business management assignment help

business management assignment help

Business Management: Strategies for Success

1. Introduction to Business Management

Business management is a vast field and all of us are part of a business in some way. For instance, you may be working in a company, you may be doing business or you may be working at your home. All these things are part of business and business management plays a major role to make a business successful. Business management is a versatile field that offers students opportunities to explore new dimensions. In business management, you have the opportunity to work in any industry because all businesses need business professionals. In today’s competitive marketplace, you need solid business acumen, management capability, and interpersonal skills. Creative thinking and the ability to work under pressure are also important aspects of success. All these subjects are very important to explore business. The main purpose of this introductory book is to lay the foundation for learning in a more advanced and detailed level. This book will discuss the nature, scope, and objectives of business, business ownership, types of business, and business activities. However, business activities can be presented under the same title as business decision making. But to make learning easier and better, we can discuss business activities and business decision making separately. Business activities include any activity undertaken by the businessmen, whereas business decision making is a process to select the best plan of action among available options. Both of these, business activities and business decision making, are important in the study of business management. However, business activity is informal tasks done to meet a specific objective, but business decision is a practice of thoughtfully selecting among a variety of solutions to achieve the best outcome.

2. Key Principles of Effective Business Management

Effective business management requires both a mastery of the key principles and a firm understanding of the need to develop a range of personal, professional skills. From my own experience, I have found that the most important principles of business management are drawn from the dynamic world of work. Fundamentally, business managers need to employ critical thinking and problem-solving strategies in order to make the best decisions, and the most successful managers are very often those who innovate and encourage those around them to take intellectual risks. This principle is based around creating a sense of ownership and self-management amongst staff and, over time, this has been shown to make wider businesses more effective and more valuable. It is critically important to build effective leadership into both business strategy and day-to-day management, and managers play a crucial role in both creating and implementing this. Effective leadership is the glue that holds a successful business together. It is about creating a management style and a set of work ethics that not only delivers growth and productivity to the business but also meets the demands and needs of employees. For effective business management, a sound base of effective leadership is needed; some place this principle of management in the number one slot in the continuing interpretations of what is most important. However, in the modern world, ensuring that a business develops sustainable environmental strategies and this depends upon what is known as ‘strategic planning’. This type of management encourages business managers to solve practical, logical, and creative problems. The best business managers are responsible for each area of their business and therefore have to know how the company and their employees work and how it fits into the wider world – business management and forward planning, done effectively, helps to make the most of a business’ resources and ensures the long-term stability of the company. This principle is gradually developing as our interconnected world continues to develop and adapt to change. Digital platforms and online systems of consumer demand now provide vital sources of data for business managers to make the most of. This blends business management with the creative industries and to some extent with information technology and seeks to equip business managers with the skills and the enthusiasm to engage in considerable long-term creative processes. This sort of continual professional development is a key part of success in effective business management and helps to move the field forward.

By trial and error, I have found that the most effective managers are those who are firm but fair-minded and decisive but are able to use their own initiative. This principle encapsulates an understanding that management is never a process of 100% working out how it can always be other people’s skills and careers, and good managers know when and how to allocate work and responsibilities according to an understanding of individuals’ potential, their work rate, and the contexts in which they work most effectively. This principle of business management sees all main functions of the work, throughout the whole company, voiced and heard. It emphasizes a view that successful business leaders will put energy into managing conflict and ensuring a common sense of purpose and a focus on rational objectives, as these are seen as best serving the interests of the wider company and the workforce.

3. Strategies for Organizational Planning and Decision Making

For any organization, implementing an effective strategy for organizational planning is of paramount importance. Organizational planning is the process of identifying goals for a company and then working out a plan to achieve these goals. It is not only about setting the direction and establishing priorities for the work to be done, organizational planning also helps to reduce uncertainty and makes the company well prepared to face any change. Through effective organizational planning, decision making can be streamlined and the resources can be focused on the right processes. There are various planning strategies that a company may employ, as discussed below. These include timeless strategies—(1) use good forecasts and intuitive decision making; data driven strategies—(2) using analysis for decision making; and new strategies—(3) addressing organizational resistance to strategic analysis. Forecasts are, by definition, an opinion that is subjective and assumes some level of uncertainty. Managers can use various forecasting and profiling models to come to a decision. These models can range from qualitative models like the Delphi method or quantitative models that range from tables to complex mathematical algorithms. However, some managers do not opt to use these forecasting strategies and use intuitive decision making. Intuitive decision making relies on the personal judgment of the manager and is often driven by experience. It is a quick and efficient form of decision making. However, it is of note that studies have shown that intuitive decision making needs a high level of judgment to be effective and it can often lead to lots of biases in decisions. With the advancement of technology, big data has become increasingly prevalent in the business world. Big data analytics is the process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting large data sets in order to make important decisions. Data analysis has facilitated in the development of new strategies for organizational planning and decision making in the form of ‘data driven strategy’. This is because companies are realizing the value of using data in the decision making process and thus leverage such strategies to success. Such strategies involve using tools and software that provides data analytics, making sure that the staffs are properly trained and that the data and data analysis that is being used is secure. Moreover, as employees are often considered a major change factor for effective technology and strategy implementation, it is important for companies to consider and address any resistance that may come about. Employees may choose to use the ‘reengineering’ strategy, which aims to completely change a strategy and its processes, or use ‘work flow analysis’ which aims to improve efficiency through the analysis of the methods used to complete tasks. This setting may shed some light on different ways to address strategic resistance, as discussed below. These include (1) providing sources of support to diffuse resistance, (2) using collectives to involve others in the planning and decision making, and (3) use both scheduled and impromptu team-based opportunities to open up the process of decision making and identify challenges that lie ahead. Coherent with the summary of the entire essay, this section introduces the general idea of making an effective organizational planning as it is important and the strategies that can be employed in decision making. This prepares the reader for more specific topics that will be covered in the subsequent chapters of the book.

4. Leading and Motivating a Successful Team

Transformational leaders inspire staff through effective communication, by providing a goal-focused vision and giving employees the right amount of autonomy to achieve that vision in innovative ways. By a leader setting an example, followers will want to ‘transform’ and their in return build a very close working relationship with their leader which requires high levels of personal trust.

Transactional leadership uses a system of reward and punishment, typically in the framework of a formalized, bureaucratic business environment. This is often seen as an effective leadership pattern as it concentrates on the transactional nature of the relationship between the manager and the employee, particularly in understanding what will motivate them to achieve success. However, many believe that this form of leadership provides very little chance for someone to develop their own motivational drives and at times can lead to a lack of creativity and productivity even if the company is meeting its overall mission.

Autocratic leadership is based upon a very direct and close supervision of a task. This is not often associated with motivation, rather has the potential to lead to high levels of employee stress and anxiety through lack of freedom and opportunity to express themselves.

Democratic leadership may particularly effective as it allows a team to make input into the decisions that are made and provides a sense of ownership. This can be particularly motivating on both a personal and professional level as the individual employees’ thoughts and opinions and really taken into consideration which can greatly improve job satisfaction and motivation. This in turn can lead to a decrease in staff turnover, fewer man hours lost in recruitment processes, increased productivity and in some cases, a less stressful and more harmonious working environment.

Through the use of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, a comprehensive insight into what motivates individuals is offered and the selection of the most effective motivational techniques to support the internal drives of employees is assisted. By understanding this theory, it is clear why motivation plays such a large part in many businesses. However, it is important for managers to recognize that different forms of leadership will have a significant impact on the motivation within a business.

With Maslow’s theory in mind, managers can identify when employees may be lacking in their needs to help motivate them appropriately. Managers should try to create a working environment that is as stress-free as possible and provide employees with the right resources to execute tasks effectively, in order to meet the safety needs. Team bonding activities and encouraging a workplace where individuals feel a sense of belonging can be a great way to motivate through social needs. Praise publicly to greatly improve motivation by fulfilling esteem needs, Maslow suggests.

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a well-known theory in the field of motivation. Maslow believed that every human has a set of needs which can be ranked into a hierarchy according to necessity. The theory outlines that once a need is met, it ceases to be a motivator and the next need in the hierarchy takes its place. Maslow suggests that the most basic level of needs must be met before the individual will strongly desire the secondary or higher needs. Each of these levels of the hierarchy contains individual needs such as physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization.

An effective leader is a key ingredient in the recipe for a high-performing team. A key characteristic in any successful leader is the ability to motivate their team. Motivation is one of the most important factors in determining the success of any business, but it’s not “one size fits all”. Each member of staff is an individual and will be motivated by different things. A good manager will be able to distinguish what will motivate each individual and provide the relevant incentive to give their best.

5. Implementing Effective Business Management Practices

Upon successful definition of the strategic goals and objectives for Lean transition, the strategic plan will chart the path to operational excellence on every aspect of the business. The right goals will identify specifics of what the company is trying to accomplish and the plan will test the inclusion of related Lean and business practices. The management must engage the entire staff by integrating Continuous Improvement (CI) as a way of life – woven into every business aspect and not as a program which is sometimes set aside when conditions get tough during daily challenges. The plan should create measures of progress and can cascade anything from a high level plan aligned to executive goals – to a down to earth work cell specific plan for every cell team. Also, the management has to reduce barriers such as the lack of a Strategic Transition Plan. Under each Lean strategic goal, there should be a set of projects resourced and planned to deliver upon those objectives. However, it is often that managers do not have a clue about their roles and responsibilities in a Lean environment. Management training and alignment from top to bottom on goals and accountabilities should be one of the company developed strategies for Lean transition. It is also found that Lean spending generates significant indirect and induced impacts throughout the economy by creating jobs and increasing payrolls for employers. This is an era of high and unabated unemployment rates in various industrialized nations and this Lean wave will bring a so-called economic salvation for unemployment and struggling. Taken together, businesses in the entire supply chain are challenged by Lean by the need for rigorous, coordinated and strategic life cycle asset management and preserving asset value. At the strategic planning level, equipment preservation and capital investment issues must be integrated into the ongoing improvement activities so that there is a connection between organizational strategic objectives, plans, and day-to-day activities. The ultimate goal of strategic asset management is to create the approach necessary to make the best possible decisions that will lead to the optimal outcome – whatever that is for the business, now and in the future. Such a plan will outline and sustain the future economic growth and continuous improvement in the competitive global economy. It is all too common that companies start Lean tool and methodology “deployment” with an expectation of a return on investment in a very short time period and then turn their focus elsewhere. This type of thinking reflects a lack of understanding of the essence of Lean journey and a longer-term vision right from the highest level of leadership and deployment. Admittedly, although Lean truly doesn’t require a massive start-up investment in capital, it cannot be treated as a short-term cost savings program either. Such a misconception might besiege management’s first indication of reluctance in getting on board with Lean strategies and to finally learn and embrace the value of sustaining Lean culture they form another stubborn verbal resistance in the “transformation” journey. But what business environment, at its most competitive shapes up to be now a day is try to move to a culture and value five key areas, which are prevention of waste, value the employees and society, sustainability in every single aspect of the business operation, and finally continual improvement towards not just having a better product or service from the customer’s point of view, but even the ways of doing everyday business.