GENERAL MANAGEMENT

• Why business tend to fail:

  • economic conditions
  • poor management
  • poor business plan
  • inadequate pricing
• Role of management:

  • DIRECT: Management directs a business towards reaching its goals
  • BALANCE: sets and keeps business's operations on a balanced course
  • EQUILIBRIUM: keeps organisation in equilibrium with its environment
  • REACH GOALS: helps a business reach its goals at the highest possible productivity level
• Definition/What is management: The process of planning, organising, leading and controlling an organisation to achieve its objectives.
• The four fundamental functions of management:

  1. PLANNING
  2. ORGANISING
  3. LEADING
  4. CONTROLLING
• PLANNING

  • WHAT should be done [management decides]
  • mission and goals of the business
• ORGANISING

  • HOW it should be done
  • developing an organisational structure that will indicate how the financial, physical and human resources should be employed
• LEADING

  • ORDERS
  • management orders how and when it should be done
  • human resources
  • leaders ALIGN employees with the business's predetermined goals and plans
• CONTROLLING

  • management ascertains all tasks are carried out
• Different levels of management

  • TOP MANAGEMENT: small group of executives who have final authority and responsibility for the execution of the management process rests. e.g. board of directors, partners and managing director
  • MIDDLE MANAGEMENT: responsible for executing policies, plans and strategies determined from top management. Functional heads such as Human resources manager, financial manager, marketing manager
  • LOWER MANAGEMENT: SUPERVISORS. supervisory management, responsible for smaller segments of business