We are beginning a new feature on About Management - a series of "how to" articles designed to give you a short lesson in how to handle the basic tasks of management. Each will be linked to more in-depth information if you wish to dig deeper into a particular topic.
What do I want to do?
Perhaps the first thing you need to do is to figure out what you want your people to accomplish. A mission statement is a short document that tells your people, your customers (internal and external), and your suppliers what you are about. It makes it easier for everyone to pull together if everyone knows what the objective is. How to Draft a Mission Statement lists twelve things you can do to start drafting a mission statement for your group.
How should I set it up?
After you figure out where you are going and you write up your mission statement, you need to look at whether your organization supports that objective. If your organization does not support your objective, you need to change it so it does. When you have rearranged your organization so it does support your objective, you need to communicate that organization structure to everyone involved. This is done through an organization chart, an org chart for short. How to Build an Org Chart is a quick guideline on how to draw an org chart for a department. You can easily expand it out for an entire company.
How does this look?
If anyone in your organization deals with the public, you should have a dress code for all employees. A dress code is a simple document that tells people in various functions what is appropriate work attire, and why. How to Set a Dress Code guides you through the steps of creating a workable dress code for your company.
What else?
This feature is designed to help you be a better manager. What other topics would you like to see addressed? What else would you like to know "how to"? Let me know at management.guide@about.com.
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