Specializations in Management

Finance management
Managing the finances is central to any organisation. Raising capital and judiciously utilising it so as to secure the maximum benefit involves a variety of strategic functions. The onerous duty of optimising the utilisation of funds in an organisation should be backed by sound theoretical knowledge, awareness of changing trends in the financial market, and practical wisdom. The role of a finance manager is much wider than that of a clever accountant. The elements involved cover diverse areas such as:
Balance Sheets
Budgeting
Business Valuation
Capital Markets
Commercial Banking
Company Law
Corporate Finance
Corporate Tax Planning
Credit Management
Derivatives
Economics for Decision Making
Equity Analysis and Research
Experimental Finance
Financial Accounting
Financial Mathematics
Financial Services
Financial Statement Analysis
Fund management
International Finance
Investment Policy
Issue Management
Macro Economics and Public Finance
Management Accounting
Management of Insurance
Merchant Banking
Mergers and Acquisitions
Mutual funds
Operations Research for Finance
Portfolio Management
Project Finance
Risk Management
Security Analysis
Share markets
Shared services
Stock exchanges
Tax Regulations
Treasury Management
Working Capital Management
Planning and controlling the flow of funds requires good coordination with people inside and outside. Those who are qualified in business administration or chartered/cost accountants occupy crucial positions in the finance departments of corporate houses. Logical and analytical skills, business acumen, ability for effective communication, and negotiation skills are essential attributes of a good finance manager. The art of balancing risk and profitability calls for judicious application of the mind.
Operations management
Operations management aims at efficient and effective production of goods and services, and the coordination of activities for such production. It covers planning, organising, leading, and controlling the operations. In these days of intense competition at the global level, there has to be emphasis on value addition in every product. Linking of operations with market preferences is vital for success in the market.
Manufacturing techniques have to be geared to marketing needs. The service sector is growing everyday, and success in this sector depends to a large extent on how well the provider can ensure customer satisfaction. The competitive priorities are pricing, quality of the product, and reliability.
This discipline had been known as production management for a long time, but `operations management' is often preferred. Enhancing productivity is essential for keeping the cost of production at optimal levels. Productivity is sometimes defined as the ratio of output to input, indicating the efficiency of the plant. Productivity implies the enhancement of production without increase in the infrastructure facilities in terms or equipment and men.
Quality is yet another important factor. The goodwill of any organisation depends on the quality of its products. There are several techniques and approaches for quality assurance, including total quality management.
Computer aided design and computer aided manufacturing are useful tools in diverse areas of production. An integrated approach can translate computer-aided designs into programmes for operating machines with computer numerical control. Computer Integrated Manufacturing and Engineering is a useful gift of modern technology.
Control of industrial production and the necessary background operations involve inventory control and material management. The operations manager or the plant manager has to coordinate his work with different departments for ensuring smooth flow of work, without any break. He has to be a dynamic link between the shop floor and the offices handling design, finance, and marketing. Suitable materials, appropriate machinery, competent staff, and power supply are some of the important elements involved.
Keeping abreast of the latest technology is essential for improving the processes of production.
Compliance of safety norms and health standards comes under his domain. Resolution of employee grievances may also have to be looked after by him.
Systems management
A manager specialised in this discipline may be vested with different functions in different organisations, although the responsibilities invariably cover the effective integration of management of the organisation with the application of information technology. There would be officials at various levels with diverse competencies with computer, IT, or software systems. Operations in large organisations involve complexities that can hardly be tackled by traditional methods without the use of computers.
Some of the areas where proficiency has to be acquired cover database management systems, Oracle, programming, data mining, information security, software project management, system analysis and design, web architecture, internet technology, knowledge management, artificial neural network involving mathematical or computational models for information processing based on a connectionist approach to computation, and ERP (enterprise resource planning). The core activity is the application of information technology solutions to business problems.
Control of inventory or finance in large organisations is practically impossible without the application of information technology. System administration entails the installation, operation, maintenance, and trouble shooting of computer systems including servers. Management of systems-related projects and programming may have to be handled.
Thorough knowledge of operating systems, hardware, and software as well as the potential of IT functions in various sectors is essential. Devising the most appropriate software for specific applications has to be done carefully. In case of outages, restoration of services against a deadline will involve working under severe tension. Computer security is vital in commercial organisations. Intrusion by hackers and virus attacks has to be prevented under all circumstances. Network management may also come under the ambit of systems management.
The manager will have to get the support of different categories of employees such as the database administrator who efficiently maintains an accurate database system, network administrator who maintains network infrastructure including switches and routers, security expert who holds the charge of network security and maintenance of security devices such as firewalls, and other support staff with diverse skills.