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Management levels and Roles

First-line Managers First-line managers are usually referred to as supervisors. They are employees who supervise those individuals who are directly responsible for manufacturing the companys products or delivering its service. On a day-to-day basis, the frontline managers responsibility is to ensure that the products and services of the company are delivered. First-line managers tend to have greater technical skills and knowledge in the use of tools, techniques, and procedures than any other management level, as they are responsible for overseeing the operations. Human skills are important, given the fact that front-line managers are requires to manage their subordinates performance and give them instructions. First-line manager tend to use less of their conceptual skills as they are not extensive involved in the analysis of the complex issues of the company or chartering the developmental path for the company. Middle managers Middle managers supervise first-line managers or departments. They are called department heads, product managers, or marketing managers. This category of managers is an intermediary between top management and the first-line managers. The major area of responsibility is to allocate resources effectively and manage the first-line managers. They require a high level of human skills because they must communicate the companys strategy and objectives to the first-line managers, as well as communicate with other department. Equal technical and conceptual skills are required as well. Top Managers Top managers provide the strategic direction for the organization. This category of managers carries titles such as CEO and president. Top managers need to have great conceptual skills as they are responsible for creation palns and strategy for the organization.

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Managerial Roles The study of Henry Mintzberg of five chief executives is instructive in defining the roles managers perform. He categorized the managerial roles as interpersonal, informational, and decisional. In these categories, he identified ten roles. The term managerial role refers to specific managerial behaviours. Below are the descriptions of each role: Role Interpersonal Figurehead Description Symbolic; obliged to perform a number of routine duties of a legal or social nature Responsible for motivation and influencing employees to achieve goals Maintaining a network of contacts Seeking and receiving wide variety of special information to understand the organization and its environments. Transmitting information Transmitting information to stakeholders on organizational plans, policies, actions, and results. Activities Greeting visitors

Leader

Performing all activities that involve employees Acknowledging mail

Liaison Informational Monitor

Reading reports

Disseminator Spokesman

Holding meeting; making phone calls Holding board meeting; giving information to the media

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Decisional Entrepreneur Disturbance handler Resource allocator Negotiator

Searching for new opportunities and initiatives Applying corrective action

Organizing strategy and review sessions to create new programmes Seeking strategies to address crises Allocating resources of all Performing any activity kinds that involves budgeting Representing the Participating in union organization at major contracts negotiations or negotiations contracts with suppliers.