Corporate Philosophy of Management CORPORATE PHILOSOPHY OF MANAGEMENT calls for creating a framework of values, beliefs and ethical standards which are considered to be vital for an effective management. They must be embedded in formal and informal philosophical statements which are then communicated to the fraternity of that organization. From a broader perspective, the LEADER has to have a VISION as to where he is heading his company in the next three to four years. Corporate Objectives provide vision as well as direction and map for bold decisions to be taken regarding NEW MARKETS MARKET SHARE PRODUCTS SERVICES etc. , Now the organization is in a position to decide and prioritise the VALUES AND COMPETENCIES it expects from its managers. For example, if the situation favors the business expansion to new markets, say, European or Asian, then an organization has to develop competence in areas like LANGUAGE AND CULTURE, besides marketing and business skills. Different Philosophies of Management: Well, you might have been inspired with JAPANESE PHILOSOPHY OF MANAGEMENT, EASTERN OR WESTERN PHILOSOPHY OF MANAGEMENT t. But what is the fun? If you don’t have A SOUND MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY of your own, to simply put it, you don’t have a broad set of principles to back up your management development process which is a generic one. Ideally speaking, you should be able to develop a concrete SYSTEM that is made up of FOOL PROOF policies and procedures; try to develop a professional team of executives who can take up your vision to the next level; these measures will prove worthwhile in the long run. You are left without any choice but to develop “truly” INTERNATIONAL MANAGERS who could transcend nationally and the location of any specific job consideration. This is what Ideal management philosophy means to me, A holistic vision of the future A solid set of principles(values, beliefs) Sound policy definition Management development programmes Autonomy to my work force Always “yes “to new technology Development of women managers Flexible leadership Social responsibility Contribution to the growth of my Country’s economy Strategic Perspective: Major environmental shifts now demand a more strategic perspective from those who manage and lead in organizations; “GLOBALISING” in the quest for major market share brings in new opportunities for growth and prosperity. Organizations are now espousing values that regard people, not as costs to be minimized, but AS “ASSETS TO BE MAINTAINED AND DEVELOPED.” An open systems approach of management is likely to overcome many of the problems created by the piecemeal approach. Instead of looking at management development in isolation, see it as an integral part of a wider organizational system that takes care of the processes through which people working for the firm take care of themselves leading to self...

Theory of Management History and Evolution To understand the concept of management, a recap of its history and its slow but steady evolution is absolutely necessary. After the advent of machines, thanks to the industrial revolution of the eighteenth century, management has become an entity by itself.   Pic Courtesy: Management Theories Since business activity is increasing by leaps and bounds globally, a more organized set up is called for, which has led to the development of different management concepts. Whether you consider management an art or a science, one definite thing is that, science and art complement each other and not mutually exclusive. Management gurus like Peter Drucker, Henry Fayol, Taylor and others have classified the essential features of management, for the benefit of the industry. Theory comes first followed by practice. Management knowledge certainly improves your style of working. How long do you think, luck, intuition or experience can be relied on, without a scientific knowledge of management. It is a thought to be pondered. Hypotheses Practical experimentation and analysis of theoretical hypotheses, yield better results and in course of time you tend to gain more scientific knowledge. Management is a process of planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling.   Picture Courtesy: Technofunc.com The management process is applicable to all kinds of organizations and firms, be it a private firm, a government institution, a hospital, a school, a college, an university and other financial, profit making or non profit making NGO’s. This clearly indicates that management is a process that involves individuals who work in groups to accomplish their objectives in an effective and efficient manner. Levels of Management Does management pertain only to the top level management? A big no! It applies to managers at all levels. It is a chain reaction and a successful management totally depends on the synergistic activities of the people belonging to that organization. So, care must be taken by the managers to create and design an internal environment that is conducive for the smooth operations of the firm thus increasing the productivity. This does not mean that the external environment can be overlooked. A manager has to respond to the periodic changes, be it social, technological, economic or political in the external environment also.   Management styles Management is a must for every organization and the style of management may vary according to the nature and size of business. Large organizations now-a-days prefer a “flat structure“, as it brings their employees closer and reduces the span of management, thus making communication faster. The more the number of levels, the more the conflict and improper communication. Although management pervades the entire organization, it is the duty of the top management cadre to initiate and maintain consistency in the process of management. All managers (by the term “manager “which is a much generalized term, we denote persons who hold authority to get things done; he may be a financial, administrative, human resource or a production executive) have a common aim, that is to create surplus. To increase productivity, create a suitable environment for the effective performance of their group and to solve crisis situations, they must be capable of seeing the “big picture”. Recent Developments A sea of changes has swept the theory of management area in recent times, owing to the development of different approaches. Management theory is criticized to have all the characteristics of a jungle as numerous management practitioners have recorded their findings in the management history. This led to severe confusion as to what management is, and how things should be organized; however, in modern corporate business world, the managerial activity is directed towards growth, thanks to the...

Critical Factors Influencing Corporate Management A corporate management is said to be capable only if it is able to integrate, coordinate and direct the functional capabilities towards overall objectives and common goals of a firm, that have a bearing on an organization’s capacity and ability to implement its strategies. Multitudinous factors affect the functioning of corporate general management system. It differs with each organization with differing objectives and mode of operations. Key Factors or Contributors: The firms must evolve an effective system for corporate planning. The objectives must be realistic and achievable and clear and complete communication of plans to various levels of organization helps in execution of action plans by the respective departments.   A pucca management information system is necessary that integrates all the levels through a network of computers, facilitating information processing and task implementation.   If the firm is oriented towards a god deal of risk-propensity, chances of rewards are also quite high. You cannot beat your competitors unless you possess a better shade of entrepreneurship in you than others.   Competency development backed up by strategy formulations, in the wake of challenges and opportunities in the external environment is well appreciated. Why everybody always talk about strategy? It is one thing that warrants for a sure success, it implies that you are smart enough to think ahead of time, what others have failed to. Don’t you want to set a path forward for the future generations to come?   Values that are unique to your organization add to the image of your company. Say, if you project “quality”, as your prime value system, definitely it is going to attract consumers who are very particular about quality unmindful of the price. Slowly the idea gathers momentum and your company’s image gets a boost. But don’t forget that you have to fulfill your commitments in terms of quality without any compromise.   Reward systems must be worked out to gear up the morale of top managers who are the achievers of your management objectives. Their track records and degree of commitment should be analyzed to decide on pay and promotions.   A favorable organizational climate is inevitable for the organization to progress in the desired direction without any internal politics and power struggles. The role of top management is very crucial in that, it has to identify people with vested interests and bring them back into the groove by making necessary changes in the organization structure or go for weeding out actions if things go out of control. Ultimately, the overall objectives of the organization is what that matters, and people must be trained to accept the organizational changes which form a part of the developmental procedures of management.   Social responsibility is much talked about these days, and the corporate firms are in a position to discharge their duties pertaining to social welfare, as part of their corporate management programme.It has become a regular feature of the management process to part with a share of their profit towards a social cause. Corporate management is a comprehensive process that covers all aspects of the management with growth as its motto and social conscience as its...

A Process of Intelligence Effective Decision making is a process of Intelligence, Design and choice activities and “is a central part of the management process”. Decisions are hard to make but once decided there should be no second take.   The following steps are involved in the process of Decision-making: 1. Recognizing the problem 2. Deciding priorities among problems 3. Diagnosing the problem 4. Developing alternative courses of action 5. Evaluating alternatives 6. Selecting the best alternative 7. Effective implementation and follow-up action. Recognizing the Problem– Herbert A Simon calls this step as an “intelligent activity“. It is important to find out whether there is any deviation from the past experience. For e.g. Sales might decrease, expense might decrease, sometimes there might be deviations from the plan, sales budget, and competitors may outperform by improved systems. Deciding priorities among the problems: A manager would face many problems at the same time. He should not be bogged down with small and unimportant problems. Some problems can be easily solved by the sub-ordinates. Some may not be important. A manager must see that – he selects carefully the most important problem. Peter Drucker says that “once the right problem is perceived then half of the problem is solved”. A manager must diagnose carefully by asking the following questions. a. What is the real problem? b. What are the causes and effects of the problem? c. Is this problem very important? d. Can they be solved by sub-ordinates? e. Which is the right and most important problem to be solved? Diagnosing the Problem: After choosing the right problem the manager must now start diagnosing the problem. There is no simple answer to the question of how to diagnose the problem, because every individual differs in his or her own way of diagnosing the problem depending on the different background orientations and training. A manager must systematically analyze the problem for identifying the alternative causes of action. Developing Alternative Courses of Action: This step is creative and innovative where a manager analyzes from all perspectives Sometimes a manager can also use a technique called “brainstorming” where a few individuals discuss at length the various possible available alternatives. First of all, a manager must be thoroughly familiar with the problem. This is called saturation. Later, he must think about the problem from several view-points which is called deliberation. Sometimes the manager may not get into the crux of the problem, i.e. there may not be any fruitful result of deliberation, and then the manager might temporarily switch off his conscious search and relax. This process of realization is called incubation. Then after sometime, a flash of light may occur, and the manager may get some insights and ideas. This stage is called illumination. In the last stage, which is called accommodation, the manager resynthesises his ideas into a usable proposal. Evaluating the Alternatives: The manager must now give proper weightage to the positive and negative aspects of the alternatives and evaluate by using some criteria like (a) time; (b) cost; (c) risk; (d) results expected; (e) deviations anticipated; (f) resources available for implementation. Selecting the Best Alternative: This is the most important step where the manager selects the best alternative that will yield maximum profits or results with minimum cost, input or resources. To put it in simple terms, the solution should be able to solve the problem in the best possible way. Effective Implementation and Follow-up Action: Any decision without proper implementation becomes futile and hence proper care must be taken by the manager to pool resources and start implementing the decision taken. In large organizations, follow-up procedures are available in the system...

How can we define Business? Business is an important institution in the society. Be it for the supply of goods and services; Creation of employment opportunities; Offering better quality of life; Contribution to the economic growth of a country; the role of business is crucial. The subject of business is as interesting as its role in society. The more one reads about it, more interesting does business become. To be successful, you have to have your heart in your business, and your business in your heart. – Thomas Watson Sr. Entrepreneurial activities The increasing number of business schools and institutions signify the importance and the need for training the students on rudiments of business management. Developing countries encourage entrepreneurial activities and view it as a strategy to improve the GDP (Gross Domestic Product). More business activity means increased per capita income and increased standard of living. A business must make profit to succeed. Profit is income minus outgo. It is the main incentive for starting a business. Business people weigh each of their decisions in terms of making profit and avoiding loss. In a corporate environment, business has to aim for wealth maximization apart from profit maximization to increase the shareholder’s wealth in the long run. The scope of business is indeed vast. It all depends on how well you have analyzed and understood the nuances of your business activity, in order to survive and sustain in the market. Supply Chain The supply chain in a business activity involves numerous links in the form of manufacturers, supplier of raw materials to the manufacturer, dealers, logistics, intermediaries, consumers, bankers, advertising agencies, insurance agencies and so on. All these elements have to function in a coordinated manner for the benefit of the consumer. Now days, business has become customer-centric rather than product-centric. This serves both the purpose of product development in lieu of customer needs and customer satisfaction. The multitudinous activities involved in bringing raw materials to the factory and the end product from there to the market constitute business. In addition, a business activity has to comply with legal restrictions and government regulations. A business is also expected to discharge its social obligations to consumers, employees, owners and to other interest groups, which have stakes in business directly or indirectly. Planning and organization Planning and organization are two key principles in running a business enterprise as planning sets up a concrete premise on which action plans can be developed and organized activities assures definite success. Modern business is dynamic. Future business will be knowledge based and brainpower will be in greater demand. Organizations have become flat. Eight to twelve organizational layers have been reduced to two or three. Gone are the days of sheltered markets, subsidies, licenses, quotas and restrictions. Businesspersons are asked to stand on their feet, to eliminate inefficiencies, cut down costs and improve productivity. LoL! It might be said that it is the ideal of the employer to have production without employees and the ideal of the employee is to have income without work. –E. F....