Work is defined as moving objects at or near the surface of the earth, or telling others to do so. The first is uncomfortable and ill paid, the second is more enjoyable and better paid. – Old Joke (which isn’t as funny in the new economy).
Management is actually the job of coordinating effort so that an organization can perform better as a group than the individuals can working on their own.
If you think about that sentence, you’ll discover that the point of management is performance, in other words the goal is results. And you’ll see that the tools at management’s disposal are the tools of coordination: prioritization, allocating resources, communication, support. You’ll also see that a lot hinges on your definition of the word “better.”
Briefly, the three levels of management are these:
Foreman
This is the name usually used in factories or construction work – but it applies everywhere. It’s a person in charge of a small crew who is also a worker on that crew. It addition to doing the work, the foreman is responsible for leadership and intra-crew decisions such as scheduling, making sure the crew has enough supplies, etc. But the foreman cannot change the direction or makeup of the crew nor can he/she make major decisions about the crew’s assignments. The foreman is usually given a task for the crew to perform – he helps organize the crew to accomplish the task, but can’t modify the task.
Executive or Middle Management
These managers are responsible for organizing others to accomplish tasks. They are usually given (or help define) goals and they decide / prioritize the tasks needed to accomplish those goals. Then they work to assign ways that the tasks can be accomplished within constraints of budget, staffing levels, equipment etc. Middle management is often responsible for coordination between groups. In practice many managers (especially in technical fields) divide their time between actually doing management work and being workers or foremen (doing other work that needs to be done).
Upper Management
This level is responsible for setting strategic direction, and also is concerned with how to best utilize funds, new product decisions, how to read and address trends in the market place. Profitability goals and long term vs short term trade offs are the purview of this level of management, as are exit strategy decisions.
Foreman or 1st level managers tend to ask When? What? and Where? because they are responsible for getting stuff done. Middle managers ask How? and Who? because they are given a goal and have to muster resources and assign them often within budgetary constraints. Top level mgmt asks WHY? because they are responsible for the strategic purpose of what is being done.
Takeaways:
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13 Comments
lara
this was really helpful!!!!!
thanks guys!
28 Aug 2006 06:08 pm
christian aboah
simple, tacit and straight to the point. THanks very much!!!
13 Sep 2006 04:09 am
melujj
thank you. it was helpful for me.
03 Dec 2006 05:12 pm
MITCH
THANKS A LOT!!!!!
13 Dec 2006 11:12 pm
Max
Was very helpfull
29 Dec 2006 08:12 am
Jacob
Thanks, this short and to the point article is extremely helpfull and actualy helped me understand and organize my company better.
29 Dec 2006 08:12 am
Lata
This article was short and very helpful for me to understand briefly about the levels of management.
02 Jan 2007 06:01 am
Laban
It was very much vital to me.Thanks abundantly.
08 May 2007 05:05 am
sugah
thanks a lot it was very helpful
05 Jun 2007 04:06 am
roy
thanks for all the function of 3 levels of mangement…
22 Jun 2007 01:06 am
manali
Thanks a lot for short and precise matter
11 Jul 2007 07:07 am
Anonymous
perfect for my homework!
12 Jul 2007 03:07 am
Myiralobari
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26 Sep 2007 10:09 am
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