Abstract :

This article gives emphasis to the various managerial skills

required for the development of business. The major challenge
that the organisations facing is managing change effectively. For
managing various skills such as Technical Skills, Managerial Skills,
Interpersonal Skills, Conceptual Skills, Diagnostic Skills and
Behavioural Skills are to be possessed.

The Organisations are more synergic today world over. The domestic,

multinational, transactional corporations are becoming misnomer as all of them

operate more or less on similar or same principles. Hitherto unknown corporations

are emerging like firebrands and even surpassing the well-established

organisations. Both of them are able to and work in the same environmental

conditions, use same technology, same market conditions, able to maintain same

world-class quality in processes and products. In this changed and vibrant

environment the most famous organisations cannot ignore small and insignificant

organisations that post a stiff competition. A company like Pepsi cannot afford to

ignore the impact of local brands for its survival in Indian market.

At present a major challenge that most of the organisations facing is manage

change effectively. In many sectors of the economy, organisations must have the

capacity to adapt quickly in order to serve. Often the speed and complexity of

change severely test the capabilities of managers and employees to adapt quickly

and effectively. When organisations fail to change, the cost of that failure may be

quite high. To a certain extent, all organisations exist in a changing environment

and are themselves constantly changing. Organisations that emphasize

 Redefining the Manager Today: Some Directions 2

bureaucratic mechanistic systems are ineffective. Organisations with rigid

hierarchies, high degrees of functional specialization, narrow and limited job

descriptions, inflexible rules and procedures and impersonal management can’t

respond adequately to demands for change. Organisations today need designs

that are flexible and adaptive. They also need systems that both require and allow

greater commitment and use of talent on the part of employees and managers.

In the present environment business corporations will increasingly realize that they

just will not be able to thrive on the strength of product, finance or technology

alone. Their competitive advantage will come from managing intangible assets.

Among the intangible most critical will be customer loyalty and employee

commitment. Investor would look for customer satisfaction and employee

happiness indices as long-term safety indicators.

The continuous changes in the organizations have brought a situation where

understanding the psychology of individuals and teams is of prime importance.

Individual managers have far greater responsibility, autonomy and accountability.

Pressure on managers for developing their full potential is intense because the

performance of work in an organisation depends on their own potential

effectiveness as persons, their technical competence and managerial experience.

To cope up with the requirements of new work paradigm, managing effectively is

the key concern for managers. For this a manager should possess certain skills

such as Technical Skills, Managerial Skills, Interpersonal Skills, Conceptual Skills,

Diagnostic Skills and Behavioural Skills.

 Redefining the Manager Today: Some Directions 3

Managers of an organisation must be prepared to anticipate and adapt to change

by keeping in touch with the external environment and the organisations

customers. For the firm to prosper and grow in a changing environment, managers

must articulate a vision as well as goals and objectives for the future.

Peter Drucker one of the most noted management theorists said that “ The

foundation of effective leadership is thinking through the organisation’s mission,

defining it and establishing it, clearly and visibly. The leader sets the goals, sets

the priorities and sets and maintains standards”.

Managerial skills: -

As business is recognising the increased importance of skills to managerial

performance, greater emphasis is given for skill development. A comprehensive

review of managerial behaviour and performance indicates, “key managerial skills”

as critical to managerial performance. There are varieties of skills associated with

effective managerial performance. The most important skills many successful

managers have are strong combinations of technical, interpersonal, conceptual,

diagnostic and behavioural skills.

Technical skills: -

It consists of the specific competencies to perform particular operational tasks. It

includes proficiency with the methods, procedures, techniques, knowledge and

equipment involved with the specific functions such as manufacturing, sales,

accounting, finance etc., The importance of technical skills to a managers is usually

related to that manager’s level in the organisation. Many managers are promoted

because of their excellent technical skills. As managers rise in the organisations,

human and conceptual skills assume increased importance.

 Redefining the Manager Today: Some Directions 4

Interpersonal skills: -

It constitutes the managers ability to deal effectively with and through other people

both inside and outside the organisation and to work effectively as a team

member. These skills are demonstrated in the ways the manager relates to other

people by leading, co-ordinating, motivating and communicating.

Conceptual skills: -

It involves the manager’s abilities to think abstractly, to see the “big picture” and to

comprehend the interrelationships among the various segments of the

organisations. Managers with conceptual skills “see” relationships conceptual skills

are essential for managers at all levels in the organisation.

Diagnostic skills: -

It involves the manager’s ability to understand cause and effect relationships and

to recognise acceptable solutions to problems. Present day managers must

diagnose the problem of poor quality and design and continuously improve the

process to eliminate defects before they occur. The diagnostic skills are considered

important, chiefly at upper levels in the organisation. As the organisational

hierarchy flattens and as more of the managerial function shifts to include systems

management, diagnostics skills will take an increased importance at lower level.

The relative importance of these skills may differ at various levels in the

organization hierarchy. Technical skills are of greater importance at the

supervisory level. Human skills are also helplful in the frequent interactions with

subordinates. Conceptual skills, on the other hand, are usually not critical for
 Redefining the Manager Today: Some Directions 5

lower-level supervisors. At the middle management level, the need for technical

skills decreases, human skills are still essential; the conceptual skills gain in

importance. At the top management level, the conceptual and design abilities and

human skills are especially valuable, but there is relatively little need for technical

abilities. It is assured, especially in large companies, that chief executives can

utilize the technical abilities of their subordinates. In smaller firms, however,

technical experience may still be quite important.

If managers wish to advance in the organisation they must be prepared to learn

and improve upon skills as the demands of the job evolve. As managerial,

methods and styles change as a function of competitive challenges and evolving

organisational left managers must be prepared to continuously improve.

***

References:

Heinz Weihrich, (2001), Management- A Global Perspective, Tata McGraw Hill, New

Delhi.

John M. Ivancevoch, (2003), Human Resource Management, Tata McGraw Hill,

New Delhi.

Dr. K. Aswathappa, (2004) Human Resource and Personnel Management, Tate

McGraw Hill, New Delhi.

Gary Dessler,(1998), Human Resource Management, Prentice Hall of India Private

Limited, New Delhi.