It is rightly said “Time and Tide wait for none”.

An individual should understand the value of time for

him to succeed in all aspects of life. People who waste time are the ones who fail to create an
identity of their own.

What is Time Management?

 Time Management refers to managing time effectively so that the right time is allocated to
the right activity.
 Effective time management allows individuals to assign specific time slots to activities as per
their importance.
 Time Management refers to making the best use of time as time is always limited.

Ask yourself which activity is more important and how much time should be allocated to the same?
Know which work should be done earlier and which can be done a little later.

Time Management plays a very important role not only in organizations but also in our personal
lives.

Time Management includes:

i. Effective Planning
ii. Setting goals and objectives
iii. Setting deadlines
iv. Delegation of responsibilities
v. Prioritizing activities as per their importance
vi. Spending the right time on the right activity

 Effective Planning

Plan your day well in advance. Prepare a To Do List or a “TASK PLAN”. Jot down the
important activities that need to be done in a single day against the time that should be
allocated to each activity. High Priority work should come on top followed by those which do
not need much of your importance at the moment. Complete pending tasks one by one. Do
not begin fresh work unless you have finished your previous task. Tick the ones you have
already completed. Ensure you finish the tasks within the stipulated time frame.

 Setting Goals and Objectives

Working without goals and targets in an organization would be similar to a situation where
the captain of the ship loses his way in the sea. Yes, you would be lost. Set targets for
yourself and make sure they are realistic ones and achievable.

 Setting Deadlines

Set deadlines for yourself and strive hard to complete tasks ahead of the deadlines. Do not
wait for your superiors to ask you everytime. Learn to take ownership of work. One person
who can best set the deadlines is you yourself. Ask yourself how much time needs to be
devoted to a particular task and for how many days. Use a planner to mark the important
dates against the set deadlines.

 Delegation of Responsibilities
 Learn to say “NO” at workplace. Don’t do everything on your own. There are other people as
well. One should not accept something which he knows is difficult for him. The roles and
responsibilities must be delegated as per interest and specialization of employees for them
to finish tasks within deadlines. A person who does not have knowledge about something
needs more time than someone who knows the work well.

 Prioritizing Tasks

Prioritize the tasks as per their importance and urgency. Know the difference between
important and urgent work. Identify which tasks should be done within a day, which all
should be done within a month and so on. Tasks which are most important should be done
earlier.

 Spending the right time on right activity

Develop the habit of doing the right thing at the right time. Work done at the wrong time is
not of much use. Don’t waste a complete day on something which can be done in an hour or
so. Also keep some time separate for your personal calls or checking updates on Facebook or
Twitter. After all human being is not a machine.

For Effective Time Management one needs to be:

Organized - Avoid keeping stacks of file and heaps of paper at your workstation. Throw what all you
don’t need. Put important documents in folders. Keep the files in their respective drawers with
labels on top of each file. It saves time which goes on unnecessary searching.

Don’t misuse time - Do not kill time by loitering or gossiping around. Concentrate on your work and
finish assignments on time. Remember your organization is not paying you for playing games on
computer or peeping into other’s cubicles. First complete your work and then do whatever you feel
like doing. Don’t wait till the last moment.

Be Focussed - One needs to be focused for effective time management.

Develop the habit of using planners, organizers, table top calendars for better time management. Set
reminders on phones or your personal computers.

Time Management Skills

Your multitasking abilities are an indication that you are tailor-made to be a media entrepreneur.
You have the ability to prioritize things at work and this allows you to be more productive and
achieve more within a limited time period.

Passionate and Enthusiastic

This is an inherent quality. It is only then they can excel in their chosen line of work. As a successful
media person, you have to have passion and this is what allows you to be productive and overcome
obstacles.

Leadership Skills

Leaders are born and not made. Outstanding leadership skills help guide your team towards the
goal.
Tech Savvy

Media industry has changed tremendously with the availability of technology, so you should be well-
versed in using it. This will help you get things done faster and also make you more efficient and
productive as media entrepreneur.

Team work and leadership

Significance of team work

The process of working collaboratively with a group of people in order to achieve a goal is what we
understand by team work.

Teamwork is often a crucial part of a business, as it is often necessary for colleagues to work well
together, trying their best in any circumstance. It means that people will try to cooperate, using their
individual skills and providing constructive feedback, despite any personal conflict between
individuals.

The Benefits of Teamwork

There is no greater weapon in a company's arsenal than a great team. When firing on all cylinders,
effective teams have the ability to increase efficiency by taking on more complex tasks (think "two
heads are better than one"), improve communication by facilitating open discussion and cooperation
among team members, maximize output by leveraging each team member's strengths, provide
opportunities for personal growth, and act as a support mechanism for staff. Unsurprisingly,
teamwork at the workplace has also shown to increase innovation and creativity by allowing team
members to bring unique and distinct perspectives to the table. When leveraged, effective
teamwork drives company growth and boosts performance and success by tapping into each
individual's unique strengths and attributes.

Tips for better team work

 Think about your team first - Every individual should think of his team first and his personal
interests should take a backseat. Do not mix your personal issues with your professional life.
Keep them separate.
 Never underestimate your team member - Do not neglect any of the members, instead work
together and also listen to them as well. Never try to impose your ideas on any member.
Avoid demotivating any team member.
 Discuss - Before implementing any new idea, it must be discussed with each and every
member on an open platform. Never ever discuss with anyone separately as the other
person feels left out and reluctant to perform and contribute to the team.
 Avoid criticism - Stay away from criticism and making fun of your team members. Help each
other and be a good team player. Be the first one to break the ice and always create a
friendly ambience. If you do not agree with any of your team member, make him
understand his mistakes but in a polite tone and do guide him. Avoid negativity within the
team.
 Transparency must be maintained and healthy interaction must be promoted among the
team members. The communication must be effective, crystal clear and precise so that
every team member gets a common picture. Effective communication also nullifies
 misunderstandings and confusions. Confusions lead to conflicts and individuals waste their
time and energy in fighting rather than working.
 The team leader must take the responsibility of encouraging the team members to give
their level best and should intervene immediately in cases of conflicts. The personality of the
leader should be such that every team member should look up to him and take his advice
whenever required. He should not be partial to any member and support each of them
equally. It is the duty of the team leader to extract the best out of his team members.
 For better team work, try to understand your team members well. Do not just always talk
business, it is okay if you go out with your team members for lunch or catch a movie
together. It improves the relations and strengthens the bond among the team members. The
team members must trust each other for maximum output.
 Avoid conflicts in your team. Don’t fight over petty issues and find faults in others. One
should be a little adjusting with each other and try to find an alternative best suited to all the
team members.
 Rewards and Recognition - Healthy competition must be encouraged among the team
members. The performance of every team member must be evaluated timely and the best
performer should be rewarded suitably so that the other members also get motivated to
perform. Recognitions like “The Best Team Player” or the “The Best Performer” go a long
way in motivating the team members. Appreciate the member who performs the best or
does something unique.

What is leadership?

Leadership is the process of social influence which maximizes the efforts of others towards the
achievement of a goal.

Key elements

 Leadership stems from social influence, not authority or power

 Leadership requires others, and that implies they don’t need to be “direct reports”
 No mention of personality traits, attributes, or even a title; there are many styles, many
paths, to effective leadership
 It includes a goal, not influence with no intended outcome

Leadership involves-

 Establishing a clear vision

 Sharing that vision with others so that they will follow willingly
 Providing information, knowledge and methods to realize that vision
 Coordinating and balancing the conflicting interests of all members and the stakeholders
 It a leader who steps in during crises and is able to think and act creatively in difficult
situations

Significance of Leadership

Leadership is the process of influencing others. The mere use of authority by managers may not lead
to results. But when managerial authority is enriched with good leadership, employees begin
cooperating.

1. It improves motivation and morale of employees

A successful leader influences the behavior of individuals. It enhances the levels of involvement of
individual employees in their work. The leader creates self-confidence in employees, sustains their
enthusiasm and involvement in their work, enhances the motivation and morale of employees and
thus helps greatly in achievement of organizational goals by the employees

2. it leads to higher performance

Leadership motivates the group to strive for achieving the results that is achieving the organizational
goals. By increasing the levels of commitment and motivations, a good leader leads the employees
to higher levels of performance. Higher performance leads to increased productivity which results in
increased profitability even in competitive market

3. it is an aid to authority

Leadership is the process of influencing others. The mere use of authority by managers may not lead
to results. But when managerial authority is enriched with good leadership, employees begin
cooperating. Thus, formal exercise of authority may not result in the success authority when
combined with leadership, brings success to an organization.

4. It determines organizational success

In the process of unification of group efforts to achieve organizational goals, leadership enhances
organizational efficiency. Good managers alone cannot achieve this.

5. It helps to respond to change

Organizations today need to quickly respond to changes. A change in the technology, process,
methods and plans always encounters resistance from people working in organizations. Leadership
can play a great role in implementing change in organizations by creating a conducive environment.
People follow leaders.

6. It inculcates values in organization

A value based organization gets increased commitment and loyalty from its employees. Good
leadership being inspirational, it also successfully percolates human values which shapes the attitude
of employees towards work

Qualities of a leader

1. A leader must know himself and continuously seek self-improvement

2. Be technically proficient
3. A leader must seek responsibility and take responsibility for his actions
4. Leader must make sound and timely decisions
5. Leader must set examples
6. Knowing people and thinking about their well-being
7. Must keep the followers informed
8. Leader must develop a sense of responsibility among the followers
9. He must ensure that tasks are understood, accomplished and supervised
10. Must train followers as a team
11. Developing full capabilities of organization
Decision making process

The decision-making process, in a business context, is a set of steps taken by managers in an

enterprise to determine the planned path for business initiatives and to set specific actions in
motion. Ideally, business decisions are based on an analysis of objective facts, aided by the use of
business intelligence (BI) and analytics tools.

PROBLEM SOLVING TECHNIQUES AND SUPPORTIVE SUPERVISION

Identify Problems-

The first step in the process is to recognize that there is a decision to be made. Decisions are not
made arbitrarily; they result from an attempt to address a specific problem, need or opportunity. A
supervisor in a retail shop may realize that he has too many employees on the floor compared with
the day's current sales volume, for example, requiring him to make a decision to keep costs under
control.

Seek Information-

Managers seek out a range of information to clarify their options once they have identified an issue
that requires a decision. Managers may seek to determine potential causes of a problem, the people
and processes involved in the issue and any constraints placed on the decision-making process.

Brainstorm Solutions-

Having a more complete understanding of the issue at hand, managers move on to make a list of
potential solutions. This step can involve anything from a few seconds of though to a few months or
more of formal collaborative planning, depending on the nature of the decision.

Choose an Alternative-

Managers weigh the pros and cons of each potential solution, seek additional information if needed
and select the option they feel has the best chance of success at the least cost. Consider seeking
outside advice if you have gone through all the previous steps on your own; asking for a second
opinion can provide a new perspective on the problem and your potential solutions.

Implement the Plan-

There is no time to second guess yourself when you put your decision into action. Once you have
committed to putting a specific solution in place, get all of your employees on board and put the
decision into action with conviction. That is not to say that a managerial decision cannot change
after it has been enacted; savvy managers put monitoring systems in place to evaluate the outcomes
of their decisions.

Follow up-

A follow up system ensures the achievement of the objectives. It is exercised through control. Simply
stated it is concerned with the process of checking the proper implementation of decision. Follow up
is indispensable so as to modify as well as improve upon the decisions at the earliest opportunity

Evaluate Outcomes-
Even the most experienced business owners can learn from their mistakes. Always monitor the
results of strategic decisions you make as a small business owner; be ready to adapt your plan as
necessary, or to switch to another potential solution if your chosen solution does not work out the
way you expected.

Steps of Decision Making Process:

Following are the important steps of the decision making process. Each step may be supported by
different tools and techniques.

Step 1: Identification of the purpose of the decision

In this step, the problem is thoroughly analysed. There are a couple of questions one should ask
when it comes to identifying the purpose of the decision.

 What exactly is the problem?

 Why the problem should be solved?
 Who are the affected parties of the problem?
 Does the problem have a deadline or a specific time-line?
Step 2: Information gathering
A problem of an organization will have many stakeholders. In addition, there can be dozens of
factors involved and affected by the problem.

In the process of solving the problem, you will have to gather as much as information related to the
factors and stakeholders involved in the problem. For the process of information gathering, tools
such as 'Check Sheets' can be effectively used.

Step 3: Principles for judging the alternatives

In this step, the baseline criteria for judging the alternatives should be set up. When it comes to
defining the criteria, organizational goals as well as the corporate culture should be taken into
consideration.

As an example, profit is one of the main concerns in every decision making process. Companies
usually do not make decisions that reduce profits, unless it is an exceptional case. Likewise, baseline
principles should be identified related to the problem in hand.

Step 4: Brainstorm and analyse the different choices

For this step, brainstorming to list down all the ideas is the best option. Before the idea generation
step, it is vital to understand the causes of the problem and prioritization of causes.

For this, you can make use of Cause-and-Effect diagrams and Pareto Chart tool. Cause-and-Effect
diagram helps you to identify all possible causes of the problem and Pareto chart helps you to
prioritize and identify the causes with highest effect.

Then, you can move on generating all possible solutions (alternatives) for the problem in hand.

Step 5: Evaluation of alternatives

Use your judgement principles and decision-making criteria to evaluate each alternative. In this
step, experience and effectiveness of the judgement principles come into play. You need to
compare each alternative for their positives and negatives.

Step 6: Select the best alternative

Once you go through from Step 1 to Step 5, this step is easy. In addition, the selection of the best
alternative is an informed decision since you have already followed a methodology to derive and
select the best alternative.

Step 7: Execute the decision

Convert your decision into a plan or a sequence of activities. Execute your plan by yourself or with
the help of subordinates.

Step 8: Evaluate the results

 Evaluate the outcome of your decision. See whether there is anything you should learn and then
correct in future decision making. This is one of the best practices that will improve your decision-
making skills.

Conclusion
When it comes to making decisions, one should always weigh the positive and negative business
consequences and should favour the positive outcomes.

This avoids the possible losses to the organization and keeps the company running with a sustained
growth. Sometimes, avoiding decision making seems easier; especially, when you get into a lot of
confrontation after making the tough decision.

But, making the decisions and accepting its consequences is the only way to stay in control of your
corporate life and time.

Managing peer relationships and non-violent conflict resolution

1. Bringing about Positive Organisational Change (POC) – Engaging your middle management to see a
positive self-concept will help them portray to the rest of the organisation positive perceptions you
instil of change. It’s a win-win situation.
2. Communication strengthens for trust – Not only does the right information get sent across to your
middle management (and the rest of your organisation), but a circle of trust develops. This trust will
enable you to access never before seen insights of your managers’ thoughts. Opinions, ideas,
remarks and solutions that you wouldn’t have had thought of on your own are just a few to mention.
3. Your role becomes more enjoyable – While managing not only your company but the people who
run your company is a lot to handle, it can be fun at the same time. In amidst of collaborating a new
financial year together, the time leading up to the finish can be anticipated with a planned team
dinner (talking things other than business, of course). Or, by cracking a few inside jokes throughout
breaks just make it a little more bearable.
4. Discourages any conflict – When you work in harmony with your leading men, the chances of
misunderstood disagreement arising is slim to none. In doing so, activities sail smoothly without the
need to resolve emerged conflicts. In a sense, it’s a schedule sticking benefit as time is consumed on
the right tasks.
5. A domino effect of productivity – As I’ve mentioned, it’s a win for all. You engage your greatest men
to realise their potential or further their strengths. Effectively, they’ll reflect what they’ve learnt
through this process upon the people they manage – the company’s employees.

You may seem to have everything under control or believe that your leading men will have
everything under control; but you need to be truly confident in this belief. To be truly confident with
this belief is by engaging your managers’ through relationships you form with them. Gain their
emotional trust to bring together what you envisaged. Trust goes a long way and quite frankly,
emotional trust is stronger than superglue.

Conflict
Conflict is when two or more values, perspectives and opinions are contradictory in nature and
haven't been aligned or agreed about yet, including:

 Within yourself when you're not living according to your values;

 When your values and perspectives are threatened; or
 Discomfort from fear of the unknown or from lack of fulfillment.

Conflict is inevitable and often good, for example, good teams always go through a "form, storm,
norm and perform" period. Getting the most out of diversity means often-contradictory values,
perspectives and opinions.

Conflict is often needed. It:

 Helps to raise and address problems.
 Energizes work to be on the most appropriate issues.
 Helps people "be real", for example, it motivates them to participate.
 Helps people learn how to recognize and benefit from their differences.
 Conflict is not the same as discomfort. The conflict isn't the problem - it is when conflict is
poorly managed that is the problem.

Conflict is a problem when it:

 Hampers productivity.
 Lowers morale.
 Causes more and continued conflicts.
 Causes inappropriate behaviors.

Types of Managerial Actions that Cause Workplace Conflicts

 Poor communications
 Employees experience continuing surprises, they aren't informed of new decisions,
programs, etc.
 Employees don't understand reasons for decisions, they aren't involved in decision-
making.
 As a result, employees trust the "rumor mill" more than management.
 The alignment or the amount of resources is insufficient. There is:
 Disagreement about "who does what".
 Stress from working with inadequate resources.
 "Personal chemistry", including conflicting values or actions among managers and
employees, for example:
 Strong personal natures don't match.
 We often don't like in others what we don't like in ourselves.
 Leadership problems, including inconsistent, missing, too-strong or uninformed
leadership evidenced by:
 Avoiding conflict, "passing the buck" with little follow-through on decisions.
 Employees see the same continued issues in the workplace.
  Supervisors don't understand the jobs of their subordinates.

Deal With Conflict

1. There is no one best way to deal with conflict. It depends on the current situation. Here are the
major ways that people use to deal with conflict.
A. Avoid it. Pretend it is not there or ignore it.
(a) Use it when it simply is not worth the effort to argue. Usually this approach tends to worsen the
conflict over time.

2. Accommodate it. Give in to others, sometimes to the extent that you compromise yourself.
A. Use this approach very sparingly and infrequently, for example, in situations when you know that
you will have another more useful approach in the very near future. Usually this approach tends to
worsen the conflict over time, and causes conflicts within yourself.

3. Competing. Work to get your way, rather than clarifying and addressing the issue. Competitors
love accommodators.
A. Use when you have a very strong conviction about your position.

4. Compromising. Mutual give-and-take.

A. Use when the goal is to get past the issue and move on.

5. Collaborating. Focus on working together.

A. Use when the goal is to meet as many current needs as possible by using mutual resources. This
approach sometimes raises new mutual needs.
B. Use when the goal is to cultivate ownership and commitment.