Reactive Management –

A classic example of Reactive Management is inadequate planning. It is the inability to pre-empt the likely spike or downfall and thus capacitize accordingly.

Marianne prepared and delivered delicious cakes and festive sweets to her customers since the last few years. The current pandemic gave her time to focus on creating awareness and visibility about her products through social media platforms.

This year, starting from the Ganpati festival, Marianne witnessed a positive growth in the number of orders. She received 3X orders during Diwali and it went up to 7X during Christmas, as compared to same period last year. Marianne was a solopreneur and did not have enough resources and space to process such large orders.

The result was a Pure Panic situation looking for an immediate solution. All the family members contributed and the house resembled a baking factory for the next few weeks. There was no time for quality checks of the ingredients or the final product. Moreover, there was increased wastage since some enthusiastic members did not follow the process. This is a classic example of Reactive Management

The outcome of poor planning leads to reduced Customer satisfaction Index and reduced profitability.

In a nutshell-

1.     Maintain records of inflow, processing time, productivity and outflow.

2.     Review and record the inflow trends at regular intervals to identify patterns of troughs and crests.

3.     For the enterprise is dealing with high volumes- you can use an analytical tool to predict the likely inflow for the next few weeks/ months based on past experiences.

4.     Adequate planning to meet the business requirements. For example- planning for public holidays or availability of resources.

5.     Resource Management with enough and pre-planned on-the-job training.

6.     Process automation, wherever required or possible.

7.     Stringent Quality Check methods to be in place

The above is an indicative list and there are many similar checks required, based on the nature of business.

The thumb rule is to plan well and be prepared for any business.