The Results-Oriented General Management Workplace

General management jobs are involved in a lot of detail even though by their very nature they are focused on organization results. When general management people are so engrossed in the details of their jobs, it's easy for them, for anyone actually, to lose sight of the job's major contribution.

A Results-Oriented General Management Job Description is different from a traditional job description because it focuses an employee on the several job results that answer the question: What results must this general management job accomplish for the organization?

General Management Job Standards added to job expectations tighten management controls by clarifying how well and when results must be accomplished.

General Management Job Objectives establish management and employee plans by highlighting important current and future results needed.

Job-specific General Management Employee Management Forms maintain consistent and legally sound management actions by basing manager-employee interactions on job results.

The Purpose of General Management Jobs

Stated in a results-oriented, three-line style, general management jobs--

MAXIMIZE RETURN ON INVESTED CAPITAL by

researching opportunities and problems; inaugurating programs and processes; meeting financial requirements; evaluating and reporting results; selecting and developing key executives and successors; assigning accountabilities; setting objectives and establishing priorities; integrating corporate efforts.

Types of General Management Jobs

General management jobs are concerned with the total organization rather than individual departments. These jobs set policies and standards for finance, operations, quality, publicity, communication, and human resource management, and later, evaluate results and the need for additional capacity.

General Management Job Management Tools

Here are actual job examples of how general management job actions can be focused on results and kept on track using each of our job management tools:

Results-Oriented General Management Job Descriptions form the foundation of all job management tools. Our uniquely structured job descriptions focus on the result to be accomplished first and prominently, followed by the duties performed in order to accomplish the result. For example,

RECOMMENDS GENERAL MANAGEMENT ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

General Management Job Standards sharpen employee attention and management control by defining and communicating how well the general management results must be accomplished and what benchmarks will be used to measure job results. For example, for the job result above, the job standards might be:

• General Management situations are correctly understood.
• All options are identified and evaluated.
• General Management recommendations are ready when needed.

General Management Job Objectives point the direction for employee actions by focusing job efforts on current and future general management issues. Job objectives are written in the three-line, results-oriented structure. For example, for the job result above, a job objective might be:

SPEED-UP DECISION MAKING by

reducing time to deliver general management recommendations by 10% by (date).

General Management Employee Management Forms tied specifically to each general management job description are more helpful (and legal) than generic forms used for all different kinds of jobs. Job-specific forms are used to state job qualifications, guide job interview questions, orient new employees, plan job training, and appraise job performance.

General Management Job Qualifications are stated in the same terms used in the job description. They are not translated into generic (typically behavioral) terms. For example:

RECOMMENDS GENERAL MANAGEMENT ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

General Management Job Interview guide questions are inserted directly below each job result in the job description: For example:

• "What specific job responsibilities have you had in this area?"
• "Where did you have these job responsibilities?"
• "When did you have these job responsibilities?"
• "How did you go about accomplishing these responsibilities?"
• "What accomplishment in this area gave you the most pride?"
• "In this area, what were some of your biggest challenges?"
• "How did you overcome the challenges?"

The General Management Job Orientation guide reformats the job description sequence so that job explanations, policies, protocols, processes, and procedures are logical and complete and can easily be checked off. For example:

RECOMMENDS GENERAL MANAGEMENT ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

The manager might say: "Here's the procedure and format we use to analyze and present general management recommendations."

The General Management Job Training plan guides a thorough examination of actual job knowledge, skills, and abilities as described in the job description that need improvement or that might be enhanced. For example:

RECOMMENDS GENERAL MANAGEMENT ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

The manager might say: "Analytical skills would be improved by enrolling in a statistical analysis class."

The General Management Job Performance Appraisal guide is a job-specific form. It is not a universal form used for all jobs. The guide adds an appraisal scale below each job result in the job description so that attention can be drawn to each job requirement and expectation. For example:

RECOMMENDS GENERAL MANAGEMENT ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

__ Great! Just want we wanted.
__ We have a problem.
__ Improvement is needed.
__ Much, much more than we asked for.

Comments: _________________

General Management Résumé Template

Potential employers want to know what a job applicant has accomplished in his/her general management work career. They don't want to be bored with minor details. Our Résumé Template provides:

• an outline to help assemble personal background information.
• a Results-Oriented Job Description to provide the general management job language-focused on results-needed to write an effective résumé.
• General Management Job Objectives to orient thinking in terms of accomplishments.
• instructions on how to use a Results-Oriented General Management Job Description and General Management Job Objectives to express job accomplishments.

Use the general management job description responsibility statement as a base:

RECOMMENDS GENERAL MANAGEMENT ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

Select the general management job objective that fits your experience:

REDUCE COSTS 10% by

improving general management processes.

Combine the two into a résumé statement:

Reduced costs 10% by analyzing, identifying, and recommending new general management system controls.

General Management Career Links

Yale University, School of Management

Career roadmap, what you'll do, who does well, online resources.

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Top Executives

Education, experience, and preparation needed for top executive jobs, earnings, expected job prospects, what executives do on the job, and working conditions.