Working in Management
Managers might be responsible for running a team, department, company, or a public sector or voluntary organisation.
Whichever area they work in, managers all need the same general skills and qualities:
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to lead and motivate others.
- Time-management and organisational skills.
- The ability to prioritise and delegate
- Strong number skills and problem-solving ability.
- The ability to work to deadlines and within budgets
- The ability to supervise, co-ordinate and monitor the performance of others.
General management
General managers are usually responsible for co-ordinating the work of more than one department. For example, they make sure that the sales and marketing departments are functioning well together.
They are usually experienced managers who have worked in a specialist area. They work in a wide range of business areas, such as manufacturing and service industries and the public sector.
At higher management levels, managers are usually involved in strategic planning. This involves thinking about the direction in which the organisation is moving, including its strengths and weaknesses.
Managers also consider threats from competitors’ services or products, and how decisions could affect the organisation in the near and long-term future. They plan and manage changes in working practices as a result of these decisions.
Management specialisms
Personnel (human resource) management
Personnel officers help organisations to find, employ and keep the right people, and to use their skills effectively. They deal with issues such as training and development, employee relations, health and safety, rewards and benefits programmes, organisational change and planning future recruitment needs.
Marketing management
Marketing involves identifying and anticipating customer requirements. This is an important function, as it is closely linked to the profit a company makes.
In a small or medium-sized company, a marketing manager will be involved in nearly all aspects of marketing. Larger companies usually employ more than one marketing manager, each with their own area of responsibility.
Brand managers have specific duties connected with marketing a range of goods. This involves setting up market research, overseeing advertising campaigns, preparing sales estimates and monitoring sales performance. They work closely with the sales force, designers and financial managers.
When launching a new product – or assessing how well an existing one is performing – marketing managers have to make decisions about issues such as price, product name and packaging style.
Sales management
Selling products or services is vital to all commercial and industrial concerns; most companies, other than very small ones, have a sales force led by a sales manager.
Sales managers liaise with product managers and marketing and advertising executives to develop a sales strategy. They then divide potential customers into regions or types, and allocate different groups of customers to particular sales representatives (reps) or other sales staff.
They supervise the work of their sales staff by telephone calls, email and meetings, and by examining written sales figures.
Production management
Production managers plan how to make the best use of staff and material resources in order to increase the efficiency of production. They make sure that every order is completed on schedule and that it meets the customer’s requirements. They work in manufacturing industries; their duties vary according to the particular industry.
Production managers divide their time between shop floor responsibilities and office-based duties. They make sure the production line is running smoothly, supervise staff and deal with problems such as machines breaking down.
Production managers are also involved in long-term planning. They have to anticipate the costs of raw materials, staffing levels and technological developments. They often use computers to help collect and analyse the data they need for forward planning.