Interrelationship Between Management Functions

 MANAGERIAL SKILLS

The term ‘managerial skill’ means the personal ability put to use by a manager for the accomplishment of organisational goals. The job of a modern manager has become very complex. He requires different types of skills to manage large organisation in the fast changing environment. R.L. Katz has given three types of managerial skills as follows:

i. Technical skills

ii. Human skills

iii. Conceptual skills.

Some authors have added two more skills to the above list. These are analytical skills and administrative skills.

Technical Skills

Technical skill implies proficiency in a specific kind of activity, particularly the one involving methods, processes, procedures or techniques. We can visualize the technical skill of the surgeon, the musician, the accountant or the engineer, when each is performing his own special function. Such functions involve specialized knowledge, analytical ability within the specialized field, facility in the use of tools and the techniques of the specific discipline.

Technical skill is very important in managing. The first line supervisor in a manufacturing firm needs greater knowledge about the technical aspects of the job compared to his top boss. In a small manufacturing organisation, even the top boss who owns the company, needs to have a lot of technical skills. However, in big organisations, technical skills are more important at the lower levels.

Managers need technical skills to guide and train subordinates. They cannot handle their subordinates if they do not know how the jobs are done. There are two things a manager should understand about technical skills. In the first place, he must know what his skills should be employed in his unit. Secondly, the manager must understand the role of each skill employed and also the inner-relationships between different skills.

Human Skills

Human skill is the managers ability to work effectively as a group member and to build cooperative effort within the team he leads. Every managerial level requires managers to interact with the subordinates, working with processes and physical resources. Human relations skills are required to win cooperation of others and build effective work-teams. Such skills require a sense of feeling for others and capacity to look at things from other's point of view. Human skills are reflected in the way a manager perceives his superiors, subordinates and peers. A person with human skills is sufficiently sensitive to the needs and motivations of others in the organisation. With human skills, managers can resolve intra and Inter-group conflicts. An awareness of the importance of human skills should be a part of every manager’s orientation.

Conceptual Skills

Conceptual skills mean the ability to see the organisation as a whole and it includes recognizing how the various functions of the organisation depend on one another. It also makes the individual aware how the changes in one part of the organisation affect the others. It extends to visualizing and relationship of the individual business to the industry, the community and the political, social and economic forces of the nation as a whole. Thus, the manager gains inside into improving the overall effectiveness of the organisation.

Analytical Skills

These refer to abilities to proceed in a logical, step-by-step and systematic manner, to examine the various aspects of specific issues and to understand complex characteristics of a phenomenon. It is also the ability to break down a problem into its components and to ‘clinically’ examine its dimensions. Analytical skills are needed for problem solving and decision making, to evaluate performance, and to manage complex situations.

Administrative Skills

These center around ability to act in a pragmatic manner, get things done by implementing decisions and plans, to mobilize and organize resources and efforts, to co-ordinate diverse activities and to regulate organisational events in an orderly manner.

Skills Requirement at Different Management Levels

The managers at each level will require technical, human and conceptual knowledge and skills to successfully carry out the tasks assigned to him. However, the mix of knowledge and skills required at each level will have to be different in tune with the tasks to be performed. 

Figure shows the relative importance of these skills at various levels of management. At the supervisory level, technical skills are more important for the success of a supervisor's job. As he moves up the hierarchy, increasing demands are made for conceptual skills. Human skills are more or less equally important at all levels. Technical skills can be learnt easily, but conceptual skills can’t be attained unless an individual has the potential and capacity to learn them.