General Management

Management’s purpose is the attainment of organizational goals and objectives through four functions: planning, organising, leading, and controlling organizational resources in an effective and efficient manner.

Management is the art or skill set that directs group efforts towards the attainment of certain predetermined goals.

It is the process of working with and through others to effectively achieve the goals of the organization, by efficiently using limited resources in the changing world. Of course, these goals may vary from one enterprise to another.
E.g.: For one enterprise, it may be launching of new products by conducting market surveys and for another, it may be profit maximization by minimising cost.

– Management includes both being effective and efficient.
– Being effective means doing the appropriate task, i.e. fitting the square pegs in square holes and round pegs in round holes.
– Being efficient means doing the task correctly, at least possible cost with minimum wastage of resources.

Management skills can be broadly classified as conceptual, human, and technical. These skills are not exhibited equally across management levels. They vary with the nature of the job, the level of decision making, and the type of interaction with people.

Conceptual skill is the cognitive ability to see the organization as a whole and the relationship among its parts.

It involves the manager’s thinking, information processing, and planning. It requires the ability to think strategically—to take a broad, long-term view. Conceptual skills are needed by all managers but are especially important for managers at the top.

Many of the responsibilities of top managers, such as decision making, resource allocation, and innovation, require a broad view.

Human skill is the manager’s ability to work with and through other people and to work effectively as a group member. 

It includes the ability to motivate, facilitate, coordinate, lead, communicate, and resolve conflicts. As globalization, workforce diversity, uncertainty, and competition for highly skilled knowledge workers increase, human skills become even more crucial. Here, focus is on emotional needs of employees instead of the physical needs related to the job.

Technical skill is the understanding of and proficiency in the performance of specific tasks.

It includes mastery of the methods, techniques, and equipment involved in specific functions such as engineering, finance or manufacturing. These skills are particularly important at lower organizational levels. Many managers get promoted to their first management job by having excellent technical skills.

However, technical skills become less important than human and conceptual skills as managers move up the hierarchy.

– First-line supervisor: technical, human, conceptual
– Middle-level manager: human, technical, conceptual
– Senior-level manager: human, conceptual, technical

Managers use conceptual, human, and technical skills to perform the four management functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling in all organisations. But not all managers’ jobs are the same.

Managers are responsible for different departments, work at different levels in the hierarchy, and meet different requirements for achieving high performance. Management types include: vertical and horizontal differences.

An important determinant of the manager’s job is hierarchical level. Three levels in the hierarchy include top managers, middle managers, and front-line (first-line) managers.

Top Managers are responsible for setting organizational goals, defining strategies for achieving them, monitoring and interpreting the external environment, and making decisions that affect the entire organization. They share a long-term vision for the organization, shape corporate culture, and nurture an entrepreneurial spirit that can help the company keep pace with rapid change.

Middle Managers are responsible for implementing the overall strategies and policies defined by top managers. They are concerned with the near future and are expected to establish good relationships with peers around the organisation, encourage teamwork, and resolve conflicts.

First-line Managers are directly responsible for the production of goods and services. They include titles such as supervisor, line manager, section chief, and office manager. Their primary concern is the application of rules and procedures to achieve efficient production, provide technical assistance, and motivate subordinates. The time horizon is short, with the emphasis on accomplishing day-to-day goals.

A manager fulfils many different roles every day. For instance, as well as leading their team, they might find themselves resolving a conflict, negotiating new contracts, representing their department at a board meeting, or approving a request for a new computer system. Put simply, they are constantly switching roles as tasks, situations, and expectations change.

Management expert and professor Henry Mintzberg recognized this, and he argued that there are ten primary roles or behaviors that can be used to categorize a manager’s different functions

1) Interpersonal category is about providing information and ideas. It includes figurehead, leader, and liaison roles.
2) Informational category is about processing information. It includes monitor (nerve center), disseminator, and spokesperson roles.
3) Decisional category is about using information. It includes entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, and negotiator roles.

– Management is the use of people and resources to accomplish organizational objectives.

– Managers come in many forms and serve a variety of functions.

– The roles and responsibilities of what a manager does can differ from organization to organization.