Elements of Business Management

Contents & notes: what this topic covers

Under Elements of Business Management, the JAMB Commerce syllabus expects you to study:

• 12. Elements of Business Management
• (i) Functions (planning, organizing, staffing, coordinating, motivating, communicating, controlling etc.)
• (ii) Principles (span of control, unity of command, delegation of authority, etc.)
• (iii) Organizational structure (line, line and staff, functional, matrix and committee)
• (iv) Functional areas of business (production, marketing, finance and personnel)
• (v) Business resources (man, money, materials, machines and opportunities/goodwill)

Study notes & guidance

Study Elements of Business Management using a recommended Commerce textbook that follows the JAMB syllabus. Work through the contents listed above one by one, make brief notes in your own words, and then practise as many questions on this topic as you can — in Commerce, understanding and steady practice matter far more than memorising. Use the objectives below as a checklist: if you can do each one confidently, you have mastered this topic.

Objectives — candidates should be able to

After studying Elements of Business Management, you should be able to:

1. (i) appraise the functions of management; (ii) analyse the principles of management; (iii) identify organizational structures; (iv) assess the functional areas of business; (v) examine the business resources.

These objectives are from the official JAMB syllabus. Use them as a checklist — if you can do each one confidently, you have mastered this topic.

Source: official JAMB UTME Commerce syllabus (IBASS, jamb.gov.ng). Reproduced for study use. Last checked: 17 Sept 2026. Always confirm the current syllabus on the official portal.