Jeff Floyd on Management

Did you Know?

jfloyd — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:10:00 +0000

This YouTube video is design to spark conversation. It’s message is that the world we live in is changing rapidly. Are you keeping up? Does your company have the infrastructure in place to manage rapid change? Are you personally prepared for rapid change?

If not, what steps will you now take to get prepared?

CareerConnects Speaking Engagement

jfloyd — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 06:34:01 +0000

I am schedule to speak at the 2010-Jan-29 CareerConnects “Connection-building-eye-opening-career-boosting-resume-blackhole-less-shindig” at St. Edwards University. My topic is “Do I need my MBA/PMP?” The registration fee is less than the cost of a lunch out. Join in the fun.

Life Long Education

jfloyd — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:34 +0000

As I write this I am two days away from completion of my final class toward a Masters of Business Administration. I recently purchased an iPhone and as a result loaded iTunes on my Windows computer to sync music, contacts, calendars, etc. A recent iTunes upgraded has added something called iTunes U, short for iTunes University. iTunes U contains college lectures and in some cases full college classes many free of charge. I downloaded a complete class on quantitative methods from Miami Dade University. Now that I have completed the MBA, the Life Long Learning habit requires I find a new outlet. iTunes U, is one element in my growing arsenal.

Google DataCenter in a Box

jfloyd — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 05:27:31 +0000

It must be innovation week, here at Jeff Floyd on Management. The previous post on storage reminded me of a CNET story on a motherboard design used by Google. Google’s mother board design is tailored for cloud computing with built-in features that eliminate the need for some rather expensive data center components, like room uninterpretable power supplies.

I consider the article a must read for those interested in cloud computing or information technology innovation.

Mass Storage Game Changer

jfloyd — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:33:53 +0000

Along the lines of my last post, the team at BackBlaze had a problem to solve. They needed to inexpensively store a lot of data. Their solution is innovative, and they have published a description titled, “Petabytes on a budget: How to build cheap cloud storage.”

Very interesting read. Impressive cost. What else you you call 67 Terabytes at $7,867. Yes that is seven thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven dollars.

Enjoy!

iPhone Stand from a Paperclip

jfloyd — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 01:54:20 +0000

Oh how I enjoy innovation.

And to give proper credit, the inventors website has the mentioned template.

Human Resource Management System

jfloyd — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 21:35:05 +0000

Clearly, the HRM systems of an organization must complement the other departments/systems in the organization. Picture a wagon with a rope on each corner. Now picture four kids pulling on those ropes in four different directions. The wagon may move, but it will move slowly and most likely in the direction of the biggest kid. If all the kids were pulling in roughly the same direction, the wagon move a lot faster and with less effort expended. Similarly, each department of a well designed and functional organization contributes to the success of the overall organization in complementary manner.

Rummler et al. (1995) describes a systems approach to organizational design. The leadership team determines the structure that provides a mechanism for the company to take in raw material and transform it into business value. Part of this process determines the “services” allocated to the human resource department.

Another point from Rummler et al (1995) is the performance monitoring. A key component of systematic organizational design is metrics or the measures to determine its performance or success. The combination of systematic design and performance measures is the primary reason that Rummler’s work influenced this discussion posting. Monitoring the metrics and the controls allow the leadership team to gauge past performance and possibly predict future performance.

Key goals in the design of the human resource department include:

Establish key systems and metrics to manage employee benefits.
Establish, deploy, and manage key policies covering sexual harassment, workplace safety, termination, etc.
Establish internal relationships with each hiring manager to document job descriptions for every job function in the company.
Establish external relationships with key recruiters and industry professionals to identify star performers in the local area and industry.
Establish a talent management system that locates, attracts, and retains key talent. (Gregorie 2006) The system includes tuition reimbursement, compensation, and incentive pay, etc.
Establish linkage between talent management and business model. (Bowen et al. 1991)
Exit interviewing and lessons learned
Maintain Ethics Standards

The human resource department is not an island in the company; it along with the other departments must function in unison working toward the same company goals. The human resource department has a contribution to keep talent in the company. However, the marketing, engineering, accounting, legal, and other departments must all play a part in attracting and keeping talent.

References

Bowen, D., Ledford, G., & Nathan, B. (1991, November). Hiring for the organization, not the job. Academy of Management Executive, 5(4), 35–51.

Gregoire, M. (2006). Consistently acquiring and retaining top talent. Workforce Management, 85(19), s6

Rummler, G. Brache, A. (1995) Improving performance: how to manage the white space on the organization chart. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc.

Web Site Re-Design

admin — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 03:26:42 +0000

Welcome to the new site. Unfortunately my long time site host is shutting down, providing an opportunity to move the site and to tune it up a little.

I hope you enjoy the new format, the tag cloud, and the streamlined categories. Comments are welcome, and can be provided through the contact me link at the top of the page.

Thanks

Project Management WebSites

jfloyd — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 07:14:47 +0000

The list below contains recommended project management web Sites. To help keep the list clean and scalable, the links are grouped into categories.

Professional Organizations

Project Management Tools

General Project Management Information

Project Management Education

www.zervigon.com

Want to know more about accounting?

jfloyd — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 07:13:17 +0000

Check out these links to a few accounting sites. I found these helpful in my recent accounting class.

Other sites that server an educational purpose are.

www.accountingscholar.com