Management skills

b) Read the text and match the skills to certain paragraphs:

Effectiveness of a manager's activity depends on certain im­portant skills. These skills can be divided into seven different cat­egories presented below.

§1 __________ is the ability of a manager to see the "general picture" of an organization. Managers must understand how their duties and the duties of other managers fit together to plan their activity in a proper way and get the required results. This skill is very important for top managers because it helps them plan "super goals" and develop proper strategies for the whole organization.

§2 __________ is the ability of a manager to choose the best course of actions of two or more alternatives. A manager must decide the following:

1) What objectives and goals must be reached?

2) What strategy must be implemented?

3) What resources must be used and how they must be distrib­uted?

4) What kind of control is needed?

In short, managers are responsible for the most important deci­sions which are required to carry out any organizational activity.

§3 __________ is the ability to determine the most impor­tant problem of many other problems and identify the causes of each problem before implementing a proper action plan. This abil­ity is especially important for top managers because they have to solve complex problems.

§4 __________ is the ability of a manager to keep to the organizational rules specified for the production process,within a limited budget; and coordinate the flow of information and paper work in his group and in other groups.

§5 __________ is the ability of manager to share his ideas and opinion with other people both orally and in writing. This skill is a decisive factor of a manager’s success. Some investigations show that top managers and middle managers spend approximately 80 % of their work time in communication with each other. The skill enables managers to hold meetings, write clear letters and explanatory notes, make reports.

§6 __________ is the ability to deal effectively with other people both inside and outside the organization. It is the ability to understand the needs and motives of other people. This skill is very important for good psychological atmosphere, for successful activity in the common work in the future. If the interpersonal relations are good, a manager will be successful in getting a support in the development and implementation of organizational goals.

§7 __________ is a specific competence to accomplish a task. The lower is a manager’s level in the organization, the closer is his connection with the production process. Thus first-line managers have the closest connection with the production process. They need high technical skills to provide technical guidance for the subordinates. The knowledge of technical sphere is useful for all managers.

c) Say in which paragraph(s) the information is about:

v production process;

v ability of managers to think in general terms;

v working with people of other organizations;

v paper work;

v the importance of different organizational goals.