Management: Getting
work done through other people. Management is a process, which involves
planning, organizing, staffing, leading & controlling.
Manager: A person who
allocates human and other material resources and directs the operations of a
department or an entire organization.
General Manager: A
person who is responsible for the overall operations of a complex unit such as
a company or division.
Managers who
are also viewed as team leaders are the main pillars of the organization
because they direct and guide their work teams to achieve organizational
objectives. Manager influences effectiveness by defining objectives,
recognizing and minimizing obstacles to the achievement of these objectives and
effectively planning, organizing, leading and controlling all available
resources to attain high level of effectiveness.
The skillful manager is able
to manage and monitor effectiveness in such a way that objectives are achieved
because he or she is result oriented and makes the things happen. A successful
manager possesses certain quantities in applying his or her skills and carrying
out various managerial roles. The qualities of a successful manager have been
identified as follows:
Qualities of a Successful Manager
1. Provides clear
direction (sets goals and standards for performance)
2. Encourages
open communication (climate of openness & trust)
3. Coaches and
Supports People (solves performance problems and provides support &
protection)
4. Provides
objective recognition (focuses on rewards rather than criticism on performance)
5. Establishes on
going controls (regular feedback)
6. Selects the
right person for the right job
7. Understand the
financial implications of decisions
8. Encourages
creativity and innovation
9.
Gives clear
cut decisions to subordinates
10.
Consistently
demonstrate a high level of integrity.
Types of Manager
1.
First
line Managers: The first line
managers are often called supervisors, foreman or office manager. These
entry-level managers coordinate the work of others like salespersons,
accounting clerks and workers of a factory.
2. Middle
Level Managers: The middle
level managers are the functional or departmental heads who receive broad
strategies & policies from top managers and translate them into specific
objectives for the first line managers to implement. They may be called
functional managers who are incharge of a functional area of operation i.e.
finance production or marketing, etc.
3.
Top
Managers: The top-level
managers are responsible for overall direction and operation of an
organization. It is a small cadre of managers, which usually includes a chief
executive, president and board of directors.
Managerial Skills
Skill: A skill is an ability or proficiency in performing a particular task.
Managerial skill is related to performance that is not necessarily in born and
it falls into four main groups_________ technical, interpersonal, conceptual
and communication.
- Technical
Skills: It means the
ability to apply specific methods, procedures and techniques in performing
job related task. Technical skills are especially important at the first
line management level, since daily work related problems must be solved.
- Analytical
Skills: An analytical skill is an ability to
diagnose and evaluate. Such skills are needed to understand the problem
and to develop a plan of action.
- Decision-making
Skills: The quality of a
manager's decision determines their degree of effectiveness. A manager's
decision-making skill is influenced by his or her analytical skill. Poor
analytical proficiency will result in inefficient and inadequate
decision-making.
- Interpersonal
Skills: The interpersonal
or human relation skill means the ability to work with, communicate with
and understand others. It includes the skills to lead, motivate,
negotiate, council, etc.
- Communication
Skills: Communication
skills involve the ability to communicate in ways that other people
understand, and to seek & use feedback from employees to ensure that
one is understood. Effective communication _______ the written & oral transmission of
common understanding ______ is vital for effective managerial performance.
The communication skill is critical to success for mangers who must
achieve results through the efforts of the other people. Managerial
communication skills include: a.
Communicating effectively with employees and customers b. Handling media and public speaking
c. Sensitivity to cultural differences.
- Conceptual
Skills: The conceptual
skill means the ability to see the big picture ________ the
complexity of the overall organization and how the various parts fit
together. The importance of knowing
how each part of the organization interrelates and contributes to the
overall objectives of the organization. Managerial conceptual skills
include: a. Formulating strategy
b. Sense of vision c.
Understanding & relating external environments to the organization or
business.
While all the
above skills are important, the relative importance of each varies according to
the level of the manager in the organization. The technical
and human skills are more important at lower levels of management. These
managers have closer contact with the work being done and the people doing the
work.
Analytical
skills are slightly more important
at higher levels of management where the environment is less stable and
problems are less predictable. ·
Decision-making
& conceptual skills are
extremely critical to the performance of the top management. Top manager's
primary responsibility is to make decisions that are executed at lower level.
This requires the top management to see the big picture in order to
identify opportunities and develop strategic plans to capitalize on these
opportunities.
Managerial Role: Managerial
role is an organized set of behaviours that may fall into the categories of
interpersonal, informational and decisional.
1. Interpersonal Roles
a. Figurehead
Role: This role is symbolic or
ceremonial in nature. Some examples of the figurehead role include a college
dean who hands out diplomas at graduation ceremony, the chairman of an
enterprise who delivers a welcome address to the guests at a function.
b. Leadership
Role: This role involves directing
& coordinating the activities of subordinates. This may involve staffing,
motivating and controlling the activities/performance of the team members.
c. Liaison
Role: This may involve public
relation & networking both inside and outside the organization.
2. Informational
Role:
The
informational role establishes the managers as the central point for receiving
& sending non-routine information. He gathers & receives information as
a monitor and translates that information as the disseminate and spokesperson.
a. Monitor
Role: The monitor role involves
examining the environment in order to gather information, changes, opportunities
and problems that may affect the unit.
b. Disseminate
Role: This involves providing
important or privilege information to subordinates.
c. Spokesperson
Role: The spokesperson role forces
the manager as a representative of the unit to other people. The representation
may be internal when a manger makes the case for salary increase to top
management. It may be external when an executive represents the
organization's view on a particular issue of public issue to a local social
work organization.
3. Decisional
Role
a. Entrepreneur
Role: This role involves bringing
better changes in the organization to improve the overall productivity &
effectiveness.
b. Disturbance
handler Role: This role involves
making decisions or taking corrective action in response to pressure that is
beyond their control. The immediate goal is to return the environment to
stability through their prompt response.
c. Resource
allocator Role: This role involves
decisions about resources allocation. These resources include money, people.
Time and equipment.
d. Negotiator
Role: This role involves bargaining with other units
and individuals to obtain advantages for own unit. The negotiations may concern
work, performance, objectives, resources or anything else influencing the unit.
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