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Casual Articles - Socio-Technical Systems and Organizational Values
Starting A Business: When Is The Right Time?
You have now steeled your nerves. You are convinced that your idea would “fly” if you would make the ultimate commitment to it. You have done the research and run the numbers. You even know that there is a whole lot that you don’t know – but you are determined to learn as you go. You approach the edge of the metaphorical business pool and you get those same feelings you get every time you come this far:1. What if I find out I really can’t swim 2. What if my water wings don’t hold me up (in other words, what if my network of supporters; friends, family, others are not up to the job of saving me when I need to be saved) 3. What do I do if I get tired 4. It is awfully deep and I am not so sure I can stand up and still breathe 5. It is much colder than it looks when I see all the others splashing and having fun, am I the only one who feels it 6. I wish my Mother/Father were in the pool to catch me!Relax and take a deep breath. I don’t know if you really can swim (we have never met) and I can’t vouch for the water temperature either. But I can tell you that every (and I do mean every) person in the business pool before you (and all the ones lining up behind you) have asked themselves the very same questions that you are asking right now. It is not only expected, but if you did NOT ask the questions, it would be of greater concern than the fact that you are raising the questions.So, how do you finally make that decision to get in the business pool? The same way you entered the swimming pool. Some people will stand at the stairs and dip their toes in
ny values find their way into organizations including customer service, innovation, satisfaction of internal and external constituents, and excellence. Yulk’s view of values sYou have now steeled your nerves. You are convinced that your idea would “fly” if you would make the ultimate commitment to it. You have done the research and run the numbers. You even know that there is a whole lot that you don’t know – but you are determined to learn as you go. You approach the edge of the metaphorical business pool and you get those same feelings you get every time you come this far:1. What if I find out I really can’t swim 2. What if my water wings don’t hold me up (in other words, what if my network of supporters; friends, family, others are not up to the job of saving me when I need to be saved) 3. What do I do if I get tired 4. It is awfully deep and I am not so sure I can stand up and still breathe 5. It is much colder than it looks when I see all the others splashing and having fun, am I the only one who feels it 6. I wish my Mother/Father were in the pool to catch me!Relax and take a deep breath. I don’t know if you really can swim (we have never met) and I can’t vouch for the water temperature either. But I can tell you that every (and I do mean every) person in the business pool before you (and all the ones lining up behind you) have asked themselves the very same questions that you are asking right now. It is not only expected, but if you did NOT ask the questions, it would be of greater concern than the fact that you are raising the questions.So, how do you finally make that decision to get in the business pool? The same way you entered the swimming pool. Some people will stand at the stairs and dip their toes in
The Value Of A Lawyer When Buying A Business
A few months ago, I received an assignment from an individual who had just acquired his third business. His first business was a retail store that was quite successful. He operated it for three years and then sold it for a profit. He took the proceeds from that sale and acquired a rental business. He operated that business for a number of years and even purchased the property it was on, which included a number of other buildings that he leased out. He eventually sold that business for a profit and proceeded to invest the entire proceeds, into a plumbing contracting business. With the first two businesses that he bought and sold, he dealt with sellers and buyers who negotiated in good faith and fair intent.In both cases, a common lawyer was utilized to avoid increased expenses to either party (this is something I am definitely against under any circumstances, it is penny wise and dollar foolish). After closing, in the first two cases, there were some discrepancies and disputes but they were resolved, without much effort and to both parties mutual satisfaction. The third acquisition, the plumbing contractor turned into a complete nightmare. This individual naively believed that he and the seller were using a common lawyer, but it turned out that the lawyer was representing only the seller and that meant that the buyer did not have any legal representation whatsoever. The agreements and documents were all drawn up to leverage the seller’s interests and any safeguards that are normally in a buy/sell agreement to protect the buyer were nonexistent. Every time a new discrepancy or dispute arose the
Modern organizations define themselves using statements of vision. They state their vision in terms of human resources and technology, a socio-technical view. Modern organizations also define themselves in terms of values. New employees entering the organization learn the value system from employees with longevity in it. How organizations incorporate socio-technical systems as a reinforcement tool of their value system is the focus of this paper.A few months ago, I received an assignment from an individual who had just acquired his third business. His first business was a retail store that was quite successful. He operated it for three years and then sold it for a profit. He took the proceeds from that sale and acquired a rental business. He operated that business for a number of years and even purchased the property it was on, which included a number of other buildings that he leased out. He eventually sold that business for a profit and proceeded to invest the entire proceeds, into a plumbing contracting business. With the first two businesses that he bought and sold, he dealt with sellers and buyers who negotiated in good faith and fair intent.In both cases, a common lawyer was utilized to avoid increased expenses to either party (this is something I am definitely against under any circumstances, it is penny wise and dollar foolish). After closing, in the first two cases, there were some discrepancies and disputes but they were resolved, without much effort and to both parties mutual satisfaction. The third acquisition, the plumbing contractor turned into a complete nightmare. This individual naively believed that he and the seller were using a common lawyer, but it turned out that the lawyer was representing only the seller and that meant that the buyer did not have any legal representation whatsoever. The agreements and documents were all drawn up to leverage the seller’s interests and any safeguards that are normally in a buy/sell agreement to protect the buyer were nonexistent. Every time a new discrepancy or dispute arose the
Values
In business, small and large, values determine course the business sets for itself. Yukl (2006) defines values as key statements of an organization. The value statement is ideological, what the organization considers important. Many values find their way into organizations including customer service, innovation, satisfaction of internal and external constituents, and excellence. Yulk’s view of values su
Trade Show Strategies from a Veteran Booth Jockey
Trade shows offer a great opportunity to showcase your company's product or services. A brochure can explain your selling points, but a trade show can demonstrate them in action. These events also let customers and potential customers see a side of you they can't see from a website -- your enthusiasm!Here are five key strategies to help you get the most out of your trade show events.1. Conduct a Mental RehearsalMentally rehearsing your trade show event can do wonders for your preparation. It will help you make a list of required materials and give you an idea of who to bring along. If you're the actual event planner, start out with some individual brainstorming. This will help you organize your thoughts before rounding up the troops.Go through the entire process (as best you can in your mind) and jot down notes along the way. Think about the setup process, what materials you'll need on hand, what kind of inquiries you might get, how you'll manage your leads, etc. When you've done all that, it's time to gather the team and start filling in the blanks.2. Stack Your TeamChoose your trade show team members carefully to ensure a good mix of talent. You'll want some of your outgoing personnel to handle booth visitors. And you'll want some subject matter experts to help you respond to the more in-depth questions. Having the right people on hand can make the difference between capturing the big leads or losing them.3. Adopt the Proper MindsetCompanies who are genuinely enthusiastic about their products or services pass that enthusia
ions also define themselves in terms of values. New employees entering the organization learn the value system from employees with longevity in it. How organizations incorporate socio-technical systems as a reinforcement tool of their value system is the focus of this paper.Trade shows offer a great opportunity to showcase your company's product or services. A brochure can explain your selling points, but a trade show can demonstrate them in action. These events also let customers and potential customers see a side of you they can't see from a website -- your enthusiasm!Here are five key strategies to help you get the most out of your trade show events.1. Conduct a Mental RehearsalMentally rehearsing your trade show event can do wonders for your preparation. It will help you make a list of required materials and give you an idea of who to bring along. If you're the actual event planner, start out with some individual brainstorming. This will help you organize your thoughts before rounding up the troops.Go through the entire process (as best you can in your mind) and jot down notes along the way. Think about the setup process, what materials you'll need on hand, what kind of inquiries you might get, how you'll manage your leads, etc. When you've done all that, it's time to gather the team and start filling in the blanks.2. Stack Your TeamChoose your trade show team members carefully to ensure a good mix of talent. You'll want some of your outgoing personnel to handle booth visitors. And you'll want some subject matter experts to help you respond to the more in-depth questions. Having the right people on hand can make the difference between capturing the big leads or losing them.3. Adopt the Proper MindsetCompanies who are genuinely enthusiastic about their products or services pass that enthusia
Values
In business, small and large, values determine course the business sets for itself. Yukl (2006) defines values as key statements of an organization. The value statement is ideological, what the organization considers important. Many values find their way into organizations including customer service, innovation, satisfaction of internal and external constituents, and excellence. Yulk’s view of values s
Build Rapport Fast! - Eight Easy Steps
Building rapport is all about creating a relationship, in the moment. And this is vital in business, education, friendships and many other areas of life. We need relationships to help us get the things we want for ourselves in our lives, like money, promotions, success, partners and above all to feel part of society. You see we are social animals, us humans and if we find it challenging to make relationships, then we feel excluded. And that ain't comfortable. So, let's build rapport quickly and easily in the just eight easy steps! Pay Attention Now some will say that you must make continued eye contact, but, you know, some folks find that invasive and threatening. So match what they do, if they look at you, look at them. But whatever you do, ensure that you give an appropriate level of attention to them. In Dale Carnegie's wonderful book, 'How to Win Friends & Influence People', he tells a story of how he sat next to someone at dinner one evening. All night his fellow guest talked; all night Carnegie listened. A few weeks later, he was amazed to hear from a mutual friend how interesting his dinner companion had found him - even though Carnegie said virtually nothing all evening! Value Them ..which leads us to how you relate to them. If someone is talking to you about something, make sure you show you value what they are saying, by asking them at least one additional openquestion about what they are talking to you about. Remember these? The 4 W's of HoW (yea, I know!), What, Where or Who - perhaps not
te socio-technical systems as a reinforcement tool of their value system is the focus of this paper.Building rapport is all about creating a relationship, in the moment. And this is vital in business, education, friendships and many other areas of life. We need relationships to help us get the things we want for ourselves in our lives, like money, promotions, success, partners and above all to feel part of society. You see we are social animals, us humans and if we find it challenging to make relationships, then we feel excluded. And that ain't comfortable. So, let's build rapport quickly and easily in the just eight easy steps! Pay Attention Now some will say that you must make continued eye contact, but, you know, some folks find that invasive and threatening. So match what they do, if they look at you, look at them. But whatever you do, ensure that you give an appropriate level of attention to them. In Dale Carnegie's wonderful book, 'How to Win Friends & Influence People', he tells a story of how he sat next to someone at dinner one evening. All night his fellow guest talked; all night Carnegie listened. A few weeks later, he was amazed to hear from a mutual friend how interesting his dinner companion had found him - even though Carnegie said virtually nothing all evening! Value Them ..which leads us to how you relate to them. If someone is talking to you about something, make sure you show you value what they are saying, by asking them at least one additional openquestion about what they are talking to you about. Remember these? The 4 W's of HoW (yea, I know!), What, Where or Who - perhaps not
Values
In business, small and large, values determine course the business sets for itself. Yukl (2006) defines values as key statements of an organization. The value statement is ideological, what the organization considers important. Many values find their way into organizations including customer service, innovation, satisfaction of internal and external constituents, and excellence. Yulk’s view of values s
3 Tips for Introducing Yourself and Your Business
Are you ever in the situation where you are introducing yourself and your business and don’t know quite what to say? Here are 3 important tips for establishing your expertise and impressing your potential client.1. Develop a killer “elevator speech”. You may have heard this phrase before; it’s a standard response of one or two sentences that quickly summarizes the essence of your business or service, identifies your target audience, and the benefits customers might expect. Let’s say for example you train real estate agents to successfully get new clients and property listings. You might say something like “I teach residential real estate agents to increase their new client base and property listings by 20% within 30 days.” Or if you were a life-coach specializing in balancing work and home life you might say “I teach busy professionals how to balance work and home life to make them 10% more productive on the job and 100% happier at home.” There are several important factors in your elevator speech.First you need to be able to describe what you do in a few words, not an entire paragraph. Second you need to communicate exactly who your target market is. In the first example we targeted residential real estate agents, ruling out commercial agents. Third you need to deal with what I call the “so what” factor. The so what factor highlights the impact of your services. In the case of the real estate agent listings increased 20% within 30 days. Make sure that your elevator speech is quick, informative, and definitely has a “so what” factor.2. Make sure you can d
he business sets for itself. Yukl (2006) defines values as key statements of an organization. The value statement is ideological, what the organization considers important. Many values find their way into organizations including customer service, innovation, satisfaction of internal and external constituents, and excellence. Yulk’s view of values sAre you ever in the situation where you are introducing yourself and your business and don’t know quite what to say? Here are 3 important tips for establishing your expertise and impressing your potential client.1. Develop a killer “elevator speech”. You may have heard this phrase before; it’s a standard response of one or two sentences that quickly summarizes the essence of your business or service, identifies your target audience, and the benefits customers might expect. Let’s say for example you train real estate agents to successfully get new clients and property listings. You might say something like “I teach residential real estate agents to increase their new client base and property listings by 20% within 30 days.” Or if you were a life-coach specializing in balancing work and home life you might say “I teach busy professionals how to balance work and home life to make them 10% more productive on the job and 100% happier at home.” There are several important factors in your elevator speech.First you need to be able to describe what you do in a few words, not an entire paragraph. Second you need to communicate exactly who your target market is. In the first example we targeted residential real estate agents, ruling out commercial agents. Third you need to deal with what I call the “so what” factor. The so what factor highlights the impact of your services. In the case of the real estate agent listings increased 20% within 30 days. Make sure that your elevator speech is quick, informative, and definitely has a “so what” factor.2. Make sure you can d
Characteristic Of A Successful Entrepreneur
There are several features of a successful entrepreneur that contribute to his/her essential success. The following three characteristics are the definitive features of what makes for Entrepreneurial success.All men and women of action have one thing in common. They observe before they act. In the realm of the entrepreneur this capacity to act and to formulate correct paths to profit before taking steps is essential. Specifically we are talking about vision.1) Vision is a simple concept yet can be misunderstood. It is often a label we apply to great men and women that are often beyond the reach of our frame work of reality. So, its no wonder many people fail to recognise and perceive what vision is much less develop it for themselves. Vision as it pertains to being a successful entrepreneur is the capacity to see opportunity where others see problems. Its this function of the imagination to logically follow through in the mind logical outcomes manufactured from optimistic notions that leads to vision.Vision is used sparingly by most entrepreneurs because its simply not required alot. Most entrepreneurs have vision that leads to an idea for profit that eventually gets recycled and repeated in every project they take on. Vision is something that new entrepreneurs need to develop, however once that vision is acted upon and a successful project has been carried out the vision is re-used to repeat the success. Time is short and experimentation is risky, one most successful entrepreneurs have some success, they tend to build on it rather then dabble in new areas.2) Skills can be
ny values find their way into organizations including customer service, innovation, satisfaction of internal and external constituents, and excellence. Yulk’s view of values suggests something deeper. Organizational values and value creation are the soul of competitive edge, competitive advantage.There are several features of a successful entrepreneur that contribute to his/her essential success. The following three characteristics are the definitive features of what makes for Entrepreneurial success.All men and women of action have one thing in common. They observe before they act. In the realm of the entrepreneur this capacity to act and to formulate correct paths to profit before taking steps is essential. Specifically we are talking about vision.1) Vision is a simple concept yet can be misunderstood. It is often a label we apply to great men and women that are often beyond the reach of our frame work of reality. So, its no wonder many people fail to recognise and perceive what vision is much less develop it for themselves. Vision as it pertains to being a successful entrepreneur is the capacity to see opportunity where others see problems. Its this function of the imagination to logically follow through in the mind logical outcomes manufactured from optimistic notions that leads to vision.Vision is used sparingly by most entrepreneurs because its simply not required alot. Most entrepreneurs have vision that leads to an idea for profit that eventually gets recycled and repeated in every project they take on. Vision is something that new entrepreneurs need to develop, however once that vision is acted upon and a successful project has been carried out the vision is re-used to repeat the success. Time is short and experimentation is risky, one most successful entrepreneurs have some success, they tend to build on it rather then dabble in new areas.2) Skills can be
Hill and Jones (1998) write of management values as statements of how managers will conduct themselves and how they will do business. Managers in high performing businesses conduct themselves with stakeholders in mind. Winston (2002) suggests that high performing leaders accept the values of the organization as being of higher consequence and importance.
Systems
Values of an organization (customer service, innovation, satisfaction) imply an organization is a system. Senge (1990) tells us that organizations are organic systems of interconnected and inter
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