Q. If you were a management Consultant what advice would you give Ben Cohen? Ans.

As a Management Consultant I would like Ben to consider and implement the following practices to his venture: A Joyful work environment where people can work hard and & have fun at the same time. Too many times, you hear people talk about effort. About having to work hard and how you need a combination of working hard and smart. You want to make your career success journey a happy one. Remember these two words. Joyful effort. Effort itself is not enough. You must do it joyfully. Work will become a dread whether through monotony or constant challenges that comes your way. If it was just plain effort, you get tired easily. Joyful effort gives you energy and endurance in pursuit of your goals. It keeps you from being sidetracked by laziness and challenges. It keeps you from becoming disillusioned by challenges and adversity. How do you put joy into effort? One way is to have a strong and healthy mind. How do you have a strong and healthy mind? Think positive. How do you think positive? Seed a positive thought. The other way is to see setbacks as lessons that increase chances of success and adversity as a test of mental strength. When you see how these efforts contribute to your success and discovery of your purpose, you will do things joyfully. Employees having role in decision making Encouraging employees to come up with unique ideas can work wonders especially on matters such as cost cutting, waste management, safety measures, reward system, etc. Developing a full-fledged procedure can add value to the organizational functions and create a healthy environment and work culture. For instance, Satyam is known to have introduced an amazing country-wide suggestion scheme, the Idea Junction. It receives over 5,000 ideas per year from its employees and company accepts almost one-fifth of them. Organization must be more than a profit making venture Having a social purpose which involves a commitment to creating value for a community or society rather than just wealth for the owners or personal satisfaction for customers Decentralization (horizontal communication) Horizontal communication overcomes barriers between departments and provides opportunity for coordination amongst employees to achieve unity of effort and organizational objectives. Flexibility of doing work Employees should be provided flexible working hours. Research shows that flexible work hours results in work intensification. Flexibility of work also results in higher levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment amongst workers.

 Employee centric In an employee-centric culture, a free flow of communication, ideas and innovative thinking is encouraged throughout the organizational structure. All ideas can be expressed and will be received in a positive and respectful manner. Each employee is valued and considered critical to the organizations success in delivering its shared vision and mission. Talent will be nurtured by giving each employee an opportunity to grow, learn, develop skills and pursue goals.