11. REWARD SYSTEM

Ramesh Gulati, who is known as Reliability SHERPA, in his valuable book "Maintenance and Reliability Best Practices" stated that: "For decades, we have used a reward system that has created a misaligned culture. Design teams are rewarded for achieving functional capability at the lowest cost, not really concerned about the downstream problems for operations and maintenance and the true life-cycle cost of ownership of the asset. Production teams are rewarded when they beat a production number, regardless of any real demand for the product and without any concern for the effect their actions have on asset health. Maintenance teams have typically been rewarded for fixing asset failures and not improving reliability or availability. They get extra pay for coming in at inconvenient times when the asset is broken and get “well done!” from management when they fix it. If we are rewarded for failures, why would we want reliability? Who would step up and volunteer for a 15-20% pay cut for reduced overtime? People do not pay as much attention to what their managers say compared to what they actually do. If management says they want reliability — no failures or minimum failures — but they keep paying for failures, we will continue to get failures. This culture needs to be changed and improved."

I totally agree, as we often praise and reward people who create or are responsible for problems in the first place and then rush to solve them, rather than those who build reliable, trusted systems that work flawlessly. From the perspective of immature organizational culture, there is a lack of understanding and evaluation. The one who acts as a firefighter is seen as hardworking and always busy, while those who create an efficient system that results in reducing problems and issues are often undervalued and overlooked. Immature Organizations may think that the system works smoothly on its own and that those who created and control it are useless. However, when those individuals remove their hands, the system breaks down, leading to the same fires that need fighting, and the cycle starts again.

Finally, there is a tendency to reward reactive problem-solving rather than proactive system-building. Many organizations prioritize and reward immediate solutions over long-term strategies and plans, leading to a cycle of recurring issues. By shifting our focus towards building robust systems and recognizing the value of proactive thinking, we can create more sustainable and efficient organizations.

Article by Amr H. Abayazeed - November 16, 2024.

10. ARABIC REFERENCES

I attended a course on "Corporate Governance," expecting the lecturer to discuss the rules, processes, and practices by which organizations are directed and controlled, and how to balance the interests of an organization's stakeholders, and how to implement these principles practically. By the way, the last two points were the main reasons I enrolled in this course. However, I was surprised when the lecturer began as if he was translating the word "Governance" from the dictionary, then proceeded to build his interpretation based on this translation. He continued explaining the difference between حاكمية and حوكمة رشيدة and حوكمة which completely deviated from the core concept of "Governance" as outlined in most papers, handbooks, and in the formal definition of OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development).

I analyzed this situation and concluded that the lecturer had likely not read any English sources on that topic. His explanations seemed to come exclusively from Arabic references, combined with his personal views and his Arabic/Islamic background, which ultimately led to a loss of the topic’s meaning.

Based on many observations, which led me to write this article, I believe that one of our fatal problems in Egypt and the MENA region is that knowledge (as well as writing history) in Arabic content is very scarce, very poor, and, most importantly, very contaminated with ideology, personal opinions, and a lack of reliable, trusted references. As a result, anyone acquiring this knowledge will inevitably inherit these flaws.

Article by Amr H. Abayazeed - November 01, 2024.

9. MANAGEMENT IN THE PERCEPTION OF THE EGYPTIAN MIND

When you mention the word "Management" in the Egyptian community, this photo will arise in the perception of the Egyptian mind, whether they are educated or not, unfortunately.

 

By Amr H. Abayazeed - September 20, 2024.

8. DOES TRUE EVALUATION IN ORGANIZATIONS REALLY MATTER?!

True evaluation of employees is very essential for the health and success of any organization. In my opinion, the health of organizations should take priority and come first, because when it is properly maintained, success will naturally follow. By the word "health," I refer to the culture and environment of organizations. Some mistakenly believe that organizational culture is a touchy-feely subjective concept, but in reality, it has tangible elements — you can sense it as soon as you enter the door of any organization, and that is another story.

True evaluation of employees is a part of performance appraisal which is a systematic description of an employee's strengths and weaknesses, and performance appraisal itself is a part of performance management (the big picture) which is a continuous process of identifying, measuring, and developing the performance of individuals and teams and aligning performance with the strategic goals of the organization. The purpose of any performance management is not only for administrative issues (job evaluation - equal employment opportunity/affirmative action; EEO/AA - compensation - etc.) but also for developmental issue (individual evaluation - Training - career planning - etc.).

The presence of strong performance management is directly proportional to the strength, success, and maturity of organizations. As true good evaluation system will ensure that employees are fairly assessed, developed, and motivated, leading to a more productive, engaged, and satisfied work environment, while a lack of true and fair evaluation not only results in talent loss and the creation of a group of mediocre employees who are unfit for their positions, but more dangerously, it fosters an unfair culture and low morale among employees and teams, and this can easily damage the organization and create a toxic unproductive work environment.

"Just one act of unfairness can ruin an entire organization".

But the main question here is: Do managers know how to evaluate effectively? This is a significant problem in implementing an effective performance management system. Many managers do not know how to evaluate properly, and they even do not recognize the importance of performance management as a cornerstone of any organizational success. Many managers (raters) fall into several common evaluation errors, such as:

1. Similar-to-Me Bias: Raters tend to favor employees who are similar to them in terms of personality, background, interests, or inside their inner circle (aka faction or clique).

2. Recency Error: This bias occurs when a rater focuses primarily on recent performance, ignoring earlier accomplishments at the beginning of the year.

3. Leniency Error: This occurs when a rater consistently gives high ratings to employees, regardless of their actual performance.

4. Strictness Error: The opposite of leniency, this error involves consistently giving low ratings to employees.

5. Central Tendency Error: This happens when a rater avoids extreme ratings and tends to rate most employees as average.

6. Halo Effect: This occurs when a rater's overall positive impression of an employee influences ratings on specific performance dimensions.

7. Horns Effect: The opposite of the halo effect, where a negative impression of an employee leads to low ratings across all performance dimensions.

8. Contrast Effect: This happens when a rater compares employees to each other rather than to performance standards.

9. First Impression Error: A rater's first impression of an employee can unfairly affect how they are rated later on.

All these errors are common among managers (raters), and most of us encounter them clearly, specially in the Egyptian work environment.

Article by Amr H. Abayazeed - August 16, 2024.

7. DIGITAL MARKETING: TOOL NOT TYPE

Many untrusted courses and seminars claim that digital marketing is a new approach that it is a revolutionary type that will change the structure of the "Traditional Marketing". I believe this claim is totally inaccurate, as the structure of what they call "traditional marketing" has not changed, as to adopt any marketing practices, the same marketing research, consumer behavior, segmentation, targeting, positioning, branding, marketing mix (product, pricing, distribution, and promotion/communication) strategies, marketing competitive and growth strategies, consumer relationship management (CRM), and marketing performance are still required.

Digital marketing is only a tool, not a type, to implement any of the previous traditional marketing strategies and practices digitally, as digital marketing is a practice of promoting products and services through digital channels and technologies. This form of marketing leverages internet and electronic devices to reach and engage a wide audience. By the way, the majority of digital marketing efforts focus on the promotion strategy, one of the four elements of the marketing mix, which is one of the puzzle in the holistic marketing picture.

Article by Amr H. Abayazeed - August 02, 2024.

6. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PRICING STRATEGIES IN MATURE ORGANIZATIONS: THE MARKETING DEPARTMENT OR THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT?

It is a debatable issue. I think that when it comes to pricing, no one department leads the other. Both marketing and finance perspectives should be considered.

As marketing department provides customer insights and behavior, competitive analysis, brand value proposition, market positioning, and promotion and discounts. While the finance department is responsible for cost structures, profit margins, the organization's financial health, risk management, budgeting and forecasting, and regulatory/compliance issues.

I think the decision in mature organizations should be taken by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who, with both perspectives in mind, will have an overall strategic view of the organization's strategy, including pricing strategies.

Article by Amr H. Abayazeed - July 07, 2024.

5. UNCERTAINTY: THE ENGINE OF INNOVATION

Uncertainty is the lack of complete knowledge or a complete picture of a situation, resulting in unpredictable outcomes that affect the decision-making process in business and life. While the previous definition may suggest that uncertainty is frustrating and negative experience, I believe that uncertainty is an engine of learning, knowledge, and then innovation.

The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche says: "There are no Facts, only Interpretations,” - by the way it is one of my favorite quotes - by understanding this quote deeply we discover that it emphasizes uncertainty as a positive concept, and encourages its application in science (either natural,social, or formal), in business environment, and even in life.

In science, uncertainty led Albert Einstein to develop the theory of relativity leading to a new advanced view of the universe compared to the old Newtonian view. Similarly, in business, market fluctuations, technological changes, and unforeseen events can affect the best organizations plans, however, organizations that can adapt and thrive in uncertain environments are the ones that stay ahead of the curve compared to their competitors, this adaptability is the catalyst for success, improvement, and innovation.

Even in our personal lives, uncertainty keeps things interesting and allows us to grow, learn, and understand life more and more. By acknowledging the limitations of our knowledge, uncertainty can be turned into a way for personal growth and for being open-minded to broader horizons. Personally, in my life and work, I feel my gun when someone says "I'm sure 100%" without using phrases like "I think" or "May be," because absolute certainty often makes me doubt their confidence and then distrust them and their way of thinking. The more you know, the more hesitant and less confident you become, as the saying goes: "Donkeys are always sure."

Article by Amr H. Abayazeed - May 24, 2024.

4. AGILE PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Agile projects are currently the trend in project management practices, transitioning from being used primarily in small projects with undefined scopes and low budgets, mostly in software development, to being used as an alternative method to traditional waterfall projects with defined scopes and requirements.

The definitions of agile projects and waterfall projects are determined by the phases (lifecycle) that a project goes through from start to completion. These phases can be either "Predictive" or "Adaptive" in nature. The predictive (waterfall) lifecycle is a plan-driven approach that allows for upfront planning of a well-defined scope and requirements, aiming to deliver a big final outcome at the project's end. The adaptive (agile) lifecycle is a change-driven approach that permits modifications to the scope and putting clients' feedback in consideration at each phase of the project, aiming to deliver a cumulative and incremental outcome throughout the project lifecycle.

So why are projects nowadays preferable to be agile in nature compared to the old traditional waterfall approach? The answer to this question in one word is "Adaptation," to cope with unpredictable and rapidly changing nature of the modern business environment, from the economical, technological, and political perspectives, as we actually live in a VUCA world.

VUCA stands for Volatility (rapid and unpredictable changes), Uncertainty (events and outcomes are difficult to predict with confidence), Complexity (interconnected factors influence situations, making cause-and-effect relationships unclear), and Ambiguity (multiple interpretations of information or situations, leading to confusion). In a VUCA world, organizations and project management face challenges such as sudden market shifts, technological advancements, geopolitical instability, and ambiguous or unclear situations. Then VUCA concept highlights the need for organizations and project managements to be agile, adaptive, and resilient in order to thrive in such dynamic conditions.

Strategists argue that creating long-term plans for three to five years is difficult nowadays, even sticking to a plan for even one year is nearly impossible. Therefore, upfront planning in projects may not be effective and will likely need to be reviewed, adapted, and updated continuously, due to the VUCA concept. This necessitates an agile approach; focusing on launching and iterating rather than on strict adherence to a fixed scope, time, and cost.

 

Article by Amr H. Abayazeed - May 10, 2024.

3. ARE LEADERS ANGELS?! ARE MANAGERS DEVILS?!

Leaders focus on people, managers focus on things. Leaders create a vision, managers execute a plan. Leaders look into the future, managers focus on the present. Leaders empower, managers control. Leaders develop change, managers manage change. Leaders use influence, managers use authority. The previous are commercial comparisons that are widespread in human resource courses and materials, and the result of these comparisons are Leaders are angels, we should take them as an example, and managers are devils, we should avoid them.

In my opinion, leaders and managers are not in contradiction; they complement each other. Leadership has various styles and hats, such as autocratic (leader takes all the decisions), democratic (decision-making is shared with team members), transformational (inspiring employees to produce change in the organization), Laissez-faire (hands-off style), transactional (punishment and incentives are used to motivate employees), servant (puts the needs of the employees first; strongly recommended in project management institute; PMI), charismatic (leader use communication skills, persuasiveness, and charm), interactional (combination of transactional, transformational, and charismatic), visionary (leader has a clear vision for the future), and bureaucratic (rule-based style).

Effective leaders can wear all the previous hats and adopt all of these styles according to situation, team, and organizational goals and culture. Also, there are somehow common traits with managers as commercial courses stated. I believe that, beyond classifications, loose organizations may need autocratic and bureaucratic style to enhance the essence of processes and procedures in work (managers role in commercial courses). However, mature organizations need a sense of motivation and prioritizing people to make a significant impact and differences (leaders role in commercial courses).

Thus, Leaders and managers are not opposites and they are not two types, they are fall under an academic concept called "Managerial Leadership," that depend on both direction and coordination. Actually, every manager should develop leadership skills, and every leader have to be a manager, using the best approach depends technically on the situation.

Article by Amr H. Abayazeed - May 03, 2024.

2. MARKETING vs. ADVERTISING

Many people think that the mission of marketing in any organization is to promote and advertise the organization's products or services, which is a complete misconception. Marketing in any mature organization plays a significant role and has a holistic and overlapping dimensions across the entire organization's departments, from human resources to inventory and from finance to operations. Marketing is essentially caring about making what will be sold, not selling what was made.

The definition of marketing, according to the American Marketing Association (AMA), is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. By breaking down this definition, marketing creates and exchanges value (both functional and emotional) and meets needs profitably. The essence of marketing is the intersection point between business and psychology (study of mind and behavior).

According to this definition, the main tasks of marketing management are: 1) Understand the marketplace and customer needs and behaviors by using many tools like market research, as an example, 2) Developing marketing strategies and plans including segmentation and targeting the right market and customers, and positioning the products/services to occupy a place in the minds of the target customers, 3) Studying and implementing an integrated marketing program, part of which is called the "marketing mix" which includes product, price, place, and promotion (4Ps) strategies, 4) Managing customers relationship (CRM), 5) Building strong brand management to create, develop, maintain, and enhance a brand's reputation and image, and 6) Tracking and measuring performance to achieve the marketing objectives.

Advertising, which is incorrectly understood as marketing, is a part of the promotion strategy, as the promotion strategy includes advertising, public relations, sales promotion, direct marketing, personal selling, etc. The promotion is also a part (mainly the 4th item) of the marketing mix, alongside product, price, and place. The marketing mix is finally a part of the previous main six tasks of marketing management.

Therefore, advertising occupies a small portion of marketing management and is not the main role of marketers. On the contrary, mature organizations usually outsource most advertising works to external professional agencies. Their own marketers typically contribute in providing only a "Marketing Brief" to these agencies, not creating the advertising content themselves.

Article by Amr H. Abayazeed - April 25, 2024.

1. IS MANAGEMENT SCIENCE OR ART?!

There are many definitions of management, as it has evolved over time from the early management approach (1700s), passing through classical management approach (1800s), behavioral management approach (1930s), and modern management approach (1950s). Across this evolution, and by studying various definitions of management, the most insightful and smart definition, in my point of view, is "Utilizing Resources" to achieve the organizational goals effectively.

By breaking down that definition, the first part, "Utilizing," means applying the management processes like planning, organizing, leading, directing, and controlling, by using management tools like scheduling, communicating, reporting, performance review, feedback, KPIs, etc. to manage resources in the right way.

The second part, "Resources," can be classified into physical, human, financial, information, energy, time, etc., and actually to deal with any of those types of resources, knowledge and science that are relevant to each resource have to be acquired, like operations, psychology, sociology, finance, accounting, economics, marketing, information and communications technology (ICT), project management, etc.

By the way, leadership is indeed an important tool and crucial aspect of effective management, as leadership is the ability to inspire, motivate, and guide others towards achieving common goals, and it involves qualities such as vision, empathy, communication, and the ability to make accurate and correct decisions. While leadership traits may have an artistic elements, they can also be taught, not just considered solely a talent.

Based on all the previous, management depends heavily on science, processes, and tools to apply the definition successfully. It is mainly "Science" not "Art," and if considered as art, it would not be management at all; it would be something else, something we call it "فهلوة" in Egypt.

Article by Amr H. Abayazeed - April 19, 2024.