ACTIVITIES

1. Use table 1.1 (Managerial Roles Identified by Mintzberg) in your textbook to

classify the individuals in the scenario according to the different managerial
roles (as identified by Mintzberg). Remember that managers play different
but highly interrelated roles – this means managers do not only have one
role each. List all the roles and sub-roles that Thabo, Jane and Lerato fulfil.
2. Once you are done with the scenario’s classification, select an organisation
of your choice (either one that has provided you with work experience, or
any organisation that have enough information available on the internet)
and repeat the activity by classifying your own duties (if you are a manager),
your manager’s duties, or the duties of managers based on your internet
research.
3. Classify the three managers in the scenario according to the levels of
management. Substantiate your answer with quotes from the scenario.
4. What managerial skills do you think are most evident in the description of
each of your colleagues’ role descriptions?

FEEDBACK
1

When you read about the managers portrayed in the scenario, focus on the
three different sets of job responsibilities as identified by Mintzberg (1975).
Does the person’s role involve decisions and/or problems, does it focus more
on interaction or on the management of information? This will help you to
place the activity in one of the three sets:
The decisional role is the role of entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource
allocator and negotiator, which will require that you as a manager obtain and
make use of relevant information to make decisions, solve organisational
problems or take advantage of opportunities.
The interpersonal role is when you as a manager adopt the role of figurehead,
leader and liaison when you interact with people inside and outside the
organisation.
The informational role is when you as the manager adopt the role of
monitor, disseminator and spokesperson and focus on collecting, receiving
and communicating important information to people inside and outside the
organisation.

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Figure 1.1: Three sets of job responsibilities

These roles capture the dynamic nature of managerial work. Managers, despite
their roles and sub-roles, can be grouped into three levels of management.
If you are a manager at the top of the hierarchy in the organisation, you will
have different responsibilities to middle and first-line managers. Different levels
of managers also have different titles. Consider the titles and responsibilities
of your colleagues Thabo, Jane and Lerato and then determine which level
of management these titles and responsibilities indicate. Look at figure 1.1
– here you can see that the organisation’s hierarchy and levels are indicated
in a pyramid shape. The figure provides examples of titles of top, middle and
first-line managers as well as the responsibility of each level of management.
Now read the section "Levels and Skills of Managers" in your textbook and
review your answer for the activity. Did you correctly classify your colleagues?

Figure 1.2: Three levels of managers

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 When considering Thabo, Jane and Lerato’s skill sets, we can say that they need
both education and experience to be able to put the organisation’s resources to
their best use. Their education and experience will help them to acquire three
types of skills namely conceptual, human and technical. Effective managers
need all three kinds of skills to help their organisation perform more efficiently
and effectively. Do you know what the difference is between efficiency and
effectiveness?
Efficiency is doing things right while effectiveness is doing the right things.
Efficiency is performing in the best possible manner with the least waste of
time and effort, while effectiveness is producing the intended or expected
results.

MANAGERIAL TASKS AND CHALLENGES

Scenario 2

Suppose an organisation’s goal is to increase its sales and reach more international
customers. The chief executive officer (CEO) of the organisation, let us call her Jennifer,
decides that in order to reach this goal, they have to do three things: increase their online
advertising, produce more products in anticipation of more sales, and appoint more staff.
Jennifer grouped employees that will handle international customer accounts into a new
department and appointed a manager, Barry, to manage the new team. Barry has authority
because of his position as manager and he allocated different tasks and responsibilities
to the members of his department.
Regular brainstorming sessions were organised by Barry and these sessions also served
to motivate and encourage team members. Ideas were exchanged at every session, and
once a month the top management team joined the department to answer any questions
there might be. Since the department came together, both Jennifer and Barry made it
clear that there is an open-door policy and communication is extremely important –
employees can directly e-mail any of the organisation’s leaders. Barry motivated staff
members by starting a small internal competition, offering a prize for the employee with
the highest sales. The employees were also offered training opportunities which can lead
to promotion after the training has been completed.
Barry is ultimately responsible for reporting back to Jennifer on the sales of his department,
employee morale and suggestions on how to improve any issues there might be. Together
they develop solutions for keeping the international sales on track.

ACTIVITIES

1. From the scenario, identify the activities that form part of each task –
planning, organising, leading and controlling. Use the section "Essential