What Makes an Effective Manager? Amber and Travis are considering careers in business and have hopes of becoming managers someday. Both hold part-time jobs and have seen a number of managers at their workplace. Amber was even selected to fill in temporarily as the shift supervisor for her work team when the full-time supervisor was on vacation. That gave her a closer view of some of the work managers do and how their job is different from that of employees. Amber shared her experiences with Travis, which led to a discussion of their views on a managers work. Travis: A managers job is easy if the company hires good employees. All a manager has to do is make sure the work gets done. Amber: Do you really think it is that easy? First, I dont think companies can always find employees who can do the work well. Also, a managers job involves much more than working with employees. Travis: I think a manager just has to be a good communicator. If a manager can explain clearly what needs to be done, good employees will take it from there. Amber: But what about all of the things that can go wrong in a company that a manager cant plan for? Equipment can break down, new employees may not be well trained, or a big order may require everyone to work overtime. Travis: I read that companies spend a large amount of their training budgets on management development. If you ask me, either youre a good manager or you arent. I dont think taking classes on how to manage will do much good if you arent the right type of person. Amber: I might have agreed with you a few years ago, but today it seems that management is much more complicated. In fact, I believe that the problems each manager faces are so different it would be difficult to develop training programs that would benefit all of the managers in a company. Think Critically 1. Analyze Ambers and Traviss views toward management. With what do you agree or disagree? Present your argument and support it with evidence and an example. 2. Do you believe that managers spend most of their time working with employees? Justify your answer. Present your argument and support it with evidence and an example. 3. a) What characteristics are common to all managers jobs? b) What are the types of things that would be quite different from one managers job to another? Present your argument and support it with evidence and an example. 4. If you were responsible for developing a training program for managers, what would you include? Present your argument and support it with evidence and an example.