Manager is an organisational member who integrates and coordinates the work of others in order to achieve organisational goals. It is definitely not about personal achievement, but about helping others to do their work. Manager is also the person who creates and coordinates the workplace systems and conditions so that others can perform those tasks effectively. Though many know the concept of being a manager, not many know how to apply it in practical scenarios. We managed to interview an operation manager, Ms Darlene Ng, who works in the Standard Chartered Bank. From this interview, we can clearly see how she plans, organises, leads and controls. The four management functions will be introduced first. Next in line, would be the managerial roles. It is identified that she is playing an interpersonal and decisional role according to Henry Mintzberg’s Management roles. She uses Conceptual skills and Human skills according to Robert Katz’s Management Skills more in her daily working life as compared to technical skills. The report will have fine details of what Ms Ng does in relations to the Management roles and skills. Finally, the report will conclude with the learning points that Ms Ng shared.
2. MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS
According to the function approach, managers perform certain activities or functions as they efficiently and effectively coordinate the work of others. The four functions are planning, organising, leading and controlling.
2.1 PLANNING
Planning refers to setting goals, establishing strategies to achieve them and developing plans to integrate and coordinate activities. As a departmental manager, Ms Ng hopes that her team can aid other departments well to achieve the desired bank’s revenue. Her strategies established were to ensure that all her staff are on duty for every quarter-end in order to be able to clear all the submitted cases by the sales department. From time to time, she would organise team-building events