Thursday, July 7, 2011

Developing Your Management Skills

Management skills are important skills that are required for the growth of any career or business. Some examples of these skills include problem solving, delegation, meeting management, communications and decision making skills. Such are the fundamental foundations from which careers are developed.

Anytime individuals perform poorly in their respective careers, it is usually because they have failed to develop their management skills effectively. Unlike what most people think the skills are not difficult to develop. They can be acquired through programs that are offered to employees or individuals at the work place. Individuals who are interested in broadening their skills can also acquire them by reviewing various available literatures.

It is also common to find management training programs that are tailored to meet the management needs of CEO's, managers and employees being offered online.

Developing management skills is not as difficult as most people think. To develop the skills, is to make use of available information and data that is available online or in management programs. You will also find important information in books and by observing the managerial behaviors of people around you.

Developing skills in management also requires you to understand the basics of management. In order to do this, it will be important for you to particular areas and skills that are recommended for effective and adequate management in firms, organizations and even careers.

In addition, you can attend courses that will help you gain better perspective on the nature of management skills and development programs. The ability to manage your own management learning will also be important if you are looking forward to understanding and gaining management skills in your career development agenda.  For starters, consider keeping diaries that contain information about management.

Merely learning about management in books or by attending courses will not help you develop management skills that can help you in career development. In addition to reading literatures containing information, you should consider applying the skills that you have acquired in the process. Also, continue to reflect on the lessons that you have attended in the past.
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2464355

Business Management Skills

Business management skills are robust tools in the hands of the manager. Regardless the company you work for or the size of the team that you supervise, these skills make you succeed as a manager.
The established description of management is restricted to "the process of working with and through others to achieve organizational objectives".
A manager's four fundamental competencies are: planning, organizing, directing, and controlling.
Planning is a substantial part of business management skills. A manager that can plan is one that has the capacity to accomplish tasks. Planning entails scheduling activities, probing, analyzing, setting goals and objectives, distributing resources, shaping strategies and timelines. As a manager you need ensure that each goal translates into an activity and that each activity helps meet that goal.
Strategic planning is a critical element of the managers "planning process". The role of the manager is evolving beyond "the daily operational business". Managers are becoming visionary leaders for their organizations, they landscape future directions, facilitate important relationships to maintain reputation and sustainability.
Directing is establishing and communicating particular,detailed action-plans to meet goals and objectives.
Organizing and controlling are two additional business management skills required to be successful in the business world. Organizing involves compiling and coordinating the resources and such as human,monetary and other tangible and non-tangible assets, in order to trace activities needed to achieve goals. Further, it entails assigning and delegating tasks to various team members to complete certain tasks and make things happen.
The controlling task ensures that work-plans are being executed and goals are attained by overseeing and evaluating performance. The concept of controlling has evolved together with manager's role. Nowadays, controlling consists of monitoring progress by providing guidance and support to the employees.
Other valuable business management skills:
More and more companies are requiring that managers show a broad collection of competencies on top of their specialized, hard skills.Soft skills are vital to your successful functioning as managers. Good work ethics, positive attitude, keenness to gain continuous knowledge, cultural sensitivity, exceptional business conduct and standards have enormous impact on employees, stakeholders and organizational setting. If you are looking to enhance the organizational culture, you cannot do it without addressing attitudes, point of views and soft-skills. Social liability is based on attitudes and soft-skills. Cooperation within the agency as well as a wholesome, transparent work atmosphere is based on attitudes and soft-skills.
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3068943

Time Management - Learning Time Management Skills

Learning time management skills are like any other skill in that it takes time to develop them and you must make regular use of them to keep them sharp. Depending on your job or life people often focus on different aspects of time management, but here we will focus on learning time management skills that most people will find useful.

1. The top skill is to learn to focus on what is most meaningful for you today. Most people get caught up in trying to accomplish trivial tasks so they can feel good about crossing them off the to do list. What you need to do is focus on what one or two tasks are most important for you to do that day and get them done first. Time management often comes down to a mental state of whether or not you feel like you are in control of your time.

2. The second skill to learn is long-term time management. Where do you want to be six months from now? By knowing that answer, it should dictate what you need to accomplish today. Set your long-term goals and then break them down into weekly or daily tasks, so you are gradually building towards them.

3. The third and some might argue the most important skill is the daily review. At the end of the day examine what you accomplished that day. Ask yourself about what parts of the day you managed efficiently and what parts you did not. By just doing this one time management skill daily you can rapidly accomplish any goal. As the famous quote says 'an unexamined life is not worth living.'

4. The fourth major time management skill to learn is having a commitment to continued learning. As you advance in your career and life the time management skills that got you were you are will likely not get you to where you want to go. So by learning new skills on a regular basis you can continue advancing in your management of time.
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1355868