Security consultant D. Cresswell seems to agree, and urges this of security managers: "It's hugely important that the security manager strives to become a key corporate player rather than simply being the corporate 'umpire.' This inevitably means that there's a considerable learning curve to be overcome, not in just the acquisition of modern business management skills but also in becoming intimately conversant with their business processes, products, markets and short and longer term strategic goals" (2004:1).

The principles and application of management theory help security managers and their departments become greater contributors to their entire organizations. This is true in my experience, and it is corroborated by security researcher Anthony McGee, who states that the security department, "without board level interest and activity...will inevitably lose its power, authority and status within the organization to other better represented departments" (2006:36).

Sennewald explains that people in other career endeavors such as finance, marketing, production, research and human resources are regularly involved in learning management development trends but for various reasons security managers had not been and that they were too busy keeping up with elaborate security technology and too "absorbed with the so-called emergencies and crises, and important investigations" so much so that "the Security Department had been content to limit its activities, and sometimes its image, to that of 'company policeman" (2003:41).

Professor P.J. Ortmier adds that in this modern age, organizations prefer to employ security managers with training and education in areas such as general business practices, personnel management, labour relations, planning and policy formulation in security service rather than employ those with training just in law enforcement specialties. (2005:19)

Indeed, security management, with a broad managerial viewpoint, is currently taught in a number of leading post-graduate institutions such as the University of Leicester and the University of Portsmouth, both in the U.K. The prestigious Wharton Business School in Pennsylvania even has a combined ASIS certificate program for security executives on how to effectively communicate a strong business case for investments in security to upper level executives. I also firmly believe that in the near future most MBA programs will be available with security components and will, as a result, undoubtedly prove quite popular because the MBA programs can properly prepare security managers, even if they are security specialists first. Along with learning managerial, cost cutting and finance skills these management professionals will also learn to demonstrate how security departments also contribute to the organization's bottom line.

A security manager needs to be aware of the ongoing costs of operating their security departments - whether the organization is a for-profit corporation, not-for-profit agency, or even a government organization.