Welcome to the second edition of m-news, our take on the e-newsletter, and thanks to everyone who emailed us with their comments on the July issue.  

m-news includes information about related themes - six quick snippets about business, organisational and individual effectiveness, communication and public relations.

Communication empowers.

Karen Morath, managing director, M Power

The ‘quick six’ for August are

1.  The value of a corporate reputation
2.  Tips for effective delegating
3.  Person responsibility and corporate governance
4.  Work we're proud of
5.  Customer service 101 - not!
6. This month's book review

1. The value of a corporate reputation 

Good corporate reputations are built by understanding the links between customer satisfaction, corporate image and service delivery.

Current best practice thinking on how best to build a good corporate reputation is

• to ensure two way communication exists between an organisation and its stakeholders
• to implement planned, programmed relationship building exercises (good relationships don’t happen by accident) and
• to ensure that communication managers or consultants are involved in all senior management decisions.

Organisations which enjoy good reputations typically use public relations as a resource for solving strategic problems, have corporate plans which include public relations strategy and reputation building activities and have organisational goals which increasingly reflect a desire to have a good reputation.

Good corporate citizenship, which is a factor in corporate image, usually exists where an organisation demonstrates environmental stewardship, corporate contributions, community service and company sponsored employee volunteering opportunities.

Source - PRIA seminar “Building and measuring corporate reputations”, July 2002 

2. Tips for effective delegating

• Ask for help.  Don’t demand it.
• Make sure you have communicated the purpose of any delegated work.  Remember it’s not just about what needs to be done, but why it needs to be done.
• Make sure the person has everything they need to do the job and that you have agreed a sensible deadline.
• Give the person the opportunity to do it their way, using initiative and imagination, (if it needs to be done your way, do it yourself!)
• Remember that it is your responsibility to ensure all delegated tasks are completed – you can’t just delegate and forget about it.
• When the project is completed, be generous with your feedback.

3. Personal responsibility and corporate governance 

Ignorance is no excuse for not proactively exercising the responsibilities of being a director, according to Frank Phillips of the Institute of Company Directors.

An Australian director was once found personally liable for $97 million, which makes the IoCD’s five tips for company directors in these increasingly litigious times worth noting:

1. Be fully up to date on everything the company is doing.
2. Find out for yourself how decisions being made affect the company.
3. Challenge company staff for facts and figures.
4. Take an active role in meetings – contribute, listen, challenge – and ensure the    minutes record your involvement.
5. Consider all laws that impact on your organisation.

 Frank Phillips was speaking at a meeting of the Essendon Rotary Club.

4. Work we're proud of

M Power recently completed a major project for a metropolitan council which involved  researching and writing an investment prospectus on the region for a local, national and international audience.  The prospectus was launched last month by the Treasurer, the Hon John Brumby. 

5. Customer service 101 - not!

Who moved my cheese? An amazing way to deal with change in your work and in your life.  By Dr Spencer Johnson.  Published by Random House Australia 1998.

For people who don’t read many books or are put off by books you need weeks to plough through, this is for you!  This book can be read in one sitting in no more than two hours, but I suggest reading sections and reflecting before moving on.  As they say, if you read nothing else all year, read this.  The author of The One Minute Manager uses mice and cheese to create a compelling metaphor for human behaviour and challenges us to explore our resistance to change and our strategies for dealing with it.  A really great book that will confront you with yourself.

© M Power 2002

M Power
326 Cotham Road, Kew Vic 3101
p - 9817 4111 F - 9817 7522
E- email@mpowercct.com