MANAGERIAL ROLES AND MANAGERIAL SKILLS

When marking test papers, I have often noticed that students tend to confuse the terms managerial roles and managerial skills. In this tutorial session, I would like to stress on the difference between these two terms.

MANAGERIAL ROLES
 
Managers are the people who plan, organize, lead, and control the activities of the organization so that its goals can be achieved.  Managerial roles talks about the roles managers play in the organization. Henry Mintzberg identified three major roles of a manager as follows:

In interpersonal roles, the manager is responsible for managing relationships within and outside the organization. The manager must play a role as a figurehead, a leader and a liaison. In informational roles, the manager is responsible for gathering and distributing information to the stakeholders of the organization. Types of informational roles are monitor, disseminator, and spokesperson. Finally, in decisional roles, the manager is reponsible for processing information and reaching conclusions. Types of decisional roles are entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator and negotiator. (Refer to your notes for explanation on the different types of roles.)

MANAGERIAL SKILLS (MANAGEMENT SKILLS)

Being a manager is not an easy task as he/she is not only required to perform a job well, he/she is also required to manage, direct and motivate his/her subordinate to perform their job well. Therefore, being a manager requires a certain set of skills. 

There are three levels of managers namely first-line managers, middle level managers and top level managers. First line managers supervise the individuals who are directly responsible for producing the organization’s product or delivering its service. They carry the title production supervisor, section chief. Middle level managers supervises first-line managers or staff department. They carry titles such as marketing manager or department head. Top level managers provide the strategic direction for the organization.  They carry titles such as CEO, CFO, CIO or executive vice president.


The figure below indicates the skills managers must have and the degree of importance for each level of managers.

Conceptual skills is the ability to analyze complex information. It enables managers to process information about the internal/external environment of the organization and determine its implications. Top level managers need to have strong conceptual skills if they are to effectively accomplish goals.


Human skills is the ability to work effectively with people.  It involves motivating and disciplining employees, monitoring performance, providing feedback, improving communication and instructing employees. Human skills are most important for middle managers as these managers must coordinate efforts of the members in his group as well as other work groups within the organization.

Technical skills is the knowledge and the ability to use tools, techniques and procedures that are specific to their particular field.  Technical skills tend to be most important for first line managers as they must have the knowledge and the "know-how" to ensure that the products and services of their organization are delivered to customer. 


Hopefully I have cleared up the confusion between these two terms. Remember, managerial roles are the roles that managers play in the organization while managerial skills are the set of skills required by managers to be effective managers.

COMPARISON BETWEEN VERBAL AND NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

Verbal communication is the sharing of ideas, opinions, feelings and expressions through word. It is a form of transmitting message by means of spoken words (oral expression), writing letters or memos.


Facial Expressions is a form of non verbal communication

Non verbal communication is the exchange of information, ideas, opinions and feelings by means of gestures, facial expressions, body language, etc..

THEORY X AND THEORY Y - THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

Theory X and Theory Y are theories of motivation formulated by Douglas Mc Gregor.  McGregor propose two contrasting sets of assumptions with which managers may view their subordinates. The factors include employee attitude toward work, management view of direction, employee view of direction and management style.

Comparison of Theory X and Theory Y
Theory X managers perceive that employees i) dislike work and will avoid it if at all possible ii) must be directed, coerced, controlled or threatened to get them to put in effort iii) avoid responsibility, and iv) requires authoritarian style of management. Theory X managers are often seen as authoritarian, preferring to tell subordinates what to do and how to do it.

Theory Y managers perceive that employees i) enjoy work and will actively seek it ii) self-motivated and self-directed iv) seek responsibility and wish to use their creativity, imagination and ingenuity in performing their jobs v) requires participatory style of management.  Theory Y managers are often uses participatory style of managing, preferring to consult with subordinates, asking their opinions and encourage them to take part in decision making.

Managers need to shift their employee attitude and attention from Theory X behavior to Theory Y behavior in order to achieve the desired organizational goals.

Managers can also motivate their employees with Theory X behavior by telling them in detail about what and how to do the work and always monitoring them. For Theory Y behavior, the manager can motivate them by giving rewards or promotions to enhance their work performance. Delegation and empowerment can boost their motivation level to work more efficiently.

WELCOME TO MANAGEMENT ZONE 101!!

I created this blog with the intention of creating an avenue to share information on courses that I teach that is Fundamentals of Management, Introduction to Human Resource Management and Business Communication. My source of information are from books, articles, journals, newspapers, other people's blogs, etc. I hope that you will find this blog useful as a reference to supplement the textbooks or lecture slides.