Competitors can copy a product, a strategy, a technology – they cannot copy an organisation’s people. We evaluate our clients’ people management practices, always taking into account the local context. We assist them in optimising these practices to ensure that
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their
people receive adequate training to do the work they were hired to do
effectively (training & development), |
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decisions concerning these people are based on a sound assessment of their
performance (performance appraisal), |
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employees are compensated fairly for the work they do (compensation systems). |
Diversity Management
Multicultural teams have the potential to become the most effective and productive teams, due to the varied backgrounds of team members. Unfortunately, they frequently become the least productive, as team members find it more difficult to see, understand and act on situations in similar ways. In close cooperation with the team members, we help our clients devise the optimal strategy to manage diversity and to use it to the best advantage of the whole organisation.
Leadership
Far from learning only one way to lead, motivate and decide managers working across cultures must become flexible enough to adapt to each particular situation and country. In our leadership workshops we highlight specific challenges global leaders face and, together with the participants, develop an approach to leadership that fits their specific character as well as their environment.
Global Career Management
When firms send their employees abroad, these people experience a predictable series of stages in transferring from a domestic to a global appointment and back home again. By carefully preparing the transitions from one phase to another with the employee, process losses, caused for example by culture shock or alienation, can be minimised. We assist our clients in drawing up a program to structure career management in the context of overseas assignments and in managing their employees’ specific transition phases.
A project is a temporary or one-time endeavour undertaken by a project team to create a new product or service, which brings about beneficial change or added value. Project management is the discipline of organising and managing resources in such a way that the project is completed within specific constraints of cost, time and performance (the project management triangle), which are defined beforehand.
At the start of a project, we assist our clients in planning the project. This includes defining clear goals to be achieved, a time horizon with milestones, defining the budget and material as well as human resources available for the project. We also conduct a risk-analysis at the start, to enable faster reaction during the project and we moderate kick-off sessions, in which the project team is established. During the course of a project, we assist our clients in monitoring the team’s progress and its adherence to predefined targets as well as in installing an appropriate reporting system.
Process management is engaged with designing, modelling, executing, monitoring, and optimising processes within an organisation.
The field is closely related with Total Quality Management, Balanced Scorecards, Business Process Reengineering, Process Cost Calculation, and Change Management. For instance, we use appropriate indicators for monitoring and optimising processes, which are depicted in a Balanced Scorecard. This way, our client gains a quick and encompassing overview of the organisation. Our indicators enable continuous time-efficient control of the business. They help managers to concentrate on driving success factors and point out areas that require correction early on.
Our philosophy regarding marketing activities is that they must all be focussed towards the customer’s requirements and values. We carry this view into clients’ organisations to maximise the effectiveness of their strategic marketing activities.
Product Positioning / Customer Panels
Organisations are continuously developing new products and services. Market structures change and companies expand into new markets.
Taking into account the market development, customer behaviour and the competitive situation, we assist our clients in developing sound strategies for positioning their products and services in existing and new markets.
One way of doing this is developing and carrying out Customer Panels. These are surveys conducted regularly with a specific group of (potential) customers, in order to determine the requirements of a market. The aim of these studies is to align product characteristics more strongly with the customer’s requirements. The performance of existing products is examined and improvement potential uncovered.
Price Management
Within the framework of the five “Ps” (Product, Price, Place Promotion, People), price plays an equally relevant role and must not be neglected when developing a strategy. We help our clients set and maintain prices, which are consistent with their strategic orientation, always laying a focus on identifying where the product’s value lies in the eyes of the customer.
We contribute vital information for our client’s pricing process by using van Westendorp’s Price Sensitivity Meter, Conjoint Analysis, and Discrete Choice Modelling in customer surveys, by determining the Price Response Function and Price Elasticities for selected products in workshops with our clients, and by providing strategic advice derived from in depth analysis of above information.
Seminar topics include the following:
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Achieving Excellence with a Diverse Workforce |
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Coaching Competence |
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Communication Competence |
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Leadership in the African Context |
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Management Basics for Entrepreneurs |
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Marketing and Competitive Strategy |
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Project Management |
Ó 2008 CIELARKO