How To Assess Information And Knowledge

How To Assess Information And Knowledge The main aim of this assignment is to provide Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd, on how to assess information and knowledge internally and externally to improve decision making and taking while creating strategies to increase personal networking to widen involvement in the decision-making process. This assignment also helped Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd develop communication process to improve the gathering and dissemination of information and organizational knowledge. Furthermore it assessed the current approach of information management by Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd also highlighted with suggestion and the way the culture effects the communication procedure is recognized and discussed. Acknowledgement This project could have not been written without Mr.Frank Gunasekara. Who encouraged and challenged me through my academic program. He never accepted less than my best efforts. Thank you. I make no claim to be comprehensive since what is collected in this project are materials that I found in articles, Books, Interviews and the internet. A special thanks to the authors mentioned in the bibliography page. I would like to acknowledge and extend my heartfelt gratitude to my family and friends. And specially to Mr.Suranga Liyanarachi [Human Resource Manager] of Anverally and Sons [Pvt] Ltd. Words cannot express what I owe them for there encouragement and whose patient love enabled me to complete this project. And especially to Allah, Who made all things possible. Table of Contents List of Illustrations Organizational Structure à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. 8 L1 Introduction of Anverally and Sons [Pvt] Ltd. Anverally and Sons [Pvt] Ltd., was founded by a man with a great vision, the late Mr. Anverally. Which was over a 100 years ago, His vision was to establish the finest pure Ceylon teas. After a century passed his vision was made a reality by his successors. Today Anverally and Sons [Pvt] Ltd, exports the finest teas in the world to over 37 countries which includes Europe, Asia, CIS states and the Middle East. And being registered members of the Colombo Tea Traders Association, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, National Chamber of Commerce, the Export Development Board and the Srilanka Tea Board. Being having a good relationship with a number of plantation companies and estates around the island, Anverally and Sons [Pvt] Ltd has some of the most experienced tea tasters in the business, Vital for the important process of blending that makes Ceylon Tea so famous around the world today. Mission OUR MISSION IS TO CREATE PERFECTION SECOND TO NONE IN EVERY OUNCE OF TEA WE EXPORT [Anverally and Sons [Pvt] Ltd, Website] www.anverally.com/ceylon-black-green.html Organizational Structure Director of Operations and Logistic Director of value added Tea Director of Bulk Tea Director of Finance Senior Executive Human resource manager TEAM General Manager MD/ Chairmen [Figure 1] Organizational structure is the frame work, typically hierarchical, within which Anverally and Sons [Pvt] Ltd. Arranges its lines of authority and communications, and makes sure to allocates there rights and duties. This organizational structure shows the manner and the extent to which power, roles and responsibilities are delegated, coordinated and controlled and how information flows between levels of management. Being having a Horizontal structure [Flat hierarchy] the number of people in layers is less. Anverally and sons being having a wide span of control there are many employees reporting to a superior. But in the narrow span of control only a few employees are reporting to a superior. Being having a wide span of control at Anverally and Sons communication is faster because the message travels faster and shorter distance in the flat structure. There for in this organization communication is more effective and can respond to the changes in the market faster. However in tall structure it takes more time to respond to the changes in the market. Range Of Organizational Decisions Example : At an economic crisis, This is when all the decisions are made by the head-office or the top management. All the decisions making power are help by the top managers and managers at the lower levels do not have power. When important decisions are to be made Anverally and Sons will get the company centralized in all departments and there will be a similar set of rules and regulations. This may lead to greater consistency and when everyone follows the same system there will be more consistency and this will reduce confusion among different departments. It was explained that at Anverally and sons that senior managers are taking all the decisions since they are more matured and experienced and there for the decision will be a good quality decision that will benefit the whole organization. However if junior managers takes the decisions, the decisions may not benefit the organization since they are not experienced. However if Anverally and sons pass down the decision making power to other areas departments or divisions in the business allowing decisions to be taken away from the top management. This reduces the workload for the senior management and there for will make decision making faster. By passing decision making powers to lower levels will speed up the decision making progress and. This will make the organization more flexible and it will be able to react to the changers in the market quickly. And as a result the business will be able to retain its skilled force [work] because everybody will be involved in decision making. Anverally and Sons [Pvt] Ltd being a growing company decision making should be decentralized as there are a lot of operations. Information required at different Levels of organization At Anverally and Sons [Pvt] Ltd, Strategic Level decisions are taken into consideration by only the Chairman and General Manager which includes them to deal with complex issues, It involves high level of risk since the future is very unpredictable and decides on the objectives of the organization. Tactical Level is handled by the Directors/Executives and they are responsible to ensure that resources are obtained and use effectively and efficiently to accomplish the organizations objectives. Directors/Executives in tactical level operations are the Dir. Operations and logistics, Dir. Value added tea, Dir. Bulk Tea, Dir. Finance and Senior Executive Human resource Director . Operational Level is managed by the Managers and their respective teams, Marketing manager:- Should do an analyst about the competitors and identify its break troughs and make advantages decisions for the organizationa and mainly about the the organizations Products, Price, Place and Promotion. Human Resource manager :- Manages the overall sector of human resource services, programs and policies. Some of the major areas an HRM manages can include as Recruiting staff, Organizational Development, Performance management and improvement systems. Shipping department manager and Logistics head are included as well. They ensure that every top level task they have received is carried out effectively and efficiently. And at this level decisions what needs to be taken into consideration like day to day activity decisions are apart of this department. Effective Communication With Stakeholders Anverally and Sons [Pvt] Ltd does pay a great number of attention to their stakeholders, Whose behaviors and attitude will mean a lot for their difference between the success and failure of the companys organizational mandate. Communication with stakeholders is important and critical for the organization, For the communication to be effectively done Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd should identify their key stakeholders. Set Communication Objectives Before developing a message campaign, It is important that Anverally and Sons [Pvt] Ltd to clarify the reason and objectives behind the communication. The main objective of the communication is to inform the stakeholders of some pending action or decision, to engage with them or maybe to prevent or overcome some problems. However if the organization is to inform or raise awareness than affecting the perception or its behavior, the approach of communication will be varied. Choosing a Communication format Messages communicated can vary from personal encounters to mass communication. For an Example: If the objective is to change the behavior, two-way communication is required for anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd, such as telephone contact or face to face interviews should be used with stakeholders. But if the information which should be one-way informed then it could be used in newspapers, magazine or public service announcements on radio or television could be an appropriate choice for anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd. Getting feedback on Effectiveness The ultimate goal of effective communications with stakeholders is getting the feedback from the respective stakeholders themselves. By having conducted the research with all relevant constituencies in order to know if the desired message have been received and the expected results with the communication effort. Research can be in the form of Telephone or Internet interviews. Communicating with, Customers :- Customers buys the goods and services. And are expecting quality tea which is safe and in reasonable price. Suppliers :- Suppliers supply the raw materials. Suppliers expectations are continuously high volume business, Timely settling their invoices. There for if the supplier is not happy with the business dealings it may lead to stop supplying the materials. The method used to communicate with these stakeholders is by electronic communication. Internal and External Source of Organization Internal Sources of communication means communication within the organization, Information can be of many types, Example of some major internal source: Organizational Information: Internal source of information to gather data about the organization which includes strategic plans, exit surveys, Focus groups. External Sources of information are where the organization gathers information from official and unofficial sources, but who are effected with the business externally. Example : Sending a message to a supplier Anverally and Sons has a strong strategy of Communicating and motivating its employees. The reason for Anverally and sons to manage its decisions is by having a good communication environment, Good communication does encourage team work. Team work will result in new ideas, New ideas lead to innovation. Good decision making will allow faster decision making. When decision making is fast the business organization can react to changes in the market quickly. Methods of communication used by Anverally and Sons [Pvt] Ltd Oral communication : Which is one to one communication Example : Telephone conversations, Meetings, Interviews, Staff appraisal meeting. Scenario : When the tea cartons are ready for shipment and there is no space for storing since the shipment is being delayed then the Distribution manager contacts the Shipping manager directly and solves the immediate problem. Positives out of this method are that the communication will be more clear and effective because there is immediate feedback and body language can be observed. However if the communication consist of many document it is advisable to note them down in writing so that there will be written records of it. Written communication : A written record is available there for it can be referred back later and will have no disputes as there is evidence. Example : Notice, News Letters, Reports, etc.. However this will be time consuming and there will not be any immediate feedback. Electronic communication : This is the main method where Anverally and sons use for decision making. Since of the high speed communication and immediate response can be identified. Its a more cost effective way for and example : Email is cheaper than postal mail. And a large quantity can be downloaded from the internet. The head office situated in Colombo and the factories being placed in rural areas people still can work as a team due to electronic communication. This method can be sent and received at anytime of the day there for it is more flexible.As a factor to be concerned for Anverally and sons is that, If electronic communication is using text, audio and video messages. Then this can be sent through one communication line. However this way of communication can affect the company by hackers and viruses. It could also lead to information overload since with the internet the information available is too high and could result it such. And to get the employees trained to deal with electronic communication the company will have to have as expense such a training cost. Recommendation for Improvement. At Anverally and Sons [Pvt] Ltd it is identified that the organization use to communicate with their employers and employees using the electronic communication method than oral discussions. As noted the company has few errors of communication as to whom to report or inform. Being having a flat structure the organization has a wide span of control but according to the programs the organization conducts the process of communication is wrong since they use reports and flyers about Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd in every program they conduct. Since Anverally and Sons [Pvt] Ltd being an internationally recognized tea export company. It is important to ask, is it enough for Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd to limit their communication to the current amount. According to the conditions Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd should start up using the oral method more often so that they could communicate to their employees/employers throught face to face discussions. This method would lead to get more innovative ideas on how to prove the service and increase its potential. Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd should start having group meetings among the different level of the company, This would lead Employees and top management to have a better understanding since there is more human interaction, Besides Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd has to clearly state to whom the employees have to inform regarding different issues and problems they face during operations. Being having a Flat structure it is important to practice horizontal communication since it would help make the internal communication better. And lead to all departments to have better understanding and be more productive. L3 Existing process of communication Anverally and Sons [Pvt] Ltd does use the two way communication process, which is upward and downwards communication. Being having the downward communication Anverally and Sons [Pvt] Ltd use to provide information on their current programs and ongoing projects, Since Feedback is also identified the medium used is by daily announcements at the Factory and by having notice boards at every branch and other different media to their employees about the current issues of the business. And having the upward communication process, Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd, Use this method to communicate with the higher authority through electronic device regarding the various problems which arises from the tactical and operational level. So this method helps them to talk about the issues and their concerns and how to over come these. However since customers are encouraged to contact Anverally and Sons [Pvt] Ltd through the Internet [E-mail] to obtain more information or to make a complain. Since this method is used in the organization their can be miscommunication within the middle layer management since E-mail can be time consuming to answer complicated questions or their might be many misunderstandings because cultural differences in the explanation or understanding of certain words, There for using oral communication [telephone] may be considered as a better solution for providing detailed answers. Greater integration system of communication Anverally and Sons [Pvt] Ltd being an internationally recognized tea exporter, Needs to have a proper communication system and thats critical for its success. If the employees at Anverally and Sons [Pvt] Ltd are not effectively communicating with their customers, clients and other experts, the business will have to face negative situations. Improving effective communication skills within the work force is a important skill that should be mastered. Few of the points Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd should look into to make sure all workers are communicating effectively. Executive Information System [EIS] This is a system planned to make and support the information and decision made by the senior executives at Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd, it also provides easy right to use both internal and external information valid to meet its calculated goals of the business. Internal Data Organizations financials Organizations resources External Data Stock market Economic databases New services Under this system executives at Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd will be having a clear moniter of companies performances and will be able to forecast, spot and analyze problem, Identifying opportunities and to track competitors activities. Management information system [MIS] This system provides managers at middle level for organizing, evaluating and to resourcefully run their departments, and it also provides past, present and future predicted information with the help of software, data bases and hardware applications. To improve this system Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd should develop a technological usage agreement for its staff which help the business and maintain its staff from being disobedient. Includes agreement issues such as off beam web surfing, prohibits visiting virus sites etc.. And also should maintain a schedule of maintenance, this would manage to update and scan for virus and prevent data loss or system crash. Transaction process system [TPS] This system is designed to practice the day-to-day dealings of Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd since the business has over 600 outsourced employees advancing this system may lead for the labor-intensive business transactions cto be replaced by automated processes. And their for anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd can improve its operation efficiency and decrease its transaction cost. Communication Skills of a good manager As the interview with Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd, Human resource executive Mr.Suranga Liyanarachi. It was identified that there were positives and negatives shown as a manager with his communication skills. Clear communication skill :- As a manager it was clear and effective flow of information which was handed over to the interviewer this makes a good skill of clear communication. Assertive communication skill :- With the ability to express his opinion, ideas, requirements and sentiment in a uncomplicated, non-hesitant way, while also being very diplomatic and respectful of the other person. Integrity :- He is a manager with a lot of integrity in other words is a person who says what he thinks and does what he say hell do. As a result Team transparency, creative approach and performance naturally arise from this. Personal Plan to improve communication skills Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd being having spotted a weakness of their communication system will have to over come its situation to satisfy its clients and customers and other related experts. Causes for lack of team work Lack of clearness about decision making Who has authority over what, Methods for making decisions are changing or unclear. Lack of team communication skills Discussions, conversation, listening disagreement decision Fundamental nature of the work is not very understandable so its mutually dependent, and therefore teamwork is not really needed. There for to over come this situation Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd should implement these strategies as follows, Define member roles and responsibilities. :- Every member has its role to be done and more over it should not overlap with confusion, If the work load are being distributed equally the smoother the work would flow. Acknowledge and reward team members :- This is to ensure that all team members know how their individual effort has contributed to the companies common goal and will give confidence to all stakeholders to repeatedly share their individual input with the entire team. Importance of team meeting and Group discussion to improve communication Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd being having a competitive business nature will need standard personal interaction more that ever. Although they have once a week meeting with all executive heads and have meetings every three months on strategic planning, By having electronic communication [telephone and online communication] may allow for convenient and speedy way of communication with customers and also may open up a new opportunity for quick sharing of ideas. But setting up a business meeting within the business will create different effects on the business, Benefit : Information distribution A key benefit will be that it provides an opportunity to share information such as financial updates or may help to recognize new employees for more complex issues. An genuine meeting pinpoints a moment in time and place to have in detail discussions with no other distractions or work getting in the way. Disadvantage : Time However Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd can drain out its companies productivity when having its staff to spend more time on meetings, therefore to over come this reason Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd must try to limit the amount of time that the staff spend in meetings. L4 Identify how information can be used as controlling and coordination method for Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd. Word controlling is used as a way of monitoring the companies actions and behavior by using its information. And the word coordination means as how information is prearranged in a way that can be collected for companys action and activities. As noted from the interview, Information helps to assemble the act of the HR division and the finance subdivision, Where HR division helps to grant information to finance subdivision to make monthly financial statement for the staff. Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd control their daily supplies because information helps them to know how much of tea leaves is needed for each day. consequently information from the logistics sector and storage department will let the shipping department how many tons of tea leaves are being exported everyday. So that there will not be any storage or over production overlapping. And in this same situation we can see the coordination of the logistics sector and the storage department because without the information of shipping department the company wont be able to control its production, storage and exporting requirement for each day. Approaches to the collection, formatting, storage, disseminating information and knowledge. Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd collects information for the function to increase its business efficiency and success in order to make desire turnover along with to sustain in future by making different judgment depend on the information they collect. Information collection Export department Products[taj,al-athur] exported to the clients and the quantity of each product sent per day. Website collects the customers information since they register in the companies website when placing an order for a particular product. Information collected are : name, address, phone number and few financial information. News paper and reports collects information about the competitor by annual reports or financial reports, and they also gather information about the current rules and regulations. Formatting information Customer profile Collection of customer information will be analyzed and divided into customer gender, location and personal information as collected. Export department processes the information on the quantity of exports during the day and the profits made by each product, availability of product and to end with calculates the earnings for the day. Storing information Customer profile Customer information Export department would store the information in the system under daily exports. Secondary researched data would be kept in a separate file. Dissemination of information Being having the customers information in the system, once a placement is made by the customer the customer care reports to the factory department and prepare the amount of tea needed and deliver it to the customer. Reports and magazine information will be spread to the respective departments such as competitors marketing strategy would be handed over to the marketing department. How Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd manage its knowledge At the operations of Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd, it is identified that there is two types of knowledge being used. Explicit knowledge : Is a record of how each task is to be performed by plan and actions. Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd being having its factory employees outsourced, it was found that employees tend to change there profession within the factory and that simply helped by the explicit knowledge, this is where all guides and instruction on how to operate its machine would be written or documented, therefore the quality of the product will not change although the employee changes. Tactic knowledge : It is found that in Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd, Human resource Department that they recruit and train their employees, Since most of them have only explicit knowledge they lack from tactical knowledge there for they team them up and give them projects on real time and real situation handling project and these are supervised by a manager and at the end of the day they discuss with the trainee about the mistakes and how they should improve to handle problems. How IT system could be used as a communication management and controlling tool for Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd. IT system helps Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd, as a communication management and a controlling tool because this system helps to solve complex issues. Example : Its isnt easy for the staff to record all its sales into a paper and there is likely chances for making error, IT system will help to reduce its difficulty since it makes less human acceptance in processing information, there for this leads to increase the productivity of the work and saves time for the staff. Improvement of collecting, formatting, storage, disseminating information and knowledge Information collection: While having a website Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd can have a representative at every country where they manage to export the most so that the customer can gain more customer satisfaction by having a face to face conversation. Competitors information: This can be identified by attending trade shows and by joining industry associations. Formatting information: By implementing a back-up system and a paper backup system since if the IT system fails then there would be information paper as well for quick references. By getting an IT system out sourced would increase its IT potentials since they will be mainly working on IT related area and would be risk free. Dissemination: It is helpful if the information system is grouped for the exact department like if the employees information can be directly directed to the HR department so then it would make it easy for them to take decisions since they are responsible for employees issues. Implementing a strategy to improve access to system of information and knowledge to others as appropriate For a strategy to be implemented, Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd should identify its current problem and its future problem, Example : By only one HR department it is hard for them to look into all its employees information and manage them and mean while if there is an order placed by a client then the business should contact the IT department and then collect information and then pass them to the processing department. There for to handle the situation Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd should develop a plan to save its business, where it helps to enter a broad area of the information system of the business that will put together key business development so that information will be spread into all departments and make things easy. And after the plan is developed the implementation should help to train the staff on how to use the system and to make sure the system is working efficiently and effectively. Organization Culture effecting on the business It was noted that Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd uses a paternalistic style of communication which is that they believe that employees need direction and it is important that they are supported and cared properly. The company does consult to find out views but the decisions are made by the top level management. Therefore the company would have improved decisions making as many ideas are involved and also it increases its employees productivity. More you do more you get [Culture slogan, Interview HR manager] Conclusion This assignment includes a variety of understandings regarding the communication procedure and IT systems of Anverally and sons [Pvt] Ltd. It is found that the company uses diverse verity electronic devices to communicate and they use the up-down method of communication throughout the company. However the recommended type of communication system and IT system is to have a more likely to have a positive effect on the company.