Common Management Questions and Problems. David Parrish. International Management Consultant and Trainer

Common Management Questions and Problems

Questions that Leaders and Managers ask ..... and some answers

The following are questions which clients are asking about their own organisation and/or which I often ask of my clients during a consultancy assignment, in order to understand the underlying problems - and offer a solution.
After each question is a link to a concept, model, tool or idea which will be of help (see Ideas and Tools section for a complete list).

Business Strategy and Business Planning

How do we manage our different businesses / products in our portfolio? (The Boston Box)

How should we grow our business / organisation? (Ansoff's Matrix)

How can we objectively assess our own strengths and weaknesses? (MAPSCARE Analysis)

Why are we always 'fire-fighting' instead of planning for the future? (Four Quadrants)

What can we be world-class at? (Hedgehog Concept)

Where should we focus our efforts? (Pareto Principle)

What is a SWOT Analysis? (SWOT Analysis)

What's changed/changing in the world out there? (Environmental Analysis / Theory of the Business)

Should we re-examine our mission statement? (Theory of the Business / Hedgehog Concept)

Are we in the wrong business? (Strategic Marketing / Theory of the Business)

How do we write a business plan? (Environmental Analysis / Strategic Marketing / etc)

What should we be measuring to make sure we are fulfilling our strategy? (Balanced Scorecard)

Is diversification the right strategy? (Ansoff's Matrix)

What do you need to be good at to excel as a company/organisation? (Core Competencies / Theory of the Business)

How do we keep our strategy focused when there are so many opportunities around? (Hedgehog Concept)

How can we use limited resources most effectively? (Pareto Principle)

How do we devise a strategy which is not just about short-term profits/income? (Balanced Scorecard)

Why should we take into account employees' and local residents' needs? (Corporate Social Responsibility)

How can we measure not only profit but also social and environmental impact? ('Triple Bottom Line')

Marketing and International Marketing

What do our customers really want? (Strategic Marketing)

Which are the most important/profitable of our customers? (Pareto Principle)

How do we do business in China? (Art of Chinese Business)

Organisational Structures

Should we employ people or engage freelancers/contractors? (Club/Sandwich)

How do we control fixed costs as a project-based organisation (Club/Sandwich)

Should we work with our competitors instead of against them? (Co-opetition)

How do we keep our people motivated and up to date when they are freelance and/or work alone? (Club/Sandwich / Learning Organisation)

Organisational Culture and Human Resources

How can we overcome resistance to change? (Change Management / Mastering Change)

Why can I manage a Virtual Team? (Managing Virtual Teams)

Do we have a balanced management team? (Belbin's Team Roles)

Why are so many of our meetings ineffective? (Belbin's Team Roles)

What is our organisational culture? Is there likely to be a clash of cultures with a partner organisation? (Four Organisational Cultures)

When is it time to stop emailing and phone or meet? (When to Email, Phone or Meet)

How can we change our organisational culture? (Change Management / Mastering Change)

Why do we never complete projects properly? (Belbin's Team Roles)

How can we help managers to learn practical management skills? (Action Learning)

How can we improve communication in our management team? (The Enneagram)

How do we make sure we keep up to date in a fast-changing world? (Learning Organisation)

Why can we build effective teams? (Belbin's Team Roles)

Leadership

What is the latest thinking on leadership styles?
(Level 5 Leadership / 'Just Enough' Leadership)

How can I lead and manage people I rarely meet, using just email and the phone? (Leading Virtual Teams)

Change Management

How can we bring about lasting change? (Mastering Change)

What models of change management can we use?
(Eight Stage Process / ADKAR model of change)

Competitors

Who are our competitors? (Environmental Analysis / Porter's Five Forces / Marketing Warfare)

How can we survive and win in a competitive marketplace? (Charting your Competitive Strategy / Marketing Warfare)

How can we fully understand the threat from competitors? (Porter's Five Forces Model / Marketing Warfare)

Are there new products on the market which threaten your business? (Porter's Five Forces Model)

Are our business partners also potential competitors? (Co-opetition / Marketing Warfare)

There are many other questions asked by clients and David Parrish about management issues and challenges.
If you have other questions to add here, or would like to ask a management consultant, please contact David Parrish.