Mintzberg Management Roles

Mintzberg has propounded various roles that a manager has to fulfil. These roles were published in his book 'Mintzberg on Management: Inside our strange world of organisations" in the year 1990. The 10 roles of a manager are enlisted below.

Inter-personal Role:

Inter-personal roles are that roles that deal with human, such as making networks i.e. leadership and emissions and inspiring the people i.e. figurehead.

These are as follows

Figurehead: This role aims at inspiring workers in the organisation and make them feel connected with the organisation and each other. The manager plays the role of a person who is available to help the workers and support them.

Leader: The manager leads his team with constant motivation and support and focuses on achieving organisational objectives. This role includes guiding the workers about their work and how they can accomplish set targets. The leader then rewards the worker for fulfilling the task.

Liaison: Here, the manager communicates with a variety of people both inside and outside the institution. This role is based on the communication skills of the manager. This role is significant as it enhances the smooth functioning of the firm.

Informational Roles:

Informational roles deal with collecting information, analysing and then sharing with the teammates, As a monitor, the manager serves as a nerve centre, as a disseminator, he transfer the collected information to other employees. As a spokesperson, he transmits the information to the individuals outside the organisation, such as experts, stakeholders etc.

These are as follows

Monitor: This is the key role as the prime job of a manager is to monitor the situation. He administers as well as monitors the changes occurring in the environment and preparing well in advance. He also responds quickly to the changes.

Disseminator: This role enables the manager in sharing knowledge and information with the team. Dissemination is the process and gathering information from external as well as internal sources and disseminating relevant information with the teammates. Hence, it is a part of the informational role.

Spokesperson: The manager plays the role of a representative of his team. The manager speaks about the achievement of the team or the problems faced by it. If the manager is not a good spokesperson, then the outsiders will not be able to learn about the accomplishment of the team.

Decisional Roles:

The decisional role deals with making decisions for the betterment of the organisation. As an entrepreneur, the manager explores new opportunities and brings change. As a disturbance handler, he takes corrective actions in the time of business unrest. As a resource allocator, he approves, rejects and makes important organisational decisions. Finally, as a negotiator, he represents the institution at major internal and external negotiations.

These are as follows;

Entrepreneur: The manager works like an entrepreneur where he runs his small business. Though he has various superiors, often he had to make decisions on his own. This reflects the role of the entrepreneur, where he finds the solution to the problem quickly, takes decisions, constantly thinks about new methods through which the team will move forward.

Disturbance Handler: Disturbances are unavoidable in the business environment. This role enables the manager in getting the team to return to track after the disturbance has occurred. This role focuses on resolving conflicts among members or tackling any problem outside the business. It is an important role.

Resource Allocator: As a resource allocator, the manager is inspected to get the work accomplished by managing and allocating resources judiciously. Thus, it is an important role because the manager has to manage with whatever resources he has.

Negotiator: Negotiations are central to any business. This is the final role of any manager. Negotiator does not take place only outside the organisation but within the teams also. This role envisions bringing all the teammates to a common goal while catering to their individual goals.