Science and Management

Archive for January, 2010

First of all it’s not your job to motivate them. The concept of motivation implies that it is the responsibility of people to motivate themselves. As long as you see it as your responsibility to motivate them, guess what, you will always have to motivate them by finding clever, creative and innovative ways to accomplish this and trust me sooner or later you will tire of this responsibility. It is better to have them understand that their motivation is their responsibility not yours as their manager. Motivation is an inside-out not an out-side in individual responsibility.The role of a manager is only to create a positive motivating, validating and empowering motivational climate in which employees are willing to take full responsibility for their own motivation.Having said this if you have employees who need constant motivation either they don’t understand the above concept or you need to re-consider their role in your organization.

There are two traditional methods of motivating employees that are being used in thousands of companies by millions of managers to “MOTIVATE” their employees. They are: fear or punishment and reward or incentives. Both of these motivational environments are temporary and appeal to the outside-in need to be motivated.

Fear Motivation is based on punishment of some kind from the withdrawal of a privilege to being fired. If fear motivation is the dominant type you or your organization uses, I will bet you live with a great deal of frustration and poor performance not to mention the negative climate and culture. People can build up an immunity to your threats. And if they are no longer concerned about the punishment, these methods just won’t motivate them over the long term. Fear motivation is also negative and tends to de-motivate, the opposite of what you are attempting to accomplish.

Reward or incentive motivation is based on a want or need of the employee. The problem is, if they don’t want what you are rewarding them with, guess what – it won’t be a motivator. I worked with a client years ago where the average yearly sales compensation was over $150,000 per employee. The president was frustrated because their potential was in excess of $300,000 a year. No additional incentives would improve performance because each of the employees was satisfied with his or her current compensation levels. So offering them bribes, bonuses or nicer drapes in their office just didn’t work to get them to work harder to sell more so they could earn more.

A friend of mine said, “I’ve visited your web sites, viewed your articles, and took a look at your background.” It’s apparent to me, you do not have a background in Information Technology (Computer Science) or Business Intelligence as a field of study acknowledging Computer Science.’

I wondered, does one have to have a background in IT or BI to qualify as a professional in the industry; or does it take a simple interest?

AutoCad, C Language, Visual Basic, Power Point, Java Script, Excel, Access, Cobol, Word (Microsoft Suite), Data Entry/Processing, DOS, Fortran, Lotus Notes, Management Information Systems, HTML, and Management cover a broad spectrum within the beginning or preparation in the world of IT / BI. The eclectic value of the specialization in one or more of this study group is the mastery and/or understanding of all.About a week ago, I was contacted, recruited, and enrolled in a four-year college program. The recruiter was adept at what she was doing and I went along with the schedule as presented. I continually asked, “How am I going to pay for these college courses?” When the prepared documentation was submitted for the finalization process, it all came down to dollars and cents. The financial aid person finally made contact with me assuming that I was a prime candidate for the ‘Stafford Loan!’ This is a general education loan designed for students to enroll in a given college. I explained to the administrator that I am without money, have no wish to establish a loan (for anything), unemployed, and not to mention…my age is also a factor. With the ability to complete the required studies, I would be done in less than a year. I have three years of accredited college courses with an Associate Degree. I estimated that I would be paying off on a student loan for more than a few years, if I landed a job. I will soon be sixty years of age. Burdened with an educational loan that would probably be on my plate well after I’m sixty-five, I asked the recruiter and financial aid worker, “Do you really believe that I would take out a loan for an extravagant amount of money in the hopes that I would get hired…at my age?” Even if I were to start up a new business, a loan would be a bit risky…improbable. It would have been a good thing if I were able to get back into the classroom. Whatever happened to the H1-B Program, The NAFTA Treaty, or the “Financial Hardship” Claus with the “Obama Letter” and/or ex-workers that are forced into the utilization/awarding of UC Benefits?

I was promptly dropped from the student roles by the four-year college.

Meanwhile, I am offering data that may help anyone who is interested in the pursuit of computer science knowledge. Should you be attempting to enroll in computer science and management courses, this information will give you a leg up on what is entailed in this multi-faceted field of study. Many schools will teach these courses as pre-requisite(s) to advanced courses in a four-year college. Even if you are not enrolled or intending to enroll in school but only interested in how it all works, the limited amount of information that is detailed in this message will probably aid you in your preparation and/or research.

The outlined courses are:

COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language):

COBOL was first released in the 1960s as a joint venture of industry, universities, and the United States Government. COBOL’s purpose was to provide a high-level computer programming language for the business world. COBOL directly addresses the basic needs of information processing while being easy to use as well. (Take a look at SQL). COBOL, BASIC, C, JAVA, and PASCAL are examples of high-end level computer language(s). A low-level language is a programming language requiring knowledge of a computers’ internal components…that are non-transferable.

Auto Cad (Computer Assisted Design):

2D (Dimensional) drafting tasks, allow you to get acquainted with computer assisted designing. Auto Cad is designed to assist you in the creation of landscape plans, including setting up layers, adding text and dimensions while making modifications. You can create electrical diagrams using symbols and attributes.

Delaware Valley College is located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania and is a four-year private nonprofit college that offers associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees in a variety different degree programs. Among the programs that are offered are Bachelor’s degrees in either Equine Science and Management or Equine Studies.The Equine Science and Management degree program is perfect for students who have a passion for horses and enjoy working with broodmares, foals, yearlings, and stallions. Students who pursue this major will be able to find employment at different equine breeding and management facilities.The Equine Science and Management program curriculum gives students the chance to take a variety of different courses from departments like liberal arts, basic science, and many professional courses that include:

· Stable Management

· Equine Health Management

· Equine Breeding

· Equine Anatomy

· Equine Physiology

· Yearling Horse Management

· Mare and Foal Management

· Equine Business Management

The wide variety of courses that students are required to complete will ensure that graduates are well rounded and well educated professionals in the equine breeding and production field. Graduates of the Equine Science and Management program have many career options to choose from and 99% of graduates find employment within six months of completion of the program. Students have gone into agribusiness, education, equine production, and some have even found employment with the government.Graduates are most sought after by the equine industry as stallion managers, foaling managers, farm managers, breed association representatives, livestock specialist, and nutritional consultants. Students will also be able to find employed with feed manufactures, pharmaceutical companies, and veterinary supply companies. There are also graduates who choose to be involved with FFA and 4-H program and also teach at high schools and vocational programs.Students may also choose to pursue a four year degree in general Equine Studies. This program will prepare students for a variety of different management positions in different equestrian facilities and include:

· Breeding Facilities

· Horse Show Management

· Business Management and Marketing

· Riding

· Driving

· Teaching

· Training

· Sales and Distribution

Equine Studies majors will have to pay additional cost over the regular tuition to cover the operational costs of maintaining the schools 48 horses that are used by the program. Students are also provided the opportunity to participate in an internship. This will help to familiarize the student with the facility and the program to insure that the students are going to be successful.