Chris Jack


Business management is one of the much appreciated jobs positions in the world. The manager is required to have a keen eye so that he makes sure that all the business in running smoothly and there are no stones on the way of success and no decrease in the amount of profit earned each year.

All organizations, including business has managers. They may not be called managers as different titles can be used such as leaders, directors, and head teachers and so on. A good business manager should have abilities to plan, organize, co-ordinate, command and control. In business management, the above mentioned abilities are used a lot. Some examples of these decisions are

o Should we open a new factory in the north or south of a country?

o What price should we charge for the new product?

o Do we buy the new machine even though this will involve job losses for some of our workers?

o Is expansion in another country going to be profitable?

In business management all the decisions are important so it is common to divide these decisions into three types

Strategic decisions are very important which can affect the overall success of the business. Tactical decisions are decisions which are taken more frequently and which are less important. Operational decisions are day-to-day decisions, which will be taken by a lower level of manager.

Taking decision is always a risk. Time, money and other resources will be used as a result of a decision. In business management, taking decisions is one of the toughest jobs. In a small business, such as a sole trader, the owner is the manager. This person will be taking risks with their own capital or savings. These people are referred to as true entrepreneurs or risk takers. If the decision goes wrong they could end up losing their own house and other assets. In a larger business such as a public limited company, the manager taking the decision in not risking his or her own capital but that of the shareholders. Although the manager is still taking risks, the cost of poor decisions will be felt differently. The manager may lose his or her job but it is the shareholders capital that is at stake.

These risks cannot be eliminated but can be reduced by following some simple steps. These steps are sometimes called the decision-making process.

o It is important to establish the objectives of the organization.

o Identify and analyze the problem to be solved.

o Collect data on all possible alternative solutions.

o The most important decision in business management is to make the final decision and put it into effect.

o Look back to see whether the right decision was made. This is called review and evaluation of the decision.

Each department has its own manager. Like the manager of the human resource project will be responsible for

o Forecasting staff needs

o Recruiting staff

o Preparing job descriptions

o Keeping staff records etc.

In business management it is the duty of the managers to look over the departments.

Kris Nickerson


With the plethora of business management software solutions available today, how does a small- or medium-size business owner decide where to invest his or her resources? According to Michael Emaus, CEO of eEnterprise (www.eEnterprise.com), a division of NetSuite’s global reseller Skyytek Worldwide, there are basically three choices: custom applications, client-server applications, and on-demand Web-based applications. “The cost benefit analysis leaves no doubt that on-demand solutions provide the greatest integration and cost efficiency for growth-oriented enterprises,” he says.

“Customized software that is designed either in house or by developers for a specific business is extremely costly, in terms of development and hardware, and for maintenance,” says Emaus. He notes that, more importantly, such applications are not designed to adapt as the business grows, and so business owners are saddled with costly upgrades. “Small- and medium-sized businesses simply don’t have the resources to develop and maintain custom applications,” Emaus adds.

Client-server applications, which are typically licensed to a business, are also problematic. “Invariably, business owners are faced with the challenge of having several different applications that can’t ‘talk’ to one another,” says Emaus. Without seamless integration, owners have no way to, for example, cross-reference accounting and customer service data or company information and e-commerce. “This results in a hodge-podge solution that doesn’t give an enterprise the information it needs to grow,” he adds.

Growth is one of the two primary differentiators between Web-based on-demand business management software applications and its cousins. “On-demand solutions such as NetSuite represent a paradigm shift in the way business owners manage their customer, vendor, or partner base,” says Emaus. “NetSuite is not an application that ’supports’ an existing business, but rather is one dedicated to ‘growing’ a business. Because it has four fully integrated components, it’s both highly scalable and highly customizable.”

The second major differentiator between NetSuite and other business management software options is that it is all functionality is available virtually instantaneously. “When we talk to business owners, we don’t have to spend their time or resources talking technology,” says Emaus. “NetSuite has taken care of that. Instead, we can talk about the individual company’s business goals, growth potential, and workflow.”

Lastly, the total cost of on-demand over a five-year period is substantially less than either customized or client-server applications. “Business Owners who think of on-demand as their most efficient, most productive, long-term employee” concludes Emaus, “have the most success. In the past, business owners have not been able to consider Information Technology as a profit center. NetSuite makes it possible, but you have to rethink everything.”

Satish Nair


“Respect is important in sports and in business. You can not be successful without respect for the customer or the competitors. Respecting the rules means respect the referee”. Perluigi Collina, Retired International soccer referee, a respected figure among soccer referees in the world.

 

Collina says, both sports and business are similar when it comes the decision making, a wrong decision can be fatal for both business and soccer. If your decision is getting wrong-footed, you may be ended up in hot water, however if you take the decision under good judgment and the decision should be for the benefit of the business and for the sports, however the wrong decisions may lead to on field battle by the players and spectators and in business doubts created about the credibility of the manager. He says, there are things that could be very similar between his activity and the business world, as for a manger, he has to take decisions very quickly under pressure. Important decisions will have big consequences, if it goes wrong. Another key is that decisions are all about building relationships with players on the pitch and employees in the organizations. Sometimes, the decision the referee takes is accepted not only because it is correct but because the relationships are positive.

 

The final goal for the referee and for a manger that they are to be accepted even when they are wrong.  It means that the players trust the referee, as if someone trusts the business manger even if he is wrong. The referee is accepted not because of the role but because of what he does on the field.  This is similar the case of a manager. The manager can not be accepted because he is a CEO, but the manager is accepted because he has shown everybody that his way to run a company is correct.

 

Business leaders need to have an insight into coping under pressure could do worse that to follow the referees, who do not betray some nerves prior to the game probably should not be there. Like referees the manager needs to be little nervous just before taking a big decision. If a manager feels powerful more strong, but there is a limit. If he takes it too far, nerves reduce his performance. Everything which happens on a pitch that also happens round the table. Both the manager and referee face challenges and have to have criticisms, when something happens, the like the manager, referee has also to change the things what can be changed and look to the future and this what the referees and manager do. 

 

The vital and important key of a soccer referee is the instant and immediate decision making ability, that too in split seconds, there is some relief to the cricket umpires that in cricket matches, the umpire can refer to third umpire for decisions and let them decide, however in soccer no such assistance can be taken from the replays or third umpire, he has to take the decision instantly and immediately and we can see from the replays that 99% of the decisions were correct, in fact referees are not playing spoiling sport, he actually manage a business of 2.00 hours, he can not be partial, even if the spectators think so. They have nothing to do if a team win or loss, they are just managers of a soccer match and once the match is over, they go another assignment. In most of the decisions, though players and their coaches could still be argued the decision is wrong. It becomes more crucial for referee that when taking decisions in a match, which is being watched by millions of spectators around the globe.

 

If the referee wants to do his best i.e. to referee in big matches, from Arsenal vs Man United to world cup matches, even though it’s still just a game of football and nothing else. Making good decisions is essential even either in EPL matches or in the small matches. There’s been an explosion of exposure lately - every single incident gets noticed and analyzed. Like soccer, the managers are also watched by the directors and stake holders, then the decision should be correct to the great extent. If the referee, they had a couple of cameras at a game 10 years; nowadays for a live match there are numerous cameras, capturing every decision the referee is going to take. If a referee makes a mistake, millions of people are there to blame him, he should be affected only by his desire to do a good job, not adverse publicity. This is similar to the business managers, as these days the media closely watches all the decisions they take.

 

Both in the business and in sports, the respect is very important; giving and taking the respect, nobody can be successful without giving respect and getting respected for the customers, or the competitors and once you get the respect and trust of players and employees, you are successful and your decisions are respected by everybody. People may not instantly put a name to the face, but once they realize that this is the man who is credited with being the most outstanding referee/businessman, the penny drops. There is some dissimilarity too, in football it is mandatory to retire referee at the age of 45, irrespective of they mental and physical strength, but in business there is no such restrictions, he can perform till his health allows him to do. The qualities required for a good referee and good businessman are the same; they have to have;

 

To stick eyes on the “ball”

Both should focus on what is going on in the pitch in case soccer and organization or market and without watching following the ball (focus) no manager can take any decision for the benefit of the organization and this is also applicable for referees, once their eyes distract from the ball, wrongful decisions can be made, it may be fatal. It may attract the ire of the spectators and can lead to loss the job. Both should stick on the focus for taking a decision for the interest of the business and the game being played amidst pressure for both sides.

 

Coping under pressure: Soccer officials are routinely subjected to a wide range of potential stressors, like the businessmen, as both reveal a considerable mental and physical toll. Soccer referees identify spectators, players, coaches, trainers and other personnel as sources of aggression. Unlike the businessman, at the extreme, referees and their assistants have been pushed, punched, kicked, and even shot to death by players, managers, coaches and fans. Referees and their regulating bodies are well aware of these sources of threat, and some attempts have been made to provide psychological training to help them cope.

In addition, match-specific demands are extreme. The referee must have a thorough knowledge of the current laws of soccer and implement them while keeping constant vigilance over complex activities and interactions, whereas a manager should know the market trends, customer trend . Considerable amounts of time must also be spent on pre-match preparation, travel, and post-match reports.

A few studies have examined referee responses to stress, but little was found about the mechanisms which motivate officials to continue their involvement despite the variety of potential physical, social and cognitive factors which are regularly encountered. The present study was designed to allow referees to convey their perceptions, particularly with regard to their methods for coping with demands and abuse and their reasons for remaining referees.

To deal the negativity : Social psychologists have identified a number of cognitive strategies that help people explain and deal with negative experiences. Blaming others for failure while taking personal credit for success, distorting or ignoring unpleasant information, and interpreting one’s motives as principled and righteous, are among the variety of available methods of maintaining confidence in difficult circumstances. Misrepresenting reality with ‘positive illusions’ (Taylor & Brown, 1988, 1994) can ultimately be healthy and adaptive. Indeed, they serve a vital function of removing perceptions of self-blame, protecting from external censure, and providing palatable explanations for disturbing events. In the longer term, they may lead to more positive expectations about the future, greater persistence and self-efficacy. Taylor and Brown (1988) suggest that people who fail to use these strategies are more likely to be anxious or depressed.

To expect the unexpected: Sports performers and coaches often make use of self-serving attributions to explain their own disappointing results. External factors such as bad luck or other people’s incompetence are used to deal with unpleasant experiences, defeats, and rejection, while internal factors such as skill and effort are seen as responsible for victories and other successes. Some analysis showed that players and coaches were more likely to attribute their successes to internal factors, such as skill and determination and their losses to external factors, such as cheating opponents and poor weather. These factors are closely associated with the business managers in various situations.

To decide on personal strengths : Another potentially useful mechanism is ‘illusory superiority’ or self- elevation, where people adopt the view that they have more positive qualities than others and describe their personal strengths as above average compared with those of other people their age. Individuals made more flattering judgments about themselves than others made of them. Individuals also believe their personal relationships are of a higher quality than the relationships of others and remember experiences as more successful than they really were. These factors are also existing in the managers

The managers and the umpires are the connecting link between players and spectators, likewise a manager, who is a connecting link between the employees and the board of directors, stakeholders, the job of a referee and a manager are same in most of the scenarios, though there are indeed some deviations. The keys for success for both are almost all the same – and the most important is the INSTANT DECISION MAKING POWER. Therefore, one wishes to analyze the similarities and qualities of a manager and referee, similar factors impact their performance off and on the pitch/office are vitally required for success, to get respected and to get the reputation of a good referee or a good manager. 

 

 

Mark Molina


It is so easy to start a home-based business today that there really is nothing special about doing it. This is especially true when it comes to Internet based businesses. The hard part is actually turning your business into a success. This is not as easy as it sounds and therefore most people fail.

In this article we want to talk about four important home based business tips you can use to make sure you do not fail yourself.

1. Websites you should learn to love is Freelance.com and eLance.com. One problem that many people have when they run their home based business on the Internet is they do not outsource tasks that they cannot personally do.

This can end up in a lot of wasted time. It may cost you more money than it would have if you would just paid somebody who knew how to do what you do not know how to do. Outsourcing is one of the many benefits a home based business operator can take advantage of because of the Internet.

2. It is important that you know how much money you are making every month. Many times people who work out of their homes do not keep good books. Again the Internet can be your friend with programs such as Quicken and others that allow you to document how much money you are spending every month.

You will really be able to move your business forward Once you understand how much money you are spending to acquire the sales you are getting. Sadly many home business owners do not really know if they are making money or not.

3. Keep track of your hours. It is okay to work a lot if you enjoy it. The flipside of that is not working enough! It is important that if you are going to work from your home and your own business you must put the time in that it takes to be successful.

4. You must put an emphasis on customer service. It is hard to get customers and it is important that you take care of the ones once you have them. Dropping a card in the mail, following up by email, or even a phone call if appropriate, can go a long way to keeping your customers happy and getting more referrals for your business.

This is 4 important home based business tips that you will want to implement into your own business. The Internet is making it possible for ordinary people to run successful businesses from the comfort of their own home.

ConsciousGovernance

How should Directors look at Profit and Loss statements, what questions should they ask of Balance Sheets, and how do we present financial reports to focus Directors on the most strategic issues? Presented by Steven Bowman from Conscious-Governance.com. Subscribe to free e-zine at www.conscious-governance.com/ezine.html