The managerial quality of a company (that of each of its managers and as a whole) is a critical factor in making the company competitive and excellent. It is more than advisable that it be measured, diagnosed and promoted in its growth.
There are organizations that verify and certify other more peripheral aspects of a company (occupational risk management, environment, quality of service, social responsibility, etc.). Until now, there are no institutions that provide a solvent Certification in this area.
Worldwide, every successful organization must execute projects that meet the quality standards and requirements expected by the customer.
procedure-measure-quality-competence-directiveTo maximize the performance of a project and to improve its likelihood of success, each organization must build a better project management process dedicated to meeting the most important customer needs. Along with robust project management, it is considered a suitable tool to drive and accelerate the development and delivery of high-quality products within budget and on schedule.
Management quality is probably the most determining element in making companies more and more competitive. Being competitiveness the main element with which a country and each of its organizations risk their sustainability. Today there is a wide variety of quality seals, certifications, certification agencies, etc. for various areas of organizations in the world.
However, in most Latin American countries there is no equivalent in an issue as relevant as management quality, a decisive element for the competitiveness of companies.
In the business world, there are tools that allow us to know the quality of management, which is reached by managers and the committees or boards of directors as a whole at a specific time.
In this article they do not address the results achieved by a manager (qualitative variable or performance evaluation), but rather how the results are being obtained (qualitative variable or quality of their management).
As a starting point, the proposal of TopTen Business Experts will be used, consultant who designed a model to confer the Seal of Accreditation in Directive Quality in Spain. The analysis to achieve this was based, according to the aforementioned proposal, on the three essential dimensions that make up a maximum performance management team:
- Level achieved in transversal managerial competencies (business vision, team management, etc.) Level of commitment to the project and the company Level of synergy that is achieved in this management team.
Question that allows the evaluator: to analyze, diagnose and qualify the level of managerial quality that said company has, at the time of applying the model.
The Model proposed by TopTen (2006) is carried out on a score of 300 points. This is so because each of the three dimensions mentioned (managerial competence, level of commitment and team synergy) has a maximum value of 100 points.
Table no. 1. Directive Quality (Performance) of the Administrative Council or Management Committee. Dimensions evaluated in a Cuban company.
| Dimensions to measure quality | Board performance assessed by all board members (IX) ** | Average | |||||||||
| General management | Commercial | Logistics | Serv. Tec. Warranty | Economy | Sale 1 | Sale 2 | Sale 3 | Sale 4 | Sale 5 | ||
| Reference TOPTEN | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80.00 |
| Management competencies | 93.0 | 75.0 | 83.0 | 85.0 | 83.0 | 88.0 | 77.0 | 71.0 | 67.0 | 68.0 | 79.00 |
| Commitment level | 90.0 | 96.0 | 85.0 | 87.0 | 85.0 | 89.0 | 73.0 | 71.0 | 70.0 | 69.0 | 81.50 |
| Synergy of the management team. | 83.0 | 72.0 | 84.0 | 86.0 | 82.0 | 88.0 | 72.0 | 71.0 | 67.0 | 70.0 | 77.50 |
| Total / points achieved by board members | 266.0 | 243.0 | 252.0 | 258.0 | 250.0 | 265.0 | 222.0 | 213.0 | 204.0 | 207.0 | 238.00 |
The table above allows establishing the values of the managerial quality that the organization has in each of its work areas. See representation of the results in Diagram no. one
Diagram no. 1 Directive Quality of an Administrative Council or Management Committee in a Cuban company, (Vision of the 10 members).
| Punctuation | Quality
Directive of the Business |
| 300-240 | Excellent |
| 239-200 | high |
| 199-180 | Medium |
| 179-150 | Attention |
| 149-180 | Deficient |
This model, in addition to measuring the level of managerial quality, helps to establish a comparison with others in the environment, to detect strengths and to know the areas for improvement. The implementation of this model also proposes a well-defined process and the consulting firm carries it out over four months during the daily activity of the company, which favors its applicability for the company.
Measure and develop managerial skills
To know the performance of a management team, the TopTen model proposes to measure the level reached in their managerial competencies by each member: strategic business vision, negotiation capacity, people management, etc.
This evaluation proposal is known as 360º. Based on managerial competencies, it describes the level reached by the management team. This procedure offers a precise diagnosis of the management dynamics displayed by each of the members of the steering committee. Its authors recommend taking into account that the most reliable variable is the so-called external mean, which is the average of the assessment that everyone has given to this manager. Both the model of managerial competencies used and the way to implement it are a key element for the entire process to be reliable and accurate.
The proposed procedure and the result of its practical application, allows a complete diagnosis of the competence level of each of the Managers (strengths and areas for improvement, blind zones, etc.) and of the team as a whole: with its map of strengths and weak team.
Knowing the value that the entire management team achieves in their managerial skills is the goal. The maximum rating is 100 points. An Excellent management level is considered from 80 points on the external assessment excluding its own.
Graphic no. 1 Results of the Directive Quality (Performance) of the Administrative Council or Management Committee applied in a Cuban company.
The actions required by this part of the process are the following:
- Working session with the management team (hour and a half) to explain the skills model to be used and the preparation of evaluation grids Online evaluations (about 15 days to carry them out and send them back) Joint session with the management team (hour and a half) to share Reports and explain the keys to interpretation Individual session (one hour) with each manager: diagnosis of strengths, areas for improvement and improvement plan within a year Report to the general management on strengths and areas of team improvement (hour and a half with General Management and HR).
What companies should apply it today?
Companies that carry out important and far-reaching projects require committed managers. Can the commitment of key people in the organization be measured? How is it done? Who should carry it out? Can the rotation coefficient of the steering committee be known? And… most importantly: how is it managed?
In the model proposed by José Aguilar (2006) it is observed that commitment can be measured through two variables: by its intensity and fidelity over time. This can be obtained by estimating the Turnover Index for the Management Committee at three years from now.
Table no. 3. Level of commitment in an Administrative Council or Management Committee. Variables evaluated in a Cuban company.
| Commitment level | |||||||||||
| General management | Commercial | Logistics | Serv. Tec. Warranty | Economy | Sale 1 | Sale 2 | Sale 3 | Sale 4 | Sale 5 | average | |
| Reference TOPTEN | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 |
| Intensity | 98.0 | 90.0 | 92.0 | 91.0 | 91.0 | 94.0 | 94.0 | 91.0 | 89.0 | 90.0 | 92.0 |
| Fidelity in time | 95.0 | 90.0 | 99.0 | 95.0 | 93.0 | 95.0 | 95.0 | 89.0 | 87.0 | 90.0 | 92.8 |
| AVERAGE | 96.5 | 90.0 | 95.5 | 93.0 | 92.0 | 94.5 | 94.5 | 90.0 | 88.0 | 90.0 | 92.4 |
Engagement management will be carried out through the use of various instruments and existing influencing methods to drive engagement: work on the shared vision, strengthen recognition, build a training plan and professional development for people with the greatest potential.
The actions required by this part of the process are the following:
- Online questionnaires to be carried out by the CEO: 2 hours. Working session with the CEO on how to manage the commitment of the members of his steering committee: 3 hours. C) Measure the Synergy of the steering committee.
It is common for a management committee to be made up of 5 - 10 competent people, when they work as a team their overall capacity does not equal the sum of their individual capacities (x), but decreases to x-1 or x-2 due to dysfunctions that occur between them. The synergy (or power) of the team exists; and therefore it must be measured.
Graphic no. 2 Results of the level of commitment reached by the Administrative Council or Management Committee in a Cuban company.
There is a set of questions that must be answered among which are:
How is team synergy measured? What elements constitute it? How is that power released? What factors block that energy?
The TopTen consultancy itself has developed tools that allow measuring the level of synergy (or power) that a work team achieves. It basically consists of carrying out a double analysis, first by quantifying the capacity of each member of the steering committee to integrate and work as a team; and measure the total synergy achieved by the entire team.
Table no. 4. Synergy of an Administrative Council or Management Committee. Variables evaluated in a Cuban company.
| Council members | Capacity of
learning |
Mutual support | Coordination of tasks | Clear rules and regulations | Planning | Effective meetings | Communication
fluent |
Resource utilization | Mutual trust | Shared vision | AVERAGE
BY MEMBER |
| Referrer
TOPTEN |
80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 |
| General management | 97.0 | 99.0 | 99.0 | 96.0 | 99.0 | 99.0 | 99.0 | 94.0 | 99.0 | 99.0 | 98.0 |
| Commercial | 90.0 | 90.0 | 90.0 | 96.0 | 89.0 | 92.0 | 92.0 | 91.0 | 90.0 | 90.0 | 91.0 |
| Logistics | 95.0 | 96.0 | 95.0 | 94.0 | 93.0 | 95.0 | 96.0 | 96.0 | 95.0 | 96.0 | 95.1 |
| Serv. Tec. Warranty | 95.0 | 96.0 | 95.0 | 94.0 | 93.0 | 94.0 | 95.0 | 94.0 | 92.0 | 94.0 | 94.2 |
| Economy | 90.0 | 90.0 | 89.0 | 87.0 | 90.0 | 95.0 | 93.0 | 95.0 | 92.0 | 93.0 | 91.4 |
| Sale 1 | 95.0 | 90.0 | 95.0 | 91.0 | 93.0 | 95.0 | 93.0 | 95.0 | 92.0 | 93.0 | 93.2 |
| Sale 2 | 94.0 | 95.0 | 94.0 | 95.0 | 94.0 | 93.0 | 95.0 | 93.0 | 93.0 | 94.0 | 94.0 |
| Sale 3 | 93.0 | 94.0 | 92.0 | 94.0 | 92.0 | 94.0 | 95.0 | 92.0 | 94.0 | 94.0 | 93.4 |
| Sale 4 | 89.0 | 90.0 | 90.0 | 95.0 | 87.0 | 80.0 | 83.0 | 94.0 | 89.0 | 87.0 | 88.4 |
| Sale 5 | 90.0 | 93.0 | 90.0 | 90.0 | 90.0 | 90.0 | 93.0 | 90.0 | 91.0 | 95.0 | 91.2 |
| AVERAGE | 92.8 | 93.3 | 92.9 | 93.2 | 92.0 | 92.7 | 93.4 | 93.4 | 92.7 | 93.5 | 93.0 |
In view of this analysis, it is determined whether a work team is High Performance, or has High Potential or is considered High Consumption. That is, when the work between all of them produces dysfunctions or an inoperative wear and tear on capacities and energies. The result of this analysis is to know the value that the management team achieves as a work team. The maximum rating is 100 points; and is considered an excellent level of synergy from the 80's.
The actions required by this part of the process are the following:
- Work meeting with the steering committee: 3 hours. Individual sessions are with each of the members of the Board of Directors (1 hour with each).
This allows an improvement plan to be obtained for one year, which aims to carry out actions that allow influencing the transformation of the Management Committee into a high-performance team.
When this knowledge is achieved, it is possible to subsequently measure the evolution in the professional development of a manager, within the Steering Committee.
With the analysis of the proposal of TopTen Business Experts (2006), it can be concluded that the quality of the management of a company (that of each of its managers and that of these as a whole) is a critical factor to achieve that the companies are competitive and excellent. It is advisable that the managerial quality in other companies in the area be measured, diagnosed and that the professional growth of those who direct them be promoted.
TopTen Business Experts, more than 6 years auditing the managerial quality of the most competitive companies: Management Quality Accreditation: Measure and certify the managerial quality of the company.
The author proposes that self-evaluation be incorporated into the procedure, if necessary, since the Cuban evaluation system, for example, currently includes it.
Publication of the ENEMI Magazine, Zenea Cruz and Arias (2006).
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