ROLES & ROLE

EFFECTIVENESS
 A Role is a place one
occupies in a social
system defined by the
functions one
performs in response
to the expectations of
the ‘significant’
members of a social
system and one’s own
expectations from
position or office.
 OFFICE Vs ROLE
Office/Position Role

Is based on power relations Is based on mutuality

Has related privileges Has related obligations

Usually hierarchical Is non-hierarchical

Created by others Is created by others & role

occupant

Part of the Structure Is part of the dynamics

Is evaluative Is descriptive
Organisation as a Structure of
Offices/Positions

Organisation Organisation
A B

C D

E F G H I
Organisation as a System of
Roles
A
I
B

F
E
 Roles as Integrating Point
of Organisations and
Individuals

Organisation Structure Goals

Role

Individual Personality Needs

Role as Region of Ind.- Org.
Interaction

Individual Roles Organization

 Role Systems
 Role Space
 System of various roles that each individual
performs
 A person performs roles that are centered

around the self

 At varying distances from self

 These various relationships define Role

Space
 Role Space, then, is a dynamic

interrelationship between the self and the

various roles an individual occupies and
also among these roles
 Role Set
 The individual’s role in the
organization is defined by the
expectations of other significant roles
and those of the individual himself
or herself
 The role set is a pattern of
interrelationship between a particular
role and the other roles in the system
 Role Efficacy
 Performance depends on potential effectiveness
as a person, technical competence, managerial
experience etc. as well as the role that the person
performs in the organization is designed.
 Integration of the two
 Effectiveness of a role occupant in an org.,
therefore, depends on the individual’s own
potential effectiveness, the potential
effectiveness of the role, and the org. climate.
 Role efficacy is the potential role effectiveness
 Role Making

 Self – role integration person’s use of

his/her special strengths in role
 Proactivity ability to take initiative
 Creativity opportunities to try new and
unconventional ways of solving problems
 Conformation if avoid problems or shift
to others role efficacy low. Tendency to confront
problems
 Role Centering

 Centrality if feels role he/she occupies is

central to org. efficacy high
 Influence the more influence a person is able
to exercise in a role, the higher the role efficacy.
 Personal Growth
 Role Linking

 Inter-role linkage
 Helping relationships
 Superordination linkage with systems,
groups, and entities beyond org.. Feels does as a
part of role is likely to be of value to a larger
group, efficacy likely to be higher
 Increasing Role Efficacy
Self-role Integration
 Work with subordinates to redesign their roles so that their strengths can be
utilized.
 Recommend moving a ‘misfit’ to a job that can use his or her assets .

Proactivity
 Minimize supervision of subordinates , and encourage them to ask for your
help when they need it.
 Reward initiative in subordinates.
 Listen to subordinates, respect their views, and use these wherever possible.
 Arrange for subordinates to visit other organizations.

Creativity
 Encourage your subordinates to come up with ideas to solve problems.
 Create a climate that encourages people to generate ideas without fear of being
criticized.
 Appreciate and use new ideas given by subordinates.
 Encourage and reward suggestions to solve problems

Confrontation
 Take subordinates into confidence while confronting a problem.
 Support the action taken by a subordinate if it is within the rules and
procedures.
 Appoint a task group for a problematic decision.
 Use a subordinate’s failure as a useful experience-help him or her to learn
from it.
 Encourage subordinates to bring problems forward.
 Anticipate problems together.
 Encourage subordinates to solve problems themselves and hen report to you.
 Follow the ‘buck stops here’ dictum.
 Centrality
 Communicate the importance of roles (their critical contributions) to their
incumbents.
 Communicate the importance of the roles as perceived by others.
 Give enough freedom to each subordinate to set his or her own objectives and
decide on ways of achieving them.
 Give increasingly difficult and challenging responsibilities.

 Influence
 Delegate authority.
 Give relevant details of decisions made.
 Send good ideas from subordinates to higher management.
 Give feedback to subordinates on their suggestions.
 Be willing to accept mistakes.
 Growth
 Appreciate your subordinates’ work.
 Do not snub employees for their shortcomings, instead cooperate with them to
overcome these.
 Delegate increasingly difficult and challenging tasks to them.

 Inter-role Linkage
 Encourage subordinates to seek and render cooperation from and to other
departments.
 Encourage employees to solve problems by working with their peer (and not refer
the problems to you unless they need your intervention).
 Helping
 Encourage subordinates to respond to requests from other departments.
 Encourage them to seek help from peers in other departments.
 Seek the help of your subordinates in areas where they can contribute.
 Encourage your subordinates to come to you for help and respond to them
positively.
 Subordination
 Help subordinates to understand and appreciate the contributions of their role to the
society.
 Help subordinates link (and see the linkage of) the objectives of their roles to
organizational objectives.
 Encourage them to include in their roles whatever may be useful to a larger section
of people.
 Encourage teamwork.
 Remain accessible to subordinates.
 Where Managers Work
Organization
A consciously coordinated social
unit, composed of two or more
people, that functions on a
relatively continuous basis to
achieve a common goal or set of
goals.
Management Functions

Planning Organizing

Management
Functions

Controlling Leading
 Management Functions
Planning (cont’d)
A process that includes defining
goals, establishing strategy, and
developing plans to coordinate
activities.
 Management Functions
Organizing (cont’d)
Determining what tasks are to be
done, who is to do them, how the
tasks are to be grouped, who reports
to whom, and where decisions are to
be made.
 Management Functions
Leading (cont’d)
A function that includes motivating
employees, directing others,
selecting the most effective
communication channels, and
resolving conflicts.
 Management Functions
Controlling (cont’d)
Monitoring activities to ensure they are
being accomplished as planned and
correcting any significant deviations.
Mintzberg’s Managerial
Roles
Mintzberg’s Managerial
Roles (cont’d)
Mintzberg’s Managerial
Roles (cont’d)