Definition: A manager is an individual that supervises both activities and people within a given organization. In other terms, it is the person in charge of overseeing things that to get done.
What Does Manager Mean?
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The concept or figure of a manager is mostly related to business environments. Nonetheless, the managing function can be extended to different spheres by applying the underlying concept. A manager is someone that has the responsibility of getting things done. He normally manages both people and resources (physical resources or economic resources, among others). He has to plan, organize, execute and control all the activities he has been delegated with by using all available resources to do it effectively. Managers normally have enough authority to require and dispose resources as needed.
They can hire or fire employees, ask for supplies and equipment and organize teams depending on the nature of the tasks. Companies normally hire managers with professional background and experience or train their current employees to become managers. Broadly speaking, managers within an organizational structure can be classified as operational, tactical and strategic, depending on the nature of their responsibilities.
Operational managers are in charge of day-to-day activities such as a production-line supervisor; on the other hand, tactical managers deal with whole departments such as a marketing manager or a plant manager; and finally, strategic managers are those with the responsibility of guiding the organization to achieve expected results, for example a Chief Executive Officer.
Here’s an example.
Example
Big Watches Co. is a company that sells and repairs used or old watches. The company was founded by Mr. Howard, and his son Edward handles the day-to-day operations while Mr. Howard repairs the watches that arrive to the store. The company also has 4 employees supervised by Edward and it has a $20,000 a month expense budget. Who would be the manager in this case?
We previously defined a manager as someone that supervises both activities and people within a given organization. In this case, Edward will be the one who fits this concept since he handles day-to-day operations, deals with staff and also, administers the store’s budget.
