Management roles and levels (from Wiki)

Management
It is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization (a group of one or more people or entities) or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal. Resourcing encompasses the deployment and manipulation of human resources, financial resources, technological resources and natural resources. Since organizations can be viewed as systems, management can also be defined as human action, including design, to facilitate the production of useful outcomes from a system.

 

Basic functions

Management operates through various functions, often classified as planning, organizing, staffing, leading/directing, controlling/monitoring and motivation.

• Planning: Deciding what needs to happen in the future (today, next week, next month, next year, over the next five years, etc.) and generating plans for action.
• Organizing: (Implementation) pattern of relationships among workers, making optimum use of the resources required to enable the successful carrying out of plans.
• Staffing: Job analysis, recruitment and hiring for appropriate jobs.
• Leading / directing: Determining what needs to be done in a situation and getting people to do it.
• Controlling / monitoring: Checking progress against plans.
• Motivation: Motivation is also a kind of basic function of management, because without motivation, employees cannot work effectively. If motivation does not take place in an organization, then employees may not contribute to the other functions (which are usually set by top-level management).

 

Basic roles

• Interpersonal: Roles that involve coordination and interaction with employees.
• Informational: Roles that involve handling, sharing, and analyzing information.
• Decisional: Roles that require decision-making.

Management skills

• Political: Used to build a power base and establish connections.
• Conceptual: Used to analyze complex situations.
• Interpersonal: Used to communicate, motivate, mentor and delegate.
• Diagnostic: Ability to visualise most appropriate response to a situation .

Formation of the business policy

• The mission of the business is the most obvious purpose
• The vision of the business reflects its aspirations and specifies its intended direction or future destination.
• The objectives of the business refers to the ends or activity at which a certain task is aimed.
• The business's policy is a guide that stipulates rules, regulations and objectives, and may be used in the managers' decision-making. It must be flexible and easily interpreted and understood by all employees.
• The business's strategy refers to the coordinated plan of action that it is going to take, as well as the resources that it will use, to realize its vision and long-term objectives. It is a guideline to managers, stipulating how they ought to allocate and utilize the factors of production to the business's advantage. Initially, it could help the managers decide on what type of business they want to form.

Implementation of policies and strategies

• All policies and strategies must be discussed with all managerial personnel and staff.
• Managers must understand where and how they can implement their policies and strategies.
• A plan of action must be devised for each department.
• Policies and strategies must be reviewed regularly.
• Contingency plans must be devised in case the environment changes.
• Assessments of progress ought to be carried out regularly by top-level managers.
• A good environment and team spirit is required within the business.
• The missions, objectives, strengths and weaknesses of each department must be analyzed to determine their roles in achieving the business's mission.
• The forecasting method develops a reliable picture of the business's future environment.
• A planning unit must be created to ensure that all plans are consistent and that policies and strategies are aimed at achieving the same mission and objectives.

All policies must be discussed with all managerial personnel and staff that is required in the execution of any departmental policy.

• Organizational change is strategically achieved through the implementation of the eight-step plan of action established by John P. Kotter: Increase urgency, get the vision right, communicate the buy-in, empower action, create short-term wins, don't let up, and make change stick.

Policies and strategies in the planning process

• They give mid and lower-level managers a good idea of the future plans for each department in an organization.
• A framework is created whereby plans and decisions are made.
• Mid and lower-level management may add their own plans to the business's strategies.

Various LEVELS of management

Most organizations have three management levels: first-level, middle-level, and top-level managers. These managers are classified in a hierarchy of authority, and perform different tasks. In many organizations, the number of managers in every level resembles a pyramid. Each level is explained below in specifications of their different responsibilities and likely job titles.

TOP LEVEL managers

Consists of board of directors, president, vice-president, CEOs, etc. They are responsible for controlling and overseeing the entire organization. They develop goals, strategic plans, company policies, and make decisions on the direction of the business. In addition, top-level managers play a significant role in the mobilization of outside resources and are accountable to the shareholders and general public.
According to Lawrence S. Kleiman, the following skills are needed at the top managerial level.

• Broadened understanding of how: competition, world economies, politics, and social trends effect organizational effectiveness .

MID LEVEL managers

Consist of general managers, branch managers and department managers. They are accountable to the top management for their department's function. They devote more time to organizational and directional functions. Their roles can be emphasized as executing organizational plans in conformance with the company's policies and the objectives of the top management, they define and discuss information and policies from top management to lower management, and most importantly they inspire and provide guidance to lower level managers towards better performance. Some of their functions are as follows:

• Designing and implementing effective group and inter-group work and information systems.
• Defining and monitoring group-level performance indicators.
• Diagnosing and resolving problems within and among work groups.
• Designing and implementing reward systems supporting cooperative behavior.

FIRST LEVEL managers

Consist of supervisors, section leads, foremen, etc. They focus on controlling and directing. They usually have the responsibility of assigning employees tasks, guiding and supervising employees on day-to-day activities, ensuring quality and quantity production, making recommendations, suggestions, and up-channeling employee problems, etc. First-level managers are role models for employees that provide:

• Basic supervision.
• Motivation.
• Career planning.
• Performance feedback.