to speak your mind. However, you must do so in a constructive and
sensitive manner. Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself and your rights when people
challenge you. Be sure to stay calm and respectful at all times while controlling your
emotions.

5. Be open to criticism and compliments: Embrace both positive and negative feedback
graciously, humbly, and positively. You should be prepared to reply to criticism without
getting defensive or angry if you disagree.
6.Saying no is important: It's hard to say "no" when you're not used to it, but it's crucial for
assertiveness. When you know your own limits and how much work you can handle, you
will be able to manage your tasks better and identify any areas of your job that make you
feel exploited. Don't forget that you can't please everyone or do everything, so it's
important to protect your time and workload by saying "no" when necessary. It is always
better to come up with a win-win solution than to say "no."
7. Review Your Progress: Each time you practice assertiveness, ask yourself, "How did I
handle that?" and "What could I have done differently next time?" This will help you stay on
track and help you identify areas for improvement. Don't be discouraged if you encounter a
setback. Try to learn from it instead. Recognising your accomplishments and keeping your
failures in perspective is essential.
Assertive Communication Techniques
Aside from the above strategies, you can become more assertive by using a number of simple yet
effective communication techniques. Here are a few:

"I" Statements: Get your point across clearly by using "I want", "I need", or "I feel".
Empathy: Consider the other person's perspective and try to understand it. After considering their
perspective, express what you need from them.

Escalation: It may be necessary to escalate the matter further if your first attempts at asserting
yourself have been unsuccessful. Being firm (though polite and respectful) with the person you are
requesting help from may end with you telling them what you will do next if you are still unsatisfied,
such as starting the disciplinary process. However, don't forget that regardless of the consequences
you communicate to the person, you may still not get what you want. This may require further action,
such as setting up a formal meeting to discuss the problem or escalating your concerns to Human
Resources.
Asking for more time: Sometimes, it's best not to say anything immediately. Maybe you are too
emotional, or you don't know what you want yet. It is okay to tell the person that you need some time
to think about what you want to say.

Change your verb: When communicating, use definite and emphatic verbs. The goal is to send a
clear message without "sugar-coating" it so much that people are left confused about what you
want. The best way to accomplish this is to use verbs such as "will" instead of "could" or "should," or
"want" instead of "need," or "choose to" instead of "have to."

Scripting: When asserting yourself, it can be difficult to know how to communicate your feelings
clearly and confidently. Here, scripting can be helpful. Describe the situation or problem exactly as
you see it. Express your emotions clearly and describe how you feel about the situation. Describe
exactly what you need from the other person so that they don't have to guess. Give an example of
how your request will benefit the other person or company if your needs are met.
The Assertive Body
Language
 Facial Expression

You should display the following facial expression when using assertive body
language:

Committed
Concerned
Interested
Responsive

Posture

The appropriate posture can be described as follows:

Upright
Relaxed
Open

Eyes

You should maintain:

High eye contact

 Speech & Voice

You should speak with the following tone of voice:

Direct
Relaxed
Friendly
Well moderated
Not strained

Gestures

It is important that your gestures look like this:

Open
Hands not raised above the elbow
Parallel shoulders
Chapter Synopsis
A manager who is assertive can lead employees and command them simultaneously.
Managers who are assertive can be highly successful in both their personal and professional
lives.
Assertive people are self-assured and use confidence to get their points across firmly, fairly,
and empathically.
Too much assertiveness may lead you to stop listening to others, even if they have good
ideas.
In order to be more assertive, you must gain a good understanding of yourself and believe in
your inherent value.
Chapter 08
Communication and
Leadership
Chapter Goal
Communication skills enable managers to manage their teams more effectively. It is much
easier to delegate tasks, manage conflicts, motivate employees, and build relationships when
you are a strong communicator as a manager. This module explores communication's
definition, its objectives, the communication process, and its factors. You will also learn why
questioning is crucial to team management.
Learning Outcome
You will be able to set up an effective communication method after finishing this module
and communicate fluently with your team. You will also be able to

Understand the Idea of Communication

Find out why Communication is necessary
Identify the Elements of Communication
Overcome Communication Barriers
Learn the Importance of Listening
Meaning of Communication

Communication can broadly be defined as exchanging ideas, messages and information between
two or more persons, through a medium, in a manner that the sender and the receiver understand
the message in common sense; that is, they develop a shared understanding of the message.

Communication is the process of exchanging ideas or information in a two-way fashion. It cannot

be accomplished by one person alone. Communication requires a receiver or audience that
reciprocates.
Types of Communication in
Business:
Every communication has a purpose or objective. An organisation's communication activities can be
divided into three broad categories:

1. Intra organisational Communication

This takes place within an organisation. It takes place in the form of orders, circulars, notices, emails,
etc.

2.Interorganisational Communication

This takes place between a business organisation and people outside the organisation. It can take
place in the form of company presentations, advertisements, displays, project reports, etc.

3.Personal Communication

This communication is undertaken without a specific objective. Personal conversations, gossip, and
grapevine communication are examples of personal communication
Why is Communication
Important?

Communication is essential for socialising and getting organised into

groups. As technology, structures, and people evolve, managers
communicate these changes to their subordinates. When the
communication system is well organised, it is easier for subordinates
to understand and act on the message.
The following points highlight the importance of communication:

Basis for Planning

Management begins with planning. A thorough analysis of the environment and information
about internal and external factors is required for planning. An effective communication system is
crucial to this process.

Motivation to Work

Employees are motivated to work if their needs are satisfied. Managing through communication
allows managers to know what motivates their employees and encourages them to adopt a
positive attitude towards the workplace.
Job Satisfaction

Managers and subordinates develop trust, confidence, and faith through the exchange of
information. As a result, they perform better in their jobs. Commitment to organisational
objectives fosters job satisfaction.

Coordination

Communication coordinates organisational resources, individual goals with organisational goals

and the internal environment with the external environment.

Adaptability to External Environment

Managing in the changing, dynamic environment requires constant interaction with external
parties, such as governments, suppliers, customers, etc. This requires an effective
communication system in the organisation.
Internal Functioning of an Enterprise

Managers interact with internal parties within businesses. They constantly gather and provide
information to them. The more efficient the communication system, the more accurate the
information will be.

Healthy Industrial Relations

Healthy organisations are built on satisfied workers. The communication between managers and
trade unions promotes mutual understanding and peace and harmony in the workplace.

Helps in Performing Managerial Roles

Managers have three main functions - interpersonal, informational, and decisional. Effective
communication is essential to managing these functions.
Facilitates Leadership

Influential leaders motivate and guide their followers to achieve their individual and
organisational goals. Effective communication process facilitates leaders to carry out their
leadership functions.

Training and Development

Training and development facilities depend on the quality of communication employees receive
from their superiors. Good trainers are excellent communicators.
The 7 Cs of Communication

The 7 Cs provide a checklist for ensuring that your meetings, emails, conference calls, reports, and
presentations are well constructed and clear – so your audience gets your message.

According to the 7 Cs, communication needs to be: Clear, Concise, Concrete, Correct, Coherent,
Complete and Courteous.

Clear

Be clear about your goal or message when writing or speaking. What is the purpose of your
communication? If you're not sure, your audience won't be sure either. To be clear, try to minimise
the number of ideas in each sentence. Make sure that your meaning is clear to the reader.
Concise

Concise communication means staying to the point and keeping it short. Your audience doesn't want
to read six sentences when you could convey your message in three.

Concrete

Your audience has a clear picture of what you're saying when your message is concrete. Details are
plentiful, but they do not overwhelm, and vivid facts are presented with laser-like focus.

Correct

When your communication is correct, it fits your audience. Correct communication is also error-free
communication.
Coherent

Coherent communication is logical. Each point is connected and relevant to the main
topic, and the tone and flow of the text are consistent.

Complete

A complete message gives the audience everything they need to be informed and, if
applicable, take action.

Courteous

Courteous communication is friendly, open, and honest. There are no hidden insults or
passive-aggressive tones. You keep your reader's viewpoint in mind and are empathetic
to their needs.
Components of the
Communication Process
There are eight components to communication: Idea, Sender or Encoder, Encoding, Message, Channel
and Medium, Receiver or Decoder, Decoding, and Feedback.

Idea

Every message, whether oral or written, has its origin in an idea that develops in the mind of the
sender of the message. Every concept refers to some context. In the communication process, the
source of a message is the idea or information that the sender wishes to convey to the receiver.

Sender/Encoder

Encoders initiate the communication process. Communication begins with the sender who identifies
the need for communication.

Encoding

Encoding occurs when the sender formulates his idea into a message to be transmitted to the
receiver, using a series of verbal/ or non-verbal symbols.
Message

Messages are ideas expressed in words. It can be expressed in different ways depending upon the
sender's subject matter, purpose, audience, personal style, and cultural background.

Channel and Medium

An appropriate medium chosen to send the message is known as a channel. It is the vehicle which
facilitates the sender to convey the message to the receiver. Channel is a system used to transmit a
message, whereas a medium is one of the forms/ types used under that system.

Receiver or Decoder

The person who receives the encoded message is referred to as the receiver. The receiver may be an
individual or a group of individuals. A receiver may be a listener, reader, or viewer of the message
Decoding

It is a process by which the receiver interprets the message and translates it into meaningful
information.

Feedback

Feedback is a response given to the sender of a message by the receiver. Feedback lets the
encoder know that communication has been accomplished. Feedback is the most crucial
component of communication. The communication process would not be complete without
feedback.
Communication Barriers

Barriers are obstacles or problems that hinder or obstruct communication. Barriers are part of the
communication process.

Types of Barriers

We face many barriers while communicating. These barriers can create obstacles in the
communication process. These barriers are classified into the following types.

Physical or Environmental Barriers: The Barriers in the surroundings or the environment are
the physical barriers.

Language/ Semantic or Linguistic Barriers: Barriers arising due to the different language or
differences in language can create problems in communication.
Psychological Barriers: Problems arising due to stress or psychological problems are
psychological barriers. These barriers are difficult to accept and overcome.

Socio-Cultural Barriers: Due to differences in social status or cultural barriers, we often

face differences in communication.
The Power of Listening
Listening is Highly Influential. The best way to persuade others is to listen to them. This may
seem counterintuitive since we expect persuasion to involve speaking.
Listening to team members gives a leader greater credibility and influence. Listening also leads
to learning. It is also a great way to help others learn.

The 3 Levels of Listening

Corporate leaders, and especially those responsible for communication leadership, must
incorporate the art of listening in their personal and business strategies. It is the ability to
absorb what another person is saying on a personal level. Listening is the key to becoming a
better leader. And how you listen is extremely important.
There are three levels of listening:

Level I: Internal Listening

The lowest level of listening is entirely focused on ourselves. We may hear information from others,
but we pay only attention to how it affects us.

Level II: Focused Listening

When we engage with others on Level II, our focus shifts from ourselves to them. As we listen to
them, we also pick up on their emotions, inflexion, facial expressions, posture, and more.

Level III: Global Listening

Listening at this highest level transcends just the speaker and listener. It takes into account not only
the actions, inactions, and interactions of the individuals but also the surroundings and all that they
bring with them. It also heavily relies on the listener's intuition.
Questioning the Team
Albert Einstein said, "If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I
would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper
question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes." Good leaders ask great questions
that inspire others to dream more, think more, learn more, do more, and become more.
A powerful question:

Generates curiosity in the listener

Stimulates reflective conversation
Is thought-provoking
Surfaces underlying assumptions
Invites creativity and new possibilities
Creates energy and forward movement
Channels attention and focuses inquiry
Stays with participants
It touches a deep meaning
Evokes more questions
Types of Questions
A range of question types can be used for different purposes. Some questions provide
structure, others direct flow, and some help us reach closure.

Question types include:

Open questions: To gather information and facts

Probing questions: To gain additional detail
Hypothetical questions: To suggest an approach or introduce new ideas
Reflective questions: To check to understand
Leading questions: To help a person reach a conclusion or have an 'idea' that you feel
will be beneficial
Deflective questions: To defuse an aggressive or defiant situation by redirecting the
force of the other person's attack instead of facing it head-on
Closing questions: To bring agreement, commitment and conclusion
Chapter Synopsis
This chapter has arrived at a halt. Let's find out what we got from here:
Communication can be defined as the exchange of information and ideas in two directions
The desire to socialise and get formed into organised groups necessitates the need for
communication
Communication needs to be: Clear, Concise, Concrete, Correct, Coherent, Complete and Courteous
Communication consists of eight components which are inter-related: Idea, Sender or Encoder,
Encoding, Message, Channel and Medium, Receiver or Decoder, Decoding and Feedback
Any obstacle or problem in the process of communication which hinders/obstructs the process of
communication is called Barrier
Listening is the communication ability to become absorbed in what another person is saying
Good leaders ask great questions that inspire others to dream more, think more, learn more, do
more, and become more
Chapter 09
Leadership and
Management
Chapter Goal
Leadership is about influencing others to get the most out of them. Every successful manager is a
good leader and a good influencer. A leader is a problem solver. There is no doubt why leadership
skills are so essential for a manager. This chapter will cover the ins and outs of managing and
leading a team and teach you how to become a better leader.
Learning Outcome
After completing this chapter, you will be able to
Define Leadership
Identify the Characteristics of a Great Leader
Manage A Team Effectively
Understand the Principles of Motivation
What is Leadership?
Let's begin by defining leadership. Leadership is the process of influencing a group of individuals to
achieve a common goal.

There are four factors of leadership. Let’s have a look at them.

Leader

An effective leader must have an honest understanding of himself, knowledge, and abilities. You need
to convince your followers, not yourself or your superiors, that you are worthy of being followed.

Followers

Different people require different styles of leadership. Know your people well! To begin, one must
have a good understanding of human nature, including needs, emotions, and motivations.
Communication

Leading involves two-way communication. Much of it is nonverbal. Your communication style

either builds or ruins the relationship between you and your employees.

Situation

Every situation is different. What works in one case may not work in another. You must use your
judgement to decide the best course of action and the leadership style needed for each situation.
Qualities of A Leader

Character and personality are integral to leadership. A leader must possess certain
characteristics. To be seen as a leader, you must possess these qualities, but they are not
sufficient by themselves. Let’s explore the generic leadership traits.

Enthusiasm

Can you think of any leader who lacks enthusiasm? It is tough to do so, isn’t it?

Integrity

This is the quality that makes people trust you. Trust is fundamental to all human relationships,
whether professional or private. Integrity means adherence to external values such as truth and
goodness.
Toughness

Leaders can be demanding and uncomfortable to be around since their standards are high. They
are resilient and tenacious. Leaders strive to be respected, but not necessarily popular.

Fairness

Effective leaders treat individuals differently but equally. They do not have favourites. They are
unbiased in giving rewards and penalties for performance.

Warmth

Cold fish do not make good leaders. Leadership involves your heart as well as your mind. Loving
what you do and caring for others are equally important.
Humility

It is an odd quality but a characteristic of the best leaders. Arrogance is the opposite of humility.
Who wants to work for an arrogant manager? An effective leader listens and isn't overly
egotistical.

Confidence

Confidence is crucial. People can tell whether you have it or not. So, developing self-confidence is
always the preliminary to becoming a leader. However, don't let it lead to overconfidence, the first
step on the path to arrogance.
Effective Team Management

Good leaders are capable of managing their teams in such a way that the team produces the best
results as a whole. Let’s have a look at the elements of managing a team effectively:

Communication

Team communication is considered a foundation of team Growth. Effective communication in a

team plays a crucial role in the organisation's growth.

Authority

For an effective team, management requires the authority to take bold decisions for the
organisation. Authority means the right to command. It is reflected as a power in managing the
work. If authority is used in a positive and constructive manner, the entire team works smoothly
and effectively.
Uniqueness of Direction

Providing direction to subordinates must be unique. When directions are fixed, efforts can be
taken effectively, resulting in desired outcomes.

Unity of Direction

The Unity of direction is essential in effective team management. It will save time and help to get
good results.

Division of Work

It is also called a delegation of work. If the work is complicated, large, and difficult, it must be
divided among the team members. Due to the division of work, team members get less variation
in work, and skilled people concentrate on their work effectively. As a result, the work gets done
on time with higher quality.
Unity of Command

It is popularly known as the one boss' principle. When there is more than one higher authority, the
team members may receive different guidelines. This may create misunderstanding and
confusion among the team members. So, there should be only one team leader who will properly
command the team. It avoids unnecessary discussions and brainstorming. It leads to a fixed way
of working.

Initiative

Initiative means to start any work with enthusiasm. Every team member takes the initiative to
accomplish the goals and vision of the organisation. Difficult things are not possible if there is no
initiative among the team members. Initiative leads to new possibilities.
Stability

There should be stability among the team members. Stability is mainly concerned with economic
stability, workload stability, work area stability, and team stability. This creates secure feelings
among them, which allows them to work with more concentration. Stability helps in the consistent
growth of the organisation.

Equity

Equity is the most important and good characteristic feature of team Management. Team
management should not forget equity and humanity. It gives dignity to each team member. Equity
does not mean equal wages, but it means no discrimination in the treatment of the individual.
 Motivating Team Members
For a consistently high-performing team, it is vital to keep team
members motivated. However, keeping motivation high is not always
easy. Leadership involves motivating people through a combination of
rewards and sanctions. As a leader, you must understand these needs
in individuals and how they operate.
There is a hierarchy of individual needs arranged according to their necessity. The hierarchy of
needs includes five categories:

Physiological: Our physical needs for food, shelter, warmth, sexual gratification and other
bodily functions.

Safety: It is the need to be free from physical danger and the need for physical, mental and
emotional security.
Social: The need for belonging and love, to feel part of a group or organisation, and to belong
or be with someone else. Implicit in it is the need to give and receive love, share, and be part of
a family.

Esteem: These needs fall into two closely related categories: self-esteem and the esteem of
others. The first includes our need to respect ourselves, to feel personal worth, adequacy and
competence. The second embraces our need for respect, praise, recognition and status in the
eyes of others.

Self-actualisation: The need to achieve as much as possible and develop one’s gifts or
potential.
Key Principles of
Motivation
To have a deeper understanding of motivating your team, we will now explore the primary
elements of motivation.

Motivate yourself: If you are not fully committed and enthusiastic, how can you expect
others to be?

Select highly motivated people: It is not easy to motivate the unwilling. Choose those
who have the seeds of high motivation within them.

Set realistic and challenging targets: The better the team and its members, the better
they will respond to challenging and realistic goals.
Remember that progress motivates: If you never give people feedback on how they are
progressing, you will soon demotivate them.

Provide fair rewards: Not easy. Do you reward the whole team, or everyone, or both? Either
way, the perception of unfair rewards certainly works against motivation.

Give recognition: These costs you nothing, but praise and recognition based upon
performance are the oxygen of the human spirit.
Chapter Synopsis
Let’s do a quick overview of the module before you move on to the next ones:
Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a
common goal
There are some distinctive qualities that you have to possess in order to qualify as a leader
Leadership consists of the ability to effectively lead a team so that each member of the team
produces the best results as a whole

Motivating your team members is crucial for ensuring that your team consistently performs
well
Chapter 10
Team Building
Chapter Goal
Developing a winning team is part of your responsibilities as a manager. No matter how different your
team is, you must help them work together efficiently and harmoniously. The best way to build a team
is to do it all the time. As part of their ongoing managerial duties, good managers refine and
strengthen constantly. When you build a team, you create an environment of mutual support, common
goals, clear communication, and shared values. In this chapter, you will understand how a team is
formed and how to build and manage teams to get the most from each member.
Learning Outcome
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to

Identify the stages of team development

Build an effective team for an organisation
Know the four secrets Cs of a high-performing team
Create effective culturally diverse teams
Team Development Stages
Forming, storming, norming, and performing are the four main stages of
team development.

Forming

The team defines their tasks and responsibilities in this stage. Since it is
the first step in team development, team members may not produce
expected results right away, but may instead adjust to change as needed.
Team members gradually learn from each other, accept each other's
individual views and ideas, and progressively respect each other.
Storming

This is the most challenging and critical stage. The storming stage is also called the conflict
stage and is a crucial part of the developmental process. At this stage, team members often have
disagreements with each other. They might experience stress, as their ways, ideas or suggestions
may not be followed. In spite of disputes, team members are constantly learning. Slow progress
and anxiety are common during this stage.

Norming

The teamwork stage is where the tense situation created in the storming stage is resolved. The
team starts giving each other enough room to share their opinions and ideas. The team's ability to
tolerate and accept conflicting viewpoints increases in this stage. As the team becomes more
accepting of one another, they often show a greater willingness to learn from each other. As a
result, each team member learns and develops professionally.
Performing

This stage of team development is also called the

achievement stage. Performance and results are the main
focus here. Productivity and team development are the main
concerns in this stage. Members start working constructively
with each other, and their focus is to achieve goals by giving
maximum quality input by offering collective efforts.
Effective Team Building in a Business
Environment
Many organisations are made up of teams, but few know or understand how to build an effective
or successful team. The goals of an effective team are aligned with the organisational purpose.

Organisations strive to improve productivity by exploring new methods. To achieve this goal,
some organisations believe creative or effective teams are best suited

Organisations must strategise to gain team commitment, as the output of a team or an

individual is always more than that of an employee who is not committed to their work

Aside from the organisation's goals, effective teams also have their own goals, a clearly
defined mission, and clear visions and strategies
It is of vital importance in effective team building that teams are not working under a highly
centralised and autocratic style of management and governance. In that situation, creative
teams cannot perform at their maximum potential

Rewards are very important for effective team building. A reward can be in the form of
appreciation or monetary benefit, which motivates the employee and increases their productivity

A modern approach adopted in today's business environment motivates teams by sharing the
profitability or group earnings with the teams and the best individual performance within the
team
The Four Cs of a High-
Performing Team
For teams to achieve the best results, four factors must be understood and managed. We will call
them The Four Cs.

Context
Composition
Competence
Change
The Context For The Team

It refers to the organisational environment in which the team must work. Understanding context
and how it influences team performance requires an understanding of the answers to two
questions:

1 Is effective teamwork critical to accomplishing organisational goals? If so, are there

measurable team performance goals around which we can organise a team?

2. Do my organisation's senior managers, reward systems, information systems, human

resource practices, structure, and culture support teamwork?
High-performing teams manage context effectively by:

Establishing measurable team performance goals that are clear and compelling
Ensuring that team members understand that effective teamwork is critical to meeting those
goals
Establishing reward systems that reward team performance
Eliminating roadblocks to teamwork that formal organisation structures might create
Establishing an organisational culture that supports teamwork-oriented processes and
behaviours
Creating information systems to provide the team with needed information to make
decisions
Establishing human resource systems to provide training, team member selection, methods, and
so on to support teamwork
Composition of the Team

Team composition is determined by the skills and attitudes of the team members. To effectively
manage the composition of the group, team leaders must understand that team leadership and
processes differ depending on the answers to the following questions:

Do individual team members have the technical skills required to complete the task?

Do they have the interpersonal and communication skills required to coordinate their work
with others?

Are individual team members committed to the team and motivated to complete the task?

Is the team size appropriate for completing the task effectively?

High-performing teams effectively manage team composition by:

Establishing processes to select individuals for the team who are both skilled and motivated
Demonstrating processes that develop the technical and interpersonal skills of team
members as well as their commitment to achieving team goals
Cutting loose individuals who lack skills or motivation
Managing the team according to the skills and motivation of team members
Ensuring that the team is the right size, that is, neither too large nor too small to accomplish
the task
Competencies of the Team

Successful teams possess a set of competencies that exist separately from any individual
member but are woven into the team's formal and informal processes
.
High-performing teams have developed methods that allow the team to:

Clearly articulate their goals and the metrics for achieving those goals
Clearly articulate the means required to achieve the goals, ensuring that individuals
understand their assignments and how their work contributes to team goals
Make effective decisions
Effectively communicate, including giving and receiving feedback
Build trust and commitment to the team and its goals
Resolve disputes or disagreements
Encourage risk-taking and innovation
Change Management Skills of the Team

To remain effective over time, high-performing teams have to adapt to changing

conditions. Factors related to team context, composition, and competencies may
need to change for the team to reach a new goal.

When a team can monitor its performance and understand its strengths and
weaknesses, it can generate insights needed to develop a plan of action for
continuous improvement.
High-performing teams have developed the ability to change by:

Establishing team-building processes that result in the regular evaluation of team context,
team composition, and team competencies with the explicit objective of initiating needed
changes to achieve the desired team goals better

Establishing a philosophy among team members that regular change is necessary to meet
the demands of a constantly changing world
Putting The Four Cs
Together to Work
There is no single way to put together a team-building program. The format depends on:
The experience, interests, and needs of the team members
The experience and needs of the team leader
The skills of the consultant, and
The nature of the situation prompted the need for team building

Here we have outlined some of the specific steps and actions you should take when
designing a program.

Preparation
Creating an open climate for data gathering
Group data analysis and problem-solving
Using feedback to improve team performance
Action planning
Preparation

The first phase describes the purpose of the program and introduces the team-building process to
team members. The goals of this phase are to:

Explain the purpose of team building

Elicit agreement to work on specific problems
Get committed to participation, and
Do preliminary work for the team-building workshop
Creating An Open Climate for Data Gathering

The second phase of the team-building program creates a climate for gathering and sharing
data. The goals of this phase are to:

Create an environment for work

Get people relaxed; establish norms for being open with problems, concerns, and ideas for
planning and for dealing with issues, and
Present a framework for the whole experience

The climate established during the start-up phase influences the rest of the program.
Group Data Analysis and Problem Solving

The third phase involves analysing the data and developing a plan of action to resolve the team's
issues. This phase aims to address the issues identified in the previous phase. In addition, the
team will practice problem-solving, decision-making, planning, and delegation skills.

Using Feedback to Improve Team Performance

A major issue that often arises following the identification of problems is sharing feedback with
individuals, subgroups within the team, or the team as a whole. It is important for the team to
share feedback among individuals in a way to help them improve and to give feedback to the
entire team in the same way.
The goal of a feedback session is to share data about performance so that difficulties can be
resolved.
Action Planning

The result of all the activities mentioned so far is to help the team identify conditions that block
both individual and team effectiveness to develop plans for action and change.

Action plans should include a commitment to carry the action to completion. The goals of this
phase are to:

Pinpoint needed changes

Set goals, develop plans
Give assignments
Outline procedures, and
Set dates for completion and review
Creating Effective
Culturally Diverse Teams
Team members with different norms, values, languages, and experiences are more likely to solve
problems creatively. Yet, misunderstandings, mistrust, and miscommunication are also more likely.

Effectively managing a cross-cultural team requires a deeper understanding of culture and cultural
diversity. Let's examine some of the key facets of culture.

What Is Culture?

We define culture as socially acquired and shared rules of conduct manifested in a group's artefacts,
norms, values, and assumptions.
Cultural Artefacts

Artefacts are the tangible aspects of culture, for example, the behaviours, language, dress, and
other overt manifestations of cultural rules.

Cultural Norms

Cultural norms are the rules reflected in a group's cultural artefacts and used by individuals to
act appropriately in specific situations.

Cultural Values

Cultural values are more general rules that represent the collective feelings about what's good,
proper, valuable, and right. Unlike norms, values are broader rules that can be found across
various situations.
Shared Assumptions

These are the fundamental beliefs that underlie artefacts, norms, and values. These are the
fundamental beliefs about whether people can be trusted, the nature of relationships, the nature
of the world around us, etc.

Using the Four Cs in Cross-Cultural Teams

The interpretation of artefacts varies based on culture. Different cultures have different norms,
values, and assumptions, which leads to miscommunications and conflicts. Cross-cultural teams
can be successful by following the Four Cs of team performance.
Context

Creating the proper context for a cross-cultural team is critical.

Significant upfront, face-to-face time needs to be spent to help the
team succeed. The team members need to:

Discuss the importance and priority of the team

Share their expectations for the team, and
Clarify the goals of the team; and formulate operating
guidelines for issues regarding decision making, work
assignments, raising concerns, resolving conflicts
Composition

Creating a successful cross-cultural team requires several important things regarding the
team's composition.

1. First, the team leader needs to be sensitive to cultural differences and attuned to the fact
that their cultural values may be inconsistent with those of other members of the team.
2. Second, team members should be selected based on their ability to share a common
language.
3. Finally, finding team members who have lived and worked in other countries or have
previously worked on cross-cultural teams is often important for team success.
Competencies

One of the advantages of cross-cultural teams is that team members bring a diverse set of
experiences, values, and beliefs that can be helpful to team performance. A cross-cultural team
has the advantage of creating a culture that's uniquely tailored to the team's task.

During their early stages of development, cross-cultural teams need to regularly assess how they
are performing and make any necessary course corrections. You could do this by taking time
after every meeting to analyse the meeting's effectiveness or by holding a weekly or biweekly
session to identify problems on your team.

Clearing roles can also serve as a team-building activity before the team starts its work, and more
importantly after it has been working together for a few weeks.
Chapter Synopsis
Today's chapter has come to an end. Let's do a brief recap of our learning from here:
Generally, there are four stages to the development of a team: forming, storming, norming, and
performing
An effective team will have their own goals that are aligned with organisational goals, a clearly
defined mission, a clear vision, and clearly defined strategies
A high performing team is defined by the Four Cs: Context, Composition, Competence and Change
In order to achieve long-term effectiveness, high-performing teams need to be able to change and
adapt to new conditions
For effectively running a cross-cultural team, it is essential to have a thorough understanding of
both the culture and the cultural diversity
Chapter 11
High-Performance Team
Formation
Chapter Goal
A manager is as good as your team. To achieve goals, successful team formation
is a must. As a manager or team leader, you need to form a team that makes
winning and achieving target a habit. We will cover the factors that make up a high-
performance team, its characteristics, and how to build one from scratch.
Learning Outcome
When you finish this module, you will be able to

Define what a high-performance team is

Understand the attributes of high-performing teams
Learn how to create Team Visions
Manage High-Performance Virtual Teams
Defining a High-Performance Team

High-performance teams are characterised by consistent growth in the

organisation, team, and team members. This growth demonstrates that the team
sets high goals and then works together to do what they need to achieve them.
The Three Pillars of High-
Performance Teams
Three pillars define the difference between an okay performance team and a high-performance
team: purpose, positive engagement, and communication. If any of the three pillars is missing,
the team will either fail miserably or perform well below its potential.

Pillar One: Purpose

Any team requires a purpose. Without a purpose or mission, there is no reason to have a team,
since there is no target or goal to achieve.

Pillar Two: Positive Engagement

Teams that exemplify "Positive Engagement" are those that hold the belief that together we can
achieve more than any one of us alone. The team is filled with individuals who are eager to invest
in the team's success. Positive engagement - with the purpose, with each other, and with
leadership- is a critical, non-negotiable element of every high-performance team.
 Pillar Three: Communication

Once your team has a shared sense of purpose and each member is positively engaged, you
must tackle the challenge of ensuring it stays that way. Perfecting your communication
game is the key to keeping your team engaged and committed to the purpose.
 Characteristics of a High-
Performance Team

The characteristics of a high-performance team are:

A clearly defined and commonly shared purpose

High-performance teams have a well-defined, mutually agreed and
shared set of goals to hold themselves accountable.

Mutual trust and respect

In high-performance teams, members have a high degree of trust and

respect. There is recognition that everyone has diverse skills and
backgrounds and that all contributions are valid.
Clarity around individual roles and responsibilities

Have you ever been in a team where roles and responsibilities are not clear? In high-
performance teams, everyone knows what their role is and their individual responsibilities.

High levels of communication

A high-performance team has open and high-frequency channels of communication.

Information is cascaded to and from the team leader, between the team members and
amongst their key stakeholders.
Willingness to work towards the greater good of the team

Working in a high-performance team requires individuals to put the team's needs ahead of their own
at times. Individuals on a high-performance team are aware that sometimes they may have to make
sacrifices for the team's overall welfare.

A leader who both supports and challenges team members

In high-performing teams, leaders demonstrate a balance of supportive behaviour and challenge.

They encourage their team, listen and provide ongoing recognition. They challenge the team to do
greater and better things, question current working methods, and encourage constant improvement.
A climate of co-operation

High-performance team members are cooperative rather than competitive. They support
one another and work toward a common goal rather than being divisive.

An ability to voice differences and appreciate conflict

Finally, a high-performance team does not push differences under the carpet. The group
value challenge and openness and appreciate that conflict will help move the team
forwards.

Team Environment

In order to create an effective team, it is essential to have four elements in place:

Skills and knowledge

Work methods
Leadership
Climate
Skills and knowledge

A team needs an appropriate blend of team skills and technical or functional skills to work
effectively. This aspect includes:

Having the right balance of technical skills

Using previous knowledge and relevant experience
Knowledge of the organisational and team goals
Brainstorming and decision-making skills
Time and self-management skills
Interpersonal skills. For example, listening, supporting, challenging, differing,
compromising, etc.
Work methods

Teams need to agree on how they will work together. It includes providing a structure for completing
tasks or projects, solving problems, and making decisions. A reliable communication system is also
essential to a team's success.

Work methods include:

Objectives
Work plans
Agendas
Guidelines
Standards
Timekeeping
An appointed leader
Decision making
Briefings/ communication frameworks
Feedback mechanisms
Leadership

The leader's primary role is to provide the right amount of direction, challenge, and support to the
team to enable the team to perform effectively in achieving its objectives.

Effective leadership includes:

Listening
Gathering information
Refocusing
Supporting
Directing
Checking and testing understanding
Summarising/recapping
Persuading
Building on ideas
Mediating
Climate

A good climate is the result of skills and knowledge, work methods, and leadership.

Climate also depends on the quality and depth of the relationships built between team
members: the level of openness and trust, and the values they share.
An effective team climate includes:

Honesty
Trust
Openness
Stating feeling
Candour
Self-disclosure
Acceptance that mistakes are part of the learning process
Creating a Team Vision

Vision is a picture of a desired future state that is sufficiently appealing and compelling to drive
change forward. Clear vision is one of the elements that bind a team together. If you develop a clearly
spelt-out vision, it will help your team run more successfully.

Developing a vision of the future

The team diamond is crowned by a vision. It sets the direction for the team – where the business
wants to be.

Having a vision for your team means you stretch the team beyond its current state. A vision should be
inspiring, memorable, and meaningful. A team vision is particularly helpful when the team is about to
undergo a change. In times of change, a vision provides some context and gives people a focal point.
The change itself helps the team achieve its future state.
Creating a High-Performance Virtual Team

The concept of virtual teams was relatively rare even a decade ago, but it has become quite
common in recent years. As companies grow globally, having offices all over the world, not all
teams can be co-located. The rapid development of communication technologies and easy access
to them have also dramatically reduced the cost of operating teams remotely.

Furthermore, companies now face complex problems that require a wide range of expertise from
people around the world. Virtual teams will play a more important role in the future than ever
before. In light of this trend, a company's ability to create and manage high-performance virtual
teams is crucial for its success.
Virtual Teams vs
Traditional Teams
Virtual teams differ from traditional teams in at least three ways:

1. Greater diversity in work norms and expectations

2. Greater reliance on technology as a vehicle for communication
3. Greater demands on the team leader

As opposed to traditional collocated teams, virtual teams consist of people from various
locations, with a greater diversity of cultures, languages, and businesses.

Since virtual teams are usually composed of a greater diversity of individuals, the norms and
expectations of teamwork are also more diverse. Virtual teams must also use a variety of
technologies to communicate since they are unable to hold face-to-face meetings.
Team Building in Virtual
Teams
Managing a virtual team makes traditional team-building approaches more challenging. Nevertheless,
virtual teams can use several approaches to improve team performance:

1.As the team is formed, assess its context and composition. A virtual team's context is not
particularly conducive to effective teamwork: structure, communication networks, reward systems,
etc. might not encourage collaboration.

2.The virtual team should periodically assess its performance by filling out the team-building
checklist. Data from the checklist can then be shared with the team online or by videoconferencing,
and the team can then identify the problems it faces.

3.The team leader must clarify each member's specific roles and responsibilities in the team.
Chapter Synopsis
Let's do a recap of the chapters from here:
The hallmark of high-performance teams is consistent growth - growth in the organisation, in the
team, and in the team members
Purpose, Positive Engagement, and Communication are the three pillars that differentiate between
an okay performance team and a high-performance team
An important characteristic of high-performing teams is that they have a well-defined, shared and
mutually agreed set of goals to which they hold themselves accountable
Vision is a picture of a desired future state that is sufficiently appealing and compelling to drive
change forward
A company's ability to produce high-performance virtual teams and manage them effectively is
critical to its success
There is a much greater variety of cultures, languages, and businesses represented on virtual
teams with individuals from different locations
Chapter 12
Brainstorming &
Reverse Brainstorming
Chapter Goal
The job of managing is challenging. In order to manage your team and deal with workplace challenges
every day, you must keep a cool head. Managers desire to have brainstorming skills, but few possess
them. The purpose of this module is to help you understand brainstorming and reverse brainstorming
and how to use them effectively.
Learning Outcome
Define Brainstorming & Reverse Brainstorming
Identify the Four Brainstorming Principles
Understand The Brainstorming Techniques
Find out what the ground rules are for brainstorming.
 What is Brainstorming?

A brainstorm entails the spontaneous contribution of ideas and

solutions as a group solving a problem.

Brainstorming is a highly effective technique for generating a large

number of ideas quickly, and it is therefore very useful for solving
difficult problems. It is much more powerful for a group of individuals
to brainstorm a problem than any one individual. An organised group is
equipped with more experience and can approach problems in a
different way.
The Four Principles to
Brainstorming
Success at brainstorming depends on the following four guidelines:

Suspend Judgement

Never criticise the ideas being produced, whether they are yours or other people's.

Freewheel

Let yourself go, and don’t be worried about putting forward wild or silly ideas.

Quantity

It’s the quantity that counts at this stage, not quality. Generate a lot of ideas. It’s the quantity that
matters; you can examine the quality of each idea in later stages.

Cross Fertilise

Pick up other people’s ideas and suggest others leading from them.
The Brainstorming Techniques

Step 1: Select The Problem

At this stage, the group agrees on an issue or problem to brainstorm.

Step 2: Restate The Problem

Due to their proximity to their problems, people tend to view them from only one perspective. By stating
the problem, the group is forced to step back and consider it from all sides. All the restatements are
prefaced by “How to...” This ensures that the group doesn’t go hunting around for solutions just yet. In
addition to all the restates, there is plenty of time for questions and discussion to ensure that all
parties are clear about the problem and the restates.
 Step 3: Select a Restatement

After at least six proposals for restatements have been received, one, or possibly two combined,
should be selected to be brainstormed and written down by all. Its prefaced with “In how many
ways can we…” because the group is now ready to look for solutions.

Step 4: Warm-Up

Before brainstorming a problem, the group members should have a short, sharp discussion about
something completely different to loosen everyone up and move their minds. During the group
session, the facilitator presents the group with the topic. They remind the group of the four
principles and then encourage them to come up with as many ideas as possible within a two-
minute time limit.

Step 5: Brainstorm The Restated Problem

Each group member submits as many ideas as possible about resolving the restate issue. By
following the four principles, the leader ensures that success is achieved. In order to keep track
of the many ideas flowing, the leader writes them up on large sheets, numbering them.
Step 6: Use The Wildest Idea Technique

The group selects an illogical and senseless idea for the written lists. The leader writes it up on a clean
sheet headed “the wildest idea” and then asks for ideas to be developed from it. These ideas can often
lead to new and useful ones.

Step 7: Evaluate The Ideas Produced

There should be over 100 ideas produced during a good session, which are then analysed. It can be
done by the leader, individually, or by the group as a whole. However, using the whole group can be
quite time-consuming. There should be evaluation criteria (e.g. cost, acceptability), and the ideas
should be grouped into manageable groups of between 20 and 40 ideas. Ideas can be assigned to one
or more groups.

Based on the criteria previously devised, each group is then evaluated. Ideas that fail to meet any of the
requirements are automatically discarded. The remaining ideas are then examined, and the best ones
are selected. The best ideas are then implemented.
Reverse Brainstorming

In a situation with great negativity in the room or about the topic/subject you are discussing,
reverse brainstorming can be useful. Using the reverse brainstorming method, you define the
statement you want to brainstorm in the negative sense, e.g. If you wanted to brainstorm ideas of
how to maximise attendance on training programmers; the statement to be brainstormed using
the reverse technique would be ‘How to make sure nobody attends training programmers’ like
bringing a boring trainer, no breaks in the training, non-air-conditioned room, any food or drinks
...etc.

This method taps into the creative mind and lets the person go of frustration and negativity by
negatively stating the problem.
Brainstorming Ground
Rules
A brainstorming session must be conducted within certain ground rules. It is important to allow
members the freedom to suggest new, creative, effective solutions but focus on one area at a
time to help keep the group on track. Some excellent ground rules to achieve this are:

Suspend Judgments: The most important rule in brainstorming is to suspend all judgments;
there is no such thing as a bad idea. Allocate sufficient time and space to each idea. The
fastest way to kill creativity is to shut down ideas with comments like “That won’t work”, “That
isn’t what we’re looking for”, or “That is too crazy”.

Focus on one topic at a time: Allow them to select one topic from the list and focus their
conversation on that subject until they are ready to move on. This technique helps prevent
them from jumping around from topic to topic.
Set time limits: When people are pressed for time, they come up with some of their best
ideas. During the brainstorming phase, keep the concepts short and then refine them. Stick
to the time limits.

Quantity, not the quality of ideas: Quantity matters more than quality during a brainstorming
session. During brainstorming, various ideas may be generated, which are then evaluated
further or with the assistance of other tools. Prior to weighing and evaluating one idea,
generate as many as possible.

Create a parking lot: If anyone has an idea for another agenda topic, jot it down next to that
topic and call it the parking lot; if anyone thinks of something they need to check out or has
another suggestion, it goes into the parking lot.

Cross fertilises: Pick up ideas from other people and suggest others leading from them.
Someone may say a word that sparks an idea in another person's mind.
Chapter Synopsis
Brainstorming is a tool for generating a large number of ideas in a short time
Success at brainstorming depends on the following four guidelines: Suspend judgement,
freewheel, quantity & cross-fertilise
Reverse brainstorming is a useful activity to use when there is lots of negativity in the room or
about the topic/subject you are talking about
Chapter 13
How to Solve
Problems and Make
Swift Decisions
Chapter Goal
Leaders are characterised by their ability to solve problems effectively and take swift decisions. A
successful manager solves problems efficiently. He knows when to make a swift decision. Whenever a
problem arises, he always finds a solution. Business thrives and prospers when the manager can
systematically think through the facts, diagnose the situation, and come up with a workable solution.
Hopefully, this chapter will give you a solid understanding of how to solve problems and make
decisions.
Learning Outcome
Define Problem & Decision
Know The Problem-Solving Cause & Diagram
Understand Force Field Analysis
Definitions
Problem: Problems are the gap between where you are, and a more desirable position. Problems
are a natural part of our lives. They can be a challenge, an opportunity (positive words) or a
situation (neutral word). In addition, we demonstrate our effectiveness in our job role by our ability
to solve problems or facilitate this process through our team.

Decision: ‘A choice from known options.’

Problem-solving and decision-making are different activities but are closely linked. Problem-solving
involves creating more options. The greater the skill in problem-solving, the easier the decision-
making becomes. Decision-making becomes difficult when none of the options is satisfactory. A
good problem-solver will invent/create more opportunities or improve existing options.

Crisis: ‘Something which arises suddenly or which is unforeseen’ Or ‘Something which has serious
consequences for the organisation or for individual(s).’
How to handle crises effectively:
Thorough knowledge of all relevant organisational policies and procedures (e.g. fire/bomb
procedures)
Trust of team members
Knowledge of backup systems
Emergency exits
Knowledge of who to contact and how
First aid competence

Steps a team leader can take in handling crises:

Stop and think/plan/prepare

Ask other people
Check they have all the information they need
Delegate/use all the people available
Warn/advise other people who may be affected
The effects that crises can have on people:

Suffer stress in crisis

Start to do things without planning/preparing/thinking ahead
Can panic
Make mistakes
Forget to follow basic rules or procedures
Forget to consult other people or delegate
Problem-Solving - Fishbone/Cause & Effect
Diagrams

This is a simple yet powerful method of visually recording possible causes and relating effects.
These help the detailed investigation of processes responsible for quality problems. They provide a
convenient way of revealing relationships between causes and help define the problem more closely.

The diagram is created in three stages:

Establish the problem or effect; start the diagram by putting this in the box.
Identify the major causes. The typical headings are Material, Method, Manpower, and, Machinery.
Put these in boxes on branches of the fishbone.
Brainstorm for subdivisions of the major causes.
Use large diagrams, as others cannot participate in the process if they cannot see it
clearly. If the diagram becomes overloaded with causes, then the problem is not
defined clearly and should be reviewed again. Focus discussion by circling the most
likely causes and drawing lines to indicate their relationships.
Here is an example of analysing and finding the cause of a simple problem like arriving
to work on time. Let's put the “problem” in a box on the Effect side (Right side); then, we
list all categories and all factors we can think of on the Cause side (Left side) and
examine each cause carefully. If you analyse the problem visually using diagrams and
have all possible causes right there in front of you, chances are you will be able to find
out the real cause much easier than just keeping it all in your head.
Here is another example of a more complex problem where a bank’s senior staff loses customers,
and the senior staff is trying to figure out why.
Decision Making - Force
Field Analysis
Force-Field Analysis is a tool for studying a situation that you want to change. Lewin first
developed the method based on observations that a situation generally can be described as a
balance between two types of forces.

In the first instance, both sides' forces need to be identified. After that, they must be weighed
according to the force they exert. When we can clearly see these various forces and how
significant (or strong) they are, there is a better chance of bringing change in the direction we
seek.

Consider, for example, the force field analysis below for the new service suggestion you have for
improving customer service before submitting it to your manager.
Steps in Force Field Analysis

Identify the problem - describe the desired change in writing.

Define the problem in terms of
The present situation
The situation you desire to see when the problem is solved
List forces working for and against change
Underline the most important forces/give a weighting.
For each restraining force, list actions you could take to reduce/eliminate that force.
For each driving force, list actions that would increase that force.
Determine the most promising steps you could take in sequence.
Re-examine your steps for resources required and omit steps that do not help achieve your goal.

Using force field analysis to conceptualise a change highlights that certain forces promote change
and others resist it.
Changing the balance could involve:

Adding or strengthening driving forces

Removing or weakening restraining forces
A combination of these

Example of Force Field Analysis

Present situation: Unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, gaining weight

Desired Situation: Fitter, more energy, long term health

Problem Solving/Decision Making: Systematic Approach to Problem Solving

1. Analyse the problem:

What is the problem?

What is the desirable position/situation?
Why solve it?
Who will benefit?
Who will be adversely affected?
How will success/failure be measured?
Cost is savings/increased expenditure.
Avoid jumping to conclusions.
2. Gather facts:

“Is it your decision alone?” - clarify responsibility

“What are the limiting factors?” e.g. cash
“Is it a real or an apparent problem?”
“By when do we need to make a decision?”
“What information will help?” Go and get it.
Use the ‘5 Whys’ technique

1. Why did the car lose control?

Brake failure
2. Why did the breaks fail?
Fluid loss
3. Why was there a fluid loss?
Failed gasket
4. Why did the gasket fail?
Incorrect installation
5. Why was it installed incorrectly?
Lack of operator training
What exactly is causing the problem? What is/are the root cause(s)?
Consider the ‘6 Ms’:

Manpower (your team members or other people)

Methods (how you do things)
Machinery (equipment, tools, vehicles, etc.)
Materials (raw materials or supplies, products, goods, services)
Mother Nature (temperature, humidity. etc.)
Measurement (accuracy, measuring the right things, etc.)
3. Consult:

Would it help if a problem-solving team were created?

If it affects others, ask them (especially your team).
Listen to them.
Check your ideas with them.
Has this issue cropped up previously?

4. Generate solutions:

Ask if you have examined all options and done your brainstorming
Ask who, how, what, why, where, when, AND who else, how else? etc
Update your costing
Remind yourself of what you want to achieve
5. Decide, communicate and implement the decision:

People prefer to work for decisive managers (avoid analysis paralysis)

Plan your approach for implementation. Draw up an Action Plan to help you
Make sure you don’t forget to tell other parties who need to know
Brief your team collectively
Enthuse and persuade
Explain why
Confirm in writing - particularly if complex
6. Follow-up and Evaluate:

Monitor progress - quantify where possible

Smooth out problems.
Analyse success and failure by
Checking against set standards or criteria or predetermined targets or
objectives.
Carrying out a cost/benefit analysis.
Check if any further improvements are necessary/possible
Why Use a Systematic Approach to
Problem Solving?

The final objectives are identified at the start

All relevant information is gathered
Everything relevant is likely to have been considered
Vital stages are not omitted
We are more likely to select the best or optimum solution
The solution is more likely to work
Problems are less likely to reoccur
We are less likely to jump to conclusions prematurely
We focus on causes and not the symptoms
We are less likely to adopt a blame culture
Conditions

These conditions must exist for team members to solve problems confidently:

The team must fully understand the problem, its causes and the need to resolve it.
The team must know the limits that exist in resolving the problem.
Team must be allowed time and freedom from interruption to work on it.
Chapter Synopsis
Problems are the gap between where you are, and a more desirable position
Decisions are a choice from known options.
Force-Field Analysis is a tool for studying a situation that you want to change.
Chapter 14
Anger Management
Fundamentals
Chapter Goal
It is important for a manager not to let his emotions get the best of him. There can be a lot of chaos and
stress at work. As a manager, you must control your anger and solve problems effectively. We will
discuss the fundamentals of anger in this chapter. This chapter will also teach you how to manage
anger.
Learning Outcome
Know the definition of Anger
Identify important facts about Anger
Identify anger Problem
Understand how to manage Anger
What is Anger?

Anger is the natural outcome of our fight or flight reaction, which is

hardwired into our basic instincts whenever we feel threatened. Anger
is a universal emotion that cuts across cultures, irrespective of their
differences.

Some important facts about anger are mentioned below:

Anger Is Not Primarily about Revenge

Initially, anger is motivated by a desire to demonstrate that one is in

control since the threat makes one feel as if they are losing control.
First and foremost, one should strive to improve one's image, not to
avenge or harm others. Revenge is a secondary motive that is
commonly used to vent accumulated frustration.
 Anger is Neither Good nor Bad

By positively regulating, controlling, and channelling your anger, you can make a huge difference
in your life. You can enhance your communication skills, boost your self-esteem, and remain
energetic through it. Mahatma Gandhi, Buddha, and Nelson Mandella channelled their anger to
improve the world despite being angry.

Getting Older Makes You Calmer

Many people mistakenly believe that older people become angrier; in reality, the opposite is true.
In fact, people report fewer negative emotions and a greater ability to control their emotions as
they age.

Anger Can Kill You

Angry feelings can cause heart attacks and even disabling or even fatal injuries.
 Everybody Gets Angry

It is common for most people not to show their anger. About 15 percent of people openly express
their anger, but 85 percent keep it to themselves.

Anger is A Complex Emotion

It can be the people who seem to have no anger problems who need the most help in reality, as
we have seen above.
Identifying Your Anger
Problem
You Have Anger Issues If:

You hurt yourself or others physically

If you feel too afraid to express your anger openly
It's hard for you to forget situations that angered you and let them go
To deal with those who cause you anger, you employ cunning
methods rather than speaking out directly
If you get angry a lot
Whenever you get angry, you are completely out of control
It starts to affect you and those around you when you become critical,
defensive, and blame others
You just get angry suddenly and are not sure what triggered it
You sometimes take your anger out on innocent people
Managing Anger
The ability to manage anger can make a difference between being miserable and being happy. A
person's life can be significantly affected if they are unable to control their anger. This can lead
to strained relationships between you and your friends, family, and coworkers. Thus, you are
more likely to suffer physical and psychological harm as well as poor work performance. You
may even suffer health problems as a result.

As a result of external events, we may become angry. If you don't want to lose your temper, you
can choose not to do so. However, that's entirely up to you.

Consequently, the following anger management techniques can help you cope with your anger:
50
Identify the actual cause of your anger. Think about what specifically caused you to feel angry.

Consider other approaches or options that could help you achieve your desired result. A person
can usually attain what they want in several ways, but anger forces us to see and focus on just
one.

Use your anger in a positive way by communicating assertively. Even though anger may be a
temporary solution for any frustrations you have, it can have serious negative consequences for
you and those around you.

Learn to calm down or take a time out. You cannot think clearly when you are emotional. Taking a
step back or calming down and assessing the situation can help you to clarify your contribution.
You cannot change someone else. Only You can change yourself.

Learn from your anger. Ask yourself what you can learn from the situation. For example,
“What is the real issue here?” or “What role did I play in this?” or “What can I do differently next
time?”

Develop the ability to observe yourself and change your part in negative relationships.

Learn to identify your particular anger triggers.

Practical Anger Management
Techniques
 Go Somewhere Else

Remove yourself from the situation that is making you angry. If it is possible, take a short walk
outside or walk the corridors of your workplace or home.

We are Not The Enemy of Others

Anger is a survival emotion. There is a protective mechanism in your emotional system that
protects you when you are in survival mode. You should remember that others are not your
enemies.

Exercise Regularly

This is a great way to channel negative anger into something positive and turn your feelings
around. If you can include exercise in your daily routine, you will be surprised at how much better
you will handle your anger.
 Life isn’t Fair

Life isn't fair to anyone, so accepting that can change the way you perceive triggers and
events that make you angry and help you deal with them better.

Anger can Never Help You

Never let anger get in the way of solving problems.

Chapter Synopsis
Anger is the natural outcome of our fight or flight reaction, which is hardwired into our basic
instincts whenever we feel threatened
Managing anger successfully can make the difference between misery and happiness
Life isn't fair to anyone, and accepting this can change your perception of triggers or events
that cause you anger
Chapter 15
Preventing Anger
Chapter Goal
In this chapter, you will learn why and how you should confess your anger. This chapter will
also discuss why it's challenging to let go.
Learning Outcome
Learn how to confess your anger
Know why letting go is so difficult
Find out how to handle stress
Learn how to use anger constructively
Know about mind switch
Confessing Your Anger
According to behavioural medicine (the science of the relationship between the mind and
the body), excessive inhibition of emotions, incredibly intense emotions like anger, is
harmful. Suppressing emotions is unhealthy. Holding back on feelings is unnatural for
humans.

Benefits of Confessing

You can manage your anger through a confession exercise in the days, months, and years
ahead. The following sections fill you in on the types of people who need to keep an anger
journal.
Men in General: There tend to be two distinct types of men:

Those who all too readily express their emotions as they experience them
Those who deny their feelings and act cool
Women Who Cry a Lot: Women who cry more emotionally tend to suppress angry feelings
than women who do not cry as much.

People Who are Prone to Guilt: Guilt is a real barrier to emotional expression.

People Who are too Empathetic: Normally, empathy is a good thing. However, you may
conceal your real feelings when you have too much empathy to avoid hurting someone else's
feelings.

People Who are Hostile: Hostility is an attitude that often leads to anger. It is possible that
hostility and anger-suppression tendencies can lead to serious health problems, such as high
blood pressure, heart problems, and other inconveniences.
People Who Lack Charisma: If you’re charismatic, you have that personal magnetism that
allows you to attract and influence others easily. Since everyone knows how you feel about
good and bad things, you do not need to keep a log of your anger.

Introverts: An introvert is a private person who tends to be shy and timid. Introverts tend to
hide their emotions from others. It is his nature to be serious and cautious about life, and he
follows the rules imposed by society. Introverts are the proverbial nice guys and gals who
tend to say things are fine when they’re really not. The introvert should be adept at keeping an
emotional journal since they are self-contained.

People Who Have Suffered a Lot of Trauma: The more that human beings suffer unusual,
intense, traumatic experiences, the more likely they are to spend a lot of energy defending
themselves from future hurts. This can be achieved by ignoring your feelings about the things
that you encounter on a daily basis. The journaling process can help you heal from the inside
out by acknowledging and grieving the effects of trauma on your life.
Why is Letting Go So Difficult?

Most people hold on to anger because of fear. Some common concerns that may keep you from
letting go of anger include:

Fear of making another person angry

Fear of hurting someone else’s feelings
Getting rid of anger will require you to forgive the person who made you angry
Fear that you will lose your reputation as a “nice” person if you express anger
Fear that when you start to express anger, you will lose control of your emotions
Other emotions (such as sadness) that may underlie your anger
Fear of being perceived as weak or vulnerable
Fear that if you let go of your anger, you are letting the other person off the hook
Fear that anger will cause you to lose something you value (for example, a job or a friendship)
Not allowing yourself to admit that you are only human
 Managing Stress

Stressors are those people, events, and circumstances that cause you
stress. There are many types of stressors. These include:

Physical Problems (noise, pollution)

Social Problems (noisy neighbours, meddling in-laws)
Emotional Problems (loss of a loved one)
Legal Problems (divorce)
Financial problems (bankruptcy)

Some experiences are even positive, such as getting a new job, getting
married, or graduating from college, and they will stimulate your
nervous system as much as the negative ones.
Managing stress can be achieved by following the following strategies:

Take the time to learn more about the situation

Get in touch with a spouse, relative, or friend to discuss your concerns
Make small steps at a time
Ask for advice and guidance
Use previous experience to guide you
Consult a professional (a lawyer, doctor, or religious leader)
Consider the positives
Don't react emotionally, focus on the problem
Be patient; don't expect an immediate result
You don't have to give up - keep trying until you succeed
It is okay to feel uncertain while searching for solutions
Develop several options for problem-solving
Keep communication lines open
Be willing to compromise
Be optimistic
Using Anger
Constructively
Anger is often portrayed negatively. Typically, you associate anger with aggressive behaviour or
some other aspect of your life that is destructive. Only because you have not been taught how to
utilise anger in a constructive way is this true.

Constructive Anger Involves Two Things:

Choosing what you want to accomplish with your anger

Then implementing steps to achieve that goal
Step 1: Think about your next step after you get angry
Step 2: Acknowledge your anger
Step 3: Set your anger on the problem, not someone else
Step 4: Identify the cause of the problem
Step 5: Recognize that the issue can be resolved
Step 6: View the issue from another person's perspective
Step 7: Cooperate with the other party
Step 8: Keep a civil tone throughout
Step 9: Avoid disrespectful behaviour
Step 10: If you feel uncomfortable taking a timeout, resume the discussion later
Step 11: Make it a two-way conversation
Step 12: Acknowledge that you have made progress
What is A Mind-Switch?
It is possible to make decisions based on every event's reactions in your life. By selecting a
switch, an individual is able to select a stimulus and the appropriate response. Your human ability
to react will be preserved if you remain in the present rather than acting as a humanoid.

The Switch brings you from the back seat to the driver's seat of your life. It is about how you react
to people and events, no matter how painful or distressing they are.

You can choose to live your life as a victim or as an enlightened being

The goal isn't to change people in your life but to change the way you respond to them
It is important to live your life from a place of love rather than fear of power rather than
weakness, and acceptance rather than anger
Optimists – Dealing with Setbacks
When faced with setbacks, optimists believe:

The circumstances in which they failed can be changed next time in order for them to succeed
Things can be better in the future
Disappointment is inevitable, but how we interpret it is up to us
Defeat is a part of the learning process
If your first attempt failed, don't give up
Failing at something doesn’t make you a failure
Success is anything that meets your expectations
Chapter Synopsis
Holding back on emotions is unnatural for humans
Guilt is a real barrier to emotional expression
The journaling process can help you heal from the inside out by acknowledging and grieving
the effects of trauma on your life
Chapter 15
Managing Anger at
Home & Work
Chapter Goal
When you can't balance your work and personal life, you'll struggle, and your performance will decrease. In
order to maintain a healthy work-life balance, managers should refrain from bringing their work stress
home. It will adversely affect their relationships at home and their performance at work in the long run.
The ability to manage emotions is an essential skill for achieving happiness in life, both personally and
professionally. You will learn how anger affects the body and mind, as well as how to control it both at
home and at work, in this chapter.
Learning Outcome
Know what anger feels like and its impact on the body and mind
Learn how to manage anger at home
Find out what you can do to deal with your anger at work
Learn some steps to get back in control
What Does Anger Feel Like?
Everyone experiences anger differently. You may experience the following:

Effects on Your Body:

Stomach-churning
Chest tightness
An Increased And Rapid Heartbeat
Weak Legs
Tense Muscles
 Feeling Hot
An Urge To Use The Toilet
Sweating, especially in the Palms
A Pounding Head
Shaking Or Trembling
Dizziness

Effects on Your Mind:

Feeling Tense, Nervous or Unable to Relax

Feeling Guilty
Feeling Resentful Towards Other People or Situations
Easy to Irritate
Feelings of Extreme Anger
Feeling Humiliated
Anger Management at
Home
It is up to us to manage and express our anger appropriately at home. Here are a few ideas:

Stay Calm: Staying calm can keep an angry reaction from escalating, even if you're dealing
with many complex emotions.

Think Before You Speak: It's easy to say something you'll later regret in the heat of the
moment. Before you talk, collecting your thoughts is a good idea. You should also allow
others to do the same.

Once You're Calm, Express Your Concerns: Do not be confrontational, but be assertive as
soon as you think clearly. Don't hurt others or try to control them when communicating your
concerns and needs.

Get Some Exercise: Exercising helps to reduce stress, which can cause you to become angry.
Take a brisk walk or run if you feel your anger escalating. You can also take part in physical
activities that are enjoyable to you.
Take A Timeout: Timeouts don't have to be used by kids. Try taking a break when you feel
stressed. It might be helpful to take a few moments of quiet time before you face what's ahead,
so you don't become irritated or angry.

Identify Possible Solutions: You need to realise that some situations are beyond your control.
Keep a realistic perspective on what you are able and unable to change. It is important to
remember that anger won't fix anything and might even make things worse.

Don't Hold A Grudge: Forgiveness can be an extremely powerful tool. You may become
consumed with your own bitterness or sense of injustice when your anger and other negative
feelings dominate your thoughts. Your relationship might be strengthened if you forgive
someone who has angered you.
Use Humour To Release Tension: Lightening up can help diffuse tension. Put a little
humour in your life to help you address what's making you angry or if you have unrealistic
expectations about the way things should be.

Practice Relaxation Skills: If you find yourself becoming irritable, you can use relaxation
skills. Relax by doing deep breathing exercises, imagining a peaceful scene, or repeating a
soothing phrase like "Take it easy."

Know When to Seek Help: Dealing with anger can be challenging. You may need anger
management therapy if you lose control of your anger, do things you regret or cause harm
to others.
Anger Management at Office
Outbursts of anger don't always help us "let off steam." They can sometimes aggravate
situations and increase tension and stress. Furthermore, outbursts or tirades directed at
coworkers are inappropriate and could result in disciplinary action. These suggestions may help:

Don’t Ignore Your Anger: Recognising and accepting your feelings is the best way to keep
them under control.

Regroup: Do not react in a knee-jerk manner. Count to ten and take a deep breath. React
calmly and reasonably when asked.
Focus: Pay attention to the words and behaviour of the people around you rather than your
emotional reactions or past complaints and frustrations.

Think About The Consequences of Your Behaviour: Avoid actions that would not be in your
own or your family’s long-term best interest.

Turn Negative Thoughts into Positive Statements: “Why do I get stuck with this chore?” is a
negative statement. Instead, turn it into a positive statement.

Don’t Blame Others for Your Emotions: Everything you think, feel, and do is your responsibility.
Take Steps to Get Back in
Control
Take Steps to Get Back in Control

Stop What You are Doing

When you feel angry, warning signs begin to develop, and if you start having angry
thoughts, stop thinking about them. It can help you become more relaxed and calm.

Try to Relax

For example:

Count to 10 or 100
Drink some water
Take a walk
Take several slow, deep breaths
If needed, leave

Whenever you are angry with someone, tell them that you need to take a timeout. Go to
a quiet place where you can calm yourself. Avoid driving.
 Return When You are Calm

Once you have got your anger under control, go back and talk with the person or face the
situation that triggered your anger.

Remember To Calm Down

Think carefully before you speak. This will reduce the likelihood of saying something you will
regret.

Name The Problem

Justify your anger or the problem calmly and clearly. You should avoid yelling, using insults, or
making threats. Your point will not be taken seriously if you do so.
 Identify Solutions

If you could change something or see something happening in the future, what would you like to
see. When you are in conflict with another person, try to find a solution together.

Get Help If You Need It

If you have trouble constructively expressing your anger, speak to a family member or friend.
Alternatively, consider seeking counselling or mental health treatment. Using role-play and other
techniques can help you learn how to express yourself better.
Chapter Synopsis
If you are dealing with a lot of difficult emotions, staying calm can help stop an angry reaction
from escalating
Recognising and accepting your feelings is the best way to keep them under control
Justify your anger or the problem calmly and clearly, and you should avoid yelling, using
insults, or making threats
Chapter 17
Team Motivation
Chapter Goal
Every workplace needs a motivational atmosphere, and you should strive to inspire and motivate
your employees constantly. Motivating and inspiring your team is essential to achieving great
results. This chapter aims to prepare you with all the tips and techniques you need to motivate your
team through the rough patches.
Learning Outcome
After completing this module you will be able to:

Define the Concept of Motivation

Identify the Factors of Motivation
Learn Ideas and Strategies for Successful Team Motivation
What is Team Motivation?
Work motivation is the process that initiates and maintains goal-directed
performance. It energises our thinking, fuels our enthusiasm, and
influences our positive and negative reactions to work and life. Motivation
encourages us to apply our knowledge and skills. Even the most capable
person may not put in the effort without motivation.

Motivating factors can be intrinsic or extrinsic: intrinsic motivation comes

from within the individual, such as personal values or beliefs, and extrinsic
motivation comes from external factors such as rules to be followed or
rewards to be earned.
Team Motivation Factors

Motivational programs have been proven to increase the quality and quantity of performance by
up to 40 per cent.

Motivation can solve three types of performance issues:

1. Change-resistance
2. Distraction
3. Lack of effort

Team motivation often involves two major factors:

Expertise and Collaboration

In a team environment, two issues affect team motivation and team spirit. The first aspect is their
belief that other team members have a variety of skills and knowledge needed to accomplish team
goals. Second, they want to know whether the team will collaborate effectively to complete the task.
When teams consist of members with different but complementary skills, members' concerns about
their teammates' expertise are critical to motivating them.

Social Loafing

Team members who refuse to carry their weight also undermine team motivation. Apparently, some
team members believe they don't have to put in as much effort when working together. This is known
as "social loafing".
Motivating Your Team
The constant changes in the working environment today make it crucial for organisations that
their employees are motivated to work hard and utilise their talents and abilities effectively to
make a positive contribution. Motivating employees during times of rapid change and uncertainty
is especially challenging

Now we'll talk about an action checklist you can use to keep your team spirit up.
Studying Motivational Theories

Psychologists and management thinkers have written a great deal about the factors which motivate
human behaviour. Classic theories of motivation include:

Herzberg's hygiene theory

McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y
Ouchi's Theory Z
Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Recent research in the field includes the MacLeod & Clarke report 'Engaging for success' and the study
of values as motivational factors. By studying some of these theories, you can gain insights into those
you work with and their behaviour.
Being a Good Manager

Building strong relationships among employees requires a fair and robust reward and recognition
system. Money, however, is a low-performing motivator that isn't suitable for everyone. Rather,
employee engagement relies heavily on a manager's skill in understanding, supporting, and guiding
team members.

REMEMBER

Managers are key factors in motivating or demotivating their teams. The team atmosphere you
create and the relationships you build will be the main route to earning people's cooperation and
discretionary effort.
Organisation's Culture

Motivators change over time. People from different cultural backgrounds may be motivated differently.
An organisation's culture is also an important factor to consider. People's expectations are influenced
by cultural factors, and failing to meet them can demotivate them. Ask your employees what motivates
them.

Being Supportive

Your organisation's culture matters. Any manager who wishes to improve motivation levels in their
team will find it difficult to work in an organization whose culture doesn't promote motivation and
engagement. Nonetheless, look for ways to work within the prevailing culture and keep your team
motivated despite workplace hindrances. Honour any assurances you make. If you can't do that for any
reason, make sure you explain what happened and how it affected your actions.
Appreciating Good Works

Give credit where it is due and say “thank you”. Express genuine interest without going overboard. Don't
look over people's shoulders to keep tabs on them. Don't dictate improvements if you have ideas.
Instead, assist employees in improving their own work.

Providing Feedback

Positive and effective feedback can ignite the motivation cycle. Regardless of their reluctance,
encourage employees to discuss their progress and accomplishments. Talk about the next steps or
future targets and make thoughtful comments about areas for improvement. You can learn how to
motivate and encourage your team members through performance appraisals and development
reviews.
Getting Rid of De-Motivators

Identify factors that de-motivate staff. These may be psychological, for example:

Boredom
Perceived unfairness
Barriers to promotion
Lack of recognition
Lack of confidence in the company
Senior management

Or, they may be physical, such as:

Construction
Equipment
Noise levels
Managing Change

Communication is crucial when introducing changes in policies and working practices.

Employees need to be involved in the change process and contribute to it. Communicate
as frequently as you can. As new policies are implemented, seek feedback at various
stages and make changes as needed.
 Three Motivational Strategies

The majority of motivation-building strategies are relatively easy to

implement and cost little to implement. Here are three motivational
"push points" that work for everyone:

Realistic self-confidence development

Effective personal values for work tasks
Positive emotion
Building Realistic Levels of Self-Confidence

Motivating is about fostering a high level of self-confidence in people’s ability to achieve performance
goals. Keep in touch with your team members to understand their concerns and what will help them
build confidence.
Understanding and respect are the two most motivating attitudes toward other people's values. You do
not have to share values or agree with other people to respect their right to hold different beliefs and
styles. Keep in mind that as confidence increases, commitment to performance goals also increases.

Developing Strong Personal Values

Performance motivation enhances people's beliefs that if they make a firm commitment and persist in
their performance goals, they will become more effective. Personal confidence and emotions are
intimately connected with effectiveness beliefs. Our confidence measures our belief about how our
ability or how organisational processes will support (or prevent) our success and effectiveness.
Creating a Positive Workspace

Motivation is typically discussed without regard to emotions, but they are crucial.
Positive emotions, such as happiness, humour, and joy, enhance work commitment,
while negative ones, such as anger, extreme frustration, and depression, undermine it.
However, not everyone has to be happy to be committed. It is more important that
people are not excessively unhappy, angry, or depressed about work issues.
Required Skills for
Managers
Here are some ways everyone can support positive feelings toward their work:

Engage people in the aesthetic design of their collaborative workspace. Provide a bright,
lively, cheerful workspace. Allow people to decorate their workspaces (and themselves) if it
does not interfere with other people or violate important policies

Eliminate rules and policies that reduce work enjoyment without providing measurable
benefits that outweigh the loss of commitment they cause. Get feedback to determine
whether any of the need to be ruled out

Ensure all staff members are enthusiastic, positive, and supportive. Cynical, negative,
pessimistic, and "sour grape" styles may be fashionable in some organisational cultures, but
they do not encourage positive emotion or work commitment
Chapter Synopsis
Let's do a quick overview of the key points:
Motivation refers to the process of initiating and maintaining a goal-directed work
performance
There is no direct link between motivation and performance on the job. Motivation, however,
leads us to employ our knowledge and skills at work, as well as apply them effectively to our
daily tasks
When the pace of change is rapid and uncertainty is high, it is particularly important and
challenging to maintain motivation
Managers determine whether their staff is motivated or demotivated based on their
leadership styles
Chapter 18
Retaining The
Motivation
Chapter Goal
The purpose of this chapter is to share some great tips that will help you to retain
and regain your motivation. You are advised to practice these tips regularly.
Learning Outcome
Understand the Secret Recipe for Retaining Your
Motivation
Why does Motivation need to be Recharged?

Just like fear, Motivation is only in mind. It is very normal for anyone to feel demotivated without
having any good reason. Even the most motivated people occasionally run out of the stream.

You might feel demotivated suddenly, because:

You are depressed

You're not meeting the goals you had set for yourself
You're working too much.
You're stuck in your boring routine
In addition, there can be many other reasons

The bottom line is that motivation depletes with time. This is why it needs to be recharged from
time to time. Thus, everyone needs to recharge their motivation.
The Secret Recipe for
Retaining Your Motivation
Motivation is an image that is real enough to change the way people live their lives. If you know
what to do, you can exert complete control over this. Lack of Motivation is a challenging issue
since there could be many reasons for it. The most effective method of getting your motivation
back is to accomplish something you'd like to do.

This module will offer some tips to regain and maintain your motivation. The suggestions that will
be discussed here are generalised. They aren't pointing to specific situations or a particular group
of individuals. Therefore, it's your responsibility to resolve the issue according to your personal
problem.

Set a Goal for The End

You should have a specific goal in the back of your mind. Perhaps you're doing things to build a
bigger house or to get a better job, an increased salary, and other things. Whatever the case, if
you focus your attention on one goal, in particular, you'll be more enthusiastic and motivated to
take on whatever stands between you and your goal.
 Segment Your Goal

Concentrating on the ultimate goal will help keep you on the right track. This also means that you
won't be satisfied until you reach it. To feel satisfied, you should break your goal into smaller ones
and then achieve them one by one. For instance, if you're hoping to have one million GBP in your
bank account, why not start with 100,000, then increase it to 100,000, and then 200,000 and so on?

Keep Track of Your Goal Every Day

After waking up each day, you should begin the day by re-orienting your thoughts about your goals. In
this way, you'll be able to start each day with a positive outlook, good spirits and full of vitality. It is
also possible to take this exercise after lunch or after a nap in the afternoon and whenever you feel
the need to.
Jump Ahead

After a setback, a disappointment, or a series of depressive episodes, it's possible that you may not be
able to get back on track immediately. However, You just need to jump right back on track even when
you do not feel like it and then, soon you will feel the excitement again.

Visualise The Steps to Follow

Before you begin your journey to achieve your goals, think about how you'll reach your goals. If you are
aware of which route to take, which lane to take and what obstacles to avoid while you are on the way
to achieving your goals, then you'll feel more secure as you know exactly what you're doing.

Have an Emergency Plan

The route you envision could be perfect. But, things don't always go as we had planned. If things don't
go as you had planned, it can benefit you if you keep a backup plan. In this way, you'll not be so
disappointed or annoyed because someone has gotten your back.
 Make a Chart to Track Your Progress

Make a progress chart to track your progress. As you make progress, it will make you more
motivated. You will realise that you are getting closer to your target. In this way, it will inspire you
whenever you are making a little progress toward your goal.

Take Some Moment to Look Back

Since achievers can be too focused on their target, they can forget how far they've already
travelled. In the absence of knowing, they might have already achieved a lot of amazing things.
So, it's essential to take a look back and reflect on the things you've already completed. You may
be amazed by what you'll see.

Have Other Goals

If you are only focused only on the end goals, you'll be unable to breathe. To be able to feel
refreshed every now and then, try to achieve different goals. It will refresh your mind and relieve
you from some pressure.
Stop Being a Perfectionist

If you're going to take on the task, you must be sure to do it correctly - or at least that's what a
perfectionist would claim. This is a sensible approach. However, be careful not to do it too much. There is
no way to be perfect in everything. Trying to be perfect will only lead to more disappointment and anger.

Do Not Panic

When a situation arises naturally, you'll react in a certain manner. Be aware and monitor yourself for signs
of panic. If you realise that you're over the top, you should take the time to relax and take a break and
relax. If you can calm yourself down and calm down, the rest of the chaos will be easy.

Find Friendly Competition

Goal-oriented people should also pursuit personal goals in their personal life. Surround yourself with such
people. In this way, you will be able to create an enjoyable and healthy competition. Every time they climb
higher, you'll be inspired to go higher.
 Recognise Your Achievements

Enjoy life. Celebrate your achievement. It will help you remember the joy of achievement in time
of adversity. If you find yourself facing a challenge, You are more likely to get over it since you
know that great things are waiting for you if you can overcome the obstacle.

Find a Critique Buddy

While it is crucial to have someone give you positive feedback about your plan but it's equally
important to have someone critique your plans constructively. Perhaps your friend may be able
of pointing out an opportunity that you didn't realise. If you are aware of all the possible risks
you may be facing, you'll be more comfortable knowing that you're not walking in blindness.
 Set Goal Reminders

These are objects that embody your life's goals. When you come across these items are
displayed, they will remind you of what you'd like to accomplish your target. For instance, if you're
an aspiring athlete, this could be a trophy, a jersey, or even an older basketball. Make a note of
your goal and place it in a place where you can be able to find it. It will keep you aware of crucial
things you have to accomplish.

Never Stop Dreaming

If you quit dreaming, you also stop improving. In addition, you may be less motivated to strive
higher. Take a look back and think about the reasons that led you to strive for your goals in your
life.

Remember The Benefits of your Goal

If you feel like you're not able to continue, take a moment to think about the benefits of your goal.
It will make you focused, refreshed and rejuvenated.
 Read Success Stories

Knowing about the lives that successful individuals lead can be inspirational. It makes you believe
that your goals and dreams are not just a wish. Additionally, these stories will share the struggles
that successful people and women had faced when they were on the journey to success. They will
give you the impression that all your struggles are nothing compared to them. It will motivate you.

Keep Tasks Organised

When there are problems, the situation can go out of hand. The schedules and tasks are messy. If
this happens, you should make sure to take a break and then stop for a moment. Breathe deeply and
then begin to arrange the things once more. When the normal flow is returned, you can take on the
issue. However, this time you'll be back with an enraged vengeance.
Beware of The Lag Time and Act Immediately

Many people have the habit of not taking their time and taking a good time off after falling. This
can make you forget what inspired you to achieve your goals. Don't let this happen, and act
immediately. Of course, you're allowed to sit for a moment and contemplate things. However,
you should never slow down.

Read Motivating Quotes

Words are powerful. A skilled writer is aware of this and uses his abilities to evoke diverse
emotions in the reader. A great writer can make a person feel happy, sad or confused, as well
as driven. If you're having a bad day, search for inspirational quotes on the web. When you have
found a suitable one, keep it in mind for future use.
 Manager’s Roles

In today's ever-changing environment, the manager's role is even more

challenging. Organisational change today is complex and fast, and
managers must be able to deal with it. Unlike their predecessors,
today's managers must deal with rapidity, complexity, and frequency of
change.

Managers are not responsible for what they accomplish alone. Roles of
managers are given below:

Leader: Leaders look beyond the day-to-day needs of their

organisations and determine where they need to go. Strategic
thinking helps leaders move their organisations forward. To build
and maintain the organisation's reputation, they form relationships
beyond the organisation.
Required Skills for
Managers
There are lots of qualities and skills that every manager needs in the UK. Amongst
them, the important skills are:

Interpersonal Skills
Communication and Motivation
Organisation and Delegation
Forward Planning and Strategic Thinking
Problem Solving and Decision Making
Commercial Awareness
Mentoring
Management training is imperative for a number of reasons, including allowing managers to get
the best performance out of their employees, enabling them to address issues quickly,
improving communication with internal and external stakeholders, and grooming the next
generation of leaders.

The ability to engage and motivate subordinates is one of the best skills a manager can develop
in training. The result will be a more engaged and committed workforce, which will result in
higher quality results in less time. A manager must be prepared to make and implement
important decisions in an environment where circumstances can change in a matter of hours
rather than weeks. Managers should be able to make short-term decisions and act as needed.
Patience: You will need patience and de-escalation skills to resolve tenants' disputes or calm an
anxious owner's nerves.

Attention to Detail: There is sensitive information involved in managing rental properties. In order
to comply with all applicable laws, contracts must be filled out accurately, notices must be sent,
and contracts should be drafted with attention to detail.

Organisation: Property managers wear many hats, and keeping track of all the different
processes is not an easy task. As well as managing leasing processes, turnover maintenance,
and accounting, multitasking is also required.

Basic Accounting: Rent payments, late fees, and expense reports require basic accounting skills
from property managers. While many software programs make accounting easy for property
managers, some knowledge of best practices is also important.
The End Quote
Remember that stress and frustrations can cause you to forget the best motives. I
hope this module can assist you in achieving your goals. Remember that
motivation is just one aspect of success. You'll need many other factors to reach
your goals.
Chapter Synopsis
After waking up each day, you should begin the day by re-orienting your thoughts toward your
goals
Before you begin your journey to achieve your goals, consider how you will achieve them
Make a note of your goal and keep it wherever you can find it. It will keep you focused on the
most important tasks at hand
Chapter 19

Health, Safety and

Welfare of Employees
Chapter Goal
You’ll learn about health, safety law and criminal law from this chapter. You’ll also
know the importance and benefits of health and safety in the workplace.
Learning Outcome
Know health, safety and criminal law
Learn how to maintain health and safety at work
Know the importance and benefits of health and safety in the workplace
Know health and safety policies
Learn how to manage stress
HRM and Health, Safety
and Welfare
Employers have a legal duty to provide their employees with a safe and healthy work environment.
Everyone in the workplace is also responsible for developing and maintaining a safe working
environment. Workplace safety cannot be guaranteed if everyone does not play their part. Many
business owners are still failing to pay adequate attention to basic health and safety concerns, despite
increasingly severe legal consequences. The result is that both the fate of their employees and the
future of their businesses are jeopardised.

The Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974 sets out the duties employers have towards employees and
members of the public and the responsibilities of employers to themselves and to each other. The
legislation applies to employers and employees. The legislation at the national level is supposed to be
made part of domestic law by employers.
Health and Safety Law

The Safety, Health, and Welfare at Work Act of 2005 repealed and replaced the Safety, Health and
Welfare at work Act of 1989. The purpose of the former was to make further provisions for the safety,
health and welfare of persons at work. The act clarifies and enhances the responsibilities of
employers, the self-employed, employees and other parties in relation to safety and health at work. It
also provides a range of enforcement measures that may be applied and specifies penalties that may
be applied for breach of occupational security and health laws.

There are state and federal laws to protect the welfare of the worker. The major one is the
Occupational and Safety Health Act (OSHA), whose purpose is “to assure safe and healthy working
conditions and to preserve our human resources.”
Criminal Law
Definition of Criminal Law

Criminal law deals with behaviour that can be construed as an offence against the public, society,
or the state, even if the immediate victim is an individual. Examples are murder, assault, theft etc.

Purposes of Criminal Law

To forbid and prevent conduct that unjustifiably and inexcusably inflicts or threatens
substantial harm to the individual or public interests.
To subject to public control persons whose conduct indicates that they are disposed to
commit crimes.
To safeguard conduct that is without fault from condemnation as criminal.
To give fair warning of the nature of the conduct declared to be an offence.
To differentiate on reasonable grounds between serious and minor offences.
Managing Health and Safety at
Work
Senior management needs to establish a system for the
management of health and safety in the workplace. Putting in place
a system not only prevents injuries, deaths and damage to property.
Management of health and safety also makes good business
sense:

It reduces worker absenteeism and labour turnover.

It prevents conflicts, which often start when a worker is injured.
Healthy workers perform better.
The Importance of Health
and Safety in the Workplace
The Importance of Health and Safety in the Workplace is given below:

Economic Reasons

Besides reducing costs, effective safety and health management promote business efficiency.
Thousands of work-related accidents resulting in more than three days off work are reported to the
Health and Safety Authority each year. Work-related diseases and ill-health are more challenging to
measure due to their long latency period but result in excess of one million days lost at work each
year. These accidents and ill-health cases result from failures and deficiencies in organisations'
occupational safety and health management.
 Legal Reasons

As a business owner, you must ensure the safety, health, and welfare of your employees as
much as is reasonably practicable and conduct and manage your work activities in a manner
that ensures their safety, health, and welfare. This requires you to be proactive in managing your
safety, health and welfare responsibilities and deal with them in a systematic way. This
guidance should help organisations improve their safety and health performance by providing
advice and helping them comply with their legal requirements.

Moral and Ethical Reasons

The proactive management of safety and health in the workplace helps organisations prevent
injuries and ill-health at work. This guidance should help organisations reduce the personal loss
caused as a result of accidents and ill-health at work.
Benefits of Workplace
Health and Safety
Addressing health and safety should not be considered a regulatory burden: it offers significant
opportunities. Benefits can include:

Reduced costs.
Reduced risks.
Lower employee absence and turnover rates.
Fewer accidents.
The lessened threat of legal action.
Improved standing among suppliers and partners.
Better reputation for corporate responsibility among investors, customers and
communities.
Increased productivity because employees are healthier, happier and better motivated.
Health and Safety Policies

The main points of health and safety policies and procedures agreed with the employer are to protect
workers from harm while at work. This includes protecting them from physical damage but also
protecting them from potential health risks.

Health and safety policies and procedures should be reviewed regularly to ensure that they are up-to-
date and effective in providing protection for workers.

Workers should be aware of the health and safety policies and procedures that apply to them and
should receive adequate training on safely carrying out their work tasks. It is also important for workers
to report any potential health or safety hazards that could arise in the workplace. Employers should
ensure that all workers are complying with the policies.
Managing Stress and
Emotional Welfare
Some ways to manage stress and emotional welfare are given below:

Track Your Stressors: Use a journal to identify which situations create the most stress and how
you respond to them. Record your thoughts, feelings, and information about the environment, the
physical setting, and how you reacted. Taking notes can help you find patterns among your
stressors and your reactions to them so that you can develop a plan to manage your stress.

Set Limits: List the projects and commitments that make you feel overwhelmed. Identify which
responsibilities are priorities and cut back on anything nonessential. Refrain from accepting any
more duties until you feel your stress is under control.
Tap into your Support System: Reach out to family or friends. Your friends or family members
may have valuable ideas and perspectives. Support from family or friends may help you start
and continue to take better care of yourself.

Make One Health-Related Commitment: Do what you can to boost your health to have the
energy and strength to tackle your challenges. A brisk walk or other aerobic activity can increase
your energy and concentration levels and lessen feelings of anxiety. Physical activity increases
your body’s production of good-feeling endorphins and decreases the production of stress
hormones.

Manage Your Devices: People who report constantly checking email or social mediatypically
report more stress. Give yourself a break over the weekend and in the evenings.
Enhance Your Sleep Quality: Women who are chronically stressed often suffer from a lack of
adequate sleep and, in some cases, stress-induced insomnia. Begin winding down an hour or
two before you go to sleep and engage in calming activities such as listening to relaxing music,
reading an enjoyable book, or practising relaxation techniques like meditation.

Seek Additional Help: If you continue to feel overwhelmed or are having trouble getting through
your daily routine, seek help from a licensed mental health professional, such as a psychologist.
Psychologists are trained to help you develop strategies to manage stress effectively.
Chapter Synopsis
The legislation at the national level is supposed to be made part of domestic law by
employers
The act of Safety, Health and Welfare clarifies and enhances the responsibilities of
employers, the self-employed, employees and other parties in relation to safety and health at
work
The main points of health and safety policies and procedures agreed with the employer are to
protect workers from harm while at work
Chapter 20
Equality, Diversity and
Inclusion
Chapter Goal
A manager needs to practice equality, diversity, and inclusion. Otherwise, he can't
manage a multicultural team. You will learn about the UK's diversity and
discrimination laws, do's and don'ts, in this chapter.
Learning Outcome
Know the discrimination on the grounds of belief
Learn about part-time workers
Learn how to manage diversity
Learn the disability requirements
Know about age discrimination
Discrimination on the Grounds of
Religion or Belief

There is no doubt that the holding and manifestation of religious and other beliefs attract
significant protection under international and domestic human rights regimes. That is
unsurprising as the freedom to hold and to express and otherwise manifest fundamental views is
of central importance to individual autonomy.

In addition, many subscribe to the view that the holding and manifestation of religious beliefs, in
particular, amount to and underpin important collective goods. However, there is more room for
controversy in relation to this matter, given the evils which may emanate from, or at any rate be
perpetrated in the name of, religion.
Part-Time Workers
In many industrialised countries, part-time work, especially among women, is increasingly
important. However, the percentage of total employment varies considerably between countries.
Since the incidence of part-time employment results from workers’ preferences on the one hand
and employer's demands, on the other hand, explaining these differences is complex. A further
complication is that different government policies in the form of labour laws, social security and
tax rules give positive or negative stimuli to part-time work.

Last but not least, the cultural aspect (social acceptance of part-time work) cannot be neglected.
Therefore, a full explanation of differences between countries in the incidence of part-time work
needs a comprehensive analysis.
Managing Diversity
Managing diversity means acknowledging people's differences and recognising these differences
as valuable; it enhances good management practices by preventing discrimination and promoting
inclusiveness. Good management alone will not necessarily help you work effectively with a
diverse workforce. It is often difficult to see what part diversity plays in a specific management
area.

You have a key role in transforming the organisational culture to more closely reflect the values of
our diverse workforce. Some of the skills needed are:

An understanding and acceptance of managing diversity concepts.

Recognition that diversity is threaded through every aspect of management.
Self-awareness, in terms of understanding your own culture, identity, biases, prejudices, and
stereotypes, and willingness to challenge and change institutional practices.
Disability Requirements
The right of persons with disabilities to work on an equal basis with others is open, inclusive and
accessible. This also measures through which State parties can safeguard and promote the
realisation of the right to work, including for those who acquire a disability in employment. These
include the following:

Prohibiting discrimination based on disability with regard to all matters concerning all forms of
employment, including conditions of recruitment, hiring and employment, the continuation of
employment, career advancement and safe and healthy working conditions.

Protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with others, to just and
favourable work conditions, including equal opportunities and equal remuneration for work of
equal value, safe and healthy working conditions, including protection from harassment, and
the redress of grievances.
Ensuring that persons with disabilities are able to exercise their labour and trade union
rights on an equal basis with others.

Enabling persons with disabilities to have effective access to general technical and
vocational guidance programmes, placement services, and vocational and continuing
training.

Promoting employment opportunities and career advancement for persons with disabilities
in the labour market and assistance in finding, obtaining, maintaining, and returning to
employment.

Promoting opportunities for self-employment, entrepreneurship, the development of

cooperatives and starting one’s own business.
Employing persons with disabilities in the public sector.

Promoting the employment of persons with disabilities in the private sector through appropriate
policies and measures, which may include affirmative action programmes, incentives and other
measures.

Ensuring that reasonable accommodation is provided to persons with disabilities in the

workplace.

Promoting the acquisition by persons with disabilities of work experience in the open labour
market.

Promoting vocational and professional rehabilitation, job retention and return-to-work

programmes for persons with disabilities.
Age Discrimination
Age discrimination involves treating an applicant or employee less favourably because of their age.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) forbids age discrimination against people who
are age 40 or older. It does not protect workers under the age of 40, although some states have
laws that protect younger workers from age discrimination. It is not illegal for an employer or other
covered entity to favour an older worker over a younger one, even if both workers are age 40 or
older.

Discrimination can occur when the victim and the person who inflicted the discrimination are both
over 40.

The Equality Act protects you from direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment and
victimisation. Some examples of what these might include are below:
Chapter Synopsis
Managing diversity means acknowledging people's differences and recognising these
differences as valuable

Good management alone will not necessarily help you work effectively with a diverse
workforce
Age discrimination involves treating an applicant or employee less favourably because of their
age
Chapter 21
Performance
Management
Chapter Goal
Managers are responsible for monitoring target achievement for their teams, providing feedback to
team members, and discussing growth and development with potential members and leaders. This is
where performance management comes into play. A manager can improve the overall productivity of
their workplace through effective performance management. In this module, we will discuss five key
steps in performance management. The key elements of performance management will also be
discussed.
Learning Outcome
Understand What is performance management
Become Familiar with the performance management process
Know performance counselling
Learn the career development interview
Know succession planning
Discover what is performance Appraisal
Learn effective performance appraisal
Find out Why Don’t Annual Appraisals Work
What is Performance
Management?
Performance management is the process of continuous feedback and communication between
managers and their employees to ensure the achievement of the strategic objectives of the
organisation.

The objective of performance management is to ensure the achievement of the organisation's

strategic objectives by providing continuous feedback and communication between managers and
employees.

To ensure employees perform efficiently throughout the year and to address any performance
issues that may emerge along the way, the goal is to ensure employees perform efficiently
throughout the year.

Management of performance involves guiding employees toward achieving their goals in

alignment with the overall and immediate goals of the organisation.
Performance Management Process

There are five key steps in the performance management process. These includes:

Planning

This stage involves communicating employees' goals with them and setting their goals. It is
essential that these goals are disclosed in the job description in order to attract quality
candidates. The goals should then be reiterated to the new hire after they have completed the
interview process. To evaluate the achievement of these goals, you may want to assign a
percentage based on the performance management process in your organisation.
Monitoring

As part of this phase, managers must monitor their employees' performance on the goal.
Managing performance continuously plays a critical role in this process. Your team's
performance can be tracked in real time with the right performance management software, and
you can modify and correct course as necessary.

Developing

A major objective of this phase is to improve the performance of employees using data gathered
during the monitoring phase. The employee development process may need to be altered to
enhance performance or maintain excellence by suggesting refresher courses, providing an
assignment, or modifying the course of employee development.
Rating

During every performance appraisal, each employee's performance must be evaluated. A rating is
vital for identifying an employee's performance and implementing changes accordingly. It is
possible to receive 360-degree feedback from both peers and managers.

Rewarding

The performance management process relies heavily on recognising and rewarding good
performance, and employee engagement relies heavily on it. Your organisation can recognise
and reward excellent performance by simply saying thank you, using social media, or creating a
full-scale rewards program.
Principles of Effective
Performance Management
In most organisations, employees are managed or appraised based on their performance. In
order to improve employee performance and engagement, performance management must
include the following key ingredients:

1. Aligned, Near-Term Objectives

Employees must understand in clear terms what is expected of them in order to perform at
their best. Additionally, organisations need all their employees to contribute to their overall
goals in order to succeed. For this to happen, employees must agree meaningful objectives or
goals with their managers that are aligned with the organisation's or team's objectives.
 2.Frequent Feedback

In reviewing performance, providing employees with frequent and effective feedback is the key
to improving performance. Giving fair and accurate feedback during performance reviews
improves performances by almost 39%. Even so, feedback is most effective when it is given
frequently and 'in-the-moment', rather than at formal performance reviews. To perform at their
best, people should receive feedback fortnightly.
3.Regular Support from Manager

For employees to succeed in their roles and genuinely improve their performance, they need support
from their manager, and they need it regularly. A once or twice-ayear performance appraisal simply
doesn’t cut it.

Employees whose managers have regular performance discussions with them are almost 3 times as
likely to be engaged. This is hugely powerful considering that highly engaged employees perform
better, are far more productive and can deliver 22% higher productivity for your organisation.

We need to educate and train line managers to have one-to-ones that support employees to
overcome barriers to success, focus on the future as well as the past and which result in clear action
points for both parties.
 4.Employee Recognition

Recognising employees' successes is essential to maintaining employee performance and

engagement. Organisations that prioritise employee recognition reap significant rewards.

Although organisations have spent years perfecting their performance-related reward processes, a
regular "thank you" is far more effective than a bonus or salary increase.

5.Personal and Career Development

Personal development and career plans are often neglected in performance reviews, especially
when performance assessments and ratings are the focus.

Only 8 percent of organisations have effective development plans. A company that doesn't
dedicate regular time to employee development risks losing its best employees - employees
seeking a better work environment will go elsewhere.
Continuous Performance
Management

A continuous performance management (CPM) process is the ongoing supervision of an employee's

performance by supervisors during regularly scheduled check-ins and one-on-one discussions. The
process is more frequent, more flexible, and less formal than the traditional annual employee appraisal,
although both types aim to improve performance and monitor organisational and individual goals.

In human capital management (HCM), continuous performance management is becoming

increasingly popular. It can be conducted on a daily, weekly, or biweekly basis. Software, surveys,
phone calls, and in-person meetings can facilitate this process.
Managers can track an employee's work achievements and weaknesses more effectively with a
continuous performance strategy, which encourages supervisors to address these situations when
necessary. The continuous performance approach also allows employees' goals to ebb and flow
more easily, since corporate objectives can change at any time.

As a result, employees receive more timely feedback than they would in an annual review, thereby
eliminating surprises and spurring improvement sooner. Peers and coworkers can also be recognised
for their achievements when using continuous performance software.
In a broader sense, continuous performance management firmly roots performance measurement
in human interaction. In spite of the fact that technology can support overall efforts, a frequent
check-in with supervisors and workers relies on people talking more and building better relationships
with one another.
Performance Counselling
This is a chance to address a performance issue(s) with the employee with a view to improving
their performance.

The manager should organise a performance counselling meeting with the individual to:

Describe the performance issue and why this level of performance is an issue.
Determine whether the employee knows what is expected of them.
Ask whether there are any extenuating circumstances.
Ensure that sufficient resources, support and training have been provided.
Agree and document the agreement in a performance improvement plan.
During the performance counselling meeting, the manager should:

Be firm but fair.

Ask open questions.
Take notes.
Use active listening.
Summarise what has been said for mutual understanding.
Consider the employee’s responses.
Encourage the employee to speak freely, yet bring them back to the specific issue in question
should they become side-tracked.
 Career Development

Understanding Career Development

Career Development refers to a life-long process of managing learning,

work, and transitions in order to move toward a personally determined
and evolving preferred future.

Some people naturally develop the ability to manage their careers in a

meaningful way, but others need assistance, especially as the rate of
economic, occupational, and social change escalates. For appropriate
assistance to be available, policymakers and service providers need the
basic knowledge, skills, and attitudes inherent in helping people
develop meaningful lifelong learning plans that interface with their
career paths.
Importance of Career Development

Career development is an important issue for organisations. By attracting, retaining and

developing its workforce, an organisation achieves the resilience that is required to survive in an
increasingly turbulent business environment. The end result of successful career development
practice is that an organisation is better placed to adapt and survive in a competitive business
climate and is better equipped to face the future. Therefore, successful career development
practice is designed to give an organisation a competitive advantage in attracting, retaining, and
developing the best people.
Succession Planning
Succession planning is a conscious decision to foster and promote the continual development of
employees and ensure that key positions maintain some measure of stability.

Traditionally, succession planning has sometimes taken a replacement approach, often focusing on
executive-level positions. One or two successors might be identified and selected, probably based
on the exclusive input of their immediate supervisor, and then placed on the fast track into a senior
position.

However, succession planning has evolved into a process that can be used to:

Replenish an organisation’s HR at a broad or specific level.

Identify, assess and develop employee knowledge, skills and abilities to meet the current and
future staffing needs of the organisation.
Ensure a continuous supply of talent by helping employees develop their potential as successors
for key departmental positions.
What is Performance
Appraisal?
A performance appraisal is a method for evaluating and documenting how well employees
perform their duties. Performance management is a part of a company's operations.

The employee's performance is evaluated once a year against the goals they have set with their
manager. A manager will usually assign a rating at the end of the year after checking in with
employees throughout the year.

Managers use appraisals to decide about pay increases and bonuses and identify improvement
areas. Employees receive feedback on their work as part of this process. An employee who
continues to perform poorly may be reprimanded or terminated for poor performance.
Effective Performance Appraisal
Performance appraisal (PA) refers to the methods and processes used by organisations to assess
their employees' level of performance and provide them with feedback. This process can be used for
both developmental and administrative purposes.

The PA research includes examining the psychometric aspects of the appraisal tools, the cognitive
function and the biases involved, and the social context. Although PA is an essential tool for
managing employees, managers and workers are rarely satisfied with it. Therefore, clearly defining the
purposes of the PA and addressing the employees’ reactions are essential to the success of the PA.
Performance appraisals provide a forum where employees can discuss their past performance
and future development opportunities with their managers. They also open up a dialogue
between manager and employee where team and business objectives can be discussed and
linked to the employee’s personal goals.

During the appraisal, the employee may wish to request additional support or express an
interest in future promotion opportunities. The manager can use this opportunity to consider
whether their request is appropriate and identify any resources required to fulfil this.
Why Don’t Annual
Appraisals Work?
Appraisals date back to World War I, when they were used to identify poor performers for discharge
or transfer. It is no longer practical for businesses to set annual goals and evaluate their
performance once or twice a year. Annual appraisals don’t work because:

Managers hate doing performance appraisals: 95% of managers aren’t satisfied with them.
Because of this, managers often avoid doing them, or treat them as a tick-box exercise with little
meaningful discussion taking place.

Employees don’t like appraisals either: 75% of employees see them as unfair and 66% say they
interfere with their productivity.

Appraisals are not adding value: Only 8% of organisations say they add value and that the
majority of companies feel they are not an effective use of time.
Chapter Synopsis
A manager should organise a performance counselling meeting with the individual.
The performance management process relies heavily on recognising and rewarding good
performance, and employee engagement relies heavily on it.
Employees must understand in clear terms what is expected of them in order to perform at
their best.
The continuous performance approach allows employees' goals to ebb and flow more easily,
since corporate objectives can change at any time.
Succession planning is a conscious decision by an organisation to foster and promote the
continual development of employees.
Chapter 22
The Importance of
Training & Development
in the Workplace
Chapter Goal
In this module, you’ll know the objectives and benefits of training from this chapter.
You’ll also know the training process and standard areas of employee training from
this chapter.
Learning Outcome
Identify the training needs
Know the objectives and benefits of employee training
Know the assessments of training needs
Learn the training processes
Objectives of Training
The objectives of the training are as follows:

To provide job-related knowledge to the workers.

To impart skills among the workers systematically so that they may learn quickly.
To bring about change in the workers' attitudes towards fellow workers, supervisors and
the organisation.
To improve the productivity of the workers and the organisation.
To reduce the number of accidents by providing safety training to the workers,
To make the workers handle materials, machines and equipment efficiently and thus to
check wastage of time and resources.
To prepare workers for promotion to higher jobs by imparting their advanced skills.
Benefits of Employee Training and
Development
The benefits of employee training and development arise due to the following factors:

Higher Productivity:

It is essential to increase productivity and reduce production costs to meet competition in the
market. Effective training can help increase workers' productivity by imparting the required skills.
Quality Improvement:

The customers have become quality conscious, and their requirements keep on changing. To
satisfy the customers, the quality of products must be continuously improved through the training
of workers.

Reduction of Learning Time:

Systematic training through trained instructors is essential to reduce the training period. If the
workers learn through trial and error, they will take a longer time and may not be able to know the
right methods of doing work.
 Industrial Safety:

Trained workers can handle the machines safely. They also know the use of various safety devices in
the factory. Thus, they are less prone to industrial accidents.

Reduction of Turnover and Absenteeism:

Training creates a feeling of confidence in the minds of the workers. It gives them security at the
workplace. As a result, labour turnover and absenteeism rates are reduced.

Technology Update:

The workers must learn new techniques to make use of advanced technology. Thus, training should be
treated as a continuous process to update the employees on the latest methods.

Effective Management:

Training can be used as an effective tool for planning and control. It develops skills among workers and
prepares them for handling present and future jobs. It also helps increase productivity and quality.
 Assessment of Training Needs
The Assessment of Training Needs process can be divided into five
steps:
Identify Problems and Needs

Determine organisational context (policy, goal, roles and

responsibilities)
Perform gap analysis
Set objectives

Determine Design of Needs Assessment

Determine target groups to be trained, interviews, methods, and

schedule
Determine persons in charge of Training Needs Assessment
(TNA) from the General Directorate of Local Authorities (GDLA)
Taskforce members
Collect Data

Conduct interviews
Administer questionnaires and surveys
Review documents on existing pieces of training
Observe people at work

Analyse Data

Conduct quantitative and quantitative analysis

Draw findings, conclusions and recommendations on training contents
Write up a report

Provide Feedback

Make a presentation to the GDLA Task Force members and concerned officials
Determine the next step for training preparation
Identifying Training Needs
The need for Training may generally arise for the following-

To improve the efficiency of employees

To reduce waste of time and money
To have quality output
To bring down supervision
To have preventive maintenance
To achieve optimum performance
To boost the morale of employees
To prepare the workforce for future challenging work
To reduce absenteeism
To bring down the grievances
To build a career through personal growth
The Training Process
The training and development process refers to the stages or steps within a training and
development program that ensures that the intended objectives can be achieved. Four stages or
steps are involved in the training and development process. These are:

Training Needs Assessment

The training needs assessment concerns the process of finding out if training is required/needed
or not.

Design of the Training and Development

The training and development design concerns the factors or activities included in the training
program in a bid to increase the probability that there will be a high degree of transfer of
knowledge.
 Implementation of Training and Development

Training and development implementation is concerned with starting the training and
development program.

Monitoring, Evaluation of Training and Development

Monitoring and evaluation is the determination of whether the training program is successful or
not in relation to the objectives set and makes recommendations for improvement or change.
Chapter Synopsis
It is essential to increase productivity and reduce production costs to meet competition in
the market.
Customers have become quality conscious, and their requirements keep on changing.
Training can be used as an effective tool for planning and control.
Chapter 23
Talent Management
Chapter Goal
It is essential for managers to have a clear understanding of the organisation's talent management
system, established strategies, steps, and processes. You will gain a clear understanding of
organisational talent management in this module.
Learning Outcome
Learn how to create a talent management plan
Know how to develop talent in the organisation
Know the role of communication in an organisation
Creating a Talent
Management Plan
Definition of Talent Management

Talent management is the application of integrated people management practices that enable an
organisation to plan for, attract, engage, and retain talented employees to realise the organisation’s key
business objectives.

Why is Identifying Talented Employees Important?

Managers and supervisors should spend extra time developing a talent management plan and
implementing and supporting additional measures to support an employee's enhanced development.

Suppose a manager or supervisor does not accurately assess, rate, develop and recognise their
employees, including those eligible for talent management plans. In that case, the employees will
eventually move on to another area that better supports employee development and talent
management principles and practices.
Constituting a Talent Management Plan

Talent management plans are typically designed for one year.

However, depending on the employee's situation, they can be longer
or shorter.

Although each talent management plan will be tailored to the

specific competency, development needs, and interests of the
employee, there are some suggested components outlined below:
 Additional training or leadership development activities.
Conference attendance.
Participating in or leading departmental and interdepartmental committees or working
groups.
Involvement in bilateral meetings with other statistical agencies or organisations.
Assignments or secondments.
Additional coaching or mentoring.
Cross-functional opportunities.
Participation in national and international committees.

To be realistic and effective, the talent management plan should focus on developing one or two
specific competencies and concentrate on enhancing the employee’s strengths.
Talent Development Within
An Organisation
What is Talent Development?

Talent Development is a set of integrated organisational HR processes designed to attract,

develop, motivate, and retain productive, engaged employees. Talent development aims to
create a high-performance, sustainable organisation that meets its strategic and operational goals
and objectives.

Talent Development in an Organisation

A strategic talent development plan helps organisations to:

Become "proactive" rather than being "reactive" and adopt changes instantly.
Identify essential skill sets required and competencies to be developed in all employees, and
therefore, minimise the training costs.
Improve the recruitment process.
Talent management initiatives also help the organisation to minimise attrition as it is able to
retain its key talent.
Role of Communication in an
Organisation
Effective Communication is significant for managers in organisations to perform basic
management functions.

Communication helps managers to perform their jobs and responsibilities. All the essential
information must be communicated to the managers, who must communicate the plans to
implement them. Organising also requires effective communication with others about their job
task. Similarly, leaders as managers must communicate effectively with their subordinates to
achieve the team's goals.

Managers devote a significant part of their time to communication. They spend a great time
communicating with their superiors, subordinates, colleagues, customers or suppliers. Managers
also use Written Communication in the form of letters, reports or memos wherever oral
communication is not feasible.
The importance of communication in an organisation can be summarised as follows:

Communication promotes motivation by informing and clarifying the employees about the task to
be done, how they are performing the task, and how to improve their performance if it is not up to
the mark.

Communication is a source of information to the organisational members for the decision-

making process as it helps identify and assess alternative courses of action.

Communication also plays a crucial role in altering an individual’s attitude, i.e., a well-informed
individual will have a better attitude than a less-informed individual. Organisational magazines,
journals, meetings and various other forms of oral and written communication help mould
employees' attitudes.
 Communication also helps in socialising. In today’s life, the only presence of another
individual fosters communication.

Communication also assists in controlling the process. It helps control organisational

members’ behaviour in various ways. Employees must follow multiple hierarchy levels and
certain principles and guidelines in an organisation. They must comply with organisational
policies, perform their job role efficiently and communicate any work problems and
grievances to their superiors. Thus, communication helps in controlling the function of
management.

An effective and efficient communication system requires managerial proficiency in delivering

and receiving messages. A manager must discover various barriers to communication, analyse
the reasons for their occurrence and take preventive steps to avoid those barriers.
The Manager’s Role in Talent
Management In An
organisation
Once you are a manager, you will always be watched and observed. Your employees look up to you as
a role model. Your actions and attitude influence their behaviour. As a manager, you need to
implement an effective talent management strategy, provide guidance during talent management
planning and conduct regular meetings with your team leaders and line managers who will follow
your advice and implement the initiatives to manage the talent within the organisation.

Here is a brief overview of some of the key roles you have as a manager in managing talent.

Recruitment

The first thing you need to do is understand your company's talent requirements. A clear
understanding of the requirements you require in an employee will enable you to achieve your
organisation's goals. You should also make a long-term plan for your new recruits. In short, you will
have to answer the following questions during recruitment:
 Communication also helps in socialising. In today’s life, the only presence of another
individual fosters communication.

Communication also assists in controlling the process. It helps control organisational

members’ behaviour in various ways. Employees must follow multiple hierarchy levels and
certain principles and guidelines in an organisation. They must comply with organisational
policies, perform their job role efficiently and communicate any work problems and
grievances to their superiors. Thus, communication helps in controlling the function of
management.

An effective and efficient communication system requires managerial proficiency in delivering

and receiving messages. A manager must discover various barriers to communication, analyse
the reasons for their occurrence and take preventive steps to avoid those barriers.
1. What is the job description?
2. How many employees to recruit?
2. What are the requirements?
3. Will the new recruits be able to fulfil our goal?
4. How long will it take for them to be properly trained?
5. How will we train them?
6. If we recruit them, where can we promote them after a few years?
 Employee Motivation & Empowerment

You must motivate employees to stay in your organisation by inspiring confidence in them. Managing
your employees means guiding, coaching, mentoring, and empowering them.

People become personally engaged with what they do when they are empowered to make decisions
and influence the direction of their work.

Employees should be empowered to have influence over their work whenever possible. People
contribute valuable insights and talents when they feel heard and taken seriously instead of just doing
whatever you suggest as a manager.

It is important for managers to provide employees with proper feedback and motivate them in order to
achieve their career goals. Your role as a manager is to demonstrate a clear vision to your employees.
Their work will be more engaging and committed as a result.
 Creating a Healthy Job Environment

As a manager, it is your responsibility to create a healthy, satisfactory work environment.

Workplaces need to be designed in a healthy manner. Lighting should be adequate. It is important to
have a healthy seating arrangement and lunch (if provided). There should be a friendly work
environment. Toxic environments shouldn't be tolerated at work. Keep an eye on your workplace
environment at all times. The leadership of your organisation can foster a work culture that supports
employees' values, promotes respect and tolerance of differences, and cultivates a dynamic
working environment.

It is also important to offer your employees job satisfaction. You should explain to them how their
contributions impact the organisation. Ensure their health and safety as well.
Chapter Synopsis
Talent management is the application of integrated people management practices that enable
an organisation to plan for, attract, engage, and retain talented employees to realise the
organisation’s key business objectives.
Creating a talent management plan and implementing and supporting additional measures to
assist in an employee’s enhanced development take some additional effort on the part of
managers or supervisors.
A manager must discover various barriers to communication, analyse the reasons for their
occurrence and take preventive steps to avoid those barriers.
Chapter 21
Succession Planning
Chapter Goal
Managers must always prepare contingency plans for every unlikely scenario. It is very common for one
or more of your key members to suddenly leave the company. Unless you plan ahead, you may find
yourself in an uncomfortable situation. You will discover that no other employees in your organisation is
prepared to take responsibility. Therefore, succession planning is essential. As key roles become
vacant, you will have a systematic process for preparing employees to fill them. We will discuss
succession planning in this chapter.
Learning Outcome
Know the definition of succession planning
Understand the value of succession planning
Know the challenges of succession planning
Know the elements of succession planning
Learn how to develop a succession plan
What is Succession
Planning?
Essentially, succession planning is a conscious decision by an organisation to foster and promote the
continual development of employees and ensure that key positions maintain some measure of
stability, thus enabling an organisation to achieve business objectives.

Succession planning has sometimes taken a replacement approach, often focusing on executive-level
positions. One or two successors might be identified and selected and then placed on the fast track
into a senior position. However, succession planning has evolved into a process that can be used to:

Replenish an organisation’s HR at a broad or specific level.

Identify, assess, and develop employee knowledge, skills, and abilities to meet the organisation's
current and future staffing needs.
Ensure a continuous talent supply by helping employees develop their potential as successors for
key departmental positions.
Importance of Succession Planning

Succession planning is an important part of the talent management process. It provides a way
to identify key roles, people with the right skills and positions that may need filling in a short
space of time.

It also provides a way to cut recruitment costs, enabling organisations to manage recruitment
in-house.

The process is also equally important as organisations prepare for staff retirement.

This can include a handover process of employing an interim senior leader who will handle a
number of tasks and duties to get used to the role they may have to take over.
It also allows candidates to come forward for open positions. For instance, the position of a
CIO will require strong leadership skills with IT and business skills.

Although some candidates may not have the required skills, succession planning also often
includes training and mentoring for potential candidates.

The process is designed to help organisations recognise future leaders. There could be
employees working in back-office positions that have the potential or skills to take on a higher
position, which may not be recognised without executed talent management.

Investing time into succession planning also significantly creates and maintains good gender
diversity in senior roles.
Challenges of Succession Planning

The idea of succession planning is always linked to large corporations in the for-profit sector, where the
idea revolves around finding and grooming the executive heir-apparent to take over the leadership and
carry it forward. Succession planning faces challenges in many industries, such as the following:

Lack of support: If top managers are unwilling to support a systematic approach to succession
planning, it cannot succeed.

Corporate politics: Instead of promoting employees with the most potential or the best track record,
top managers may use the corporate ladder to encourage friends and allies while punishing
enemies, regardless of talent or qualifications. Corporate politics can supplant performance and
potential as an advancement criterion.
Quick-fix attitudes: With quick-fix attitudes, effectiveness is sacrificed to expediency. This
can have far-ranging consequences because ill-chosen leaders can prompt higher-than-
normal turnover amount their followers, create employee morale problems and even
bankrupt and otherwise sound business.

Low visibility: Top-level executives do not always see the fast, direct benefits of succession
planning. The further they are removed from daily operations and numerous direct reports,
the less valuable succession planning can seem to be to them.

The rapid pace of organisational change: The rapid pace of organisational change has raised
serious questions about the value of the traditional, fill-in-the-box-on-the-organisation chart
approach to replacement-orientated succession planning. Predicting succession over a
three-to-five-year time frame in an era of constant change is becoming impossible.
Too much paperwork: Top managers in most organisations
have a low tolerance for paperwork, and the succession
planning approach may require substantial paperwork to assess
present work requirements, appraise current individual
performance, assess future work requirements and identify
future career paths or career maps.

Too many meetings: As a means by which succession plans

may be realised, meetings centred on training, education and
development may demand considerable time. Attending
conferences can require a significant time commitment from
management employees at all levels.
Elements of a Succession
Plan
It is important to acknowledge that succession planning will vary slightly between
organisations. Different resources, different organisational designs, and different
attitudes mean that succession planning should be flexible and adaptable to
accommodate varying needs and achieve business continuity. However, departments
can use a general framework as the basis and guide for their succession planning
activities. This framework involves:
 Identifying Key Positions or Key Groups

Two important criteria that should be considered are “criticality” and “retention risk”. A critical
position is one that, if it were vacant, would have a significant impact on the organisation’s ability to
conduct normal business. The significance of the impact could be considered in terms of safety,
equipment operation, financial operation, efficiency, public opinion, and so on. Retention risk refers to
positions where the departure of an employee is expected.

Identifying Competencies

All positions have a requisite set of knowledge, skills, and abilities expected of employees filling that
function. Thus, knowing the competencies of a job is a mandatory component of recruitment, serving
as a general baseline to measure against interested potential candidates.
 Identifying and Assessing Potential Candidates

The key purpose of identifying and assessing employees against core job competencies is to
help focus their learning and development opportunities in order to prepare them for future roles
in the organisation.

Learning and Development Plans

Once the relevant candidates have been identified, based on their interest and potential for
success in a key position, the organisation must ensure that these employees have access to
focused learning and development opportunities.

Implementation and Evaluation

Once a succession plan has been established, monitoring its efficiency and effectiveness will be
essential. Thus, each succession plan should be developed within an evaluation framework to
measure progress and success and provide any evidence to support changes to the succession
planning process.
Here are some tips for the development of succession planning:

Be proactive with a plan

Sometimes, you’ll know well in advance if a hard-to-replace team member is going to leave the
company. A planned retirement is a good example. But other times, you’ll be caught off-guard by a
sudden and potentially disorienting employee departure. Thus, you need a plan now.

Pinpoint succession candidates

Once you have a handle on the ripple effect that the departure of certain employees might cause,
choose team members who could potentially step into those positions.
 Let them know

In private meetings, explain to each person that they’re being singled out for positions of
increasing importance. Establish an understanding that there are no guarantees, and the
situation can change due to circumstances encountered by either the company or the
succession candidates themselves.

Step up professional development efforts

Ideally, you have already invested in the professional development of those you select as your
succession choices. Now that preparation needs to be ramped up. Job rotation is an excellent
way to help your candidates gain additional knowledge and experience.
 Do a trial run of your succession plan

Don’t wait until there’s a crisis to test whether an employee has the right stuff to assume a more
advanced role. Have a potential successor assume some responsibilities of a manager who’s taking
a vacation. The employee will gain valuable experience and appreciate the opportunity to shine. And
you can assess where that person might need some additional training and development.

Integrate your succession plan into your hiring strategy

Once you’ve identified employees as successors for critical roles in your organisation, take note of
any talent gaps they would leave behind if tapped. That can help you determine where to focus your
future recruiting efforts.

Think about your own successor

When making a succession plan for your organisation, remember that your role will someday require
backfilling.
Chapter Synopsis
Succession planning is a conscious decision by an organisation to foster and promote the
continual development of employees
The idea of succession planning is always linked to large corporations in the for-profit sector,
where the idea revolves around finding and grooming the executive heir-apparent to take over
the leadership
Once a succession plan has been established, monitoring its efficiency and effectiveness will
be essential
Chapter 25
Communication Hack:
Positive Self Image
Chapter Goal
In order to perform well, managers need to develop their communication skills and dress in the most
professional manner. The appearance of a person strongly influences how others perceive him/her in
many situations, and this phenomenon is necessarily repetitive when people meet for the first time.

The self-image we have affects how we feel about ourselves, how we interact with others, and how we
perceive the world. Our physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual well-being can be boosted by a
positive self-image. Conversely, a negative self-image can hinder our ability to function in these areas and
decrease our satisfaction.

The purpose of this module is to discuss ways to improve communication skills. Additionally, you will
learn how important it is to have a positive self-image and to look good.
Learning Outcome
Know the communication styles
Learn how to create a positive self-image
Know the things that people determine from your
appearance
Know about the frame of reference
learn some techniques that you can use in the workplace
Communication Styles

Every person has a unique communication style, a way in which they interact and exchange
information with others. For example, the assertive communication style is the most effective
because it incorporates the best aspects of all the other styles.
There are four basic communication styles:

Passive Communication

Passive communication is a style in which individuals have developed a pattern of avoiding

expressing their opinions or feelings, protecting their rights, and identifying and meeting their needs.
As a result, passive individuals do not respond overtly to hurtful or anger-inducing situations.
Instead, they allow grievances and annoyances to mount, usually unaware of the build-up.
 Aggressive Communication

Aggressive Communication is a style in which individuals express their feelings and opinions and
advocate for their needs in a way that violates the rights of others. Thus, aggressive
communicators are abusive.

Passive-Aggressive Communication

Passive-Aggressive Communication is a style in which individuals appear passive on the surface

but are really acting out anger in a subtle way. People who develop a pattern of passive-
aggressive communication usually feel powerless, stuck, and resentful.

Assertive Communication

Assertive Communication is a style in which individuals clearly state their opinions and feelings
and firmly advocate for their rights and needs without violating the rights of others. These
individuals value themselves and are strong advocates for themselves.
Creating a Positive Self-
Image
What is Self-Image?

Self-image is the personal view, or mental picture, that we have of ourselves. Self-image is an
“internal dictionary” that describes the characteristics of the self, including such things as intelligent,
beautiful, ugly, talented, selfish, and kind. By having a positive self-image, we acknowledge and own
our assets, potentials, and liabilities, while being realistic about our limitations and liabilities. When
we have a negative self-image, we focus on our faults and weaknesses, distorting failure and
imperfections.

How can we create a Positive Self-Image?

Self-image is not permanently fixed. Part of our self-image is dynamic and changing. We can learn
to develop a healthier and more accurate view of ourselves, thus challenging the distortions in the
mirror. Self-image change occurs over a lifetime. A healthy self-image starts with learning to accept
and love ourselves. It also means being accepted and loved by others.
Specific steps to develop a positive self-image

Take a self-image inventory

Make a list of your positive qualities
Ask significant others to describe your positive qualities
Define personal goals and objectives that are reasonable and measurable
Confront thinking distortions
Identify and explore the impact of childhood labels
Refrain from comparing yourself to others
Develop your strengths
Learn to love yourself
Give positive affirmations
Remember that you are unique
Remember how far you have come
Seven Things People
Determine from Your
Appearance
 Physically attractive people have it all

Society’s preoccupation with and marketing of physical attractiveness reinforces the assumption
that being good-looking pays bigger benefits than it actually does. The undeniable truth is that
being good-looking is helpful sometimes.

The first thing that people will notice is the appearance

This Assumption is wrong for most people most of the time. What is true is that you are the one
noticing what you don’t like about your appearance. Other people usually couldn’t care less.
They’ve got other things to think about. Of course, if they, too, have a negative body image, they’re
probably self-conscious and worrying that you will notice their physical flaws.
 One’s outward physical appearance is a sign of the inner person

We can’t judge books by their covers with much accuracy. Still, we keep this false assumption
alive by remembering a few instances when our initial impressions based on looks turned out to
be correct while forgetting all the times our impressions were mistaken.

If I could look just as I wish, my life would be much happier

The trouble with Assumption 4 is its implication: Unless I can look the way I want to (that is,
taller, thinner, more muscular, less wrinkled, or with my nose straightened), there’s no way I can
be happy. What makes you unhappy is not your physical appearance. It’s your wish that sells
you short and robs you of self-acceptance.
 By controlling my appearance, I can control my social and emotional life

You have tremendous control over your looks. Think about all the available tools for managing your
appearance – clothing, cosmetics, hair styling, a healthy diet, and regular exercise. Proper
grooming can certainly enhance your looks and make you feel attractive.

My appearance is responsible for much of what has happened to me in my life

Most things that have happened in your life had absolutely nothing to do with your looks. Most
were either the product of your personality, intelligence, decisions, and actions or were simply the
result of chance.
Frame of Reference

A frame of reference is a well-defined coordinate system, and with respect to this, the state of
rest or the motion of a body is described.

There are two types of frames of reference, they are:

Inertial frame of reference:

A frame of reference in which a body remains in a state of rest or in a state of uniform motion if
no external force acts on the body is called an inertial frame of reference. Newton's law of inertia
obeys this frame of reference. A reference frame moving with uniform motion relative to an
inertial frame is also an inertial frame.
 Non-inertial frame of reference:

A frame of reference in which a body is accelerated without applying any external force on the
body is called an accelerated or non-inertial frame of reference. A body at rest in an inertial frame
of reference possesses acceleration in a non-inertial frame of reference. Newton's law of inertia is
not applicable in a non-inertial frame of reference.
Techniques for The Workplace
The organisation can make up for all kinds of weaknesses in other aspects of life. Try a few of
the below for a week or two and see what difference it will make to your life.

Communicate, communicate, communicate: If ever in doubt, communicate your intentions,

achievements and perceptions to keep others informed and to avoid misunderstandings.

Battle procrastination: Spend five minutes trying to tackle the job you are reticent to
undertake.

Keep a diary: Start by formulating a To-Do list every day. This will keep you on top of
necessary actions and help you plan your day and use it as effectively as possible.
Be prepared: Always go to a meeting, having read the document to be discussed and make
handwritten notes to take with you. This will improve your contribution to the meeting.

Keep important documents to hand: Ensure you get copies of all essential documents of
projects you are working on. When working on a computer, always create duplicate copies of
your files, with the same files on both a hard drive and a flash drive.

Organise your documents: When working on a report, different drafts should be titled v1.1,
v1.2, etc. Your desk should be organised.

Always take a pen and paper with you: Write it down whenever you have an idea. Some of our
best ideas are lost because we don’t write them down.
Multitask: Always carry additional work with you when going to meetings or travelling. There
will be many occasions where you may be waiting at a location external to your office.
Having something to read or analyse will make that valuable time and will mean less work
when you get back to the office.

Take a few moments every day to reflect: on the challenges and successes of the past few
days. Aside from prayer, think through why something is troubling you and what potential
solutions are.

Read and bring yourself up: The best teacher is the student themselves. Find out where you
can access learning resources and seize the opportunity.
Assertiveness
Being assertive is a core communication skill. Assertiveness can help you express yourself
effectively and stand up for your point of view. It can also help you do this while respecting the
rights and beliefs of others.

Behaving assertively can help you:

Gain self-confidence and self-esteem

Gain a sense of empowerment
Understand and recognise your feelings
Earn respect from others
Improve communication
Create win-win situations
Improve your decision-making skills
Create honest relationships
Gain more job satisfaction
Chapter Synopsis
Every person has a unique communication style, a way in which they interact and exchange
information with others.
Passive communication is a style in which individuals have developed a pattern of avoiding
expressing their opinions or feelings, protecting their rights, and identifying and meeting their
needs.
A frame of reference is a well-defined coordinate system, and with respect to this, the state of
rest or the motion of a body is described.
Chapter 26
Conflict Management
Chapter Goal
You’ll understand conflict stages and their types from this chapter. You’ll also learn
the role of communication in conflict resolution.
Learning Outcome
Understand conflict and its types
Know the stages of conflicts
Know how to handle workplace conflict as HR professional
Know the role of communication in conflict resolution
Understanding Conflicts and Its Types

Conflict is an inevitable fact of life. It is borne out of differences and will arise in any situation
where people are required to interact with one another. Conflict is generally regarded as an
impediment to progress. However, it is not always a bad thing and can be a creative force for an
organisation.

Surprisingly, conflict can assist in making changes. However, conflict can result in feelings of
unhappiness, dissatisfaction, depression, stress, and hopelessness. These feelings can manifest
themselves in behaviours such as aggression, violence, emotional withdrawal, breakdown in
communications and personal relations and result in job resignation.
Types of Conflict

Conflict can be classified in 4 ways:

Intra-personal Conflict

Conflict can be intra-personal, where an individual’s objective and vision differ from their
company’s overall vision. This refers to a conflict within an individual.
Intra-individual conflict arises from frustration, numerous roles that demand equal attention but
are riot always possible to devote, and goals having negative and positive aspects.

Inter-personal conflict

The conflict at the inter-personal level involves two or more individuals and is the most common
and most recognised type of conflict.
 Intra-group Conflict

When individuals are pitted against a group and are either unwilling or unable to conform to
group dynamics, they invariably leave the team due to intra-group conflict.

Inter-group conflict

When the conflict is inter-group, two teams are involved in a deadlock, endangering the
successful completion of a project due to differences in group dynamics.
Different Stages of Conflict
 Latent Conflict:

Latent conflict is when factors exist in the situation that could become potential conflict-inducing
forces.

Perceived Conflict:

Conflicts may sometimes arise even if no conditions of latent conflict exist. This is the stage when one
party perceives the other to be likely to thwart or frustrate their goals. The case in which conflict is
perceived when no latent conflict arises is said to result from the parties misunderstanding each
other’s true position. Such conflict can be resolved by improving communication between the groups.

Felt Conflict:

Felt conflict is the stage when the conflict is not only perceived but actually felt and recognised.
 Manifest Conflict:

Manifest conflict is when the two parties engage in behaviours that evoke responses from each
other. The most obvious of these responses are open aggression, apathy, sabotage, withdrawal
and perfect obedience to rules. Violence is rare as a form of manifest conflict. The motives for
violence may remain, but they tend to be expressed in less violent forms.

Conflict Aftermath:

The aftermath of a conflict may have positive or negative repercussions for the organisation,
depending upon how the conflict is resolved. If the conflict is genuinely resolved to the
satisfaction of all participants, the basis for a more cooperative relationship may be laid.
The Role of Communication in
Conflict Resolution
Conflict occurs when there is a clash between individuals due to different thoughts, interests,
requirements, etc. In order to avoid conflicts or to resolve them, one needs to learn how to adjust
to other people up to a certain extent.

This is when communication comes in. It has been observed time and again that most conflicts
are a result of ineffective communication. In fact, ineffective communication is the leading cause
of most conflicts and misunderstandings.

On the other hand, effective as well as regular communication allows people to better understand
each other’s thoughts, opinions and requirements. It makes it easier to understand what other
people need and how they see a particular situation.
Conflict Management
Conflict occurs when two or more parties or individuals have divergent interests, values, or
objectives. People lock themselves into conflict situations when they cannot agree or think
alike, which results in conflict. It can happen in different circles or in different fields.

Another crucial dimension of conflict is intensity. A great deal of competition, change, and
consequences are part of the process of living.

The conflict has the potential to be destructive or constructive. It can drain energy or raise it.
Conflict can be uncontrolled or can be controlled. In addition to too much conflict, there can
also be too little. However, the world around us shows that dealing with conflict need not be an
essential survival skill.
HR Professionals and
Workplace Conflict

Conflict in the workplace cannot be avoided. Managers and leaders must have the ability to
recognise, understand, and resolve conflicts between employees quickly and fairly.

An HR professional or manager can save a company from a lot of turmoil by resolving conflict
between teams and employees.

No matter how big or small the conflict is, these nine tips and techniques will help you resolve it:
Developing emotional intelligence: In order to be an effective leader, you need to be able to understand
and interpret your own feelings as well as those of your employees.

Four categories can be found in this skill: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and
relationship management. Building a strong relationship begins with self-awareness, which builds
understanding and confidence. In self-management, you learn how to control your emotions at work.
This promotes social awareness by developing empathy for your employees' situations and
recognising others' emotions. Furthermore, relationship management will help others develop their
emotional intelligence and inspire them to do the same.
Disagreeing with someone: As a manager or supervisor, you can cultivate a culture where
disagreement is okay, appreciated, encouraged, and expected.

It is natural for us to disagree at work since we all hold different opinions. A disagreement
should be handled professionally and fairly since every opinion matters.

Reduce employee discord by teaching employees how to disagree respectfully and constructively.

Pay attention to conflict that goes unsaid: Disagreements are sometimes not discussed. It is
crucial that you build trust with your direct reports and participate actively in the team as a
manager. Be aware of any negative statements, sarcastic remarks, or barbs. Keep an eye out for
any pushback from employees.
Consider the other person's perspective: Other people’s viewpoints are just as valid to them as yours is
to you.

We’re often so focused on our own version of what should be that we lose sight of how others may feel
about it.

Handling conflict at work well requires considering other viewpoints and understanding what’s so
compelling about those positions versus yours.

Only speak for yourself: It’s one thing to understand others. It’s another thing to assume you know their
position, and to take that position for them.

Your managers will get better results if you let your people speak for themselves, and you act as the
facilitator to make sure the discussion is productive.
Before the conversation, assess the situation: If there is a situation with an employee who is
frequently missing work with no notice, not engaging in meetings, or having personality conflicts
amongst coworkers, connect with others on your team to see if there have been any previous issues
with this employee or if it is a first-time occurrence.

Review the company’s policies to see if there was a misinterpretation of regulations.

Disagree in person, not by email: Emails are forever. You can’t unsend them. It’s easy to write
something when you’re fired up, and then later regret it.

Train your employees that if they have something disagreeable to convey to someone, they
should go see them face-to-face, or call them on the phone. Taking notes is perfectly fine, but
they shouldn’t rely only on what they’ve written to deal with the conflict.

Listen first, then speak: We know what we think is right. So, we always want to speak first to
convince others. When both sides approach it that way, then no one’s listening. Active listening is
one of the most basic techniques there is for managing conflict in the workplace.
No issue is too small: When you and your managers are responsible for many employees, you might
not realise conflicts your staff might be experiencing. It is not uncommon for employees to feel that HR
or their supervisor will be inconvenienced by their issue, and they should just ignore it.

An issue that may not bother you could negatively affect another employee's ability to work on a day-
to-day basis. Management and HR must create a safe environment for their employees to express
concerns and opinions.

Training employees on conflict resolution can significantly improve their effectiveness and
engagement.
Chapter Synopsis
Conflict is borne out of differences and will arise in any situation where people are required to
interact with one another.
Conflict can be intra-personal, where an individual’s objective and vision differ from their
company’s overall vision.
Conflict occurs when two or more parties or individuals have divergent interests, values, or
objectives.
A disagreement should be handled professionally and fairly since every opinion matters.
Chapter 27
Operational Risk
Management
Chapter Goal
Operational risk management involves assessing risks, measuring them, mitigating them,
monitoring them, and reporting them to improve risk reduction. This chapter teaches the
fundamentals of operational risk management as well as how to implement it. Additionally, you will
find the requirements and strategy for overcoming operational risks.
Learning Outcome
Know About Operational Risk Management
Learn The Dimensions of Operational Risk
Recognise How to Implement The Operational Risk Management
Understand The strategy of Operational Risk
Identify Regulatory and Statutory Requirements for The Operational Risk
What Is Operational Risk
Management
Business operations can be disrupted by a number of factors, including ineffective or failing internal
processes, people, systems, or external events. Losses can be direct or indirect. Poor customer
service can negatively impact a company's reputation, or a poorly trained employee may lose sales
opportunities. The concept of operational risk encompasses both the risk associated with operating
an organisation as well as the processes management uses when implementing, training, and
enforcing policies.

Examples of operational risk include:

Business processes and controls

Internal and external fraud
A data breach caused by cybersecurity threats
The disruption of a business caused by physical events, such as natural disasters
Risks associated with automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence
Errors and misconduct by employees
How to Implement Operational Risk
Management
Implementing an effective operational risk management process increase profits for a business
and helps create products of higher quality. Learning how to develop this process and train
employees to use it may bring more success to employees and the business. Here are five steps
to implement operational risk management:

1. Identify

First, operational risk management identifies what might lead to an error during a project or
process. Developing a control framework can help you identify risks and minimise them by
categorising your business's practices and procedures. This control framework can be automated
to analyse stored data and identify potential risks in your operations.
2. Assess

Analysing and predicting how potential risks may affect business operations is an important step
after identifying potential risks. Operational risk management involves assessing the likelihood of
a risk occurring and measuring its impact. If your control framework indicates that a security
breach may occur, then you can assess this risk and determine how it could impact your data,
employees, stakeholders, or business.

3. Develop a Scale

Measuring risks is an essential step to minimising them. You need to develop a scale for risk
measurement. Using a scale, you can determine how big the risk is. By using this scale, the most
serious risks can be prioritised and addressed.

Suppose you are considering the cost of preventing the risk when measuring it on your scale. If a
risks cost more to prevent than another, managers may prefer to address other risks instead.
Determining the cost of prevention also helps decide if it's worth addressing.
4. Monitor

Risk monitoring is another stage of operational risk management. You should create a team of
employees to monitor the risks you identify. Also, the monitoring team can develop plans for
preventing risks and resolving issues caused by risks.

5. Strategise

Make a plan to minimise or avoid the risks you find. Risk management strategies may involve
methods for isolating and eliminating risks from projects and processes. Taking action to reduce
the threat of risk can be the responsibility of the monitoring team.
Tips for effective operational risk
management
In order to make your operational risk management process more
effective try these tactics:

Keep a Record

Be sure to document every stage of the operational risk management

process, including identifying, assessing, and monitoring risk. Future
risk mitigation and analysis can be guided by this record. The risks
associated with a project can also be used to inform project
management strategies. This record can be used by project managers
to determine whether the planning process is inefficient.
 Inform The Leadership

Without top-down leadership, formalising operational risk management in your organisation will
inevitably fail. As a result of the head of an organisation not owning their risk management
framework and not communicating to line managers that they need to follow the process, it has
been observed the following issues may arise:

Leadership tends to Ignore the whole process.

By implementing their processes within their area of responsibility, they might even compete
with the organisation's processes.
They will not be able to provide support to the individuals assigned to implement the
framework will ensure its success.
 Planning Includes Risk Management

As mentioned above, one of the key outcomes of operational risk management is to support
your organisation's objectives. During planning, you can assess the risks associated with each
organisation's function.

When you understand the risks and opportunities associated with the objectives of each plan,
you gain a better understanding of the related budget (including risk mitigation costs), or you
might even change the plan altogether (being more or less risk averse). Formalising this process
in your organisation may sound trivial, but it is worth checking.
 Training

A successful risk management framework depends on the organisation's internal and external
personnel fulfilling their risk management responsibilities.

Formal training can be relatively expensive, even though it must be both efficient and effective. Thus,
training must result in effective outcomes and be cost-effective and minimally disruptive to the
business.

All internal and external staff members need not be familiar with the organisation's risk management
framework. It is often only used as a reference material, supported by customised procedures related
to specific functions, projects and activities.
The training might only cover the skillsets required to fulfil only the risk management tasks
allocated to each role, depending on your organisation's resources and attitude.

Consider creating steps that are easy to repeat when developing your operational risk
management process. The process can be learned and trained more easily this way. This means
that more professionals can perform the operational risk management process. Having a
repeatable process can also help reduce the risk of error in your analysis, as you can perform it
more than once to see if you find the same results.
 Risk Ownership

There have been instances in which risk workshop participants assessed risks and assigned a
risk owner who was neither present nor aware that this risk was assigned to them. Additionally, no
rules defined which risks should be assigned to which risk owners. An approach like this is prone
to failure.

In some cases, however, a risk analysis is necessary for identifying the right risk owner in the first
place. The risk owner can only approve the risk assessment outcome and appropriate risk
treatment. Risk owners are responsible for managing risk and can perform and approve recurring
risk assessments, for example, by gradually implementing additional controls and reducing the
level of risk.
 Assign roles

To make tasks easier to manage and to promote accountability, assign roles within the risk
management team. Employees are more likely to notice issues if they focus on different operational
risks. By assigning roles within a risk management team, you can ensure that each type of risk is
effectively monitored.

Providing Diverse Risk Management Solutions

Each function in your organisation operates in a different environment and has its risk management
requirements, e.g.:

Reporting is requested on both the project and the program level by the project management
In addition, the Finance team requests specific Key Risk Indicator (KRI) reports
The Safety team requests reports on the Hierarchy of Risk Control
Unfortunately, these individual needs are often mutually exclusive. Finance and IT managers have
no use for a Hierarchy of Risk Control, and safety managers may not need to report on program
and project levels.

It is practical to determine what we have called 'areas of risk' in this context and define them in
the organisation's risk management framework to manage the diversity of risk management
needs.

This definition can include the following:

Function-specific risk management requirements and how to meet them

Reporting of individual risks
Categories of individual risk, etc.
Chapter Synopsis
An operational risk results from insufficient or failed internal processes, people, and systems,
as well as from external events.
A key objective of operational risk management is to support your organisation's goals.
Depending on your organisation's resources and attitude, the training might only cover the
skills required to fulfil just the risk management tasks assigned to each role.
Chapter 28
Project Management
Fundamentals
Chapter Goal
The goal of the chapter is to provide an explicit explanation of project
management. You will know the importance and all the techniques of project
management.
Learning Outcome
Understand What Project Management Is
Know The Importance of Project Management
Define Project Planning
Learn Project Management Techniques
Understand Constraints of A Project

50
What Is Project
Management?
Project management is the process that uses specific tools, skills, techniques, and knowledge
to provide something of benefit to people.

Developing a better business process, building a building, helping after a natural disaster, and
expanding sales into new geographic markets are all examples of projects.

Every project is a temporary effort to create value through a unique product, service, or result with
a beginning and an end. Projects need a team, a budget, a schedule, and expectations the team
must meet. They differ from routine operations, the ongoing activities of an organisation, in that
they conclude once their goals are achieved.
With advancements in technology, globalisation, and other factors changing the nature of work, it
is increasingly organised around projects and tasks, with teams being assembled based on
specific skills.

Project Professionals lead these projects. Individuals or teams are responsible for ensuring a
project team achieves its goals, either intentionally or by circumstance. To meet the needs of a
project, project professionals use a variety of tools, techniques, and approaches.

Some projects aim to resolve problems and understand the improvements made over time
quickly. Other projects are longer in duration or produce a product that will not require significant
improvement outside of maintenance, such as a highway.

Yet, there will be other projects that will combine both types. Project professionals engage and
motivate others to accomplish a project's goals with various skills and knowledge. Professionals
in project management play a vital role in the success of a project and are in high demand to help
organisations reach their goals.
Phases of Project Management
50
Project management is a risky business. Poor scheduling and poor controls cause cost overruns
and unnecessary delays. A project that takes months or years to complete is usually developed
outside the standard production system. Project organisations usually handle such projects within
the firm, which are often disbanded once the job is completed. In other cases, managers simply
take projects as part of their duties.

The project management process involves three phases:

Planning: Goal setting, project definition, and team organisation are included in this phase
Scheduling: As part of this phase, people, money, and supplies are tied to specific activities
and activities to one another
It is controlling: The firm monitors' resources, costs, quality, and budgets. As well as revising
or changing plans, it shifts resources to meet time and cost demands.
 Project Planning

You can define a project as a series of related tasks directed towards a

significant outcome. In some firms, a project organisation is formed to
ensure that existing programs continue daily while new projects are
completed.

An effective way to assign people and physical resources for

companies with many large projects are to set up a project
organisation—a temporary organisational structure designed to achieve
results by utilising specialists throughout the firm.

The project organisation may be most useful when:

Defining specific goals and deadlines for work tasks is
helpful
It is a unique or somewhat unfamiliar job in the
organisation
The work involves complex interrelated tasks requiring
specialised knowledge and skills
It is a temporary project, but it is crucial to the organisation
The project crosses organisational boundaries
Project Management
Techniques: PERT & CPM
Program evaluation and review techniques (PERT) and critical path methods (CPM) were
developed in the 1950s to assist managers in scheduling, monitoring, and controlling large and
complex projects.

At DuPont, CPM was developed as a tool to assist in the building and maintenance of chemical
plants.

The program evaluation and review technique (PERT) is a project management technique that
employs three-time estimates for each activity.

The critical path method (CPM) is a project management technique that uses only one-time
factor per activity.
 The Framework of PERT and CPM

Both PERT and CPM follow six basic steps:

1. Defining the project and creating a work breakdown structure

2. Establish the relationships between the activities. Decide which activities should precede
and which should follow others
3. Draw a network connecting all the activities
4. Estimate the time and cost of each activity
5. Calculate the most extended time path through the network. The critical path is the longest
route through the network
6. You can use the network to plan, schedule, monitor, and control the project
PERT and CPM differ in terminology and how they construct the network, but their objectives are
similar. Additionally, the analysis used in both techniques is very similar. In PERT, each activity is
given a three-time estimate.

The time estimates calculate expected values and standard deviations for the activity. According to
CPM, activity times are known with certainty. So, a one-time factor is all that is required for each
activity.

The remainder of this section discusses PERT for illustration purposes. However, most of the
comments and procedures described also apply to CPM. The PERT and CPM are essential for
answering questions such as these about projects with thousands of activities:
What is the expected completion date for the entire project?
Which tasks or activities in the project are critical, i.e., which activities will delay the
entire project if they are late?
What are the noncritical activities-those that can be delayed without affecting the
project's completion?
What probability will the project be completed by a specific date?
Is the project on schedule, behind schedule, or ahead of schedule at any particular
date?
Is the money spent equal to, less than, or greater than the budgeted amount on any
given date?
Are there enough resources available to finish the project on time?
What is the best way to accomplish this goal at the lowest possible cost if the project
needs to be completed in a shorter amount of time?
Constraints of A
Project
 What Are Project Constraints?

Project constraints are limitations that you have to consider during the project lifecycle.

For example, a cost constraint means that your project budget is limited, while a time constraint
means your project must be completed within a specified period.

The management of constraints is crucial to project success since most constraints are
interdependent. You will likely need more money to complete the project if you decide to extend
the project timeline. Your project scope will also expand as the time and cost of your project
increase.

6 Constraints in Project Management

While working through the phases of project management, you should be aware of six typical
project constraints. You can easily visualise your project schedule and manage all of your project
constraints with project management, no matter what kind of project you are working on.
 Scope

Scope refers to the quality, detail, and deliverables of a project. In

addition to time and money, project scope determines how long and
how much money it will take to complete the project.

Each project phase will require you to keep an eye out for scope
creep and work hard to avoid it. Creating detailed project plans and
getting project stakeholders can prevent scope creep from signing
off on everything before production begins.
 Cost

Cost constraints include your project budget as a whole and anything of financial value you need for
your project. Cost constraints may consist of the following:

Project cost
Team member salaries
Cost of equipment
Cost of facilities
Repair costs
Material costs

Include any items in this section that require you to pull from your company’s financial resources.
 Time

Project success depends on effective time management, and each phase of your project
comes with its own time constraints. If you try to increase your project timeline, it will
have consequences such as extended deadlines, adjustments to the team calendar, or
less time for planning.

You may encounter time constraints in your project due to:

Timeline of the overall project

The number of hours spent on the project
Calendars and goalposts for internal use
Allocate time for planning and strategy
Phases of the project
The iron triangle refers to scope, cost, and time, which can be difficult to balance while
maintaining quality. If you reduce your budget or increase the scope, you'll likely have to
compensate by loosening up on time. This can be accomplished by extending deadlines, adding
hours, or adjusting your project schedule.

Risk

Any unexpected event that may affect your project is a project risk. Most project risks are
negative, but some can be positive. New technology may be released during your project. If you
use this technology, you may be able to finish your project quicker, or it may cause more
competition in the market and reduce the value of your product.

You can use risk analysis and risk management strategies to mitigate project risks. Among these
risks are:
Stretched resources
Operational mishaps
Low performance
Lack of clarity
Scope creep
High costs
Time crunch
Assess the likelihood and severity of each project risk, then mitigate the most likely and
severe risks first.
 Resources

The cost constraints of your project are closely related to resources since these project requirements
cost money. In the absence of proper resource allocation, a project's quality may suffer, the budget
will increase, and the timeline will be delayed.

Here are a few resources to consider:

People
Equipment or materials
Facilities
Software

Ensure you have the resources you need for every project element so that this constraint does not
negatively affect other projects.
 Quality

Your project quality is determined by how well you meet your initial expectations for your
deliverables. The quality of your project will be affected by every project constraint since it is the
ultimate goal of your project.
In addition, project quality can also be a constraint because some aspects of the project can
result in poor quality that is not related to cost, time, resources, risk, or scope.
Among these are:

Lack of communication
Poor design or development skills
Too many project changes

To achieve high project performance, you must balance project quality with the other five project
constraints. The result can be poor project quality and low customer satisfaction if you fail to
manage your constraints.
Chapter Synopsis
Project management is the process that uses specific tools, skills, techniques, and knowledge
to provide something of benefit to people.
Your project quality is determined by how well you meet your initial expectations for your
deliverables.
To achieve high project performance, you must balance project quality with the other five
project constraints.
Chapter 29
Time Management
Tips for Managers
Chapter Goal
Managers often have multiple responsibilities. To accomplish all the tasks on time,
they must master time management. Your entire organisation will suffer if you
procrastinate as a manager. Therefore, you should avoid procrastination at all costs.
The goal of this module is to teach managers how to manage their time effectively.
Learning Outcome
Identify the causes of procrastination
Learn the tips to avoid procrastination at work
Prepare an activity list to check how you spend your time
Distinguish between an action plan and a to-do list
Implement an action plan to complete larger projects
Understand the benefits of keeping a to-do list
Importance of Time Management

A successful manager must be able to manage their time well. People who apply time
management techniques tend to be the most successful in life and their career. You will be able to
work effectively even under pressure if you understand time management techniques.

The most important part of time management is a shift in focus. You must focus on the outcome
rather than merely being occupied.

Furthermore, if you spend the majority of your day reacting to what appears to be urgent, you will
have little or no time or energy to work on what is important.
Solving the Procrastination
Problem
You're not alone if you've put off important tasks from time to time. To some extent, we all
procrastinate. One of the first principles of successful time management is to stop letting
procrastination prevent you from attaining success in your work. The key to controlling your
procrastination impulse is to recognise it and take action to manage your time and effort better
.
People procrastinate when they put off doing something important to do something more
pleasurable. Procrastinators may work as long and as hard as everyone else, but they spend their time
doing the wrong things. This can occur as a result of an inability to prioritise duties appropriately.
Feeling overwhelmed by tasks is another cause of procrastination. You can't figure out how to get
started or doubt you have the skills to complete the job, so you put it off in favour of doing other
things you feel capable of accomplishing. The problem is that the challenging assignment isn't
going away.

Whatever the cause of your procrastination, you must be honest with yourself and act. The first
step is to ensure that you realise the importance of your projects. Communicate with your boss
or the person who created the project to find out when it is due. When a conflict arises between
two projects, choose which is more important.
Here, we will shortly go through some other tips for avoiding procrastination at work:

Focus on one thing at a time.

Start with the most challenging task first thing in the morning.
Stop writing long emails; write concisely using bullet points.
Take some short breaks to regain your focus.
Clear all the distractive things from your desk and workspace.
Break down a large project into smaller chunks.
Use productive project management and note-taking apps to stay focused.
At the end of the day, write down your achievements for the day.
Plan ahead of the day in the morning.
Set some fixed time to check emails and messages; do not get distracted by them every
hour.
Take care of your body and mind to stay focused.
 Maintaining an Activity List

Make a list of your daily activities to understand better how you're

spending your time and what you're actually doing. After you've tracked
your activities for a few days, go over the list to see how much time
you've spent on low-priority tasks. Follow the steps mentioned below.

Begin by eliminating tasks that are not your responsibility as you go

through the list.

Reduce the number of times you switch from one task to another.
Instead of stopping to read and respond to emails every half hour,
you may set aside time twice a day to focus entirely on email.

Utilise your activity list to assist in prioritising your to-do list.

Schedule the most challenging tasks at the time of day when you
have the most energy.
Creating Action Plans
An action plan is a checklist of the tasks that need to be completed to achieve your
goals or complete a project. When you are faced with a large project that appears to be
overwhelming, it is necessary to develop an action plan.

An action plan includes the following components:

A clear and detailed description of the goal

Specific steps that must be taken in order to achieve the aim
The due date
The milestones
Task-related resources
The metrics used to assess progress
The individuals that will be involved in the project
To construct an action plan, follow the steps mentioned below:

List all of the activities that must be completed to attain the goal
Arrange them in the order in which they must be completed
Try to divide each task into smaller subtasks.
Keep the action plan close by as you go through the plan item by item.
Modify the plan if extra tasks that were not in the original plan are required
Work from the new version.
Keeping a To-Do List
A to-do list is not the same as an action plan. An action plan is focused on a specific goal. On the
other hand, a to-do list is a prioritised list of all the tasks to be accomplished, with the most important
tasks at the top.

If you're feeling stressed by looming deadlines or frequently forget to do something important, you
should start keeping a to-do list. A to-do list is a prioritised list of all the things that must be
completed.

Many people who have learned to manage their time effectively think that having a to-do list is one of
the key reasons they are successful. It's difficult to forget something if you keep a list of everything
you need to do in one place.
You can readily discern what requires quick action if you examine the list each morning and reevaluate
it. You have to juggle everything if you don't have a to-do list. When you accidentally forget to do
something, people will think you are unreliable. With a to-do list, you're organised and more
responsible. Keeping a to-do list can be vital to the success of your career.

To create a to-do list, follow the steps mentioned below:

Make a list of all the tasks that must be completed.

Break down larger projects into smaller pieces.
Continue to divide tasks down into smaller units until each item on your list takes less than 2 hours
to complete.
 Assign letters or numbers to tasks to prioritise them. For example, all items with a high
priority should be labelled with the letter A. All items with a very low priority should be labelled
with the letter F.

Review the high-priority items after your first pass to determine if any of them may be
demoted.

When you've completed prioritising, sort the list, putting the most important tasks at the front.

People use their to-do lists in different ways. Some create a smaller daily version with a list of all
the items they plan on completing that day. They then review the master list each morning and
create a new daily to-do list.
Scheduling
Scheduling is the process of examining the amount of time you have available each day and
planning how to use it to complete the tasks you've identified.

You will understand what you can realistically accomplish if you schedule a time to work on
each assignment. You'll be able to make the most significant use of your time by setting aside
time for those must-do tasks.

Moreover, you'll be able to plan for the unexpected, so you'll be ready for the twists and turns
that business life may throw at you. As a result of not overcommitting to others, you will lessen
your stress level. A schedule enables you to regain control of your time and life. Scheduling
works best when done regularly.
The first step is to plan out when you will work on your tasks each day. This is determined by the
nature of your job and your personal circumstances. Next, make a time slot in your calendar for
it. You may use Google Calendar or the calendar feature in Microsoft Outlook and arrange work
time in your calendar to prevent others from booking meetings for you during certain times.

After you've scheduled your work time, go over your to-do list and schedule the high-priority
items in your work times. Make sure you leave time for the unexpected and plan for
contingencies.
Chapter Synopsis
Recognising your procrastination urge and taking action to better manage your time and
energy are the keys to controlling procrastination.
When confronted with a large project that appears to be overwhelming, you must devise an
action plan.
Many people who have learned to manage their time properly believe that keeping a to-do list
is one of the key reasons they are successful.
If you set aside time to work on each assignment, you'll be able to see what you're capable of.
Chapter 30
Developing
Interpersonal Skills
Chapter Goal
Managers are responsible for managing everything. Your goal as a manager is to ensure that
everything runs smoothly and jobs are completed on time. You need people skills to make a good
impression on people, to manage people. In this chapter, we will introduce you to the
interpersonal skills you need to be a successful manager.
Learning Outcome
Understanding the Importance of Interpersonal Skills
Identify the Interpersonal Skills Required as a Manager
How to Prepare a Plan for Mastering Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal
Communication and Skills
Interpersonal communication is the process of face-to-face exchange of thoughts, ideas,
feelings and emotions between two or more people, which includes both verbal and nonverbal
elements of personal interaction.

Often termed as people skills, Interpersonal skills are the art of connecting with people and
handling various situations efficiently. It is a must-have skill for an manager.

Interpersonal skills or soft skills, or people skills, are the abilities of a person to connect, behave,
and interact with others to handle situations better and build relationships with co-workers and
clients. More importantly, it is the art of working effectively with others.
Key Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal skills are life skills. Mastering these skills will improve you and help you behave and
interact well with colleagues, friends, and family members. So, investing time in learning these
skills will be beneficial for your professional life and your personal life.
However, here are some key interpersonal skills you should develop as a manager:

Leadership
Teamwork
Active Listening
Adaptability
Communication
Problem Solving
Motivation
Responsibility
Empathy
Patience
Key Interpersonal Skills
Explained
In this section, we will briefly discuss interpersonal skills and share some tips on how to master
them.

Leadership

Leadership is an essential interpersonal skill you need to develop to work in perfect harmony,
support the management and be a role model for other team members. Most importantly, you
need to develop leadership skills if you want people to listen to you.
Ways to Develop Your Leadership Skills

Be proactive. Always plan ahead and prepare a Plan B. In case your original plan misfires,
you will always have another option available

Never stop learning. Continuously improve yourself to set yourself as a benchmark for other
members.

Help and value your team members. Please do not belittle them

Always look for ways to improve yourself.

Take responsibility for your work, make the call and put yourself in the hot chair so that all
can notice your performance
Teamwork

Teamwork makes the Dreamwork. Whether you acknowledge it or not, nothing of great significance can
be achieved without an efficient team. As a manager, your success depends on your team's success. You
need to coach, mould and build your team in such a way that all of you can achieve greatness together.

How to Boost Teamwork?

Put aside unhealthy competition and make it a norm that all team members collaborate with the team
and contribute toward a common goal and a shared success

If you want to be a better team player, you need to know your team members and understand their
strengths, weaknesses, background, culture, and situations
.
Try to give the right people the right task so that the team can function properly

Show your team member a great vision to motivate them toward achieving something big

Communicate and interact with team members and make it a culture inside the team so that the
members can communicate effectively and mutually improve their skills
Active Listening

Active listening skill is essential for building and maintaining a positive relationship in the
workplace. It also helps in solving conflict. It is estimated that we can only remember 25-50% of
what we hear.

Active listening helps you to make friends at the workplace and win the trust of others. It also
allows you to identify the root of the conflict situation and provide solutions that all parties like.
You will be able to learn more things and won't miss any critical information as you don't
interrupt others when they talk.
Active Listening and Developing this Habit

Active Listening is the ability to concentrate entirely on the speaker without interrupting them,
understand their message, grasp the complete message, and respond positively.

To develop this habit, you need to adhere to the advice given below:

Give full attention to the speaker. Don't multitask while the speaker is speaking. Put other
priorities, such as texting on your mobile or scribing in your notebook, aside.
Use eye contact and facial expression to connect with the speaker.
Keep an open posture, nod and smile occasionally.
Occasionally, paraphrase what the speaker says, like "Uh, so you are saying that…"; or, "If I am not
mistaken, you imply that….".
Periodically try to summarise what the speaker is saying.
Keep patience and allow the speaker to finish.
Gain the trust of the speaker by showing compassion and emotionally connecting with the speaker.
Don't interrupt the speaker.
Don't judge or oppose the speaker.
Ask questions to clarify your understanding. The questions shouldn't oppose the speaker. Instead, they
should be open-ended so that the speaker can shed more light on what they are saying and add
additional information. It will help you to sum up the entire speech.
Treat the speaker respectfully so that they feel comfortable with you.
Adaptability

A flexible manager will always embrace changes with a positive mental attitude. They will welcome
new challenges with a smile on their face. In almost every job, last-minute changes happen. Often,
last-minute changes bring more work and hectic situations for a manager.

Tips on Being Adaptive

If you start thinking positively, you will be able to stay adaptive and motivated at your job. Think that
the changes in plan and wasted works are only part of the process. The result is the success of the
project. Frequent changes also help you to improve as a manager in your job.

Most importantly, all managers have to review the plan, experiment with different plans constantly,
and occasionally start over or tinker with the plan at the eleventh hour. All these changes are
occurring only to make the project successful. So, if you think positively, you will be able to stay
flexible.
Communication

Communication is the key. As a manager, you need to be

a good communicator. You might be communicating with
co-workers, executives, board members, potential clients,
vendors, and others. Strong verbal, nonverbal, and written
communication skills are a must-have for a manager.
Your ability to communicate with your subordinates
greatly impacts your work.
Ways to Improve Your Communication Skill

Improve Your Written Communication: Avoid typos and grammatical errors in written
communication. Try to be precise and subjective and use bullets and headers if necessary.
You may also make some portions of the text bold or colour text to emphasise. Recheck
your text once or twice before finally sending them.
Develop Your Verbal Communication: Speak clearly. Don't let your temper get the best of you. Don't
lose your cool. Arguments should be reasonable and based on facts. It is often necessary to bargain
sales targets and project bonuses with your subordinates as a manager. Sometimes you will need to
ask them to juggle several tasks at once. You will perform better if you improve your verbal
communication and negotiation skills.

Focus on Your Nonverbal Communication: It takes time to develop your nonverbal communication
skills at the workplace, but it is worth trying. Try to smile at your co-workers, look them in the eyes
and be attentive while they speak. While you are in the meeting and someone is presenting
something, try to focus. Show them that you are not taking them lightly.
Problem Solving

It is another must-have skill. You will often find yourself in a position where you have to identify
the root cause of the problem and solve them. Problems arise in all organisations. That's why
people who can solve problems effectively are needed in all types of organisations.

Some Advice to Solve Problems Effectively

Be an Active Listener. Learn both parts of the conflict. Try to understand what has happened.

Stay Calm. Don't comment until you know all the details. Try to be as cool and professional
as you can.

Use the LEAPS model of communication to defuse potential conflict situations. According to
the model, you need to listen, empathise, ask, paraphrase and summarise the conversation to
defuse the situation.
Motivation

Being able to motivate others is a fantastic ability to have, and it is a key skill that managers
should practice daily. A manager must inspire people so that people can willingly do things for
them.

To motivate people, you need to

Inspire them
Co-operate with them
Help them to develop
Unify them toward a common vision
Continuously influence them toward your way of thinking.
Responsibility

It is critical to take responsibility for your work. You will prosper if you take ownership of your work and
your role in your organisation. It implies that you must take ownership of your errors too. It will help you
grow as you will find yourself committing fewer mistakes than before. Taking responsibility entails
coming up every day with a sense of purpose and understanding what you want to accomplish. This
mindset instils in you a sense of purpose and a desire to succeed.

Empathy

People who don't value what we do often take advantage of our empathy, whether a colleague wants
your time or an Executive who doesn't understand your work. Empathy can fade when you don't feel
valued or when someone irritates you. So empathy is critical.

You must figure out why someone is acting the way they are and respond accordingly. Compassion can
be challenging to conjure at times, but understanding where they are coming from can make you feel
better.
Patience

Your executive could be in a foul mood or keep asking the same question. It is very normal to be
irritated. However, you must not demonstrate this through your actions. The same is true for
other employees. They may not understand even the most simple instructions when assigning
them to work. Patience comes in because answering those inquiries and being helpful is part of
our job. Take a deep breath, reset, and try again.
Chapter Synopsis
Interpersonal Skills are a person's ability to connect, conduct, and interact with others in order
to manage conflicts better and establish a relationship with colleagues and clients.
The ability to concentrate totally on the speaker without interrupting them, absorb their
message, grasp the entire message, and reply constructively is referred to as active listening.
Use the LEAPS model of communication to defuse potential conflict situations.
As you take responsibility for your mistakes, you will be less likely to make those mistakes
again.
Chapter 31
Task Management
Tips for Manager
Chapter Goal
This Chapter will teach techniques and tips for managing your tasks better. Additionally, you will learn
why management is important, as well as the major roles of managers.
Learning Outcome
Know what is task management and why it is important
Learn the seven major roles that a manager should have
Develop and learn task management tips and techniques
What is Task Management?

The task of management is all about organising groups of people to work together productively
towards known, clear goals or objectives.

Various management levels exist, from production supervisors, nurses and senior secretaries, all
managing small groups of employees, to chief executives and managing directors of multinational
companies.

Regardless of one's position in management, the basic characteristics of management tasks

apply to all managers.
Why Management is
Important?
An inefficient, underperforming organisation can be transformed into a profitable, sound
business with effective management, but the reverse is also true.

Businesses can be destroyed by ineffective managers who allow them to stagnate, content to
rely on past successes rather than looking for new challenges. In companies or just departments
that you are familiar with, you can probably think of examples of both kinds of management.
Seven Major Roles That a
Manager Should Adopt

The managers have to adopt some roles during their work and listed
seven major ones as follows:

The Entrepreneur: the manager as planner and risk-taker.

The Resource Allocator: the manager as organiser and coordinator.
The Figurehead/leader: the manager as motivator and coordinator.
The Liaison/Disseminator: the manager as coordinator and
communicator.
The Monitor: the manager as controller.
The Spokesperson/Negotiator: the manager as motivator and
communicator.
The Disturbance-handler: the manager as motivator and
coordinator.
Quinn’s Categories of
Management Model
In Becoming a Master Manager, Quinn categorised four models of management thus:

Rational Goal: In this model, productivity and profit represent the ultimate criterion for
organisational effectiveness. Consequently, goal clarification, rational analysis, and action-
taking processes are continually emphasised in order to produce the best results. The
manager’s job is to be a ‘decisive director and task-oriented producer’.

Internal Process: This model complements the rational goal model and shows stability and
continuity through a pyramid symbol. ‘The means-ends assumption is based on the belief that
re-utilisation (sic) leads to stability.’ The process involved in this model includes the definition of
responsibilities, measurement, documentation, and record-keeping. The structure is hierarchical,
and decisions may be reached regarding existing rules, structures and traditions. The ultimate
value in the internal process model is an efficient workflow, and the manager’s job is to be a
‘technically expert monitor and dependable coordinator’.
Human Relations: The emphasis has shifted significantly to commitment, cohesion, and
moral concepts. This part of the model assumes that involvement produces commitment.
Team-orientated and requiring deep involvement, this model is characterised by equality,
openness, conflict resolution and consensus-building.

Open Systems: With the need to compete in an ambiguous and competitive environment, a
requirement to be adaptable and to find external support became critical. The key
concepts are flexibility and responsiveness. As a consequence of continuous adaptation
and innovation, external resources are acquired and maintained.
Task Management Tips and
Techniques
Managers handle an endless number of tasks, from gathering resources to managing
clients to overseeing risks. To accomplish tasks and get things done, you need a lot of
time, effort, and thought. Some tips and techniques for task management are given below:

Focus On One Task at A Time

Multiple things at once are hard to resist. Multitasking is a common vice, and many people
fall victim to it. In my experience, many eLearning professionals try to do more than they
can handle and end up accomplishing nothing.
 Set Task Deadlines

Tasks and deadlines go hand in hand. Setting a deadline can help you achieve your goals,
whether they pertain to work or personal goals. Before going all into the task, make sure you are
not too casual with it. Create realistic deadlines by taking all steps and challenges into
consideration.

Eat The Biggest Frog First

Not all tasks are the same. Mark Twain once said, “Eat a live frog first thing every morning, and
nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day!”. Here, the frog is your biggest and most
important task, the one you dread doing the most.
 Use Task Management Tools Smartly

Some extremely successful people use task management tools to be more productive. Richard
Branson, Mark Zuckerberg, and Neil Patel are a few to name. For Project Managers, such tools can
help them better manage their tasks and organise their workload.

The Pareto Principle

Maintaining focus is not easy, as there is always a lot to do when managing an eLearning project.
You can use a well-known principle to help prioritise your daily tasks and be smart with your time.
Pareto’s principle states that 20% of your work produces 80% of the results.
 The ABC 123 Method

The method is a powerful prioritisation technique that allows you to categorise every task in
the list with an alphabet that indicates its importance. Furthermore, each alphabet is
assigned a number, such as 1, 2, 3 and so on, which indicates its priority in the list.

The Kanban Method

A digital Kanban board or a whiteboard are both excellent tools for managing all kinds of
work-related activities. In addition to making it easier to see who is working on what and
when it will be done, Kanban boards are also visual representations of your work.
 The 4D Method

Delete, Delegate, Defer, and Do are the four D's of this time and task management method. This
method involves deciding what can be easily dropped, what can be delegated to others, what
can be done later, and what has to be done no matter what. Organising tasks and doing things
with the 4D method is the quickest.

The Pomodoro Method

The Pomodoro technique is an effective time management method that improves productivity
and focus. The Pomodoro sessions consist of 25 minutes of work followed by five minutes of
rest. You need to concentrate, work hard, and be productive in each session. It’s a great way to
stay focused and fight distractions while working on important tasks.
Chapter Synopsis
The task of management is all about organising groups of people to work together
productively towards known, clear goals or objectives.
An inefficient, underperforming organisation can be transformed into a profitable, sound
business with effective management.
Time, effort, and thought are required to accomplish the goal or task.