Integrated management

Integrated management is a socially defined concept that is interpreted and understood in a variety of ways. It is however widely accepted as recognizing “nonlinear processes and connectivity between problems” in a managerial context. Integrated management has been defined as encompassing the “effective direction of every aspect of an organization so that the needs and expectations of all stakeholders are equitably satisfied by the best use of all resources”. Characteristics of integrated management are consensus-based decision-making, search for optimal efficiency and the co-existence of both uniformity and diversity within systems. This type of management is holistic and cross-disciplinary in its approach to balancing potential gains and losses.