CORPORATE INTELLIGENCE AFRICA ISSUE 0024 | Page 45

There is no point in a supermarket attendant buying his or her commodities from the kiosk in the estate because he cannot afford to shop there.”
car assembling firm should be able to buy a car from the firm,” he explained. Recently most companies have abandoned the old bureaucracy that put senior staff at such a high level that they were practically unreachable even when they were just within the building. They decided things on their own and pushed it down the throat of junior staff no matter how bitter the decision would taste. Moreover, they would never be questioned even when there were evident mistakes in their strategies that needed to be pointed out. What’s more, junior employees could never put forward a better idea simply because they had neither platform nor authority. Even though, Mr Kim points out that there has to be some order in the company, the management should always strive towards bridging employee-to-employee distance as well as employee-management distance for the good of the company. “The employee should feel at home at the working place. That’s where he spends most of his time,” said Mr Kim. Nevertheless, there has to be clear guidelines on the conduct of the employees and whatever output is expected from them. This means

that a line must be drawn somewhere. While the management would need to keep an eye on the employees, the character, experience and efficiency of each individual should be put into consideration to avoid meddling so much in their work such that he or she is not free executing the assigned duties. For a start, employees should be allowed to decide the methods of completing their jobs since they have different capabilities, level of knowledge and skills. This encourages innovation and discovery of better ways of performing different task thus leading to the growth of the employee’s skills, efficiency and performance. Soon they discover which method works best for them, therefore reducing the time taken in each task. Commu-

nication, however, according to Mr Kim, is the greatest challenge in any corporate affair. “Getting to relay a certain message to everyone in the organisation in the best way possible and in good time is very important. Memos and notices are not the best. The management should find better, more interactive ways of communication,” he explained. Communication should not only happen when there is a meeting or some “important” event concerning the company. It should happen on a day-to-day basis. That way, the employees are motivated enough to take up greater tasks. Since they are aware of the operations of the company on a daily basis, they are always willing to give it a better shot the next day. Above all, they are proud of being a part of the organisation and their warmth and radiance will always be reflected on the clients for better and growing success.

Training and motivation session.

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