Aside from the traditional function of management, managers also play other roles within an organisation. Mintzberg’s model of managers' roles explains what they do in their jobs. The roles are ten in number and are categorised into three. We explained them below:
Interpersonal roles
This involves communicating internally and externally with various individuals personally. These roles include: figurehead, leader, and liaison.
1. Figurehead: Here, every manager performs ceremonial duties. This is outside their work roles. Examples of ceremonial duties are welcoming important dignitaries, such as when Alphabet CEO Sundria Pache went to drink black tea from a black tea company in India during the AI conference held in India. It is possible that the manager of the company attended to him.
Another ceremonial duty is attending events of customers, vendors and subordinates. Such as a married ceremony. They may personally attend to high-net-worth customers whenever they come to the office.
2. Leader: This is similar to the traditional function of directing. The manager will lead the team to achieve the organisation's goals. He/she does so by motivating, training and directing his team. Managers are engaged in hiring new staff who will work in their team. This ensures that the right person is employed.
3. Liaison: A manager should have a network of people outside the organisation that may be useful to the entity. This helps in coordinating certain issues when the need arises.
For example, the managing director may plan a trip outside the country but the company does not have an airline agent to book a flight. A manager who knows someone who does an airline agency job can connect the agent to the managing director.
Information roles
Managers are responsible for gathering information from various sources, organising the information and making it available to senior managers and other stakeholders. This role includes: monitoring, disseminating, and serving as a spokesperson.
4. Monitor: Here the manager gathers unsolicited information both internally and externally. It refines them to what is relevant to the organisation. Therefore, the manager monitors the data gathered from the business environment.
5. Disseminator: The relevant information is sent to the senior managers in the form of a report. Also, it can be sent to managers at the same level and to subordinates if it applies to them.
6. Spokesperson: As a spokesperson, a manager helps promote a positive image of the company to stakeholders. Shareholders are informed of the company's future plans. Other stakeholders must be well informed too. Executive managers must assure community and customers and their products are ethical and it is safe for consumption.
Decision-Making roles
At times managers may have to make hard decisions. This might occur when deciding on what new technology to adopt, a new project to initiate and process, dealing with employees, and negotiating deals for the company. The decision-making roles are entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, and negotiator.
7. Entrepreneur: As an entrepreneur, managers identify business opportunities for the company. They make decisions on which project and capital expenditure to embark on. They may decide whether to integrate horizontally or vertically when buying new companies.
8. Disturbance handler: At times staff may behave abnormally, it is the duty of the line manager to decide on how to deal with it. Also, external factors might cause disturbance in the organisation.
For example, if a government introduced a new regulation that affects the entity. Management will use their conceptual skills to decide how it affects the company and the design necessary to handle it.
9. Resource allocator: This involves deciding on how the available business resources can be allocated among each business unit, department, and activity. Managers do this by coordinating these resources and monitoring their usage. They also forecast future needs for resources and which unit needs them the most.
10. Negotiator: They negotiate with employees and third parties. If employees request higher pay and a better working environment, it is the responsibility of the management to negotiate with them. Also, a manager may negotiate with trading partners on a joint venture. The company's executive managers can negotiate a merger and acquisition of another company.
Most of the managerial roles stated above are the responsibility of the senior managers. For example, acting as an attendant to dignitaries is the duty of the CEO. However, roles like leading and other roles that involve dealing with subordinates are those of front-line managers.