Topic: MANAGERIAL ROLES --Henry Mintzberg's point of view

Because all organizations are dependent on effective management and organization to survive and prosper, great care should be taken choosing and training people for management jobs. In many cases, long-time and responsible employees, and those who are experts in their jobs get promoted into management positions. While loyalty, length of service and job-specific expertise are admirable qualities for organizational leaders, they are not enough.


The skills and competencies needed to successfully coordinate and direct the work of others are diverse and multi-faceted. A proper balance of analytical and intuitive decision making styles and task and people behaviors are necessary to solve organizational problems and to get the best out of the workers. Goal setting and strategy formulation and execution are just as important as attending to the personal and professional needs of the workers.


Mintzberg then identified ten separate roles in managerial work, each role defined as an organised collection of behaviours belonging to an identifiable function or position. He separated these roles into three subcategories: interpersonal contact (1, 2, 3), information processing (4, 5, 6) and decision making (7-10).


1. FIGUREHEAD
- the manager serves as the symbolic head of the organization and performs obligatory social or legal duties.

2. LEADER
- the manager provides vision, direction, and motivation for workers to achieve organizational goals.

3. LIAISON
- the manager serves as a bridge between outside supporters and the organization.

4. MONITOR
- the manager seeks and receives internal and external information of importance to the organization.

5. DISSEMINATOR
- the manager transmits received information to members of the organization.

6. SPOKESPERSON
- the manager transmits information about the organization to parties outside the organization.

7. ENTREPRENEUR
- the manager seeks out productive opportunities and initiates efforts to bring about changes.

8. DISTURBANCE HANDLER
- the manager is responsible for corrective actions to remedy disturbances and crises.

9. RESOURCE ALLOCATOR
- the manager is responsible for the allocation of all kinds of organizational resources.

10. NEGOTIATOR
- the manager bargains with other groups to gain advantages for his or her own group or organization.


Effectively managing an organization is a demanding task. Managers not only must develop skills related to the functional areas of management but also must learn how to integrate these activities. What makes this process demanding is that events and activities external and internal to an organization can radically change the techniques and methods managers must use in order to arrive at successful outcomes. Managers cannot afford to be limited in their view of management, nor can they simply rely on how things were done in the past.


REFERENCES:
http://www.provenmodels.com/88/ten-managerial-roles/mintzberg
http://www.reporternews.com/news/2006/aug/11/10-roles-key-to-managerial-effectiveness/?printer=1/
http://www.en.articlesgratuits.com/managerial-roles-id1587.php
http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~ml325898/esp/Roles.html