Archive for September, 2009

Alternative trading systems and organization

Fair trade is a relatively old phenomenon that presents an alternate trading system, which facilitates small scale producers and workers (mainly from undeveloped countries), so that they can sell their products in the developed markets without being duped by the middleman or the capitalist who pay these workers the smallest amount but sells the product to consumers at a hefty price. At the end of the day, it is the middlemen or industrialist, who takes home the larger profits while the real worker is left with little or no opportunities to grow, which is quite unfair. For that reason a fair trading system has been introduced that tends to be directed more by socialist viewpoint than the capitalist.

Alternative Trade Organizations:

Fair trade (also known as alternative trade) calls for market access for low level producers, so that they’ll be able to sell their products at reasonable price. This is what these alternative trade organizations (or fair trade organizations) works for. Fair trade movement, which was started back in 1940’s, was initially based on religious or ethical commandments. With the passage of time, as more and more people including NGO’s and students joined in the cause, it is now becoming more and more popular especially in Europe and North America. For the reason that it’s not only the worker who benefits, but the whole society, especially the consumers who will be paying fair price.
Read more…

An insight into the Path Goal Theory for leading your workforce

In the past ten years or so, we have seen an abundance of new management theories/models being introduced. However, there’s no management theory that’s worth calling a perfect one, also it is practically impossible for all managers to try and apply each of them. Does that mean, a manager should pay no attention to these theories? Well, the answer is in negative, for most of these models are laid down by successful managers or erudite scholars. Therefore, you must go through all of them once in a while, for the sake of learning one thing or two, even if you are not looking to adapt.

One of these management theories is referred to as the “Path-Goal theory of leadership” that has been jotted down by Robert House. In simple words, the theory describes the role of managers in setting goals and then laying down a roadmap to reach there, more importantly it discusses four different types of approaches that a manager could use according to different circumstances. The theory is a good reminder of the fact that management is much more than hiring and firing employees, or maintaining discipline in the office. The job doesn’t end on stating the desired results and pointing towards the resources; it actually starts from that point and remains a manager’s duty to support, motivate and guide his/her workers all the way through.
Read more…

Checklist for organizing successful meetings

Company meetings are meant to be highly informative, problem-solving and solution-providing events, however most of the times these meetings end without accomplishing any of these targets. That is why many people consider these meetings as a waste of time, for them participating in the meeting is nothing but an obligation that doesn’t make any sense to them. For all these reasons, as a chairperson or someone who’s looking into the task of organizing a company meeting, you need to take care of these points, in order to turn it into a constructive and valuable experience for participants.

Purpose of the meeting:

As earlier mentioned, all meetings are supposed to have a clear purpose; these are not mere gatherings where some employees spend some time sitting around the table and crack jokes at each other. For example, some meetings are meant for informational objectives like holding a meeting to explain some policy that has recently being implemented, or to pass out instructions for the use of some newly introduced technology. Another likely purpose could be to analyze or get to the bottom of some problem. The person who is named as the chairperson must have an unmistakable idea on what the meeting is all about.
Read more…

Choosing the right bank for international trade

International exporters need the services of banks or financial institutions at many stages of their trading business. They need loan to help with initial setup, they need financing for production phase, and they need the services of banks to make or receive payments (letter of credit, wire transfer, etc), they can avail lots of other services like online banking, small business loans, credit cards, etc. When deciding on your bank you should consider following points carefully, because you can’t keep changing your bank often.

Interest Rates and Service Fee:

Normally, there’s not much difference between interest rates offered by various banks operating in the same market and circumstances, mainly because of cut throat competition. However, that doesn’t mean you should completely ignore the small differences at hand. Similarly, banks charge different fees for different services, if you have a clear idea of the services you are going to avail, you can easily decide on the most suitable bank. Banks have to rely on these service charges and fees for their profits, but you must make sure that you are not getting ripped off by your personal bank.
Read more…

Choosing the right Freight forwarding agency

Many small businesses (or those who have just started) find it extremely hard to go through the frustrating procedures of documentation, legalities and clearance, that unfortunately, is a must in all types of international trade. There are quite a number of fronts to handle, and more often than not you find yourself trapped in these time-consuming tasks, when you should be working on the more important ones like marketing, communicating with clients and finalizing new business deals. As a small business, you are left with two options, either hire more staff for these jobs or outsource everything to a freight forwarding agency.

Professional freight forwarders have a clear advantage over your newly hired staff, first they are far more experienced, second they have good working relations with many parties involved in transaction and third, they know many cheap alternatives for transportation. A good freight forward agent will be able to assist you from the word go if you have no real knowledge of international trade. Best way is to engage a freight forwarding agent even before you finalize the prices, as he/she can give you an exact idea on how much documentation, insurance or shipment can cost.
Read more…

How to deal with employee’s high turnover rate

Turnover rate is the ratio of employees leaving the company (or some specific industry) in a given period. A company or industry has high turnover rate when the workers of that company tend to ditch their jobs more often than the employees of other companies (in the same industry). Some industries and jobs have high turnover rates because of the nature of work, however if your company has a high turnover rate than your competitor and you are not able to sustain your employees with you, there maybe something wrong with your policies. In case you don’t pay attention, not only you will be loosing your good employees to your competitors, your business will also suffer from high costs of attracting, recruiting and training the new staff.

Atmosphere and working conditions:

At certain workplaces, you will feel the tense atmosphere as soon as you put your feet in, reason can be strict management or unrealistic targets. Being a manager, it is necessary to maintain some discipline but some managers overdo it by importing rules straight from the books of military. For many individuals (especially fresh graduates) it becomes really hard to adjust in this kind of atmosphere.
Read more…

Decorating your office – the right way

Office design and decoration plays an important role in the overall environment of the office, by the same token the overall environment plays an imperative role in the productivity of the company. Hence, a professional and pleasant looking office is as important as anything in your business success. Remember, you need to maintain a balance in all aspects when trying to decorate your office. For example, employer’s comfort is vital but not to an extent that they start getting drowsy or lethargic in the working space. Similarly, it’s good to try and make your office a fun place to be but it should not be giving an impression of some discothèque. Here are some important considerations for workplace setting and decoration.

‘Light’ Delights:
Surprisingly, light has been treated as an addendum when planning for your workplace. Whereas proper lighting at workplace is supposed to be your first priority, because that is where you spend most of your time. Bad lighting will harm your mental and physical health; in addition to this it may have a negative impact on your productivity. Excessive use of computers has made it so important that hiring some lighting expert is not a bad idea if you are not good with lighting standards or requirements. Ideal lighting arrangement should give your working space a feel of comfort and openness.
Read more…

How important are Performance Appraisals

There may be a huge difference between the performances of two employees, even when their qualifications or all other variables are same. Reason can be the difference in their dedication, commitment or personal traits. Quite obviously, the one who put more effort, more time or more commitment, for the growth of business than his/her counterparts, should be getting some extra reward for that. A timely salary increment or promotion for the best employee is not only an encouragement for the frontrunner; it also motivates others to work harder. If you don’t come up with any kind of bonuses or rewards, it won’t take long before you see a drop in that employee’s performance graph too. Also, performance appraisals are essentials to keep a track of your overall business performance and figure out the deficiencies.

It may sound quite simple to choose the best contributing worker and hand him the reward. In reality, performance appraisals are something that needs lots of planning and careful thinking. Sure, it brings the sense of competition in your workforce, but the evaluations will also attract lots of puckered brows and objections. A flawed performance appraisal will go as far as completely shattering employee’s confidence or loyalty towards your company. Bottom-line … don’t take it lightly; you need to be extra cautious and fair when planning and implementing some performance appraisal program.
Read more…

Coping with the workforce diversity for manager

Workforce diversity is often considered a characteristic of large corporations, with considerably large pool of employees; however workforce diversity is not limited to just large companies. If we go by the definition, any business having two or more than two employees coming from different age groups, ethnic backgrounds, religious sectors, race or gender, etc is basically having a diverse workforce. Sometimes the differences are trivial and hard to notice, sometimes quite flagrant.

Workforce diversity is not something to be wary of, even if it requires a little bit more planning and thinking at manager’s end, because it brings so many different perspectives and thought patterns to the organization, hence a diverse workforce is more of a plus than minus for businesses. A diverse workforce results in a more flexible and innovative business. That is why, there’s no need to panic, if you find yourself managing a multitalented workforce. Wasting your time in planning to avoid people coming from difference age groups, gender or religious backgrounds is not only a discriminatory practice, but also a bad management decision. By doing this, you are closing your doors to a more versatile workforce, which is more capable of dealing with challenges.
Read more…