Three Categories of Roles That Managers Play - Assignment Example

Three Categories of Roles That Managers Play Henry Mintzberg has classified managerial roles into 3 broad categories that serve as effective aids for a manager to understand his roles within the organization. The manager performs several tasks to ensure the productivity of the entire workforce. These roles are crucial in the success of the any business endeavor. Today, let us expound interpersonal, informational and decisional roles that a manager would perform. A manager would be effective in his respective roles when he understand the strategic, technical and operational responsibilities he holds within the workplace (“Henry Mintzberg’s Managerial,” n.d.). What are specific roles this first category consists? These set of roles are associated on how a manager will interact to his employees and the entire workforce in general. These are the first three roles out of the 10 roles of management by Henry Mintzberg – figurehead, leader and liaison (Burgaz, 1997, p. 15). The first is a symbolic head. A manager is expected to perform routine duties legally and socially. He is like a father. The father is the head of the family. He is expected to initiate actions for the welfare of his family. In the same manner, if the organization needs resources to complete certain projects, he would initiate actions to provide these resources to ensure productivity. In a social gathering within the organization, a manager may send solicitation letter to sister companies and other organizations requesting them to participate and donate to the said event. He is also the leader of the workforce, which is the second crucial role of a manager. Mr. A, for example, is responsible to motivate his employees. He is responsible to initiate and conduct training to enhance the skills of his subordinates. He is also in charge to fill vacant positions and activate the workforce to perform the tasks and duties as defined in their respective job descriptions. As a leader, he must learn how to follow the rules and protocols of the company or organization. As a leader, he must portray the right attitude in the workforce to become an ideal person and to strengthen his authority with his employees. Authority is not enough for a manager to become effective with his roles – he needs respect and he must learn to gain it from his employees. Mr. A. acts as the liaison officer – that is the manager’s third role. He shall facilitate communications between organizations (“Roles and Responsibilities”, 2012). He maintains a self-developed contact to the outsiders and other companies for the benefit of the organization (Burgaz, 1997, p. 15). Mr. A. needs to know the news outside which can affect his operation and decision-making factors. These outside contacts are expected to provide favors and important data to help him activate the workforce efficiently. In order to build a self-developed network between outsiders, he needs to build a strong relationship to these outside parties for them to entrust him with unbiased details. What are informational roles? Mr. A. is expected to monitor, disseminate and transmit information for the benefit of the entire organization. He seeks and receives different information that would help him develop an effective techniques and strategies to make the entire workforce productive. Mr. A. would monitor his subordinates’ performance and measures it productivity. He must exert extra effort to gather information from the outside – e.g. examining the competitors techniques. Most of the times, people reinvent ideas rather than building something from scratch. Competitors are spending millions of cash to enhance their management techniques and approaches – a wise manager can make use of these data and information as important resources to develop an approach suited for his management. Disseminating information to the organization is another important role of a manager that belongs to the second category of roles. He is responsible to deliver the news from outsiders or from the other subordinates (Burgaz, 1997, p. 15). Mr. A can pass information using a formal or informal method of communication. That is why it is important for him to become knowledgeable to both verbal and electronic medium of communications. He should be able to communicate to the organization or his subordinates through emails, or printed materials like formal letters and the like. The accuracy of information is vital for the productivity of the entire organization as it’s like playing a message relay game. The sixth role of a manager is being a spokesperson. While he is expected to pass information within the organization, he is also responsible to transmit information to the outsiders. The society has the right to know the plans and policies of the organization as it is part of the society. The last category of roles is crucial for the success of the organization – it’s the decisional roles. Is it hard to make decisions? It is, especially if it regards the organization as a whole. MR. A. is the entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, and negotiator. These roles are not easy and a manager needs to be equipped with skills to perform these duties efficiently. He is the one that is expected to search for opportunities and enhance the workforce to be more productive in their respective responsibilities. When two or more employees have misunderstanding – he needs to find an effective way to solve it. In addition, he is responsible to allocate organizational resources of all kinds (Burgaz, 1997, p. 15). More so, the manager is being assigned to represent the organization to major negotiations (Burgaz, 1997, p. 15). Henry Mintzberg’s 10 roles of management and his 3 broad classifications of roles are very important for the success of any organization. This is an effective guide every manager should consistently practice. References Education Portal. (n.d.). Henry Mintzberg's Managerial Roles. Retrieved from http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/henry-mintzbergs-managerial-roles.html Burgaz, B. (1997). Managerial Roles Approach and the Prominent Study of Henry Mintzberg and some Empirical Studies upon the Principal Works. Retrieved from http://www.efdergi.hacettepe.edu.tr/199713BERR%C4%B0N%20BURGAZ.pdf Cloud Security Alliance. (2012). Roles and Responsibilities for Liaison Officer. Retrieved from https://downloads.cloudsecurityalliance.org/standards/ISC_Liaison_Office_Role_Responsibilities.pdf Researchers frequently refer to the “Big Five” personality traits. Discuss any three of these traits and explain the advantages and disadvantages of each for managers. The “Big Five” are the five broad factors of our personality traits. How these personality traits can affect managerial roles of the organization? Among the big five factors are Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (“Big Five Personality”, n.d.). Openness is a person’s willingness to accept new ideas. A person that possesses these traits has the curiosity to venture out things. They love to experiment and solve complex things. They want innovations. Open-minded people can adapt to changes and this is very important for management. A manager should have a high score of openness. In today’s technology – people need to be adaptable to change. In most cases, an organization that is less productive is the one that has chosen to stick with the plain and outdated way of management. A business entity can only thrive if the manager is willing to take the risk to explore new ideas and approaches to activate the organization and his subordinates. For example, if Mr. A. is introduced to a new system of employees’ performance appraisal, he would react positively to the new facility. In contrast, if he has a low score of openness – he would reject the new idea and stick to the plain and less effective way of evaluating the performance of his subordinates. Being open to new ideas and experiences is a strong factor for a manager, but too much expectation can be risky, as well. Feasibility study and a reliable forecasting of business plans are necessarily to determine whether a new approach is practical or not. Conscientiousness is another part of the big five personality traits. A person that has a high score of this trait is found to be self-disciplined, dutiful, competent and organized. (“Big Five Personality”, n.d.). This is one of the most important traits a manager should possess because a leader must always aim for achievement and success. A manager of an organization must not act spontaneously without following a concrete plan. To ensure success of the operation, he must see to it that actions taken are properly planned. Proper planning is about evaluating and examining every important aspect of a decision made – determining the pros and cons. More so, a manager that has a high score of conscientiousness will show self-discipline and he will act dutifully. As a leader, being dutiful is a good example for the subordinates to recognized authorities of the management. Following my critical thinking – being conscientious is a great factor of the success of an organization. Being a decision maker, a manager should have a factor that is called Need for Achievement (NAch) (“Big Five Personality”, n.d.). Agreeableness is another trait a manager of an organization might have a high score with (“Measuring the Big Five”, n.d.). A person that possesses this trait might be putting other’s people interest above his own. Some individuals tend to hide their true feelings in order to please the rest of the people. They have an optimistic view of human nature – people are naturally good at heart. This might not be effective in the managerial roles. As a leader, a manager should be expressive especially in appraising the performance of his subordinates. How can he improve the skills of the employees if he would consider their feelings? Appraisal is not meant to hurt the feelings of the subordinates – but a manager should have the courage to express his feelings and evaluation results. A manager cannot agree to his subordinates at all times. He should establish his own distinct voice in the organization. A manager cannot always assume that his employees are honest and trustworthy. A leader and the figurehead of the organization must be vigilant. He must not assume that things are naturally falling into the right place. I conclude that the first two traits I have discussed are effective in performing the roles of a manager. Openness and conscientiousness are significant in trying new approaches and weighing every action and decision whether pros are much greater than cons. Agreeableness has also a positive contribution in management though – leaders must be considerate at certain occasions. References Cybercomputing. (n.d.). Cybercomputing: The Brain and Thought Processes. Big Five Personality Traits. Retrieved from http://www.cybercomputing.co.uk/MBTI/Big_Five_Personality.htm Oklahoma State University. (n.d.). Psychology. Big Five Personality Traits. Retrieved from http://psychology.okstate.edu/faculty/jgrice/psyc4333/Trait_Models.pdf University of Oregon. (n.d.). Measuring the Big Fiver Personality Domains. Retrieved from http://pages.uoregon.edu/sanjay/bigfive.html Michael Porter presented a five forces framework to help top management of an organization to entertain/react change. Cite, define, and examine the five forces. The manager and strategist needs to understand and cope with the competition as stated by Michael Porter (2008). Managers often times defined competition too narrowly, in connection, the five forces framework was created to help top management of an organization to understand the real profitability measure (Porter, 2008). What are these five forces that shaped the strategy of an organization to maximize profitability? The five forces as first identified by Michael Porter 3 decades ago are industry competitors, potential entrants, suppliers, buyers, and substitutes (Lima, 2006). Firstly, let me discuss about rivalry in organizations’ existing competitors. What are strategies used by managers to make profit in the midst of a stiff competition? The most familiar form is price discounting. Many companies of the same industry are offering discounts especially during holidays. They expect large volume of sales by offering discounts. When company A is offering 10% discounts, and company B offers the same to consumers – the consumers has to look at other factors like services and payment facilities. Fast foods, for example are offering buy one take one offers plus various services that consumers can greatly benefit. In the case of airline companies, they are also offering discounted fares on selected international and domestic destinations. Secondly, new business entities are rising and existing organizations might consider them as threats especially if they are operated by large corporations. New entrants to an industry are expected to gain market share. Top level management know how new entrants are prepared to penetrate the market and struggle to get the share as forecasted in their respective feasibility studies. They might have copied several brilliant strategies used by the existing organizations and add some innovative features making it suitable for newly started operations. These can put pressures on prices, cost and the amount of investment necessary to compete (Porter, 2008, p. 2). Thirdly, the power of suppliers is another force that shaped strategies of the top management in order to maximize revenues. When can we say that a certain supplier is powerful? I know most us heard about Microsoft. Suppliers, for instance can capture more revenue by charging computer manufacturers high prices of its software or operating system. As we know, there are various brands of computers that are available on the market and consumers have a lot of options and they will be checking price differences amongst suppliers. In this light, computer manufacturers have a limited freedom to increase their prices because they are aware that customers can easily switch brands which will limit their profitability in the long run. Fourthly, in the opposite side – buyers have powers, as well, that might limit the profitability rate of an organization. Buyers often demand better quality or more service in exchange for low prices commodities and services. Since they are aware that there are several equivalent products in the market, they tend to play one suppliers against another (Porter, 2008, p. 5-6). Lastly, top management strategies to maximize revenue are shaped by the rise of substitute products. Although substitute products may look different but they are created for similar purposes. It is said that when the threat of substitutes is high, the profitability of the business entity suffered (Porter, 2008, p. 7). What are best examples of substitutes and why organizations of an industry are affected by this force? Consumers are becoming wise – they have realized acquiring cheaper substitute products are more practical than spending money for expensive ones. One good example of a substitute is e-mail. What happened to the post offices now? What are the necessary actions they have taken to cope up with the change brought by technology? Express mails and e-mails might be in different facets but they are created for the same purpose. Wise consumers are not going to pay for express mails – rather used e-mails without charge if they are already connected to the internet and who’s not connected to the web nowadays? Nevertheless, several industries are doing their best to distance from substitutes by improving their product performances and the like. Managers of an organization must understand these forces, only then they can begin to shape an effective strategy to maximize profitability. When managers have understood and analysed the 5 forces, they can start building strategic actions so they can position the company to better cope with the current competitive forces (Porter, 2008, p. 7). References Porter, M. (2008). Harvard Business Review. The Five Competitive Forces that Shaped Strategy. Retrieved from http://hbr.org/2008/01/the-five-competitive-forces-that-shape-strategy/ar/1 Lima, T. (2006). Michael Porter’s “Fiver Forces” Model. Retrieved from http://www.cbe.csueastbay.edu/~alima/courses/3551/murdercleaners/fiveforcesporter.htm Reveley-Mahan, H. (n.d.). Porter’s Five Forces Analysis. Retrieved from http://www.kstoolkit.org/Porter%27s+Five+Forces+Analysis Reflect upon the material / concept / theory / and application of the information covered in this management class. In an open and candid way, relate what concepts you believe will be particularly valuable to you now or in the near future. I have realized that the managers’ role towards the success of organization is crucial. I would assume myself to be a manager of a huge organization in few years from now. Managing my subordinates is not easy as 1 2 3. In order to become effective and efficient, I need to understand the strategic, technical and operational responsibilities I am holding in the business entity. I found out that Henry Mintzberg 5 categories of managerial roles are significant so that I can successfully play the roles as expected in my job description. I am not going to select few roles, I need to understand and live with all the 10 roles as classified by three broad categories. What is expected for me as a symbolic head? I need to act fast and act first. This action should be weighed carefully for the benefit of my subordinates and organization as a whole. The second crucial role I must play within the organization is being a leader. Do I have the potential to lead the employees? I must be optimistic in doing so because as a leader I need to motivate the entire workforce. I need to help them make use of their potential and enhance their skills so they can be more productive in their respective duties and responsibilities. It’s easier said than done. I know that what I am telling you now cannot be easily live with. I need more time and practice to become an efficient leader of an organization. I have learned that respect is earned – right now I am thinking how I should win the respect of my subordinates. In connection, I believe that the most crucial categories of roles fall into informational and decisional roles that are directly related to the success or failure of an organization. Communication is very important – it is what brings top level management, subordinates or rank and file in unison. The dissemination of wrong information is a factor for the failure of any business operation. As a manager, I need to be flexible. I must understand the concept of a message relay game. What is the message relay game taught me? It taught me that information is a vital tool to activate the workforce. The distribution of accurate information will fuel them to better perform their respective duties and responsibilities. We are all driven by information, aren’t we? More so, the hardest part is decision making. One of the “Big Five” personality traits is needed for a leader to become a wise decision maker and problem solver. I must score high with conscientiousness. This personality trait every manager must possess has a factor that is called Need for Achievement (NAch). What does it mean? I would not be making decision without weighing all the possible consequences carefully. I need to list down pros and cons in deciding to take some course of actions in behalf of the organization. I need to ensure that every action taken should be successful. As a leader I need to have self-discipline. I need to be competent. I must create a concrete plan to ensure that I have correctly forecasted the outcome of my decisions. I need to enhance my critical and logical thinking so I can make the right choice in behalf of the organization. Lastly, Michael Porter’s five forces framework left me thinking how challenging the job of a manager is. I need to outline the success of the organization by understanding five different forces that drive competition and profitability rates in the market. Large volume of sales every month does not mean big amount of profit. Profitability rate is not always measure in terms of the gross revenue. There are underlying factors that need a careful consideration. Like what Porter has said, I won’t define competition too narrowly. I must think outside the box – I should see the business world in a bigger perspective. As a manager, I need to study and build effective strategies that are based on the five forces. Today, I am ready to face the challenge. Read More