Management Functions & Behaviour Role of a Manager

Characteristics of a Manager Professional manager need not have a formal degree or education in Management. He may have learnt the necessary skills and gained competence from one’s own experience. His/ her primary concern is the organization or the company he works with. He always keeps organizational perspective in mind. Responsible for performance - It is the professional manager’s responsibility to utilize resources to produce results

Managerial Tasks Providing purposeful direction – In line with objectives of the company, the Manager needs to set objectives and provide clear direction. One must however monitor the progress to ensure the consistency towards desired objective and weigh the various alternatives to ensure best course of action Managing survival & growth – Ensuring survival of the firm is a critical task of manager and so is seeking growth for the company so that it does not become stagnant.

Various factors that affect the Company’s growth are: Internal & Controllable – Choice of technology, efficiency of labour, competence of managerial staff, company image, emphasis on customer care, financial resources etc. External & limited control or no control – Govt Policies, Laws & Regulations, changing customer tastes, attitudes & values, increasing competition or even natural calamities.

Building Human Organisation – A manager with competent team should ensure team work by clearly demarcating the areas of functioning & responsibilities. Recruiting the best talet & retaining them is one of the major task of a Manager. Recognizing, appreciating & nurturing talent along with open communication & motivating staff will help you get improved results & loyalty. Maintaining balance between creativity & conformity – Executing a brilliant idea into action requires detailed planning, organizing finance, marketing, administration etc. Creativity knows no boundations and works best in freedom than restrictions as long as it confirms to the company standards.

Postponing Managerial obsolescence: To get rid of the stagnation after a rich experience of 20/25 years, It’s extremely important to keep abreast of changes in the industry to be able to benefit the organization. Merely doing job for decades and having good experience in that is not sufficient. One must keep updating oneself to the changes and never stop learning. Training at all levels is extremely beneficial both for individual & company’s personal & professional growth.

Maintaining Firm’s efficiency in terms of profit generation – Generation of maximum output with limited resources (money/ manpower/ materials/ machine). Meeting the challenge of Increasing competition – Anticipate and prepare for competition. Competition could be in terms of more products/ services/ wider variety of products & awareness about available pdts & services.

Managing for innovation (finding new/ different & better ways of doing the existing tasks) : Adding value to existing products, providing delightful customer experience. To ensure this, a Manager must maintain close contact with customers and train the staff to ensure that they gather & provide valuable feedback of the guests/ customers to the company. Keeping track of competitor’s activities and having pulse of market is extremely important in innovation. Meeting the challenge of the change by being the Change-agent – Change is perceived as threat to job security and requires learning afresh and most people resist making extra effort. Manager’s responsibility to ensure that change is introduced and incorporated in a smooth manner with the least disturbance & resistance.

Coping with growing public criticism & political opposition - Ensuring activities being performed conform to legal standards and present the correct information regarding the brand so that the firm is seen in right perspective. Coping with increasing levels of aspiration – Understand the nature of aspiration of your team members and try & fulfill them. Giving more autonomy, responsibility, money, status & enhancing worker’s self esteem Maintaining relations with various society segments – csr activities