Customer Responsive Culture

By Raul Bernardino

Introduction:

The organizations cultures are built from their visions and missions. It is including organization share values, knowledge’s, experience, and various cultures and attitudes that are coming from each of the employees - who have taken apart in the organization itself. The organization culture itself is also growing from time to time according to the organization development.

Buchanan D. A. & Huczynski A. A. (2007) “stated that the organizational culture is consist of the visions, missions, shared values, beliefs, and norms where the organization exist, feelings, and also action of each employees”.

In today’s globalization era, the competitive of the Information and Technology industries are now became more and more focusing on the customers and services. Whereas, the information and technology, including developers and system engineers are now entry into the globalization market and have to engage more new customers. However, it is most important, “to not lose the old customers and it is becoming habit to increase their (old customers) loyalty to the organization (Berger & Berger, 2000: 497)”.

Therefore, lot of organizations are now putting a site their capital of the investment or their money to invest in the Information and Technology sector, in which is hoping to manage the customer or Customer  Relationship Management (CRM). This CRM software package is to record all requests from customers and process them all according to schedule of services or in timely manner. This system is also able to log all transactions from the customer and logs all developers’ tasks.  

Nowadays, industries are also facing time compression during delivering their products and services. Therefore, they should be able to mobilize a lot of resources from their branches offices and from another company’s resources in order meet customer requirement and needs. Today, technology can help industries to connect, communicate, coordinates those resources in order to reach out the customers within high standard quality and less cost.  

In every organization use to have an organization promotion, in which to engage the customers that are come to the office or department and doing some technical job in the field. The receptionist is acting on behalf of organization employees to attend all organization’s customers. The receptionist is our “front line to connect us with customers (Jobber & Lancaster, 2009:4-5)”. He or she has to attend several training's on how to behave and attend the organization customers or guests.

One of great example is that organization has to treat customers as a ‘king’.  “Of course not all kings are the same”. The important is to maintain good relationship with the customers. Specially organization needs to build a mutual trust and also sees the customers are valuable from them.

Customer Relationship Management (Payne, 2006) is based on the belief that in order for a company to maximize long term profit, customer needs must be understood and leveraged (Stringfellow, Nie & Bowen, 2004). Payne and Frow (2005), report that the definition of CRM varies widely. One end of the spectrum deals with very tactical and targeted technology solutions while the other end considers customer relationship management a holistic and strategic approach to increasing shareholder value (Payne &Frow, 2005).

Many organization leaders are care about CRM but some of them are not care about the strategy. How to shift an organization to a customer-centric strategy? During strategic planning session (Saloner et al., 2001:19), strategies are formulated by creating a short and long term corporate goals, defining company scope (products and services offered, markets serviced), clearly defining the corporate position on how the industries will gain and sustain competitive advantage, and detailing which strengths. The organization will be leveraging and maintaining that competitive advantage.  

Brache (2002) notes that when creating a strategy, there are a number of questions that need to be addressed as they relate to the fundamental values and beliefs of a company: the timeline for the strategy, where business will be done (customers and geographies), where investment needs to be made, which competitive advantages will be exploited, which systems/skills/processes are required to support the competitive advantage, and which metrics will be used to measure results (Brache, 2002:51).

According to Galliers and Leidner (2003), information systems strategy should complement corporate strategy. They suggest that strategic systems information planning.

Conclusion:

In todays’ businesses, the customer’s responsive cultures are becoming focus of every companies, organizations, institutions, and industries in order to be success in the field. Most of the organizations are investing a lot in the Customer Relationship Management Packages, and other relevant business databases.  Rust and Verhoef (2005), “whose CRM model exploited the high level of heterogeneity in customers’ responsiveness to marketing interventions”.

It is also become a habit for the companies or organizations to strategize and engage the old customers with different treatments and attractive packages in order to maintain the customer to not run away from them.

References list:

• Huczynski, A & Buchanan, D (2007) Organizational Behaviour (6th Ed) Essex: Pearson Education
•  Jobber, D., & Lancaster, G., (2009), Selling and Sales management. 8th edition. Pearson Prentice Hall
•  Berger, L. & Berger, D., (2000). The Compensation Handbook: A State-of the-Art Guide to Compensation, Strategy and Design.4th edition. USA.
• The Path to Customer Centricity [On-line]. Available from: http://jsr.sagepub.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/content/9/2/113.full.pdf+html (Accessed: 27 August 2013)
•  Ballard, K. (n), Building a Strong Customer-centric Strategy to Enable CRM and Develop Customer Loyalty [On-line]. Available from: https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/7662/2008-Ballard.pdf?sequence=1 (Accessed: 27 August 2013)
• NN (Feb 2013) "The Path to Customer Centricity" [On-line]. Available from: http://info.iknowtion.com/the-path-to-customer-centricity-peppersandrogersgroup/ (Accessed: 27 August 2013)
• NN (May 2006) Roadmap to a Customer-Centric Strategy [On-line]. Available from:
• http://www.amanet.org/training/articles/Roadmap-to-a-Customer-Centric-Strategy.aspx  (Accessed: 27 August 2013)

Information and Technology Revolution toward the Human Resource Management and Policies

By Raul Bernardino

Introduction:

Nowadays, the on-line education or virtual classes becomes an alternative option for those who have the commitment with family, job, time constrain, and including the migration of the intended person from one location to another destination. The on-line educations pretty much use the technology such as internet communication, videoconferencing, etc. Therefore, it is important for the audiences or participants to have internet access facilities in which to allow the participants to connection, communicate, coordinate, and collaborate their thoughts from anywhere at any time.  They (the audience) also demand to have a proper and portable computer in order to be success.

Another way of doing the on-line education is through teleconferencing such as audio and video, television, and radio broadcasting. However, these types on on-line or on-air learning process have to be scheduled and have no flexibility time. 
The on-site training is can be tailored depends of the needs of the team members or the individuals. This also can be an interactive mode of the training and provider can be adjustable with their curriculum and the company needs. This can also helpful for the company providers to make a clear assessment and plan for the company employment training design.

The on-job training is another method of capacity building or empowering the company employees. The employee will do a similar job in another company. The employee has a mentor or a coach to monitor the performance during assignment or on-job training.
In order to be effective and efficient in the upgrading of the company Human Resources (HR) capacities which is within time compression, the pass education is nearly becomes obsoleted. Education is continuously learn and unlearn. The training or education to the employees have to be in line with the company strategy and objective, including in line with the internal HR policy and best practices around the world.

The advantage of on-line education: For instance, one of top on-line education which is the Laureate on-line education, whereas has a partnership with Liverpool University.  It is well known online degree provider with the high quality standards. The most advantage that I can felt and a proud of are:

-      Flexible time: where, I can still perform my daily tasks in normal hours and during my leisure time, I can do my master degree;

-      Discuss issues with the classmate and lecture simultaneously; This mode is similar to normal or traditional class however, it is in an asynchronous mode (not in the same time; there were delay of communication however, it reached to the objective and have the same result);

-      The quality of the virtual classes same as the traditional classes; even more better than traditional classes because, we have to meet the dead line and bring the high quality and values from different perspective (different cultures and approaches from all over the world to one single channel) into the virtual class discussions and assignments;

-      Build a good virtual team work;

-      Still live with the family;

-      Manageable cost for education (pay per modules, etc);

-      Curriculum's are updates;

-      Saving cost for accommodation and trips;

-      Learn process focused on the module subject, but it is also about commitment and time management;

The disadvantage of on-line education: The only disadvantages that, I can see are:

-      Not meet physically or in person with other the classmate and lectures;

-      Not real time communication; what I meant here is that the participant are everywhere with different geographical locations and time zones, it very hard to have a real time session during running the class.  I am not talking about teleconferencing  because it’s a real time and interactive session;

-      Stressful in Time Management: what I do mean here is that, sometimes team work (group member) does not know or see that other team members are studying in our leisure time. They just come across and asking for a work that are related to the problem and solution. We can’t void them and therefore, we have to readjust schedule with our own the priorities and group priority.

The advantage of on-site Training: The advantages of having the on-site training in the company are:

-      Cost Saving: Rather than send ten employees out of the company to have  training, it is better to have one trainer to be on-site and delivery training;

-      Trainer and trainees have seen job world or environment;

-      Schedule Control: the company can schedule the training according the availability of the team or employees and demand of the work;

-      The training provider can have direct assessment to the company needs; and rebuild the proper curriculum and training design to the company;

-      Hands on Training: more real practical because it is closed to the normal work station;

-      Flexibility: Company can shift the employees for the training; training can be anywhere in the company building;

The disadvantage of on-site Training: The disadvantages of having the on-site training are:

-      Employees can’t not concentrate to the training, it is because they are visible to the other colleagues during the training sessions; they can be asked by colleagues to solve their problems (IT issues or colleagues meet the dead line and the participant of the training have to review document or report before it submit to, etc.);

-      Company have not enough resource to run a training (e.g. training need ten computers for participants to practice)

-      Extra cost for rent venue or computers;

The advantage of on-job training: The advantages of having on-job training are:

-      In the general, the on-job trainings are more cost effective, because the employee still doing a same job and learn from the most experience coach or mentor

-      The coach or mentor can demonstrate how the job should be delivery, base on the best practices;

-       It is also low cost because the trainees can learn from the valuable practitioners;

-      This can be applying also to the job rotation and possible in small number of participants;

The disadvantage of the on-job training: The disadvantages of the on-job training are:

-      We can’t predict the start point of training; it may delivery in the different levels;

-      We can evaluate the trainer capacity of delivery and how much it is being absorb by trainees

-      It is also may high cost because employee have to stay in apartments or hotels including the travel cost

-      Can’t apply in the big group of participants;

In conclusion:
The comparison method of the learning process above does not necessary means to apply in all company. It is relatively depending on the company environments, needs, and it is including company decisions.

In order to make best options for the company to be selected, the training assessments to the employees have to be done in first place. Therefore, numbers of studies or assessments of the needs in the business or company including the cost analysis and the training impacts as well as the training design or planning.

Simon, Herbert (1957) “felt that management theory should base around on the questions of choice and decision making as the core of the management. He also argued that it was the art getting things done.”

The company or corporate has to decided which option are most cost effective and have the high positive impacts in future.

References:

• Buchanan, D. & Huczynski, A. (2010), Organizational Behaviour: an introductory text. 7th edition. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall
• Hinkle, Linda (n:d) Advantage and disadvantage of online education,[On-line]. Available from:  http://www.ehow.com/about_4743341_advantages-disadvantages-online-education.html (Accessed: 17 April 2011)
•  Customer on Site Training, [On-line]. Available from:  http://www.akamai.com/dl/brochures/Custom_On_site_training.pdf  (Accessed: 17 April 2011)
• Electrical forums on Site Training, [On-line]. Available from:  http://www.electricityforum.com/forums/advantage-of-onsite-training.html (Accessed: 17 April 2011)
• Advantage and disadvantage of On-Job training, [On-line]. Available from:  http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_advantages_and_disadvantages_of_on_the_job_training (Accessed: 17 April 2011)
• On-Job training, [On-line]. Available from:  http://tutor2u.net/business/people/training_onthejob.asp  (Accessed: 17 April 2011)

Precise Solution LDA Code of Conduct

By Raul Bernardino

General Background:

Timor-Leste is a new country that had got an independent on May 20^th, 2002. Currently, Timor-Leste has more than 1.2 million habitants; in other hand, Timor-Leste do need lot of human resource skills that are international compliance in order to support and to develop the country as soon as possible. 

The proportional of the Timor-Leste's habitant, which is according to the recent statistic shows that more than 50% of the population are young generation whereas from the age of 0 to 30. They are youth and as future leaders of the country, we do need to optimizing and effectively using current resources in order to develop and produce human capacity,skill, and expertise which is competitive internationally and recognize, One of the ways is by establishing libraries and laboratories in every school and university with high qualify books, computers, internet connection, and other research tools. The government of Timor-Leste may prioritize fields to be developed and support high talent Timorese to get higher education which is focusing on selective fields. Once we had sufficient human resources that had international competences, we can the settle and develop the country more quickly. Although, we had plenty natural resources but the future of the country depends on the current human resource development.

Nowadays, information and technology (IT) is becoming an integrated part of the human life in any society including industry and business. Therefore, we do think that, with the implementation of IT in the early age in every sector, it will be helping to improve human past education and build more updated human capacity to deliver a robust development in which is also improving a quality of life of the people.

The IBM collaboration and services will contribute to the world society, exclusively Timor-Leste as young country with the majority of the population considers as young people generation and they are becoming a future IBMers in Timor-Leste.

The Precise Solutions LDA is a professional Information and Technology (IT) service provider and authorized Lotus domino software that just had a partnership with ISW and other professional firms  

Vision:

With IBM partnership, Timor-Leste Youth and Professionals are ready to compete in the global market especially in the sector of information and technology collaboration

Mission:

-      To ensure new Information and Technology scientist and developers in the country specially IBMers

-      To develop Information Technology Resource nationally to full fill the requests from corporate business, International agencies, and government of Timor-Leste as well as IBM software vendor

-      To reduce the unemployment nationally and ready to the Market, national and international

-      To develop Information Technology specially IBMers community nationally, professionally and certified internationally

-      To transfer the Information and Technology knowledge via training, seminars, and workshops by certified instructors

A. Introduction of the code

The reason of the having the code of conduct is that all employees are to demonstrate in their work behavior during their employment with Precise Solutions LDA.

This code of conduct is to ensure an organizational culture basing on mutual trust, respect, and responsibility in which is to achieve the organization vision and mission. This code of conduct has to be applicable and implemented in the Precise Solutions work environment.

B. Precise Solutions LDA Values:

• Is committed to work in multicultural environment based on the mutual trust, respect, and responsibility;
•  Is promoting equity and merit based employment;
•  Is valuing the diversity and individual differences;
•  Is providing leadership through motivation, best practices, and ethical behavior;
•  Is fostering an environment of continuation of the improvement based on the objectives and qualities;
•  Is empowering staff through trainings, opportunities to growth, development, leadership, and delegation of the authorities;
•  Is establishing a good work environment relationship that based on the communication, consultation, cooperation, and input or ideas from employees;
• Is focusing the Precise Solutions LDA mission achieved;

C. Precise Solutions LDA Code of Conduct (Apply to all Precise Solutions LDA employees and required to know)

• Understand the mission of the Precise Solutions LDA and how they work contributes to the mission;
•  When acting as Precise Solutions LDA employment, treat everyone with the respect and courtesy without harassment;
• Demonstrate behavior that promote tolerance and harmony;
•  Disclose and take reasonable steps to avoid any conflict of interest in the connection with Precise Solutions LDA employment;
•  Ensure all Precise Solutions LDA resources that allocated to the staff are used and equitably to achieve the mission;
•  Provide constructive feedback to one another in order to improve personal and team performance;
•  Sharing information in timely and directed manner;
• Provide services in timely and accurate manner;
• Behave in good reputation while  representing Precise Solutions LDA;
• Behave all the time to promote the integrity and values of the Precise Solutions LDA;

C.1 Precise Solutions LDA code of conduct In-practice: following the practical application toward to the Precise Solutions LDA values and code of conduct.

C.1.1 Personal conduct

• Handle any conflicts in constructive and supportive manner;
•  Demonstrate positive attitude in the working environment;
• Take an initiative to accomplish work in order to achieve the mission;
•  Demonstrate a commitment to continue learning and willing to try new approaches;
• Demonstrate and promote team working environment;
• Act with self awareness, self motivation, social skill, and empathy;
•  Demonstrate and promote Precise Solutions LDA values;

C.1.2 Communication

• Sharing information in direct and timely manner;
•  Communicate honestly and open mind with others on the issues that they face;
• Provide constructive feedback to the team in order to lift up the performance;
•  Seek and appreciate constructive feedback;
•  Demonstrate careful attention during perform the job;

C.1.3 Integrity and commitment

·        Demonstrate honesty in working environment;

·        Reliable via keeping a commitment and promises to delivery all assignment on time bases;

·        Perform all work with high standard and qualities;

·        Take and accept all responsibilities towards to the actions;

·        Act as good steward of human, financial, and material resource;

C.1.4 Customer service

·        Demonstrate a commitment to provide services in an accurate and timely manner either from internal and external;

·        Seek a creative, innovation, new ideas, and solutions to the needs from internal and external;

C.1.5 Corporate Leadership and Management

·        Demonstrate a commitment for empowering employees through delegation authorities, staff development, trainings, an responsibilities;

·        Demonstrate and promote participative decision making process;

·        Demonstrate commitment to establish a working environment with good communication value, cooperation, and consultation;

·        Continue to give the orientation to the staff to achieve the mission including the new strategies, value, and policies;

·        Anticipate and change management;

·        Promote the innovation and creativities in the work-place;

·        Communicate clear the future vision;

·        Ensure all information are shared and reach all of the staff;

·        Recognize and rewords base on staff performance;

D. Any deliberate breach of this code of conduct will result in disciplinary action being taken against employees  

References:

·        Buchanan, D. & Huczynski, A. (2007), Organizational Behaviour: an introductory text. 6th edition. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall

·        McDonald, Chris, Ph.D., (2006) Creating a Code of Ethics for Your Organization, [On-line]. Available from:  http://www.ethicsweb.ca/codes/coe3.htm  (Accessed:  7 April  2011)

·        Lee, J. A. N. (2002): Ethics Code around the World. [On-line] Available from: http://courses.cs.vt.edu/%7Ecs3604/lib/WorldCodes/WorldCodes.html (Accessed: 4 June 2007)

·        Nortel Code of Business conduct On-line] Available from: http://www.nortel.com/corporate/community/ethics/guide.html (accessed: 13 April  2011)

ICT and Managerial Roles

By Raul Bernardino

Introduction

“Henry Fayol defined managerial role of control as, verifying whether everything occurs in conformity with the plan adopted, the instructions issued, and principles established.”

The controls are a checking point whereas management to measure all actions or activities that are still in line with organization objectives and strategy and it is including measuring the qualities, effectiveness, and efficiencies.  

Far before the organization is going to implement the plan, the organization had to set out it is own objectives and goals to be achieved in certain period of the time. In other hand, to reach the objectives and the goals of the organization, the organization has to have a plan and execute the activities including set the budget line for each individual’s activities and the cost analysis at the end of the executions.

To be easy to control and avoiding different expectations, we, the management has to set out the standards of the operations. For example standard time for of the operation and production, standard of the productivity, standard of the cost, standard of the qualities, and standard of the staff behavioral. With these standards organization will be achieve it objectives’ and goals’.  

Another approach of the managerial role was by “Henry Mintzberg. He took a time for live investigation or researched of five CEO's of a company and he came up with ten managerial roles that best reflected all the daily tasks of manager performs.   These ten tasks or roles are broken up to in groups called interpersonal, informational, and decisional.”  

Category	Role	Activities
Interpersonal	Figurehead Leader Liaison	-         A symbolic duty, performing ceremonies, receive visitor -         To advise and influence, direct and motivate subordinated, train -         To maintain the information links in and beyond the organization
Informational	Monitor Disseminator Spokesperson	-         Seek and received information -         Forward information to other -         Represent the unit to outsider
Decisional	Entrepreneur Disturbance handler Resource allocation Negotiator	-         To initiate new projects -         To take a correction -         To decide who gets what -         To represent the department or unit during a negotiation

With these three categories above, the management can easily implement or execute their roles.

How about the information communication and technology (ICT) function in these three categories above? Are they support and help human being to implement quick decisions?

Following are several the questions that can be tested:

"Can be performed and supported by ICT?": On the role of figurehead, I do think that Information Communication and Technology can play some parts, for instance, create a robot to attend a visitors or guests such as open a door for the guest, ask guest to sign the guest book including write down a purpose of the visit, guide quest to the waiting room, etc. However, naturally, in this situation, we always use human as receptionist to interact with the guests. The Leader role: Herewith, today information revolution, I can say that, the ICT can perform and support the tasks, in which to advice, to train, and to influence. The Liaison role: I do see that Information and Technology can perform and support this and it will be a cost effective. For example, organization website, video streaming, etc. Most of the interpersonal category can be performed and supported by ICT.

The Informational category: All of the roles such spokesperson, Monitor, disseminator roles can be performed and supported by Information and Technology. For example, the internet, intranet, extranet, and websites where are the owners put their visions and missions, goals, objectives, and all activities in. The audience can just extract them from anywhere and at any time they need.

The category of decisional: Nowadays the decision making processes are very much relay on the availability and reliability of the information. In this case, decision support systems are important. We can also doing a negotiation via virtual systems such as via video/audio conferencing, webinar, sametime meeting, etc.  For the resource allocation role, we can see that ICT help and perform including produce lot of applications such as People-soft, Human Resource Management system, ERP, and etc.

“Cannot be executed by computer?”: I do think that, basically computer itself is nothing, unless it is being programmed to do a certain task. The computer will act as human as much as the information has entered in to the system before we request the information from it. In my own opinion that, what are things that computer can’t execute is about the emotion or the feelings. This owns only by human being. In other part, if the computer never being programmed or put information in, somebody requests will be fulfill, and the answer or from the would be “bad command or not recognize the command, syntax error, and etc”.

Conclusion:

Almost all managerial roles are now using the information communication technology as tools to make a quick, efficient, and accurate decision making processes. This means that, human still have a full control on the system. For instance, when a system down, human can still use alternative solution before system back to the normal operation.  

  

References list:

• Huczynski, A & Buchanan, D (2007) Organizational Behavior (6th Ed) Essex: Pearson Education
• Managerial Role [on-line]. Available from: http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Managerial-Role/82391  (Accessed: 2 April, 2011)
• Managerial Role [on-line]. Available from: http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Managerial-Roles/64891 (Accessed:  2 April, 2011)
• Minztberg, H., Ten Management roles [on-line]. Available from: http://www.sayeconomy.com/ten-management-roles-by-henry-mintzberg/ (Accessed:  2 April, 2011)