Reviewing Your Organisational Policy - By Benson O. Agoha

Russell worked for one of the Fortune 500 companies with a branch in Canary Wharf, London. One day he was out walking the dog accompanied by his 10-year-old son. Jack was clutching his mobile phone close to his ears. At the other end of the line was his mother who was at home preparing dinner in their pent house residence. They were living the dream. As father, son and dog walked past a Signpost of one of the budget stores, Jack, still talking with his mother, asked her if they could stop by and get some ice-cream. His mother said `no’. She had her reasons. They were living the high life and, it must be demonstrated, she thought. `Please Mom’, Jack insisted but his mother told him “Jack, it is against our policy to buy our ice-cream from that store”. The boy turned to his father and asked “Daddy, what is `policy’”? Russell looked down at his son and said “son she meant to say it is our `principle’ not to buy our ice-cream from that store”. The boy asked, “So, does `policy’ mean `principle’”? The man smiled and said to his son, `no not exactly’.

So what is Policy?
In its simplest and yet broad form, policy `is a guide to action’. So whether it is Fiscal Policy, Insurance Policy, Corporate Policy, Public Policy, this definition is broad enough to cut through all and without further explanation, one might be tempted to refer to other types of policy than intended in this article. For our purpose, the use of `policy’ relates to business or corporate policy. Therefore, in specific terms, we would define business or corporate policy “as a guide to managerial action in their day-to-day activities directed towards the achievement of the corporate objective’.

No doubt a manager trying to reposition an organisation will find that, in his corporate analysis, one of the issues he must review is the organisation’s policy document otherwise called `policy manual’, without which implementation of plans will be difficult.

Five main types of Policies that are very important for any organisation are the following:
· Regulatory Policies –which guides the conduct and behaviour of organisational members in and around the company. It spells out what is expected of them in certain situations, how they should respond to circumstances and issues as they arise while at work. Regulatory policies may also spell out such things as appearances or wearing of uniforms at work and what a manager can do if a member of staff violates this guideline.
· Distribution policies – which guides the organisational members, especially the marketing and sales staff, with respect to how they should supply or distribute the companies products. Which market should they focus on and at what time, especially if they are dealing with seasonal products? Distributive policies may also spell out guidelines about what products should be `pushed’ and which should not. This guideline may further assist the marketing department to decide how much advertising should be done for each product.
· Financial Policies – which spells out guidelines for raising of funds for the finance of corporate activies. Finance policies, will guide the organisational members, for example, with respect to what percentage of sales should be in reserve, when to go to the money or capital market to raise funds for the finance of organisational activities. It may even spell out when and where not to go borrowing.
· Personnel Policies – which spells out guidelines for the recruitment of human resources for and into the company. Personnel policies may include the display of `diversity’ in the recruitment process. Others may simply prefer to be `equal opportunity’ employers for all races and gender. It will also spell out guidelines about promotion, redeployment and even dismissal.
· Production/Service Policies – spell out guidelines about what products or services the organisation sells. How and when will new products be developed? By whom and how much resources are to be dedicated to product development and manufacturing? The guidelines assist the production manager and his department to take actions in their day-to-day activities. For service organisations, service policies spells out what services the organisation can undertake and what they cannot.

Ofcourse, the purpose of corporate policy is to guide organisational members when they need to make decisions on issues affecting the business, with or without their superiors present. If the guideline requires a manager to consult his superior, it would be insurbodination for him to do otherwise.

How Firm should Policy Be?
Fellow twitter, LaRita Heet, once asked so how firm should corporate policy be? The answer to this question is in the definition of policy itself. As a `guide’, corporate policy cannot and should not be rigid. It is simply a `guide’ and should be flexible enough to allow organisational members to use their discreation. The efficiency of any orgnisation is partly dependent on how much resources they have, and partly also, on how effectively the resources are allocated and managed by the organisational members.
But then, what marks an organisation out from their competitors is their distinctive competences, which includes, not just the available resources and their allocation but on how much `efficiency’ was achieved as a result of the display of `discreation’ by the organisational members.

Contents of Policy Document
A well articulated policy provision should be able to contain the following:
· Reason for which the policy is being issued
· What should be covered and how far should the policy go. Who are those likely to be affected by the policy
· When should the policy take effect? I discuss this further below under communication of policy
· What part should you play and which individuals or parties should play certain roles as needed.

Stages in the development of policy:
Despite what several authors write, there are six generally acceptable stages of policy development and introduction:
1. Identify the problem areas in your organsiation, bearing in mind the need to prescribe `guidelines’ to the conduct of organisational members in their day-to-day attempt to solve those problems and achieve a common goal. In an earlier post, I stated that every organisation has a problem. The difference is only in the degree of the problem within the company. It is because organisations have `problems’, that they need to be managed. Common problems in every organisation often concerns the allocation of resources within the company. How well the organisational members can effectively allocate the resources and solve organisational problems makes the difference. This is why some organisations prosper, while others fail. So having identified the problem, proceed to the next stage.
2. Formulate appropriate policies after consultation with the top level management in your organisation. Policies have to be formulated by the top level management because they have the capacity to look into every nook and cranny of the company and to see when things are not going well. It is also on their shoulder that the issue of leadership and control rests. So organisational members will be looking up to them to `show the way’ or the direction that they expect their organisation to head. Loose organisations soon become obtuse, amorphous and unguided. The result is best imagined.
3. Adopt the policy as evidence of its acceptability to the management team as the acceptable way to follow in their daily activities in trying to solve organisational problems within the company. Adoption is very much like accenting to a bill in the legislature. It is the stage at which the signature of the executive powers in the company is obtained. It is usually important to secure the support of the management team as evidence that it is not a unilateral action. After that, the next stage.
4. Take adequate measures to communicate the formulated policies to every member of the organisation as the acceptable way to follow in order to appropriately solve the organisation’s problems. Ensure that group meetings, if possible is held to formerly present it to them. Use film shows if available or latest presentation techniques, such as projectors, so that they understand what has been decided and why. Set effective date and move to the next stage.
5. Once the policies decided have been communicated and policy document presented, the implementation takes effect from the stipulated date. Managers can look up issues with the policy document if need be and take appropriate decision as the guidelines stipulates. Implementation is a very important stage of policy development because a badly implemented policy can wreck an organsiation.

6. Evaluation: As feedbacks are received, check the implementation part of the policy development from time to time to see where managers are having problems and why. Policy development without evaluation is not complete and it would be difficult to make necessary corrections for effective running of the organisation.

EVER HAD A DOOR SLAMMED ON YOUR FACE? - Benson O. Agoha

When was the last time a door got slammed on your face? What did you do? Well, if you are a Marketer, I should suppose you let out steam and then tried the next door?

Marketers are trained to handle abusive or irascible prospects. Often, this changes once the prospect confirms the `lead' or becomes a customer. But to get a `lead' you must be prepared to smile, make apologies, keep smiling and if the door does not slam soon, chip in a few words, then another few, and the third, till you collect his details. If the prospect is still listening, he is not determined to close the door and might just give in to the marketers gift-of-the-gab. That was what happened to a colleague today.

If you are like me, a marketer of home improvement products, you would often have to go into the fields on canvassing walks. You must be prepared to meet different kinds of people, in different kinds of situations in different environments. But remember that `the customer is always right'.

Tuesday July 14th was for me an eventful day. The morning session walk was, in terms of yielding a `lead', fruitless. But then, came the evening walk, we had been out nearly three hours, knocking on doors. It was not until we were doing the odd numbers side of the last street that the event occured. I had approached a door to knock when a van pulled by and inside were the home owner and two others. A brief introduction, and I secured two `leads' at once.

Experience has thought us that even though some prospects need some kind of gentle persuasion, if they dont want it, they wont want it. So whatever you are selling, one advise worth remembering is never to approach a door thinking that this must be the one `lead' I have been expecting. Customers, like everybody else, have their needs and order their priorities to suit their needs.

And oh! when it turns out to be a day for taking the blows, don't forget that it is part of job and ensure you take it your own way. Smile, swallow your pride and move one. The next door might just be the icing in your cake.

Reviewing Your Organisational Culture - By Benson O. Agoha

It is not impossible to discover, after a restructuring exercise that the usual way of doing things, otherwise called `organisational culture’, has been left unaffected.

When an organisation reengineers, it reviews and replaces, or to save cost, improves on its production or service processes as a way to ensuring that things run smoothly, unaffected or unhindered by unnecessary protocol.

Often times, a smooth process ensures speed and better quality of the products and services. But once in a while, it could be discovered that certain cultures need changing. Management may also decide to introduce and inculcate new cultures into the organisation. What cultures do you now practice which you believe contribute to achieving negative results and need changing?

A&C bakers, is now over 80 years old. But at inception, the promoters conceived it, as an organisation with continuous process for production of bread and related pastries. It was strategically located in the South of England and presently, has about 16 factories throughout Britain.

Within the past five years, A&C bakeries have undergone a profound makeover that strengthens its claim to leadership position in the food and beverage industry. Thorough overhaul of its processes and changes made to the ways things are done around the company has seen improvements and positive reports being filed back to the promoters of this massive 4-plant factory.

The review saw the Traywash section losing its two old Autarchy feeders and also ensured that the main Washing facility was redesigned and made less cumbersome, the offloading bays have now been equipped with Ramps which assist drivers offloading returning Trays for washing before supply to the packaging facilities inside the factory. The result is that less calls for engineers are now made from Traywash and by extension, it represents cost savings from engineering hours.

Some of the organisational cultures that have been changed include to employment of University graduates and highly skilled professionals to restructure the bakery, thereby injecting new outside `brains'. The canteen has been refurbished, food subsidized to ensure that staff and temporary workers are happy. Sales of Bread for staff is also subsidized at just 20p per loaf.

But, to whom much is given, much is expected. So in exchange for the generosity, the staff are to change from their uniform to mufti each time they come out for break, before they come to the canteen area, although they get 5mins extra. They must also wear Hi-Vest before they go outside the main factory either for smoking or to go to either Traywash or Despatch sections of the company.

Compliance is monitored. And the staff are happy to comply. Can you think of measures you know if you introduced into your business, your staff will be happy, while at the same returning your business to profitability? That is the essence of organisational repositioning.

The way things are done around an organisation can make or mar it. A good organisation culture can make a business be perceived as outstanding. Good organisation is reflected in the type of culture existing in the company. A bad culture brings disrespect and can make a business loose customers. A good organisational culture wins more customers and respect and reposes more trust in the company. RG Owens (1987) defines organisational culture as “the body of solutions to external and internal problems that has worked consistently for a group and that is therefore taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think about, and feel in relation to those problems”

Because culture is a multi-level feature of an organisation, a manager who identifies bad Organisational culture in the company can make changes by following some simple procedures:

1. Discuss your findings with your superiors and obtain their support with respect to the changes you plan to introduce and how far it should go.

2. Study your staff with a view to understanding their behaviour so as to be able to predict their future behaviour.

3. Review the prevailing culture, but this time doing it with a view to identifying obvious signs of possible culture clashes and or culture variation. Clashes of culture within an organisation can cripple it and create internal chaos within the company.

Bearing in mind that culture is a form of control within the organisation, how tough or soft do you want to be? Bear in mind that creating, reshaping or introducing a new strong organisational culture is not an easy task and is one of the most important tasks of leadership.

4. Communicate the new culture and watch out for your feedback as evidence of learned culture. Some methods of communicating culture include using the process of socialization, stories and language. Whether they are facts or mere fiction, stories and language help you communicate your new culture in such a way that it will be understood and practiced.

5. Allow enough time for the organisational members to learn the new culture. Be ready to be firm but do not apply tough measures from day one against offenders or non-complaint staff.

6. With the passage of time, you will successfully gauge the degree of diffusion. If you have introduced your new culture in the so-called `green fields’, it should not be very long before it is communicated and accepted. Green fields are always the fertile grounds for introduction, communication and acceptance of new culture.

A company that does not pay attention to and study its prevailing culture will not be able to identify what culture contributes to its operations. But as I pointed out above, culture is a multi-level phenomenon in any company and as a result, its importance cannot be disregarded.

Study your prevailing organisational culture from today, and see how changes can reposition your business.

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* Benson Agoha (MIPA) is the founder of Woolwich Online.

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Articles for publication must have full contact details, including name, address and telephone number of sender and sent by email to: onlinewoolwich@yahoo.co.uk.

Reviewing Your Way Out of The Recession - Part 2 - By Benson O. Agoha

In my `Restructuring Your Business – The DIY Approach Series’ I discussed the issue of how you can review your options out of the recession. One of the problems an entrepreneur faces in times of a recession is how to handle credit squeeze and remain in business. But if you cannot manage your household in times of credit squeeze, it may also be difficult to guide your business out of a recession.
For many of us that have not been involved in any application for a loan or credit facility, `credit crunch’ is a term that emerged out of the blues. But as I write this article, lying in front of me is a letter from Argos turning down my friend Bobby’s application for an Argos Card. Their well-crafted letter attempted to explain the reason behind their decision. Like everyone else, my friend feels some resentment, has thought of calling them up or maybe write them back, but realised that much might not come out of that either. Of course, he wouldn’t know unless he tried, but this is a product of credit squeeze. Lenders introduce more stringent conditions and often would rather hold on to their cash than give it out to applicants whose repayment capability they are not nearly 100% certain. So how can an entrepreneur review his operations and guide his business out of a recession?
Indeed, it is not unusual for credit providers to make a wrong conclusion about an applicant’s ability and willingness to repay. My friend was able and willing to put down 40% of the cost and to repay the balance of 60% over a 3-month period, averaging 20% pay month. That would be 2 months earlier than he was supposed to pay back, which would have been 6 months had his application been approved.
Suggestions abound with respect to what an entrepreneur should do when faced with a credit squeeze situation. It must be borne in mind however that different organisations face their peculiar financial circumstances. And as a result entrepreneurs would be well advised to weight each suggestion against their peculiar condition and make a decision accordingly:

1. Marketing Intelligence: How much resources (effort, time, money) do you dedicate to market research? Market research is important for anyone wishing to succeed because it reveals information about:
· What competing products are available in the market.
· How customers perceive your competitor’s products.
· How many competitors have left the market and why.
· How many new competitors have entered the market.
· What your market share is and

. Whether your competitors are increasing or reducing their marketing spending.
2. In my earlier post “Reviewing Your Closing Down Options-The DIY approach”, I suggested that staff might be willing to help save the business rather than get fired and that in such instance, they may be involved in the distribution of flyers and some personal selling. This worked for Blackberry Global Limited and can work for anyone else willing to pursue survival options during an economic recession.
· Perhaps I must state that no period is better to enhance networking initiatives for the business than during a time of recession and credit squeeze. All partners must be involved in every effort to pull in more sales and save the company.
· Study the behaviour of your staff and other organisational members from their day one on duty. A manager who studies the behaviour of his staff is always in a better position to predict their future behaviour. Dr. Stephen P. Robbins once wrote about the importance of Organisational Behaviour as “that field of study which investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behaviour within the organisation, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organisation’s effectiveness.”
· Any initiatives that can enhance the relationships of the business must be pursued vigorously.
· No time wasting, please. Whatever has to be done must be done without delay. As an entrepreneur you are a leader upon whom the rest of the staff look. Therefore, when sales slow, and staff are less buzy you must think out ways to keep them busy.
· Ensure that your Pending and KIV issues are sorted out and cleared during a period of slow down.
· Never underestimate the power of `communal brainstorming’. Brain storming sessions often help the business owner unearth information that would otherwise never have been known. When I was in Alliance Technique Limited, communal brainstorming was used to exchange ideas and to discuss issues that affect the company. As the Admin./Operations Manager, my experiences and observations within the company and on the field mattered and laying them on the table during communal brainstorming sessions enabled them to be addressed and appropriate decisions made.
· Encourage your staff to come forth with any suggestions they think would benefit the business. My performance encouraged my former M.D. to introduce performance bonuses and profit sharing when all I was doing was simply advancing suggestions that I believed would help keep the business running, which later paid off. When a staff distinguishes himself, as a business owner, the onus is left on you to recognise and appreciate such staff.
3. Reduce your cost profile: Spiralling Costs are easily one of the reasons organisations go burst. When sales is down and costs continue to rise, the weight is soon felt by the business and unless savings and alternative sources of finance look good, collapse is the only imaginable route the business will head.
· Be vigilant and ensure that you have eagle eyes in time of a recession. Make sure you are on the alert to discover possible new markets for your business in the event that formal market research failed to bring in such information. Diversifying a bit won’t hurt your business and on the contrary may showcase your dynamism and ability to adapt.
· Ensure you retain your current and old customers by introducing measures that would make them come again. When last did you for example, give your regular customers `thank you gifts’? Ensure that measures that show you value them are put in place and pamper those of them that appear not to have absolute loyalty to your business. Time of recession is not a time to be carefree or indifferent to the feelings of your customers.
· Listen to your customers. Customers feel the pinch of the credit crunch as well and most of them may find in you someone they can open up to. Being attentive to them and listening to their complaints maybe the only price you will find you have to pay to win their continuous loyalty. Offer objective and honest opinion to their complaints, it may be the best suggestion they have heard in a long time.
· Ensure you have a good and vibrant relationship with your suppliers at all times, because when you are operation tight budgets, it may be all you need to go through a tough period. You may even find that they offer you credit facilities that would surprise you. My friend, Charles, inherited an Off Licence from his father. Before he took over, it had been badly run by his older siblings and shelves were going empty. Charles worked on his relationship with the existing and new customers from that moment and shortly after extended that warmth to his suppliers as well. As the days fly by the empty shelves were filling up and before long the of things convinced some of his suppliers to extend credit facilities to his business. Charles rebuilt the shop and even opened branches.
4. Think Big! It sounds strange but it is true. Thinking big differentiates you from the rest of the competition. Thinking big helps you to take advantage of integration opportunities. Has your intelligence brought in information about a competitor appearing to have a harder time than you? Is your competitor thinking of selling up or changing business? This may be an opportunity to expand, no matter the economic situation. Acquiring a business in time of economic recession may seem difficult but it is practicable. Less than a year ago Alhaji Ahmed and his two partners opened a grocery store. It was obvious that the shop needed filling up, but while the everybody else cried over credit crunch, Alhaji Ahmed has not only diversified the store – including a section for Mobile Phone and Accessories as well as a Chicken Roaster, but he has also already acquired another for which he had to make a down payment of £20.000 for the Lease.
· When a business looks prosperous securing a loan becomes a lot easier, even in time of credit squeeze. Banks simply tighten up the condition and service only those with greater chance of repayment, as my friend found out with Argos refusal.

Reviewing your Closing Down Options - The DIY Approach - By Benson O. Agoha

Since the recent financial crises started, you would have been amazed at the number of small businesses and stores that have served notice of intention to close down. Shortly afterwards, a closing down SALE begins. A couple of weeks later, `shop to rent’ is hanging on the door. This site is replicated in some other High street a little outside the city centre.

Business failures and subsequent closures represent different things for the various stakeholders – for the business owner, loss of investment; for the staff, loss of needed source of income and except there are other sources of income for the household, reduction in the standard of living as well; for the Local Council, reduction in income and business tax earnings; for the Politician, rising expectation from constituent members and for the country, rising unemployment, increase in benefit claimants and a gradual build-up of pressure on the social services. In addition, it might mean more expenditure for former customers who have to look elsewhere for satisfaction.

But except you have made up your mind to close shop, here are a few tips to consider.

1) Vision: Before you set out to run a business, you must have had a vision, what was it? Are you still on the right course or have you strayed in the course of time, without realising it. If you never bothered about writing down your vision, maybe it is time you did that. Visions help us to look in the long term where we would like to be and to think about ways (`strategy’, which I will consider later) of getting there in a certain future time. Write out your vision statement and hang it visibly so that anyone that walks into the office sees it. It tells people how serious you are and that you have focus.
2) Mission: There must also be a reason why you are in that business, what is it? Is it a good reason? Would you be happy abandoning it? Can you reform it? Unless you can look at your reason and say `I am still committed to it’, you may not find enough satisfaction to explore ways to keep you in that business. There was a story of a young Doctor who set up shop in a certain community because he was a friend of the mayor. When the Mayor died, he lost his interest and wanted to close down. Your reason for being in any business must be such that, even changes in time can sustain it.
3) Finance: One of the reasons organisations close down is due to declining income. When the business no longer sees enough income, and costs remain the same or are increasing, most entrepreneurs resort to closure. The most obvious would be for the owner to plough in more money into the business, may be from previous savings. Securing a loan from a bank, cooperative clubs or private sources like committees may help. But in a time of credit crunch, lenders may be unwilling to loan out money and may toughen the conditions attached to their loans. An organisation with a declining income may not be well advised to take a loan with a high interest rate. Under this circumstance, my advice is for the entrepreneur to look inwards. Has the business been saving a part of its earnings over the years? Can the business generate more income by exploring new markets? Consider the above before you take other drastic measures.
4) Exploring New Markets: Before you close down, consider if your current market has been saturated. Is the market so attractive to new comers that it has become flooded? Do you now face more aggressive or bigger competitors? Consider whether there are ways to increase your current market share without closing down. Consider if you can introduce your business or services into other areas that have not yet been tapped and consider also if a bit of personal selling will do well to bring in more business. See if you can repackage your service or product in a way that takes into consideration your customers’ current purchasing power. Find out what their complaints are and see how you can address that. You may be surprised at how quickly your fortune turns around.
5) Downsizing: Downsizing the staff strength of a business, no doubt saves cost, but it is worth considering whether that should not be the last resort? My recommendation to business owners is to explore all avenues necessary to stay in business. Consider whether you can temporary redeploy your staff to other duties in the meantime. Explain to them, your current situation and find out from them if they are willing to also take a pay cut for a while. If they report for work thereafter, it shows they can do more to keep the business alive. My former boss, Mr. D. Quittkat did not resort to sack when our company experienced a bit of a hard time. One day, I walk into his office and found him crying. Business had taken bad turn and he still had to meet up with costs. I went back to my office and had a reflective quite moment. We explored our options, introduced some measures and with time, recovered to secure more mouth-watering contracts. He rewarded me with lavish overseas trips and performance related bonus.
6) Review the Corporate Image: It is important to find out from time to time what your staff, customers, community think about your business. Opinion helps you analyse options available. So before you decide that the last option is to close down, consider if your business needs a make over. The Signboard in front of your shop, does it need cleaning, rewriting or do you now require a Neon Sign? When was the last time you distributed flyers and leaflets telling people what you do and where you are? Are your telephone numbers changed and you have not informed your customers? The image of a business is very important because a lot of the organisation’s goodwill is hidden there. In this regard, your current staff may do well to do a bit of canvassing, carrying the flyers with them. Does your Logo need redesign? Mr. Joseph Orji, Managing Director of Blackberry Global Limited, London, knew what to do in a period of dwindling income. He decided that he was in business to succeed and would not resort to downsizing. He had the company Logo redesigned and printed flyers. Luckily he had an understanding and willing staff who took the distribution seriously. The result was fantastic, new customers were pulled in and old customers increased their patronage. A new reflective Signboard was made and the outstanding organisation of activities in the Company restored customer confidence and took the business income to an upward curve. Blackberry Global Limited became a Cargo Company of first choice to their customers.

7) Compliment Your Staff: When your survival strategy involves your loyal staff, do not forget to compliment and protect them when and where necessary. Family businesses sometime make the mistake of failing to protect their key staff from abuse and insults. It is only when they loose what has been part of their strength that they realise how important certain staff had been to their business. Ensure you remember your staff when you have successfully turned your business around. You never know when you will need them again.