Sarquol Limited

I was recently reading various articles about the use of “Evidence” in Management. The basic idea is that it is all too easy to start management initiatives based on a prejudice of what is going on. The result can be that inappropriate action on a situation. An example would be if a manager were to believe that  his team were unproductive and needed extra motivation there are actions that might be taken to improve motivation, or apply control to demand more output. The reality of the situation might be very different, with the individuals motivated and wanting to produce more – but being hampered by an inability to work effectively in the environment. The appropriate actions here would be quite different, and action on the perceived problem would have no effect. It could even make it worse. Worse still, the problem might be that the team are productive but too much is expected of them for what is achievable in the situation.

 What solution is proposed? Continue reading ‘Evidence in Management and IT’ »

I was reading an article recently that suggested there are basically 4 types of innovation that a company might seek to undertake:

1. Product innovation, whereby a new product or service is brought to market or a current one improved;
2. Process innovation, whereby processes and procedures are modified to make them more efficient
3. Positioning innovation, whereby a product or service stays fundamentally the same but is sold to a different market or as a different proposition
4. Paradigm innovation, whereby an innovation is effectively disruptive and facilitates some form of fundamental change

Continue reading ‘Innovation axes in IT…’ »

It is interesting that the issue of how green IT can be viewed as is coming to the fore. I was recently sent a notification of the existence of the following site:

http://www.businessgreen.com/

Among its articles is this one about the green IT:

http://www.businessgreen.com/financial-director/comment/2214911/emerald-city

The article concentrates surveys about the state of green IT, and the lack of trust that IT purchasers have in the “Green” claims of suppliers. The rush to green wash products is leaving many, me included, sceptical that the benefits extend to the environment and purchasers bank balance – rather than the suppliers. Continue reading ‘From the news: Green IT’ »