Organization and

Management
Quarter 1 – Module 2: The
Functions, Roles and Skills of a
Manager
 Lesson
The Functions, Roles and
1 Skills of a Manager

In our life we need to perform so many functions and roles that we are expected to portray from
time to time. Different roles from a simple to a more complex one from being a husband or a wife, a
daughter or a son, a sister or a brother, a parent, an employee, a student, and a friend and so many more
on the list. Manager is no exception from portraying and performing various functions in each level of
management and taking different roles as the need arises. Furthermore, in order for the manager to
undertake those various functions and roles he needs to possess the right skills to be able to successfully
execute those responsibilities efficiently and effectively.

It is quite true that, Manager portrays a very crucial part in the management process or system
of any organization. The life and success of all the organization really lies on the hands of the manager
and how he/she will perform the various
functions and roles, from optimizing all the resources of the company, monitoring the performance of
the employees and motivating them to ensure high level of productivity, handling of various problems
of the company and making crucial decisions. Those are among the various responsibilities that a
manager must efficiently and effectively carry out in order to achieve the company goals and to become
successful and maintain its sustainability in the industry.

Manager is the person who is responsible for

Blocking the Barriers
Roles-is a socially expected
behavior pattern usually
determined by an individual’s
status in a particular society; a
character assigned or assumed
Function- is the job or duty of a
person
Skills- is a developed aptitude or
ability; a learned power of doing
something competently
the over-all operation of the organization as well as the
people and all the resources within his/her control to
ensure that every element is working together towards
its goals and objectives. In doing so, manager has to
perform multiple roles and functions according to the
level of management and must need to possess the
required skills to successfully carry out all those
responsibilities.
MANAGERIAL LEVELS

Each organization depending on their size or

structure resulted to dividing the management into various levels and this is very necessary to ensure
that the manager will be able to closely supervise their subordinates and must see to it that their
performance is aligned with the company’s goals and objectives. Organization is usually divided into
three levels of management in order to show the separation of the various managerial positions within
the company. The various level of management clearly provides the administrative ranks of the
organization workers that determines the chain of command, the scope of authority and the status
enjoyed by the managerial position. The three functions of the levels of management are:

TOP-LEVEL MANAGEMENT

TOP- LEVEL MANAGERS

(Corporate Managers)

-set goals; handle external

affairs; make strategic plans
and crucial decisions
- MIDDLE-LEVEL
MIDDLE- LEVEL MANAGERS
MANAGEMENT
(Tactical Managers)

-formulate and carry out activities;

report to the top manager;
supervise and leads the lower level
manager and distribute resources
LOWER-LEVEL
FRONTLINE OR LOWER- LEVEL MANAGERS MANAGEMENT
(Operational Managers)

-responsible for the day-to-day operations; reports

to middle- level manager; serve as a bridge between
management and non- management employees
TOP-LEVEL MANAGERS- also known as the general or strategic manager and is accountable to
the shareholders for operating the business. It is usually composed of the Board of Directors,
President; Vice-President, Chief Executive Officer (CEO); Chief Operating Officer (COO), Chief
Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) who have authority over the
organization’s other human resources. Their functions are as follows:

 formulate policies and lay down the general and long- term goals of the organization
which focus on its sustainability, development and over-all efficiency and
effectiveness.
 devise sound strategies that will support the realization of the set goals and aligning
competent managers to successfully carry them out.
 appoints executives for middle-level management
 controls and coordinates all the activities of the organization
 handles inter-relationship with the external environment
 provides guidance and direction to the whole organization

MIDDLE-LEVEL MANAGERS- are also known as the tactical manager and is accountable to
the top-level managers for the activities of their departments. They are made up of General
Manager, Regional Manager, Branch Manager, District Manager and Plant Manager. They are more
aware of the company’s problem compared to the top-level managers because they have close
contacts with the frontline managers, customers and other subordinates. Aside from the above
mentioned, their functions
are as follows:

 serves as communicators between top and lower levels as they transfer information,
reports and various data of the company to the top-level managers.
 in charge with the employment and trainings of the lower levels
 interpret and carry out the plans of the organization in accordance with the policies and
directions of the top-level management.
 supervise and monitors the performance of the lower-level managers
 develops creativity to provide sound ideas about operational and problem solving skills
to their subordinates.
 Motivation of frontline managers

FRONTLINE OR LOWER-LEVEL MANAGERS- also known as the operational managers

and composed of Supervisors, Foreman, Store or Office Managers and Team Leaders. Their
functions include:

 assigning of task and jobs to other subordinates

 supervise the day to day activities of the organization
 directly responsible for the quality and quantity of worker’s production
 serves as a bridge between management and non-management employee
 maintain discipline in the organization
 supervise, guides and motivates subordinates
 make necessary decisions on their levels
MANAGERIAL ROLES

According to Henry Mintzberg, a professor at McGill University and who conducted a

research on what real managers do, He classified the managerial roles in three categories:
interpersonal, informational and decisional or decision making.

INTERPERSONAL- this pertains to the role that has

something to do with building a good relationship with others
and related to human skills. Some of the interpersonal roles of a
manager are:

A. Figure head- he stand as a source of inspiration and a symbol of

legal authority to his employees and performs social, ceremonial duties like
signing of documents and receiving visitors.
B. Leader- he hires, trains and motivates his personnel
and he also communicates performance goals and evaluates the performance
of the employees.
C. Liaison- the manager interacts and communicates
with internal and external members of the organization and this networking
activity is critical in realizing the organizational goals especially concerning
with the customers.

INFORMATIONAL- this role involves generating and sharing of

important information to successfully attain the company’s objectives.
Some of the informational roles are as follows:

A. Monitor- he takes the role as the receiver and collector of

useful information that can be obtained through meetings, conversations
and documentations to keep abreast of the current and industry standards
as well as the changes occurring in both internal and external business
environments.
B. Disseminator- takes and distributes information to
the appropriate individuals or subordinates regularly.
C. Spokesperson- transmits information about the
organization to outside parties or individuals.
 DECISIONAL or DECISION-MAKING- this role
entails processing and using of information to make decisions
in order for the managers to get things done. Some of the
decisional roles are the following:

A. Entrepreneur- the one who design and initiate change within the
organization and usually involves improvement that will contribute in the
achievement of future goals.
B. Mediator- handles and resolves conflicts among employees,
difficult problems and non- routine situations like strikes.
C. Resource Allocator- the manager decides on how to allocate or
distribute the resources and with whom to work closely to attain desired outcomes.
D. Negotiator- this role is where the manager represents a
team or departments when negotiating an issue with the suppliers, individual
employees, unions, customers, the government and outside parties. Managers usually
negotiates on budgeting and purchases.

MANAGERIAL SKILLS

Diagram 1.0 (Required Managerial Skills for Each Managerial Level)

 CONCEPTUAL
SKILLS
Most common with Top-
level managers
Ability of the managers to
think of possible solutions to
complex problems
Through the ability to see “the
big picture”, allows to
recognize significant elements
in the situation and to
understand its relationships
among the elements
HUMAN SKILLS
Common with all levels of
managers
Enable managers in all levels
to relate well with people
Communicating, leading,
inspiring and motivating will
be easy with the help of
human skills especially in
dealing with people both in
the internal and external
environment of the
organization
TECHNICAL
SKILLS
Most common with
Frontline or Lower-level
managers
Is the knowledge and
proficiency in activities that
involves methods,
processes and
procedures
Lower-level managers find
these skills very important
because they are the ones who
manage the non-management
workers who usually use
varied techniques and tools to
be able to produced good
quality products and services