A portal page to free articles on OFFline business...

On this page of free articles you will find discussions on aspects of the OFFline business that will be sure to help, add or trigger an increase of knowledge and solutions, for application to your business.

I will be adding more and more to the list, so check periodically. If you subscribe to the RSS feed, you'll be prompted when new links or pages are added to this site.

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ON ADMINISTRATION:
All converges here sooner or later.

That's a large department. Much inter-departmental activities may be coordinated or funnelled through here, such as accounts payable & receivable, information systems, sales and service, credit and collection, office management, executive administration... you name it, all converges here sooner or later. If there are no payroll or human resource departments, administration takes care of that too.

I remember an individual who joined a company as a graphics designer/DTP producer. During her interview (click here for more)


ON EXECUTIVE:
A new management level created.

The doing away with surplus secretaries and clerical people in the last years has created a new management level.

We've had Top Management and Middle Management for decades. Now for the first time, in the nineties, has appeared a new brand of management: Bottom Management. Now, everyone is a manager but not everyone is treated like a manager. Not many of the old management people are ready to deal with this -- they haven't been prepared!

Neither are all those at "bottom management" level ready to (click here for more)


ON FINANCE:
Figures don't lie, two plus two equal four.

When it comes to the financial area, figures don't lie! In other words, half of the communication problems are eliminated by the simple fact that people are working with figures in finance and accounting departments. Two plus two equals four. You can't misinterpret that! Well, may be verbally, but not on paper.

Just yesterday, I was talking to a "hyper" person on the phone... (click here for more)


ON MARKETING:
Marketing and Sales, two different functions.

Contrary to a lot of beliefs, marketing and sales are not the same thing. Marketing is not sales and sales is not marketing. Marketing includes sales. Marketing supports sales. Marketing directs sales. But not the other way around. Sales is sales all on its own! If your company needs business right now, don't hire a marketing man/woman - hire a good salesman /woman.

But speaking of communication, where else is communication more needed than in marketing and sales? That's where... (click here for more)


ON ORGANIZATION:
The Executive of Contextual Organization - Part 1

Providing the environment for effective communication.

(Excerpts from the book "Contextual Communication Organization and Training")

One of the first responsibilities of top management is to provide the environment for effective communication.

Diversity was the buzzword of the 90's as TQM and Re-engineering were in the 70's and 80's. Now it is teamwork and speed. But all are based on communication -- in different ways, depending on cultural and managerial and survival needs.

Before effective contextual communication can be implemented, there must be... (click here for more)


ON ORGANIZATION:
The Executive of Contextual Organization - Part 2

Serving and Mentoring Management

(Excerpts from the book "Contextual Communication Organization and Training")

The DOCİ 5-level line management system helps to make the picture of serving and mentoring management clear. (Diagram in the book).

As each level "serves" the level below as "mentor", empowering the staff with their responsibilities, each manager is made aware of the requirements of their functions, special tasks or projects. Ideally managers should have been there at some point, if not, they should make it a point to spend some time at the work area of those they serve and mentor.

Empowerment is the ultimate (click here for more)


PERSONNEL:
Still a company's best assets.

(Excerpts from the book "Contextual Communication Organization and Training")

A company's most valuable assets are its employees. We referred to "Gold Collar" workers above. In that book, the author says that businesses are suffering from a "brain drain" because their best and brightest workers feel underutilized and frustrated and therefore are leaving in large numbers. It says that businesses in the post-industrial age have mismanaged their most important resource - people.

According to the author, brainpower is to the Information Age what (click here for more)


PRODUCTION:
Simple improvement between plant and office.

The recent era of training has served too well to bring out the types of situations found in plants across our nation. Stories have been examined under the microscopes of magazine, television and newspaper media. Again and again, the final analysis of first-time exploratory consultant meetings has shown that lack of organization is the company's worst own enemy.

Disorganization provides bad communication between plant manager and top management, floor supervisor and plant manager, plant workers and supervisors, office workers and peers and departments at all levels. Often, the remedy (click here for more)