This document is an assignment submitted by a group of students at the University of Dhaka on the functions, roles, and skills of a manager. It discusses the five basic functions of managers as planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. It also outlines the interpersonal, informational, and decisional roles of managers. Finally, it identifies important managerial skills such as technical skills, interpersonal skills, conceptual skills, diagnostic skills, communication skills, decision-making skills, and time management skills.

1. University of Dhaka
Assignment on:
Function, Role and Skill of a Manager
Principles of Management
Course Code: 102
Submitted to: Submitted by:
Mr. Md. Abdul Jabber Group name: Harbinger
Lecturer, 1. Md. Moshiur Alam (Roll: 72)
Department of Management Studies 2. Md. Sumsuddin (Roll: 37)
3. Md. Yasin Hossain(Roll: 34)
University of Dhaka
4. Avijeet Sarkar (Roll:64)
5. Prokash Kumar (Roll: 44)
6. Saidur Rahman (Roll: 98)
7. Md. Masum Billah (Roll: 86)
Department of Management Studies
Batch No: 19th
B.B.A 1st year- 1st semester
Section: A
Session: 2012-‘13
University of Dhaka

2. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Alhamdulill ah, fi rst of all we woul d li ke t o thank God
as fi nall y we were abl e t o finish our assignment that has been
given by our management lecturer Mr. Md. Abdul Jabber to us.
He also gave us proper guidelines and co-operated us
completing this assignment. So, we express our deep gratitude
to him. This task had been done with all afford by group members
even though a little bit problem were happened among us while
doing this assignment. Luckily, all the problems can be settled
down and we were able to adapt properly and wisely.
We would like to thank Department of Management Studies,
University of Dhaka for updated education system in
Bangladesh. Lastly we would like to deliver our whole hearted thanks
to all the students of our class for their cordial cooperation. So we pray
the long life and good health for all the persons who have helped and
co-operated us in our assignment research.

3. Functions of Manager
There are basically five management concepts that allow any
organization’s manager to handle the tactical, planned and set
decisions. The five basic functions of the manager are just to have a
controlled plan over the preventive measure.
Figure: Functions of Manager
These Functions can be summarized below:
Planning:
Planning is the first tool of the four functions in the managerial task.
The difference between a successful and unsuccessful manager lies
within the planning procedure. Planning is the logical thinking through
goals and making the decision as to what needs to be accomplished in
order to reach the organizations’ objectives. Managers use this process
to plan for the future, like a blueprint to foresee problems, decide on
the actions to evade difficult issues and to beat the competition.

4. Organizing:
The second function of the manager (management) is getting prepared,
getting organized. Manager must organize all its resources well before
in hand to put into practice the course of action to decide that has been
planned in the base function. Through this process, manager will now
determine the inside directorial configuration; establish and maintain
relationships, and also assign required resources.
Staffing:
The third function of manager is stuffing. After the organizational
functions are done, he may decide to beef up his staffing by recruiting,
selecting, training, and developing employees. A manager in a large
organization often works with the company's human resources
department to accomplish this goal.
Directing:
It involves the implementation of plans by mobilizing individuals and
group efforts through motivation, communication, leadership and
supervision. Directing may be defined as the process of activating the
efforts of employees towards the achievement of organizational
objectives.
Controlling:
It is the process of regulating the ongoing activities of the organization
to ensure that they are in conformity with the established plans and
produce the desired results. Through the controlling function,
management can keep the organization towards its chosen track. It
involves:
Establishing standards of performance
Measuring current performance
Comparing actual results with the established standards

5. Detecting deviations from the standards
Taking corrective actions for significant deviations.
Roles of Manager
A manager wears many hats. Not only is a manager a team leader,
but he or she is also a planner, organizer, cheerleader, coach, problem
solver, and decision maker — all rolled into one. And these are just a
few of a manager's roles.
Figure: The Managerial Role
Interpersonal role:
The roles in this category involve providing information and ideas.
1. Figurehead - A manager has social, ceremonial and legal
responsibilities. He is expected to be a source of inspiration.

6. People look up to him as a person with authority, and as a
figurehead.
2. Leader - This is where manager provide leadership for his team,
his department or perhaps his entire organization; and it's where
he (manager) manage the performance and responsibilities of
everyone in the group.
3. Liaison - Managers must communicate with internal and external
contacts. He needs to be able to network effectively on behalf of
his organization.
Informational Role:
The roles in this category involve processing information.
4. Monitor - In this role, manager regularly seek out information
related to his organization and industry, looking for relevant
changes in the environment. He also monitors his team, in terms
of both their productivity, and their well-being.
5. Disseminator - This is where manager communicate potentially
useful information to his colleagues and his team.
6. Spokesperson - Manager represents and speaks for his
organization. In this role he is responsible for transmitting
information about his organization and its goals to the people
outside it.
Decisional Role:
The roles in this category involve using information.
7. Entrepreneur - A manager creates and control change within the
organization. This means solving problems, generating new ideas,
and implementing them.
8. Disturbance Handler - When an organization or team hits an
unexpected roadblock, it's the manager who must take charge.
He also needs to help mediate disputes within it.

7. 9. Resource Allocator – A manager also needs to determine where
organizational resources are best applied. This involves allocating
funding, as well as assigning staff and other organizational
resources.
10. Negotiator – A manager may be needed to take part in, and
direct, important negotiations his team, department, or
organization.
Skills of Manager
In addition to fulfilling numerous roles the manager also need a
number of specific skills if he wants to be succeed. The most
fundamental management skills are technical. Interpersonal,
conceptual, communication decision making and time management
skills.
Figure: Managerial Skill (For All Level Managers)
Technical Skills:
Technical skills are the skills necessary to accomplish or understand the
specific kind of work being done in an organization. Technical skills are
especially important for first line managers. These managers spend

8. most of their time training subordinates and answering question about
work related problems. They must know how to perform tasks assigned
to those they supervise if they are to be effective managers.
Interpersonal Skills:
Managers spend considerable time interacting with people both inside
and outside the organization. For obvious reasons then the manager
also needs interpersonal skills- the ability to communicate with,
understand and motivate both individuals and groups. As a manager
climbs the organizational ladder, he or she must be able to get along
with subordinates, peers and those at higher level of the organization.
Because of the multitude of roles manager must fulfill, a manager must
able to work with suppliers, customers, investors, and others outside of
the organization. Although some managers have succeeded with poor
interpersonal skills, a manager who has good interpersonal skills is
likely to be more successful.
Conceptual Skills:
Conceptual skills depend on the manager’s ability to think in the
abstract. Managers need the mental capacity to understand the overall
working of the organization and its environment, to grasp how all the
part of the organization fit together, and view the organization in a
holistic manner. This allows them to think strategically, to see the ‘big
picture’, and to make broad based decisions that serve the overall
organization.

9. Diagnostic Skills:
Successful managers also possess diagnostic skills, or skills that enable
a manager to visualize the most appropriate response to a situation. A
physician diagnoses a patient illness by analyzing symptoms and
determining their probable cause. Similarly, a manager can diagnose
and analyze a problem in the organization by studying its symptoms
and then developing a solution.
Communication Skills:
Communication skills refer to the manager’s ability both to effectively
convey ideas and information to others and to effectively receive ideas
and information from others. This skills enable a manager to transmit
ideas to subordinates so that they know what is expected, to
coordinate work with peers and colleagues so that they work well
together properly, and to keep higher level managers informed about
what is going on. In addition, communication skills help the manager
listen to what others say and to understand real meaning behind
letters, reports, and other written communication.
Decision-Making Skills:
Effective managers also have good decision making skills. Decision
making skills refers to the manager’s ability to correctly recognize and
define problems and opportunities and to then select an appropriate
course of action to solve the problems and capitalize on opportunities.

10. No manager makes the right decision all the time. However, effective
managers make good decision most of the time. And when they do
make a bad decision, they usually recognize their mistake quickly and
then make good decision to recover with as little cost or damage to
their organization as possible.
Time-Management Skills:
Finally, effective managers usually good time management skills. Time
management skills refer to the manager’s ability to prioritize work, to
work effectively, and to delegate appropriately. As already noted,
managers face many different pressures and challenges. It is too easy
for a manager to get bogged down doing work that can easily be
postponed or delegated to others. When this happens, unfortunately,
more pressing and higher priority work may get neglected.
Although above described skills are essential for managers, their
relative importance tends to vary by level of managerial responsibility.
Business and management educators are increasingly interested in
helping people acquire technical, human, and conceptual skills, and
develop specific competencies, or specialized skills, which contribute to
high performance in a management job. Following are some of the
skills and personal characteristics:

11. Leadership — ability to influence others to perform tasks
Self-objectivity — ability to evaluate yourself realistically
Analytic thinking — ability to interpret and explain patterns in
information
Behavioral flexibility — ability to modify personal behavior to
react objectively rather than subjectively to accomplish
organizational goals
Oral communication — ability to express ideas clearly in words
Written communication — ability to express ideas clearly in
writing
Personal impact — ability to create a good impression and
instill confidence
Resistance to stress — ability to perform under stressful
conditions
Tolerance for uncertainty — ability to perform in ambiguous
situations