Solving problems is not specifically a management task, but managers are faced with a lot of daily problems that need to be solved.  As a manager you have a slightly different set of resources than your employees.  So how do you, as a manager, go about solving your issues?  There are ten ways that management solves problems.

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If you are in business long enough you will learn a few things about running a business.  Over the years I have run a few businesses and have found 10 ways to improve any business.  Some of it may sound like common sense but unless it happens to you, you may not be thinking about it much.

First on the list is…

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Up until two months ago, I had never managed anyone else.  Now I was in charge.

I was afraid I would worsen the mess the company was already in. Employees scrambled to respond to executives commands.  Nobody knew what was expected of them, they complained of not having the materials to do their jobs and they couldn’t get their bosses attention.

I could sense the danger our company was in.  Some talked of quitting.  To the amazement of all my friends, I was now in charge.

“Can she really manage the company?”  I heard an employees whisper.  “No way!”  John exclaimed.  “She’s never managed anyone before in her life.”

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Productivity experts have devised some simple methods to increase your productivity.  They consist of either working harder or working smarter.  Personally I like working smarter but sometimes I end up working harder too.   Use just one idea and you could improve your productivity.  Use all of them and you could double or triple your productivity.

1. Work harder— find ways to increase your task focus.

Work when you are working.  Spend less time socializing and focus on what you need to get done today.  Focus on the tasks at hand and don’t wander into new tasks, multi-task, or get distracted.  The key is to focus and not waste your precious time at work.

2. Work Faster—find ways to pick up your work pace.

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ST. LOUIS, MO, April 6, 2011 — Bizmanualz, Inc., a St. Louis-based Software as a Service (SaaS) provider for the document control marketplace, announced that its President Chris Anderson received the Vezeau award from ASQ – the world’s largest network of quality resources and experts – for technical achievement in the field of quality.

The Waldo A. Vezeau Award for Technical Achievement in the Field of Quality was established in 1971 to honor the St. Louis University Professor, a pioneer in the St. Louis Quality field, for his work in demonstrating and expanding the pursuit of technical achievement in the field of quality.

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Customers and readers alike tell us how difficult it can be to keep their policies and procedures up to date. Due to the ever-increasing rate of change, your policies and procedures can get “stale” (ineffective) very fast.

One reason for this might be that your procedures are too long. If you have 35-page-long procedures — especially if that’s all text — it’s probably not fair to expect your employees to understand, let alone use, them. At that length, there’s the very real risk that your procedures are unclear, overly complicated, and just plain boring.

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ST. LOUIS, MO, December 20, 2010 — Bizmanualz, Inc., a St. Louis-based Software as a Service (SaaS) provider for the document compliance marketplace, announced that Steve Flick, Product Manager, has completed the requirements for the ASQ Certified Manager of Quality and Organizational Excellence (CMQOE) award.

“Steve has demonstrated proficiency and comprehension of quality management principles and practices,” said Bizmanualz President Chris Anderson. “He is one of only two at Bizmanualz who have this certification. I’m sure this will help Steve, both as a Product Manager and ISO 9001 Quality Manager.  Of course, this provides our customers additional value, too.”

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Many people confuse “procedures” with “work instructions”.  In fact, most people write work instructions and call them procedures. Knowing the difference can help you understand the documentation process much better and, therefore, develop great procedure documentation.

Procedures describe a process, while a work instruction describes how to perform the conversion itself.  Process descriptions include details about the inputs, what conversion takes place (of inputs into outputs), the outputs, and the feedback necessary to ensure consistent results. The PDCA process approach (Plan, Do, Check, Act) is used to capture the relevant information.

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According to the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), an effective system of internal controls helps ensure that our organizational processes are functioning properly, that our financial information is reliable, and that we’re in compliance with applicable regulations. Businesses primarily implement internal controls systems to protect themselves from internal fraud and abuse, while many do so with regulatory or standards compliance in mind.

It is interesting to note that, in many cases, the internal control system at many companies consists of volumes of instruction-like procedures that document activities. If a company is taking the time and effort to develop a procedure-based financial control system, it’s worth the additional effort it takes to:

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The integration of technology into your workplace requires that you hire and maintain a highly-skilled, well-trained workforce.  Employees must be hired to fill immediate openings and training must be budgeted and completed to keep employees current with the growth requirements you’ve identified in your business plan.

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