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The key role of the user in computer system specification
Written by John Berry on 4th May 2017. Revised 14th February 2023.
12 min read
Computer systems comprising hardware and software form significant elements in many people’s working lives. In any new system implementation, users are not passive, compliant beings. They have choices. They can react in one of four ways: adoption, compliant acceptance, reluctant acceptance or rejection. As a result, it is critical that users are fully involved in system specification from initial management thoughts to implementation.
Annualised Hours Yields Flexibility
Written by Sue Berry on 3rd May 2017. Revised 5th February 2023.
5 min read
The press is full of stories about flexible working. Normally, flexible working is considered as moving to part-time hours, working from home or perhaps converting to job share. But there is one tool that gets overlooked. It’s one that can really benefit both employee and employer – the introduction of annualised hours. Annualised hours contracts have been around for a long time. This blog gives the pros and cons.
Leading People: a key manager role
Written by John Berry & Sue Berry on 21st November 2022. Revised 31st January 2023.
4 min read
Leading people is a key manager role. It's on two planes: as a one-to-one, or dyadic, relationship that the manager builds between themselves and each employee; and a one-to-many relationship where the manager exhorts their expectations. We discuss both in our book. We also consider the various leadership approaches and the three key leadership styles. And we give two key leadership models: feed forward and feedback. Both are ways by which leaders can influence followers to achieve the leader's aims.
Setting Objectives: the mechanism by which employees achieve outcomes
Written by John Berry & Sue Berry on 31st January 2023.0
4 min read
The idea of objective setting and performance appraisal is simple enough, but the complexity is doing it. It’s easy for managers to fail or give up trying. Managers must set high level objectives for the performance of the firm. Then ripple these objectives down to employees and run performance appraisal as a means of achieving the objectives. We look at the various methods of appraisal. We discuss multi-dimensional, multi-rater systems. And we illustrate how it should be done as an integrated process.
Managing People: getting the best performance out of employees day to day
Written by John Berry & Sue Berry on 23rd January 2023.0
4 min read
Managing employees day to day means motivating them; getting performance, commitment and engagement in order to secure behaviour and personal outcomes. We describe how. Personal outcomes aggregate to organisational outcomes like turnover, profit, quality, and safety. Here we cover additional topics that influence performance like getting the right working culture, managing emotions at work, how managers use power, formation of groups/teams, overcoming unconscious bias and finally managing equality.
Starting Operations: about people, work and systems
Written by John Berry & Sue Berry on 29th December 2022. Revised 5th January 2023.
4 min read
A firm doesn’t just work. The manager must determine, in detail, what the firm is to do and how it’s to do it. The firm, as a system and in turn as a series of processes involving people and technology, must be defined. This definition starts with the contract that the firm has with its customers. The manager’s job is then making order from chaos - making the firm predictable in pursuit of required deliverables. Here we show how the manager uses the customer contract to define the firm and its operations.
