Chinese President Xi's carton an online hit

 

For the original cartoon, check Where has President Xi’s time gone? 

Cartoon of hard-working Xi moves Chinese netizens

An online cartoon entitled "Where Has Chinese President Xi Jinping's Time Gone?" has hit the headlines, depicting the leader's hard work via cute animation.

It portrays Xi in a gray jacket and blue trousers with maps and charts featuring his busy schedules, including both domestic and foreign travels, the meetings he has presided over and his hobbies.

The cartoon, released by Beijing-based qianlong.com on Wednesday, has been much discussed in online forums, with "President Xi works too hard" and "the cartoon figure is so cute" typifying the comments.

Yang Mingxing, who is responsible for the cartoon, told Beijing News that her team was inspired to make the cartoon by comments Xi made at the Winter Olympic Games.

During his visit to Sochi for the opening ceremony of the Games, the president said in an interview with Russian media that he devoted most of his time to work while quoting a song named "Where Has Time Gone?" that was performed at this year's Spring Festival gala.

According to the cartoon, since Xi was elected general secretary of the Communist party of China (CPC) Central Committee in November 2012, he has made 12 research trips throughout China, covering 11 provincial-level regions.

The cartoon also shows that Xi has spent 39 days on five trips overseas, covering 14 countries on five continents, since he took the helm as Chinese president in March 2013.

In 2013, Xi attended meetings on a monthly basis, with the number of such commitments peaking at six. The most important meetings have been the annual gatherings of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the top advisory body.

Xi chaired the group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on 12 occasions, covering topics including anti-corruption drives, deepening reform and "cultural soft power."

During his tiny amount of spare time, Xi is a big reader and loves sports, turning his hand to swimming, climbing, ball games and martial arts, according to the cartoon.

In order to create a vivid image of the president, Yang's team gathered a number of his pictures to "grasp his expressions and features."

The clothes were based on his daily wear, and the cartoon figure stands with his feet pointing to different sides, an illustrators' technique designed to make the image more cute and friendly.

A netizen with the screen name "Xiaodipanwuxianda" suggested on Twitter-like Weibo.com that the comic maker should make a series of such animations.

"Guduqiudan" wrote, "President Xi works really hard and I should be introspective about where my own time has gone."

Zhu Lijia, professor with the Chinese Academy of Governance, said that such cartoon imagery breaks the conventional mystery surrounding leaders of China and creates closer ties with the Chinese people.

It is a sign for Chinese society to be more open and confident, Zhu added.

In October last year, Xi appeared in cartoon form for the first time in a five-minute animation that compared China's government system with that of the United States and Britain.

The video, produced by a studio called "On the road to revival," featured stories about Xi, U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

The animation surprised Internet users with its frankness on leaders with both Chinese and English versions, and has been viewed over two million times online. - Xinhua

 Drawn together: Xi Jinping cartoon puts people over politics

Animated cartoon – The makings of a Chinese leader



The five-minute animation introduced the tough promotion process through which Chinese President Xi Jinping came to power from the grassroots. It is the first time a Chinese leader has appeared in cartoon images. The animation, with both Chinese and English versions, was produced by a studio called "On the road to revival," about which no more details are available. [Read more]

● Weibo posts

Public eats up Xi’s trip to steamed buns shop
President Xi Jinping's surprise visit to a fast food eatery on last December 28 in Beijing has drawn unprecedented attention, which shored up his everyman image that had rarely been seen among top-level Chinese officials in the past.

Blurred photos of Xi queuing at a restaurant, holding his own plates and dining at a table were posted online by Net users first in the afternoon. The photos were forwarded by Xinhuashidian, an official Weibo account run by the Xinhua News Agency.

Given no official media accompanied the president during his surprise visit to the eatery, all the photos and videos were taken by diners with their cellphones.

'Fan club to learn from Xi' welcomed by the public
A Sina Weibo account called Xuexifensituan, which means "Fan club to learn from Xi," became quite popular online for its real-time reports of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping's inspection tour of Gansu Province in 2013.

The account published the details of Xi's Gansu tour starting on February 3, 2013 and set itself apart by publishing close-up photos of the leader, some of which are exclusive. The man behind the account identified himself as an ordinary netizen when responding to the public's queries about his true identity, according to a report from the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post on February 5, 2013.

Having first been registered on November 21, 2012, this account had over 480,000 followers as of 4 pm, February 6, 2013.          Editor's Note

Previously, a video titled The makings of a Chinese leader went viral online in October last year via popular video website Youku, in which China's top leadership was presented in animation.

Latest News

Xi’s cartoon depiction breaks taboo
A cartoon depiction of President Xi Jinping in an infographic, the first such image of him carried by a State-run media outlet, has triggered much discussion of the new attitude toward publicizing China's top leadership.

Leader cartoon screened
A video depicting China's top leadership in an animated cartoon has been played during the five-day visit of a Chinese delegation sent to Laos to promote the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) since December 18, cpc.people.com.cn reported on December 20, 2013.           Drawing the People Together

Comments

Chinese media:
Zhengzhou Evening Post
Cartoons are a good way to present officials as everyday people. Politics are a serious subject, but politicians are regular people. China’s grassroots officials should learn from the President and try to better connect with the people.

The Beijing News
Cartoons of China’s top leaderships not only bring them closer to the common people, but also help the public better understand their political views.

Chengdu Business Daily
Cartoons of top leaders are a modern and effective way to connect with the public. They help people learn about their leader’s schedules and activities through humor. The Party and the government are seeking new ways to connect with the public, such as through Weibo and WeChat, and this will increase in the future.

Weibo voices:
@小地盘无限大: The cartoon is very cute. Hope to see more.

@一零六点一: I like President Xi very much. He doesn’t use a lot of official jargon during his speeches and is easy to understand.

 - Web editor: guwei@globaltimes.com.cn 

Are you a manage or leader?

LEADERS and managers obviously have one thing in common they lead or manage teams; but as their titles suggest there are differences between leaders and managers.

As an executive search consultant I have interviewed many senior executives over the years and most of them have indicated that they would prefer to be led than to be managed.

However, I have observed that as an organisation grows it is almost impossible to scale up without a strong management structure. As such, I believe that leadership and management both have a part to play in the growth of an organisation.

The manager

My first encounter with a manager was on my first job. I was fresh out of school and had no knowledge of how an office operated let alone how to use the computer which ran the now obsolete Wordstar programme. I was in awe of my manager. She seemed to know where everything was and always spoke confidently regardless of whom she was addressing. She would also set our targets, monitor our progress and discipline us when necessary. If we accept the definition of a manager as one who directs and controls, then I would say that she played her role well but I found that I was doing the job because I had to and not because I wanted to. My manager was not concerned about engagement as long as we met our targets and would not entertain any queries that would challenge the norm. Whilst I didn't feel that she was someone I could confide in, I certainly respected her discipline and commitment to her job.

The leader

We have all come across leaders who have inspired us at some point in our lives. In comparison with the manager I mentioned earlier, the managing director of the same company was someone who was out to change the world. She was absolutely passionate about what she believed in and her passion was infectious. She spoke with such clarity of thought that I never questioned her beliefs and was glad to work weekends and long hours to be a part of something bigger than myself. Suffice to say that she was an inspiring individual who has influenced my professional and personal life even until today.

The difference

Warren Bennis lists the following comparisons between a manager and a leader in “On Becoming a Leader,” which was published in 1989:

• The manager administers; the leader innovates.
• The manager is a copy; the leader is an original. The manager maintains; the leader develops.
• The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.
• The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.
• The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.
• The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.
• The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader's eye is on the horizon.
• The manager imitates; the leader originates.
• The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.
• The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his or her own person.
• The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.

As such, we can conclude that not all managers are leaders and some managers may never become leaders. Whilst many of us have come across individuals commonly known as “born-leaders,” who simply thrive in situations that call for a leader to step up to the plate, there are also many who made the transition from manager to leader. This then begs the question: How does one make the shift from a manager mindset to that of a leader?

Given that any kind of change takes time and usually uncomfortable if not painful, I would offer these six areas as the first step in the transition process from manager to leader.

Something bigger than themselves: A leader usually has a cause to champion. A manager who strives to make this transition would have to find something that he or she strongly believes in, in the context of their own organisations or field of expertise. This could include something they feel needs to be changed or an innovative idea they want to see implemented. For instance, a regional sales director whom I interviewed as a potential candidate for an executive search project shared with me that he was hired by his current employer to develop the market for the company's products in Malaysia. However, he felt that there wasn't sufficient demand for their products in one country and he expanded the customer base into China. He successfully created a whole new market for the company and needless to say he was given a promotion for his achievements.

A strategic mindset: A potential leader would also benefit from developing a more strategic view of the business and the industry in which they operate in. For example, managers are usually focused on a function such as finance, sales or human resource. A manager who wants to transition into the realm of a leader would first need to understand how his or her role as a manager adds value to the entire company, the community and the industry. When a manager is able to see the bigger picture, then better decisions can be made that would benefit the business rather than the individual.

Ability to multi-task effectively: Most leaders have the innate ability to deal with many things at once. I'm not referring to being on the laptop or smartphone while meetings are going on, as this will probably be more distracting that productive. Multi-tasking effectively deals more with being able to group similar tasks together and work on more than one item at a time. When there is downtime, this period can then be used to review new information or put together a new group of tasks to be kicked-off next.

Recognising trends: A leader is generally able to see patterns and trends in seemingly unimportant data, even without the help of customer relationship management software tools. They are able to make sense of information whilst managers are often only capable of data gathering and some basic analysis of the information captured.

Long term vs short term: Leaders have a long-term view of the company's direction and the macro factors that affect the business. Their broader view of the situation also gives them an added advantage when dealing with obstacles as they are able to see beyond the immediate issue and make more informed decisions. On the other hand, managers may only deal with short- to medium-term goals and this lack of foresight may limit their ability to make decisions as compared with the strategic view that a leader is able to take.

Ability to communicate effectively: Communication is without a doubt one of the most important skills a leader must develop. Ideally, a leader would be someone who can communicate in a clear message by being both tactful and direct at the same time. A manager without sufficient foresight or empathy tends to be more directive and concise in delivering a message.

Would organisations prefer to hire managers or leaders?

In my view, an organisation needs both managers and leaders for sustainable success. Leaders are usually the ones we see in the limelight, who are highly influential in an organisation. They are also the ones who inspire the rest of the team with their good performance, passion or superb knowledge of an industry. However, they are usually not the ones who would get into the details and execution of projects. This is not an issue for organisations with sufficient structure and headcount to support these leaders but organisations with very leaner teams need leaders who can be hands-on when necessary; failing which the organisation would require the skills and expertise of good managers to fill the gaps. Therefore, in a world where many individuals are able to operate as either a manager or a leader; the ability to wear both the manager and leader hats interchangeably is a highly sought-after commodity.

Talking HR by Pauline NG

Pauline Ng, the managing director of BTI Consultants, encourages all managers who want to become leaders to make the transition but to keep their “manager hats” handy.

We need competent leaders!

Competent leader vital for Information, Communications and Culture Ministry  

The candidate should be someone well rounded, well experienced, not too old or too young

FOR some time now, there has been talk on whether culture is a good fit for the Information, Communications and Culture Ministry (MICC). Some believe culture would be better off parked under the Tourism Ministry.

Culture and tourism, to them, are lines out of the same song not quite jiving with communications or information.

Then, there is talk of some areas of duplication between MICC and the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti). Both should merge as there are common areas, it has been said.

These ministries aside, some folk have been lobbying that a new ministry, the Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) Ministry, be set up with the MICC being done away with.

All this talk has resurfaced now that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, fresh off his election win, is busy selecting candidates for his new Cabinet line-up that might be announced in the coming days.

There is certainly some overlap between Mosti and MICC, making sense for them to be merged into one entity. Arts, on the other hand, could be part of the Youth and Sports Ministry or spun off into a new ministry under Arts and Heritage.

It is not an easy decision, but whatever the outcome, one things is for sure Malaysia's Cabinet should not be bigger than China's, which has a population of 1.6 billion, as opposed to our 28 million.

Australia and Singapore have gone though the same phase that Malaysia is going through now in terms of merging and segregating its various ministries. In 2001, Singapore's Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) was expanded to include Arts.

Over a decade later, the Arts and Heritage portfolios became a part of the culture ministry. At present, the role of the MCI is to oversee the development of the ICT, media and design sectors, public libraries and the government's information and public communications policies.

On a similar note, Australia expanded its Communications Ministry to include Arts in 1994. Four years later, the ministry expanded to include information technology (IT).

However, in 2007, Arts became a part of the Environment/Heritage Ministry. The Communications/IT Ministry was renamed as the Broadband, Communications and Digital Economy.

Even the United Nations has a specialised agency to deal with technology in the form of the International Telecommunication Union because the role of the Internet and broadband transcends all boundaries.

The vision of Malaysia's MICC is to be a pioneer in promoting the 1Malaysia Concept based on national principles to achieve a harmonious and gracious nation. The ministry's main aspiration is to enhance Malaysia as a global ICT hub in the region, to ensure information from all sources of media is accurate and precise and to preserve and promote Malaysia's heritage and culture to the world.

Culture preservation is vital in the era of the social media, but once there is widespread awareness, culture can be placed under the Arts, Culture and Heritage Ministry, or could even be one of the units under the Prime Minister's Department or the Tourism Ministry.

There are even suggestions that MICC be part of the Prime Minister's Department so that it would fall directly under the Prime Minister's purview. However, whether this is feasible remains to be seen.

Communications and information have become vital because of the digital era, and their role in Malaysia might need to be reviewed. Australia and Singapore felt the “need to change because of the need to redistribute and re-focus its ministerial workload to improve public communications and engagement for an increasingly diverse society in the age of social media and rapid technology progress”.

All this brings us to the next question: Who is best to lead the MICC?

There are many talented people out there, but the industry feels the choice of candidate should encompass someone “well rounded, well experienced, but not too old or too young”. The person, while having sound knowledge of Law and Economics, should also fulfil the most important criterion being savvy enough about the workings of the Internet and the new/social media.

The choice of candidate is important because there is no room for mistakes, unlike the blunders made in the past over spectrum allocation and technology choices. Most importantly, the candidate should not regress but rather, take the nation forward on the digital path.

Friday Reflections - By B.K. Sidhu

● Deputy news editor B K Sidhu has some candidates in mind, but they are not politicians.

 Related posts:

IPTV market in Malaysia

This is what the Malaysian Chinese want

Schools to create 'Asian leaders' in Asian Century

This picture taken on July 23, 2012 shows 53 students from 14 countries holding hoops with their fingers as part of a cooperation learning exercise at a class of the International School of Asia, Karuizawa (ISAK) at Japan's mountain resort town Karuizawa in Nagano prefecture, central Japan. -- PHOTO: AFP 

KARUIZAWA, Japan (AFP) - Asia may be driving growth in the world economy but a Japanese businesswoman behind an innovative new school believes the region is over-reliant on Western-style leadership.

Lin Kobayashi believes Asia is over-reliant on Western-style leadership (AFP/File, Shingo Ito)

Ms Lin Kobayashi hopes her foundation outside Tokyo will help change that by breeding a wave of political and business leaders - but with what she sees as a more "Asian" way of thinking.

Building work on the International School of Asia, Karuizawa (ISAK) began in September. The launch of classes, all taught in English, is planned for 2014 making it Japan's first international boarding high school.

Ms Kobayashi, 38, a former investment analyst at Morgan Stanley, said the school will bring together students from a wide range of cultures and socio-economic backgrounds, with scholarships for poor students funded by donations.

Lin Kobayashi hopes her foundation will help to breed a wave of political and business leaders (AFP/File, Shingo Ito)

But she said she wasn’t aiming to simply rival elite schools such as  Britain’s Harrow or Dulwich College, which have set up Western-style campuses  in places such as China, Hong Kong and Thailand.

And she added she wanted to change what she sees as an assumption in Asia  that it was preferable to seek out education systems in which Western-style  leadership was taught.

“Asia is already at the centre of the world’s economy, but is still relying  on Western-style leadership that thinks charisma is only to be found in a loud,  top-down approach,” said Kobayashi, formerly of the Japan Bank for  International Cooperation and also the UN Children’s Fund in Manila.

“I think we need Asia-oriented leaders who value consensus and harmony and  can combine that with deep background knowledge about the complicated history  and diverse cultures of Asia.”

— Regional history —

The foundation has so far collected 1.5 billion yen ($19 million) in  donations and private funding to cover initial costs, while inviting prominent  business figures to come on board as advisors.

In July it opened its third annual 10-day summer school, with 53 students  from 14 countries. The course cost 300,000 yen.

Kobayashi said the school will place particular emphasis on regional  history, a subject that divides a continent where narratives differ widely from  country to country and are at the root of various territorial stand-offs.

Tensions have recently flared between Japan and China in a row over  disputed islands in the East China Sea, with trade between the two countries  looking set to suffer. The relationship was worth well in excess of $300  billion last year.

“We don’t teach one-sided history. It is important to learn about diversity  of historical perspectives and the multi-ethnic structure of the region,”  Kobayashi said, adding that she wanted to bring in teachers from many different  backgrounds.

Lzaw Saw Nai, a 14-year-old student from Myanmar who joined this year’s  summer school, said he was “very much interested in leadership”.

“We have political and many other problems in my country,” he said. “I feel  I should do something, but first I need to learn. So, I came here.”

Tareq Habash, 13, from Palestine, said: “My country is in need of leaders  who can understand the need of the country and not just for what they want for  themselves.”

— “Free-thinking” —

Kobayashi said she hopes potential future leaders of Japan, a place where  politics is often criticised for its lack of talent, will also benefit.

“Japanese education does not do enough to train people to lead,” she said,  adding that this was something the country desperately needed in a region  increasingly dominated by a rising China.

In the wake of defeat in World War II, Tokyo fashioned an education system  that prized uniformity.

While observers say this was one of the things that helped drive the  miracle of recovery, they also argue that uniformity is now hampering progress,  amid calls for strong, free-thinking leaders who can drive the country forward.

Yoshiaki Nomura, an expert in leadership education at Osaka University,  said the idea of the new Asian school was timely.

“I think a curriculum that will foster a new elite is needed,” said Nomura.

"We have learnt a lot about classic theories of Western leadership, but I often  feel that what we need in Asia may be different.”

Jun Nakahara, associate professor of higher education at the University of  Tokyo, agreed that leadership is not always an innate quality but rather “something you have to learn about”.

But he said on-the-job experience may be more valuable than classroom-based  learning.

“They have to provide students with opportunities for practical experience  in which they can exercise their own leadership,” he said.

He added that the school could be a ground for future networking  opportunities but that it would “take some time” before it enjoyed the kind of  influence of its established rivals in the West.

Sources: AFP/NST/Asia News Network

Enterprise SEO Strategies for 2013

Can you believe it’s almost 2013 already?  That means looking at the future of your marketing plan and the new elements at play.  In the world of Online Search, the impact is real and immediate.  A well planned SEO strategy and digital marketing campaign can make sure your organization remains viable against competitors and increases business margins. Investing in advertising with no distinguishable ROI is a thing of the past for most brands.

The problem with Enterprise SEO Strategy is that it can sometimes overwhelm marketing executives. Executives wear multiple hats and don’t have the time or energy to delve into the nuances of technical implementation or stay on the cutting edge of Search Engine algorithm updates and results enhancements.

In order to help large brands and marketing executives make educated decisions in prioritizing search, we have provided a list of the top 3 strategies enterprise SEO campaigns need.

1. Business Unit & Organizational Alignment – Is your marketing team setting one KPI after another?  Do they live in silos that don’t cross promote sales opportunities? Do you have a clear understanding of where you want to send visitors for particular keywords? Stop the madness!  It’s time to take a step back and really start to integrate across your own teams (whether they be internal, agencies, or both).  Set up a keyword governance strategy so that each business unit understands what their targeted keywords are, why they are targeting them, and how those differ from other business units.  The very nature of this priority alignment and the communication of KPIs allows for strategies that will drive visitors to the appropriate web pages and other digital assets. This also allows business groups to promote each other instead of diluting focus by competing for similar or identical goals.
2. Technology Changes & Implementation – For those of you operating internationally, do you struggle to manage site content across multiple country code top-level domains?  Do you know if your Content Management System is creating parameters that are causing duplicate content or auto-generating pages in an attempt to provide scalable development? You must have an understanding of how your enterprise technology systems are going to play into your SEO strategy. SEO implementation has to be prioritized in the enterprise marketing plan.  IT departments are notoriously resistant to change, an increase in workload, and being assigned tasks where they can’t see the direct value. The Search Engines change rapidly and developers need to be willing and able to adapt.  SEOs also need to do a better job at explaining why the work is important and what the outcome of the work will be to improve buy-in.  When considering your enterprise search strategy, ask yourself these questions: (1) Do you have a large e-commerce system that generates dynamic URLs that vary based on the entry path? (2) Do you have a translation management system that translates all of your content to all regions? (3) Have you updated your translation glossaries to reflect your localized keyword priorities? If you haven’t thought of these questions yet, you probably need to revisit your global search strategy.
3. Understanding The Changing Search Landscape – Search changes fast. There were over 20 major updates in 2012 and many minor adjustments. According to Google’s Matt Cutts at SES San Francisco 2012, their engineers are continually working on new updates. Google algorithm updates, like the Panda & Penguin updates, have real search engine impact and have negatively affected the bottom line revenue for many businesses due to lost rankings.  It’s not enough to mitigate risk; brands need to be forward thinking and stretch their boundaries so they aren’t outpaced by competitors.

“You can never avoid people thinking that SEO is an effort to game the system or Google. Many tricks worked in the past, but as Google tries to continuously improve the quality of search results, many tricks do not work anymore. Being successful in SEO these days involves thinking along the lines of great customer service, offering great products and services, being a thought leader, and building brand advocacy online. Eventually this all helps out in building rankings as you gain more natural links that would not be affected by the Panda and Penguin updates.”  – Benj Arriola

Businesses have an opportunity to expand their organic search footprint by getting up to speed with the new enhancements.  Consider the following areas:

• A renewed focus on thought leadership, content marketing, and social media
• Managing your Google+ brand page and Google+ Places pages for multiple locations
• Determine how your organization will use Authorship tags
• Determine how your audience can engage with your brand on a Google Hangout

If you haven’t at least begun to investigate these strategies, you’re falling behind the curve.  Start to embrace the Google+ world. It’s not going anywhere and users are beginning to adopt it.  Even more importantly your search visibility can be enhanced by rolling out a strategy that makes sense for your brand and locations.

Search will continue to drive traffic for enterprise organizations.  How much traffic really depends on the organization’s alignment, grasp of technology, and flexibility to adapt to the changing environment. 2013 is sure to be exciting, are you ready?

Brent Gleeson, Forbes Contributor

I write about entrepreneurship, leadership, and digital marketing.

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America's Highest-Paying Office Jobs

If you want to keep getting raises, get promoted to senior management. As tough as the economy has been, people in executive positions saw their paychecks increase by an average of 6.6% this year, to $108,800. That’s according to data just released by Compdata Surveys, a national compensation survey and consulting firm in Olathe, Kan.

Compdata looked at base salaries for 26 senior management jobs below C-level. For the eighth consecutive year, commercial lending directors take the top spot, with the highest average paychecks. They are earning $143,700, on average, in 2012, up from $139,000 last year.

In Pictures: America’s 10 Highest-Paying Office Jobs

“Commercial lending directors hold the top spot again this year and have for many years. Although their salary did take a slight hit during the recession, it was minor compared to other senior management positions,” says Amy Kaminski, a vice president at Compdata Surveys. “This is likely because of the nature of their work.”

Commercial lending directors are responsible for the development, administration and oversight of commercial lending policies. “Since a large number of new businesses fail within the first five years, a lot of pressure is put on commercial lending directors to ensure the loans they are granting are sound,” Kaminski adds. “The recession only amplified the difficulty of this position as the qualifications to obtain any type of loan became more rigid.”

Ranking second on the list, engineering directors are making an average of $131,300 this year, up 7.4% from 2011.

“Engineering directors have always been one of the higher paid senior management positions,” Kaminski says. “Engineers are in great demand, and finding a person with the right combination of education, experience and leadership skills to oversee a company’s engineering activities can be difficult. Now, with speculation of an engineering shortage looming, compounded with an increased emphasis on growing the manufacturing industry in the United States, engineering directors have become a valuable asset.”

In the No. 3 position, general managers are earning $131,200, up slightly from $127,900 last year, while No. 4 finance directors are making $125,000, which is 9.5% more than they made in 2011.

The biggest winners over a five-year period are material management directors, who are earning 18% more this year than in 2007, and accounting directors, whose paychecks have grown 17.8% in the same period.

“Over the past several years, an emphasis has been placed on lean manufacturing practices, with these practices even inching their way into other industries,” Kaminski says. “Keeping tight control over inventory levels or materials needed for businesses to function is a big element of implementing lean practices – and that is where materials management directors come in.”

They control, measure, and regulate efficient inventory levels, making sure to have enough materials on hand to conduct business. “The recession reinforced this practice, as budgets were slashed and employers demanded that no dollar be wasted,” she says. “Keeping the proper amount of materials on hand while trying to ensure minimal or no overstock is a balancing act at which material management directors need to excel.”

Of the 26 jobs included in the survey, only one—controller assistant—is earning less in 2012 than last year. These professionals manage the accounting functions under the general direction of the controller, including establishing and maintaining accounting principles, practices, and procedures. To hold this position, you need a Bachelor’s degree and six years of experience. They’re earning $81,400 this year, down 2.2% from 2011.

“We would not consider this a large enough decrease to show a trend, especially since this position did experience a higher than expected increase in 2011,” Kaminski says. When you look at the overall results of the past five years, this position is still trending upward.

So, why are some employers compensating their managers so well right now?

“It’s no secret that having the most talented and experienced individuals on staff are going to be the key for most businesses to successfully begin moving forward after the recession. However, some studies suggest as the economy continues to improve, more individuals will be looking to change employment,” Kaminski says. “Companies cannot afford to lose those needed to lead their workers towards economic growth.”

Providing competitive compensation plans is an important element in retaining those individuals. Although the unemployment rate is just under 8%, the pool of qualified leadership candidates is significantly smaller, “making the need to retain your successful leaders that much more important,” she concludes.

Salary Data for All 26 Management Jobs:

Commercial Lending Director – $143,700 a year, on average
Engineering Director – $131,300 a year, on average
General Manager – $131,200 a year, on average
Finance Director – $125,000
Information Systems Director – $121,500
Accounting Director – $118,600

Development Officer – $118,200
Marketing Director – $118,100
Information Security Director – $116,600
Human Resources Director – $116,000
Operations Director – $115,200
Controller – $114,800
Materials Management Director – $113,000
Plant Manager – $112,000
Mortgage Lending Director – $111,100
Nursing Services Director – $109,600
Senior Manufacturing Manager – $108,000
National Sales Manager – $106,300

Systems and Programming Manager – $100,600
Plant Engineering Manager – $98,900
Distribution Manager – $86,500
Quality Control Manager – $83,600
General Accounting Manager – $83,300
Advertising and Public Relations Manager – $82,500
Human Resources Manager – $82,000
Assistant Controller – $81,400

America's 10 Highest-Paying Office Jobs

If you want to keep getting raises, get promoted to senior management. As tough as the economy has been, people in executive positions saw their paychecks increase by an average of 6.6% this year, to $108,800. That's according to data just released by Compdata Surveys, a national compensation survey and consulting firm in Olathe, Kan.Here are the 10 highest-paying senior management jobs below C-level.

This is an update of a piece that ran previously.

Jacquelyn Smith, Forbes Staff

 

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