them from other people within the organization or from
outside. Crises can occur which they are unable to predict.- Managers are expected to be decisive and deal with situ-
ations as they arise. Their best-laid plans are therefore often
disrupted; their established priorities have to be abandoned. - Managers are subject to the beck and call of their superiors,
who also have to respond instantly to new demands and
crises. - Managers often work in conditions of turbulence and ambi-
guity. They are not clear about what is expected of them
when new situations arise. They therefore tend to be reactive
rather than proactive, dealing with immediate problems
rather than trying to anticipate them. - For all the reasons given above, managers are subject to
constant interruptions. They have little chance to settle down
and think about their plans and priorities or to spend enough
time in studying control information to assist in maintaining
a ‘steady state’ as far as their own activities go.
WHAT MANAGERS ACTUALLY DO
What managers do will be dependent on their function, level,
organization (type, structure, culture, size) and their working
environment generally (the extent to which it is turbulent,
predictable, settled, pressurized, steady). Individual managers
will adapt to these circumstances in different ways and will
operate more or less successfully in accordance with their own
perceptions of the behaviour expected of them, their experience
of what has or has not worked in the past, and their own
personal characteristics.
There are, however, the following typical characteristics of
managerial work:
Reaction and non-reflection
Much of what managers do is, of necessity, an unreflecting
response to circumstances. Managers are usually not so much
slow and methodical decision-makers as doers who have to react
rapidly to problems as they arise and think on their feet. Much
time is spent in day-to-day troubleshooting.
8 How to be an Even Better Manager