TrainingZONE Glossary: Six thinking hats
Six thinking hats Definition: The concepts of ‘six thinking hats’, and more recently, ‘six thinking shoes’, were expounded by Edward de Bono in two books of the same names published in 1988 and 1991.De Bono is well known for the development of his lateral thinking approaches to problem solving. In order to successfully tackle problems, […]
Performance without appraisal
John Seddon of Vanguard Education looks at whether, rather than holding an employee accountable for their actions, we should be looking at the role organisational systems play in determining the outcome of appraisals. Performance appraisal is on the up and up. It used to represent the one time of the year when getting on with […]
Daily Mail: Ford forced to scrap assessment scheme
The Daily Mail reports that the Ford car company has been forced to withdraw a controversial staff assessment process which allegedly threatened to dismiss or freeze the pay of managers receiving the lowest ‘grades’.The paper says that 18,000 Ford management employees around the world had taken part in the new assessment scheme, which allocated gradings […]
Council for Excellence in Management and Leadership: Initial findings
The Council for Excellence in Managment and Leadership has published its first major report into developing and meeting the needs of managers and leaders in the workplace. The Council, which was established last April, was set up to look at management and leadership issues is a joint initiative by the then Department for Education and […]
Interview of the month: Dr Meredith Belbin
Dr. Meredith Belbin has been renowned for his work on teamwork in the workplace for many years. His research into what makes for a successful team began over 20 years ago and included nine years study at the Henley Management College. During this time, Belbin and his team of researchers studied the behaviour of managers […]
Appraisal in the news
US performance appraisal specialists The Zigon Performance Group regularly trawl the web for useful appraisal-related stories. Performance Management in the News features a regularly-updated store of articles categorised by topics such as unions, 360 degree feedback, legal issues and design of appraisal systems, together with some sector-specific case studies for sales and healthcare.Articles they’ve found […]
ISM launches annual search for excellent team leaders
The Institute for Supervision and Management is looking for the best examples of achievement from first line managers and team leaders in the UK to be nominated for the 2001 Lord Oxfuirds Awards for Excellence. The annual Awards for Excellence competition is for practising first line managers or team leaders from any organisation, whether in […]
Where’s the F in leader?
This article submitted by David Williams, Managing Director GNP Ltd The North East Quality Group have been considering the key qualities of leadership. They recently invited me to share my reflections on the leadership traits that emerged from our Top Team 2000 competition, which involved 30 organisations of various sizes and types across the region.Preparing […]
The seven habits of highly ineffective people
<img src="/sites/default/files/siftmedia-photolib-logo_ftdynamo.gif" border=0 alt="FT dynamo" This article is submitted by FTdynamo.com, a management information resource recently launched to bring together articles and features on management thinking. The UK’s Channel Four recently aired a programme, “Living by the book”, which featured two families attempting to live their lives according to the dictates of the management guru […]
New working structures? We’ve never had it so bad…
Flexible working, teleconferencing, flatter working structures…the world would seem to be becoming a brighter place for today’s manager. Not so, says a new study from research organisation Roffey Park, which reveals that managers are struggling to cope with the pace of working life at the beginning of the 21st century.Caroline Glynn and Linda Holbeche, researchers […]
First accredited Online CPD Business School launches here
Value Projects Ltd. Partners With Sift, Professional Cyber-Community Leader, and University of Action Learning to Create the First CPD Business SchoolValue Projects has partnered with Sift, leading online builder of professional communities including TrainingZONE, HR Zone and AccountingWeb. Sift’s 190,000-member strong marketplace offer a wealth of industry specific information which will now be enhanced by […]
Flexible working is a boon for senior managers, says Industrial Society
The Industrial Society reports that employees who benefit from flexible working practices show significantly better performance than those working a traditional 9-to-5 schedule.The study, commissioned by the Society and flexible work company The Resource Connection, finds in particular that senior managers, who have traditionally been prevented from switching to flexi-time, reduced hours working or working […]
Management information resources on the web
Two new websites have launched in the last few weeks offering information resources for those interested in management thinking.FTdynamo, part of business education provider FT Knowledge, bills itself as a ‘management portal’ and aims to bring together ‘the latest business and management theory and practice’. ManagementFirst.com is also offering “opportunities to increase your knowledge within […]
‘Booming economies are not all good news’ – HRWire
Mental health problems are on the increase worldwide, according to a recent international study. Depression, anxiety and sleep disorders are rampant in the workplace. This week’s HRWire explores the cost to employers of this stressful trend and what actions to take to minimize workplace disruption and support your employees.http://www.hr-esource.com/requestBroker.asp?action=freenews&productid=hrwir/hrwir-2 Mental health problems are on the […]
Developing effective IT people
In an article written by Gerry Dodd in this months inside learning technologies magazine, he examined the problems that industry are faced with because of a shortage of suitably qualified people in both business and IT skills.Many problems that faced IT departments in the past were that they contained the appropriately skilled IT personnel, however […]
Good people management really can improve business profitability
Speaking at the CIPD National Conference today, researchers outlined new research which establishes a link between good people management and improved business performance.Two different research teams led by Prof David Guest of Kings College London and Prof John Purcell of Bath University used both previous studies and their own research to demonstrate the association between […]
Online Workshop Report: New leadership paradigms
This is the transcript from the TrainingZONE online workshop led by Michael MallowsMichael Mallows on Tuesday 17 October 2000 on the topic of New Leadership Paradigms. Stephanie Phillips: Hi Michael. Our workshop host will be here shortly.Paul D: Good afternoonStephanie Phillips: Hi all. Our workshop host will be here shortly.Michael Holland: Hello Stephanie, I’m Michael […]
’21 Ways to Improve Appraisals’ by Dick Barton
Title: 21 ways to improve appraisalsAuthors: Dick BartonPublisher: Dick Barton Price: £6, falling to£3 as the quantity ordered increasesPublication: July 2000This is the third book in the “21 ways to…” series, previous volumes addressing meeting your personal development needs, improving your meetings and making the most of your time. As the title suggests this is […]
Principles of planning
This article was contributed by Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, who is a professional speaker specialising in time management. The old adage reminds us that “People don’t plan to fail but a lot of people do fail to plan.” During a war, we find a tank operator and a general. Which function is more important? It […]
To train or not to train? On performance issues and task analysis
An article on USA site Pro2Net reminds us that training is not the be all and end all when dealing with performance issues.To Train Or Not To Train, by Michael S. Grollman argues that problems with handling performance issues can often be traced to managers failing to understand what their employees actually do.The reason for […]