What Are the Advantages of an ITIL Training Course Certification? Some Useful Facts to Consider
The present-day life is not possible to imagine without involvement of IT, which stands for Information Technology. Any aspect of our industry, business, administration, culture, education, entertainment, health care and everyday life – you just name it – will not operate and function as it should without services and resources offered by IT. Information technology has become an essential and critically important for all aspects of our modern civilization.
So, as you understand, taking into consideration the immense role that IT plays in our life today, it is not surprising that all aspects of IT professional specializations enjoy great popularity and high demand on the part of employers nowadays.
- What is the importance of ITIL for IT specializations? What role does it play?
Any person who aspires to pursue a successful and rewarding career in IT industry should realize that this segment is experiencing the phase of explosive growth. The IT industry environment is extremely dynamic and competitive these days. In order to stay on top any serious IT professional should use all possible advantages that are available for him or her to master – competition is too harsh and demanding, too many young aspiring guys strive for winning an attractive and rewarding employment position in this segment and be a success. And in such a situation of harsh competition any ambitious IT professional can make use of getting a good command over the ITIL system. The time and finance the guy will be required to spend will pay off very well in the long run – the rapid growth of IT industry is the best indication that this business is to prosper and flourish during the next decade, the employment prospects are to be excellent according to all qualified projections. So, do not hesitate and get on the band wagon as soon as you can, otherwise you risk being left behind one of the most promising and attractive trends of modern IT business. It is always better to be IN the trend, than OUT!
It is difficult to find a business these days that spares financial resources and saves on investments into IT segment. A decade or two ago some companies happened to be reluctant to invest into IT. Some of them were afraid that it would be a waste of precious funds, the system would turn out to be irrelevant and inefficient and it would be better to assign the free financial resources into some other field. The realities of present-day business environment made them changed their attitude towards IT and its importance for successful development of their businesses. They all have been made to realize that IT and good management of IT aspects and functions has become a critically important and extremely powerful force, used to meet, master and overcome the challenges of the present-day business environment and its dynamics.
ITIL (which is an abbreviation for Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is one of those tools that no business, no IT professional can really do without, since it happens to be essential for successful and efficient functioning of IT-related aspects and segments of all kinds of industry, business, administration and so on – everywhere!
The Information technology Infrastructure Library is, essentially, an optimization tool for all kinds of IT processes. It was specifically designed to meet the standards of IT services in this respect. It is universal and effective.
- What are the typical contents of any ITIL training program?
The ITIL training programs have been developed having in mind the primary purpose of ITIL – introduction of standards and optimization into the immensely overgrown and complicated aspects of IT that are found in every type of business or other organizations. The optimization of IT processes is the primary objective of ITIL system.
In this respect all employees and professionals, going to have an ITIL training course, should be, in the first place, provided with sufficient overall understanding of the IT concepts. The basic knowledge of IT is simply “a must”, without those knowledge and sufficient skills you should not even think about getting to the higher levels of ITIL certification. That is why the basic understanding of IT concepts and functions has become of crucial importance for any quality ITIL training course, and is always included into the training program. The second, most important part of ITIL training concerns the specifics of ITIL system – always its current, most up-to-date version, as it is. Surely, if you happen to be an IT professional you will be getting and advantage over those trainees without basic knowledge of IT. Knowledge is always power, as they used to say!
- Does ITIL training promise any career advancement advantages for IT professionals?
The answer is absolutely YES! Any ambitious and aspiring IT professional surely strives for a career advancement and success. Getting into the segment of IT management is one of the good strategies of career advancement in IT industry. This strategy has been proven to work OK! If you have chosen this path to career success, then make sure to get geared up by using all advantages and benefits of ITIL training certification. It is not a problem to enroll into even the best and most valued ITIL training programs – this is purely a question of your free time and finance resources – since the ITIL training programs do not make the pre-qualification their strict requirement. But the absence of such requirement does not mean that you would not benefit from having a sound knowledge and at least basic understanding of the principles of Information Technology field. Any previous training and experience in any segment of this industry would be a great advantage for your successful ITIL certification, in the long run!
One of the great advantages that a certified ITIL specialist can provide for all kind of business, government or public organizations would be availability of readymade models. Those ITIL models can be easily and efficiently adjusted according to specific needs and objective of the past, current and future activities of any organization. This also leads to great savings on the part of the IT department, since its personnel will be saved from necessity to invest into the department’s own activities aimed at developing and monitoring procedures of IT efficiency and optimization. The ITIL training offers effective and already completed solutions for all possible purposes in that respect!
One of the reasons that forces companies and corporations to invest into updating and optimization of their Information Technology segment is the key role that IT plays in their production and sales enhancement. Also IT is critical for overall control and monitoring of the business activities – without efficient management no organization can be a success, and IT aspects are of vital importance in this respect. Understanding their importance, the great majority of company owners these days take care to provide sufficient ITIL training for their employees at the company expense! They understand that investment into equipping the personnel with relevant knowledge and skills will pay off very well in the long run, so they do not try to save on those activities.
ITIL training certification has actually become a fantastic resource for IT professionals who are seriously thinking about getting into IT management for further career advancement! The understanding of IT management and winning strategies in that field can be achieved by any serious IT professional through quality ITIL training – for better career opportunities and for winning promising positions in IT management employment market, in the end!
General Management Course Can Lead You to Your Dream Job
Many rank and file professionals employed in various organizations desire at some point in their careers to become a general manager or perhaps, chief executive someday. With hard work, loyalty to the company and dedication to the job, many have been successful while the others are still climbing up the corporate ladder. This dream is very achievable if only one has the right attitude and the right foundation.
A bachelor’s degree in business management is all you need to land your most desired job to be a big boss in a major company. Depending on the school where you earn such degree, this course usually offers a rigid training on management skills and business education to equip students with a solid foundation on business management after graduation. College students taking this course are taught the effective methods in managing the different aspects of a business organization regardless of the situation it’s in.
Under the business management program is a specialized course known as general management. This focuses on developing a student’s capability in managing different business situations from the simplest to the most complex and critical. In addition, students involved in this program are expected to learn how to make important decisions and find solutions to a variety of issues for the benefit of the entire organization.
Specifically, a general management program is aimed at professionals in the top management level or those about to move to a higher management position such as division or regional heads which would require them to handle additional responsibilities. People who go through this program are expected to do a lot of analyzing, decision making and communicating and therefore, should develop strong leadership and communication skills as well as flexibility. They are also taught to gain a deeper understanding of their functions that include optimizing capital, manpower and resources to reach their organization’s objectives even amidst uncertain economic conditions.
A general management program may take from as short as two to three weeks to as long as two years. This involves rigorous school training and sometimes, exposure to and interaction with other international business executives. Subjects covered may include strategic management, marketing, accounting, problem-solving, organizational change, decision making, financial management, operations management and communication and negotiation skills.
There are numerous benefits to gain from this program. Apart from increasing one’s awareness in managing new market trends and demands, one can also learn to improve a team’s performance with the right leadership skills, learn additional information on financial and accounting principles, analyze business models and critical issues, evaluate and utilize new technology and make fair and suitable business decisions.
Business management graduates have the potential of becoming general managers or executives in the top level management in the future. General managers perform a wide variety of functions from planning, decision making, directing people and coordinating the overall operations of a company. In particular, they take charge in formulating policies, managing the organization’s daily operations from purchasing to administrative services and planning the utilization of human and material resources.
Young people wishing to have a bright future can earn their college degree in business management at various universities. Two choices are available – either earning the degree online or by attending a traditional school.
Are you considering an Associate’s Degree in business management [http://www.potomac.edu/degree-programs associate-degree/management]? You can complete an online application [https://www.applypotomac.com/new.php] form or visit us at Potomac College today. A rewarding career in business management can be yours if select the correct education.
Corporate Management Communication – Training the Trainer
I remember doing some selling for a company where I was getting a small base remuneration that covered some salary, sales cost, car and travel expenses. It would run out in seventeen weeks, after which “commission-only” would kick in. Because I brought in with me a lot of management knowledge, the company kept putting me on managerial tasks. In addition, I was expected to learn training materials and get certified in order to deliver seminars as well as sell them.
Soon I could only spend 50% of my time in sales which meant that, if reaching a quota took 3 months, it would now take 6 months. The more I had to do outside of sales, the less time I could spend in sales. My prospecting and follow-ups were falling behind every day. This, of course was costing me money because I had seventeen weeks to build it up beyond the base salary. I took my prospect lists home at night and entered them in my data base on my own computer in order to try and keep up a minimum contacts of calls during the little prime day time I had left.
One day, two of my colleagues and myself, were asked to attend a 3-day course certification training. A “master trainer” was flown in from the US affiliate company. The event was arranged under a tight schedule to meet a client training coming up in the following week. I was the one who was to deliver the seminar to a group of Japanese engineers at a large corporation. The course was three days in length. This was now Wednesday, which meant that we were going through the materials for the first time on the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of the week before the training.
The normal way to train trainers required several steps. Step #1 would require a trainer to participate in a course while it is being delivered at a client’s place of business by a certified company trainer. If the prospective trainer had a personal interest in delivering the particular course, he/she would then proceed to step #2 which is an instructional train-the-trainer course delivered by one of the organization’s master trainer. Then step #3 would be for the trainer to do a personal run-through of the course, making his/her own notes and clarifying any questions that might come up. Step #4 would be to present his/her course internally the first time and get critics from the colleagues, making necessary adjustments. Ideally, Step #5 would be to make a perfect final internal presentation for certification prior to delivery to a client. With a 3-day course, the training would take at least 12 business days if one skipped Step #5 (3 days X 4 steps).
However, in this case there were not 12 days. There were not even 9 days, if one skipped step #4. There were not even 6 days. There were only 3 days left because the three-day course was to be delivered at the client’s place of business beginning on the following Tuesday, Monday being the preparation day.
Because time did not allow this proper sequence of training, the three of us were taken directly into step #2 without having seen the course before.
To make matters worse, top management (the partner-owner/president of the company), made the mistake of letting us have the student material ONLY. This normally happened at step #1 where a prospective trainer attends the course as a participant at a client’s location. The next time the prospective trainer goes through the course as a train-the-trainer session, it is with both the instructor’s and the student’s material.
During our training, I asked if we could have the instructors manual as well, since we were doing Step 2 (both steps 1 and 2 at the same time) and there would be no time to go through it a second time, before our own review. Besides the logical reason, this would also allow us to mark our notes directly on our instructor’s manual, etc., saving us having to re-write the material given to us during the training.
My request for the instructor’s manual was denied. On what basis? Pride. The president could not admit he had made a mistake (he was out of context on the material needed at Step #2, even though this was our 1st training on that course; but now he wouldn’t admit it). I argued my case, on behalf of myself and my colleagues who agreed with me that the manuals were necessary, offering all the constructive reasons for the situation we had been placed into.
At one point the president resorted to the pathetic excuse that the material cost money (?!) which made no sense whatsoever — again totally out of context, because he was getting desperate to try and cover his mistake. This I promptly countered with our offer to pay for the material — because we simply needed it and we were running out of time. But I had to back down when the dialogue became a public dual between my suggestions and the president’s refusals. This is a Classic example of an ultimate top-down-only communication.
We had to finish the 3-day training without the instructor’s manual. The president refused to come down to our level at the cost of jeopardizing the company’s own need and reputation. An example of top management not trained in growing with the position. The ultimate contextual part here of course was the good of the company. Forget about personal pride and ego, what is good for the company?
How did we make out you wonder? Well none of us was ready to deliver the program at the appointed time and the master-trainer had to be brought back from the US to do it. And all because of personal pride and lack of training and growth on the part of corporate management communication./dmh
Diane M. Hoffmann is the founder of Hoffmann-Rondeau Communications and the web site http://communication-verbal-nonverbal.com which is the home of her e-books “Improve Communication, Verbal and Nonverbal” and “Improve Communication, Organization and Training” as well as her 296-page printed book “Contextual Communication, Organization and Training”. You may reprint this article making sure to include this bio with no changes.
What’s the Profile of a Complete Manager?
What’s the profile of a ‘complete’ manager – one who daily achieves success for herself, her team, and the organization she works for?
For many years now, I’ve been coaching hundreds of managers in just about every environment imaginable – large and small organizations, for-profit and not-for profit, over three continents and over 20 countries, and I’ve noticed that in all that time, certain characteristics of successful managers recur over and over again.
Pattern Recognition: What Makes a ‘Complete Manager’?
During the last year, I’ve been consolidating this pattern recognition of successful managers and comparing it with organizational success principles to develop the profile of the ‘Complete Manager’.
Setting apart the technical skills required to fulfill the manager’s core function (sales, legal, IT, accounting, etc.), I’ve found 14 characteristics, broadly fitting into three categories (although there is some overlap – many of the 14 characteristics have an impact on more than one category).
Category 1. Productivity
The first of the three categories of the ‘Complete Manager’ is Productivity.
Here, the manager is focussed on ensuring that both she and her team deliver the actual outputs required from them. There are four specific characteristics that the Complete Manager demonstrates in doing so:
Time Management
The ability to manage their time – not just in the abstract, but hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and over the course of a whole year.
Priority Management
It’s possible to have great time management skills, but to be using them on the wrong things! The Complete Manager also has a heightened awareness of what their real priorities are, and stay focussed on not just ‘doing things right’, but also ‘doing the right thing’.
Crisis Management
So many otherwise excellent managers simply allow themselves to be too easily derailed by crises and problems. The Complete Manager absorbs crises, adapts appropriately, and gets the train back on the rails effectively and quickly.
Delegation
Even the most effective manager will achieve less than optimum results if they try to do everything themselves. The Complete Manager refuses to micro-manage, and delegates appropriately to those on her team.
Category 2. Developing Others
The second of the three categories of the ‘Complete Manager’ is Developing Others.
Not only is Productivity (Category 1) enhanced by developing others, but the medium and long term strength of the organization as a whole is dramatically increased by doing so.
Performance Assessment
The Complete Manager regularly, consistently and fairly gives feedback on each team members performance.
Skills Assessment and Coaching
Although you may not personally do the actual coaching, the Complete Manger ensures that each team member is given access to formal and informal coaching as needed – specifically to enhance performance issues arising out of the performance assessment process.
Mentoring & 1-1′s
The Complete Manager will provide each team member with a risk-free, judgment -free environment to develop as individuals and as contributors to the organization as a whole.
Empowerment
The Complete Manager ensures that her team members have the authority and responsibility necessary to not only do their own jobs, but to use creativity and take ownership of problems and issues as they arise.
Hiring
Rather than seeing it as an inconvenience, or the responsibility of ‘HR’, the Complete Manager embraces high-quality hiring as an integral part of her job and ensures that it is given the time and attention it needs to ensure the quality of every hire is as high as possible.
Category 3. Teamwork
The third of the three categories in which the Complete Manager excels, is in Teamwork.
This characteristic – of working not just in a silo, delivering their own outputs in a vacuum, but working with peers across the entire organization to deliver the overall organizational goals also – is perhaps the most frequently underdeveloped category in organizations that are not consistently achieving the results they set out to.
Conflict Management
Complete Managers do not avoid conflict – not do they needlessly create it, or worse, avoid it. Instead, they manage conflict positively, always seeking the best for the organization as a whole.
Difficult Conversations
In dealing with their own teams, peers and ‘managing up’ to their bosses, the Complete Manager knows how to conduct a difficult conversation – how to be ‘ruthlessly constructive’ and tell bad news when necessary, without fear or favor.
Communication Skills
With the volume of information involved in management, it’s not surprising that the Complete Manager has exceptionally strong communication skills – written, verbal, listening and presentational.
Working Cross-functionally
The Complete Manager first breaks her own silo by involving others outside of her team in cross-functional consultations, then helps others break down their silos by making herself and her team available to help in understanding and improving how the organization ‘passes the baton’ across the whole enterprise.
Accountability
Last, but the linchpin that holds so much of the other characteristics together, the Complete Manager holds herself and her team accountable to every commitment and milestone, and establishes a reporting mechanism that will keep her and her team honest in delivering on what they say they will. Notably, the Complete Manager is visibly accountable not just on those projects and tasks and projects she deems important and/or exciting, but all tasks and projects she has committed to.
Les McKeown is the President & CEO of Predictable SuccessR, a consulting firm specializing in organizational and executive development.
Les is the author of ‘Retaining Top Employees’ (McGraw-Hill, 2002) ‘The Complete Guide to Mentoring and Coaching’ and ‘The Complete Guide to Orientation and Re-Orientation’.
You can read more of Les’s work at his websites: http://GetPredictableSuccess.com
http://Employee-Retention.com
Micro-Managing – The Up Side, the Down, and an Alternative That Works
Do it at your peril! Micro-manage, that is. Sadly, for most who already micro-manage, that caution is likely to fall on deaf ears. Yet the urge to micro-manage can destroy the effectiveness of a manger, the people who report to him – or her – as well as the company they work for.
Let me introduce you to my favorite micro-manager. I call him Mr. Hourglass. It could just as easily be Ms. instead of Mr. But, truth be known, micro-managers are most often men. Why the name Mr. Hourglass? Well, picture an hourglass in your mind. Wide at the top, wide at the bottom, but totally constricted in the middle. That’s your typical micro-manager.
Nothing happens without his – or her – approval. Nothing moves. Nothing changes. Progress comes to a dead halt. Until, of course, he or she decides which project or effort will be allowed to take one step forward. For micro-managers, seldom are things allowed to progress more than one step at a time.
The typical micro-manager not only decides when, but why, how, and by how much. And, every step along the way, Mr. Hourglass – or Ms. – feels compelled to retain control of every event, every decision point.
And – if that manager’s obsession with controlling all things near and far spreads beyond his or her personal office – micro-managing can drastically slow, even totally eliminate, any progress the company might hope to achieve. That, without a doubt, is the most frightening down side.
Another down sides effect is the waste of precious time and energy on the part of the control freak. Add to that the time and energy wasted by his or her subordinates as they scramble to do things they hope their lord and master – or mistress – wants done, and it’s easy to see how a firm’s assets are squandered.
Another negative, if you’re counting, is that in the absence of the micro-manager – for illness, of course, since they rarely take vacations – everything he or she is involved with comes to a screeching halt.
One of the least noticed results of a micro-managed environment is its affect on creativity. That’s because new ways of thinking, of doing, of looking for and at challenges are discouraged, New ideas, like fruit on a tree, wither and die before ripening. Micro-managers resemble the worm that, unnoticed, penetrates the core of an apple. Left unchecked, micro-management as a pattern of corporate behavior can ultimately destroy an entire organization.
The huge plus that accrues to micro-managers, perhaps the only plus, is that, He-Who-Must-Be-In-Control – or She – feels reassured by knowing precisely what is going on at all times – or at least believing that to be true. Often, nothing may be further from the truth – because rebellious subordinates will eventually find ways around their micro-manager. Or they leave.
For the micro-manager who dares to change that behavior, there is a way to both maintain control while easing up on it, if only he or she is willing to try. It’s called delegation. Give subordinates the responsibility necessary to accomplish what you want done. Give them, too, the authority required to discharge that responsibility. Then tie both together – responsibility and authority – with the requirement that those subordinates report their progress and/or problems to you on a regularly scheduled basis. It’s one way to eliminate micro-management that works almost every time.
c 2008 Philip A. Grisolia, CBC
Phil Grisolia is a results-oriented marketing communications consultant. An accredited Certified Business Communicator (CBC), Phil is also an award-winning copywriter, author, syndicated columnist and respected marketing professor. To see the results Phil delivers for a broad range of clients, visit http://PhilGrisolia.com
Tags
Recent Posts
- What Are the Advantages of an ITIL Training Course Certification? Some Useful Facts to Consider
- General Management Course Can Lead You to Your Dream Job
- Corporate Management Communication – Training the Trainer
- What’s the Profile of a Complete Manager?
- Micro-Managing – The Up Side, the Down, and an Alternative That Works
- How to Enter Criminal Justice Management
- CIW Courses – Are They Worth It?
- CPA Exam Tips: Time Management
- Purchasing Management Certification – Benefits of Becoming Certified
- Choosing the Right Plumber Courses