What Is Portfolio Management Intended To Do?

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The concept derives from the field of product development. It was designed as a means of managing product innovation activities in a more formal manner, and making sure that product development aligned with strategy and was being appropriately supported through a defined and formal process of decision making. The principles of stage gates (or phase gates, or whatever other flavor of gates you would like to refer to) owe their existence to product development, and in particular to the work of Robert G. Cooper.

In the definition of portfolio management concepts, Cooper and his colleagues acknowledged the existence of strategic planning and also of project management. Strategy set the direction of the organization, and project management was already a tool being used to manage product development in a number of organizations. Portfolio management was really an overlay on all of this to focus on what product development projects should be considered, to ensure that they were being managed effectively and to verify that they produced their desired results. From a focus on product development specifically, this grew to a process to manage the selection and oversight of all projects within organizations. And so was born the concept of portfolio management as most people understand it today.

A big portion of portfolio management is about ensuring strategic alignment. This is where things get a little bit complicated, however. If portfolio management is about ensuring strategic alignment and strategic management is about defining organizational direction, where does one stop and the other start? Specifically, what should we expect a good strategic management process to define? And what does portfolio management expect and require as input in order to ensure that the results of portfolio selection are, in fact, “strategically aligned”?

This is where things get a little fuzzy and a lot messy. To explain, I’m going to start backward and work forward from there. Portfolio management talks about the need to grasp strategic objectives. In particular, what it attempts to understand is the goals of the organization and the funding constraints around those goals. In other words, there is a generalized assumption of, “Tell me roughly where you would like to go, and how much money I have to play with in attempting to get you there.” In particular, it assumes that the actual identification of specific product goals are defined at the business unit level, and that prioritization of potential projects are considered within the process of portfolio management.

This is all well and good, assuming that strategic management actually does focus on defining high-level objectives. If, once objectives have been established and funding has been allocated to the appropriate buckets, the business is then left to its own devices, then we don’t have much of an issue. The challenge is that strategic management doesn’t view its role as simply being a high-level definition of direction. Yes, there is a consideration of vision, mission and overarching strategic objectives. But there is much, much more that is considered in how strategic planning and management is defined.

One of the gurus of strategic planning and strategy management is Henry Mintzberg, a Canadian academic who has been hanging his hat at McGill University for several decades. He agrees with the assessment that one of the major functions of strategic planning is that it has primary responsibility for capital budgets. So we’re aligned so far with the presumptions of portfolio management. But this is where the whole proposition starts to go sideways. His definition of strategic management also includes the identification, evaluation and selection of alternatives to support objectives. He suggests that strategy is concerned with explicit decisions regarding alternatives and action. He argues that strategy is about getting your hands dirty; it’s about elaborating strategies into comprehensible specifics.

In other words, strategic planning is about figuring out what options exist in moving forward on the goals of the organization, making choices about those options and ultimately evaluating, prioritizing and selecting the specific alternatives that will proceed forward. This, of course, sounds a whole lot like what portfolio management claims to do.

This is where we talk about a meeting I had recently with a client. I was in a meeting with my client who indicated that they had just been to a presentation on portfolio management; they were wondering whether it was something that was appropriate for them to consider. Knowing them as I did, my immediate reaction was, “No. Absolutely not. It’s not necessary or relevant.” Actually providing an explanation as to why this was true for them, however, required some thought. They have, over the last several years, invested considerable time and effort in developing a comprehensive process for strategic planning and the development of business plans and financial budgets. Their strategic planning process identifies the objectives and goals for the organization. These objectives and goals result in the definition of strategic initiatives that–with the priorities of individual business units–are objectively defined, evaluated and prioritized by their senior management team. The results of this exercise form the basis for their annual budget, and the collective business plan is then presented for approval by their board of directors. Throughout the year, a comprehensive quarterly review process ensures that the identified initiatives are underway, on track and expected to deliver their intended value.

What they have organizationally is something that sounds a whole lot like what Mintzberg and his various colleagues have defined as an appropriate and effective framework for strategic planning. And it is something that, over time, has evolved into an approach that works really well for them. It also addresses virtually the entire scope of what a portfolio management process would argue that it offers to an organization.

This is the heart of why I see portfolio management being unnecessary and irrelevant for this particular organization. What portfolio management is designed to do is already in place. Creating another level of scrutiny and oversight provides no additional value, and would simply introduce an unnecessary amount of bureaucracy. They have a process that enables them to identify the projects that are most strategically appropriate, they have in place a means of managing those projects and they have ongoing oversight and evaluation of project delivery. Anything more would be inappropriate.

That isn’t to say that in a different organization, portfolio management might not be more relevant. If the strategic planning process was less comprehensive, or if actual initiative identification and prioritization did occur at a business unit level, then a case for portfolio management might be made. But in this case–and arguable in many similar–there isn’t a terribly logical or compelling reason to do so.

This leads to some interesting insights. In the face of a strong process of strategic management that already makes informed and appropriate project decisions, portfolio management may not be a relevant consideration. At the same time, portfolio management implementations routinely fail when they are implemented to compensate for the absence of a strategic planning process. This raises the question of when they might actually be relevant, and it is an important question to consider.

In my experience, the few (and sadly, they have been very few) examples of portfolio management that I have seen that have been successful is where their use is in managing a subset of projects in an organization that already has a solid approach to strategic planning. Just as portfolio management was originally applied to the subset of projects that were focussed on product development, this could be on a specific project type. It could also be related to the projects that are being considered within a specific business unit. Resource-based portfolios have also been successful in helping to balance multiple conflicting demands being faced by a single group of resources, a challenge that many IT departments face. In all these examples, strategy has addressed the organizational needs, while the portfolio then provides additional focus on some relevant subset of projects that the organization cares about.

The implications of this are important and significant. To be successful, portfolio management already requires a strong approach to strategic management. An effective strategic management process, however, may preclude portfolio management from actually being relevant. Where they can work, it is because they both work together. In my experience, however, those situations are less frequent than many would consider–or perhaps like.

Some Solutions To Back Ache

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Everyone has suffered from back ache, your dad, your mum, maybe even you if you are young. People with persistent backache problems are very surprised when they hear from someone or read about the information on getting permanent relief from back pains solely by consuming the right type of food. If you are one such person curious to know the type of food that would help you in coming out of the back pain condition, the information provided here would be of great importance.
Recommended Foods for backache relief Among the different types of food, the Mediterranean food has been found to be most effective in controlling back pains. This includes fresh leafy vegetables, whole grains such as whole wheat and food cooked in Olive oil. The different varieties of fruits and vegetables that would help in controlling the pain and prevent its recurrence include 1. Fruits like cherries, peaches, Oranges, Cranberries and Kiwi 2. Vegetables like Soy, asparagus and Cauliflower. In addition to consuming fruits and vegetables, one has to include sufficient quantities of natural sprouts and herbs to combat the backache problem. Sprouts and Herbs that are extremely powerful in providing back pain relief are given below. 1. Alfalfa This is available in Sprout form and is extremely rich in vitamins, minerals and proteins. This also acts as an anti-arthritic, as it contains Chlorophyll in large quantities. 2. Fenugreek This is an herb that has been found to be extremely effective in treating back pain. Fenugreek has phyla steroid properties and this property makes it to act as an excellent anti-inflammatory medicine. It also helps in rebuilding the damaged muscle tissues. 3. Flax Seeds This contains omega 3 fatty acids in large quantities, which are capable of acting as an excellent anti-inflammatory agent. Flax seed can be added to the daily meal and cooking can also be done using Flax seed oil. Omega3 Fatty acid has the ability to heal the damaged tissues and provide relief from backache. 4. Ginger This has the capability to increase the blood flow in the body and is usually added as a seasoning to different types of food items. Ginger also comes with added anti-inflammatory properties, which naturally results in lesser pain. 5. Rosemary This is another medicinal herb that provides pain relief by relieving the tensions that have been built up in nerves and muscle tissues. Rosemary is rich in Silicon, which is the source of glycoside. Aspirin that is usually given for treating head aches is rich in glycoside. One of the reasons that is attributed to the reduction in back pain is the reduction in body weight of the person when they turn Vegan or Vegetarian and start consuming only vegetables, sprouts, herbs and fruits. If anyone wants to include non vegetarian food as part of their diet, they have to restrict themselves to fish and fish oil. Fish Oil has been found to be extremely effective in bringing down backache. By following a healthy diet that is rich in vegetables, natural herbs, fruits and fish, you would be able to reduce the backache to a great extent. Foods that need to be avoided Food that is rich in bad fat has to be totally avoided as bad fat contains certain chemicals that would aggravate the back pain. Hence, a person with acute back pain has to avoid consuming meat, dairy products and Chocolates. Similarly, they should also avoid consuming coffee, tea, red wine and soda.

Emphysema Information

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Emphysema is a very chronic, long term lung disease that usually affects the breathing due to the damage of the air sacs. The tissue gets worse over time and the air is trapped in the lungs, leading to the decrease of oxygen within the blood. The Emphysema is actually grouped under the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which is the fourth leading cause of deaths in the US. The damage caused to the cilia, which are the tiny hairs within the bronchial tubes, by the smoke of the cigarette is the foremost cause of the emphysema. The tobacco smoke generally prevents the cilia from actually cleaning irritants and germs out of the airways. Making the dietary changes fundamentally helps the people who are suffering from Emphysema to feel better. Despite the fact that there is no cure for the emphysema, simple nutritional changes make a very big difference on how the patient feels and also lives in his daily life. The diet in particular plays a pivotal role, so it is essential that the nutritional issue is immediately addressed soon after the diagnosis. 1. Eating smaller meals more often, rather than consuming a couple of very large meals daily. Not only does it make it easier to process the foods, but also impose less pressure on the lungs and stomach and leaves the Emphysema patient feeling better as compared to feeling weighed-down by the meals. The meal should ideally include all the major food groups (fat, proteins and carbohydrates). 2. It is essential to lose weight if suffering from Emphysema. The heavier one is, the harder its for the lungs to pump the oxygen to the whole body. If at all one has been looking for the extra motivation to the diet, losing weight will be the most significant thing one will ever come upon. Even the 5 pound weight loss makes a very big difference on how you move and feel.
3. Cut down the caffeine and salt, these two usually causes the body to swell up and retain water. In turn it makes the breathing more strenuous. The salt also affects the blood pressure and makes the breathing and the circulation of the blood more difficult. The salt is abundant in processed and canned food, so it is very essential to eat more fresh foods and natural produce as much as possible to reduce the severe effects of Emphysema.
4. Make sure to consume a balanced diet so as to get the adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals. The potassium is particularly helpful, as fiber facilitates the digestion and lowers and cholesterol and the vitamin A helps to keep the tissues affected by Emphysema young.
5. Drink lots of water as required. The water cleans your digestive system and also takes off the burden from the lungs and the body at large. This is point is very important if you have eaten the spicy or the heavy foods that usually takes longer to digest if suffering from Emphysema. Tips &amp: Warnings It is very essential to stay away from the excessive amount of caffeine, in particular when you are using the bronchodilators to treat the emphysema. The Caffeine enhances the effects of the drug resulting in overdose.