First-line Managers
First-line
managers or supervisors are
the lowest in the management hierarchy. They are responsible for directly overseeing
the work of non-managerial employees, who do the actual work of the organisation,
and thus spend a lot of time leading and controlling. A lot of the planning of
first-line managers is likely to be focused on a single day, week, month or a
few months.
First-line managers need
to possess a lot of technical competence as they have to closely monitor, advise
and even give practical examples to the employees they supervise.
To have technical
capacity means possessing both knowledge and practical abilities in such areas
as salesmanship, accounting and machine operation.
First-line managers typically
carry titles like foreman, supervisor, head-driver and office manager.
Each first-line manager
reports to a middle manager and is actually directly in charge of one of
normally a number ofsub-sectionssuperintended over by the middle manager. So, a
first-line manager is likely to be found doing such work as supervising
technicians in a workshop.
First-line managers interact a lot with other
first-line managers, and middle managers, to ensure co-ordinated production of
goods and services.
Middle Managers
Middle managers, who frequently are department heads, report to top management. They are the link between first-line managers and top management.
Middle managers convert
broad objectives, policies and programmes created by top management to narrower,
department-level goals, philosophies and activities.
Middle managers co-ordinate
the work of the first-line managersworking under them.
Common titles of middle
managers include marketing manager, production manager and finance manager.
Many individuals in
middle management positions earlier served as first-line managers. In middle
management, though, their involvement in technical activities is less.
Middle managers are
instrumental in advising top management on such issues as the best goods and
services to deal in and the most appropriate production methods.Staff training
and development is another critical responsibility of middle managers.
Leading, organising and
medium-and-short-term planning are common middle management activities.
Top Managers
Top managers are responsible for the stewardship of the organization as a whole. They make general but far-reaching, long-term plans intended to, among other things, ensure institutional survival, create competitive advantage and grow the organisation.
Top managers normally
include the board chairman, chief executive officer, president vice-president
and directors of divisions. The plans, goals and policies they formulate become
operational points of focus for the middle managers.
The typical work-day of
a top manager hardly ends. Many matters requiring total concentration are done
long after stipulated working time - and deep into the evening – at the office
or at home.
Organisational success
or failure ultimately rests on the heads of top management. They not only map
out key directions but also find the resources for them. A large proportion of
their time goes into planning.
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| Management levels. Bottom up: First-line management, Middle Management and Top Management. The number of managers decreases at each higher level |
Management
styles
Despite the existence of the above general hierarchy, personal style often determines exactly how a middle or top manager does their job.
Some middle managers,
for example, while respecting the part played by their first-line managers,
like to have as much direct communication as possible with the non-managerial
staff, partly as a way of being in greater touch with reality.
Rupert
Chimfwembe, 19 January, 2016.
