Business management involves the organization and direction of a group of people toward the attainment of a set goal. This needs serious planning and allocation of human, financial and technological resources towards the achievement of the set objective. To achieve this, there is a need for the staffing of the human resources and leading them towards the goal with the guidance of the organization’s policies as stipulated by the organization’s constitution.
As such the objectives of the organization need to be clearly defined to all parties involved in the management. There is also a need to be an effective communication network in the organization, as Gary Heerkens (2001) notes in his book, Project Management, “Effective communication and proper documentation are threads that bind the project together” (Heerkens, p.11).
Moreover Peter Drucker (1999) emphasizes that marketing and innovation are keys to business administration since they guide the propagation of the business in which case is the fundamental objective of any business. As a result the key challenge to management is the achievement of the set objectives. Therefore, there are many management approaches applied by different individuals in different firms. Strategic management has been the best approach to business administration.
As a result several firms have adopted this strategy. Chaos management has however been incorporated into the strategic management and termed the widely used management approach. Furthermore, some administrators in the firms have complained of the challenges that come with cooperative management.
Management styles
There are several styles of management to be used in business; the success and procreation of the business is to a larger extent inclined towards the style of management employed by the administrator. The style to be used is therefore chosen according to the nature and ethos of the business you are involved in.
This means the shape of the business is vital in the choice of the management style. This will also be in accordance to the availability of the skill to employ the chosen style of management. To this effect the administration skills of the manager become fundamental in the choice of the style. As such, an autocratic manager will use a style that is completely different from the management style employed by a paternalistic manager, which is also distinct from that of a democratic administrator.
Harte (2007) indeed acknowledges the fact that the style of management is solely dependent on the administration skills; the heads of various businesses should therefore exercise various administration styles. He, however, emphasizes the fact that the choice of style is solely dependent on the prevailing condition of the business (Harte, 2007, p.237).
Uppermost among so many management styles that can be employed in business administration are: strategic management, partnership management, entrepreneurship management, and chaos management. From this range the administrator can therefore choose a style that best suits his or her business.
Strategic management
Strategic management is a management approach that is dependent upon the firm’s mission and vision; the organization sets long-term business goals upon which a management plan is drawn and resources are allocated. An evaluation is done on the plan and the budgetary to check the probability of achieving these set goals. It mainly entails drawing a policy that will direct the firm towards its long-term goals. According to Lamb (1984):
Strategic management is an ongoing process that evaluates and controls the business and the industries in which the company is involved; assesses its competitors and sets goals and strategies to meet all existing and potential competitors; and then reassesses each strategy annually or quarterly to determine how it has been implemented and whether it has succeeded or needs replacement by a new strategy to meet changed circumstances, new technology, new competitors, a new economic environment., or a new social, financial, or political environment. (p. 141).
Strategic management, thus, fundamentally involves the drawing of a plan ahead of the business to counter the costs, risks and uncertainties that may get in the way and hinder the achievement of the goals. The procedure as such encompasses mainly three stages i.e. formulation of strategy, evaluation and implementation of strategy. (Clarke, Coynon, & Peck, 1998, p. 111)
Peter Drucker (2003) drove the point home when he said that the significance of objectives in management is so fundamental that none can assume them and claim to be successfully involved in strategic business administration. Drucker has thus put forward the greatest principle that governs strategic management as being objective oriented.
This way he insists that strategic management should essentially be based on the firm’s objectives (Drucker, 2003, p.115). Moreover Ellen-Earle Chaffee in 1985 added that the strategic management plan that is drawn by the firm should be directional. As such the strategy should be able to guide the daily running of the business (Smart, 2004, p.491).
This management system has been adopted by several major firms around the world. For instance British American Tobacco Company employs strategic approach in their management system.
Nevertheless, there are few shortcomings of this management strategy; the most important one is the fact that strategic management tends to hinder innovation since it is mostly objectively oriented. The strategy also limits the expansion of the firm to the established objectives.
There are basic styles of business management used in the direction and control of businesses in and around the world.
Partnership management style
A partnership is a corporate entity in which individuals come together and work jointly to achieve a common goal. This is achieved through establishing objectives that are inclined toward societal needs through which the partners dedicate their efforts towards achieving them. The major philosophy that governs partnership is the virtue of trust.
Just as Brad (2007) puts it there are agreements that get the partnership glued together and if one of the partners breaks one of them, there is no need to make it public. Brad also confirms the fact that whenever the partnership is on the brink of breakup, one should never blame it on the partner, but always take up the responsibility yourself.
However, there have been complaints about the cooperative business management style as being a challenge to modern entrepreneurs the world over (Brad, 2007, p. 126). Most administrators have really found it hard to cater to the difference in ideologies shown by the partners.
Chaos management style
Chaos management is a management strategy that enables the business administrator to plan for risks and uncertainties that he/she is likely to encounter in the management of his/her business. It is mostly used by firms that are prone to hostilities. The chaos management strategy foresees the possible crisis in the business and plans ahead so that these disasters can be avoided. A plan should be drawn such that there is a turnaround strategy in the management scheme. This will enable the administrator to turn back in case a disaster is suspected.
Chaos management style has been widely employed in the tourism industry whereby most of the managers plan ahead of the possible hostilities that the industry may face. This has kept the industry going as most probable chaos has been effectively dealt with. Chaos management strategy has also been employed in manufacturing industries. This has helped reduce possible chaos and dangers in the management of human resources.
Entrepreneurship management style
This is a management style whereas the administrator develops a scheme that is geared toward the success of the firm. The administrator plans his or her business in a way that it is possible to cater to the demand and price fluctuations as well as the changes that arise in the business.
The business is therefore highly adaptive to the changes that occur in the market since all the management is entrepreneurial centered. There is need therefore to have a hardworking, dynamic, and highly adaptive manager who is ready to research and predict possible fluctuations and make a correction before it is too late. The strategy is also vision driven and the manager will always be on his toes to achieve the set objectives.
Therefore, the whole organization revolves around the leader and is the reason why the need a dedicated administrator is vital. The organization is as a result extremely flexible and receptive to the plan of the high authorities. This style of management is mostly employed by sole businesses. These are firms that are fully owned by individuals.
The style is most appropriate and has been adopted since most individuals in the enterprises will be wholly involved in making major decisions in the firm. However the approach has a disadvantage of reliance on one person’s direction who’s single mistake will mean the downfall of all the employees in the company.
In conclusion it is therefore worth remarking that strategic management is the most effective approach to management as far as modern management is concerned. This is because strategic management makes it possible for prior planning of the business and will therefore do a great deal in avoiding investing in businesses that may not be lucrative.
Moreover all the other management systems have their basics in the strategic management whereas they all are objective driven and also most of them involve prior planning. Chaos management for instance needs to be incorporated with strategic management to work effectively. As a result strategic management is one of the best and widely used management style as far as business administration is concerned.
Reference
Brad, H. ( 2007). Career management. SAGE Publication, 234 p.
Clarke, R N., Coynon, M.J. and Peck, S.I. (1998) Corporate Governance and Directors’ Remuneration: A View from the Top; Business Strategy Review , Vol. 9.
Drucker, P. F. (1999). Management challenges for the 21st Century. London: Harper Business publisher.
Drucker, P, F. (2003). The Profession of Management. New York: Harvard business publisher.
Harte, J. (2007). Management crisis & business revolution. Transaction Books. 458 p.
Heerkens, G. (2001). Project management. New York: McGraw-Hill. 250 p.
Robert, L. & Shrivastava, P. (1984). Advances in Strategic management. Emerald Group Publishing.
Smart, J. (2004). Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research. Springer, 562 p.