Mintzberg Theories

Henry Mintzberg is a management theorist who identified 10 different roles that effective managers undertake. The roles are classified into three main categories: decisional, informational and interpersonal (Wanddell, 2008 p.16).

The decisional role is related to how mangers plan strategies and use resources. It is subdivided into four roles: entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator and negotiator. The task of obtain and transmit information is the informational role, which is subdivided into three roles: monitor, disseminator and spokesperson. Lastly, the interpersonal role refers to the ability of provide supervision and direction for both employees and organization. It is categorised as the figurehead, leader and liaison.

With the purpose of understand and analyse these roles an interview was done with a real manager.

The manager interviewed was Sandra Lau. She works for BHP Billiton Worsley Alumina, located in Western Australia. This company is a joint venture operation between BHP Billiton, Japan Alumina Associates and Sojitz Alumina. There are more than 1200 employees at Worsley.

Sandra is a first-line manager. She works as a Lead Mechanical Maintenance Engineer. She is responsible for the daily supervision of 9 engineers to ensure the reliable and safe production of alumina.

Although the manager's job is a combination of all roles identified by Mintzberg, it was possible to categorize Sandra's responsibilities in each type of role:

* Entrepreneur: According to Mintzberg, managers seek to improve business development through the supervision of their teams, delegating work and improvement projects. Sandra as a manager does exactly the same. She must decide when and who of her team members will use their skills and knowledge to improve the business by implementing new projects and solving urging problems.

* Disturbance handler: In agreement with Mintzberg, Sandra said that "as there are problems and conflicts in the workplace frequently, managers have to deal with them effectively and efficiently". For instance, if there is a machinery breakdown or there is a conflict between employees she has to take a corrective action promptly.

* Resource allocator: Mintzberg says that managers have to analyse their team members and other resources to optimize performance. In order to do this, Sandra sets priority through monthly prioritization meetings with the stakeholders and her team members to best define the work that needs to be done in the following month.

* Negotiator: It is essential to managers to participate in negotiation activities with individuals and other organizations. For instance, Sandra manages the customer expectations by monitoring her team work to guarantee that their jobs meet the customer requirements.

* Monitor: It is known that a good manager is always looking for information. Sandra