A scheme of management skills was suggested by Robert L. Katz (1986) in the Harvard Business Review. Katz, who was interested in the selection and training of managers, suggested that effective administration rested on three groups of basic skills, each of which could be developed. Katz saw conceptual skills as being the ability to see the significant elements in any situation.
Conceptual skills of a manager
Conceptual skills are probably some of the most important management skills.
Conceptual skills are probably some of the most important management skills. There are some very basic principles behind conceptual skills. The inputs by people who are hired especially for their exceptional conceptual skills often influence the decision-making process in an organization, be it about a simple thing like a change in the employees dress code, to something as big as a revamped advertising campaign for a product.
Seeing the elements involves being able to:
- See the enterprise as a whole
- See the relationships between the various parts
- Understand their dependence on one another
- Recognize that changes in one part affect all the others
This ability also extends to recognizing the relationship of the individual organizations to the political, social, and economic forces of the nation as a whole. This has since been called the "helicopter mind," that is, being able to rise above a problem and see it in context. These conceptual skills are likely to be demonstrated by a manager or executive higher in the organization. Indeed, at these higher levels of management, organizations require these skills.
Conceptual skills are not critical for lower-level supervisors but gain in importance at the middle-management level. At the top management level, conceptual and design abilities are especially valuable