It has been "discovered" that the manager takes on a wider range of roles in pursuing the objectives of the organization. Managers also are held accountable for the work of other as well as their own. This added responsibility may cause concern because controlling the work of others may not be so easy. A manager may not be able to check everything others do, so there is an element of risk here.
- A manager assumes responsibility to see that work is done effectively
- He must balance competing goals and needs, which require resources which are limited. A balance between the goals and needs of departments and individuals is needed and priorities have to be established
- A manager works with and through other people at every level in an organization in striving towards goals
He is also:
- a mediator of disputes which may affect morale and productivity;
- a politician, using persuasion and compromise to promote organizational goals;
- a diplomat, representing the company at meetings within and outside the firm.
There are many other roles of a manager. A manager must be flexible to change roles appropriately to be truly effective.
A manager's responsibilities require performance to be both efficient and effective. Peter Drucker stressed the important point that although efficiency is important, effectiveness is vital (i.e. the ability to choose appropriate objectives or means to achieve an objective). Efficient production of large cars may not be effective when the market needs are for small cars, a situation which prevails today. A comment from Peter Drucker is relevant:” the pertinent question is not how to do things right, but how to find the right things to do, and to concentrate resources and efforts on them.”
There are limitations inevitably placed on a manager's ability to perform efficiently. A manager may be limited in his handling of subordinates or in hiring or motivating them, or his leadership style may be in conflict with the current style in the organization.
Robert Katz classified three basic types of management skills:
- Technical skills or the ability to use tools, procedures and techniques in a specialized area;
- Human skills or ability to work with and understand and motivate people as individuals or groups;
- Conceptual skills or the mental ability to coordinate and integrate all of an organization's activities, especially in the long-term decisions affecting the organization.
Conceptual skills are important to see the organization as a whole and recognize how the various factors in a situation are interrelated so actions taken are in the best interests of the organization. Human skills and technical skills are more important at a lower level, where more manager-subordinate interactions occur. Conceptual skills are needed at all levels of management, but the nearer to top management positions, the more time is needed to devote to conceptual skills.
