What are the Two Major Views of Managers?

Members of an organization and third parties (outside of the organization) generally view managers in two ways: Omnipotent View and Symbolic View.

Each of these is discussed below. 

What is the Omnipotent View of Management?

The omnipotent view of managers is that the manager is all-knowing. She has total control over the organizations mission and operations. That is, the manager is the visionary who steers all aspects of the organization. Thus, she is individually responsible for the performance of the organization. 

If an organization is successful or unsuccessful, the result is largely due to the efforts taken or decisions made by the high-level managers. 

Pursuant to this logic, the quality of an organization is synonymous with the quality of its managers. 

A common concept associated with the omnipotent view is the Halo Effect.

What is the Symbolic View of Management?

This view is in direct contrast to the omnipotent view. It says that the role of high-level management is largely symbolic. Managers have a limited effect on the organization achieving its goals or objectives. 

While the adequate performance of management responsibilities has an effect on organizational performance, the manager’s activities are not the driving force behind strong organizational performance. 

It recognizes that there are many environmental factors (economic, political, legal, competitive, consumer-based, technological, etc.) that affect the performance of the organization that is outside of the control of managers. 

Thus managers are not individually responsible for the success or failure of the organization. Lots of factors contribute to the quality of an organization.

Conclusion

To a certain extent, both views have validity depending upon the organization, the manager, and the internal and external environments in which the organization exists.