ATD Level II
Principles of Management glossary
Every term this guide defines, A to Z, each with the chapter that teaches it. Open it when a word in a question is unfamiliar, and test yourself on it in the last week: cover the definition and say it in one sentence.
9 terms from the free first chapter
C
- Conceptual skill
The ability to see the organisation as a whole and understand how its parts relate to each other and to the wider environment. Most critical at top management, where decisions affect the entire organisation.
Taught in Management concepts
D
- Decisional roles
Four roles:
- Entrepreneur: initiating change.
- Disturbance handler: responding to unexpected problems.
- Resource allocator: deciding who gets what.
- Negotiator: representing the organisation in negotiations.
Taught in Management concepts
H
- Human (interpersonal) skill
The ability to work with, motivate and communicate with people, individually and in groups. Equally important at every level, since every manager works through other people.
Taught in Management concepts
I
- Informational roles
Three roles:
- Monitor: scanning the environment for information.
- Disseminator: passing information to subordinates.
- Spokesperson: transmitting information outward on the organisation's behalf.
Taught in Management concepts
- Interpersonal roles
Three roles:
- Figurehead: ceremonial and symbolic duties.
- Leader: motivating and directing staff.
- Liaison: maintaining a network of outside contacts.
Taught in Management concepts
L
- Lower level management
First-line supervisors and foremen, directly overseeing the operating employees who do the organisation's day-to-day work, and the level closest to daily execution.
Taught in Management concepts
M
- Middle level management
Departmental heads and regional or branch managers, translating top management's strategy into departmental plans and targets, and coordinating the work of first-line managers under them.
Taught in Management concepts
T
- Technical skill
Proficiency in the specific methods, processes and tools of a particular field, an accountant's command of financial reporting standards, for example. Most critical at lower management, where managers are close to the actual work.
Taught in Management concepts
- Top level management
The smallest group, the board, chief executive and other senior executives, setting the organisation's overall mission, long-term strategy and major policy, and answerable to owners or a governing body.
Taught in Management concepts
The full glossary adds every term from the other 5 chapters, A to Z, each with the chapter that teaches it.