ISO9001
Not too long ago, many organizations considered ISO and quality management systems as just another bureaucracy, a mandatory requirement to work with global clients, a marketing element, or merely a stamp that looked good on their documents.
However, today, amidst this raging Coronavirus Pandemic, it is these same companies that are dusting off and reviewing their Continuity Plans, Communication Plans, and work procedures or remembering how they evaluated performance indicators to have measurable elements of how this crisis will affect them.
The tools of ISO management systems are at our disposal in times of crisis and it is a good time to put them in play.
In this series of posts, we will attempt to explain how ISO helps companies overcome the COVID-19 crisis. We will start with the most famous ISO standard, the 9001.
ISO 9001: Quality Management
ISO 9001 establishes change management processes that are required in the face of any external event such as COVID-19. With ISO 9001, we will already have tools in place to plan changes, considering their purpose and consequence, the integrity of the quality management system, the availability of resources and the allocation of responsibilities.
Another important contribution that has been revealed these days is the need for a Communication Plan. ISO 9001 certified companies already have a process to determine internal and external communications that include what, when, to whom, how and who communicates and therefore helps them manage how to give information to different stakeholders.
Other important ISO 9001 tools that we can highlight are:
It is clear that, for the continuity of our business, these elements are key to the change of processes that must be carried out within organizations and provides a way of quality management of each change process, even if it is only temporary.
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AI
The artificial intelligence and examples around us. It is likely that you have already used it on your daily commute, searching the web or checking the latest update on social networks. AI has a huge effect on your life as well as your business and in this article, we will review some examples of AI that you can implement in your organization.
Artificial intelligence examples that you can apply in your business
Artificial intelligence involves giving machines and programs the ability to think like a human being. Companies are increasingly looking for ways to put this technology to work to improve their productivity, profitability and results.
Business intelligence: examples of business management
We have been using different AI applications in business management for some time. Among the best-known examples are the following:
Artificial intelligence: examples in electronic commerce
When talking about artificial intelligence, examples such as product recommendations or personalization as a service are some of the first that come to mind in the field of electronic commerce. But the e-commerce and artificial intelligence alliance goes much further, delivering news such as:
Artificial intelligence: examples in marketing
Incorporating AI into marketing increases profitability of stocks. Among the artificial intelligence applications and their examples in this field, the following stand out:
All of these artificial intelligence examples illustrate only the advances of AI in some fields, there are many more and there are still new ones to come, as the pace of development of this science continues.
Limitations of artificial intelligence: examples
However, while the benefits of artificial intelligence to the business are many, there are also certain barriers and disadvantages to be aware of.
One of the main limitations of AI is cost. Creating smart technologies can be expensive, due to their complex nature and the need for ongoing repair and maintenance. Software programs need regular updating to adapt to the changing business environment and, in the event of a failure, present a risk of loss of code or important data. Restoring this is often time consuming and expensive.
Other limitations of this technology have to do with:
When deciding whether to use technology powered by artificial intelligence, aspects such as:
While these risks can’t be ignored, it’s worth bearing in mind that advances in AI can, for the most part, create better businesses and better lives for everyone. If implemented responsibly, the potential of artificial intelligence is great, and examples such as those reviewed in this post demonstrate this.
A strategic planning process is something with which we are all familiar, consciously or not. We use it to go from where we are, to where we want to go.
It can be a physical destination, like another city, or a goal in life, like doing a master’s degree. We make plans, organize our time and lives, gather resources and design a strategic planning map
For a company, the stages of the strategic planning process are not that different. A direction is developed, decisions are made and the necessary resources are allocated to achieve the final objective.
The strategic planning serves as a map, an itinerary to help the organization discover how to get to where you need. The process includes analyzing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as planning future operations in a priority and realistic way.
How to develop a strategic planning process?
The first thing to do is to start with a goal in mind. That is very important, because if we do not know where we are going, we will certainly lose ourselves. Determine who is going, the destination, and what it takes to get there.
The stages of the strategic planning process should also include a situation analysis. Study the current situation before heading to the next one.
Analyze where the company is, why it is there, what are the problems and possible points for improvement. Only after that, you can start thinking about solutions and the paths to take.
Long-term planning is not about future decisions but about the future with current decisions.
– Peter Drucker
Good strategic planning should consider:
Strategic planning process models
There are 5 models from which you can choose when applying strategic planning in your company. They are all effective, and you must choose the one that works best for your organization.
1 – Basic planning strategy
This planning model is the most basic and is suitable for new organizations that have never done the project before, small or very busy companies.
The stages of this strategic planning process are as follows:
2 – Issue-based strategic planning process
This strategy is an improvement on the basic plan, and is used in companies that want to delve into strategic planning.
The stages of its process are:
3 – Strategic alignment plan
The focus of this strategic planning process model is to align the company’s mission with its resources.
It can be useful for businesses that want to understand why their objectives do not achieve the expected results, or that want to adjust their goals.
4 – Strategic scenario planning
It is best when used in conjunction with other models to ensure that strategic thinking is incorporated into the process.
The stages of that strategic planning process are:
5 – Organic strategic planning process
This strategic plan is different from the others. It develops in a much more natural way than the previous ones, which follow a more linear and structured formation.
This plan naturally progresses through an ongoing focus on common values and consistent communication between participants.
Now that you know everything about the stages of the strategic planning process, study your company and see which one is the best.
Remember that this will not be possible without clearly defined processes, and that no strategic planning can improve your business if your processes are not mapped, optimized and automated.
ISO 22301
ISO 22301 Business Continuity is the coined term to refer to the strategies and planning by which organizations prepare to respond to catastrophic events such as fires, floods, cyber-attacks, accidents, human error or diseases.
A Continuity Management System Certificate (BCMS) certified under ISO 22301 – the most internationally accepted standard – helps organizations prepare for emergencies, manage crises and improve their operational recovery capacity, securing the supply chain and protecting itself, for example, its reputation in the face of a crisis. The changing environment surrounding organizations In the current context in which they operate, all organizations may be subject to disruptions such as technology failure, floods, fires, interruptions of public services or even a terror attack
The consequences of unexpected business interruptions can be far-reaching and may involve the loss of goods and services, the loss of people’s lives, or the inability to deliver key products/services to the survival of the organization.
ISO 22301 is available to any organization, regardless of its size or complexity of activity, that wants to manage its overall risks and develop the ability to plan and respond to incidents and interruptions in its activity or business. ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management System is characterized by the proactive identification of the effects of the interruption since it identifies those processes and products/services that are crucial for the existence of the organization and establishes the responses that will be necessary in the event of an incident powerful to occur. ISO 22301 BCMS provides the organization with the ability to react appropriately and trying to not affect the operations productivity as much as possible.
We are going to explain what Google Classroom is and how it works. Google Classroom is a free tool to manage classes in the educational field. If you belong to a school, Google will ask you to use the professional G Suite account, but we will use the normal accounts so that you can see what can be done.
In this article we are not going to delve into explaining how to do each thing, but to teach you what the possibilities are. In this way, if you are considering using this tool you can get an idea of how far it can go, and then it will be up to you to squeeze it to the maximum.
Google Classroom
Google Classroom is a tool created by Google in 2014, and intended exclusively for the educational world. Its mission is to enable a classroom to be managed collaboratively through the Internet , being a platform for learning management or the Learning Management System .
All the options of this tool are associated with a Google account , so that both the teacher and the students must have their Gmail, and their Google account will act as their identifier. This means that you will not have to create a specific account for this tool, since your Google identities will be used.
This Google tool allows you to manage online classes, and can be used both for face-to-face learning, also for 100% distance learning , or even for blended learning. Documents can be created, information shared in different formats, meetings can be scheduled and held virtually. Students can also access their classes, their notes or their assigned tasks from any device.
The main advantage of Google Classroom is that it is a totally free service, with having a Gmail account you already have access, and schools can access it with their G Suite accounts. It is also quite easy to use and incorporates real-time communication methods between teachers and students.
The tool allows assigning tasks selectively, allows documents to be shared with all classes, and facilitates the organization of information by generating automatic folder structures to organize resources. It has mobile and tablet applications in addition to the web client, so it can be accessed from virtually anywhere.
To access Google Classroom, you have to be identified with your Google (or Gmail) account that you want to use within your browser. Once you have done so, you can use the classroom.google.com website to access it directly. You can also enter from the main website of Google.com , by clicking on the applications button at the top right and selecting the Google Classroom that appears with the icon on the whiteboard.
How to use Google Classroom
The first time you enter, you will have to confirm that you want to use the account with which you are identified by clicking on Continue . If you click on your name, you can also choose the option to identify yourself with another account that you prefer to use instead.
Then click on the + button at the top right , and a small menu will be displayed where you can choose between entering an already created class or creating a new one . If you choose to join a class, it will ask you for the specific URL of that class, and if you click Create a class you will start the process to create a new one.
You will go to a screen that warns you that if you use Classroom in an educational center, you must manage it from a GSuite account for educational centers. After that warning, coming from pressing Create a class you will enter the screen where you have to write the class data . You have to give it a name, a section, choose the subject and specify a classroom.
After creating your new class, you can enter it. When you do, the first thing you will do is access the main board with the summary of your entire class. Above all you can see that there are several tabs with sections that you have to enter. But on the board you will already have direct access to create and schedule announcements, write normal publications or respond to those of the students.
How to use Google Classroom
If you enter the tab Classwork , is where you see all the tasks you have created. Here, you can click on the Create button to start creating content for your classroom, which can be tasks or questions, upload material or organize all the work in modules or units through the Topics option .
How to use Google Classroom
If you choose the option to create tasks , you will enter the creation tab where you can put a title and description. Below you can attach files from your PC, and create different types of office documents with Google tools. On the right you can specify the delivery dates, the topic to which the points obtained are and upload an evaluation guide. Here it is you who should take the time to familiarize yourself with the process and configure the tasks.
On the other hand, if you choose the option to upload material , you can attach files from a link, from your computer, from Google Drive or upload YouTube videos. This is didactic material that your students will be able to use to study, and to the right you can specify if all the students can see it or only some, and specify the topic.
Finally, if you enter the People tab you can add new students and teachers to your class by inviting them through their Gmail emails, which link to their Google accounts. In this list you can also manage students by silencing them or sending emails. There is a fourth Grades tab , where you will see each student’s grades depending on how you have been grading their assignments.
الأطفال و فيروس كورونا
مع استمرار انتشار فيروس كورونا، المسمى ب COVID-19 ، من المهم جداً من البالغين التواصل مع الأطفال حول الموضوع.
من أهم الأشياء التي يجب وضعها في عين الاعتبار أن الأطفال يتطلعون إلى الكبار لفهم العالم. لذلك، سوف يكون الأطفال قلقين إلى حد ما اعتمادًا على كيفية تواصل الكبار من حولهم معهم.
يحتاج كل من الأطفال والمراهقين إلى مساعدة البالغين لفهم هذا الوضع بشكل أكبر، فإن الأطفال و المراهقين ليس لديهم الكثير من الخبرة لوضع شيء مثل COVID-19 في المنظور.
إن الأطفال غالبًا ما يدركون ما يحدث أكثر مما يدركه البالغون. فضع في اعتبارك أن الأطفال غالبًا ما يستمعون إلى محادثات الكبار حتى عندما لا يبدو الأمر كذلك. من الأفضل التحدث إليهم مباشرة وتهدئتهم قدر الإمكان.
قبل التحدث إلى الأطفال، يجب على البالغين فهم البيانات والاستعداد لمشاركة المعلومات الصحيحة حتى يتمكن الأطفال من فهمها.
يجب على البالغين التواصل مع أطفالهم و إخبارهم بأن معظم من بفئتهم العمرية لا يصابون كثيرًا بفيروس الكورونا، ذلك سوف يساعدهم على تقليل القلق. و أيضا يجب على البالغين التأكيد على أطفالهم بضرورة البقاء في المنزل لتقليل خطر انتشار الفيروس.
من المحتمل أن يكون البقاء في المنزل وعدم التواصل الاجتماعي وضعًا مرهقًا للأطفال من أي فئة عمربة، لذا يحتاج البالغون إلى توفير بعض الآليات للأطفال للتعامل مع الموقف.
قد يكون الأطفال الصغار مرتبكين بشكل خاص بسبب التغيير ويتساءلون عما إذا كان أصدقاؤهم ما زالوا أصدقاءهم. حتى المراهقين، الذين يقضون الكثير من الوقت في استخدام الأجهزة الإلكترونية ، قد يشعرون باضطراب كبير في حياتهم الاجتماعية مع إغلاق المدارس.
فمن الضروري دعوة الأطفال والمراهقين لمشاركة ما يشعرون به حيال الانفصال عن أصدقائهم، ومساعدتهم على تنظيم خطط للحفاظ على هذه العلاقات عن طريق المكالمات الهاتفية أو كتابة الرسائل النصية.
يمكن للبالغين أيضًا توضيح أنه في حين أن هذا الانقطاع صعب، إلا أنه مؤقت. و أن الأطفال سوف يعودون إلى المدارس، وسيعود البالغون إلى العمل، وأن الناس سوف يكونون قادرين على الإلتقاء في مجموعات كبيرة مرة أخرى.
و يجب على البالغين أن يشرحوا للأطفال أن كل هذه التغييرات، على سبيل المثال، إغلاق المدارس ، يتم إجراؤها لمنع انتشار الفيروس.
للمساعدة في تقليل القلق عند الأطفال، من الضروري على البالغين الحد من تعرض الأطفال للأخبار ووسائل التواصل الاجتماعي. حتى المراهقين، الذين قد يستخدمون وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي للتواصل مع الأصدقاء، يحتاجون إلى أخذ استراحة من الإلكترونيات.
يحتاج الآباء إلى متابعة مراقبة استخدام أطفالهم لوسائل التواصل الاجتماعي، وضمان أن الأطفال والمراهقين لديهم أوقات لا يكونون فيها أمام الشاشة، خاصة في الليل.
هذه فرصة للأطفال لتعلم أنه عندما يتعلق الأمر بهم، من المهم جداّ التحدث عنه إلى الناس. فيمكنك أن تقول لأطفالك، عندما تشعرون بالقلق، يجب التحدث مع شخص بالغ بشأن ذلك لأنه يمكنه أن يقدم لك المساعدة.
يجب أن يفهم البالغون أن الأطفال يمكنهم الاستجابة بشكل مختلف للضغوط. قد يتصرف الأطفال بشكل سيئ، أو يصبحون أكثر اعتمادًا ، أكثر عصبية أو مفرط النشاط ، أو أكثر تطلبًا و تهييجاً. فالأطفال لا يدركون دائمًا أن سلوكهم قد تغير أو لماذا تغير، لذلك فهم بحاجة إلى الكبار لمساعدتهم على فهم مشاعرهم والتعبير عنها بطرق صحية.
يجب على الكبار بدء المحادثة مع أطفالهم وتشجيعهم على مشاركة كيف يفكرون وكيف يشعرون. تحدث عن كل أنواع المشاعر التي قد يشعر بها الطفل. “قد يكون بعض الأطفال قلقين للغاية بشأن مرضهم.قد يشعر بعض الأطفال بالسعادة لأنهم لا يضطرون للذهاب إلى المدرسة أو أنهم قد يفتقدون أصدقائهم.” شجع الطفل على المشاركة إذا كان لديه أي من هذه المشاعر أو أي شيء آخر.
غالبًا ما يستخدم الأطفال الالهاء كاستراتيجية للتكيف ، ويمكن أن يكون مفيدًا جدًا ؛ ومع ذلك ، يجب على البالغين مساعدتهم على التحدث عما يشعرون به حيال ما يحدث في حياتهم .
قد يستفيد الأطفال الأكبر سنًا والشباب من التذكير بمدى سهولة الابتعاد عن طريق التضليل أو الذعر الإعلامي عبر الإنترنت ، وقد يحتاجون إلى المساعدة في معرفة مصادر المعلومات الموثوقة وتعلم التحكم في ما يرونه على الشاشات .
إن فيروس كورونا COVID-19 هو وضع متغير، مع ذلك يمكن للبالغين أن يؤكدوا للأطفال أنه حتى إذا تغير الوضع، على سبيل المثال ، زيادة في وضع احتياطات السلامة، يتم ذلك حتى نكون جميعًا آمنين.
من المهم للأطفال أن يعرفوا أن هناك العديد من البالغين الذين يعملون بجد للتأكد من الحد من انتشار هذا الفيروس و إيجاد دواء له. و أيضاً يمكننا أن نقول لهم أن هناك أشخاص أذكياء للغاية يعملون بجد في هذا الأمر وأن المدارس مغلقة لأن البالغين اتخذوا هذا القرار لحمايتنا جميعًا.