Business Management Guides

Introduction to Business Management- today's business managers need to have a range of skills and experience to succeed. For owners of small businesses, maintaining up-to-date business management skills and developing new ones, can be challenging exercise. The time-consuming and day-to-day activities can sometimes get in the way of pure thinking time, to plan for the future. There are lots of soft people issues which sometimes require tact, diplomacy and business management instinct. These business management issues may include employee motivation and stress, training, morale and dealing with change. Spending time thinking about the bigger picture can also be difficult to do in the face of every day priorities....

Business Networking -the power of word-of-mouth recommendation from individuals in a business network, is a critical managerial skill. As small businesses struggle against larger competitors, differentiating themselves is becoming more and more important. By providing good quality customer service and a 'personal touch', small businesses are more likely to obtain an objective referral from a delighted customer, or like-minded member of a business network. Business networking is a term used to describe an exchange of information, ideas and contacts between like-minded business people, for the purpose of generating prospective sales leads. Many business owners network all the time. In fact, anybody who sells a product or service and wants to capitalise on the goodwill generated from existing clients, can encourage their customers to provide referrals. It is not a new phenomenon and has been around ever since commerce began. Today, small business owners who exploit the power of referrals from word-of-mouth can shorten sales cycles and increase their overall sales pipeline. Compared to cold calling prospects, the power of business networking means that the overall cost of sale is reduced significantly, compared to cold calling.

Effective Supplier Management -small businesses, rely on sourcing products and services from a range of different suppliers, to deliver a business service to their customers. Choosing a reliable supplier is an essential business management decision, and may impact future profitability. For small business start-ups, choosing which suppliers to use to provide raw materials, products for resale, provision of utilities, office supplies, or critical IT support services, can be a bit of a challenge. The supplier evaluation process itself can be time-consuming, (and with all of the various special offers), may feel like 'comparing apples with oranges'. Consequently, many managers do not spend enough time evaluating which supplies to deal with, and which ones to avoid. It is important to have a good understanding of your trade supplier's situation and needs, to minimise the risk of instability and nasty surprises. Larger ones may allocate named account manager you to build a personal relationship with. By sharing information and establishing a day-to-day working supplier management relationship with the account manager, trade supplies can be better maintained. Never assume your supply fully understands your internal business workings and priorities. By undergoing joint planning regarding stock levels, peaks and troughs throughout the year, financial concerns and quality issues, trust is improved on both sides.

Managing the Workplace - managing the workplace is also a key area of business management. It is vital that business owners are aware of discrimination laws and employment best practices to help look after employee's safety and well-being in the workplace. But some operational workplaces may have hazards to manage. In all workplaces, accidents do happen naturally through human error. Therefore, proper implementation of safety policies and knowledge of the rues and safety regulations is paramount. Business managers also have to manage employee workplace stress, absence, sickness, disputes and office politics. They have to make their people feel valued, happy, secure and well looked after. For many small firms on-the-job training is also an important area of ensuring their workplace runs efficiently and productivity.

The Pros and Cons of Outsourcing - deciding whether or not to outsource non-core business activities, can be a crucial area of business management. Outsourcing is simply seen by many as a way of reducing costs and freeing up internal resources to concentrate on core business activity. For example, many small firms choose to outsource payroll to an accountancy firm, while others will outsource information technology services due to a lack of technical expertise in-house. There are a huge number of firms providing business outsourcing services who can take the workload of manager's shoulders. Full outsourcing usually entails commercial responsibility and employment of staff to carry out all the tasks required to complete a business activity. Yet most basic outsourcing involves employing the business services of local suppliers who can carry out specific tasks, without taking over employees payroll and employment.

Managing Business Risks -managing business risk is an important business management function for small business owners. Predicting the impact of external economic pressures on a firm is essential in business management planning. For instance, rises in interest rates, falls in market business confidence and currency volatility can all disrupt a firms cash flow, cause loss of profits and increase overheads. Managing business risk also entails assessing the likelihood that disasters may happen inside the company which will also affect the bottom line. These may include a company being sued, paying an employee following an industrial accident or recompensing a customer for a product defect. There are many business insurance policies set up to mitigate the impact of risk which at a premium, can alleviate stress and worry in the mind of the business manager. Nearly all business decisions involve some element of risk and reward. So a practical and objective analysis of the firm's business strategy should in include identifying the associated risks, their financial impact and likelihood of occurrence.

Leadership Skills Training -as small businesses grow in size there is a need to begin to delegate tasks which owners cannot do themselves anymore. Developing effective leadership skills is a critical area of business management. Ensuring managers have the right leadership communication skills, team building skills and motivation is paramount. Sometimes leadership skills cannot be taught and have to be learnt through one to one mentoring or practical industry experience. It's imperative to build up junior staff's confidence and understand and empathise with their needs and aspirations. Great leadership has to encourage and inspire through example. While many small businesspeople may be good specialists, they may be inexperienced at motivating a larger team of people. To avoid staff problems such as low morale and de-motivated employees, managers need to look inwardly at their own abilities to lead and inspire good practice in others.

Production Activities - Make or Buy - firms which manufacture, produce or distribute large quantities of products or stock, need to choose whether 'make or buy'. In other words, managers need to choose whether or not to buy in the finished good from a third party, or alternatively convert raw materials and manufacture the product in-house. These management decisions are fundamental for manufacturers and production firms. Tying up valuable cash in stock for long periods is key to choosing whether to make or buy. Business managers should have an understanding of the overall cost of the manufacturing process and its impact on the cash flow.