Business management, or business service management, is a method by which information technology resources are allocated so that they can best serve the customer. The word “customer” in this sense does not necessarily mean an external customer of the business, it can mean an internal customer of any one department. Within an effective organization, other departments are seen as customers of the department which is providing the services, and it is just as important for these departments to receive services efficiently as it is for external customers.
Of course, it is always the provision of quality services to the end consumer which is the ultimate objective of any business organization, and the departments within that organization which are directly customer facing obviously have the highest degree of responsibility. These departments are directly experienced by the consumers who create the revenue for the business, so if something is not right, it is guaranteed that the customer will notice. With an internal department, there is always the chance to correct any error before it becomes visible to the outside world.
Without adequate direction from the center business management becomes erratic. To maintain efficiency throughout the organization, managers at the highest level need to be dictating the overall strategy to lower departments. This is because they can see what no-one else can. From their unique vantage point, they are able to observe the entire workings of each department, and they can see at a glance where improvements need to be made. If these improvements can be effectively communicated to the lower managers, they can easily be implemented as you can read from this article about Michael Valentin.
This concept of business service management also allows for important feedback to come from customers. While it may be somewhat difficult to get accurate feedback from end consumers who are outside the organization, there is no such difficulty in procuring internal feedback. This feedback can be given directly to the management of the department providing the service, or it can be given to the management at a higher level. Either way, any deficiencies can quickly be identified and put right. This ability to identify areas of possible weakness, and quickly correct them, is what makes business service management so effective.
All of the departments which operate within a business are thus able to see themselves in the same unified way. They are able to see themselves as service providers, whether or not they are dealing with the end consumer. This allows overall management to set performance targets for each individual department, ensuring that there is no weak link in the chain which leads to the end customer being served. The larger the organization, the greater the need for this type of quality control. Having said that, any organization which has multiple departments will benefit from the inbuilt efficiency of business management service.
