6.6 Managerial Roles

Managerial Roles and Decision-Making

Henry Mintzberg identified ten roles that managers play, grouped into three categories: informational, interpersonal, and decisional. Understanding these roles helps you see that managing isn't just one skill. It's a mix of communicating, connecting with people, and making choices that shape the organization.

Categories of Managerial Roles

Informational roles center on managing and sharing information. Managers act as the hub through which key information flows.

• Monitor gathers relevant information from inside and outside the organization. This could mean reading industry reports, tracking competitor moves, or collecting employee feedback to stay aware of what's happening.
• Disseminator passes pertinent information along to employees who need it. Think company-wide updates, policy changes, or sharing insights from a conference with the team.
• Spokesperson represents the organization to external stakeholders. Press conferences, investor meetings, and media interviews all fall under this role.

Interpersonal roles focus on interactions with people, both inside and outside the organization.

• Figurehead performs ceremonial and symbolic duties as a representative of the organization. Ribbon cuttings, award ceremonies, and signing official documents are typical figurehead activities.
• Leader guides and motivates subordinates to achieve goals. This includes setting expectations, providing feedback, and coaching team members. Effective leaders adapt their style depending on the situation and the people they're working with.
• Liaison builds and maintains a network of contacts outside the immediate work unit. Relationships with suppliers, industry associations, and managers in other departments all serve this role.

Decisional roles involve making choices that directly impact the organization's direction and resources.

• Entrepreneur initiates change and innovation, such as launching new products or entering new markets.
• Disturbance handler addresses unexpected conflicts and crises, from resolving employee disputes to managing a public relations problem.
• Resource allocator determines how human, physical, and financial resources get distributed. Budgeting and staffing decisions are core examples.
• Negotiator represents the organization in discussions and bargaining, whether that's negotiating contracts, vendor terms, or labor agreements.

Steps in Managerial Decision-Making

Managers follow a structured process when making decisions. These five steps apply whether the decision is small or organization-wide.

1. Recognize and define the problem or opportunity

   • Identify the gap between the current state and the desired state (for example, declining sales or outdated technology).
   • Clarify the scope: Is this a short-term issue or a long-term trend? Is it isolated to one department or systemic across the organization?

2. Gather and analyze information

   • Determine what additional data you need to understand the situation, such as customer feedback or market research.
   • Pull from appropriate sources, including internal reports, financial data, and external experts.

3. Develop and evaluate alternatives

   • Generate a list of potential courses of action. If sales are dropping, options might include increasing advertising, improving product quality, or adjusting pricing.
   • Assess each option's feasibility, benefits, and drawbacks. Consider cost, time, resources required, and potential risks.

4. Select the best alternative and implement the decision

   • Choose the option with the highest likelihood of success based on your analysis.
   • Put the decision into action by communicating it to the relevant people and securing their support. This means informing employees, allocating budget, and assigning responsibilities.

5. Follow up and evaluate results

   • Monitor implementation to make sure the plan stays on track. Regular progress reports help here.
   • Compare actual outcomes to expected results using concrete measures like sales figures or customer satisfaction scores.
   • Make adjustments as needed. If the marketing message isn't landing, refine it. If resources are misallocated, shift them.

Programmed vs. Nonprogrammed Decisions

Not every decision requires the same level of effort. Managers deal with two broad types.

Programmed decisions are routine and repetitive. Clear procedures already exist for handling them, like standard operating procedures for ordering supplies or processing invoices. These are typically made by lower-level managers such as supervisors and team leads. They tend to be structured and carry lower risk.

Nonprogrammed decisions are unique and complex. No established guidelines or precedents exist, so the manager has to use judgment and creativity. Entering a new market, responding to an unexpected crisis, or pursuing a merger all qualify. These decisions usually require higher-level authority (executives or the board of directors) and carry significantly more risk.

Management Functions and Organizational Structure

Beyond specific roles, managers carry out four core functions that keep the organization moving toward its goals.

• Planning means setting goals and determining courses of action. Strategic planning at the top level sets the organization's overall direction, while operational planning handles day-to-day objectives.
• Organizing involves arranging and structuring work to accomplish those goals. This includes designing the organizational structure, deciding how tasks will be divided, and determining how different groups coordinate with each other.
• Leading is about motivating, directing, and influencing people to achieve objectives. This is where leadership styles come into play, as different situations call for different approaches.
• Controlling involves monitoring performance and making corrections when results don't match expectations. Managers establish performance standards, compare actual results against them, and implement corrective actions when necessary.

One practice that cuts across all four functions is delegation, where managers distribute tasks and responsibilities to team members. Effective delegation frees managers to focus on higher-priority work while developing their employees' skills. Managers at every level rely on it.