A technique implemented by some managers in their workplace is to lead their workers through intimidation and fear. Sadly, it is a leadership tactic that works: a leader who is feared by their staff could discover that they get more out of them, just as a leader who’s is too laid-back with their workers might find that they are not putting 100% effort into what they do.

However, leading by fear can have some major repercussions in the long run. The effects that it can have on a leader’s employees are featured below:

1) It may create stress – Leading by fear may look like it increases productivity in the short run, but if it results in staff becoming more stressed, making more mistakes and rushing their work, becoming burnt out and ultimately having more sick leave then long-term productivity might be hit hard.

2) It can be a creativity killer – Employees who are managed by a boss with an iron rod will not be more creative, even if the leader requires them to be. Taking creative stances and opportunities such as trying new things, innovating and taking risks will be greatly limited, as staff will be concerned that conducting in any of those things will aggravate the guy or girl in charge. Therefore in creative sectors, leading by fear could potentially have enormous repercussions to the development and growth of employees and the company as a whole.

3) Staff won’t want to work with you (by choice) – Workers who are managed by a friendly, approachable leader who looks after them will want to work with them more frequently – it’s as simple as that. Instead of just doing what’s expected, you may discover that they’ll make more of an effort and produce work surpassing all expectations. This may carry across to other departments and teams, who might be more agreeing to carry out favours or get things done quickly for you, even though they shouldn’t. The alternative is that employees won’t do anything beyond what you’ve asked them to do.

4) Your employees will be ‘yes men’ – Just like humas in general, not all managers are perfect and we can all make mistakes. The problem with leading by fear is that if you suggest a strategy or project that people do not agree with, they could be too scared to speak up, disagree or have their say in general. Instead, you might find that employees will agree with anything that you propose, regardless of their opinion on it. This could have a massive damaging effect on long-term strategy – a member of staff should not be punished for recommending against an opinion or recommending another route; in fact they should be applauded for it.

5) Survival will not be about being good, but just looking good – At present, employees might be worried not only about career progression but just generally about surviving, a result of the present economic crisis. Some staff may be able to make themselves look more worthwhile than they actually are, with another person who’s talented but shy looking less important in the process. A great leader will be able to tell their greatest stars from those who simply care about continuing their employment, but for one who leads by fear it might be more difficult or even promote that kind of behaviour between colleagues.

6) It’ll cause talented people to seek other employment – Eventually, the talent will look to go elsewhere. Leadership by fear leads to unmotivated, demoralised and unhappy workers, who will not want to work for you. Even in difficult economic times, with an increasing number of unemployed people and less jobs available, opportunities still appear and people will move on. There may even be instances of struggling to get new hires, if they come across rumours of what it can be like working in the place or if they are able to obtain a glimpse of your management style in an interview.

This doesn’t mean to say that a manager must pander to the wants and needs of their staff – a leader who is soft on their workers is just as bad as a leader who is much too intimidating for their own good. However, a leader should learn to be calm, patient, a great listener and compassionate, while still being strict and not afraid to discipline employees if there are any actual issues. Getting the balance correct can result in a team who are passionate, productive, efficient and happy, something that can be obtained without needing to lead by fear.

Effective leadership and management training does not have to be about leading by fear. There’s lots of ways a leader and his/her workers can grow, through the implementation of other leadership tactics and practices.

When managers use research, they are applying the methods of science to the art of management and all business undertakings operate in the world of uncertainty. There is no unique method which can entirely eliminate uncertainty; however, research methodology, more than any other procedure, can minimize the degree of uncertainty. Thus it reduces the probability of making a wrong choice amongst alternative courses of action. This is particularly significant in the light of increasing the competition and growing size which make the task of choosing the best course of action difficult for any business enterprise.

It is imperative that any type of organization in the present environment needs the systematic supply of information coupled with tools of analysis for making the sound decisions which involve the minimum risk. Under this context, the research methodology plays a very important role.

Research is not an existing bag of techniques and it is not a fishing expedition or an encyclopedic gathering of assorted facts. It is purposeful investigation. It provides a structure for the decision making. There are three parts involved in any investigation namely; 1) the implicit question method; 2) the explicit answer proposed; 3) collection, analysis and interpretation of the information leading from the question to the answer.

In fact, the third part is the defense that justifies the recommendation and is viewed as research. For example, the following statement can be considered: “We recommend that model X television can be priced at $15000”. This is the recommendation forwarded to the marketing head by the marketing manager in charge of research wing. The implicit question posed in this quote is what should be the selling price of the model? The explicit answer is $15000. The third part deals with collection, analysis and interpretation of the information leading from the question to the answer of $15000.

The word: “research” identifies a process by which the organization attempts to supply the information required for making sound management decisions. In fact the research is not synonymous with common sense. The difference revolves around words such as “systematic”, objective and reproducible. Both research and common sense depend on information; the distinction between them lies in the procedures and methods adopted by which the information is obtained and used in arriving at conclusions. The research cannot address itself to the complete information on a particular subject. As such, the two secondary characteristics of research specify “relevance” and “control”.

When it comes to good research, the systematic approach is very much essential and each step should be so planned that it leads to the next step. It is usually very difficult to go back and correct the mistakes of the previous step; sometimes it is impossible. Even when it is possible, it always involves loss in time and money. Research can be divided into a number of steps and both the number of steps and the names are somewhat arbitrary; however, the recognition of a sequence is crucial. Planning and organization are part of this systematic approach with a lot of emphasis given to the interdependence of various steps.

Customers are the foundational stone of any enterprise. Further, the process of identifying them and retaining them as an integral part of their business functions. Now, the very purpose of a CRM software is manage the organization’s relationship with the customers. This relationship goes to five stages before turning into a mature and long term bonding. Developing a successful customer relationship management (CRM) strategy is the crux of the entire game with the sole objective of getting insights into customers’ buying behavior, and keeping them loyal.

Let’s discuss these customer life cycle stages:

1. Reach-

Major objective of this phase is to attract the customers.

This is done by letting them know about your brand and its characteristics. Here, the targeted market segments are identified and the key information are propagated through various media channels- such as, paper-based, electronic or internet-based etc.

This aims to make the customers curious to know more about it and facilitate them to ask you about it. For this, you must have a clearly defined brand strategy using marketing techniques- social media marketing, banner advertising, and content marketing etc.

2. Acquisition-

This phase provides for lead management.

Here, you acquire key information of the potential customers, such as- contact details, their preferences. Various modes of communicating with them are applied, such as- Email, sales calls etc.

3. Conversion-

In this phase, you actually convert a potential customer into a buyer or paid customer.

The sales persons attempts to convince them about the benefits of availing your products and services. In addition, the pricing is also negotiated. Once the leads are converted into opportunities, and they create sales orders, they become a new customer for you.

4. Retention-

Only a well satisfied customer can be loyal to you. For this, you will need to keep communicating with them. Many ways to do this are- care for them by asking the problems if any they are facing, encouraging them to provide their feedback. This way, you make them an integral part of your business process. Thus, as your business decision making becomes a more participative, there are greater chances of becoming it as a stronger and growth oriented enterprise.

5. Endorsement-

Once your customers are deeply satisfied, they are likely to become the carrier of word of mouth. They evidently spread the awareness of your brand into their own social networks. This way you get more potential customers from your existing and loyal customers.

Dynamics CRM, which is the state-of-the-art CRM solution provided by Microsoft, can extend you a helping hand in each of these crucial stages. As available with Dynamics 365 Marketing, numerous in-built features, such as leads, marketing lists, campaigns, quick campaigns help you in running an effective marketing campaigns. In these campaigns, you can automatically send the key messages to customers in any list through emails. This provides you ways to collect information about your products and sales literature, which you can share with the customers immediately at your wish. It also facilitates you to effectively manage the customer information, using Accounts and Contacts.

One of the most important Dynamics CRM feature is that you can effectively manage your workspace, through dashboards and activities. The dashboard provides you an integrated and comprehensive view of analytical CRM data. This, in turn, helps you in effective decision making. Furthermore, Activities tab presents you with an organized view about tasks, emails, phone calls, appointments, etc.

There are many more capabilities available with Microsoft Dynamics CRM that can make your customer relationship management as an exciting experience.