Skills for Effective Administration

Effective administration rests on three basic developable skills [technical, conceptual and human]’ (Katz 2000 n.p.). ‘A skill implies an ability which can be developed, not necessarily inborn, and which is manifest in performance, not merely in potential’ (Katz 2000 n.p.). ‘Luthans (1988) made the distinction between an effective leader and a successful leader. Successful leaders are the politically savvy ones, those who are promoted quickly. Effective leaders are those who have satisfied and productive employees (Luthans 1988)’ (Hopkins, et al. 2006, p. 253). Katz published his theory about what managers do in about 1955. Peterson and Van Fleet (2004 p. 1297) explain Katz’s approach to researching management. They cite Katz’s 1955 article saying that it is not e.g. a manager’s personality traits that makes them good back or indifferent as a manager – it is what they can accomplish that makes them good bad or indifferent as a manager. Katz argued that what a manager can accomplish is based on the manager’s skills. It was Katz’s belief and many subsequent researchers belief that these skills can and must be taught – Most manager’s get promoted on the basis of their technical expertise as e.g. an engineer, a teacher, a doctor and suddenly they need to start exercising a whole set of additional skills such as human skills – the ability to manage people and conceptual skills the ability to solve problems – that they may not have mastered. Mann (1965) confirmed that Katz’s framework works to explain what managers do. Subsequent researchers have according to Peterson and Van Fleet (2004) generally found the framework acceptable but have worked to 1) add to the fundamental core of skills or 2) specify the tasks associated with each skill more clearly. Katz’s theory has some weaknesses in that as Peterson and van Fleet (2004 suggest subsequent research has meant that the core list of skills could be considerably expanded to really explain what managers do. None the