Managerial skills

The plan of the course project written by Kolosko Nastya, group IM-21 on the topic: «Managerial skills».

               Conclusion

                Summary

                 Vocabulary

                 Literature 
 
 
 
 
 

Outline: 

                Conclusion

                Summary

                Vocabulary

                Literature 

Introduction 

     Almost everything is in flux, from our technology and methods of transacting business to the nature of education and the definition of the family.

Despite all this change in our environment, there is something that has remained, and continues to remain, relatively constant. With minor variations and stylistic differences, what has not changed, in several thousand years, are the basic skills that lie at the heart of effective, satisfying, growth-producing human relationships.                      

     Freedom, dignity, trust, love, and honesty in relationships have always been among the goals of human beings, and the same principles that brought about those outcomes in the 11th century still bring them about in the 21st century. Despite our circumstances, in other words, and despite the technological resources we have available to us, the same basic human skills still lie at the heart of effective human interaction.

In fact, human relationships are becoming more important, not less, as the information age unfolds and technologies encroach even more in our daily lives.

    That is why I’ve decided to prepare course project on the topic: «Managerial skills». My paper consists of three parts and mostly each of them is divided into two subparts which include overview of all main aspects of managerial skills.

    This paper focuses on defining what the managerial skills are . From my point of view, these questions are vitally important. They are current for each leader because nowadays, what we know and what we demonstrate don`t always match with our activity.

    That is why I think that in this case we should remember and use skills,   which tells us about success in intercommunication with people and successful   leadership . 
 

Part1. What are managerial skills? 
 

1. Necessary skills and competence

     The managerial skills are the quality of the manager which are found in the managers. The three essential skills or competencies are:  
1. Technical skills – involve process or technique knowledge and proficiency in a certain specialized field, such as engineering, computers, accounting, or manufacturing. These skills are more important at lower levels of management since these managers are dealing with employees doing the organization’s work.  
The technical skill involves the manager’s understanding of the nature of job that people under him have to perform. It refers to a person’s knowledge and proficiency in any type of process or technique. In a production department, this would mean an understanding of the technicalities of the process of production. Whereas this type of skill and competence seems to be more important at the lower levels of management, its relative importance as a part of the managerial role diminishes as the manager moves to higher positions. In higher functional positions, such as the position of a marketing manager or production manager, the conceptual component, related to these functional areas becomes more important and the technical component becomes less important and the technical component becomes less important.

2. Human Skills – involve the ability to interact effectively with people. Managers interact and cooperate with employees. Because managers deal directly with people, this skill is crucial. Managers with good human skills re bale to get best out of their people. They know how to communicate, motivate, lead, and inspire enthusiasm and trust. These skills are equally important at all levels of management. Human skills are also the ability to interact effectively with people at all levels. This skill develops in the manager sufficient ability.  
a) To recognize the feelings and sentiments of others  
b) To judge the possible reactions to, and outcomes of various courses of action he may undertake and

c) To examine his own concepts and values this may enable him to develop more useful attitudes about himself. 

3. Conceptual Skills- involve the formulation of ideas, conceptualization about abstract and complex situations. Managers understand abstract relationships, develop ideas and solve problems creatively. Using these skills, managers must be able to see the organization as a whole. They have to understand the relationships among various subunits, and visualize how organization fits into its border environment. These skills are most important at the top management levels.  
Conceptual skills refer to the ability of a manager to take a broad and farsighted view of the organization and its future, his ability to think in abstract, his ability to analyze the forces working in a situation, his creative and innovative ability and his ability to assess the environment and the changes taking place in it. In short, it is his ability to conceptualize the environment, the organization, and his won job, so that he can set appropriate goals for his organization, for himself and for his team. This skill seems to increase in importance as a manager move up to higher positions of responsibility in the organization. Thus, technical skill deals with things, human skills concerns people, and conceptual-skill has to do with ideas.  
 
 
 

1.2     Importance of managerial skills   

      A manager's job is varied and complex. Managers need certain skills to perform the duties and activities associated with being a manager. What type of skills does a manager need? A good leader is always looking for ways to improve production and standards. Here are six management skills you can develop as a leader in working to create a quality effective team: observation, monitor employee performance, implementation of professional development programs , demonstrates working knowledge and expertise, good decision making, ability to conduct and evaluate research.

Observation- is an important aspect that often gets neglected due the demands on a leader's time and schedule. Observation and regular visits to the work environment are a priority and should be scheduled into the calendar. Observing employees at work, the procedures, interaction and work flow is foundational to implementing adjustments to improve results. To have credibility, a leader needs to be seen and be known to be up to date with what is happening in the work place.

Monitor Employee Performance. Employee performance needs to be monitored in mutually accepted ways. Policies and procedures need to be clear. Conferencing should be on a regular basis and not just when there is a problem. Assessments and evaluations should not be merely all formality or viewed a necessary paperwork to be done and filed away. Individual and group conferencing should be undertaken not only to monitor performance, but with the expectation of on going professional development and support. There should be frequent encouragement and clear criteria for on going goals both for the group and individual.

Implementation of Professional Development Programs .

A good leader evaluates weaknesses and provides training and development strategies to strengthen the weaker skills in the team.

Demonstrates Working Knowledge and Expertise. Good leadership comes from a place of strong knowledge and experience of the production and process leading to results. If a leader does not possess all the expertise and knowledge personally, then regular consultations with experts involved in the departments should be held. This is important in order to maintain an accurate and informed overall picture.

Good Decision Making. Good leadership is characterized by the ability to make good decisions. A leader considers all the different factors before making a decision. Clear firm decisions, combined with the willingness and flexibility to adapt and adjust decisions when necessary, create confidence in the leadership.

Ability to Conduct and Evaluate Research. On going review and research is vital in order to keep on the cutting edge in business. While managing the present to ensure on going excellence in product and performance, a good leader is also able to look towards the future. Conducting and evaluating research is an important way of planning and being prepared for the future. According to Mintzberg (1975) the manager's job can be described in terms of various skills or organized sets of behaviors identified with a position. This comprises 6 managerial skills and 10 roles including three interpersonal roles, three informational and four decisional roles .Excellent leadership is always proactive rather than reactive. By developing these six managerial skills builds a solid foundation for success.

So there are many different organizations which require different skills in the people in order to get the proper job done. So the demand jobs skills of today managers are intuitiveness, work under pressure, manage the people, conflict management, crises management and motivate the people under their supervision so these are the skills which are needed in order to carry the different operations of the business. So this is the reason the manager use their skills in order to counter the problems. 
 
 
 
 

    Part2. Interpersonal skills 

    2.1. Oral communication skills 

     Interpersonal skills are the skills that a person uses to interact with other people. Interpersonal skills are sometimes also referred to as people skills or communication skills. Interpersonal skills involve using skills such as active listening and tone of voice, they include delegation and leadership. It is how well you communicate with someone and how well you behave or carry yourself. Also they help people further their careers.

Interpersonal skills refers to mental and communicative algorithms applied during social communications and interaction to reach certain effects or results. The term "interpersonal skills" is used often in business contexts to refer to the measure of a person's ability to operate within business organizations through social communication and interactions. Interpersonal skills are how people relate to one another.

As an illustration, it is generally understood that communicating respect for other people or professionals within will enable one to reduce conflict and increase participation or assistance in obtaining information or completing tasks. For instance, to interrupt someone who is currently preoccupied with the task of obtaining information needed immediately, it is recommended that a professional use a deferential approach with language such as, "Excuse me, are you busy? I have an urgent matter to discuss with you if you have the time at the moment." This allows the receiving professional to make their own judgement regarding the importance of their current task versus entering into a discussion with their colleague. While it is generally understood that interrupting someone with an "urgent" request will often take priority, allowing the receiver of the message to judge independently the request and agree to further interaction will likely result in a higher quality interaction. Following these kinds of heuristics to achieve better professional results generally results in a professional being ranked as one with 'good interpersonal skills.' Often these evaluations occur in formal and informal settings.

Having positive interpersonal skills increases the productivity in the organization since the number of conflicts is reduced. In informal situations, it allows communication to be easy and comfortable. People with good interpersonal skills can generally control the feelings that emerge in difficult situations and respond appropriately, instead of being overwhelmed by emotion.

Some ways to improve interpersonal skills are to;

• Think positively, and enter the mindset to work well with others and maintain good relationships.

• Do not criticize others or yourself.

• Be patient.

• Learn to listen, experts recommend listening 80% of the time and only talking 20%.

• Be sensitive to others, this includes not gossiping.

• Have a sense of humor appropriate to your situation. Many people benefit from a good joke.

• Treat others and their experience with respect.

• Praise and compliment people when they deserve it.

• When someone is telling a story, don’t interrupt or try to upstage them with a story of your own.

• Smile – even when you don’t feel like smiling.

• Be cheerful and try to make others smile.

• Look for solutions.

• When someone compliments you, don’t disagree or boast about it – simply say thank-you with a smile and move on.

• Don’t complain.

• When you’re unhappy, try your best to act happy anyway. You will end up feeling better and so will the people around you, your mood is contagious.

• Fake it ‘till you make it. If you’re not naturally confident or happy, fake it until you generally possess the desired characteristics.

• Learn to appreciate, be helpful and not demotivate your team members. Work as a team, not as an individual. This will achieve better results.

• Treat your team members and colleagues as friends and not as strangers or subordinates.

Beatrice Vincent once said, “The people with whom you work reflect your own attitude. If you are suspicious, unfriendly and condescending, you will find these unlovely traits echoed all about you. But if you are on your best behaviour, you will bring out the best in the persons with whom you are going to spend most of your working hours.”

Types of Communication

Humans live their daily lives through a series of communications without which nothing in this world would be achievable. The medium through which men convey their innermost thoughts and will are expressed through a variety  of communication channels. When you take a closer look at the number of expressions and responses that human beings make everyday you begin to understand the types of communication that exists in the world of Homo sapiens.

Types of communication which  humans use come in different forms. It may be verbal, which means that there is the use of words, and nonverbal which denotes communication through actions and behaviors. It can also denote, whether an event is formal or non-formal. The types of communication used indicate that some things can be described with the use of words or paragraphs. There are also things that words could not fully describe. Where only an action or gesture could express the real meaning that the speaker is trying to convey.

Knowing that there are many types of communication opens your mind to all the things that are happening daily in your surroundings. Imagine if a person knows only verbal communication and has no inkling that nonverbal communication is possible. Then, he is an alien in that realm of communication.

Without the existence of a variety of communication options, your life would be a less rich experience. Knowing only the verbal side or the nonverbal side may lead you to miss out on things that you want to do.

The types of communication do not only happen in the world of men. Animals also have their own types of communication. Even the birds of the air and the fish of the sea have their own methods of communication. And who knows. Maybe even plants have their own ways of talking to one another. We can assume that, all living creatures of whatever species have their own forms of communication which are only understandable to them.

We may never  fully understand the communication of birds and other animals. We  can only assume what is being conveyed but never fully comprehend it. You might also say that it is the same with some people.

You would never fully relate the to the way that members of  another species communicate with each other. You may say that the sound that birds create is the verbal part and the flapping of the wings is the nonverbal part. Is this true?

We don’t really understand how they communicate. Their types of communication may be that of stomping their legs or raising their wings, or  turning around in an elaborate dance. It could be that their verbal communication relies on the times that they stomp their legs or by the pattern of the flapping of their wings. It could even be that their nonverbal communication might be the way they fly. Frankly, the types of communication of animals are something that has not yet been fully understood by science.

You must also keep in mind that any conclusions you come to are by default flawed. This is because all of your decisions about what things mean are filtered through your own experiences and beliefs. This is what Heisenberg described in his uncertainty principle. Just the mere act of observation will affect the outcome.

Learning the various types of communication available to you, enables you to enhance your communication skills, whether verbal or nonverbal.

For instance. It is important for a child to learn the way that his or her parents speak so that they can also communicate in return. It has often been said that babies understand some verbal communication before birth..

However, research shows that a child you don’t talk to, will, to a large extent lose the ability to learn to speak after they reach a certain age.

To expound further on the types of communication is to make a direct inquiry into the heart of every known language. Isn’t it that because of the existence of the types of communication, a French man marries an American woman? Even without words from the very beginning, he just looked her way, she looks his way, and it ended in tying the knot. No words were used here, just a look, and maybe a smile.

 Types of Communication also enable one to distinguish the differences between a simple meeting and the big meeting. It helps the person know when to make a “Morning!” and when to say “Good morning ma’am.” In this case there are only types of communication, the formal and informal. Formal communication is done in cases where a formal tone is needed and adherence to certain formal rules or principles in communication must follow. These are seen in business meetings, business correspondence, memos, official letters, government related documents, and so on. Informal communication on the other hand can be used in communicating with friends, families, peers, etc. It has a nonstandard format.

All types of communication present in this world are unique and it makes everyone special and different from one another. It creates harmony, and enables the expression of thoughts and emotions so together we can all fully understand what it is to be human.

If we don’t achieve a better level of understanding through better communication then we risk either a complete environmental collapse. The other risk is the continuation or the endless cycle of wars and killing to justify our position regardless of the feelings, thoughts or values of the other inhabitants of the little blue planet.

Skill in oral communication is a key element of good customer service. More than 76 million workers (in the USA) are in the service sector and companies that provide excellent service tend to stay far ahead of their competitors. To provide good service, all employees (not just designated sales and marketing employees) must learn how to talk and listen to customers, handle complaints and solve their problems. 

    2.2. Written communication skills 

     Writing, the art of communicating thoughts to the mind through the eye, is the great invention of the world ... enabling us to converse with the dead, the absent, and the unborn, at all distances of time and space.

— Abe Lincoln, from a lecture before the Springfield Library Association, 22 February 1860.

There is as much difference between the right word and the almost-right word as between lightning and the lightning bug.

— Mark Twain

Rudyard Kipling, from "The Elephant's Child" in Just So Stories

I keep six honest serving-men 
(They taught me all I knew);

Their names are What and Why and When

And How and Where and Who. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Part3.  Decision making skills

  How To Enhance The Decision Making Skills

Clear up those unclear decisions

These articles on decision making skills will enhance your ability to view any unclear decisions in a different light. Some of these tips you may know, some you may not. Some are even contrary to popular opinion. At least when you come to implement a decision, having read these tips for decision making, you can say that you are well informed!

  Commit!

When you make a decision, you can do one of two things. You can spend a lot of time, effort and energy considering what it would have been like if you had made a different decision and searching the internet for more tips on decision making processes. Or you can spend that time, effort and energy on making your decision work. You get to decide. (Sorry, couldn't resist it!)

  Do the right thing

Many people want to do the thing right. In fact, it is one of the major reasons for delaying decisions. They want to get it right. Peter Drucker, the management guru, insists that it is much more important to do the right thing. Most people really do know what the right thing is. But because it's difficult, disagreeable or uncomfortable, they choose not to make that decision. They choose something different. The consequence is misery. Only the amount and duration varies.

  The best

Here's another great barrier in decision making to help you delay some more: The desire to make the best decision. In truth, there really is no way to know which is the best decision. Every decision will have consequences, so what people end up doing is comparing the consequences. This is all well and good, but it makes for an unclear decision. It doesn't actually get anything done.

It's much more useful to consider whether a particular decision will be effective or not, within the frame you choose. People in critical situations quickly learn this decision making skill. Gary Klein has studied firefighters and medical personnel, people who make decisions in life or death situations. They just don't have time to weigh up the pros and cons. They are asking themselves about the effectiveness of a particular option. If they think it'll work, they go for it.

If at any point along the line they realize it is not working, they choose a different route that they think will work. Then they do that. They will cycle one option at a time, until they find one that works. They improve their decision making skills with experience in their area of expertise, so their first option is not random. It is the one most likely to work. So it's much more useful to be effective and get the job done than to spend endless hours trying to determine the best decision.

  I need to be 100% sure

Again, this is a great one for delaying making that decision. And, of course, it's a myth that you can be 100% sure with people. Humans are complex, dynamic creatures. Life itself is messy and unpredictable. And the future, well, that's an unknown quantity. Period. Enough said.

  Give it lots of thought - not!

Most of the decision making models and processes available are organised around assessing and understanding the issues at hand. The idea is to build your decision making skills so that you are not engaged in decision making without critical thinking, but rather you reason and think your way to making good decisions. Occasionally, it is suggested that you actually use your intuition. But not , however, at the expense of logic and rationality.

To develop your decision making skills, this concept is one to pay attention to. There is an idea that we actually make our decisions emotionally, and then justify it with reasons and explanations, even excuses! An example would be making a decision to buy something that you cannot really afford, but somehow you find a reason that it would be useful to you.

"The stereo costs more than my budget, but it would look great in my room and the great sound would allow me to work more effectively".

Sound familiar? Some of the newer sales training programs use this as the basis for their sales models. Why? Because it works! They know they can make more money using this particular sales model.

  What if this is actually the way it works?

Wouldn't it make sense to know your own emotional signals that let you know how to make good decisions? Not only would you be able to make more effective decisions, but others would not have the power to manipulate you!

  Not making a decision

It is sometimes thought that by not making a decision, you cannot go wrong. The difficulty here, of course, is that not making a decision is often a very poor decision. And not making a decision may actually be a decision to not take action. A classic example is where all the evidence is that there's a career change needed, but nothing happens. Another example might be not making those decisions that are needed to keep yourself organized. Delayed decisions are a primary cause of disorganization. It's usually much more effective and useful to make a decision, act, assess as you go along, and change the decision later if indicated.

This is obviously easier if the other tips and decision making skills mentioned above are in place.  Decision making is a whole form process!