Management qualities

6. Discuss as a class giving your reasons.

1. What personal qualities are important for a manager to be successful?

2. What professional skills/abilities are essential in a good manager?

3. What approach to people should a good manager have?

7. Below you can see a list of management qualities and a set of pictures depicting them. Match each term in the box with a suitable picture and then discuss with your partner which qualities are essential for a manager.

Which of these qualities do you already possess? Which do you want to acquire?

creative emotionally strong flexible good communicator knowledgeable leadership skills mental skills sensitive to others social skills technically skilled

8. It is difficult to find universal agreement on the specific personality and professional characteristics which make a good manager. Team building usually aims to cover a range of qualities as one individual cannot have all the positive management attributes.

Discuss the following characteristics of what makes a good manager and, with your partner, rank them in order of importance. Do you see eye to eye with your partner?

• ability to get on well with colleagues

• technical knowledge

• experience of management in different industrial sectors

• ability to make people laugh

• willingness to work up to 60 hours a week

• confidence in making decisions

• concern for well-being of every employee from the top to the bottom of an organization

• ability to understand details of company activity

• ability to understand and plan corporate objectives

• knowledge of the world

• highly educated and cultured individual with wide range of personal interests

• commitment to making money

• stable health and psychological make-up

• supportive family

• ability to motivate

• ability to delegate

9. Look at the list of adjectives in the box and either translate them into Russian using a dictionary or explain the meaning of each adjective in English:

lunatic ruthless informal balanced moderate charismatic

persuasive rambling responsive methodical perceptive energetic

thoughtful passionate open coherent inhibited self-confident

1. Decide which of them can be considered as personal features and which as managerial qualities;

2. Decide which of them can be considered as positive, negative and neutral;

3. Which of them do you have?

4. Which would you like to have?

5. Which ones would you like to get rid of?

6. Which of these characteristics could make a perfect manager?

Case study

The right man for the job

10. Here we suggest you getting acquainted with a realistic management situation which managers regularly face.

First, working alone, study the background information of the case study and the problem itself.

Background information

Anyone who is interested in cars will know all about the Ford Motor Company. For those who don't, here are some brief facts: Type Public Founded June 16, 1903 Founder(s) Henry Ford Headquarters Dearborn, Michigan, United States Area served Worldwide Products Mainstream/Performance vehicles; Automotive parts Services Automotive finance, Vehicle leasing, Vehicle service Revenue ▼ US$ 146.277 billion (2008) Operating income ▼ US$ -9.293 billion (2008) Net income ▼ US$ -14.672 billion (2008) Total assets ▼ US$ 222.977 billion (2008) Total equity ▼ US$ -17.311 billion (2008) Employees ▼ 87,700 (US, 2008); 213,000 (World, 2008) Website ford.com

MEMORANDUM To: All board members Date: 25-09-08 From: Brian Lockley Personnel Director Subject: Appointment of a new General Manager As I am sure you are all aware by now, Anthony Hiller will be retiring at the end of this year, which leaves us a little over two months in which to appoint a new General Manager. The post is currently being advertised in both the national press and the leading trade magazines and I intend to begin the first round of interviews in mid October. The advertisements contain the following description of the General Manager's duties: * to have overall responsibility for the running of the plant; * to coordinate the work of the management team so that the company's targets and objectives are met; * to advise on new product development; * to negotiate with trade union representatives; * to accompany the Sales Manager on overseas sales trips, whenever possible; * to represent the company when the Managing Director is unavailable.

The problem

Two candidates, Jim Collier and Bernard Wheeler, are being considered for the position. The two men have been interviewed by

a) the Managing Director and a team of senior executives;

b) an industrial psychologist who has carried out a number of tests.

The candidates have also had lunch with the interviewing team and the industrial psychologist. The wife of Bernard Wheeler was present at the lunch.

Below are the candidates' curricula vitae, extracts from the psychologist's reports and the interviewing team's notes.

C URRICULUM VITAE PERSONAL DETAILS Name: Jim Collier Date of birth: 21-10-70 Address: 18 Acacia Drive Marital status: divorced Cheadle Hulme Nationality: American Manchester EDUCATION QUALIFICATION ESTABLISHMENT DATES Diploma in Business Los Angeles Adult 1993 - 94 Administration Training College WORK EXPERIENCE POSITION COMPANY DATES Formula One mechanic Lotus Racing Team 1989 - 90 Formula One driver McClaren Racing Team 1990 - 93 Sales representative Houseman Automobiles 1996 - 98 (car dealers) Sales Manager Houseman Automobiles 1998 - 2000 Assistant Production Vauxhall Motors UK 2001 - 2004 Manager Head of Production Vauxhall Motors UK 2005 - Control

EXTRACT FROM PSYCHOLOGIST'S REPORT ON JIM COLLIER

Mr Collier is a man of very high intelligence. He is creative, imaginative, and good at problem-solving. When put under pressure, he kept cool and showed a sense of humour. Although he appears to be calm and cheerful, he is an emotional person. He is deeply dissatisfied with his personal life. He is still upset and shaken by the breakdown of his marriage to his English wife. Note: during interview it came out that he had been expelled from two schools for indiscipline.

EXTRACT FROM INTERVIEWING TEAM'S NOTES ON JIM COLLIER

Super-confident – at times almost aggressive; extremely ambitious – wants to have own car manufacturing company one day; frank and outspoken in opinions; believes that “winning is the only thing that matters in life”; seemed to be a relaxed, calm personality; but admitted he could “blow his top” if people didn’t do their job properly; in a letter of reference, a previous employer suggested he was “charming, but could be very moody when he didn’t get what he wanted – not an easy person to work with”.

C urriculum Vitae SURNAME Wheeler AGE 42 FIRST NAMES Bernard Martin MARITAL STATUS Married DEPENDANTS Three children ADDRESS 229 Station Road Solihull Warwickshire TELEPHONE 056 45611511 (home) 021 656222 (work) Education M.A. in Engineering from Cambridge University 1988 Post-graduate Diploma in Management from 1999 The London School of Economics. Work History Executive in Research and Development Department, 1988 - 90 Philips (electrical appliances) Production trainee, Volkswagen (Birmingham) 1991 - 93 Production Supervisor, Volkswagen (Birmingham) 1994 - 98 Project Coordinator in Volkswagen/Nissan 1998 - 2002 joint-venture project in Tokyo and Birmingham Assistant Works Manager, Volkswagen (Birmingham) 2002 –

EXTRACT FROM PSYCHOLOGIST'S REPORT ON BERNARD WHEELER

Mr Wheeler has above-average intelligence. He is a logical person, with good powers of reasoning. He has planned his life carefully and knows where he is going. He is not particularly creative. When put under pressure, he became ill-at-ease, and finally lost his temper. He is devoted to his family. As he says, “They come before everything”. He is serious, with no apparent sense of humour. Perhaps this is because he was an only child, and his parents separated when he was young.

EXTRACT FROM INTERVIEWING TEAM'S NOTES ON BERNARD WHEELER

Mr Wheeler gave long, thoughtful replies; knew a great deal about Ford – well prepared for interview; a patient man, polite but didn’t take to him very much – not particularly likeable, but showed strength of character; wishes to leave Volkswagen because of personality clash with his Works Manager; when questioned on this he said “I prefer not to discuss the matter”; main ambition: to become a company director; in letter of reference, described as “efficient”, “dependable” and “self-reliant”. Note: at the lunch, wife did not shine – nervous, unsure of herself and of limited conversation.