It has been said that leaders do the right thing and managers do things right. While this is a subtle distinction between leaders and managers, in business, it can be the determining factor between failure and success. Unfortunately, it is one that often goes disregarded. Typically, the term management refers to the actions involved in four common functions of business: planning, organizing, leading and coordinating of resources. In order to better recognize and fully appreciate the functions of a manager and how they operate, one must first understand what the basic functions of management are.
Whether the system is an organization, department, business or project, the planning process typically includes similar activities that are carried out in some sort of sequential order. Often, a plan is implemented in a cautious and well defined manner. Part of the planning process involves some sort of organizational behavior. Organizing is typically viewed as activities utilized in an effort to collect and configure resources in order to implement plans in an efficient fashion. The role of an organizer involves a broad set of activities, and is often though of as one of the major functions of a successful manager. Organization can span many aspects of business.
While organization plays a crucial role within the management ranks, leadership and the ability to lead people must not be taken for granted. A leader can be thought of as someone who provides direction in an effort to influence people to follow a certain direction. Managers are individuals who are able to motivate by using a variety of well established methods such as facilitation, coaching, mentoring, directing, and delegating. Managers that have the ability to lead do so with a wide variety of styles. A great leader must be able to evaluate his or her resources and leverage them accordingly.
In today’s business market, managers are in high demand. The world has an endless amount of work to be done and needs all the help it can get; however, one must remain cognizant of the fact that management is not simply a job, but rather an art form. Globally, people can be managed in a similar fashion. The skills of a superior manager remain the same across board. If one can master the four management functions of planning, organizing, leading and coordinating of resources, their opportunities are endless.
By: Alan Barnes
Posts Tagged ‘Business Management’
Functions Of Business Management
April 21st, 2010Finding Your Business Management Style
April 19th, 2010
Business management combines an interesting mix of theory and practice, and it is a particularly good topic for management and entrepreneurial types to study. Finding a business management style that suits your personality and the nature of your business is both important and worthy of time investment, as being self-aware and being able to identify strengths and weaknesses of various approaches will enable more effective personal development and ultimately more effective management.
While many have their own individual business management styles, these are traditionally broadly categorized into three main classes of business management approaches.
Autocratic Management
Firstly, there is what has come to be known as the autocratic approach to management, which installs more trust in the leadership as opposed to the individual staff. This involves pulling rank and leaves employees in no doubt as to whom the management is or what decisions are being made. Rather than engaging employees within the decision making process, this business management style typically concerns businesses that require direct, effective leadership to produce results, often under pressure of working in a tough environment. Upon hearing the term autocratic, many tend to visualise a dictatorial approach to management. While that is perhaps the case, it is seldom as strict as this and it is often a necessary management style, for example in the armed forces or in a high-paced trading environment, where there is no margin for deliberation and group consideration.
Democratic Management
Alternatively, there is a business management style known as the democratic style, where employees are effectively engaged in consultation before decisions are made. While some consider this to be more motivating and more enjoyable to work under, it does nevertheless have its own disadvantages. Giving employees a say may undermine the authority of the management, and may ultimately cause inefficiencies in the decision making process. It is also time intensive, and perhaps not as effective in larger organisations with thousands of employees. While of course at a board room level this kind of decision making goes on everyday, it’s one that works most effectively in slower paced business where decisions can be fully deliberated and considered.
Laissez Fair Management
An alternative to those two business management styles and the third main category is what’s known as the laissez fair management style. This is by definition a more hands-off approach to management, which puts the trust of running the business within the hands of employees themselves, and allows a greater degree of autonomy than would otherwise be the case. While this is strong in creative industries, some business people find that this style of management can lead to a fragmented approach to doing business and is less organised and perhaps less professional.
Whichever business management style you liken yourself to; there are advantages and disadvantages of that approach. What’s important is not that you recognise which of these categories you fall under, but rather that you’re aware of the improvements that can be made to make your management more effective and efficient while also improving the relationships you share with employees at all levels of the organisation.
By: Nazir Daud
Management By Objectives: What Are MBO’s?
March 3rd, 2010
Many have heard the term Management by Objectives or MBO but what is an MBO or Management by Objectives? This is a style of management that involves committing to a set of objectives or measurable milestones within a set period of time say a quarter during the business year. Typically Management by Objectives is done on an organizational basis. Each team writes a set of MBO’s, these are deliverables that will be done in the current quarter. The team submits their MBO’s to the management team above them which then rolls those MBO’s into their own set of MBO’s. Each time the list of MBO’s are rolled up they get more broad and generalized. The lower in the organization the more specific the MBO’s should be.
Writing effective MBO’s. When you are writing your MBO’s you want to be careful to ensure each MBO is measurable or else how would you determine when it is complete? Assign a date to each MBO and stick to it. This will help you prioritize MBO’s throughout the quarter. Typically a team will have 3-6 MBO’s with possible sub deliverables within the MBO. Whan crafting your MBO’s be careful to write them with deliverables that are within your control. I always try to ensure that the success of my MBO is not dependant on others outside of my team of employees. If my MBO involves participation with another management group or department I write my MBO with my part of the project in mind. This generally lets me deliver my portion of the project regardless of the performance of others.
During the quarter and certainly at the end the lists of MBO’s are scored. This score is now the business and management teams can determine if they are on track. Did the business or employee teams meet the objectives they set when writing the MBO’s? If the score is high then the organization is on track. If not then the management teams need to determine why what was done or not done is not in line with MBO’s written by the teams and organization. Hopefully the MBO’s are generally complete each quarter and the business moves forward with a purpose.
By: John Gall
