The Functions and Roles of Managerial work

1
The Functions and Roles of Managerial work

• Week 2- Organisation studies

2
Learning outcomes

• To understand the Roles and functions of managers
• To gain an understanding of the role of
  management in meeting the organisations goals

3
Levels of Management

• Corporate level
• Middle level
• Front line
• Non-managerial staff

4
Functions of Managers

• Last week-
• Function of management Generally condensed down
  to
• Planning
• Organising
• Leading
• controlling

5
Planning

• Organisations are Goal Directed
• Therefore there needs to be a control mechanism
  to determine the direction to be followed in
  order to attain the goal
• Therefore managers must
• Define and clarify goals
• Establish strategies in order to reach the goals
• Develop plans to co-ordinate activity

6
Organising

• Organisations by definition involve several
  people
• Therefore a crucial function for managers is to
  determine what needs to be done, how it will be
  done and who does it
• Therefore managers must
• Divide labour
• Align tasks

7
Leading

• Directing and motivating the parties and on
  occasion resolving conflicts
• This involves
• Influencing
• Motivating
• Communicating effectively
• Dealing with employee behaviour

8
Controlling

• Monitoring activities and ensuring organisational
  targets are met and followed
• This involves
• Evaluating
• Monitoring
• Realigning
• Comparing

9
The management process

• There is no simple division of stages
• All four functions can occur simultaneously
• The Management process refers to the ongoing
  process of managers carrying out the functions in
  order to interact with the organisation and its
  environment

10
Roles of Managers

• A second school of thought argues that rather
  than studying the functions of managers, in order
  to understand management the Roles are what
  should be emphasised.
• Leading theorist on this area is Mintzberg
• A second is Stewart

11
Mintzberg Roles of Managers

• Study of CEOs, and review of other observational
  studies
• Identified 10 managerial roles divided into 3
  categories
• Interpersonal roles
• Informational roles
• Decisional roles

12
Interpersonal Roles (Mintzberg)

• Figurehead
• Carries out some symbolic activities
• Greeting visitors, appearing in promotional
  activities
• leader
• Responsible for motivation of subordinates
• Overseeing the activities of subordinates
• Liaison
• Acts as a medium of exchange between the
  organisation and environment

13
Informational Roles (Mintzberg)

• monitor
• Gathers information in relation to the
  organisation and its tasks
• Publishing reports
• disseminator
• Transmits information around the organisation
• Holding meetings
• Spokesman
• Transmits information to outsiders
• Gives information to the media

14
Decisional Roles (Mintzberg)

• entrepreneurial
• Searches for opportunities to improve
• disturbance handler
• Carry out corrective actions
• resource allocator
• Makes or approves decisions to allocate resources
• Negotiator
• Represents the organisation at both internal and
  external negotiations

15
Activities of Managers (Knotter)

• Agenda Setting (aims, objectives, plans,
  strategies, ideas, decisions, prioritising
  activities)
• Network Building (establishing and maintaining
  contacts to assist the successful achievement of
  agenda)

16
Stewarts Model of Managerial Work

• Stewart (1976), developed a model for
  understanding managerial work and behaviour
• Demands - which involve much contact with
  subordinates, peers and supervisors (meeting
  criteria, complying with procedures).
• Constraints resource limitations, legal and
  trade union constraints, technology,
  structure,culture, attitude
• Choices changes to work practices, locations,
  work sharing, participation in public or
  organisational activities.

17
Management Skills

• Katz analysed the skills used by different levels
  of managers
• Technical skills
• Human skills
• Conceptual skills
• Different levels of management require different
  levels

18
Management Skills

• Katz found all levels of management required high
  levels of human skills
• Conceptual skills were decreased in importance
  the closer the level of managers get to the
  front line
• Technical skills decreased in importance the
  closer the level of management was to the
  corporate level

19
Kotter (1982) - Management Networks

• Based on an in-depth survey of 15 successful
  general managers found
• large proportion of time spent interacting with
  others, internally and externally this provides
  information and facilitates dissemination of
  inormation topics covered include those relevant
  to formal task agendas and also managers own
  personal goals and agendas

20
Kotter (1982) - Management Networks

• This process results in the creation of
  managerial networks which are used
• to facilitate both agendas
• to gather relevant information to implement
  formal tasks agendas

21
Carroll and Gillen (1987)

• managers work from a goal agenda
• have tentative plans about how to get there
• these change with new information and environment
  changes
• detailed planning is constrained by
  interdependencies and other constraints
• must also be concerned about other managers goals

22
Carroll and Gillen (1987)

• organisation imposes a framework of controls and
  coordination
• manager has own agenda, independent of the
  organisation
• SO - manager must allocate time to

23
Carroll and Gillen (1987)

• organisations formal plans and goals
• goals and plans of others in the organisation
• own plans and goals
• In addition, he / she has to find time for
  opportunities and threats which arise both
  internally and externally

24
Tutorial Questions

• What did Taylor see as the principles of
  scientific management?
• How does Mintzberg classify the roles played be a
  manager?
• What are the most important skills a manager
  requires?