Leadership The Nature of Managerial Work

CHAPTER2
The Nature
of Managerial Work
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The Nature of Managerial Work
To identify patterns of activity that are common to all

types of managers.
To compare activity patterns for different types of
managers, or managers in different situations.

Typical Activity Patterns in
Managerial Work
Pace of Work Is Hectic and Unrelenting
Content of Work Is Varied and Fragmented
Many Activities Are Reactive
Many Interactions Involve Oral Communication
Interactions Often Involve Peers and Outsiders
Decision Processes are Disorderly and Political
Most Planning Is Informal and Adaptive

Pace of Work Is Hectic and Content of Work Is Varied and
Many Activities Are Reactive
Unrelenting Fragmented
Interruptions occur
Works long hours, and frequently, Many interactions are
many managers take conversations are initiated by others
work home. disjointed, and
important activities
are interspersed with
trivial ones, requiring
rapid shifts of mood.
Find it difficult to forget Managers behavior is
about reactive rather than
jobs when at home or proactive in nature
on vacation
Most managers
gravitate toward the
active aspects of their
jobs, and they tend to
focus on specific,
Website: www.casestudyhelp.com , Tel No. : 612-83105679 (Australia) immediate problems
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general issues or long-
term strategies.
Most Planning Is
Interactions Often Many Interactions Decision Processes Informal and
Involve Peers and Involve Oral are Disorderly and Adaptive
Outsiders Communication Political
Managers tend The person who

to prefer Instead of a top-down,
the network of initiates the formal process, overall
relationships current decision process objectives and strategies
information to may not be for
old information, the person who the firms were more
and current makes the final likely to be the result of
information is choice among a bottom-up political
usually process in which
A large network action the objectives and
obtained alternatives.
of contacts strategies of powerful
directly from individuals and
provides people who
information organizational subunits
have access to are
about current it, including reconciled and
events within or many people integrated. The formal,
outside of the outside the annual plans were
organization merely a confirmation
managers of
that may affect organizational
the managers strategic decisions
subunit. already reached through
job the informal political
performance Website: www.casestudyhelp.com , process
and career Tel No. : 612-83105679 (Australia)
Managerial Position Duties and
Responsibilities
Improving the performance of subordinates by working
with them to analyze
their strengths and weaknesses, providing training,
Supervising
developing skills, scheduling their work,
and setting performance goals
Formulating short-term plans, carrying out projects, and

developing
budgets, determining optimal allocation and utilization of
Planning and Organizing resources; translating long-range
plans into short-term operational goals; recommending and
developing operational policies
and procedures
Making business decisions without hesitation in an

unstructured situation;
Decision Making authorizing minor or major deviations from established
procedures to meet new or unusual
situations.

Monitoring internal and external forces that may affect
the company,
Monitoring Indicators including performance indicators, corporate finances
and assets, market conditions, and
cultural, social, and political climate
Developing schedules and cost-time estimates for

producing or delivering
products or services, tracking productivity, assuring the
Controlling
quality of products or effectiveness of
services, and analyzing operational effectiveness.
Answering questions and responding to complaints from

outsiders; communicating with outsiders to promote
company relations; negotiating with outsiders; conducting
Representing
promotional activities to establish or maintain company
image; and convincing others of
your point of view

Communicating with others in the company over whom one
has no direct control in order to share information, meet
previously established schedules, solve problems,
Coordinating and achieve objectives; maintaining a smooth working
relationship with peers; mediating disagreements and
conflicts between key individuals
Keeping current with technical developments in ones field;

introducing new
Consulting techniques or technologies into the organization; and acting as
expert advisor, consultant, or
troubleshooter for other managers.
Performing basic administrative activities such as locating

information on
Administering company practices and procedures, analyzing routine
information, or maintaining detailed
and accurate records and documents

Mintzbergs Managerial Roles

The Content of Managerial Work
Leader Role
Provide guidance to Liaison Role
subordinates,
ensure that they are
motivated, and Figurehead Role
Making new
create favorable contacts, keeping in Monitor Role
conditions for doing touch, and doing Formal authority as
the work favors the head of an Disseminator Role
Hiring, training, that will allow the organization or one Analyze information
directing, praising, manager to ask for of its subunits, to discover
criticizing, favors in return. managers are problems and Managers have
promoting, and obliged to perform opportunities, and special access to
dismissing certain symbolic to develop an sources of
duties of a legal and understanding of information not
social nature. outside events and available to
Eg: Signing internal processes subordinates.
document within the
managers
organizational
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The Content of Managerial Work
(Contd.)
Spokesperson Role
Managers are also obliged to Entrepreneur Role

transmit information and
express
value statements to people The manager of an Disturbance Handler Role
outside their organizational organization or one of its
subunit subunits acts as an initiator
and designer of controlled A manager deals with Resource Allocator Role
change to exploit sudden crises that cannot be
opportunities for improving ignored, as distinguished from
the existing situation. problems that are voluntarily Resource allocation is Negotiator Role.
solved by the manager to involved in managerial
exploit opportunities decisions about what is to be
done, in the managers Managers may participate in
authorization of subordinates several different types of
decisions, in the preparation negotiations, including
of budgets, and in the negotiations with unions
scheduling of the managers involving labor-management
own time. contracts or grievances;
contract
negotiations with important
customers, suppliers, or
consultants; employment
negotiations with key
personnel; and other
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Demands, Constraints, and Choices
Demands. Demands are the required duties, activities, and

responsibilities for someone who occupies a managerial
position.
Constraints. Constraints are characteristics of the organization
and external environment limiting what a manager can do.
Choices. Choices are the activities that a manager may do but
is not required to do.
Choices include the opportunities available to someone in a
particular type of managerial position to determine what to
do and how to do it.
1. Core Components
Demands Constraints Choices
Required duties, activities, and Characteristics of the organization The opportunities available to
responsibilities for someone who and external environment limiting someone in a particular type of
occupies a managerial position. what a manager can do. managerial position to determine
Include bureaucratic rules, policies, what to do and how to do it.
Include standards, objectives,
and deadlines for work and Demands and constraints limit
regulations that must be observed, choices in the short run, but over a
Bureaucratic procedures and legal constraints such as labor longer time period, a manager has
preparing budgets and reports, laws, environmental regulations, some opportunities to modify
attending certain meetings, securities regulations, and safety demands and remove or
authorizing expenditures, signing regulations circumvent constraints, thereby
documents, and conducting expanding
performance appraisals choices.
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2. Situational Determinants
Work Pattern
(1) The extent to which managerial
activities are either self-generating or a Exposure
Pattern of Relationships. response to the requests, instructions, What behavior and
The demands made on a manager by and problems of skills are required is the
superiors, subordinates, peers, and other people; amount of responsibility for
persons outside the organization making decisions with
(2) the extent to which the work is potentially serious
influence how the managers time is recurrent and repetitive rather than
spent and how much skill is needed to consequences, and the
variable and unique; amount of time before a
fulfill role requirements.
(3) the amount of uncertainty in the mistake or poor decision can
work; be discovered.
(4) the extent of
managerial activities requiring sustained
attention for long periods of time; and
(5) the amount of pressure to meet
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3. Level of Management
Low-level managers
Higher-level managers Primarily concerned with
Are usually more concerned Middle managers structuring, coordinating,
with exercise of broad Primarily concerned with and facilitating work
authority in making long- interpreting and activities. Objectives are
range plans, formulating implementing policies and more specific, issues are less
policy, modifying the programs, and they usually complex and more focused,
organization structure, and have a moderately long time and managers typically have
initiating new ways of doing perspective (25 years). a shorter time perspective
things (a few weeks to 2 years)
4. Size of Organizational Unit
Managers of Large Organization

More demanding jobs in comparison to smaller units.
Larger networks and attended more scheduled meetings.
Has a large number of subordinates, it is more difficult to get all of them
together for meetings, or to consult individually with each subordinate.
Compete for power and resources, creating conflicts and posing a threat to
group cohesiveness and teamwork
5. Lateral Interdependence
The extent to which a leaders subunit is dependent on other
subunits in the same organization (lateral interdependence)
or on external groups will affect leader behavior to a
considerable extent.
Need for mutual adjustments in plans, schedules, and
activities
The leaders role in lateral relations includes functions such as
gathering information from other subunits
obtaining assistance and cooperation from them
negotiating agreements
reaching joint decisions to coordinate unit activities
defending the units interests
promoting a favorable image for the unit Website: www.casestudyhelp.com
serving as a spokesperson for subordinates. Email: casestudyassignmenthelp@gmail.com
Crisis Situations
To survive in a hostile environment leader to be more

Assertive
directive and
decisive
Stage in the Organizational Life Cycle
In the initial stage of the organizations evolution, a primary management

responsibility is to communicate a vision of the proposed organization to
potential external stakeholders
Identifying and acquiring the technology needed to perform the work, recruiting
the key personnel needed to staff the organization, inspiring commitment by
the new members, and designing appropriate management systems
As the organization grows rapidly, the management responsibilities concerned

with internal demands (e.g., staffing, motivation, organization of work, resource
allocation, coordination) become as important as those related to external
demands.
In the maturity phase, when the organizations key products or services become
fully developed and the market stabilizes, a primary management responsibility is
to structure the work and develop procedures to increase the efficiency of
operations, and to maintain member morale and motivation in a time of increasing
controls and declining opportunity for advancement
In this crisis phase the primary responsibility of management is to determine how to

adapt and survive. New strategies must be identified, members of the organization
must be influenced to support them, resources must be found to finance the changes,
Website: www.casestudyhelp.com credibility must be reestablished with external stakeholders, and the structure of the
organization must be changed to be consistent with the new strategy.
Applications for Managers
Guidelines for Performing Managerial Work
Understand the reasons for demands and constraints.
Expand the range of choices.
Determine what you want to accomplish.
Analyze how you use your time.
Plan daily and weekly activities.
Avoid unnecessary activities.
Conquer procrastination.
Take advantage of reactive activities.
Make time for reflective planning.
Identify important problems that can be solved.
Look for connections among problems. Website: www.casestudyhelp.com
Experiment with innovative solutions. Tel No. : 612-83105679 (Australia)
Take decisive action to deal with crises.
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CHAPTER2

Website: www.casestudyhelp.com , Tel No. : 612-83105679 (Australia)

To identify patterns of activity that are common to all

Website: www.casestudyhelp.com , Tel No. : 612-83105679 (Australia)

Content of Work Is Varied and Fragmented

Many Activities Are Reactive

Many Interactions Involve Oral Communication

Interactions Often Involve Peers and Outsiders

Decision Processes are Disorderly and Political

Most Planning Is Informal and Adaptive

Managers tend The person who

Formulating short-term plans, carrying out projects, and

Making business decisions without hesitation in an

Website: www.casestudyhelp.com , Tel No. : 612-83105679 (Australia)

Developing schedules and cost-time estimates for

Answering questions and responding to complaints from

Website: www.casestudyhelp.com , Tel No. : 612-83105679 (Australia)

Keeping current with technical developments in ones field;

Performing basic administrative activities such as locating

Website: www.casestudyhelp.com , Tel No. : 612-83105679 (Australia)

Website: www.casestudyhelp.com , Tel No. : 612-83105679 (Australia)

Managers are also obliged to Entrepreneur Role

Demands. Demands are the required duties, activities, and

Demands Constraints Choices

Managers of Large Organization

To survive in a hostile environment leader to be more

In the initial stage of the organizations evolution, a primary management

As the organization grows rapidly, the management responsibilities concerned

In this crisis phase the primary responsibility of management is to determine how to

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