Mintzberg Management Interview Analyses Using

Mintzberg

Management Interview Analyses Using Mintzberg's Ten Roles

Organizational theory and academic business discourse examine, amongst a host of other key organizational principles, the formal idea that leadership is an essential part of effective management, or, for that matter, an essential part of comprising an effective contribution to any working team. However, like many academic concepts which do not easily make the leap into real world applicability, this theoretical conception of leadership is just that, and in practice, this type of educational content and perspective is actually quite a bit less relevant than the curricula of formal education might argue. (Koskella, 2002; 1) While leadership is unquestionably an inborn talent that can be honed and improved, it is nonetheless an individualized talent and therefore both rarified and special. Such is to say that the dually important aspects of experience and ability are those which cannot be taught in an academic context. Especially in the organizational sense, one must gather and sharpen these respective qualities, suggesting that leadership theory bears only a passing relationship to those instincts and principles which one must know or of which one must be capable in order to function successfully in an organizational leadership role. Ultimately, this means that a leader with the proper merits to effectively steward an organization is one who will demonstrate the capacity for a formal application of proven leadership methods and who will simultaneously adapt to the demands which are specific to the organization in question. This formal application of proven leadership methods is drawn for the purposes of this discussion from Henry Mintzberg's theory of managerial roles, with the 10 such roles which he provides offering a framework for assessing the outcome of the three managerial interviews here conducted.

For Mintzberg, these 10 roles are divided into three subcategories, with interpersonal, informational and decisional. Within these, we will assess the roles which Mitnzberg has identified with specific reference to the mangers who have been selected as our subjects. Before proceeding to this section of the discussion, it is appropriate to identify and define Mintzberg's roles. These are as follows:

1. Figurehead: The manager will function as a representative for those over whom he or she presides, serving in a capacity that is symbolic as well as practical.

2. Leader:

Leadership is a core duty of managerial competence that descends from a responsibility in encouraging motivation and functioning as an authority to other team members.

3. Liaison: Often, the manager will be the key channel through which information, ideas and relationships pass.

4. Monitor:

The manager is expected to host a certain degree of information based on observation both internal and external to the organization, making him a key vessel for insight into organizational goals and demands.

5. Disseminator: The manager will typically function in this visible role of providing access to selected information for members of the organization.

6. Spokesperson: This role sees the manager addressing the public or the world external to the organization in representation of the organization and its personnel.

7. Entrepreneur: The manager will, of course, be a significant decision-maker where strategy, design and implementation of organizational functions are concerned.

8. Disturbance Handler: It will be the responsibility of an effective manager to mediate conflict, address challenging dilemmas and navigate an organization through crisis.

9. Resource Allocator: The manager will have a key role in identifying the appropriate avenues for the distribution of resources and financial priorities.

10. Negotiator: The manager will engage other parties and organizations directly on behalf of his organization in order to attain agreement or compromise toward mutual goals.

These roles are particularly useful to us as we proceed in consideration of the three managers who are agreed to be subjected to our interview. Mintzberg's ten managerial roles are all well exemplified by the responsibilities, concerns and preoccupations of the three individuals considered.

1st Manager (Com. Con. Mgr.): The first manager who agreed to the interview process is a manager for a Computer Consulting firm based in Piscataway, New Jersey. Working under only the company's owner, who serves largely in an administrative capacity, the manager is chiefly responsible for presiding over the staff of 8 which includes three house-call consultants, three technical support call center specialists, a networking specialist and an administrative assistant. Beginning as a consultant himself, the manager worked to a position of leadership over 6 years, allowing the firm's owner to step away from day-to-day business. He earns $60K per annum and spends the vast majority of his time overseeing the duties of his personnel, though he also spends some time working in the field as he remains a qualified computer technician and consultant.

2nd Manager (Med. Mgr.): The second manager who agreed to the interview is an assistant manager for a small medical supply company based in Bucks County, PA. Specializing in wound care supplies such as bandages and gauze pads, the manager has held this position for 3 years. From this position, he oversees the work of a team of 6. This includes a chemist, three production specialists, a delivery driver and a stock/inventory worker. Earning roughly 36K, he answers directly to the head manager of the company, who is hands on but allows the production and stock rooms to be presided over by the assistant manager.

3rd Manager (Bank Mgr.): The third manager presides over the weekend shift at a TD North Bank in Philadelphia, PA. Working first as an account specialist for two years, he was recently promoted to this position, which he has held for 6 months. During the weekends, he is the head banker on call at the facility and presides over a staff of 15 to 20 assorted tellers, guards and account specialists. Earning 48K, he reports directly to the Head Manager when such is demanded, but for procedural regularity, is the primary figure of authority when on call.

Interpersonal Roles:

Figurehead-Functioning as a figurehead seems to be most important to the Med. Mgr. amongst our interview subjects. This is because he is the party in his company who is primarily most visible to his employees and to whom they are expected to refer with any issues, grievances, questions or concerns. He is also the most visible part of the organization when dealing directly with clients via phone. This is also frequently the case for the Com. Con. Mgr, for whom it is extremely important that he is seen as a representative to the company for external clients and that those within the organization view him as one in whom the company's reputation is invested. For both the Med. Mgr. And the Com. Con. Mgr., this does not require a great expenditure of time, but is a role of extreme importance. For the Bank Mgr., it is less important to be seen as a figurehead as the bank is instead represented by a large bureaucratic structure of leaders and points of access to the public.

Leader -- the role of leader is one which is of primary importance to the Com. Con. Mgr. And the Med. Mgr. As both of these individuals are the primary authority on duty during their respective work days. This means that both will spend considerable time delegating jobs, evaluating performance and ensuring that daily goals and objectives are achieved. Both would respond in their interviews by indicating that they are seen by their subordinates as individuals who both participate in day-to-day work processes and who provide others will a positive example for how to conduct their business. For the Bank Mgr., he would indicate that the procedural nature of the bank generally limits opportunities to display leadership skills.

Liaison -- An important function for the Bank Mgr. is to serve as a liaison between the personnel over whom he presides and the bank's structured leadership core. Indeed, the Bank Mgr. would indicate that he spends a significant amount of time functioning as a go-between where the needs of his personnel and the decisions of the larger organization are concerned. The same can to some extent be said about the Med. Mgr., who will often work to channel the decisions and instructions of the head manager to those over whom he presides. The importance of the Med. Mgr.'s work as a liaison is underscored by the expectation of his personnel that on issues of salary, time off and other such day-to-day concerns, he will represent their needs to the head manager, from whom final decisions will descend. The Com. Con. Mgr. reports that his role as a liaison is less important because he has earned the trust and confidence of the company's owner. Therefore, he is largely expected to make many key managerial decisions independently.

Informational Roles:

Monitor-Monitoring is very important for the Com. Con. Mgr., who does make many key decisions and is thus most effective when he remains fully abreast of operational concerns and realities impacting the larger market. Therefore, according to his own report, he would dedicate a significant share of his time to observing indicators both internal and external to his organization that allow for effective operational and performance evaluation. For the Med. Mgr., a degree of monitoring is required at least to ensure that daily production goals are being met, inventory is stocked and clients are satisfied. This requires internal monitoring and occupies a reasonable fraction of the Med. Mgr.'s time. The Bank Mgr. would report that no real monitoring is required other than to ensure that the personnel over which he presides are meeting their respective responsibilities. Given that the Bank Mgr. presides over cash drawer counts at the end of the day, most responsibility failures are self-apparent. This makes monitoring a comparatively small part of the position.

Disseminator -- the Med. Mgr. And the Com. Con. Mgr. both view the function of disseminator as one of their most important roles respectively. As the key figure of contact between a head manager/owner and the staffs of the two companies in question, each of these managers views as especially important the job of providing day-to-day goals and responsibilities to a staff based on the information provided by the boss. For instance, the Med. Mgr. would indicate that the head manager would inform him of new, large-scale orders and it would be his responsibility to strategize the staff's attendance to these orders. The Bank Mgr., once again demonstrating the distinction in his role vs. those of the other two managers interviewed, denoted that dissemination is not a significant part of his day-to-day work. The only time which he would spend in this role would be instigated by special circumstances such as holiday hours, the issuance of bonus checks or any changes in practical banking procedure. As these are irregular occurrences. only a very modest amount of the Bank Mgr.'s time would be dedicated to this role.

Spokesperson-Among the three individuals interviewed, only the Med. Mgr. would report to a significant importance in his role as a spokesperson, even if only in the capacity that he was the chief individual responsible for retaining contact with clients and fielding their complaints and concerns in the primary Bucks County Facility. In this, he would report to the demands to reflect positively his company and personnel, constituting something of a spokesperson's role. Similarly, though with less emphasis on its importance or the time spend attending to this role, the Com. Con. Mgr. would report to serving as the primary contact figure to many clients. The Bank Mgr.'s role would actually find him rarely dealing directly with the public, as the teller's and account manager's primarily serve as the face of the bank. Therefore, the role of spokesperson is not particularly important for the Bank Mgr.

Decisional Roles:

Entrepreneur-There are not many opportunities for the Bank Mgr. To flex his entrepreneurial muscles within the context of the larger bank bureaucracy. Many of the policies and procedures which are in place have descended from a much higher leadership structure and are determined by many interested parties. Therefore, the Bank Mgr. spends minimal time serving in the entrepreneurial function. The small structure of the company where the Med. Mgr. works denotes a limited ability to grow too fast, therefore, more of his time is spent ensuring that day-to-day operational concerns are addressed rather than offering entrepreneurial insights to the company. The Com. Con. Mgr. has a greater opportunity to spend time gaining new clients for the company and finding new and creative ways to serve their needs. A good portion of time is spent in entrepreneurial pursuits that do lead to greater profitability for the organization.