Thursday, November 1, 2012

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Type Of Business Management

Anybody that has ever had a job (whether it was with a large firm or small start-up company) has had some interaction with business management.

Every business needs some way of planning, organizing, staffing, leading or control in order to accomplish a goal. Business management can be defined as human action as well as design to create useful outcome and production. Management can also mean one person or a group of people performing the act of management.

It is difficult to trace the history of management since it is a more modern conceptualization. Management-like history dated back to Sumerian traders and workers of the pyramid in ancient Egypt. With the use of bookkeeping, management planning and control was then in place. As complexity and sizes of organizations grew, so did the split between groups and responsibilities. Gradually independent managers grew more and more common.

Management can be seen as a philosophy, where one measures quantity, bases their plans on that, and then takes actions to reach a goal. Business management has separated into different branches: human resources, operations, strategic, marketing, financial, and information technology.

Basic functions in management include a process of planning, organizing, staffing, leading, controlling and motivation. These ongoing functions let management operate their business and evaluate their progress. Business policies include mission statements, their vision and objectives. The policy is a guide that stipulates rules, regulations, and objectives in the manager's decision-making process. It must be easy to understand by all employees. Policies and strategies of managerial staff include understanding how to implement strategies, having a plan of action, reviewing policies and strategies regularly, having contingency plans, having progress assessed, having a good team environment, and determining roles in achieving the business's mission.

The management hierarchy is split into different levels. There is the Senior management, Middle management, Low-level management, Foreman, and Rank and File. The Senior level management has extensive knowledge in roles and skills, they are also very aware of external factors. Their decisions are usually long-term, analytic, directive, and conceptual. They are responsible for strategic decisions. Middle management has a specialized understanding of certain managerial duties. They are responsible for carrying out decisions by Senior managers. Low-level management ensures that the other two management level decisions are executed. Low-level manager's decisions are usually short-term. The Foreman, (or supervisor) has direct supervision over the working force, or work group. The Rank and File is more restricted and specific than the Foreman.

There are also different styles of management that people are very familiar with. Macro management and Micromanagement are two good examples. Macro management is when a manager is focuses on system entities, such as constraints, rules, information architecture, etc. Micromanagement is where a manager observes or controls the work of their employees to great detail; it is generally viewed negatively.

There are endless types of business management out there: Accounting, Capability, Change, Conflict, Communication, Cost, Crisis, Customer Relations, Design, Educational, Engineering, Environmental, Facility, Financial, Human Resources, Hospital, Hotel, Information Technology, Innovation, Inventory, Land, Logistics, Marketing, Merchandising, Materials, Office, Program, Project, Process, Performance, Product, Public, Quality, Records, Relationship, Restaurant, Risk, Spend, Stress, Systems, Talent, Time, and Work are just a few of them.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

The Benefits Of Business Management

There are many business management courses offered today. Studying business management is a great way to give yourself an edge when it comes to marketing your business, and making sure that you stay afloat. When it comes to business management, it's best to take a series of courses that cover all sorts of things -- not just one aspect of business.

There are several options when it comes to these courses. You can take classes on campus or online. There are even some organizations that offer free courses in the form of pod casts and web videos. This is exciting for many people, but the only downfall is that you usually cannot get a degree from a free course.

Business courses are useful to people with all types of experience in business. You can use them if you're just starting or a business, or if you have some experience running business, and want to brush up on strategies.

When you choose to take business courses online, you have the ability to watch lecture podcasts at any time of day that you want. You can work a day job, and then you can view videos and complete your homework at night, and on weekends.

It is a good idea to take courses like this even if you are experienced in the business world. Times change constantly, and you want to keep up to date when it comes to changes in the business world, and the marketing industry. For instance, look at how social media dictates business these days. If you don't keep yourself up to date on the changing times, you will be doing yourself a disservice.

When you take standard business management courses, you will find that many subjects are covered. Some management course schedules offer over 70 courses for you to choose from. There is really a wide variety of subjects that you can cover when you choose to study business management.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Tips To Recruit More Business Listings To Your Online Business Directory

Attracting business listings to an online business directory is essential to operating a successful directory. The key to attracting business listings is to create a positive online presence. There are a number of methods one can use to spread the word in the online business community about the benefits of listing their business on your directory.

1. Because businesses need to know why it is beneficial to list their business in your directory, you need to let them know the advantages of adding their listing. Write a series of articles and submit them to a number of article directories throughout the internet. Write about why business directories are a great way for a business to gain exposure such as helping a business improve their search engine rankings and creating name and brand recognition.

2. Because online business directories allows one the flexibility of being creative in how they create categories and subcategories, you can target businesses in your local community by creating a category just for them. The subcategories can be divided into the various types of local businesses such as hotels, restaurants, computer services...etc. Send out emails or letters promoting your local business category of your directory. You can also go to each business and talk to them about the benefits of listing their business in your directory. Carry business cards with you to distribute.

3. Create a free e-book that teaches people how to effectively promote their own business. This e-book can be a 50 or 100 page guide on marketing one’s business both online and offline. It should be informative with a many strategies on how a business can reach their targeted customer.

4. On your business directory, offer free stuff that can benefit a business such as free animations, free website templates, HTML checker, keyword check tool, free spyware scan, website submission tools, Meta tag analyzer, and free back grounds. As well, post articles on your site on tips to promoting a business and how one implements various types of marketing strategies.

5. There are many online business discussion forums and business Blogs where one can post comments. It is important that your comments are relevant to the discussion and Blog post, and not just blatant advertising. Make sure your signature includes your directory URL. As well, post your directory URL to many online classified sites.

6. Make your online directory a niche directory. For instance, if your main website is computers, create an online directory that targets the computer industry. This can include categories that focus on the computer industry. You can create it so that it is for businesses that are related to your own business, but not your direct competition. You can then set up an email campaign to target these businesses for listing in your directory. You have to explain why listing in your directory will benefit their business.

Recruiting businesses to your online directory is easy, but takes patience. You have to implement some form of marketing technique every day to spread the word about the benefits of listing with your directory. In no time, you will have a thriving and money making online business directory.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Business Banking – Top 10 Tips on Writing Your Business

For any business, having a strong, and realistic business plan is essential to success. Whether you are a new start up or an established company, a business plan will enable you to analys your business, plan your goals, and assess what your current position is. The core of your business plan should be the financial aspects of what you want to achieve, and Steve Jennings, Director of Business Banking at Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank, has the following top 10 tips on how to get this crucial part of your plan right:

1. You need to ensure that your business plan is structured in a way to make it, clear and concise. In effect, a business plan should work to sell both you and your company, so make sure that the most important information is highlighted. Add supporting commentary to back up any forecasts and projections. This area is very important when it comes to any financial data that is included, as the bank will use this information as the basis for making a decision on any lending.

2. Include basic information about you, your business and what you are selling. Details about potential staff, equipment and premises that are already in place or planned as a result of investment should also be part of the business plan.

3. Make any forecasts over a period of three to five years, although you should concentrate on making the most detailed breakdown for the first year. In business banking, the correct financial information is essential. Double and triple check all of the figures to ensure that they are 100% accurate, as the majority of your business plan will hinge on your historical and forecasted figures.

4. Look at your business objectively and perform a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis about how you fit into the local or national retail sector. You should pay attention to any weaknesses and threats, and analyze them fully. A bank will perform this research as part of their decision making process, and by providing this information, you demonstrate that you have an understanding of potential pitfalls and planning your approach to addressing them, both financially and otherwise.

5. Success is also important, and you need to show how you are prepared for success and fast expansion. Things to consider include the impact of additional staff in terms of the cost of recruitment, training, and management.

6. For a retail business cash is its lifeblood, so a comprehensive cash flow analysis is vital. You will need to include cash balance and monthly cash flow patterns over a period of one to two years. This should include key factors like sales and salaries. Your bank will use this to understand exactly how much operating capital you need. Many small businesses make the mistake of asking for too little financial support, and this can leave a shortfall that could prove disastrous. By managing your finances through a business current account, you can keep on top of payments and income more easily.

7. Make a month-by-month sales forecast. If you have already been in business for a year, review the sales over the past 12 months in order to give figures to forecast expected sales for the coming year. A new business will have to use judgement and extensive market research to provide this information. It is important to be realistic, and bear in mind that it might take a while for sales to build-up at first, so consider building a quieter period into the initial few months, and provide your bank with information about how you plan to cover your outgoings in the event of this happening.

8. You should provide a full profit and loss forecast, as this will enable you to evaluate the level of profit you expect to make from sales against any costs. Costs should include operational costs as well as key calendar dates for tax. Include information about costs that you cannot control including tax levels and wages. You can use a special business deposit account to store any surplus funds, as these will provide you with a cushion under tougher trading conditions.

9. It is important to keep a close eye on your competitors, as well as any potential changes in your local retail market and make the necessary adjustments. Remember that as your business grows and develops, your competitors will need to react and grow too, so keep on top of any changes in the market.

10. Your business plan needs to be revisited as your circumstances change. Revisit it each year to take into account your growth, staffing requirements and other factors such as new product lines.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Business Management Skills - Building Tips for Managers

To be successful as a manager it is important to develop a relationship with the team that is based on trust. When employees trust and respect their manager they will give special effort especially when they feel trusted and supported.

Employees rarely excel under the punitive thumb of someone they do not trust and who they feel does not trust them. Without trust productivity suffers as team members play politics, spend time covering themselves and being compliant to dictates that they know are counterproductive. Lack of trust affects morale and customer satisfaction as the employees shift energy and focus from working on real life issues that affect customers to resentment and dissatisfaction towards management.

Effective Communication

Managers who communicate openly and frequently build relationship and trust with the team. They should not make team members guess what they're thinking but should tell them. Employees can feel that no news is bad news. A lack of interaction erodes trust. Face to face interaction is the best method to build trust.

To get Trust Managers Need to Give Trust

It is important for a manager to create an environment of trust. This begins by trusting others. It is more effective to assume employees are trustworthy unless they prove otherwise rather than waiting to give trust when they haven't earned it. As team members come to feel they are trusted by their manager, they will find it easier to trust in return.

Be Honest

Honesty is a very important factor that affects trust. Managers who demonstrate openness about their actions, intentions and vision, soon find that people respond positively to self disclosure and sincerity. As a manager share good and bad news openly. This can eliminate gossip and diffuse inappropriate politics. Great managers know that they are not perfect and they make mistakes. It is better for a manager to admit mistakes rather than ignore them or cover them up. A cover up (perceived or real) is probably the greatest single enemy to trust.

Establish Strong Business Ethics

Managers need to set moral values for the work place. Teams with common ethics are healthier, more productive, adaptable, responsive, and resourceful because they are united under one common value set.

Keep Your Word

Do what you say you will do and make your actions visible. Team members quickly pick up on insincerity and broken promises. Visibly keeping commitments will foster trust. If a manager neglects to make actions visible to the team it can create the impression/perception that they don't follow through.

Keep Interactions Consistent and Predictable

Building trust is a process. Trust results from consistent and predictable interaction over time. If a manager responds differently from week to week it becomes harder to trust him or her.

Set the Tone for the Future from the Beginning

The initial actions of the manager establish norms and expectations. A manager should lead by example.

Be Accessible and Responsive

Find ways to be regularly available to team members. When interacting, be responsive. Unresponsiveness causes unease and distrust. Be action rather than talk oriented. Don't just think about taking action-do it!

Maintain Confidences

Team members need to be able to express concerns, identify problems, share sensitive information, and surface relevant issues. It is important early on to get agreement as to how confidential data will be handled.

Watch your Language

It is important that a manager's language does not imply "us" or "them". Terminology should be easy to understand. Leaders should stick with business language and not use strong or vulgar language.

Create Social time for the Team

A lot of trust and confidence is built through informal social interaction. Successful managers ensure that social opportunities happen regularly.

Building trust with employees is critical for creating an effective team that works well together. Taking time to build trust will reap benefits for managers that last a long time.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Business Management Concepts

When managing a business, it's not only the staff and employees you have to deal with. There are other areas such as IT, document management and others that you need to consider. Below are general outlines that can be used in the specific areas that need to be managed. Business owners can apply these to make management easier.

Set Rules

Setting rules is important because it provides everyone a grid line on how things work. Rules are needed so a business can operate efficiently. Once you make the rules, you need to be consistent and follow them as basic protocol. However, you should not be too strict and provide some flexibility and exceptions. Not all events and conditions may be applicable to the regulations and rules. When making rules, they need to be fair and help keep the business in order. You have to get these rules straightened up and thought over carefully before implementing them.

Use technology

It is nearly impossible to run a business without the help of technology nowadays. Computers and the internet have helped small businesses become easier to manage with computer programs and Apps. You can even use a tablet computer or a laptop, which you can take anywhere with you, to do all the accounting work you have to do. Think about what IT tools you need to run the business. Assess if you need a specific person or team to work on IT alone, or can your staff just manage it by themselves. A good thing to consider though is to have someone in your team that has knowledge on IT so that if something ever happens to the system, he or she can check on it right away and you don't have to outsource an IT expert.

Delegating Work

This is probably one of the most difficult things to do when managing a business. The question asked here is "who gets what?" Everybody needs to have a part to play. This way, tasks are organized and everyone knows where to go if they need something. Roles need to be clear and straightforward. Employees need to know the task that they are assigned with early on so as not to cause confusion. Giving everyone a role will also help in group dynamics and team building, they feel that they are part of a bigger picture and what they do is important in keeping everything running smoothly. You and your employees will help each other out in keeping the business successful.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Classifications businesses


  • Agriculture and mining businesses are concerned with the production of raw material, such as plants or minerals.
  • Financial businesses include banks and other companies that generate profit through investment and management of capital.
  • Information businesses generate profits primarily from the resale of intellectual property and include movie studios, publishers and packaged software companies.
  • Manufacturers produce products, from raw materials or component parts, which they then sell at a profit. Companies that make physical goods, such as cars or pipes, are considered manufacturers.
  • Real estate businesses generate profit from the selling, renting, and development of properties comprising land, residential homes, and other kinds of buildings.
  • Retailers and distributors act as middle-men in getting goods produced by manufacturers to the intended consumer, generating a profit as a result of providing sales or distribution services. Most consumer-oriented stores and catalog companies are distributors or retailers.
  • Service businesses offer intangible goods or services and typically generate a profit by charging for labor or other services provided to government, other businesses, or consumers. Organizations ranging from house decorators to consulting firms, restaurants, and even entertainers are types of service businesses.
  • Transportation businesses deliver goods and individuals from location to location, generating a profit on the transportation costs.
  • Utilities produce public services such as electricity or sewage treatment, usually under a government charter.
There are many other divisions and subdivisions of businesses.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Business organization

A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit or state-owned. A business owned by multiple individuals may be referred to as a company, although that term also has a more precise meaning.
The etymology of "business" relates to the state of being busy either as an individual or society as a whole, doing commercially viable and profitable work. The term "business" has at least three usages, depending on the scope the singular usage to mean a particular organization; the generalized usage to refer to a particular market sector, "the music business" and compound forms such as agribusiness; and the broadest meaning, which encompasses all activity by the community of suppliers of goods and services. However, the exact definition of business, like much else in the philosophy of business, is a matter of debate and complexity of meanings.


Basic forms of ownership
Although forms of business ownership vary by jurisdiction, there are several common forms:
  • Sole proprietorship: sole proprietorship is a business owned by one person for-profit. The owner may operate the business alone or may employ others. The owner of the business has unlimited liability for the debts incurred by the business.
  • Partnership: partnership is a business owned by two or more people. In most forms of partnerships, each partner has unlimited liability for the debts incurred by the business. The three typical classifications of for-profit partnerships are general partnerships, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships.
  • Corporation: corporation is a limited liability business that has a separate legal personality from its members. Corporations can be either government-owned or privately-owned, and corporations can organize either for-profit or not-for-profit. A privately-owned, for-profit corporation is owned by shareholders who elect a board of directors to direct the corporation and hire its managerial staff. A privately-owned, for-profit corporation can be either privately held or publicly held.
  • Cooperative: Often referred to as a "co-op", a cooperative is a limited liability business that can organize for-profit or not-for-profit. A cooperative differs from a for-profit corporation in that it has members, as opposed to shareholders, who share decision-making authority. Cooperatives are typically classified as either consumer cooperatives or worker cooperatives. Cooperatives are fundamental to the ideology of economic democracy.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Organization regulation


  • The size and scope of the business firm and its structure, management, and ownership, broadly analyzed in the theory of the firm. Generally a smaller business is more flexible, while larger businesses, or those with wider ownership or more formal structures, will usually tend to be organized as corporations or (less often) partnerships. In addition, a business that wishes to raise money on a stock market or to be owned by a wide range of people will often be required to adopt a specific legal form to do so.
  • The sector and country. Private profit-making businesses are different from government-owned bodies. In some countries, certain businesses are legally obliged to be organized in certain ways.
  • Limited Liability Companies (LLC), limited liability partnerships, and other specific types of business organization protect their owners or shareholders from business failure by doing business under a separate legal entity with certain legal protections. In contrast, unincorporated businesses or persons working on their own are usually not so protected.
  • Tax advantages. Different structures are treated differently in tax law, and may have advantages for this reason.
  • Disclosure and compliance requirements. Different business structures may be required to make less or more information public (or report it to relevant authorities), and may be bound to comply with different rules and regulations.
Many businesses are operated through a separate entity such as a corporation or a partnership (either formed with or without limited liability). Most legal jurisdictions allow people to organize such an entity by filing certain charter documents with the relevant Secretary of State or equivalent and complying with certain other ongoing obligations. The relationships and legal rights of shareholders, limited partners, or members are governed partly by the charter documents and partly by the law of the jurisdiction where the entity is organized. Generally speaking, shareholders in a corporation, limited partners in a limited partnership, and members in a limited liability company are shielded from personal liability for the debts and obligations of the entity, which is legally treated as a separate "person". This means that unless there is misconduct, the owner's own possessions are strongly protected in law if the business does not succeed.
Where two or more individuals own a business together but have failed to organize a more specialized form of vehicle, they will be treated as a general partnership. The terms of a partnership are partly governed by a partnership agreement if one is created, and partly by the law of the jurisdiction where the partnership is located. No paperwork or filing is necessary to create a partnership, and without an agreement, the relationships and legal rights of the partners will be entirely governed by the law of the jurisdiction where the partnership is located.
A single person who owns and runs a business is commonly known as a sole proprietor, whether that person owns it directly or through a formally organized entity.
A few relevant factors to consider in deciding how to operate a business include:
  1. General partners in a partnership (other than a limited liability partnership), plus anyone who personally owns and operates a business without creating a separate legal entity, are personally liable for the debts and obligations of the business.
  2. Generally, corporations are required to pay tax just like "real" people. In some tax systems, this can give rise to so-called double taxation, because first the corporation pays tax on the profit, and then when the corporation distributes its profits to its owners, individuals have to include dividends in their income when they complete their personal tax returns, at which point a second layer of income tax is imposed.
  3. In most countries, there are laws which treat small corporations differently than large ones. They may be exempt from certain legal filing requirements or labor laws, have simplified procedures in specialized areas, and have simplified, advantageous, or slightly different tax treatment.
  4. To "go public" (sometimes called IPO) -- which basically means to allow a part of the business to be owned by a wider range of investors or the public in general—you must organize a separate entity, which is usually required to comply with a tighter set of laws and procedures. Most public entities are corporations that have sold shares, but increasingly there are also public LLCs that sell units (sometimes also called shares), and other more exotic entities as well (for example, REITs in the USA, Unit Trusts in the UK). However, you cannot take a general partnership "public."

Commercial law (Health and Safety)

The Most commercial transactions are governed by a very detailed and well-established body of rules that have evolved over a very long period of time, it being the case that governing trade and commerce was a strong driving force in the creation of law and courts in Western civilization.
As for other laws that regulate or impact businesses, in many countries it is all but impossible to chronicle them all in a single reference source. There are laws governing treatment of labor and generally relations with employees, safety and protection issues (Health and Safety), anti-discrimination laws (age, gender, disabilities, race, and in some jurisdictions, sexual orientation), minimum wage laws,union laws, workers compensation laws, and annual vacation or working hours time.
In some specialized businesses, there may also be licenses required, either due to special laws that govern entry into certain trades, occupations or professions, which may require special education, or by local governments. Professions that require special licenses range from law and medicine to flying airplanes to selling liquor to radio broadcasting to selling investment securities to selling used cars to roofing. Local jurisdictions may also require special licenses and taxes just to operate a business without regard to the type of business involved.
Some businesses are subject to ongoing special regulation. These industries include, for example, public utilities, investment securities, banking, insurance, broadcasting, aviation, and health care providers. Environmental regulations are also very complex and can impact many kinds of businesses in unexpected ways.

Capital


When businesses need to raise money, more laws come into play. A highly complex set of laws and regulations govern the offer and sale of investment securities (the means of raising money) in most Western countries. These regulations can require disclosure of a lot of specific financial and other information about the business and give buyers certain remedies. Because "securities" is a very broad term, most investment transactions will be potentially subject to these laws, unless a special exemption is available.
Capital may be raised through private means, by public offer (IPO) on a stock exchange, or in many other ways. Major stock exchanges include the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Singapore Exchange, Hong Kong Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq (USA), the London Stock Exchange (UK), the Tokyo Stock Exchange (Japan), Bombay Stock Exchange(India) and so on. Most countries with capital markets have at least one.
Businesses that have gone "public" are subject to extremely detailed and complicated regulation about their internal governance (such as how executive officers' compensation is determined) and when and how information is disclosed to the public and their shareholders. In the United States, these regulations are primarily implemented and enforced by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Other Western nations have comparable regulatory bodies. The regulations are implemented and enforced by the China Securities Regulation Commission (CSRC), in China. In Singapore, the regulation authority is Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and in Hong Kong, it is Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).
As noted at the beginning, it is impossible to enumerate all of the types of laws and regulations that impact on business today. In fact, these laws have become so numerous and complex, that no business lawyer can learn them all, forcing increasing specialization among corporate attorneys. It is not unheard of for teams of 5 to 10 attorneys to be required to handle certain kinds of corporate transactions, due to the sprawling nature of modern regulation. Commercial law spans general corporate law, employment and labor law, health-care law, securities law, M&A law (who specialize in acquisitions), tax law, ERISA law (ERISA in the United States governs employee benefit plans), food and drug regulatory law, intellectual property law (specializing in copyrights, patents, trademarks and such), telecommunications law,