Managing a business is about creating a vision and advising others implement your design. Mark C. Tibergien and Rebecca Pomering explain in their book, "Practice Made Perfect: The Discipline of Business Management for Financial Advisers," that management entails making decisions, evaluating data and committing to a business model. How an executive meets these objectives, however, depends on her competency and the industry of the business.
Corporate Culture
A task in business management is establishing the corporate culture of the organization. Patrick J. Montana and Bruce Charnov define corporate culture in the book, "Management" as the values, characteristics, meanings and traditions of the organization. For instance, Enron's corporate attitude was a polished, cutthroat, "hold-no-prisoners and let the best person win" style. On the other hand, Google promotes a laid-back, collaborative culture within its offices.
Managers establish corporate culture through the design of their vision statement, dress code and employee orientation. Even the contents of the building's break room: A basic design with a single television playing the news conveys a far different attitude than a break room filled with video games and ping-pong tables.
Business Model
A business model serves as a template for how executives manage the business. Very rarely does one business model fit all companies: Over time, managers tweak the model to meet any new challenges or objectives faced by the company. These templates typically focus on a core competency or strength of the organizations. For example, Wal-Mart's business model emphasizes low cost, whereas Apple focuses on delivering innovative, cutting-edge products. Steven Peterson, Peter Jaret and Barbara Findlay Schnek, authors of "Business Plan Kits for Dummies" elaborate that business models include details of how the business generates revenue, outlines profit margins and lists the targeted customers.
Human Capital
Business management entails gathering a qualified team that is not only qualified, but compatible with the company's mission and fellow employees. Being a good business manager is as much about psychology as it about business. Managers must know assemble a strong team, identify potential personality conflicts and address personnel issues as they arise. Business managers use tools such as personality tests and performance appraisals to measure the type and caliber of the staff, though intuition and strong social skills are just as necessary.
Competition
Executives must analyze the competition as part of managing the company. Assessing the competition illuminates the organization's strengths and weaknesses. For example, if a neighboring retail store offers an identical, best-selling product at 30 percent less than your store, this comparison may cause you to seek other wholesale vendors of the item or look for ways to cut overhead costs. Analyzing the competition may also compel the management team to reassess its branding strategy or allocate more funds to develop a new product on par with the competition's item.
Tags: business model, corporate culture, break room, management entails
