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manager deals with threats to the organization. In the resource allocator role, the
manager chooses where the organization will expend its efforts. In the negotiator
role, the manager negotiates on behalf of the organization. The top-level manager
makes the decisions about the organization as a whole, while the supervisor makes

decisions about his or her particular work unit.
The supervisor performs these managerial roles but with different emphasis
than higher managers. Supervisory management is more focused and short-term in
outlook. Thus, the figurehead role becomes less significant and the disturbance
handler and negotiator roles increase in importance for the supervisor. Since
leadership permeates all activities, the leader role is among the most important of all
roles at all levels of management.
So what do Mintzberg’s conclusions about the nature of managerial work mean
for you? On the one hand, managerial work is the lifeblood of most organizations
because it serves to choreograph and motivate individuals to do amazing things.
Managerial work is exciting, and it is hard to imagine that there will ever be a
shortage of demand for capable, energetic managers. On the other hand, managerial
work is necessarily fast-paced and fragmented, where managers at all levels express
the opinion that they must process much more information and make more decisions
than they could have ever possibly imagined. So, just as the most successful
organizations seem to have well-formed and well-executed strategies, there is also a
strong need for managers to have good strategies about the way they will approach
their work. This is exactly what you will learn through principles of management.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Managers are responsible for getting work done through others. We
typically describe the key managerial functions as planning, organizing,
leading, and controlling. The definitions for each of these have evolved over
time, just as the nature of managing in general has evolved over time. This
evolution is best seen in the gradual transition from the traditional hierarchical
relationship between managers and employees, to a climate characterized better
as an upside-down pyramid, where top executives support middle managers
and they, in turn, support the employees who innovate and fulfill the needs of
customers and clients. Through all four managerial functions, the work of
managers ranges across ten roles, from figurehead to negotiator. While actual
managerial work can seem challenging, the skills you gain through principles
of management—consisting of the functions of planning, organizing, leading,
and controlling—will help you to meet these challenges.
EXERCISES
1. Why do organizations need managers?
2. What are some different types of managers and how do they differ?
3. What are Mintzberg’s ten managerial roles?
4. What three areas does Mintzberg use to organize the ten roles?
5. What four general managerial functions do principles of management
include?

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