Management Roles Paper - Essay Example

Management Roles Introduction Management roles are a set of responsibilities assigned to managers to manage business and workplace tasks. These roles are diverse, since responsibilities of managers are manifold. A manager’s competency can be measured by observing how well he accomplishes his tasks, or carries out his roles. Since a manager is deemed as someone having authority at the workplace, his roles cover many aspects including many “social, inspirational, legal, and ceremonial obligations” (London Management Center, 2008, para.1). This paper tends to discuss some of the most important management roles.

Description of Roles Management roles, as presented by Henry Mintzberg (1980), are the most popular, compact set of managerial roles about managerial behavior, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. These are ten management roles in total, comprised by 3 categories:Informational Interpersonal Decisional Let’s get into the detail of these categories. Informational This category comprises of three roles: Monitor role. Under this role, the manager keeps track of all business information.

He maintains files and documents. He upholds interpersonal contacts for smooth flow of information. Disseminator role. This role demands the manager to forward information, that he has sought, to concerned people. For this, he makes phone calls and sends memorandums. Spokesperson role. Under this role, the manager is expected to make speeches and presentations to the outsiders in order to represent his unit or objective.Interpersonal This category has three roles: Figurehead role. This role demands the management to carry out ceremonial activities, like receiving visitors.

He also arranges meetings, and welcome and farewell parties. Leader role. Under this role, the manager is expected to lead and supervise teams, motivate the subordinates, and train the employees. He gives them feedback about their performances, and makes constructive criticisms. Liaison role. This role makes the manager maintain associations between all business information, both inside and outside the organization. Decisional This category also comprises of four roles: Entrepreneur role. This role demands the manager to initiate new projects by identifying business opportunities, and strengths and weaknesses of a project in terms of business objectives.

Disturbance handler role. Under this role, the manager resolves conflicts among employees, arranges for mediators if necessary, and seeks to achieve the best solution to employees’ problems. He makes the employees adapt to changes and deal with crisis efficiently. Resource allocator role. Here, the manager sets priorities regarding the allocation of resources within the organization. He makes decisions about budget and scheduling of projects. Negotiator. This role expects the manager to represent organizational departments and business objectives in front of outside parties, like investors, partners, suppliers, and vendors.

Conclusion Summing it up together, management roles are a diverse set of responsibilities that managers are expected to carry out. If they carry out these roles effectively, they become efficient managers that everyone at the workplace looks forward to. Each role is unique, with its demands and expectations. Henry Mintzberg has provided us with above mentioned management roles, which also serve as a guideline for all managers, and help us understand their importance and authority in the organization.

ReferencesLondon Management Center. (2008). Management tools. Knowledge Resource Center. Retrieved April 9, 2012, from http://www.lmcuk.com/management-tool/mintzberg-s-ten-management-rolesMintzberg, H. (1980). The Nature of Managerial Work. USA: Prentice Hall.