Enrollment Opportunities For Hospitality Management Courses

The hospitality industry is preferred by many because it offers endless job opportunities. The truth is that places such as hotels, bars, pubs, restaurants, cafeterias, coffee houses and other business establishments where food is prepared and served daily, are kept open throughout. This means that students with diplomas in hospitality management stand a better chance at finding employment immediately after they complete training. In addition to getting employment, the degree holders also have the option of starting their own businesses in this line.

The hospitality courses are numerous from those that train students in the art of efficient management to those that improve on cooking skills to create professional chefs and cooks. Depending on the course that has been chosen, the titles and job roles can vary. They can also differ depending on the industry setting or organizational setting within which the qualifier finds employment. This is one industry that holds great potential for all students who are passionate about the hospitality field.

Course Enrollment

There are lots of institutions offering hospitality management courses in almost all countries of the world. This means that the enrollment chances are good in number to accommodate local students as well as international students or overseas students. Depending on the institution that you select, you can enjoy part-time or full-time studying. However, many of the institutions have policies that the courses must be delivered on a full time basis. They do not offer any distance learning or part time classes. When enrolling as an overseas student, therefore, you must consider your budget. You will need to make sure that you are covered as far as health, tuition fees, airfare, emergency expenses, living expenses, accommodation costs and study materials and equipment are concerned.

Participants who enroll during their final semesters are usually required to repeat one unit of study. The commencement dates for the course vary from one institution to another. The academic year comprises 36 whole weeks of studying with each of the weeks having a total of 20 hours of class on the lowest. Considering that it is possible for some students to have vocational skills acquired through any other means or source apart from formal training, the institutions recognize them. Since they are valid, the students have the freedom to apply to have the knowledge and skills assessed. Depending on the level of skills and knowledge assessed where appropriate, the hospitality management courses can be reduced to favor the students.

The best thing about the courses is that they do not have any prerequisites of entry. This therefore means that anyone interested in the course can enroll and start studying in a preferred course. When looking at the course options and the training institutions, it is advisable to choose the one you feel is best suited for you. It is advisable to settle on CRICOS approved courses and certified institutions to make sure that your diploma is valid and valuable at the end of the course. It is the only way that you will manage to go higher.

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Taking Minutes Of Meetings Can Save Your Project And Your Neck

For a Project Management Professional, any day usually starts and ends with tireless meetings, especially for those who work on more than one project at a time. This can get all jumbled up into mush, and information can always slip into oblivion; people could die. OK, maybe not, but the consequences are still dire. If important jobs are not followed through, it could cost you your project. Here's how minutes of meetings can save it:

Makes It Official

Taking down the minutes makes decisions taken official. It is in writing, and can actually be used as a legal document in any number of scenarios. Since it contains all the decisions made and actions taken, any action that is not mentioned is thought to have never taken place, and can help get rid of law suits and internal disputes.

Gives Structure

Meetings are way more important than they are given credit for. Certain details such as time, place, company name, board member, managers and employees who were present and all matters discussed, decisions taken, problems solved and motions passed will all be on record.

Establishes Accountability

In case you have a team member with the habit of forgetting to do things and then deciding he was never told to, taking minutes can really help you out. When employees know all decisions and tasks to be done are being recorded, they will feel more accountable. Plus, all parties involved will know exactly who gave the orders, and to whom and why, so that the employees know who they should answer to and you as a project manager can keep track of who is responsible.

Drives Action

This kind of accountability drives your team members to action. Randomly telling your people to complete a job is not enough. When they know it is being recorded on an official legal document they are more likely to grasp the seriousness of a task. This will ensure your project runs smoothly, your employees remain productive and efficient, and meetings remain on track.

Evaluation Tool

When certain actions to be carried out are set out in the minutes, a project manager can always go back and refer to this list at the end of the day to check off all the items and see which ones have not been done. This will help you in keeping the project organized, set future goals, and do any necessary damage control.

A Record For Absentees

Sometimes team members or managers might not be able to attend a meeting. The minutes help keep a record of each meeting, so this can be referred to later if need be, by those who were not there. Even the ones that are there tend to zone out or flat out fall asleep at times, and while this isn't the best attitude these people should still get to know what went on, for the sake of the project, if nothing else.

Most times it might seem easier to talk through a meeting and concentrate on reaching important decisions instead of recording them. However, the minutes of a meeting will certainly prove their worth a ways down the road when they remind you of an important task, or save your neck when you haven't done a job you were never told to do in the first place.

Hospitality Management Courses - CRICOS Approved

Career opportunities are determined by the career path you choose. The best you can do is make sure that you are choosing a career you truly enjoy. It is the secret to job happiness for the rest of your life. When you take up something you love, you can be sure to be happy even when you decide to quit employment and go into self employment. The hospitality industry is one of the most lucrative career options in this regard. Apart from having endless employment opportunities, you can also set up your own business and start enjoying a fruitful career.

The hospitality management courses are very popular worldwide and students choose to move abroad to get high quality education and venture into the exciting world of hospitality. It is however very important to make sure that you are not only choosing the right the management courses but also those that are approved by CRICOS. The Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students body lists all the approved and certified institutions where you can enroll for the course and be assured that you are indeed getting high quality education that will let you scale the heights of your career.

There is great significance in going for approved courses and institutions. This is because it means that your diploma will be valid at the end of the course and valued for that matter. Most employers keen on hiring well trained professionals will be on the lookout to see the institutions you studied at and the validity of your diploma before hiring you. The certificate or diploma that you have can determine how easy it is for you to find a good job. Hence, it is important to make sure that you choose only approved courses and from the right providers for that matter.

The Approved Courses

The hospitality management courses that are approved by CRICOS are:

    SIT30913 Certificate III in Hospitality (Asian cookery)
    SIT30813 Certificate III in Hospitality (commercial cookery)
    BSB50207 Diploma of Business
    SIT60313 Advanced Diploma of Hospitality
    BSB51107 Diploma of Management

The hospitality courses offer you the chance to be a professional cook, chef, manager or businessman or an event organizer among other titles and roles. It will all depend on the setting within which you get employment. The titles that you can enjoy will definitely depend on the course that you choose and the employment setting that you get to enjoy. When thinking about taking up any course, always consider what you wish to be at the end of it. Other important considerations that you must make when choosing a course and institution include:

    The annual tuition fees
    The course duration
    Overseas student health cover
    Airfare
    Living expenses (transport, telephone, electricity, gas and food)
    Emergency expenses
    Entertainment
    Text books, study equipment and study excursions
    Accommodation costs

When you have made all these important considerations, you will find it easy to choose the right course for you and the right institution as well.

Top 10 Skills for Web Project Management

If you work in web project management today, you are most likely dealing with digital content. Some project managers come from design or development backgrounds, but more often than not, they have little training in the world of digital. As someone who comes from a design and development background, here are some tips and must-have skills that will make your team love and respect you.

1. Content Management - Let me first start by defining content management as I see it. I consider content management the ability to direct, write, edit and organize content for stakeholders on the project. These stakeholders could be your internal team, the client (and their team), marketing/press outlets, and much more. With the understanding that time is limited you must quickly create content for the project. This could be a simple project brief, client brief, or a quick change order. At times we are also pushed to the front-line to provide the end user with quality content. Lastly, a good project manager should be able to transform the words of a designer or developer (which are usually NOT framed to business or client language) into something compelling and actionable.

2. HTML/CSS - Many times Project managers come from the large business/corporate side of business. Web project management in my opinion is a complete 180degree turn from normal (non-technical) projects. The quickest way to understand what developers and designers go through on a daily basis is to throw yourself into the mix. Take the time to learn. Yes, learn! If you can learn about HTML, CSS, PHP, JS, and PS your team will love you. It will be apparent very quickly that you took the time to learn about their hardships and understand their daily tasks. More importantly by researching and getting your hands dirty within a project (you can do a quick website on your own) you will be able to "talk the talk" when you have a 1 on 1 with your developer. In short, by learning technical details you will quickly go from a paper pusher to a knowledgeable member of the team.

3. FTP/SSH & Tools - You might be saying "What in the heck is FTP/SSH" and if you are, this is my exact point of why you need to do some research. In short, get to know some of the tools that you will be required to use on the job as a web project manager. FTP & SSH are entry ways to a website in which you can manipulate files, upload images, and access code. Take the time to research some of the top tools on the web to get a holistic view on what is out there. For coding try Sublime text, for FTP try Filezilla, for Testing try VMWare, for Mindmapping try Xmind. Get my drift? Google is your friend in finding great tools to make your job easier.

4. Analytics, Reporting, Auditing - One of the major parts of your job will be reviewing information and making actionable plans moving forward. To do this you will need a chest of analytics tools to capture data and allow you to digest them easily. Google Analytics is the holy grail of web analytics, so start there. If you are looking for more advanced tracking feel free to review Moz, CrazyEgg, Clicktale, and Clicky. The skills involves distilling down the important information from these tools. I can guarantee that if/when your clients look at big data or traffic analytics they feel like they are trying to drink water from a firehose so take the time to review the data WITH them and reveal actionables.

5. Client Relations - I am pretty sure that "Hold My Hand" by Hootie and the Blowfish was written for Project Managers and their relationship with their clients. Put yourself in the clients shoes at all times. Do they know what a static block, widget, or footer.php file is? Probably not. So walk them through it so they can learn through. Keep in mind that most clients that you will come into contact with have a laundry list of tasks they must complete internally before they can focus on the eCommerce website or web application. Their main job is not to interact with you, so make each interaction simple and pain free. Send agenda's before meetings, recap actionables after meetings, always set expectations (time/scope/budget), and follow up within 24 hours on current projects/tasks. When you can, ask "Can I help you take something off your plate to make your life easier?". I promise, you'll be their favorite PM soon.

6. Formal Project Management - So let me first preface this and say that typical project management training doesn't map 1 to 1 with web project management. by the very nature of digital/web PM it is iterative and fast changing. You must be able to pivot quickly and move quickly. With that said, you can bring the knowledge of project management methodologies. SCRUM, Agile, and Waterfall are the three more common methodologies within our industry. Your team will depend on you to be the go to for the process so buy a book or read a white paper on these methods and decide AS A TEAM what method works the best for you.

7. Search Engine Optimization - SEO is a buzzword, I know, but PM's must know the details surrounding this wave to protect your team, clients, and yourself from bad information. Everyone promises #1 ranking in Google and strong organic search for a fee. I encourage you to always ask one simple question, "HOW?" How will you do this for me or my client. Any large SEO firm will have documentation, use cases, and roadmaps, while the hacks and untrustworthy services will run and hide. As a PM take some time to review the high level details of SEO/SEM. Most likely you have someone on your team dedicated to SEO/SEM and you can even learn from them.

8. Marketing & Social Media - Digital marketing and social media is a fundamental part of web and eCommerce websites. Once you build a website, web application, or mobile app you MUST sell it. This isn't field of dreams. This isn't "If you build it, they will come", you must inform your customer base and potential customers of your new product. Try and focus on your value proposition. Schedule a meeting with your marketing team and client to review what makes you different than every other service or product on the market. As a PM you must have the skills to understand all the media outlets and what offers the most ROI for the investment.

9. Presentation Skills - Having presentation skills is a no-brainer but it has to be mentioned. Being a powerful orator involves many years of getting up in from of people and speaking and I strongly believe that it is something can be taught to people that struggle in this area. If you struggle with speaking or presenting you must attack that issue head on. Schedule some internal meetings or trainings, get out in the community to speak or even talk with strangers more often. Lastly, focus on enhancing your knowledge within the industry of the web, internet, and project management and you will feel confident to speak your mind.

10. Leadership & Culture Building - Skill #10 is leadership and culture building within your organization. Like it or not as a project manager you are a strong figure and leader in your organization and your team will be looking to you for a few details such as decision making, project details, and strategic goals. While many company cultures are moving to a more free flowing communication stream and a flexible workflow to get things done. PMs need to be the deciding vote at times when your office is split 50/50 on a decision. In this case, listen to both sides, review the details and make your decision. It is important to provide a clear decision and direction to remove any roadblocks for your team. Lastly, leadership is also about challenging the status quo (by you and your stakeholders). Don't be afraid allow people to speak their mind if they think there are better ways to do things. 10 people are ALWAYS smarter than one. Letting people have a say in their day to day work and their future is important to have a strong culture.

In my opinion these are the top 10 skills for a web project management.

If you have any comments or feedback on this post: "Top 10 Skills for Web Project Management", I would love to hear them. If you have questions, feel free to respond as well and I will try and respond to all your inquiries. Please review all The Digital PM posts by going to the homepage.

When Your Office Walls Put a Stop to Productivity

The biggest contributor to poor productivity and employee morale may be your workspace walls.

The childhood game, Telephone, teaches us a lesson about the difference between what was said and what was heard. I remember some of the silly results from a simple sentence repeated down the line of elementary students who could only repeat what they thought they heard.

In business, silly results can lead to disastrous outcomes. While your employees may not be playing telephone, thin walls or low cubicles, typical of many office layouts, contribute to a lot of assumptions and misunderstandings. It can be a recipe for disaster because people hear things that they shouldn't, information is heard in the wrong context, or they only hear part of the conversation. Rehashing and discussing the scenario eats up the time reserved for more productive activity and consumes employee's attention.

A client I'll call Betty had a small office staff and extremely thin office walls. Betty heard third-hand that a client reported overhearing a phone conversation in the next room. Without further evidence, Betty was ready to fire the office manager for disclosing proprietary information to a recently terminated employee. Rather than conducting due diligence to discover the facts regarding the incident, Betty reacted emotionally, feeling angry, betrayed, and bemoaning the loss of what she had thought was a dedicated and valuable employee.

As we talked through the situation, she was able to calm down and revisit the issue. By checking facts, she was able determine that the customer who initially called to report the incident was in a certain room during a time when the employee in question was not even in the building. Further fact checking gave Betty enough solid evidence to have a purposeful conversation with the employee that had given out the information and terminate her employment.

Brian Tracy said, "Incorrect assumptions lie at the root of every failure," and that nearly 99% of assumptions are incorrect. Reacting with emotion and making assumptions are dangerous actions that can derail productivity, employee morale and your bottom line. Betty was able to avoid firing the wrong person, (her dedicated and valuable office manager) and eliminate the snitch in her office.

Most leaders are working managers and often they react to situations quickly since they are faced with a laundry list of daily and weekly tasks just to keep things running. Taking the time to dig through the facts may seem like a luxury at best, at worse, an unnecessary time drain, yet the consequences of running a business based on assumptions are detrimental.

Whether you have physically thin walls, or those created by employees that don't respect company policies and protocol, it is worth your time and attention to investigate those Telephone games going on in your organization. Then, when you discover the disconnect, you can put things back on course by taking the time to check facts and make an informed decision, not an assumption.

Best Practice Process, Procedure and Methodology - Value Creation and Value Retention

Application of Best Practice process, procedures & methodology to project, manufacturing and service orientated organisations positively impacts profitability, stakeholder satisfaction and overall company performance. A very broad topic covering a myriad of functions and disciplines, we simply call it Value Creation and Value Retention.

Value Creation

Value Creation is maximised by applying best practice to pre-contract phases. Commencing with marketing and working through sales and handover to the companies delivery arm. Value is lost if a company does not utilise best practice. In truth, the company will not even appreciate the value they are losing.

Symptoms of not applying best practice will often include a poor order conversion rate. Unqualified prospects consume sales resource for which orders may never eventuate or which the company does not have adequate products or solutions to win. Unguided sales resource will always be busy, but not necessarily productive.

Optimal solutions or products will not be developed if appropriate resource and check points are not included. This may result in losing the business or worse still winning the business only to experience significant warranty issues or be subject to a legal case.

Project, manufacturing and service contract opportunities draw significant resource and bear a large opportunity cost. It is imperative that leads be qualified, appropriate sales strategies implemented and relevant resources applied to the opportunity. Efforts must follow a structured, methodical and proven process.

Suppliers and subcontractors play an important role in securing an optimal cost position and as such should be pre-qualified. Formal bid invitations must be concisely and accurately prepared including scope, schedule, T&C's etc. It is extremely important to carefully review subsequent tenders for completeness, accuracy and exclusions.

"Best Practices" should be adopted up to and including Proposal review and Bid / No Bid meetings. Whilst there are too many discrete examples to list in this article, the majority of companies can benefit by reviewing their processes and implementing best practice if they are to maximise value created during the pre-contract phase.

Value Retention

Value must be retained throughout delivery of the product / works. Additional value will be created if appropriate processes, practices and skilled resource is used.

Value Retention processes and procedures are normally specific and tailored to the industry and products / services / projects provided.

However, there are some generic procedures which should be rigidly followed. As an example, many companies make the mistake of accepting the customer's order without review or qualification. Often a grateful salesperson will thank the customer for their order and state that the company will get straight into delivery etc. This is a dangerous practice and should be avoided at all costs. There are ways to thank a customer without outright order acceptance. It is imperative that the order be formally accepted after careful review for completeness, correlation with the proposal, and identification of any unfavorable T&C's which supersede or replace the proposal T&C's. In the majority of instances, formal acceptance of a customer's order will require a number of qualifying statements.

There are too many examples of Value Retention best practice to list here. At least 65 examples leading up to Practical Completion immediately come to mind. If you experience profit erosion during the course of delivery / execution, you will undoubtedly benefit by implementing best practices to retain value.

Where to from here

Every company is different and opportunities vary within each company. If you are serious about increasing Value Creation and Value Retention we suggest you engage a professional firm to review your current practices, results and approaches and work with you to improve same. Up to 5% additional EBIT may be realised by companies adopting best practice.

Cost Reduction Programs - Why They Are Healthy and How They Can Be Successfully Implemented

Driving forces demanding cost reduction

Today's competitive business environment demands that ongoing cost reduction is a healthy and in many cases vital activity of any business. Market dynamics, low-cost country imports, regulatory changes, disruptive technologies, competitive pressure, production costs, inherent product design cost, labour costs, primary costs, life cycle maturity, and competitor pricing all put pressure on profitability. I recall a saying; "The difference between a mediocre and a good profit is often a cost reduction program".

Even if you are fortunate and your business doesn't suffer from the above external influences, it is highly probable that you would still want to optimise your profitability and implement a cost reduction program.

Benefits

Cost reduction plays a key role in improving a business's well-being, not only in terms of increased profit (typically 5%+ EBITDA) but also released cash and increased competitiveness. Strategic leaders quickly realise the potential to strengthen and position their organisation for growth.

Challenges & the way forward

The majority of business leaders want to reduce costs but experience difficulty realising their desires, engaging the organisation, and making cost savings stick. This is the crux of the problem faced by nearly every organisation.

Every department and division of a company is responsible for both cost reduction and staff engagement in the various programs. All too often it is seen as a management or finance department responsibility.

Staff should be encouraged to identify opportunities, conduct analysis, propose solutions and prepare business cases and project plans. A steering committee (including senior management) should review the opportunities and decide the order and priority in which initiatives are resourced and converted to cost savings.

A myriad of opportunities will be identified including organisational behavior, alternate designs, process enhancements, supplier improvements, purchasing initiatives, quality improvements, efficiency improvements, waste reduction etc. There are in fact too many examples to list here.

It should be appreciated that the majority of sustainable cost savings will require significant investment in terms of labour and cash. Leaders must be both committed and seen to be committed.

To ensure a sustainable and ongoing cost reduction program, it is important to engage the wider company and that all staff be involved in both identifying and implementing the savings program. To this end, open and regular communication of progress and achievements is extremely important.

Cost reduction must be an ongoing, living breathing part of any company. It should not be a short-lived, once off "top management" initiative.

Cost reduction initiatives frequently burden already stretched resources. Initiatives may be temporarily deferred due to resource availability but management should not continually defer or the overall program will lose momentum and grind to a halt. Short term additional resource or task reallocation is a preferable solution to permit the cost saving initiative to proceed.

Ensuring Success

To increase success and implementation pace it is advisable to adopt a tried and tested cost reduction program.

Success breeds success. Cost saving will become part of the way you do business.

SIT30913 Certificate III In Hospitality (Asian Cookery)

There is truly nothing as fulfilling as working in an environment where are you doing what you love to do. Individuals who choose careers in line with their hobbies and talents turn out to be the happiest compared to those who just get into a career path because of the prospects and potential it offers to make your rich. Cooking can be taken for granted, but it is one of the most enjoyable and rewarding careers for those who just love cooking and trying out different and new recipes.

The SIT30913 Certificate III in hospitality is a qualification that offers the knowledge and the skills that an interested individual needs to be a competitive qualified cook. Even though you might be already good at cooking, this course sharpens your skills and gets you ready to undertake your work in any kind of setting ranging from cafes to coffee shops to restaurants, hotels, clubs and pubs. The fact is that most of these establishments gain popularity because of the great food they get to offer making the cooks and chefs assets to the business and the course makes sure that you are just at that end. In your line of duty, you might also be needed to offer technical advice to others or offer support to a team depending on the setting you are working in.

The Course

The certificate can take anywhere from 52 weeks to complete, but the length of the course will depend on the school offering the course and the kind of schedules they offer. You will of course manage to finish the course faster if you are studying full time as compared to learning part time but both options are available to your convenience. It covers different units, one at a time in a flow and at the end of the course you will be in a position to:

    Prepare appetizers, stocks, soups and sauces
    Prepare eggs, farinaceous dishes, fruits and vegetables
    Select and prepare and cook seafood, meat and poultry
    Prepare cold and hot desserts, cakes, yeast goods and pastries
    Plan and prepare different foods for buffets
    Prepare foods for special dietary requirements

Still under the qualification, you will learn how to apply first aid in kitchen settings, use different food preparation equipment, the basic methods of cookery, planning basic menus and costs, hygiene practices to keep food safe and safe food handling.

Requirements

Even though anyone can take the SIT30913 Certificate III in hospitality course since it has no prerequisites to enter, you might find it helpful to join if you are truly interested in food and food preparation. You will gain the title of chef or cook at the end of the course. This is a title that can come with plenty of pressure since you have to deliver amazing services every time to maintain the image of the business. When you have a passion for cooking and food, you will find the course and eventual career most interesting.

If You Don't Know Your Numbers, You Don't Know Your Business - Agree?

I was talking to a buddy of mine the other day about general business stuff. He founded and built a business telephone company from scratch so he's very focused on numbers, especially all the government required fees that affect the prices he charges his customers. There seems to be far too many hands constantly grabbing for "their share" through taxes, tariffs, fees, etc. It's a wonder how businesses make it considering all the obstacles put in their way. That's a topic for another day.

We also talked about the importance of paying close attention to revenues and costs. At one point during the conversation he made the statement, "If you don't know your numbers, you don't know your business."

I have no argument with that. It's ultimately important to know how much money is coming into a business and the costs of operating that business. It's absolutely necessary to know the sources of the money flowing into a business and what affects those income streams. For example, the quality of products and services, the competition, the market in general, the economy, the effectiveness of marketing and advertising, the skill of sales people and more.

It's equally important to control costs - cost of goods, rents, mortgages, insurance, licenses, tariffs, fees, risk management, salaries, wages, benefits, and on and on.

You do have to know your numbers so you can make good decisions relative to increasing revenues and controlling costs.

I prefer to look at this topic a bit differently. My perspective starts with this question, "Who's responsible for all the activities and decisions that determine whether or not revenues grow and costs remain low?"

The general answer is "People." People develop and maintain the quality and reliability of products and services. People pay attention to the competition, the market and the economy. People create and monitor marketing & advertising campaigns. People acquire new customers and work to retain existing customers.

It's the same on the cost side. People negotiate for the best deals on mortgages, rents, insurance rates, benefit packages, costs for materials and much more.

The quality of people in a business greatly influences the accuracy and reliability of the numbers, and the results that affect revenues and costs.

I'm sure you can see where I'm going here. From my perspective, "If you don't know your people, you don't know your business."

Hiring the right people who want to contribute to the success of your business, assimilating them correctly, training them thoroughly, managing them effectively, rewarding them appropriately, and ensuring they become enthusiastic members of your team by understanding and agreeing to expectations and standards of measurement affects the numbers on both sides of the ledger.

Knowing your numbers makes no sense without knowing your people.

If you're just watching the numbers in your business, it's in your best interest to evaluate the people responsible for achieving the numbers you want to see and doing everything you can to help them become successful as individuals so they contribute positively to the growth and success of your business.

Brian Silverthorn is president of Success Systems. He's been a business adviser and personal development coach for more than 30 years. In addition to working directly with a handful of clients he also focuses on helping professionals that offer products and services to small and mid-sized business spread the word about who they are, their expertise, their specialties, and what they have to offer.

Should The CIO View The CMO As Friend Or Foe?

If there is one fact of life that everyone who has the CIO job has had to learn to deal with, it's that our IT budgets never seem to be big enough. However, it turns out that there is someone else in the company who does not have the same problem: the CMO. In fact, the CMO has so much money to spend, they are starting to build their own IT department. Is this something that you need to be worried about?

The Problems That CMOs Cause

So what's really going on here? The CMO is increasingly coming under pressure to improve the company's customer's digital experience. No matter if that involves connecting with the company through Facebook, Twitter, or a snazzy web page, this has become the responsibility of the CMO.

The arrival of Software-As-A-Service (SaaS) solutions now means that the CMO can directly purchase IT solutions that they used to have to go through the IT department in order to get. Couple this with marketing's new interest in mining all of that customer data that the company has laying around and very quickly you can see your IT department getting pushed in to a maintenance role.

Your biggest problem is that if you don't speak up now, you're going to be bypassed. This poses a number of unique problems. One of these problems is that the CMO / CIO relationship is very new - nobody has really solved this problem before.

The Changing CMO / CIO Relationship

In the past, there probably was not that much of an interaction between CIO and CMO. However, that is all changing now. What's driving the change is a shared desire between these two roles to reinvent the customer experience.

The company is currently in the process of increasing the marketing budgets even as IT budgets are being held in place or even in some cases shrunk. The reason that the company is more willing to spend on customer-facing activities rather than back-office tasks is because they view customer-facing systems as having the potential to bring in more customers.

CIOs should view this change as a positive one. By working closer with the CMO, IT now has a chance to move from the back of the house and has a chance to take the center stage along with marketing. As a CIO, this just might be what your careen needs in order to take you to the next level!

What All Of This Means For You

CMOs are becoming more and more important to a company's long-term success. This is resulting in their budgets becoming larger. Because of the need for them to do more things digitally, they are starting to make investments in IT equipment and services without the assistance of the IT department. This can cause problems for the person in the CIO position.

CIOs need to realize that the reason that CMOs are starting to expand into their territory is because marketing is becoming very digital. In order to accomplish everything that is expected of them, CMO need to rely on IT solutions. CIOs can prevent a shadow IT department being set up within the marketing department by working with the CMO to help them accomplish their goals.

The good news is that the company is starting to understand the importance of information technology. The bad news is that the CMO is the one who is getting all of the funding needed to build out the company's IT infrastructure. Take the time to become the CMOs best friend when it comes to solving the marketing department's IT challenges and you'll have found a way to keep the CIO relevant.

Dr. Jim Anderson

"America's #1 Unforgettable Business Communication Skills Coach"



Your Source For Real World IT Department Leadership Skills™

Dr. Jim Anderson has spent over 20 years consulting with a wide variety of IT firms from the very big to the very small. He provides you with his insights into the leadership needed to combine the separate worlds of business and IT strategy. His guidance offers hope to firms everywhere who are struggling with this challenge.

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What Google And YouTube Can Teach You About Training

A few days ago We ended up being having problems with my own pc. I won't bore an individual with all the details, We'll simply just explain earn money sorted the challenge. We Googled that. (Yes, I remember home buying whenever The search engines had not been the verb, or maybe a noun, but it really is now so i may possibly at the same time work with it). Along with one of many The search engines effects ended up being the Facebook video clip which often demonstrated myself the best way in order to straighten out the challenge We ended up being obtaining. I need to say, it won't generally perform.

From time to time We do not understand the solution that may be currently being discussed. From time to time that simply just does not handle the challenge. But, on this occasion, it had been very good and also We carried on with my own time, obtaining mastered something helpful in an short time. What can that coach you on about coaching? I do think that demonstrates many issues.

Education isn't about moving past with info to its unique cause. Anyone offer folks info for a goal, because it allows these to attain one thing -- to unravel a challenge, to try and do one thing much better, in order to respond diversely.

Preferably, you should offer folks coaching when they require it. That is what is considered known as "just within time" coaching. Generally, folks find "just within case" coaching -- this is a number of info you may need at some point sometime soon however, not right now. That is the almost coaching which often folks ignore pretty much promptly since they don't see the position or perhaps since they don't rub it swiftly after so that it does not remain.

What folks generally need isn't the details itself nevertheless to find out wherever they might have it when they require it. They desire to be able to understand conditions wherever they will find help and also know wherever that will help will be. They will should also become helped to be ingenious, not only spoon-fed responses.

Students may, and should, be given possibilities as to what these people understand. I understand organisations can not present anyone individualised mastering courses (although this really is additional possible today with a number of mastering technology), sometimes folks are routed with a study course in a very collection in concert, even though they might have various requirements. In this case, they might nevertheless be supplied a number of possibilities as to what these people understand and also offered alternatives about how precisely these people spend time. By way of example, with a Period Management study course, folks may be permitted to look at components pertaining to their very own distinct time operations difficulties, at the. g. working with e mail, when using the cell phone, get togethers -- they do not all ought to handle precisely the same matters.

Trainers must not find also fixated about mastering variations. When I want to understand one thing, We'll understand the doc, observe the video clip with Facebook or perhaps hear the podcast within the auto or perhaps with my own cell phone. We don't care too much concerning the method, I am able to accessibility the details I want within numerous methods. What is biggest will be which i find precisely what I want. No-one discovers within one of the ways, in the event we are determined to master we'll work with whatsoever method can be purchased.

Implementing Digital Strategies: Smarter, Faster, Better

It is no secret that the world of business is evolving at what can only be called a blistering pace. What worked yesterday may not function today and it could very well be outdated tomorrow. There is perhaps no better example of this modernization than in the world of evolving digital strategies. Of course, implementing a successful digital strategy to meet the core needs of any business can be easier said than done. This is the primary reason why the task is generally outsourced to professionals in the industry; they appreciate the bespoke needs and infrastructure of unique companies. So, what are some of the most effective tips to follow when one needs to finally enter into the digital domain? Let's take a closer look.

Internal Concerns
Just as any business is built from the ground up, we first need to consider how a digital transformation will affect the workplace. Will daily jobs be impacted by the use of digital tools? How much information will need to be stored in the cloud? Who will have access to this data and perhaps most importantly, how much training will need to take place in order to complete the transition? Identifying these variables will enable management to make sound decisions at the right times.

Support
In most cases, it is best to find a team of highly enthusiastic individuals that will act as "champions" in regards to your digital strategy. These players will offer the firm support which is necessary to begin the digital transition. As we are all aware, motivation within the business tends to be quite contagious. In turn, this will enable others to take an active interest in the change. It is also a good idea to create new roles within the company (Lead Digital Coordinator could be an example here). These roles will be attractive opportunities for those who are enthusiastic and astute; the exact type of personality that is ideal when entering the digital domain.

Understanding Approaches
Before actively implementing any digital strategy, it is important to appreciate which techniques are those that will be most attractive to the customers themselves. This will help to separate the business apart from competition which may still be lagging behind. Also, never forget that emerging technology is another critical factor. What may be considered state of the art today may very well not hold that title in the near future. Once the software and the approaches are determined, these need to be clearly communicated to all team leaders and stakeholders. Not only will this help to increase levels of inter-departmental accountability, but the strategies themselves will be much more functional as opposed to being handled piecemeal. Finally, clear communications will help you to determine the feedback from the customers. If a strategy seems not to be working, it can be changed before it becomes what could turn into a major issue.

Out With the Old?
Although the core operations of the business are not likely to change, embracing the digital world will likely lead to some modifications. For example, catering to a larger and more international client base within the virtual world could require office hours to be modified. As mobile apps increase client engagement, a larger CRM team could be required. The key takeaway here is that an organization needs to become streamlined in order for the end customer to obtain the best possible experience. Older top-down approaches may no longer work. Flexibility needs to be embraced within all teams. Communications are likely to become faster and thus, a centralized platform must remain in place to maintain control and cross-functional accountability.

Using Resources
So far, we have examined some of the basic methodologies that need to be embraced during the transition. Now, we need to look at execution. Keeping team structures in mind (IT, sales, marketing and finance), what resources are needed? For example, which demographic is likely to respond the best with this new strategy? How long will the product be in development before it becomes available to this buyer persona? How does a certain digital product or service resonate within this customer base? Not only will this enable the business to solidify their strategy, but all employees involved will be well aware of their discrete roles (a problem all too present within many companies that have recently undergone a digital shift).

Product Support
It is expected that any new digital product will come with its fair share of questions. Not only will these need to be addressed using in-house techniques meant for employees, but outbound and proactive customer support is vital. Of course, any such support structure should be in place well before the release date. This will also include the necessary training for the employees and any time frame should be built around the time it will take to develop a robust knowledge and support infrastructure. As there are so very many digital products within the marketplace, a business that lacks support is likely to lose valuable business while the customers will simply move on to a competitor.

Product Over Technology
The user cares more about the functionality of the product as opposed to the technology which it employs. In other words, user experiences will be the ultimate determinant as to which digital avenues the company should explore. Otherwise, what may very well be a novel service may fall upon deaf ears. In this sense, "the customer is always right" is still the best maxim. How functional is the product, when is it needed and which platforms will provide the best user experience? Understanding these metrics will enable the business to make the right decisions at the right time.

Accounting Differences That Are Essentially of Relevance to Management

INTRODUCTION

Background

When you hear of the word 'difference', there is naturally an impression that comes through the mind of an individual. The impression is that of a factor that causes a shift from the normal. A shift from the normal in the sense that, it connotes that something unusual from the normal has taken place. This difference could either be of addition or of subtraction. This study goes to narrow itself only to differences that causes imbalances in the financial affair of a business going concern which could be of great concern to users of accounting information with particular reference to management.

The importance of management can never be overemphasized in the daily affairs of the running of an entity. This is as a result of the function it plays in the day to day administration of a business. Some of the functions of the management is to properly harness the various factors of production and distribution that is required of a going concern to sustain its existence; which are Land, Capital and Labour. These mentioned factors specifically require the management of a capable business manager to properly manage in other to get the desired profit making goal which an entity is originally established to attain. In the regards of managing an entity, the duties and responsibilities of the management is so enormous such that it has to break itself into bits and constitute different departments headed by a supervisors to help monitor and oversee the affairs of the business so as not to allow for lapses. These supervisors are charged with the responsibilities of reporting to a superior head which could either be the all-in-all (proprietor) or could either be the next to transmit the findings of other supervisors to the owners of the business which could sometimes be the Board of directors or the shareholders themselves, depending on the structure of the organization.

It is equally the duty and responsibility of the Business manager to be able to gather facts and figures emanating from the day-to-day financial running of the business to be able to make result oriented and informed decisions as regards the future of the entity if it is to remain a going concern for long. Some of these differences could be either significant or insignificant. However, this research seeks to look at these differences from eight different perspectives.

SYSTEMATIC DIFFERENCES

These are differences occasioned by some systematic underlying causes. Causes may arise where differences may not be large enough to be individually meaningful to the company, they may become significant if accumulated or aggregated over time. Hence, it is common for managers, auditors and users of accounting information to track the aggregated amount and directions of differences. For example an interest rate of 24.95% against an interest rate of 25% could be argued by a customer who pays zero tolerance to the most insignificant difference to be the same as 25%, whereas a customer who sees the importance of the smallest difference in a long run to be significant would realize that the 0.5% difference could be of great difference when accumulated in a long run. If it is established that the differences are systematic, it is easier to find the root cause. If the root cause is determined, then the solution is just around the corner.

MATERIAL DIFFERENCES

These are differences that have dire and significant consequences to the financial statement. They are considered too obvious to the eyes of users of accounting information. This is as a result of its significance to the overall report. These types of differences are particularly significant to management. They are treated as very important due to the effect it could cause if its cause is not properly tamed on time. It is considered material due to its effect of the entire financial report. Steps are however advised to be taken in this regards to nips its effects in the bud. When an accounting error changes the interpretation of the company's results, it is important for management to quickly correct the error in a timely manner. In most cases it is advisable for the entity to reissue a restated version of its financial report.

UNEXPLAINED DIFFERENCES

Situations equally arise at times where some differences could occur without any explanation. These types of differences are of concern to management due to its venomous consequences in a long run when the cause of such an error that is more than inconsequential cannot be determined. In this regards, management is advised to conclude whether the error is an isolated occurrence (one-off) or if more undetected accounting differences could be embedded in the company's financial statements. This is however considered a Herculean task when the main or original difference cannot be explained. In this situation, management is encouraged to attempt to determine the maximum amount of possible error with the help of statistical techniques and solutions.

DIFFERENCES OCCASSIONED BY FRAUD

Fraud related issues are treated as very important when it occurs due to its very damaging characteristics. Accounting fraud either relates to fraudulent financial reporting or to misappropriation of assets and liabilities of the business entity. Management however treat as very important any accounting differences no matter how infinitesimal it may appear. If such issues are given zero tolerance, it could go a long way to being of significant advantage to management and the business by extension. Fraudulent financial declaration involves the intentional manipulation and distortion of company's financial records or financial report with the intention of misleading and covering up for some crimes or deficiencies. I.e. theft or misuse of company's resources. It is necessary that managers or users of financial reports demands to be more concerned about the differences that could arise from fraud as such differences could be a symptom of bigger problems to occur which could damage the corporate existence, culture, reputation, and integrity of such entity. This could also cause the company to violate the laws and regulations that establishes its incorporation. The end product of such could be outright withdrawal of operating license.

BANK RECONCILIATION DIFFERENCES

Situation arises where differences are necessitated by bank reconciliation related instances. For example deposit in transits and outstanding cheques could bring about conflicting figures in the books of accounts of an organization. A situation where what is recorded in the organization's books is a sharp contrast from what is obtainable from the records in the bank. These however are not differences with the intent to commit fraud. It is only a mis-normal which requires urgent steps to be taken to correct. However, if a deposit is made to the bank some time ago and still hasn't showed up in the bank's statements, management has a serious issue at hand. It means that the bank may have lost a deposit or made another mistake. In this situation, the likelihood of intent to commit fraud can not be completely ruled out as the deposit may have been diverted (stolen) before it reached the bank.

BUDGET RELATED DIFFERENCES

Variances in budget and actual numbers could equally be a major difference encountered by modern day managers when trying to balance the book of accounts. These differences are of grave importance to management especially if the difference is of large consequence. A budget can be described as a skeletal framework that a business is expected to follow to operate, reflecting the plans and strategies of the management for a certain period. Budgets are usually drafted on periodic basis. Management should learn to take with great concern when there is a contrast in actual revenue or expenses from the budget. For example if there short fall emanating from revenue from its expected, resulting in large variances, it is expected of management to cut down their expenses as quickly as possible.

ACCOUNTING MODULES RELATED DIFFERENCES

Computerization of accounting processes could bring about a conflict between accounting modules and the general ledger. This could be occasioned by wrong posting. For example, account payable or receivable module may show a total number that's different from the on in the general ledger. These differences are often as a result of journal entries made of the general ledger and not reflected in the module or they could be as a result of technical hitches that prevented posting in the general ledger. These are possibilities that can not be ruled out in the practice of accounting. However a corrective action plan for such an anomalies could require huge adjustments to the general ledger and in reports which are often relevant to managers who may require the assistance of the computer experts to resolve the problem or to set up an alternative procedure to ensure that such problems do not occur again in the future. The consequences of differences occasioned by this could be very disastrous in nature if not properly managed on time.

INVENTORY

These types of differences are prevalent in manufacturing firms. Inventories could bring about differences if not properly managed by a store keeper. It is however advised that management conducts physical inventory count or stock taking on periodic basis and compare that with the numbers in the accounting system. Any significant difference observed between the physical count and the numbers in the books should be reviewed properly by management to nip issues in the bud. Theft could be a possibility when the number items in the store house are fewer than those in the accounting system. This also can equally be occasioned by damaged items or other form of losses. The reason for variances must be properly established in other to be able to monitor obnoxious trends. A situation where the count shows more items than what is in the accounting system, could be a signal that items haven't actually been properly recorded in the system as it ought to have been or that there where returns that were not properly declared in the system.

RECOMMENDATION

It is advisable that all differences should be treated as very important no matter the size or effect on the financial statement. Efforts are however encouraged by management to be adopted to nip the ugly trend in the bud so as not to lead the organization into crisis. There must be a workable correct and preventive action plan put in place to forestall irregularities. The management should equally try and much as possible not to let their operations to be to cumbersome in nature and easily understandable by all and sundry involved in the success of the business as it has been established over time that lack of understanding of how a system or process operates have led to personnel doing what ought not to have been done which could amount to graves consequences in the long run.

Management is encouraged to avoid using instruments with technical deficiencies. E.g. Computers, Calculators etc. This could be a major factor in distorting facts. Once a working tool is considered not usable, or if its continuous use could bring about factual inefficiencies, it is advised that management disposes it off in other to work within the ambit of the required Service Level Agreement (SLA).

Advisable as well is for management to place in sensitive areas trustworthy individuals who would see themselves as trustees to the organization and hold integrity paramount especially in the accounting, procurement, store, sales and purchase department of any organization.

Why RITA Is What IT Managers Should Be Doing To Build Better Teams

As an IT manager you have always been looking for people that you would like to add to your team. However, once you've used you IT manager skills to find them, convinced them to join your team, and actually gotten then on board, what should your next step be? It turns out that the answer is RITA...

What Is RITA?

All too often IT managers think that all that they have to do in order to add great talent to their team is to find the right person and invite them to join. There is very little IT manager training that teaches us how to do this correctly. Sorry about this, there's more to building a great team than just finding the right people. There are four distinct steps to effectively adding someone to your team. The acronym RITA is a great reminder of just exactly what you need to do: Recruit, Induct, Train, and Assess.

With a little luck you and your company are already doing a good job of recruiting new people to join your team. If you find yourself agonizing over trying to decide between two equally highly qualified candidates, then your recruitment program is doing a good job. The next step is to induct the people that you select. Induction is how you share your team's culture with new recruits. Culture is what drives people's actions when you're not watching them.

The next step is to train your new recruits. The ultimate goal of your training needs to be to let the new members of your team know how you want them to behave. If you don't tell them, then they'll never know.

How Do You Get People To Really Join Your Team?

When someone agrees to become part of your team, that's a good start. However, as an IT manager what you want them to do is to fully commit to joining the team. What's it going to take to make this happen?

An important part of any new team member training program is to assign them a mentor. Having a mentor gives them someone that they can come to and talk confidentially with about any challenges that they are running into as they work to join the team. Additionally, any new member training program has to include some IT team building activities so that new and old team members can mix and meet.

I've always agreed with the saying that "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." As an IT manager you need to understand that when it comes to your new recruits it is going to be much easier for you to make corrections and keep the team's culture on track than to try to replace a wrong culture. After someone has been a member of your team for three months take a step back and ask yourself if they are truly on board or do you have more work to do here?

What Does All Of This Mean For You?

IT managers need to understand that just attracting people to join their team is not enough. They need to go the extra distance and actually make the new people part of their team after they have joined. This is not easy to do.

The experts recommend that we implement the RITA method: recruit, induct, train, and assess. In order to make new members of your team feel as though they belong, you are going to have tell them what you want them to be doing and provide them with mentors.

If you are thinking that all of this onboarding sounds like a lot of effort, you are correct. However, taking the time to make it happen now will yield fantastic results later on. Use the RITA method to build a great team!

Three Ways To Be A Better Manager

Managers often find themselves wondering what went wrong. There was a plan, and everyone needed to do his or her part, but it didn't work out. The first inclination is to start blaming individual employees or the entire team.

"They didn't do what they were supposed to do."

"Sally didn't buy in to the plan."

"Roger is lazy."

When something goes wrong, it's easy for the manager to point the finger, but often times, the blame lies with the manager. Sure, there was a plan, but did everyone understand it? The manager may have sat through a dozen meetings and understood every detail, but the employees didn't have that luxury. All they had was what their direct supervisor told them, which turns out, wasn't that much.

Assumptions were made by the manager and employees were left to interpret goals and how to get there on their own. Others, demoralized by yet another confusing initiative, simply gave up or focused on tasks that were better defined. It wasn't that they wanted to fail, they just didn't know what to do.

Further compounding the problem are a few employees who openly defied direct instructions and nothing was done. This told everyone that they were free to do whatever they wanted and there would be no ramifications for their actions - as well as emphasizing the plan wasn't that important.

To be an effective manager, one of the most important things you can do is set expectations, clearly communicate those expectations and then hold people accountable to them. Regardless of the scale of your plan or goal, these rules apply. Without them, a manager has to hope everything comes together. But if you are going to rely on hope, what's the point of having a manager - you - in the first place?

Let's take a look at these rules in more detail.

Determine expectations. If it's a larger corporate plan, these may have been determined for you. If it's your plan or goal, you will need to make sure you are clear on what you want done and what the end result looks like. If you don't know what the goal is, how are your employees supposed to figure it out? If the plan comes from someone else, spend as much time as necessary to make sure you understand all the components and what your team's role is. Similarly, if you are developing the goals, make sure you leave nothing open to interpretation.

Clearly communicate expectations. This is where things typically fall apart. Everything is clear in your mind and you tell your team what the goal is and when the work needs to be done. Unfortunately, you are looking at things from your perspective and don't realize you've left out key bits of information. To make sure everyone is working together, it's important to communicate the entire plan and explain the goals to the whole team, even if that person or subgroup is only handling a part of the plan. This will put everything in context for them and help them understand how their piece fits in to the rest. It will also help them feel a part of something bigger, which will help build teamwork and morale.

When you are communicating expectations, use direct language. If you need a report by next Wednesday, don't say, "I need that report whenever you can get around to it." That leaves the due date open to interpretation and the employee may have other priorities they put ahead of that report, making it late. Instead, say "I need that report no later than noon on Wednesday." Saying it this way makes it absolutely clear to the employee when the due date is. For longer-term goals, check in periodically to make sure the employee understood you correctly and is on the right track. It's better to catch-and-correct early in the process and not the day before everything needs to be finalized.

If you are assigning something to a team, designate a team leader and make them accountable for all deliverables. Otherwise, members of the team may think the other members are taking care of the details. Always make sure someone is in charge of the final delivery of every item. Rotating these team leader positions is also a great way to evaluate talent and keep those hungry for chances to prove themselves happy.

Hold people accountable. This can be the toughest part of being a manager. If someone isn't doing their part during a project, you need to sit down and have a face-to-face meeting. Don't email them about the problem! In the meeting, repeat the expectations you set and the directions they were given. Explain the importance of everyone doing their part and ask the employee why the work wasn't done on time or the way it was supposed to be done (depending on the issue). At the end of the discussion, inform the employee that you will send a written summary of the meeting to use as future reference. This will give both of you a written record of the meeting. Depending on the severity of the transgression, you may need to take disciplinary action at this time.

In the meeting, be open-minded. You may have failed to properly explain what was expected or left it open to interpretation. If that's the case, don't hide from it. Tell the employee that you didn't intend it that way, but you can see who that would be the case and apologize for not being more clear. Thank them for their efforts and tell them you will try to do a better job the next time of being more clear with the specific expectations. Never be afraid to admit a mistake. As a manager, this builds respect from your team.

Being a manager is a daily challenge. If you want to create a high-performing team that consistently hits deadlines and achieves goals, start by focusing on expectations. When you know what you want, clearly communicate that and hold people accountable, you'll find that all parties are happier and more productive.