Introduction
It is quite common for a large company with multiple divisions to have different organizational structures customised to the specific needs and functions of each division and these may create confusion among employees about management typology, particularly in terms of understanding management roles, reporting lines and decision-making processes. If you are unfamiliar with the term “management typology,” don’t fret. I have provided an explanation using “Vijay Sales” as an example towards the end.
Management typology encompasses various levels and aspects of organizational management, each playing a crucial role in the success and sustainability of businesses. From strategic planning to day-to-day operations, effective management ensures that companies navigate challenges and capitalize on opportunities. In this blog, we will explore the three main types of management: strategic management, tactical management, and operational management, providing insights and examples to enhance understanding.
Types of Management Typology
There are three types of management typologies. The first one among the three is Strategic Management.
Strategic Management:
Strategic management is like the big-picture planning for a company. It is all about making the most important decisions that will shape the company’s future. This includes figuring out what the company wants to achieve in the long run and coming up with smart plans to make it happen.
When we talk about strategic management, we are talking about looking at the world around us, setting clear goals, figuring out the best strategies to reach those goals, deciding where to invest our resources, and then checking to see if we are on track with our plans. It is like when you are mapping out a road trip and deciding which destinations to hit along the way.
Take the case of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), led by Mukesh Ambani. When RIL decided to enter the telecommunications industry with Jio, it wasn’t just a spur-of-the-moment decision. It was a carefully thought-out strategy aimed at long-term growth. They analyzed the market, set ambitious goals to disrupt the industry, formulated strategies to offer affordable services, allocated resources wisely, and continuously evaluated their performance against their objectives.
The Second type of management typology is Tactical Management
Tactical Management:
Tactical management is like being the middle person between the big-picture plans and the everyday tasks. It is about taking the grand ideas from the top bosses and making sure they actually happen in the real world, smoothly and efficiently.
Let’s look at Flipkart, India’s leading e-commerce platform. When Flipkart, launches a big sale like the “Big Billion Days,” it is the tactical management teams that swing into action. They coordinate everything from stocking up on inventory to setting up the website for heavy traffic and ensuring smooth delivery logistics during the sale period.
Tactical management is essentially about turning big plans into practical actions that keep the wheels turning smoothly day in and day out, much like making sure all the gears in a machine work together perfectly.
The third type of management typology is Operational Management.
Operational Management:
Operational management deals with the day-to-day activities and processes of an organization. It focuses on optimizing resources, managing workflows, and ensuring smooth operations to meet short-term goals and objectives.
Key components of operational management include production planning, inventory management, quality control, logistics, and customer service.
Imagine you are running a busy kitchen in a restaurant. Operational management is like being the head chef who’s in charge of making sure everything runs smoothly during the daily rush.
Here is how it works:
Day-to-Day Activities: Operational management is all about the nitty-gritty tasks that need to be done every day. It is like making sure the ingredients are stocked, the kitchen is clean, and the staff are doing their jobs properly.
Optimizing Resources: Just like in a kitchen where you need to make the most of your ingredients, operational management is about using resources wisely. It is making sure you are not wasting food, time, or money.
Managing Workflows: Think of operational management as orchestrating a well-choreographed dance in the kitchen. It is about organizing tasks, assigning roles, and ensuring everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing at any given moment.
Ensuring Smooth Operations: Just like a smoothly running kitchen, operational management keeps everything ticking along nicely. It is about dealing with any hiccups that come up during service, whether it is a burnt dish or a customer complaint, and finding quick solutions to keep things moving.
Now, let’s tie this to an example:
Think about a popular street food vendor in Mumbai. The person running the stall is like the operational manager. They are the ones making sure the ingredients are fresh, the cooking equipment is working, and the customers are served quickly and efficiently.
So, operational management is all about keeping the wheels turning smoothly in the day-to-day running of a business, whether it is in a restaurant kitchen, a street food stall or a Fortune 500 company.
Example of Vijay Sales
As promised earlier, let us put all management typologies together with an example of Vijay Sales, a prominent electronics retail chain in India:
Strategic Management:
Vijay Sales demonstrates strategic management through its long-term vision and expansion strategies. The company’s strategic decisions focus on market positioning, product portfolio management, and geographical expansion to sustain growth and competitiveness.
Vijay Sales’ strategic decision to diversify its product offerings beyond electronics into categories such as home appliances, kitchen appliances, and mobile phones reflects a calculated move to capture a larger share of the consumer durables market. By expanding its product range, Vijay Sales aims to attract a broader customer base and increase revenue streams, thereby strengthening its position in the retail sector.
Tactical Management:
Tactical management at Vijay Sales involves implementing strategies devised by the management team to achieve short to medium-term objectives. It includes activities such as inventory management, pricing strategies, promotional campaigns, and customer relationship management.
During festive seasons or special sales events, Vijay Sales employs tactical management techniques such as offering discounts, bundling products, and launching targeted marketing campaigns to drive foot traffic to its stores and increase sales volumes. These tactical initiatives are designed to capitalise on seasonal demand fluctuations and enhance the company’s revenue generation capabilities.
Operational Management:
Operational management at Vijay Sales focuses on the day-to-day activities and processes involved in running its retail operations efficiently. This includes managing store operations, optimizing supply chain logistics, ensuring product availability, and delivering excellent customer service.
Vijay Sales emphasizes operational efficiency by streamlining its inventory management processes, optimizing warehousing operations, and maintaining strong vendor relationships to ensure timely replenishment of stock. Additionally, the company invests in training its sales staff to provide personalized assistance to customers, resolve queries, and offer product recommendations, thereby enhancing the overall shopping experience.
I hope now you have realised how Vijay Sales exemplifies all three management typologies – strategic, tactical, and operational, through its strategic vision, tactical initiatives, and operational excellence in the competitive retail landscape of India. By effectively managing these aspects, Vijay Sales sustains its market leadership position and continues to thrive in the dynamic consumer electronics and durables market.
This is my perspective on Vijay Sales. However, I invite views from the representative from Vijay Sales to correct me if I am wrong somewhere.
Synergy: The most important aspect
We have discussed each typology in detail so far but the success lies in synergy among all three management typologies – strategic, tactical, and operational. It is crucial for organizational success because they are interconnected and mutually reinforcing. Here is why synergy is important and measures to achieve it:
Getting Everyone on the Same Page:
Synergy means making sure everyone in the company is working towards the same goals. It is like when your family plans a vacation together, everyone needs to agree on where to go and how to get there.
How to Do It: Regular talks between different teams to make sure everyone knows the big goals and how their work fits into them.
Using Resources Wisely:
Synergy helps in using company resources like money and people in the smartest way possible. It is like making sure all the ingredients in your kitchen get used in the best dishes.
How to Do It: Keep checking if we are spending money and time in the right places, and changing plans if needed.
Staying Flexible and Ready for Anything:
Synergy lets a company be ready for changes in the market or with customers. It is like being able to switch your dinner plans if your favourite restaurant is closed.
How to Do It: Listening to feedback from customers and keeping an eye on what competitors are doing, so we can change our plans if we need to.
Making Things Run Smoothly:
Synergy helps make sure everything in the company runs smoothly, so we don’t waste time or money. It is like when all the parts of a machine work perfectly together.
How to Do It: Keep checking how well things are going and fixing any problems we find.
Talking and Working Together:
Synergy means people in different parts of the company talk and help each other out. It is like sharing your notes with classmates to help each other study.
How to Do It: Have meetings where different teams talk about what they are doing and share ideas.
Always Getting Better and Trying New Things:
Synergy means always looking for ways to do things better and trying new ideas. It is like trying out new recipes to make your cooking even tastier.
How to Do It: Asking everyone in the company for ideas on how to do things better, and trying out the best ones.
So, making sure everyone in the company works together well – from big goals to everyday tasks – is super important for success. By talking, sharing, being flexible, and always trying to do better, we can make our company stronger and more successful.
Conclusion:
Management typology encompasses strategic, tactical, and operational management, each serving distinct purposes in organizational success. By understanding the roles and responsibilities associated with each type of management, businesses can develop holistic approaches to decision-making, planning, and execution. Effective management practices enable companies to navigate complexities, capitalize on opportunities, and achieve sustainable growth in dynamic environments.
Questions and answers related to management typology:
- Q: What is management typology?
- A: Management typology refers to the different types or categories of management approaches and practices that organizations use to achieve their goals and objectives.
- Q: How many main types of management typologies are there?
- A: There are generally three main types of management typology: strategic management, tactical management, and operational management.
- Q: What is strategic management?
- A: Strategic management involves making high-level decisions to define an organization’s long-term goals and strategies for achieving them. It focuses on planning for the future and guiding the overall direction of the organization.
- Q: What is tactical management?
- A: Tactical management involves implementing the strategies set by strategic management and making short to medium-term decisions to ensure those strategies are carried out effectively. It bridges the gap between strategic planning and day-to-day operations.
- Q: What is operational management?
- A: Operational management deals with the day-to-day activities and processes of an organization. It focuses on optimizing resources, managing workflows, and ensuring smooth operations to meet short-term goals and objectives.
- Q: How do these management typologies work together?
- A: These management typologies work together synergistically. Strategic management sets the overall direction, tactical management translates that direction into actionable plans, and operational management executes those daily.
- Q: Why is it important for organizations to understand and implement management typologies effectively?
- A: Understanding and implementing management typologies effectively is crucial for organizations to achieve their objectives, optimize resources, adapt to changes in the business environment, and maintain a competitive edge in the market.
- Q: Can organizations have different management typologies within different departments or divisions?
- A: Yes, organizations can adopt different management typologies within different departments or divisions based on their specific needs, goals, and operational requirements. This allows for flexibility and customization to suit varying circumstances.