| Business Management characterizes the process of | | | | of an organization, for example of a corporation. |
| leading and directing all or part of an organization, | | | | Today, we find it increasingly difficult to subdivide |
| often a business, through the deployment and | | | | management into functional categories in this way. |
| manipulation of resources (human, financial, material, | | | | More and more processes simultaneously involve |
| intellectual or intangible). Early twentieth-century | | | | several categories. Instead, we tend to think in terms |
| business management writer Mary Parker Follett | | | | of the various processes, tasks, and objects subject |
| defined management as "the art of getting things | | | | to management. |
| done through other people." | | | | One consequence is that workplace democracy has |
| One can also think of business management | | | | become both more common, and more advocated, in |
| functionally as the action of measuring a quantity on | | | | some places distributing all management functions |
| a regular basis and of adjusting some initial plan, and | | | | among the workers, each of whom takes on a |
| as the actions taken to reach one's intended goal. | | | | portion of the work. However, these models predate |
| This applies even in situations where planning does | | | | any current political issue, and may be more natural |
| not take place. From this perspective, there are | | | | than command hierarchy. |
| several major management functions, namely: | | | | All management is to some degree democratic in that |
| planning, organizing, leading, coordinating and | | | | there must be majority support of workers for the |
| controlling. | | | | management in the long term, or they leave to find |
| Management is known by some as "business | | | | other work, or go on strike. Hence management is |
| administration", although this then excludes | | | | becoming less based on the conceptualization of |
| management in places outside business, e.g. charities | | | | classical military command-and-control, and more |
| and the public sector. University departments that | | | | about facilitation and support of collaborative activity, |
| teach management are nonetheless usually called | | | | utilizing principles such as those of human interaction |
| "business schools". The term "management" may also | | | | management to deal with the complexities of human |
| be used as a collective word, describe the managers | | | | interaction. |