ROLES / FUNCTIONS OF A MANAGER

- A manager is someone who can lead, direct and control operations and people in their
organization without imposing their authority. In a world where a more informal working
structure is becoming increasingly popular, a manager has to work with their team to
achieve larger goals.
- 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.

1. Interpersonal roles are the following:

- Figurehead − Managers have social, ceremonial and legal responsibilities. They are a source
of inspiration. People look up to them as a person with authority, and as a figurehead.
- Leader − Manager provides leadership for the team, organization, and manages the
performance and responsibilities of everyone in the group.
- Liaison − Managers communicate with internal and external contacts.
2. Informational roles are:
- Monitor − Managers regularly seek out information related to the organization and
industry, looking for relevant changes in the environment. They also monitor the team, in
terms of both their productivity and their well-being.
- Disseminator − Managers communicate potentially useful information to the colleagues and
the team.
- Spokesperson − Managers represent and speak for their organization. They are responsible
for transmit-ting information about their organization and its goals to the people outside it.
3. Decisional roles are:
- Entrepreneur − Manager creates and controls change within the organization. This means
solving problems, generating new ideas and implementing them.
- Disturbance Handler − When an organization or team hits an unexpected roadblock, it is the
manager who must take charge.
- Resource Allocator − Managers need to determine where organizational resources are best
applied. This involves allocating funding, as well as assigning staff and other organizational
resources.
- Negotiator − Managers take part in, and direct important negotiations within the team,
department, or organization (Mintzberg's Management Roles).
IMPORTANT SKILLS FOR MANAGEMENT
- Leadership skills;
- Influencing, delegating abilities;
- Communication skills;
- Critical thinking skills;
- Collaboration and negotiation skills;
- Project management skills;
- Human resources management skills;
- Time management skills;
- Forecasting skills.
Planning is an important function of management because it sets the pace for all subsequent
steps in the managerial process. You need to develop a roadmap for the future—predefined
steps—to accomplish organizational goals. In this step, you’ll have to evaluate methods and
strategies to determine how you’ll progress toward your goal.
You may have to look at how things were done in the past to make any adjustments to mitigate
errors. You have to consider both internal factors—people, time and cost—and external factors
—competitors, policies and general business environment—to arrive at a sound planning
strategy.

Steps in Planning Function

1. Establishment of objectives
a. Planning requires a systematic approach.
b. Planning starts with the setting of goals and objectives to be achieved.
c. Objectives provide a rationale for undertaking various activities as well as indicate
direction of efforts.
d. Moreover, objectives focus the attention of managers on the end results to be
achieved.
e. As a matter of fact, objectives provide nucleus to the planning process. Therefore,
objectives should be stated in a clear, precise and unambiguous language.
Otherwise, the activities undertaken are bound to be ineffective.
f. As far as possible, objectives should be stated in quantitative terms. For example,
Number of men working, wages given, units produced, etc. But such an objective
cannot be stated in quantitative terms like performance of quality control manager,
effectiveness of personnel manager.
g. Such goals should be specified in qualitative terms.
h. Hence objectives should be practical, acceptable, workable and achievable.
2. Establishment of Planning Premises
a. Planning premises are the assumptions about the lively shape of events in future.
b. They serve as a basis of planning.
c. Establishment of planning premises is concerned with determining where one tends
to deviate from the actual plans and causes of such deviations.
d. It is to find out what obstacles are there in the way of business during the course of
operations.
e. Establishment of planning premises is concerned to take such steps that avoids
these obstacles to a great extent.
f. Planning premises may be internal or external. Internal includes capital investment
policy, management labor relations, philosophy of management, etc. Whereas
external includes socio- economic, political and economic changes.
 g. Internal premises are controllable whereas external are non- controllable.

3. Choice of alternative course of action

a. When forecast is available and premises are established, a number of alternative
course of actions have to be considered.
b. For this purpose, each and every alternative will be evaluated by weighing its pros
and cons in the light of resources available and requirements of the organization.
c. The merits, demerits as well as the consequences of each alternative must be
examined before the choice is being made.
d. After objective and scientific evaluation, the best alternative is chosen.
e. The planners should take help of various quantitative techniques to judge the
stability of an alternative.
4. Formulation of derivative plans
a. Derivative plans are the sub plans or secondary plans which help in the achievement
of main plan.
b. Secondary plans will flow from the basic plan. These are meant to support and
expediate the achievement of basic plans.
c. These detail plans include policies, procedures, rules, programs, budgets, schedules,
etc. For example, if profit maximization is the main aim of the enterprise, derivative
plans will include sales maximization, production maximization, and cost
minimization.
d. Derivative plans indicate time schedule and sequence of accomplishing various
tasks.
5. Securing Co-operation
a. After the plans have been determined, it is necessary rather advisable to take
subordinates or those who have to implement these plans into confidence.
b. The purposes behind taking them into confidence are: -
i. Subordinates may feel motivated since they are involved in decision making
process.
ii. The organization may be able to get valuable suggestions and improvement
in formulation as well as implementation of plans.
iii. Also, the employees will be more interested in the execution of these plans.
6. Follow up/Appraisal of plans
a. After choosing a particular course of action, it is put into action.
b. After the selected plan is implemented, it is important to appraise its effectiveness.
c. This is done on the basis of feedback or information received from departments or
persons concerned.
d. This enables the management to correct deviations or modify the plan.
e. This step establishes a link between planning and controlling function.
f. The follow up must go side by side the implementation of plans so that in the light of
observations made, future plans can be made more realistic.
The 4 Types of Plans
Operational Planning
“Operational plans are about how things need to happen,” motivational leadership speaker
Mack Story said at LinkedIn. “Guidelines of how to accomplish the mission are set.”

This type of planning typically describes the day-to-day running of the company. Operational
plans are often described as single use plans or ongoing plans. Single use plans are created for
events and activities with a single occurrence (such as a single marketing campaign). Ongoing
plans include policies for approaching problems, rules for specific regulations and procedures
for a step-by-step process for accomplishing particular objectives.

Strategic Planning
“Strategic plans are all about why things need to happen,” Story said. “It’s big picture, long-
term thinking. It starts at the highest level with defining a mission and casting a vision.”

Strategic planning includes a high-level overview of the entire business. It’s the foundational
basis of the organization and will dictate long-term decisions. The scope of strategic planning
can be anywhere from the next two years to the next 10 years. Important components of a
strategic plan are vision, mission and values.

Tactical Planning
“Tactical plans are about what is going to happen,” Story said. “Basically at the tactical level,
there are many focused, specific, and short-term plans, where the actual work is being done,
that support the high-level strategic plans.”

Tactical planning supports strategic planning. It includes tactics that the organization plans to
use to achieve what’s outlined in the strategic plan. Often, the scope is less than one year and
breaks down the strategic plan into actionable chunks. Tactical planning is different from
operational planning in that tactical plans ask specific questions about what needs to happen to
accomplish a strategic goal; operational plans ask how the organization will generally do
something to accomplish the company’s mission.
Contingency Planning
Contingency plans are made when something unexpected happens or when something needs
to be changed. Business experts sometimes refer to these plans as a special type of planning.
Contingency planning can be helpful in circumstances that call for a change. Although managers
should anticipate changes when engaged in any of the primary types of planning, contingency
planning is essential in moments when changes can’t be foreseen. As the business world
becomes more complicated, contingency planning becomes more important to engage in and
understand.

Planning Methods
Brainstorming - is a method design teams use to generate ideas to solve clearly defined design
problems. In controlled conditions and a free-thinking environment, teams approach a problem
by such means as “How Might We” questions. They produce a vast array of ideas and draw links
between them to find potential solutions.
Comparison Matrix - A comparison matrix is a great tool to visualize similarities and differences
between products and services, or even between more complex and abstract concepts like
strategies and ideas.
The matrix helps to organize and classify the elements in which you are comparing. The
features and characteristics of each element are evaluated according to a set of
criteria/standards, enabling the easy recognition of their pros and cons in order to facilitate the
decision-making process.

Force Field Analysis - Force Field Analysis was created by Kurt Lewin in the 1940s. Lewin
originally used it in his work as a social psychologist. Today, however, it is also used in business,
for making and communicating go/no-go decisions.
The idea behind Force Field Analysis is that situations are maintained by an equilibrium
between forces that drive change and others that resist change, as shown in figure 1, below.
For change to happen, the driving forces must be strengthened or the resisting forces
weakened.

Problem Tree - Problem tree analysis (also called Situational analysis or just Problem analysis)
helps to find solutions by mapping out the anatomy of cause and effect around an issue in a
similar way to a Mind map, but with more structure.

Role Playing - is defined as an experience around a specific situation which contains two or
more different viewpoints or perspectives. It is how each role player handles the situation that
forms the basis of skills practice, assessment and development. The situations will be realistic
and relevant to the role players and the most successful ones will be focused on developing a
particular skill or skill set.
SWOT Analysis - A SWOT analysis is a compilation of your company’s strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats.
The primary objective of a SWOT analysis is to help organizations develop a full awareness of all
the factors involved in making a business decision.
Use your SWOT analysis to discover recommendations and strategies, with a focus on
leveraging strengths and opportunities to overcome weaknesses and threats.

Organizing
This is where you put your plan into action by establishing a system of authority or hierarchy in
the context of your organizational structure. Determine the tasks that need to be completed to
achieve your goals before assigning them to your staff. As opposed to the traditional ways of
working where a manager made all the decisions, today’s business world is more dynamic and
flexible. Every member of the organization—regardless of position—shares accountability and
responsibility.
So, define an organizational structure that aligns with your workplace and assign tasks that map
to your team’s skills and abilities. You have to get everyone on the same page and delegate
tasks the way you see fit.
Principle of Specialization
According to the principle, the whole work of a concern should be divided amongst the
subordinates on the basis of qualifications, abilities and skills. It is through division of work
specialization can be achieved which results in effective organization.
Principle of Functional Definition
According to this principle, all the functions in a concern should be completely and clearly
defined to the managers and subordinates. This can be done by clearly defining the duties,
responsibilities, authority and relationships of people towards each other. Clarifications in
authority-responsibility relationships helps in achieving co-ordination and thereby organization
can take place effectively. For example, the primary functions of production, marketing and
finance and the authority responsibility relationships in these departments should be clearly
defined to every person attached to that department. Clarification in the authority-
responsibility relationship helps in efficient organization.
Principles of Span of Control/Supervision
According to this principle, span of control is a span of supervision which depicts the number of
employees that can be handled and controlled effectively by a single manager. According to this
principle, a manager should be able to handle what number of employees under him should be
decided. This decision can be taken by choosing either from a wide or narrow span.
Principle of Scalar Chain
Scalar chain is a chain of command or authority which flows from top to bottom. With a chain
of authority available, wastages of resources are minimized, communication is affected,
overlapping of work is avoided and easy organization takes place. A scalar chain of command
facilitates work flow in an organization which helps in achievement of effective results. As the
authority flows from top to bottom, it clarifies the authority positions to managers at all level
and that facilitates effective organization.
Principle of Unity of Command
It implies one subordinate-one superior relationship. Every subordinate is answerable and
accountable to one boss at one time. This helps in avoiding communication gaps and feedback
and response is prompt. Unity of command also helps in effective combination of resources,
that is, physical, financial resources which helps in easy co-ordination and, therefore, effective
organization.
Authority Flows from Top to Bottom
Managing Director
↓
Marketing Manager
↓
Sales/ Media Manager
↓
Salesmen
According to the above diagram, the Managing Director has got the highest level of authority.
This authority is shared by the Marketing Manager who shares his authority with the Sales
Manager. From this chain of hierarchy, the official chain of communication becomes clear
which is helpful in achievement of results and which provides stability to a concern. This scalar
chain of command always flows from top to bottom and it defines the authority positions of
different managers at different levels.

Staffing
This is another important function of management. You have to assign tasks based on each
team member’s knowledge, skills and abilities. You have to be careful here because you may
have to hire new talent for specific tasks that require specific technical expertise. Assessing the
needs of your employees in terms of incentives, training and development and compensation
are critical for the success of this step.

An effective manager will have the insight to evaluate the competency and efficiency of their
employees. This is to ensure that their assigned tasks match their skills. You have to adopt an
empathetic approach to connect with your employees and understand their strengths and
weaknesses.
Recruitment – search for prospective employee to suit the job requirements as presented by
job specification. It involves the creation of a pool of available labor upon whom the
organization can depend when it needs additional employees
Sources of Recruitment
Internal Sources – recruitment from within the company such as promotion, transfer, past
employees, and internal advertisement
External Sources – refers to the practice of getting suitable persons from outside. It is
commonly used by big enterprises
- Direct recruitment also known as recruitment at factory gate
- Casual Callers or Unsolicited Applications can be claimed when the organizations, which are
regarded as good employers, draw steady stream of unsolicited applications in their offices
- Media Advertisement are advertisement in newspapers or trade and professional journals
- Employment Agencies are employment exchanges run by the government regarded as a
good source of recruitment for the unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled operative jobs.
- Management Consultants are firms that help the organizations to recruit technical,
professional and managerial personnel.
- Educational Institutions or Campus Recruitment are organizations that maintain a close
liaison with the universities, vocational and management institutes for recruitment to
various jobs.
- Recommendation are applicants introduced by friends and relatives may prove to be a good
source of recruitment.
- Labor Contractors is workers that are recruited through labor contractors who are the
employees of the organizations. Recruitment through labor contractors has been banned
for the public sector units.
- Telecasting is the practice of advertising vacant jobs over television.
- Raiding is a technical term used when employees working elsewhere are attracted to join
organizations.
Selection - weeding out unsuitable applicants and selecting those individuals with prerequisite
qualifications and capabilities to fill the jobs in the organization.
Types of Screening Methods
Short Screening Interview – short interview designed to screen applicants for final interview.
Work Sample – designed to measure the applicant’s skills that are necessary upon entry into
the job.
Tests – consists of written and/proficiency assessment of the applicant’s knowledge, skills, and
abilities

Selection Process
Initial Screening – initial screening or preliminary interview is done to limit the costs of
selection by letting only suitable candidates go through the further stages in selection. Usually,
a junior executive screen all inquiries for position against specified norms (in terms of age,
qualifications and experience)
Application Form – usually designed to obtain information on various aspects of the applicant’s
social, demographic, academic, and work-related background and references
Tests – provides systematic basis for comparing the behavior, performance or attitude of two or
more persons. Tests serve as screening device and provide supplementary inputs in selection
decisions
Intelligence Tests – measures reasoning, verbal and non-verbal fluency, comprehension,
numerical, memorization, and spatial relations ability
Aptitude Tests – one’s natural propensity or talent and ability to acquire a particular skill.
Intelligence is a general trait; aptitude refers to more specific capacity or potential.
Achievement Tests – a proficiency tests to measure one’s skill or acquired knowledge. Work
sample tests or performance test using actual task and working conditions provide standardized
measures of behavior to assess the ability to perform than merely the ability to know.
PIP Tests – seeks to measure one’s personality, interest, and preferences.
Projective Tests – these tests expect the candidates to interpret problems or situations;
responses will be based on the individual’s values, beliefs, and motives
Interview – oral examination for candidates for employment. Most common and core method
of both obtaining information from the job-seekers, and decision-making on their suitability or
otherwise.
Background Investigation – verification of reference from past teachers, employers or public
men; police verification, and medical examination. Background verification is sought to guard
oneself against possible falsification by applicant.

Training and Development

- it is a vital part of the human resource development.
- It is assuming an ever-important role in wake of the advancement of technology. It is
also become more important globally in order to prepare workers for new jobs.
- the process of enhancing the skills, capabilities, and knowledge of employees for doing a
particular job. Training process molds the thinking of employees and leads to quality
performance of employees. It is continuous and never ending in nature.

Training is given on four basic grounds:

1. New candidates who join an organization are given training. This training familiarizes
them with the organizational mission, vision, rules and regulations and the working
conditions.
2. The existing employees are trained to refresh and enhance their knowledge.
3. If any updates and amendments take place in technology, training is given to cope up
with those changes. For instance, purchasing a new equipment, changes in technique of
production, computer implantment. The employees are trained about use of new
equipment and work methods.
4. When promotion and career growth becomes important. Training is given so that
employees are prepared to share the responsibilities of the higher-level job.

Benefits

1. Improves morale of employees

2. Less supervision
3. Fewer accidents
4. Chance of promotion
5. Increased productivity
Compensation/Renumeration
- The reward or compensation given to the employees for their work performances.
- Basic attraction to an employee to perform job efficiently and effectively.
- Leads to employee motivation. Salaries constitutes an important source of income for
employees and determine their standard of living. Salaries effect the employee’s
productivity and work performance.
There are mainly two types of Employee Remuneration
1. Time Rate Method
- directly linked with the time spent by an employee on the job.
- The employees are paid a fixed pre-decided amount hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly
irrespective of their output.
- Time Rate method leads to quality output
2. Piece Rate Method
- paid on the basis of units or pieces produced by an employee.
- In this system emphasis is more on quantity output rather than quality output.

Leading/Directing
- It is that part of managerial function which actuates the organizational methods to work
efficiently for achievement of organizational purposes.

- It is considered life-spark of the enterprise which sets it in motion the action of people
because planning, organizing, and staffing are the mere preparations for doing the work.
- This is where you have to act as a leader, navigate conflict and motivate your employees
to take initiative. You have to keep an open channel of communication and get regular
updates to stay on top of things. A great way to do this is by giving and receiving
feedback to address any problem areas and improve performance.

Includes
- Supervision- implies overseeing the work of subordinates by their superiors. It is the act
of watching & directing work & workers.
- Motivation- means inspiring, stimulating or encouraging the subordinates with zeal to
work. Positive, negative, monetary, non-monetary incentives may be used for this
purpose.
- Leadership- may be defined as a process by which manager guides and influences the
work of subordinates in desired direction.
- Communications- is the process of passing information, experience, opinion etc from
one person to another. It is a bridge of understanding.

Leadership Styles

1. Democratic/Participative Leadership

- is where a leader makes decisions based on the input received from team members.
- It is a collaborative and consultative leadership style where each team member has an
opportunity to contribute to the direction of ongoing projects. However, the leader
holds the final responsibility to make the decision.
- Democratic leadership is one of the most popular and effective leadership styles

2. Autocratic Leadership
- Is the direct opposite of democratic leadership.

- the leader makes all decisions on behalf of the team without taking any input or
suggestions from them.

- The leader holds all authority and responsibility. They have absolute power and dictate
all tasks to be undertaken.
-
- The autocratic type of leadership style can be very retrogressive as it fuels employee
disgruntlement since most decisions would not be in the employees’ interests.

- However, autocratic leadership can be an effective approach in cases where the leader
is experienced and knowledgeable about the circumstances surrounding the decision in
question and where the decision needs to be made swiftly. There are other instances
where it is also ideal such as when a decision does not require team input or an
agreement to ensure a successful outcome.

3. Laissez-Faire Leadership
- Hands-off or passive approach to leadership.
 - Leaders provide their team members with the necessary tools, information, and
resources to carry out their work tasks.

- is empowering to employees who are creative, skilled, and self-motivated.

- At the same time, it is important to keep such a type of leadership in check as chaos and
confusion can quickly ensue if the team is not organized.

4. Bureaucratic Leadership
- “go by the book”

- Processes and regulations are followed according to policy with no room for flexibility.

- Bureaucratic leaders ensure that team members follow procedures meticulously.

- There is no motivation to be innovative or go the extra mile, it is, therefore, not suitable
for young, ambitious organizations on a growth path.

- Bureaucratic leadership is suitable for jobs involving safety risks or managing valuable
items such as large amounts of money or gold. It is also ideal for managing employees
who perform routine work.

Controlling

- Controlling consists of those activities that are undertaken to ensure that the events do
not deviate from the pre-arranged plans

- The activities consist of establishing standards for work performance, measuring

performance and comparing it to these set standards and taking corrective actions as
and when needed, to correct any deviations.

Process of controlling

1. Establishment of standards
- Standards are the plans or the targets which have to be achieved in the course of
business function. They can also be called as the criterions for judging the performance.
- Classified into two:
a. Measurable or tangible - They can be in form of cost, output, expenditure, time,
profit, etc.
b. Non-measurable or intangible - For example- performance of a manager, deviation
of workers, their attitudes towards a concern.
2. Measurement of performance
- Finding out deviations becomes easy through measuring the actual performance.

It can be measured by-

- Attitude of the workers,

- Their morale to work,
- The development in the attitudes regarding the physical environment, and
- Their communication with the superiors.

Measurement of performance is also sometimes done through various reports like

weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly reports.

3. Comparison of actual and standard performance

- Comparison of actual performance with the planned targets is very important. Deviation
can be defined as the gap between actual performance and the planned targets.
- The manager has to find out two things here- extent of deviation and cause of deviation.
- Extent of deviation means that the manager has to find out whether the deviation is
positive or negative or whether the actual performance is in conformity with the
planned performance.
- Minor deviations have to be ignored. Major deviations like replacement of machinery,
appointment of workers, quality of raw material, rate of profits, etc. should be looked
upon consciously.
- Once the deviation is identified, a manager has to think about various cause which has
led to deviation. The causes can be-
a. Erroneous planning,
b. Co-ordination loosens,
c. Implementation of plans is defective, and
d. Supervision and communication is ineffective, etc.

4. Corrective action
- Once the causes and extent of deviations are known, the manager must make corrective
actions.
- There are two alternatives here-
a. Taking corrective measures for deviations which have occurred; and
 b. After taking the corrective measures, if the actual performance is not in conformity
with plans, the manager can revise the targets. It is here the controlling process
comes to an end. Follow up is an important step because it is only through taking
corrective measures, a manager can exercise controlling.

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