Role of Manager in an Organization (2024)

A manager’s job is very crucial in an organization. He is a planner, coordinator, producer and a marketer. The success of an organization will depend upon the caliber of the manager in utilizing the resources for achieving business goals. A manger is a pivotal figure in the task of creating wealth. There are rapid changes in technology, methods of production, marketing techniques, financial set up and the manager should be competent enough to cope with the changes.

Meaning:

A manager is a person in the organization who directs the activities of others. The managers perform their work at different levels and they are called by different names. The first line managers are usually called supervisors or in a manufacturing they may be called foremen. Middle level mangers include all levels of management between the supervisory level and the top level of the organization.

These managers may be called functional managers, plant heads, and project managers. Near the top of hierarchy, there may be top managers who are responsible for making organizational decisions and setting policies and strategies that affect all the aspects of the organization. These persons may be called vice-president, managing director, chief executive officer or chairman of the board etc.

Managerial Functions:

A manager has to perform functions like planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling. All these functions are essential for running an organization smoothly and achieving enterprise objectives. Planning is required for setting goals and establishing strategies for coordinating activities.

Organization helps in determining what tasks are to be done, how to do them, how to group the tasks and where decisions are to be made. Staffing function is essential for employing various types of persons and performing various activities like training, development, appraisal, compensation, welfare etc.

The directing function requires giving instructions and motivating sub-ordinates to accomplish their goals. A manager has to perform the controlling function for monitoring activities to ensure that they are being accomplished as planned and correcting any significant deviations.

Managerial Skills:

A manager has to perform a number of jobs. It necessitates that a manager should have proper skills to perform different jobs.

Henry Fayol put the qualities required by managers into the following categories:

(i) Physical – health, vigour, address.

(ii) Mental – ability to understand and learn; judgement, mental vigour and adaptability.

(iii) Moral – energy, firmness, willingness to accept responsibility, initiative, loyalty, tact, dignity.

(iv) Educational – general acquaintance with matters not belonging exclusively to the function performed.

(v) Technical – peculiar to the function.

(vi) Experience – arising from the work proper.

Robert L. Katz conducted research during early 1970’s and found that managers need three essential skills or competencies ; technical, human and conceptual. He also found that the relative importance of these skills varied according to the manager’s level within the organization.

Technical Skills:

A manager must have the necessary technical skills or the ability to work with the resources, tools, techniques, procedures etc. First line managers as well as many middle managers have involved in technical aspects of the organization’s operations. Technical skills include knowledge of and proficiency in certain specialized such as engineering, computers, finance or manufacturing. Even though the need for technical skills is less when a manager moves higher in hierarchy but still technical proficiency helps in taking decisions.

Human Skills:

It is the ability to work well with other people both individually and in a group. Managers with human skills can get best out of the people working with them. They know how to communicate, motivate, lead and inspire enthusiasm and trust. These skills are needed by managers at every level but top managers need them the most.

Conceptual Skills:

Conceptual skills are the ability to integrate and co­ordinate various activities. Managers must have the ability to think and to conceptualize about abstract solutions. They must be able to see the organization as a whole and the relationships among its various subunits and to visualize how the organization fits into its broader environment. Conceptual skills are helpful in decision-making. Since all managers have to take decisions so these skills are essential for all managers but these become more important as they make up the organizational hierarchy.

These skills can be depicted in a diagram:

Qualities of a Manager:

A manager has to undertake a number of functions from planning to controlling. He has to take decisions for every type of activity. The decisions of the manager influence the working of an organization.

He should have the following qualities so for performing his work properly:

1. Education:

A manager must have proper educational background. These days managers are supposed to have management education, besides other educational qualifications. Education not only widens mental horizon but also helps in understanding the things and interpreting them properly. The knowledge of business environment is also important for dealing with various problems the organization may face.

2. Intelligence:

A manager has to perform more responsibilities than other persons in the organization. He should have higher level of intelligence as compared to other persons. Intelligence will help a manager in assessing the present and future possibilities for the business. He will be able to foresee the things in advance and take necessary decisions at appropriate time.

3. Leadership:

A manager has to direct and motivate persons working in the organization. He will provide leadership to subordinate. The energies of the subordinates will have to be channelize of properly for achieving organizational goals. If a manager has the leadership qualities then he can motivate subordinates in improving their performance and working to their full capacity for the benefit of the organization.

4. Training:

A manager has to acquire managerial skills. These skills consist of technical skills, human skills and conceptual skills. These skills have to be acquired through education, guidance, experience etc. These skills are needed for all levels of managers.

5. Technical Knowledge:

A manager should have technical knowledge of production processes and other activities undertaken in the enterprise. He will be in a better position to inspect and guide if he himself has a knowledge of those activities.

6. Maturity:

A manager should have mental maturity for dealing with different situations. He should be patient, good listener and quick to react to situations. He has to take many awkward decisions which may adversely affect the working if not taken properly. He should keep calm when dealing with subordinates. All these qualities will come with mental maturity.

7. Positive Attitude:

Positive attitude is an asset for a manager. A manager has to deal with many people from inside as well as from outside the organization. He should be sympathetic and positive to various suggestions and taken humane decisions. He should not pre-judge the things and take sides. He should try to develop good relations with various persons dealing with him. He should understand their problems and try to extend a helping hand.

8. Self-confidence:

A manager should have self- confidence. He has to take many decisions daily, he may analyze the things systematically before taking decisions. Once he takes decisions then he should stick to them and try to implement them. A person who lacks self-confidence will always be unsure of his decisions. This type of attitude will create more problems than solving them.

9. Foresight:

A manager has to decide not only for present but for future also. There are rapid changes in technology, marketing, consumer behaviour, financial set up etc. The changes in economic policies will have repercussions in the future. A manager should visualize what is going to happen in future and prepare the organization for facing the situations. The quality of foresight will help in taking right decisions and face the coming things in right perspective. In case the things are not rightly assessed then the organization may face adverse situations.

Role of the Manager:

A role is concerned with the behaviour pattern of a manager within an organization. Henry Mintzberg did a careful study of five chief executives at work in the late 1960’s. He discovered that the role of a manager is quite different from the notions held at that time. For instance, the prominent view at that time was that managers were reflective thinkers who carefully and systematically processed information before taking decisions.

Mintzberg found that his managers were engaged in a large number of varied, un-patterned, and short-duration activities. There was little time for reflective thinking because managers encountered constant interruptions. Mintzberg provided a categorization scheme for defining what managers do based on actual managers on the job. He concluded that managers perform ten different but highly interrelated roles. The term management roles refers to specific categories of managerial behaviour. Table gives the ten different roles of the manager.

Interpersonal Roles:

A manager has to perform some duties as a figurehead. He may receive the guests from outside or preside over a social function of employees. He may have to sign some legal documents as head of the organization. These are the roles played as figurehead. He has also to act as leader when he has to sort out the activities of subordinates. He has not only to motivate the employees but is also involved in hiring, firing and discipline employees. The third role in interpersonal roles is of liaisoning. He has to contract outside agencies for collecting business related information. The outside information providers may be individuals or groups.

Table. Mintzberg’s Different Managerial Roles

Informational Roles:

All managers are required to perform informational roles. They have to collect information from organizations and institutions outside their own. Managers also play the role of disseminators when they supply information to subordinates in the organization. This information is factual as well as with interpretations for the benefit of users. A manager acts as a spokesperson when he represents the organization to outsiders.

Decisional Roles:

According to Mintzberg, a manager performs four decisional roles. He initiates and oversees new projects for the improvement of organizational performance, this is the entrepreneurial role played by him. As disturbance handler, manager takes corrective actions in response to previously unforeseen problems. He also acts as resource allocation when he assigns and monitors the allocation of human, physical, and monetary resources. He acts as a negotiator when he discusses and bargains with other groups to gain advantage for his own unit.

Environment and Managers Roles:

The word environment is a collectivity of all factors within the control of business and beyond the control of the individual business. Environment is a macro concept and a business unit is a macro business. A business operates within the given environmental factors. The environment may be external as well internal.

The external and internal environments have been explained below:

External Environment:

External environment greatly influences the working of every business.

External environment may have the following components:

1. Economic

2. Technological

3. Social

4. Political

5. Ethical

1. Economic Environment:

Economic environment constitutes of factors like capital, labour, suppliers, customers and consumers.

(a) Capital:

Capital consists of owners funds and borrowed funds. Borrowed funds are supplied by investors and creditors. Business needs for funds arise for purchaser of plant and machinery, land and building, equipment, materials, payments to labour and other day to day expenses. These needs are met both from internal sources and external sources. A manager has to remain in touch with investors and creditors for meeting financial needs of the business at the time of need.

(b) Labour:

The labour normally comes from nearby surroundings. Labour unions try to regulate labour supply. A manager has to assess his labour requirement, its quality and price etc. He has to maintain contacts with trade unions and see that the unit is not adversely affected by labour supply.

(c) Suppliers:

The suppliers are an important element of external environment. The supplier include those of raw materials, equipment’s, machinery etc. There is a need to have regular liaison with suppliers to know the latest quality of goods available in the market and to ensure supplies as per requirements.

(d) Customers and Consumers:

The customers and consumers are the backbone of a business. Manager should know the needs and preferences of these people through market segment. The goods and services are produced as per the likings of customers and consumers. New products and services are also brought out to keep the tempo of marketing efforts. While keeping inter-personal relations with customers, the manager keep himself abreast about the competitors also.

2. Technology:

The state of technology greatly influences the operations of an enterprise. It is concerned with inventions and techniques. The technological changes may give birth to new products as well as new industries. One has to keep a watch on the developing situation of technology and think of the ways for making its use. The manager has to keep himself abreast of the technological developments particularly in product improvement and new opportunities.

3. Social Environment:

A business is directly influenced and affected by prevalent social environment. Society provides labour force to the business and has consumers for the products and services. In a democratic set up, as at present, a manager comes in contact more than often with the people in all walks of life, various social organizations, educational institutions etc. All these contacts are useful and essential for the business because it depends upon the society for various inputs as well as outputs. The very survival of business depends upon society.

4. Political Environment:

The political system prevailing in a country influences business decisions. In a democratic set up, the ideology of the ruling party influences economic and business policies. A business manager has to cope with the thinking of the ruling party in following economic policies. The rules, regulations and laws of the country affect the day to day activities of the enterprise. A business has to comply with sales and excise laws, labour laws, taxation laws etc. A manager should be well conversant with prevailing political environment and try to benefit from various schemes and programmes of the government.

5. Ethical Environment:

A manager has to keep in mind the ethical environment prevailing in business while running his unit. Ethics are generally accepted and practiced standards expected from business managers. These ethics are influenced by the expectations of society, employees, government etc. from the business. A manager should aim at fair dealings with everyone coming in contact with business. There should be a clear perception about what is to be done and what is not to be done. A manager should not only be aware of business ethics but should ensure their proper implementation also. This will create confidence in employees and public about the fair dealings of the business.

Internal Environment:

Internal environment is concerned with the day to day working of the organization. A manager plays a vital role in the organization. He provides leadership to others, co­ordinates the activities of employees, delegates authority to subordinates, takes important decisions, looks after human relation activities, acts as a spokesman for the organization etc. All these roles make the job of a manager very important for harmonious working. Important roles of a manager are as follows:

As a Leader:

An organization comprises of a number of persons working for different jobs. These persons need the guidance and direction for working towards a common goal. A manager plays the role of a leader while defining the activities and objectives of various persons in the organization. He helps in creating right type of atmosphere and hom*ogeneity within the work-group. The quality of leadership will influence the actions and performance of the group led by him.

As a Coordinator:

As a coordinator, a manager puts various resources, physical as well as human, together for achieving organizational goals. He mobilizes various resources, brings about intelligent understanding and goodwill among employers for completing enterprise work. Proper co­ordination will be possible with the help of effective communication. A manager should create good communication system so that various activities are properly coordinated.

Delegator of Authority:

Delegation of authority means giving important work to the subordinates. A manager cannot undertake every work himself. He will have to rely on subordinates by assigning them responsibilities and by delegating requisite authority to can them out. The subordinates will gain confidence when they undertake some work independently and will be readied for higher responsibilities. A manager has an important role in encouraging subordinates to take up suitable work as per their capabilities and expertise and prepare the next line of executives. He will have to create proper communication system so that subordinates are able to get regular guidance and response for the activities taken up by them.

As a Decision-Maker:

Decision-making is one of the important functions of a manager. He has to take decisions for various activities. Decision-making requires broad vision, imagination, experience and knowledge. A decision has to be taken after discussing various aspects of the problem, analyzing them, developing possible alternatives and selecting the appropriate one. The timing is also an important element of decision-making.

A decision made at a right time will bring good results. A manager has to develop consistency, firmness and conviction in his decisions. A manager changing his decisions frequently may leave his subordinates in doubt. A decision-making skill and ability to take correct decision at appropriate time will become a guideline for the subordinates.

Human Relations Practitioner:

A manager has to handle personnel problems of the employees. Management tries to get maximum out of the employees and efforts are made to improve productivity in the organization. The employees also face problems and have grievances against their superiors or the management.

A manager should have an insight into the problems and grievances of employees and redress them in such a way that they feel satisfied and motivated. He should encourage participation of subordinates in decision-making process. Human relations problems can also be tackled timely if proper communication system is maintained with all the employees working in the organization.

As a Spokesman of Organization:

A manager acts as a spokesman for the organization. He deals with outsiders and provides them with requisite information required by them. He also maintains proper relations with all interest groups including shareholders, employers, customers, suppliers, government etc. For performing the role of a spokesman, a manager should have an understanding of principles of creating public understanding and the benefits of keeping the public informed A spokesman helps in creating a good image of the organization not only among employers but also among outsiders.

Modern Challenges for Managers:

Every business has to cope with the external environment prevailing at different times. This environment provides a set of outside challenges that is difficult to control. These factors may have an important impact on how well a manager performs. To ensure survival, organizations must respond to environmental developments with speed and effectiveness. We are discussing here some key challenges such as information technology, globalization and intellectual capital which have an impact on the job of managing.

Information Technology (IT):

There is a revolution in information technology. There are computers, internet, intranets, telecommunications, and infinite range of software applications available to get for getting the things done in a better way. A manager has to make a choice for using the best technology available. Many concerns have employed specialists for making a proper selection of hardware and software available at that time.

Managers must use technology to perform their work and achieve desired results. The selection of IT must be made by keeping in view the end user and work to be completed. Managers must learn how to work with IT specialists to determine the most effective technologies for the work to be achieved and then consider the best way to implement those technologies. Managers have to determine the best way to network an organization’s system, also deciding about what network information will be available to whom and what types of security are necessary to protect the network.

Information technology will be successfully implemented only if the employees are properly trained to use it. Effective managers ensure that employees are associated at the time of selection and implementation of technology. The IT challenge that modern managers face is likely to continue unabated. Personal computers (PC) started about 26 years earlier and internet was started about 10 years back. All these developments have greatly influenced the work place.

The use of this technology have improved the work performance of employees. IT adept managers will have a bright future. Some may start working for more than one organization without leaving their home office. Managers must remain aware of the opportunities and threats posed to the organizations by the unabated technology revolution.

Globalization:

The communication revolution has brought the whole world closer. The use of satellites for information communication has improved the things fast. The major component of globalization of business, culture and economics is the ability and freedom to connect to almost anyone, anytime, anywhere. The communication revolution has helped the development of global trading blocks and world trade agreements.

The trading blocks such as North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Latin America’s MERCOSUR, Asia’s ASEAN and European Union (EU) have originated in the past twenty years. It does not look strange that European countries which were fighting the wars during World Wars have now joined hands for economic interests. The creation of World Trade Organization (WTO) has facilitated the opening of markets for world trade.

The multinational companies have started shifting their manufacturing activities to those countries where cheap and trained labour is available. This has helped these companies in reducing the costs of the products. The opening up of Indian markets to multinational companies has changed the complexion of markets. The Indian producers are now trying to improve the quality of products and supplying goods at competitive rates. The consumers are the happiest lot in globalized marketing.

A manager has to plan his business strategies by keeping in view the world economy. He has to prepare the organization for facing the new competition. Managers must find ways to beat foreign competition on price and quality as consumer choices widen. The globalization trend is not likely to change in future; the best thing is to face it. Modern managers should be mentally prepared to face the global competition in the future.

Intellectual Capital:

Intellectual capital is relatively recent term that has been coined to reflect that principal assets of modern organizations lie in the minds of their workers rather than in machinery, bricks and mortar. Thomas Stewart has defined intellectual capital as the “intellectual material-knowledge information, intellectual property, experience-that can be put to use to create wealth. It is the sum of everything everybody in a company knows that gives it a competitive edge.” During 19th century and early part of 20th century the main profession used to be agriculture. Most of the people were directly or indirectly engaged in agriculture.

During the second and third decades of 20th century people started shifting from agriculture to manufacturing. The World War II gave Phillip to manufacturing industries because of war requirements of the countries. In the second half of 20th century information revolution was felt. During 1970’s manager began to discover that they could gain efficiencies and competitiveness by making use of information technology. The service sector expanded rapidly during this period.

The application of information technology put additional burden on workers. They had to first learn the use of this technology and then constantly make efforts for improving their work. The highly educated workers were required to make full use of information technology. The Knowledge Worker is quite different from the worker of F.W. Taylor. The knowledge worker is expected to think of new and better things for improving his work and performing the job in a best possible way.

In Taylor’s system, ‘one best way of doing the things’ was suggested by the supervisor but the knowledge worker is supposed to determine his own best way of doing the things. Today’s workers are also supposed to keep abreast with the new changes in the technology and make use of it. They are expected help in improving the overall productivity of the organization. Such workers are the intellectual capital that is the most important asset of the modern organization.

Modern managers have to use techniques for capturing and using the knowledge generated in the organization. In order to stay competition managers have to use the knowledge of workers which has been stored in their minds. They have to use techniques which can help the best possible use of knowledge of workers for the betterment of the organization.