FACULTATEA DE PSIHOLOGIE ȘI ȘTIINȚELE EDUCAȚIEI

ȘCOALA MASTERALĂ

MANAGEMENT EDUCAȚIONAL

MANAGEMENTUL TIMPULUI
ÎN EDUCAȚIE
- DOCUMENTAR –

PROF.UNIV. DR.ION NEGREȚ- DOBRIDOR

14. 11.2009

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 The Value of Time
By Tristan Lee

It is a bad thing if we constantly obsess over time. But sometimes, we need to be conscious of
it. The reason for this is simply because we don't get time back. Whatever position you
happen to be in, ask yourself some serious questions. In the past, have you used time wisely?
On a scale of 1-10, how much do you put value to time? Do you go about the day not even
worrying about the time that passes by?

Most people won't worry about time passing by. This is because we do not wish to let time
pass by. We grow older as it passes by and not everybody likes this, and not everybody wants
to know the future.

But I think if we use our time wisely, it will make us more confident of our future. Whether
you like it or not, whether you choose to ignore it, time will pass by anyway no matter what.
If you think about it, anything can be exchanged for. I can exchange money for an item, and I
can exchange an item for money. But I cannot exchange money for more time, and I cannot
exchange an item for more time.

Everybody more or less has time. Not everybody has a nice house and not everybody has a
nice car, but everybody has time. It's really what we do in that time that separates successful
people from unsuccessful people.

If you're a busy person than you probably have a busy schedule such as going to work from 7
in the morning to 5 in evening, coming home and having dinner with the family, doing some
paper work, watching some TV, then going to bed at 11 and then waking up at 6. I know some
people who go to school and work at the same time and have only a couple of hours of the
day for "free time".

But there are people who just wake up in the morning like at 11 or 12, eat brunch or lunch, go
on the internet or maybe watch some TV for a couple of hours, eat something that makes them
tired so they take a 1 or 2 hour nap, wake up and receive a phone call to go out with friends
for dinner, come home late, go on the internet or play computer games until 2 or 3 in the
morning, then go to sleep.

This is an example of not using time wisely - duh.

What I'm trying to get across is that if you're trying to make more money, or set some type of
business, or just have a project that you have in mind that is going to be a lot of hard work,
time is your best friend.

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Whatever project that you have in mind, chances are that there's a good chance that hundreds
of thousands of people that you don't know about are doing the same thing, except they are
using time in doing it while others are wasting their time not doing it.

All I'm saying is be aware of time. Time is leverage.

If you have more time to do something than another person, that is worth so much.

People don't value time these days, because, well, it's not money. It's not something that you
can touch or hold in your hands. You can't really see time. You can see time passing by on a
clock... but that's not too exciting is it? Although passing time isn't that big of a concern to
most people, time in fact is one of the most precious things we as human beings have.

Time really is more powerful than money. With 10 hours work, one can get $100 worth on
money. But with $100, one cannot get 10 hours back in his or her life. Those 10 hours are
gone forever.

Each hour that passes by is an opportunity to make money. Notice I didn't say each hour that
passes by that you will make money, but each hour that passes by you can use that hour to
build something that will make you money in the future.

If you work in a job that basically gives you, for example $10 an hour, then you're basically
trading an hour of your life for $10. This isn't a bad thing at all, but if you are complaining
about not having enough money, realize that you are the one who has accepted trading 1 hour
of your life for $10. There are many ways to earn more than $10 for 1 hour of your time.

For example, if you spent 10 hours making a website that was promoting a product or service
such as a... I don't know sleeping nighttime CD's for people who have trouble sleeping and
these CD's cost $20 and you got 50% commission or $10 for each time helped promoted this
item, a person who is working 10 hours will get $100, and if you're just working on the
website for 10 dollars, you will get $0.

But on the 11th hour, you might make a sale and get 10 dollars, while the other person
working will also get 10 dollars, and 11th hour you might get 20 dollars, while the other
person gets 10 dollars, and on the 13th hour you might get 30 dollars, while the other person
gets 10 dollars and I think you get the idea. If we were going by this scale, by the time the
other person has worked 20 hours, they will receive $200. By the time you reached 20 hours,
you will have made $550.

Of course this is only an ideal case. But you can see how valuable time is if you use time
wisely. Even if you aren't making money in a set amount of time right now, you can always be
able to produce something of value with the time you have and exchange that for money later.

The most important thing I think we should understand is that time is going to pass us by
anyway so we have the option to choose to let it pass by and just let it pass by with nothing
really happening, or choose to let it pass by but knowing that something positive will result in
the future because we are doing something right now.

And it doesn't have to be just for money, it can be for a skill that you want to learn like
playing an instrument or any other type of goal you wish to achieve such as losing more

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weight or gaining more muscle. Whatever it happens to be, understand that time doesn't wait
for us. It always continues. And it is what you choose to do with time right now that will
ultimately determines the outcome of your future.

For more self-improvement tips on personal success, visit my blog posts at

http://frombottomup.com/.

Time management
Time management refers to a range of skills, tools, and techniques used to manage time
when accomplishing specific tasks, projects and goals. This set encompasses a wide scope of
activities, and these include planning, allocating, setting goals, delegation, analysis of time
spent, monitoring, organizing, scheduling, and prioritizing. Initially time management
referred to just business or work activities, but eventually the term broadened to include
personal activities also. A time management system is a designed combination of processes,
tools and techniques.

Some authors (such as Stephen R. Covey) offered a categorization scheme for the hundreds of
time management approaches that they reviewed

 First generation: reminders based on clocks and watches, but with computer
implementation possible; can be used to alert a person when a task is to be done.
 Second generation: planning and preparation based on calendar and appointment
books; includes setting goals.
 Third generation: planning, prioritizing, controlling (using a personal organizer, other
paper-based objects, or computer or PDA-based systems) activities on a daily basis.
This approach implies spending some time in clarifying values and priorities.
 Fourth generation: being efficient and proactive using any of the above tools; places
goals and roles as the controlling element of the system and favors importance over
urgency.

Some of the recent general arguments related to "time" and "management" point out that the
term "time management" is misleading and that the concept should actually imply that it is
"the management of our own activities, to make sure that they are accomplished within the
available or allocated time, which is an unmanageable continuous resource".[citation needed]

Time management literature paraphrased: "Get Organized" - paperwork and task triage
"Protect Your Time" - insulate, isolate, delegate "set gravitational goals" - that attract actions
automatically "Achieve through Goal management Goal Focus" - motivational emphasis

 "Work in Priority Order" - set goals and prioritize

 "Use Magical Tools to Get More Out of Your Time" - depends on when written
 "Master the Skills of Time Management"

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  "Go with the Flow" - natural rhythms, Eastern philosophy
 "Recover from Bad Time Habits" - recovery from underlying psychological problems,
e.g. procrastination

Time management and related concepts

Time management has been considered as subsets of different concepts such as:

 PROJECT MANAGEMENT. Time Management, can be considered as a project

management subset, and is more commonly known as project planning and project
scheduling. Time Management is also been identified as one of the core functions
identified in project management [1].
 ATTENTION MANAGEMENT: Attention management relates to the management of
cognitive resources, and in particular the time that humans allocate their mind (and
organizations the minds of their employees) to conduct some activities.
 PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: see below (Personal time
management).

Personal Time Management

Time management strategies are often associated with the recommendation to set goals. These
goals are recorded and may be broken down into a project, an action plan, or a simple task
list. For individual tasks or for goals, an importance rating may be established, deadlines may
be set, and priorities assigned. This process results in a plan with a task list or a schedule or
calendar of activities. Authors may recommend a daily, weekly, monthly or other planning
periods, usually fixed, but sometimes variable. Different planning periods may be associated
with different scope of planning or review. Authors may or may not emphasize reviews of
performance against plan. Routine and recurring tasks may or may not be integrated into the
time management plan and, if integrated, the integration can be accomplished in various
ways.

How We Use Time

When we spend time, there is no improvement in efficiency, productivity, or effectiveness.
The time is gone without a return. We save time when we perform tasks in less time or with
less effort than previously. We use shortcuts and processes that streamline activities. We invest
time when we take time now to save time later.

We spend time when we go to a movie; however, if we are a screenwriter, the time spent in
the movie is an investment since it will help hone our writing skills. If we invest time to learn
screenwriting software, we will save time in the future when we compose our scripts.

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However, this is still relative to the point that we are able to turn better writing skills and
faster script development into profit - if we are able to sell it. In capitalism our investment,
might very well be someone else's profit.

Delegation is a valuable investment of our time. When we delegate, we teach someone to

perform tasks we usually perform. While the training process takes time now, the investment
pays off later since we free our time to perform higher-payoff activities.

The goal is to look for ways a person can save and invest time.

Task list

A task list (also to-do list) is a list of tasks to be completed, such as chores or steps toward
completing a project. It is an inventory tool which serves as an alternative or supplement to
memory.

Task lists are used in self-management, grocery lists, business management, project
management, and software development. It may involve more than one list.

When you accomplish one of the items on a task list, you check it off or cross it off. The
traditional method is to write these on a piece of paper with a pen or pencil, usually on a note
pad or clip-board. Numerous digital equivalents are now available, including PIM (Personal
information management) applications and most PDAs. There are also several web-based task
list applications, many of which are free.

Task list organization

Task lists are often tiered. The simplest tiered system includes a general to-do list (or task-
holding file) to record all the tasks the person needs to accomplish, and a daily to-do list
which is created each day by transferring tasks from the general to-do list.

Task lists are often prioritized:

 An early advocate of "ABC" prioritization was Alan Lakein (See Books below.). In his
system "A" items were the most important ("A-1" the most important within that
group), "B" next most important, "C" least important.

 A particular method of applying the ABC method[2] assigns "A" to tasks to be done
within a day, "B" a week, and "C" a month.

 To prioritize a daily task list, one either records the tasks in the order of highest
priority, or assigns them a number after they are listed ("1" for highest priority, "2" for
second highest priority, etc.) which indicates in which order to execute the tasks. The
latter method is generally faster, allowing the tasks to be recorded more quickly.

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Alternatives to Prioritizing:

A completely different approach which argues against prioritising altogether was put forward
by British author Mark Forster in his book "Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time
Management". This is based on the idea of operating "closed" to-do lists, instead of the
traditional "open" to-do list. He argues that the traditional never-ending to-do lists virtually
guarantees that some of your work will be left undone. This approach advocates getting all
your work done, every day, and if you are unable to achieve it helps you diagnose where you
are going wrong and what needs to change. Recently, Forster developed the "Autofocus Time
Management System", which further systematizes working a to-do list as a series of closed
sublists and emphasizes intuitive choices.

Software applications

Modern task list applications may have built-in task hierarchy (tasks are composed of
subtasks which again may contain subtasks),[3] may support multiple methods of filtering and
ordering the list of tasks, and may allow one to associate arbitrarily long notes for each task.

In contrast to the concept of allowing the person to use multiple filtering methods, at least one
new software product additionally contains a mode where the software will attempt to
dynamically determine the best tasks for any given moment.[4]

Many of the software products for time management support multiple users. It allows the
person to give tasks to other users and use the software for communation[5]

Task list applications may be thought of as lightweight personal information manager or

project management software.

Resistors

 FEAR of change: Change can be daunting and one may be afraid to change what's
proven to work in the past.

 UNCERTAINTY: Even with the change being inevitable, one may be hesitant as
being not sure where to start. Uncertainty about when or how to begin making a
change can be significant.

 TIME PRESSURE: To save time, one has to invest time, and this time investment may
be a cause of concern. Fearing that changing may involve more work at the start—and
thus, in the very short term, make things worse—is a common resistor.

Attention Deficit Disorder

Excessive and chronic inability to manage time effectively may be a result of Attention
Deficit Disorder (ADD). Diagnostic criteria includes: A sense of underachievement, difficulty
getting organized, trouble getting started, many projects going simultaneously and trouble
with follow-through.[6]

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  The Prefrontal Cortex: The Prefrontal Cortex is the most evolved part of the brain. It
controls the functions of attention span, impulse control, organization, learning from
experience and self-monitoring, among others. Daniel Amen, M.D. offers possible
solutions in Change Your Brain Change Your Life.[7]

Drivers

 INCREASED EFFECTIVENESS: One may feel the need to make more time so as to
be more effective in performing the job and carrying out responsibilities.

 PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT: Time management is an issue that often arises

during performance appraisals or review meetings.

 PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT: One may view changing the approach to time

management as a personal development issue and reap the benefit of handling time
differently at work and at home.

 INCREASED RESPONSIBILITIES: A change in time-management approach may

become necessary as a result of a promotion or additional responsibilities. Since there
is more work to do, and still the same amount of time to do it in, the approach must
change.

Caveats

Dwelling on the lists

 According to Sandberg,[8] task lists "aren't the key to productivity [that] they're cracked
up to be". He reports an estimated "30% of listers spend more time managing their
lists than [they do] completing what's on them".

 This could be caused by procrastination by prolonging the planning activity. This is

akin to analysis paralysis. As with any activity, there's a point of diminishing returns.

Rigid adherence

 Hendrickson asserts[9] that rigid adherence to task lists can create a "tyranny of the to-
do list" that forces one to "waste time on unimportant activities".

 Again, the point of diminishing returns applies here too, but toward the size of the
task. Some level of detail must be taken for granted for a task system to work. Rather
than put "clean the kitchen", "clean the bedroom", and "clean the bathroom", it is more
efficient to put "housekeeping" and save time spent writing and reduce the system's
administrative load (each task entered into the system generates a cost in time and
effort to manage it, aside from the execution of the task). The risk of consolidating
tasks, however, is that "housekeeping" in this example may prove overwhelming or
nebulously defined, which will either increase the risk of procrastination, or a
mismanaged project .Listing routine tasks wastes time. If you are in the habit of
brushing your teeth every day, then there is no reason to put it down on the task list.
The same goes for getting out of bed, fixing meals, etc. If you need to track routine

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 tasks, then a standard list or chart may be useful, to avoid the procedure of manually
listing these items over and over. To remain flexible, a task system must allow
adaptation, in the form of rescheduling in the face of unexpected problems and
opportunities, to save time spent on irrelevant or less than optimal tasks.

 To avoid getting stuck in a wasteful pattern, the task system should also include
regular (monthly, semi-annual, and annual) planning and system-evaluation sessions,
to weed out inefficiencies and ensure the user is headed in the direction he or she truly
desires. [10]

 If some time is not regularly spent on achieving long-range goals, the individual may
get stuck in a perpetual holding pattern on short-term plans, like staying at a particular
job much longer than originally planned.

Set goals for oneself and work on achieving these goals. Some people study in different ways
so you are to find out how you are able to study and put that into action. Some people are able
to understand their work if they can see it. Some need to touch and feel whatever is being
spoken about in the book. Some people need to see what they are studying in order to
understand what is coming out of the book.

Techniques for setting priorities

ABC analysis

A technique that has been used in business management for a long time is the categorization
of large data into groups. These groups are often marked A, B, and C—hence the name.
Activities are ranked upon these general criteria:

 A – Tasks that are perceived as being URGENT AND IMPORTANT.

 B – Tasks that are IMPORTANT BUT NOT URGENT.
 C – Tasks that are NEITHER URGENT NOR IMPORTANT.

Each group is then rank-ordered in priority. To further refine priority, some individuals choose
to then force-rank all "B" items as either "A" or "C". ABC analysis can incorporate more than
three groups. ABC analysis is frequently combined with Pareto analysis.

PARETO ANALYSIS

This is the idea that 80% of tasks can be completed in 20% of the disposable time. The
remaining 20% of tasks will take up 80% of the time. This principle is used to sort tasks into
two parts. According to this form of Pareto analysis it is recommended that tasks that fall into
the first category be assigned a higher priority.

The 80-20-rule can also be applied to increase productivity: it is assumed that 80% of the
productivity can be achieved by doing 20% of the tasks. If productivity is the aim of time
management, then these tasks should be prioritized higher.

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Fit

Essentially, fit is the congruence of the requirements of a task (location, financial investment,
time, etc.) with the available resources at the time. Often people are constrained by externally
controlled schedules, locations, etc., and "fit" allows us to maximize our productivity given
those constraints. For example, if one encounters a gap of 15 minutes in their schedule, it is
typically more efficient to complete a task that would require 15 minutes, than to complete a
task that can be done in 5 minutes, or to start a task that would take 4 weeks. This concept
also applies to time of the day: free time at 7am is probably less usefully applied to the goal of
learning the drums, and more productively a time to read a book. Lastly, fit can be applied to
location: free time at home would be used differently from free time at work, in town, etc.

POSEC method

POSEC is an acronym for Prioritize by Organizing, Streamlining, Economizing and

Contributing.

The method dictates a template which emphasizes an average individual's immediate sense of
emotional and monetary security. It suggests that by attending to one's personal
responsibilities first, an individual is better positioned to shoulder collective responsibilities.

Inherent in the acronym is a hierarchy of self-realization which mirrors Abraham Maslow's

"Hierarchy of needs".

1. PRIORITIZE-Your time and define your life by goals.

2. ORGANIZING-Things you have to accomplish regularly to be successful. (Family
and Finances)
3. STREAMLINING-Things you may not like to do, but must do. (Work and Chores)
4. ECONOMIZING-Things you should do or may even like to do, but they're not
pressingly urgent. (Pastimes and Socializing)
5. CONTRIBUTING-By paying attention to the few remaining things that make a
difference. (Social Obligations)

THE EISENHOWER METHOD

All tasks are evaluated using the criteria important/unimportant and urgent/not urgent and put
in according quadrants. Tasks in unimportant/not urgent are dropped, tasks in
important/urgent are done immediately and personally, tasks in unimportant/urgent are
delegated and tasks in important/not urgent get an end date and are done personally.

This method is said to have been used by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and is outlined
in a quote attributed to him:

What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.

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References
1. ^ Project Management Institute (2004), A Guide to the Project Management Body of
Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), ISBN 193069945X,
http://www.pmi.org/Marketplace/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?GMProduct=00100035801
2. ^ "Time Scheduling and Time Management for dyslexic students". Dyslexia at College.
http://www.dyslexia-college.com/schedule.html. Retrieved October 31 2005. — ABC lists and
tips for dyslexic students on how to manage to-do lists

3. ^ "ToDoList 5.3.9 - A simple but effective way to keep on top of your tasks - The Code
Project - Free Tools". ToDoList 5.3.9. http://www.codeproject.com/tools/ToDoList2.asp.
Retrieved October 3 2007. — Features, code, and description for ToDoList 5.3.9, a project
based time management application

4. ^ "Time Management Software - Email Management Software - Trog Bar". Features of the
Trog Bar. http://www.priacta.com/trog/Software_Features.shtml. Retrieved October 3 2007.
— Description of features in the Trog Bar including "TaskSense," the feature which
automatically prioritizes tasks.

5. ^ "doTask! - unique instant messenger for business". doTask!. http://dotask.megaterrain.com/.

Retrieved October 1 2008..

6. ^ Driven o Distraction, Edward Hallowell, M.D.

7. ^ Change Your Brain Change Your Life: The Breakthrough Program for Conquering Anxiety,
Depression, Obsessiveness, Anger, and Impulsiveness 1998

8. ^ Sandberg, Jared (2004-09-10). "Though Time-Consuming, To-Do Lists Are a Way of Life".
The Wall Street Journal. http://www.careerjournal.com/columnists/cubicleculture/20040910-
cubicle.html. — a report on to-do lists and the people who make them and use them

9. ^ Elisabeth Hendrickson. "The Tyranny of the "To Do" List". Sticky Minds.
http://www.stickyminds.com/sitewide.asp?
ObjectId=6656&Function=DETAILBROWSE&ObjectType=COL. Retrieved October 31
2005. — an anecdotal discussion of how to-do lists can be tyrannical

10. ^ "Tyranny of the Urgent" essay by Charles Hummel 1967

Further reading
 Allen, David (2001). Getting things done: the Art of Stress-Free Productivity. New
York: Viking. ISBN 9780670889068.
 Covey, Stephen (1994) First Things First. ISBN 0-684-80203-1
 Fiore, Neil A (2006). The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming
Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt- Free Play. New York: Penguin Group. ISBN
9781585425525.
 Forster, Mark (2006-07-20). Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management.
Hodder & Stoughton Religious. pp. 224. ISBN 0340909129.
 Lakein, Alan (1973). How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life.. New York: P.H.
Wyden. ISBN 0451134303.

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  Morgenstern, Julie (2004). Time Management from the Inside Out: The Foolproof
System for Taking Control of Your Schedule--and Your Life (2nd ed.). New York:
Henry Holt/Owl Books. pp. 285. ISBN 0805075909.
 Le Blanc, Raymond (2008). Achieving Objectives Made Easy! Practical goal setting
tools & proven time management techniques.. Maarheeze: Cranendonck Coaching.
ISBN 9079397032.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

An interpretation of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, represented as a pyramid with the more

basic needs at the bottom.[1]

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology, proposed by Abraham Maslow in his

1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation,[2] which he subsequently extended to include his
observations of humans' innate curiosity.

Maslow studied what he called exemplary people such as Albert Einstein, Jane Addams,
Eleanor Roosevelt, and Frederick Douglass rather than mentally ill or neurotic people, writing
that "the study of crippled, stunted, immature, and unhealthy specimens can yield only a
cripple psychology and a cripple philosophy."[3] Maslow also studied the healthiest one
percent of the college student population. In his book, The Farther Reaches of Human Nature,
Maslow writes, "By ordinary standards of this kind of laboratory research... this simply was
not research at all. My generalizations grew out of my selection of certain kinds of people.
Obviously, other judges are needed."[4]

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Contents
[hide]
 1 Representations
 2 Deficiency needs
o 2.1 Physiological needs

o 2.2 Safety needs

o 2.3 Social needs

o 2.4 Esteem

o 2.5 Self-actualization

 3 Self-transcendence
 4 Marketing
 5 Criticisms
 6 See also
 7 References

 8 External links

[edit] Representations
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is predetermined in order of importance.[5] It is often depicted as
a pyramid consisting of five levels: the lowest level is associated with physiological needs,
while the uppermost level is associated with self-actualization needs, particularly those related
to identity and purpose. The higher needs in this hierarchy only come into focus when the
lower needs in the pyramid are met. Once an individual has moved upwards to the next level,
needs in the lower level will no longer be prioritized. If a lower set of needs is no longer being
met, the individual will temporarily re-prioritize those needs by focusing attention on the
unfulfilled needs, but will not permanently regress to the lower level. For instance, a
businessman at the esteem level who is diagnosed with cancer will spend a great deal of time
concentrating on his health (physiological needs), but will continue to value his work
performance (esteem needs) and will likely return to work during periods of remission.[6]

[edit] Deficiency needs

This section does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be
challenged and removed. (October 2009)

The lower four layers of the pyramid are what Maslow called "deficiency needs" or "D-
needs": physiological (including sexuality), security of position, friendship and love, and

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esteem. With the exception of the lowest (physiological) needs, if these "deficiency needs" are
not met, the body gives no physical indication but the individual feels anxious and tense.

[edit] Physiological needs

For the most part, physiological needs are obvious - they are the literal requirements for
human survival. If these requirements are not met (with the exception of clothing and shelter),
the human body simply cannot continue to function.

Physiological needs include:

 Breathing
 Food
 Sexual activity

Lack of air and food will kill an individual. A lack of sexual activity would mean the
extinction of humanity, probably explaining the strength of the sexual instinct in individuals.

[edit] Safety needs

With their physical needs relatively satisfied, the individual's safety needs take over and
dominate their behavior. These needs have to do with people's yearning for a predictable,
orderly world in which injustice and inconsistency are under control, the familiar frequent and
the unfamiliar rare. In the world of work, these safety needs manifest themselves in such
things as a preference for job security, grievance procedures for protecting the individual from
unilateral authority, savings accounts, insurance policies, and the like.

These have been lacking for most of human history, but at this point are mostly satisfied in the
"First World" -- although the poor, both those who are poor as a class and those who are
temporarily poor (university students would be an example), must often still address these
needs.

Safety and Security needs include:

 Personal security
 Financial security
 Health and well-being
 Safety net against accidents/illness and the adverse impacts

[edit] Social needs

After physiological and safety needs are fulfilled, the third layer of human needs is social.
This psychological aspect of Maslow's hierarchy involves emotionally-based relationships in
general, such as:

 Friendship
 Intimacy

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  Having a supportive and communicative family

Humans need to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance, whether it comes from a large
social group, such as clubs, office culture, religious groups, professional organizations, sports
teams, gangs ("Safety in numbers"), or small social connections (family members, intimate
partners, mentors, close colleagues, confidants). They need to love and be loved (sexually and
non-sexually) by others. In the absence of these elements, many people become susceptible to
loneliness, social anxiety, and clinical depression. This need for belonging can often
overcome the physiological and security needs, depending on the strength of the peer
pressure; an anorexic, for example, may ignore the need to eat and the security of health for a
feeling of control and belonging.

[edit] Esteem

All humans have a need to be respected, to have self-esteem, self-respect. Also known as the
belonging need, esteem presents the normal human desire to be accepted and valued by
others. People need to engage themselves to gain recognition and have an activity or activities
that give the person a sense of contribution, to feel accepted and self-valued, be it in a
profession or hobby. Imbalances at this level can result in low self-esteem or an inferiority
complex. People with low self-esteem need respect from others. They may seek fame or glory,
which again depends on others. It may be noted, however, that many people with low self-
esteem will not be able to improve their view of themselves simply by receiving fame,
respect, and glory externally, but must first accept themselves internally. Psychological
imbalances such as depression can also prevent one from obtaining self-esteem on both levels.

Most people have a need for a stable self-respect and self-esteem. Maslow noted two versions
of esteem needs, a lower one and a higher one. The lower one is the need for the respect of
others, the need for status, recognition, fame, prestige, and attention. The higher one is the
need for self-esteem, strength, competence, mastery, self-confidence, independence and
freedom. The last one is higher because it rests more on inner competence won through
experience. Deprivation of these needs can lead to an inferiority complex, weakness and
helplessness.

Maslow stresses the dangers associated with self-esteem based on fame and outer recognition
instead of inner competence. Healthy self-respect is based on earned respect.

[edit] Self-actualization

The motivation to realize one's own maximum potential and possibilities is considered to be
the master motive or the only real motive, all other motives being its various forms. In
Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the need for self-actualization is the final need that manifests
when lower level needs have been satisfied. Classical Adlerian psychotherapy promotes this
level of psychological development, utilizing the foundation of a 12-stage therapeutic model
to realistically satisfy the basic needs, leading to an advanced stage of "meta-therapy,"
creative living, and self/other/task-actualization. Maslow's writings are used as inspirational
resources.

[edit] Self-transcendence

15
Near the end of his life Maslow proposed that there was a level on the hierarchy that was
above self-actualization: self-transcendence[7]. "[Transcenders] may be said to be much more
often aware of the realm of Being (B-realm and B-cognition), to be living at the level of
Being… to have unitive consciousness and “plateau experience” (serene and contemplative B-
cognitions rather than climactic ones) … and to have or to have had peak experience (mystic,
sacral, ecstatic) with illuminations or insights. Analysis of reality or cognitions which changed
their view of the world and of themselves, perhaps occasionally, perhaps as a usual thing."[8]
Maslow later did a study on 12 people he believed possessed the qualities of Self-
transcendence. Many of the qualities were guilt for the misfortune of someone, creativity,
humility, intelligence, and divergent thinking. They were mainly loners, had deep
relationships, and were very normal on the outside. Maslow estimated that only 2% of the
population will ever achieve this level of the hierarchy in their lifetime, and that it was
absolutely impossible for a child to possess these traits.

[edit] Marketing
Maslow's hierarchy is one of the first theories taught to marketing students as a basis for
understanding consumers' motives for action. Marketers have historically looked towards
consumers' needs to define their actions in the market. If producers design products meeting
consumer needs, consumers will more often choose those products over those of competitors.
Whichever product better fulfills this void will be chosen more frequently, thus increasing
sales. This makes the model relevant to Transpersonal business studies.

[edit] Criticisms
While Maslow's theory was regarded as an improvement over previous theories of personality
and motivation, it had its detractors. For example, in their extensive review of research that is
dependent on Maslow's theory, Wahba and Bridgewell[9] found little evidence for the ranking
of needs Maslow described, or even for the existence of a definite hierarchy at all. Chilean
economist and philosopher Manfred Max-Neef has also argued fundamental human needs are
non-hierarchical, and are ontologically universal and invariant in nature - part of the condition
of being human; poverty, he argues, is the result of any one of these needs being frustrated,
denied or unfulfilled.

Project management
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Project management is the discipline[1] of planning, organizing, and managing resources to

bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives. It is often
closely related to and sometimes conflated with program management.

A project is a temporary endeavor, having a defined beginning and end (usually constrained
by date, but can be by funding or deliverables[2]), undertaken to meet particular goals and
objectives[3], usually to bring about beneficial change or added value. The temporary nature of
projects stands in contrast to business as usual (or operations)[4], which are repetitive,

16
permanent or semi-permanent functional work to produce products or services. In practice,
the management of these two systems is often found to be quite different, and as such requires
the development of distinct technical skills and the adoption of separate management.

The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals[5] and
objectives while honoring the preconceived project constraints.[6] Typical constraints are
scope, time, and budget.[2] The secondary—and more ambitious—challenge is to optimize the
allocation and integration of inputs necessary to meet pre-defined objectives.

Contents
[hide]
 1 History of project management
 2 Project management approaches
o 2.1 The traditional approach

o 2.2 Critical Chain Project Management

o 2.3 Extreme Project Management

o 2.4 Event chain methodology

o 2.5 PRINCE2

o 2.6 Process-based management

 3 Project development stages

o 3.1 Initiation

o 3.2 Planning and design

o 3.3 Executing

o 3.4 Monitoring and Controlling

o 3.5 Closing

o 3.6 Project control systems

 4 Project management topics

o 4.1 Project managers

o 4.2 Project Management Triangle

o 4.3 Work Breakdown Structure

o 4.4 Project Management Framework

o 4.5 International standards

 5 See also

17
  6 References

 7 External links

[edit] History of project management

Roman Soldiers Building a Fortress, Trajan's Column 113 AD

Project management has been practiced since early civilization. Until 1900 civil engineering
projects were generally managed by creative architects and engineers themselves, among
those for example Vitruvius (1st century BC), Christopher Wren (1632–1723) , Thomas
Telford (1757-1834) and Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859) [7] It was in the 1950s that
organizations started to systematically apply project management tools and techniques to
complex projects.[8]

Henry Gantt (1861-1919), the father of planning and control techniques.

As a discipline, Project Management developed from several fields of application including

construction, engineering, and defense activity.[9] Two forefathers of project management are
Henry Gantt, called the father of planning and control techniques[10], who is famous for his use
of the Gantt chart as a project management tool; and Henri Fayol for his creation of the 5
management functions which form the foundation of the body of knowledge associated with
project and program management.[11] Both Gantt and Fayol were students of Frederick
Winslow Taylor's theories of scientific management. His work is the forerunner to modern
project management tools including work breakdown structure (WBS) and resource
allocation.

The 1950s marked the beginning of the modern Project Management era. Project management
was formally recognized as a distinct discipline arising from the management discipline.[1] In

18
the United States, prior to the 1950s, projects were managed on an ad hoc basis using mostly
Gantt Charts, and informal techniques and tools. At that time, two mathematical project-
scheduling models were developed. The "Critical Path Method" (CPM) was developed as a
joint venture between DuPont Corporation and Remington Rand Corporation for managing
plant maintenance projects. And the "Program Evaluation and Review Technique" or PERT,
was developed by Booz-Allen & Hamilton as part of the United States Navy's (in conjunction
with the Lockheed Corporation) Polaris missile submarine program;[12] These mathematical
techniques quickly spread into many private enterprises.

PERT network chart for a seven-month project with five milestones

At the same time, as project-scheduling models were being developed, technology for project
cost estimating, cost management, and engineering economics was evolving, with pioneering
work by Hans Lang and others. In 1956, the American Association of Cost Engineers (now
AACE International; the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering) was formed
by early practitioners of project management and the associated specialties of planning and
scheduling, cost estimating, and cost/schedule control (project control). AACE continued its
pioneering work and in 2006 released the first integrated process for portfolio, program and
project management (Total Cost Management Framework).

The International Project Management Association (IPMA) was founded in Europe in 1967,[13]
as a federation of several national project management associations. IPMA maintains it
federal structure today and now includes member associations on every continent except
Antarctica. IPMA offers a Four Level Certification program based on the IPMA Competence
Baseline (ICB) http://www.ipma.ch/publication/Pages/ICB-IPMACompetenceBaseline.aspx.
The ICB covers technical competences, contextual competences, and behavioral competences.

In 1969, the Project Management Institute (PMI) was formed in the USA.[14] PMI publishes A
Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), which describes
project management practices that are common to "most projects, most of the time." PMI also
offers multiple certifications.

[edit] Project management approaches

There are a number of approaches to managing project activities including agile, interactive,
incremental, and phased approaches.

Regardless of the methodology employed, careful consideration must be given to the overall
project objectives, timeline, and cost, as well as the roles and responsibilities of all
participants and stakeholders.

19
[edit] The traditional approach

A traditional phased approach identifies a sequence of steps to be completed. In the

"traditional approach", we can distinguish 5 components of a project (4 stages plus control) in
the development of a project:

Typical development phases of a project

 Project initiation stage;
 Project planning or design stage;

 Project execution or production stage;

 Project monitoring and controlling systems;
 Project completion stage.

Not all the projects will visit every stage as projects can be terminated before they reach
completion. Some projects do not follow a structured planning and/or monitoring stages.
Some projects will go through steps 2, 3 and 4 multiple times.

Many industries use variations on these project stages. For example, when working on a brick
and mortar design and construction, projects will typically progress through stages like Pre-
Planning, Conceptual Design, Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction
Drawings (or Contract Documents), and Construction Administration. In software
development, this approach is often known as the waterfall model[15], i.e., one series of tasks
after another in linear sequence. In software development many organizations have adapted
the Rational Unified Process (RUP) to fit this methodology, although RUP does not require or
explicitly recommend this practice. Waterfall development works well for small, well defined
projects, but often fails in larger projects of undefined and ambiguous nature. The Cone of
Uncertainty explains some of this as the planning made on the initial phase of the project
suffers from a high degree of uncertainty. This becomes especially true as software
development is often the realization of a new or novel product. In projects where requirements
have not been finalized and can change, requirements management is used to develop an
accurate and complete definition of the behavior of software that can serve as the basis for
software development[16]. While the terms may differ from industry to industry, the actual
stages typically follow common steps to problem solving — "defining the problem, weighing
options, choosing a path, implementation and evaluation."

[edit] Critical Chain Project Management

Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) is a method of planning and managing projects
that puts more emphasis on the resources (physical and human) needed in order to execute
project tasks. It is an application of the Theory of Constraints (TOC) to projects. The goal is

20
to increase the rate of throughput (or completion rates) of projects in an organization.
Applying the first three of the five focusing steps of TOC, the system constraint for all
projects is identified as are the resources. To exploit the constraint, tasks on the critical chain
are given priority over all other activities. Finally, projects are planned and managed to ensure
that the resources are ready when the critical chain tasks must start, subordinating all other
resources to the critical chain.

Regardless of project type, the project plan should undergo Resource Leveling, and the
longest sequence of resource-constrained tasks should be identified as the critical chain. In
multi-project environments, resource leveling should be performed across projects. However,
it is often enough to identify (or simply select) a single "drum" resource—a resource that acts
as a constraint across projects—and stagger projects based on the availability of that single
resource.

Planning and feedback loops in Extreme Programming (XP) with the time frames of the
multiple loops.

[edit] Extreme Project Management

In critical studies of Project Management, it has been noted that several of these
fundamentally PERT-based models are not well suited for the multi-project company
environment of today.[citation needed] Most of them are aimed at very large-scale, one-time, non-
routine projects, and nowadays all kinds of management are expressed in terms of projects.

Using complex models for "projects" (or rather "tasks") spanning a few weeks has been
proven to cause unnecessary costs and low maneuverability in several cases. Instead, project
management experts try to identify different "lightweight" models, such as Agile Project
Management methods including Extreme Programming for software development and Scrum
techniques.

The generalization of Extreme Programming to other kinds of projects is extreme project

management, which may be used in combination with the process modeling and management
principles of human interaction management.

[edit] Event chain methodology

Event chain methodology is another method that complements critical path method and
critical chain project management methodologies.

21
Event chain methodology is an uncertainty modeling and schedule network analysis technique
that is focused on identifying and managing events and event chains that affect project
schedules. Event chain methodology helps to mitigate the negative impact of psychological
heuristics and biases, as well as to allow for easy modeling of uncertainties in the project
schedules. Event chain methodology is based on the following principles.

 Probabilistic moment of risk: An activity (task) in most real life processes is not a
continuous uniform process. Tasks are affected by external events, which can occur at
some point in the middle of the task.
 Event chains: Events can cause other events, which will create event chains. These
event chains can significantly affect the course of the project. Quantitative analysis is
used to determine a cumulative effect of these event chains on the project schedule.
 Critical events or event chains: The single events or the event chains that have the
most potential to affect the projects are the “critical events” or “critical chains of
events.” They can be determined by the analysis.
 Project tracking with events: Even if a project is partially completed and data about
the project duration, cost, and events occurred is available, it is still possible to refine
information about future potential events and helps to forecast future project
performance.
 Event chain visualization: Events and event chains can be visualized using event
chain diagrams on a Gantt chart.

[edit] PRINCE2

The PRINCE2 process model

PRINCE2 is a structured approach to project management, released in 1996 as a generic

project management method.[17] It combined the original PRINCE methodology with IBM's
MITP (managing the implementation of the total project) methodology. PRINCE2 provides a
method for managing projects within a clearly defined framework. PRINCE2 describes
procedures to coordinate people and activities in a project, how to design and supervise the
project, and what to do if the project has to be adjusted if it does not develop as planned.

In the method, each process is specified with its key inputs and outputs and with specific
goals and activities to be carried out. This allows for automatic control of any deviations from
the plan. Divided into manageable stages, the method enables an efficient control of
resources. On the basis of close monitoring, the project can be carried out in a controlled and
organized way.

22
PRINCE2 provides a common language for all participants in the project. The various
management roles and responsibilities involved in a project are fully described and are
adaptable to suit the complexity of the project and skills of the organization.

[edit] Process-based management

Capability Maturity Model, predecessor of the CMMI Model

Also furthering the concept of project control is the incorporation of process-based

management. This area has been driven by the use of Maturity models such as the CMMI
(Capability Maturity Model Integration) and ISO/IEC15504 (SPICE - Software Process
Improvement and Capability Determination).

Agile Project Management approaches based on the principles of human interaction

management are founded on a process view of human collaboration. This contrasts sharply
with the traditional approach. In the agile software development or flexible product
development approach, the project is seen as a series of relatively small tasks conceived and
executed as the situation demands in an adaptive manner, rather than as a completely pre-
planned process.

[edit] Project development stages

Traditionally, project development includes a number of elements: four to five stages, and a
control system. Regardless of the methodology used, the project development process will
have the same major stages.

The project development stages[18]

23
Major stages generally include:

 Initiation
 Planning or development
 Production or execution
 Monitoring and controlling
 Closing

In project environments with a significant exploratory element (e.g., Research and

development), these stages may be supplemented with decision points (go/no go decisions) at
which the project's continuation is debated and decided. An example is the Stage-Gate model.

[edit] Initiation

Initiating Process Group Processes[18]

The initiation stage determines the nature and scope of the development. If this stage is not
performed well, it is unlikely that the project will be successful in meeting the business’s
needs. The key project controls needed here are an understanding of the business environment
and making sure that all necessary controls are incorporated into the project. Any deficiencies
should be reported and a recommendation should be made to fix them.

The initiation stage should include a plan that encompasses the following areas:

 Analyzing the business needs/requirements in measurable goals

 Reviewing of the current operations
 Conceptual design of the operation of the final product
 Equipment and contracting requirements including an assessment of long lead time
items
 Financial analysis of the costs and benefits including a budget
 Stakeholder analysis, including users, and support personnel for the project
 Project charter including costs, tasks, deliverables, and schedule

[edit] Planning and design

24
Planning Process Group Activities[18]

After the initiation stage, the system is designed. Occasionally, a small prototype of the final
product is built and tested. Testing is generally performed by a combination of testers and end
users, and can occur after the prototype is built or concurrently. Controls should be in place
that ensure that the final product will meet the specifications of the project charter. The results
of the design stage should include a product design that:

 Satisfies the project sponsor, end user, and business requirements

 Functions as it was intended
 Can be produced within acceptable quality standards
 Can be produced within time and budget constraints

[edit] Executing

Executing Process Group Processes[18]

Executing consists of the processes used to complete the work defined in the project
management plan to accomplish the project's requirements. Execution process involves
coordinating people and resources, as well as integrating and performing the activities of the
project in accordance with the project management plan. The deliverables are produced as
outputs from the processes performed as defined in the project management plan.

[edit] Monitoring and Controlling

Monitoring and Controlling consists of those processes performed to observe project

execution so that potential problems can be identified in a timely manner and corrective
action can be taken, when necessary, to control the execution of the project. The key benefit is

25
that project performance is observed and measured regularly to identify variances from the
project management plan.

Monitoring and Controlling Process Group Processes[18]

Monitoring and Controlling includes:

 Measuring the ongoing project activities (where we are);

 Monitoring the project variables (cost, effort, scope, etc.) against the project
management plan and the project performance baseline (where we should be);
 Identify corrective actions to address issues and risks properly (How can we get on
track again);
 Influencing the factors that could circumvent integrated change control so only
approved changes are implemented

In multi-phase projects, the Monitoring and Controlling process also provides feedback
between project phases, in order to implement corrective or preventive actions to bring the
project into compliance with the project management plan.

Project Maintenance is an ongoing process, and it includes:

 Continuing support of end users

 Correction of errors
 Updates of the software over time

Monitoring and Controlling cycle

In this stage, auditors should pay attention to how effectively and quickly user problems are
resolved.

Over the course of any construction project, the work scope may change. Change is a normal
and expected part of the construction process. Changes can be the result of necessary design
26
modifications, differing site conditions, material availability, contractor-requested changes,
value engineering and impacts from third parties, to name a few. Beyond executing the
change in the field, the change normally needs to be documented to show what was actually
constructed. This is referred to as Change Management. Hence, the owner usually requires a
final record to show all changes or, more specifically, any change that modifies the tangible
portions of the finished work. The record is made on the contract documents – usually, but not
necessarily limited to, the design drawings. The end product of this effort is what the industry
terms as-built drawings, or more simply, “as built.” The requirement for providing them is a
norm in construction contracts.

When changes are introduced to the project, the viability of the project has to be re-assessed.
It is important not to lose sight of the initial goals and targets of the projects. When the
changes accumulate, the forecasted result may not justify the original proposed investment in
the project.

[edit] Closing

Closing Process Group Processes.[18]

Closing includes the formal acceptance of the project and the ending thereof. Administrative
activities include the archiving of the files and documenting lessons learned.

This phase consists of:

 Project close: Finalize all activities across all of the process groups to formally close
the project or a project phase
 Contract closure: Complete and settle each contract (including the resolution of any
open items) and close each contract applicable to the project or project phase

[edit] Project control systems

Project control is that element of a project that keeps it on-track, on-time and within budget.
Project control begins early in the project with planning and ends late in the project with post-
implementation review, having a thorough involvement of each step in the process. Each
project should be assessed for the appropriate level of control needed: too much control is too
time consuming, too little control is very risky. If project control is not implemented correctly,
the cost to the business should be clarified in terms of errors, fixes, and additional audit fees.

Control systems are needed for cost, risk, quality, communication, time, change, procurement,
and human resources. In addition, auditors should consider how important the projects are to
the financial statements, how reliant the stakeholders are on controls, and how many controls
exist. Auditors should review the development process and procedures for how they are
implemented. The process of development and the quality of the final product may also be
assessed if needed or requested. A business may want the auditing firm to be involved
throughout the process to catch problems earlier on so that they can be fixed more easily. An

27
auditor can serve as a controls consultant as part of the development team or as an
independent auditor as part of an audit.

Businesses sometimes use formal systems development processes. These help assure that
systems are developed successfully. A formal process is more effective in creating strong
controls, and auditors should review this process to confirm that it is well designed and is
followed in practice. A good formal systems development plan outlines:

 A strategy to align development with the organization’s broader objectives

 Standards for new systems
 Project management policies for timing and budgeting
 Procedures describing the process

[edit] Project management topics

[edit] Project managers

A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers can
have the responsibility of the planning, execution, and closing of any project, typically
relating to construction industry, architecture, computer networking, telecommunications or
software development. Many other fields in the production, design and service industries also
have project managers.

A project manager is the person accountable for accomplishing the stated project objectives.
Key project management responsibilities include creating clear and attainable project
objectives, building the project requirements, and managing the triple constraint for projects,
which is cost, time, and scope.

A project manager is often a client representative and has to determine and implement the
exact needs of the client, based on knowledge of the firm they are representing. The ability to
adapt to the various internal procedures of the contracting party, and to form close links with
the nominated representatives, is essential in ensuring that the key issues of cost, time, quality
and above all, client satisfaction, can be realized.

[edit] Project Management Triangle

The Project Management Triangle.

28
Like any human undertaking, projects need to be performed and delivered under certain
constraints. Traditionally, these constraints have been listed as "scope," "time," and "cost".[2]
These are also referred to as the "Project Management Triangle," where each side represents a
constraint. One side of the triangle cannot be changed without affecting the others. A further
refinement of the constraints separates product "quality" or "performance" from scope, and
turns quality into a fourth constraint.

The time constraint refers to the amount of time available to complete a project. The cost
constraint refers to the budgeted amount available for the project. The scope constraint refers
to what must be done to produce the project's end result. These three constraints are often
competing constraints: increased scope typically means increased time and increased cost, a
tight time constraint could mean increased costs and reduced scope, and a tight budget could
mean increased time and reduced scope.

The discipline of Project Management is about providing the tools and techniques that enable
the project team (not just the project manager) to organize their work to meet these
constraints.

[edit] Work Breakdown Structure

Example of a Work breakdown structure applied in a NASA reporting structure.[19]

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a tree structure, which shows a subdivision of effort
required to achieve an objective; for example a program, project, and contract. The WBS may
be hardware, product, service, or process oriented.

A WBS can be developed by starting with the end objective and successively subdividing it
into manageable components in terms of size, duration, and responsibility (e.g., systems,
subsystems, components, tasks, subtasks, and work packages), which include all steps
necessary to achieve the objective.[16]

The Work Breakdown Structure provides a common framework for the natural development
of the overall planning and control of a contract and is the basis for dividing work into
definable increments from which the statement of work can be developed and technical,
schedule, cost, and labor hour reporting can be established.[19]

[edit] Project Management Framework

29
Example of an IT Project Management Framework.[18]

The Program (Investment) Life Cycle integrates the project management and system
development life cycles with the activities directly associated with system deployment and
operation. By design, system operation management and related activities occur after the
project is complete and are not documented within this guide.[18]

For example, see figure, in the US United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) the
program management life cycle is depicted and describe in the overall VA IT Project
Management Framework to address the integration of OMB Exhibit 300 project (investment)
management activities and the overall project budgeting process. The VA IT Project
Management Framework diagram illustrates Milestone 4 which occurs following the
deployment of a system and the closing of the project. The project closing phase activities at
the VA continues through system deployment and into system operation for the purpose of
illustrating and describing the system activities the VA considers part of the project. The
figure illustrates the actions and associated artifacts of the VA IT Project and Program
Management process.[18]

[edit] International standards

There have been several attempts to develop Project Management standards, such as:

 Capability Maturity Model from the Software Engineering Institute.

 GAPPS, Global Alliance for Project Performance Standards- an open source standard
describing COMPETENCIES for project and program managers.[20]
 A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge
 HERMES method, Swiss general project management method, selected for use in
Luxembourg and international organisations.
 The ISO standards ISO 9000, a family of standards for quality management systems,
and the ISO 10006:2003, for Quality management systems and guidelines for quality
management in projects.
 PRINCE2, PRojects IN Controlled Environments.
30
  Team Software Process (TSP) from the Software Engineering Institute.
 Total Cost Management Framework, AACE International's Methodology for
Integrated Portfolio, Program and Project Management)
 V-Modell, an original systems development method.

[edit] References
1. ^ a b David I. Cleland, Roland Gareis (2006). Global project management handbook. McGraw-
Hill Professional, 2006. ISBN 0071460454. p.1-4": Project management was formally
recognized in the 1950s as a distinct discipline arising from the management discipline.
2. ^ a b c Chatfield, Carl. "A short course in project management". Microsoft.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/project/HA102354821033.aspx.

3. ^ *The Definitive Guide to Project Management. Nokes, Sebastian. 2nd Ed.n. London
(Financial Times / Prentice Hall): 2007. ISBN 978 0 273 71097 4

4. ^ Paul C. Dinsmore et al (2005) The right projects done right! John Wiley and Sons, 2005.
ISBN 0787971138. p.35 and further.

5. ^ Lewis R. Ireland (2006) Project Management. McGraw-Hill Professional, 2006. ISBN

007147160X. p.110.

6. ^ Joseph Phillips (2003). PMP Project Management Professional Study Guide. McGraw-Hill
Professional, 2003. ISBN 0072230622 p.354.

7. ^ Dennis Lock (2007) Project management (9e ed.) Gower Publishing, Ltd., 2007. ISBN
0566087723

8. ^ Young-Hoon Kwak (2005). "A brief history of Project Management". In: The story of
managing projects. Elias G. Carayannis et al. 9eds), Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005.
ISBN 1567205062

9. ^ David I. Cleland, Roland Gareis (2006). Global project management handbook. "Chapter 1:
"The evolution of project management". McGraw-Hill Professional, 2006. ISBN 0071460454

10. ^ Martin Stevens (2002). Project Management Pathways. Association for Project
Management. APM Publishing Limited, 2002 ISBN 190349401X p.xxii

11. ^ Morgen Witzel (2003). Fifty key figures in management. Routledge, 2003. ISBN
0415369770. p. 96-101.

12. ^ Booz Allen Hamilton - History of Booz Allen 1950s

13. ^ Bjarne Kousholt (2007). Project Management –. Theory and practice.. Nyt Teknisk Forlag.
ISBN 8757126038. p.59.

14. ^ F. L. Harrison, Dennis Lock (2004). Advanced project management: a structured approach.
Gower Publishing, Ltd., 2004. ISBN 0566078228. p.34.

15. ^ Winston W. Royce (1970). "Managing the Development of Large Software Systems" in: In:
Technical Papers of Western Electronic Show and Convention (WesCon) August 25-28, 1970,
Los Angeles, USA.

16. ^ a b Stellman, Andrew; Greene, Jennifer (2005). Applied Software Project Management.
O'Reilly Media. ISBN 978-0-596-00948-9. http://www.stellman-greene.com/aspm/.

31
 17. ^ OGC - PRINCE2 - Background

18. ^ a b c d e f g h i VA Office of Information and Technology (2003) Project Management Guide US

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. March 3, 2005.

19. ^ a b NASA (2001). NASA NPR 9501.2D. May 23, 2001.

20. ^ [1]

Attention management
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Attention management refers to models and tools for supporting the management of
attention at the individual or at the collective level (cf. attention economy), and at the short
term (quasi real time) of at a longer terms (over periods of weeks or months).

Contents
[hide]
 1 Approaches for attention support
 2 Projects
 3 See also
 4 References

 5 External references

[edit] Approaches for attention support

Different researches have been conducted in using ICT for supporting attention, and in
particular models have been elaborated for supporting attention (Davenport,Beck 2001)(Roda
& Nabeth 2008).

Supporting the management of attention objective is to bring a certain number of solution to:

 people perception cognitive limitations, such as the limited capacity of the human
short term memory (a maximum number of 7 items +-2 can be managed at a given
time), or the theoretical cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one can
maintain stable social relationships (the Dunbar's number of 150).
 information overload
 social interaction overload (that may for instance originates from the online social
networking services from which people get a lot of solicitations)
 interruption (Kebinger 2005)

32
  multitasking (Rosen 2008)

Tools can been designed for supporting attention

 at the organizational level, by supporting organisation processes (Apostolou,

Karapiperis & Stojanovic 2008)
 at the collective level
 at the individual level, for instance using attentive user interfaces (Vertegaal 2003)
(Vertegaal et al. 2006) (Huberman & Wu 2008).
 at the individual level by helping people to assess & analyse their attention related
practices (for instance with the tool AttentionScape (Davenport,Beck 2001)).

These tools are often adaptive hypermedia, and often rely on the profiling the user (Nabeth
2008) in order determine how to better support people attention.

[edit] Projects
A certain number of projects have been conducted to investigate how to use ICT to support
attention such as:

 AtGentive Attentive Agents for Collaborative Learners.

 SAKE - Semantic-enabled Agile Knowledge-based eGovernment (IST 027128)
 SUITOR (Maglio et al. 2000)

[edit] See also

 adaptive hypermedia
 attention
 attention economy
 attentive user interface
 information overload
 personal information management
 time management
 user modeling

[edit] References
 Apostolou, D.; Karapiperis, S.; Stojanovic, N. (2008). "On Managing Users' Attention
in Knowledge-Intensive Organizations". in G. A. Tsihrintzis et al.. New Directions in
Intelligent Interactive Multimedia, SCI 142. Springer. pp. 239-248. doi:10.1007/978-3-
540-68127-4_25.

33
  Davenport, T. H.; Beck, J. C. (2001). The Attention Economy: Understanding the New
Currency of Business. Harvard Business School Press. ISBN 1-57851-441-X.
http://books.google.fr/books?id=j6z-MiUKgosC&dq.
 Huberman, Bernardo A.; Wu, Fang (2008). "The Economics of Attention: Maximizing
User Value in Information Rich Environments". Advances in Complex Systems 11 (4):
487–496. doi:10.1142/S0219525908001830.
http://www.hpl.hp.com/research/idl/papers/attention/attention.pdf.
 Kebinger, J. (2005). "Current research in workplace interruption management". Paper
COMP171. http://www.monkeyatlarge.com/blog/wp-
content/interruptionsresearchsurveypaper.pdf.
 Maglio, P. P.; Barrett, R.; Campbell, C. S.; Selker, T. (2000). "SUITOR: An attentive
information system". in G. A. Tsihrintzis et al.. Proceedings of the International
Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces 2000. ACM Press. pp. 169-176.
doi:doi.acm.org/10.1145/325737.325821.
http://www.almaden.ibm.com/u/pmaglio/pubs/camera-ready-suitor.pdf.
 Nabeth, Thierry (2008). "User Profiling for Attention Support for School and Work".
in Mireille Hildebrandt and Serge Gutwirth. Profiling the European Citizen. Springer.
pp. 185-200. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-6914-7_10.
 Roda, Claudia; Nabeth, Thierry (2008). "Attention management in organizations: Four
levels of support in information systems". in A. Bounfour. Organizational Capital :
Modelling, Measuring and Contextualising. Routledge (advanced research series in
management). Routledge. pp. 214-233.
http://www.routledgebusiness.com/books/Organisational-Capital-isbn9780415437714.
 Rosen, Christine (2008). "The Myth of Multitasking". The New Atlantis, Spring 2008
20: 105-110. http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-myth-of-multitasking.
 Vertegaal, Roel (2003). "Attentive User Interfaces". Communications of the ACM 46
(3). http://www.hml.queensu.ca/papers/vertegaalcacm0303.pdf.
 Vertegaal, Roel; Shell, J. S.; Chen, D.; Mamuji, A. (2006). "Designing for augmented
attention: Towards a framework for attentive user interfaces". Computers in Human
Behavior 22 (4): 771-789. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2005.12.012.
 Wolpers, Martin; Najjar, Jehad; Verbert, Katrien; Duval, Erik (2007). "Tracking Actual
Usage: the Attention Metadata Approach". International Journal Educational
Technology and Society 10 (3 Special Issue on "Advanced Technologies for Life-Long
Learning). ISSN 1176-3647.

Personal knowledge management

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

34
 This Article seems to be vague, and appears to contain a large number of
buzzwords. Specific concerns can be found on the Talk page. Please improve this
Article seems to be vague, and if you can. (November 2009)

Personal knowledge management (PKM) refers to a collection of processes that an

individual needs to carry out in order to gather, classify, store, search, and retrieve knowledge
in his/her daily activities (Grundspenkis 2007). One of its focus is about how individual
workers apply knowledge processes to support their day-to-day work activities (Wright 2005)

Personal knowledge management (PKM) integrates personal information management (PIM),

focused on individual skills, with knowledge management (KM). Many people undertaking
this task have taken an organizational perspective. From this perspective, understanding of the
field has developed in light of expanding knowledge about human cognitive capabilities and
the permeability of organizational boundaries. The other approach for PKM is metacognitive -
it compares various modalities within human cognition as to their competence and efficacy
(Sheridan 2008).

Contents
[hide]
 1 History
 2 Focus on Individual Knowledge Worker
 3 Connections to Organizations and Groups
 4 PKM Skills
 5 Criticisms of PKM
 6 PKM Software
 7 See also
 8 References
 9 External links

 10 Notes

[edit] History
The term “personal knowledge management” (PKM) appears to be relatively new, and its
origin can be traced in a working paper from Frand and Hixon (Frand & Hixon 1999).

However, PKM has some origin in the work conducted in Personal information management
(PIM).

[edit] Focus on Individual Knowledge Worker

35
PKM is focused on personal productivity improvement for knowledge workers in their
working environments. While the focus is the individual, the goal of PKM is to enable
individuals to operate better both within the formal structure of organizations and in looser
work groupings. This is as different from KM as traditionally viewed, which appears to be
focused on enabling the corporation to be more effective by "recording" and making available
what its workers know.

A core focus of PKM is 'personal inquiry', a quest to find, connect, learn, and explore.

PKM is a response to the idea that knowledge workers increasingly need to be responsible for
their own growth and learning. They need processes and tools by which they can evaluate
what they know in a given situation and then seek out ways to fill the gaps in their knowledge.
This frequently involves the use of technology, though one can be good at PKM without using
specialised tools.

The term Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) has two main dimensions:

Personal Knowledge - Ultimately, all knowledge is personal knowledge. Following the

tradition of Nonaka & Takeuchis spiral model (and later Ba model) knowledge resides
partially in the minds of people and can partially be codified as external artifacts. PKM
investigates the use of methods and tools to amplify the abilities of the individual to work
better with knowledge. E.g.

 recall previously learned knowledge faster (or at all) when it is required

 model personal knowledge and beliefs with external modeling tools to derive new
insights (spreadsheets are often used for this today)
 strategies for filing ideas to retrieve them when needed

Personal Management - Management is a systematic approach to define goals, measure,

define and execute actions and repeat this control loop until the goal is reached. Different
from traditional management, in personal management one has to manage oneself. This
involves the problem of fulfilling two roles (executing and managing) and learning when and
how to switch between them. Typical management problems in PKM are e.g.

 time and task management

 matching work habits with personal productivity level variations
 investing time into personal learning and PKM improvements
 work-life balance

[edit] Connections to Organizations and Groups

PKM has recently been linked to enterprise social bookmarking, blogging or knowledge logs
(K-logs). The idea is individuals use this software to capture ideas, expertise, experience,
opinions or thoughts and this 'voicing' will encourage cognitive diversity, promote free
exchanges away from a centralized policed knowledge repository that is additional to ordinary
work.

36
Some organizations are now introducing PKM 'systems' with some or all of four components:

 Just-in-time Canvassing - templates and e-mail canvassing lists that enable people
looking for experts or expertise to identify and connect with the appropriate people
quickly and effectively
 Knowledge Harvesting - software tools that automatically collect appropriate
knowledge residing on subject matter experts' hard drives rather than waiting for it to
be contributed to central repositories
 Personal Content Management - taxonomy processes and desktop search tools that
enable employees to organize, subscribe to, publish and find information that resides
on their own desktops
 Personal Productivity Improvement - knowledge fairs and one-on-one training
sessions to help each employee make more effective personal use of the knowledge,
learning and technology resources available to them, in the context of their own work

[edit] PKM Skills

Skills associated with personal knowledge management.

 Reflection. Continuous improvement on how the individual operates.

 Manage learning. Manage how and when the individual learns.
 Information literacy. Understanding what information is important and how to find
unknown information.
 Organizational skills. Personal librarianship. Personal categorization and taxonomies.
 Networking with others. Knowing what your network of people knows. Knowing who
might have additional knowledge and resources to help you
 Researching, canvassing, paying attention, interviewing and observational 'cultural
anthropology' skills
 Communication skills. Perception, intuition, expression, visualization, and
interpretation.
 Creative skills. Imagination, pattern recognition, appreciation, innovation, inference.
Understanding of complex adaptive systems.
 Collaboration skills. Coordination, synchronization, experimentation, cooperation, and
design.

[edit] Criticisms of PKM

Not everyone agrees that the focus on the individual is a good thing, or that PKM is anything
more than a new wrapper around personal information management (PIM). Most notably,
some argue that knowledge is never an individual product - that it emerges through
connections, dialog and social interaction. See Sociology of knowledge.

37
PKM has been associated with a focus on personal branding, responsibility for personal
learning, personal networking - using networking engines (Ryze, Friendster, LinkedIN) and
management of individual documents, thought and writings. These activities do not illustrate
the rich reach of the concept.

[edit] PKM Software

 e-mail, calendar, task managers
 Weblogs (with a Web feed)
 Online Web Assistants
 Enterprise social bookmarks
 Wiki
o Personal wiki

o Desktop wiki

o Semantic Wiki

Weblogs (with RSS) and wikis are emerging as important elements of some organizational
'bottom-up' PKM systems. Other useful tools include Open Space Technology, cultural
anthropology, social bookmarking, stories and narrative, mindmaps, concept maps and eco-
language, single frames and similar visualization techniques, just-in-time canvassing tools,
automated knowledge harvesting tools, and Google Desktop and similar desktop content
management tools. All these tools are self-organizing and self-managing tools, introduced ad
hoc by self-forming groups within an organization to facilitate knowledge sharing and
personal content management.

[edit] References
Most recent ones first

 Sheridan, William (2008), How to Think like a knowledge worker, United Nations
Public Administration Network,
http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/unpan/unpan031277.pdf
 Völkel, Max; Abecker, Andreas (2008), Cost-Benefit Analysis for the Design of
Personal Knowledge Management Systems, Proc. of 10th International Conference on
Enterprise Information Systems, http://www.aifb.uni-
karlsruhe.de/Publikationen/showPublikation_english?publ_id=1735
 Grundspenkis, J. (2007). "Agent based approach for organization and personal
knowledge modelling: knowledge management perspective". Journal of Intelligent
Manufacturing 18 (4): 451-457. doi:10.1007/s10845-007-0052-6.
 Max Völkel (2007) "From Documents to Knowledge Models" in Proc. of the 4th
Conference on Professional Knowledge Management, volume 2, pp. 209—216. GITO
mbh, Berlin, March 2007

38
  Wright, Kirby (2005). "Personal knowledge management: supporting individual
knowledge worker performance". Knowledge Management Research and Practice 3
(3): 156–165. doi:10.1057/palgrave.kmrp.8500061.
 Dace Apshvalka, Peter Wendorff: A Framework of Personal Knowledge Management
in the Context of Organisational Knowledge Management. ECKM 2005: 34-41
 Apshvalka, Dace; Wendorff, Peter (2005), A Framework of Personal Knowledge
Management in the Context of Organisational Knowledge Management, ECKM 2005,
pp. 34-41, http://integrative-paradigm.org/papers/Eckm2005Dace_156.pdf
 Efimova, L. (2005) "Understanding personal knowledge management: A weblog
case". Enschede: Telematica Instituut.
 Dorsey, Paul A. (2001). Personal Knowledge Management: Educational Framework
for Global Business. Tabor School of Business, Millikin University.
http://www.millikin.edu/pkm/pkm_istanbul.html.
 Avery, Susan; O’Conner, Michael (2001), Personal Knowledge Management:
Framework for Integration and Partnerships, In ASCUE 2001,
http://www.millikin.edu/pkm/pkm_ascue.html
 Frand, Jason; Hixon, Carol (1999), "Personal Knowledge Management : Who, What,
Why, When, Where, How?", Working paper, UCLA Anderson School of Management,
http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/faculty/jason.frand/researcher/speeches/PKM.htm

Knowledge management
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Knowledge management (KM) comprises a range of practices used in an organisation to

identify, create, represent, distribute and enable adoption of insights and experiences. Such
insights and experiences comprise knowledge, either embodied in individuals or embedded in
organisational processes or practice.

An established discipline since 1991 (see Nonaka 1991), KM includes courses taught in the
fields of business administration, information systems, management, and library and
information sciences (Alavi & Leidner 1999). More recently, other fields have started
contributing to KM research; these include information and media, computer science, public
health, and public policy.

Many large companies and non-profit organisations have resources dedicated to internal KM
efforts, often as a part of their 'business strategy', 'information technology', or 'human resource
management' departments (Addicott, McGivern & Ferlie 2006). Several consulting companies
also exist that provide strategy and advice regarding KM to these organisations.

39
KM efforts typically focus on organisational objectives such as improved performance,
competitive advantage, innovation, the sharing of lessons learned, and continuous
improvement of the organisation. KM efforts overlap with organisational learning, and may
be distinguished from that by a greater focus on the management of knowledge as a strategic
asset and a focus on encouraging the sharing of knowledge. KM efforts can help individuals
and groups to share valuable organisational insights, to reduce redundant work, to avoid
reinventing the wheel per se, to reduce training time for new employees, to retain intellectual
capital as employees turnover in an organisation, and to adapt to changing environments and
markets (McAdam & McCreedy 2000)(Thompson & Walsham 2004).

Contents
[hide]
 1 History
 2 Knowledge management as an academic discipline
 3 Research
o 3.1 Dimensions

o 3.2 Strategies

o 3.3 Motivations

o 3.4 Technologies

 4 See also
 5 References
o 5.1 Notes

 6 External links

[edit] History
KM efforts have a long history, to include on-the-job discussions, formal apprenticeship,
discussion forums, corporate libraries, professional training and mentoring programs. More
recently, with increased use of computers in the second half of the 20th century, specific
adaptations of technologies such as knowledge bases, expert systems, knowledge repositories,
group decision support systems, intranets and computer supported cooperative work have
been introduced to further enhance such efforts[1].

In 1999, the term personal knowledge management was introduced which refers to the
management of knowledge at the individual level (Wright 2005).

In terms of the enterprise, early collections of case studies recognized the importance of
knowledge management dimensions of strategy, process, and measurement (Morey, Maybury
& Thuraisingham 2002). Key lessons learned included: people, and the cultures that influence
their behaviors, are the single most critical resource for successful knowledge creation,
dissemination, and application; cognitive, social, and organizational learning processes are

40
essential to the success of a knowledge management strategy; and measurement,
benchmarking, and incentives are essential to accelerate the learning process and to drive
cultural change. In short, knowledge management programs can yield impressive benefits to
individuals and organizations if they are purposeful, concrete, and action-oriented.

More recently with the advent of the Web 2.0, the concept of knowledge management has
evolved towards a vision more based on people participation and emergence. This line of
evolution is termed Enterprise 2.0 (McAfee 2006). However, there is an ongoing debate and
discussions (Lakhani & McAfee 2007) as to whether Enterprise 2.0 is just a fad that does not
bring anything new or useful or whether it is, indeed, the future of knowledge management
(Davenport 2008).

[edit] Knowledge management as an academic discipline

KM emerged as a scientific discipline in the earlier 1990s. It was initially supported by only
practitioners, when Scandia hired Leif Edvinsson of Sweden as the word’s first Chief
Knowledge Officer (CKO). Hubert Saint-Onge (formerly of CIBC, Canada), started
investigating various sides of KM long before that. The objective of CKOs is to manage and
maximize the intangible assets of their organizations. Gradually, CKOs became interested in
not only practical but also theoretical aspects of KM, and the new research field was formed.
The KM ideas were quickly endorsed by several highly regarded academics, such as Ikujiro
Nonaka (Hitotsubashi University), Hirotaka Takeuchi (Hitotsubashi University), Thomas H.
Davenport (Babson College) and Baruch Lev (New York University). In 2001, Thomas
Stewart, former editor at FORTUNE Magazine, published an excellent cover story
highlighting the importance of intellectual capital of organizations (Serenko et al. 2010).

After that, the KM discipline has started quickly evolving. Serenko and Bontis, in their meta-
analysis of KM research predicted that the total number of KM works would exceed 10,000
by 2010 (Serenko & Bontis 2004). In fact, this number has quickly grew much faster. As of
2009, there were 20 distinct KM academic journals available (Serenko & Bontis 2009), with
Journal of Knowledge Management and Journal of Intellectual Capital ranked as the leading
A+ pure-KM outlets (Bontis & Serenko 2009). Dozens of national and international
conferences were held with McMaster World Congress on the Management of Intellectual
Capital and Innovation being the pioneering event (Serenko, Bontis & Grant 2009). A number
of KM research centers were formed (e.g., The Monieson Centre, Queen’s University and
Knowledge Management Research Centre, Hong Kong Polytechnic University). Graduate-
level university courses were introduced since 2001 (Bontis, Hardie & Serenko 2008) (Bontis,
Serenko & Biktimirov 2006).

Recently, a comprehensive scientometric analysis of the entire KM discipline was undertaken

(Serenko et al. 2010). It was found that KM researchers tend to adapt methods of inquiry from
reference disciplines, mostly from accounting, finance, human resources management,
organizational behavior, psychology, and information systems. The methods of inquiry
employed by KM researchers are: 1) framework, model, approach, principle, index, metrics,
or tool development (32%); 2) case study (24%); 3) literature review (work based on existing
literature) (11%); 4) survey (10%); and 5) use of secondary data (8%). Other methods, for
instance, focus groups or field experiments are very rare in KM research. The most productive
KM countries are USA, UK, Australia, Spain and Canada that generated over 50% of the
word’s KM research output, with 21% coming solely from USA. The leading research
institutions are Cranfield University, UK; Copenhagen Business School, Denmark; Macquarie

41
University, Australia; University of Oviedo, Spain; and McMaster University, Canada. It was
concluded that KM research may potentially contribute to the wealth of nations because the
correlation between countries’ GDP per capita and their KM scholarly research output is
strong (Spearman’s pho = 0.597, p < 0.000).

Since its establishment, the KM discipline has been gradually moving towards academic
maturity. First, there is a trend towards higher cooperation among academics; particularly,
there has been a drop in single-authored publications. Second, the role of practitioners has
changed. Their contribution to academic research has been dramatically declining from 30%
of overall contributions up to 2002, to only 10% by 2009. At the same time, this phenomenon
is regrettable since academics may lose touch with practice and start producing research that
is of less interest to industry professionals. In fact, the issue of relevance of academic research
has been frequently raised in all fields, including KM. A series of interviews with a number of
KM managers revealed that KM research is highly relevant to the needs of practice. However,
there should be effective and efficient mechanisms to translate the findings presented in
academic journals to a more comprehensible format accessible to non-academics (Booker,
Bontis & Serenko 2008).

[edit] Research
A broad range of thoughts on the KM discipline exists with no unanimous agreement;
approaches vary by author and school. As the discipline matures, academic debates have
increased regarding both the theory and practice of KM, to include the following perspectives:

 Techno-centric with a focus on technology, ideally those that enhance knowledge

sharing and creation.
 Organisational with a focus on how an organisation can be designed to facilitate
knowledge processes best.
 Ecological with a focus on the interaction of people, identity, knowledge, and
environmental factors as a complex adaptive system akin to a natural ecosystem.

Regardless of the school of thought, core components of KM include People, Processes,

Technology (or) Culture, Structure, Technology, depending on the specific perspective
(Spender & Scherer 2007). Different KM schools of thought include various lenses through
which KM can be viewed and explained, to include:

 community of practice (Wenger, McDermott & Synder 2001) [2]

 social network analysis [3]
 intellectual capital (Bontis & Choo 2002) [4]
 information theory [5] (McInerney 2002)
 complexity science [6]
 constructivism [7] (Nanjappa & Grant 2003)

[edit] Dimensions

42
Different frameworks for distinguishing between knowledge exist. One proposed framework
for categorising the dimensions of knowledge distinguishes between tacit knowledge and
explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge represents internalised knowledge that an individual
may not be consciously aware of, such as how he or she accomplishes particular tasks. At the
opposite end of the spectrum, explicit knowledge represents knowledge that the individual
holds consciously in mental focus, in a form that can easily be communicated to others.[8]
(Alavi & Leidner 2001).

Early research suggested that a successful KM effort needs to convert internalised tacit
knowledge into explicit knowledge in order to share it, but the same effort must also permit
individuals to internalise and make personally meaningful any codified knowledge retrieved
from the KM effort. Subsequent research into KM suggested that a distinction between tacit
knowledge and explicit knowledge represented an oversimplification and that the notion of
explicit knowledge is self-contradictory. Specifically, for knowledge to be made explicit, it
must be translated into information (i.e., symbols outside of our heads) (Serenko & Bontis
2004). Later on, Ikujiro Nonaka proposed a model (SECI for Socialization, Externalization,
Combination, Internalization) which considers a spiraling knowledge process interaction
between explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge (Nonaka & Takeuchi 1995). In this model,
knowledge follows a cycle in which implicit knowledge is 'extracted' to become explicit
knowledge, and explicit knowledge is 'reinternalised' into implicit knowledge.

A second proposed framework for categorising the dimensions of knowledge distinguishes

between embedded knowledge of a system outside of a human individual (e.g., an information
system may have knowledge embedded into its design) and embodied knowledge representing
a learned capability of a human body’s nervous and endocrine systems (Sensky 2002).

A third proposed framework for categorising the dimensions of knowledge distinguishes

between the exploratory creation of "new knowledge" (i.e., innovation) vs. the transfer or
exploitation of "established knowledge" within a group, organisation, or community.
Collaborative environments such as communities of practice or the use of social computing
tools can be used for both knowledge creation and transfer [9].

[edit] Strategies

Knowledge may be accessed at three stages: before, during, or after KM-related activities.
Different organisations have tried various knowledge capture incentives, including making
content submission mandatory and incorporating rewards into performance measurement
plans. Considerable controversy exists over whether incentives work or not in this field and
no consensus has emerged.

One strategy to KM involves actively managing knowledge (push strategy). In such an

instance, individuals strive to explicitly encode their knowledge into a shared knowledge
repository, such as a database, as well as retrieving knowledge they need that other
individuals have provided to the repository [10]. This is also commonly known as the
Codification approach to KM.

Another strategy to KM involves individuals making knowledge requests of experts

associated with a particular subject on an ad hoc basis (pull strategy). In such an instance,
expert individual(s) can provide their insights to the particular person or people needing this
(Snowden 2002). This is also commonly known as the Personalization approach to KM.

43
Other knowledge management strategies for companies include:

 rewards (as a means of motivating for knowledge sharing)

 storytelling (as a means of transferring tacit knowledge)
 cross-project learning
 after action reviews
 knowledge mapping (a map of knowledge repositories within a company accessible by
all)
 communities of practice
 expert directories (to enable knowledge seeker to reach to the experts)
 best practice transfer
 competence management (systematic evaluation and planning of competences of
individual organization members)
 proximity & architecture (the physical situation of employees can be either conducive
or obstructive to knowledge sharing)
 master-apprentice relationship
 collaborative technologies (groupware, etc)
 knowledge repositories (databases, bookmarking engines, etc)
 measuring and reporting intellectual capital (a way of making explicit knowledge for
companies)
 knowledge brokers (some organizational members take on responsibility for a specific
"field" and act as first reference on whom to talk about a specific subject)
 social software (wikis, social bookmarking, blogs, etc)

Particularly, the implementation of formal knowledge management practices is important in

large organizations. When the number of employees exceeds 150, internal knowledge sharing
dramatically decreases because of higher complexity in the formal organizational structure,
weaker inter-employee relationships, lower trust, reduced connective efficacy, and less
effective communication. As such, as the size of an organizational unit increases, the
effectiveness of internal knowledge flows dramatically diminishes and the degree of intra-
organizational knowledge sharing decreases (Serenko, Bontis & Hardie 2007).

[edit] Motivations

A number of claims exist as to the motivations leading organisations to undertake a KM effort

[11]
. Typical considerations driving a KM effort include:

 Making available increased knowledge content in the development and provision of

products and services
 Achieving shorter new product development cycles

44
  Facilitating and managing innovation and organizational learning
 Leveraging the expertise of people across the organization
 Increasing network connectivity between internal and external individuals
 Managing business environments and allowing employees to obtain relevant insights
and ideas appropriate to their work
 Solving intractable or wicked problems
 Managing intellectual capital and intellectual assets in the workforce (such as the
expertise and know-how possessed by key individuals)

Debate exists whether KM is more than a passing fad, though increasing amount of research
in this field may hopefully help to answer this question, as well as create consensus on what
elements of KM help determine the success or failure of such efforts (Wilson 2002) [12].

[edit] Technologies

Early KM technologies included online corporate yellow pages as expertise locators and
document management systems. Combined with the early development of collaborative
technologies (in particular Lotus Notes), KM technologies expanded in the mid-1990s.
Subsequent KM efforts leveraged semantic technologies for search and retrieval and the
development of e-learning tools for communities of practice [13] (Capozzi 2007).

More recently, development of social computing tools (such as blogs and wikis) have allowed
more unstructured, self-governing or ecosystem approaches to the transfer, capture and
creation of knowledge, including the development of new forms of communities, networks, or
matrixed organisations. However such tools for the most part are still based on text and code,
and thus represent explicit knowledge transfer. These tools face challenges in distilling
meaningful re-usable knowledge and ensuring that their content is transmissible through
diverse channels [14](Andrus 2005).

Software tools in knowledge management are a collection of technologies and are not
necessarily acquired as a single software solution. Furthermore, these knowledge management
software tools have the advantage of using the organisation’s existing information technology
infrastructure. Organisations and business decision makers spend a great deal of resources and
make significant investments in the latest technology, systems and infrastructure to support
knowledge management. It is imperative that these investments are validated properly, made
wisely and that the most appropriate technologies and software tools are selected or combined
to facilitate knowledge management. A set of characteristics that should support decision
makers in the selection of software tools for knowledge management are available [15].

Knowledge management has also become a cornerstone in emerging business strategies such
as Service Lifecycle Management (SLM) with companies increasingly turning to software
vendors to enhance their efficiency in industries including, but not limited to, the aviation
industry.[16]

[edit] See also

45
  Chief knowledge officer  Knowledge engineering
 Community of practice  Knowledge management software
 Competitive intelligence  Knowledge market
 Complexity theory and organizations  Knowledge representation
 Computer supported cooperative work  Knowledge tagging
 Collective intelligence  Knowledge transfer
 Collective unconscious  Knowledge worker
 Concept map  Knowledge-based theory of the firm
 Data mining  Management information system
 DIKW  Metaknowledge
 Enterprise content management  Ontology
 Enterprise 2.0  Organisational memory
 Enterprise bookmarking  Personal information management
 Enterprise social software  Personal knowledge management
 Expert system  Sensemaking
 Explicit knowledge  Semantic web
 Human-computer interaction  Social network
 Information ecology  Sociology of knowledge
 Knowledge  Tacit knowledge
 Knowledge base  Value network analysis
 Knowledge economy
 Knowledge ecosystems

[edit] References
 Addicott, Rachael; McGivern, Gerry; Ferlie, Ewan (2006). "Networks, Organizational
Learning and Knowledge Management: NHS Cancer Networks". Public Money &
Management 26 (2): 87-94. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?
abstract_id=889992.
 Alavi, Maryam; Leidner, Dorothy E. (1999). "Knowledge management systems:
issues, challenges, and benefits". Communications of the AIS 1 (2).
http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=374117.

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 Alavi, Maryam; Leidner, Dorothy E. (2001). "Review: Knowledge Management and
Knowledge Management Systems: Conceptual Foundations and Research Issues".
MIS Quarterly 25 (1): 107-136. http://web.njit.edu/~jerry/CIS-677/Articles/Alavi-
MISQ-2001.pdf.
 Andrus, D. Calvin (2005). "The Wiki and the Blog: Toward a Complex Adaptive
Intelligence Community". Studies in Intelligence 49 (3).
http://ssrn.com/abstract=755904.
 Bontis, Nick; Choo, Chun Wei (2002). The Strategic Management of Intellectual
Capital and Organizational Knowledge. New York:Oxford University Press. ISBN
019513866X. http://choo.fis.toronto.edu/OUP/.
 Bontis, Nick; Serenko, Alexander; Biktimirov, Ernest (2006). "MBA knowledge
management course: Is there an impact after graduation?". International Journal of
Knowledge and Learning 2 (3/4): 216-237.
http://foba.lakeheadu.ca/serenko/papers/Bontis_Serenko_Biktimirov.pdf.
 Bontis, Nick; Hardie, Tim; Serenko, Alexander (2008). "Self-efficacy and KM course
weighting selection: Can students optimize their grades?". International Journal of
Teaching and Case Studies 1 (3): 189-199.
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 Bontis, Nick; Serenko, Alexander (2009). "A follow-up ranking of academic journals".
Journal of Knowledge Management 13 (1): 16-26.
http://foba.lakeheadu.ca/serenko/papers/KM_Journal_Ranking_Bontis_Serenko.pdf.
 Booker, Lorne; Bontis, Nick; Serenko, Alexander (2008). "The relevance of
knowledge management and intellectual capital research". Knowledge and Process
Management 15 (4): 235-246.
http://foba.lakeheadu.ca/serenko/papers/Booker_Bontis_Serenko_KM_relevance.pdf.
 Capozzi, Marla M. (2007). "Knowledge Management Architectures Beyond
Technology". First Monday 12 (6).
http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/1871/1754.
 Davenport, Tom (2008). "Enterprise 2.0: The New, New Knowledge Management?".
Harvard Business Online, Feb. 19, 2008.
http://discussionleader.hbsp.com/davenport/2008/02/enterprise_20_the_new_new_kno
w_1.html.
 Lakhani, Andrew P.; McAfee (2007). "Case study on deleting "Enterprise 2.0" article".
Courseware #9-607-712, Harvard Business School.
http://courseware.hbs.edu/public/cases/wikipedia/.
 McAdam, Rodney; McCreedy, Sandra (2000). "A Critique Of Knowledge
Management: Using A Social Constructionist Model". New Technology, Work and
Employment 15 (2). http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=239247.
 McAfee, Andrew P. (2006). "Enterprise 2.0: The Dawn of Emergent Collaboration".
Sloan Management Review 47 (3): 21-28. http://sloanreview.mit.edu/the-
magazine/articles/2006/spring/47306/enterprise-the-dawn-of-emergent-collaboration/.

47
 McInerney, Claire (2002). "Knowledge Management and the Dynamic Nature of
Knowledge". Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology
53 (12): 1009–1018. http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~clairemc/KM_dynamic_nature.pdf.
 Morey, Daryl; Maybury, Mark; Thuraisingham, Bhavani (2002). Knowledge
Management: Classic and Contemporary Works. Cambridge: MIT Press. pp. 451.
http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=8987.
 Nanjappa, Aloka; Grant, Michael M. (2003). "Constructing on constructivism: The
role of technology". Electronic Journal for the Integration of Technology in Education
2 (1). http://ejite.isu.edu/Volume2No1/nanjappa.pdf.
 Nonaka, Ikujiro (1991). "The knowledge creating company". Harvard Business
Review 69 (6 Nov-Dec): 96-104. http://hbr.harvardbusiness.org/2007/07/the-
knowledge-creating-company/es.
 Nonaka, Ikujiro; Takeuchi, Hirotaka (1995). The knowledge creating company: how
Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. New York: Oxford University
Press. pp. 284. http://books.google.com/books?id=B-qxrPaU1-MC.
 Sensky, Tom (2002). "Knowledge Management". Advances in Psychiatric Treatment 8
(5): 387-395. http://apt.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full/8/5/387.
 Snowden, Dave (2002). "Complex Acts of Knowing - Paradox and Descriptive Self
Awareness". Journal of Knowledge Management, Special Issue 6 (2): 100 - 111.
doi:10.1108/13673270210424639. http://www.cognitive-edge.com/articledetails.php?
articleid=13.
 Spender, J.-C. & Andreas Georg Scherer (2007), "The Philosophical Foundations of
Knowledge Management: Editors' Introduction", Organization 14 (1): 5-28,
<http://ssrn.com/abstract=958768>
 Serenko, Alexander & Nick Bontis (2004), "Meta-review of knowledge management
and intellectual capital literature: citation impact and research productivity rankings",
Knowledge and Process Management 11 (3): 185-198, DOI:10.1002/kpm.203,
<http://www.business.mcmaster.ca/mktg/nbontis//ic/publications/KPMSerenkoBontis.
pdf>
 Serenko, Alexander; Nick Bontis & Lorne Booker et al. (2010), "A scientometric
analysis of knowledge management and intellectual capital academic literature (1994-
2008)", Journal of Knowledge Management in-press
 Serenko, Alexander & Nick Bontis (2009), "Global ranking of knowledge
management and intellectual capital academic journals", Journal of Knowledge
Management 13 (1): 4-15,
<http://foba.lakeheadu.ca/serenko/papers/KM_Journal_Ranking_Serenko_Bontis.pdf>
 Serenko, Alexander; Nick Bontis & Josh Grant (2009), "A scientometric analysis of
knowledge management and intellectual capital academic literature (1994-2008)",
Journal of Intellectual Capital 10 (1): 8-21,
<http://foba.lakeheadu.ca/serenko/papers/Serenko_Bontis_Grant.pdf>

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  Serenko, Alexander; Nick Bontis & Tim Hardie (2007), "Organizational size and
knowledge flow: A proposed theoretical link", Journal of Intellectual Capital 8 (4):
610-627, <http://foba.lakeheadu.ca/serenko/papers/GitasRule_Published.pdf>
 Thompson, Mark P.A. & Geoff Walsham (2004), "Placing Knowledge Management in
Context", Journal of Management Studies 41 (5): 725-747,
<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=559300>
 Wenger, Etienne; McDermott, Richard; Synder, Richard (2002). Cultivating
Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge - Seven Principles for
Cultivating Communities of Practice. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
pp. 107-136. ISBN 1578513308. http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/2855.html.
 Wilson, T.D. (2002). "The nonsense of 'knowledge management'". Information
Research 8 (1). http://informationr.net/ir/8-1/paper144.html.
 Wright, Kirby (2005). "Personal knowledge management: supporting individual
knowledge worker performance". Knowledge Management Research and Practice 3
(3): 156–165. doi:10.1057/palgrave.kmrp.8500061.

How Can I Develop

Good Time Management Habits?
By Rick Swanson

Life is busy and it seems to just get busier and busier. Between the projects that need to be
completed at work, the errands that need to be completed for home and the homework that the
kids need help with, it seems that there are less hours in the day than what we need. So what
can you do?

Well, a good idea to begin some kind of time management. Although good time management
takes practice to learn and persistence to form, once it becomes a habit it is ingrained for
good. Thankfully, there are some easy steps to follow that can help you start to manage your
time better and get more out of each day.

Step 1 - Old habits are hard to break. It's just a fact that it's not easy to break a bad habit,
but in order to have a more effective day you need to replace the bad habit with a good one.
Small steps will lead to bigger steps, staying consistent is the key.

Step 2 - Launch the new habit strongly. Make the commitment and stick with it by
reminding yourself that you are doing this time management to better organize and keep track
of your day. See the results and bask in your accomplishments.

Step 3 - Go public. Letting other people know of your new habit means that you now need to
stick with it. It means more support for you as well and when more people know about what
you're trying to accomplish the more they'll be on your side. Success, in part, comes from
support and encouragement.

49
Step 4 - Allow no exceptions. Don't permit yourself to fall back into your old habits and old
ways. Those were the days when nothing seemed to get done remember? Now that you are on
the right track to effective time management, stick to it - you will be glad you did.

We all wish that there were more hours in the day to get done everything we wanted to do.
While we can't make more time, we can make better use the time that is allotted to us. By
using time management effectively and formulating good habits to take the place of the time
wasting bad ones, you will be on the road to productivity and accomplishment before you
know it.

Rick enjoys writing articles on a wide variety of topics and interests. Come visit his latest
website over at portable air conditioning units which helps people find the best everstar
portable air conditioners and information they need to make a wise decision about them.

Time Management at Its Best - Getting More Hours in a Day

By Carmen E. Shearer
If we only have 24 hours in a day, but it seems like we always need more time, should it be
that we just need to become more productive individuals?

The answer is yes! absolutely yes, and here is how you accomplish that:

1. Create a Manual. As you have to do things over and over, next time you won't have to
spend hours reinventing the wheel, because now you will have a step by step guide to follow.

2. Create templates. You can use templates for so many things: invoices, contracts, faxes,
orders, proposals, statements, product and service descriptions; that way, you will save many
hours by just changing the things that need to be change like customer name, part number, etc;
instead of writing one of this documents from scratch each time.

3. Standardize answers for your emails and phone inquires. If you have a frequent asked
questions page on your website, chances are that people won't keep asking you the same
questions over and over. Therefore you will automatically gain several hours a week.

4. Use a calendar. It comes very handy to have a calendar close, accessible and in a place
where you can look a it every time you need to. That way you won't be forgetting
appointments and double booking yourself.

5. Make a to do list. Nothing works wonders like a to do list. It not only gives you a sense of
accomplishment every time you are able to cross something off, but it also help you keep
things in perspective.

6. Prioritize. Often the most important things for your business and your life don't have a
clear deadline and we tend to leave them for last and everything else seems to get attention
before those really important things. As a consequence, we often pay a big price on time and
money for not paying attention to these things on a timely manner.

50
7. Set time aside. Make appointments with yourself for some creative thinking time. This is
when you are going to grow your business, think strategically and add a competitive edge to
your venture. Treat these appointments like you would any other appointment with a
customer. Do not allow interruptions and do not cancel them to extinguish fires.

8. Organize your shopping needs. Avoid having to run to the supply store every day. Keep a
list of all the things you need and unless you have something extremely urgent to get, only go
once a week or once every other week.

9. Plan your errands. Make your errand time an efficient one. Plan your route, know what
you need to do ahead of time and avoid rush hours.

1o. Keep frequently used things handy. If you are dealing with a client right now, keep that
file in your drawer instead of the big file room. Same with staplers, and other supplies that
you may share with others.

11. Learn how to use technology to your advantage. Email could be tricky, but if you know
how to do filters, spam check, folders, you can really prioritize what, when and how you read
your emails.

12. First things first. Avoid procrastination. Do the most important things early in the
morning, that way you won't get caught up in a panic mode at the end of the day.

13. Use your voice mail. If you are working on something important and you are not
expecting an important phone call, either let someone else answer the phone or set your voice
mail to answer your calls. That way you won't get interrupted every 30 seconds.

14. Get help. You probably overworked, because you are overworked. If you can afford an
assistant or another sales person, it may be a good investment, because if you get a good
helper the results will show.

15. Take care of yourself. Fill your bucket first, so you can fill others. Eat properly, exercise,
get enough sleep, relax. If you are out of ideas to overcome a roadblock, hire an entrepreneur
coach. They can help you overcome almost any obstacle allowing you to achieve your goals.

Carmen Shearer is the Founder and CEO of Entrepreneur Women Coaching and Training,
LLC; a company dedicated to empower women entrepreneurs by helping them overcome
their fears and roadblocks; and achieve their dreams. For more information, visit
http://www.entrepreneur-women-coaching.com.

Can a List Be Your Secret to Success?

By Lori Bell

What's on your list? I don't mean your bucket list or your 43 things. I mean your to-do list.
Do you even have one? Maybe making lists is not your thing. For many years I didn't feel
the need to make one in order to get things done. I knew what needed to get done and I was

51
pretty good about starting and finishing projects.

As I spent more time counseling and coaching people, I began to realize how important
making lists can be in helping people reach their ultimate goals. Having a to-do list is also
a great tool if you are feeling overwhelmed or stuck in life. Your list is like a road map. It
helps you see what you need to do to keep on track with your goals. Many people however
don't make lists because they feel like a failure when they don't get everything done on
their list. Or they feel disappointed when they can only mark off one or two items.

One of my previous co-workers, a counselor in a mental health program, always made

lists. Hers were different though. She made them at the end of each day. At the end of each
day she wrote up a list of everything that she had accomplished that day. She said it made
her feel better and that she could really recognize how much she had really done that day.
Feeling a sense of accomplishment helped her tackle bigger items the next day.

Want to improve your chances for success? Work at implementing a list into your day or
week.

Your task:

If you are not a list maker- try the following experiment. Write down any two or three
things that you want to do each day on an index card. A simple example might be:

1) Do fifty sit-ups
2) Do 20 push-ups
3) Walk the stairs instead of taking the elevator.

Place the card where you can see it several times a day. Each time that you do something
on the list put a check mark next to the item. At the end of the week tally up the number of
times you did the things on your list. How did you do? How did you feel?

Another example might be:

1) I will control my anger

2) I will walk away when angry
3) I will think before I speak
4) I will offer positive feedback before giving negative feedback to others

Again, at the end of the day tally up the number of times that you followed what was on
your list. How do you think you would have done if you did not have the list to refer to?
If you are already a list maker and fall in to the category of not feeling satisfied with what
you accomplish on your list try making the other kind of list- the list at the end of the day
where you tally up all of your accomplishments. That should give you something to smile
about at the end of the day!

Lori Bell is founder of Creating Powerful Change, LLC and creator of http://www.help-
me-change.com which offers tips, tools, and techniques for implementing successful
change in to your life. As your Personal Change Agent, Lori will provide you with an easy
to follow step by step process that allows you to tap into your hidden potential, to grow

52
personally and professionally, and to create a life that finally feels right and works great for
you! To receive other free articles and the no cost product- "Are You Ready for Success?"
visit http://www.help-me-change.com now.

Idiot Inside?
By Nuruddin Abjani

Interesting topic, isn't it? I am sure all of us watch TV on a daily basis... Don't we? Some
of the people I know, don't.. and neither do I! At least, not on a daily or weekly basis.
Why? Well... Long story, but to cut it short, we have only one TV in our house, so usually I
dont get the remote in my hands...! Yes, that's true but not the only reason... Frankly, I don't
watch TV because I think most of it is a waste of time! I know that is a huge claim I am
making.. But this is my blog, isn't it? hahah... kidding. Now you will start off by saying,
not everything on TV is a waste of time...That IS true... However, how many of us watch
our favorite program on TV and then leave the room or turn it off? If you do, then hats off
to you! I am impressed! The problem with it is that its very addictive...

Since we have now hundreds of channels to choose from.. To even surf and find the
channel that one is interested in, takes much longer than it used to... ('Used to' as in PTV
and much later STN! Two channels to choose from! Power of choice!) Some of us watch it
to keep up to date with the 'news'... My two cents on this are: try and watch a news channel
for 5 minutes every hour and you will realize that how fresh is the news. All of them keep
repeating the same news, clips and even interviews that they showed 3-4 hours ago...
Agree? If not then just try it... New content is something that all of these channels seek,
they want us to be glued to them so that they can earn their revenues in billions... AT OUR
EXPENSE! If we don't watch them, they wont make money! Some of us watch it for the
entertainment: Sure, by all means... only if you have a handle on it... I am not saying that
after a hard days work one should NOT relax, chill out, be a couch potato....By all means!

But is there a time line? An hour? Two hours? Or as long as one you dont doze off? Some
of us do it for the knowledge. The documentaries, intellectual discussions etc... Good, keep
it up! But then, you'd rather do something that you feel passionate about. And if watching
outstanding documentaries/discussions for hours is your passion, then by all means you
should. Another reason could be Spending Time With Family.... Quality time? Farhad
Karamally said this beautifully a while ago: We have hours of quality time with the family
every evening...WE WATCH 'Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thhee' TOGETHER! Hahaha.... get it?
Watching TV together? Family time? Something seems wrong here... isn't it?

Watch this brilliant video on TED.com to know actually what the news media is all about,
eye opening:
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/alisa_miller_shares_the_news_about_the_news.html
(right click on this link and open in a new tab or window)

Some of you must have heard of Google Alerts. It is a FREE service that Google provides.
The idea is that you can request it for any number of keyword that you want to be updated
on and Google Alerts will email you about anything happening IN THE WORD about that
keyword. On a 'as it happens', daily or weekly basis, depending on your choice.

53
http://www.google.com/alerts?hl=en&gl=

Try it, you won't regret it. So much for keeping ourselves informed! Mobile alerts from
some of the news channels are also useful to know what is happening around you. Did I
mention Cartoon Network? Well, that's the name my dear wife has give to the hundreds of
talk shows airing on almost all channels which discuss politics or state of affairs. They
invite a lot guests and our elected representatives and ask them about where the country is
going. Their answers would definitely give us an insight into their thinking process and
love of the nation, however, don't we already know them? They also invite experts in every
field asking them for their opinions on various subjects.

Its all good, but do you think an expert on a subject could actually predict as to what's
precisely going to happen? (Read The Black Swan... brilliant book about what people say
and what actually happens.. The crash of 89 and other great stuff. A different worldview
altogether) If all the experts knew about everything then why do we have recessions and
tsunamis and other things that could have been predicted and avoided but weren't. Maybe
some of the people saw these catastrophes coming, but no one listened to them coz they
were either not popular or no one believed them! Coming back to TV... Now what did I
leave? News, entertainment, knowledge... Anyone else?

Yes... What happened to the lots of reality shows, serials, mini serials et al... How
captivating, mesmerizing, interesting, elfy-ing! You bet! But then, what do we get out of
them? Get entertained, but know when to draw the line... Stop, when done! Instead of
going on and on... surfing.

We all are united on one thing:

WE DON'T HAVE......TIME and

NEED MORE TIME IN OUR HANDS!

The internet has changed the way we do things... Most of the stuff that we are interested in
is available online... And we can watch, read, browse through it in our own time... At our
own convenience... Only if we could reduce the number of hours we sit front of the tube,
we could do wonders with our time! Spend it on things that are closer to your
heart...Whatever happened to hobbies, past times, passion.. Taking care of our bodies,
exercise? Reading? Pursuing life long learning? Following your dream?

There I go... I didn't mean to do 'bhashan'.... But....

DO think about what you are watching when you watch it!

At least Give it A THOUGHT!

Keep smiling...

Be Happy...

54
Have a great life..

Dare to dream!

Nuruddin Abjani

http://www.powerofthought.org

Improve Time Management

For Better Productivity
By Amy Twain

I received a phone call coming from a friend of my client that was just worried on how to
improve time management asking for my service. I met this lady just a couple ago while
me and my client were in a cafeteria. She just passed us by and had a little chitchat for a
moment to my client and later joined us. As our talk is getting longer regarding how to
improve time management, she learned that I'm a Self Improvement Coach after my client
has revealed that she's having my service. She seems interested in asking about my job and
asked for my calling card so I gave her one and we then bid each other good bye for we
have some other task to do.

Now, she's calling for a session with me but I don't have enough space. I checked my
organizer if there are conflicts in my schedule for this day. I see that there are already some
commitments and I am fully booked. I hate to decline clients for I know how valuable their
moment is. I will just find ways to insert them on my schedule. I think, I have to improve
time management to insert some important matters to be done right away. I have to
prioritize the most valuable matters for the day and will just delegate some trivial matters
to have some extra hours for myself.

Of course, we need to have some moment for ourselves to avoid burn-out and stress. To
improve time management, I will make a list of my task arranged according to their
importance. We have to have some listings to schedule the daily activities and how many
hours you will burn. These avoid lapses. Since the activities are already written, your
actions are continuous spending the period wisely that improve time management. I will
include those that require urgency that needs the highest priority. Some tasks are not that
important and can just be rescheduled for another day. We have to concentrate on the
things that have the highest importance from the rest to avoid some stress.

You can set a deadline for each task to finish a certain goal each day to improve time
management. This keeps you going since there's already a plan scheduled for your activity.
The idea of having a deadline motivates you to take an action to finish the task which is
also similar in reaching a goal. Since we cannot do all things at the same day, we can just
delegate some responsibilities to occupy some other important tasks. Sharing some chores
avoids wasted time.

The author of this article Amy Twain is a Self Improvement Coach who has been
successfully coaching and guiding clients for many years. Amy recently published a new

55
home study course on how to boost your Self Esteem overnight. More info about this
"Quick-Action Plan for A More Confident You" is available at
http://www.FabulousSelfEsteem.com.

The Best Kept Secrets

For a Happier Healthier Stress-Free Holiday Season
By Miriam Bogard

As the holidays approach and our schedule begins to fill, life becomes more of a challenge.
The physical toll we put on our bodies with longer work hours, more activities, lack of
daylight, not enough rest, and the inability to concentrate, can all lead up to becoming
disorganized.

Don't let this alarm you, as we all go through periods of disorganization. Even the best of
organizers, like me, have times when papers pile up, mail isn't sorted, and clothes all over
the bedroom. It seems there are days when all I do is run!

However, as the holidays approach, a few simple tips can help eliminate the chaos of
disorganization and might help bring about a happier healthier approach to the holidays,
filled with simplicity of life, and family celebration.

1) LIST, LIST, LIST! Pssst! I saw Santa this weekend in the mall, and if he isn't the perfect
example of someone that's organized! He's always checking lists!

- Food items to purchase for Thanksgiving.

- Recipes you intend to make
- Parties you are hosting and parties you are invited to.
- Gifts that need to be purchased
- Holiday Events and Children Activities you are attending
- Even a list for your budget!

Don't limit yourself with how many lists! The key to a good list, is keeping them short, and
posting them where you will use them. Position them on post-it's throughout your daily
planner, or even in your Blackberry. Lists enable us to excel in the areas where it just needs
done, and keep our mind clear and focused.

2) SCHEDULE YOUR DAYS AND WEEKS INTO BLOCKS OF TIME, allowing time
for things you need to do; people you need to see; correspondences that need to be made;
and phoning those that are most important to you. I know my day is fulfilled with I
accomplish the things on my list that need done first, insure I'm available to meet the
people that need to be seen, email and phone those that are waiting to hear back from me,
and connect with those that make a difference in my life throughout the holiday season.

3) PREPARE AHEAD! Waking up with calendar in hand, is not a great way to prepare for
the day. Sunday afternoons I review the children's backpack, sign necessary permission
slips, review meal planner, and even make up something that might be used later that week.
Don't wait till Thursday night to plan for Friday. Need a small bag packed with high heels

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and a fancy accessory for an after-dinner networking event, Wednesday? What only takes 5
minutes might save an hour of frustration.

4)EMBRACE LIMITATIONS! Liberate the Superwoman Myth! Listen to your thoughts

and instincts. As women, we are blessed with such a gift. There are enough of us in the
world to welcome everyone to participate in life. Experience the moments that matter
most, and don't over commit to things that aren't essential to your happiness.

It's such a blessing this time of year to gather around the table and share with those that we
love life's joy. Having a healthy balance and perspective will give YOU the greatest gift
and a better one to share!

Miriam Bogard, CEO, the "Time Gifter", and organizational expert. MB Organizers is your
premiere resource for organization, personal assistant, and virtual assistant services. We
even do full-service home cleaning! Partnering with individuals serious about making
change to overloaded areas of life, we become that "Go To" support team! We develop
customized strategies and solutions that work best with your lifestyle for your business or
home life and make it flourish!

10 Ways to Improve Your Time Management

By Mark Lampett

1. Set goals that you can reach. You have to know what you are working towards.
2. Take it one step at a time. When you look at the big picture, it can be a little
overwhelming. Do your tasks in smaller pieces.
3. Know that it's ok to say no. You can't always say yes to everyone and expect to be able
to manage your time. If you're too busy, say no.
4. Bust procrastination. This is detrimental to time management. You must avoid
procrastination if you hope to achieve your goals.
5. Make priorities and be honest and realistic when you prioritize. Then stick to your
priorities.
6. Get organized. You may need a calendar, planner, personal organizer or other devices to
help you stay organized. Make use of these tools to keep on track with your time
management.
7. Learn to delegate. You just can't always do everything yourself. When possible,
delegate tasks to others and allow friends, family or co-workers to help you.
8. Take a realistic look at your time management problems. Find out what is holding
you back and then make a plan to beat it.
9. Make use of time management tools. There are many great tools and tricks of the trade
available to anyone willing to learn and take advantage of them. Use these tools when you
can.
10. Use all time wisely. What can you get done while waiting in line or in the doctor's
office? What can you do while spending time driving in your car every day? Are there

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I was asked a question yesterday at a networking meeting: Why another time management
system? What is the difference?

True, there are many time management systems out there. And, as everyone else who has
created a new system, I feel I have "invented a better mouse trap." Or have I? What is
significantly different about Bank Your Time? What fuels my passion?

Over the years, I have developed slogans or tag lines for Bank Your Time, ranging from
"Do More With Less Time - Time is Money," "Create Spare Time For Things You WANT
To Do," "Stop merely existing; start really living," "The Goal-Oriented Metrics-Driven
Productivity Enhancement System," etc. All of these are true - they all describe Bank Your
Time to some degree. None of these, however, reflect the main reason why I started doing
this and quit my well-paying job to teach others and bring some sunshine in others' lives.

Bank Your Time is a GAME! It evolved from something I created to teach my 9-year-old
son the elements of time management. Since lectures don't work with children but games
do, and, in Mary Poppins' words, "In every job that must be done, there is an element of
fun," I put some fun into time management. It worked, my children now manage their time
to the best of their abilities (they are, after all, children!), and the experienced enriched me.
It enthused me and infused me with the passion to take this to the tops of tall buildings and
shout out for the world to hear. Many people have told me, "Time management is so B-O-
R-I-N-G," or "Time management systems don't work for me." The same people have
accepted Bank Your Time with (not so surprising) open arms. When something is a game,
it is fun and more readily adopted than a process or a system, however good the process is
for you.

For more information about Bank Your Time, do visit my website,

http://www.bankyourtime.com.

Prakash Rao is a time management coach with a very unique approach: Control time
within tasks as much as you control which tasks you perform. This approach allows
Prakash's clients to be effective, efficient and error-free in management of their tasks and
their lives. For more information about Prakash's techniques please visit
http://www.bankyourtime.com To avail Prakash's coaching services, contact him at
prakash@bankyourtime.com.

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