All business disciplines claim, some with more justification than others, that theirs is the overarching subject or starting point. The marketers claim the customer as king; human resources specialists persist in believing that nothing happens without people; strategists insist that competitive advantage is fundamental to enduring success; entrepreneurs say that they are in at the birth of all ventures; accountants see the only truth being in numbers… Let me begin by defining some knowledge's areas:
Economics
For the manager, a grasp of elements of macro and microeconomics is essential to making sense of the business environment.
Accounting
This covers the basic assembly and interpretation of raw financial data, from double-entry bookkeeping through to the construction of the key accounting reports – profit and loss, cash flow and balance sheet. It continues through to the accounting concepts and ground rules and the auditing process and the tools required to access a business's financial health and performance.
Finance
Finance covers the vital areas of where a business gets its money from and the risks and responsibilities associated with each of those sources. Debt, equity, bonds, debentures, IPOs, private equity and business angels are part of this area's vocabulary, as is appraising capital investment decisions.
Marketing
The business is addressed to its customers. Markets have to be identified, product attributes accessed, competitors understood and advertising messages developed to reach chosen markets. Marketing is perhaps the discipline with the largest number of misunderstood and misapplied business tools of all.
Strategy
This is the unifying discipline, often called business strategy. It deals with the core purpose of an enterprise and how it should respond to the challenges of a fast-changing environment.
Organizational behaviour
Organizing, inspiring, motivating, rewarding and managing both individuals and teams is the enduring challenge in organizations as they grow and develop.
Operations
This discipline is concerned with how products and services are got ready for market (production), delivered or executed, and the management information system designed to track performance.
Human resources
Is the organizational function that deals with issues related to people such as compensation, hiring, performance management, organization development, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication, administration, and training
Business law
From intellectual property, employment and legal structures, through to the laws governing contracts and corporate governance, organizations are constrained in their actions by local and international laws.
Ethics and social responsibility
One of the primary goals of business is to make the world a better place. Until recently this was something that business moguls did after a lifetime of being responsible for oil spills, deforestation and generally polluting the planet. But increasingly businesses are being required to work within accepted guidelines and to take part in the debate about morals and responsibilities. But those working in an industry have a wider constituency than their shareholders and their own careers.
Quantitative and qualitative analysis
This is where it all began: Fredrick Winslow Taylor, author of The Principles of Scientific Management (1911), set out to 'measure each and every task and establish a system of work'.
Other disciplines those are important to keep in mind are business history, entrepreneurship, technology management, negotiation, personal development and lifetime learning.
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