Managerial Decision Making: Associations

The Association of Management (AoM) and its sister organization, the International Association of Management (IAoM) span two worlds - the academic world of debate and theory, and the corporate/practitioner world of action, decision and practicality. AoM/IAoM strives to be the Association of choice for academics, researchers, professionals, corporate and practitioners of management, education (higher), leadership and technology.

n 1923, the National Personnel Association changed its name to the American Management Association. The AMA's mission is to be "a global, not-for-profit, membership-based association that provides a full range of management development and educational services to individuals, companies, and government agencies worldwide". The organizational serves as a forum for information and ideas on management practices and business trends, disseminated worldwide through multiple distribution channels.

The All India Management Association (AIMA) claims to be the one Indian body helping to equip Indian managers to make the most of opportunities arising from transition. Begun in 1957 with support from the Indian government and industry, AIMA now has over 30,000 Professional Individual Members and over 3,000 Corporate/Institutional Members. Activities include management education and development, publications, and testing services. AIMA is represented on a number of committees involved with policy making in the Indian government, and is associated with the Asian Association of Management Organizations and the World Management Council, among other groups.

Initiated in 1965 as an informal discussion group involving managers of international projects, the IPMA held its first official congress in 1967. In 1999 the association comprised 26 national organizations representing more than 12,000 project managers, and is the prime international promoter of project management. The IPMA confers professional certification upon qualified individuals, serves as a forum for information exchange within the project management field, conducts research and disseminates information on project management, and sponsors continuing professional education programs for project managers.

Founded in 1960, FEACO comprises national associations representing management consultants. In addition to formulating standards of ethics and practice for the field, FEACO conducts industry surveys and compiles statistics on the performance of management consultancy companies in Europe.

CEEMAN's function is somewhat different from those of other management societies, given the relatively short time that the profession of business manager has existed in countries formerly under communist rule. As such, the organization is primarily concerned with advancing business and management education in Eastern Europe, and providing for information exchange among members.

This is Australia's largest professional body for managers and is well known for providing management training and consulting. AIM maintains a network of bookshop and library facilities dedicated to applied management information. AIM membership is around 25,000 personal members and 6,000 key corporate members.

Founded in 1985, the PMA represents project managers in all fields of business activity. The association works to improve understanding of the techniques and value of performance measurement among business managers, and conducts educational programs for managers interested in learning more about this topic.

The Management Association of Pakistan, formerly West-Pakistan Management Association, was formed in 1964 by a small group of senior professional executives. It came about to meet the impending demand for managerial talent within the country, consequent to the rapid increase in industrialization.