Business management is the process of controlling and directing groups of individuals for the purpose of harmonizing or coordinating toward a common or stated goal which is greater than that which could be accomplished by the individuals separately. Business managers are responsible for the distribution and utilization of natural, technological, financial and human resources.
Business management has been subdivided into six separate specialties, based upon the portion of the resources which are being managed.
HUMAN RESOURCES
Human resources management is the art of performing hiring, compensation, performance evaluation, promotions and managing public relations in a fair, consistent and equitable manner. This part of business management used to be called labor, but defining the tasks as utilization of the resources available in the people working for the business better recognizes their contribution to the overall health of the business.
PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT
The art of business management must be to ensure that the business operations are both efficient and effective. Production management includes the manufacture, distribution and analysis of quota. Production management is also the analysis and understanding of value added systems which transform the raw materials or input into many products or output.
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
This is the highest level of business management, that of determining objectives, defining policies and plans to achieve the objectives and allocating existing resources to accomplish future goals.
MARKETING MANAGEMENT
This is the process of determining the appropriate marketing techniques to implement the sale of the firm’s products or services. Marketing management often influences the public level of need, timing or demand for the products of the firm.
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
Financial managers are responsible for determining how the business will allocate, raise and utilize funds to accomplish the goals of the business.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT
Information technology management is the study, utilization and acquisition of information needed to manage the business effectively. It also includes the hardware that such information resides on.
Business managers tend to be more highly trained than ever before, but at the same time, the focus of the additional studies has turned from theories found on the printed page to hands on experience in the business world. As business becomes more complex, business managers tend to require more involvement in more than one of the above categories. Even though non profit and governmental organizations do not deal with a specific product, the practice of good business management techniques will result in more efficiency in the public sector as well as in the private sector.