LESSON 4: Functions, Roles and Skills of a Manager

Manager is one who plans, organizes, leads and controls other individuals in the process of
pursuing organizational goals.

Level of Managers (by size of organization)

Top Managers – are responsible for the overall performance of the organization. They
formulate strategies, provide leadership,evaluate and shape the method of organizing and control the
direction of the organization in the effort to accomplish goals.

Middle Managers – direct the activities of other manager and sometimes also those operating
employees. They work with top managers and coordinate with peers to develop and implement
action plans to accomplish organizational objectives.
Lower level managers – are responsible for leading employees in the day to day task which
contribute to the organization’s goals.

TYPES OF MANAGERS
1. Line Managers – directly concerned with accomplishing the goals of the organization. The
decision they make with regards to operation are expected to be final and must be implemented.
2. Staff Managers – are in charge of units that provide support to the line units., they use
special expertise to advise the line workers.
3. Administrators – managers working in government or in non-profit organizations

MANAGERIAL ROLES

Role - is defined as an expected set of activities of behaviors stemming from a job.

1. INTERPERSONAL ROLES
The managerial roles in this category involve providing information and ideas. It involves
human interaction inside and outside work unit.
a. Figurehead
 when the manager perform this role, he/she acts as the symbolic head of the
organization and as a result he expected to perform a number of duties of a legal or social
nature.
 expected to be a source of inspiration.
b. Leader – this role makes the manage responsible for the motivation and activation of
subordinates. He is responsible for action in staffing, training and other associated duties.
c.Liaison – in assuming the liaison role, the manager makers contacts with individuals in and
out of the organization to facilitate the accomplishment of work in his department.
Managers must communicate with internal and external contacts. You need to be able to
network effectively on behalf of your organization.
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2. INFORMATIONAL ROLES
The managerial roles in this category involve processing information
- a very important aspect of the manager’s job is to receive and communicate information.
- On receiving and sharing information, the manager assumes three specific roles.
1. Monitor – concern in various aspects of an organization, the manager is expected to collect
information that will be useful in performing his job.
In monitor, he handles all mails and contacts categorized as concerned primarily with
receiving information using such sources as news bulletin, special magazines and observation tours.
In other words, as a manager you regularly seek out information related to your organization
and industry, looking for relevant changes in the environment. You also monitor your team, in terms
of both their productivity and their well-being.
2. Disseminator – there are certain type of information that the manager may consider useful
to his subordinates. Some of the information may be factual and some may involve interpretation and
integration. As information disseminator, the manager sees to it that the relevant incoming
information is properly shared with subordinates.
3. Spokesperson – To effectively perform the role of spokesperson the manager sees to it that
his views are heard on occasions requiring his presence such as board meetings.
Managers represent and speak for their organization. In this role, you're responsible for
transmitting information about your organization and its goals to the people outside it.

3. DECISIONAL ROLES

The managerial roles in this category involve using information.

A. Entrepreneur – managers searches the organization and its environment for opportunities and
initiates projects to bring about positive change.
B. Disturbance handler
 being a manager, he expected to respond to unwelcome pressures by formulating strategies
and reviewing such disturbances.
 When an organization or team hits an unexpected roadblock, it's the manager who must take
charge. You also need to help mediate disputes within it.
C. Resource Allocator
The manager is responsible for the allocation of organizational resources of all kind such as
personnel, funds, machines or buildings and facilities to individual employees or units.
D. Negotiator

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 You may be needed to take part in, and direct, important negotiations within your team,
department, or organization. Negotiating in that the manager has to be the middle person in dealing with
the human resources and the business affiliates.

LESSON 5: MANAGAMENT SKILLS

Skills – an ability coming from someone’s knowledge, practice and aptitude to do something
well,as well as to translate that something into action that results in desired performance.
1. Technical Skills
- refers to the abilities to use special proficiency or expertise in performing specific tasks.
- they refer to the use of tools, techniques and specialized knowledge.
2. Human Skills/Interpersonal Skills
- refer to the abilities to work well in cooperation with other persons; whether they are
subordinates, peers and superiors. A person with good human skills will have a high degree of self-
awareness and a capacity for understanding or empathizing with feeling of others.
Communication skills are important component of interpersonal skills. And this skills is closely related
to person’s emotional intelligence.
3. Conceptual Skills/Analytical Skills – refer to the ability of the manager to see the organization as
a whole and to solve problems in was that benefit the total system. Specifically the manager who.
Possesses these skills is expected to analyze and solve complex problems. Thus the manager with
good conceptual skills will have the metal capacity to perform the following:
a. identify problems and opportunities
b. gather and interpret relevant information
c. execute problems solving decisions that serve the organization’s purpose.

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Chapter 2: The FIRM AND ITS ENVIRONMENT
Knowledge about management and organization is very useful especially in human endeavors like
operating a business firm.
A. Business defined as all profit-seeking activities and enterprises that provide goods and services to
an economic system.
Environmental Scanning
- process of identifying and analyzing the various forces or elements interacting and
influencing interacting with the organization.

Through this process, the organization decide how to can respond to the various issues and
challenges brought about by these forces.
VARIOUS FORCES/ELEMENTS OF EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
Of all the outside factors or influences that impact the operation of the business. The business
must act or react to keep up its flow of operations. The external environment can be broken down
into two types: the macro environment and micro-environment.
MACRO ENVIRONMENT
 It consists of the most general elements that can potentially influence the strategic and long-term
decisions of the firm. These forces/elements are uncontrollable- the firm does not have any
control over them, but the firm can think of various ways to respond and adapt to the influences
that these may bring to the organization.
1. Demographic Conditions

It is the statistical study of people and the human population. Information such as age, sex,
marital status, family size, occupation, and the like are being gathered by businesses to forecast
future trends and consumption of the products and services that they may offer.
2. Economic conditions - It refers to the overall health of the economy. The economy can effect on
two essential aspects – your company’s levels of production and the decision-making process of your
customers.

3. Political - Legal conditions - It refers to national or local laws, international laws, and rules and
regulations that influence organizational management.
4. Technological Conditions- Refers to advancement and development in technology and its
availability and ability to help business prosper and operate more effectively.

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5. Socio-cultural conditions – It refers to the structure and dynamics of individuals and groups and
how these affect their behaviors, belief, and lifestyles.

6. World and Ecological Environment conditions - This refers to the physical environment of the
organization and the resources available to be able to produce output. It also refers to how the firms
can meet the needs of their customers while advancing the well being of the natural environment.
MICRO ENVIRONMENT
It consists of all the actual organizations, groups, and persons with whom the organization interacts
and conducts business. It is also called a task environment or competitive environment
1. COMPETITORS
These includes rival firms within the same industry and the ways that they behave competitively
towards one another.
2. CUSTOMERS
Customers are those who patronize the organization’s products and services. Increasing customer
sophistication makes it necessary for managers of organizations to make crucial decisions regarding
the development of products with higher value and the improvement of their services to meet their
patrons’ increasing demand.
3. SUPPLIERS
Managing the supply chain and distribution network should also be a primary focus of businesses
that strive to be successful. A well-managed supply chain reduces operational costs and improves
efficiency. Some companies that have managed efficient supply chains have been able to pass the
savings to their customers.
4. SUBSTITUTE AND COMPLEMENTS
Products that can serve as an alternative to other product are called substitute.

Complements - those products that need to be used along with other products

This is based on the ability of consumers to find what they want from the sellers.
5. NEW ENTRANTS
These include new competitors entering the market and depend on the presence or absence of
barriers of entry into the market.

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 ELEMENTS OF INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
Generally consists of those elements that exist within or inside the organization such as physical
resources, financial resources, human resources, information resources, technological resources,
organization’s goodwill, corporate culture, and the like.
1. Owners and Shareholders - Owners are people who invested in the company and have property
rights and claims on the organization. Owners can be an individual or group of persons who started
the company; or who bought a share of the company in the share market.

2. Board of Directors- The board of directors is the governing body of the company who is elected by
stockholders, and they are given the responsibility for overseeing a firm’s top managers such as the
general manager.
3. Employees - Employees or the workforce, the most important element of an organization’s internal
environment, which performs the tasks of the administration. Individual employees and also the
labor unions they join are important parts of the internal environment.

4. Organizational Culture - Organizational culture is the collective behavior of members of an

organization and the values, visions, beliefs, habits that they attach to their actions.
5. Resources of the Organization - An organization s resources can be discussed under five broad
heads: physical resources, human resources; financial resources, informational resources, and
technological resources. Physical resources include land and buildings, warehouses, all kinds of
materials, equipment, and machinery.
6. Organization’s image/goodwill - The reputation of an organization is a very valuable intangible
asset. High reputation or goodwill develops a favorable image of the organization in the minds of the
public
“No- reputation” cannot create any positive image. A negative image destroys the
organization’s efforts to attract customers in a competitive world.

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Reference
https://www.educba.com/how-to-apply-management-theories-at-workplace/
Organization and Management, Ng, Mark Francis
Organization and Management, Medina, Robert

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