In the future working environment—for which ‘ecosystem’ is a more relevant term— each company’s and each individual’s position and path will be unique, interconnected, integrated, and dynamic, Sophie Wade explains in her book Embracing Progress. In this excusive with The Smart Manager, she explains why engagement, personalization, integration, and choice will be the core themes for any future-of-work transformation.
Does working with people from different cultural backgrounds make one a better manager?
It is important for a manager to facilitate understanding and set common expectations among a team, so that any member can fully appreciate and achieve objectives which involve others—whether colleagues or customers—who may have different perspectives. People from varied cultural backgrounds generally bring a range of perspectives since they often have dissimilar experiences and understandings of specific situations. Therefore, managers who work across many cultural backgrounds can become more practiced at dealing with a variety of perspectives. In addition, research shows diverse viewpoints are important in the development of solutions for creative projects.
Why do you think some business leaders resist change in their systems?
Fear and inertia are the two most common reasons preventing change and progress. It is human nature to be comfortable with routine and established habits—these are known and familiar, even if conditions are far from perfect. The unknown is scary, involving risks and outcomes that might be hard to understand or manage. Leaders can therefore be hesitant to take risks that could disrupt the future of their business and or their job.
When a company is transitioning in order to embrace new technology, systems, and approach, what role do managers play in aligning executives with its goals?
This story is from the September - October 2017 edition of The Smart Manager.
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This story is from the September - October 2017 edition of The Smart Manager.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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Building A Quality Culture
A strong company culture defined by its values, beliefs, and behaviors, has a profound impact on its products and services. More so in today’s VUCA world, where to stay relevant and maintain a competitive edge, it is critical for organizations to build a culture that focuses on quality. Suresh Lulla, author of Quality Fables, elucidates through significant examples how creating a culture of quality is imperative to driving success and productivity.
Customers For Life
The history of General Motors in India can be traced back to the 1920s, when it became the first automotive company to set up an assembly plant in the country. The relationship since then has not been as fruitful as GM would have hoped. GM’s flagship brand, Chevrolet, was introduced in India to build upon the success of the popular Opel marque. However, success has been fleeting at best—an issue that GM India is determined to rectify. It aims to do so by adopting a two-pronged approach: using customer feedback to influence product development, and delivering a superior sales-to-service experience.
The Digital Shift
… technology will radically disrupt HR in the near future. Indeed, it is already changing the way HR works and the role it plays and opening the door to a new type of “digital HR” function.1 The rise of digital and social media is changing the dynamics of HR and creating new ways of hiring, engaging, and retaining employees.
The Story Of Telling
“The best brands are built on great stories,”* this remark by Ian Rowden best captures the strategy of diligent brand building. Much more than attractive logos or the products themselves, what builds a brand is how successfully a story is woven around it. Brand marketers have to be good storytellers indeed.
Complexity Is Simpler Than You Think
Kay Kendall and Glenn Bodinson, authors of Leading the Malcolm Baldrige Way, shatter myths about excellence models such as Baldrige and EFQM.
Proponents of Isolation Never Become Victors
Multilateralism in the political and economic space has always led to frameworks that favor the mighty. WTO was no exception. With agriculture kept out of its purview, it could never become a truly fair and free trading system. China was the only large emerging economy that exploited relative openness in low-cost manufactured goods to take full advantage of the system. Other emerging economies could at best garner minor gains.
A History Lesson (From Year One) for Trump and the Brexit Crowd: Isolationism Has Never Worked!
Professor Stephane Garelli on growing isolationism.
A Win-Win Game
Business is not a sport where some stakeholder has to lose or fare badly for others to do well. Building an atmosphere of trust and transparency between all stakeholders will help companies retain them even during adverse times.
A Sustainable Model
With a total market value of $4.3 trillion and an employment base of at least 1.3 million direct employees and millions of others indirectly employed, platforms have become an important economic force.*Companies today are constantly looking for ways to build platforms—Infosys Ltd announced its plans of monetizing its platforms to make them a $2 billion business by March 2021. But are all platform businesses successful?
Custom Made
…three in four consumers said they receive too many emails from brands, and one-fifth said they could not handle the current volume…69 per cent have ‘unfollowed’ brands on social media, closed their accounts or cancelled subscriptions.*In these times, when the market is flooded with products and services, the most efficent way to engage customers is to offer them customized content. To achieve this, brands need to focus on observing the nuances of individual preferences.
