Mintzberg’s Management Roles
1) What are managerial roles?
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2) Henry Mintzberg studied CEOs at work and created a categorization scheme to define what managers do on
the job. These are commonly referred to as Mintzberg’s Managerial Roles.
Interpersonal Skills
Role
Description
Identifiable Activity
Manager serves as an official representative of
the organization or unit
Greeting visitors; signing legal documents
Manager guides and motivates staff and acts
as a positive influence in the workplace
Staffing, training
Manager interacts with peers and with people
outside the organization to gain information
Acknowledging mail/email; serving on boards;
performing activities that involve outsiders
Informational Skills
Role
Description
Identifiable Activity
Manager receives and collects information
Reading magazines and reports; maintaining
personal contacts
Manager distributes information within the
organization
Holding meetings; making phone calls to relay
information; email/memos
Manager distributes information outside the
organization
Holding board meetings; giving information to the
media
Decisional Skills
Role
Description
Identifiable Activity
Manager initiates change
Organizing sessions to develop new programs;
supervises design of projects
Manager decides how conflicts between
subordinates should be resolved
Steps in when an employee suddenly leaves or an
important customer is lost
Manager decides how the organization will use
its resources
Scheduling; requesting authorization; budgeting
Manager decides to negotiate major contracts
with other organizations or individuals
Participating in union contract negotiations or in
those with suppliers
3) Is a manager’s job universal? In other words, do all managers spend their time working on the same tasks?
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4) What is the difference between a for-profit and a not-for-profit organization? Provide an example of each.
For-Profit
Not-For-Profit
Description:
Description:
Example:
Example:
5) Define what a small business is.
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6) Describe how managers of small businesses spend their time?
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7) Are the roles managers are performing the same in different countries around the world?
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8) All managers make decisions. What decision making process can the best managers follow?
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9) An agent of change is a person who can change from the traditional way of handling or thinking about a
problem or environment. How are managers ‘agents of change?’
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