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Harsh business style of management
Rank: Member Joined: 1/10/2008 Posts: 365
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what is the best way to manage the workforce of a small to medium sized sole entrepreneur biz in the country?
This i ask because i've noticed that in a large number of the most successful businesses, the proprietors are actually harsh, arrogant to and often mistreat their workforce. Basically, successful businessmen will set ground rules from the onset and will not take flimsy excuses, On the other hand, when workers are given their space then 'wanacheza na kazi'. And many agree that this is a recipe for failure especially for medium sized businesses.
Is this a secret in managing workforce? And is this a quality to want to cultivate or pretend to have in case you are naturally a soft person?
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 2/10/2010 Posts: 1,001 Location: River Road
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it's not a secret it just grows on you once you realize how much it cost you to keep people in your business who don't contribute to the bottom line. You start by shouting then apologizing then you eventually become harsh and arrogant. You fire them at will or sometimes to instill discipline. i'm naturally a soft person but employees call me "shetani". Workers are not very important in a business clients who are paying are the most important. You can fire entire work force and get replacements the very next day. sometimes you should even delay paying salaries just to show them who is really boss. If you don't do this your business will be among the statistics that say 80% of all new business fail within 3 years of operation. Business is not charity
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Rank: Member Joined: 4/18/2011 Posts: 459
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After High school I worked for a sole proprietor who was like that and after listening to her shouting 4 a few days I got immune to the shouting. We used to call it ringing the bell. @ Mkonomtupu while harshness is one approach, at times it's overdone and other times it's given much attention at the expense of actions that would bring in a return. I know of this business owner who runs the show from basic things like overseeing who seats where in the office to growing the business. But because he has to be involved in every activity and has to shout about everything he forgets his main job which is creating wealth for himself. In my opinion many sole proprietors fail due to multi tasking, and not having clearly defined objectives and if the have they don't persue them as they should.
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Rank: Elder Joined: 5/24/2007 Posts: 1,805
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Reality check. Most Kenyan employees are a lazy lot and need a tough stance to work. And yes, when you do not keep your standards, they create their own that enable them get paid for doing Jerk! I Think Therefore I Am
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Rank: New-farer Joined: 4/28/2011 Posts: 30
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bwenyenye wrote:Reality check. Most Kenyan employees are a lazy lot and need a tough stance to work. And yes, when you do not keep your standards, they create their own that enable them get paid for doing Jerk! Unfortunately, this is true. and they will steal from you too
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 5/11/2010 Posts: 918
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I think the way it works is that a boss (typically the business owner) is often someone with high standards and a strong work ethic. That's how they earn the right to castigate their employees for their mediocrity. It gives them the moral authority and in some ways might actually turn an employee, into a better, more focused person on the whole. However, I contend that even such an attitude must be tempered with compassion, and like everything else, moderated. What I find intolerably obnoxious is when the same attitude is exhibited by some middle-level, over-promoted sluggard of a manager whose idea of being boss is telling others what to do while they put up their feet and flout their own rules. That I have no stomach for. On another note however, I think the ultimate goal for any forward-thinking employee should be to learn and earn enough to ultimately direct their own enterprise. Only then will you free yourself from being at the mercy of "Big Brother". Learn first to treat your time as you would your money, then treat your money as you do your time.
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Rank: Elder Joined: 7/20/2007 Posts: 4,432
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mkonomtupu wrote:it's not a secret it just grows on you once you realize how much it cost you to keep people in your business who don't contribute to the bottom line. You start by shouting then apologizing then you eventually become harsh and arrogant. You fire them at will or sometimes to instill discipline. i'm naturally a soft person but employees call me "shetani". Workers are not very important in a business clients who are paying are the most important. You can fire entire work force and get replacements the very next day. sometimes you should even delay paying salaries just to show them who is really boss. If you don't do this your business will be among the statistics that say 80% of all new business fail within 3 years of operation. Business is not charity Ditto! Tried being nice but as bwenye has said, the kenyan workforce feels entitled to do nothing. Probably got it from their parents who left coats in their office seats for lunch. I don't know of any small businessman who's not suffered from being nice to the workforce. However, I would be very happy to learn how to do it. But for now, wacha the owner shouts at the workers otherwise he will be a statistic of "muone, alikuwa na kabiashara kakakufa" Jose: If I make it through this thug life, I'll see you one day. The Lord is the only way to stop the hurt.
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Rank: Member Joined: 11/10/2010 Posts: 281 Location: Nairobi
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What employers and managers really need to do is just speak the truth as they see it without sugar coating it. Employees take offence at being judged but speaking your mind and stating your expectations is really the way to go. A decent worker with the right attitude will pick up from there and improve, anyone still whining and bitching should be let go mara that that.
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Rank: Member Joined: 9/9/2010 Posts: 546 Location: Garissa
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Its all about the business culture that you promote. If I join a company where ppl work very hard and get promoted on merit, I will try to outperform the best. A good manager however needs to know how to motivate his staff. Reward and punishment, praise and admonish, set goals, the higher the goals are met, the higher the bonus and rewards. Create office politics to work in the right direction. Generate conflicts that lead to good performance. I.e., let the employee know that if he outshines the supervisor, the supervisor will be fired. Then, tell the supervisor that the employee has been reporting what the supervisor has been doing. Fix the supervisor by allowing him to steal something from the company and you record it as a point of dismissal but tell him his performance will determine if he goes or not. At that point, Kazi itafanywa mpaka moshi itoke. Shouting bosses and supervisors are simple idiots who do not know how to manage people for optimum output. In most cases where the boss is harsh, the work being done is usually menial or requires low IQ personnel who have to be herded like cows. The pay is also poor and the company in most cases does not raise enough revenue for expansion and growth. Bosses in such scenarios are also low IQ busy bodies who should not have been in charge of human beings in the first place. Appraisal, proper pay based on performance, qualified personnel who know what they are supposed to do, etc tends to work better than screaming managers or bosses. Screaming bosses tend to overwork themselves as they have to show the employees what to do regularly as the employees can not think on their own. That is why Muindi na Mkamba seem to prefer this model. That is why Mkikuyu na mjaruo make a good coalition government. Wisdom to detect when share prices hit rock bottom. When interest on bonds keep going up, you know the bear run is on high street. When interest on bonds start leveling, the bear has met the bull and they have hit rock bottom. When the interest rates on bonds start coming down, the bull has overpowered the bear and you better be riding the bull.
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Rank: Elder Joined: 3/18/2011 Posts: 12,069 Location: Kianjokoma
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Sure wrote: Shouting bosses and supervisors are simple idiots who do not know how to manage people for optimum output. In most cases where the boss is harsh, the work being done is usually menial or requires low IQ personnel who have to be herded like cows. The pay is also poor and the company in most cases does not raise enough revenue for expansion and growth. Bosses in such scenarios are also low IQ busy bodies who should not have been in charge of human beings in the first place.
Screaming bosses tend to overwork themselves as they have to show the employees what to do regularly as the employees can not think on their own.
I like your thoughts, sis. Use a supervisor, make him powerful and use him to relay all the unfavourable announcements. DO NOT deal directly with staff too much, this will breed contempt. But it all depends with the nature of business you're doing and the callibre of staff you hire.
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Rank: Elder Joined: 9/12/2006 Posts: 1,554
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madhaquer wrote:What employers and managers really need to do is just speak the truth as they see it without sugar coating it. Employees take offence at being judged but speaking your mind and stating your expectations is really the way to go. unfortunately the truth might hurt you the most in cooperate Kenya, someone reminded to check the forest and notice that straight trees never last for long, they are cut down[/b] A decent worker with the right attitude will pick up from there and improve, anyone still whining and bitching should be let go mara that that. [b]Well whining and bitching never works, you need to join the winning team and use them to win....
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 9/5/2007 Posts: 627
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Management style is very much based on the kind, calibre and education of employees you have. I remember while in campus I got a job as an office manager for a garage cum computer shop. The owner used to abuse all employees apart from me and of course this bred some animosity from them towards me.
If your workforce is educated, then most likely you will never need to shout/scream/abuse anyone coz they should know their work. If it is informal, the likelihood of being harsh is more coz the workforce is not skilled. Of course, some employers do not know the difference!
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Rank: Elder Joined: 5/26/2009 Posts: 1,793
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google up leadership x and leadership y. One is authoritative while the other one is inclusive. You will get several analyses of the two styles of leadership, and hopefully an appropriate answer to your question.
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Rank: Elder Joined: 9/7/2010 Posts: 2,148 Location: elderville
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mkonomtupu wrote:it's not a secret it just grows on you once you realize how much it cost you to keep people in your business who don't contribute to the bottom line. You start by shouting then apologizing then you eventually become harsh and arrogant. You fire them at will or sometimes to instill discipline. i'm naturally a soft person but employees call me "shetani". Workers are not very important in a business clients who are paying are the most important. You can fire entire work force and get replacements the very next day. sometimes you should even delay paying salaries just to show them who is really boss. If you don't do this your business will be among the statistics that say 80% of all new business fail within 3 years of operation. Business is not charity How do you get around the Kenyan labour laws? If you keep like that and keep within the labour laws it will cost you a fortune; if you are disregarding the labour laws (which I suspect) then one day it will most likely put you out of business and possibly in jail too. He who can express in words the ardour of his love, has but little love to express. - Petrach, Son. (That men by various ways arrive at the same end. - Montaigne, The Essays of.)
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Rank: Member Joined: 11/20/2008 Posts: 367
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Workers are not very important in a business clients who are paying are the most important. You can fire entire work force and get replacements the very next day. sometimes you should even delay paying salaries just to show them who is really boss
My neighbor tried this strategy an let us just say he is now in a wheelchair and scars criss-cross his hands and scalp.
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Rank: Elder Joined: 6/19/2008 Posts: 4,268
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mkonomtupu wrote:it's not a secret it just grows on you once you realize how much it cost you to keep people in your business who don't contribute to the bottom line. You start by shouting then apologizing then you eventually become harsh and arrogant. You fire them at will or sometimes to instill discipline. i'm naturally a soft person but employees call me "shetani". Wo[b]rkers are not very important in a business[/b] If you are not careful, these guys can ruin you big time.... I believe workers are as important as clients... you only need to manage them well.clients who are paying are the most important. You can fire entire work force and get replacements the very next day.Under which contract again? sometimes you should even delay paying salaries ever heard of something called "constructive dismissal"? You could end up paying through your nose if you get someone who knows their place..just to show them who is really boss. If you don't do this your business will be among the statistics that say 80% of all new business fail within 3 years of operation. Business is not charity
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 2/10/2010 Posts: 1,001 Location: River Road
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@Elder, the labour laws provide for something called summary dismissal so you can always get a reason to let go of employees under that, then you can always give employees a one year non renewable contract with termination penalty of one month salary...then employ under a shell company...have a dossier on your employees(i know 3 of ex-employees had criminal records-when you are employing you have to get the litigation history of the employee-i cant employ you if you have ever taken your former employer to labour office or industrial court-nothing personal just business.
On salaries I said delay i didn't say don't pay...one week delay has such an effect...the employees who have no time for your business begin polishing their CVs..I did this in December "lost" two
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Rank: Elder Joined: 3/18/2011 Posts: 12,069 Location: Kianjokoma
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The Kenyans who criticise their leaders really do some dirty stuff
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 2/2/2012 Posts: 1,134 Location: Nairobi
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Harsh shouting/screaming bosses are people who have lost focus of the bigger picture. The aim of management is to produce results. Shouting at subordinates does not get you the highest results, but it strokes you ego quite a lot.
This might sound bad, but managers should treat their subordinates the way they treat their children! Ask any parent and they will tell you that shouting at children doesn't make them obedient. However, if you speak to them calmly, quietly (almost down to a whisper), you will be amazed at how obedient the children will be; ditto, subordinates.
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 2/2/2012 Posts: 1,134 Location: Nairobi
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...and, hey, your blood pressure and stress will also remain low!
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