In project manager careers, the two main forms of early businesses were private ownership and partnership. In a privately owned company, the person who had established the business would be responsible for the services provided, the profits gained, and the employment of any help that may be required. Most businesses revolve around the trade or skill that the owner possessed. For example, a person skilled in working with iron might develop an iron smith shop, while a person skilled at baking bread would open a bakery.
Partnerships were established as a temporary measure for situations such as Greek merchants renting a boat, or for permanent establishments of a business. Many families established businesses, with the younger family members trained to follow their parents into the business when they were old enough. In the early middle ages, corporations were developed as a legal alternative to private business or partnership. The significant difference this established for the business world was that a corporation was independent of the controlling members. The financial viability of the company would not consume the finances of the individuals in charge. The first corporations were religious orders, universities, and town governments.
The major structural differences for the newly designated corporations were that no individual owned or held assets in the company. The movement of individuals in and out of an organization would not affect its financial status. In addition, these corporations were chartered, regulated, and legitimized by the government. All businesses have similar administrative functions. Management is not restricted to the world of commerce, though that is where much of management theory was developed. Managers are needed in areas such as hospital administration, the education system, and non-profit agencies. Of course, managers also are needed at all levels of government work.
It is difficult to define operations specific to any one industry because every industry’s operations are different. Simply stated, operations are the processes that lead to an organization’s finished product, the conversion of input into output. It is the series of functions that link a plan for a product to a market in the public. Coming up with a product plan is the responsibility of top management. Top management often relies on information from market researchers, who determine what the public wants, and technical specialists, who figure out how to produce what the public wants. Developing and producing the product is the responsibility of the various types of departments, depending on what the company makes. Production involves a creative staff, a manufacturing staff, a development staff, and other trained workers. Getting the product into the public’s hands is the job of marketing and distribution specialists, supported by advertising, public relations, and sales personnel. When talking about things in the operations industry, the term "operations" covers the whole production process from start to finish.
When many people hear the word, management, they are likely to picture out the president of a huge manufacturing corporation making million-dollar decisions in an oak-paneled office. But this is only one kind of management. One of the simplest definitions of management is this- it is the art of getting things done through other people. In today’s complicated world, the overwhelming majority of jobs must be carried out by groups of people. This requires organization and direction. Without proper management, even the simplest task could be not successfully performed.
With its project management employment, large corporations will employ both top and middle managers as the general managers and top executives direct the policies and operations of private corporations and government agencies. Generally, the work of the managers is very complex. This includes planning and forecasting, organizing, motivating, researching, and communicating. Managers need training for the specific industry they work in, and general management training which deals with people and the whole organization. Note that a manager of a supermarket, for instance, must also have a knowledge of the food-retailing field, and a manager of a computer business should combine a comprehensive knowledge of the computer field with sound managerial skills and judgment. At best, managers should know how to deal with different types of people, considering that harmonious relationship in an organization has a significant effect to their performance and productivity.
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