The Main Functions and Responsibilities of the Manager - Case Study Example

This report details an interview with a manager. It seeks to examine how managers apply management concepts. The paper also seeks to identify common challenges faced by managers and examples of how to overcome such challenges. The interviewer seeks to outline functions, duties, and responsibilities of the manager. The paper seeks to create an understanding of the leading, controlling, and organising functions that are part of a manager’s day-to-day engagements. The interview also attempts to gain insights to the constraints under which managers operate and how the competitive environment affects them and influences their decision-making. It seeks to find out the ethical questions that managers may have to ask themselves as they make decisions. This report seeks to draw insight on management theories and elaborate how they work in the real world. The report will attempt to draw conclusions based on interviewee’s experiences. It will examine how working relationships affect execution and coordination of an organisation’s activities. Responsibilities of A Manager The interviewer began by asking the manager his responsibilities at his current position. He asked the manager to describe his areas of accountability, responsibility, and delegation. The manager described his responsibilities as divided into three main categories (Tripathi & Reddy, 2005, pp. 12-35). The operational responsibilities are in line with the organisation’s mission. The manager also deals with financial and administrative issues, which mainly relate to the organisation’s resources and how they are allocated and utilised. These include the human resource element where the manager is responsible for the allocation and distribution of staff and the tasks they handle. The third category of responsibilities is matters of compliance. It is upon the manager to ensure all the organisation’s activities adhere to set laws, regulations, standards, and ethics. The manager has the responsibility of implementing established policies and procedures to ensure smooth, fair, and lawful running of the organisation. A manager usually has staff reporting to them. The interviewer asked the manager if the manager had ever had to deal with an underperforming member of staff, how the manager dealt with the matter and the result. Was there an improvement on the employee’s performance? Where there was no improvement, the interviewer asked about the steps the manager took. The manager’s response was that he had handled several cases of such nature. To address the issue, the manager looked for ways to motivate the employees (Tripathi & Reddy, 2005, pp.48-62). These included monetary incentives like higher commission rates and bonuses, and non-monetary incentives. Managerial Skills The interviewer asked what qualities the manager finds most useful to have in his position. He listed communication skills, leadership skills, supervision, organisational skills, delegation skills, and technical skills as some of the most valuable qualities that an adroit manager must have (Tripathi & Reddy, 2005, pp.74-90). Communication skills are the most valuable for creating and maintaining good working relationships with staff, management, clients, and the public. Leadership skills are necessary for keeping staff focused on a common goal and guiding them towards its achievement. Supervision skills are a prerequisite, as a manager has staff working under him, so he or she should ensure every member of his or her team performs their functions satisfactorily and on time. A manager has to learn to entrust others with various duties. Delegation skills are necessary, as no one can do everything. Some jobs require a manager with certain technical skills; therefore, technical expertise may not be essential for all managers. It all depends on the sector and the organisation in which one works. Functions of A manager The interviewer wanted to know what functions a manager has in the organisation. The interviewee described planning as the most critical of all managerial functions (Tripathi & Reddy, 2005, pp.167-181). Planning is a continuous course of action which a manager should always engage in. A subsequent function of management is organising. Managers must organise resources to implement and achieve the course of action defined in planning. Controlling and supervising the action on staff is a necessary managerial responsibility. Therefore, one of the functions of the manager is to lead or direct. The manager should lead the staff and assist them in attaining organisational and personal goals. The fourth function of a manager is control. A manager’s responsibilities include the establishment of performance standards that are in alignment with the organisations goals and objectives. The management should set high standards and provide the resources to achieve them. The manager is involved in setting targets, solving problems, providing leadership, team building, and dealing with emergencies. Controlling entails establishing standards based on the organisation’s objectives. It also necessitates the manager to measure and report on performance. This performance is then compared with the established standards. After comparison, the manager should take corrective or preventive measures. Leading or directing requires the manager to motivate staff, communicate, enforce discipline, do conflict resolution, and performance appraisals. Organising requires the manager to coordinate staff efforts, delegate authority, practice division of labour, and departmentalize (Tripathi & Reddy, 2005, pp.167-180). Planning requires the manager to follow the mission, vision, objectives, and goals of the organisation. Managers are involved either directly or indirectly in the staffing of their organisation or departments. This includes recruiting, selection, hiring, training, and retraining roles. Management activities The interviewer asked what the day-to-day activities of the manager are. The manager responded that management activities include satisfying all the varying entities, dealing with emergencies, purchasing, recruitment, accounting, training, planning, negotiating, sales, and dealing with regulatory officials (Tripathi & Reddy, 2005, pp. 245-249). The varying entities include staff, other managers, clients, regulators, suppliers, creditors, and the public. A manager routinely identifies the organisation needs and other operational requirements. He or she then organises resources to enable performance of the required tasks. The manager then has to monitor the performance and completion of duties and deal with any arising problems. This requires constant planning for future requirements. Professional skills required for managers The manager was asked what professional skills managers require. He described them as intellectual skills, technical skills, ethical skills, interactive skills, and emotional skills (Tripathi & Reddy, 2005, pp. 340-344). Intellectual skills enable the manager to be capable of logical thinking and have problem-solving skills. Technical skills enable the manager to perform and plan tasks competently. Ethical skills help managers distinguish between right and wrong. Interactive skills enable the manager to communicate intelligently and create an atmosphere that encourages open communication. Emotional skills enable the manager to identify emotions and know how to deal with them accordingly. The manager stated that one characteristic of incompetent managers is failure to articulate policies. To see decisions through, the manager needs to identify objectives, analyze relevant factors, consider all alternatives, select the best option, implement the decision, and evaluate results. Another factor that results in incompetence in a manager is a backlog unresolved issues. These issues may include cross-functional strife, balancing of work and personal life, confronting poor performance, developing people, lack of alignment, and poor communication. The manager encouraged other managers to find ways of constant self-development. To do that, one may employ a variety of methods, which include observation, reflection, guided readings, seeking feedback, and seeking challenges. Conclusion The manager listed strategic planning as one of the most critical of tasks for a manager. Strategic planning provides the mission and strategy for achieving the organisations goals. It answers the questions of where are the organisation is heading? How is it going to get there? It creates a blueprint for action and a means of knowing whether the plans are on track. Strategic planning involves creating the mission statement, the mandates statement, a SWOT analysis, a vision of success, and other strategic issues like goals and the envisioned ideal future. Generally, managers should always be prepared to manage conflict, listen to their intuition, apply behavioural skills, and follow up on decisions to take corrective measures. This are summarised as the P-D-C-A cycle i.e. to Plan, Do, Check, and Act. References Tripathi, R., & Reddy, P. N. (2005). Principles of management. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Read More