Tag: Profession

  • What are Managerial Roles and His Job?

    What are Managerial Roles and His Job?

    Management performs the functions of planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling for the accomplishment of organizational goals. Any person who performs these functions is a manager. The first line manager or supervisor or foreman is also a manager because he performs these functions. The difference between the functions of top, middle and lowest level management is that of degree. For instance, top management concentrates more on long-range planning and organization, middle-level management concentrates more on coordination and control and lowest level management concentrates more on direction function to get the things done from the workers.

    Every manager is concerned with ideas, things, and people. Management is a creative process for integrating the use of resources to accomplish certain goals. In this process, ideas, things, and people are vital inputs which are to be transformed into output consistent with the goals.

    Management of ideas implies the use of conceptual skills. It has three connotations. First, it refers to the need for the practical philosophy of management to regard management as a distinct and scientific process. Second, management of ideas refers to the planning phase of the management process. Lastly, management of ideas refers to distinction and innovation. Creativity refers to a generation of new ideas, and innovation refers to transforming ideas into viable relations and utilities. A manager must be imaginative to plan ahead and to create new Ideas.

    Management of things (non-human resources) deal with the design of production system, and acquisition, allocation, and conversion of physical resources to achieve certain goals. Management of people is concerned with procurement, development, maintenance and integration of human resources in the organization. Every manager has to direct his subordinates to put the organizational plans into practice.

    The greater part of every manager’s time is spent in communicating and dealing with people. His efforts are directed towards obtaining information and evaluating progress towards objectives set by him and then taking corrective action. Thus, a manager’s job primarily consists of management of people. Though it is his duty to handle all the productive resources, but the human factor is more important. A manager cannot convert the raw materials into finished products himself; he has to take the help of others to do this. The greatest problem before any manager is how to manage the personnel to get the best possible results. The manager in the present age has to deal efficiently with the people who are to contribute to the achievement of organizational goals.

    Peter F. Drucker has advocated that the managerial approach to handling workers and work should be pragmatic and dynamic. Every job should be designed as an integrated set of operations. The workers should be given a sufficient measure of freedom to organize and control their work environment. It is the duty of every manager to educate, train and develop people below him so that they may use their potentialities and abilities to perform the work allotted to them. He has also to help them in satisfying their needs and working under him, he must provide them with the proper environment. A manager must create a climate which brings in and maintains satisfaction and discipline among the people. This will increase organizational effectiveness.

    Recently, it has been questioned whether planning, organizing, directing and controlling provides an adequate description of the management process. After an intensive observation of what five top executives actually did during the course of a few days at work, Henry Mintzberg concluded that these labels do not adequately capture the reality of what managers do. He suggested instead that the manager should be regarded as playing some ten different roles, in no particular order.

    Role Performed by Managers

    What is Role Performed by Managers? Mostly manager has used three types roles on company or business: 1) Interpersonal Roles as used by heart, 2) Informational Roles also used by talking, and 3) Decisional Roles is mostly used by the brain. Following roles are explained here;

    Managerial Roles
    Managerial Role is three types of company or business; 1) Interpersonal Roles as used by heart, 2) Informational Roles also used by talking, and 3) Decisional Roles is mostly used by the brain.

    1. Interpersonal Roles

    Figurehead: In this role, every manager has to perform some duties of a ceremonial nature, such as greeting the touring dignitaries, attending the wedding of an employee, taking an important customer to lunch and so on.

    Leader: As a leader, every manager must motivate and encourage his employees. He must also try to reconcile their individual needs with the goals of the organization.

    Liaison: In this role of liaison, every manager must cultivate contacts outside his vertical chain of command to collect information useful for his organization.

    1. Informational Roles

    Monitor: As the monitor, the manager has to perpetually scan his environment for information, interrogate his liaison contacts and his subordinates, and receive unsolicited information, much of it as result of the network of personal contacts he has developed.

    Disseminator: In the role of a disseminator, the manager passes some of his privileged information directly to his subordinates who would otherwise have no access to it.

    Spokesman: In this role, the manager informs and satisfies various groups and people who influence his organization. Thus, he advises shareholders about financial performance, assures consumer groups that the organization is fulfilling its social responsibilities and satisfies the government that the origination is abiding by the law.

    1. Decisional Roles

    Entrepreneur: In this role, the manager constantly looks out for new ideas and seeks to improve his unit by adapting it to changing conditions in the environment.

    Disturbance Handler: In this role, the manager has to work like a firefighter. He must seek solutions to various unanticipated problems – a strike may loom large a major customer may go bankrupt; a supplier may renege on his contract, and so on.

    Resource Allocator: In this role, the manager must divide work and delegate authority among his subordinates. He must decide who will get what.

    Negotiator: The manager has to spend considerable time in negotiations. Thus, the chairman of a company may negotiate with the union leaders a new strike issue, the foreman may negotiate with the workers a grievance problem, and so on.

    In addition, managers in any organization work with each other to establish the organization’s long-range goals and to plan how to achieve them. They also work together to provide one another with the accurate information needed to perform tasks. Thus, managers act as channels of communication with the organization.

  • What are Levels of Management?

    What are Levels of Management?

    An enterprise may have different levels of management. Levels of management refer to a line of demarcation between various managerial positions in an enterprise. The levels of management depend upon its size, technical facilities, and the range of production. We generally come across two broad levels of management, viz. (I) administrative management (i.e., the upper level of management) and (II) operating management (i.e., the lower level of management). Administrative management is concerned with “thinking” functions such as laying down policy, planning and setting up of standards. Operative management is concerned with the “doing” function such as an implementation of policies and directing the operations to attain the objectives of the enterprise.

    But in actual practice, it is difficult to draw any clear-cut demarcation between thinking function and doing function. Because the basic/fundamental managerial functions are performed by all managers irrespective of their levels or, ranks. For instance, wage and salary director of a company may assist in fixing wages and salary structure as a member of the Board of Directors, but as head of wages and salary department, his job is to see that the decisions are implemented.

    The real significance of levels is that they explain authority relationships in an organization.

    Considering the hierarchy of authority and responsibility, one can identify three levels of management namely

    (I) Top management of a company consists of owners/shareholders, Board of Directors, its Chairman, Managing Director, or the Chief Executive, or the General Manager or Executive Committee having key officers.

    (II) Middle management of a company consists of heads of functional departments viz. Purchase Manager, Production Manager, Marketing Manager, Financial controller, etc. and Divisional and Sectional Officers working under these Functional Heads.

    (III) Lower level or operative management of a company consists of Superintendents, Foremen, Supervisors, etc.

    1) Top management: Top management is the ultimate source of authority and it lays down goals, policies and plans for the enterprise. It devotes more time on planning and coordinating functions. It is accountable to the owners of the business of the overall management. It is also described as the policy making group responsible for the overall direction and success of all company activities.

    The important functions of top management include:

    (A) To establish the objectives or goals of the enterprise.

    (B) To make policies and frame plans to attain the objectives laid.

    (C) To set up an organizational framework to conduct the operations as per plans.

    (D) To assemble the resources of money, men, materials, machines and methods to put the plans into action.

    (E) To exercise effective control of the operations.

    (F) To provide overall leadership to the enterprise.

    2) Middle management: The job of middle management is to implement the policies and plans framed by the top management. It serves as an essential link between the top management and the lower level or operative management. They are responsible for the top management for the functioning of their departments. They devote more time on the organization and motivation functions of management. They provide the guidance and the structure for a purposeful enterprise. Without them, the top management’s plans and ambitious expectations will not be fruitfully realized.

    The following are the main functions of middle management:

    (A) To interpret the policies chalked out by top management.

    (B) To prepare the organizational set up in their own departments for fulfilling the objectives implied in various business policies.

    (C) To recruit and select suitable operative and supervisory staff.

    (D) To assign activities, duties, and responsibilities for timely implementation of the plans.

    (E) To compile all the instructions and issue them to supervisor under their control.

    (F) To motivate personnel to attain higher productivity and to reward them properly.

    (G) To cooperate with the other departments for ensuring a smooth functioning of the entire organization.

    (H) To collect reports and information on performance in their departments.

    (I) To report to top management.

    (J) To make suitable recommendations to the top management for the better execution of plans and policies.

    3) Lower or operative management: It is placed at the bottom of the hierarchy of management, and actual operations are the responsibility of this level of management. It consists of foreman, supervisors, sales officers, accounts officers and so on. They are in direct touch with the rank and file or workers. Their authority and responsibility are limited. They pass on the instructions of the middle management to workers.

    They interpret and divide the plans of the management into short-range operating plans. They are also involved in the process of decision-making. They have to get the work done through the workers. They a lot various jobs to the workers, evaluate their performance and report to the middle-level management. They are more concerned with direction and control functions of management. They devote more time in the supervision of the workers.

  • Nature of Management defined as Science, Art, and Profession

    Nature of Management defined as Science, Art, and Profession

    What is the nature of Management? Management has been conceptualized earlier in this lesson, as the social process by which managers of an enterprise integrate and coordinate its resources for the achievement of common, explicit goals. It has developed into a body of knowledge and a separately identifiable discipline during the past six decades. The practice of management as an art is, of course, as old as the organized human effort for the achievement of common goals.

    Here is the article that explains the Nature of Management defined as Science, Art, and Profession.

    Management has also acquired several characteristics of the profession during recent times. Large and medium-sized enterprises in India and elsewhere manage by professional managers; managers who have little or no share in the ownership of the enterprise and look upon management as a career. The nature of management as a science, as art and as a profession discuss below:

    Nature of Management defined as Science Art and Profession Image
    Nature of Management defined as Science, Art, and Profession; Image from Pixabay.

    Nature of Management as a Science:

    Development of management as a science is of recent origin, even though its practice is age-old. Fredrick W. Taylor was the first manager-theorist who made significant contributions to the development of management as a science. He used the scientific methods of analysis, observation, and experimentation in the management of production function. A perceptive manager, as he was, he distilled certain fundamental principles and propounded the theory and principles of scientific management.

    His work was followed by many others including Gantt, Emerson, Fayol, Barnard, etc. During the last few decades, great strides have been made in the development of management as a systematized body of knowledge that can learn, taught, and researched. It has also provided powerful tools for analysis, prediction, and control to practicing managers. The scientific character of management has been particularly strengthened by management scientists who have to develop mathematical models of decision making [Hindi].

    Other Words:

    Another characteristic of science in management is that it uses the scientific methods of observation, experimentation, and laboratory research. Management principles are firmly based on observed phenomena and systematic classification and analysis of data. These analyses and studies of observed phenomena use for inferring cause-effect relationships between two or more variables. Generalizations about these relationships result in hypotheses. The hypotheses when test and find to be true call principles.

    These principles, when applied to practical situations, help the practitioner in describing and analyzing problems, solving problems, and predicting the results. Even though management is science so far as to possess a systematized body of knowledge and uses scientific methods of research; it is not an exact science like natural sciences. This is simply because management is a social science, and deals with the behavior of people in the organization. The behavior of people is much more complex and variable than the behavior of inanimate things such as light or heat. This makes controlled experiments very difficult. As a result, management principles lack the rigor and exactitude; which find in physics and chemistry.

    Many natural sciences which deal with living phenomena such as botany and medicine are also not exact. Management is a social science like economics or psychology and has the same limitations which these and other social sciences have. But this does not in any way diminish the value of management as knowledge and discipline. It has provided powerful tools for analysis, prediction, and control to practicing managers and helped them in performing their material tasks more efficiently and effectively.

    Nature of Management as an Art:

    Just as an engineer uses the science of engineering while building a bridge, a manager uses the knowledge of management theory while performing his managerial functions. Engineering is a science; its application to the solution of practical problems is an art. Similarly, management as a body of knowledge and a discipline is a science; its application to the solution of organizational problems is an art.

    The practice of management, like the practice of medicine, is firmly ground in an identifiable body of concepts, theories, and principles. A medical practitioner, who does not base his diagnosis and prescription on the science of medicine, endangers the life of his patient. Similarly, a manager who manages without possessing the knowledge of management creates chaos and jeopardizes the well-being of his organization.

    Principles of management like the principles of medicine used by the practitioner not as rules of thumb but as guides in solving practical problems. It often says that managerial decision making involves a large element of judgment. This is true too. The raging controversy whether management is a science or an art is fruitless. It is a science as well as an art. Developments in the field of the knowledge of management help in the improvement of its practice; and improvements in the practice of management spur further research and study resulting in the further development of management science.

    Nature of Management as a Profession:

    We often hear of the professionalization of management in our country. By a professional manager, we generally mean a manager who undertakes management as a career and does not interest in acquiring ownership share in the enterprise which he manages. But, is management a profession in the true sense of the word? or, is management a profession like the professions of law and medicine?

    Characteristics:

    According to McFarland, a profession possesses the following characteristics:

    • A body of principles, techniques, skills, and specialized knowledge;
    • Formalized methods of acquiring training and experience;
    • The establishment of a representative organization with professionalization as its goal;
    • The formation of ethical codes for the guidance of conduct; and.
    • The charging fees based on the nature of services.

    Management is a profession to the extent it fulfills the above conditions. It is a profession in the sense that there a systematized body of management, and it is a distinct, identifiable discipline. It has also developed a vast number of tools and techniques. But unlike medicine or law, a management degree is not a prerequisite to becoming a manager. Most managers in India as elsewhere do not have a formal management education. It seems reasonable to assume that at no time shortly, the possession of a management degree will be a requirement for employment as a career manager.

    Management is also a profession in the sense that formalized methods of training are available to those who desire to be managers. We have several institutes of management and university departments of management that provide formal education in this field. Training facilities provide in most companies by their training divisions. Several organizations such as the Administrative Staff College of India, the Indian Institutes of Management, Management Development Institute, the All India Management Association, and the university departments of management offer a variety of short-term management training programs.

    More things:

    By the Nature of Management defined as a Profession is the third thing. Management partially fulfills the third characteristic of the profession. There are several representative organizations of management practitioners almost in all countries such as the All India Management Association in India, the American Management Association in the U.S.A., etc. However, none of them have professionalization of management as its goal.

    Management does not fulfill the last two requirements of a profession. There is no ethical code of conduct for managers as doctors and lawyers. Some individual business organizations, however, try to develop a code of conduct for their managers but there is no general and uniform code of conduct for all managers. Bribing public officials to gain favors, sabotaging trade unions, manipulating prices, and markets are by no means uncommon management practices. Furthermore, managers, in general, do not seem to adhere to the principle of “service above self”.

    However little regard pay to the elevation of service over the desire for monetary compensation evidence by switching jobs by managers. Indeed, such mobile managers regard as more progressive and modern than others. It may conclude from the above discussion that management is a science, art as well as a profession. As a social science, management is not as exact as natural sciences, and it is not as fully a profession like medicine and law.