Read the text with a dictionary and pay attention to jobs and their definitions.

What is a Manager?

A number of different terms are often used instead of the term "manager", including "director", "administrator" and "president". The term "manager" is used more frequently in profit-making orga­nizations, while the others are used more widely in government and non-profit organizations such as universities, hospitals and social work agencies.

So, whom do we call a "manager"?

In its broad meaning the term "managers" applies to the people who are responsible for making and carrying out decisions within a certain system. A personnel manager directly supervises people in an organization. A financial manager is a person who is responsible for finance. A sales manager is responsible for selling of goods. A marketing manager is responsible for promotion of products on the market.

Almost everything a manager does involves decision-making. When a problem exists a manager has to make a decision to solve it. In decision-making there is always some uncertainty and risk.

The amount of responsibility of any individual in a company depends on the position that he or she occupies in its hierarchy. Managers, for example, are responsible for leading the people directly under them, who are called subordinates. To do this successfully, they must use their authority, which is the right to take decisions and give orders.

Managing is a responsible and hard job. There is a lot to be done and there is relatively little time to do it. In all types of organizations managerial efficiency depends on manager's direct personal relationships, hard work on a variety of activities and preference for active tasks. The characteristics of management often vary according to national culture, which can determine how managers are trained, how they lead people and how they approach their jobs.

Read the text and speak about levels of management   using the scheme. What are managers of all levels responsible for?

Levels of Management

Supervisors are managers whose major functions are directing and controlling the work of employees in order to achieve the team goals. They are the only level of management managing non-managers. Thus, most of the supervisor's time is allocated to the functions of directing and controlling. In contrast, top managers spend most of their time on the functions of planning and organizing. The top manager determines the mission and sets the goals for the organization. His or her primary function is long-range planning. Top management is accountable for the overall management of the organization.They engage in more strategic and conceptual matters. Top managers have middle managers working for them and who are

in charge of a major function or department. Middle management is responsible for carrying out the decisions made by top-level management. Middle managers may have first-line managers (or supervisors) working for them and who are responsible to manage the day-to-day activities of a group of workers. Supervisors direct the actual work of the organization at the operating level.

Note that there are different types of managers across the same levels in the organization. At the middle level a functional manager is in charge of a major function, such as a department in the organization, e.g., marketing, sales, engineering, finance, etc. A project manager is in charge of developing a certain project, e.g., development of a new building. A product manager is in charge of a product or service. Similarly, a product line manager is in charge of a group of closely related products. General managers are in charge of numerous functions within an organization or department.

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