Strategic
Business and Action Planning: Effective strategic and
action planning can serve as the master blueprint for a successful
business improvement process. Without effective planning,
organizations can make costly, time-consuming mistakes that
can thwart the business improvement process. |
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Systems Alignment:
Internal systems become obsolete over time and must be assessed
periodically to insure that they continue to be in alignment
with organizational mission and purpose. Once identified,
out-of-date systems can be brought into alignment with current
organizational needs. |
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Process and
Productivity Improvement/Cycle Time Reduction: A major
component of business improvement is enhanced productivity.
The first step in improving productivity is to examine the
ways in which internal processes currently operate. Once existing
processes have been diagrammed, it becomes possible to identify
and eliminate inefficiencies by streamlining, circumventing
bottlenecks, eliminating unnecessary steps, and minimizing
duplicate effort. |
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Leadership
Systems: Leadership skills are not necessarily intuitive.
This consulting capability provides managers with the customized
tools and systems they need to become more effective leaders.
This, in turn, can have a profound positive effect on organizational
improvement efforts. |
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Organizational
Assessment: Organizational assessment provides a starting
point for the business improvement process. The resulting
"snapshot" can serve as a baseline by which change
can be measured. |
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Program
Evaluation: Without effective evaluation, it is impossible
to assess the degree to which a program is meeting its desired
goals. Lacking concrete information about which programs to
expand and which to change or eliminate is a major stumbling
block on the road to business improvement. |
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Competency
Assessment Systems: As job requirements evolve over
time, skill gaps may develop between the capabilities of various
employees and the work they must perform. By creating competency
assessment systems, it is possible to identify and address
emerging skill gaps before they become problematic. This,
in turn, supports ongoing business improvement efforts. |
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Individualized
Coaching and Development Planning: Each manager has
unique strengths and weaknesses. Individualized coaching and
development planning provides managers with the customized
help they need to facilitate change and support business improvement
efforts. |
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Change Management:
Change can be threatening. Understanding how to manage the
change process can circumvent potential roadblocks and maximize
an initiative's potential for success. |
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360 Degree
Assessment and Feedback Systems: Business improvement
is an ongoing process. What works this week may not be successful
at some point in the future. Therefore, it is important to
internalize continuous feedback systems that can be used to
refine or modify processes over time. |
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Organizational
Transformation: Organizational transformation is a
dynamic process. Managers who facilitate the transformation
process must be aware of how the organization is responding
to their actions so that they can modify their approach accordingly.
By understanding how organizational transformation works,
managers can foresee and even circumvent potential stumbling
blocks. |
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The UMass Donahue Institute creates
dynamic, personalized development tools and programs to help
managers develop new competencies, hone their current skills,
and reach their full potential faster and more efficiently
than otherwise possible. Sessions with expert coaches provide
the right level of guidance to make development planning both
meaningful and relevant. All coaching is customized, and focuses
on the needs of the client organization. |
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