Success Consists Of...

Having a System

30 December 2014 by Laddie F. Hutar

A system is a way of doing things. It is a method of putting things into some pre-arranged alphabetical or numerical order to avoid confusion and make them easier to find later (filing system), etc. A person who is orderly and gets things done on time is said to work with a system. On a higher level, a system can be a group of things assembled for a common purpose, such as a highway system, computer system, educational system, growth development system, etc.

Questions for Reflection:

It’s time to self-evaluate:
What is your system?
How well does your system work?
Was this system inherited, or did you create it?
How can it be improved?

#67

Big Business

16 December 2014 by Laddie F. Hutar

Big Business is doing something to make money on a much larger scale. Instead of being owned by one or two people, or a family, the owners of big business are the thousands of people who have bought stock in a company with the idea of collectively making a profit in the form of dividends. Big business usually is a number of factories or stores located in many places and provides products and services in large volume.

Questions for Reflection:

Are you part of a small or big business?
You’re probably a customer of a big business. What is your experience like on that side?
How can this inform your job at your company?

#66

Knowing Your Boss

02 December 2014 by Laddie F. Hutar

A boss is a person you report to; the person who in turn assigns things for you to do. The boss is the person who sticks up for you.

A boss is someone you can turn to when you have serious problems. A boss is a friend but he is not a pal. A boss is someone you respect and whose respect you encourage.

Questions for Reflection:

How is your relationship with your boss?
What are your boss’ responsibilities?
How can you operate to help make your boss’ job easier??

#65

Referring to your Employees’ Manual

18 November 2014 by Laddie F. Hutar

An Employees’ Manual contains the company rules and regulations as they pertain to the employee. It explains:
1) the company’s purpose and philosophy,
2) working hours,
3) insurance program,
4) sick leave information,
etc.

As the small company grows, an employee manual generally evolves by holding meetings of various key groups and recording various policies that are in effect at the time. Then through a series of follow-up meetings, the manual is organized, up-dated and distributed to the employees for their ready personal use.

In larger companies, the employees’ manual can be detailed and lengthy.

Questions for Reflection:

Have you read your Employees’ Manual?
If it’s been a while, read it again. Is there anything new, or that you forgot?
How does writing and distributing a manual like this help management operate?

#64

Managing Finance

04 November 2014 by Laddie F. Hutar

Finance concerns money that is used, its amount, and its use … income, expenses, profit, taxes. Finance often includes a number of financial controls, such as profit and loss statements, annual report, bank balance, accounts receivable (money owed to the company), accounts payable (money the company owes to others).

Questions for Reflection:
How does your company’s finances differ from your personal ones?
Can you estimate your company’s income, expenses, profit and taxes?
How do these affect employee wages?

#63

Recognizing Waste

21 October 2014 by Laddie F. Hutar

Waste is the careless, unnecessary, useless, and improper spending of time, money, energy, heat, material, labor, and other assets without getting full value and often getting nothing in return. What is wasted is usually lost forever. Eliminating waste is a very effective way to save and economize. It is extremely important that everyone be aware of and stop waste whenever he sees it happening, or report it to the proper person so that necessary action can be taken. Waste helps no one and many times is the cause for lack of raises, layoffs, and the closing down of companies.

Questions for Reflection:
Where do you see waste?
How can this be fixed?
Can you calculate how much this waste costs the company, and employees in salary?

#62

Knowing Your Working Hours

07 October 2014 by Laddie F. Hutar

Working Hours are the hours during the day when you are required to be on the job. They are set by management and have a starting and ending time and may include scheduled times for coffee breaks, lunch, etc. Setting standard working hours lets the company schedule production, deliveries, store hours, etc. One of the measures of a good worker is that he is not only on the premises at the starting time but that he is at his work station and ready to work. Most try to arrive at their work stations a few minutes before starting time to just look things over before the work day begins. At the end of the day, the good worker works until the end of the work period and then begins to prepare for departure. He has pride in his work habits and the fact that on the job as in life, he delivers with a desire for thoroughness and excellence.

Questions for Reflection:
What are your working hours?
Evaluate your work habits. Are they good? Bad?
How could you improve your performance during work hours?

#61

Knowing your Workman’s Compensation

23 September 2014 by Laddie F. Hutar

Workmen’s Compensation is a kind of insurance that the company is required by law to have, either through an insurance company or self-insurance. Money is paid from this insurance to the worker in the event of work-related injury or illness, and to his family in case of a work-related death. This is another of the hidden fringe benefits that you receive as a result of your employment.

Questions for Reflection:
Have you used your workman’s comp?
How do you think management views those that use it frivolously?
Do you consider this a fringe benefit of the job?

#60

Avoiding Absenteeism (Part II)

09 September 2014 by Laddie F. Hutar

Employees who do not have a high degree of interest in their job seem to have many reasons for absenteeism. These reasons may be legitimate or not. Often absenteeism is a sign that the employee is unhappy on the job. In such cases, absenteeism will run ten to twenty percent… (missing one or two days in ten days of scheduled work).

In other cases where a fair attitude is held toward the job, the absenteeism rate will drop to five percent, but the dedicated employee who is concerned about doing a good job and who has pride in what he does, who is a team player, who feels that he can be counted upon, who progresses, generally has an absentee record from one to two-and-a-half percent. That means he misses no more than two-and-one-half to five days in an entire year.

Questions for Reflection:
Can you calculate your absence rate?
Is it under five percent?
How would you evaluate the absence rate of those around you?

#59

Avoiding Absenteeism (Part I)

26 August 2014 by Laddie F. Hutar

Absenteeism is not being on the job during regular working hours. Absenteeism causes a hardship on fellow employees. It interrupts production. It can be caused by many reasons: 1) personal health, 2) personal business, 3) death in the family, 4) accident, or 5) not wanting to go to work on a certain day.

Absentee records kept over long periods of time show that the employees who progress in their jobs are those who, in most cases, were on their jobs.

Stay tuned for Part II in two weeks…

Questions for Reflection:
Is anyone frequently absent in your team?
How does this affect your workload?
What can you do to avoid absenteeism?

#58