Sorin Dumitrascu

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About Sorin Dumitrascu
Sorin developed and delivered on management, project management, computer literacy, human resources, career development, soft skills for employees and even corrections incidents management.
Currently working as a prison service consultant, he is a certified trainer and project manager, holding a master degree in International Relations and Policy Making and a bachelor degree in Law and Public Administration.
Sorin coordinated during the last 15 years projects in the areas of rule of law, regional development and human resources.
He has more than 15 years of middle/senior managerial experience within the civil service (justice, corrections, internal affairs, training), private sector (project management, consultancy, training) and NGO (industrial relations, rural development).
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Books By Sorin Dumitrascu
Risk management enables you to highlight the risks that your project is exposed to. It also allows you to develop a contingency plan to overcome them. Some of its main aims are to secure an organization's cash flow, to protect its reputation and resources, and to ensure projects stay within budget.
Risk management consists of a three-step process. First, you identify the potential risks to your project. Second, you assess the risks in terms of their probability and severity, and prioritize them accordingly. And third, you deal with the biggest risks to your project by creating an effective plan of action.
This course describes how to carry out the first step, identifying risks. You'll learn about the different risk identification techniques involved, such as root cause analysis and documentation reviews, and you'll find out when they should be used. You'll then examine one specific technique, brainstorming, in further detail. You'll learn how to prepare and conduct your session and manage group dynamics. You'll then have an opportunity to practice facilitating a brainstorming session in a simulated situation.
At the end of this course, you should be better able to identify risks to your project. And you should find it easier to overcome some of the challenges of conducting a brainstorming session.
There are four questions you must ask when assessing opportunities for your department or individual project.
The first question is, "What events would increase the probability of the opportunity occurring?" There are many variables you may be able to change with regard to an opportunity's likelihood.
The second question is, "How can we encourage those events to occur?" This involves deciding what actions to take to improve the chances an opportunity will come about.
Once an opportunity presents itself the third question is, "How can we capitalize on an opportunity that occurs?" Make sure you have the right resources in place to get the most benefit from the opportunity.
The fourth and final question is, "How will we know when the opportunity has occurred?" Set out triggers and a timeline to measure the opportunity's progress.
As a manager, you probably have to deal with risks from time to time in your organization. Some risks are negative and may pose a threat to your plans. Others have an upside and offer positive opportunities. Whatever type of risk you encounter, it's important to deal with both threats and opportunities in an effective way.
To help deal with risk effectively, you need to put a risk management - or RM - process in place. The first stage in this process is to identify the risks you're dealing with. Stage two is to assess the risks you've identified. And at stage three you deal with the risks. This course focuses on stage three of the risk management process - dealing with risk.
When dealing with risks, it's important to choose the most efficient and cost-effective response in each case.
This course describes various ways of responding to threats effectively. So, you'll be better equipped to manage threats when they do occur.
The course also outlines various responses you could consider when you encounter an opportunity. This should help you to seize opportunities and make the most of them.
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This type of gesture suggests that deep feelings and emotions act as necessary guides when humans face situations too important to defer to the intellect alone. Situations that arouse such emotional responses include:
- facing danger,
- suffering a painful loss,
- pursuing goals despite frustration,
- bonding with fellow humans,
- building a family.
In all decision-making and action situations, feelings count as much, if not more, than rational thought. In fact, there has been far too much emphasis on rational thought (IQ) in the past when evaluating human behavior and potential.
In this book you'll gain an understanding of the emotional intelligence theory, and you'll explore the basis of emotional intelligence by examining the following four areas:
- the purpose of emotions,
- managing emotions,
- the impact of emotional intelligence,
- what it takes to become emotionally literate.
Can you measure your intelligence simply by taking an IQ test? Will your SAT scores determine your on-the-job success?
Studies show that emotional intelligence plays a role that's just as, if not more, important than IQ. By developing your people skills, you'll have a positive effect on your career. In this book, you'll explore:
- what emotional intelligence is,
- how to realistically evaluate yourself,
- why it's important to manage your emotions,
- how self-motivation affects your career.
Groups are common in the workplace. Why do some work groups flourish, while others seem to drag behind?
Team members develop a culture which contributes strongly to their success. Some groups have an atmosphere of excitement and an ability to adapt. Others resist change and have a negative, growth- inhibiting environment.
The ability to handle emotions appropriately and work well with others is known as emotional intelligence. This competency factors into the team's success.
Participation and collaboration are key to the success of your team. In this book, you'll explore the importance of these characteristics in accomplishing group goals. You'll also examine:
- the competencies needed to become an effective team member,
- the techniques for handling emotions,
- the ways to evaluate your team's emotional intelligence,
- the strategies for improving your team's emotional intelligence.
Stellar teams don't appear out of thin air. They're made up of the right people in the right place. These teams have the support and encouragement they need to succeed. Team members are committed to the success of the group and they work to enhance their abilities to thrive in today's fast-paced business environment. This book will help you contribute effectively to your team's growth.
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There are many factors and strategies to consider when choosing what to delegate and to whom you should delegate. In this book, you'll explore delegation styles and fundamentals. You'll also learn about preparing and launching a delegation and educating and authorizing delegates.
The delegation process doesn't end with a decision to delegate. In many respects, that's just the beginning. Getting good delegation results depends on the right level of supervision, including follow-up, encouragement and handling mistakes.
In this book, you'll learn how to supervise and motivate your delegates. You'll also learn how to identify and avoid engaging in negative or demotivating behaviors. In addition, you'll learn how to respond when things go wrong and provide constructive criticism.
There are many components of effective delegation. Getting the job done is the obvious first objective, but it's not the only or even always the primary objective. Staff development is a crucial aspect of delegation.
It takes you and your team to the next level. In this book, you'll learn how to develop your team mitigating common delegation risks. You'll also learn how to assess and develop your delegation technique.
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Guidance on how to take steps towards adopting an agile project management approach for those who currently use a traditional, plan-driven methodology is included. The relevant section discusses some common myths and misconceptions about agile development approaches, identifies factors to consider when deciding whether to adopt agile practices, and explains the general agile practices that a company may want to adopt.
This course is intended for project managers, program managers, or anyone who wants to efficiently participate in agile projects. It is aligned with the Agile Certified Practitioner exam objectives developed by the Project Management Institute® and Certified ScrumMaster learning objectives.
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As you may have deduced, emotions can have enormous power. They can motivate you to act by steering you toward what you desire and away from what you find unpleasant. Even negative emotions like anger can be beneficial by providing you with a stimulus to take productive action.
Emotions also help you understand your needs and those of others.
And recognizing and taking them into account can help you build strong, healthy relationships and improve your ability to relate to others.
To live full, rewarding lives, people need to make use of their minds and their hearts. Intellect and emotion aren't opposed to each other – they work together, informing your perceptions and reactions.
Favoring one or the other throws things out of balance.
But it's not possible to use emotions to your advantage if you suppress or misinterpret them. So emotional awareness is vital. It involves accurately recognizing your emotions and those of others.
A person's emotional intelligence quotient – or EQ for short – is the capacity to reason about emotional information. EQ is increasingly recognized as important in both personal and work environments.
Even in business contexts, where rational thought is traditionally valued over emotional skills, research shows that EQ is an important predictor of success.
This applies especially in areas where dealing well with others is crucial, like sales. People with high EQs relate better to others, make better use of feedback to develop themselves, and generally possess greater understanding of their environments than those with low EQs.
EQ can be divided into four general areas of competence – self-awareness, self-management, empathy, and relationship management.
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Programs bring together a variety of projects and ongoing work that are linked by the overall benefits that they bring to an organization and its customers.
By placing projects and ongoing work under the management of a single program manager, duplication of tasks between projects is reduced, and the direction for the outcomes or benefits of the work is closely managed.
This improves an organization's competitive advantage and helps to ensure that time and resources are not wasted on efforts that have little chance of producing beneficial outcomes.
Currently many organizations have their own definitions and understandings of portfolios, programs, and projects.
The differences in these understandings can lead to confusion, so the Project Management Institute (PMI®) has created standardized definitions of all three types of work allotments.
This standardization should reduce misunderstandings and help to generate sets of best practices specific to each type of work.
When in a program environment, the processes differ from traditional project management.
PMI® has developed The Standard for Program Management, which provides a shared lexicon and set of best practices for program management.
Programs have their own associated organizational structure and stakeholders. The Standard for Program Management provides a structure for program management and provides a set of best practices to help you ensure the success of your programs.
As you work through the course, you will learn about the
• importance of programs and program management and how they relate to portfolio and project management,
• relationship between program management and strategic vision and how the program management themes ensure success of a program.
"The future influences the present just as much as the past." – Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher (1844-1900)
In program management, it is vital to know what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen. The program life cycle helps you to manage and control a program by clarifying where the program is and what needs to be done.
The program management life cycle is a vital tool in managing and controlling a program and its benefits and outcomes.
By using life-cycle phases, a program manager can ensure that the program achieves all the expected outcomes within the time and budget constraints set for that program.
The aim of this course is to provide an understanding of the basic concepts of program life-cycle management.
It provides an overview of:
program life-cycle phases
Program life-cycle phases are used to monitor and control the program's benefits. A program life cycle is made up of five phases - preprogram setup, program setup, establishing a program management and technical infrastructure, delivering the benefits, and closing the program.
program themes
The three program themes that span all the program life-cycle phases are benefits management, stakeholder management, and phase gate reviews. These themes evolve over time and require management throughout each phase of a program life cycle.
program governance
Program governance involves the continuous management and control of a program. It spans the whole life cycle of the program and is initiated to monitor the progress of the program and the delivery of the planned benefits from its constituent projects.
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Lean is a methodology that incorporates a powerful set of tools and techniques designed to maximize customer value while constantly working to reduce waste. It focuses on improving overall efficiency, quality, and customer satisfaction.
Because of its ability to improve customer satisfaction and deliver bottom-line financial gains, Lean is a preferred strategic choice for many organizations. This course introduces you to the basic principles of Lean, which will help you create more efficient processes and get you on the road to successful operations management.
This course also outlines the five-step process for implementing Lean. By learning how to implement Lean in your organization, you can reduce the costs of developing your company's product, increase production efficiency, and improve safety, quality, and performance levels. Finally, the course explains how Lean integrates with the Six Sigma production management system. Using this hybrid approach enables you to minimize process and product defects, and to identify and resolve pervasive problems.
Today's markets are very competitive and customers insist on the best quality products for their money. This means that businesses must actively pursue perfection to keep their customers and to retain their market share. Pursuing perfection and excellent quality are important principles of Lean thinking. Continuous improvement, the elimination of waste, and striving toward zero defects all help organizations attract and keep customers, and so increase their profitability.
This course introduces four Lean tools organizations use to strive for perfection and improve quality – 5S, Hoshin Kanri, jidoka and poka yoke, and standard work. As you work through this course, you'll find out what these tools are, their purpose, and how the tools are used. You should then be able to recognize how the tools may be used in your own organization.
The course provides examples of how the Lean tools can be applied in both manufacturing and service organizations. It will help you assess your own organization's needs and determine how you can apply the tools to perfect what you offer.
How can you make your organization more efficient? The simplest way is to eliminate waste from your processes. This waste can be caused by many factors, such as untidy workspaces and surplus inventory. Or it might be caused by inefficient distribution of work. Using Lean tools, you can make your processes smoother and your workspaces tidier.
To implement a Lean solution, you must know what tools and techniques are available, and which ones would best help you. You have to select the best blend of Lean techniques for your organization. You can use a number of Lean techniques to make your organization run more smoothly. These include the visual workplace, just-in-time, kanban, and line balancing.
The visual workplace uses signs and other visual cues to convey information quickly. The visual cues include work instructions, process flow diagrams, and status boards.
Just-in-time ensures that you have exactly the right amount of supplies needed at any time. This helps to reduce surplus inventory. Kanban cards are triggers that alert the team to send more parts or supplies. The parts are then "pulled" into the system, based on demand. Line balancing results in the even distribution of work among workers. No workers are overburdened, and no workers are left idle.
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If your organization decides to take a team approach, it's crucial for you, the team leader, to make the effort to set the stage for success during the Forming phase of team development. The main purpose of this course is to show you how to bring together a group of individuals and turn that group into a true team.
But what exactly is a true team? And how does it differ from a regular work group? Well, in a traditional work group, members don't work toward a common purpose. Each person is accountable only to himself and doesn't depend on the rest of the group.
Now compare this to a team. A true team is typically comprised of a small number of individuals whose skills complement each other. A team works toward the same purpose and goals – this is its reason for being. And members of an effective team are open and honest. They feel like they can count on each other.
Now that you know what a team is, consider some of the benefits of taking a team approach: you'll have group buy-in, with the result being more motivation and better performance, you'll be able to pool expertise and resources, and you'll find that the team has better ideas and problem-solving abilities than an isolated employee.
Leading a team is like being the captain of a ship. You'll have to ride the calms and storms, but with the support of your crew, you'll reach your final destination. This course will focus on the formation phase of team development, and will provide you with strategies to ensure your team succeeds in spite of the storms you encounter.
As team leader, one of the most important jobs you will perform is building the foundation for an effective, high performance team.
Ultimately, it's the team leader who's responsible for team success. The sooner you can get your team working as a united force, the better its chances of success. As team leader, you need to concentrate on building a productive and effective team early in the team-building stage.
Team leaders who fail to put the work in up front to build a strong, productive team run the risk of developing a team hampered by a lack of direction, internal conflict, and misassigned team roles. All of which can result in the team failing to achieve its objectives.
Three areas are particularly important when building an effective team.
It's important to establish team goals in the early stages of team building to set the team's direction. The team leader's job is to provide the leadership necessary to establish team goals. However, this is a team activity and must involve all team members.
Assigning the right people to the right roles is important because, when done correctly, the effectiveness of the team increases. Team leaders are responsible for assigning roles, and they must assign the right people to the right roles based on ability. This helps ensure the team achieves its objectives or goals.
Establishing effective guidelines for the conduct of the team is important because it helps the team work together. Team leaders have to take a proactive role in working with the team to define guidelines for conduct so that everyone is certain about how to behave, communicate, and work together.
The team leader plays the key role in building a successful team.
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Also known as an administrative assistant, administrative secretary, executive assistant, or even office manager, the admin professional handles an astonishing variety of tasks in today's organizations.
For example, they draft business correspondence, manage projects, create and maintain databases, schedule their boss's time, and conduct research. They also order office supplies, work with contractors and vendors, answer and handle telephone calls, create spreadsheets and reports, and plan and coordinate small and large meetings and events. It's no wonder that many managers consider their admin professionals to be their partners.
Admin professionals are often highly capable of operating state-of-the-art hardware and software. They are usually good communicators and are able to adapt to different personalities and work styles. Nowadays, admin professionals work side-by-side with their boss. They also often attend meetings in their boss's place and have authority to speak on behalf of the boss.
In this book, you'll learn about the skills needed to be a successful admin professional, including communication skills, organizing and managing skills, problem-solving skills, and basic office skills.
You'll also learn how to work effectively for your boss by anticipating your boss's needs, making your boss look good, and keeping your boss informed.
Finally, you'll learn some effective methods for communicating your boss's decisions to the people who will carry them out.
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Strategic thinking is essential at all levels, including functional levels. It equips functional managers and departmental leaders to make long-term decisions that align with their organizations' corporate and business strategies, encourages new ways of thinking, and overcomes the constraints associated with having limited information. In effect, it contributes to their success.
Strategic thinking has five main characteristics. It's focused on an organization's strategic vision, involves adopting a systems view, takes a long-term approach, involves being ready to take advantage of opportunities, and considers the past and present.
Traits of strategic thinkers typically include flexibility, openness, a positive outlook, curiosity, future focus, and an ability to identify connections and patterns. Common barriers to thinking strategically include unchallenged assumptions, knowledge that's no longer relevant, reliance on what worked in the past, rigidity, linearity, closed-mindedness, and framing.
Anyone can develop the ability to think strategically and to do this you can carry out certain steps. Develop a clear vision by speaking to senior management and peers, collaborating with individuals, setting priorities, and making trade-offs.
To think strategically, you also have to think creatively. You can learn to do this by regularly challenging assumptions, visualizing possibilities, and participating in creative endeavors.
You also have to be prepared to deal with complexity. You need to adopt a big picture view of your organization, be able to recognize trends and patterns, and align your ideas with strategic objectives. You need to become aware of what's going on across your organization and in its broader environment.
To think strategically and see the bigger picture, it's important to understand both the external and internal contexts of your organization. You can use Porter's model of five forces to help you understand and assess your organization's external environment.
To understand the internal context in which you operate, you need to understand your organization's strategic goals and direction, and how your department can align with these. You should also identify potential stakeholders, gather their input on potential actions, and ensure you consider the impact of your decisions on them.
A big-picture perspective enables you to create a mental model of the complete system of value creation within your organization. You can understand the value chain in terms of Porter's primary and support activities.
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Having good relationships with peers boosts employees' confidence levels. Employees are more able to find support for their ambitions, and are better able to solve problems with the help of others.
All this makes for happier and more productive employees.
Good peer relationships also have many benefits for an organization. For example, friends at work are more likely to share information and help each other out. This leads to higher productivity and better problem solving. Also, when employees have good relationships, they feel more positive about going to work and are typically more loyal to the organization. This results in higher attendance and lower attrition, or turnover.
In this book, you'll learn what a peer relationship is, how it differs from other types of relationships you may have, and what general expectations govern professional relationships. You'll learn about the benefits of good peer relationships for organizations. Finally, you'll learn how to cultivate peer relationships that contribute to your own and your organization's success.
There's no such thing as a workplace without office politics. It's natural that, in any organization, individuals and departments try to achieve their work goals partly through their professional relationships with others. It's also natural that, in any group of people, some exert more influence than others and are more successful in obtaining the support they need.
Participating in office politics doesn't have to be petty, malicious, or coldly manipulative. Instead, it can involve recognizing that part of what contributes to anyone's success in the work environment is how well an individual – or a group – gets along with and influences others.
Using office politics to your advantage involves focusing on building mutually beneficial professional relationships that will further your goals and the goals of your organization.
It's important not to confuse personal relationships with those that are professional. Because you spend lot of time at work, it's likely that you've developed personal relationships and that you work with good friends. However, it's the successful professional relationships – those you have with people in a work capacity – that can help you achieve your work-related goals.
In this book, you'll learn to be more aware of the political relationships in your workplace and of your colleagues' personal approaches to politics.
You'll learn how to identify the key peers who can significantly affect your ability to do your work well and to achieve your goals. Finally, you'll learn how to build and maintain strategic professional relationships with your key peers.
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When you're preparing for a difficult conversation, don't avoid the situation. Make sure your goal for the conversation is clear, realistic, and relevant. And make sure to choose an appropriate time and place to have the conversation.
There are four steps to changing a negative internal monologue to a positive internal monologue. Step one is to be aware of your negative inner voice. Step two is to consider both positive and negative possible outcomes of having the conversation. Step three is to focus on the goal of the conversation. And step four is to develop a positive internal monologue by reframing negative thoughts in a positive way.
Preparing for a difficult conversation involves analyzing the practical and emotional levels of the conversation, and then planning your approach.
Guidelines for analyzing the practical level are to consider the other person's perspective, consider your own viewpoint, make sure you understand the situation, make sure you don't assign blame, admit your mistakes, and reverse roles to consider the other side of things.
Analyzing the emotional level involves managing both your emotions and the other person's emotions. Planning the conversation involves identifying your goal, outlining the structure of the conversation, and rehearsing the conversation.
When you're preparing for a difficult conversation, it's imperative to examine your own attitude toward the conversation. Your mind-set is the logical thinking that determines how you interpret and respond to communication. The right mind-set will make it easier to communicate effectively and reach the goal of your conversation. The four qualities of an appropriate mind-set are being open-minded, collaborative, empathic, and engaged.
Having a difficult conversation, and making it progress well, requires following a clear structure. It should also involve adopting an appropriate communication style to suit the individual and the context.
There are five steps to creating progress in a difficult conversation. First, open with an agenda. Second, invite dialogue. Third, share views and perspectives to learn from each other. Fourth, look for a mutual understanding, and finally, design an action plan.
Your communication style throughout the conversation is crucial to a positive outcome. It's important that you're clear and direct, and focus on the facts. You need to be honest and fair to your colleague. Also, be assertive but tactful, and listen effectively.
Once a difficult conversation is opened well, the second step is inviting dialogue. This involves connecting with the other person by using strength-focused communication.
Strength-focused communication can keep others engaged. This involves speaking to a person's strengths, acknowledging feelings, and understanding the benefits of another approach.
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