Mintzberg’s Managerial Roles
Mintzberg’s thesis on nature of managerial roles involved observing and analyzing the activities of CEO’s of five private and semi public organizations. Mintzberg identified ten separate roles in managerial work and separated these roles into three subcategories: Interpersonal contact, Information processing and Decision making. The roles that fall into the category of interpersonal contact are the figurehead, leader and the liaison.
FIGURE HEAD
The figurehead, from the definition in Encarta, is somebody who appears to be the head of an organization or institution but has no real responsibility or authority. The role of the figurehead is the one who performs ceremonial and symbolic duties as head of the organization. The figurehead also performs social and legal duties which involve greeting visitors, signing legal documents, attending ribbon cutting ceremonies, hosting seminars, etc. (My perception) the role of the figurehead is crucial or important in an organization because he/she acts as a symbol of the organization which means that whatever the figurehead ‘possess’ reflects the image the organization.
LEADER
The leader is somebody whom people follow, somebody who guides or directs others by showing them the way or telling them how to behave. Its role is to foster a proper work atmosphere and motivate and develop its subordinates. The leader is also the one who chooses or selects employees that are to be trained. He/ she possess great respect from his/her subordinates which is the factor why people follow his/her lead.
LIAISON
The liaison, other may call them as coordinators, somebody who is responsible for maintaining communication between one group or office and another. A liaison develops and maintains a network of external contact to gather information which includes activities such as participating in meetings with representatives of other divisions or organizations. He/she acts as a channel of communication so that a certain organization maintains its relationship with other external organizations.
The other roles which fall into the information processing subcategory are the monitor, disseminator, and spokesperson. First in this category is the monitor.
MONITOR
The monitor is the one who gathers internal and external information relevant to the organization. He/she reads and scans trade presses, periodicals and reports. It also involves attending trainings and seminars and maintaining personal contact.
DISSEMINATOR
The disseminator, or in other cases ‘The P.I.O’, is the one who relays or transmits factual and value based information to subordinates of the organization. It somehow acts as an internal liaison which maintains communication with its subordinates. He/she reports to subordinates on the current events and issues in the organization. This role also includes sending memos and reports, informing its staff and subordinates of the decisions implemented by higher ranking officials.
SPOKESPERSON
The spokesperson is the one responsible for communicating to the outside world on performance policies, communicating and transmitting information to others. By saying others, we mean other organizations or companies. The spokesperson serves as a representative of the organization. They pass on memos, reports and information materials, participate in conferences/meetings and report progress. And on other occasions, spokespersons are usually the one who faces the media and answers all the questions according to their organizations decisions.
ENTREPRENEUR
The entrepreneur or an entrepreneur in an organization is someone who sets up and finances new commercial enterprises to make profit. They identify, design and initiate changes in the organization. They are usually the ones who have creative imagination which are also in touch with reality. They can identify new ideas and initiate improvement projects. Entrepreneurs are the ones who implement innovations in an organization for it to prosper in the future.
DISTURBANCE HANDLER
The disturbance handler (I call it error handlers of an organization) they are the ones who deal with unexpected events and operational breakdowns. They primarily deal with the disputes or problems and the ones who take corrective actions to compensate it. Their roles involve settling conflicts between subordinates and choose alternatives to counterbalance it and overcome crisis situations.
RESOURCE ALLOCATOR
The resource allocator is similar to a treasurer only they do not hold the money but instead they are the ones who control and authorize the use of organizational resources. Resources may include organizational fund, products, etc. They are usually the ones who decide on where to apply their resources. Their responsibilities involve drafting, approving plans, schedules, budgets and they set priorities.
NEGOTIATOR
The negotiator in an organization are literally negotiators, they participate in negotiation activities with other organization or individuals. Negotiators are excellent talkers because the nature of their responsibility is important that they should be able to convince their clients or other negotiators to accept their terms and place the status quo in their organizations side.
Sources:
http://www.provenmodels.com/88/ten-managerial-roles/mintzberg
http://management.atwork-network.com
Mintzberg’s thesis on nature of managerial roles involved observing and analyzing the activities of CEO’s of five private and semi public organizations. Mintzberg identified ten separate roles in managerial work and separated these roles into three subcategories: Interpersonal contact, Information processing and Decision making. The roles that fall into the category of interpersonal contact are the figurehead, leader and the liaison.
FIGURE HEAD
The figurehead, from the definition in Encarta, is somebody who appears to be the head of an organization or institution but has no real responsibility or authority. The role of the figurehead is the one who performs ceremonial and symbolic duties as head of the organization. The figurehead also performs social and legal duties which involve greeting visitors, signing legal documents, attending ribbon cutting ceremonies, hosting seminars, etc. (My perception) the role of the figurehead is crucial or important in an organization because he/she acts as a symbol of the organization which means that whatever the figurehead ‘possess’ reflects the image the organization.
LEADER
The leader is somebody whom people follow, somebody who guides or directs others by showing them the way or telling them how to behave. Its role is to foster a proper work atmosphere and motivate and develop its subordinates. The leader is also the one who chooses or selects employees that are to be trained. He/ she possess great respect from his/her subordinates which is the factor why people follow his/her lead.
LIAISON
The liaison, other may call them as coordinators, somebody who is responsible for maintaining communication between one group or office and another. A liaison develops and maintains a network of external contact to gather information which includes activities such as participating in meetings with representatives of other divisions or organizations. He/she acts as a channel of communication so that a certain organization maintains its relationship with other external organizations.
The other roles which fall into the information processing subcategory are the monitor, disseminator, and spokesperson. First in this category is the monitor.
MONITOR
The monitor is the one who gathers internal and external information relevant to the organization. He/she reads and scans trade presses, periodicals and reports. It also involves attending trainings and seminars and maintaining personal contact.
DISSEMINATOR
The disseminator, or in other cases ‘The P.I.O’, is the one who relays or transmits factual and value based information to subordinates of the organization. It somehow acts as an internal liaison which maintains communication with its subordinates. He/she reports to subordinates on the current events and issues in the organization. This role also includes sending memos and reports, informing its staff and subordinates of the decisions implemented by higher ranking officials.
SPOKESPERSON
The spokesperson is the one responsible for communicating to the outside world on performance policies, communicating and transmitting information to others. By saying others, we mean other organizations or companies. The spokesperson serves as a representative of the organization. They pass on memos, reports and information materials, participate in conferences/meetings and report progress. And on other occasions, spokespersons are usually the one who faces the media and answers all the questions according to their organizations decisions.
ENTREPRENEUR
The entrepreneur or an entrepreneur in an organization is someone who sets up and finances new commercial enterprises to make profit. They identify, design and initiate changes in the organization. They are usually the ones who have creative imagination which are also in touch with reality. They can identify new ideas and initiate improvement projects. Entrepreneurs are the ones who implement innovations in an organization for it to prosper in the future.
DISTURBANCE HANDLER
The disturbance handler (I call it error handlers of an organization) they are the ones who deal with unexpected events and operational breakdowns. They primarily deal with the disputes or problems and the ones who take corrective actions to compensate it. Their roles involve settling conflicts between subordinates and choose alternatives to counterbalance it and overcome crisis situations.
RESOURCE ALLOCATOR
The resource allocator is similar to a treasurer only they do not hold the money but instead they are the ones who control and authorize the use of organizational resources. Resources may include organizational fund, products, etc. They are usually the ones who decide on where to apply their resources. Their responsibilities involve drafting, approving plans, schedules, budgets and they set priorities.
NEGOTIATOR
The negotiator in an organization are literally negotiators, they participate in negotiation activities with other organization or individuals. Negotiators are excellent talkers because the nature of their responsibility is important that they should be able to convince their clients or other negotiators to accept their terms and place the status quo in their organizations side.
Sources:
http://www.provenmodels.com/88/ten-managerial-roles/mintzberg
http://management.atwork-network.com
1 comment:
Ok...i didn't know you are a "wordy" person..lol.. I must admit I have less time to read it all right now..hehe
I noticed we have the same reference. :-)
tnx for the comments. watch out for my future blog posts. :-)
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