The Functions of a Manager

Sreekumar A. Menon, PMP, SSBB, SCPM, is a Senior Manager in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

  Leadership   New Practitioners  

What are the functions of a manager? What is his or her job? Such questions imply that there is a management job, and there are some common elements in any management job--whether that of a project manager managing projects, a manager of a retail store, a sales manager of an appliances manufacturing company, a headmaster or even a hospital administrator.

Clearly to a manager, a tile itself is not sufficient; what about a management degree, a posh office, or some other outward symbols in prestige and rank? The job of manager demands something described by Otto von Bismarck: “It’s easy to find a minister of education; all the job requires is a long white beard. But a good cook is different, and that requires a universal genius.”

For several long years, from Henri Fayol in 1908 to the present day, the theorists have been exploring and analyzing the nature of the manager’s job so that they can generalize his or her functions. Let us look at the management processes one by one, and try to find out how the manager does the job, and what the job really is.

Management Processes
In all organizations, the managing operations, activities and processes are directed toward the achievement of some objective (or a set of objectives). A professional manager, whose primary concern is the organization with which he …

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