Job Enlargement – Definition, Benefits and Differences with Job Enrichment

Job enlargement is a job design technique wherein there is an increase in the number of tasks associated with a certain job. In other words, it means increasing the scope of one’s duties and responsibilities. The increase in scope is quantitative in nature and not qualitative and at the same level. Job enlargement is a horizontal restructuring method that aims at increase in the workforce flexibility and at the same time reducing monotony that may creep up over a period of time. It is also known as horizontal loading in that the responsibilities increase at the same level and not vertically. Many believe that since the enlargement is horizontal in nature there is not a great need for training! Contrary to this, job enlargement requires appropriate training especially on time and people management. Task related training is not required much since the person is already aware of the same or Continue reading

Important Soft Skills for Workplace Success

Soft skills are essentially people skills – the non-technical, intangible, personality-specific skills that determine one’s strengths as a leader, speaker, listener, negotiator, and conflict mediator. It means skills related to human attitude, team work, leadership qualities, over all human nature enhancements. Soft skills thus is a sociological term relating to a person’s “EQ” (Emotional Intelligence Quotient), the cluster of personality traits, social graces, communication, language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that characterize relationships with other people. They are, in many instances, complementary, and serve to unlock the potential for highly effective performance in people qualified with the requisite hard skills. In broader terms soft skills is a range of abilities including work ethics, courtesy, teamwork, self-discipline and self-confidence, professional presence, language proficiency, cultural sensitivity, communication skills, ability to accept and learn from criticism, ability to handle client relationships, networking, creativity, ability to motivate yourself and lead others, time management, leadership Continue reading

Case Study: TQM Initiatives by Carcom

‘Carcom’ is a supplier of automotive safety components employing around 700 staff which is located on two sites in Northern Ireland. The company was originally American owned but after a joint venture with Japanese partner in the late 1980s, it was eventually bought out by the latter. The quality initiative began in 1988-89 with a five-year plan based on the Kaizen philosophy, this concept having been picked up from the Japanese partner. This was driven by senior management in response to what they saw as increasing customer demand and operating considerations. The achievement of ISO 9001 registration in 1990 brought together processes carried out by departments which had previously been undertaken in isolation. The company is now focusing on Kaizen with the principles of improvement, customer delight, systems focus and participation. A range of quality management tools and techniques are used. A TQM steering committee is responsible for overall direction Continue reading

Convergence of Accounting Standards

The emergence of the accounting standards has been beneficial for the companies and the investors of the companies. The accounting standards help in the presentation of the financial information of the company in a format that can be understood by the investors of the companies. The investors of the companies are interested in the performance of the company and the financial results are referred to analyze the results. Therefore, the companies must be able to communicate information that is useful for the investors and the other related parties. The emergence of the standards has been helpful in introducing uniformity of the presentation in the companies. The investors have been benefited by the clarity of the information and the scope of the information. In the case of the companies, the management is able to garner more investments form the investors because of the clarity of the information. The clarity of the Continue reading

The Political Environment Concept in Marketing

The political environment can be one of the less predictable elements in an organization’s marketing environment. Marketers need to monitor the changing political environment because political change can profoundly affect a firm’s marketing. Consider the following effects of politicians on marketing. At the most general level, the stability of the political system affects the attractiveness of a particular national market. While western Europe is generally politically stable, the instability of many governments in less developed countries has led a number of companies to question the wisdom of marketing in those countries. Governments pass legislation that directly and indirectly affects firms’ marketing opportunities. There are many examples of the direct effects on marketers, for example laws giving consumers rights against the seller of faulty goods. At other times the effects of legislative changes are less direct, as where legislation outlawing anti- competitive practices changes the nature of competition between firms within Continue reading

Project Scope Management

Scope is the description of the boundaries of the project. It defines what the project will deliver and what it will not deliver. Scope is the view all stakeholders have from the project; it is a definition of the limits of the project. Project Scope Management includes the processes required to ensure that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required to complete the project successfully. Project scope management’s primary concern is with defining and controlling what is and is not included in the project. One of the leading causes for project failures is poor management of the project scope, either because the project manager did not spend enough time defining the work, there was not an agreement on the scope by stakeholders, or there was a lack of scope management which leads to adding work not authorized or budgeted to the project, this is known Continue reading