In order to manage business operations as an entrepreneur, you must first understand the principles of management and organization together with the production and operation. Business Operations involves a number of aspects from the overall organizational structure, managerial roles, all the way to the production of goods or services. Below presents the entire business operations management.

Management is the process of getting work done through managing skilled people. A manager’s primary challenge is to solve problem creatively, and you should view management as the art of getting things done through the efforts of other people. The principles of management, then, are the means by which you actually manage that is getting things done through others-individually, in groups or in organization. Formally defined, the principles of management are the activities that plan, organize and control the operations of the basic elements of people, materials, machines, methods, money and markets, providing direction and coordination and giving leadership to human efforts, so as to achieve the sought objectives of the enterprise. For this reason, principles of management are often discussed or learned using a framework called P-O-L-C, which stands for Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling.

The P-O-L-C Framework:

1. P – Planning (Vision and Mission, Strategizing, Goal and Objectives): Planning is the function of management that involves setting objectives and determining a course of action for achieving those objectives. Planning requires that managers be aware of environmental conditions facing their organization and forecast future conditions. It also requires that managers be good decision makers. Planning is a process consisting of several steps. The process begins with environmental scanning which simply means that planners must be aware of the critical contingencies facing their organization in terms of economic conditions, their competitors and their customers.
2. O – Organizing (Organization Design, Culture, and Social Networks): Organizing is the function of management that involves developing an organizational structure and allocating human resources to ensure the accomplishment of objectives. The structure of the organization is the framework within which effort is coordinated. The structure is usually represented by an organization chart, which provides a graphic representation of the chain of command within an organization. Decisions made about the structure of an organization are generally referred to as organizational design decisions. Organizing also involves the design of individual jobs within the organization.
3. Leading (Leadership, Decision Making, Communications, Groups/Teams and Motivation): Leading involves the social and informal sources of influence that you use to inspire action taken by others. If managers are effective leaders, their subordinates will be enthusiastic about exerting effort to attain organizational objectives. The behavioral science has made many contributions to understanding this function of management. Personality research and studies of job attitudes provide important information as to how mangers can most effectively lead subordinates.
4. Controlling (Systems/Processes, Strategic Human Resources): Controlling involves ensuring that performance does not deviate from standards. Controlling consists of three (3) steps, which include; (i) establishing performance standards, (ii) company actual performance against standards and (iii) taking corrective action when necessary. Performance standards are often stated in monetary terms such as revenue, cost, or profits but may also be stated in other terms such as units produced, number of defective products or levels of quality or customer service.

After discussing the principles of management and its framework, let us talk about what leadership, who a leader is, qualities and types of leaders that you must familiarize yourself with as a business manager.

Leadership: Is the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal. In a business set up, this can mean directing workers and colleagues with a strategy to meet the company’s need. This leadership definition captures the essentials of being able and prepared to inspire others.

Leadership, however, requires traits that extend beyond management duties. To be effective, a leader certainly has to manage the resources at their disposal. But leadership also involves communicating, inspiring and supervising – just to name three more of the primary skills a leader has to have to be successful.

Leader: A leader is a person who influences a group of people towards the achievement of a goal by means of being in front and by show of examples, so that others are motivated to follow him. Leaders are people who do the right thing; while managers are people who do things right. Leaders helps themselves and others to do the right things. They set direction, build an inspiring vision, and create something new. Leadership is about mapping out where you need to go to win as a team or an organization; and it is dynamic, exciting and inspiring.

There are however, differences between being a Boss and being a Leader; a boss manages their employees, while a leader inspires them to innovate, think creatively and strive for perfection. Every team has a boss, but what people need is a leader who will help them achieve greatness. Not sure how to tell the difference between the two?

Here are some key traits that differentiate bosses from leaders.

BOSS:

1. A know it all
2. Talks more than they listen
3. Gives answers
4. Criticizes
5. Uses “I” in making points
6. Points out weaknesses
7. Directs
8. Works alone
9. Puts blame on others
10. Demands results

LEADER:

1. Always willing to learn from others
2. Listens more than they talk
3. Seeks solutions
4. Encourages
5. Uses “WE” in making progress
6. Recognizes natural gifts
7. Coaches
8. Team player
9. Takes responsibility
10. Inspires performance

Qualities of a good Leader

Being a good leader isn’t easy. While a leader’s actions may be scrutinized when things are going bad, it is their leadership qualities that shine through the worst of times. It is these same qualities that employees look up to, respect and work very hard for. This is why it is so important for every leader to work hard to gain the qualities of great leadership. The best leaders exhibit certain qualities that make them hugely successful.

Below are some of the attributes/qualities of a good leader;

1. Decisiveness: Once they have made up their mind, they don’t hesitate to commit, it is all hands on deck. They show great consistency with their decisions, rarely backing out or changing their minds unless it is absolutely necessary.
2. Honesty and Integrity: Are two important ingredients which make a good leader. How can you expect your followers to be honest when you lack these qualities yourself?
3. Delegation and Empowerment: You cannot do everything right. It is important for a leader to focus on key responsibilities while leaving the rest to others. By that, I mean empowering your followers and delegating tasks to them.
4. Creativity and Innovation: Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. In order to get ahead in today’s fast paced world, a leader, must be creative and innovative at the same time. Creative thinking and constant innovation is what makes you and your team stand out from the crowd. Think out of the box to come up with unique ideas and turn those ideas and goals into reality.
5. Vision and Purpose: Good business leader create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion – by Jack Welch. Good leaders always have a vision and purpose. They not only visualize the future themselves but also share their vision with their followers.
6. Accountability: When it comes to accountability, you need to follow the approach highlighted by Arnold H Glasow when he said. “A good leader takes little more than his share for the blame and little less than his share of the credit”. Make sure that every one of your subordinates is accountable for what they are doing. If they do well, give them a pat on the back but if they struggle, make them realize their mistakes and work together to improve. Holding them accountable for their actions will create a sense of responsibility among your subordinates and they will go about the business more seriously.

Managerial Roles in Management

Managerial roles are specific behaviors associated with the task of management. Managers adopt these roles to accomplish the basic functions of management just discussed – planning and strategizing, organizing, controlling and leading and developing employees. One of the earliest and most enduring descriptions of managerial roles come from Henry Mintzberg, who shadowed managers observing what they did during the day. Mintzberg developed a list of roles that he grouped into three categories: Interpersonal roles, Information roles and Decisional roles.

Interpersonal Roles:

• Figurehead – Includes symbolic duties which are legal or social in nature.
• Leader – Includes all aspects of being a good leader. This involves building a team, coaching the members, motivating them, and developing strong relationships.
• Liaison – includes developing and maintaining a network outside the office for information and assistance.

Information Roles:

• Monitor – includes seeking information regarding the issues that are affecting the organization. Also, this includes internal as well as external information.
• Disseminator – On receiving any important information from internal or external sources, the same needs to be disseminated or transmitted within the organization.
• Spokesperson – includes representing the organization and providing information about the organization to outsiders.

Decisional Roles:

• Entrepreneur – involves all aspects associated with acting as an initiator, designer, and also an encourager of innovation and change.
• Disturbance handler – taking corrective action when the organization faces unexpected difficulties which are important in nature.
• Resource allocator – being responsible for the optimum allocation of resources like time, equipment, funds and also human resource, etc.
• Negotiator – includes representing the organization in negotiations which affect the manager’s scope of responsibility.

According to Henry Mintzberg, there are ten (10) managerial roles. Of these, there are three (3) Interpersonal roles which includes a figurehead, leader and also a liaison. Further, there are three (3) informational roles which includes a monitor, disseminator and also a spokesperson. Finally, there are four (4) decisional roles and these include an entrepreneur, disturbance handler resource allocator and also a negotiator. All these make up the ten (10) managerial roles in management.

Principles of Organization

A principle is a basic statement or a fundamental truth that provides understanding and guidance of thinking and practice.

1. Consideration of unity of objective: The objective of the undertaking influences the organization structure. The organization is a mechanism to achieve our goals. Objective must be clearly defined for the entire enterprise, for each department and even for each position in the organization structure.
2. Co-ordination: Organization involves division of work among people whose efforts must be coordinated to achieve common goals. Coordinated expresses the principles of organization into nothing less. Coordination is the orderly arrangement of group effort to provide unity of action in the pursuit of common purpose.
3. Responsibility: Authority should be equal to responsibility, i.e. each manager should have enough authority to accomplish the task. Similarly, the responsibility of the superior for the acts of his subordinate is absolute.
4. Efficiency: The organization structure should enable the enterprise to attain objectives with the lowest possible cost money cost as well as human cost. An efficient organization structure operates without wasting its scarce resources. It permits maximum use of its human resources and talents.
5. Delegation: Decision-making power should be placed nearer the scene of action. Decision should be made at the lowest competent level. Authority and responsibility should be delegated as far down in the organization as possible, i.e. at the lowest level of the organization at which the particular responsibility can be efficiently discharged. Delegation of authority and decentralization of authority mean the same process.
6. Communication: A good communication subsystem is essential for smooth flow of information and understanding and for effective business performance. The line of authority offers a standing channel for download and upward communication.

Types or Styles of Leadership

1. Democratic Leadership – Commonly Effective: Democratic leadership is exactly what it sounds like, the leader makes decisions based on the input of each team member. Although he or she makes the final call, each employee has an equal say on a project’s direction. Democratic leadership is one of the most effective leadership styles because it allows lower-level employees to exercise authority they’ll need to use wisely in future positions they might hold.
2. Autocratic Leadership – Rarely Effective: Autocratic leadership is the inverse of democratic leadership. In this leadership style, the leader makes decisions without taking input from anyone who reports to them. Employees are neither considered nor consulted prior to a direction, and are expected to adhere to the decision at a time and pace stipulated by the leader.
3. Laissez – Faire Leadership – Sometimes Effective: The French term “laissez faire” literally translates to “let them do” and leaders who embrace it afford nearly all authority to their employees. They might put full trust into their employees while they focus on the overall workings of running the company. Although laissez-faire leadership can empower employees by trusting them to work however they would like, it can limit their development and overlook critical company growth opportunities. Therefore, it’s important that this leadership style is kept in check.
4. Strategic Leadership – Commonly Effective: Strategic leaders sit at the intersection between a company’s main operations and its growth opportunities. He or she accepts the burden of executive interests while ensuring that current working conditions remain stable for everyone else. This is a desirable leadership style in many companies because strategic thinking supports multiple types of employees at once.
5. Transformational Leadership – Sometimes Effective: Transformational leadership is always “transforming” and improving upon the company’s conventions. Employees might have a basic set of tasks and goals that they complete every week or month, but the leader is constantly pushing them outside of their comfort zone. When starting a job with this type of leader, all employees might get a list of goals to reach, as well as deadlines for reaching them. While the goals might seem simple at first, this manger might pick up the pace of deadlines or give you more and more challenging goals as you grow with the company. This is a highly encouraged form of leadership among growth minded companies because it motivates employees to see what they are capable of.
6. Transactional Leadership – Sometimes Effective: Transactional leaders are fairly common today. These managers reward their employees for precisely the work they do. A marketing team that receives a scheduled bonus for helping generate a certain number of leads by the end of the quarter is a common example of transactional leadership. Transactional leadership helps establish roles and responsibilities for each employee, but it can also encourage bare minimum work if employees know how much their effort is worth all the time. This leadership style can use incentive programs to motivate employees, but they should be consistent with the company’s goals and used in addition to unscheduled gestures of appreciation.
7. Coach – Style Leadership – Commonly Effective: Similarly, to a sports team’s coach, this leader focuses on identifying and nurturing the individual strengths of each member on his or her team. They also focus on strategies that will enable their team work better together. This style offers strong similarities to strategic and democratic leadership, but puts more emphasis on the growth and success of individual employees. Rather than forcing all employees to focus on similar skills and goals, this leader might build a team where each employee has an expertise or skillset in something different. In the long run, this leader focuses on creating strong teams that can communicate well and embrace each other’s unique skillset in order to get work done.
8. Bureaucratic Leadership – Rarely Effective: Bureaucratic leaders go by the books. This style of leadership might listen and consider the input of employees, unlike autocratic leadership but the leader tends to reject an employee’s input if it conflicts with company policy or past practices. You may run into a bureaucratic leader at a lager, older or traditional company. Employees under this leadership style might not feel as controlled as they would under autocratic leadership, but there is still a lack of freedom in how much people are able to do in their roles. This can quickly shut down innovation and is definitely not encouraged for companies who are chasing ambitious goals and quick growth.
9. Servant Leadership – Sometimes Effective: Servant leaders live by a people first mindset and believe that when team members feel personally and professionally fulfilled, they are more effective and more likely to produce great work regularly. Because of their emphasis an employee satisfaction and collaboration, they tend to achieve higher levels of respect. A servant leader is an excellent leadership style for organizations of any industry and size but is especially prevalent within nonprofits. These types of leaders are exceptionally skilled in building employee morale and helping people re-engage with their work.
10. Pacesetter Leadership – Commonly Effective: The pacesetting leadership style is one of the most effective for driving fast results. These leaders are primarily focused on performance. They often set high standards and hold their team members accountable for hitting their goals. While the pacesetting leadership style is motivational and helpful. In fast-paced environments where team members need to be energized, it’s not always the best option for team members who need mentorship and feedback.