Whether you are a small business owner who has just opened his company or an executive hired by a large corporation, management is one of the most important elements of business. As a matter of fact, management is the “people” part of your organization. It involves the people who make the decisions, directly and indirectly – from the managers who direct their staffs through various departments, to the customers who rely on your products and services.
Managers play a key role in the day-to-day functioning of their organization. Regardless of the level or complexity of decisions within your company, it is essential to view decision making as a core managerial competency and therefore for managers to all have chances to review and when necessary make changes. Although this statement may seem to indicate that managers are less important than other employees, in fact, no other employee performs more than a manager in key decision making processes. Therefore, while others might feel bogged down, these same people are responsible for making many crucial decisions that either affect the company’s bottom line or the health of its creative team. Therefore, no matter whether you are running a large corporation or simply a small business, your management skills are extremely important.
When examining small business management, it is important to point out that most of your decisions will be made on the short term. The decisions that you make today can have consequences that can affect the success or failure of your organization tomorrow. Therefore, you must be able to evaluate these decisions based on your long-term goals, which will determine how you plan to manage these situations in an effective way. If you plan to successfully manage short-term decisions and events, it is essential to make sure that you are well prepared to handle situations that may arise throughout the course of any given day. This type of planning will allow you to face whatever obstacles come your way, while also being prepared for the long-term effects that these decisions may have on the organization.
The third aspect to consider when examining the various options available to you is your management style. Different managers bring different advantages to the table, which often leads to the conclusion that there is not one universally applicable management style that can be used by all managers. As with many things, your personality and personal style will play a big role in determining what type of management process you prefer. For example, while some managers enjoy communicating with their staff members through open communication processes, others thrive much more in the “personal” aspects of the management process. These managers are well-adjusted and understand the need for open communication, but they tend to take less pride in the overall process and are more apt to view the decision making process from an objective standpoint.
The final area to examine in order to ensure effective decision making involves the most common challenges associated with the effective management process. These common challenges center around time management and organizational behavior. While most managers enjoy working as part of a team, there are those who have a difficult time communicating with other team members. This can lead to ineffective decision making process and poor performance.
All managers need to recognize the importance of the flexibility inherent in the current organizational structure. Many managers are comfortable operating with one set of rules and few alternatives. Other managers need to take a more critical eye and look at the overall organization to find out what additional options might be available to them. Regardless of the manager’s preferences, though, managers need to make sure that their work style and decision making processes to allow them to implement the changes necessary to improve the effectiveness of their organization. Only then can they be sure that their efforts are bearing fruit.