What Is Business Management? (With Skills And Top Careers)

Updated 19 January 2023

Business management is the coordination, organisation and execution of different processes within a business. Pursuing a career in business management involves the operation of key business functions like finance, accounting, marketing, operations and human resources. Knowing about different business management careers can help you make an informed decision. In this article, we answer, "What is business management?" learn about the roles and responsibilities of a business manager, discover the skills required to succeed in the profession and find out different career options in the field.

What Is Business Management?

The answer to the question, "What is business management?" can help you understand the nuances of managing business functions, including marketing, accounting, and finance within a business establishment. Business management involves planning, directing, organizing, and controlling business resources to meet the organization's strategic business objectives. Companies rely on business managers to lead teams and ensure high productivity levels. The people-centric nature of business management appeals to professionals who like to manage and lead people. This profession entails communication with team members, clients, and business partners.

Before deciding on a career in business management, it is essential to understand the difference between business administration and business management. Business administration focuses more on business operations and strategies, while business management deals with the organizational and human aspects of a business. Business management may require you to develop people skills that are essential for the growth of a company.

Roles And Responsibilities Of A Business Manager

A business manager conducts several activities, and their duties usually may vary depending on the seniority of the business manager in an organization. For example, while field sales officers may meet and interact with clients, their sales business manager ensures that the sales team has high productivity and achieves business targets. Here are some key roles and responsibilities of a business manager:

leading a team to achieve the functional or departmental objectives
executing strategies to generate growth for the company
strengthening relationships with a company's clients and business partners
utilizing data-backed business insights to develop growth strategies
maintaining team relationships and ensuring employee productivity
closing business deals by employing different negotiation tactics
providing team members with tools and resources to improve efficiency
ensuring profitability by maximizing revenue and minimizing costs
creating business reports and communicating actionable insights to management

Essential Skills Of A Business Manager

Here are a few skills that you may require to become a successful business manager:

Financial management skills

Financial management skills help a business manager to understand a company's finances. These skills involve analyzing the benefits and risks of investments and optimizing financial resources. Possessing these skills can also enable a business manager to prepare budgets and audit finances.

Project management skills

Successful business managers know how to manage several projects simultaneously. They also understand the importance of completing a project on time and communicating with clients. A business manager usually possesses the ability to work on different timelines, focus on goals, prioritize urgent tasks and analyze project-specific budgets.

Team management skills

A good team manager resolves conflicts that may arise within the team. They also effectively delegate tasks and ensure that the team remains productive. Successful team managers also provide the appropriate tools and resources to their team so that the team members can function effectively.

Decision-making skills

Smart and timely decision-making is crucial for business managers and leaders. The decisions that a business manager makes can significantly impact a company's growth and the team's performance. Possessing this skill may help the business manager implement solutions with little risk.

Leadership skills

Effective leaders lead their teams by leveraging the strengths of individual members. They possess empathy, integrity, and patience to help their team achieve goals for the company's long-term success. A good leader serves as an inspiration for the team to deliver the best outcomes.

Communication skills

Effective communication plays a vital role in the success of any team. Business managers require strong communication skills to supervise, delegate, collaborate and assess performance. These skills may allow a business manager to give and receive critical feedback successfully.

How To Start A Career In Business Management

You may follow these steps for a career in business management:

1. Complete your education

The first step for a career in business management involves completing your higher secondary education (10+2) from a board-recognized. Selecting subjects like mathematics, economics, or financial management can further prove advantageous. If these subjects are not part of your core curriculum, you can also choose them as additional subjects.

2. Earn a bachelor's degree

Once you have completed your school education, the next step is to pursue a bachelor's degree in subjects like finance, accounting, business or economics. These subjects can help build the right skills and knowledge to prepare for the industry. You can also consider a degree in marketing or sales, as these subjects can equip you with the knowledge of sales, customer service and relationship building.

3. Pursue an MBA

Some companies may require candidates to have a bachelor's degree in business, while others might ask for a Master of Business Administration for business management positions and roles. You can also consider specialized master's degrees in subjects like finance, marketing, sales or human resources. A master's degree can help you gain valuable leadership, planning, resource management, and communication skills.

4. Build a portfolio and apply for jobs

To build a portfolio, you may first have to work as an intern and gain professional experience of how different departments in a business function. After creating a strong portfolio, you can start applying for full-time jobs. To do that, you can visit the websites of the organizations that you wish to work with and find out if there are any openings. Fill in the job application form and submit your resume along with your portfolio. You can also look for relevant jobs in your field of specialization on job search websites.

Business Management Specializations

Business management is a vast field that has a range of disciplines. Some of them are:

marketing
sales
finance
operations
accounting
supply chain and logistics
human resources
business analytics
strategy

Top Career Options In Business Management

Here are some of the popular careers you can pursue in business management:

1. Finance Manager

National average salary: ₹7,58,022 per year

Primary responsibilities: A finance manager handles the maintenance of a company's accounts. They prepare financial statements alongside calculating taxes, cost rates, charge rates and overhead costs. They are also usually responsible for financial planning, reporting and analysis.

2. Business manager

National average salary: ₹3,90,765 per year

Primary responsibilities: A business manager researches and identifies new business opportunities, like growth areas, customers, and partnerships. They oversee the development of contractual terms and negotiation of prices with customers or clients. Business managers also usually develop sales and marketing strategies for a company.

3. Business Analyst

National average salary: ₹72,125 per month

Primary responsibilities: A business analyst generates actionable data insights that result in better business decision-making. They identify, define and track key business metrics alongside executing data analytics strategies. Business analysts may also generate sales and business reports using data analytics tools.

4. Supply Chain Manager

National average salary: ₹29,803 per month

Primary responsibilities: A supply chain manager handles order fulfillment, logistic, returns, raw materials procurement and customer experience. They establish strong relationships with a company's suppliers and evaluate vendor performance. They also focus on reducing the overall cost per delivery.

5. Operations Manager

National average salary: ₹28,668 per month

Primary responsibilities: An operations manager optimizes the efficiency of a company's business processes and operations. They usually work to improve operational performance targets alongside maximizing profits. They are also in charge of devising effective plans to achieve employee productivity targets.

6. Sales Manager

National average salary: ₹28,456 per month

Primary responsibilities: A sales manager generates sales by handling all the aspects of the sales cycle. They are responsible for generating revenue for the company by acquiring new customers and selling to existing customers. Sales managers also build strong relationships with customers and work closely with other marketing and business development experts.

7. Marketing Manager

National average salary: ₹25,148 per month

Primary responsibilities: A marketing manager creates and executes the marketing and promotion plans for the business. They plan and organize campaigns to generate a revenue pipeline through the acquisition of leads. Marketing managers also document, track and engage customers using a customer relationship management (CRM) system.

Salary figures reflect data listed on Indeed Salaries at the time of writing. Salaries may vary depending on the hiring organization and a candidate's experience, academic background, and location.

What Is Business Management? (With Skills And Top Careers)