What Is Management?

Good management is imperative in any organization – helping define its vision, plan its course, allocate its resources, and marshal its troops. However, good management isn’t about consolidating power, but about learning to use it in service of both the larger organizational needs and the people working to make them a reality.

Management roles often involve overseeing financial, material, informational, and human resources. Each of these tasks requires a distinct skill set, from budgeting to motivating. But, at its heart, good management is always about flexible problem-solving.

Different Management Styles

Many different management styles have been taught throughout recent decades and, though some, like the autocratic style that consolidates all decision-making power within a single individual, are now considered archaic, there are many other styles whose merits are still highly regarded today. These management styles include:

Consultative management – Using a number of subject matter experts to help inform important decisions and add credibility to proposed solutions. 

Persuasive management – Motivating by ensuring team members fully believe in the outlined plan of action and are willing to work hard to achieve its desired ends. 

Democratic management – Allowing team members to uniformly contribute to the decision-making process to ensure their wishes are guiding the company’s course.

Laissez-faire management – Setting up workplace incentives in a manner so the success of the organization and the success of the individuals within it are closely intertwined, allowing for minimal oversight.

No matter which management style best fits your personality or your organizational structure, you’ll often run into the need for delegating, coaching, and communicating directives – skills that will require formal training for effective performance. Though the argument over whether leadership is a skill or an art persists, the undisputed fact is that instruction benefits both of these disciplines.

What makes managers essential to an organization?

Management quality can make or break a workplace, with managers having the ability to do everything from increasing team productivity to opening up new business possibilities.  Even in the most democratic settings, a leader is needed to oversee the collective vision and step in to help iron out any issues that arise on the path to mutual success. That’s where we come in.

Learning Effective Management Techniques

Time and time again, the role of manager has been proven irreplaceable to the success of an organization. However, despite the importance of this role, many companies make the mistake of assuming that those who excel at their specific job functions will excel at management as well, promoting individuals who have risen to the top of their respective fields to leadership functions and ignoring the gaps in skill set between the two. 

Formal management training helps fill in these gaps, teaching people who are rockstars in their field to effectively coach others to the same heights, to strategically plan toward goals from a broader perspective, to manage risk across potential outcomes, and to communicate both up and down the organizational chart in ways that catalyze action.

AMA’s 5-Day “MBA” Certificate Program

Management training, despite its importance, does not need to be a lengthy and tedious undertaking. In fact, as little as a single workweek dedicated to improving core management skills can mean all the difference between ineffective and effective leadership. 
 
Our 5 Day "MBA" Certificate Program arms business professionals with the ten key skills they need to make, communicate, and set into motion sound business decisions. This immersive course is filled with real-world case studies, exercises, and activities that allow managers-in-training to hone their ability to process information into strategy, motivate teams, reduce risk, and problem-solve along pathways to success. 
 
Participants will walk away from the course confidently being able to:
  • Process information around the relationship between risk and return to successfully help mitigate unnecessary risk
  • Learn to think about how businesses create value for those they serve through the Five Ps of Marketing
  • Cite General Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
  • Understand the basics of accrual accounting and business cash flows and bookkeeping
  • Identify and define key liquidity, leverage and profitability ratios
  • Engage in cost analysis and profit planning 
  • Coach and develop team talent
  • Plan and execute strategy
  • Utilize effective communication to lead and inspire groups
  • Logically present your ideas in speech and writing
  • Troubleshoot and track results of strategy execution
  • Use proven business-world tactics along every step of your management journey

Explore Our Top Management Courses

For those with existing management experience looking to grow specific key skills, a combination of shorter classes may offer the perfect fit.

Our top classes include:
Managing the "Unmanageable": Tough People, Tough Situations
Be empowered to deal with challenges that impede morale and productivity.

Moving from an Operational Manager to a Strategic Leader
Seize this opportunity to anticipate, initiate and manage change.

Delegation Boot Camp
Learn how to delegate effectively and entrust your work to others in this delegation skills training course.

Collaborative Leadership Skills
Developing essential collaborative leadership skills to enhance team commitment and individual performance.

Improving Your Managerial Effectiveness
You have the power to create change and inspire successful outcomes.

Leading Virtual Teams
Maximize the synergy and productivity of your virtual team.

7 Interpersonal Skills of Great Managers
Gain the pivotal people skills to achieve the highest quality of excellence.

We are the world’s leading management development institution, having trained over 10 million leaders. Unlike newcomers to the management training scene, American Management Association has been around for nearly a century, helping advance the philosophies associated with effective management throughout our tenure. 

Our proven approaches use unique, experiential learning to guide professionals in ways that get retained. From real-world case studies to informative exercises, we tap into the experiences of our senior executive course-leaders to provide management trainees with resonant examples of the types of scenarios they are likely to find in the modern workplace. Layer on our faculty’s real world advice and one-on-one mentoring and it’s easy to see why AMA is the training choice of Fortune 500 companies and individuals alike.

Testimonials 

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“I would definitely recommend this course to others. It gave a broad overview of management and challenged me to think through multiple different lenses when approaching practical management scenarios.”

- Amanda T. , Sr. Project Manager
Management Skills for New Managers, May 2021

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“The training was very interactive and we used our own scenarios for case studies, which was incredibly helpful.  The self-assessments and course materials were excellent. I am confident that they will serve as a great reference in the future.”

- Adrianne O., Operations Manager​​
Improving Your Managerial Effectiveness, May 2021

Find the Management Training You Need

We offer professional training that fits all career levels. Whether you’re new to the corporate world and figuring out how to make the best impression, looking to make the transition from functional staff to supervisor, or an existing manager who sees an opportunity to modernize and refine their skillset, we’ve got the class for you. 

Check out the list below to get a brief overview of our most popular offerings across each professional level.

Entry Level

Mid-Level

Experienced 

Executive

View all our management training courses here

Virtual Management Training

Management practices evolve often – and so do we. Though we have over 40 physical locations conveniently spread throughout the United States, we are pleased to also offer a comprehensive range of online instruction.

Choose from our various virtual management training options to find the one that best fits your schedule and learning needs.

Live Online

Replicate the experience of a real classroom from the comfort of your own home or office. Work in groups with other professionals to solve problems, participate in breakout sessions, ask questions to solicit the advice of our esteemed course leaders, and get personalized feedback from instructors and peers.

OnDemand

Learn on your own time, with pre-recorded seminars that allow you to squeeze training into your busy schedule. Access trainings that provide you with case studies formulated by real corporate leaders, hear assignment prompts that allow you to stretch your strategy skills, and easily review course concepts at your own pace.

Webinar

Make the most of your afternoon with a jam-packed lecture session that brings real-world expertise to your screen. This cost-effective and convenient way to learn key industry concepts mimics the structure of a traditional university lecture, allowing industry leaders to share their knowledge with you. Paid registrants also get a single-user license to access a recorded archive of the program for a full year.