4.2 The ‘job description’ approach
One way of gaining a clearer picture of what you do as a manager would be to list all your activities in a giant job description. An example is set out below. The list does not describe the job of an actual manager but sets out typical managerial activities.
| The manager’s job | |
| Makes forecasts | Monitors progress |
| Makes analyses | Exercises control |
| Thinks creatively/logically | Determines information needs |
| Calculates and weighs risks | Establishes/uses management information systems |
| Makes sound decisions | Manages his or her time |
| Determines goals | Copes with stress |
| Sets priorities | Adjusts to change |
| Prepares plans | Develops his or her skills and knowledge |
| Schedules activities | |
| Establishes control systems | |
| Sets/agrees budgets | |
| The manager and his or her team | |
| Builds and maintains his or her team | Makes presentations |
| Selects staff | Conducts meetings |
| Sets performance standards | Writes reports and correspondence |
| Raises productivity | Interviews |
| Motivates people | Counsels and advises |
| Arranges incentives | Identifies organisational problems |
| Designs jobs | Creates conditions for change |
| Improves the quality of working life | Implements/manages/copes with change |
| Monitors and appraises performance | Designs new organisation/team structures |
| Harmonises conflicting objectives | Establishes reporting lines |
| Handles conflict | Develops internal communication systems |
| Leads | Takes account of environmental factors affecting the organisation (economic, environmental, technological, social, political) |
| Adopts appropriate management styles | |
| Communicates effectively | |
| Negotiates/persuades/influences |
Listing and grouping a manager’s activities goes a little way towards making some sense out of the complexities of managerial work, but it does not offer any explanations. Another difficulty is that many other jobs have many of these components. Nurses, sales staff, engineers, chefs and cooks, and office workers, for example, often carry out some of these activities.