CHAPTER
4
“To win the marketplace, you
[Please insert any
must first win the
relevant photo
workplace.”– Doug Conant
around this box]
Management Roles
Subtopics:-
4.1 Roles of Management
4.2 13 Important Roles of Managers
4.3 Discussion Questions
4.1 ROLES OF MANAGEMENT
Henry Mintzberg, a prominent management researcher, says that what managers do can
best be described by looking at the roles they play at work.
From his study of actual managers at work, Mintzberg developed a categorization scheme
for defining what managers do. He concluded that managers perform 13 different but
highly interrelated roles.
The term management roles refer to specific categories of managerial behaviour. (Think of
the different roles you play and the different behaviours you're expected to exhibit and
play in these roles as a student, a sibling, an employee, a volunteer, and so forth.)
18 | P a g e C h a p t e r 4 : M a n a g e m e n t R o l e s
Mintzberg's 13 managerial roles can be grouped as those primarily concerned with
interpersonal relationships, the transfer of information, and decision making.
4.2 13 IMPORTANT ROLES OF MANAGER
Mintzberg’s Management Roles Approach: -
Interpersonal roles involve relationship with an individual and it is routine that helps
organization smoothly operate.
Sub role in interpersonal role:
i. Figurehead – the head represent the organization in formal occasion such as
greeting and entertaining visitors, having dinner with clients and attending
formal events.
ii. Leader – responsible to motivate and directing worker by giving instruction,
create standard work performance, and training the workers,
iii. Liaison – involves the relationship between the managers with individuals
outside the organization.
Informational roles – related to receiving and sending information.
There are 3 sub roles in informational role:
i. Monitor – involves information search, filtration, acceptance might affect the
organization.
ii. Disseminator – deliver importance information that is received from external
resources to members in the organization.
iii. Spokesperson – deliver information to external personnel in organization from
annual report, speech, press conference and others.
Decisional roles – focus on manager’s ability to decide about importance decision that can
affect the organization.
There are 4 sub roles in decisional role:
i. Entrepreneur – involve the decision making about the changes in
organization or unit his/her responsible.
ii. Disturbance handler – try to settle the problem that usually arise outside their
control.
19 | P a g e C h a p t e r 4 : M a n a g e m e n t R o l e s
iii. Resource allocator – involves in the delivering of organization resources to an
individual in organization.
iv. Negotiator – responsible representing the organization major negotiations.
4.3 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Define the term management roles.
2. Describe the FOUR (4) sub roles decisional role.
3. Informational roles are related in receiving and sending information. Distinguish
monitor and spokesperson.
4. List TWO (2) examples of figurehead and TWO (2) examples of liaison.
20 | P a g e C h a p t e r 4 : M a n a g e m e n t R o l e s