Pros and cons of different approaches for decision making

Whether your business or professional career meets success or an abrupt failure, it is going to depend largely on your decision making skills. The difference between a successful entrepreneur and a failed businessman is basically the effectiveness of decisions they will make in critical situations. Some have this ability to hit the nail on the head while others waste time in pointless arguments and analysis. Making right decision is of use only if made at the right time, not after you have suffered the loss.

So how can you prepare yourself to make correct and timely decisions? Do your decision making style really affects the appropriateness of your decision? Read on to know the answers.

The importance of Discussions:
Discussions are very important, even if the point in discussion does not affect anyone else but you. Discussion is not about asking someone else to assess the situation and come up with a solution, because you are not capable to do so. It should be a dialogue between you and other concerned persons, where everybody comes up with their own viewpoints and ideas. A decision made after some healthy discussions and with majority's consent is supposed to be a more sound one, as it has been pored over and scrutinized by a group of people (and not just one person).

Democratic approach vs. the despotic style:
There are two ways to settle on a decision after sufficient discussions and arguments. First, asking everybody to vote and putting down an autonomous decision. Second, the manager concludes with his/her own verdict as the final decision after listening to everybody's viewpoint. Democratic approach works best when you need to motivate your employees by making them a part of the decision. However, you cannot cast off autocratic style completely, as it has its own benefits. For example, sometimes the manager has the vision and information to see things differently, or because workers or staff will be inclined towards a decision, which is more advantageous to them than the company. For all these reasons, manager have to make a decision that may not be well-liked by everyone, but in the end it is the manager who will be held responsible.

Analytical vs. Impulsive:
Analytical decision making approach is a scientific approach that involves mathematical, statistics, analytical software or any other mediums to examine the situation and finishing off with the most logical solution, whereas impulsive decision making works best when you have to make a decision, then and there. Both of these approaches are effective, problem occurs when somebody starts wasting time in analyzing when a quick decision is needed, or else when someone makes an impulsive decision when he/she was having all the time to analyze the situation and weigh different options.

Planning for your business travel? - Read this

Business travels can be exciting, challenging and nerve-racking, all at the same time. There are people who love to travel around, and there are people who'd like to avoid traveling unless it becomes absolutely indispensable. If you belong to the first category (those who like traveling around) then good for you, but if you are one of those who reflect on traveling as a source of fatigue, you really need to stir up.

After all, you do travel from your home to the office and other places on daily basis, why lose sleep over traveling to some other state or country? Especially when you know that business travels open up a whole new set of opportunities. In most cases it's a wonderful experience where you learn so many new things, get the hang of new technologies, pick up new ideas and take hold of a completely new market.

Plan in advance:
No matter how much "in control" do you feel of yourself, last minute preparations are always risky because most of the times you'll end up missing out on some important items or documents. When you are traveling abroad, you need to plan in detail, from booking your tickets and hotel rooms to making a to-do list, trying to plan your journey in the nick of time would certainly make you overlook some of these.

Get as much as necessary sleep:
Business travels are quite challenging, both physically and mentally. You are constantly on road, moving around, meeting new people, making quick decisions and all. You may feel exhausted and worn out, especially if you are not getting sufficient rest. Good sleep is the biggest energy boost you can get and the most beneficial as well. It has an effect on your productivity, decision making capabilities and overall health. Give your body and mind adequate sleeping hours while traveling and they will take care of the rest. If you are undergoing JET LAG, drinking plenty of fluids can help.

Keep your luggage to a bare minimum:
When shopping or packing the accessories for traveling, you should try to come up with the lightest possible travel baggage (there’s no need to carry the best part of your wardrobe with you). A burdensome luggage will most certainly prove to be a hindrance at some stage of your journey. Make a list for all necessary items, give it another read and try to take out some non-compulsory stuff, do this a number of times, for example if you are traveling to a major city there’s no need to carry stuff like alarm clocks, compass, plastic bags, preventive medicines or toilet papers, etc.

Travel Safe:
Now days, security concerns are at an all time high, you are advised to be a lot more attentive and watchful irrespective of the city or country you are traveling into. Keep an eye on your luggage when on airports or railway stations; try not to wander around especially in less populated areas, try to hang around at some well reputed places, frankly ask for directions or guidance from your hosts or hotel staff.

Part time business - Do they really exist

You must have heard about how part time businesses turned into large corporations, and how some business started as a hobby converted into a ground breaking company. These success stories are often considered flukes, and people brush aside ideas of having a part time business, knowing that no business can thrive unless you give it your 100 percent. They are not totally wrong but not entirely correct as well. Part time businesses exist and many of them grow into full time money spinning ventures, not merely by a twist of fate.

Businesses are like plants, they need your time, care, and patience before they develop into something fruitful. Some may need less time than others, but you can't just start a business and leave it to grow on its own. Ok, you are supposed to invest relatively less time into these part-time ventures but you can not completely ignore them.

Advantages:
When you have got an idea, but you are unsure about the outcome, you can always give it a try by starting on part time basis. Just to get a grip of the possible results. You can try something totally new, some interesting innovation; target some untouched niche or anything else like that. You can use your time in something productive instead of wasting all the time in watching useless soaps or motion pictures. Even if the business fails, you'll still end up having a lot of experience on your hands.

Disadvantages:
Part time businesses are not for everyone, only well organized and disciplined people can carry a successful side business. Otherwise they will just add into the list of your incomplete tasks. Another disadvantage is that your social life will be disturbed; your family members may also find it hard to adjust with your extra working hours. Your employer can also have some problem if your nature of business clash with their interests.

Do's and Don'ts:
Part time businesses should be related to some task that you enjoy doing. So much that you don't care about a lot for monetary gains. Make sure you are not putting too much time and investments into your part time business in its early stages, at the same time don't completely ignore it. Do not get over excited at earliest signs of success and dump your primary job or business for that, give it some time before you conclude on its fate and make decisions about your future.

Versatility & Change in Management

Managers have always been defined as a person who plans, organize, manages situations and direct a team of subordinates to achieve the chief goals of the organizations. Now as the time changes and we relate a manager’s duty to today’s environment that contains much more competitive and complex consumer market; the management is also making its way ahead with various changes within itself.

The Increasing Importance of Customers:

The duties of a manager cannot be limited to internal management only, they must think beyond the boundaries of the organization, giving the priority to customer’s values and satisfaction. Managing customer relationships and aiming for customer satisfaction should be the main goal for all managers, if they are looking to succeed in business competition within the targeted market segment. In addition to this, consistency of high quality customer services is essential for survival in the competitive market.

Innovation:

A successful manager is the one who is full of ground-breaking ideas and is able to cope up with the changing trends in the market. Innovation may refer to constant improvement, revolutionary ideas and systematic changes in products, processes, or other organization operations. We expect good managers to do things differently while exploring vast territories and taking high but premeditated risks. Not only that but they should encourage employees to stay updated and grab any new opportunity that comes up, in order to sustain competitive advantage. 

Marketing for small businesses with low budget

If you are running a small/home based business, you are supposed to be low on budget. That's quite obvious; consider it an advantage or disadvantage, but small or home-run businesses can't spend fortunes on marketing that is not generating sales in real time. For this type of enterprises, this is just so important to ensure some return on all investments they make on marketing. Small businesses do not have the funds for unproductive marketing; they need sales to keep up. In this regard, first advice and the most important one as well, do some research and make sure that the product you are going to offer is already in demand. Remember, if you fail to do this, you are most probably in for a disaster.

Choose a market segment and stick to your niche market:
Targeting the whole market may sound more lucrative but that's not practical for small businesses, at all. They do not have resources, funds or skills for that kind of penetration, for them the best option is to choose a particular segment and design their products in line with this segment's needs and requirements. Remember, by choosing and serving some specific segment of the market, you can effectively kill half of the competition, straight away.

Be consistent and steady:
Don't judge the success of your marketing campaign on day to day basis, some days your cold calls, promotional e-mails or other marketing attempts may generate lots of leads, while on other days you'll find yourself not up to snuff. But you need to be consistent and patient, especially when the times are tough like recent economic crisis. Keep a note of your conversion rate, work extremely hard to put the required finishing touches if your conversion rate is somewhat below average. You can boost it up by working on minor things like your landing page copy or improving the quality of your follow-up calls.

Internet & Social Media Marketing:
Internet can prove to be a stroke of luck for small businesses, in particular with the inception and growth of social media networks. For many small businesses, Internet and social networking websites can prove to be so effective that ignoring them should be declared a crime, for their own betterment. Using these social networks and social media websites, with a little creativity can produce unbelievable results, and the best part is that it won't cost you a dime, as long as you can come up with something interesting, informative and valuable to share with your targeted customers.