Tag: How to

How to Effect of Innovation Culture in Organizations?

How to Effect of Innovation Culture in Organizations? Explanation!

One of the most vital capabilities of an organization is innovation and that in organizational culture is really critical. The effect of innovation can effect in both positive and dark ways for an organization or say a company with the higher number of the consumer with different needs and demand. The challenges for innovation culture are both predictable and unpredictable. Predictable challenges can be overcome by forecasting abilities but unpredictable challenges can result in disastrous turnings. For example, if a company makes changes in its management hierarchy say it replaces its supervisor that can result in either widening communication gap or erase that further can result in better production or a worker strike. While one’s innovative abilities are partially genetic, the expression of creative talent is dependent on several cultural aspects of the work environment which either suppress or stimulate innovation culture.

Before going any further, it is important to define innovation. Innovation is not about coming up with clever ideas. Creativity is about coming up with the idea. Innovation is about applying the idea to obtain value. To be clear, innovation is the act of changing the established way of doing things. The ability to turn knowledge into value and link emerging technologies with emerging markets. Innovation is about bringing creative new ideas to life. The Importance of Leadership in an Organization.

Within an organization, it is important to understand where and how to apply innovation to create true value. The first question that should address is “What do you want to gain from innovation?” Surprisingly, this identification of a clear goal is often ignored. But without a goal, it is impossible to quantify the value realize from innovation. Some goals for an innovation program include enhancing brand and image and increasing shareholder wealth, return on investment and market share.

Describe the effects of Two types of an innovation culture in organizations

Positive Effects

Promotes individual growth: One of the most vital effects of innovation culture is that it promotes individual growth. Employee’s willingness to invest in creative energy at work is encouraging from the employer’s desire to invest in the employee’s growth. When employees believe that their own development and growth are valued by their employer. They are more likely to make innovative contributions. Also, employees who are knowledgeable about their company’s processes. Products and services are better equipping to discover innovative solutions and ideas.

Build Confidence: Experience, encouragement, and freedom bring confidence from the fear of making a mistake. Confident professionals are aware of their abilities, do not fear defeat, and are likely to experiment with innovative solutions. Encouragement is a big part of instilling confidence in individuals, especially younger employees. Confidence plays a vital role in developing an individual’s skills and abilities.

Optimizes the Work Environment: Innovation culture in workplace results in optimization of workforce ability and quality production. Which finally leads to the betterment of the organization. Cross-functional teams should have the ability to immediately reserve private spaces where adequate seating. Whiteboards or flip charts, and overhead projection screens are available. Work environment has high importance in the area of production and quality of a product.

Adapting to rapidly changing environment: The organizational environment has been changing rapidly. It is a set of forces and conditions outside the organization’s boundaries that have the potential to affect the way the organizations operate. An organization interacts with its immediate task environment and is affecting the general environment. The task environment includes the suppliers, distributors, competitors, and customers. While the general environment includes forces that are economic, technological, socio-cultural, demographic, political and legal and global.

The external environment has been becoming more turbulent as most companies are now competing in the global market where changes are not only common but substantial. Some changes are catastrophic such as economic depression and the introduction of new technology. During poor economic times, managers may need to come up with the creative strategy to reduce costs such as reducing the number of employees on the one hand and to increase the motivation of the remaining employees. Managers may also need to identify ways to acquire and utilize resources more efficiently.

Negative Effects

Unpredictable challenges: Innovation culture cannot overcome the unpredictable challenges which can lead to the major breakdown in an organization. Even if the changes are made for the better and quicker production of the goods or services the needs and demands of the consumers can fluctuate at any point in the time. In, which case company or the organization have to bear the losses and the damages done by the lost demand of the customer.

Communication gap: One of the most vital effects face by the organization generally after implementation of the innovative changes is widening in the communication gap between employees and the employer. If the communication gap increases between co-workers in an organization increase. It results in the conflicts and many kinds of argument within management and workers.

Adaptation of Innovation Culture in Organizations

It is difficult to implement innovative culture and even if it is implemented then it is difficult for the employees or members of any business organization to adopt. Innovation is an indisputable catalyst for the development of the company, yet many managers in the industries have failed to encourage innovation and create an award-winning environment. Companies should set the infrastructure for innovation, to initiate the necessary changes to promote the right culture and guide the organization through recurring periods of change. As companies try to transform innovation from science to science, the purpose of this is not only to implement the organization in the work of innovation but how the organization has to change the nature of innovation.

For example, many IT innovations of the last forty years consisted of mechanizing existing processes. Rather than improving the process, the focus was on making the process faster. Today’s innovation is about asking whether this is the right process and if necessary, being able to change it entirely. Innovation is increasingly seen as important to gaining and maintaining a business advantage. However, innovation is easy to say, but hard to do right. It requires a significant investment of time, money and resources as well as access to world-class research partners. Achieving this requires a diverse sponsorship base and outstanding staff. Think of it as evolution in action.

Reference

1. Effect of Innovation Culture in Organizations – https://www.mbaknol.com/management-concepts/innovation-culture-in-organizations/

December 18, 2017
Aligning Reward Strategy with HR Strategy
How to Aligning Reward Strategy with HR Strategy?

It is never too much to point out the importance of HR strategy for the successful organization. Effective HR management is maximum utilization of capacity of work force within organization by appropriate allocating of employees and effective motivation for the all different types of employees. In order to do so, analysis of each employee’s nature, competence, stress endurance level and trait should prepare. What Are My Goals? It is important to know each employee’s character and motivation factor base on data base obtaining the daily working behavior of employees as well as their accomplishment from the macro perspective.

This kind of accurate, thorough and fair data base can be applying to the company’s redundancy management. Company can help employees to look for other jobs, which fit them better, by which company can have better productivity with same input resource. Which company can have the sustainable competitive advantage over the competitors.

The HR strategy is directly connected with the reward strategy as we have through so far, employees’ motivation is heavily rely on the total reward strategy of organization, which should design not only by HR department but senior managers who are directly involve in the whole organizational strategy, by which the total HR strategy can implement, support and review consistently. Components of a Strategy Statement!

Regardless of eastern, western, ancient time or modern time, the importance of HR strategy is always appreciates. This is because, even if any given organization has the best infrastructure in many ways. They are manipulate by human and this cannot be replace any other system that are available so far. Therefore the right people for the right place base on the total reward strategy development map is more important than any other factors or than ever to maintain the long lasting successful organization.

Align your Reward and Business Strategy

So you’ve done a market study on compensation, and you are Peggy pretty much at where you want to be against the market. You’ve design a cutting edge Pay-for-Performance program and even have some exciting stock options for your top management. And of course, you know better than to ignore the millennial – you have a flexible salary structure, complete with gym memberships and other such benefits. All you need to do now is wait for the motivation to kick in and reap the benefits right? Then why is your business not growing every year as you had plan? Or perhaps your margins are shrinking with every passing year, while your employee costs keep rising due to the war for talent? The Types of Kotter’s Eight Steps Change Model.

Why is your rewards strategy not delivering results?

One critical aspect that companies tend to overlook is alignment of rewards with business strategy. Reward programs work, if they are strongly link to business objectives and the employees know what is expects of them in their jobs. Employees must see the connection between their own work and the overall goals of the company. But, how do you ensure that your rewards and business strategy are align?

Identifying measurable business goals: The first step towards bringing this alignment is by breaking down the company’s vision into clear measurable goals. Identify your goals for the next three years and think about how you will achieve those goals – identify the levers you must pull, to create value for your company. Let’s say that lever is new products, then you must have metrics related to new product development on your company’s scorecard and also distributed across the scorecards of your CXOs – it could mean adding a new production line over the next three quarters, augmenting the R&D unit or hiring new technical specialists. This implies that you must add metrics to the scorecards of your Head of Production, Head of R&D and CHRO.

Driving alignment through all levels in the organization: The next step would be to align the larger employee population to these company goals. Stop and consider what are you are currently rewarding for vs. what you should be rewarding for? If it is planning sustain growth that you are after, instead of small incremental year-on-year growth. Make sure your employees understand how you plan to make that shift. Employees need to understand what they should be doing differently. It’s most likely that you won’t grow faster by just working harder and putting in more hours. You will have to innovate, and create more value from the same resources at your disposal. Hence, the KPIs should reflect this change in your thinking and approach.

Equity in target setting: Given the business strategy and goals, what is the acceptable level of performance now that your goals have defined? This definition must be the same for everyone in the organization. All too often, different departments rate their people differently, depending on their own perceptions of acceptable performance. Another reason for this is the perceive difference in the achieve-ability of targets. Incorporating a structured, data-based system for setting targets starting from the top will go a long way to establish equity in target setting. Equity in targets is an important factor for maintaining. The optimum degree of stretch across, an organization and keeping everyone focused on the goals.

Don’t underestimate the intangibles: Goals and metrics is only one aspect of executing a business strategy. Another equally important aspect is ‘employee will’ to execute the strategy. Reward has a key role to play in demonstrating an organization’s values, commitment to employees. The value it places on performance. The intangible, emotional part of rewards is far heavier than the tangible, monetary part. This is why it’s important to view rewards as Total Rewards rather than just a monetary pay-out at the end of the year. Total Rewards includes tangible rewards like basic salary, allowances, benefits, bonuses, stock options, retrials etc. Also intangible rewards like career development, work-life balance, safety and security, quality of work and an enabling environment.

Make sure that your intangible rewards speak the same language of performance and success as your tangible rewards. For example, if monetary rewards in your company are link to metrics that can achieve through innovation and collaboration. You cannot cultivate an environment that promotes bureaucracy and competition. You may need to make changes to your structure, systems. Processes in order to create an enabling environment. Perhaps reduce the number of layers in the organization to increase speed of decision making. Or create cross functional teams to encourage creativity and collaboration?

Robustness of supporting environment and processes: Sometimes the factors that get in the way of alignment are the very processes that support and help deliver the reward strategy.

Some factors to watch out for are:
1. The Performance Management System – Is it fair, transparent and objective?
2. Organization Structure – Is it gear to deliver business strategy and performance?
3. Role definitions – Do people know what is expects of them in their job?
4. Behaviors – Are we encouraging the right behaviors needed to achieve our business goals?
Top management Involvement: Creating alignment is hard work and demands a lot of time and attention from the top management. Some of the ways in which the top management can support.

The alignment process are:
1. Communication: Reinforce the company’s business goals through on-going, public communication. This would ensure that all employees are aware of the future direction of the company. Be vocal about the reward strategy and how it links with business goals. Emphasize on the company’s commitment to high performance.
2. Role modelling: Every leader in the organization must be a role model for behaviours desired for business success. They should demonstrate company values through their actions on a day to day basis.
3. Drive the process: Aligning reward strategy with business strategy should not be seen as a purely ‘HR’ activity. It is critical for business success and should position in the same manner. The top management should drive the process with support from HR.
4. Gatekeepers to the process: Top management must ensure that the process is followed as intended. They must appropriately and visibly address any deviations or exceptions to the process.
It goes without saying that the top management’s inputs are crucial for articulating the business strategy. Ensuring its buy-in and also serving as gatekeepers to the process. Moreover, the effort has to be a consistent one, till the time it becomes a part of the organization’s culture. What are Effects of Goal Orientation on Student Achievement?

Lastly, I would not recommend trying to fix everything all at once. Take the time to study the data, listen to your employees and then address the aspects that matter the most. Know where to start to get maximum impact.
November 21, 2017
Reward Strategy with Developing System for Your Organization
How to Make Reward Strategy with Developing System for Your Organization?

Reward is an important part of managing organization and the management of employees. It can define as an organization is ready to pay for to accomplish its strategic objectives. Therefore the review of reward system starts from understanding of organizational strategy and HR strategy supports this. Strategic reward objectives should be align with business objectives in the same way as other key business areas such as finance, marketing, administrating and IT.

In the broad way, there are two ways of reward such as tangible and intangible. The definition of these two rewards are in a way ambiguous as it could vary according to the viewers’ standpoints, but most of rewards can be classified as the tangible, which includes competitive salary, promotion, good benefits, incentive, better working environment, recognition awards and all other fringe benefits for higher performance. Whereas, intangible rewards is none monetary reward for high performance, not always requiring recognition of others in the workplace. Examples are when a sales manager gives the sales person recognition by a “pat on the back, send an appreciation e-mail and usage of bulletin board” to show appreciation for job well done.

In order to implement the reward system the most appropriate way, performance appraisal, evaluation, accomplishment rating should be done the most fair and objective way, but it is sometimes easier said than done. Due to the unfair or unreasonable evaluation, employees get depressed over the total reward system of the organization. In addition, the subjective appraisal is often taking place because of the managers’ personal preference or subjective views on some employees in particular.

However, to get this done the way it should, managers should have the most fair and objective views with regard to the evaluation of employees. By doing so, organization can reach to the final goal pertaining to the HR strategy such as retaining the indispensable, key employees or high performers, motivating average performers work harder and redundancy management for underachievers, who do not fit the organization, by which company can have the sustainable competitive advantage.

Reward Strategy

Reward strategy is the key step in the design of a reward system to keep high quality staff and motivate average level staff to work harder. And it is to set up the mechanisms help in recruitment, retention, engagement and development of employees so that they perform and deliver at their highest potential and therefore make the organization successful.

Such a competitive business environment of these days, it is very important to have the decent reward strategy initiatives by the maximum utilization of the organization’s financial and non-financial resources as the competitors are looking for the opportunities to scout the high quality employees all the times. The competitors’ better reward strategy initiative can be good reason for high quality employees to leave for the competitors.

People work because they gain an income to spend on their individual, family and community needs. Some people needs are the essentials of lives, what humans needs to survive physiologically. Maslow defined the hierarchy of needs with fundamental physiological needs at the base and rising through safety, social needs and culminating in the need for self-fulfilment. Herzberg distinguished between firstly hygiene extrinsic factors such as pay and organization policy and procedures that will cause dissatisfaction in the workplace if absent or insufficient.

Satisfiers, which are intrinsic responsibility and potential for growth which will positively motivate people. Since Maslow and Herzberg were published over 50 years ago, other like expectancy theory identifies two factors of value and probability. People value reward in terms of how well it satisfies their needs of security, social esteem, fulfilment and autonomy. Inevitably people value different elements differently, which suggests reward must include a mix. Expectancy is the probability that reward depends on effort like the more effort, the higher the reward. For that effort to be helpful to the organization, individual needs to have the appropriate ability and the correct perception of their role. This emphasizes the need for clear role definitions and understanding, effective development interventions and a link between performance and reward.

Strategic human resource management is different from traditional human resource management in its focus on organizational outcomes, its integration of the various functional areas of human resource management, and its concern with more macro perspective on the topic. The field has progress significantly, however, inadequate definitions and spare theoretical development continue to plague it. Extensive research and studies on reward strategy has shown that people are complicated and motivation is a complex process. What is clear is that while financial reward is important , for most people other factor are also, and can be more important.

These can brought together under three sections:
- Equity – the perception of being treat fairly both in comparison to others and in terms of the effort and skills brought to the role.
- Self-fulfillment – that people are recognize for what they do and encourage to reach their potential through effective learning land development processes and given feedback on their performance.
- Organization culture – roles are clear and organizational and personal values are alignment so that employees engage and enjoy work.
Total reward strategy addresses this complexity in bringing together financial aspect of reward of basic pay, any bonuses. Additional financial benefits with the non-financial benefit at the personal and organizational level. This is a helpful concept, especially because it acknowledges the limits of purely financial reward. Identifies other areas that can address, in particular when salary budgets are limit for economic reason.

Reward is more than pay and benefits. Therefore a reward strategy must consider many aspects of the workplace in order to both attract. Keep high quality people doing the right things in the right way so that they flourish and the organization is successful.

Developing a Reward Strategy

The reward management system needs to support the business strategy. As such there are a number of different approaches. But they all break down into a small number of common overall methods. One of the key determinants in deciding which approach will work best is the extent to which the business wants integration between its reward system. The other HR systems and policies it utilized.

Arguably, the opportunities to leverage real competitive advantage comes from integrating the reward management, performance management, career management. Personal development systems into a cohesive whole, rather than seeing each as a separate and disjointed system in isolation.

The key step in redesigning the reward management system is to determine the reward strategy. The level of integration with other HR systems. This provides an overall framework for the reward system and must be closely link to the business strategy.

To develop a reward strategy, there are three underlying premises.

Firstly, in order to meet its strategy, the business must exhibit certain characteristics. It needs to behave in certain ways, for example treating its employees in an open. Honest fashion or creating co-operative relationships with its customers and suppliers.

Secondly, organizations are made up of people. And as such it is how the people behaves that will determine how the organization behaves.

Thirdly, the integrate approach to people management starts off with individual behavior expectations. Examines how these will measure (performance management), develop (personal development) and rewards (rewards and career management).

There are a few factors to be include in a reward strategy. With regard to underlying structure. There are number of ways in which a grading structure could be develop according to your business needs. Which include single structure, career families and job families.

Which provide a common grade framework that supports a drive for consistency. Common threads are the policies, systems and procedures that operate across the business.

For example, since pay rules, benefit allocation rules such as cars, pensions and private medical insurance. Procedures such as holiday or absence notification and promotion. They are there to make everyone’s life easier because there are clear rules and every one sticks to them. Include in this area would normally be decisions about flexible benefit schemes. Choice of carriers for insure benefits, and so on.

When it comes to base pay structure, there are three decisions that need to made such as market alignment, number. Shape of the salary scales and access to and use of market data. Which recognize the market value of rules and nay role-specific needs. Variable pay takes three main forms.

Firstly, annual schemes which are normally bonus arrangements where there is some link to underlying business performance.

Secondly, commission type arrangements where the main link is to individual performance.

Thirdly, long-term schemes that might be cash or shares base. And are typically using for the more senior employees, although all-employee profit related schemes sometimes fall into this category.

Recognition schemes are either non-cash or low-value cash equivalent schemes that recognize behavior that reinforces the organization’s values. They tend to “award” base with some form of nomination process, either from other employees or line managers. When it comes to non-financial reward, from an individual’s perspective.

The total reward of working for a particular organization is made up of four elements such as cash, benefits, personal development, growth and environment. Finally integration is about creating a common theme throughout the people management processes.

For example, it may be about ensuring performance management. Performance-pay processes are consistent, using common factors for measuring job size. Determining employee development needs, creating a common language which is use consistently throughout. All people management processes, developing structures that manage more than one people management process at a time. For example, the career families approach discuss above attempts to integrate job grading and career tracks.
November 20, 2017
Start and Run your Own Business with Successful Entrepreneurs

How to Start and Run your Own Business with Successful Entrepreneurs?

Successful Entrepreneurs were asked “What do you wish you knew before you started a business?” Here are there answers. 5 Best Tips and nine characteristics for Stat up with Video Clip of 11 Steps to Starting a Successful Business in Your 20s. When you start your own business, you’re certain to hear a lot of different advice. Most of it will come from people who don’t know the first thing about running a successful company. Turn to the Internet, and you’ll be overwhelmed by a multitude of articles and lengthy lists on the subject. Don’t make the mistake of over-thinking and over-analyzing it all. A few simple steps now can start your business down the path toward success. Why are the Need Entrepreneurship for Small Business?

Here, we outline the five basic tips we’ve followed to help us run our company.

Begin with a detailed plan

This one is a must: Develop an in-depth plan that fully details how you’ll attack the challenge ahead. Your plan should define any opportunities you’ve identified, clearly state your mission, describe your target, establish measurable goals, and set deadlines for each milestone along the way. Remember that while it’s important to have a plan, it’s equally vital to be flexible enough to pivot when needed.

Get out there and network

Our business would not be where it is today without all the professional networking we did when we first started. We continue to emphasize networking today. Until you’ve established your business, you’ll need to create your own word-of-mouth. Be your own brand ambassador, touting the benefits of working with your business and showing why people should give you a chance.

Start your own momentum. A wealth of events, trade shows, and networking groups exist to connect you with other professionals. These initial connections can lead to future business prospects, mentors, and strategic partners with the capacity to help grow your business.

Surround yourself with the right people

The right mentors and strategic partners aren’t the only people with whom you’ll need to align. Surrounding yourself with a great team is equally important. Build your staff with smart, talented, and driven employees who share your vision. They can not only transform your business but also accelerate its growth. Hiring positive, can-do employees helps create a culture that encourages teamwork. Foster an environment in which everyone participates, so you can collectively celebrate your company’s successes.

Stay ahead of the curve

You can’t afford to be rooted in the present and solely focused on the day-to-day. It’s crucial to keep one eye focused on the future, including upcoming movement in your industry. If you aren’t anticipating the next big thing, you’re destined to fall behind. Successful business owners study trends and anticipate what’s coming around the bend. This allows them to nimbly adapt and evolve.

Stay current on emerging issues in your field by faithfully reading trade magazines and websites. Keeping pace as your industry changes assures you’ll have your finger on the pulse to predict what customers will want — and which direction your competition might move.

Find a healthy work-life balance

Running a successful business requires an inordinate amount of time and energy. It’s paramount to find a healthy work-life balance, even though it can be a challenge to do so. It’s easy to let work dominate your life. Don’t. It could result in your losing touch with those whom you consider most important. It’s also crucial to take care of your own health and well-being. Your business can’t run without you. You might believe you need that perpetual hustle to stay sharp and succeed. But that pace can and will burn you out, ultimately limiting how much you can achieve if you don’t take time for yourself.

Find ways to maintain perspective and preserve healthy relationships outside of work. Set aside time to get your body active in ways that energize and invigorate you, and schedule catch-up time with friends and family. They’ll help recharge your batteries and inspire you to persevere as you dream even bigger.

Here are Best characteristics you should ideally possess to start and run your own business:

Motivation

Entrepreneurs are enthusiastic, optimistic and future-oriented. They believe they’ll be successful and are willing to risk their resources in pursuit of profit. High energy levels and are sometimes impatient. Always thinking about their business and how to increase their market share. Are you self-motivated enough to do this, and can you stay motivated for extended periods of time? Can you bounce back in the face of challenges?

Creativity and Persuasiveness

Successful entrepreneurs have the creative capacity to recognize and pursue opportunities. They possess strong selling skills and are both persuasive and persistent. Are you willing to promote your business tirelessly and look for new ways to get the word out about your product or service?

Versatility

Company workers can usually rely on a staff or colleagues to provide service or support. As an entrepreneur, you’ll typically start out as a “solopreneur,” meaning you will be on your own for a while. You may not have the luxury of hiring a support staff initially. Therefore, you will end up wearing several different hats, including secretary, bookkeeper and so on. You need to be mentally prepared to take on all these tasks at the beginning. Can you do that?

Superb Business Skills

Entrepreneurs are naturally capable of setting up the internal systems, procedures and processes necessary to operate a business. They are focused on cash flow, sales and revenue at all times. Successful entrepreneurs rely on their business skills, know-how and contacts. Evaluate your current talents and professional network. Will your skills, contacts and experience readily transfer to the business idea you want to pursue?

Risk Tolerance

Launching any entrepreneurial venture is risky. Are you willing to assume that risk? You can reduce your risk by thoroughly researching your business concept, industry and market. You can also test your concept on a small scale. Can you get a letter of intent from prospective customers to purchase? If so, do you think customers would actually go through with their transaction?

Drive

As an entrepreneur, you are in the driver’s seat, so you must be proactive in your approaches to everything. Are you a doer — someone willing to take the reins — or would you rather someone else do things for you?

Vision

One of your responsibilities as founder and head of your company is deciding where your business should go. That requires vision. Without it, your boat will be lost at sea. Are you the type of person who looks ahead and can see the big picture?

Flexibility and Open-Mindedness

While entrepreneurs need a steadfast vision and direction, they will face a lot of unknowns. You will need to be ready to tweak any initial plans and strategies. New and better ways of doing things may come along as well. Can you be open-minded and flexible in the face of change?

Decisiveness

As an entrepreneur, you won’t have room for procrastination or indecision. Not only will these traits stall progress, but they can also cause you to miss crucial opportunities that could move you toward success. Can you make decisions quickly and seize the moment? In Business World Best Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs.

11 Steps to Starting a Successful Business in Your 20s

November 18, 2017
Explain Dimensions of Price Perception

How to Explain Dimensions of Price Perception?

The price perception is directly related to the success of the company. Although in the end what customer pays is the reality but how it reaches at his decision is what is dependent on the perception. Definition of Price Perception, Because the company is successful in creating the desired perception of the product only then the customer will consider buying it. Hence, it is the price perception that precedes the buying decision of the customer.

This is why price perception is among one of the most important factors while crafting the advertising strategies of the company. For a successful advertising strategy, it is very important to read the minds of the customers.

The concept of price perception helps to understand those psychological factors which are in the minds of the customers and form which they make their purchasing decisions. Understanding the factors by which the seller can influence the perceptions is very important for the companies in order to attract and retain customers.

This can help them to determine the pricing strategy that will ensure their competitiveness in the market and thus, superior financial returns. Role of Price Perception in Consumer Buying Process.

The key dimensions of price perceptions are listed below:

Price-Quality Relationship

The impressive research done in pricing is about the consumer’s quality perception and their quality of products. Consumers perceive price as the prime indicator to presume the quality of the product. Many consumers believe that high priced products attribute better quality and lasts longer. Thus, price signals the quality. The point is very vastly mention in the marketing literature. If prices are mark lower than the level of consumers paying capacity they conclude it to be of low quality. Improvements in quality of products can trigger the mind for the first time and can convert the consumer into a loyal consumer as well. The consumer psychology is also affect and at the end will also affect the market share. The price-quality relationships have not found in the western societies.

Price-Consciousness

It is defined as consumers’ degree of focusing for paying less in buying. The high price conscious consumers tend to do a lot of research work before buying that particular product. The economic theories have also indicated that price has the significant roles in buyers’ preferences. The buyers generally try to maximize their benefits while purchasing and price plays a influential role in their buying process.

Value-Consciousness

This concept follows the price quality evaluation of the consumer. It comprises of what a consumer get on behalf of what they have paid for the products or services. If consumer thinks that quality is less then what they have paid, they tend to get dissatisfies and henceforth stops purchasing that product. The vice-versa of the situation leads to turning them into regular or may be loyal consumer. Consumers who are capable of making this sort of evaluations are call “Value Conscious Consumers” They generally don’t mind paying higher prices if the quality of product justifies it.

Price Mavenism

This could be define as the consumers being experts about the lowest price stores and starts sharing the information by informing them. These consumers evaluate different aspects of product to justify it with the price bracket into which they are offer and compare it with other stores to get the best benefits out of it. The consumer’s socio-economic character, previous experiences and learning processes play an important role. The price information collect is shape by rational and emotional motives of consumers. These types of consumers are experts in the product information’s and thus may be call as ‘advisors’ by other consumers.

Sale Proneness

Sales influence consumers’ price perceptions significantly. The consumers generally evaluate their last purchases with the current ones. Sales, price discounts aim to increase the total sales and also create positive purchases evaluation. The best price evaluations can made during the sales or discount prices. Another research has also indicate that young consumers tend to be lesser influence by the sales as compare to those of the older generations.

Prestige Sensitivity

It is a psychological dimension. Consumers can perceive high price as positive and even as a negative. The high pricing of the product can be perceive as a way of losing the money. Consumers buying these sorts of products generally consider it as a part of their status. They tend to purchase on their emotional moves. A prestigious product is consider to be a symbol of wealth and living above standards. Prestige sensitivity is the factor behind the same and can happen because of difference of socio-economic characteristics of consumers. This concept can be use in developing high quality and distinct product image.

Domestic-Foreign Product Sensitivity

The product sensitivity amongst domestic-foreign product also plays an important role in price perceptions. The place of product manufacturing also influences the the buying behavior and hence leading to think upon the pricing being perceive by consumers as well. Thus this dimension is also necessary to be include into the consumers’ experience of judging the price. Brand recognition, effects the quality and price perceptions. Origin of country is also not untouchable by it and influences the consumer. The products from develop country are generally regrade as the high quality and costly. The domestic and foreign products are also view emotionally and symbolically. This dimension is unique to evaluate and hence included in describing price perceptions.

November 17, 2017
Know and Understanding of Paradoxical Thinking

What is Paradoxical Thinking? The management theorists have focused their attention on three types of thinking i.e. magical thinking, modern thinking, and postmodern thinking. Know and Understanding of Paradoxical Thinking; The latest inclusion is paradoxical thinking. The main reason that paradoxical thinking has gained importance in the business world is that there were some buzz phrases that were being used by the employees of the organizations such as controlled chaos, getting outside the box, breaking the frame of reference, creative destruction, fuzzy logic and etc.

How to Understanding of Paradoxical Thinking?

All of these terminologies show that a business can develop something impossible by going beyond the imaginative framework and these old models have less importance in the contemporary world. The primary crux of the paradoxical thinking is that the openness can be anything but it is indecisive, lacks principled convictions and is sometimes passionless as well. Paradoxical thinking implies that problems should be looked from different angles rather than one perspective so that it can be resolved effectively.

Paradoxical Thinking in Business Management.

The term ‘paradox’ is described as a range or group of statements that are contradictory and challenge the conventional thinking parameters. Likewise, paradoxical thinking is stated as the way of looking at a situation or a problem form a various range of perspectives and carrying out in-depth analysis to understand the problem completely. One of the best examples of the application of paradoxical thinking is evident in the work performed by Farday in about 1830s.

Farday observed that when the electric current is passed through a wire it can cause a magnetized needle to move that is located adjacent to the wire to move in a direction which is rotational; it formed the basis of the electric motor invention. In order to extend his learning and thinking capabilities, he increased his efforts and found that even the moving magnets can ease the flow of electricity in the system. He challenged the ways in which the conventional theorists of physics were working so that he could make a valuable contribution to the field.

It has been found that the companies that encourage paradoxical thinking within their culture are able to make successful progression and their success is evident from the robust performance in the industry. The paradoxical thinking is found in abundance in leading corporations especially technology-related firms such as Microsoft, IBM, Apple, Dell, Google, Sony, Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola and many more.

Paradoxical Thinking: Whether it can be learned or not.

The proponents of paradoxical thinking state that the people have to think out of the box and do an in-depth analysis of any contradictory thought because it can give rise to something new that is not present in the market. There is no science involved in learning the paradoxical thinking as the learners just have to change their thinking patterns. Sometimes, a solution or invention may appear not to make any sense but it might appeal to the target audience.

For instance, when sports cars were introduced, people were skeptical about it whether it will be accepted in the market or not; now it is the leading choice in the sports world. Similarly, when solar cars were launched by Saturn, it had to face a huge amount of criticism but it was successful in meeting the demands of its customers and providing them an energy efficient car that is beneficial for the environment. The key requirements of developing paradoxical thinking are open-mindedness, courage to take risks and experimenting with new ideas. It is important to remain alert to the absurd ideas that are present all the time in minds; they have to be noted down and then dwelt.

The employees of an organization need to be encouraged to play with even vague ideas because there are chances that a unique proposition gets clicked in the mind that can be beneficial for the company’s enhanced performance. For this form of thinking, openness is crucial because it allows the individuals to learn new subjects that might not have any linkages to the profession. It is vital to extend the learning boundaries so that unleashed features can be addressed; therefore, increased exploration is the basic requirement of paradoxical thinking.

The basic foundation of the paradoxical thinking is being skeptical all the time; meaning looking at the things from varying perspectives. For instance, when looking at a product, a person can think about making changes in it that can make it look more attractive or changing the style or ingredients that can appeal to other markets. Hence, paradoxical thinking can be learned easily by changing the way of looking and observing things in the surroundings so that a new perspective is highlighted.

Paradoxical Thinking: Least Used Intelligence Skill.

Since every organization emphasizes the importance of creating a work environment that is conducive and comprises of competed people who have high intelligence skills, such organizations encounter problems when implementing the paradoxical thinking framework. The basics of the paradoxical thinking imply considering the irrational aspects as well so that innovation is encouraged throughout the organization.

It has been found that the paradoxical thinking is one of the eight skills that are related to the intelligence framework. The eight skills that are linked to the intelligence are judgment, perception, reason, intuition, imagination, logic, memory and paradox. Among all the skills mentioned, the least commonly used one is the paradoxical thinking because people are reluctant to get involved in illogical thinking.

The traditional specialists still show resistance to apply the concept of paradoxical thinking within the business environment because they feel that it is not appropriate for a business to get involved in such irrational activities. However, the trend is now shifting to the paradox paradigm when the company’s management has realized that the customers are looking for both functional and creative solutions.

The reason that paradoxical thinking is linked to intelligence is that it allows the people to apply their thinking skills to modify the idea into something feasible that will be appealing for the end-consumers. IBM has ensured that it allows its employees to give any kinds of practical suggestions to the company that can help it in increasing its proficiency and eliminates the drawbacks that are prevalent within the firm. USA Today was the first one to introduce the concept of online newspaper so that the customers can read the paper on the Internet.

When the owner wanted to launch this idea, the majority of the people felt that it will have to encounter problems as people prefer to enhance their knowledge about the latest happenings through paper newspapers. However, the paper is considered to be the top-selling newspaper in the region that has successfully met the needs of the customers, especially who is looking for previous issues to get access to a particular article or piece of information.

Paradoxical Thinking and Organization’s Performance.

Since the basic requirements of paradoxical thinking are open working culture and going out of the traditional ways to introduce innovative offerings, the organizations have to make these two elements the integral part of their working environments. The leaders of these companies have to show their appreciation for the efforts put in by the employees in the form of imaginative and appealing ideas so that they are encouraged to enhance their level of productivity.

When employees are encouraged to become a crucial part of the organization’s decision-making process, it enhanced their level of motivation and they are willing to make more meaningful additions to the business processes. In order to support the paradoxical thinking within the company, the top management has to understand that they need to create an environment which allows the employees to play with creative elements, get engaged in activities that will help them in unleashing unexploited avenues of the business operations and ensure that the customers are provided with unique offerings at a fast pace. How To Make Your Small Business Stand Out? Many Ways You Can Try IT!

Hence, with the help of creativity, openness, innovation and skeptical thinking, the paradoxical thinking will be promoted within the business organization. Learning Development and Exercise of Self-Efficacy Over the Lifespan! All of these factors will ensure that the company’s productivity is increased, the competitive edge is attained in the industry and performance continues to grow in a profitable way and at an accelerating rate.

November 16, 2017
Positive Relationships with Individual and Organization Outside

How to Develop Positive Relationships with Individual and Organization Outside of Your Business

It’s vital for a business to develop as many external contacts as possible. This simple approach can lead to valuable/positive relationships and opportunities that would not otherwise have occurred. How Do You Know Your Company Wants Help From The Outside? Below are some of the best ways you can develop relationships with individuals and organizations outside of your business. Do You Really Want to your Own a Business?

What is Meaning about Positive Relationships? Positive, productive relationships demand the best of us. For a friendship or marriage to allow both people to flourish, each person is an active participant in helping create the other one’s positive future.

“A direct relationship between two variables in which as one increases, the other can be expected to increase, Also called direct relationship. Compare negative relationship.”

“Positive relationships with others, Will be happier and more fulfilled and feel more supported, supportive, and connected.”

Define of Positive Relationships; “Positive correlation is a relationship between two variables in which both variables move in tandem. A positive correlation exists when one variable decreases as the other variable decreases, or one variable increases while the other increases. In statistics, a perfect positive correlation is represented by 1, while 0 indicates no correlation and negative 1 indicates a perfect negative correlation.”

Develop Your Communication Skills and Communication Channels

Before you reach out to certain individuals and organizations, it’s important to prepare properly and have the skills and knowledge required for communicating in an effective way.

For instance, if you want to interact with local government representatives and agencies in a more productive way, you may need to hire a consultant or someone who has completed an online masters in public administration and who has a great working relationship with the public sector.

“Communication is the act of conveying intended meanings from one entity or group to another through the use of mutually understood signs and semiotic rules.”

In other situations, it may be a good idea for you or someone in your organization to enroll in an online master in public administration degree course or similar program provided by universities like Norwich University, so that you have a permanent person in your company who can deal with government entities that can help your business.

Attend Networking Events

Most people prefer to deal with other individuals and businesses they are familiar with. This means you and your business need to get public exposure.

Attending networking events like Chamber of Commerce meetings, conferences, and industry seminars is an effective way to do this. The more times you are seen at these events, the more people will become familiar with you and start to trust you.

Give Your Own Presentations

Initially, when you attend networking events you may be there to listen to other people. However, eventually you could participate more in these events by giving your own presentations in the area you have expertise in. This once again could lead to a lot of new opportunities, including business offers and referrals from those who listen to your presentations. Why You Should Be Balancing Your Books on Every Single Month.

Join Online Communities

Today’s business owners live busy lives and it’s not always possible to attend networking events. In other cases, the people you want to interact with may not attend these types of events or they live a long distance away. This is where the Internet can come to the rescue because a wide range of online business communities exist.

These communities are usually open to novice business owners, established business owners and people who have a keen interest in the same industry or niche. Interacting with other community members is extremely easy and most members of these websites are more approachable online.

Build Your Own Online Social Profile

It’s important to maintain professional online social media profiles. A huge number of people prefer to use the Internet to find out about a business or the people in a business. Become an Instagram Millionaire but How?

The more informative your social media profiles are, the more impressed others will be, and the more likely it is that they will want to find out more about you and your business.

Networking and building positive relationships with individuals and businesses outside, your own organization is an important step if you want your business to succeed and grow. This is not as difficult as it may sound, especially if you follow the steps above.

November 11, 2017
How Do You Know Your Company Wants Help From The Outside?

How Do You Know Your Company Wants Help From The Outside?

When Your Company Should Seek Help From The Outside! There’s no reason you should do it all. Everyone needs help once in a while. Days are jam packed with meetings and checking off to-do lists. That leaves little time to nurture your business and employees. There’s no shame in working with a person on the outside to help you grow your business. Be The Change You Want to See in The World.

Do yourself a favor and stop doing it all alone. Work in teams and build partnerships outside your company to stay ahead of the curve. Don’t sell yourself short just because your schedule is busy. Find ways to work around it and still succeed. See times when your company should seek help from the outside.

Marketing

Marketing is a large undertaking. There are various forms of marketing that exist and need to be addressed. This takes a lot of resources and knowledge to do it right. Digital marketing is involved and to complete it right you have to know what you’re doing. Advertising online and on social media is complicated and takes careful planning and execution. Don’t be afraid to search for outside agencies to help you achieve your goals. They’re the experts, and it’ll be helpful to have an agency take some work off of your employee’s plates. New Roles of Human Resource Management in Business Development.

Definition: Marketing is defined by the American Marketing Association as “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.”

Technology

You don’t have to try and learn about technology if it doesn’t interest you. Educate yourself, but leave the rest up to the professionals who know what they’re doing. There’ll be times your computer crashes, or you need them for e-forensics to collect and analyze data. There’s a continuous list of reasons why it’s good to have IT experts on your side. You don’t want to risk losing data or files and having to start all over again on your assignments. You don’t have to know it all, but you do have to know when it’s time to call and get help.

Technology is the collection of techniques, skills, methods, and processes used in the production of goods or services or in the accomplishment of objectives, such as scientific investigation.

Motivation

There are times when business is slow, and your team is feeling down. This is exactly when you need to bring back the energy to your group. Hire a motivational speaker or host a fun activity in the office. Do Good Always! If spirits are low, it’s leadership’s job to get the team feeling good again and inspired to do their work. Throw some excitement their way and let them know you’re willing to do whatever it takes to make them feel happy to be at the office.

“Motivation is the reason for people’s actions, desires, and needs. Motivation is also one’s direction to behavior, or what causes a person to want to repeat a behavior. A motive is what prompts the person to act in a certain way, or at least develop an inclination for specific behavior.”

Consulting

There are times a business falls into a rut and can’t crawl their way out. This is when you should check into hiring an outside consultant to help you brainstorm and innovate. They know how to work with businesses and bring them up to a higher level of functioning. They’ll work with you and pick your brain to create better ways of doing business and working with your customers. If nothing else, use them to bounce ideas off of each other and reinvent yourself.

“Management consulting is the practice of helping organizations to improve their performance, operating primarily through the analysis of existing organizational problems and the development of plans for improvement.”

Conclusion

A business can’t always do it all themselves. Be Your Extraordinary Self! It’s smart to build new relationships and not put the weight of the company on your shoulders. These are those times when your company will need help from the outside world.

November 10, 2017
How To Make Your Small Business Stand Out? Many Ways You Can Try IT!

How To Make Your Small Business Stand Out? Many Ways You Can Try IT!

There are many small businesses out there, but they’re not all the same. It’s important to distinguish yourself from the competition right away. Avoid getting clumped together with all the other guys. You have the power to communicate your uniqueness. Do You Really Want to your Own a Business? How to Make Start Up Your Small Business Stand Out.

Doing nothing will only keep you invisible. You have to take action and constantly be brainstorming ways to offer a distinctive edge. You have to want to be the best to get to that level. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts, but there are techniques that’ll get you to where you want to go. See how to make your small business stand out.

What marketing method is more effective than direct mail, web sites, referrals, or publicity? It’s differentiation from your competition. Use these tips to figure out what your competitive advantage is.

Quite often small business owners will ask me to reveal the most powerful marketing strategy I have seen. I can say without hesitation that the most powerful marketing strategy has little to do with advertising, direct mail, web sites, referrals or Blogs.

No, before any of those things will really have any impact on your business you’ve got to uncover and communicate a way in which your business is different from every other business that says they do what you do. You’ve got to get out of the commodity business. You’ve got to stake your claim on a simple idea or position in the mind of your prospective clients.

Here’s what I mean. I have a client that provides custom computer programming. Essentially, they use programming languages to build custom applications for businesses. What they do is often hard to explain and even harder to put a price on, making it difficult for a prospective client to compare different companies. As a way to differentiate their business, they have begun to offer something they call Perfect Coaching. Perfect Coaching is a unique blend of training and programming and, here’s the key, no one else in their business is offering anything like it. Prospects like the sound of it and are asking to know more. It’s too early to tell but I suspect this point of difference will open a lot of doors for them.

Five Best Ways to differentiate

Let’s look at a number of tried and true ways to claim a unique point of difference. By mbaknol.

Business Cards

One way to differentiate yourself is with your business cards. Go online and choose or create a business card design that fits the look of the company. Craft or reinvent your brand with a free business card maker and start showing off who you are to customers. Personalize the card and choose a theme, images and text that create a custom business identity. This may seem like a small adjustment, but a business card has the ability to close business deals and make new connections.

Volunteer Locally

Get involved with your community. Show your face in public and meet new people. Volunteering with local organizations is a great way to give back and tell others about your business. Make it part of your routine and get around to different areas and groups. Volunteering feels good and it’s an activity outside of your normal daily tasks. Get to know people in your community and you may find you have a lot in common with them. You never know when a new connection will lead to a sale. While it’s not your objective of volunteering, it certainly would be nice.

Clean & Organized Office

Clients will be coming in and out of your office. Put effort into cleaning and organizing your office so it’s presentable. Have refreshments and a waiting area for customers if they arrive early. Show them you care about their business by keeping a tidy space. These are little gestures that make a big difference. Have your clients leaving feeling well taken care of and satisfied with the service.

Communicate & Demonstrate your Benefits

Make sure your business stands out by communicating and demonstrating your value to the public. Have it on your website, in your office pamphlets and announce it during speaking engagements. Tell people when you see them in person who you are and why you’re better than the rest. Show the benefits of working with you by offering unparalleled customer service.

Start A Blog

Demonstrate your thought leadership by starting a blog. Post information that’s important to your clients and potential customers. Keep it current and share content that’s worth reading. How to Identify a Good Website Designer? A blog is a great resource for your customers and allows you to stay on top of your game with your industry knowledge.

Another Best 10 Ways to Make Your Business Stand Out!

Let’s look at a number of tried and true ways to claim a unique point of difference. By businessknowhow.

Product

Can you offer a product that is so unique or even trendy that your business is associated with that offering? Or, can you extend a product and offer a valuable service to make the product more useful to the customer.

Service

Same goes for a service. Many times this can be the packaging of a service as a product. Consulting is often delivered on an hourly basis. Packaging a consulting engagement based on an outcome, with defined deliverables and fixed package price is a very effective way to differentiate a service offering. Don’t forget to give the service a powerful name!

Market Niche

Carve out an industry or two and become the most dominant player serving that industry. A really nice bonus to this approach is you can usually raise your prices dramatically when you specialize in this manner.

Offer

Can you become known by an offer you make? I know an accountant that offer his tax preparation clients a 100% refund on their preparation fee when they refer four new clients. They are the 100% refund tax guys.

Solve a Problem

Is there something that prospects in your market fear or seem to believe is universal for what you do? If so, focus on communicating how you have the answer. Painless dentistry for example. I know a remodeling contractor who found that what his clients appreciated the most was the way his crews cleaned up at the end of the day. He began to promote the fact that he owned more ShopVacs then any other remodeling contractor on the planet.

Message of Value

Many times there are things that you do that don’t get communicated. Extra that you provide or services you think should be included. Your positioning might just rest in more effectively communicating what you do. I know an office furniture dealer that has adopted the message – We Make Your Business More Valuable – to communicate all the things they bring to the party. Now, everything they do is focused on delivering on that statement. Everyone else in the industry sells furniture.

Unique habit

I know a financial planner who has his client’s car detailed right out in his parking lot when they come in for their annual review. They can’t help but rave to their friends about this unique touch.

Guarantee

Can you offer a guarantee so strong that no one else in your industry would dream of doing it. This one frightens some people but, you probably guarantee your work anyway, you just don’t say so. Come out and boldly announce that you guarantee results and watch what happens!

Customer Service

Everyone knows the story of over the top customer service provided by Nordstrom’s. Create your own over the top customer response system and word of mouth advertising will flow liberally. One of the greatest ways to kick this off is to over deliver on your first customer contact. Give them something more than you promised, give them a gift, give them a related service for free.

Against the competition

Many times you can create your category niche by looking for holes in the offerings of your competitors. If every one in industry fails to address a certain problem, boldly grab on to solving that problem and use your competition as the point of difference.

Clues to uncovering your difference

Look at your current clients. What common elements exist among your best clients? Interview your clients. See if they can tell you why they chose to work with, why they stay, why they refer? Study your competitors more closely. What do they do that you could do better, what don’t they offer they you could, how do they position themselves?

Communicate the difference

Once you find your chosen strategy or combination of strategies to differentiate your business, all of your advertising and promotion should be centered around shouting about that difference.

Commit to it, stay at it and resist the temptation to wander off in the next new direction. Building a brand, and that’s what I’m talking about, takes time and patience. The payoff, however, is what differentiates the winners from the losers in this big marketing game. 201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business.

Conclusion

Competition is fierce these days. It’s difficult to make a name for yourself when there are so many other companies out there. This is how to make your small business stand out.

November 10, 2017
How to Understanding and Treating Back Pain in the Modern Workplace?
Understanding and Treating Back Pain in the Modern Workplace

Lower back pain is the single single leading cause of disability worldwide according to studies. This is a shocking fact, and unfortunately a dismal outlook awaiting many of us, though it doesn’t have to be. The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” applies very much to your body. How to Understanding and Treating Back Pain in the Modern Workplace?

Common Causes of Back Pain

The list of potential causes for back ache is endless. For a lot of people, it is their sedentary lifestyle, both at home and at work. For others, kidney disease, disc problems, trapped nerves or inflamed joints can all contribute to persistent back pain. A sudden injury for instance can cause the vertebrae to squeeze one of the discs that separate them. As the disc flattens, its core can protrude to the side. This is what is referred to as herniated or slipped disc. This protrusion can press on one of the nerves jutting out from the spinal cord, and this can cause tremendous pain which extends into the leg.

For older people, a common cause of lower back pain is osteoarthritis of the spine. How to Set Your Organize Priorities?

Treatment Options

There is no single treatment for lower back pain. Doctors mostly recommend rest, aspirin or paracetamol. In some cases, anti-inflammatory drugs can help to provide relief. Fortunately, most back problems respond to rest.

Taking responsibility for your condition is pivotal in addressing back pain and ensuring it doesn’t return. Medication only numbs the pain, but doesn’t prevent nor fundamentally help repair the damage other than allow your body to rest and heal on its own. Lifestyle changes, a modified diet, stretching and targeted back exercises are all proactive steps you can take on your own to strengthen your body and help it heal faster.

Great Exercises for Strengthening Your Back

Your painful back can provide you with the chance to bring about change. Stretching can ease back pain if the problem appears to be muscular and targeted back exercises can lead you on a wondrous path to recovery. If you currently suffer from back pain, consult your doctor first before performing any exercises. What is an Organization? and Better Understand of Vision Statement!

The following exercises are designed to both strengthen and ease back pain, and they can be performed 2 to 3 times each day and 3 to 5 times a week.
- Lie on your back, knees bent with your feet flat on the floor and a hand on each knee. Breathe in and breathe out, drawing your stomach down toward your spine as you exhale. Use your hands to pull your knees toward your shoulders until you feel a stretch in your back. Hold this position while breathing normally. Repeat this cycle 4 times.
- If your pain involves tight muscles either side of your spine, place 2 tennis balls in a sock and lie on the tennis balls so that one is on each side of the spine. By slowly moving around on the balls, you’ll get pressure into those painful spots that need to relax. You can use this particular technique whenever you feel the need.
- Bridging exercise – perform this exercise 10 times and you’ll see how it can can strengthen your core muscles of your lower back and also increase the range of motion in your hip flexors. Lie down on the floor with knees bent. Lift bottom as high as what you are comfortable with. You can take this exercise up a notch by lifting your bottom off the floor with one leg straight. You can repeat this exercise 10x with each leg.
- Back stretch – go down on all fours, with legs wide apart and hands placed forward in front of your head. Place a pillow below you to give support to your abdomen. Sit back on your knees, stretching your arms forward to feel a stretch along the spine.Addressing Office Ergonomics.
Considering how many hours a day the modern worker spends at the office, it’s easy to see why back pain has reached epidemic levels. Poor posture and an absence of proper ergonomic equipment such as a comfortable office chair, ergonomic keyboard and mouse, and cramped space can all play a role in developing ailments such as carpal tunnel syndrome and back and neck pain. Optimizing the ergonomics of your workspace is vital then for a more healthy body free of pain.

Conclusion

If you work long hours and in a seated position like many modern day worker,s you may very well develop back pain sometime in your life. Luckily, with regular exercises- specifically those that target the back and core- plus good ergonomics, you can drastically improve the odds of avoiding that road. Physical therapists often relay stories of how patients who exercise regularly have less back pain. Don’t become a victim of the modern day workplace- start taking an active approach to the well being of your body!

References:
1. WebMd. Spinal Osteoarthritis (Degenerative Arthritis of the Spine). Available at http://www.webmd.com/osteoarthritis/spinal-osteoarthritis-degenerative-arthritis-of-the-spine#1.
2. Dean, E. Soderlund, A. NCBI. What is the role of lifestyle behaviour change associated with non-communicable disease risk in managing musculoskeletal health conditions with special reference to chronic pain? Available at /https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4397667/.
3. MedlinePlus. Herniated Disc. Available at https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000442.htm.
4. United States Department of Labor. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Ergonomics. Available at https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/ergonomics/.
October 8, 2017