Students who earn business management degrees learn the essential skills of a professional manager. An excellent manager supervises employees using the five foundational abilities of planning, organizing, leading, coordination and control. A business management degree provides practical applications of these five functions, so students are able to master the art of managing a business.
Planning is the foundation on which business management establishes itself. Establishing outcomes, or planning, requires a shared vision or set of results for a business plan, and establishing steps that lead to the realization of the desired goals or outcomes. It also involves the determination of resources required to deliver the business objective and estimating the required time to complete the plan.
Although finalizing the business plan is a product of planning, the manager must make additional decisions to establish an effective planning process. Supervision, including regular reviews of progress and periodic adjustments necessary to ensure success, is required. The plan must be communicated to all stakeholders of the business and any feedback must be taken into consideration.
Organizing is the second function in management. Guided by the business plan, the manager creates groups that will carry out assigned duties. Once assignments are established, managers must support goal completion by providing enough resources to facilitate team members' success.
After the first two skills comes leadership. Leadership is a management skill denoted by confidence in one's work. The confidence of a leader comes back to him in the form of team loyalty and dedication.
The demands on a leader's judgment include knowing when and why to deviate from established practices. Leaders need to be open to new ideas and positive change, and must be able to inculcate qualities of innovation, transformation and progress to their team members. Business leaders must seize opportunities to adapt to market transformation.
Authoritative leaders are active, responding to priorities as needed. A leader's proactive approach to problem solving will teach employees to take appropriate initiative to complete tasks. Assigning employees to jobs within their ability, managers effectively use their employees' skills to maximum benefit.
Coordination and control are the last two functions of business management. A team that works well together is often the result of a manager's ability at coordination. When a manger coordinates proficiently, his staff has the same vision of the assignment, a necessary condition to recording progress.
A good manager exercises control and able guidance over the people and teams under him. Employees cooperate sincerely with a manager who models passion, belief and a drive to succeed. A respected manager who supervises his staff closely often delivers anticipated results with his team's contributions.
When implemented consistently, a mixture of planning, organization, leadership, coordination and control create a thriving business. Both the study and application of supervisory talents are necessary for managers to raise the level of business performance. An business management degree online is a convenient way to attain an education rooted in the fundamentals of management positions.
