What is the role of a manager in an organization?

What does a manager do? How much responsibility should they take? The responsibilities of a manager vary from company to company. In some organizations, managers are responsible for overseeing the performance of their employees, whereas, in other companies, managers are responsible for supervising the activities of their subordinates.

This article will explore what a manager is, the management roles and responsibilities in an organization.

Responsibilities of a Manager – What Is Management?

Management is making decisions that will enable organizations to achieve optimal performance. Decisions made by managers involve some form of risk assessment, whereby risks are weighed against potential rewards.

A person who makes management decisions is called a manager or executive. These individuals do not perform manual labor but use skills to plan, organize and direct people.

What is the role of a manager?

Various job positions fall under the title “manager.” The responsibilities of a manager includes overseeing and coordinating the work of other employees in an organization. For example, a general manager’s duties at a factory include overseeing production schedules, labor costs, and employee wages. Production managers supervise assembly-line workers and other employees who manufacture products or perform services for an organization. Human resource manager roles and responsibilities include overseeing an organization’s payroll system and hiring practices and its staffing levels and employee training programs.

Managers are usually responsible for ensuring that the organization’s goals are met. They also ensure that the employees are motivated and engaged in achieving these goals. Managers are expected to provide guidance and direction to their team members. 

Here is a list of responsibilities of a manager    

• Hiring and staffing
• Creating and implementing policies
• Establishing budgets
• Employee benefits and compensation
• Performance management
• Recruitment and selection
• Training and development
• Organizational structure
• Leadership
• Management control
• Team building and communication
• Management decision making and organizational change
• Strategic planning
• Accountability and accountability
• Managing people

Managers may be assigned to several departments within a single organization. Each department may have different job titles, such as project managers, quality assurance managers, finance officers, human resources officials, manufacturing supervisors, etc. Some managers manage teams of several individuals; others manage one individual. Many types of managers depend on an organization’s size, industry, business focus, product lines, etc. The manager’s level of authority and scope of managerial tasks varies widely between industries, businesses, and firms. In larger companies, managers often have senior-level responsibilities at the corporate level. However, managers may have more limited authority than executives in smaller firms. 

Job Outlook For Managers

The manager roles and responsibilities have a lot to do with the growth of a company. Consequently, capable hands are always needed to handle the manager’s duties. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the employment of managers and supervisors grew by 4% from 2008 to 2018, which was faster than the average growth rate. On the other hand, the employment of managers fell during 2017–18, after growing steadily since 2012. Employment of managers will grow by 3% from 2019 to 2024, slower than the average projected growth rate.

The skills of a Manager

To be successful, managers need strong interpersonal skills, good analytical skills, and the ability to think logically. As mentioned earlier, managers must make decisions based on facts. However, it is important to note that managers can become frustrated if they come up with bad ideas or fail to implement the strategies they believe will help an organization reach its goals. 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, five primary skill sets can manage an organization. These include:

Communication: How good your communication skills determine how effectively you collaborate with colleagues.

Coordination: Your ability to coordinate activities of multiple people improves efficiency and productivity.

Decision Making: Good decision-making abilities help you make better decisions, save time, reduce errors, and increase profits.

Problem Solving: Problem-solving involves analyzing situations and finding effective solutions to problems.

Initiative: When faced with complex issues, it’s important to analyze them quickly and act accordingly to meet deadlines.

A manager must possess all five skill sets to effectively conduct his/her day-to-day functions. They must master these skills because they directly affect productivity, safety, morale, and teamwork. Furthermore, the right mix of talent is an essential element in delivering customer service excellence.

Final Words

There you have it —the list of responsibilities of a manager. As described above, the responsibilities of a manager remain key to the success of a company. The manager plans, organizes, directs, motivates, and evaluates employees, among other things. They may also help create and implement programs designed to improve organizational effectiveness.

As a manager, you probably fulfill many different roles every day.

For instance, as well as leading your team, you might find yourself resolving a conflict, negotiating new contracts, representing your department at a board meeting, or approving a request for a new computer system.

Put simply, you're constantly switching roles as tasks, situations, and expectations change. Management expert and professor Henry Mintzberg recognized this, and he argued that there are ten primary roles or behaviors that can be used to categorize a manager's different functions.

In this article and video, we'll examine these roles and see how you can use your understanding of them to improve your management skills.

Click here to read a transcript of our management roles video.

What Are Mintzberg's Management Roles?

Mintzberg published his Ten Management Roles in his book, "Mintzberg on Management: Inside our Strange World of Organizations," in 1990.

The ten management roles are:

1. Figurehead.
2. Leader.
3. Liaison.
4. Monitor.
5. Disseminator.
6. Spokesperson.
7. Entrepreneur.
8. Disturbance Handler.
9. Resource Allocator.
10. Negotiator.

From MINTZBERG ON MANAGEMENT by Henry Mintzberg. Copyright © 1989 by Henry Mintzberg. Reprinted by permission of Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

The 10 roles are then divided up into three categories, as follows:

Let's look at each of the ten managerial roles in greater detail.

Interpersonal Management Roles

The managerial roles in this category involve providing information and ideas.

1. Figurehead – As a manager, you have social, ceremonial and legal responsibilities. You're expected to be a source of inspiration. People look up to you as a person with authority, and as a figurehead.
2. Leader – This is where you provide leadership for your team, your department or perhaps your entire organization; and it's where you manage the performance and responsibilities of everyone in the group.
3. Liaison – Managers must communicate with internal and external contacts. You need to be able to network effectively on behalf of your organization.

Informational Management Roles

The managerial roles in this category involve processing information.

1. Monitor – In this role, you regularly seek out information related to your organization and industry, looking for relevant changes in the environment. You also monitor your team, in terms of both their productivity, and their well-being.
2. Disseminator – This is where you communicate potentially useful information to your colleagues and your team.
3. Spokesperson – Managers represent and speak for their organization. In this role, you're responsible for transmitting information about your organization and its goals to the people outside it.

Decisional Management Roles

The managerial roles in this category involve using information.

1. Entrepreneur – As a manager, you create and control change within the organization. This means solving problems, generating new ideas, and implementing them.
2. Disturbance Handler – When an organization or team hits an unexpected roadblock, it's the manager who must take charge. You also need to help mediate disputes within it.
3. Resource Allocator – You'll also need to determine where organizational resources are best applied. This involves allocating funding, as well as assigning staff and other organizational resources.
4. Negotiator – You may be needed to take part in, and direct, important negotiations within your team, department, or organization.

Applying Mintzberg's Management Roles

You can use Mintzberg's 10 Management Roles model as a frame of reference when you're thinking about developing your own skills and knowledge. (This includes developing yourself in areas that you consciously or unconsciously shy away from.)

First, examine how much time you currently spend on each managerial role. Do you spend most of your day leading? Managing conflict? Disseminating information? This will help you decide which areas to work on first.

Next, get a piece of paper and write out all ten roles. Score yourself from 1-5 on each one, with 1 being "Very skilled" to 5 being "Not skilled at all."

Once you've identified your weak areas, use the following resources to start improving your abilities in each role.

Figurehead

Figureheads represent their teams. If you need to improve or build confidence in this area, start with your image, behavior, and reputation. Cultivate humility and empathy, learn how to set a good example at work, and think about how to be a good role model.

Leader

This is the role you probably spend most of your time fulfilling. To improve here, start by taking our quiz, How Good Are Your Leadership Skills? This will give you a thorough understanding of your current abilities.

Next, learn how to be an authentic leader, so your team will respect you. Also, focus on improving your emotional intelligence – this is an important skill for being an effective leader.

Liaison

To improve your liaison skills, work on your professional networking techniques. You may also like to take our Bite-Sized Training course on Networking Skills.

Monitor

To improve here, learn how to gather information effectively and overcome information overload. Also, use effective reading strategies, so that you can process material quickly and thoroughly, and learn how to keep up-to-date with industry news.

Disseminator

To be a good disseminator you need to know how to share information and outside views effectively, which means that good communication skills are vital.

Learn how to share organizational information with Team Briefings. Next, focus on improving your writing skills. You might also want to take our communication skills quiz, to find out where else you can improve.

Spokesperson

To be effective in this role, make sure that you know how to represent your organization at a conference. You may also want to read our articles on delivering great presentations and working with the media (if applicable to your role).

Entrepreneur

To improve here, build on your change management skills, and learn what not to do when implementing change in your organization. You'll also need to work on your problem solving and creativity skills, so that you can come up with new ideas, and implement them successfully.

Disturbance Handler

In this role, you need to excel at conflict resolution and know how to handle team conflict. It's also helpful to be able to manage emotion in your team.

Resource Allocator

To improve as a resource allocator, learn how to manage a budget, cut costs, and prioritize, so that you can make the best use of your resources. You can also use VRIO Analysis to learn how to get the best results from the resources available to you.

Negotiator

Improve your negotiation skills by learning about Win-Win Negotiation and Distributive Bargaining.

You might also want to read our article on role-playing – this technique can help you prepare for difficult negotiations.

Mintzberg's 10 Management Roles model sets out the essential roles that managers play. These are:

1. Figurehead.
2. Leader.
3. Liaison.
4. Monitor.
5. Disseminator.
6. Spokesperson.
7. Entrepreneur.
8. Disturbance Handler.
9. Resource Allocator.
10. Negotiator.

You can apply Mintzberg's 10 Management Roles model by using it as a frame of reference when you want to develop your management skills. Work on the roles that you fulfill most often as a priority, but remember that you won't necessarily fulfill every role as part of your job.