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Business Management – business management

Business Management characterizes the process of leading and directing all or part of an organization, often a business, through the deployment and manipulation of resources (human, financial, material, intellectual or intangible). Early twentieth-century business management writer Mary Parker Follett defined management as “the art of getting things done through other people.”

One can also think of business management functionally as the action of measuring a quantity on a regular basis and of adjusting some initial plan, and as the actions taken to reach one’s intended goal. This applies even in situations where planning does not take place. From this perspective, there are several major management functions, namely: planning, organizing, leading, coordinating and controlling.

Management is known by some as “business administration”, although this then excludes management in places outside business, e.g. charities and the public sector. University departments that teach management are nonetheless usually called “business schools”. The term “management” may also be used as a collective word, describe the managers of an organization, for example of a corporation.

Today, we find it increasingly difficult to subdivide management into functional categories in this way. More and more processes simultaneously involve several categories. Instead, we tend to think in terms of the various processes, tasks, and objects subject to management.

One consequence is that workplace democracy has become both more common, and more advocated, in some places distributing all management functions among the workers, each of whom takes on a portion of the work. However, these models predate any current political issue, and may be more natural than command hierarchy.

All management is to some degree democratic in that there must be majority support of workers for the management in the long term, or they leave to find other work, or go on strike. Hence management is becoming less based on the conceptualization of classical military command-and-control, and more about facilitation and support of collaborative activity, utilizing principles such as those of human interaction management to deal with the complexities of human interaction.

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10 Strategic Reasons Why You Need a Business Management Team – business management

I have watched or listened to several successful entrepreneurs and drop out billionaires being interviewed. I have read several business books and studied the business success strategies of famous entrepreneurs; and they all seem to share one thing in common. They all attribute their rapid business growth to their business management team. Now why is a business team important to an entrepreneur? Why should you build an in-house business management team when you can always seek external advice? What impact will a business team have on your business?

These are usually the questions I receive when I discuss the importance of having a business team with my protégés. You may be a small business owner operating a mom and pop shop but I still want you to know that you need a business team. It may not be your short term goal but you need to include it in your long term plan.

“Individuals don’t win in business; teams do.” – Sam Walton

No successful entrepreneur assembled a business management team in a day; it’s a process that can take as long as ten year before the perfect team assembles. Finding the right business team is definitely not an easy task and it is one of the ten major business challenges entrepreneurs face when starting a business. Now why do you need a business management team? Well, below are ten strategic reasons why you building a business team should be your long term goal.

Ten Strategic Reasons why You Need a Business Management Team

1. Raising Capital: One of the key reasons why startup entrepreneurs don’t get the venture capital is because they are trying to raise capital alone. A business mentor of mine once said that venture capitalists prefer an average product with an excellent business team than an excellent product with an average business team. If you should consider this statement; you will come to acknowledge that it’s the truth in its entirety. A business team is vital to the process of raising capital for your business; in fact, it increases your chances of securing the capital. Show me an entrepreneur that raised billions of dollars in capital and I will show you an entrepreneur backed by a strong business management team. Just like said in the investment world; money always follow management.

2. Taking advantage of new or existing opportunities: Having your own business management team will give you the leverage to take advantage of business opportunities effortlessly. A business team will be your eyes, ears and nose in the business world; they will not only help you sniff out opportunities but will also help you create opportunities out of thin air.

“A business idea is just another idea. But an idea backed by a strong feasibility, a thorough business plan and a smart team is no longer an idea. It’s now a solid business opportunity worth pursuing.”

3. Strategic business development: Do you want to grow your business from the inside? Do you want to strengthen your bottom line? Then build your own business management team. Strategic business development is not the doing of an individual but a collective effort of a business team. Employee performance programs, staff motivation and operational excellence are part of the duty of a business team.

4. Rapid expansion and growth: Take a close look at companies that grows rapidly and stands strong in times of economic recess and you will find a strong business management team behind such companies. The massive outside expansion of any company is the handiwork of the business team. An entrepreneur visualizes while the business team draws the plan; critique the plan and executes the business plan. For instance, take a look at the rapid acquisition move taken by Oracle Corporation; buying up a total of 57 companies within five years. That’s the power of a good management driven company.

5. Business leverage: How is a company able to operate successfully in different sectors of the economy? How can an entrepreneur successfully run a business conglomerate? The answer is leverage. The leverage of a business team is the reason successful entrepreneurs became billionaires effortlessly. Leverage is the reason why entrepreneurs such as J. Paul Getty and Carlos Slim Helu are able to run over 200 companies without burning themselves out. The leverage of a business team is a form of intellectual leverage. Just as a man is known by the friends he keeps; so is a business respected by the management team it keeps.

“Successful businessmen share the ability to hire people smarter than they are.” – Dillard Munford

“People are definitely a company’s greatest asset. It doesn’t make any difference whether the company’s product is cars or cosmetics. A company is only as good as the people it keeps.” – Mary Kay Ash

6. Increase confidence of the investors: Just like I stated above; money follows management and who provides the money? The answer is the investors. Nothing inspires or boosts the confidence of an investor than the professionalism of the business management team piloting the affairs of the company he/she invested in. Have you tried raising capital before? Have you tried sourcing for contracts before? Have you tried sending a business proposal to another company before? Have you ever tried selling a business before? Or better still buying a business? Have you ever taken a company public before? If you have engaged in any of these acts; you will come to accept the fact that one of the most popular questions investors ask is this: Who is on your team?

Who on your team has taken a company public before?

Who on your team has experience in business management?

The questions above are real life questions asked by investors because they feel comfortable hearing the fact that the managers of their investments are competent.

7. Increase the entrepreneur’s credibility and competence: Observe the words of successful entrepreneurs and drop out billionaires carefully; and you will see that they attribute much of their success to their team. Have you ever wondered why some drop outs end up successful business owners? The reason is because they built their business on the shoulders of intellectual giants; who happen to be members of their business management team. An entrepreneur can never know it all and that’s why he/she relies on the calculative initiative of the business team. Show me an entrepreneur backed by a weak business team and I will show you an incompetent entrepreneur. So if being recognized as an entrepreneur of credibility and competence sounds good enough to be added to your resume; then build your own in-house business management team.

8. Strategic innovative thinking: Innovative companies are usually companies driven by a strong management team. Observe companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Oracle and Sony; and you will come to realize that these companies have being built, driven and sustained competitively on innovation. Now who are the engineers of innovation? It’s the business team; the brains behind the company. Tactical approach to issues, detailed competitive analysis and strategic thinking are benefits derived from having your own business team; so would you rather not have one?

9. Critical problem solving: How does a company survives a recession? How does a company survive in a fierce market? The answer still lies in the team. Entrepreneurs are known as critical problem solvers but I also want to add that problem solving is a product of collective strategies and ideas put together by a group of individuals; and such individuals in this case is your business team. Critical problem solving is the reason why teams go on brainstorming sessions. Now tell me, how do you create a brainstorming session when you don’t have a business team? I leave that for you to answer.

10. Increases the value of the business: Value appreciation is the last but not the least reason why you need a business management team. One of the most important assets of a business is the management team because with a good business management team; every other asset can be synergized into yielding positive results for the company. The reason why I call a business team your most important asset is because other assets are easy to create or control once the right business team is in place. So instead of focusing on improving your lifestyle; acquiring investments individually or running your business solely, I will advice you first build a business management team and the rest will fall in place.

As a final note, I want you as an entrepreneur to shift your primary aim from acquiring luxuries to building a business team because investment on a team is probably the best investment an organization can make.

Neoris, a global business and IT consulting company and SAP global services partner, is presenting its technology and customer solutions at Gartner Outsourcing and Vendor Management Summit 2011 in Orlando, FL, September 12 — 14. The event will be highlighted by a roundtable session featuring Neoris and its customer Welch Allyn, who will discuss the importance of vendor management, as well as its customer Advanced Micro Devices /quotes/zigman/216580/quotes/nls/amd AMD -0.77% , who in turn will discuss the advantages of the nearshore delivery model, particularly in Latin America. Analysts forecast nearshore outsourcing to grow between 15 and 17 percent in the region this year.

Neoris is a recognized leader in nearshore outsourcing. In addition to its seven nearshore solution centers in Latin America and Europe, the company operates five Centers of Excellence for SAP solutions in Argentina, Hungary and Mexico.

At the Gartner Summit, Neoris will present case studies of its top solutions, and meet with customers who want to improve their operations through the nearshore delivery model. Doug Gattuso, President, Neoris USA, will host a roundtable session titled, “Using Vendor Management and the Nearshore Delivery Model to Support Strategic Initiatives.” Joining the panel to provide the customer perspective will be Eric Hunt, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Welch Allyn, and Peter Swartz, Vice President of Information Technology, AMD.

The session will highlight the importance of vendor management, the advantages of a nearshore versus offshore delivery model and how Neoris has provided world class solution development and application management services to support the strategic initiatives of AMD and Welch Allyn. AMD is a semiconductor design innovator whose graphics and computing technologies power a variety of solutions including PCs, game consoles and the servers that drive the internet and businesses. Welch Allyn is a leading global manufacturer of medical devices, products and solutions used by caregivers in doctor’s offices, hospitals, and emergency response settings.

The Neoris-AMD-Welch Allyn Solution Provider Session takes place from 11:15 am to 12:15 pm on Monday, Sept. 12, in Windermere W. Attendees of the Gartner Outsourcing Summit are invited to visit Neoris in booth #6, September 12 — 14, where experts will meet with attendees to discuss their pressing challenges and provide solutions to address them.

About Neoris

Neoris is a global business and IT consulting company that specializes in providing application outsourcing services and solutions and services in support of SAP applications. Neoris is the largest IT consulting and systems integration company in Mexico and the second largest in Latin America. Neoris offers systems integration, custom application development, IT consulting, and software deployment and support solutions. The company is a leading provider of nearshore outsourcing services through a global delivery model leveraging six worldwide software development centers. In 2011, IAOP recognized Neoris as one of the best outsourcing service providers worldwide, and Global Services recognized Neoris as a Top Outsourcing Leader in Latin America. Headquartered in Miami, Fla., Neoris has operations in the U.S., Europe, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. More information is available at www.neoris.com .

Eloqua, the leading provider of on-demand Revenue Performance Management solutions, today announced that TalkTalk Business (formerly known as Opal), a provider of communications solutions to UK organisations, recently selected Eloqua for the company’s lead management and demand generation efforts. TalkTalk Business implemented Eloqua as part of a broader initiative to become a more streamlined and sophisticated marketing organisation.

TalkTalk Business sought a solution that could grow with their business and help the marketing team drive revenue growth. In the past, the marketing department at TalkTalk Business supplied leads to sales, but the company hadn’t engaged in sophisticated lead nurturing and lead scoring programs. To improve marketing efficiency and performance, TalkTalk Business implemented Eloqua along with a CRM system from salesforce.com, providing the team with effective lead nurturing and lead scoring capabilities.

“Prior to Eloqua, we were using a pretty archaic e-mail service provider which came with lots of manual processes such as loading data and pulling stats on click-through and open rates,” said Jim Burns, Marketing Communications Manager, TalkTalk Business. “There was no automation and the tool couldn’t keep up with us strategically — we needed more.”

With a range of complex B2B communication products, TalkTalk Business is using Eloqua for a series of automated lead nurturing programs designed to educate and engage with potential buyers. TalkTalk Business will leverage advanced lead scoring to improve the overall efficiency of the sales team. Ultimately, TalkTalk Business will harness the power of Eloqua for a complete view of potential customers, helping the company make accurate sales and marketing decisions in order to improve revenue performance.

Burns continued, “Eloqua’s lead nurturing and lead scoring capabilities will help us become a more efficient and successful marketing organization. But as a marketing team, we understand the bigger picture which is the connection between marketing and driving revenue for the business. We feel we’re on the RPM path.”

“At Eloqua, we’re familiar with the TalkTalk Business predicament where businesses outgrow a simple email service provider,” said Brian Kardon, CMO, Eloqua. “The marketing team at TalkTalk Business knew they wanted to go beyond batch and blast email marketing and had a strategic vision in place to improve revenue performance. We really look forward to helping them achieve their ambitious goals.”

About Eloqua
Eloqua provides solutions to help its customers accelerate revenue growth through Revenue Performance Management. Eloqua provides powerful business insight to inform marketing and sales decisions today that drive revenue growth tomorrow. The company’s mission is to make its customers the fastest growing companies on Earth. More than 1,000 clients rely on the marketing automation power of Eloqua to improve demand generation and lead management while driving more qualified leads. Eloqua’s customers include Adobe, AON, Dow Jones, ADP, Fidelity, Polycom, and National Instruments. The company is headquartered in Vienna, Virginia, with offices in Cambridge, San Francisco, Austin, Toronto, London, Brussels, Frankfurt and Singapore. For more information, visit www.eloqua.com, subscribe to the It’s All About Revenue blog, call 866-327-8764, or email demand@eloqua.com.

About TalkTalk Business

TalkTalk Business (formerly known as Opal) provides communications solutions to UK organisations, serving the needs of over 180,000 business and public sector customers and working with over 350 wholesale partners nationwide. The company has been dedicated to serving the needs of its customers across the UK since 1993. TalkTalk Business provides a full range of communications products including Access, Mobile, Call Handling Solutions, IP Telephone Systems, IT Networking & Security and Wholesale Business Broadband (L2TP). Following an investment of over £600M, TalkTalk has designed, built and now operates Britain’s biggest Next Generation Network, with over 80% coverage across the UK.