Business Management

Getting to know about business management courses – an Introduction to management and learning the fundamentals 

business management courses, business management training courses and a tailored leadership program – BOTI offers the full spectrum of training solutions to suit your needs.  In this article we touch upon getting to know the fundamentals of business management from the ground up.

business management training courses, business management courses, leadership program

 

What does business management entail?

Essentially, business management is a set of functions directed at the efficient and effective utilization of resources in the pursuit of organisational goals and objectives.  By efficient, what we mean is using resources wisely and in a cost-effective manner. By effective, what we mean is making the right decisions and successfully implementing them. Generally speaking, successful organisations are both efficient as well as effective.

Today’s managers face a variety of interesting and challenging situations. The average executive works sixty hours a week; has enormous demands placed on his or her time and faces increased complexities as a result of globalisation, domestic competition, government regulation  as well as pressure from shareholders.   Rapid change, unexpected and unforeseen disruptions and both minor and major crises result in even further complications.

A manager’s job is unpredictable and fraught with challenges, yet it is also filled with countless opportunities to make a difference.  BOTI structures an effective leadership program business management courses and business training courses that are designed to ensure that these opportunities are maximised to the full.

Types  of Managers

There are many different types of managers at work in today’s organisations.  Through business management courses and business training courses BOTI aims to ensure that you are fully au fait with what an effective leadership program can do to make a difference.

Management Levels

One way to differentiate the various types of managers is by their level in the organization. Senior level nagers make up the relatively small group of executives who manage the overall organisation. Titles found in this group include president, vice president and chief executive officer (CEO).  Top managers create the organisation’s goals, overall strategy, and operating policies. They also officially represent the organisation to the external environment by meeting with government officials, executives of other organisations, and so forth.  Howard Schultz at Starbucks is a top manager, as is Deidra Wager, the firm’s senior vice president for retail operations. Top managers make decisions about activities such as acquiring other companies, investing in research and development, entering or abandoning various markets and building new plants and office facilities.

  • Middle Management

Middle management is usually the largest group of managers in most organisations.

Common middle-management titles include plant manager, operations manager and

divisional head.  Middle managers are primarily responsible for implementing the policies and plans developed by top managers and for supervising and coordinating the activities of lower-level managers.  Plant managers, for example, handle inventory management, quality control, equipment failures and minor union problems.  They also coordinate the work of supervisors within the plant. Jason Hernandez, a regional manager at Starbucks responsible for the firm’s operations in certain geographical areas is a middle manager.

  • First line management

First-line managers supervise and coordinate the activities of operating employees.

Common titles for first-line managers are supervisor, coordinator and office manager.

Positions such as these are often the first ones held by employees who enter management from the ranks of operating personnel. Wayne Maxwell and Jenny Wagner, managers of Starbucks coffee shops in Texas are first-line managers. They oversee the day-to-day operations of their respective stores, hire operating employees to staff them and handle other routine administrative duties required by the parent corporation. In contrast to top and middle managers, first-line managers typically spend a large proportion of their time supervising the work of subordinates.

Areas of Management

Regardless of their level, managers may work in various areas within an organisation.  Marketing managers work in areas related to the marketing in function-getting consumers and clients to buy the organisation’s products or services (be they Ford automobiles,  Newsweek magazines, Associated Press news reports, flights on Southwest Airlines, or cups of latte at Starbucks). These areas include new-product development, promotion and distribution.

Financial managers deal primarily with an organisation’s financial resources. They are responsible for activities such as accounting, cash management and investments.

Operations managers are concerned with creating and managing the systems that creat an organisation’s products and services.  The typical responsibilities of an operations manager include production control, inventory control, quality control, plant layout and site selection.

Human resource managers are responsible for hiring and developing employees. They are typically involved in human resource planning, recruiting and selecting employees, training and development, designing compensation and benefit systems, formulating performance appraisal systems and discharging low-performing and problem employees.

General managers are not associated with any particular management specialty.  Probably the best example of an administrative management position is that of a hospital or clinic administrator.  Administrative managers tend to be generalists; they have some basic familiarity with all functional areas of management rather than specialised training in any one area.

Book now! business management courses, business management training courses and a leadership program to suit your needs!

Basic Management Functions

Our business management training courses would not be complete without an introduction to the basic management functions. Regardless of level or area, management involves the four basic functions of planning and decision making, organising, leading and controlling.

  • Planning and Decision Making

In its simplest form, planning means setting an organisation’s goals and deciding how best to achieve them. Decision making, a part of the planning process, involves selecting a course of action from a set of alternatives.  Planning and decision making help maintain managerial effectiveness by serving as guides for future activities.

  • Organising

Once a manager has set goals and developed a workable plan, the next management function is to organise people and the other resources necessary to carry out the plan. Specifically, organising involves determining how activities and resources are to be grouped.

  • Leading

The third basic managerial function is leading.  Some people consider leading to be both the most important and the most challenging of all managerial activities.  Leading is the set of processes used to get people to work together to advance the interests of the organisation. For example, Howard Schultz’s leadership skills have clearly played an important role in the success of Starbucks.  Enrol on a leadership program now!

  • Controlling

The final phase of the management process is controlling, or monitoring the organisation’s progress toward its goals.  As the organisation moves toward its goals, managers must monitor progress to ensure that the organisation is performing so as to arrive at its “destination”.

Book now!  BOTI offers the full range of business management training solutions – business management courses, business training courses and a leadership program will get you on the road to your destination!

Upcoming Public Courses 

‘Leadership Mastering emotional Intelligence’, ‘Refining Interpersonal Skills & Dealing with conflict Resolution’