CONSTRUCTION

MANAGEMENT
UNIT 2: MANAGEMENT ROLES &
FUNCTIONS

KRYSTAL-KAY MCKENZIE
BASIC FUNCTIONS OF
MANAGEMENT
 Management operates through various
functions, often classified as:
 Planning
 Organizing
 Staffing
 Leading/ Directing
 Controlling/ Monitoring
 Motivation
BASIC FUNCTIONS OF
MANAGEMENT
Planning: Deciding what needs to happen in the future
(today, next week, next month, next year, over the next
5 years, etc.) and generating plans for action.
 Organizing:(Implementation) making optimum use of
the resources to carry out the plans successfully.
 Staffing: analysing the Job, recruiting, and hiring
individuals for appropriate jobs.
 Leading/Directing: Determining what needs to be
done in a situation and getting people to do it.
 Controlling/Monitoring: Checking progress against
plans.
 Motivation: Motivation is also a kind of basic function
of management, because without motivation,
employees cannot work effectively. If motivation doesn't
take place in an organization, then employees may not
contribute to the other functions(which are usually set
by top level management).
ORGANIZING
What constitutes the process of organizing?
 Organizing is a process.

 Managers organize when :

 They put plans into action

 Allocate tasks to people
 Set deadlines
 Request resources
 Coordinate all the tasks into a working system
ORGANIZING
 If planning is considered as providing the
road map for a journey, then organizing
is the means by which you arrive at the
planned destination safely.
 Plans are statement of intentions of
direction and resources required.
 Organizing is the purposeful activity
required to put intentions into effect.
ORGANIZING

 Organizing on the construction site is

chiefly concerned with activities, it is a
process for:
 Determining , grouping and structuring
activities.
 Devising and allocating roles.
 Assigning accountability for results.
 Determining detailed rules and systems
of working.
ORGANIZING

 The manager must make decisions on

splitting up the total operation into
individual tasks.
 However successfully managers divide up
the total operation into individual jobs
and match them to trades and people
they still have to organize them so that
one group is not held up by another and
materials are there when needed.
ORGANIZING

 People are the managers major assets but

some costly resources must be managed
too.
 Plant – has to earn its keep.
 Materials and components must be
stored, handled and used efficiently to
avoid waste.
ORGANIZING

 Question
 What is the major difference between a
personnel manager and a construction site
manager?
 The personnel manager chief concern is
people, while the construction site
manager has to coordinate (organize) a
diverse range of materials, plant and
labour inputs etc
DIRECTING
What does the process of directing involve?
 This involves leading, communicating and
motivating, as well as cooperating with
people and sometimes disciplining them.
 The most carefully prepared plans are
useless unless people are effectively
directed in implementing them.
 At the same time if plans have not been
made and resources properly organized
then work could be misdirected.
DIRECTING
To direct people effectively the manager
must:
 Have some influence over them

 Develop a style of management

acceptable to them
 Earn their respect and cooperation

 Be able to empower them

DIRECTING

 Delegating is one of the most widely used

tools of directing people, what is it?
Delegating is giving people more control
over their work.
 Delegating involves passing authority down
the management hierarchy.
 Management by objectives is a means of
delegating.
 The building trades provide much scope for
giving operatives discretion over their work
CONTROLLING

What is controlling?
 Controlling involves comparing
performance with plans.
 Apart from environmental impact the main
factors to be controlled are:
 Time
 Safety
 Cost
 Quality of work
CONTROLLING
 Because the term controlling can have
connotations of punishment and censure, other
terms are sometimes used eg review, monitor
measure.
 Sometimes there is variance between
performance and plan. This could happen
because of many reasons.
The site manager is controlling when he/she
decides to bring in more personnel after bad
weather has delayed progress, or get more
people to work overtime to catch up.
MANAGEMENT SKILLS
 In order to be effective, a manager must
possess and continuously develop several
essential skills. A successful practice of
management depends upon such skills.
Different writers suggest different types
of skills required of managers. Regardless
of organizational level, all managers must
have five critical skills: technical skill,
interpersonal skill, conceptual skill,
diagnostic skill, and political skill
TECHNICAL SKILL
 Technical skill involves understanding
and demonstrating proficiency in a
particular workplace activity. Technical
skills are things such as using a
computer word processing program,
creating a budget, operating a piece of
machinery, or preparing a presentation.
The technical skills used will differ in
each level of management.
TECHNICAL SKILL
 First-level managers may engage in the
actual operations of the organization; they
need to have an understanding of how
production and service occur in the
organization in order to direct and evaluate
line employees. Additionally, first-line
managers need skill in scheduling workers
and preparing budgets. Middle managers
use more technical skills related to planning
and organizing, and top managers need to
have skill to understand the complex
financial workings of the organization.
INTERPERSONAL SKILL

 Interpersonal skill involves human relations,

or the manager's ability to interact
effectively with organizational members.
Communication is a critical part
of interpersonal skill, and an inability to
communicate effectively can prevent
career progression for managers. Managers
who have excellent technical skill, but
poor interpersonal skills are unlikely to
succeed in their jobs. This skill is critical at
all levels of management.
CONCEPTUAL SKILL
 Conceptual skill is a manager's ability to see
the organization as a whole, as a complete
entity. It involves understanding how
organizational units work together and how the
organization fits into its competitive
environment. Conceptual skill is crucial for top
managers, whose ability to see "the big
picture" can have major repercussions on the
success of the business. However, conceptual
skill is still necessary for middle and
supervisory managers, who must use this skill
to envision, for example, how work units and
teams are best organized.
DIAGNOSTIC SKILL
 Diagnostic skill is used to investigate
problems, decide on a remedy, and
implement a solution. Diagnostic skill
involves other skills—technical,
interpersonal, conceptual, and politic. For
instance, to determine the root of a problem,
a manager may need to speak with many
organizational members or understand a
variety of informational documents. The
difference in the use of diagnostic skill across
the three levels of management is
DIAGNOSTIC SKILL
 primarily due to the types of problems that must
be addressed at each level. For example, first-
level managers may deal primarily with issues of
motivation and discipline, such as determining
why a particular employee's performance is
flagging and how to improve it. Middle managers
are likely to deal with issues related to larger
work units, such as a plant or sales office. For
instance, a middle-level manager may have to
diagnose why sales in a retail location have
dipped. Top managers diagnose organization-
wide problems, and may address issues such as
strategic position, the possibility of outsourcing
tasks, or opportunities for overseas expansion of
a business.
POLITICAL SKILL
 Political skill involves obtaining power and preventing
other employees from taking away one's power.
Managers use power to achieve organizational
objectives, and this skill can often reach goals with less
effort than others who lack political skill. Much like the
other skills described, political skill cannot stand alone
as a manager's skill; in particular, though, using political
skill without appropriate levels of other skills can lead to
promoting a manager's own career rather than reaching
organizational goals. Managers at all levels require
political skill; managers must avoid others taking
control that they should have in their work positions.
Top managers may find that they need higher levels of
political skill in order to successfully operate in their
environments. Interacting with competitors, suppliers,
customers, shareholders, government, and the public
may require political skill.
POLITICAL SKILL
 These managerial skills are used by different
managers. Top manager needs to have more
conceptual skill than technical skill. They have to
think about the future of the company(goal and
objectives). Any small activities that support to
achieve the goal and objectives are done by their
employee. Top managers always think about the
life of the business. Middle manager is doing more
in the interpersonal skill. They have to meet many
people, so they need interpersonal skill to
communicate with people. Example: negotiators.
The last one is Lower manager which need
technical skill in their job. The lower managers are
dealing with small activities that may lead to
achieve the goal and objectives. These three
managers must have a good relationship each
other, so that the objective and goals can be
achieved.
FUNCTIONS OF MANAGERS IN
PM AND CM
Project Management Construction Management

Owner has direct, Owner has direct,

contractual rela- contractual rela-
tionships with tionship with the
both the Consultant.
Consultant and Owner has only
the Contractor third-party
and ultimately relationship with
makes all the Contractor.
decisions.
FUNCTIONS OF MANAGERS
CONSTRUCTION
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
MANAGEMENT
FUNCTIONS OF MANAGERS
MANAGEMENT ROLES
In addition to the broad categories of
management functions, managers in
different levels of the hierarchy fill
different managerial roles. These roles
were categorized by researcher Henry
Mintzberg, and they can be grouped into
three major types:
 Decisional
 Interpersonal
 Informational
DECISIONAL ROLES
Decisional roles require managers to plan
strategy and utilize resources. There are
four specific roles that are decisional.
The Entrepreneur Role
 requires the manager to assign resources

to develop innovative goods and services,

or to expand a business. Most of these
roles will be held by top-level managers,
although middle managers may be given
some ability to make such decisions.
DECISIONAL ROLES
The Disturbance Handler
 corrects unanticipated problems facing the
organization from the internal or external
environment. Managers at all levels may
take this role. For example, first-line
managers may correct a problem halting
the assembly line or a middle level manager
may attempt to address the aftermath of a
store robbery. Top managers are more
likely to deal with major crises, such as
requiring a recall of defective products
DECISIONAL ROLES
Resource Allocator
 involves determining which work units
will get which resources. Top managers
are likely to make large, overall budget
decisions, while middle mangers may
make more specific allocations. In some
organizations, supervisory managers are
responsible for determine allocation of
salary raises to employees.
DECISIONAL ROLES
Negotiator
 works with others, such as suppliers,
distributors, or labor unions, to reach
agreements regarding products and services.
First-level managers may negotiate with
employees on issues of salary increases or
overtime hours, or they may work with other
supervisory managers when needed resources
must be shared. Middle managers also negotiate
with other managers and are likely to work to
secure preferred prices from suppliers and
distributors. Top managers negotiate on larger
issues, such as labor contracts, or even on
mergers and acquisitions of other companies.
INTERPERSONAL ROLES
 Interpersonal roles require managers to
direct and supervise employees and the
organization.
The Figurehead
 is typically a top of middle manager. This
manager may communicate future
organizational goals or ethical guidelines
to employees at company meetings.
INTERPERSONAL ROLES
 A Leader acts as an example for other employees
to follow. The leader gives commands and
directions to subordinates, makes decisions, and
mobilizes employee support. Managers must be
leaders at all levels of the organization; often
lower-level managers look to top management for
this leadership example.
 In the role of Liaison, a manger must coordinate
the work of others in different work units,
establish alliances between others, and work to
share resources. This role is particularly critical for
middle managers, who must often compete with
other managers for important resources, yet must
maintain successful working relationships with
them for long time periods.
INFORMATIONAL ROLES
Informational roles are those in which managers
obtain and transmit information. These roles have
changed dramatically as technology has improved.
The Monitor
 evaluates the performance of others and takes
corrective action to improve that performance.
Monitors also watch for changes in the environment
and within the company that may affect individual
and organizational performance. Monitoring occurs
at all levels of management, although managers at
higher levels of the organization are more likely to
monitor external threats to the environment than
are middle or first-line managers.