Manager’s Skills
For managers to become effective managers they need to have the good management skills. The management skills are important as they help the managers to integrate people and activities in the organization. This makes it easy for the organization to achieve the set goals. Managers should have good communication skills (Topchik 2003) Communication skills are important in an organization as it helps managers to interact with the employees effectively. A good manager should be fluent in his communication so as to make it easy for the employees to understand the meaning of the message being conveyed. This will make the running of the organization easy since the workers will corporate with the manager (Cotts, Roper&Payant 2009).
Communication skills help the manager to develop positive interpersonal relationship with the workers thus being able to achieve the goals set. The manager should be able to write project reports well so as to make the information clear for the readers. He should be able to state the goals of the project, the methodology of the project clearly. This is important as it helps the information to reach everyone in the organization and other stake holders thus improving the management of the organization (Gilley 2001).The manager should be able to listen to the employees concerns and attend to them. This makes the employee to feel part and parcel of the organization thus they put all the efforts in the organization making the organization to achieve the best.
Good communication skills help the manager to effectively bring change in the organization as he is able to attract the employees thus facing little resistance from the employees when bringing change in the organization. Communication skills can be developed using the communication model. In the communication model the receiver and the sender should understand each other (Tamm&Luyet 2004).The message in the communication model should be conveyed in the right manner so as to make the receiver and the sender understand each other. The managers should communicate effectively with the employees using the right channel. This is to prevent the information being conveyed from interference (Doherty&Horne 2002)
Another important skill that managers should have is relationship building. The manager should be able to build relationships with other managers and the employees in the organization. This is important as it helps the managers and the employees to work in teams (Rudman 2004).This increases the production of the employees hence increasing the productivity of the organization. The managers can build good relationship with the employees by being considerate to the employees needs, their time and respecting the employees and their decision despite the positions the employees hold in the organization. This helps in strengthening the relationship between the employee and the managers (Werner&DeSimone 2008).
Communication models are also applicable here since clear communication helps the manager and the employees to build a good relationship since there is no conflict of thoughts or ideas. This is because the communication model helps the employees and the manager in developing effective communication skills. The manager should have good skills in planning. Planning includes project planning, business planning, task execution planning and contingency planning. Planning is important in the organization as it helps the employees and the manager to carry out tasks in the right manner and in the right time (Rotondo &Rotondo 2001). This helps the organization in achieving its goals since the employees and the managers put the necessary efforts and they finish their tasks on time. Managers should use project planning models to help them in developing their project plans well and also to help them in carrying out their projects.
Project planning model guides the managers and the employees thus improving their skills on project planning (Caroselli 2000) .The manager should be able to manage the employees and the projects and tasks in the organization by ensuring good coordination of the employees and the tasks. This help’s the organization in solving time and in increasing output. The mangers in the organization should have good skills in decision making (Gaynor 2004). This is important to the manager, employees and the organization since it helps save time and it also increases productivity. The manager should be able to make wise decisions on the tasks at hand, the project management and decisions that are useful in managing the whole organization. The manager should be able to involve the employees in decision making process (Verzuh 2005). This is because the manager alone cannot always make right decision and the employees can help the manager in making decisions that is are useful to the organization. Involving employees in decision making helps the employees to get motivated as they feel part and parcel of the organization.
Decision making involves choosing from several options or idea and taking an action to generate the right result (Gaynor 2004). It involves rational and logical thinking. Managers should be able to choose the best decision from the choice and the choice of decision made by the managers affects how the managers manage the activities and the employees. The managers should use the decision models to help them in making the right decisions and also to learn how to develop decision making skills. There are certain decision making stages that managers should develop (Harris 2003). First managers should know what they want, develop alternatives that one thinks they can be used in the decision process. One needs to collect information about the decision and then evaluate the alternatives chosen and their disadvantages. This helps the managers to come up with the right solution for the decision process. Then the manager should take an action after the evaluation process to determine if the outcome of the process fits his needs. The managers should be able to use the employees in decision making so as to get the right outcome .
The manager can use the rational models or the intuitive models to make decisions (Harvard Business School Press 2008) .These models allow the managers to learn how to use the stage involved in decision making thus being able to come up with the right decision. The rational model allows the managers to make decisions by comparing the advantages and the disadvantages of the alternative chosen then the manager chooses the best answer. Decision making process is important in the organization as it determines how the tasks in the organization are carried out and how the managers and the employees relate. This is because lack of clear decisions can bring misunderstanding in the organization and this affects the output of the employees and the organization (Cohen 2002). The managers can develop decision making skills by going through the decision making process and using the models and then practicing how to make decisions frequently. Thus practice of decision making skills is important for managers as it makes the managers perfect in making decisions.
Managers should have problem solving skills. The manager should learn how to identify problems and solve them. This is important as employees encounter problems and they require the manager to solve them. The manager should asses the problem, ask questions, look for options and search for alternative solutions. Using these steps the manager is able to develop or improve his problem solving skills (Caroselli 2000).After finding the right solution the manager should share his views with the employees and the boss. Problem solving models are used by project managers and the teams to solve problems accordingly. The problem solving model has several steps that helps the manager and the team to develop problem solving skills and to improve the skills they already have. The manager should be able to define the problem so as to determine the overall focus of the project. It involves thinking and use of flow diagrams to define the problem. After identification of the problem the manager should measure the problem by collecting data and measuring it and observing the outcome. The manager should set goals, examine the causes of the problem, select the best strategy and implement it( Cohen 2002).Then the manager should evaluate the results. Managers should also learn how to develop their teams. The manager should be able to identify the talents of each team member so as to utilize the members of the team accordingly. He should be able to understand the dynamics of the team and be able to bring employees together by developing and maintaining the right employee’s talents. This is important as it helps the employees in working together so as to achieve the best in the organization.
Managers can develop team building skills by involving themselves in employee teams so as to get to know the employees and know how to interact with them(Harvard Business School Press 2008). The manager should have delegation skills. This is important as it helps the manager in identifying the right things to do. The manager is also able to identify the right activities for the employees. The manager should have appraisal skills. These skills are important as they help the manager in knowing how to motivate employees. The manager should be ware of the organizations process so as to be able to prepare the right appraisal systems for the employees. The manager should hold regular appraisal meetings with the employees. The manager should have performance management skills (Harris 2003). He should be able to identify performing employees and non performing employees. Early identification of poor performing employees is important as it helps the manager in finding the best solution to help the employee improve his or her performance.
The manager should set standards that employees should meet so as to identify the performing employees from non performing employees. He should use performance evaluation models to improve his skills on monitoring employee performance or to develop the skills if he does not have them (Verzuh 2005).Performance evaluation models are used to evaluate the employees, monitor employee performance and to find the best solution to help employees who are performing poorly. The manager should be able to communicate the results of the evaluation process with his employees as this acts as a motivating factor to the employees (Gaynor 2004). The manager should practice how to evaluate or monitor employees using the performance evaluation model as this helps him in developing the right skills thus being able to improve the organizations performance by helping the poor performing workers. The manager should be able to motivate his employees by define methods that he can use to motivate his employees. He can use appraisal systems and performance evaluation system to monitor the employee’s performance and to reward them accordingly so as to motivate the employees. (Farr 2006).
He should be able to organize the tasks in an organization well and to use task rotation so as to motivate the employees (Mullins 2007.)This is because the employee will do a variety of duties thus they will be bored by doing a single task. He can develop employee motivation skills by getting involved in trainings that are aimed at improving employee performance. The manager should have recruitment skills (Luecke& Harvard Business School Press 2004). These skills determine how employees are recruited in the organization. The manager can develop the interviewing skills by carrying out interviews with an experienced and competent person so that he can be able to get the right tips on interviewing of employees. This helps the manager in selecting the best employees thus improving the organizations productivity. (Flannes&Levin 2005)
Financial management skills are also important for managers since the managers handle the organization finances. The manager should be able to make the right decisions on how to use the organizations resources like finances (Reynolds, Savage, &Williams 2000).This is important as it prevents the manager from bringing financial conflicts in the organization. He should be responsible so as to manage the financial resources well. All managers should have good leadership skills. The manager can develop leadership skills by attending seminars to learn how to lead the organization. (Carysforth&Neild 2002) .He should be able to involve the employees in his leadership so as to improve the organizations productivity. He can use leadership model to enhance his skills on leadership. He should be able to bring change in the organization and also be a role model to the employees.
The leadership models the managers can use include the action centered leadership model. (Bamford, Casseres&Robinson 2003 The manager can use this model to balance the needs of the tasks in the organization, the team and the employee’s needs. This is important as it helps the managers to develop his leadership skills. Managers can also use the continuum leadership model. This model helps the managers to involve the employees in decision masking process. This can help the employees and the manager to develop good interpersonal relationship with his employees since the employees feel part and parcel of the organization (Gorchels 2006)
In conclusion it is important for the managers irrespective of the departments to have good management skills Groppelli&Nikbatht 2006 )They should have decision making skills so as to make the right decisions, performance evaluation skills to evaluate the employee performance and to motivate them, financial management skills for managing organizations finances well, communication skills so as to develop positive interpersonal relationship with the employees, performance evaluation skills and planning skills so as to plan the tasks well and plan the organizations projects well( U.S department of labor 2008). The managers can develop these skills using the right model for each skill as it helps them in practicing the skills regularly. The skills are important in the organization as they improve organizations performance and employee performance (Armstrong 2008)
Reference
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