Who is a manager?

A Manager is the person responsible for

planning and directing the work of a
group of individuals, monitoring their
work, and taking corrective action when
necessary. For many people, this is their
first step into a management career.
Managers may direct workers directly or
they may direct several supervisors who
direct the workers. The manager must be
familiar with the work of all the groups
he/she supervises, but does not need to
be the best in any or all of the areas. It is
more important for the manager to know
how to manage the workers than to know
how to do their work well.
A manager may have the power to hire or
fire employees or to promote them. In
larger companies, a manager may only
recommend such action to the next level
of management. The manager has the

authority to change the work assignments

of team members.
A manager's title reflects what he/she is
responsible for. Ex; An Accounting
Manager supervises the Accounting
function.

What is Skill?
An ability and capacity acquired through
deliberate, systematic and sustained

effort to smoothly and adaptively

carryout complex activities or job
functions involving ideas (cognitive skills),
things (technical skills), and/or people
(interpersonal skills ).

Managerial
Skills
Management is a challenging job. It
requires certain skills to accomplish such
a challenge. Thus, essential skills which

every manager needs for doing a better

management are called as Managerial
Skills.
According to Professor Robert Katz,
there are three managerial skills, to these
may be added a fourth the ability to
design solution.
1. Technical Skills,
2. Human Skills, and
3. Conceptual Skills
According to Prof. Robert Katz, all
managers require above three managerial
skills. To these may be added a fourththe ability to design solution. However,
the amount of these skills required
changes from levels of management and
from an organization to organization.

The top-level managers require more

conceptual skills and less technical skills.
The lower-level managers require more
technical skills and fewer conceptual
skills. Human skills are required equally
by all three levels of management.

01. Technical Skills

A technical skill is the ability to perform
the given job. Technical skills help the
managers to use different machines and
tools. It also helps them to use various
procedures and techniques. The low-level
managers require more technical skills.
This is because they are in charge of the
actual operations.
For an example, four subordinates are
about to design a specialized computer
program for one of the firm's clients.
Things are going swimmingly until the
test runs, at which point they discover
that the program is not working and their
debugging efforts have failed. Luckily, the
manager has technical skills related to
computer programming, so manager is
able to jump in and save the day.
Technical skills comprise the knowledge
and capabilities to perform specialized

tasks related to a specific field. In this

example, the field is computer
programming, and technical skills may
include aspects like knowledge of
computer languages, knowledge of
advanced algorithms, or knowledge of
assembly languages related to the basic
functions of a computer.

2. Human Skills
Human skills are also
called Interpersonal skills. It is an ability
to work with people. It helps the
managers to understand, communicate
and work with others. It also helps the
managers to lead, motivate and develop
team spirit. Human relations skills are
required by all managers at all levels of
management. This is so, since all
managers have to interact and work with
people.

3. Conceptual Skills
Conceptual skill is the ability to visualize
(see) the organization as a whole. It
includes Analytical, Creative and Initiative
skills. It helps the manager to identify the
causes of the problems and not the
symptoms. It helps him to solve the
problems for the benefit of the entire
organization. It helps the manager to fix
goals for the whole organization and to
plan for every situation. According to Prof.
Robert Katz, conceptual skills are mostly

required by the top-level management

because they spend more time
in planning, organizing and problem
solving.
Without the big picture, though,
managers can efficiently knockout the todo list only to find out later that the tasks
aren't linked to meaningful goals and a
coherent strategy. Becoming familiar
with conceptual skills puts you on guard
against such aimlessness as you move
through your career. Managers who have
conceptual skills have the ability to think
creatively and understand complicated or
abstract ideas.

4. Design Skills
Is the ability to solve problems in ways
that will benefits the enterprise. To be
effective, particularly at upper
organizational level, managers must be
able to do more than see a problem.

They must have, in addition, the skill of a

good design engineer in working out a
practical solution to a problem and
become problem watchers, and will fail.
Managers must also have that valuable
skill being able or design a workable
solution in the light of the realties they
face.

Apart from Prof. Robert Katz's three

managerial skills, a manager also needs
following additional managerial skills.
Communication Skills
Communication skills are required equally
at all three levels of management. A
manager must be able to communicate
the plans and policies to the workers.
Similarly, he must listen and solve the
problems of the workers. He must
encourage a free-flow of communication
in the organization.
Administrative Skills
Administrative skills are required at the
top-level management. The top-level
managers should know how to make
plans and policies. They should also know
how to get the work done. They should be
able to co-ordinate different activities of

the organization. They should also be able

to control the full organization.
Leadership Skills
Leadership skill is the ability to influence
human behavior. A manager requires
leadership skills to motivate the workers.
These skills help the Manager to get the
work done through the workers.
Problem Solving Skills
Problem solving skills are also called
as Design skills. A manager should know
how to identify a problem. He should also
possess an ability to find a best solution
for solving any specific problem. This
requires intelligence, experience and upto-date knowledge of the latest
developments.
Time Management skills

The mangers ability to prioritize work, to

work, to work efficiently, and to delegate
appropriately.

Decision Making Skills

Decision-making skills are required at all
levels of management. However, it is
required more at the top-level of
management. A manager must be able to
take quick and correct decisions. He must
also be able to implement his decision
wisely. The success or failure of a
manager depends upon the correctness
of his decisions.

The

Importance of Business Management

Skills
Business management skills are an
important contribution to any company.
Because of this, they should be
developed to their full potential in order
for a manager his or her organization to
be successful. One of the most
important business skills that can be
developed is rare sense.
Rare Sense is the ability to think in a
level-headed manner and gain the factbased insight that produces and
promotes business breakthroughs. This
is important because it can place a

company on the leading edge of

technology and product manufacturing
which can then lead to a higher level of
success than that of competitors.
Another important attribute business
managers should strive to possess is
effectiveness. When developed and
deployed correctly, this trait will have a
positive effect on every decision and
business transaction made concerning
all aspects of the company.

Index

Who is a Manager?
What is skill
Managerial Skills
Technical Skills
Human Skills
Conceptual Skills
Design Skills
Communication Skills

Administrative Skills
Leadership Skills
Problem Solving Skills
Time Management skills
Decision Making Skills
The Importance of Business
Management Skills

Reference from;
Study.com
www.boundless.com
Kalian-city.blogspot.com

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS

MANAGEMENT
ADVANCED DIPLOMA IN BUSINESS
MANAGEMENT
2016.1p

MANAGERIAL
SKILLS

ADBM/G/161P/16
K. L. Uddeepa Chamalee
Perera