Is the Time Right for Self-Management?

Recently it was reported that Zappos.com, the online clothing retailer, is in the process of implementing "self management" under a program called "Holacracy," a concept being adopted by several hundred other firms. Instead of being led by managers, associates along with their former managers are encouraged to define their own jobs ("energize their roles" in the language of the initiative) and form teams ("circles"). The guidelines for the effort are spelled out in a 30-page "Constitution" used as the basis for orienting associates to the new form of organizing work.

Self-management is not a new idea. For example, it was adopted at Taco Bell 25 years ago under John Martin when a long-term strategic plan was put in place that called for the company to distribute its products through more than 100,000 locations of various kinds. The 25-fold increase in the number of distribution points called for more managers than the company could possibly hire and train under then-accepted principles of multiunit retail management. As a result, the company raised the number of units for which a manager was responsible from one to ten or more. By necessity, managers could do little more than provide minimal oversight and occasional problem solving. Store associates, with some coaching, were given responsibility for hiring, training, and disciplining each other as well as such things as scheduling and cash management.

The results were remarkable.

Teams of associates worked out new methods. For example, they trained people new to their jobs during slack business hours. When the meal-time rush hit, each associate moved to a job at which he or she was most accomplished-something they called "Aces in Your Places." Within minutes productivity rose 60 percent to accommodate the rush. Sales targets were met at self-managed units, associate turnover dropped 29 percent, and customer satisfaction scores actually improved when compared to conventionally managed stores. The effort stalled only when the planned strategy was scaled down and Martin's successor halted further expansion of the initiative.

Interest in self-management was later stimulated by Gary Hamel's book, The Future of Management, in which he described innovative efforts to enable employees to define their own jobs and shape their work at companies such as Google, Whole Foods Market, and W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. The idea may have particular appeal to Millennials who are thought to have high levels of self-confidence, non-traditional work habits, and, at least in their early careers, an interest in personal development that exceeds their desire for high wages.

Change, of course, is difficult. At Zappos, 14 percent of associates have left. Presumably, a number of these are former managers, although it's not clear what Holacracy had to do with the departures. (In anticipation of possible departures, a circle called "Reinventing Yourself" was formed at Zappos for former managers.)
Even though Zappos is only several months into the initiative, its leader, Tony Hsieh, urges patience. He is quoted as saying, "It's a gradual process. It's not a light switch."
How successful do you think the initiative at Zappos will be? Why? Regardless of its potential for success, does it and efforts like it presage an important trend? Is the time ripe for self-management? What do you think?

The Foods and Beverages Merchants in Jabodetabek Lost Their Income Until Rp 200 billion

The Foods and Beverages Merchants in Jabodetabek Lost Their Income Until Rp 200 billion

Bad weather that hit several regions in Indonesia is large enough to impact the food and beverage industry in this country. For only the Jabodetabek area, the floods predicted suppress the turnover to 25 percent.

Chairman of the Food and Beverage Association of Indonesia (Gapmmi) Adhi Lukman explained, a decrease of revenue is due to the difficulty of the distribution of products from the factory to the market because of the flooding block. Thus, it spreads on the decline in consumption.

As an overall result, Adhi estimated the food and beverage industry in Jabodetabek lost the income until Rp 200 billion per day. “In the normal situation, the income in each day for this region reached USD 800 billion,” he said on Tuesday (01/21/2014).

It is not only the distribution to the consumer, food and beverage manufacturers must also bear the losses due to the distribution of raw materials from the another region which also faltered.

For example, the transportation of fresh fruit and meat from Central Java, currently takes up to four days. Though, it usually takes only a half day. “Whereas within five days, the fresh raw materials will rot in about 50 percent” he said.

It hasn’t counted yet the losses because the factory could not be operated due to workers who could not get in because of flooding, or because there is no electricity supply due to outages by PLN in some areas.

Despite the losses is in sight, according to Adhi, manufacturers of foods and beverages will not raise their selling prices. Because this problem is only temporary.

Questions :
1. What is affects the food and beverage industry turnover decreased?
2. Who is Adhi Lukman?
3. Where is the floods predicted suppress the turnover to 25 percent?
4. When  did the interview to Adhi do?
5. Why manufacturers of foods and beverages will not raise their selling prices?
6. How much the food and beverage industry in Jabodetabek lost the income per day?

Managing the Family Business: Are Optimists or Pessimists Better Leaders?

Managing the Family Business: Are Optimists or Pessimists Better Leaders?

In general, optimists are best suited to lead family-run entrepreneurial organizations. At least until disaster strikes. John A. Davis explains why both perspectives are so valuable.

by John A. Davis

Editor's note: This is part of a series of occasional columns on managing the family business written by Senior Lecturer John A. Davis.

Optimism and pessimism are strong, stable traits that reflect our coping strategies. We live in an uncertain world. To cope with uncertainty, most people basically assume that things will either turn out well (the optimists) or turn out badly (the pessimists).

So here's a question to ponder: Is it better to have an optimist or a pessimist leading your family organization? As I'll show below, both have their own unique traits that can benefit a business. But they will do it in different ways, with different goals.

Which are you? Here's a quick test. I plunk down two magazines in front of you. One, Time, has Warren Buffet on the cover, under the headline "The Optimist." The other publication is ThePessimist.com, whose tagline is "Expecting the worst. Never disappointed." Which do you pick up first?

It's probably a good thing for us that so-called rationalists (tagline: "Why so emotional?") are in the minority, because studies show that without optimism or pessimism people don't accomplish as much. These natural traits motivate people to take action-different actions, but at least action.

Are you a pessimist?

If you're a pessimist, you tend to focus on safety and security. Pessimism drives you to seek and find safe havens, establish clear advantages, and protect resources. When pessimistic about needed economic recovery, for instance, families save money and companies build war chests. When the news is bad and likely to get worse, a pessimist is your best ally because pessimists thrive on fixing errors.

To get the most out of the pessimist in your family-owned company, researchers say, you need to provide "targeted negative feedback" from a trusted authority. Pointing out what has gone wrong or what's less than perfect will motivate the pessimist to innovate products, improve plans, and solve problems. For this reason, pessimists can make good operational leaders. But pessimists in the corner office or leading the family are less likely to foster a culture of growth, risk taking, and wealth creation.

According to Jeremy Dean, a researcher at University College London, optimists prefer to think about how they and others can advance and grow. Optimists also have larger social networks, solve problems cooperatively, and are more likely to seek help in difficult situations. They make good spouses. People with optimistic spouses were healthier in a 2014 study by researchers at the University of Michigan.1 To energize an optimist, positive feedback is absolutely essential, because the optimist builds on incremental achievements and a sense of positive movement.

Choose optimists to lead growth activities in your family organization. Entrepreneurs, for example, are much more likely to be optimists. But if you choose an optimistic business leader, you should probably pair them with "reality testers," not necessarily authority figures, advises University of Pennsylvania professor Martin Seligman, the father of positive psychology.

For decades, scientists regarded optimism and pessimism as fixed traits we are born with. But last year, researchers at a German University reported that 18-39 year-olds were more optimistic than people 40-64, and far more than people 65 and older.2 For reasons we don't fully understand but can appreciate, life experience turns some people into pessimists. By the way, the same study of 40,000 people also found that grumpy people live longer. Their caregivers? You guessed it: Optimists.

Use the power of both traits

Leaders, whatever their orientation, need to learn to harness the power of both traits. "In a striking turnaround," writes Annie Murphy Paul in Psychology Today, "science now sees optimism and pessimism not as good or bad outlooks you're born with but as mindsets to adopt as situations demand."

When testing strategic plans, deploy defensive pessimism, imagining all the things that can go wrong in the future. But when the task requires flexibility and had work toward uncertain goals, build teams with optimists.

As a determined optimist who has grown a bit more pessimistic during my life, I do want to share one important finding from my 35 years of field research: Effective long-term planning and investment requires an optimistic approach, with contingency planning by pessimists—because things never go exactly as you want them to

Pengertian Etika Bisnis

ETIKA BISNIS

Pengertian Etika Bisnis

Etika bisnis adalah prinsip-prinsip moral sebagai standar perilaku bisnis yang diterima oleh komunitas trader dan dunia bisnis. Etika bisnis merupakan satu set nilai dan peraturan yang mencakup peraturan yang baik atau buruk didalam operasi perniagaan. Biasanya pemerintah, masyarakatm pesaing dan individu menentukan apa yang bisa diterima oleh umum. Etika bisnis adalah kajian yang dikhususkan mengenai moral yang benar dan salah. Studi ini berkonsentrasi pada standar moral sebagaimana diterapkan dalam kebijakan, instuisi dan perilaku bisnis. Etika bisnis merupakan studi standar formal dan bagaimana standar itu diterapkan kedalam sistem dan organisasi yang digunakan masyarakat modern untuk memproduksi dan mendistribusikan barang dan jasa dan diterapkan kepada orang-orang yang ada didalam organisasi. Misalnya, seorang pengusaha yang memiliki etika bisnis biasanya adalah seorang yang jujur dan amanah.

Etika bisnis adalah merupakan tanggung jawab sosial dan usaha untuk mewujudkan satu kesadaran di kalangan para pengusaha supaya mempunyai tanggung jawab moral dan sosial. Etika bisnis ini diwujudkan karena tuntutan dari pergerakan yang terhadap meningkatnya berbagai praktek yang tidak sehat dalam dunia bisnis, misalnya layananan yang tidak memuaskan dan pemborosan barang dalam pasaran. Etika bisnis sangat penting karena dapat menyesuaikan kehidupan bisnis dengan nilai dan harapan dari masyarakat. Selain peraturan dan ketentuan bisnis, keputusan yang beretika dapat memperkuat hubungan dan kepercayaan dalam dunia perniagaan. Keputusan bisnis yang tidak etis tidak hanya menghilangkan kepercayaan pelanggan tetapi juga akan melemahkan bisnis dikemudian hari. 

Indikator Etika Bisnis

1.      Indikator etika bisnis menurut ekonomi adalah apabila perusahaan atau pebisnis telah melakukan pengelolaan sumber daya bisnis dan sumber daya alam secara efisien tanpa merugikan masyarakat lain.

2.      Indikator etika bisnis menurut peraturan khusus yang berlaku. Berdasarkan indikator ini seseorang pelaku bisnis dikatakan beretika dalam bisnisnya apabila masing-masing pelaku bisnis mematuhi aturan-aturan khusus yang telah disepakati sebelumnya.

3.      Indikator etika bisnis menurut hukum. Berdasarkan indikator hukum seseorang atau suatu perusahaan dikatakan telah melaksanakan etika bisnis apabila seorang pelaku bisnisatau suatu perusahaan telah mematuhi segala norma hukum yang berlaku dalam menjalankan kegiatan bisnisnya.

4.      Indikator etika berdasarkan ajaran agama. Pelaku bisnis dianggap beretika bilamana dalam pelaksanaan bisnisnya senantiasa merujik kepada nilai-nilai ajaran agama yang dianutnya.

5.      Indikator etika berdasarkan nilai budaya. Setiap pelaku bisnis baik secara individumaupun kelembagaan telah menyelenggarakan bisnisnyadengan mengakomodasi nilai-nilai budaya dan adat istiadat yang ada disekitar operasi suatu perusahaan, daerah dan suatu bangsa.

6.      Indikator etika bisnis menurut masing-masing individu adalah apabila masing-masing pelaku bisnis bertindak jujur dan tidak mengorbankan integritas pribadinya.

Macam - macam Etika Bisnis

Macam-macam Etika Bisnis

Ada dua macam etika yang harus kita pahami bersama dalam menentukan baik buruknya perikau manusia, yaitu :

1.      Etika Deskriptif, yaitu etika yang berusahan meneropong secara kritis dan rasional sikap dan perilaku manusia dan apa yang dikejar oleh manusia dalam hidup ini sebagai suatu yang bernilai. Etika deskriptif memberikan fakta sebagai dasar untuk mengambil keputusan tentang perilaku/sikap yang akan diambil. 

2.      Etika Normatif, yaitu etika yang berusaha menetapkan berbagai sikap dan pola perilaku ideal yang seharusnya dimiliki oleh manusia dalam hidup ini sebagai sesuatu yang bernilai. Etika normative memberikan penilaian sekaligus member norma sebagai dasar dan kerangka tindakan yang akan diputuskan.

Secara umum, Etika dapat dibagi menjadi :

1.      Etika Umum berbicara mengenai norma dan nilai moral, kondisi-kondisi dasar bagi manusia untuk bertindak secara etis, bagaimana manusia mengambil keputusan etis, teori-teori etika, lembaga-lembaga normatif dan semacamnya/

2.      Etika Khusus adalah penerapan prinsip-prinsip atau norma-norma moral dasar dalam bidang kehidupan yang khusus.

Etika khusus dibagi menjadi 3, yaitu :

1.      Etika Individual lebih menyangkut kewajiban dan sikap manusia terhadap dirinya sendiri.

2.      Etika Sosial berbicara mengenai hak dan kewajiban, sikap dan pola perilaku manusia sebagai makhluk sosial dalam interaksinya dengan sesamanya.

3.      Etika Lingkungan Hidup, menjelaskan hubungan antara manusia dengan lingkungan sekitarnya dan juga hubungan antar manusia yang satu dengan manusia yang lainnya yang secara langsung maupun tidak langsung berdampak pada lingkungan hidup secara keseluruhan.

Etika Bisnis yang Baik

Menurut Richard De George, bila perusahaan ingin sukses/berhasil memerlukan 3 hal pokok, yaitu :

1.      Produk yang baik.

2.      Managemen yang baik.

3.      Memiliki Etika.

Tiga pokok dari bisnis yaitu : dari sudut pandang ekonomi, hokum dan etika.

1.      Sudut pandang ekonomis

Bisnis adalah kegiatan ekonomis. Yang terjadi disini adalah adanya interaksi antara produsen/perusahaan dengan pekerja, produsen dengan konsumen, produsen dengan produsen dalam sebuah organisasi,. Kegiatan antar manusia ini adalah bertujuan untuk mencari untung olrh karena itu menjadi kegiatan ekonomis. Pencarian keuntungan dalam bisnis tidak bersifat sepihak, tetapi dilakukan melalui interaksi yang melibatkan beberapa pihak. Dari sudut pandang ekonomis, good business adalah bisnis yang bukan saja menguntungkan, tetapi juga bisnis yang berkualitas etis.

2.      Sudut pandang moral

Dalam bisnis, berorientasi pada profit, adalah sangat wajar, akan tetapi jangan keuntungan yang diperoleh tersebut justru merugikan pihak lain. Tidak semua yang bisa kita lakukan boleh dilakukan juga. Kita harus menghormati kepentingan dan hak orang lain. Pantas diperhatikan, bahwa dengan itu kita sendiri tidak dirugikan, karena menghormati kepentingan dan hak orang lain itu juga perlu dilakukan demi kepentingan bisnis kita sendiri.

3.      Sudut pandang hukum

Bisa dipastikan bahwa kegiatan bisnis juga terkait dengan “Hukum” Hukum Dagang atau Hukum Bisnis, yang merupakan cabang penting dari ilmu hokum modern. Dan dalam praktek hukum banyak masalah timbul dalam hubungan bisnis, pada taraf nasional maupun internasional.

ETIKA BISNIS

Etika Bisnis

Etika bisnis merupakan cara untuk melakukan kegiatan bisnis, yang mencakup seluruh aspekyang berkaitan dengan individu, perusahaan dan juga masyarakat. Etika bisnis dalam suatu perusahaan dapat membentuk nilai, norma, dan perilaku karyawan serta pimpinan dalam membangun hubungan yang adil dan sehat dengan pelanggan/mitra kerja, pemegang saham, masyarakat.

Tiga pendekatan dasar dalam merumuskan tingkah laku etika bisnis, yaitu :

a.      Utilitarian Approach

Setiap tindakan harus didasarkan pada konsukuensinya. Oleh karena itu, dalam bertindak seseorang seharusnya mengikuti cara-cara yang dapat member manfaat sebesar-besarnya kepada masyarakat, dengan cara yang tidak membahayakan dan dengan biaya serendah-rendahnya.

b.      Individual Rights Approach

Seiap orang dalam tindakan dan kelakuannya memiliki hak dasar yang harus dihormati. Namun tindakan ataupun tingkah laku tersebut harus dihindari apabila diperkirakan akan menyebabkan terjadi benturan dengan hak orang lain.

c.       Justice Approach

Para pembuat keputusan mempunyai kedudukan yang sama, dan bertindak adil dalam memberikan pelayanan kepada pelanggan baik secara perseorangan ataupun kelompok.

Contoh-contoh etika dalam kehidupan sehari-hari, yaitu :

1.      Jujur tidak berbohong.

2.      Bersikap dewasa tidak kekanak-kanakan.

3.      Lapang dada dalam berkomunikasi.

4.      Menggunakan panggilan/sebutan orang yang baik.

5.      Menggunakan pesan bahasa yang efektif dan efisien.

6.      Tidak mudah emosi/emosional.

7.      Berinisiatif sebagai pembuka dialog.

8.      Berbahasa yang baik, ramah, dan sopan.

9.      Menggunakan pakaian yang pantas sesuai keadaan.

10.  Bertingkah laku yang baik.

Ada 3 jenis masalah yang dihadapi dalam Etika, yaitu :

1.      Sistematik

Masalah-masalah sistematik dalam etika bisnis adalah pertanyaan-pertanyaan etis yang muncul mengenai sistem ekonomi, politik, hokum, dan sistem sosial lainnya dimana bisnis beroperasi.

2.      Korporasi

Permasalahan korporasi dalam perusahaan bisnis adalah pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang dalam perusahaan-perusahaan tertentu. Permasalahan ini mencakup pertanyaan tentang moralitas aktivitas, kebijakan, praktik dan struktur organisasional perusahaan individual sebagai keseluruhan.

3.      Individu

Permasalahan individual dalam etika bisnis adalah pertanyaan yang muncul seputar individu tertentu dalam perusahaan. Masalah ini termasuk pertanyaan tentang moralitas keputusan, tindakan, dan karakter individual.