Business management 101

If you are trying to choose a career or perhaps get onto a different career path you may be wondering if Business management if for you.It is important to realize that Business Management is a wide ranging field with lots of diversity but there are certain basic principles that apply to almost every aspect.Here is a brief overview of Business Management-

It is crucial to understand what business management really is. Business management is both an art and a science.Good Business Management is the art of making people more effective than they would have been without you and the science part is in how you do that. There are four basic principles of Business Management: plan, organize, direct, and monitor.

• Plan-All good business management starts with planning.It is critical to realize that without a plan you will never success.Even if you do happen to achieve your goal with out a plan it will only be by luck or chance and definitely will not be something you can repeat. This often leaves managers with a flash-in-the-pan achievement and no real track record of accomplishments of which success is really made. The first step in implementing an effective plan is to figure out what your goal is (or listen when your boss tells you). Then you have to figure out the best way to get there. It is important to consider all of your options such as: What resources do you have? What can you get? What are the strengths and weaknesses of individuals and other resources?You should also look at all the probable scenarios and plan for them. And do not forget to figure out the worst possible scenario and plan for that too. The bottom line is to evaluate your different plans and develop what, in your best judgment, will work the best and what you will do if it does not. Keep in mind that one of the most often overlooked management planning tools is the most effective, simply ask the people doing the work for their input.


• Organize-Once you have a plan you have to make it happen. You need to understand if your workers are properly trained, motivated and do they have the equipment they need? As the manager you will need to do the legwork to make sure everything needed to execute the plan is ready to go (or will be when it is needed). Then you cannot forget to check back to make sure that everyone understands their role and the importance of their role to the overall success.


• Direct-Now is the time that your plan I put into direct action.Good business managers can think of themselves as the director of an orchestra. You will simply be the driving (directing) force that implements and moves all aspects of your plan forward. At this point effective managers will step back and allow their highly trained and motivated workers to do their very best.


• Monitor-The final step is to remember that while you have everything moving, you also have to keep an eye on things. You will want to make sure everything is going according to the plan. When things are not going according to plan, you will need to step in and adjust the plan, just as the orchestra conductor will adjust the tempo. Remember that problems will come up: someone will get sick, a part will not be delivered on time or a key customer may even go bankrupt. However this is why you developed a contingency plan in the first place. You, (as the manager), have to be always aware of what's going on so you can make the adjustments required.