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    Business Management

    The discipline of business management looks at the relationships between managers and employees andhow work is organized. In this sense, business management often overlaps with organizational behaviour.

    The field of business management arose largely as the result of the work of Henri Fayol and Frederick W. Taylor in the mid twentieth century. Taylor is the author of the theory of scientific management. In its simplest form, the theory is the belief that there is "one best way" to do a job and scientific methods can be used to determine that "one best way." Taylor suggests that knowledge should replace tradition and intuition when making business decisions. As well, if there is one best way of doing things, it would have to be the responsibility of the manager for enforcing that work was done by this standard. Today, we see Taylor's influence in the prevalence of shared best practices across businesses and industries.

    Around the same time, Fayol proposed that there were five primary functions of the business manager. We often see these five functions simplified to planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Since Fayol's seminal work, the study of business management has continued to be focused predominantly on the skills and resources managers need in order to carry out these functions as a manager successfully. Along with Taylor's ideas of shared best practices, business schools have focused significantly on how these skills can be developed and used most effectively. In their originality, the five functions of a business manager are:1

    1. Planning: setting the vision, mission, values, and strategy (or action) of the organization.
    2. Organizing: defining the lines of authority and the division of responsibility
    3. Coordinating: developing the timing and sequence of activities and making sure it all works (project management, for example)
    4. Commanding or directing: putting the plan into action - leadership skills are a must!
    5. Controlling: enforcing the rules, monitoring performance, and adjusting standards and plans as needed.

    Forecasting is often added to the list as the first management function. There is also an important seventh function of management: the information function. According to Peter Drucker, "[successful business managers] need to learn to ask two questions: what information do I need to do my job? - and what information do I owe others so that they can do their job?" As a result, we recognize that managers play an important role in facilitating the manipulation, sharing, aggregating and presenting of useful information about the business and its environment across the organization.2

    Today, business managers need a number of different skills in order to carry out management's function: decision-making skills, leadership skills, communication skills, the ability to manage diversity, networking skills, the ability to design and implement business policy, change management skills, and project management skills. This is not to limit the manager's toolkit to these skills alone. For example, the field of organizational behaviour also offers significant insight into the role of a business manager.

    Important trends have also impacted this discipline. These trends date back to the G.I. Bill following World War II, which granted free education for veterans and set a strong foundation for American’s growth into knowledge-based industries. These trends include globalization, outsourcing, technology, ethics, diversity, and flattening organizational structures and the use of teams. For example, because of globalization, additional skills are also needed by the international business manager, such as understanding international business cultures. The study of business management is continuously evolving as a result of these trends, and significant attention is paid to how these trends are impacting the management field.

     

     

    References:

    1. Fayol, H. (1949), General and Industrial Management, Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons Ltd., London, (translated by Constance Storrs).
    2. Bakewell, K. G. B. (1994). Information: The Seventh Management Function? Library Management. MCB University Press: Vol 15:3. p 28-33.
    For a look at a Fayols work and a number of contemporary models of management (Hales, Kotter, Mintzberg), see also: Fells, M. (2000), Fayol stands the test of time: Journal of Management History, January 2000, 6(8), p. 345-360. 

    Photo by Alvaro Reyes on Unsplash

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    BrainMass Categories within Business Management

    Leadership Skills

    Solutions: 2,041

    The study of leadership includes leadership styles and leadership traits and attempts to identify those that make an effective leader.

    Managing Diversity

    Solutions: 424

    The study of managing diversity shows us that businesses today see an inclusive workplace as a cornerstone of sustainable competitive advantage.

    Networking

    Solutions: 89

    Networking is an important skill for managers for both business development (seeking new clients) and career-development.

    Business Policy and Implementation

    Solutions: 734

    Business policy looks at how job design, ethical guidelines and an organization's code of conduct can impact corporate culture and individual behavior within an organization.

    Project Management

    Solutions: 2,200

    The science of project management is the methodology behind successfully implementing a project in an organization, originally developed by the U.S. Department of Defence.

    Business Communication

    Solutions: 787

    Organizational and interpersonal communications are the foundation of every impression and every interaction within an organization.

    Organizational Behaviour

    Solutions: 2,409

    Organizational behavior is an interdisciplinary field of study that looks at the collection and analysis of primary research and the development of theories about how individuals behave within organizations. Organizational behavior models recognize that the behaviour of individuals within organizations is often different than the behaviour of the same individuals outside of a work environment.

    Industrial and Organizational Psychology

    Solutions: 113

    Industrial and organizational psychology concerns itself with research on the problems of morale and motivation, productivity and effectiveness, power and control, and leadership and change processes in large organizations.

    International Business Management

    Solutions: 707

    The study of international business management from a human-relations perspective looks to understand the challenges that international business managers face when working with diverse people from around the world. The most prominent problems in international business management include expatriate failure and international negotiation failure.

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