UNIT 1: THE MANAGER’S JOB

OBJECTIVES
1. Understand the concepts of managers and
management
2. Describe functions of the work of managers
3. Identify the manager’s roles
4. Recognize different levels of management

READING 1: WHAT IS MANAGEMENT?

A. Discussion
1 What is management? Is it an art or a science? An instinct or a set of skills and techniques that
can be taught?
2 What do you think makes a good manager? Which four of the following qualities do you think
are the most important?
A. being decisive: able to make quick decisions
B. being efficient: doing things quickly, not leaving tasks unfinished, having a tidy desk, and so
on
C. being friendly and sociable
D. being able to communicate with people
E. being logical, rational and analytical
F. being able to motivate and inspire and lead people
G. being authoritative: able to give orders
H. being competent: knowing one’s job perfectly, as well as the work of one’s subordinates
I. being persuasive: able to convince people to do things
J. having good ideas
K. being highly educated and knowing a lot about the world
L. being prepared to work 50 to 60 hours a week
M. wanting to make a lot of money
3. Which of these qualifications can be acquired? Which must you be born with?
 B. Reading

This text summarizes some of Peter Drucker’s views on management. As you read about his
description of the work of a manger, decide whether the five different functions he mentions require
the four qualities you selected in your discussion, or others you did not choose.

WHAT IS MANAGEMENT?

Peter Drucker, the well-known American business professor and consultant, suggests that
the work of a manager can be divided into planning (setting objectives), organizing, integrating
(motivating and communicating), measuring, and developing people.

First of all, managers (especially senior managers such as company chairmen – and women
– and directors) set objectives, and decide how their organization can achieve them. This involves
developing strategies, plans and precise tactics, and allocating resources of people and money.

Secondly, managers organize. They analyse and classify the activities of the organization
and the relations among them. They divide the work into manageable activities and then into
individual jobs. They select people to manage these units and perform the jobs.

Thirdly, managers practice the social skills of motivation and communication. They also
have to communicate objectives to the people responsible for attaining them. They have to make
the people who are responsible for performing individual jobs form teams. They make decisions
about pay and promotion. As well as organizing and supervising the work of their subordinates,
they have to work with people in other areas and functions.

Fourthly, managers have to measure the performance of their staff, to see whether the
objectives set for the organization as a whole and for each individual member of it are being
achieved.

Lastly, managers develop people – both their subordinates and themselves.

Obviously, objectives occasionally have to be modified or changed. It is generally the job

of a company’s top managers to consider the needs of the future, and to take responsibility for
innovation, without which any organization can only expect a limited life. Top managers also have
to manage a business’s relations with customers, suppliers, distributors, bankers, investors,
neighbouring communities, public authorities, and so on, as well as deal with any major crises
which arise. Top managers are appointed and supervised and advised (and dismissed) by a
company’s board of directors.

Although the tasks of a manager can be analyzed and classified in this fashion, management
is not entirely scientific. It is human skill. Business professors obviously believe that intuition and
‘instinct’ are not enough; there are management skills that have to be learnt. Drucker, for example,
wrote over 30 years ago that ‘Altogether this entire book is based on the proposition that the days
of the “intuitive” manager are numbered’, meaning that they were coming to an end. But some
people are clearly good at management, and others are not. Some people will be unable to put
management techniques into practice. Others will have lots of technique, but few good ideas.
Outstanding managers are rather rare.

*Peter Drucker: An introductory View of Management

C. Exercises

I. Match up the following words and definitions

1 consultant A a plan for achieving a success

2 crisis B a new idea or method

3 innovation C a person with a less important position in an organization

4 objective (noun) D a person who provides expert advice to a company

5 promotion E a situation of danger or difficulty

6 public sector F something you plan to do or achieve

7 strategy G the section of the economy under government control

8 subordinate H when someone is raised to a higher or more important position

II. Complete the following sentences with these words

Achieved Board of directors Communicate Innovations

Manageable Performance Resources Setting Supervise

1. Managers have to decide how best to allocate the human, physical and capital …
………..to them.

2. Managers- logically – have to make sure that the jobs and tasks given to their
subordinates are ……..

3. There is no point in ………..objectives if you don’t ………..them to your staff.

4. Managers have to measure their subordinates, and try to improve their

……………………

5. Managers have to check whether objectives and targets are being ……..

6. A top manager whose performance is unsatisfactory can be dismissed by the company’s

……………………….

7. Top managers are responsible for the ……..that will allow a company to adapt to a
changing world.

III. Match up these verbs and nouns to make common collocations.

1. allocate a. decisions 1…………………….

2. communicate b. information
2………………….....
3. develop c. tasks
4. make d. objectives 3……………………..
5. measure e. people
4……………………..
6. motivate f. performance
7. perform g. crises 5……………………..
 8. set h. strategies 6…………………….
9. supervise i. subordinates
7……………………….
10. deal with j. resources
8………………………

9………………………

10………………………

Complete the sentences below using verb-noun partnerships above

1. After an organization has……………………….. ……..…………….., it has to make sure that

it achieves them.

2. Managers have to find the best way to ………………… all the human, physical and capital
……………….available to them

3. Some people ………………. …………………… better on their own while others work better
in teams.

4. Managers ……………….the work of their…………….. and try to develop their ability.

5. Managers………………the……………….of their staff to see whether they are reaching their

targets.

6. Top managers have to be prepared to………. …………………. ……………… if they occur

and then have to………………………quick………………

IV. Complete the text using these verbs

understand measure risk form work out

analyse commercialise divide train Perform

select contribute communicate use Improve

You want me to explain what management is? Well, I guess I can manage that! Actually,
management as we (1)………………… it today is a fairly recent idea. Most economists in the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, for example, wrote about factors of production such as land,
labor and capital, and about supply and demand, as if these were impersonal and objective
economic forces which left no room for human action. An exception was Jean- Baptiste Say, who
invented the term “entrepreneur”, the person who sees opportunities to (2) …………….resources
in more productive ways.

Entrepreneurs are people who are alert to so-far undiscovered profit opportunities. They perceive
opportunities to (3) ………………… new technologies and products that will serve the market
better than it is currently being served by their competitors. They are happy to (4) …………..their
own or other people’s capital. They are frequently unconventional, innovative people. But
entrepreneurship isn’t the same as management, and most managers aren’t entrepreneurs.

So what’s management? Well, it’s essentially a matter of organizing people. Managers, especially
senior managers, have to set objectives for their organization, and then (5) ………… how to
achieve them. This is true of the managers of business enterprises, government departments,
educational institutions, and sports teams, although for government services, universities and so
on we usually talk about administrators and administration rather than managers and management.
Managers (6) ………..the activities of the organization and the relations among them. They (7)
……… the work into distinct activities and then into individual jobs. They (8) ………… people
to manage these activities and perform the jobs. And they often need to make the people
responsible for performing individual jobs (9) ……………..effective teams.

Managers have to be good at communication and motivation. They need to (10) ……….
organization’s objectives to the people responsible for attaining them. They have to motivate their
staff to work well, to be productive, and to (11) ……………. something to the organization. They
make decisions about pay and promotion.

Managers also have to (12) ………. the performance of their staff, and to ensure that the objectives
and performance targets set for the whole organization and for individual employees are reached.
Furthermore, they have to (13) …………. and develop their staff; so that the performance
continues to (14) ………….
Some managers obviously (15) …………..these tasks better than others. Most achievements and
failures in business are the achievements or failures of individual managers.

READING 2: THE MANAGER’S ROLE

A. Discussion

Look at the following list of positions and organizations and answer the questions below. Then, in
groups of two or three, compare your answers

POSITION ORGANISATION

Manager A famous pop music group

Head of research and development An oil company

Supervisor (on an assembly line) A car company

General manager A fashion business

Vice- chancellor A university

Chairman A multinational company

1. What duties do all these people have in common?

2. What qualities and skills are required for each position?

3. Which of the positions would you prefer to have? Why?

4. Is there any position you would not want to hold? Why?

5. Are there any qualities that you think should be added to this list?

B. Reading
 THE MANAGER’S ROLE

Our society is made up of all kinds of organization, such as companies, government departments,
unions, hospitals, schools, libraries, and the like. They are essential to our existence, helping to
create our standard of living and our quality of life. In all the organizations, there are people
carrying out the work of a manager although they do not have that title. The vice-chancellor of a
university, the president of a student union or a chief librarian are all managers. They have a
responsibility to use the resources of their organization effectively and economically to achieve its
objectives.

Are there certain activities common to all managers? Can we define the task of a manager? A
French industrialist, Henri Fayol, wrote in 1996 a classic definition of the manager’s role. He said
that to manage is to forecast and plan, to organize, to command, to coordinate and to control. This
definition is still accepted by many people today, though some writers on management have
modified Fayol’s description. Instead of talking about command, they say a manager must
motivate or direct and lead other workers.

Henri Fayol’s definition of a manager’s functions is useful. However, in most companies, the
activities of a manager depend on the level at which he/she is working. Top managers, such as the
chairman and directors, will be more involved in long range planning, policy making, and the
relations of the company with the outside world. They will make decisions on the future of the
company, the sort of product lines it should develop, how it should face up to the competition,
whether it should diversify etc. These strategic decisions are part of the planning function
mentioned by Fayol.

On the other hand, middle management and supervisors are generally making the day-to-day
decisions which help an organization to run efficiently and smoothly. They must respond to the
pressures of the job, which may mean dealing with an unhappy customer, chasing up supplies,
meeting an urgent order to sorting out a technical problem. Managers at this level spend a great
deal of time communicating, coordinating and making decisions affecting the daily operation of
their organization.

An interesting modern view on managers is supplied by an American writer, Mr. Peter Drucker.
He has spelled out what managers do. In his opinion, managers perform five basic operations.
Firstly, managers set objectives. They decide what these should be and how the organization can
achieve them. For this task, they need analytical ability. Secondly, managers organize. They must
decide how the resources of the company are to be used, how the work is to be classified and
divided. Furthermore, they must select people for the jobs to be done. For this, they not only need
analytical ability but also understanding of human beings. Their third task is to motivate and
communicate effectively. They must be able to get people to work as a team, and to be as
productive as possible. To do this, they will be communicating effectively with all levels of the
organization- their superiors, colleagues, and subordinates. To succeed in this task, managers need
social skills. The fourth activity is measurement. Having set targets and standards, managers have
to measure the performance of the organization, and of its staff, in relation to those targets.
Measuring requires analytical ability. Finally, Peter Drucker says that managers develop people,
including themselves. They help to make people more productive, and to grow as human beings.
They make them bigger and richer persons.

In Peter Drucker’s view, successful managers are not necessarily people who are liked or who get
on well with others. They are people who command the respect of workers and who set high
standards. Good managers need not be geniuses but must bring character to the job. They are
people of integrity, who will look for that quality in others.

C. Exercises

I. Understanding the main points

1. According to the writer, what is the main duty of the head of any organization?
2. Why do some people disagree with Henry Fayol’s definition of the role of management?
3. In what ways are the functions of a company director, for example, different from those
of a middle manager?
4. In Peter Drucker’s opinion, which of the following things should a manager be?
+ exceptionally intelligent

+ keen to improve people’s lives

+ interested in other people

+ popular
 + able to give clear orders

+ honest

+ admired by others

+ able to examine carefully and make judgments.

5. In Peter Drucker’s view, which managers are considered to be successful?

II. Find words and phrases in the text which mean the same as the following:

1 carefully, not wastefully (paragraph 1)

2 expand the range of products (paragraph 3)
3 operate ( paragraph 4)
4 resolving (paragraph 4)
5 said in clear, detailed way (paragraph 5)

III. Complete the following sentences, using suitable forms of the verbs in the box below

sort out make out bring out sound out pull out

spell out buy out carry out sell out turn out

1. The firm …………… about five hundred sports car a year.

2. We hope to …………… our production problems soon.
3. If the firm does not make a profit, the owners will probably …………….
4. I’m willing to consider introducing flextime, but would you first …………… the
advantages of the system, please?
5. Givenchy has …………… an exciting new perfume.
6. Would you …………… the cherub to David Cotton, please?
7. In order to develop new products, pharmaceutical companies have to …………… a lot of
research.
 8. Several leading banks such as Barklays have …………… of South Africa.
9. A group of senior managers want to take over the firm by …………… it ……………
10. We’re looking for a new executive. I understand one or two possible candidates have
already been …………….

READING 3: LEVELS OF MANAGEMENT

A. Discussion

- What are the levels of management?

- Who are responsible for controlling and overseeing the entire organization?
- Who are responsible for executing organizational plans which comply with the
company's policies?
- Who focus on controlling and directing and serve as role models for the employees they
supervise?
B. Reading
LEVELS OF MANAGEMENT

Top-Level Managers

Most people who enter the field of management aspire to become top-level managers- managers
at the top one or two levels in an organization. C- level manager is a recent term to describe a top-
level manager because these managers usually have chief in their title, such as chief operating
officer. Top level managers are empowered to make major decisions affecting the present and
future of the firm. Only a top-level manager, for example, would have the authority to purchase
another company, initiate a new product line, or hire hundreds of employees. Top- level managers
are the people who give the organization its general direction; they decide where it is going and
how it will get there. The terms executive, top- level manager, and c-level manager can be used
interchangeably.

Middle- Level Managers

Middle-level managers are managers who are neither executives nor first level supervisors, but
who serve as a link between the two groups. Middle level managers conduct most of the
coordination activities within the firm, and they are responsible for implementing programs and
policies formulated by top-level management. The jobs of middle- level managers vary
substantially in terms of responsibility and income. A branch manager in a large firm might be
responsible for more than 100 workers. In contrast, a general supervisor in a small manufacturing
firm might have 20 people reporting to him or her. Other important tasks for many middle-level
managers include helping the company undertake profitable new ventures and finding creative
ways to reach goals. The number and proportion of middle managers had declined in the past two
decades, but the number of middle managers has begun to increase recently. Middle- managers
play a role in operating an organization, and therefore continue to be in demand.

First- Level Managers

Managers who supervise operatives are referred to as first-level managers, first-line managers, or
supervisors. Historically, first- level managers were promoted from production or clerical positions
into supervisory positions. Rarely did they have formal education beyond high school. A dramatic
shift has taken place in recent years, however. Many of today’s first- level managers are career
school graduates and four-year college graduates, who are familiar with modern management
techniques. The current emphasis on productivity and cost control has elevated the status of many
supervisors.

To understand the work performed by first-level managers reflects back on your first job. Like
most employees in entry-level positions, you probably reported to a first-level manager. Such a
manager might be supervisor of newspaper carriers, dining room manager, service station
manager, maintenance supervisor, or department manager in a retail store. Supervisors help shape
the attitudes of new employees toward the firm. Newcomers who like and respect their first-level
manager tend to stay with the firm longer. Conversely, new workers who dislike and disrespect
their first supervisor tend to leave the firm early.

C. Exercises

I. Match the following terms with their definitions

A. Management 1. Managers who are neither executives nor first-level supervisors, who
B. Empowerment conduct most of the coordination activities within the firm and
C. C-level disseminate information to upper and lower levels.
manager 2. A person responsible for the work performance of group members.
D. Manager 3. Executives who are empowered to make major decisions affecting the
E. Top- level present and future of the firms
managers 4. A recent term to describe top-level managers because they usually have
F. Cost control chief in their title.
G. Middle-level 5. The process of using organizational resources to achieve organizational
managers objectives through planning, organizing and staffing, leading, and
H. First- level controlling.
managers 6. The process of ensuring that a business’s actual costs do not exceed
predetermined acceptable limits.
7. Managers who supervise operatives.
8. The process of providing employees with opportunities to make their own
decisions with regards to their tasks.
 III. Complete the text using the correct form of these verbs:

achieve allocate balance deal with develop

employ establish follow require set

The top managers of a company have to (1) …………. objectives and then develop particular
strategies that will enable the company to (2) ……………… them. This will involve (3)
……………..the company’s human, capital and physical resources. Strategies can often be sub-
divided into tactics – the precise methods in which the resources attached to a strategy are (4)
………….

The founders of a business usually establish a “mission statement” – a declaration about what the
business is and what it will be in the future. The business’s central values and objectives will
(5)…………..from this. But because the business environment is always changing, companies will
occasionally have to modify or change their objectives. It is part of top management’s role to (6)
……………. today’s objectives and needs against those of the future, and to take responsibility
for innovation, without which any organization can only expect a limited life. Top managers are
also expected to set standard, and to (7) ……………………human resources, especially future top
managers.

They also have to manage a business’s social responsibilities and its impact on the environment.
They have to (8) …………… and maintain good relations with customers, major suppliers,
bankers, government agencies, and so on. The top management, of course, is also on permanent
stand-by to (9) ………………… major crises.

Between them, these tasks (10) ……………...many different skills which are almost never found
in one person, so top management is work for team. A team, of course, is not the same as a
committee: it needs a clear leader, in this case the chairman or managing director.

IV. Complete the following collocations:

1. To set …………………

2. To allocate the …………….

3. To …………... responsibility
 4. To ……………. standards

5. To …………….and …………… good relations

6. To ………………... a crisis

TERMS TO KNOW

• manager • management roles

• entrepreneur • interpersonal roles

• first-line managers • informational roles

• middle managers • decisional roles

• top /c-level managers • technical skills

• management • human/interpersonal skills

• efficiency • conceptual skills

• effectiveness • diagnostic skill

• planning • Political skill

• organizing • universality of management

• leading • Human resources

• Financial resources
• controlling
• Physical resources
• Information resource

TOPICS FOR WRITING

1."Employees should show loyalty to their company by fully supporting the company's
managers and policies, even when the employees believe that the managers and policies are
misguided." Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated
above. Support your position with reasons and/or examples from your own experience,
observations, or reading.

2. Do you agree or disagree with the statement “Men make better managers than women”?
3. Some people think that top-level authorities of a company should always take suggestions or
ideas from employees to make any decision while other disagrees. Discuss both views and give
your opinion.
4. Some people think that organizations would benefit more from young managers than from
older ones. To what extent do you agree or disagree?