The Importance of Human Skills at All Managerial Levels
Introduction
Founded by Katz (1974) as one of the essential skills that managers must possess, human or interpersonal skills refer to the ability to get along well with people (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg & Coulter, 2009). Human skills help managers to work effectively with others. According to Katz (1974, p.91), someone with highly developed human skills is “sufficiently sensitive to the needs and motivations of others in his organisation.” Able to understand and accept the differences in people’s beliefs and perceptions, managers with good interpersonal skills have excellent knowledge on how to successfully transmit information and motivate their subordinates hence increasing the organisation’s efficiency and effectiveness, as there will be higher participation from the organisational members.
The author agrees on what Katz (1974) claims; that interpersonal skills are equally important along the managerial levels. This means that in order to perform their job better, all top, middle and first-line managers must possess human skills. However, the author also believes that the amount of attention that should be focused on human skills development and application differs from one level to another. That is, human skills become more critical down the management hierarchy.
Focusing on the use of human skills for leading, this essay is going to discuss the importance of interpersonal skills along the managerial hierarchy according to their different main roles and identify every level’s emphasis on the skills. Each view and idea will be supported by factual examples, evidence from research and/or necessary management theories.
Human Skills at First-line Level
In the organisational levels, first-line managers are a group of people accountable for daily management of nonmanagerial employees who are directly involved in the production process (Jones & George, 2009). At this level, human skills are demonstrated as they directly supervise the workers and
Founded by Katz (1974) as one of the essential skills that managers must possess, human or interpersonal skills refer to the ability to get along well with people (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg & Coulter, 2009). Human skills help managers to work effectively with others. According to Katz (1974, p.91), someone with highly developed human skills is “sufficiently sensitive to the needs and motivations of others in his organisation.” Able to understand and accept the differences in people’s beliefs and perceptions, managers with good interpersonal skills have excellent knowledge on how to successfully transmit information and motivate their subordinates hence increasing the organisation’s efficiency and effectiveness, as there will be higher participation from the organisational members.
The author agrees on what Katz (1974) claims; that interpersonal skills are equally important along the managerial levels. This means that in order to perform their job better, all top, middle and first-line managers must possess human skills. However, the author also believes that the amount of attention that should be focused on human skills development and application differs from one level to another. That is, human skills become more critical down the management hierarchy.
Focusing on the use of human skills for leading, this essay is going to discuss the importance of interpersonal skills along the managerial hierarchy according to their different main roles and identify every level’s emphasis on the skills. Each view and idea will be supported by factual examples, evidence from research and/or necessary management theories.
Human Skills at First-line Level
In the organisational levels, first-line managers are a group of people accountable for daily management of nonmanagerial employees who are directly involved in the production process (Jones & George, 2009). At this level, human skills are demonstrated as they directly supervise the workers and
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