Time Management and Productivity Essay Example for Free

Time Management and Productivity Essay Context of the problem. Time management is a term used to refer to the events that individuals follow in order to better their time usage. It refers to the principles and systems that people make use of in order to make conscious decisions about the activities that will occupy their time. Concerns about time usage have a longer history. Effective people manage their time properly. People who are able to manage their time properly are high achievers in everything they pursue. In www.learndirect.business.co.uk/campaigns/finances05/glossary/ time management is defined as the development of tools and processes that lead to an increase in a business’s time efficiency. People who are good time managers are self-starters, organized and do not procrastinate. Time management is usually seen as a concept of balance. Time management in http://www.wisegeek.com/what-time-management.htm is defined as the ability to be able to arrange, organize, schedule and budget personal time with an aim of producing effective work and productivity. According to http://www.articlealley.com/article-28248-24.html there are various advantages that are associated with time management in our daily endeavors. Time management has got many advantages. It influences reduction of stress, gaining of more time to carry out your tasks and reduces the chances of avoiding some tasks which are meant to be carried out. It also helps in eliminating cramming. Time management is also a motivator when carrying out tasks, this is because the tasks will always be ready at the time they are required. It also helps in avoiding procrastination. To be able to manage your time successfully the management of enterprises should set up goods which needs to be prioritized in order to know which tasks need to be completed at what time. (Covey, 1990) asserts that to be a good time manager, assets need to be enhanced and promoted. He suggested the four dimensions of nature which help in managing time effectively. According to http://learnsmallbusiness.wordpress.com/2006/03/11/are-you-content-with-your-time-management-skills-7-reasons-why-you-must-have-a-to-do-list/ great time management gives individuals chances of developing a timetable which suits their tasks at their tasks at their respective places. Good time management is a saver of health as it reduces stress which may come along due to unaccomplished tasks. According to http://www.gradresources.org/articles/time_management.shtml a schedule should be utilized which outlines all the activities together with the time they will be performed. The planned schedule should always be changed to match the changing activities and also prioritize the activities. Prioritizing enables the completion of tasks at the time they are required. In order to achieve good time management one need not to multitask because it will consume a lot of time. Once you have the timetable it should be followed as it appears hence avoiding skipping of activities which have already been scheduled for. People who do not manage their time thus lacking a time management plan suffer from insomnia, deteriorating health and other discomforting issues. They may even be divorced by their spouses because they do not spend time with them. Effects of poor time management affect not only you but also people around you. Time management reduces cost as the saying goes that time is money. It allows you to use the minimum costs possible in every activity that one may go through. It helps reduce the anxious nature of being when they have not done their tasks accordingly. Time management enhances discipline and efficiency in terms of completing the tasks at hand. It also allows prudence to be a key guider in performing tasks. Time management has also its own problems which have to be dealt with for a business enterprise to be successful. The problems ranges from stress, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed. We become anxious when we realize that there many things that need to be done and we are not able to handle them. (Bly, 1999) claims that when we are not capable of dealing with the present tasks of that need to be handled due to the fact that time is running out we become stressed. We get overwhelmed when there are too many demands that need our time and attention. Also when we are faced with large new projects or tasks and there is no clarify on what need to be done, how, when and where. This is because we cannot be able to take the first important step. Lack of proper organization of our activities take a lot of our time thus wasting our time which could have been used to better and constructive tasks. There are therefore various ways in which time management can affect the productivity of our activities hence those of business enterprises. There is therefore the need to evaluate the impacts that time management would have on productivity, so that we can be able to stop them if they are severe to the business enterprise or encourage them if they are advantageous to the business. The purpose of the research study will be to evaluate the impacts that time management have in the productivity of the call centre workers in the telecommunication industry. Time management is believed to be essential in the success and prosperity of each an every organization. It is said to be the stepping stone for success. Good time management achieves high results in terms of profits and the production of products that a company maybe producing. It therefore becomes important to evaluate the impacts time manage may have in the productivity of workers in their respective areas of work. The research study will deal with the call centre workers in the telecommunication industry. Problem statement Time management has an impact on the productivity of business enterprises. A review of academic and professional books have emphasized the need of time management in our daily endeavors be it school work, business activities or our personal activities. They have outlined the importance of formulating a timetable which will work as a guideline in our daily tasks. For time management to be effective, many have suggested the various ways to do it hence the need to evaluate which are the most effective tools, strategies and techniques that can be utilized in order to have high productivity in business enterprises. Time management has got it own reasons as outlined in http://ezinearticle.com/?Reasons-why-we-Have-To-value-Time-Managementid=506366 hence the need to evaluate the impact that time management has on business enterprises. Time is considered to be gold. No one wants to loose gold, therefore time should be managed well because it will never come back, once a minute have elapsed it does not return. Good results in terms of duties and responsibilities will come forth every time individuals manage their time well. It also gives fulfillment because it enhances our ability to determine what is valuable and should be given more attention. It allows one to achieve a greater social life after a busy day of working and full accomplishment of all activities. The above reasons have emphasized why time management is important hence the need to evaluate its impacts on business enterprises whether positive or negative. Research questions The purpose of this research study is to determine how time management impacts productivity of call centre workers in telecommunication industry. Sub questions 1. What are the problems faced by the workers in managing their time? 2. What are the tools that workers use to manage their time effectively? 3. What are the impacts of poor time management? 4. Does effective time management add benefits to the telecommunication industry? 5. What is productivity? Significance of the study This research study will be of help to the call centre workers in many telecommunication industries because they will be able to know which problems they are likely to encounter while managing their time. This will enable them to be able to evade from them in which ever way possible as well as knowing how to cope or deal with the problems that they are likely to encounter. The call centre workers in a telecommunication industry will also get to know which tools they can employ in order to be able to manage their time properly. By the call centre workers realizing which tools to use they will be able to achieve high results in their work hence the productivity of the company will increase. By bringing out the effects and impacts of time management, the workers will benefit from the research study because they will try as much as possible to manage their time so that they do not feel the effects of it on their work. The management of companies by knowing the impacts and effects of poor time management will be able to campaign and urge their workers to manage time properly. They will also put the necessary measures that will allow the worker to be able to manage time effectively. The research study will evaluate whether time management has its own benefits both to the workers and the company. The workers by knowing the benefits they are entitled to as a result of time management will try to their level best to effectively manage their time. The research study will also help the companies because after knowing the benefits that are a result of proper time management the will educate their workers by organizing seminars, debates etc on how to manage time so that they can be able to acquire the benefits of time management. The research study will be of help to many companies which want to maximize on time management. Research Design and Methodology The research design that will be employed in this research study is case study. The case in this research study will be two telecommunication companies where by their call centre workers will become the subject of study. They will be studied in depth in order to give the most reliable information which will allow for generalizations to be made. Call center workers in these two companies will be the objects of study. They will be studied in depth to help reveal the problems that are faced by them when they are trying to manage time in order to achieve productivity.   They will also be studied so as to give information on the tools that they use in managing their time. They will also reveal what they feel are the impacts of time management in the productivity of a telecommunication company. They will also give reliable information on whether time management adds any benefits to the telecommunication industry. Instruments of data collection Data collection is the gathering of information to which will offer critical evaluation to the research questions. They are many and are chosen depending of their validity and reliability. This according to http://ohoiline.osu.edu/b868/pdf/b868.pdf The methods which one has chosen should offer the best answer to the research questions. Also in selecting the data collection procedures or methods one need to consider how the information gathered will be organized, analyzed as well as interpreted. The gathered information should be reported to the various audiences. The research study will utilize the following data collection procedures. a. Face to Face interviews This is oral administration of an interview schedule. To obtain accurate information a researcher needs to establish friendly relationships between the respondent prior to conduct on interview. The face to face interview will be administered because of the following: 1. They provide in depth data, which cannot be collected by use of questionnaires. 2. It will be possible to obtain data required to meet the objectives of the research study. 3. They are flexible because they allow follow up of an aspect as it gets raised in the course of the interview. 4. They guard against confusing questions because they give a room for clarification. b. Questionnaires It is a list of questions that will be asked to the respondents in order to get the desired data. They may be structured or unstructured. They will be used in this research study because: 1. They are easy to administer. 2. They are economical in terms of money. 3. Their responses may give an insight to the background motivation, feelings and interests. c. Observation Observation is where by the researcher utilizes check list and records what he/she observes during data collection. The researcher in this case observes the behavior and how it occurs. Observation will be used in this research study because: 1. It enhances accuracy because the researcher himself or herself observes what exactly happens and does not depend on what the respondent has to say. 2. Observation can be used alongside other instruments or procedures of collecting data e.g. Interviews. 3. It can be done repeatedly thus increasing its level of accuracy. Reliability and validity of the research instruments According to http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR8-4/golafshani.pdf reliability and validity have got their roots in positivist perspective. Reliability of instruments in data collection determines the appropriateness of the research instruments for particular study. It tells how well the instruments managed or failed to measure what they were supposed to measure. To test the reliability of the instruments, the research study will conduct a pretest study where the original interview schedules, questionnaires and observation schedules will be administered to selected persons in the sample. Validity ensures that what an instrument claims to measure has been measured. To ensure that the instruments are valid advice will be sought to experts in the area. Based on the comments that will be given as well as guidelines adjustments will be made before the final version of the interview schedule, questionnaire and observation schedule will be administered. Population of the Study The population of the study will be call centre workers in two telecommunication industries. Since they are many and it will take a lot of time to access and study them, they will be randomly selected using simple random sampling technique to obtain a number of 90 respondents only. From this sample data will be collected to help answer the questions addressed by the research study. Simple random sampling technique will be chosen because it ensures that the population is representative. Data Analysis The data that will be collected will be analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics. This is because descriptive statistics will help in summarizing the data while the inferential statistics will help infer the sample results to the general population of the study. Organization of the study Chapter One In chapter one the research study will explain the context of the problem in details and give a detailed statement of the problem that the research study will deal with. The objectives, purpose, research questions, sub questions and the hypotheses will be stated clearly. The scope that the research study will cover will be stated together with the limitations that will be encountered during the research study. Chapter Two The second chapter will deal with literature review where by literature that is related to the research study will be   evaluated to give various trends that may exist which will be helpful in the research study. Chapter Three It will basically deal with the methodology of the research study. It will deal with the research design the research study will utilize, instruments of data collection together with their validity and reliability. The population that the research study will utilize will be discussed and how the data collected will be analyzed. Chapter Four It will deal with data presentation and interpretation. It will include analysis of the data which have been collected and how it will be presented. It will also include how the collected will be interpreted for the audience to be able two understand. Chapter Five This chapter will include with the conclusions that will be drawn from the study. The population of study will be representative to allow for the generalizations to be drawn from it be inferred to the whole population. This chapter will also include recommendations which will be given to allow a room improvement. References Bly, R.W (1999) 101 Ways to Make Every Second Count: Time Management Tips and Techniques for More Success with Less Stress. Franklin Lakes: Career Press Covey, R.S (1990) The Seven Habits of Effective People. New York: Simon and Shulter Inc http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR8-4/golafshani.pdf http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-time-management.htm www.learndirect-buisnes.co.uk/campaigns/finaces05/glossary/ http://ezinearticles.com/?reasons-why-we-have-to-value-time-managementid=506366 http://www.articlealley.com/article-28248-24.html http://ohoiline.osu.edu/b868/pdf/b868.pdf http://learnsmallbusiness.wordpress.com/2006/03/11/are-you-content-with-your-time-management-skills-7-reasons-why-you-must-have-a-to-do-list/ http://www.gradresources.org/articles/time_management.shtml