What is Choice Theory (CT)? CT is a theory of the explanation of human behavior. CT has applicability to both a person's personal and professional life. It teaches us about our five basic needs, how to meet those needs in a responsible way, and how to take personal responsibility for getting those needs met.

I have assisted many companies with implementing the concepts and principles of Choice Theory (CT) in the workplace over the years. Their reasons ranged from mere curiosity to desiring a total immersion of their company into the concepts and principles of CT. Those companies that were committed to learning the CT model and implementing it correctly received better than expected results.

One of the elements of implementing CT in the workplace is to put the three conditions of quality in place. Those three conditions are:

1. Create a need-satisfying environment for your employees.

a. Employees need to feel connected to each other, management and the mission and vision of your company.

b. Employees need to feel empowered by having their opinions sought out and listened to and having their work respected.

c. Workers need to feel safe on the job. This pertains to their emotional, as well as physical safety.

d. Workers need to have the ability to make choices and exercise some independence within the definition of their jobs.

e. Workers need to experience some fun and learning on the job.

2. Workers must only be asked to do useful and meaningful work. If this is not clear, management must take the time to explain it if quality is what you are seeking.

3. Finally, workers need to be asked to self-evaluate their work. This self-evaluation component is far beyond the scope of this article but suffice it to say that two main components are required for employees to be able to accurately and honestly self-evaluate.

a. There must not be fear in the workplace. If employees believe that management will hurt them with the information shared during self-evaluation, then management can hardly expect honesty.

b. Also, there must be a very clear and definite matrix of what quality looks like. The employee must have an ideal with which to compare their work.

When these components and others are added to the workplace, you can expect:

1. Increased employee satisfaction. Employees will be taught that they have the potential, capability and responsibility to personally get their five basic needs met. This awareness will result in a decrease of a sense of victimization and complaining, because employees will be focused on solutions they can implement instead of the problems that exist.

2. A unified approach to conceptualization of issues. Once all your employees understand CT, they will be conceptualizing problems in the same way. This unified approach will decrease a lot of competition among your employees and will result in the creation of a unified, cohesive and committed group of workers who believe in the direction your company is headed.

3. Room for individuals' strengths and unique approaches. CT is a framework within which to operate that encourages people's personal expression. Employees will be able to include their unique and creative talents, as long as they don't conflict with CT principles.

4. More effective communication. When everyone in your company understands the basic framework for conceptualizing human behavior, then communication is enhanced. There will be fewer misunderstandings because all are speaking the same language.

5. Less employee stress. Many employees experience stress on the job. This usually comes from a lack of understanding about responsibilities. CT assists employees to understand that the only person they can control is themselves. Once people stop expending energy trying to change people or circumstances beyond their control and instead begin to focus on what adaptive response they can take, stress levels dramatically decrease.

6. Decreased employee turnover. When management learns the steps to create a need- satisfying environment for employees, while holding them accountable for their work, employees become dedicated and committed to the work they do. When people are in environments that meet their five basic needs, there is motivation to stay in that environment.

7. Increased creativity. When employees work in an environment created by their employer that allows for self-expression and encourages personal power, limitless creativity is unleashed, which often results in business improvement and expansion.

8. Enhanced relationships. CT teaches people to get their needs met without interfering with others meeting their needs. When this happens, the status of their current personal and professional relationships improves both at work and at home. The possibilities are endless!

9. Improved services to customers. Using CT/RT, employees assist customers to clarify what it is they want and to evaluate the best ways for getting there. Customers appreciate this approach, which will improve customer satisfaction, resulting in repeat business and an increase in referrals.

10. Decreased Resistance/Increased Cooperation. When CT is implemented in the workplace, employees become less resistant and more cooperative because they are being heard. When we stop pushing people in the direction we think is best and focus instead on building better relationships, resistance is decreased and cooperation is increased.

Article source: Free Management Articles.

Retail Performance Methodology is based on key principles adopted and tailored by retailers to gain competitive advantage and improve sales performance.

The basic principles of a successful Retail Performance Management Model will:

1. Instill a customer focused, sales oriented culture throughout the organization

2. Introduce a methodology for setting standards, tracking, measuring and reporting results, identifying under performance and coaching for success

3. Bridge the gap between common sense and common practice
Create a World Class Retail environment where it easier for your people to succeed than to fail

4. Drive compliance with World Class Retail standards and practices.

Retailers' performance solutions include a dynamic blend of different consulting styles, training philosophies, coaching and mentoring. They provide customers with a proven methodology for driving retail success and the skills, knowledge and understanding to make it work, creating significant and sustainable increases in sales.

Knowledge Driven Success

Key to retail performance is the ability to measure actual versus planned individual sales and coach on undersupplied statistics. Retailers must be able to define Key Performance Indicators or KPIs, set targets, and measure the performance of individuals, stores and areas within the business.

The Retail Performance System should provide relevant reports at all levels of the company, highlighting areas of poor performance, recommending the specific actions required to improve sales and reduce wages. With the correct information, managers are able to take quick and decisive action that results in a more responsive business and improved results.

Retail Coaching KPI Measurement Methodology

Retail performance measurements must be broken down into two main categories to be effective at identifying specific areas of poor performance: Wages and Sales. These are the only two areas of expense and income within a Store Manager's control. Expenses such as stocking, rent, electricity, marketing etc, are managed by Middle and Senior Management not by Store Managers or Salespeople. Thus the solution to improving sales performance will focus on identifying only those critical factors that can be influenced by people working in the store.

Controlling Retail Staff Wages

A Staff Roster System must be employed to empower your front-line Store Managers to do weekly Staff Rosters within the framework of the company's strict wage budgets. Rostering within budgets is an opportunity to reduce operational expenditure - an expense within the control of the Store Manager.

Using spreadsheets to manage time is useful. But being able to see how much money you actually have left to spend on wages as you add people to the Roster is much better. It helps Store Managers assign hours when they are needed so they can Roster within payroll budgets.

Retail Sales Performance KPI Reporting and Coaching

The Retail Sales Management Reporting component of any system should make 'all individual Salespeople accountable for their time', by setting them individual sales targets by shift within an overall weekly sales target framework and measuring and analysing their performance according to five (5) key KPIs.

With this information, Managers can target individual Salesperson's weaknesses as their system will guide them as to which KPI to focus on first. Because being able to identify and then focus on the most undersupplied KPI yields the greatest and quickest increase in each Salesperson's performance.

Retail Performance System Adoption Ideals

Keep the following ideals in mind when implementing a Retail Performance Model. You must be able to:

ROSTER within set company wage budget parameters. Managers must be able to see how much is left to spend as they add Salespeople to the Roster.

GENERATE SALES TARGETS by individual by day & by store by week. Managers must be able to show each Salesperson how much they expect them to make in sales for the day(s) they work - this enables Salespeople the 'play the game' while Store Manager's keep score. Would playing sport be as interesting if no one was keeping score?

MEASURE individual sales performance compared to everyone on the shift. Managers must be able to track #Sales; #Transactions; #Items/Sale - versus Time Worked for each person compared to the Store Average.

INSTANTLY IDENTIFY the most undersupplied or deficient individual selling skills and trends for each Salesperson. Managers must be able to view individual KPIs compared to the shift & store that identify individual coaching needs. Knowing what is wrong means knowing what to fix.

TARGETED COACHING on the selling skill delivering the greatest value. Managers should be able to view integrated, on-demand, coaching tips and advice about improving deficient selling skills and individual sales performance. Know exactly what to show a Salesperson yields the best results.

Which KPIs are Tracked in the Ideal Retail Performance Management System?

An ideal Retail Performance Management System must track five (5) Store and Individual Staff KPIs:

1. Sales per Hour - the fiscal value of the individual's and stores hourly sales.

2. Items Per Sale - the number of items sold by individual compared to the store average.

3. Average Sale - the average fiscal value of each individual sale compared to the store average.

4. Conversion Rate - the number of walk-ins that can be converted to sales.

5. Sales per Wages Spent - the fiscal contribution each salesperson makes, or how much is spent on wages compared to how much they sold.

Tracking KPIs at a store level alone without being able to compare them on an individual level is futile. Unless each Salesperson can be shown how well they performed in relation to everyone else it is impossible to know their own area of weakness or strength.

Summary

An ideal Retail Performance Sales Performance Management System must:

1. Focus on the two areas within the Store Managers control: Wages and Individual Sales Performance.

2. Offer a Rostering Solution for controlling wages and identifying your best Salespeople.

3. Give feedback via a Reports Dashboard about the Individual Sales Performance of each staff member compared to the Store Average so as to identify the most deficient selling skills of each person.

4. Integrate coaching behavior tips and advice so that Managers can instantly be enlightened as to what to coach each individual Salesperson.

Article source: Free Management Articles.

When we coach our employee's, we have the opportunity to train, motivate, and communicate all at the same time. When we coach the right way, with our focus on 'future success' and using great questions, we will make a positive impact on their future performance. However, if our coaching sessions turns into a lecture, we lose any rapport and respect we may have created.

So what do we mean when we say our focus needs to be on 'future success'? Coaching is the process of conducting one on one meetings with an employee, and guiding them to our ultimate destination. Think of an airplane in flight. Starting out, the pilot knows where they are starting from and where their destination is. During the flight, the plane will drift off course and the pilot will need to make adjustments along the way. Bad weather may also create a need for another course to be taken. Because the pilot knows the destination, he can make the adjustments and ensure the plane arrives where it is scheduled.

Leaders are the 'pilots' and our employees are the 'plane'. We should continually monitor how and what people are doing, and make those adjustments to behavior as needed. Unlike the plane, our people need to hear from us when they are on the right 'flight path' as well. This not only provides a reward to the employee, but it also shows team members that this is the path that is recognized and rewarded, thus they will follow.

Great coaches also use open-ended questions during any coaching session. Questions like 'What can you do starting tomorrow to.....' would be a great example of a open-ended coaching question. The dictionary defines 'coaching' as ...... 'to give hint to'. We should not be 'telling' employee's what to do and how to do it. We use great questions to allow the employee to come up with solutions, or maybe suggestions, without being told specifically. The reason this is so powerful is 'ownership'. If I tell someone what to do and how to do it, and they fail, it's my fault. If I coach someone and they come up with the what and how, they take ownership of the outcome.

So the next time you have the opportunity to coach a team member, take a few minutes before your discussion to write down a few open-questions and your desired outcome for the discussion . You will also want to have a clear vision of the performance or behavior you are looking for in the future. If your team member does not have a very clear idea about what is expected, you will find yourself repeating the same coaching session over and over again.

Author: Kreg Enderson

About the author:
Certified Coach, successful leader, and owner of the new leader training and mentoring site LeadershipMentor.net

Article source: Free Management Articles.

Self storage is a safe and secure place that can be hired to store goods. Over the years people have started using these facilities for different purposes. There are various storage facilities in Kansas. One of the Kansas City storage is Self Storage Mart. This storage is located in the heart of the city close to the Kansas International Airport. At Storage Mart, you get various facilities like round the clock access to your storage unit and staff to help you in moving and storing your goods. If required, you can also hire the trucks available at Storage Mart for moving the goods.

The whole storage facility has tight security arrangements. The storage has high fenced walls, proper lighting, and video cameras to ensure complete safety of your stored goods. There are different sized storage units at this Kansas City storage. You can get 200 cu ft, 400 cu ft, 800 cu ft and 1200 cu ft storage units. For people who want to store cars, there is car garage of 1600 cu ft also available. There are some items that require special climate controlled conditions for storage. These can also be stored at the climate-controlled units available at this self storage. Storage mart also offers you insurance for your stored goods at low prices. You can even store wine at this storage.

Some of the different uses of Kansas City storage include:

To store items used occasionally
Nowadays, people often use the services of the self storage for storing items that they use once in a while. For example, people may use warehouse for storing their under diving, para gliding or skiing equipment.

To overcome clutter
Most of us get attached to our belongings due to which we do not want to part with them. But buying new things without doing away with old stuff makes our homes cluttered. To overcome this problem, you can hire Kansas City storage to store those goods that you want to keep just for emotions' sake.

Relocation
One of the reasons for most people to hire self storage is that they want to temporarily store their goods while relocating to a new place. It could be either due to transfer or due to shifting to new home.

Storage for Students
Students who come to Kansas to pursue their education can use the facilities of Kansas City storage that are situated near universities and colleges, to store their belongings.

Renting
Many people prefer to rent their home while shifting to other locations. Since it is generally not possible to carry all items to the new place, you can use Kansas self storage for storing your belongings.

Storage for Travelers
Travelers can use Kansas City storage to store their goods. Self storage facilities are available near airport and prime tourist destinations for the convenience of business travelers.

In short, Kansas City storage is an ideal solution for people looking to store their belongings in Kansas.

Author: Robert5364a

About the author:
When you have a brilliant storage option in your neighborhood as 'Kansas City Storage' then you do not have to worry about your belongings! Visit us at storage mart for your queries related to Kansas City Storage.

Article source: Free Management Articles.

Answering the question of what Supply Chain Management is, is as simple as breaking down the phrase into its component parts. Supplies are those inputs that a company relies upon to produce the product that will ultimately reach its customers. The chain is the group of suppliers that bring those inputs to a company and the process whereby those inputs are integrated into the company. And finally, management is the coordination and organization of all these inputs and their implementation. So put it all together, and Supply Chain Management is the science and art of improving the processes that bring suppliers of raw materials together and move those materials through the company until they reach the endpoint, the customer.

What SCM Involves
If defining the term takes a full paragraph to cover even in its most basic sense, you can imagine how complex the industry surrounding Supply Chain Management truly is. It involves managers who map out the entire process and look for inefficiencies and others who develop and maintain relationships with suppliers to ensure a steady supply of inputs. It involves the actual process of manufacturing or value add in which those inputs become the products that will be sold as well as 'logistics' or the process of getting those value added products to customers. And finally it involves dealing with and compensating for supply chain returns, such as defective products. Supply Chain Management covers every aspect of the business from input to output and as such requires an extensive array of tools and strategies to help managers to coordinate and organize a
company.

The Dilemma of SCM Software
One of the most innovative and revolutionary tools in use by managers involved in the supply chain is Supply Chain Management Software. While I have outlined five general sections that make up Supply Chain Management, each of these sections is unique to a particular business. As such, no single product has been developed to handle the software needs of a company from start to finish. As a result, when industry insiders talk about Supply Chain Software, they are really talking about a combination of many different programs that, when applied together, help manage the supply chain. While literally thousands of different products are on the market today, they all fall into one of two broad categories, Supply Chain Planning (SCP) or Supply Chain Execution (SCE) software. Supply Chain Planning software covers those programs which use advanced mathematical algorithms to map out the flow of products through a company and to identify any inefficiencies. The ultimate goal of this type of software is to help reduce faulty products, to speed up the time to market, and to reduce inventory. Supply Chain Execution software is designed to automate different components of the supply chain. For example, Supply Chain Execution Software might update inventory listings in a central directory as soon as inputs are brought in from a supplier or are sold off to the customer. In this way, SCE software eliminates the costly and time consuming task of tabulating the total current supply so as to know when to place the next order.

The Goals of Supply Chain Management
Ultimately the goal of Supply Chain Management is to bring greater efficiency to a company by reducing errors, maintaining steady inputs, and reducing excess inventories. With the growth of the internet, however, it is transitioning into a means of collaboration between companies. By concentrating their efforts on better communication with suppliers and customers, inefficiencies are ironed out not only within the company but in those surrounding it as well. The internet has made the communication between firms necessary for this to take place possible. Consequently, the hope for Supply Chain Management in the future is not only to create a more efficient and profitable business, but to contribute to a more efficient and profitable global marketplace as well.

Article source: Free Management Articles.

While asset management has existed around for a fair while it’s existance throughout industries has only been apparent in the last few years. There are a lot of questions regarding asset management especially if their interests lie in utilizing the utilities of asset management companies.

Asset management basically means the method that a company or a specialized asset management firm uses to track all fixed assets for example, chairs, tables, computers and technology also including buildings owned by a consumer The monitoring of the real location of the assetsmeans that may be used as a means to manage assets, and accounting of amortizations, depreciation values as well as the future resale values of the assets are also part of asset management.

Asset management gives you an easier time and easier ways to manage assets owed by the company or the individual and searches for new ways of investing these assets for additional returns Collective investment schemes, pension funds, private banking and wealth management are a few ways which deal with assets that renders asset management more efficient and increase one's assets.

Asset management involves a lot of different processes which are all designed to increase the productivity of companies or individuals. Asset management services involive plannit and procurement, as well as the accounting of costs through disposal, keeping track of of the assets and accounting tasks such as amortization and depreciation. Asset management also establishes contact with suppliers which may make it easier for companies to contact suppliers for service, as well as warranties and replacements.

By keeping tack of important information regarding one's assets, Assets must be accounted for. It helps to know who they were purchased from, who uses them their location who supports it and even lease expirations. As well as the right disposal period may provide the basis for managing as well as the optimization of everyone.

Author: Paul Abbey

About the author:
P Abbey owns and operates http://www.assetmanagementbest.com asset management

Article source: Free Management Articles.