You are surely missing out on a lot of potential customers if you have not listed your business on Google Maps. But we are here to help you. Just follow this simple 3 step guide on how to get business on google maps. After that, we have the 4th step where you start using all the benefits of this amazing platform. Just sit back and enjoy the flow of new customers. You may add more details, photos, website, and other information after you list your business.

Step 1: Visit Google My Business 

The first thing to keep in mind is whether you want to create a fresh Google account for your business or use the current one. Here is a very brief comparison of both options: 

Once you have decided whether you want to use the same account or create a new one, you may proceed further. You can either use this link to create your business on Google and Google Maps. It will open in a new tab so that you can switch back to our article for reference. Alternatively, you can search for Google My Business and click on the official link from Google.

Step 2: Claim your business

The next step is to search for any existing businesses. If you already have your business listed then you do not need to create another listing. You can simply select your business from the search results here and add your location to the map.

If you cannot find results for your business or store, click on ‘Add your business to Google. 

Next, you can add a location for the physical store. If you only offer online services and do not want people to visit your place, please select No. 

After searching for the name, you can add the location of your business or store

Select Yes to add the location of your business to Google Maps. Ensure that you put the correct and valid location as it will be verified later.  On the other hand, you may be offering services like home cleaning or online classes. In that case, you can click on no, so that people do not show up on your doorstep. This option is also valid for businesses like cloud kitchen who only have delivery facilities. However, they may not have any dining options.

Once you put your postal address, you shall be asked to drag and position the location pin to your address. Take your time and hit the exact spot. You do not want your visitors to be directed elsewhere. Once you are done, you have the option to choose whether you only offer location-based service. In that case, you can choose to cater only to people in your area. Otherwise, your business will be shown to people outside your neighborhood.  

Finally, it will ask you to add your phone number and website. Once you are done with that, you are all set for the verification process. At this stage, if you want you can also sign up for a free web page from Google. Otherwise, you can use your own website(recommended for most businesses). 

Step 3: Verify your business location 

Now you have to add your official name. You will receive a postcard with a verification number. Google will send you this postcard free of cost. From your end, you have to ensure that all the details you have provided are correct. 

Enter your name. Once you are done with this, you may select ‘Mail’. On the final page, you shall be asked whether you want to be verified by mail or other means. Mail is the best and simplest method of verification. 

Usually, it takes up to 14 days for this postcard to arrive. Be rest assured that no one else can use it. You have to enter it to verify your account. All the details and verification links will be provided on your card. If you have any doubts at any stage, you can contact Google at their toll-free number. This will be provided on the card itself. You may also ask me any doubts in the comment section below. Since I have done this entire thing a couple of times, I can surely help you with that. 

Step 4: Track the leads and also update your information from time to time 

You can start adding information for your business even before your verification process completes. For instance, you may add menu items for dishes that you serve at your restaurant. Or you can add some other details. For example, you may add photos of your reception and rooms if you are a hotelier.  

Also, do not forget to add enough descriptions for your products and services. People search for specific keywords when they do their search on Google or Google Maps. You do not want to miss out on these high-value keywords. Maybe you can enroll in some social media marketing courses to hone your skills as well. 

Why should you put up your business on Google Maps? 

1. Increase the footfall into your store or business. 

2. It will potentially lead to higher revenue and higher profits. 

3. Diversify your customer base. You may tap into a new segment of customers who come to your store via this route. 

4. Even if you have a website, you should still list on G Maps. Localization is very useful to feature on top of the search results. 

5. People who search for your product on maps have very high intent. High intent reflects that they are ready to make purchase immediately.  

The post How to get business on google maps? appeared first on Management Weekly.

As a researcher or analyst, one needs clarity regarding the pros and cons of a sampling method. Therefore, systematic sampling advantages and disadvantages will help you choose this sampling method for your study/analysis. Here we shall look at the various aspects of systematic sampling. Additionally, we shall try to understand it from different perspectives.

An introduction to Systematic sampling

Definition of Systematic sampling 

Systematic sampling is a common data gathering procedure. In this type of sampling, we collect the elements from a population-based upon a probabilistic collection method. In plain English, this means that we select the elements spaced out at some fixed interval.  For example, please see the illustration given below. Here we select every 2nd T-shirt from the lot. This is an example of systematic sampling. We could have even chosen every 3rd T-shirt from the lot and so on.

Characteristics of Systematic Sampling 

Systematic sampling is easier to understand and implement. It also makes the data collection more robust compared to convenient sampling. However, it differs slightly from simple random sampling. In simple random sampling, all the samples have got an equal probability of being selected. However, in systematic sampling, we do not have that. In systematic sampling, only each of the elements has an equal probability of getting selected. 

It can also be understood in terms of a three-step process. In the first step, we calculate the total population. In the second step, we asserted the sample size that is required for the study. Then we divide this population by the sample size. Therefore, we get the interval for collecting data. In the third step, we start collecting data from the nth individual in the population. This is the same end that we had calculated in the previous step. 

Where do we use systematic sampling? 

When the data is of higher quality and it is reliable, then we may go for systematic sampling. Therefore, we should avoid systematic sampling in situations where data could be manipulated. This will lead to erroneous results and also it will give misleading data visualization at the end of the analysis. 

We use systematic sampling in research to avoid any kind of data selection biases. For instance, data that has been collected using a probabilistic method, like systematic sampling, lead to a higher quality of raw data.  

What is an example of systematic sampling?

Let us consider the monthly output data of a small garment factory. We may be interested in the total units of a product made in different months. Now, let us say, we want to do a systematic sampling of the production. Consequently, we select monthly data for every third month (Sample 1 as shown in the table below). This would be an example of systematic sampling. On the other hand, we could also collect data for every six months (Sample 2 as shown below). Even that would be an example of systematic sampling. However, if you randomly select months 1,3,4, and eight (Sample 3). Then it is not a systematic sampling. 

Systematic sampling advantages and Disadvantages 

Advantages 

1. The first advantage of using a systematic sampling is that this type of data gathering procedure is fairly simple. 

2. At times, data collection is done manually by the researcher. In that case, it makes sense to have a systematic sampling as it eases the data collection process. 

3. It eliminates the biases of data collection present in a non-systematic method. 

4. It has a lower risk factor as well. 

5. This method is also useful to create a good distribution of the members of a population. 

Disadvantages 

1. One of the biggest downsides of systematic sampling is the poor quality of sample if the population has periodicity (Iachan, 1982)

2. Therefore, in a population that does not have randomly occurring data, it cannot be administered. 

3. It also introduces some risks of manipulation by researcher. 

4. Another disadvantage of this method is that we based our assumption on a determinate (measurable) population size. In a lot of situations, we may not know the size of population or it may not be determinate. 

5. In the pecking order of the sampling techniques, it is not the best one. Simple random sampling is better than systematic sampling. Also, stratified random sampling is better than simple random sampling. 

What is systematic judgmental sampling? 

Systematic judgmental sampling is yet another method. It combines the techniques of systematic sampling as well as that of judgement sampling. However, this type of sampling should be avoided. It introduces the errors from both these types of samplings. Therefore, we should avoid it.

The post Systematic Sampling Advantages And Disadvantages appeared first on Management Weekly.

The difference between samples and population is small but significant (no pun intended). Although you may already have an intuitive sense of these words, it would still be useful if you know how they differ. Also, keep in mind that there are certain aspects of similarity as well between both of these. 

What is a population? 

I have found that my students are more confused about the definition of population than they are about the definition of a sample. When you hear the word population, it is natural to think of the human population. After decades of associating this word with the human census, it is just natural. However, let us try to understand it better. However, population is a term in statistics that denotes the consideration set for any analysis.

⚡ A population is a collection of all the items under a specific criterion. 

The first step in defining any population is defining the criterion. Criteria will decide whether any element will be a part of this group or not. You must have studied set theory in your math class. Consider population as a set P whose members have to fulfill a certain criterion to become a part of it. One example of a population would be a set of all women living in Philadelphia, who purchased your product in the last three months. Since we have defined the eligibility criteria for this set we will have a finite number of elements inside this population.  

P1= {set of people, given that (they are women; live in Philadelphia; purchased your product in last 3 months)} 

As a simpler example, let us consider a population as a set of numbers. In this population, we will consider only whole numbers that are less than ten. Therefore, in this set, we shall have all numbers between 1 to 9.  

P2 = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9} 

As the third example, let us take something that is slightly different. In this case, we shall take a batch of soft drink cans coming out of plants. As you can see in the video below, there are the cans that are getting filled at the filling station.  

Now we define the population as any can that has come out in a specific batch. It is also important to note that the definition of the population may change from one context to another. For instance, in another context, maybe want to define the population as all the bottles that have come out of a bottling plant in an entire year.  

What is a sample? 

A sample is defined as a subset of the population. Typically, the sample may contain a collection of some, but not all of the elements of the entire population. We shall take the cases that we have discussed earlier to explain this point further. 

In the first example, we had taken a population with consisted of all the women who are living in Philadelphia and would have purchased your product in the last three months. Now we shall choose an appropriate sample from this population for our analysis. This sample can be a set of 30 women or a set of 60 women. Or any other number of women we select from the given population. 

Secondly, let us consider the example that we have discussed regarding the numbers. We have defined this population as a set of all numbers that are whole numbers and are less than 10. Now if we take a set of all the even numbers that are less than 10 Then we get the following subset of raw data. 

S1= {2,4,6,8}  

Similarly, we may take a subset as S2. 

S2 = {1,3} 

Alternatively, we can have a random set of numbers such as the following set: 

S3 = {1,2,6,9} 

Finally, let us take the third set that we had discussed earlier. In this case, if we just take the two cans from the batch, we are left with a sample that has two cans. 

Why do we need a sample? 

There are a lot of advantages of using a sample over a population. Firstly, and most importantly, it reduces the amount of effort that is required to process a vast amount of information. This can be illustrated very easily with the first example that we had taken above. 

Let us consider that your company wants to understand that what were the pain points of the customers of your product. Now, the best way to do this is to go ahead and interview all the women that are there in your target population. However, there may be 50,000 women that fulfill that criterion. Now it is extremely expensive and cumbersome to conduct interviews for 50,000 women. 

On the other hand, if you sample a set of just 30 women from this population, then the interview process will be faster, convenient, as well as cheaper. 

Functions and advantages of using a sample 

A sample has the following advantages over the population. These advantages are notable when we start doing analysis from the data. 

1. It is far cheaper to collect data from a sample than from a population. 

2. Data collection becomes much faster as well from a sample. 

3. It is less tiring for the researchers to conduct the analysis on a sample. 

4. It feels like medical science. Certain tests may be risky for the individuals. Therefore, it makes sense to conduct these tests on a smaller sample. 

5. Similarly, in case of testing of quality of products, it makes sense to test only a small subsample. If you want to crash, test a car to see that whether it is safe at a certain speed or not. It does not make sense to crash test all the cars that you have made. You only want to press test one or two cars. 

Why does the sample need to be ‘representative’? 

This is another important point that every researcher analyst or statistician needs to understand. A sample becomes meaningful mostly when it represents the population closely. This is a very common mistake by a lot of people. Usually, we select the most convenient sample rather than the most representative. This leads to errors in analysis and also errors in the judgments. Again, we shall be taking the examples that we have discussed above to illustrate this point further. 

Example 1 

In the first example, we’re trying to study the target group to understand the customer pain points. Now we have selected a subset of 30 women from the target population. On one hand, it has made our work easier, cheaper and simpler. However, let us consider that this subsample is not a good representation of the population. For example, you went to a relatively poor neighborhood and collected all your data. In this case, when you interview these women, it could be likely that all of them say that they find your product to be expensive. On the other hand, if you went to a richer neighborhood and collected data from two adjacent streets, then you may again get very similar answers. For instance, they may all complain that your store is located too far from their home. If you collect this type of data then it is a very skewed representation of the population. Therefore, the insights that you get from this sample will be highly distorted.  

On the other hand, if you collected data that represents women from low-income, middle-income, and upper-income groups. Additionally, you ensured that they represent people from different localities, different ethnic backgrounds, and so on. As you make your sample more diverse and more representative of the population, you will find a more useful and diverse set of responses. 

Example 2 

In the second example, let’s first take a distorted set that does not represent our population. Now if we consider subset S2. From this subset, if we try to infer the properties of the population set, we will get erroneous results. 
 
For example, the average sample is 2, while the average population is 5. 

Example 3 

Let us consider a study where you want to understand that what is the form height for each can while filling them. Let us say that you have taken a sample of two cans for this study. That too, from the two rightmost cans of the lot shown in the video. 

If you closely observed the video then you would have realized that the second last bottle is filled slightly more than others. Therefore, if you take a sample of two bottles that are on the right-hand side, you will find that average foam height that is more than the real average of all the cans. 

What is the difference between samples and population? 

Firstly, a sample is a subset of the population. In order for a set to be considered a sample, it has to be smaller than the population, but it has to have all the elements that are present in that population. 

Secondly, a sample needs to be representative of the population. However, at times sample may not be exact. Replica of the population in terms of the specifications. When these sampling errors are small. Then we have a good sample. However, in some cases, we may have a higher sampling error. 

The third difference is that a population gives us an idea of what we are considering for the analysis. On the other hand, a sample helps us operationalize that idea into meaningful analytical insights. 

Are there some similarities between them? 

Samples and populations are similar as well. We have looked at the difference between samples and population. However, now we shall look at the similarities.

Firstly, the sample and population must have the same type of elements.

Secondly, a good sample will have a similar set of specifications as the population. 

Thirdly, in some cases, samples may be interchangeably used with the population. This is more often true in the case of big data analysis. Higher power computers and access to a large number of data make it possible for modern analysts to analyze an entire population. Sometimes this may give better results than analyzing a small sample. 

The post Difference between samples and population appeared first on Management Weekly.

Misleading data visualization could be one of the gravest sins of a data analyst. Firstly, as analysts, we must ensure that such mistakes do not happen from our end. Secondly, it is also important to understand how to spot these mistakes. Finally, we look at a set of guiding principles that can provide us with a way to validate any visualization correct errors before they are presented/published.  

What is misrepresentation of data?

Data representation is the visual depiction of useful information. However, it is even more important to represent the insights correctly. Any misrepresentation of data will lead to errors of judgment. The results could be catastrophic in the worst cases. On the other hand, it could be an embarrassment at the workplace is not the worst case.  

DATA ANALYSIS GUIDE FOR MANAGERS: how to analyze data like Sherlock?

➤ Click here to read more in our detailed article on data analysis.

Different reasons for misleading visualization of data

Data is misrepresented if it qualifies one or more of the following criteria: 

1. Unethical manipulation of data in analysis phase 

2. Unethical manipulation of data in visualization phase 

3. Inconsistency errors 

4. Incompetency errors 

The first two types of errors are unethical while the last two are follies. Unethical errors are purposeful and driven by low professional standards. Folly mistakes are caused due to a lack of skill or due to oversight. Although both these types of mistakes can lead to misleading data visualization, it is usually not possible to say for sure which type of error it is as an observer. A deeper dive into the raw data and analyzed data may reveal the genesis.  

This typology may be more helpful as a prognostic rather than a diagnostic tool. In other words, this will help us more in preventing errors than in finding the source of errors. 

Unethical manipulation of data in analysis phase 

Data can be wrongly manipulated in the analysis phase itself. Sadly, it is far more common than we may imagine. Such manipulation stems from the need to force a particular ideology, perspective, or result. One may selectively collect data. Further, one may selectively filter the data for analysis. Also, there are times when someone may hide an unsupported hypothesis. At times, people may even fabricate data to show the results. All of these are considered to be unethical practices. 

Unethical manipulation of data in visualization phase 

The second layer of misrepresentation comes from the visualization phase. In this phase, the analyst already has the result. They may purposefully manipulate what and how the insights are presented. Again, they may keep the unfavorable findings to themselves. Alternatively, there are more technical ways to misrepresent data. We shall discuss these in detail later. The way we prepare the charts and graphics has a very strong impact on what story is being conveyed. Some 

Inconsistency errors 

The inconsistency errors also lead to wrongly interpreted data. In this case, the misleading data visualization may convey the wrong message. For instance, it is common practice to represent the speed of a vehicle in units like mph or kph. However, if we use an uncommon, although scientifically more appropriate unit like meters/second, it may confuse individuals. Also, a major proportion of the audience from the US may not interpret kph correctly. In the same way, the French audience may not interpret speed data represented as mph.  When you are publishing the data for an international audience, it makes sense to provide both the SI unit as well as the metric unit for the convenience of the readers.

Incompetency errors 

One of the common mistakes that may lead to such errors is by formatting the scale incorrectly. For instance, let us consider that we want to depict the range of heights of individuals in a group. A simple method to visualize this data would be to use a bar chart. In this chart, if we use the units of height as 2m and the range of scale between 0m to 10m, then the output may not clearly show the individual differences in height. Similarly, the opposite happens when we compress the scale. It may amplify the differences between values. A suitable judgment from the analyst is required to represent the differences appropriately.

How to avoid data misrepresentation?

Unethical manipulation of data in analysis phase

Unethical manipulation of data in visualization phase 

Inconsistency errors

Incompetency errors

Misleading data visualization examples

We shall look at some illustrative examples of misleading data visualization. This is an exercise in analysis and not meant to demean or find faults in these publication outlets. Also, the charts and corrected visualizations are provided for educational purposes only. Management Weekly holds no copyright for these materials and they are provided for illustration.

1. Gun deaths vs ‘stand your ground’ campaign

How people interpret this chart?

This chart is supposed to show the number of gun deaths in Florida over the period of time. In any traditional chart, the X-axis should have represented the time and the Y-axis should have represented the number of murders using firearms. Therefore, by default, you will infer that the cases of number of deaths have gone down after 2005. The chart tries to show that the ‘stand your ground’ law was meant to reduce the number of deaths due to firearms. 

What is wrong with this chart? 

This chart is fundamentally flawed. The biggest problem with this chart is that the Y-axis is inverted. In plain English, the Y-axis is supposed to increase from the bottom to the top side. However, this chart shows the opposite. As you move down, there are more deaths due to firearms. We are accustomed to reading any chart in the traditional way. A reader who is in a hurry or not vigilant may infer that the law reduced the number of gun deaths. 

Correct representation 

The number of gun deaths increased from about 500 to 800 after the law was passed. A correctly visualized graph would show this trend in the traditional form.  

It is important to follow certain conventions to avoid misleading data visualizations. It is evident that this chart has been purposefully manipulated to propagate a particular political agenda. A similar story may be used by firms as well to ameliorate their communications.  

The chart on the right follows the conventional trendline for the y-axis. Therefore, it reduces the chances of reading the data in the wrong manner. The readers must also note that even after correct representation, this chart must not be taken too seriously. The correlation of variables is not causation. A deep dive into this matter may reveal whether the gun law had a positive, negative, or no effect on the number of deaths.

2. Biggest covid worries

How people interpret this chart? 

A pie chart is interpreted in the form of the proportion. In plain English, it means that each component of a pie chart shows the percentage of that particular category. The underlying assumption in any pie chart is that these parts should form a total of 1. Therefore, each percentage should add to a total of 100%. In this particular chart, the people may assume that around half the people (48%) primarily worry about getting the virus.  

What is wrong with this chart ?

This chart wrongly depicts the percentage of each of these components. If you want to represent any data in the form of a pie chart, you should always do by finding the proportion in terms of the whole. If you have got data that has an overlap, such as this case, then you must represent it differently.  

Correct representation 

There could be many different ways to represent this data correctly. For example, you could simply draw a Venn diagram for three different cases. A Venn diagram is a great way to show the different categories, which may have an overlap with each other. Secondly, this data could also be represented in the form of a bar chart. 

The post Misleading Data Visualization – how to avoid them? appeared first on Management Weekly.

As an instructor for IS, I am often asked what is computer information systems? Is it the same as Computer Science? The simple answer is no. However, the answer becomes trickier when you ask whether CIS, MIS, or IS are the same. The short answer is that they are very similar and used interchangeably. If you are interested in a deeper dive, please read more.

What is Computer Information Systems?

Computer Information Systems is the application of computers in business processes. Computing technology and business processes are two components of CIS. In order to bring them together, we have to use the third critical element of CIS, the people. Therefore, we can define Computer Information Systems as the application of computing and communication technology to record, process, store, analyze and interpret information to facilitate business processes. 

What does CIS consist of?

We can understand what computer information systems is, in terms of the six facets. These six facets of CIS are summarized below:

What computer information systems do?

The computer information systems help the firm in business processes. Firstly, they help in collection, storage, analysis and interpretation of data. Secondly, CIS helps improve the processes. Thirdly, it integrates discrete business areas through enterprise resource management. Fourthly, it helps us in managing customers through customer relationship management systems. Fifthly, it also helps us in managing human resources through the human resource management systems.

Career options in CIS

CIS offers career options at various different levels. If you are a relatively less experienced engineer or plan to graduate soon, you may look at profiles like development, testing, analysis. Mid-level technical profiles include positions such as enterprise architects and team leaders. If you are from managerial background then there are other options at the mid-level such as consultants, and project managers. However, the best paying jobs are those at the top level such as Chief Information Officer, VP of Technology, Chief Technology Officer, and Change Managers.

CIS jobs

How much do Computer Information Systems make?

The salary of a CIS professional varies wildly. It depends on job profile, education level, years of experience and organization. Even within the same organization, there could be different salaries. However, at the entry level, you may expect a starting salary of anywhere between $55k to $70k. Mid-level profiles may have salaries ranging from $110k to $170k. Nevertheless, you may expect a starting salary of around $150 onwards at the top-level job profiles. However, these jobs require around 15 to 25 years of experience.

Is CIS worth it?

It is difficult to answer that question as it would vary from individual to individual. Firstly, any job is worth when it satisfies at least two of the following criteria:

1. Job satisfaction
2. Wellbeing
3. Compensation
4. Career progression

Job satisfaction, wellbeing and compensation are dependent on a lot of factors. However, some aspects that you can control are: educational degree, education level, efforts at the job, personal development and soft skills.

Typically, CIS or MIS degree offer a higher upward mobility to the individual. In plain English, you have a higher chance of climbing the corporate ladder with a specialization in CIS compared to simple software engineering degree.

Does CIS require math?

Yes, CIS is primarily a technology-oriented work. Most job profiles require a specialization in CIS or MIS or an MBA. These programs may either directly have math courses of application of mathematical knowledge in some courses.  

Is CIS Degree hard?

Not any harder than regular computer science. It is more focused towards application of computing and communication technology from business perspective. CIS degree would be more suited towards individuals who see themselves as team players and managers. It is not suited for those who see themselves as individual workers or those who are interested only in coding. CIS degree can be hard for these individuals. Also working as CIS professionals may be hard for them.

IS CIS stem

CIS is considered to be techno-managerial role. It is indeed a STEM field. However, specific to your degree, it may or may not be classified as STEM in your country. For instance, if you do MBA then it may not be considered STEM as MBA is sometimes classified as social science degree not a science degree.

Education in CIS

Most of the top engineering schools offer specialization in CIS. Some may only offer elective courses. Your best bet is to complete a bachelors degree, gain some relevant work experience then go for MBA.

Where to study CIS?

You may check out some of the CIS or MIS programs from the list below. We have used the ranking of CIS programs as per the USNews website.

The post What is Computer Information Systems or CIS? appeared first on Management Weekly.

Meta-cognition is the process of planning, monitoring and assessing one’s own thought processes and performance. In simple layman terms, it involves thinking about thinking. Meta-cognition is an adaptive process in many situations. We become aware of our strengths and weaknesses. However, it may also lead to a cyclical and vicious process of ruminating and obsessive thoughts. Let us dive in and look at a few definitions of meta-cognition. In addition, we will also take a process view of meta-cognition.

Definitions of Meta-cognition

Meta-cognition is the capacity to understand and examine how you interpret thoughts and feelings. Therefore, it is an important aspect of self-definition and self-awareness. Individuals who engage in frequent meta-cognition may benefit from deeper communication with themselves. For instance, an employee who thinks about his thoughts and feelings in the workplace is likely to have better control over situations in the future.

Meta-cognition can be thought of as a higher level of cognition about cognitive processes. John H Flavell coined the term meta-cognition for this process. The term meta means “on top of” or “beyond”. Therefore, we can engage in meta-cognition with respect to all cognitive processes. Meta-memory refers to memory about strategies to remember facts, events and objects.

Meta-cognitive knowledge

Meta-cognitive knowledge refers to knowledge about one’s cognitive processes and learning how to maximize resources for better self-regulation and control. Let us consider the case of an MBA aspirant. He or she would spend some time preparing the subjects. Then he or she would appear for a few mock tests. Based on the results of the mock test and one’s own self-analysis, the student would estimate his or her chances in the final examination. In addition, the student would also spend more or less time in certain subjects based on the outcome of the above assessment. It is common to have flawed meta-cognitive knowledge. This is because we often have an innate tendency to overestimate or underestimate our abilities. However, such knowledge greatly enhances our information-processing time and helps us adapt to situations.

Meta-cognitive knowledge also includes awareness about cognitive strategies. For instance, some of use know that we recall better when we visualize the object, fact or event. Therefore, in future we would try to visualize information that we wish to recall. Hence, meta-cognitive knowledge enhances our cognitive abilities.

Meta-cognitive Regulation

Meta-cognitive regulation is a combination of planning, monitoring and evaluation. Planning refers to the successful selection of strategies to reach the goal. Monitoring is the process of becoming aware of task performance. Evaluation refers to undergoing checks to make sure we are on the right track for goal attainment. It is the appraisal that the final task lived up to the expectations.

Focusing on the goal persistently is also a meta-cognitive regulation. We are constantly monitoring and evaluating whether we are reaching our goal. In addition, we are also actively filtering out distracting stimuli. For instance, while working, we have to filter out constant notifications from social media in order to finish the task on time.

Social Meta-cognition

Recently, researchers adopted an expansionist approach to study meta-cognition. They included aspects of social psychology into meta-cognition. Social meta-cognition simply refers to cognition and awareness about the perceptions and judgment of other people. Individuals with high emotional intelligence are likely to be good at social meta-cognition.

Social meta-cognition greatly influences one’s self-esteem. This is because we constantly seek social feedback about our beliefs, abilities and values. Such feedback greatly influences our self-perception and self-esteem. For instance, social stereotypes dictate that elderly people have weaker memory. This stereotype may be internalized by individuals who may believe that they have weaker memory despite not having any physiological damage.

Conclusion

Therefore, meta-cognition is an important process in adaptation and learning. However, too much meta-cognition can hamper with our day-to-day activities and increase anxiety, stress and depression.

The post Meta-cognition Definitions appeared first on Management Weekly.

The year was 2004. The United States Army entered a complicated combat. The combat was very different from any other. They were facing the terror organization Al Qaeda. What was different in this case? Why did the US Army find it so challenging to wage a war against ill-equipped and seemingly backward organization? Read this article to find out more about organizational structure. A comparison of centralized vs decentralized organization shows us that which type of structure is better in specific situations.

Centralized and Decentralized Organizational Structure

An organized set of individuals, teams and business units constitutes a firm. These entities come together in providing products and services for the customers. A firm’s activities create product and services for the customers. Moreover, these activities require some management of roles and responsibilities. An ‘organizational structure’ is like a diagram that shows how these activities are orchestrated.

A centralized organization is one where there is top down approach. The higher-ranking managers have higher control over the lower ones. The ideation, strategy and execution trickles down this hierarchy. This structure is similar to how the armies have been traditionally organized.

On the other hand, decentralization is achieved when the decision-making authority is distributed to lower ranking managers. This gives them more autonomy to take decisions. Although, it helps in agility and increases innovation, there are some drawbacks as well. Decentralized organizations may increase the redundancy. There may also be miscommunication, conflicting objectives and inefficiencies.

Chart for Centralized vs Decentralized Organization

The above diagram shows the central organizational chart. The chart compares it to the decentralized organization. As you can see, the centralized organization has a central command of authority. On the other hand, the decentralized organization has a distributed command of authority.

Advantages of Centralized Organization

1. Centralized organizations are more efficient in terms of resource utilization
2. Higher coherence in terms of meeting organizational objectives. Employees are better aligned to the mission and vision.
3. Efficient structure of direction and authority. The decision making is centralized and it helps in staying focused due to a centralized chain of command.
4. Execution time is lower.
5. Reduced inefficiency in work, data and personnel.

The Disadvantages of a Centralized Organizational Structure

1. It reduces innovation in individuals.
2. Reduces the speed of response to external changes.
3. Higher tendency to please seniors rather than meet organizational objectives.
4. Inputs from lower level employees may never reach the top management.
5. May reduce the learning of low and mid-level managers. A major component of learning is through decision making and feedback. The autonomy for making decisions is lower in a centralized organization.

Advantages of Decentralized Organization

1. Increases creativity and innovation in individuals. Lesser control is shown to make people more creative.
2. Leads to higher motivation, job satisfaction and wellbeing in employees. Also, helps in training future leaders who are confident about their decisions.
3. This structure is very useful in tapping on to the expertise of individuals.
4. The perception of threat is faster. Decision making to combat the threats is also faster.
5. It frees the top managers from making smaller decisions. These small decisions may wear out the top management in a centralized organization. Therefore, they are free to focus all their energy on important decisions.

The Disadvantages of a Decentralized Organizational Structure

The disadvantages of a centralized organizational structure include the following:

1. Increased chances of miscommunication.
2. Possibility of conflicting objectives between different teams in the same organization.
3. Competition within teams inside the organization, leading to lower trust and information sharing between teams.
4. Duplicated projects, increasing redundancy.
5. Information silos, especially for tacit knowledge.

US Army vs Al Qaeda – a golden lesson in organizational design

The Al Qaeda was structured as a formidable force. Firstly, the organization was designed like a network of small teams. These teams defied the traditional army structure and hierarchy. This allowed them independence and spontaneity. As a whole, they were unpredictable bunch of guerrilla warriors. Extremely difficult for the allied forces to understand and fight. This type of organization is essentially a decentralized structure. It provides higher agility and ability to adapt better to the changes. It is relatively new way of looking at centralized vs decentralized organization.

Finally, the United States Army, adapted themselves into a new structure. They developed a hybrid approach. The book ‘Team of Teams’ talks about the history of this war and how this structure helped America register a victory against the formidable force. A team of teams is an organizational structure where organization works as a network of smaller, independent teams. They are connected with each other but function independently. This offers the middle ground between the centralization vs decentralized organization.

The Benefits of Team of Teams Structure

1. Higher trust in the individuals
2. Increased coherence towards the firm’s goals and objectives
3. Rapid decision making
4. Faster information dissemination
5. Higher adaptability

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Digital strategy can explain up to 73% of the variance in a firm’s profitability. Yet, only about 15% of the firms have digital strategy at the core of their businesses. Here, we take a look at digital strategy definition. Further, we shall see, how defining the digital strategy can help us visualize the objectives better.

Digital Strategy Meaning

Digital strategy is assessment, analysis and planning to use digital technology to meet the firm’s objectives. It helps us chalk out the roadmap for future. For instance, if your firm wants to adopt AI in your business processes, you may need to develop a roadmap for AI. Similarly, most businesses are developing elastic digital workplaces to reduce cost and increase employee wellbeing.

Defining digital strategy also helps in establishing a direction for your business. Strategy is like the rudder for a boat. Now, imagine a modern Yamaha motor powered boat, connected with GPS. Further, let us visualize that this boat is a smart boat. It has a navigation system. Now, do you see the difference in capabilities of the boat. On one hand, a manual rudder works in setting the direction of simple boat. On the other hand, a smart boat can offer better maneuverability. It can even have auto pilot. All thanks to the digital controls. A digital strategy for your business is analogous to this smart control, but for your firm.

Digital Strategy Definition Mckinsey

McKinsey developed the definition of business strategy as “an integrated set of action designed to create a sustainable advantage over competitors.” Further, they have emphasized that the definition is valid for digital strategy as well. A recent Mckinsey  Quarterly article suggested the following steps to defining the business strategy:

1. Assess the current situation
2. Ascertain the future scenario for business
3. Develop the pathways that will ensure success in these predicted scenarios

Digital Strategy Examples

Managers had a common misconception earlier. They thought that digital strategy was only for firms that had business model that was based on digital goods. However, digital strategy helps not just companies dealing with dealing goods or digital platform. It can be one of the competitive advantage for traditional companies as well

Domino’s Pizza

Dominos has nothing to do with ‘digital business’ per say. However, they are one of the pioneers of digital strategy. They developed their digital strategy definition way in 2008. Since then they have kept digital at the core of their transformation. Firstly, they focused on leveraging the website as point of sale.

Secondly, they heavily invested in transforming to an app-based food ordering service. Consequently, they launched a comprehensive iPhone app in 2011. The app-based ordering system was an instant success. This is where competitors like Pizza Hut lacked behind. Finally, they also surprised the world with first drone delivery of pizza in 2016.

Renault

The auto giant Renault is another excellent example of how to develop digital strategy definition. They were able to get an increase of 25% in their EBIT through digital transformation. In an interview to BCG, the Chief Information Officer Frédéric Vincent shared the details about the process.

Firstly, the company assessed the options they had with digital projects. Subsequently, they devised their digital strategy. They realized that they had data scattered over a large number of applications. In the first step, they consolidated the data and created a centralized data mart. Secondly, they worked towards improving their business processes. Consequently, they were able to achieve a lift of 50% in productivity.

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In the most general sense, conflict of interest arises when you(as an individual or organization) face a scenario where one decision that may be beneficial to you, may not be beneficial to another entity that relies on your decision.

For example: visualize that you are the reception of a hospital. You are having intense pain in your upper abdomen, along with an irregular pulse. The doctors at the emergency room, conduct their tests. They realize that there is a minor probability of serious heart condition and a major probability of it being a simple acid-reflux in your stomach. However, if they let you leave, the organization(hospital) stands to make a very small amount for providing emergency services. On the other hand, if they inform you that you may be having a heart condition, and they need to keep you in the hospital for 48 hours under observation. In this case, they stand to make significantly more money from you. This situation is a conflict of interest for the doctor. She should keep your interest in mind while making any decision. However, if she decides to present a more gloomy picture, she would be rewarded monetarily.  

What does the law say?

As per the law, when you enter a contract with your client, you are enshrined with certain ‘fiduciary responsibilities.’ Therefore, you are obligated to act under a sense of loyalty or duty towards your clients. Any action that is undertaken voluntarily that may disregard the benefit of your client may be liable. This liability may not be always legal. However, at times, it may be ethically wrong to act in a way that does not benefit your client. If there is a clear case of malpractice or intention to harm, then it may even lead to legal ramifications.

Personal vs professional conflict of interest

On the other hand, there may be cases where you have a conflict between your personal and professional spheres. What does conflict of interest mean in this case? It simply means that you have a dilemma where you have to make a choice between acting to favor your family member, friend, an acquaintance in a way that jeopardizes your professional ethics. For example, consider the situation that you are the mayor of a city. You get tenders for some construction work. Among the bidders, is your brother-in-law. No one in your office knows that you both are related.

However, you know that it is a conflict of interest situation. Even if you act ethically and evaluate all the tenders for their merit and choose the best tender, you will still be liable in the future if someone finds out. You may be incriminated if you pass the tender in favor of your brother-in-law. Even if he is the best candidate. In this situation, the best option is to declare it a competent authority in your office, that you are having a conflict of interest situation. You may ask to step aside from the decision process citing this reason and ask the task to be delegated to someone else.  

This type of transparent approach is not just ethical, it also safeguards you against any allegations in the future. Therefore, it is important to understand what is a conflict of interest situation and how you need to act in these cases. Even if there is the probability of entering into a conflict of interest situation, you should be transparent about it.

3 Steps to resolve conflict of interest

1. Understand the situation – if there is a conflict between your personal interest and professional/organizational/client interest, it is a conflict of interest. Even if there is a chance of getting into such a situation it is a ‘potential conflict of interest situation.
2. Be transparent about it – You should inform a competent authority or superior about your conflict of interest. If you believe you can walk away or delegate the responsibility then you may do it.
3. If in doubt, seek advice – It may not always be possible for individuals to understand what may constitute a conflict. In these cases, you may seek help from superiors or from the legal team in your organization.

If you are a senior manager, you may take these steps. You may ensure that you empower your employees. Consequently, it will enable them to feel confident. Therefore, they may come forward, when they find themselves in such tricky situations.

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In this article, we will learn about Thurstone’s multiple intelligence theory. Intelligence is defined as a combination of mental capabilities and competencies that include the following abilities:

1. To learn from experiences
2. Apply the knowledge gained from experiences
3. Formulate new understandings
4. Solve novel problems

Researchers working in the field of intelligence have come up with many theories and models to explain intelligence. Spearman’s general factor intelligence (g) was very popular. Thurstone, however, argued that human intelligence is too complex to be captured by one single factor. Instead, there need to be multiple factors to describe intelligence. His efforts resulted in the development of the multiple intelligences.

7 Multiple Intelligence

Thurstone proposed seven components of intelligence. These components are called primary mental abilities (PMAs). Thurstone’s multiple intelligence theory has the following components:

Verbal Comprehension

Verbal comprehension is the ability to understand words. It also includes the ability to understand conversations. Thurstone claims that it is one of the primary cognitive skills in humans. In fact it is so important that researchers have claimed that other factors of intelligence are affected by the levels of verbal comprehension.

Verbal comprehension is very crucial in organizations too. For instance, an employee needs to understand what other co-workers and supervisors are saying. Any shortcoming in this ability is likely to lead to major lapses in communication and conflict among employees. Further it is likely to affect productivity too.

Word Fluency

Word fluency is the ability to produce and categorize words and make good conversation spontaneously. It is also a higher order cognitive skills. However, in the level of importance it comes after verbal comprehension.

In the workplace context, word fluency impacts an employee’s ability to communicate his or her ideas, make presentations to clients, produce an excellent sales pitch, convince customers to make a purchase decision and many more. Sales employees need to have very high levels of word fluency.

Numeric Ability

It is the ability to use numbers logically and rationally. Numeric ability is all about how fast and correctly a person deals with numbers and solves problems with numbers. Calculations form the core of this ability. Just like verbal comprehension, this too is a crucial cognitive skill. Therefore, it greatly influences other components of intelligence.

Numerical ability is extremely important in the workplace. Good numeric ability allows employees to make rational and logical evaluations. Further, in today’s age of digital transformation, jobs like data analysis and artificial intelligence have become very popular. Such jobs require good numerical ability. Therefore, having good numerical ability significantly increases employability.

Spatial Relations

This represents the ability to visualize relations. Spatial relations specify how one object in space is located with respect to some other object.

It is important in the workplace because employees with high spatial intelligence are able to connect the dots in new and abstract situations. Thus, they are excellent problem-solvers and out-of-the box thinkers.

Perceptual Speed

Perceptual speed defines how rapidly one can spot similarities and differences in objects. It is important in concept formation. Since concept formation is very important in problem-solving, individuals with high perceptual speed are good problem-solvers.

Employees with good perceptual speed are fast in grasping new and novel solutions. Hence they do not find it difficult to adapt to new technologies and methodologies in work. In addition, they are excellent initiators and adapters of organizational change.

Associative Memory

Associative memory is nothing but the ability to memorize things and recall them later. It is similar to rote learning. However, having a good memory is always a boon. It potentially speeds up information processing time. In addition, it give individuals a strong blueprint of many past events and how to deal with them.

Employees with good associative memory are good at remembering past work experiences. Therefore, they carry organizational “wisdom”. Certain jobs like secretaries require higher amount of this skill. Many professions like doctors, lawyers need to remember a lot of information. Hence, associative memory is an important intelligence for professional success.

Inductive Reasoning

Inductive reasoning is the ability to find rules. It involves drawing conclusions from a specific set of observations. Individuals with high inductive reasoning skills are excellent with numbers. They are very logical and can make excellent generalizations based on data points.

Careers like data scientists require high amount of inductive reasoning. Other engineering and scientific professions also require high amounts of this form of intelligence.

Conclusion

In sum, according to Thurstone’s multiple intelligence theory, intelligence is a sum of various components. However, the multiple factors are somewhat co-related with each other. Therefore, intelligence is more like a hierarchical structure. Future theories of intelligence (after Thurstone) have taken that into account. You may find Guilford’s structure of intelligence useful.

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