Chapter 5

Management Skills
 Learning Objectives

• To define all the

managerial skills and
elaborate on it.
 Management Skills
• Managers need certain skills to
perform the varied duties and
activities associated with being a
manager.
• This include technical skills,
human skills, conceptual skills,
diagnostic skills, communication
skills, decision making skills, and
time management skills.
 Technical skills
• skills that include knowledge of and
proficiency in a certain specialized field, such
as engineering, computers, finance and
manufacturing
• Example: Accounts Payable Managers must be
proficient in accounting rules and standardized
forms so that they resolve problems and answer
questions that their accounts payable clerks
might encounter
• important for first-line manager and become
less important as a manager moves into the
higher levels of management; even top managers
need some proficiency in the organization's
specialty
• Because lower-level managers spend more time
dealing with observable objects and processes
 Human Skills or
Interpersonal Skills
• include the ability to work well with
other people both individually and in a
group
• skills that are important for managers
at all levels – remain just as important
at the top levels of management as
they supervise the lower levels
• managers with good interpersonal skills
are able to get the best out of their
people
 Conceptual Skills
• include the ability to think and to
conceptualise about abstract
situations, to see the organisation
as a whole and understand the
relationships among the various
sub-units and to visualise how the
organisation fits into its broader
environment
• needed by all managers at all levels –
these skills are more important in top
management positions
• Because upper-level managers deal
 Diagnostic Skills
• skills that enable managers to
visualise the most appropriate
response to a situation
• Example:
• A Physician diagnoses a patient’s
illness by analysing symptoms and
determining their probable cause.
• A Manager can diagnose a problem
in the organisation by studying its
symptoms and then developing a
solution.
 Communication Skills
• refers to the manager’s abilities to
effectively convey ideas and
information to others and
effectively receive ideas and
information from others
• enable a manager to transmit ideas
to subordinates so that they know
what is expected, to coordinate work
with peers and colleagues so that
they can work well together and to
keep higher-level managers
informed about what is going on
• help managers listen to what
others say and to understand the real
 Decision-Making Skills
• refers to the manager’s ability to
correctly recognise, define
problems and opportunities and
then to select an appropriate
course of action to solve
problems and capitalise on
opportunities
Time-Management Skills
• refers to the manager’s ability to
prioritise work, to work efficiently
and to delegate appropriately