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JANUARY 2014 | An AsianNGO Learning Series Publication
CONTENT 5 essential tools for a better NGO
8 Increase your 12 efficiency The Eisenhower Matrix
Find the right solution SWOT Analysis
16
Frame the bigger picture PEST Analysis
20 Turn a group
into a team Heron’s Six Categories of Intervention
24
Assess your network The Family Tree Model
1
“Plans are nothing; planning is everything.� Dwight D. Eisenhower, former US President
Increase your efficiency The Eisenhower Matrix
THE EISENHOWER MATRIX
urgent
time goal
matrix
efficiency management
objective
important
MA
The Eisenhower Matrix is a simple and straightforward time-management tool, which can help people and organisations schedule their time more efficiently, on a daily basis.
The tool is often attributed to former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and his idea of distinguishing tasks in two categories: important and urgent. Tasks that are important help you achieve your goals; urgent task ask for immediate attention and are linked to somebody else’s objectives. As Eisenhower put it:
“What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.�
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THE EISENHOWER MATRIX
How does it work?
Draw or print the Eisenhower Matrix. Put each of your tasks into the right category, based on their urgency and importance. Each activity should fall in one of the four quadrants.
Make a list of all your tasks. 10 |
Apply this tool to your workload.
Prioritise. Quadrant 1 - top priority tasks; should be tackled right away. Quadrant 2 - high priority tasks; take out enough time to fulfill these. Quadrant 3 - ‘distractions’; tasks that take away focus from the actual goals. Quadrant 4 - ‘bin category’; tasks you should try to eliminate from your workday.
THE EISENHOWER MATRIX
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2
“Things are never as complicated as they seem. It is only our arrogance that prompts us to find unnecessarily complicated answers to simple problems.� Muhammad Yunnus, founder of Grameen Foundation and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Find the right solution SWOT Analysis
SWOT ANALYSIS
A SWOT Analysis is a simple but useful framework to analyse your organisation’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It can help uncover new opportunities and eliminate dangers that might otherwise cause problems.
analysis
strategy
Opportunities
Threats
Strengths business
competitors
efficiency
W
Weaknesses
frame w ork
This tool was originated by Albert S. Humphrey, an American business and management consultant who specialised in organisational management. It can be a starting point for a strategy; and also to identify your place and those of your peers and competitors in the market.
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SWOT ANALYSIS
How does it work? A SWOT analysis allows you to identify key internal and external factors vital to achieving your objectives. Internal factors are the organisation’s strengths and weaknesses; external are the opportunities and threats that are present in your environment. Answering these questions and placing them in the SWOT Matrix gives you meaningful information for decision-making, identifying objectives and finding competitive advantages.
14 |
Each quadrant of the SWOT Matrix identifies one of the factors. Examples of questions that can feature as identifiers are:
S W O T
What does your organisation do better than anyone else?
What part of your organisation could be improved?
What interesting trends are you aware of?
What are your competitors doing?
SWOT ANALYSIS
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3
“To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there.� Kofi Annan, peace and development advocate and former UN Secretary-General
Frame the bigger picture PEST Analysis
PEST ANALYSIS
op p ortunities
cio -cu ltu ra l
Professor Francis Aguilar, from the Harvard Business School, is thought to be the creator of PEST Analysis. The tool is useful for understanding market growth or decline; and correspondingly, the position and direction for an organisation. Just like the SWOT Analysis, it can be used to review a certain strategy or direction.
So
l ca gi lo no ch
Te
threats
al
advantage
environment
ic
Po
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om
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on
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Ec
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The PEST Analysis gives you insight into the political, economical, socio-cultural and technological situation of your environment. It allows you to see the ‘bigger picture’, to be aware of its threats and take advantage of possible opportunities.
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PEST ANALYSIS
How does it work? Decide on the actions
PEST Analysis allows you to gain insight in your environment. Following these steps will help you navigate your organisation through the ‘big picture’.
After assembling this set of information, decide on the actions you will take; as to fully profit from the opportunities, while avoiding pitfalls.
Uncover possible threats Try to analyze the situation and uncover possible threats relating to these changes or situations. This is an important part of the assessment, since it allows you to foresee and prepare for potential issues.
Evaluate the opportunities After identifying the changes in your environment, take each one and analyze the opportunities they offer.
Brainstorm about the changes These changes fall under the four categories of the acronym: political, economical, social and technological. Guide questions for these categories include:
18 |
P S
Could any new legislation or taxation have impact on your organisation? Is there an ensuing conflict — political or armed; in your area of concern? Are there changing social attitudes that could affect your organisation? Are there sensitivities you need be mindful of?
E T
What is the state of the economy? Is there growth, decline or stability? How do members of the community thrive economically? What new technologies are there and could they be useful for your organisation? Will they be useful for the community?
PEST ANALYSIS
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4
“By helping others, you will learn how to help yourselves.” Aung San Suu Kyi, democracy and human rights advocate; Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Turn a group into a team Heron’s Six Categories of Intervention
HERON’S SIX CATEGORIES
Heron’s Six Categories of Intervention is a tool that helps you manage your team. The manner and processes in which these categories are achieved help determine the relationship with the person you are helping, and thus influence the team as a whole.
model
Teaminteraction
Management ps y c ho l o g y e n v i r o n m e n t
improvement
This model was devised by John Heron, a humanistic psychologist. Although at first it was mainly used in the health care and education sectors, it is now widely used by professionals and consultants in other fields to improve team interaction.
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HERON’S SIX CATEGORIES
How does it work? Heron’s model identifies two styles of team management: authoritative and facilitative. Authoritative means a person of authority (i.e., manager or team supervisor) gives options or suggestions on what to do. Facilitative means the person ‘helping’ is aiding another person at a peer level to reach conclusions or decisions.
22 |
Authoritative Prescriptive: explicitly giving somebody advice or direction Informative: providing somebody instruction or guidance Confronting: challenging somebody’s behavior or attitudes, in a positive and constructive way Facilitative
These two are further broken down to six specific modes of helping.
Cathartic: helping somebody express thoughts that they had previously not expressed
These categories function as a framework to develop more awareness of a utilised style of helping and its impact. It can help you discover new ways to assist members of your team and improve the outcome and mutual relationships.
Catalytic: giving somebody assistance in coming up with own reflections and discoveries Supportive: building confidence by focusing on someone’s competencies and achievements
HERON’S SIX CATEGORIES
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5
“Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable.� Kenyan Proverb
Assess your network The Family Tree Model
THE FAMILY TREE MODEL
The Family Tree model maps out your network and reveals interesting trends in your relationships. By visually displaying your contacts and partners, you get a better sense of your outreach and of lucrative nodes.
contacts opportunities
p a r t n e r s NETWORK RELATIONSHIPS
model management
It exposes influential contacts that are worth putting extra effort into. Frail connections can be strengthened and opportunities for new ‘branches’ are visualised.
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THE FAMILY TREE MODEL
How does it work? The model reveals how people and organisations are connected to each other. By tracing who you know and how you got connected – or through whom in your network you got connected – you can not only get a sense of important contacts, but instances of unsuccessful networking as well. This family tree can also show you which ‘nodes’ are important. If one contact links you to a number of people, you may risk losing them all when this branch breaks; so these nodes require special attention. The more branches your family tree has, the more diversified your network is, and less dependent on a few crucial contacts.
26 |
4. A healthy tree should
consist of many ‘parallel’ branches as well, showing the diversity in your network.
3. Some branches could have multiple
attached branches, which means they are a successful connection.
2. Form a family tree by connecting them with the people they connected you with.
1. Put
all your contacts into the tree.
THE FAMILY TREE MODEL
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Š AsianNGO All rights reserved. Published in 2014. 5 Essential Tools for a better NGO Views expressed in this guide do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the AsianNGO or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent. AsianNGO has collated this information from a number of sources , and is representing it for the benefit of your organisation. AsianNGO is not responsible for any incorrect information, discrepancies or further changes arising after the publication of this material.