Contract Management Software: the Solution to the Problem of Coordination

Written by Joe Miller


Charles Petrie, from Stanford, released a short article entitled “The Problem of Coordination,” which highlights 4 categories in which businesses find it difficult to connect:

Interoperability

Agent Communication

Semantic Unification

Coordination

Though this article refers to a specific type of business, its principles are just as applicable to any business, especially when collaborating on a contract. Contract collaboration and management is difficult in any business, andrepparttar negotiations can go on for weeks, months, or even years. In seeking to manage contract deliberations, organization of personnel, documents, and software can make or break a clean operation.

Using Petrie’s model, this article explores howrepparttar 135993 right contract management software isrepparttar 135994 solution torepparttar 135995 problem of coordination.

Interoperability

Interoperability is defined by Petrie inrepparttar 135996 question “Can you read my data?” Search “contract management software” in Google, and in .44 seconds you will be introduced to millions of products indexed for your specific search-18,400,000 to be exact. The only problem is that they are not all compatible.

The most commonly used business software is MS office software, which coordinates email with other applications targeted toward common business needs: spreadsheets, word processing, presentations, etc. The problem cited by Petrie and applied to contract management is that businesses which work together need to haverepparttar 135997 right contract management software, which will aid collaboration within these commonly used business applications. The solution is surprisingly simple.

Agent Communication

Again, some questions: “What isrepparttar 135998 protocol? How will you find me?” In contract management, generally a draft is drawn after much negotiation and deliberation. The man or woman who is “lucky” enough to draftrepparttar 135999 contract must draw from up to thousands of documents of drafts and notes. This draft will quickly multiply into an almost unmanageable number of drafts and documents.

The old way to handle this document influx was either to file them in a drawer, paperclip them together, or pile them on your desk. This is virtually impossible to handle because it takes up so much space and is so difficult to organize. What most people don’t understand is that if you are saving these drafts electronically, you still haverepparttar 136000 same problems. It is almost impossible to manage all ofrepparttar 136001 drafts, and you may overload your desktop.

The other way protocol becomes a problem is thatrepparttar 136002 editorial cycle is really not a cycle at all but a cyclone of drafts whirling back and forth in no particular order. The likelihood of always findingrepparttar 136003 most recent draft right away is aboutrepparttar 136004 same as reaching out intorepparttar 136005 cyclone for a specific thing and finding it inrepparttar 136006 first grab. In other words, you may send several drafts to several people before any

Ten Top Ways for Managers to Motivate Their People

Written by Martin Haworth


Motivating people is a sure way to getrepparttar best from them - yet it is not something for a to-do list. Motivation comes from consistent cultural shifts from within. Managers arerepparttar 135982 ones who can show behaviours which will makerepparttar 135983 difference and lead to a team of highly motivated individuals developing your business forward.

So to help startrepparttar 135984 ball rolling, here are ten top ways to get your people motivated. Ten small steps for you to start with.

  1. Recognise them Recognise your people as people, by saying 'Good Morning', checking that they're OK and taking a little time with them.

  2. Challenge them People need stimulation at work, so to encourage growth, build on their achievement of one skill, withrepparttar 135985 introduction of another. Instruct, coach and then delegaterepparttar 135986 new task.

  3. Encourage fun Whilst it is a fine line between having fun and anarchy, it is worthwhile spendingrepparttar 135987 time to understand, define and explore that boundary. Having fun is a great way to build team spirit. Checkout where everyone's 'fun' threshold is, respect it and then have a lot of laughs.

  4. Listen - a LOT! Listening to your people builds rapport and a bond which in itself is powerfully motivational.

  5. Encourage mistakes By stretching themselves, people sometimes get it wrong - and sometimes make gloriously powerful 'inventions' to move your business forward. By creating an environment where mistakes are not wrong but encouraged, you will find creativity soars. Even mistakes where things go wrong and cost money should not be wasted. Create value from these by really learning forrepparttar 135988 future...as Henry Ford once said "Bring me people who make mistakes" - make it a safe place!

  6. Say Thank You It is surprising how much reward we all get from being recognised. The humble (if rare in some organisations), "Thank you" is a simple, yet very powerful way to recogniserepparttar 135989 efforts every one of your team puts in every day. Think ofrepparttar 135990 last time someone said thank you to you and how great that made you feel.

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