OF A MANAGER

Management is the process of working with people and resources to accomplish organisational goals. For this reason, each manager must possess a number of personal and professional skills. Good managers perform the tasks effectively and efficiently. To be effective is to achieve organisation’s goals; and to be efficient is to achieve goals with minimum waste of resources, that is, to make the best use of money, time, materials and people. The best managers are those who maintain a clear focus on both effectiveness and efficiency.

Education and experience enable managers to recognise and develop the skills they need to put organisational resources to their best use. Research has shown that managers acquire three principal types of skills: conceptual, human and technical. The level of skills, that managers need, depends on their level in their managerial hierarchy. Typically, planning and organising require higher levels of conceptual skills, while leading and controlling require more human and technical skills.

Conceptual skills are demonstrated in the ability to analyze and diagnose a situation and to distinguish between cause and effect. Top managers require the best conceptual skills because their primary responsibilities are planning and organising. Formal education and training are very important in helping managers develop conceptual skills. The ability to focus on a large picture confronting the organisation allows managers to see beyond the present situation and consider the choices while keeping in mind the organisation’s long-term goals. Very often organisation pays managers to attend specialised programs in order to develop conceptual skills.

Human skills include the ability to understand, alter, lead and control the behaviour of other individuals and groups. The ability to communicate, to coordinate and to motivate people and to mould individuals into a cohesive team distinguishes effective managers from ineffective ones. Like conceptual skills, human skills can be learned through education and training, as well as developed through experience. To manage interpersonal interactions effectively each person in an organisation needs to learn how to understand viewpoints of other people and problems they face. One way to help managers understand their personal strengths and weaknesses is to have their superiors, peers and subordinates provide feedback about their performance. Thorough and direct feedback allows managers to develop their human skills.

Technical skills are the job-specific knowledge and techniques required to perform an organisational role. Examples include a manager’s specific manufacturing, accounting, marketing and IT skills. Managers need a range of technical skills to be effective. The array of technical skills managers need depends on their positions in organisations. The manager of a restaurant, for example, may need cooking skills to fill in for an absent cook, accounting and bookkeeping skills to keep track of receipts and costs and to administer the payroll and aesthetic skills to keep the restaurant looking attractive for customers.

Effective managers need all three kinds of skills – conceptual, human and technical. The absence of even one managerial skill can lead to failure. One of the biggest problems that people who start small business confront is the lack of appropriate conceptual and human skills. Someone who has technical skills to start a new business does not necessarily know how to manage the venture successfully. Similarly, one of the biggest problems that scientists or engineers who switch careers from research to management confront is the lack of effective human skills. Management skills, roles and functions are closely related and wise prospective managers are constantly in search of the latest educational contributions to help them develop the conceptual, human and technical skills they need to function in today’s changing and increasingly competitive global environment.

Task 33. Translate the sentences into English:

1. Планування та організування потребують більше концептуальних навичок, а керування та контролювання – технічних навичок та навичок роботи з людьми. 2. Концептуальні навички проявляються в здатності аналізувати та оцінювати ситуацію. 3. Часто організації оплачують участь менеджерів у спеціальних програмах, щоб розвинути їхні концептуальні навички. 4. Щоб керувати людьми, кожна людина та організація повинні вчитися розуміти погляди інших людей та їхні проблеми. 5. Технічні навички, які менеджери потребують для роботи, визначаються посадовими обов’язками. 6. Наша компанія зіткнулася з серйозними проблемами, і тому ми повинні змінити наші довготермінові цілі. 7. Відсутність хоча б однієї менеджерської навички може призвести до невдач. 8. Одна з найбільших проблем молодих підприємців – це нестача відповідних концептуальних навичок та навичок роботи з людьми. 9. Концептуальні навички менеджера – це його здатність дивитись поза межі теперішньої ситуації, пам’я­таючи про довготермінові цілі організації. 10. Щоб успішно керувати підприємством, потрібно володіти всіма видами професійних навичок менеджера. 11. Той, хто має технічні навички, щоб розпочати власний бізнес, часто не знає, як успішно керувати підприємством. 12. Кожен менеджер повинен постійно покращувати власні знання та професійні навички. 13. Управлінські навички та функції тісно пов’язані між собою. 14. Одним зі способів допомогти менеджерам визначити свої сильні та слабкі сторони є забезпечення зворотного зв’язку або відгуків про їхню роботу. 15. Детальний та прямий зворотний зв’язок дає змогу менеджерам розвинути навички роботи з людьми.

Task 34. Think over and then write for half an hour on one of the following issues:

A. What attracts you in the profession of a manager? What level of management do you intend to reach in your future career? What do you need for this?

B. What skills necessary for a manager have you already got? Where you born with them or have you leant them? What other skills do you need to acquire?

C. Search for some information on a well-known top manager of any Ukrainian company. Describe his/her career and the skills he/she possesses that contribute to his/her success as a top manager.