If you haven't checked their website before, they have a great collection of products - and their videos are great too. Not a shill for them, just really think they do cool takes on stuff! Even BP!
David
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RefBan
Friday, July 23, 2010
Despair.com - Bringing New Meanings - and Laughs - to Management Concepts
Kudos to our friends at the great site Despair.com (http://www.despair.com/) (and yes, they sell cool stuff, too)! Here's the results of their latest make=up a caption for these pics, and their contributors outdid themselves. See below for a LOL moment!
If you haven't checked their website before, they have a great collection of products - and their videos are great too. Not a shill for them, just really think they do cool takes on stuff! Even BP!
David
++++++++++++++++++++++
If you haven't checked their website before, they have a great collection of products - and their videos are great too. Not a shill for them, just really think they do cool takes on stuff! Even BP!
David
++++++++++++++++++++++
Top Ten Management on The Contingency Approach: An Overview of Why The Ultimate Answer to any Managerial Issue is - It Depends
Image via WikipediaThis overview of The Contingency Approach to Management was prepared by Andrew Easley while a Business major in the College of Business at Southeastern Louisiana University.
Introduction
This article is an explanation of how the contingency approach and its management principles effect and stimulate businesses. It is a report about how styles of management can incorporate one company, but may not be suitable for another. Also how the broad understanding of management cannot be simply categorized as one item that will work 100% of the time. This approach allows management styles to be flexible and adapt to the changes in the environment around it.
The Idea in a Nutshell
The original idea in a nutshell was that management principles where to be universally applicable for all situations. Thus bringing about the contingency approach, this states that organizations differ, are proposed with different situations, and require different types of management styles. If you were to try and sum up the contingency approach in a nutshell you would be left with no simplistic or universal rule to follow for this type of management. This concept leaves the manger up to the task of trying to determine what type of management will work best with their situation.
The Top Ten Things You Need to Know About The Contingency Approach
1. The contingency approach was brought about in the late 1950’s after thinkers who proposed that their approach was inflexible to future changes and challenged the management principles of Henri Fayol and Frederick Taylor.
2. Fred Fiedler, an early adaptor of the contingency approach suggested that leadership styles would vary depending on the situations they were placed. For example the task they were given, the trust from subordinates, and the authority granted to the manager.
3. Location of an organization is going to have adverse effects on the management principles used. If a company decides to expand its reach across the county it’s going to have to change the way it manages its people and environment from one location to the next.
4. Management of an individual is always going to be different in terms of what their idea of growth and exceptions are for themselves. Managers will have to take that into account and then decide the proper way to lead and motive that individual.
5. Environmental uncertainty plays a big factor in the contingency approach, with the ever-changing surroundings management styles must be flexible and able to adapt to things around it. Management ideas cannot be set in stone and expect to survive.
6. A good way to look at the contingency approach is with an “if, then” attitude. Start by saying “If this is my situation, then this is the best way for me to manage it.” With this sort of management style you have to rely on what you know, can figure out, and determine how to solve the problem.
7. Work place technology is ever changing and managers have to be able to adapt and respond to the changes. The way you manage a company that relies heavily on technology, such as tracking and shipping orders will not be the same as a company that uses technology as a sole purpose to send emails.
8. Diversity with clients and employees is going to always demand different forms of management techniques. Whether it is cultural or ethnicity, special care is going to be needed to manage the different individuals.
9. Size of an organization can have an effect on the way it needs to be managed. An example would be of a group of 20 people who may require an informal management approach, where as a group 1,000 people tend to be formal.
10. Managing for the future demands contingency planning. Management styles have to be able to adapt to an ever-changing future. What may work now in this current economic climate may not in the future and management philosophies must be able to adjust.
The Video Lounge
J.T. Allen, the interviewee in the video, talks about how he and his company use contingency planning to help him manage for unexpected future events.
My Take
The contingency approach is an understanding that management cannot be summed up by one perfect management style. Managers have to be able to adapt to many different situations that affect them and their work place on a daily basis. The method is still valid in today’s every changing workplace and will continue to be as long as managers are needed.
References
“Contingency Approach to Management.” Encyclopedia of Management. Ed. Marilyn M. Helms. Gale Cengage, 2006. eNotes.com. 2006. 26 Jun, 2010 http://www.enotes.com/management-encyclopedia/contingency-approach-management.
Coulter, Mary, and Stephen P. Robbins. Management. 10th. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson, 2009.
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To contact the author of “Top Ten Management on the Contingency Approach,” please email Andrew Easley at Andrew.Easley-2@selu.edu.
BIOGRAPHY
David C. Wyld (dwyld.kwu@gmail.com) is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. His blog, Wyld About Business, can be viewed at http://wyld-business.blogspot.com/. He also maintains compilations of his student’s publications regarding management concepts (http://toptenmanagement.blogspot.com/), book reviews (http://wyld-about-books.blogspot.com/), international foods (http://wyld-about-food.blogspot.com/).
AN INVITATION TO WORK WITH US, TODAY!
If you enjoyed this publication, why not make one of your own with us! Are you a college or university student from anywhere in the world who would be interested in publishing your work in an edited online journal appropriate to your topic? Such a move can help put muscle into your resume and make a great impression on potential employers and graduate schools (and needless to say – and perhaps most importantly in the age in which we live – likely be the first thing that companies/universities view about you when “Googling” you)! If so, we can help you get that first publication for free (and more if you desire)! Visit Wyld Publishing Services (http://wyldpublishingservice.yolasite.com/) for details. We can work with you to publish your quality essays, research articles/papers, reviews, etc. – and even audio and visual media and PowerPoint presentations – given our network of edited publications and relationship with publishers around the world who want to work with you and your work. Contact us today to get your work published at dwyld.kwu@gmail.com.
Read more:
Top Ten Management on The Contingency Approach: An Overview of Why The Ultimate Answer to any Managerial Issue is - It Depends
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Top Ten Management on The Contingency Approach: An Overview of Why The Ultimate Answer to any Managerial Issue is - It Depends
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You Can't Fight Moore's Law: Why Price Deterioration Means That Reverse Auctions Make Sense and Produce Savings in The Acquisition of Information Technology Resources
Image via WikipediaWant more evidence of why reverse auctions are especially suitable for information technology acquisitions – especially in comparison to long-term, fixed price contracts? Look to the experience of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Introduction
Here is a quick analysis of a great piece that is hot off the presses from our friends at Contract Management magazine. Written by Lenn Vincent, who is the Industry Chair at Defense Acquisition University, this article chronicles how the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), under the leadership of Soraya Correa, who serves as the Director of DHS’s Office of Procurement Operations (OPO), has secured millions of dollars in price savings, achieved important process improvements and improved transparency in the process. You can read the full article here below:
“Moore” Money: How the Department of Homeland Security Captures Big Savings from Falling IT Prices
“Price Deterioration”
So what is price deterioration? Well, think of it this way – what happens every time you buy a new computer, a new flat-screen TV, a new electronic or computing anything. You know that wherever you ordered if from on the Interweb or what store you bought it from (even on “Black Friday”), you can rest assured that at some point in the not too distant future – the next quarter, the next month, the next week, heck, even tomorrow – that item can be bought at a lower price. The same thing happens to every organization – public or private – that enters into a year-long or multi-year purchasing contract in place for its information technology needs. The Defense Acquisition University’s Lenn Vincent, the author of the Contract Management article, described the impact of price deterioration on federal agencies in the following manner:
What is price deterioration? Put simply, long-term contracts, which have been foundational to the concept of strategic sourcing for years, provide perceived value by locking in an initially aggressive pricing structure. The downside is a minimal ability to capture future savings as IT items are refreshed and obsolescence drives real-market pricing lower. This can result in the U.S. government paying too much for its IT purchases, even within months after contract award.
So what was the experience at DHS? The Director of DHS’s Office of Procurement Operations, Soraya Correa, reports that in Fiscal Year 2009, the agency saved $27 million dollars on its IT acquisitions working with FedBid’s online marketplace for reverse auctions. The change to reverse auctions not only brought documented cost savings through increased competition and real-time market prices to IT procurement, but it also helped DHS achieve process efficiencies. For example, the shift to using FedBid’s online marketplace brought about an over 15% decrease in the lead times necessary for IT acquisitions to take place. In recognition for the change in procurement practices she spearheaded at DHS-OPO, Ms. Correa has been recognized with the Chief Acquisition Officers Council’s 2010 Acquisition Excellence Award and a 2010 Federal 100 award.
Analysis
So clearly, the DHS experience shows that real-time pricing through reverse auctions is better than long-term, fixed price agreements in acquiring IT resources. Thus, every procurement executive at every organization should recognize that long-term contracts may be good for acquiring a variety of goods and services, but as Vincent pointed-out, Moore’s Law (which in a nutshell holds that computing power will grow very quickly, and yet, grow increasingly cheaper over time – learn more at Moore’s Law) means exactly the opposite when it comes to the information technology area. Indeed, long-term contracts for IT will mean unnecessary, wasteful expenditures on what technology that may not be state-of-the art – even obsolete – when IT resources are bought through these contractual relationships that have become standard at all levels of government and in many large, private sector organizations. As the case study of DHS shows, reverse auctions can enable organizations anywhere to take advantage of Moore’s law to not only save money and time in their IT acquisitions, but to secure newer and better technology for their employees.
Would you like to learn more about how reverse auction-based procurement can help save your organization time and money on not just your information technology acquisitions, but produce savings across the scope of your purchasing? Contact us here at the Reverse Auction Research Center (http://reverseauctionresearch.blogspot.com/) today to learn more.
Here is a quick analysis of a great piece that is hot off the presses from our friends at Contract Management magazine. Written by Lenn Vincent, who is the Industry Chair at Defense Acquisition University, this article chronicles how the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), under the leadership of Soraya Correa, who serves as the Director of DHS’s Office of Procurement Operations (OPO), has secured millions of dollars in price savings, achieved important process improvements and improved transparency in the process. You can read the full article here below:
“Moore” Money: How the Department of Homeland Security Captures Big Savings from Falling IT Prices
http://www.ncmahq.org/publications/CMMArticleDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=7496
This Contract Management article should be a must read for all procurement and IT execs, in government at any level and indeed, in the private sector as well. As shown in the case study of the Department of Homeland Security and Vienna, Virgina-based FedBid, Inc. (http://www.fedbid.com/), the private sector partner who provides DHS access to its online marketplace and large network of vendors, all organizations should question the use of long-term contract to acquire all forms of IT resources – hardware, software, networking. Why? Namely because of a phenomenon known as “price deterioration.”
This Contract Management article should be a must read for all procurement and IT execs, in government at any level and indeed, in the private sector as well. As shown in the case study of the Department of Homeland Security and Vienna, Virgina-based FedBid, Inc. (http://www.fedbid.com/), the private sector partner who provides DHS access to its online marketplace and large network of vendors, all organizations should question the use of long-term contract to acquire all forms of IT resources – hardware, software, networking. Why? Namely because of a phenomenon known as “price deterioration.”
“Price Deterioration”
So what is price deterioration? Well, think of it this way – what happens every time you buy a new computer, a new flat-screen TV, a new electronic or computing anything. You know that wherever you ordered if from on the Interweb or what store you bought it from (even on “Black Friday”), you can rest assured that at some point in the not too distant future – the next quarter, the next month, the next week, heck, even tomorrow – that item can be bought at a lower price. The same thing happens to every organization – public or private – that enters into a year-long or multi-year purchasing contract in place for its information technology needs. The Defense Acquisition University’s Lenn Vincent, the author of the Contract Management article, described the impact of price deterioration on federal agencies in the following manner:
What is price deterioration? Put simply, long-term contracts, which have been foundational to the concept of strategic sourcing for years, provide perceived value by locking in an initially aggressive pricing structure. The downside is a minimal ability to capture future savings as IT items are refreshed and obsolescence drives real-market pricing lower. This can result in the U.S. government paying too much for its IT purchases, even within months after contract award.
So what was the experience at DHS? The Director of DHS’s Office of Procurement Operations, Soraya Correa, reports that in Fiscal Year 2009, the agency saved $27 million dollars on its IT acquisitions working with FedBid’s online marketplace for reverse auctions. The change to reverse auctions not only brought documented cost savings through increased competition and real-time market prices to IT procurement, but it also helped DHS achieve process efficiencies. For example, the shift to using FedBid’s online marketplace brought about an over 15% decrease in the lead times necessary for IT acquisitions to take place. In recognition for the change in procurement practices she spearheaded at DHS-OPO, Ms. Correa has been recognized with the Chief Acquisition Officers Council’s 2010 Acquisition Excellence Award and a 2010 Federal 100 award.
Analysis
So clearly, the DHS experience shows that real-time pricing through reverse auctions is better than long-term, fixed price agreements in acquiring IT resources. Thus, every procurement executive at every organization should recognize that long-term contracts may be good for acquiring a variety of goods and services, but as Vincent pointed-out, Moore’s Law (which in a nutshell holds that computing power will grow very quickly, and yet, grow increasingly cheaper over time – learn more at Moore’s Law) means exactly the opposite when it comes to the information technology area. Indeed, long-term contracts for IT will mean unnecessary, wasteful expenditures on what technology that may not be state-of-the art – even obsolete – when IT resources are bought through these contractual relationships that have become standard at all levels of government and in many large, private sector organizations. As the case study of DHS shows, reverse auctions can enable organizations anywhere to take advantage of Moore’s law to not only save money and time in their IT acquisitions, but to secure newer and better technology for their employees.
Would you like to learn more about how reverse auction-based procurement can help save your organization time and money on not just your information technology acquisitions, but produce savings across the scope of your purchasing? Contact us here at the Reverse Auction Research Center (http://reverseauctionresearch.blogspot.com/) today to learn more.
BIOGRAPHY
David C. Wyld (dwyld.kwu@gmail.com) is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. His blog, Wyld About Business, can be viewed at http://wyld-business.blogspot.com/. He also serves as the Director of the Reverse Auction Research Center (http://reverseauctionresearch.blogspot.com/), a hub of research and news in the expanding world of competitive bidding. Dr. Wyld also maintains compilations of his student’s publications regarding management concepts (http://toptenmanagement.blogspot.com/), book reviews (http://wyld-about-books.blogspot.com/) and international foods (http://wyld-about-food.blogspot.com/).
Read more:
You Can't Fight Moore's Law: Why Price Deterioration Means That Reverse Auctions Make Sense and Produce Savings in The Acquisition of Information Technology Resources
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You Can't Fight Moore's Law: Why Price Deterioration Means That Reverse Auctions Make Sense and Produce Savings in The Acquisition of Information Technology Resources
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