UNIT 1 MANAGEMENT: CONCEPTS,

ROLES, AND SKILLS

1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Historical Context of Management
1.2.1 Management as a concept in ancient Indian life
1.2.2 Management of agriculture in India as a state subject
1.3 Fundamental Principles of Management
1.3.1 Concept of management
1.3.2 Evolution of management thought
1.4 Professional Manager
1.5 Tasks of Manager
1.6 Managerial Roles
1.6.1 Types of managerial roles
1.7 Management Levels
1.7.1 Different levels of manager
1.7.2 Types of managers
1.8 Management Skills
1.9 Managerial Skills to Become an Effective Leader
1.10 Additional Business Skills for Managerial Effectiveness
1.11 Managerial Skills and Characteristics Covered through Curriculum
1.12 Let Us Sum Up
1.13 Keywords
1.14 Suggested Readings / References
1.15 Check Your Progress: Possible Answers

1.0 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you will be able to:
●● define and illustrate the concepts in management and their origin;
●● explain the different levels and types of managers;
●● describe the various tasks undertaken by the manager; and
●● discuss the qualities and skills required for managers at different
levels.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
We see people coming together working for different reasons and achieving
various objectives. The coming together gives rise to the concept of
organization. The organization has its background, needs, objectives, and is
composed of people. Wherever we use the word organization, management
7
Fundamentals of Management is always linked with it as the organization uses different resources
such as money, machines, method, material, and manpower to achieve
organizational objectives. Management is explained in different contexts
variously by respective authors. It is not easy to define management with one
or two explanations. Management is explained in many words like process,
science, art, group/team, as an activity. The one definition which is accepted
universally in the context of a process is the achievement of organizational
goals through planning, organizing, leading, and controlling organizational
resources. As a process, management may be defined as a systematic way
of handling different activities. At present time management has become a
discipline of multifarious activities ranging from managing complexities,
challenges, crises, confidence, culture, and credibility to survive as well as
succeed in a complex business environment through managing changes.
Characteristics of Management:
●● Management is a distinct process.
●● Management is a key factor for an organized activity.
●● Management aims at the accomplishment of predetermined objectives.
●● Management is a group or team activity.
●● Management Principles are universal in nature.
●● Management integrates human and other resources.
●● Management is both a science and an art.

1.2 HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF MANAGEMENT

The evolution of institutions/organizations and management are the
outcome of historical, socio-economic environment, place, time, and
human relationships. The classic writings on management aspects before
2000 years by Chinese philosopher ‘Sun Tzu’ and writings of Italian scholar
‘Machiavellian’ during 1531 bring new insight to managers of 21st Century.
Various concepts of management were practiced by people in ancient cultures
all over the world with the rising of civilization. However, the evolution of
modern management can be traced right from the eighteenth century with
the origin of ‘organization’, its goals, and the process to achieve these goals
through effective utilization of given resources. Three important forces
played an important role and influenced the development of concepts and
the evolution of management theories.
(1) Social Forces associated with norms and values govern a system that
characterizes ‘culture’. From the time of the industrial revolution
in Europe, the workers were treated very badly with unscheduled
working hours, low payment, no concern for welfare and safety, etc.
The social forces have completely changed the environment and
culture resulting in the status of human resources as human capital.
(2) Economic Forces associated with the ideas behind the market
economy and concepts such as private ownership of capital and
property, economic freedom, competitiveness, the limited role of
government in business, etc. are the result of environmental forces
created by the open economy at the global level.
8
(3) Political Forces are associated with policies, laws, and regulations Management: Concepts, Roles,
formulated by governments of different nations to regulate activities and Skills
of organizations to manage themselves. The economic forces always
shape and reshape political forces. The controls, such as environmental
protection, labor welfare measures, investment by private foreign
companies in different business sectors, etc. are associated with
political forces.
1.2.1 Management as a Concept in Ancient Indian Life
The thought of management can be traced even in our ancient literature
covering the arena of social, political, and economic life. The Indian epics like
Ramayana, Mahabharat, Bhagwad Gita, etc. are full of different management
principles such as leadership and path of success, organizational behaviour,
men management, setting of aims, rules and regulations for ethical conduct,
focussing on duty in difficult times, the building of the network, top-down
bottom-up, work planning, etc. to handle typical management issues of the
day to day life to warfare management to conquer great wars. The treasure of
knowledge right from Atharv Veda (1500-500 B.C.), Kautilya’s Arthashastra
(321-186 B.C.), Charak Samhita (100-500 A.D.), Vishnu Puran (about 500
A.D.) to ‘Ved men Krisi’ by Sri Pada Damodara Satralekar (1923), cover
various innovations in management and their practice in respective fields of
economic and financial management, Health and Medical Science, Social
life of human beings in different roles, Agriculture and Animal Health Care,
etc. by people. During the Vedic period, practical training as an integral part
of education was imparted to pupils coming from all the classes of society
in Ashrams / Gurukuls through classroom teaching and working in the
field in different subjects aimed to develop a competent and gentle citizen.
The ancient literature reveals that the major process for developing men
for professional competencies was through education under a competent
guru and practices of learned principles simultaneously. The development
of management in agricultural-related activities also followed the same
process of experiential learning i.e. working in the field under the guidance
of elders or seniors. The modern concept of managing the agriculture
sector in India emerged around 125 years ago through the interest of the
government to combat recurring famines and later encourage farming as
a profession in the primary sector. However, agriculture received desired
attention in allied areas after India got independence in 1947. The newly
independent Government of India is more concerned with the agricultural
productivity, i.e. yield per acre, in which we are way behind Japan and
China till now. After adopting the policy of economic reforms in 1990 the
‘management’ in the agriculture sector took a driving seat, because of large
public investment in this sector.
1.2.2 Management of Agriculture in India as a State Subject
The demand for establishing a Department of Agriculture in each province
of India came from British Industries especially by Cotton Suppliers
Association by submitting a memorandum to Government in the year 1869.
After a lot of correspondence within the Government, a department of
‘Revenue, Agriculture and Commerce’ was established during 1871 at the
central level. In 1878 agriculture was amalgamated with a new department
9
Fundamentals of Management ‘Home, Revenue, and Agriculture’. This arrangement went on till 1881 and
later the new department was formed ‘Revenue and Agriculture Department’.
After work by ‘Bengal and Orissa Famine Commission’ in the year 1886,
a policy decision of having a special department to watch the interest of
Agriculture was mooted. Two British rulers of India viz. Lord Mayo (1869-
1872), who was a practicing farmer and Sir Allan Octavian Hume, founder
of the Indian National Congress took a keen interest in the development of
agriculture and the welfare of Indian masses. The drastic famine of 1899-
1900, covering a large part of the country forced Lord Curzon, the then
Viceroy of India after Lord Mayo to write Government of India to pay urgent
attention to agriculture. As a consequence of this the ‘Imperial Agricultural
Research Institute’ was established at Pusa in Bihar for scientific research in
seed production and upgrading crop production technology for higher yield.
The Departments of Agriculture was established in six provinces Bombay,
Madras, Sanyukta Prant, Agra and Awadh, Bengal (Assam, Bihar, and
Orissa), Central Province, and Punjab. Since a major objective of creating
Agriculture departments in states was to improve production, hence the
focus was on the development of technology through the creation of the
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR); providing irrigation and
dissemination of technology to farmers. Incidentally the same continued even
after independence with additional features such as input supply, training of
farmers and officials, the opening of management institutions for research,
extension, and agribusiness. The other disciplines related to farmers such
as horticulture, fisheries, animal husbandry, and veterinary sciences were
given due importance for development to improve farmers’ income and
their welfare. To encourage education in the agriculture discipline, the first
Agriculture colleges were set up at Sabour (Bihar), Pune, Kanpur, Nagpur,
Lyallpur (now in Pakistan), and Coimbatore in the year 1905.
Exercise - List five instances, events or written documents indicating
practice of management principles in ancient economical, social and
political life by people in Indian sub-region.

Check Your Progress 1.1

Note: a) Write your answers in the space given below.
b) Match your answers with those given at the end of the unit.
1. Define Management
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................

10
 Management: Concepts, Roles,
and Skills
2. How management of Scientific Agriculture came into existence as a
state subject in India?
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................

1.3 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF

MANAGEMENT
This section will study the evolution of management thought, meaning and
definition of management, and qualities and skills required for managers.
1.3.1 Concept of Management
The word ‘management’ you would have heard and used very frequently.
What does it mean? Different authors define management in different ways.
Some say it is nothing but decision-making. Another author defined it as
the art of getting things done through others. Koontz defined management
as “the process of defining and maintaining an environment in which
individuals, working together in groups, efficiently accomplish selected
aims”. [Link] defined management as knowing exactly what you want
men to do and then seeing that they do it in the best and cheapest way.
“To manage is to forecast, to plan, to organize, to command, to coordinate
and control” is the definition given by Henry Fayol. We may take another
comprehensive definition for management to understand the concept
better. “Management is a problem-solving process of effectively achieving
the organizational goal through the efficient use of scarce resources in a
changing environment”. If you look at the definition, you will find some
keywords and characteristics that require further explanation.
●● Firstly, management is a ‘problem-solving process: Problem here
refers to any issues that need to be sorted out with correct decisions.
Every day manager will face many problems. The problems may be
related to laborers, customers, suppliers, legal, and/or social, etc.
●● Secondly, ‘achieving organizational goal effectively’: Every
organization will have goals or targets both long term and short term.
It could be on profit, sales, customer satisfaction, recruitment, labor
turnover, etc. Achieving these goals effectively is not easy. Do you
know why? If you have 100 people working under you, all of them
will also have their goals and these goals differ from person to person.
Therefore, it is the managers’ job to integrate the individual goals
with the organization’s goal and ensure that the ultimate goal of the
organization is achieved.
●● Thirdly, efficient use of scarce resources: The resources for a manager
include people, money, equipment, material, time, etc. These resources
are very limited. Using these limited resources as inputs one should
know how to achieve the maximum output.
●● Finally, an important point you need to remember is that for better

11
Fundamentals of Management management, you should consider the environment under which your
organization functions. The environment includes labor, customers,
technology, government, economics, and politics. This environment
keeps on changing. An approach you have adopted to satisfy your
customer today, may not be accepted by the same customer tomorrow.
Therefore, the manager needs to keep the same pace of speed as that
of the environment.
If you try to relate these concepts to agribusiness activities, you can
understand the meaning of agribusiness management. Simply, decision-
making on activities related to agribusiness can be defined as agribusiness
management. You may not have common views on what agribusiness
management precisely is, and what are managerial functions in agribusiness
management. But in general, we can define agribusiness management
as a unique continuous process (group of inter-related and integrated
activities) involving plant growth, pest, disease and nutrient management,
irrigation, weeding, pre-and-post harvest activities, labour management,
office administration, collection, and marketing of plantation produce, etc.,
by utilizing the limited available resources through a set of managerial
functions to accomplish set agribusiness goals or objectives, e.g. increasing
the productivity of employee; customer satisfaction performed with and
through people in an ever-changing and distinct agribusiness environment.
Having understood the concept of management, now let us see how
discipline management has emerged.
1.3.2 Evolution of Management Thought
The concept of management is originated as a result of World War I
and World War II. The result of these wars was the destruction of a lot
of resources in general and military materials in particular. So resources
were made very scarce. People started thinking of making optimum use
of available resources. This led to the need for professional thinking
in resource allocation and utilization. The scientific and technological
developments, industrial revolutions, competitions, etc. have added the need
for management discipline and made it more complex. The plantation sector
is not an exception to the application of management discipline. Therefore,
you need to know the early contribution to the field of management in the
form of principles and theories by different authors.
The management thought in the current economic situation can best be
understood in the light of its historical growth particularly since 1900. There
were different phases for the evolution of management thought. These can
be classified into three: Classical Theory, Neo-Classical theory, and Modern
Theory.
For further understanding of these theories and principles, it is more
appropriate to divide them as per the different schools of thought. They
are a) Scientific approach, b) Administrative approach, and c) Behavioral
approach.
a) Scientific Approach
[Link], Frank Gilbreth, Lillian Gilbreth, Gantt, and others launched
what they called scientific management. According to these experts, it was
12
not proper to just find a way of doing something. A manager had to find the Management: Concepts, Roles,
one right way. They used time and motion study for developing the right and Skills
way. Among all, [Link] (1856 – 1915) was eventually acclaimed as
the Father of Scientific Management. Some of the basic features of Taylor’s
contribution to scientific management are:
●● Separation of planning function from doing function. He said planning
function to be given to managers and doing to the workers.
●● Scientific selection and training of workers.
●● Time and motion studies to determine the standard of work.
●● Differential piece wage rate system. That is wage based on output by
labor.
●● Functional foremanship: That is labor should be allotted to the
supervisor based on his specialization, and
●● Standardization of methods, procedures, tools, and equipment.
The five basic principles contributed by [Link] are:
●● Replacing the rule of thumb with science. For instance, if you want
to put fertilizer to your crops, the scientific method should be soil
testing, and deciding about the type of fertilizer, quantity, and time. It
is not based on the trial and error method.
●● Harmony in group action rather than discord.
●● Cooperation rather than chaotic individualism
●● Working for maximum output rather than restricted output.
●● The development of each individual to his /her greatest efficiency and
prosperity.
b) Administrative Approach
Henri Fayol, a French industrialist is considered the father of the modern
theory of general and industrial management. He divided the industrial
management activities into six groups and contributed fourteen principles
to management. Following are the six activities:
●● Technical activities – method of doing work
●● Commercial activities – buying and selling
●● Financial activities – use of capital
●● Security – protection for property and persons
●● Accounting activities – statistics and records
●● Managerial Activities – planning, organizing, command, coordination,
and control.
These six functions had to be performed to operate successfully any kind
of organization. There is no doubt that Fayol established the pattern upon
which our modern concepts of management are built.
In 1916 Henri Fayol in his book described 14 management principles.
These principles constitute the theory of management or administration of
business enterprises. They are enumerated below briefly.

13
Fundamentals of Management i. Division of work: Specialization alone can give maximum productivity
and efficiency.
ii. Authority and Responsibility: Authority is the power in the position
and the right to give orders, responsibility is the obligation to perform.
He said there should be parity between authority and responsibility.
iii. Discipline: The objectives, rules, regulations, policies, and procedures
must be honored by each member of the organization.
iv. Unity of command: To avoid any possible confusion and conflict,
each member of an organization must receive orders and instruction
only from one superior or boss.
v. Unity of direction: All members of an organization must work together
to accomplish common goals.
vi. Subordination of individual interest to general interest: Common
interest of the organization is given priority and not the individual
interest.
vii. Remuneration: Fair pay to the laborers is the best motivator
viii. Centralization: Power to take decisions must be decentralized.
Extreme decentralization or centralization must be avoided.
ix. Scalar chain: Hierarchy of command linking all members from top to
bottom.
x. Order: Proper system alone can create a sound organization. The
disorder leads to chaos and confusion.
xi. Equity: Justice and kindness must be given to everyone.
xii. Stability of tenure: Employees must be given job security and
sufficient time to adjust to new work.
xiii. Initiative: Creative thinking and the capacity to take initiative can
give sound managerial planning.
xiv. Esprit de corps: It means unity is strength.
c) Behavioural Approach
The behavioral or human relations approach is built based on classical theory.
It pointed out the role of psychology and sociology in the understanding of
the individual as well as group behaviour. It advocates the importance of
human values in business. Among those who contributed to the behavioral
approach, the contribution made by Elton Mayo and his associates was found
to be more appropriate and interesting. Mayo and his associates conducted a
famous study in General Electric company at Hawthorne between 1927 and
1932. Based on their study to find out the reasons for low productivity, they
formulated the following principles.
●● To meet the socio-psychological needs, workers form informal
groups. This influences their group conduct and behaviour.
●● Mental attitudes and emotions influence considerably employees’
behaviour.
●● Freedom at work to take decisions will develop a sense of
belongingness.
14
●● Human and social motivation can play even a greater role than Management: Concepts, Roles,
monitory incentives. and Skills

1.4 PROFESSIONAL MANAGER

Today management has been a well recognized and well-defined profession
having complementary and mutual support of art and science to make it
a unique discipline. Management has all essential features to be called a
profession viz. well-defined body of knowledge, formal education, and
training, minimum level of qualification for the profession, ethical code for
the profession, and service of society above self. Though management as
a specialization field meets all the required parameters to be considered a
profession like a doctor, engineer, or lawyer, few researchers consider that
to become a professional manager formal degree is not essential. One can
acquire the required knowledge and skills from experience while working.
However, a professional manager working at any level in an organization
keeps the organization’s perspective in mind and her/his actions are guided
by the objectives of the organization. Another important feature of a
professional manager is that he will be responsible for performance. This
requires a manager to have an attitude to meet his professional obligations.
The attitude includes many specific characteristics such as having vision,
setting of goals and direction, long term thinking if s/he is a member of the
top management team. The managers at the middle level in any organization
must have a quick understanding of issues and environment, using time
as a resource, clear communication, good listening, leadership, delegation,
owning responsibility, motivating subordinates, honesty, credibility, and
decisiveness, etc., in nutshell a problem solving, getting things done attitude,
and overall a good decision-maker.
The value system of an individual helps him in her/his professional work
and makes progress. In absence of value, a professional manager may
become prey to different unhealthy and unscrupulous practices such as
accepting bribes, speculative buying, and selling, the window dressing of
profits, etc resulting in enhancement of personal gains, using their authority
and freedom for personal benefits. Managers using ethical practices and
value systems in natural working commands respect from subordinates and
all others. In fact value system with an ethical attitude help the professional
manager to take the right decision at the appropriate time.

1.5 TASKS OF MANAGER

As identified by Drucker the manager performs five basic tasks, the first as
setting objectives. Every organization, whether large or small have certain
objectives. The managers determine goals to be achieved, for which the
organization strives. To achieve organization goals managers prepare plans,
which involve essentially, examining the courses of action available to
achieve goals, evaluating each course of action, and finally selecting the best
course of action for implementation. If the manager fails in proper planning,
ultimately leads to obstacles in achieving organizational objectives. The next
step for the manager in process of achieving objectives includes allocation
of resources, communicating objectives to people to get their contribution,
and deciding what to be done to achieve the set objectives. Objective setting
15
Fundamentals of Management requires a specific ability to analyze and synthesize as they require making
a balance between means and ends in different situations.
The second thing is what a manager does in the organization? The manager
identifies and segregates various activities essential for the implementation
of the plan. A manager under this task break activities into manageable
jobs, allocates people to perform the jobs. Organizing show how the
structures, procedures, rules, and regulation can be put to achieve goals
with the available resources including human resources. Organizing also
provides a network for communication and relationship between employees
at different levels within and other stakeholders associated with the
organization. Organizing facilitates in creating a climate and environment
of cooperation to improve group effectiveness. The function of organizing
is associated with well-defined authority and responsibility, which provides
management enough flexibility in the organization to create different
administrative and managerial positions that, motivate employees to work
hard and achieve. Organizing is a skillful task. Manager requires a new
set of skills viz. analytical, taking economical decisions, utilizing all the
resources optimally.
The third important task a manager needs to do is to ‘motivate and
communicate’ with his/her subordinates as well as colleagues. Motivation
is the process of encouraging and creating interest among the employees
to put their best efforts and abilities to perform more effectively using
their abilities than in a normal course. The employee gets stimulated when
his/her psychological needs are met, in the process of contributing to the
organization. The same motivational factors cannot be used in the case of
all the employees. Motivational factors can be broadly categorized into (a)
financial which includes competitive salary package e.g. monthly/annual
salary, other perquisites, bonus, overtime, transportation allowances,
reimbursement of medical and telephone bills, etc. and (b) non-financial
factors include appreciation from the supervisors, public appreciation,
congenial work environment, opportunities for career growth, no or minimal
supervision, flexible working hours, opportunity to work on live projects
and self-managed work teams. Managers require to identify the right mix
of motivational factors suitable for their employees. Here manager requires
more social skills to understand his subordinates and their needs, with
the principle of justice, keeping economic work front in the background.
He must be able to identify the changing needs and environment to keep
employees motivated. Through motivation, s/he develops them into a
strong team, collect their views, ideas and finally integrate them in taking
‘decision’ on personnel and welfare matters.
Communication is a vital function of a manager through which
messages, ideas, facts, opinions, and feelings are transmitted or received.
Communication is always a two-way process. One way s/he communicates
to her/his employee instructions through orders, during meetings, circulars,
and notices. Similarly, employees also report back to him through feedback
about their work progress, the output of instructions, or problems faced by
them in performing the tasks. There must be a free flow of communication
between the manager and his employees without status differences, fear,
emotions, bias, and lack of trust. It has been found that organizational
16
productivity is adversely affected when management and employees do not Management: Concepts, Roles,
communicate freely about their expectations of each other. The situation and Skills
results in misunderstanding, frustration, and disappointment.    
The fourth important task to be performed by a vigilant manager is the
‘monitoring and evaluation’ of results about output and performance of
his people. He fixes targets and standards for their performance for people
and communicates the findings back to subordinates. Monitoring is the
process of measuring the current performance of the people and assessing
whether the fixed targets are achieved and up to what extent and ultimately
the objectives. The process involves three steps (i) measuring the actual
performance of the employee, (ii) comparing with it the fixed target, and
(iii) taking corrective follow-up action in case of any discrepancy with the
target. The specific skills manager require for this task are observation and
analytical skills without any bias or as a power of controlling power.
The fifth task, the manager needs to perform is to keep his focus on the
continuous development of people as well as of himself i.e. s/he should be
a good manager having believed in continuous development for current and
future tasks. The development of people involves not only improving their
knowledge and skills using different human resource development tools and
techniques but to creating an environment of cooperation, teamwork, and
synergy to achieve set objectives.
Besides the above five basic tasks as identified by Peter Drucker for the
manager, many thinkers identified planning, organizing, staffing, leading,
and controlling as five basic functions for a manager to perform. Let us
discuss below two functions ‘staffing’ and ‘leading’ not covered by Drucker
in his list of tasks.
Staffing
Once the numbers of positions to be filled and their level, are known to
the manager, the next thing is to find out the type of people required for
different positions, and finally, fill up these positions with the right people.
In fact staffing in other words is human resource management. The process
of staffing includes all personnel functions such as recruitment, selection,
training, placement, appraisal, promotion, career planning, etc. are looked
after by Personnel managers in large organizations. On the other hand in
small organizations, these tasks are looked after by the manager himself.
Leading
An effective manager should also have leadership skills to discharge his
functions efficiently. Leading is the function of providing direction and
encouraging his people to achieve organizational goals. Leading is a
leadership style, communicating with others and motivating people to
achieve the objectives and goals set by the manager. The leader’s style
viz. authoritarian or democratic has a strong impact on the morale and
performance of his team members. Hence a manager needs to understand
his team members and subordinate before adopting his leadership style,
motivating techniques, and communication pattern.
With the complexity of business and its environment, managers of
the twenty-first century have every day added a list of tasks. With time
managerial roles, responsibilities, and tasks got enlarged.   
17
Fundamentals of Management
1.6 MANAGERIAL ROLES
We have discussed five broad management tasks in the Unit of the course,
identified by Management guru Peter Drucker viz. ‘setting objectives’,
‘organizing’, ‘motivate and communicate’, ‘monitoring and evaluation’
and ‘organizational development. Now let us go beyond tasks and
identify specific roles that managers play at different levels to accomplish
organizational goals facing differing situations under an ever-changing
business environment. As an individual, every one of us plays different
roles in the family, in friends circle, in society, and at the workplace. The
roles at the workplace have a wide variety viz. as the leader, motivator to
undertake the new assignment, as information disseminator, distributor
of resources, sometimes as liaison agent, monitor of things going around,
negotiator within and outside the organization and handle disagreement.
1.6.1 Types of Managerial Roles
Henery Mintzberg6 in his book The Nature of Managerial Work describes
the manager’s agenda consisting of precisely ten activities. He studied
the functioning of his subordinate managers in various organizations and
identified ten roles, categorized in three broad categories viz. interpersonal,
informational, and decisional roles.
1. Interpersonal roles: This role involves activities with people working
in the organization. This is a supportive role for informational and
decisional roles. Interpersonal roles can be categorized under three
subheadings:
(i) Figurehead - Symbolic and ceremonial duties to represent as
head of activity, greet visitors, sign agreements.
(ii) Leader – Provide guidance, direction and motivate his
subordinate through communication and training.
(iii) Liaison – Maintain contact with both internal and external
stakeholders through the mail, phone calls, and meetings.
2. Informational roles: This involves the role of assimilating and
disseminating information as and when required. Following are the
main sub-roles, which managers often perform:
(i) Monitor – Keep watch over internal as well as external
developments through information networks, media, business
reports, and personal calls.
(ii) Disseminator – Communicate required information to different
organizational members through written memos as well as
phone calls.
(iii) Spokesperson – Communicate information outside the
organization through Media addresses, writing reports.
3. Decisional roles: The manager plays a crucial role as a decision-
maker to run the organization. It involves decision-making. Again,
this role can be subdivided into the following four segments:
(i) Entrepreneur - Act as an initiator of work on innovative ideas,
identify people, and allocate responsibilities.
18
 (ii) Trouble Handler – Understand internal as well as external Management: Concepts, Roles,
crises and take corrective action, conflict resolution among and Skills
subordinates.
(iii) Resource Allocator- Set priorities and delegate responsibilities,
allocate various organizational resources like manpower,
budget.
(iv) Negotiator – During negotiations for business internally or
externally, keep his departmental interest on top of the agenda.
Mintzberg in his studies observed certain uncompromising features in the
work-life of managers viz. managers find very less free time because of
unexpected problems and pressure of meetings to plan for better performance.
Mintzberg says that ‘the manager can never be free to forget job and never has
the pleasure to say even temporarily that there is nothing else to do…’ The
work of the manager keeps him busy all the time, stressed and demanding.
The summary of research on ‘work of manager’ brings out that- managers
work for a long time, work at an intense pace, work at fragmented and
varied tasks, work with different communication media and perform their
tasks through inter-personal relationships. Successful managers always do
networking with people within and outside the organization to implement
their agenda and give time for developing relationships and networking.
Among all the above roles discussed, the manager at any level plays a
crucial role as a decision-maker for the smooth running of the organization.
Organizations of the twenty-first century encourage their managers to
undertake various diversified roles instead of remaining confined to
traditional managers. Information and communication technology (ICT) has
a profound impact on the decision-making process and the overall behavior
of the organizations of the 21st century. As the business environment is
becoming increasingly competitive, companies expect their managers to
play different roles and be versatile, human with empathy, while handling
issues concerned with human relationships.
Exercise – List out different activities you undertake in connection with
your work and identify particular roles played by you to perform these
job related activities. You may do the same exercise for your boss also.

1.7 MANAGEMENT LEVELS

Normally a person responsible for carryout activities related to the
management of the organization is designated as ‘manager’. A manager is
supposed to perform at different levels with a varied range of activities. The
term ‘management levels’ refers to the line of hierarchical demarcation to
segregate different activities and responsibilities undertaken by the managers
to accomplish organizational goals. These levels in an organization require
19
Fundamentals of Management managers to play different roles and acquire a varied set of skills. In general
three levels are identified (1) Top level, (2) Middle level, and (3) Lower
level or first-line manager.
1.7.1 Different Levels of Manager
(1) Top Level: It includes managers, who determine objectives and
policies, set goals, design operational and financial structure, decide
and control authority, decide performance standards for employees
and quality standards for products viz. strategic perspectives of the
organizations. Normally the managers at the top level keep links with
external stakeholders and finalize operational deals, contracts, and
protocols. This small group of managers includes Chairman, President,
Managing Director, Chief executive Officer, executive director,
directors, etc. The members of the top management group spend more
of their time in conceptualizing the ideas, strategic planning, meeting
with external stakeholders, maintaining public relations, scanning
the business environment, identifying long-term potential problems
and opportunities, etc. To handle these concerns top managers
keep developing strategic plans, that is why they have hectic daily
schedules and require the support of personal staff to manage time.
They formulate operational policies and provide direction to lower-
level managers for interaction with the external environment of the
organization. Managers in this category need more conceptual skills.
One of the important activities top managers perform is designing and
building an organization, for which s/he plays eight other important
roles viz. Identity and creating the role, enabling role, synergize role,
balancing role, networking or linkage building role, futuristic role,
creating impact role and superordinating role. (Pareek 1981)
(2) Middle Level: They are also called functional managers as normally
they head a functional department i.e. production, marketing, finance,
or administration/ Human Resources and spends more time in handling
problems within the organization, act as a link between top and lower
level manager, explain the policies and strategies developed by top
managers to lower level managers and employees, prepare operational
plans, work out details of activities and issue orders for execution.
They are responsible for transforming policies, overall organizational
goals, and strategies into specific goals and action plans for first-line
managers. Middle level managers generally function as Departmental
Heads for different departments/divisions of the organization. This
group of managers are designated as functional heads and also
includes subordinates just below. They have more paperwork and
some physical activities. As per their task requirement, managers
under this category require human and technical skills also. The job
of Project Manager may be considered as an appropriate example
under this level. The project manager work with a lot of people with
complete task details, coordinates different activities within as well
as outside, maintains time limits, and sees the completion of work as
per schedule.

20
(3) Lower Level: Such managers have a direct link with a small group Management: Concepts, Roles,
of workers. Prepare the schedule of daily activities and get it done and Skills
by workers. Their duties include preparing daily work schedule,
providing material, machines (Tools), work supervision, maintaining
discipline and control over the workforce. They have more physical
activities than mental work, are active during work, take floor-level
decisions. The managers are designated as Supervisor, Shift Manager,
first-line manager, etc. These managers are directly responsible for
quality products and services. The managers under this category
require more technical skills as well as leadership and human skills.
Their roles as effective leaders facilitate the output of the organization.
The majority of first-line managers spend most of their time in
supervision and leadership tasks like planning for work schedule,
clarification about goals and tasks, appraising performance and
facilitating teamwork, preparing recruitment and development plans
for workers, encouraging workers for higher output, coordinating
with other teams thus achieving organizational goals.
1.7.2 Types of Managers
In addition to their designated responsibilities with appropriate authority,
managers work with different capacities in the organization.
Line Manager is a designation given to a manager who directly supervises
the work activities, which contribute to production or services. The President
of a company, Production manager of a manufacturing unit, retail manager
of a local store has similar line responsibility.
Staff Manager in an organization uses their expert technical competency
to advise and supports the line workers and supervisors to facilitate the
production or output. The Human Resource Manager or Chief Accounts
Officer, Management Service Manager, or Industrial Engineer has staff
responsibility.
General Manager: In a large organization, where activities are segregated
in different functions such as procurement, Quality control, production,
warehousing, Personnel, marketing, accounting, etc. the manager responsible
for the overall performance of such complex organization is designated as
General manager.
Functional Manager is entrusted responsibility for the performance of a
functional unit such as production, marketing, accounting, personnel.
Exercise - Prepare a list of responsibilities and activities (action focus)
associated with the managers at top, middle and lower level in your
organization or any other organization known to you.

21
Fundamentals of Management Check Your Progress 1.2
Note: a) Write your answers in the space given below.
b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the unit.
1. Discuss the works managers do at different levels in the organization?
………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………
2. What are the different roles a manager play?
………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………
3. What do you understand from levels of manager in an organization?
………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………..

1.8 MANAGEMENT SKILLS

Skills are defined as the ability to apply knowledge into action and achieve
the desired result. Present-day organizations have added many new tasks
in managerial work schedules when compared to the traditional manager of
the twentieth century. As the business environment is becoming increasingly
competitive, organizations are adopting different strategies to improve
quality, reduce cost, customer satisfaction, employees’ involvement, etc. A
manager needs to be versatile, skillful as well as human while handling
issues concerned with customers, vendors, union members, subordinates,
and colleagues and use different skills as per task and situation. The
members of the top management team should be more vigilant, explorers,
and analytical to understand the pressures of the external environment.
A manager’s job is varied and complex. The basic functions of a manager
include planning, decision making, and controlling, which he performs
every day many times. Besides basic functions manager performs certain
other functions viz. communication, networking with people, institutions,
and managing people. Managers require many skills to perform challenging
activities associated with their responsibilities being managers. Among
these skills more important are those which help his subordinates and
team members to contribute more towards their job. What type of skills
does a manager need? Robert L. Katz (1974) categorized these essential
management skills into three broad groups viz. technical, human, and
conceptual.
1. Technical Skills
Among all the basic skills required for a successful career, technical skills are
considered most important as they provide a base for a sound professional
22
life for an individual. Technical skill is the ability to use specific knowledge, Management: Concepts, Roles,
techniques, expertise, and resources in performing specific tasks. All jobs and Skills
require some specialized expertise. Examples of technical skills are writing
computer programs, products and process design, completing accounting
statements, analyzing marketing statistics, writing legal documents,
assembling a computer, developing a new formula for a frozen food
additive, and writing a press release. Each of these requires technical skills.
Hence, these skills are generally associated with the operations employed
by the organization in its production processes. Technical skills are usually
obtained through training programs that an organization may offer its
managers or employees or may be obtained by way of a college degree.
Indeed, many technical and business schools throughout the country see
their role as providing graduates with the technical skills necessary for
them to be successful on the job. Many people develop their technical skills
during vocational and on-the-job training programs.
Normally technical skills are best used by first-line managers responsible
for delivering output. When managers move up in the chain of command
they need more human skills for effective performance. For managers at
the top level entrusted with the overall responsibility for the performance
of the organization, conceptual skills are found to be the most important
skills. Human skills are needed by managers at all levels, as they have to
continuously interact and work with people.
2. Human Skills
The basic jobs of a manager require him to get the work done through
subordinates and the workforce. This is the ability of a manager to interact
and get organizational work done effectively, understand and motivate
people both individually and in a group. A manager with effective human
skills has a high degree of self-awareness and emp4athy for others. One
important component of human skills is emotional intelligence i.e. ability to
manage own behavior and relationship with others. This requires sensitivity
towards others’ issues and concerns. Managers who are proficient in
technical skills but not in interpersonal or human skills may face difficulties
to manage their subordinates and other stakeholders. To acquire human
skills, one should be pertinent to recognize the feelings and sentiments of
others, have the ability to motivate others even in an adverse situation, and
communicate own feelings to others in a positive and inspiring way. Human
skills, therefore, relate to the individual’s expertise in interacting with others
in a way that will encourage the successful completion of the task at hand.
3. Conceptual Skills
Conceptual skills refer to the manager’s ability to think in the abstract. A
manager with strong conceptual skills can see the “big picture.” That is,
she or he can see potential or opportunity where others see roadblocks or
problems. This is an ability to critically analyze, diagnose a situation and
identify a likely feasible solution. It requires creative thinking, generating
options, and choosing the best available option to achieve objectives.
Managers with strong conceptual skills can see opportunities that others
miss. Examples of situations that require conceptual skills include the

23
Fundamentals of Management passage of laws that affect hiring patterns in an organization, a competitor’s
change in marketing strategy, or the reorganization of one department which
ultimately affects the activities of other departments in the organization. A
manager with conceptual skills must be a visionary, focusing the sight of
small thought for the future on a giant canvas, thus making a big picture.
Always keep thinking for expansion of the core business into new and
emerging areas and look even small happenings in business environment
for exploitation in her/his organization’s favor.
Exercise - Explore within your work organization use of conceptual skills
by managers with real output/outcome in the interest of organization.

1.9 MANAGERIAL SKILLS TO BECOME AN

EFFECTIVE LEADER
Management of organization in a competitive environment of 21st century
requires a different focus of manager to that of 20th-century manager. The
manager requires more leadership characteristics to be effective, which
includes, understanding of technology and its correct application especially
Information Technology, to be able to provide consistent motivation to his
team encouraging them to attain excellence and quality in their performance
and maintain ethical behavior in all walks of work life. Excellent leadership
is always proactive rather than reactive. An effective leader always looks
for ways to improve production, quality of output, and standards. Seven
management skills a leader needs to create a quality effective team to have
a solid foundation for success.
1) Observation
This is an important aspect that often gets neglected due to the demands
on a leader’s time and schedule. Observation and regular visits to the work
environment are a priority and should be scheduled into the calendar.
Observing employees at work, the procedures, interaction, and workflow
is foundational to implementing adjustments to improve results. To have
credibility, a leader needs to be seen and be known to be up to date with
what is happening in the workplace.
2) Monitor Employee Performance
Employee performance needs to be monitored in mutually acceptable ways.
Policies and procedures need to be clear. Conferencing should be done
regularly and not just when there is a problem. Assessments and evaluations
should not be merely all formality or viewed as necessary paperwork to
be done and filed away. Individual and group conferencing should be
undertaken not only to monitor performance but with the expectation of
24
ongoing professional development and support. There should be frequent Management: Concepts, Roles,
encouragement and clear criteria for ongoing goals both for the group and and Skills
individual.
3) Implementation of Professional Development Programmes
A good leader evaluates the weaknesses of his team members and analyses
them to identify the reasons for poor performance. He identifies the ways
and means for improving the abilities of his team members and plan long-
term strategies for training and development of staff and to strengthen the
skills in the teamwork.
4) Demonstration of Working Knowledge and Expertise
Good leadership comes from a place of strong knowledge and experience
of the production and process leading to results. If a leader does not possess
all the expertise and knowledge personally, then regular consultations with
experts involved in the departments should be held. This is important to
maintain an accurate and informed overall picture of the organization and
business environment.
5) Good Decision Making
Good leadership is characterized by the ability to make good decisions. A
leader considers all the different interacting factors before making a decision.
Clear firm decisions, combined with the willingness and flexibility to adapt
and adjust decisions when necessary, create confidence in the leadership.
6) Ability to Conduct and Evaluate Research
Ongoing review and research are vital to keeping on the cutting edge in
business. While managing the present to ensure ongoing excellence in
product and performance, a good leader should also be able to look towards
the future. Conducting and evaluating research is an important way of
planning and being prepared for the future.
7) Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence (EI) is an important component of human skills.
Daniel Goleman defined EI as the ability to manage ourselves and our
relationships effectively. As the success ‘mantra’ of business in the 21st
century, emotional intelligence is considered a must in the set of your
interpersonal skills. The answer to the question at the workplace, how well
you manage people? Indicate the level of emotional intelligence you apply
in your work.

1.10 ADDITIONAL BUSINESS SKILLS FOR

MANAGERIAL EFFECTIVENESS
An important element of managerial work is to have a set of skills necessary
to carry out basic functions and fill fundamental roles. The revolution in
information technology and the use of computers have changed the scenario
of business operations. In general, most successful managers have a strong
combination of technical, human, interpersonal, conceptual, and diagnostic
skills.
25
Fundamentals of Management Of course, neither every manager has an equal allotment of the above basic
skills, nor have allotments critical. For example, the optimal skills mix tends
to vary with the manager’s level in the organization. First-line managers
generally need to depend more on their technical and interpersonal skills and
less on their conceptual and diagnostic skills. Top managers tend to exhibit
the reverse combination of a greater emphasis on conceptual and diagnostic
skills and somewhat lesser dependence on technical and interpersonal skills.
Middle managers require a more even distribution of skills.
A professional manager is an expert in his field, trained and experienced
enough to adeptly manage any type of organization be it a manufacturing
house, a service organization, a hospital, or a government agency. Besides
the above five basic skills, he acquires various other skills to be effective
and quick at work.
1) Interpersonal skills
These skills comprise the manager’s ability to communicate, understand,
and motivate individuals and groups within and outside the organization.
Managers with interpersonal skills are found to be extremely successful in
networking and influencing others. The interpersonal skills make human
personality with the extra shining of gold on the brass plate. Interpersonal
skills help the manager in handling people smoothly otherwise it has been
found that lack of these skills affects on effectiveness and popularity of the
manager. As we know managers spend a lot of their time interacting with
various stakeholders. That is why they must be able to relate to and get
along with other people.
2) Diagnostic Skills
Most successful managers also bring diagnostic skills to the organization.
Diagnostic skills allow the manager to better understand cause-and-effect
relationships in business operations and to recognize the optimal solution
to problems. Managers with a combination of diagnostic skills and their
observation sense foresee the trouble and problems in advance and prepare
themselves appropriately.
3) Analytical Skills
These skills are the abilities to identify key factors and understand how
they interrelate and behave in a particular situation. Analytical skills
involve being able to think about how multiple complex variables interact
and to conceive of ways to make them act desirably. An important factor
associated with analytical skills is the selection of only critical and relevant
information or data required for analysis.
4) Digital Skills
For a manager of the 21st century, these may be considered as knowledge
of the alphabet for a child. These are important because by using digital
technology substantially a manager may increase his productivity and
output. Computers are a boon of the technical revolution using digital
technology, which can perform many complex tasks within minutes in areas
of financial analysis, Human Resource Planning, Operational planning,
control, designing, and other areas that otherwise take hours, even days to
complete.
26
5) Communication Skills Management: Concepts, Roles,
and Skills
Communication in the context of managerial work may be defined as a
process to convey ideas and findings clearly through words, symbols,
and gestures in written form or oral expression, which includes written
notes, oral presentations, giving or receiving feedback, etc. Effective
communication is vital for managerial performance. The skill is critical to
success in every field. Communication skills involve the ability to transfer
information at an appropriate time in ways that other people understand
and to seek and use feedback from employees to ensure that one is
understood. Proficiency of language and knowledge of the subject matter,
along with skills in written and oral expression makes a manager effective
in communication. In practical life, a manager must know and understand
non-verbal communication in terms of body language, gestures, or symbols
commonly used for communication.
6) Design Skills
It is the ability to solve problems in ways that will benefit the organization.
To be effective, particularly at upper levels, managers must be able to do
more than see a problem. They must also be able to design a workable
solution to the problem. Pareek (1981) identified eight specific roles a
manager play while designing an organization viz. identity and creating the
role, enabling role, synergize role, balancing role, networking or linkage
building role, futuristic role, creating impact role, and superordinating role.
Exercise -Select a particular job of a subordinate and ask him to prepare
list of skills s/he uses to perform her/his job. Compare the list with skills
required for a manager of 21st century.

1.11 MANAGERIAL SKILLS AND

CHARACTERISTICS COVERED
THROUGH CURRICULUM
In Business Schools
The management schools all over the world keep watch on global business
and industry needs and modify their curriculum as per requirement. The
majority of Management schools emphasize a set of skills in basic and
functional areas. For the success of a professional education programme, the
basic principle is its focus on preparing the students as per the requirements
of business and industry.
In general, business companies look for the profile of a typical business
manager with characteristics and traits viz. Honesty, sincerity, integrity and
highly disciplined, sharp business thinking/intelligence, good self-manager,
having an understanding of social life and their problems, ability to handled
27
Fundamentals of Management subordinates, especially working for challenging assignments, high
intelligence and emotional quotient, adaptability, conceptual skills/Soft
skills, competitive nature with fairness & honesty in the core, have win-win
attitude, good time manager with the ability to prioritize his/her activities
and latest knowledge and skills in handling information and communication
technology (ICT) systems efficiently. However, many reputed schools
focus on certain additional skills in areas such as teamwork, leadership,
self-management, critical thinking, professionalism, and communication;
making the students ready to face real work problems in their careers. The
managers are decision-makers as well as leaders of their organizations.
In Agribusiness Schools
The policy of economic reforms guided by WTO has brought structural
changes in the economy, resulting in major shifts in the Indian agriculture
scenario. The concept of agri-business has opened up vast opportunities
for value addition, processing, packaging, retailing & export of agriculture
products with the application of high technology and management.
Agribusiness sub-sector in particular and agriculture as the primary sector
of our economy has suffered even after independence due to two reasons
viz. poor organizational management and lack of appropriately trained
manpower resulting into the sickness of Agro-industrial sector. The need
for academic and professional development in this sub-sector was realized
after 1991 with the emergence of ‘agribusinesses as a business concept of
‘agriculture’. Though India is considered a hub of technical manpower and
has the largest technically educated/trained manpower, qualified personnel
in the management of the agribusiness sector are still found inadequate. With
little focus on the development of managerial skills in the undergraduate
curriculum followed in agricultural universities, the young agriculture
graduates find it difficult to function effectively either as managers in
agribusiness companies or become an entrepreneur in this sub-sector.
Globalization of the agricultural economy requires that production,
marketing, and quality aspects of agriculture and allied sector products be
researched and taught in academic institutions concerning their relationships
with the global environment, international quality standards, scientific
farming, production and processing techniques, and emerging markets
in other countries. With the entry of foreign direct investment in the agri-
business sub-sector, demand for more competent management graduates in
the agribusiness sub-sector is growing. Agribusiness firms need far better
employees trained in both management and agricultural sciences. The
uniqueness of the agriculture sector requires the development of a suitable
framework for analysis and decision-making. For example, quantitative
methods used in decision-making are standard and can be learned as easily
in a business class or elsewhere. But the art comes in their application to an
entirely different base of the rural economy.
Agriculture in different countries has its peculiarities due to its topography,
agro-climatic conditions, availability of natural resources, level of
development, etc. One of the major challenges for the institutions starting
education programme in agribusiness management all over the world was a
development of an appropriate curriculum.
28
In the Indian context the syllabus of agribusiness courses followed by various Management: Concepts, Roles,
management institutions in general covers all basic management subjects, and Skills
such as marketing, finance, operations, human resource management,
information technology, etc. In the field of agribusiness, the courses include
micro-finance and micro-credit, rural marketing, international trade in
agri-commodities, agri-entrepreneurship, agri-input marketing, supply
chain management, rural marketing, procurement management, agriculture
finance, agribusiness risk management, emerging issues in agribusiness and
food industry, commodity futures, agriculture project management, etc.
depending upon the needs of business skills & knowledge to be imparted to
the students.
The characteristics and specific skills required for managing agriculture and
agribusiness may be deduced from the requirement of industry problems
and issues in this sub-sector. Few management problems in the agribusiness
sector may be listed as follows:
(i) Shortage of materials like inputs and power for agriculture and allied
areas,
(ii) Lack of facilities for providing adequate finance in rural areas to poor
farmers,
(iii) Use of outdated technologies by small and marginal farmers,
(iv) Poor infrastructure facilities for packaging, cold chain, storage,
marketing, processing, and transport in rural areas,
(v) Inadequate marketing network and facilities,
(vi) Weak farmers organizations and poor management,
(vii) Lack of appropriately trained manpower in technical and management
fields,
(viii) Poor research and development facilities for farmers problems,
(ix) Lack of indigenous research for agricultural equipment, implements,
and machinery,
(x) Labour/manpower related problems for agriculture operations,
(xi) Poor understanding of managers with urban background about rural
life, people and their attitude, farmers problems,
(xii) Production related problems, and
(xiii) A social environment for industries .
Exercise - Perform this in two steps
(1) Prepare a list of management problems/issues associated with a
particular sector in which you are working (for example health,
education, justice etc.) or known to you.
(2) Prepare an inventory of skills required by manager to manage
particular problem/issue.

29
Fundamentals of Management Check Your Progress 1.3
Note: a) Write your answers in the space given below.
b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the unit.
1. What are the essential skills required by a traditional manager?
………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………..

1.12 LET US SUM UP

Management can be defined in different contexts as a discipline in
academics. One universally accepted definition of management as a process
is a systematic way of achieving organizational objectives through planning,
organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling. Management principles are
developed after research, with logical explanations, and practiced universally
all over the world for centuries. Scientific management of Agriculture in
our country was introduced by British rulers to meet the demand for food
for a large population when the country was facing a series of famines
in different parts during the 19th century. The very first step taken was to
establish a department of agriculture in every state to oversee the production
of different crops, which included food crops and cash crops like cotton to
feed raw material to mills in Britain. Besides the production of crops, efforts
were made to establish research laboratories to develop good quality seeds
as well as a scientific production technology for high crop yield and four
agriculture colleges to fulfill the shortage of technical manpower.
Management tasks to be performed by the manager depend upon the type
of industry, his working level, and other functional responsibilities. The
management process includes four main interrelated functions a manager
has to perform are planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Peter
Drucker identified five basic tasks for a manager viz. setting of objectives,
organizing, motivation and communication, monitoring and evaluation, and
continuous development of people. Few thinkers added two other functional
tasks ‘staffing’ and ‘leading’, which a manager performs, whatever be her/
his level or type of organization s/he serve. In this unit, we have discussed
many more tasks, that a manager of the 21st century may have to perform.
Not all the tasks discussed in this unit need to be performed by every
manager. There may be a group of tasks, which becomes part of managerial
work at a particular time or his functional responsibilities.
A manager has to play different roles to accomplish tasks to achieve
organizational goals. Understanding her/his role and acting accordingly
adds to the effectiveness of the manager. Managerial responsibilities can be
put into three different levels, based on the nature of work, its complexity,
and overall management of different tasks. For example, a manager at the
top level takes care of certain tasks covering total organization viz. setting
of mission and vision statement, formulate strategies, policies, rules,
guidelines, etc., whereas a manager at the middle level take care of different
functions or department, implement guidelines set by top management and
30
acts as a buffer between the top and lower management levels. The managers Management: Concepts, Roles,
at grass root level or lower level take care of the workforce, and also known and Skills
as the first-line manager, generally oversee the actual production or services
offered by the organization.
To perform their job effectively manager requires various functional
skills. The early thinkers in management identified three basic skills
viz. Technical, Human, and Conceptual for effective management of
organizations. However, management in the 21st century has become more
competitive and complex with the application of computers and information
technology. Today we can find a new area for human development i.e. multi-
skilling. Besides basic skills a manager requires a new set of ‘functional
skills’ to handle different organizational functions, ‘leadership skills’ for
effectiveness, and ‘business skills’ for efficiency to meet competition.

1.13 KEYWORDS
Conceptual Skills : Ability to make a big picture and integrate interests
and benefits of an organization.
Control : Process of measuring performance with pre-set
benchmark and taking action if any deviation in
performance is noticed or it is below the desired
level.
Decision making : Selection of a path for action to solve a problem or
Ethics : Set of moral standards for what is right or wrong,
good or bad in one’s behaviour and conduct.
Figurehead : Representing the organization as head of formal
events or meetings
Goal : The purpose for which an organization strives
to achieve, This is a fundamental element of an
organization.
Human Capital : The economic value of people with ideas, knowledge,
job-related capabilities, energy, and commitment.
Human Skills : Ability to understand, works, encourage and
motivate other people or groups within and outside
the organization.
Interpersonal : A role in which the manager makes contact with
people providing needed information or support,
mostly outside the organization to acknowledge
emails, express obligation, and offer his support.
Leading : The process of directing an organization or making
group members perform task-related activities.
Liaison : Remain in touch with managers of other departments
or people outside the organization to develop internal
and external linkages.
Management : The process of achieving organizational goals by
planning, organizing, leading, and controlling
through effective use of organizational resources.
31
Fundamentals of Management Manager : A person shouldering the responsibility to direct and
get things done by others to achieve organizational
goals.
Monitoring : Process of keeping watch over the output during an
ongoing process
Motivation : Can be described as forces within a person that
account for cause, channel, and sustain human
behaviour for the betterment.
Negotiation : An act of bargaining to settle a conflict by using
communication skills.
Obsolescence : The process of decay, that makes an object or person
out of use or out of date.
Organizing : A process of engaging two or more people in a
structured way to achieve certain goals or a set of
goals.
Planning : Process of developing the course of action in advance
with details of who does, what, when, where, why,
and how for the future.
Scalar Chain : The graded chain of authority through which
information flow from top to bottom.
Staff authority : The authority granted to a group of individuals to
advise and provides services to line managers.
Stakeholders : The groups and people directly affected in any form
by the persuasion of the goals of an organization.
Supply chain : Chain of critical points to make available the product
or service to end-user
Task : An assignment or responsibility given or undertaken
for performing.
Technical Skills : Ability to use the methods, tools, techniques,
knowledge of a specialized domain.
Unity of Command : A n
employee should get orders from one superior for
correct action.
Unity of Direction : The principle states clarity of action. In a large
organization, one manager should have one plan
instead of his part involvement at different places.

1.14 SUGGESTED READINGS / REFERENCES

1. Ackoff R.L., ‘Creating the Corporate Future’, John Wiley & Sons,
1981.
2. Ansofs, H. Igor, ‘Strategic Management’, Macmillan Press, London
1979.
3. Douglas McGregor, ‘The Human side of the Enterprise’, Mc Graw
32
 Hill, New York,1960. Management: Concepts, Roles,
and Skills
4. Drucker Peter F., ‘Management Tasks, Responsibilities and Practices’,
Allied Publishers Pvt. Limited, New Delhi.
5. Drucker Peter F., ‘The Practice of Management’, Heinmann
Professional publishing Co, London, 1955.
6. Koontz. Howard and Wilhrich. Heinz, ‘Essentials of Management’,
Mc Graw Hill, New York-1990.
7. Mintzberg Henry,” Mintzberg on Management’, Free Press, New
York, 1999
8. Moore W.E., ‘The Professions: Roles and Rules’, Basic Books, New
York, 1978.
9. Prasd.L.M., Principles and Practice of Management, Sultan Chand
& Co, New Delhi-1990.
10. Rensis Likert, ‘The Human Organizations’, Mc Graw Hill, New York,
1967.
11. S.P. Robbins, ‘Management’, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
12. Senge, Peter, “The Fifth Discipline; New York, Doubleday, 1990.
13. Venkatratnam & Srivatsav B.K., ‘Personnel and Human Resource
Management, Tata McGraw Hill, New Delhi,1994.
14. Study Material of MAM001: Introduction to Plantation Management,
School of Agriculture, IGNOU, New Delhi.

1.15 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS: POSSIBLE AN

SWERS
Check Your Progress 1.1
1. Management can be defined as the attainment of organizational goals
efficiently and effectively through planning, organizing, staffing
leading, and controlling the resources of the organization.
2. On the demand of British Industries to streamline the availability of
cotton, a department ‘Revenue, Agriculture and Commerce’ at the
Central level was established in 1871. It was the end of the nineteenth
century when the country under British rule suffered from a series of
famines year after year. To understand the cause of famine in a big part
of eastern India, a commission was formed, which suggested in its
report submitted in 1886 to give special attention towards agriculture.
Acting on recommendations of the commission, the decision was
taken to create separate departments of Agriculture in six states.
Check Your Progress 1.2
1. In a nutshell the work that managers do in an organization is to
support, coordinate and facilitate the activities of others to achieve
the organizational objectives.
2. Considering various responsibilities a manager has his roles can

33
Fundamentals of Management be identified as (1) Informational role involving assimilating and
disseminating information as and when required with three sub-roles
viz. monitor, disseminator, spokesperson,(2) Decisional role with
four sub-roles viz. entrepreneur, trouble handler, resource allocator
and negotiator (3) Interpersonal roles with their sub-roles Figurehead,
leader and liaison.
3. The term levels of management refer to distinguishing the
responsibilities and control between different positions. Generally in
a large organization management jobs are identified at three levels (1)
top level, (2) middle level, and (3) lower level.
Check Your Progress 1.3
1. Three main skills technical, human, and conceptual were identified
by early thinkers as essential basic skills required by a manager.
However, managers require different skills to successfully perform
other organizational functions such as planning, organizing, directing,
controlling, decision making, interpersonal, and leading people in an
organization, etc.

34