The Business Book

112

M A N A G E M E N T I S

A P R A C T I C E W H E R E

A R T , S C I E N C E , A N D

C R A F T M E E T

MINTZBERG’S MANAGEMENT ROLES

T

he question “What do

managers do?” has vexed

experts, and many front-

office staffs, since organizations

came into existence. In his 1975

paper “The Manager’s Job,” business

guru Henry Mintzberg argues that

managers are not the reflective,

systematic planners that people

assume; instead, “their activities are

characterized by brevity, variety, and

discontinuity.” He finds them to

be strongly oriented to action,

and disliking of reflection.

Mintzberg suggests that there

are ten basic management roles,

which fall into three categories:

informational roles (managing

through the use of information);

interpersonal (the management of

people); and decisional (managing

decisions and action).

Managers perform a multitude of roles,

which can be divided into three categories...

Management is a blend of these often conflicting

roles, where art, science, and craft meet.

IN CONTEXT

FOCUS

Management roles

KEY DATES

1949 French engineer and

business theorist Henri Fayol

develops what becomes

known as “the classical theory

of management.” This claims

that managers have five

key functions: planning,

organizing, coordinating,

commanding, and controlling.

1930s Australian psychologist

Elton Mayo publishes the

Hawthorne Studies, which

ushers in an era of people-

oriented management, rather

than managing according to

business objectives alone.

1973 In The Nature of

Managerial Work, Henry

Mintzberg dismisses Fayol’s

claims about the management

process as “folklore.”

...Informational:

Monitor

Disseminator

Spokesperson

...Interpersonal:

Figurehead

Leader

Liaison

...Decisional:

Entrepreneur

Disturbance

handler

Resource allocator

Negotiator