Don’t tolerate unacceptable practices
COMPANIES always want to be highly competitive in the market. However, by the time a company realises that it has become less competitive, the situation is probably too difficult to be fixed in a short period.
This can be seen from performance-measurement indicators such as market-share shrinkage, highly increased fixed costs and negative bottom lines.
Whenever a company becomes weaker, it is highly possible for it to be wiped out of the market eventually.
One of the key factors that can undermine a company’s strength is the emergence of a bad corporate culture.
The routine management of a failing company may start with listening to updates on unsuccessful assignments or jobs with many reasons behind them.
Finally, when those unwanted results are accepted more and more, it creates a harmful culture in the company that can lead to disastrous consequences.
It is like when a person takes a very hot shower the first time. He may feel that he cannot stand it. Then this is followed by the second time, third time and so on. Finally, he can easily withstand such hot water without feeling much disturbance.
The same behaviour may happen in any organisation where management allows failure, non-commitment and repeated excuses to exist and become the norm.
It is advisable for management to realise the negative impact on the future of the company and to try to stop behaviour that may come in several forms, as follows.
Asking for delay: Responsible persons who fail to deliver expected results usually ask for a delay on submission of the work. This can happen in many cases such as the postponement of the completion of construction, extension of the reporting time for important information and delay of the delivery of assignments.
Referring to exceptional cases: Some people like to defend poor performance by calling it an exception. It is important to limit the number of exceptional cases and ensure that those cases will not be recurring in the future.
Negotiating the deadline: Often, ineffective people prefer negotiating the adjustment of the target date by extending it further before it arrives. When these practices keep on happening, it can become a norm that any commitment is negotiable. Delivering less than expected: As management looks forward to a complete and perfect job from subordinates, it may appear that the submitted result is less than expected in terms of quantity or quality. This is an unacceptable performance that should be stopped.
Effective management is essential for companies that thrive on sustainable competitiveness.
Unless a weakness that slowly destroys a company is fixed, it could jeopardise the capability of the company to stay in the marketplace where new players keep entering the industry.
The leader of the organisation should play an important role in cultivating the good practices and culture that enhance the ability of the company to pursue its mission successfully.
Once unacceptable cases are detected, it is good to reiterate that no additional case will be accepted.
This message must be direct and clear to everyone whether via a meeting or proper communication channel.
Yanyong Thammatucharee is the senior vice president for finance and accounting at Central Marketing Group. He can be reached at [email protected].
