Chapter 6 End Page

Recap

Today’s companies rely on managers to guide daily operations using human, technological, financial, and other resources to create a competitive advantage. For many beginning business students, being in “management” is an attractive but somewhat vague future goal. This vagueness is due in part to an incomplete understanding of what managers do and how they contribute to organizational success or failure. This chapter introduced the basic functions of management and the skills managers need to drive an organization toward its goals. We also discussed how leadership styles influence a corporate culture and highlight the trends that are shaping the future role of managers.

Resources

  1. Visit the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) at http://www.iblfglobal.org to discover what today’s international business leaders are focusing on.
  2. To learn more about how firms develop contingency plans for all sorts of crises, visit Mind Tools at https://www.mindtools.com.
  3. Who are the leaders of this year’s Inc. 500, and what do they have to say about their success? Find out at the Inc. 500 site at https://www.inc.com.
  4. Want to learn more about Bill Gates’s management style? Go to his personal website, https://www.gatesnotes.com/Bio, to read his official biography, books, and other information.
  5. Most successful managers work hard at continually updating their managerial skills. One organization that offers many ongoing training and education programs is the American Management Association. Visit its site at http://www.amanet.org.
  6. Search Questia’s online library at https://www.questia.com for leadership resources. You’ll be able to preview a wide variety of books, journals, and other materials.

Looking Ahead

Next week we will cover Designing Organizational Structures.