A managers role is very crucial in an organization.

The success of organization depends upon managers

ability in utilizing the resources for achieving the pre determined goals. Henry Mintzberg suggested three
areas where a manger has to work.

Interpersonal Role

Informational Role

Decisional Role

Interpersonal Role
Interpersonal roles of a manger are concerned with his interacting with people both inside the
organization and outsiders. There are three types of interpersonal roles.
Figure Head: In figure head role manager performs activities which are ceremonial and symbolic nature.
These include greeting the visitors attending the social functions involving employees, handing out merit
certificates and other awards to outstanding employees.A figurehead also provides inspiration by sharing the
mission and vision of the organization and symbolizing authority.If someone is a department head giving a
motivational speech at a quarterly sales meeting, then he is acting as a figurehead.
Leader: Managers leader role involves leading his subordinates and motivating them for willing
contributions. Manager is responsible for activities of his subordinates. He has to set example of hard
work and dedication so that subordinate follow his directions with respect.
Mintzberg specifically defines the leader managerial role as the act of directing goals and evaluating employees
performance. Mentoring, training, and motivating employees are all leadership activities. If you were to develop a
new employee orientation program, you would be acting as a leader.
Liaison Role: In liaison role manager serves as a connecting link between his and outsiders or between
his unit and other organizations.
. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg revolutionized the liaison role by making social networking widely available.
When your brother and the CEO of your company are posting status updates, you know social networks are no
longer just for cutting-edge early adopters.
.

Informational Role Informational role involves receiving collecting of information and distributing them
as required. It is of three types.
Monitor: In monitoring role manager collects the information which can affect the organizational activities
by reading magazines and periodicals, reports from the departments, talking with others to learn changes
in the publics taste. For example ; Manager knows he's going to need to pay attention to certain data from inside
his store. He will focus on things that affect worker productivity (for example, vacation days, overtime, sick leave,
and commissions), sales figures (such as which plant sells best by season), and even which customers do (or don't)
pay on time. He also realizes he needs to gather information from outside the store, including significant weather
conditions influencing wholesale plant prices, changing legislation affecting small businesses, and competitors
moving into his area. He monitors information internally and externally
Disseminator: In disseminator role manger distribute the information to his subordinates and superiors
by sending circulars, holding meetings and making phone calls. Once Manager has collected all the
information from his on-going internal and external monitoring, he needs to analyze the information and assess the
impact it will have on others working with him. When he shares his interpretation, he becomes a disseminator of
this information. Ensuring that stakeholders (anyone influencing or affected by decisions) are kept up-to-date is an
essential communication role for an effective manager.
Spokesperson: In spokesperson role the manager represents his organization or unit with interacting
with outsiders. These may customer, financer, govt. suppliers or other agencies in society. It can be done
by attending press conferences, meetings and by issuing notices.

Dissemination of information takes place inside the organization, but Manager knows he needs to keep the public
informed about his work as well. When he puts together a coordinated campaign announcing that the store is under
new management, he makes a commercial, sends letters to existing customers to reassure them, and designs coupons
for the local paper. Whenever he represents the store in public, he is acting as a spokesperson.However, many
organizations have multiple spokespeople--whenever any employee communicates publicly he or she takes on the
role of spokesperson.

Decisional Role:
It is very important role. Manager has to take decisions daily. In decisional role he performs four roles.
Entrepreneur: As an entrepreneur the manger assumes certain risks which can affect the organization.
He has to take decisions like expansion,initiation of new projects, development of older procedures.
The entrepreneur role comes into action when the manager seeks to improve the work unit. This can be
accomplished by adapting new techniques to fit a particular situation or modifying old techniques to
improve individual or group activity. Managers usually learn of new or innovative methods through

information gathered in the monitor role. As a result, a director of a youth club trains staff in the use of
personal computers to increase file access; or a president establishes a new pension plan to improve
employee morale.
The disturbance handler: As a disturbance handler he has to take care of certain disturbance in
organization such as resolving employee disputes and strikes etc. For example, manager must resolve
conflicts among subordinates or between manager's department and other departments
The disturbance handler role establishes the manager as a responder to change. Organizations,
unfortunately do not run so smoothly that managers are never called upon to respond to unwelcome
pressures. In these cases, the manager is required to act quickly to bring stability back to the
organization.
For example a cannery first-line manager must respond to a sudden shortage of cans used to package
perishable fruit because the supplier has reneged on a contract.

Resource Allocator: As a resource allocator managers fulfill the demand of various units in terms of
human physical and financial. He tries to utilize these resources in such way that no department suffers
for their inadequacy. . In their resource allocator role, managers make decisions about how to allocate
people, budget, equipment, time and other resources to attain desired outcomes.
.. During periods of resource abundance, this role can be easily performed by a manager. In most cases,
however, organizations operate under conditions of resource scarcity; thus, decisions on the allocation of
resources can be critical for the success of the work unit, division, or organization
For example : A manager of a fast-food restaurant must coordinate work shifts to have the maximum
number of employees working during the lunch hour
Negotiator: As negotiator manager has to take decisions regarding prices with suppliers and customers.
He also deals with trade unions and negotiates with them regarding working conditions and wage fixation.
These activities involve formal negotiations and bargaining to attain outcomes for the manager's unit
responsibility. The process of negotiation is possible only when an individual has the authority to commit
organizational resources
For example: a college dean must negotiate with department heads over course offerings and the
number of faculty to be hired.