Lesson 8 Introduction: How the money and the business flows…

Managing your own department is only part of the responsibilities in the world of management.  Most companies have multiple departments to run the business.  No matter what department you run, you should know how to interact and understand the functions of each department within a business organization.  These next three lessons cover the fundamental basics of what is taught in an MBA course, including the parts of an organization that make up a business.  If anyone of these particular departments are ones in which you currently work in, or would like to be a part of, you should find individualized training, which will go into more in depth detail regarding the subject matter.  For continuity, we will use the point of view of how a “Customer Service Manager” might interact with the departments described in these next three lessons.

 

Managers spend time with other departments working on inter-department workflow processes, in daily or weekly management meetings, on conference calls, or meetings with the CEO.  Your co-managers from different departments will be your allies and you want to keep them close.  You should always have a cooperative relationship with your fellow management staff.  This is why you need to understand, at least at a basic level, the functionalities of their departments.  You want to be able to understand the basics of what they are talking about, especially when they are going over their performance goals.  You also want to be able to understand what the CEO is talking about, much of which is usually financially based, and how you will be able to share the company’s vision with your department. 

 

You will be in a much stronger position if you understand the dynamics of finance and overall business theory.  It’s not merely for the sake of understanding another discipline, but in order to make sounder decisions likely to produce a greater return for your department.  You can stand behind the logic, and not worry about the skills to challenge the assumption.  By understanding the basic financial terms, economics, legal, ethics, sales figures, marketing strategies, customer service and operating functions, you will feel confident, and not blinded by science, when you are in management meetings.  It will give you a chance to contribute more, and not be self-conscious about your lack of knowledge. 

 

In this lesson we will be reviewing the different types of business along with an overview of ethics, economics, finance, accounting, budgets, and legal.