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Principles and Practices of Management

Notes grievances, etc. In the role of a resource allocator, managers are responsible for allocating
human, physical and monetary resources. As negotiators, managers not only mediate in
internal conflicts but also carry out negotiations with other units to gain advantages for
their own unit.

Task Analyse your performance in different roles of managers that you have to
play in day to day activities.
1.9 Skills of an Effective Manager

An effective manager must possess certain skills in the areas of planning, organising, leading,
controlling and decision-making in order to process activities that are presented to him from
time to time.
In order to be effective, a manager must possess and continuously develop several essential
skills. Robert L. Katz has identified three basic types of skills - technical, human and
conceptual - which he says are needed by all managers.
1. Technical skill: It is the ability to use the tools, procedures or techniques of a specialised
field. Technical skill is considered to be very crucial to the effectiveness of lower level
managers because they are in direct contact with employees performing work activities
within the firm. For instance, the success of a drilling supervisor of an oil rig depends a
great deal on his technical knowledge of drilling. However, as one moves to higher levels
of management within the organisation, the importance of technical skill diminishes
because the manager has less direct contact with day-to-day problems and activities. Thus,
the president of an oil company does not need to know much of the technical details of
drilling for oil or how to refine it.
2. Human skill: It is the ability to work with, understand and motivate other people. This
skill is essential at every level of management within the organisation, but it is particularly
important at lower levels of management where the supervisor has frequent contact with
operating personnel.
3. Conceptual skill: It is the mental ability to coordinate and integrate the organisation’s
interests and activities. It refers to the ability to see the ‘big picture’, to understand how a
change in any given part can affect the whole organisation. The relationship between
management levels and managerial skills is shown in Figure 1.2.
Figure 1.2: Katz-managerial Skills and Level of Management

Top
Conceptual
Level

Middle Skills Human Technical
Level

Lower
Skills Skills
Level
Managerial Skills

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