Types of Skills Needed at Various Management Levels

Managers at all levels need human relations skills, technical skills, and conceptual skills; however, the proportion of these skills vary at different management levels.

• Top management requires more conceptual skills than middle management and supervisory management levels.
• Middle management requires more human relations skills than top management or supervisory management levels.
• Supervisory management requires more technical skills than top management or middle management levels.

The reason for this proportion of skills is that top management spends more time on the "big picture" and long-range planning, middle management spends more time "coordinating" people and resources, while supervisory management focuses more on accomplishing the "day-to-day," "hands-on" tasks of producing a product or providing a service.

Worksheet

1. ___________________________________ management requires more conceptual skills.
2. ___________________________________ management requires more human relations skills.
3. ___________________________________ management requires more technical skills.
4. Managers at all levels need conceptual, human relations, and technical skills, although the _____________________ varies.