Keep sight of your goals and reach them with a business plan

Today, the environment and climate of the business world is changing at such a rapid pace that it is necessary to more forward swiftly in order to stay ahead. This is why it is necessary in business management to set out a plan that demonstrates the direction your company is headed in for a set time period. This could be 90 days, 6 months or however you choose to lay it out. However, in business management it's often better to prepare a plan that spans a shorter period of time, in order to keep workers and departments headed in one common direction and avoid confusion. This makes things easier on managers as well.

Good business supervision means setting out a plan that clearly identifies how fast you want your company to grow in a given time period, your desired rate of profitability for the company, and where you want to be in the industry marketplace as far as position. Setting out a plan that covers all areas such as improving upon profits, increasing market share, forming strategic alliances with others and improving the skills of your workers is necessary in effective business management.

By creating a short-term business plan, management staff can easily keep objectives in mind and know in what direction all areas of business are going at any given time so that changes can be made if necessary.

Directing employees in business management

Your employees are the foundation of your business; they perform most of the tasks necessary to keep your operation running smoothly. In smart business management, you want workers who are motivated, dedicated and goal-oriented. The best way to accomplish this is through effective leadership.

Great leaders are an essential part of exceptional business expertise. Through planning, action, organization, directing, motivating and monitoring, a leader is capable of getting workers "fired up" to do their very best, and to be as excited about reaching the goal or completing the task at hand as those in management are. In order to get the best performance from employees, it is necessary that they feel part of the team.

These are two areas of business management that are absolutely essential to the success and growth of your company. While you may be the general manager or CEO of the company, it takes all of the smaller parts to make up the whole of success. Thorough and effective business management will ensure that your company or organization thrives now and for years to come.

Hakan Samad Graduated in University of Washington, majoring in Business Policy, International Business, Organizational Behavior, Business Communications, Consumer Research, Managing Information Systems, New Media Communications and business Leadership.

He is now a Freelance writer who is passionate about authentic relationships between consumers and brands. He had 10 years of experience from retail channel planning to product marketing; He is currently a Freelance writer for few business websites and now resides in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.

Businesses can't go without proper management. Hence aspiring entrepreneurs cannot start up any enterprise if they are not well acquainted to the art and science of business management. Given the age of the practice, plenty of business management styles have been established. Entrepreneurs who wish to succeed in their business ventures should be knowledgeable of these and be able to practice them correctly.

Here are the three types of business management styles:

1. Autocratic
This type of management hands over all of the power to the proprietor. All the decisions are made unilaterally. This management style is actually adapted when no trust is established to the workers. Essentially, everything that goes on in the business will reflect the preferences of the owner.

On one hand, this can be effective when quick decisions have to be made. It can project a cohesive and confident management. But if the reasoning of the person in power is corrupted, any decision made autocratically may put the business in demise. This also makes the business prone abuses and the workers more dependent.

There are two kinds of autocratic managers. The directive autocrat usually makes unilateral decisions and closely supervises the workers during the execution. The permissive autocrat, meanwhile, gives some space for workers to carry out the task.

2. Paternalistic
Decisions for this type of management are still unilaterally made. However, it pays more attention to social needs and worker views. Entrepreneurs who apply this are constantly consulting their workers regarding agreeability of certain business decisions and they ensure that needs are met. There is still a sense of authority fostered but moral is better cared for.

This management style builds up loyalty but like autocratic management, it still supports dependence.

3. Democratic
This style of management puts complete confidence in employees and allows them to make decisions. Authority is delegated and workers are empowered to make conclusions and plans, with the consent of the proprietor. Given the set up, this management style usually involves meetings and the formation of discussion groups.

Though this does promote independence on the side of the workers, the decision making process is severely lagged as contradictions are bound to occur. Regardless, if important matters are deliberated, disagreements may be healthy as it saves the business from biases.

4. Laissez-faire
This type of management basically involves full turnover of power. The leader stands side-by-side with his staff as they take over the responsibilities of the leader. It's every department for their selves.

Communication does run both ways and it does help bring out the best from everyone. But given that there is no unifying element to the decisions made; laissez faire's management style is actually pretty poor.

See, not all business types require the use of the same management style. And particular circumstances only welcome specific management practices. Familiarity with all management styles then makes a manager, leader and entrepreneur more flexible with changing business dynamics. In view of the nature of the task at hand, or the nature of the work force or his own personality and skills, he can appropriately extend the management style that is called for and that which he can ably exercise.

Despite the vast improvements in information technology, computers (on which modern IT is based) cannot as yet take over business management. However, business information systems have transformed the effectiveness, power and efficiency of management.

In an earlier article on business management software, we looked at surface aspects of how modern management information systems help businesses. We saw how computers speeded up and improved the quality of operations. We also mentioned the existence of broad categories of business software - office suites, functional software such as accounting and inventory, and industry software such as retail management software. In this article, we seek to look more analytically at the role of information management systems.

Decision Support, Problem Analysis and Overall Control

Business managers often need to make decisions that can affect the business' fortunes one way or other. For example, a company with sales outlets or distributors spread over a wide geographic area might want to optimize the logistical operations of delivering merchandise to the outlets. The best solution might be affected by numerous factors such as demand patterns, availability of merchandise, distances involved and the option of using external carriers (who can find two way loads and might prove a lesser cost option over long distances) instead of own vehicles.

While it might be possible to use complex mathematical formulas by hand to compute the best solution, computers transform the whole process into a routine task of feeding certain information as input and obtaining suggestions for best solutions as output. The task can typically be done in a few minutes (instead of hours or even days) and it becomes possible to examine several alternatives before deciding upon one that seems most realistic.

Identifying problems and analyzing the factors that cause them also has been transformed by modern computer information systems. In a typical MIS environment, standard reports are generated in a routine manner comparing actual performance against original estimates. The software that generates the report can be instructed to highlight exceptions, i.e. significant variations between original estimates and actual performance. Managers will thus become aware of problem areas in the daily course of their work simply by looking at the reports they receive, without having to do detailed data collection and computations themselves.

Identifying the factors responsible for the problem can also be routinized to some extent by using such tools as variance analysis. Variance analysis is an element of standard costing system that splits deviations from estimates (or standards) into causative factors such as increase in price of materials used, excessive usage of materials, unexpected machine downtimes, etc. With such a detailed report, managers can delve deeper into the problem factor, such as why there was excessive usage of materials.

Control is also exercised through variance analysis. Budgets are prepared for all business operations by concerned managers working in a coordinated fashion. For example, estimated sales volumes will determine the levels of production; production levels will determine raw material purchases; and so on. With good information system management, it then becomes possible to generate timely reports comparing actual sales, production, raw material deliveries, etc against estimated levels.

The reports will help managers to keep a watch on things and take corrective action quickly. For example, the production manager will become aware of falling sales (or rising sales) of particular products and can prepare to make adjustments in production schedules, and purchasing and inventory managers will become quickly aware of any mounting inventories of unused materials. MIS thus enhances the quality of communication all around and can significantly improve the effectiveness of operations control.

Effective MIS Involves Humans and Computers Working together

The major aspect to note is that MIS provides only the information; it is the responsibility of concerned managers to act on the information. It is the synergy between efficient, accurate and speedy equipment and humans with commonsense, intelligence and judgment that really gives power to MIS.

Gopinathan is a business writer who writes Web content and publicity materials for Web businesses. With first hand business experience as a trained professional with decades of executive and entrepreneurial experience, he can write on business issues with authenticity. And as a trained writer, he can also produce clearly written and readable pieces.

His goal is to help small businesses build their image through written content that brings out their strengths. This goal is sought to be achieved through discussions with clients, and relevant and focused research before starting on the writing. This approach contrasts with that of delivering cookie-cutter articles stuffed with keywords.

Process engine software platforms are designed for modeling and executing applications that are process based. These are common applications that companies use to assist with running process based applications. It is common for a business to have these built 'in-house' to meet the exact needs of the business.

Business analytics suites for business management are very effective in running reports on issues within the company and externally with the competitive market. This type of software enables management to identify issues such as trends in the local market, run reports, and see potential opportunities. Managers can effectively make decisions when they have the ability to research and run reports with statistical data about the business. This type of software is also appropriate for data analysis, giving presentations, and running a competitive analysis.

Business management software can also be used for content management. It is common for a business to have many people typing up documentation from many different departments. These documents may be spread across network drives or even on local hard drives. Not only is this difficult to back up but it is hard to manage, and can cause a loss of productivity for staff members when their job requires certain documents. A content management suite allows for successfully organizing and storing content and data in a central location that is shared by the entire network. This type of suite secures data and allows shares to be placed with controls for confidential items. Images, electronic documents, and other types of files can be stored in a content management system.

Collaboration systems are the most common suites today that work to provide effective business management through communication. Many managers use these tools on a day to day basis to communicate with their team. These types of tools include message boards, dynamic workspaces, chat rooms, and even discussion forums. Web conferencing packages are commonly used as collaboration systems because they allow individuals within a company to communicate across the world as if they are in the same room, share documents, and communicate with one another. Collaboration systems are vital for business management to eliminate any communication barriers that might exist within a company.

Business management can be effectively managed with different software suites that have the ability to meet different needs. These suites include an automated process engine, analytic applications, content management, or collaboration tools.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online ( http://www.sixsigmaonline.org ) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

In a capitalist world, where decisions of one country's economy affect the market economy of others, the importance of business management does not need an introduction. In today's fast-paced world, young graduates need to be well versed with the shades of the management so that they can keep for themselves an upper hand in the era of the cut-throat competition.

Management can be done in both graduation and post graduation level, in many respective fields such as: - Marketing
- Finance
- HR or Human Resource
- Information Technology
- International Business
- Retail Management
- Operational Management
- Entrepreneurship

Importance of business management

In a corporate world, business management involves activities such as conceptualization, direction, buying, traffic management, stock planning and control, process scheduling and control, process methods and planning, quality management, stock management and production planning and a lot more than these.

Business, today, not only caters to our needs but also has got integrated into our daily lives and lifestyle by shaping our desires. One who can manage business is sure to get placed well in the world where commerce drives almost all other disciplines. Management hence is the upcoming and the most interesting field of study which has a dynamic scope for growth.

Career growth in business management

Professionals with a degree in business management gain a lot of demand in the market due to their unmatched skills and knowledge. They not only get a desirable and lucrative salary but, also an identity in the industry.

Many universities today focus to offer specialized post graduate degree courses in business management. These courses have become the most sought after courses due to their vast expanse over the market, huge opportunities of jobs and their high potential to train young minds on how to escalate up the social ladder of success.

An academic degree in management becomes an asset and is important to possess for anyone who wants a rewarding career in their business field.

Let's face it: if you want a great job in your dream company it would be perfect to have an MBA beside your name. But with all this competition going on and the unsteady job market, does it really make sense to quit your current job and devote full two years to an MBA degree? The answer is: No. In such a situation the best way to go about acquiring an MBA degree would be to enroll an online business management program. The online business management program is targeted at helping students fast track their career opportunities in the corporate world. Since it is a full online course, students no longer need to travel back and forth and can have adequate valuable free time. Online business management program frees students from academic stress that is so prevalent in in-campus education. Students can study at their own convenience, pace, and settings.

However, the availability of a gamut of courses has made it more difficult to select the course that suits the student the most. One sure way of enrolling into a good score would be to check the credentials of the institute that is offering the course. For instance, check the brochure or prospectus to see if the course content reflects current industry trends. See if the faculty would be willing to answer students' queries beyond lessons hours. Many online business management programs have experts from the industry as board members. Students must be able to interact with those professionals in order to be better equipped to deal with the real world once they graduate and start a new job in this challenging field.

Typically, online business management programs would have courses in subjects such as developing procedures for communicating with suppliers and customers of a small business, developing procedures for addressing problems in a business, the course looks at how to plan the management of staff in a business, how to develop strategies for managing production in a business or department within a larger organization and so much more.

As far as options are concerned, online business management programs equip students with adequate industry knowledge to either join a large corporation or even venture out into entrepreneurship on their own. And all that without paying a hefty sum of thousands dollars! Most online business management programs offer the courses at certificate level, diplomas, and advanced diploma levels. However, the diploma level is ideal for securing a good job in this lucrative field. One can also pursue an advanced diploma if one happens to have some knowledge and experience in the field.

The Fundamentals of Business Management are an often overlooked set of skills. Yet, knowing the fundamentals can be all that separates a business from success or failure. Perhaps you're a business manager and question the importance of these fundamentals to your business. Lots of business managers do, so that makes it OK, right? Wrong! Behind every good business manager is a person who has learned and mastered the very fundamentals of business management. If you're one of those who have not learned these fundamentals, it's time for you to take some time out and do it. Not only will such training benefit your business, but it will have a positive effect on your business career as well.

Business Management Fundamental #1: Don't Try to Be Liked

Most business managers want to be on the good side of their employees. While this is a great thing to want, it is not a good idea to make it the main focus of what you are doing. Ultimately, the most important thing is to make sure the business is run in an effective way. Being a friend to your employee won't always accomplish this.

Make sure to "lay down the law" and tell your employees exactly what you need and expect from them. Don't try to sugar-coat things or be "gentle" with them. It's obviously not popular to be strictly about business, but it's what is needed to forge a successful business. After a while, your employees will grow to like and respect you, simply because of the fact that you have chosen to do what is best for the business as a whole.

Business Management Fundamental #2: Change Things as Needed

Proactive business managers are a great asset to any business they work for. They do what they have to do to make the business better. They advocate change when needed. And they don't back down when some may question the plan for change, especially if they believe in the plan. Change is a necessary part of business, one that some try to avoid. Business managers can't allow themselves to be persuaded by those employees who may question their plan. Those who do give in lose the respect of their employees, who see a boss that can't stand up. Don't be the boss who puts off change just to please a few critics. Instead be the boss who does what is needed to better the business!

Business Management Fundamental #3: Represent

Make it known that the employees you are managing are accountable not just to you, but to your superiors as well. Don't disrespect your superiors, either. Instead of saying "they" won't like it if a task isn't completed on time, emphasize that the business as a whole ("we") won't like it if the task isn't completed. As a business manager, it is important to represent the business as a whole on every level.

Business Management Fundamental #4: Be Optimistic and Realistic

Negativity can kill a business. A negative manager can rub off on his or her employees, thus creating a negative work environment which cuts down on the productiveness of the business. Even when hard times hit the business, try to be optimistic. When things are going good, try to be optimistic and realistic. This positive attitude towards business management will rub off on employees, which will increase productivity

Check out more details at: http://www.staffkit.com/learn/series/business-management-fundamentals.htm/ Victor Pursley: http://www.staffkit.com/learn/management_pkg.html/

As market complexity increases, many developed as well as developing countries have come under pressure to keep up with the developments in the field. Hence, more and more companies are looking for the aid of experienced business consultants and business managers to keep up with the changing market. The graduates who have completed their online bachelor's degree in business management(BM) is able to provide analysis of and suggest about how to improve the profits, productivity and the organizational structure of the company. As the technology is becoming advanced day by day, the companies are not leaving any leaf unturned as they are recruiting many business professionals and business analysts.

Online degree programs in BM include:
* Accounting degree
* Advertising and marketing
* Business administration
* Business management
* Communications degree
* E - Commerce and E - business
* Entrepreneurship degree
* Finance degree
* Human resource
* Leadership degree
* Management degree
* Operations degree
* Organizational management
* Project management degree
* Public administration
* Travel and tourism

Online bachelor's degree program in business management is designed in such a way to help students in planning and executing effective strategies of business management. Students are taught about problem solving and other market strategies. The eligibility criteria for getting admission to this course are high school diploma or any such similar GED certificate from any accredited school. Students can understand the subject better if they have an interest for latest market trends and business. Also some institutions offer the course to those who are working and experienced and have completed the age of 25 years.

The different aspects of BM such as:
* Business ethics
* Marketing laws
* Economy
* Organizational behavior
* Productivity management
* Financial management
* Real world management
* Marketing concepts
* Art of managing employees
* Investments
* Risk assessments etc. are covered in the course.

Recent research statistics have shown that there will be a huge rise in the job opportunities in the business management field by 2014. Students who pass out from online degree course are grabbed by several multinational reputed companies and other global firms. Some of the industries that offer job opportunities for graduates are automobile, aviation, information technology, finance, banking, tourism etc.

List of Colleges and Universities Offering Online Bachelor's Degree in Business Management
* University of Phoenix Online
* Walden University Online
* Online Kaplan University
* Grand Canyon University
* Ashford University
* Westwood College Online
* Capella University
* Liberty University Online
* Everest University Online

Find the Best Online Bachelor Business Management Degree, visit online-bachelordegree.net

This white paper will present a broad outline of the different types of consulting work undertaken by Business Management and Administration consultants and the potential problems they can help you solve. This will allow you to recognize management issues your own firm might have come across and help you identify an independent consultant who can find practical solutions.

Corporate Management and Administration includes the planning, organizing, directing and evaluating of commercial functions essential to efficient and productive trade operations.

Conventionally, this class of management was seen as being made up of several distinct categories: Operations Management, Financial Management, Information Technology, Human Resources, Strategic Management and finally the various Marketing strategies. Nowadays there has been a move towards classifying these functions more in terms of 'task oriented' processes.

Organizational Management is the process that accomplishes the long-term goals of a company. In contrast, Business Administration deals with the procedures that are required for the actual practice of Management which include the planning process, marketing, sales etc. So we can say that Business Management deals with the overall processes of an organization, whereas the Administration side deals with the actual functioning of these methods that are required to fulfill the strategic goals of the organization.

So combined, Management and Business Administration, is a multi-faceted endeavor that looks to afford excellent value to the companies clients and to generate a good return on investment to the financial backers. Not only is it an effort to make as much profit as possible, but also trying to work towards the long-term company vision. To achieve this mission requires deep investigation and analysis of the current situation before arriving at a resolution that can be delivered using a practical approach. Business related management has an entirely practical and no-nonsense method which is built on the foundations of the companies values. It's also crucial to have a good insight into the ever evolving financial and economic situation.

It will be important for you to uncover consultants with the exact skills that reflect your own Management requirements. Typically the smaller 'boutique' type of consulting company will be able to offer you the breadth of proficiency you need to successfully complete your project. They will be able to supply you with the right experts in areas like, company organization, business planning or employee problems. No matter your own particular needs, the consulting firm you chose will be able to provide you with the right guidance.

Whatever the size, every company relies on outside resources to some extent. By using an established consulting firm you are benefiting from their extensive experience in using state of the art solutions in established Business Management processes. They will provide you with great value in the kind of help you need in any department: planning, operations, sales and marketing services, re-organization and logistics. The success of their work can be specifically measured by charting sales volume, marketing exposure or productivity. Your management consultant will emphasize proven solutions that will generate the exact results to improve your bottom line performance.

To solve your management problems and help you find a consultant, you should use an established resource to streamline your procurement process. Find a top provider of highly skilled consultants where clients can connect with qualified, dedicated consultants from every field and find the right consulting firm through its unique matching process. Personal account managers will work with you to clarify consulting project requirements and ensure that consulting firms with the best expertise are considered, providing the best possible chance for success. Our management consultants employ the latest 21st Century models in strategic marketing, financial packaging, and other performance solutions to maximize your Return on Investment.

Info at hand is the "Business Portal" and central application in our CRBM Platform. Depending on your perspective or roles played in your business processes, you will find a benefit and perhaps many that apply to you. If you are a manager or book keeper there are several features that can help you track assets, inventory and help you gather solid business intelligence. If you are a production manager or talent resource there are many tools for managing project and improving efficiency or collaboration of your team. If you are a system administrator there are many tools for managing roles, teams and other system wide configuration and customizations.

There are really 5 clear value propositions that make the CRBM platform a perfect choice for virtually any small to mid-sized business:

1. Consolidated business management with reporting, automations, HR, Project Management with project profit loss tracking, Timesheet, and more.

2. Seamless integration with the Joomla CMS for virtually unlimited expandability for front end customer portal, partner portal or social networking community.

3. e-Commerce synchronization for a full transaction life cycle management and ERP inventory management capabilities with Shipping and Receiving.

4. One time licensing fee on premise model and low cost of entry.

5. Close integration and two way synchronizations with QuickBooks and Microsoft Outlook.

Our Info at hand based CRBM (Customer Relationship Business Management) has helped large number of organizations to manage their various functions including:
o Marketing Management
o Document Management
o Inventory Management
o Receiving
o Shipping

1). Marketing Management:
A).Sales force automation:
o Sales force automation includes lead capture, and the promotion of leads to Opportunities;
o Opportunity tracking with sales stage and percentage likelihood;
o Sales pipeline tracking, with graphical charts that offer drill-down from the bar or segment of the chart to the data that underlies it;
o Definition of sales teams and territories, to manage information sharing and track sales performance by territory;
o Sales forecasting and comparison of forecasts to quotas and actuals, by team or by individual;
o Lead source analysis of sales and opportunities;
o Flexible reporting, to extract precisely the information you want to see;
o Corporate calendar management, for arranging calls and meetings; and
o Integrated Inbound and outbound Email, which is automatically added to account and contact history.

B).Email & Letter Mail Marketing Campaigns:
o Marketing campaigns may be conducted with email templates for automatically customized emails, management of prospect lists, and tracking of campaign click-through rates.
o A target list for an email campaign may be assembled from a mixture of prospects plus pre-existing contacts and leads. You may create a target list as the output of a report, facilitating the targeting of prospects or existing clients with specific characteristics. A special Quick Campaign feature makes it quick and easy to perform spur of the moment email campaigns.
o You can also import lists of prospects (in either Comma Separated Values (CSV) or Tab Separated Values (TSV) formats).
o A mail merge feature enables the execution of letter mail campaigns, and target lists may also be exported to MS Word for a variety of purposes.

2). Document Management:
Info at hand enables the sharing of business documents - from HR claim forms and Marketing collateral to Engineering designs.
o Multiple revisions may be stored ensuring only approved documents are used.
o Documents in any format can be filed, and may be searched by title, description, file type, status, department, keywords and owner.
o Documents may be associated with Projects, Accounts, Contacts, Leads, Opportunities, or Service Cases.
o A project can have all of the project's documentation attached to it. An account, lead or contact can have all related documents attached. And supporting documents for a service case can be attached to it.

3). Inventory Management:
Info at hand includes a full inventory management capability. Two key modules perform the bulk of inventory management - Shipping and Receiving. In addition, the Sales Orders and Purchase Orders modules, as well as the Invoices module, evolved to support the tracking of partially received Purchase Orders, and partially shipped Sales Orders or Invoices

4) Receiving:
The Receiving module lets users in shipping/receiving document the receipt of a shipment, list the items and quantities received, and link to the related Purchase Order (and Sales Order if any). It documents the inbound shipping provider, number of packages and weight, the supplier's packing slip number,

5) Shipping:
The Shipping module lets users in shipping/receiving record the shipments they send out. As well, it links to the FedEx and UPS shipping and tracking web services to automate those activities when using these shipping providers. It documents the outbound shipping provider, number of packages and weight, the packing slip number (it can also produce PDFs of packing slips), and the date shipped.

Christopher Nielsen is CRM 2.0 Certified, an award winning multimedia producer and open source technology expert. With rich product knowledge on systems such as Joomla CMS and info at hand CRBM systems. As the founder of CNPintegrations.com he is the principle CRM consultant, software configuration Specialist and Social CRM technology evangelist. Visit blog at http://www.cnpintegrations.com/myblog/.

Business process is the important process of planning, co-coordinating and controlling a business. Every successful business has a business management team, whether it is one person or many. The main purpose of businesses is to be profitable, and the main function of managing businesses is so that the business creates sufficient value for its customers so that its revenues exceed its total cost. Business management departments deal with all the aspects of a business. They ensure that everything runs smoothly and that every department communicates and cooperates with the other, to complete assignments and deadlines on time.

Business managers are generally required to have sharp problem-solving abilities and skills, and should also have knowledge and experience in the seven functional areas of business: production, accounting, managements information systems, marketing, finance, human resources, and product research and development. They should be able to co-ordinate these activities and balance the amount of time spent on each, to increase the value of the company to other people, such as its stakeholders, employees, customers, suppliers and the surrounding community.

Different businesses give varying amounts of authority to their management teams, and management can be divided into three levels. High-Level Management teams need to have an extensive knowledge of the roles of management and skills. They need to have to be aware of key external factors such as markets as they are responsible for strategic decisions.

Their decisions are generally of a long-term nature and they usually chalk out a plan of what they think will be effective in the future. The middle management teams have specialized understanding of specific managerial tasks and are generally responsible for carrying out the decisions made by the High level management. The Lower Management teams ensure that the plans and decisions made by the Upper and Middle level are carried out, and their decisions are generally short term ones, such as the what the business will do in a day.

Communication skills are very essential for Business Managers, as they have to deal with many people; including the people employed by the business, freelancers that need to be told what job they are required to do, as well as communicating with clients and understanding exactly what they require from you and your business and when they want it done.

Time management is also an extremely precious skill which every Business Manager should master. When a client gives a business a job to do, the business manager needs to give a rough estimate of the time it'll take for the job to be done, which is what the pricing will be based on.

George Edmondson is an accomplished writer on Process of Business Management. For more information on Business Management visit http://www.businessmanagementadvisor.com

The purpose of business management should first of all be to at least maintain and to increase the most important number in any business... the net profit margin.

High net profit margins ensure finance viability better than anything else.

With this purpose in mind the key it to then focus on two sides of management, people and systems. So let's break this down further.

People need a feedback loop to perform at their best. A manager or business owner can do this, but people are prone to disagree, especially on the subject of performance. So a better solution is to have every employee accountant to a K.P.I. By implementing K.P.I.'s for each person both the manager and the team member can agree on what is ideal or acceptable performance.

The K.P.I.'s are a measure of the system and team member's performance combined. So this means systems are needed for every position, including systems for measuring.

A manager's role is thus to focus on improving the systems and improving team member's performance, who are simply a product of systems coming under the role and responsibilities they have for their position in the company. The outcome and measure of the skills of any manager should be net profit margin.

This is based on a powerful principle of business which is, profit margin increase comes from refining and improving what your business currently does, not from doing something new. How your team greet people on the phone, their rapport building skills and how you write out your quotes, or what words you use in your signs or on your website, these are the areas along with many others you should be continually trying to refine and improve.

Having documented systems in the form of policies and procedures for every individual position in your business is critical to improve the business's net profit margin. A procedure is simple an identified "best way" or carrying out a task that others can learn from and use to duplicate similar results.

Management is about understanding people's personality and how well they respond to various challenges. The more you study personality profiles the more you will realise how powerful it is to match a person's personality to a role within the business, instead of putting round pegs in square holes as they say. Extroverts are better at multi-tasking roles such as sales or management whereas introverts are better at high detail and quality work necessary for production.

This is a simple summary here for the sake of this article, however it is based on a personality profile that has stood the test of time better than any other, which is 2400 years old. This profiling system now known as DISC profiles is the most powerful tool in business there is.

Why do I claim this? Because I have seen my clients businesses triple their turnover in 30 days teaching them how to recognise a prospects DISC profile on the phone in 30 seconds. DISC can also be used for recruitment candidate selection, by matching job roles to profiles. Plus when you master DISC profile understanding you master managing people their best way dependent on their profile, which increases your skills dramatically.

By studying DISC profiles you realise that each person in your company needs systems at varying levels, you also understand you need to communicate and teach each person their own unique way. Combine that with The 7 Emotional Needs and you become an exceptional manager. Unfortunately there isn't space here to go into DISC profiles at the necessary level to become a masterful manager, nor to go into the emotional needs (especially when matched to DISC profiles), however I'll leave you with these thoughts...

The most important number in your business, net profit margin, is what you should be focusing on more than anything else as a manager. The way to increase it is to improve on numbers generated by people's activities. In fact the more numbers you know in a business the easier it is to make empowered decisions that lead to an increase of net margins. Measuring is proportional to margin increases.

To conclude, let your team become a product a "best way" systems, held accountable by numbers and you'll truly become a manager that understands something few others in the world of business do!

Tim Stokes has been a business educator and mentor to hundreds of business owners over 13 years. He was awarded the title of "Worldwide Business Coach of the Year 2000". His company specializes in small business management with a pioneering small business management training service that achieves extraordinary results for all sizes and types of SME businesses.

To find out more about Tim Stokes and his company's unique business training services go to: http://www.7stepstobusiness.com.au

Management is a skill, some have it inborn and some have to inculcate it by learning and taking courses. However, all of us have to learn business management, since business is a wide term with a lot of elements involved.

Business management is something like the proverb, teach a man to fish and he will never go hungry in his lifetime. In the same way after you learn business management skills you can be sure that you will not be looking back, you will gain confidence to manage your business efficiently and effectively.

You will then gain an insight into the effort and hard work you will require to put in your business, business management skills will always help you sail through any difficulties you may be presented in the course of managing business.

Your business requires planning and doing several things at a time, but to do that you need to be trained in your respective field in details. You can also use business management books available widely to help you gain knowledge and expertise in this field. A business manager also has to understand performance of his business and financial aspects of a business without which he will be no good for a business.

A business manager needs to be an all rounder, he requires all skills, he has to be a Jack of all trades and master of all too. Any handicap would affect a business negatively; therefore, learning new skills everyday will only be profitable. Once you become a businessman, if you hire employees, the responsibility of providing them work and money depends on you, therefore business management would teach you skills to manage employee finances as well as man management.

You need increasing your knowledge and information, legal and technical, by gaining access to several libraries; you can equip yourself with large number of information and reference books so that you and your business will not have to suffer because of lack of knowledge. If you are short of time and cannot go to a library physically, you can gain access to large amounts of study material available at online libraries which give you the same benefits as visiting a library.

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Business Management characterizes the process of leading and directing all or part of an organization, often a business, through the deployment and manipulation of resources (human, financial, material, intellectual or intangible). Early twentieth-century business management writer Mary Parker Follett defined management as "the art of getting things done through other people."

One can also think of business management functionally as the action of measuring a quantity on a regular basis and of adjusting some initial plan, and as the actions taken to reach one's intended goal. This applies even in situations where planning does not take place. From this perspective, there are several major management functions, namely: planning, organizing, leading, coordinating and controlling.

Management is known by some as "business administration", although this then excludes management in places outside business, e.g. charities and the public sector. University departments that teach management are nonetheless usually called "business schools". The term "management" may also be used as a collective word, describe the managers of an organization, for example of a corporation.

Today, we find it increasingly difficult to subdivide management into functional categories in this way. More and more processes simultaneously involve several categories. Instead, we tend to think in terms of the various processes, tasks, and objects subject to management.

One consequence is that workplace democracy has become both more common, and more advocated, in some places distributing all management functions among the workers, each of whom takes on a portion of the work. However, these models predate any current political issue, and may be more natural than command hierarchy.

All management is to some degree democratic in that there must be majority support of workers for the management in the long term, or they leave to find other work, or go on strike. Hence management is becoming less based on the conceptualization of classical military command-and-control, and more about facilitation and support of collaborative activity, utilizing principles such as those of human interaction management to deal with the complexities of human interaction.

Ismael D. Tabije is the Publisher-Editor of http://www.BestManagementArticles.com, a unique niche-topic article directory that features exclusively business and management topics. For a large dose of business management tips, ideas and strategies, see http://business-management.bestmanagementarticles.com.

If you are a business manager then you will know the importance to company productivity of effective business management. However, business process management software and financial management are only one part of the task. The best way to go about business management is to make sure that the staff you lead are happy and have clearly defined goals. With great people skills, effective management is a hard task to accomplish. If you are struggling to meet the demands of your business management obligations, then here are some tips about how you can improve your management skills.

1. Not changing from a worker to a manager

If you have recently moved into business management, then it can be tough to make the transition from ordinary worker to manager. Although you want your employees to feel that you can identify with them, you need to remember that you are now in control and have more responsibilities than before. For effective business management you have to think about more than just your own needs and expectations, and begin to be responsible for your team as well. If you can do this, then you will make the transition from worker to manager more easily.

2. Not setting clear goals and expectations

Although you might know exactly what your team should be doing, unless you tell them what you want they will be left goalless and unproductive. For business management processes to work, you need to clearly define your expectations and goals to your team. If your employees cannot see the goals they need to attain, they will have no sense of achievement or of where their work is taking them. If you want your employees to do more than simply pick up their wages each month, you need to use clear goal setting as a major part of your management strategy. These goals should incorporate not only the expectations of each person, but the goals for the use of business process management software and future financial goals.

3. Not enough delegation

You might think you can run the business on your own, but this just isn't true. Perhaps the biggest business management mistake is a failure to delegate duties to other employees. The attitude that 'if you don't do it yourself it won't be done right' will only make your working hours spiral out of control, whilst leaving your employees feeling unappreciated and unmotivated. Trust your employees to carry out the tasks you set them, and use your talents in business management and leadership to push the business forward. The more you delegate duties, the more time you will have to control your management actions and make the team work more efficiently.

4. Failure to learn

What worked five years ago might not work today, and so you need to stay up to date with the latest business management techniques. This is particularly true in the areas of financial management and business process management software. Keeping business process management software current will allow you to stay competitive and keep efficiency levels high. Don't be afraid to learn new techniques and embrace technology. If you do this, you will find that your management skills will improve and your team will remain effective for many years to come.

Julie-Ann Amos is a freelance business writer, and owner of exquisitewriting.com on business and property investment. She recommends http://www.singingpig.co.uk as one of the most effective sources of information for small businesses and property investment. Their property investment forum is a place to find information hard to locate elsewhere.

When business grows crossing the boundaries defined by limited internal resources, including your own and your executives’, it pays to engage the services of external business management consultants. Large business management consulting houses such as McKinsey and Company or PricewaterhouseCoopers, pride in their vast exposures to handling wide ranging business complexities under differing international conditions.

Businesses become complex as time passes by and handling them is a new challenge. Business houses of all types and sizes depend on external experts, management consultants, who analyze the situation on hand and optimize the possible, profitable way ahead. This may include ways to improve the firm’s structure, efficiency and returns.

The latter option always gives the firms the cost benefit over recruiting managers, without the long term commitment. Normally, small businesses are served by small consulting firms which range in size from a single practitioner firm to a team of professionals.

Why Large Corporations Hire Business Consultants?
The spread and expanse of large, multi billion dollar corporations involves operations in complex situations besides being engaged in a variety of transactions. Here is a snapshot of other circumstances when large corporations engage management consulting firms.

1. Market researching and site selection for their offshore expansion plans to help make decision on a new venture

2. Fund raising through either of the IPO, private placement of instruments of investment or loans and venture capitals including fulfilling statutory requirements
Vertical and Horizontal Expertise of Business Management Consulting Firms

Barring a few large consulting firms, most of them specialize in particular lines of businesses. You might have heard of Public Issue Management firms or firms specializing in Market Research and Finance Management and so on. Such consulting firms can be termed as vertically specialized in their fields. Where as companies like the ones mentioned above, McKinsey & Company are experts in multiple areas of business conducting right from financial auditing to offshore acquisitions and can be termed as firms with horizontal specialization.
Business Management Consulting Firms, by their virtue of experience of having handled various situations will have a practical approach to problem solving.

Business Management - What Are The Good Traits
To start a business and have it up and running successfully, you will need to think of some realistic business management plans. With these plans and your dream in mind, you will have to work through the initial difficult stages to build up good business management strategies and the ways to achieve them. Your business-management skills may be the crux between mediocrity and success.

The first and most important step in a good business management plan is to set clear specific goals and objectives. It is easier to achieve goals or objectives that are distinctive and focused. It makes good business sense to organize the "to-dos" for each day so that there is better focus on every task.
The more time you spent on perfecting a skill, the lesser will be the time taken to complete the task.

Another purpose of setting goals and objectives is to create a way to measure performance and track accomplishments. Such goals and objectives have to be challenging but achievable. You need to be creative and innovative in order to achieve the specific goals and strategic objectives set up in the business management plans.

At the same time, create your company's mission and vision statements and find solutions on how to implement or accomplish them. Define the company's passion and the methods to excel in it. Such business management strategies will strengthen the company's competitiveness in the industry. In addition, setting up long-term goals will determine the company's position in ten years' time and mark out the path to achieve them.

Some entrepreneurs may confuse activity with productivity. Most of the entrepreneurs who succeeded have the ability to identify and categorize specific activities that are extremely crucial or create an extraordinary significance that will contribute towards the overall success of the business. A successful entrepreneur will learn through other people's knowledge and efforts especially those of their clients or competitors. Capitalize on these new ideas or concepts and your business may expand with lesser efforts contributed and within a shorter period of time.

Due to continuous changes, good business management is an ongoing process to constantly evaluate strategies and monitor performance to see if there are better ways to accomplish the goals and objectives or whether improvements and adjustments need to be made. This may even lead to changing the company's mission or vision statements.

It is always said "If you Fail to Plan, you Plan to Fail"
Success in business comes as a result of planning. You have to have a detailed, written plan that shows what the ultimate goal is, the reason for the goal, and each milestone that must be passed in order to reach your goal.

A business plan is written definition of, and operational plan for achieving your goal. You need a complete but success tool in order to define your basic product, income objectives and specific operating procedures.

YOU HAVE TO HAVE A BUSINESS PLAN to attract investors, obtain financing and hold onto the confidence of your creditors, particularly in times of cash flow shortages--in this instance, the amount of money you have on hand compared with the expenses that must be met.

Aside from an overall directional policy for the production, sales effort and profit goals of your product--your basic "travel guide" to business success--the most important purpose your business plan will serve, will be the basis or foundation of any financial proposals you submit. Many entrepreneurs are under the mistaken impression that a business plan is the same as a financial proposal, or that a financial proposal constitutes a business plan. This is just a misunderstanding of the uses of these two separate and different business success aids.
The business plan is a long range "map" to guide your business to the goal you've set for it. The plan details the what, why, where, how and when, of your business--the success planning of your company.

Your financial proposal is a request for money based upon your business plan--your business history and objectives.
Understand the differences. Writing and putting together a "winning" business plan takes study, research and time, so don't try to do it all in just one or two days.
The easiest way to start with a loose leaf notebook, plenty of paper, pencils, pencil sharpener, and several erasers. Once you get your mind "in gear" and begin thinking about your business plan, "10,000 thoughts and ideas per minute" will begin racing thru your mind...So, it's a good idea when you aren't actually working on your business plan, to carry a pocket notebook and jot down those business ideas as they come to you--ideas for sales promotion, recruiting distributors, and any other thoughts on how to operate and/or build your business.
Later, when you're actually working on your business plan, you can take out this "idea notebook" evaluate your ideas, rework them, refine them, and integrate them into the overall "big picture" of your business plan.

The best business plans for even the smallest businesses run 25 to 30 pages or more, so you'll need to "title" each page and arrange the different aspects of your business plan into "chapters." Title Page Statement of Purpose Table of Contents Business Description Market Analysis Competition Business Location Management Current Financial Records Explanation of Plans For Growth Projected Profit & Loss/Operating Figures Explanation of Financing for Growth Documentation Summary of Business & Outlook for The Future Listing of Business & personal
References
This is a logical organization of the information every business plan should cover. I'll explain each of these chapters titles in greater detail, but first, let me elaborate upon the reasons for proper organization of your business plan.

Overall, you'll be developing an operating manual for your business--a valuable tool which will keep your business on track, and guide you in the profitable management of your business.
Because it's your idea, and your business, it's very important that YOU do the planning. This is YOUR business plan, so YOU develop it, and put it all down on paper just the way YOU want it to read. Seek out the advice of other people; talk with, listen to, and observe, other people running similar businesses; enlist the advice of your accountant and attorney--but at the bottom line, don't ever forget it has to be YOUR BUSINESS PLAN!

Remember too, that statistics show the greatest causes of business failure to be poor management and lack of planning--without a plan by which to operate, no one can manage; and without a direction in which to aim its efforts, no business can attain any real success.

On the very first page, which is the title page, put down the name of your business-ABC ACTION--with your business address underneath. Now, skip a couple of lines, and write it all in capital letters: PRINCIPAL OWNER--followed by your name if you're the principal owner.

Examples: ABC ACTION 1234 SW 5th Ave. Anywhere, USA 00000
PRINCIPAL OWNER: Your Name
That's all you'll have on this page except the page number -1-
Following your title page is the page for your statement purpose. This should be a simple statement of your primary business function, such as: We are a service business engaged in the business of selling business success manuals and other information by mail.
The title of the page should be in all capital letters across the top of the page, centered on your final draft--skip a few lines and write the statement of purpose. Then you should skip a few lines, and from the left hand margin of the paper, write out a sub-heading in all capital letters, such as: EXPLANATION OF PURPOSE.
From, and within this sub-heading you can briefly explain your statement of purpose, such as: Our surveys have found most entrepreneurs to be "sadly" lacking in basic information that will enable them to achieve success. This market is estimated at more than a 100 million persons, with at least half of these people actively "searching" for sources that provide the kind of information they want, and need.

With our business, advertising and publishing experience, it is our goal to capture at least half of this market of information seekers, with our publication.

MONEY MAKING MAGIC! Point to remember: Keep it short. Very few business purpose explanations justify more than a half page long.
Next comes your table of contents page. Don't really worry about this until you've got the entire plan completed and ready for final typing. It's a good idea though, to list the subject (chapter titles) as I have, and then check off each one as you complete that part of your plan.

By having a list of the points you want to cover, you'll also be able to skip around and work on each phase of your business plan as an idea or the interest in organizing that particular phase, stimulates you. In other words, you won't have to make your thinking or your planning conform to the chronological order of the "chapters" of your business plan--another reason for the loose leaf notebook.

In describing your business, it's best to begin where your statement purpose leaves off. You can briefly summarize your business beginnings, present position and potential for future success, as well.

Once you've defined your market, go on to explain how you intend to reach that market--how you'll these prospects to your product or service and induce them to buy. publicity and promotions, advertising plans, direct sales force, and dealer/distributor programs. Each section would then be an outline of your plans and policies.

Moving into the next chapter on competition, identify who your competitors are--their weakness and strong points--explain how you intend to capitalize on those weaknesses and match or better the strong points. Later on, you might want to compile the answers to these questionnaires into some form of directory or report on this type of business.

It's also advisable to contact the trade associations and publications serving your proposed type of business. For information on trade associations and specific trade publications, visit your public library, and after explaining what you want ask for the librarian's help.

The chapter on management should be an elaboration on the people operating the business. Those people that actually run the business, their job, titles, duties, responsibilities and background resume's. It's important that you "paint" a strong picture of your top management people because the people coming to work for you or investing in your business, will be "investing in these people" as much as your product ideas. Individual tenacity, mature judgement under fire, and innovative problem-solving have "won over" more people than all the AAA Credit Ratings and astronomical sales figures put together.

If you've been in business of any kind scale, the next chapter is a picture of your financial status--a review of your operating costs and income from the business to date. Generally, this is a listing of your profit & loss statements for the six months, plus copies of your business income tax records for each of the previous three years the business has been an entity.
The chapter on the explanation of your plans for the future growth of your business is just that--an explanation of how you plan to keep your business growing--a detailed guide of what you're going to do, and how you're going to increase your profits. These plans should show your goals for the coming year, two years, and three years. By breaking your objectives down into annual milestones, your plan will be accepted as more realistic and be more understandable as a part of your ultimate success.

Following this explanation, you'll need to itemize the projected cost and income figures of your three year plan. You may have to adjust some of your plans downward, but once you've got these two chapters on paper, your whole business plan will fall into line and begin to make sense. Unless you're independently wealthy, you'll want to use this chapter to list the possibilities and alternatives. Make a list of friends you can approach, and perhaps induce to put up some money as silent partners. Make a list of those people you might be able to sell as stockholders in your company--in many cases you can sell up to $300,000 worth of stock on a "private issue" basis without filing papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Make a list of relatives and friends that might help you with an outright loan to furnish money for the development of your business.

Then search out and make a list of venture capital organizations. Visit the Small Business Administration office in your area--pick up the loan application papers they have--read them, study them, and even fill them out on a preliminary basis--and finally, check the costs, determine which business publications would be best to advertise in, if you were to advertise for a partner or investor, and write an ad you'd want to use if you did decide to advertise for monetary help.

When you're researching these money sources, you'll save time by noting the "contact" deal with when you want money, and whenever possible, by developing a working relationship with these people.

If your documentation section, you should have a credit report on yourself. Use the Yellow Pages or check at the credit department in your bank for the nearest credit reporting office. If you own any patents or copyrights, include copies of these. If you own the distribution, wholesale or exclusive sales rights to a product, include copies of this documentation. You should also include copies of any leases, special agreements or other legal papers that might be pertinent to your business.

In conclusion, write out a brief, overall summary of your business- when the business was started, the purpose of the business, what makes your business different, how you're going to gain a profitable share of the market, and your expected success during the coming 5 years..

The last page of your business plan is a "courtesy page" listing the names, addresses and phone numbers of personal and business references--persons who have known you closely for the past five years or longer--and companies or firms you've had business or credit dealings with during the past five years.

And, that's it--your complete business plan. Take care of any changes or corrections, and then have it reviewed by an attorney and then, an accountant. It would also be a good idea to have it reviewed by a business consultant serving the business community to which your business will be related. Type and print the entire plan on ordinary white bond paper. Now you're ready to have it printed and published for whatever use you have planned for it--distribution amongst your partners or stockholders as the business plan for putting together a winning financial proposal, or as a business operating manual.

Don't settle for photo-copying..Have it printed!
Photo-copying leaves a slight film on the paper, and will detract from the overall professionalism of your business plan, when presented to someone you're trying to impress. Next, stop by a stationery store, variety store or even a dime store, and pick up an ordinary, inexpensive bind-in theme cover for each copy of your business plan. Have the holes punched in the pages of your business report to fit these binders and then slip each copy into a binder of its own.

You have a complete and detailed business plan with which to operate a successful business of your own.