General Management Knowledge and Skills
General management encompasses planning, organizing, staffing, executing, and controlling the operations of an ongoing enterprise. It includes supporting disciplines such as:
. Financial management and accounting
. Purchasing and procurement
. Sales and marketing
. Contracts and commercial law
. Manufacturing and distribution
. Logistics and supply chain
. Strategic planning, tactical planning, and operational planning
. Organizational structures, organizational behavior, personnel administration, compensation, benefits, and career paths
. Health and safety practices
. Information technology. General management provides the foundation for building project management skills and is often essential for the project manager. On any given project, skill in any number of general management areas may be required.
General management literature documents these skills, and their application is fundamentally the same on a project.
Interpersonal Skills
The management of interpersonal relationships includes:
. Effective communication. The exchange of information
. Influencing the organization. The ability to get things done
. Leadership. Developing a vision and strategy, and motivating people to achieve that vision and strategy
. Motivation. Energizing people to achieve high levels of performance and to overcome barriers to change
. Negotiation and conflict management. Conferring with others to come to terms with them or to reach an agreement
. Problem solving. The combination of problem definition, alternatives identification and analysis, and decision-making.
