Management Activities for Achieving Organizational Change and Improvement  

Viewing your documentation or training group as a business entity is an important first step toward enabling organizational change and improvement. The actual business status of your organization - a company unto itself a profit center in a larger company, or a cost center in a larger company - matters not. It’s your view of things that will put you on the road to operating your group as a business.

Currie, Cynthia C. and Thomas J. Vallone. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>Documentation>Management

Management Guidelines for Alternative Work Schedules  

Offers guidance to managers on how to balance the needs of their businesses with the convenience of alternative work schedules, such as telecommuting, flextime, job sharing, compressed work weeks, and reduced hours.

Deshaies, Stephen A. Intercom (2002). Careers>Management

Management Stem Overview  

Management in the nineties is a challenging task. From managing technologies that didn't exist five years ago to constantly being asked to do more with less, managers are freed with a formidable set of obstacles and challenges.

See, Edward J.P. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>Management>Technology

The Management Track Requires Special Skills and Experience  

Moving into management is tempting to many IT pros. But before jumping into a position you're not ready for, there are a few issues you need to examine. Review these five steps and decide if you're prepared to move successfully into management nirvana.

Sisco, Michael. TechRepublic (2003). Careers>Management

Management vs. Leadership  

Management and leadership have been partners in the successes and failures of countries and companies before the start of recorded history. The basic concepts of both are well understood but despite a large amount of information available, there is still confusion and disagreement on the implementation of management skills vs. leadership principles. Successful creation of a professional development program is dependant on the recognition that technical/management skills are learned abilities, they are the backbone of the companies core capabilities. These capabilities must be augmented with leadership attributes that allow the team to move forward in implementation of the core business.

Fay, Dan. STC Proceedings (1997). Careers>Management

A Manager's Toolkit for Hiring the Right Writer-Or How to Avoid Throwing a Wrench into the Works  

Economic concerns require hiring writers (contract, freelance, and permanent) quickly and surely. Employers can make better use of the resume and interview processes to hire the right writer. In this workshop, managers will analyze resume and participate in a mock-interview process. Further, they will learn how to assess job candidates using four screening tools developed by the presenters in a three-step process designed to provide a means of consistently making the most appropriate selections for job openings.

Sopensky, Emily A. and Laurie Modrey. STC Proceedings (1993). Careers>Management>Interviewing

Manager's Toolkit: How to Report the Status of a Project

As you develop the communication product, your client and the team of people working with you will be interested in the progress of your work. To inform them, regularly publish a progress report. The progress report offers many benfits. It anticipates your client’s need for information about an in-progress project, makes the team aware of changes to the original plans and situations that could cause problems before those situations become problems, and maintains the common vision for the project that you painstakingly created when you developed plans of the information design. Most likely, you will publish the the report weekly or bi-weekly. Let your client determine the exact frequency; when your client approves your information designs, ask how frequently the client would prefer a progress report.

Carliner, Saul. STC (1999). Careers>Management>Reports

Managers: Move from Silos to Channels  

Advocates restructuring technical communication departments to eliminate 'silos'—isolated groups within the department—and develop 'channels'—a cooperative grouping of workers and teams through which information about a product can flow.

Hughes, Michael A. Intercom (2003). Careers>Management>Collaboration

Managers Should Adopt a Technical Mentor  

You may not have the time to read or the money to burn on analysts' reports, but adopting a technical mentor can help you keep your skills fresh. Here are the pros and cons of making the move.

Osborn, Matthew. TechRepublic (2003). Careers>Management>Technology>Collaboration

Managers Weigh In: Perspectives on Current Issues  

A report on discussions with several managers of technical communicators about current issues in the field, including changes in hiring practices, telecommuting, and tools and techniques for project management.

Lange, Penny L. Intercom (2003). Careers>Management

Managing a Virtual Team  

Managing a team of employees who are located around the world can be challenging. Discover how to efficiently and effectively work to create the highest level of output.

Damrau, Jackie. Intercom (2006). Careers>Management>Project Management>Offshoring

Managing Career Enrichment for Technical Writers  

This paper explores how technical publications managers can create a department that provides career enriching opportunities and direction for technical communicators. The paper describes in detail four major ways: by providing training opportunities, by providing diverse assignments, by allowing participation in management issues, and by providing customer contact. The paper describes the benefits of each enriching opportunity to the technical communicator and to the manager.

Krasner, Arlene J. STC Proceedings (1997). Careers>Management>Writing>Technical Writing

Managing Conflicts within a Team of Writers  

As much as you may try to avoid it, conflict among your employees is bound to rear its ugly head from time to time. While you may not be able to resolve all conflicts, with the right approach, you can manage many of them.

Prabhakar, Rahul. Intercom (2006). Careers>Management>Writing>Technical Writing

Managing Conflicts within a Team of Writers

It is quite challenging for a manager to integrate a diverse group of intelligent and creative professionals into a single, cohesive unit. As much as you may try to avoid it, conflict among your employees is bound to rear its ugly head from time to time.

Prabhakar, Rahul. Blogspot (2006). Careers>Management>Writing>Technical Writing

Managing International Projects: Case Studies  

The Human Interface Group manages for a number of its multinational clients their international software. This discussion fits in the larger issue that more and more companies try to communicate with international clients.

Dehaes, Christel and Kris Vanstappen. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Management>International

Managing Legacy Employees, and Others You Didn't Hire  

When you join an established department as manager, or when company policy requires you to take contractors someone else hires, you can encounter anything from exasperation to great joy. Three cases demonstrate effective techniques for working with writers you didn’t hire. From the contracted incompetent, through the terrified junior, to the competent team, the cases explore what happened, why, and the techniques used. These techniques include creative use of the basics such as planning, record-keeping, scheduling and troubleshooting. Good skills in listening and observing, are matched with clear identification of purpose and an ability to simplify.

Buchanan, Rivka. STC Proceedings (1998). Careers>Management

Managing Means Growing with Your Team  

Technical communication managers are faced with common responsibilities from company to company. Typically, they are responsible for resources (people and equipment), customer relations (internal and external), product, and administration. To successfully complete these responsibilities, a manager must have people, communication, planning, technical, statistical, and financial accounting skills. While focusing on the skills necessary to meet these responsibilities, managers may loose sight of key writing skills. Well-rounded managers must stay current with their teams. They must grow for their teams to grow.

Jahnke, Jean M. STC Proceedings (1999). Careers>Management>Collaboration

Managing Technical Writers by Wandering Around  

Technology has reduced the need for managers to act as communication conduits. Instead they must add more quality to the work of their employees by wandering among them. Effective wandering means forgetting the telephone, using bull sessions, becoming a fifteen-minute manager, giving employees a vision, and looking at their work.

Dicks, R. Stanley. STC Proceedings (1993). Careers>Management>Writing>Technical Writing

Managing the Communication "Process": The Emerging Role of Technical Writers and Documentation Managers  

Current trends in Corporate America are changing the traditional role of technical communicators and creating new challenges and opportunities. Re-engineering the corporation, Total Quality Management, ISO 9000 compliance, and the continuing onslaught of the Information Age are all bringing formally 'invisible' technical communications functions into the limelight. It's not just writing and editing any more! As communication professionals and managers we need to upgrade skills and re-focus our efforts to become 'information managers.'

Anton, Kathy and Teresa J. Tarwater. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>Management>Documentation>Technical Writing

Managing the Monster, Managing the Zoo  

Every technical communicator, whether controlling a single large project or a dozen small ones, must develop a set of management skills appropriate to the task in order to remain a qualified member of the communication team. This calls for being part diplomat, part technical expert, part salesman, and part rhinoceros.

Wise, Daniel E. and Elizabeth Bailey. STC Proceedings (2004). Careers>TC>Project Management

Managing the Monster; Managing the Zoo  

Every technical communicator, whether controlling a single large project or a dozen small ones, must develop a set of management skills appropriate to the task in order to remain a qualified member of the communication team. This calls for being part diplomat, part technical expert, part salesman, and part rhinoceros.

Wise, Daniel E. and Elizabeth Bailey. STC Proceedings (2003). Careers>Management>TC

Managing the Monster; Managing the Zoo  

Every technical communicator, whether controlling a single large project or a dozen small ones, must develop a set of management skills appropriate to the task in order to remain a qualified member of the communication team. This calls for being part diplomat, part technical expert, part salesman, and part rhinoceros.

Wise, Daniel E. and Elizabeth Bailey. STC Proceedings (2002). Careers>Project Management

Managing the Virtual Worker/Telecommuter  

Virtual workers/telecommuters are employees who perform assigned duties at an alternative site (usually home) during some or all of their scheduled work hours. With the number of full-time virtual workers expected to exceed 13.5 million in the U.S. within the next two years and 130 million worldwide by 2003, managers are more often being confronted with a new type of employee. As a result, we need to make adjustments in how we manage them, when compared to the on-site employee. We need to learn how to screen and select viable candidates, develop new guidelines (e.g., state expectations clearly, manage by results, communicate often, plan ahead for meetings, and consider special needs such as administrative support), learn what goes into a work agreement, and consider technology impacts.

Heikes, Peter C. STC Proceedings (2001). Careers>Management>Telecommuting

Managing Today’s Commuters Across the Miles  

The Technical Communication Department at Allen-Bradley, a sustaining member of STC, is located in Highland Heights, Ohio and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This reporting structure alone has forced telecommuting between the managerial and supervisory levels, with management located in Ohio and supervisors in Wisconsin. Additionally, the department has telecommuting communicators located throughout Ohio, Wisconsin, and Illinois.

Bottoms, Charles W., Linda Gomez, Jean M. Jahnke and Greg D. Kroeze. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Telecommuting>Management

Managing Your Customers' Expectations  

How many customers do you know who deliberately set out to make your life difficult? Not many, I’m sure. They probably don’t anticipate that adding three new chapters to a manual means that the project deadline needs to change or another writer needs to be hired. They may not realize that another round of reviews requires more (billable) hours of work. In most cases, good two-way communication prevents problems in the first place and provides solutions for the unforeseen issues that arise.

Frick, Elizabeth A. 'Betsy'. Intercom (2003). Careers>Business Communication>Project Management