Leader
The leader role is in the heart of the manager-subordinate relationship and managerial power and persistent where subordinates are involved even where perhaps the relationship is not directly interpersonal. To execute this role a manager needs to define the structures and environments within which sub-ordinates work and are motivated, supervise and questions activities to keep them alert. Selects, encourages, promotes and disciplines and also tries to balance subordinate and organisational needs for efficient operations (Mintzberg, 1973).
In the case of John Blayer, human resource manager of Aztec Industries, the Sydney base electronic company, we can find some real practice of leadership role when he tried to motivate his subordinates by empowering and delegating authority to design an affirmative action program that will be able to demonstrate that the company has every intension of implementing the program. By delegating the task to his subordinate John was trying to arouse the realization of responsibly and adequate faith in the mind of the assistant coworker (Nankervis, Compton and McCarthy, 1999b, p. 253). Though it was a hard thing to do and the impact of doing things wrong might result in lost of resource, time and money.
On the other hand, Jaman (1995) states that in southern economies where unemployment is a major factor, managers usually don’t want to delegate such significant jobs to subordinate because of the fear of failing to do the task properly. In that case the manager will remain responsible and may severely penalize by the top authority.
Liaison
Managers act as an information and communication centre. It is vital to build up favors. Managers are to be skilled to shape maintain internal and external contacts for information exchange. These contacts give access to databases facts, requirements, probabilities etc.
Specifically, in the case of US health care system, TennCare at Meharry and the University of Tennessee, both Academic Health Centres’ (AHCs) upper-level managers are essential to meeting the demands of the health care market. While facing the losses operating revenue and lost of market share, the action both AHCs to meet these challenges can be attributed to their managers. For instance, the roles of their managers include developing strategies to increase patient volume through aggressive marketing and networking, such as direct communication and collaboration among various administrative personnel both in and between the hospital and university. This allows administration to receive and request information that will enable them to understand market changes (Kristina, 2002, pp. 43-58). Under the consideration of developing countries, Chinese managers invest considerable time in building up connections, which serve as valuable sources of information in a society where business inventory levels were once considered a state secret. In this context, we expect the liaison role in the Chinese environment to be focused on the gathering and transmission of information regarding the availability and allocation of critical but scarce economic resources (, 1998, pp. 51-72).
INFORMATIONAL ROLES
Monitor
Mintzberg (1973) defines manager who seeks and receives information from multiple sources to evaluate the organization’s performance, well-being and overall situation. Monitoring of internal operations, external events, ideas, trends, analysis and pressures is vital. Information to detect changes, problems and opportunities and to construct decision-making scenarios can be current or historic, hard or soft, documented or non-documented.
This role is about building and using a proper intelligence system. The manager must install and maintain this information system by building contacts and training staff to deliver adequate and proper "Information". For example; Lemco Miller is a two million dollar company that is situated in Massachusetts, USA. The owner of the company was seeking to improve employee productivity and to find out the potential pitfalls that were hampering the production lines. Recently the head of the operational sector decided to install video cameras to watch the product line management. According to the head of the operations it will give a proper scenario of how employees are working and what are the factors that is influencing their performance along with the production line system (De Cenzo, 1997, p. 31).
On the other hand, yearly report (1999) of BGMEA evaluates that most of the manufacturing companies in country like Bangladesh are using floor supervisor to monitor the performance of the line management. For example; in most of the readymade garments factories in Bangladesh, managers take information form the line supervisors about the production process, problems and productivity related issues. That clearly indicates that the lack of technology is a crucial issue that plays differential factors for LDC’s like Bangladesh.
Disseminator
In the case of disseminator role managers bring external views into his/her organization and facilitates internal information flows between subordinates. The preferences of significant people are received and incorporated. The manager interprets/disseminates information to subordinates e.g. policies, rules, regulations. Values are also disseminated via conversations tied with essential issues about what is regarded as important or what 'we believe in'. for example; in the western countries and mostly in USA, brand managers of Coca Cola company uses a fabulous technique to report the marketing executives about the market conditions of their products in different areas of the country. The brand manager collects data through electronic sources from the supply sections of the drinks using an online network connection. The software also provides useful calculations for forecasting demand and supply of products. After sorting the data brand manager calls upon a video conferencing to analyze and discuss the situation with the coworkers (O’ Brien, 6th Ed.).
In the contrary, Coca Cola Company is operating in Bangladesh for more than twenty years. The brand was franchised by Tabani Beverage Ltd. Though the company is operating for long, still the brand managers use traditional system for collecting market data manually and spreading those information to subordinates and colleagues by issuing hard copy memos or calling upon physical meetings.
Spokesperson
A spokesperson is basically who transmits information on organization’s plan to the outsiders and other potential interested parties (Mintzberg, 1973). For example, seminar on a new product lunching by a corporate champion can be expressed as a spokesperson role. While considering western situations, companies clearly position corporate champions as spokespersons who will make corporate media coverage and maintain other corporate information available to the external environments where the company is operating. Similar roles do exist even in a simple supply chain management company of USA. For example, Bill Beecher is the Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of i2 Technologies, Inc. Las Vegas, US. Beecher joined i2 in 1997 as vice president of International Operations. Beecher is dually charged with the internal responsibility for company administration and infrastructure and the external responsibility of being the principal spokesperson to the financial and analyst communities (Internet 1).
Contrastingly, in the LDC’s it is common that the owner or the CEO holds these spokesman roles because not all top management people are aware of the internal corporate strategies. This is due to the beaurocracy of the organizational policies and norms that some of the core information is only available to the Owners or CEOs. For that particular reason, several organizations actually don’t arrange many outsider speaking sessions. Eventually, there had been fewer contracts with the corporate management of an organization with the outsider community or external parties. As a result, the creation of a spokesperson within a company’s management is rarely found. Even if it is visible in many organizations, they are just following the textbook approaches of creating an organizational hierarchy or managerial roles. However, many developing countries are trying to practice the actual roles that managers should play according to the spokesperson role.
DECISIONAL ROLES
Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is thought to be an opportunistic thinking within organizations. Entrepreneur roles for a manager are to initiate changes in the organization and also the implementation of innovations to improve organization’s situation (Mintzberg, 1973). In order to grow entrepreneurship and small businesses, developed countries and LDC’s are putting many efforts. However, research on organizational entrepreneur roles rarely occurs. Historically, across the nations of the world, researchers on entrepreneurship and research on organizations worked in partial isolation from each other (Howard, 1999).
However, developed countries are in the trend to improve their organisational entrepreneurs inside the organizations who might be a corporate champion or a top manager carrying innovative opportunistic thinking. Usually an entrepreneur role player within a western firm takes many things into account. For example, 1) He endeavors to improve national and international co-operation, as well as work for a better understanding of and tolerance towards all cultures and traditions. 2) He seeks long-term successful development of the organization he is working with. 3) He contributes to fighting the opponents of political and economic social order with more courage than the other employees. 4) He seeks long-term successful development of the organization. On the other hand, in the LDCs or in the developing countries, managers rarely have this role to play whereas the owners or the directors play this role. Managers from low development countries are much more concerned with the day to day operations, weekly meeting updates, corporate progresses and so on (Mustafa, 2002). Entrepreneur roles have very significant impacts on the organizations but unfortunately, companies of the LDCs are yet to explore these opportunities.
Disturbance handler
It is a generalist role i.e. taking charge when the organization hits an iceberg unexpectedly and where there is no clear programmed response. Disturbances may arise from staff, resources, threats or because others make mistakes or innovation has unexpected consequences. The role involves stepping in to calm matters, evaluate, re-allocate, support - removing the thorn - buying time. For example; McHugh Company that operates in Australia and in overseas, renown for manufacturing electrical components for household appliances. In 1998, the company hired an assistant manager, John Bellamy who was experienced in the similar fields of work for several years. After joining McHugh, John found that in between 1996 – 1998, productivity had decreased in the assembly line and consequently the rejection rate of finished products was increasing. John examined the problems and found that woman working on the assembly line had some conflicts with the supervisors in occasion. But more importantly, he found that the women working in the line can’t switch their task without the consent of the supervisors. Whereas this tasks sometimes become very boring and monotonous for the line workers. In addition rewarding employees with bonus was on the basis of overall production but not on the individual performance. John Bellamy took the problems into account of the line management and provided adequate solutions for that (Nankervis, Compton & McCarthy, 1999a, p. 222).
Opposite example can be constituted by illustrating the case of Pakistan Airlines. The national flag carrier of Pakistan was often facing trouble with its long hall routes. The problem grew in bigger and affected the quality of the in-flight services. The duty manager who use to prepare the roaster seem to be facing trouble with its flight attends when it was found that each of the flight was departing with less number of cabin crews than the required quota. After evaluating the situation the duty manager along with the assistant manager of the HR department found that the total number of available experienced crew was much less. As a result of frequent and long hour flights, crews falls sick and resulted in low turnover. When the findings were presented to the higher officials with proper evidence of the situations, the assistant manager of the HR was instructed to take necessary actions by recruiting adequate number of flight attendants to recover the scarcity.
Resource Allocator
As a resource allocator the manager oversees allocation of all resources like; funds, labor power, logistics etc. This also involves scheduling own time, programming work, authorizing actions. The basic managerial task is to ensure the work system is in place and to program staff loads – such as; what to do, by whom and what processing structures will be used. The Los angels based research institution, Centre for Digital Humanities constitute with group of managers known as CDH managers who performs the resource allocator role in the following way.
The meet weekly, at the managers' meeting they review work in each of their service areas, evaluating progress on active projects, monitoring and adjusting goals etc. They also review (as well as invent) new mini-project proposals. The committee approves proposals for smaller projects at the managers’ meetings, and assigns CDH teams to work on them. Projects that have a larger scope, or that have aspects that require review by the Faculty Advisory Committee will be placed on the agenda for the next Resource Allocation Committee meeting (RAC). The minutes of the Managers' meetings are circulated within CDH, with a copy to RAC members (Internet 2).
On the other hand practice of resource allocator role is a bit critical issue in some of the less developed countries. Because, managers in the midlevel and line management hardy posses the power to manipulate organizational resources without the authority of the top management. Usually, CEO’s or the people holding the post of general managers are engaged in handling and allocating human resources e.g. putting the right people for the right place to work efficiently and effectively in the right time and also in the right situation.
Negotiator
Managers who play this role basically represent their organization in all important negotiations. E.g. conducting negotiations with integrated suppliers, labor unions, political parties, legal/social organizations and also sometime with customers who brings product or service complaints. According to psychiatrists negotiating skill is god gifted and inherited into human being. People can practice and improve a very little of it. In most of the western economies, organizations keep specialists to execute this negotiating role in different crisis situations. E.g in USA often doctors and hospitals face lawsuit from the patient or from the family of the patient for misconduct of operation or surgery. In solving this type of disputes, US based hospitals often negotiates with legal advisers who works permanently for the management.
On the other hand third world countries often face labor disputes. Negotiating with labor unions is a common phenomenon in these nations. Specifically, in the case of export processing zones, where labor rights are violated and labor strike is a common issue, managers of manufacturing companies has to deal with union leaders for resolving the crisis situations. A staff report (1999) stated that in Chittagong EPZ, a Japanese company renown for the making of golf sport accessories was under union pressure for not paying bonus during the EID festival. A locally appointed general manager, who was a favorite personnel of the management, deal with the crisis situation. The manager took in to account that the company is not in well financial position to give 80% bonus of the basic salary to all of its workers. He made an unethical approach to the two union leaders and managed them with bribes. Those union leaders than took the responsibility to convince the workers with management offering of 30% bonus and also call off the strike.
Conclusion
According to H. Mintzberg classification of managers discharging their duties communicate with people, handle information and make decisions as the above-mentioned roles tell us. It should be born in mind that roles do not exist per se; with every manager they are interdependent and interrelated in such a way that they allow describing the nature of managerial activities taking into account of various levels of production process regardless of in which economy they play – western or southern. For instance, managers ranking high on initiating structure and low - on consideration (according to the Ohio State classification) are more likely to engage in decisional roles, less in - informational roles, and still less in - interpersonal roles. Moreover this is not confined that particular organizational figure will play a static or specific role. One manager can perform all of the discussed roles or several organizational personnel can perform those. The basic impacts that differentiate managers from west to south are environmental, religious, social etc. In modernized and technologically developed countries managers are tied with many contingencies but acquire flexibility to prove themselves in crisis situations. But in less developed countries managers lack the tools of effective management practice and appropriate empowerment to represent them as a potential role playing stature.