Skills of an Effective Management - Essay Example

?Understanding the modus operandi of management Introduction For the past 40 or 50 years, there have been a lot of studies dedicated to understandingthe modus operandi and responsibilities of the management of a company. Some of these studies have focussed on expertise that the executives need, some have focussed on the activities that management of a company should ideally perform, while others have focussed on the responsibilities fulfilled by the management as part of everyday activities. Concluding these studies pursued through different approaches, many scholars have come up with varying opinions and theories regarding the working dynamics of management. This report reviews the notable views of three different management theorists, Robert L. Katz, Henri Fayol and Henry Mintzberg, who conducted studies independently at different times in history. It also tries to understand what the management of a company needs to do. Robert Katz’s views on management Robert L. Katz conducted extensive study in the field of management. Based on the results of his studies as well as direct scrutiny of managers at the place of work, he concluded that there are three vital expertises that every manager should have: cognitive abilities, technical knowhow and interpersonal qualities (Katz, 1974; Virkus, 2009; Sutevski, 2009; SAGE Publications, 2014). Cognitive abilities Cognitive abilities collectively refer to the aptitude of a manager. They refer to the capability to consider and rationalise both theoretical and intricate scenarios. They also refer to a manager’s capacity to understand and apply thoughts and proposals. Cognitive abilities of a manager may include the ability to generate innovative thoughts, create concepts, assess difficult circumstances and provide effective solutions. Together, these abilities allow a manager to comprehend and make a better decision about the steps to be taken for a particular situation. Managers with cognitive abilities can connect better with a company’s philosophies, working mechanism, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats; and generate practical plans of action. Cognitive abilities are crucial to managers who sit at the top of the organisational hierarchy and are faced with difficult situations such as, complying with governmental regulations, managing acquisitions and assessing competitor’s business mode. Technical know-how Technical know-how refers to the knowledge and degree of proficiency that a manager has in his/her particular line of work. It helps a manager to complete the job in a smooth and efficient fashion. Technical know-how not only refers to the ability to operate and use equipments and complex electronics, but also the academic qualifications, in-depth theoretical understanding and previous job experience, which will interact together and decide how good the person is at the job assigned. Strong technical know-how is critical for Level-1 executives such as, supervisors. As a manager jumps up higher in the organisational hierarchy from the base level, technical know-how becomes less and less important, since the scope for practical application of such knowledge becomes severely limited. Examples of technical knowhow may include proficiency in software applications, number-crunching abilities and highly specialised expertise to sell products. Interpersonal qualities Interpersonal qualities of a person refer to the ability to connect with senior managers, fellow executives, juniors and subordinate employees and maintain a healthy work environment; provide leadership to the team and help achieve objectives; keep the employees focussed and motivated; help them acquire skills and qualities required for their jobs; and measure and monitor their quality of work. People with high interpersonal qualities can bond with others, collaborate and achieve high quality work and prioritise company’s visions and objectives over personal issues. Interpersonal qualities are a must-have for all executives of a company, regardless of their position in the organisational hierarchy, since every manager has a team to lead and in the process, has to mingle with people. People with such qualities can correctly apprehend the needs of others and provide amicable solutions that cater to everybody’s needs. This creates a cohesive work environment where employees put high priority on collaboration and where competition exists in a healthy manner (Northouse, 2010). Henri Fayol’s views on management Through his personal experience at work and research study with fellow colleagues, notable French engineer and theorist, Henri Fayol, concluded in 1916 that the management of any company has five key activities to perform, namely command, plan, coordinate, organise and control (Fayol, 1916; J.C. Wood and M.C. Wood, 2002; BusinessMate, 2010). Command This refers to the activities of the management such as, effectively explaining the company’s vision, objectives, ethics and rules to the employees, overseeing the daily works of the employees, motivating them to turn the company’s objectives into reality, ensuring that the employees’ conducts are in line with company rules and taking care of all employees in an unbiased fashion. Plan This refers to the activities of the management such as, preparing for upcoming situations and circumstances, formulating the business goals of the company, assigning different roles and responsibilities to different employees and ensuring that business goals of the company are attained by the employees. Under this purview, it is the duty of the management to anticipate, forecast and measure prospective risks to the company and implement changes in the company’s business framework from time to time, to effectively respond to these risks. The benefit of planning is that it gives the company a degree of suppleness and accuracy in business and the ability to utilise its resources and capabilities in a systematic manner. Coordinate This refers to the activities of the management such as, synchronising the different processes, tasks and operations procedures taking place in the company. The objective of coordination is to ensure that every interrelated work going on in different departments of the company are neatly integrated and complement each other such as, the coordination of manufacturing, marketing and sales efforts. For effective coordination, Fayol suggested that management should hold meetings every week with team leads of different units to monitor harmony between their processes and mitigate common issues. Organise This refers to the activities of the management such as, allocating money, people and resources to the regular activities of the company and creating an organisational hierarchy that is simple yet effective. It is to be noted here that the line of authority becomes more complex with increasing number of functional units under a company. It is the duty of the management to classify labour force of a company into an efficient reporting structure that does not clutter or derail the company from its goals. Management also has the responsibility to hire people with skills that are required for performing in the company and train the people to transform them into strategic resource to count on. Control This refers to the activities of the management such as, spotting flaws and errors in the business process of the company, establishing a feedback mechanism from employees to get first-hand access to critical information and ensuring that works of different units comply with the overall business framework. In case of both actual and possible divergences between the working processes and business framework, the management must take corrective actions immediately. Henry Mintzberg’s views on management Henry Mintzberg, in his research, observed the different functions performed by the management of different companies under his observation and studied the qualities perceived from as well as reflected by their executives. He proposed ten distinct responsibilities of the management under relationship-based, info-based, and judgement-based categories (Mind Tools Ltd., 2014; Mintzberg, 1973; Jarvis, 2009). Relationship-based responsibilities This refers to responsibilities performed by the management as part of their relationship with the employees such as, exerting authority, providing leadership and acting as a link between employees of various departments of the company. The relationship-based responsibilities are: 1. Exerting authority – Holding a powerful designation in a company obliges an executive to be the company’s proxy and execute official communal, ritualistic and statutory activities such as, inaugurating events and handling public conferences. 2. Providing leadership – Under the capacities of the head of a team, an executive is supposed to coach, educate, inspire and govern the team members and their performances. The executive is also obliged to accept complete accountability for both the achievements and blunders committed by members. 3. Acting as a link - Being the head of a team, an executive is sometimes required to “play politics”. For instance, an executive must maintain a collaborative environment that is beneficial for the company’s success. For this, the executive is required to maintain good terms with senior management, executives and employees of other departments even when there are interpersonal issues. Since exchange of information between teams happens via the heads of teams, the team heads automatically become the link between different employees. Info-based responsibilities As per Mintzberg, using important company data is among the key responsibilities of the management, since business plans, strategies and frameworks solely depend on the excellence of data collected and critical thinking and decision-making capabilities of the management. Together, strategic data and management’s resolutions have extensive and long-term consequences on a company. Info-based responsibilities of the management are staying alert for important data, dissipating the data and being the face of the company. 1. Staying alert for important data – Enthusiastic executives constantly have a keen eye for important developments in technological and competitive environment, working policies, market trends and other data that may impact or improve the existing state of the company. They familiarise themselves with these developments through journals, books, magazines or websites. 2. Dissipating data in company – An excellent executive constantly dissipates important data among employees of the organisation, depending on which data would benefit which department. Means of dissipation can be conferences, seminars, reports and e-mails. 3. Being the face of the company – The identity of a company rests on the public images of its executives. Therefore, the executives have the responsibility of maintaining a favourable public image and protecting the identity of the company. Judgement-based responsibilities This refers to the responsibilities performed by the management such as, managerial responsibilities, grievance handling, assigning resources and being a mediator. It is to be noted here that judgement-based responsibilities are a corollary to info-based responsibilities, since these responsibilities can be fulfilled only when one has access to important company data. 1. Managerial responsibilities – When a company, its employees or one or more of its processes are undergoing transformation or metamorphosis, it is the duty of the executives to facilitate the process effectively. Thus, executives of a company are required to develop expertise on handling transformations, besides improving on decision-making abilities, critical-thinking abilities and inventiveness that would aid in positive and productive transformation. Sometimes an executive also functions as a financial representative for the company; combining various techniques of manufacturing available to him/her and bringing forth merchandise that are profitable for the company. 2. Grievance handling – The business position of a company directly affects the resources available for use and constraints of operations. Resources and constraints constantly interact with each other and create a continuum for the company. The duty of the management is to acclimatise to the resources-constraints continuum of a company and accordingly develop strategies that ensure rewarding, lasting endurance for the company. Being a grievance handler, an executive must scrutinise and take measures for grievances that may stem from departments such as, manufacturing units, logistics and information systems. Grievances may also stem from managerial or regulatory issues such as, labour unrests, patent infringement and lawsuits. 3. Assigning resources – As per Filicetti (2007), assigning resources involves the careful timing of different tasks that take place in a company and timely supply of resources to these tasks. Every company works by utilising a set of resources and transforming them into a saleable form for the consumers. Resources for a company are always limited, either due to their non-renewable nature or the company’s financial constraints. Thus, proper utilisation of resources and minimising wastage are prime responsibilities of the management of any company. Means of fulfilling these responsibilities are preparing cost budgets and logical scheduling of tasks that take place in the company. 4. Being a mediator – When two people have conflicts in interest or differences in opinion, finding a resolution becomes necessary before escalation of tension. Mediation refers to the process where a common solution is formulated that caters to most of the requirements of two or more opposing people or groups. During mediation, the opposing parties put forward their respective requirements and opinions and the executive, who acts as a mediator, is expected to prioritise some needs while discounting others and prepare a collective plan that is acceptable to all the involved groups. This is called a win-win situation, where no group feels that it is sacrificing its requirements to make way for others. Executives also have to apply mediating or bargaining tactics with their team members, heads of other teams, suppliers, retailers and even customers. When mediating or bargaining with external parties, the prime focus of the executive should be to strike a solution that is most beneficial to the company. Conclusion As one can see, the three theorists have pursued completely different approaches to study the working dynamics of management. Robert L. Katz focussed on the expertise that the executives need, Henri Fayol hammered on activities that management of a company should ideally perform, while Henry Mintzberg stressed on responsibilities fulfilled by the management as part of everyday activities. However, regardless of the approach, the traits that should be present in the executives are clear; namely ability to generate innovative thoughts, critical-thinking and problem-solving abilities, technical knowledge and experience in line of their job, ability to maintain interpersonal relationships, leadership capabilities, mediating tactics, ability to identify advantages and anticipate risks of the company and formulate a suitable business framework, organise and integrate business processes, maintain company's performance and maintain the public image of the company. All three authors have indicated to these requirements through their own personal interpretations. Judging from the same, it can be concluded that management is essentially the soul of a company. Although a company exists as a separate entity in the eyes of law, in reality, the company and its management exist in a symbiotic relationship. A good management team is the face of a company and similarly, a good company is the face of its management team. Experience of working with the project team My experience of working with the project team has been really great. I have learned a lot about my project that would not have been possible without assistance from my team members. I have got a detailed insight into the works of the three notable management theorists, Robert L. Katz, Henri Fayol and Henry Mintzberg. Together, my team members and I have been able to critically assess the works of each of these theorists and identify points of convergence in their works. It has been learning experience to un-wrap their exhaustive reports, locate the core propositions, and then compare them with one another. My project team members have been very collaborative and every member has contributed to the fullest extent to aid the preparation of this report. Reference List BusinessMate, 2010. What are Henri Fayol's 5 functions of management? [online] Available at: [Accessed 3 January 2014]. Fayol, H., 1916. Industrial and General Administration. Paris: Dunod. Filicetti, J., 2007. PMO and Project Management Dictionary. [online] Available at: [Accessed 3 January 2014]. Jarvis, C., 2009. Mintzberg: The Managerial Roles. [online] Available at: [Accessed 3 January 2014]. Katz, R.L., 1974. Skills of an Effective Administrator. Harvard Business Review, 52(5), pp. 90-102. Mind Tools Ltd., 2014. Mintzberg's Management Roles. [online] Available at: [Accessed 3 January 2014]. Mintzberg, H., 1973. The Nature of Managerial Work. New York: Harper & Row. Northouse, P.G., 2010. Leadership: Theory and Practice. [online] Available at: [Accessed 3 January 2014]. SAGE Publications, 2014. Skills Approach. [pdf] SAGE Publications. Available at: [Accessed 3 January 2014]. Sutevski, D., 2009. Managerial Skills – Three Types. [online] Available at: [Accessed 3 January 2014]. Virkus, S., 2009. Skills Approach: Robert Katz. [online] Available at: [Accessed 3 January 2014]. Wood, J.C. and Wood, M.C., 2002. Henri Fayol: Critical Evaluations in Business and Management. Oxford: Taylor & Francis. Read More