This is a an analysis report for the subject: Introduction to Management in Monash University. An interview was conducted with a real life manager from the Airline Industry in the Middle East Region. Then an analysis was done and a final report using various management theories including Katz, Mintzberg was written.

1. Management Assignment 1Waleed Zafar[Type the company name]2009 -Sem 28121651935480Waleed Zafar22216103Assignment 1 Introduction to ManagementTutor: Dr. Patricia LauTutorial: Monday, 2pm -3.30pmMonash University Analysis of Management In this developing field of Management, there have been several theories and experimentations conducted by business pioneers in order to enhance the understanding that could lead to improvements for elevated productivity. An interview was conducted with Mr. Johnson Smith, Manager Ground Safety and HSE (Occupation Health and Safety) of Peace Air which is an airline based in the Kingdom of Bahrain. This interview gave an insight to the job and the various management skills that are required in the daily routine in the workplace. The manager was able to give ratings and comments on the various roles that are utilized in his position. In the position, Manager Ground Safety and HSE, the main duties involve developing, implementing and promoting all the elements of an airline ground safety regime designed to help protect customers and Peace Air staff from hazards and accidents while on Peace Air property as well as assets from damage. The manager has identified himself as belonging to the middle level in the levels of management (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg & Coulter, 2008). The management roles explained by Henry Mintzberg and the management skills explained by Robert Katz are demonstrated in the work of this particular manager. One key pioneer in the field of management is Henry Mintzberg, who has identified a manager as being an in charge of a sub-unit or an organization (Lamond, 2003). Therefore, in relation to Mintzberg definition of a manager, Mr. Smith is in charge of the organization: Peace Air’s sub unit Ground Safety and HSE. After thorough studies in management, Mintzberg presented the ten management roles that include figurehead, leader, liaison, monitor disseminator, spokesperson, entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator and negotiator. These roles were then further grouped into three groups: interpersonal roles, informational roles and decisional roles. (Robbins et al., 2008). The analysis of Mr. Smith’s comments regarding his use of managerial roles shows that he is quite active as a monitor in the interpersonal roles. He even gives a rating of four out of five in his usage of this particular role. A monitor is a person who enhances his or her understanding of the organization and the work environment through searching and obtaining information. (Lamond, 2003). It is quite evident that Mr. Smith is a monitor as he obtains reports and data in the field of Occupational Health and Safety which is related to his job. Furthermore, this shows that Mr. Smith is similar to a “nerve-centre” as he uses his management status to obtain the various informational resources. (Mintzberg, 1994). By involving in this activity, Mr. Smith is able to be updated and enhance his job knowledge. Ultimately, he is able to perform his work to the highest level. In addition, it is quite apparent that Mr. Smith is involved in corporate activity as he is a manager of a large organization which employees more than hundred employees. The term “corps social” is used to refer to this type of involvement in the view of another key pioneer of management, Henry Fayol who is an industrialist with a scientific approach to this field. (Lamond 2003) Although, Mintzberg has criticized Fayol for presenting views on management that are quite outdated and not relevant in today’s organizational management, they are apparent in Mr. Smith’s work. (Carroll & Gillen 1987) Fayol presented the four management functions that include planning, organizing, leading and controlling which are evident to some extent, if not all, in most managers. (Robbins et al., 2008). Mr. Smith shows a high usage of the organizing function which is defined as assembling and arranging work in order to achieve the main organizational objectives and goals. (Robbins et al., 2008) Therefore, Mr. Smith is able to approach his organizational goals through monitoring and reviewing the progress of the Occupational Health and Safety implementation plans which is used as a guide to achieve his departmental goals. Although, Fayol’s management functions may seem vague and quite general, the understanding of management is further enhanced by also having Mintzberg management roles in to perspective. (Lamond 2003). Consequently, a thorough analysis of the manager is successfully achieved by the combination of two views on management. Moreover, another management role that is exemplified by Mr. Smith is the role of disturbance handler which is under the decisional role. Mintzberg has defined a disturbance handler as in charge of conducting necessary action to overcome problems when an organization is under crisis. (Robbin et. Al, 2008) In an airline industry, crisis are dealt with highest priority and care due to the fact that a single error can be a risk for many lives. In addition, all flights that are operated by airlines have the risk of experiencing a disaster due to factors related to human, technical and weather (Coombs 2003) After the events of September 11 attacks, the airline industry have dramatically tightened security and have become alert. (Nolan, Ritchie, Rowcroft, 2004). Therefore, in the position of Manager Ground Safety and HSE, Mr. Smith has quite a high responsibility since he has to ensure the quality and standards and he is able to do so by proposing and implementing a corrective action plan. Consequently, this ensures that problems and crisis are minimized and the organization is able to conduct operations in a safe and secure manner. On the other hand, the interview with the manager also showed the use of Kat’s management skills. Robert L. Katz conducted research in the field of management and discovered the following necessary skills of the managers: technical, human and conceptual. (Robbins et al., 2008) Similar to the perspective of Katz on the usage of human skills as being high in all levels of management, Mr. Smith also rates as using human skills very much in his middle level management post. Mr. Smith is able to demonstrate his human skills through conducting training, awareness sessions and interactive workshop in order to familiarize with the working colleagues and subordinates and improve his communication with them. Most of the researchers have commented on the fact that this is the skill that most managers lack. (Peterson 2004). However, this particular manager shows human skills even within department and outside his department as he uses it when introducing new procedures and system in the field of Occupational Health and Safety that need to be communicated to all personnel of the organization as it concerned with their health and safety. Therefore, in terms of communication with people, Mr. Smith would be considered as an active user of the human skills. Furthermore, Katz also conveyed that as the manager moves towards the top in the levels of management, the usage of conceptual skills is also increased in relation. As defined by Katz, conceptual skills involve viewing the organizational as a whole and identifying the various connections between the different aspects of the organization (Peterson 2004). It is also classified as having the “helicopter perspective”. (Robbins et al., 2008) In relation to the manager, Mr. Smith, conceptual skills are rated as being used very much due to the fact that in the field of Occupational Health and Safety, various risks and hazards have to be assessed in order to get a full understanding of any potential threats to the staff or assets. Therefore, a broad vision is required in order to visualize the cause and effect of various parameters that may affect the outcome of the incident. Finally, in relation to the third management skills that is identified as technical skills is viewed as to be used very much in his middle management level. Although, this particular point contradicts Katz theory of lower usage as the level of the management increases. (Robbins et al., 2008) However, it should be considered that this particular manager is in the airline industry in the field of Occupational Health and Safety which is more of a technical field rather than an administrative one. Therefore, technical knowledge is required in order to approve departmental goals related to this field and also to assess threats and hazards. In conclusion, it is evident that the manager who had participated in the interview shows the various management skills from Robert Katz theories, management roles from Henry Mintzberg model and as well as management functions from Henry Fayol’s scientific approach. After analyzing the various necessary management skills and roles required for a successful manager, it can be determined that several theories should be considered in order to come up with the best representation of management. Moreover, even though these theories may be have written several decades ago such as the Katz management skills that include technical, conceptual and human, they are somewhat still relevant in today’s organizations and with further updates and research from pioneers like Mintzberg with his ten management roles, a deeper and enhanced understanding of management is established. Ultimately, Mr. Smith, an enthusiastic manager, of a large organization in the airline industry is able to utilize these various management roles and move up the levels of management as he becomes successful. Word Count: 1497 (without references & appendix) Note: To protect the rights and identity of the employee and company, fictional names have been used as substitutes. Reference List Robbins, S, Bergman, R, Stagg, I, & Coulter, M. (2008). Management(5th ed.). Frenchs Forest, Australia: Pearson Education Australia. Mintzberg, H (1994). Rounding out the manager’s job. Sloan Management Review, 36 (1) 11-26. Peterson, T (2004) Ongoing legacy of R.L. Katz: an updated typology of management skills, Management Decision. 42(10), 1297-1308 Lamond, D (2003) Henry Mintzberg vs. Henri Fayol: Of Lighthouses, Cubists and the Emperor’s New Clothes, Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 8(4), 5-24 Carroll, S & Gillen, D (1987) Are the classical management functions useful in describing managerial work? Academy of Management Review. 12(1), 38-51 Nolan, James F, Ritchie, Pamela & Rowcroft, John (2004) September 11 and the World Airline Financial Crisis. Transport Reviews. 24(2), 239-255 Coombs, W. Timothy (2003) Strategic Communication in Crisis Management: Lessons from the Airline Industry. Journal of Contingencies & Crisis Management, 11(3), 144-145.