Administer your Business

Every now and then you come across something new which really makes sense. Recently I attended a lecture given by a member of the new Order of Professional Administrators of Quebec. He presented a concept which was new to me and which I really liked.

The concept is based on ISO standards so something similar may be found there. As well, since we were in Montreal, Quebec, the presentation was in French so my translations may not be completely accurate. Still, I think you may find this useful.

Think of a three-dimensional cube. Along the length, mark off four parts and call them Marketing, Production, Finances and Human Resources. These are the areas of activity of a company.

Along the height, mark off five parts and call them Planning, Organizing, Directing, Controlling and coordinating. These are the components of management of a company.

Along the width, mark off six parts and call them Transparency, Continuity, Efficiency, Equilibrium, Equity and Selflessness. These are the qualities which define good management and good operations.

Now you are ready to get to work. There's a problem in Production. What has failed? Has it been poor planning? Is the work badly organized? Ah, there is a lack of direction - the employees don't know what to do. Why don't they know? Is it lack of transparency so that they don't understand the instructions? Is it lack of continuity in their instructions? Or is it lack of equity in that the instructions are not the same or don't have the same meaning for everyone?

It is easy to see how this cube can be a powerful tool in troubleshooting any problems with your business. Drop me an e-mail if you use or have seen something similar.

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