THE IDEAL MANAGER

There is an old Chinese saying, which says:
"If you plan for a year, plant a seed.

If you plan for ten years, plant a tree.

If for a hundred years, teach people.

When you sow a seed once, you will reap a single harevest.

When you teach people, you will reap a hundred harvests."

There is no such person as an ideal manager just as there is no such individual as a perfect worker, simply because all human beings are imperfect. Anyone who considers himself to by the epitome of perfection is deluding himself or herself. And anyone who believes he is above making mistakes is a fool.

"The person who never makes a mistake works for someone who does, according to Sir Hector Laing, former chairman of United Biscuits.

The main motive of an entrepreneur is to make profit. A good manager must strike a healthy balance between overall direction of the company's management and the day-to-day problems without losing sight of the overview -- social, economic and political environment in which he is operating..

A top executive must maintain close contact with his line managers in all departments to make the workers feel a part of the whole team. He should be open to fair criticism and must be ready to set things right.if he is convinced that a wrong has been done.

Here is a tricky question which was asked during a recent survey:: "How often, in the past five years, have you experienced a conflict between what was expected of you and what was right in terms of your personal ethics?"  47.4 percent said 'once or twice', 5.6 percent 'three to five times' and 10.1 percent 'six or more times'.

According to another survey, only one-fourth of organizations in 16 countries surveyed have a published code of ethics for managers. Often, firms seem to regard ethics as something to be absorbed by osmosis. Unethical behavior becomes a "me-too" practice in a generally corrupt atmosphere worldwide.