Unit 1, Business Management and Leadership

Management Changes
Within the last ten years of business, many managers have experienced changes in society that are having an effect on management. Managers will face new ideas and new ways of doing business from years past as society continues to change. Considerations to different environmental forces and thinking globally are now more important to managers than ever before. Managers will develop a better understanding of today’s management skills when they embrace the outside environmental forces in technology and consider the new ideas in global management.
Technologically advanced systems have been adopted by companies, retailers and other organizations to get a competitive advantage over their competition. Some of these advances are in the speed of communication traffic and in the information systems used in the outside environments. A new concept that relies on this technology is the Just-In-Time Knowledge-Management system used to speed up production and delivery. According to E-Center for E-Business, this system helps managers get the right information, to the right people, at the right time (Kerschberg & Jeong, 2008). This information system was developed by Toyota and made famous by Wal-Mart when they delivered low prices on name brand goods. Management information systems are becoming more popular and managers are now being required to understand and utilize these systems to be a more effective manager. As managers learn to advance in the technology environment, they must also learn to advance globally.
Management in the global environment challenges managers with forces in the legal-political, economic, and cultural environmental areas. Companies are now developing their businesses in foreign countries to maximize growth and profits. One new example of globalization that is affecting managers is called outsourcing. The Global Outsourcing Guide indicated that no other country can beat the United States in designing and developing new products,...