FUNCTION, ROLE AND

SKILL OF A MANAGER

FUNCTIONS OF MANAGER
There are basically five management concepts that allow any organizations
manager to handle the tactical, planned and set decisions. The five basic
functions of the manager are just to have A controlled plan over the preventive
measure.

PLANNING
Planning is the first tool of the four functions in the managerial task. The
difference between a successful and unsuccessful manager lies within the
planning procedure. Planning is the logical thinking through goals and making
the decision as to what needs to be accomplished in order to reach the
organizations objectives. Managers use this process to plan for the future, like a
blueprint to foresee problems, decide on the actions to evade difficult issues and
to beat the competition.

ORGANIZING:
The second function of the manager (management) is getting prepared,
getting organized. Manager must organize all its resources well before in
hand to put into practice the course of action to decide that has been
planned in the base function. Through this process, manager will now
determine the inside directorial configuration; establish and maintain
relationships, and also assign required resources.

STAFFING:
The third function of manager is stuffing. After the organizational functions
are done, he may decide to beef up his staffing by recruiting, selecting,
training, and developing employees. A manager in a large organization often
works with the company's human resources department to accomplish this
goal.

DIRECTING:
It Involves The Implementation Of Plans By Mobilizing Individuals And Group
Efforts Through Motivation, Communication, Leadership And Supervision.
Directing May Be Defined As The Process Of Activating The Efforts Of
Employees Towards The Achievement Of Organizational Objectives.

Controlling:
It is the process of regulating the ongoing activities of the organization to ensure
that they are in conformity with the established plans and produce the desired
results. Through the controlling function, management can keep the organization
towards its chosen track. It involves:
Establishing standards of performance
Measuring current performance
Comparing actual results with the established standards
Detecting deviations from the standards
Taking corrective actions for significant deviations.

Roles of Manager
A manager wears many hats. Not only is a manager a team leader, but he
or she is also a planner, organizer, cheerleader, coach, problem solver, and
decision maker all rolled into one. And these are just a few of a manager's
roles.

INTERPERSONAL ROLE:
The roles in this category involveprovidinginformation and ideas.
Figurehead- a manager has social, ceremonial and legal responsibilities. He is
expected to be a source of inspiration. People look up to him as a person with
authority, and as a figurehead.
Leader- this is where manager provide leadership for his team, his department or
perhaps his entire organization; and it's where he (manager) manage the
performance and responsibilities of everyone in the group.
Liaison- managers must communicate with internal and external contacts. He
needs to be able to network effectively on behalf of his organization.

Informational role:
The roles in this category involveprocessinginformation.
Monitor- in this role, manager regularly seek out information related to his
organization and industry, looking for relevant changes in the environment. He
also monitors his team, in terms of both their productivity, and their well-being.
Disseminator- this is where manager communicate potentially useful
information to his colleagues and his team.
Spokesperson- manager represents and speaks for his organization. In this
role he is responsible for transmitting information about his organization and
its goals to the people outside it.

Decisional role:
The roles in this category involveusinginformation.
Entrepreneur- a manager creates and control 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's
the manager who must take charge. He also needs to help mediate disputes within it.
Resource allocator a manager also needs to determine where organizational
resources are best applied. This involves allocating funding, as well as assigning staff
and other organizational resources.
Negotiator a manager may be needed to take part in, and direct, important
negotiations his team, department, or organization.

Skills of manager
In addition to fulfilling numerous roles the manager also need a number of
specific skills if he wants to be succeed. The most fundamental management
skills are technical. Interpersonal, conceptual, communication decision making
and time management skills.

TECHNICAL SKILLS:
Technical skills are the skills necessary to accomplish or understand the specific
kind of work being done in an organization. Technical skills are especially
important for first line managers.
These managers spend most of their time training subordinates and answering
question about work related problems. They must know how to perform tasks
assigned to those they supervise if they are to be effective managers.

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS:
Managers spend considerable time interacting with people both inside and outside
the organization. For obvious reasons then the manager also needs interpersonal
skills- the ability to communicate with, understand and motivate both individuals
and groups. As a manager climbs the organizational ladder, he or she must be able
to get along with subordinates, peers and those at higher level of the organization.
Because of the multitude of roles manager must fulfill, a manager must able to
work with suppliers, customers, investors, and others outside of the organization.
Although some managers have succeeded with poor interpersonal skills, a
manager who has good interpersonal skills is likely to be more successful.

Conceptual skills:
Conceptual skills depend on the managers ability to think in the abstract.
Managers need the mental capacity to understand the overall working of the
organization and its environment, to grasp how all the part of the organization fit
together, and view the organization in a holistic manner. This allows them to think
strategically, to see the big picture, and to make broad based decisions that
serve the overall organization.

Diagnostic skills:
Successful managers also possess diagnostic skills, or skills that enable a
manager to visualize the most appropriate response to a situation. A physician
diagnoses a patient illness by analyzing symptoms and determining their probable
cause. Similarly, a manager can diagnose and analyze a problem in the
organization by studying its symptoms and then developing a solution.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS:
Communication skills refer to the managers ability both to effectively convey
ideas and information to others and to effectively receive ideas and
information from others. This skills enable a manager to transmit ideas to
subordinates so that they know what is expected, to coordinate work with
peers and colleagues so that they work well together properly, and to keep
higher level managers informed about what is going on.

In addition, communication skills help the manager listen to what others say
and to understand real meaning behind letters, reports, and other written
communication.

Decision-making skills:
Effective managers also have good decision making skills. Decision making skills
refers to the managers ability to correctly recognize and define problems and
opportunities and to then select an appropriate course of action to solve the
problems and capitalize on opportunities. No manager makes the right decision all
the time. However, effective managers make good decision most of the time. And
when they do make a bad decision, they usually recognize their mistake quickly and
then make good decision to recover with as little cost or damage to their
organization as possible.

Time-management skills:
Finally, effective managers usually good time management skills. Time management
skills refer to the managers ability to prioritize work, to work effectively, and to
delegate appropriately. As already noted, managers face many different pressures
and challenges. It is too easy for a manager to get bogged down doing work that can
easily be postponed or delegated to others. When this happens, unfortunately, more
pressing and higher priority work may get neglected.

Although above described skills are essential for managers, their relative
importance tends to vary by level of managerial responsibility.
Business and management educators are increasingly interested in helping people
acquire technical, human, and conceptual skills, and develop specific
competencies, or specialized skills, which contribute to high performance in a
management job. Following are some of the skills and personal characteristics:
Leadership ability to influence others to perform tasks
Self-objectivity ability to evaluate yourself realistically
Analytic thinking ability to interpret and explain patterns in information
Behavioral flexibility ability to modify personal behavior to react objectively
rather than subjectively to accomplish organizational goals

 Oral communication ability to express ideas clearly in words

Written communication ability to express ideas clearly in writing
Personal impact ability to create a good impression and instill confidence
Resistance to stress ability to perform under stressful conditions
Tolerance for uncertainty ability to perform in ambiguous situations