First of all, what is management? The dictionary defines management as "the act or art of managing: the conducting or supervising of something (as a business).". Sounds about right. But then, Atilla the Hun was a manager of sorts. David Shubert claims there is a big difference between being a manager and being a "good" manager who has earned the respect of the people. Here he discusses exactly what makes a good manager. It is interesting that the formal definition of management includes the word "art", because in some respects, it is an art as much as a science. Just about anyone can learn the basic mechanics of becoming a manager. However, there is a certain amount of mystery in defining that extra dimension of skills and traits that elevates certain people to a status of "good" manager. What is it? Part of it is charisma. Charisma is a sort of magical quality of magnetic charm or appeal that makes people want to follow the…
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"A financial crisis unmatched since the Great Depression" "UBS to axe 6,000 jobs" "How to keep a roof over your head" "Swiss banking giant writes off another £9.6 billion" The above are all headlines from newspapers and magazines in the past week. We are currently drowning in articles on the credit crunch, so we have decided to add to the overload by looking at this latest scare story; what it means for you, your business, and how to avoid financial Armageddon. What is a credit crunch? In America, banks were selling mortgages to people with poor credit history, who later could not repay these ‘sub prime' mortgages. House prices fell, interest rates rose and missed repayments led to mass repossessions. Buying loans from other banks is cheaper than borrowing from the Federal Reserve and these ‘sub prime' mortgages were sold and resold, often to overseas banks. Once it was evident a lot of these loans were going unpaid, banks decided they could no longer trust…
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