Levels of management

Levels of management
See also
Management by objectives steps Personnel strategy Organization of managerial work Organizational diagnostics Organizing Success factors of company Models of strategic personnel management Principles of delegation Objectives of the organization

The levels of management focus on the tasks they perform and the competences that leaders at each level should have. Adequate matching of employees and their competencies to the positions they hold is an important part of achieving the company's objectives . Depending on the scope of responsibilities, we can distinguish three levels of management. We distinguish:

• the highest level of management, consisting of a board of directors and a president taking key decisions for the company,
• medium level of management including heads of unit, who take tactical decisions,
• low level of management by managers who are responsible for supervising and carrying out the tasks defined by the higher levels of management.

High-level management

At the highest level of management, which is the so-called top management, there are high management staff, which is responsible for the control and supervision of individual processes. This group is responsible for formulating strategic objectives and plans. In addition, it is on their side to develop such an organisational policy that will contribute to the achievement of previously defined objectives. Among all levels of management, they have the greatest authority, but also the greatest responsibility for all decisions. In addition to the top level management functions already mentioned, the following are also mentioned:

• collection and management of both financial and human resources,
• broadly understood leadership in the company,
• the establishment of plans and timeframes for the tasks to be carried out.

Middle-level management

The next level of management is middle management, which consists of managers of individual organisational units. In addition to their advisory functions, they are also responsible for the tasks carried out by the department they manage. They define strategies at functional level and also "make tactical decisions related to the organisation as a whole on the technical, financial, organisational and human resources side of the business". The duties of a middle manager include:

• representing the enterprise externally in an appropriate manner, not only in the performance of its tasks, but also in terms of its appearance or expression.
• taking care to increase economic benefits for both the company itself and its shareholders
• building appropriate attitudes and values among employees
• caring for the well-being of their subordinates, taking into account their needs and ensuring that employees at lower levels are properly motivated and supported
• striving for the development of the company and its expansion

Low-level management

The last level of management is the managers of individual units located directly above the persons performing the tasks. They are responsible for the implementation of the assigned tasks in the area of a specific department. Such managers have no influence on the creation of objectives or strategies. Their task is limited to the division of duties between employees. At this level, the manager has direct contact with the person performing the task. The tasks undertaken by the manager are carried out in the short term.

References

• Glamuzina M. (2015), Levels of leadership development and top management's effectiveness: Is there a clear-cut realtionshop?, "Management", vol. 20
• Johnson S., Rashmi K. (2016),Top level manager: Skills, functions, tasks, approaches, responsibilities and roles "Asian Journal of Management Research", vol. 7
• Pal K. (2019), Management Concepts and Organizational Behaviour
• Tyrańska M. (2016), Managerial Competencies for Various Management Levels "Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego w Krakowie", 11 (959)

Author: Julia Kręcioch