Table of Contents

Task 1: Select solutions to work-based problems............................2

1. Chosen position:............................................................................2
Applying the ASK (Attitude - Skills Knowledge) model:........................3
Attitude:............................................................................................................... 3
Skills:.................................................................................................................... 4
Knowledge:.......................................................................................................... 6
2. Potential problem that the manager may encounter:........................6
3. Solution to overcome the problem:..................................................7
Task 2: Communicate in a variety of styles and appropriate manner
at various levels...........................................................................7
Purpose of communication:..................................................................7
1. 4 main different types of communication:........................................7
a. Information style (delivering messages to the other party):..........................7
b. Influence communication:.............................................................................. 8
c. Assertive Communication:............................................................................. 8
d. Negotiation communication:..........................................................................9
2. Communication within an organization:...........................................9
a. Downward Communication............................................................................9
b. Upward communication:................................................................................ 9
c. Horizontal communication:..........................................................................10
d. Diagonal communication:............................................................................10
3. Communication within Toyota Vietnam:.........................................10
a. Downward communication:.........................................................................10
b. Upward communication:.............................................................................. 12
c. Horizontal communication:..........................................................................13
d. Diagonal communication.............................................................................14
Task 3: Evaluate and use effective time management strategies:...14
1. Time Management:.......................................................................14
2. Effective time effectively:.............................................................16
a. Develop an action plan:...............................................................................16
b. Urgency and Important.................................................................................. 17
c. S.M.A.R.T:..................................................................................................... 17
d. ABCD:........................................................................................................... 18
e. Focus on one thing:...................................................................................... 18
3. Principles for efficient time management.......................................18
Efficient Time Management for Managers............................................21
Bibliography............................................................................... 24

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Task 1: Select solutions to work-based problems

1. Chosen position:
Job Description: Human Resource Manager for Toyota Vietnam

Human Resource Manager Job Purpose: Toyota Vietnam anticipated the

Human Resources manager of the company to lead the strategic and tactical
activities of people and processes that will provide Human Resources
services, direction, and counsel to the executive staff, management, and
team members of a manufacturing plant. Lead plant HR staff in performing a
variety of complex and routine administrative, technical, and professional HR
functions including policies, programs, and procedures to ensure stable team
member relations, productive work environment, and company goals and
objectives

The aim is to ensure that the organization employs the right balance of staff
in terms of skills and experience, and that training and development
opportunities are available to employees to enhance their performance and
achieve the employer's business aims.
HR officers are involved in a range of activities required by organizations,
whatever the size or type of business. These cover areas such as:

working practices
recruitment;
pay;
conditions of employment;
negotiation with external work-related agencies;
equality and diversity of employees in the workplace.

Typical work activities

An HR officer must have a clear understanding of their employer's business
objectives and be able to devise and implement policies, which select,
develop and retain the right staff needed to meet these objectives.

Recruitment

recruiting staff - this includes developing job descriptions and person

specifications, preparing job adverts, checking application forms,
shortlisting, interviewing and selecting candidates;
interpreting and advising on employment law;

Training and Development of the organization

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 working closely with various departments, increasingly in a
consultancy role, assisting line managers to understand and implement
policies and procedures;
developing and implementing policies on issues like working
conditions, performance management, equal opportunities, disciplinary
procedures and absence management;
planning, and sometimes delivering, training - including inductions for
new staff;
Analyzing training needs in conjunction with departmental managers.

C&B

administering payroll and maintaining employee records;

advising on pay and other remuneration issues, including promotion
and benefits;
liaising with a wide range of people involved in policy areas such as
staff performance and health and safety;

Employee Relation:

promoting equality and diversity as part of the culture of the

organization;
negotiating with staff and their representatives (for example, trade
union officials) on issues relating to pay and conditions;
dealing with grievances and implementing disciplinary procedures;
Maintaining human resource staff, job results by counseling and
disciplining employees; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results.

Applying the ASK (Attitude - Skills Knowledge) model:

Attitude:
That motivation links HR practices to firm performance opens the way for
other variablescontaining a motivation elementto influence performance
aside from organizational commitment. For this reason, it is reasonable that
employee engagement would also play a key role in the daily work of Toyota
Vietnam HR manager. According to the study of Rhoades and Eisenberger
(2002) suggests that there are research studies to support the idea of job
attitudes like commitment and engagement have positive relationships with
organizational support among the employee. Since employee organizational
support can be affected by HR practices then the relationship between

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Human resource manager and the personnel are essential for the operation
of the organization.

Furthermore, Human resources managements attitude affect the

organizations performance through developing the commitment of the
employees who can be trusted enough to use their judgment in carrying out
tasks consistent with the goals of the company. For example, performance-
oriented HRa subsystem that focuses on developing human capital and
providing motivation for productive resource usehas been found to be
positively related to affective commitment. In addition, since the level of
commitment of employees affects important variables, like employee
turnover, it is usual that some HR programs were designed with the idea of
enhancing employee commitment in mind. Hence, a strategic human
resource approach would most likely consider commitment of employee
enhancing practices.

Skills:
Personal Skills: These types of skills can be abilities we are born with, our natural
talents, or things we develop through our experiences and deliberate practice.
Whether an innate aptitude or a developed capability, knowing what our own
personal skills are is very useful in both our personal and professional lives.

Self Development Skills: Personal management would be incomplete without

self development skills. Therefore, to be successful manager, he/she need to
keep gaining knowledge.
Self Actualisation: Ability to recognize what self needs and ability to show the
potential.
Time organization: Ability to organize the time well so that everything is on
deadline and on track.

Interpersonal skills: Interpersonal skills are the life skills we use every day to
communicate and interact with other people, both individually and in groups.

Verbal and non verbal communication: The ability to use verbal and non
verbal language to communicate well with people.
Speaking Ability: The ability to speak in front of a crowd. It is a key HR skill for
a successful HR Professional.

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 Reading people: The ability to read people. It is ability to sense if someone
is lying or trying to hoodwink. We have a feel for body language and what it
may be telling us about attitudes.
Empathy: It is an ability to know the feelings and emotions of other people.
Listening: The ability to listen and hear what someone is saying and
understand what they are saying.
Problem Solving: There will be some problems during the work and as a
manager, problem solving is a necessary skill to have. (Haberman, 2016)

Organizational skills: Along with communication and computer skills, organizational

skills is also one of the most important skills that a manager should have. They are
the skills that will be used in the work place.

Leadership: Being a leader involves persuading others to follow the direction

you want to go in. As such managers, he/she has reasonable expectations of
their staff and are excellent persuaders.
Forward-planning and strategy: The manager puts the strategy in place to
achieve the teams vision and missions. To do this they must be able to plan
ahead and look at the bigger picture.
Good organization: The manager is responsible for organizing their
department, implementing processes and guides and outlining what needs
doing. (What skills do I need to become a manager?, 2016)

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Knowledge:

The candidate must have greater than 8 years of relevant human

resources generalist experience and academic preparation or 12 years
of relevant experience. Manufacturing/Automotive setting experience
preferred.

More than 7 years functional leadership experience as supervisor in a

manufacturing environment.

The Minimum for the job is 5 years of experience in a functional HR

management role in a manufacturing plant, with previous experience
in creating presentations and delivering to large groups.

Informed about the history of Toyota, and the awareness of the current
auto industry

Qualifications: Human resources managers need experience in Hiring

experience, the knowledge of the manager consisted of go through Human
Resources Management and Benefits Administration course. They also need
Performance Management, Communication Processes. Furthermore, a few
courses that support an effective human resource management like
Compensation and Wage Structure degree, Supports Diversity, Classifying
Employees, Employment Law and Laws Against Sexual Harassment.

2. Potential problem that the manager may encounter:

Like the nature of the auto industry, the companies operate inside them
always changing. Therefore, as one of the main challenges for the Human
Resources manager of Toyota is to guarantee there is always enough
manpower for the corporations operations. Especially, when there are some
of the unexpected changes from the markets or within the organization itself.
When applying corporate strategies, the responsibility of the Human
resource department is to provide the needed staffs for the departments to
carry out their job. However, during sudden changes with great impact like
the downsize or upsize of the company the main problem with the
companys is lack of human resources.

Reason with lack of human resources

Labor force in Vietnam is great but why missing? That is the paradox of
human auto industry in general and with Toyota. If the calculated number of

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technical workers - engineers graduating every year, many, but to do the job
and meet the standards of the company, the work lacks serious. Most
workers or engineers when the schools have basic knowledge but the skill is
not high, the lack of practice and practical experience. That leads to what is
assigned is doing very well and seriously, but overcoming it is not done, lack
of usability and creativity. In addition to the selection of workers from
universities, vocational schools and technical workers, is one of the objects
selected by the major domestic auto companies who are working in the joint
venture or foreign company. What businesses need is people with
qualifications and experience that in Vietnam, mainly those working in the
joint venture.

3. Solution to overcome the problem:

To improve the lack of human resource and experience, there are the
solution for Toyota: to meet the requirements of development, the workforce
of the company is also constantly growing. aware of the work of education,
training and human resource development of employees. the company has
sent hundreds of school staff training skills, improve knowledge management
in Asian. at the same time, build a training center in Vietnam technicians,
annual training on the 500 technicians of Toyota certified to work in the
system of agents nationwide. To enhance the technical skills for the jury,
annual company conference organizers and technicians who won will Toyota
representing contest Toyota Asian technicians. Toyota has twice to get gold
medal in this contest.

Task 2: Communicate in a variety of styles and appropriate manner

at various levels.

Purpose of communication:

In the words of (Taylor, 2014) for some professionals, the purpose of

communication in business can sometimes seem like an excuse for a boss or
a customer to talk endlessly about their problems. Effective executives
understand the opportunity inherent in that kind of communication to
uncover powerful solutions that can propel a company to long-term success.

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 1. 4 main different types of communication:

a. Information style (delivering messages to the other party):

Consisted of speaking skill, respecting other, presentation and

listening

When speaking to the staffs or to the colleagues, the speaker need a clear
pronunciation to make sure the audience can receive the messages, this help
establish a strong communication line between the speaker and listener.

With the purpose of making sure, the transmitted information reaches the
listener. Furthermore, to assist this process, the manager consider how to
project their voice and intonation, not too soft or too low, to guarantee the
information is deliver to the audience without any hinder. Pace and pause
between lines or message give the listener time to fully receive the
information in their mind.

When delivering a message especially in a team or in a face-to-face

conversation it is important to listen to other opinions as well, so the speaker
can have further perspective of the situation or some additional information
that he/she previously lacked, to get to the point of view of the opposite side.
Respecting the other party also essential as well, if the speaker expected
their information to be taken seriously, he/she should show the other that
their voiced or information are being heard and analyzed, and not a one way
communication.

b. Influence communication:

Consisted of consultation, counseling, presentation, influencing

The ability to influence people through communication is a vital skill in the

real world. It allows the speaker to help their staff to do better or encourages
them to see things from the speaker point of view.

If the speaker wants to influence his/her audience, they must first present
his/her idea to the other party. The way of influence depended on the
situation to decide the next step, if they are in a team and want to make a
decision, the speaker need to depend on a series of consultation. Through
there, demonstrate a willingness to listen to the views of another, find a best
middle ground between both argument and reserving the right to take the
final decision. If it personal, the speaker can gain influence, try to giving
advice or guidance to the other party through counseling

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 c. Assertive Communication:

Consisted of assertive and negotiation

Assertive communication clearly states the speaker opinions and feelings,

and firmly advocates for his or her rights and needs without violating the
rights of others. Assertive communication is the result of high self-esteem.
Assertive speaker value themselves, their time, and their emotional,
spiritual, and physical needs. They are strong advocates for themselves
while being very respectful of the rights of others.

In Assertive communication, the speaker need to feel connected to other

people when they state their needs and feelings clearly, appropriately, and
respectfully. Try to be in control of emotions and speak in calm and clear
tones. Creating a respectful environment for others, and do not allow others
to abuse or manipulate them. Instead try to negotiate a term that bring
benefits for both sides.

d. Negotiation communication:

Consisted of negotiation and presentation skill:

Regardless of the type of small business an owner may be involved in, there
are always negotiations that take place on a daily basis. These may be as
simple as choosing a meeting time and place, or they could be much more
important to the overall business structure, such as working out the details
of a big contract. Business people need to be skilled in negotiation tactics
and understand how to effectively communication during the negotiation
process.

Communication between negotiators is more complex when the negotiators

belong to different cultures even if the discussion takes place in the same
language. So an Presentation skill is required, for example negotiators from
traditional cultures often attach more importance to the way in which a
proposal is made than to what is being said. This requires a thorough
understanding of the other partys cultural context, negotiating style and
prevailing economic conditions. As experience shows that most negotiations
fail due to poor communications, negotiators can consider reaching mutually
beneficial outcomes by improving their listening skill and encouraging the
exchange of information through

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questioning.

2. Communication within an organization:

a. Downward Communication
Downward communication occurs when information and messages flow
down through an organization's formal chain of command or hierarchical
structure. In other words, messages and orders start at the upper levels of
the organizational hierarchy and move down toward the bottom levels.
Responses to downward communications move up along the same path.
(study.com, 2014)

b. Upward communication:
Communication is a very important part of working in the business
environment. Managers must be able to communicate with employees and
employees must be able to communicate with managers in order o have a
profitable business. Upward communication is the flow of information from
front line employees to managers, supervisors, and directors. (study.com,
2014)

c. Horizontal communication:
Horizontal communication, also called lateral communication, involves the
flow of messages between individuals and groups on the same level of an
organization. Horizontal communication does not involve relaying
information up or down across levels. Sharing information, solving problems,
and collaborating horizontally is often more timely, direct, and efficient than
up or down communication. Horizontal communication can produce a higher
quality of information exchange since it occurs directly between people
working in the same environment. Communication within a team is an
example of horizontal communication; members coordinate tasks, work
together, and resolve conflicts. Horizontal communication occurs formally in
meetings, presentations, and formal electronic communication, and
informally in other, more casual exchanges within the office. (bounless.com,
2014)

d. Diagonal communication:
Cross-functional communication between employees at different levels of the
organizational hierarchy is described as diagonal communication. Diagonal
communication is increasingly common in larger organizations with matrix or
project-based structures. Diagonal communication may overcome some of
the barriers to communication within a business. It reduces the chances of
distortion or misinterpretation by encouraging communication between the

10
relevant parties. It also reduces a manager's communication workload
because he doesn't have to act as an intermediary between his direct reports
and other managers. (smallbusiness.chron.com, 2014)

3. Communication within Toyota Vietnam:

a. Downward communication:

Traditional views of the communication process in school organizations have

been dominated by downward communication flows. Such flows transmit
information from higher to lower levels of the business organization. At the
top at the board of director, from central office administrators to building-
level administrators, communicate downward to group members through
orders, speeches, and messages in bulletins, policy manuals, and
organization procedure handbooks. In Toyota, this kind of communication

11
mostly used to deliver a vision from the board of directors down to General
Manager and the department managers to process with execution.

b. Upward communication:

Upward communication is the transmission of information from the bottom

levels of an organization to the top levels. It includes judgments, estimations,
propositions, complaints, grievances, appeals, reports, and any other
information coming from subordinates and going to superiors.

Upward communication is the most important communication for

Toyota Vietnam because it indicates the success of the company's downward
communication. Management can learn how well its policies, plans,
strategies, and objectives are being adopted by those working at lower levels
of the organization. A manager who is open to and encourages upward
communication fosters cooperation, gains support, and reduces frustration
among his or her employees.

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 c. Horizontal communication:

Horizontal communication is the transmission of information between

people, divisions, departments or units within the same level of
organizational hierarchy. You can distinguish it from vertical communication,
which is the transmission of information between different levels of the
organizational hierarchy. Horizontal communication is often referred to as
'lateral communication.'

Horizontal communication presents some distinct advantages. It decreases

misunderstanding between departments working on the same project,
thereby increasing efficiency and productivity. It may result in better
implementation of top-level decisions because employees on lower levels
are permitted to coordinate directly with each other in the implementation
of the decision made at the top. Horizontal communication facilitates
teamwork if a project requires tasks from different people or departments. It
may also increase job satisfaction and motivation by creating more
employee empowerment in communication.

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 d. Diagonal communication

Diagonal communication refers to communication between managers and

workers located in different functional divisions. Diagonal communication is
increasingly common in larger organizations with matrix or project-based
structures. Diagonal communication may overcome some of the barriers to
communication within a business. It reduces the chances of distortion or
misinterpretation by encouraging communication between the relevant
parties. It also reduces a manager's communication workload because the
manager does not have to act as an intermediary between his/her direct
reports and other managers.

Task 3: Evaluate and use effective time management strategies:

1. Time Management:

Time management is important to any person, but particularly to a

business organization members and leaders. Involvement in co-curricular
activities means that in addition to statistics, data, information, jobs and

14
office socializing, another significant amount of time is taken up with
organizational obligations.
It is important to note that time management is a personal skill; only the
person know their peak work hours, their attention span and their eating and
sleeping needs, which must be planned for. Finding a time management
strategy that best fits the work timetable balance between working and
relaxation is important.

Benefits of time management:

The firstly is helps prioritize time management is important because it

helps the leaner prioritize your work. Once the leaner has a list of things
needed to tackle, they can see the things that more urgent or important and
should do first.

Next up the other why time management is important is get more

done in less time is that the worker will get more done in less time. When
there is a timetable that fit the requirement of the job, the worker will see
the amount of work that needs to be tackled. That puts into context how
much time is needed. Inevitably, the worker will know not to laze their time
away.

The thirdly is more quality work that mean when the worker plan their
time ahead, they are making wise investment of a very limited resource
time. Knowing what to work on, when and how much time it takes to finish
the work makes the worker more focused. That focus on the work ensures
that to get more quality workout.

Next up is keeps things in context that mean if the workers see the list

of work, they have and the things they need to do, then the worker will be
forced to make tough decisions. Especially, on what to spend their time on
and how to spend their time on the works that are required their attention
immediately.

Then is forces you to do things you do not like that mean when the
worker writes down what they need to do. They are forced to acknowledge it.
It is a target that they have given to themselves and so must live up to the
challenge regardless of how much they dislike doing it.

Next up is keeps the person on track that mean it is a daily work list or a
long-term career plan time management keeps the worker on track. With

15
their goals stated and time allocated, the likelihood of staying within the
boundaries the workers have shaped for themself is higher.

Time Is Limited once lost, you cannot gain it back. Therefore, good time
management gives the worker a boost to their working schedule and a sense
of time. If a timetable is arranged they will know that if they slack out the
current work slot will take over other activities timeslot. As a result, it will
make change their working calendar significantly created more pressure for
the worker.

Finally is helps create discipline that mean time management is a huge

part of managing mentally. If the worker cannot manage time and wont
manage their limited resources, they will find it impossible to archive their
initial goal, learning to manage time create a state of mind that helps to
discipline people.

2. Effective time effectively:

a. Develop an action plan:

A great way to manage time effectively is to make an action plan to plan
out your working schedule based on the working objective to set out proper
timescale for each action.

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b. Urgency and Important

In order to use their time effectively the learner can try to sort the tasks
bases the urgency of their tasks or their important. When they divided the

17
 tasks like that they can put a priority on task that are close to deadline or
task that have great significant.

1: High urgency and high important: the top priority for the learner, these
kind of tasks deadline is approaching rather fast and the contents of them
can decide the success or failure of the learners career

2: High urgency but low important: even those the importance of these task
can be considered low significant or trivial, their urgency is still high, in the
learners career these are like small steps to reach a big goal. Fail them, and
the whole study process will be terminated.

3: High important but low urgency: These are the mission of great meaning
to the learner profession, however they are not required to be finished
immediately, so the learner should put effort in smaller task but with greater
time dependency.

4: Low important and low urgency: these chores have insignificant

importance and give learner quite extensive time to finish and therefore
should at the lowest priority. Still, they still need learner attention even a
little.

c. S.M.A.R.T:

Specific Specific goals are more likely to be achieved than nonspecific

goals. Some questions to consider:

Who is involved?
What do you want to accomplish?
When? Establish a time frame.
Why? Determine the specific reason, purpose or benefits of achieving a
goal.

Measurable Measuring progress toward a goal helps people stay on track,

reach target dates and experience achievement. Staying on track will result
in a continuous improvement cycle that leads to motivation and goal
attainment.

Action Oriented To keep from becoming overwhelming, goals should be

broken down into action steps. Each step moves a person closer to
successful goal achievement.

Reasonable Avoid setting unreasonable expectations. Personal and

situational factors may influence the ability to reach a goal. Some personal

18
factors to consider are tiredness, physical well-being and other
commitments.

Timely Define start and end points to the goal. Maintain commitment to
these deadlines. Goals without deadlines or schedules for completion tend to
be put aside for the day-to-day crises that invariably arise.

d. ABCD:

Act on the task immediately, do not waste any time or postpone.

Bin it, discard the job if it irrelevant to the current objective or there are
better way to do it.

Create a definite plan to return to the task once other more importance or
urgently tasks are finish; do not forget the smaller tasks.

Delegate to other, when the learners need to put their attention to more
importance job, it is advisable to request help from the outside party with
small jobs to relief the pressure for the learner.

e. Focus on one thing:

Sometimes it seems like every time the leaner sit down to work, another
email alert dings on the phone, or another roommate barges in with some
kind of ramen disaster. Busy people have to suffer lots of distractions, and
learning to negotiate them can be a challenge. Nevertheless, it does not
need to be. Leaners can learn to prioritize tasks and find the things that
demand their attention the most, then plan for knocking the most important
things off the to-do list by minimizing distractions.

3. Principles for efficient time management

Rule 1 Read selectively. This applies mainly to individuals who find
themselves with too much material they must read such as mail, magazines,
newspapers, books, brochures, instructions, and so on. Except when you
read for relaxation or pleasure, most reading should be done the way you
read a newspaper, that is, skim most of it, but stop to read what seems most
important. Even the most important articles dont need a thorough reading
because important points are generally at the beginnings of paragraphs or

19
sections. Furthermore, if you underline or highlight what you find important,
you can review it quickly when you need to.

Rule 2 Make a list of things to accomplish today. Focus on what you want to
achieve, not just on what you want to do. This is a commonsense rule that
implies that you need to do some advance planning each day and not rely
solely on your memory. (It also suggests that you should have only one list,
not multiple lists on multiple scraps of paper.)

Rule 3 Have a place for everything and keep everything in its place. Letting
things get out of place robs you of time in two ways: you need more time to
find something when you need it, and you are tempted to interrupt the task
you are doing to do something else. For example, if material for several
projects is scattered on top of your desk, you will be continually tempted to
switch from one project to another as you shift your eyes or move the
papers.

Rule 4 Prioritize your tasks. Each day you should focus first on important
tasks and then deal with urgent tasks. During World War II, with an
overwhelming number of tasks to perform, General Dwight D. Eisenhower
successfully managed his time by following rule 4 strictly. He focused his
attention rigorously on important matters that only he could resolve, while
leaving urgent, but less important matters to be dealt with by subordinates.

Rule 5 Do one important thing at a time but several trivial things

simultaneously. You can accomplish a lot by doing more than one thing at a
time when tasks are routine, trivial, or require little thought. This rule allows
managers to get rid of multiple trivial tasks in less time (e.g., signing letters
while talking on the phone). However, take a cue from great flight
attendants, retail clerks, or food servers: give one important item, or person,
all your attention.

Rule 6 Make a list of some 5- or 10-minute discretionary tasks. This helps

use the small bits of time almost everyone has during his or her day (waiting
for something to begin, between meetings or events, talking on the
telephone, etc.). Beware, however, of spending all your time doing these
small discretionary tasks while letting high-priority items go unattended.

Rule 7 Divide up large projects. This helps you avoid feeling overwhelmed
by large, important, urgent tasks. Feeling that a task is too big to accomplish
contributes to a feeling of overload and leads to procrastination.

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Rule 8 Determine the critical 20 percent of your tasks. Paretos law states
that only 20 percent of the work produces 80 percent of the results.
Therefore, it is important to analyze which tasks make up the most important
20 percent and spend the bulk of your time on those.

Rule 9 Save your best time for important matters. Time spent on trivial tasks
should not be your best time. Do routine work when your energy level is
low, your mind is not sharp, or you arent on top of things. Reserve your
high-energy time for accomplishing the most important and urgent tasks.
Many of us are often like puppets whose strings are being pulled by a crowd
of unknown and unorganized people. Dont let others interrupt your best
time with unwanted demands. You, not others, should control your best time.

Rule 10 Reserve some time during the day when others dont have access
to you. Use this time to accomplish Important/Nonurgent tasks, or spend it
just thinking. This might be the time before others in the household get up,
after everyone else is in bed, or at a location where no one else comes. The
point is to avoid being in the line of fire all day, every day, without personal
control over your time.

Rule 11 Dont procrastinate. If you do certain tasks promptly, they will

require less time and effort than if you put them off. Of course, you must
guard against spending all your time on trivial, immediate concerns that
crowd out more important tasks. The line between procrastination and time
wasting is a fine one, but dont get in the habit of deciding that Ill get to
this later.

Rule 12 Keep track of your time. This is one of the best time management
strategies. It is impossible to improve your management of time or decrease
time stressors unless you know how you spend your time. You should keep
time logs in short enough intervals to capture the essential activities, but not
so short that they create a recording burden. Try keeping track of what you
do every 30 minutes or hour. Parts of the Skill Practice and Skill Application
sections suggest that you keep a time log for at least two weeks. Eliminate
activities that dont help you accomplish your desired outcomes, or your
statement of personal principles.

Rule 13 Set deadlines. This helps improve your efficient use of time. Work
always expands to fill the time available, so if you dont specify a termination
time, tasks tend to continue longer than they need to.

21
Rule 14 Do something productive while waiting. It has been estimated that
up to 20 percent of an average persons time is spent in waiting. During such
time, try reading, planning, preparing, rehearsing, reviewing, outlining, or
doing other things that help you accomplish your work.

Rule 15 Do busy work at one set time during the day. Because it is natural
to let simple tasks drive out difficult tasks (see Table 2.5), specify a certain
period of time to do busy work. Refusing to answer mail or read the
newspaper until a specified time, for example, can help ensure that those
activities dont supersede priority time.

Rule 16 Reach closure on at least one thing everyday. Reaching the end of a
day with nothing completely finished (even a 10-minute task) serves to
increase a sense of overload and time stress. Finishing a task, on the other
hand, produces a sense of relief and releases stress.

Rule 17 Schedule some personal time. You need some time when no
interruptions will occur, when you can get off the fast track for awhile and
be alone. This time should be used to plan, prioritize, take stock, pray,
meditate, or just relax. Among other advantages, personal time also helps
you maintain self-awareness.

Rule 18 Dont worry about anything on a continuing basis. Allow yourself to

worry only at a specified time and avoid dwelling on a worrisome issue at
other times. This keeps your mind free and your energy focused on the task
at hand. It may seem difficult, but controlling your worry time will do
wonders to make your time use more efficient and relieve your stress.

Rule 19 Write down long-term objectives. This helps you maintain

consistency in activities and tasks. You can be efficient and organized but
still accomplish nothing unless you have a clear direction in mind. Writing
down your long-term objectives helps make them real and lets them
constantly serve as reminders.

Rule 20 Be on the alert for ways to improve your management of time. Read
a list of time management hints periodically. All of us need reminding, and it
will help make continuous improvement in your time use a part of your
lifestyle.

Efficient Time Management for Managers

The second list of rules encompasses the major activities in which managers
engage at work. The first nine rules deal with conducting meetings, since

22
managers report that approximately 70 percent of their time is spent in
meetings (Cooper & Davidson, 1982; Mintzberg, 1973).

Rule 1 Hold routine meetings at the end of the day. Energy and creativity
levels are highest early in the day and shouldnt be wasted on trivial matters.
Furthermore, an automatic deadlinequitting timewill set a time limit on
the meeting.

Rule 2 Hold short meetings standing up. This guarantees that meetings will
be kept short. Getting comfortable helps prolong meetings.

Rule 3 Set a time limit. This establishes an expectation of when the meeting
should end and creates pressure to conform to a time boundary. Set such
limits at the beginning of every meeting and appointment.

Rule 4 Cancel meetings once in a while. Meetings should be held only if they
are needed. If the agenda isnt full or isnt going to help you achieve your
objectives, cancel it. This way, meetings that are held will be more
productive and more time efficient. (Plus, people get the idea that the
meeting really will accomplish somethinga rare outcome.)

Rules 5, 6, and 7 Have agendas, stick to them, and keep track of time.
These rules help people prepare for a meeting, stick to the subject, and
remain work oriented. Many things will be handled outside of meetings if
they have to appear on the agenda to be discussed. You can set a verbal
agenda at the beginning of even impromptu meetings (i.e., Here is what I
want to cover in this meeting). Keeping a record of the meeting ensures
that assignments are not forgotten, that follow-up and accountability occur,
and that everyone is clear about expectations. Keeping track of the time
motivates people to be efficient and conscious of ending at the stated time.

Rule 8 Start meetings on time. This helps guarantee that people will arrive
on time. (Some managers set meetings for odd times, such as 10:13 A.M., to
make attendees time conscious.) Starting on time rewards people who arrive
on time rather than waiting for laggards.

Rule 9 Prepare minutes of the meeting and follow up. This practice keeps
items from appearing again in a meeting without having been resolved. It
also creates the expectation that accountability for accomplishments is
expected and that some work should be done outsid the meeting.
Commitments and expectations made public through minutes are more likely
to be fulfilled.

23
Rule 10 Insist that subordinates suggest solutions to problems. This rule is
discussed in the Empowering and Delegating chapter (Chapter 8). The
purpose of this rule is to eliminate the tendency toward upward delegation,
that is, for your subordinates to delegate difficult problems back to you. They
do this by sharing the problem and asking for your ideas and solutions rather
than recommending solutions. It is more efficient to choose among
alternatives devised by subordinates than to generate your own.

Rule 11 Meet visitors in the doorway. This practice helps you maintain
control of your time by controlling the use of your office space. It is easier to
keep a meeting short if you are standing in the doorway rather than sitting in
your office.

Rule 12 Go to subordinates offices for brief meetings. This is useful if it is

practical. The advantage is that it helps you control the length of a meeting
by being free to leave when you choose. Of course, if you spend a great deal
of time traveling between subordinates offices, the rule is not practical.

Rule 13 Dont overschedule the day. You should stay in control of at least
some of your time each workday. Others meetings and demands can
undermine the control you have over your schedules unless you make an
effort to maintain it. This doesnt mean that you can create large chunks of
time when youre free. But good time managers take the initiative for, rather
than responding to, schedule requirements.

Rule 14 Have someone else answer telephone calls and scan e-mail. Not
being a slave to the telephone provides you with a buffer from interruptions
for at least some part of the day. Having someone else scan e-mail helps
eliminate the non important items that can be eliminated or require
perfunctory replies.

Rule 15 Have a place to work uninterrupted. This helps guarantee that when
a deadline is near, you can concentrate on your task and concentrate
uninterrupted. Trying to get your mind focused once more on a task or
project after interruptions wastes a lot of time. Mental gearing up is
wasteful if required repeatedly.

Rule 16 Do something definite with every piece of paperwork handled. This

keeps you from shuffling the same items over and over. Not infrequently,
doing something definite with a piece of paper means throwing it away.

Rule 17 Keep the workplace clean. This minimizes distractions and reduces
the time it takes to find things.

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Rules 18, 19, and 20 Delegate work, identify the amount of initiative
recipients should take with the tasks they are assigned, and give others
credit for their success. These rules all relate to effective delegation, a key
time management technique. These last three rules are also discussed in the
Empowering and Delegating chapter.

25
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