Although some individuals might view business management as a single profession or industry, it is actually a broad field made up of numerous sectors. This manual will assist you in differentiating between the various branches of this broad industry and in comprehending the functions that each one performs in an organisation, whether you’re looking to begin a career in business management, launch your own business, or pursue an advanced degree or certification.
What is business management?
How a business operates and accomplishes its objectives is a part of business management. An effective business manager identifies the resources required, plans all tasks, and makes choices that will steer the ship in the right direction. Business management places more of an emphasis on organisation and communication than it does on the minute details of day-to-day operations.
The most effective business managers have empathy and effective conflict-resolution skills. People-centered management is common in business. Business managers strive to put the right people in each role and on particular projects in the hopes that they will realise their full potential and make the most of their special skills, and success is achieved through personnel development.
To carry out the mission and achieve each goal, business management entails supervising the road map, creating plans, training, delegating, and directing leaders in your organisation. Through the establishment of clear expectations and the promotion of teamwork under your direction, this aspect of a business ensures consistency across all teams. Strategizing, critical thinking, and problem-solving are key skills in this field. Business managers solve problems and take decisions for the organization’s stability and growth while keeping the bigger picture in mind.
Types of business management
Business management has many sub-branches. The eight sectors that make up this broad field are summarised as follows:
1. Financial management
Budgeting and cash flow management are both important aspects of the broad field of financial management, as is the supervision of all financial processes like data distribution and invoice processing. Planning, directing, and coordinating a company’s accounting, investing, banking, insurance, securities, and other financial activities are all part of this type of business management.
Financial decision-making, financial control, and financial planning are the three main facets of financial management. Working capital management, which includes cash management, inventory management, and debtor management, is a term that is frequently used to describe short-term financial planning. This style of business management covers the evaluation as well as the methodology of financial decisions. Finding a sound balance between profit and risk is the goal of financial management in order to make the company profitable over the long term, despite any setbacks. Knowing the value of your company will enable you to fully appreciate its potential for financial growth.
2. Marketing management
The management of a company’s marketing resources and activities is a key component of marketing management, along with the practical application of marketing strategies. Company analysis, partner analysis, competitor analysis, and customer analysis are the four main pillars of marketing management. Along with marketing strategy and pricing, marketing management also includes brand management.
Develop branding opportunities and implement marketing strategies based on careful analysis of every aspect of your business to maximise return on investment. The size and sector of a business determine the extent of its marketing management. Effective marketing management makes use of a company’s resources to grow its clientele, enhance customer perceptions and feedback, and raise perceived value.
3. Sales management
Managing and leading sales teams is a part of sales management. As a sales manager, you motivate your sales representatives to develop trusting bonds with potential customers, turn them into leads, and move them along the sales pipeline. Marketing management and sales management frequently collaborate. Sales managers set the tone for the team, create the strategy, and mentor each sales rep along the way to keep everyone on track. Recruitment, training, and leadership are key components in developing a strong sales team.
In order to report on the company’s performance, sales management also entails identifying the metrics for success and evaluating key performance indicators. Salesforce provides robust sales management tools to support your company’s customer relationship management (CRM), reporting, and tracking needs. [See our review of Salesforce CRM.]
By tracking customer history, offering insights, and forecasting, these systems offer business owners a data-driven approach to sales management.
4. Human resource management
The recruitment and management of employees are the main areas of focus for human resource management (HRM). This covers total pay, hiring, safety and well-being, benefits, and other facets of managing employees.
One common misconception about HRM is that an HR department or individual is solely in charge of it. In fact, all department managers need to be aware that good HRM enables workers to contribute positively and productively to the company’s overall direction and objectives. HRM used to be more concerned with personnel management, but today’s HRM strategies use employee programmes to benefit the workforce as well as the company as a whole.
5. Strategic management
The application of strategic thinking to the role of managing an organisation is known as strategic management. Because financial, marketing, and operational strategies frequently determine a company’s success, many other areas of business management revolve around strategic management.
The big picture of a business is what strategic management focuses on: where do you want to be and how can you get there? An organization’s relevance is maintained through strategic management, which is flexible and incorporates a competitive strategy. The formulation of the organization’s goals while taking into account external factors like regulation, competition, and technology is the most crucial aspect of strategic management.
Goal setting, SWOT analysis, strategy development, implementation, and evaluation are the five stages of strategic management. The organisation decides how to allocate resources, measure success, and assign responsibility for each task throughout this process. Since you should continuously assess your strategies and make necessary adjustments, strategic management is an ongoing process.
6. Production management
Making decisions while producing goods or services is known as production management. Both the manufacturing and service sectors use production management strategies. Since the goal of this type of business management is to transform raw materials into finished goods or services, the four Ms—machines, methods, materials, and money—are frequently mentioned in this industry.
Production efficiency, which includes inventory management and employee training, is one of the main goals of production management. Product managers’ primary duty is inventory control, which entails keeping track of all production inputs, including raw materials and finished goods.
The research and development (R&D) of the production process as well as the product itself is another important area of focus for a company’s production management team. R&D must be a part of product management for companies that want to grow, save money, and create new, better products.
7. Service management
The type of service management varies greatly depending on the business and the industry. Although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there are some differences between the two industries. First off, service management frequently includes both skilled labour and automated systems. It also frequently offers service development, even if it is not IT-related.
The management and streamlining of workflow to automate or support human decision-making is one area of focus for service management. Service management enables a provider to comprehend its services from the viewpoints of the organisation and the consumer, and it ensures that the services facilitate the outcomes that the clients want. Regardless of the service, managed-service providers must comprehend and control the associated costs and risks as well as the worth and significance of the services to their customers.
8. IT management
IT management focuses on watching over and managing a company’s technological resources to meet its needs and priorities. IT teams and managers make sure a company’s technology is in line with its business objectives. IT configuration, IT services, and IT financial management are the three main components of IT management.
IT management also entails achieving organisational objectives while exceeding customer expectations. IT managers must concentrate on specific components and the delivery of end-to-end services while utilising the most effective techniques for cutting costs and increasing worker productivity. In order to effectively manage the planning, design, selection, implementation, use, and administration of developing and convergent information and communications technologies, IT managers must be educated and developed.
