Management Professions

Information compiled by the GradSchools.com team - last updated December 2010

Chairman

The leader of the board of directors, the chairman assists the CEO in carrying out the corporate plan: aiding in project planning, development, sales and other functions as required. In public companies, the chairman's allegiance is to the shareholders, and must ensure that the firm's operations result in a positive return on their investment. The chairman is elected or appointed by the rest of the board; often, the CEO is also the chairman, or slides into that role as he gives up his CEO post.

Chief executive officer (CEO)

An executive is awarded the chief executive post either through years of loyalty and achievement inside, or notable accomplishments in another firm. Along with the board of directors, the internal and external face of the company shapes the corporate strategic map, and gets the credit (or the blame) depending on the results. The CEO directly oversees the rest of the C-level team (CIO, COO, etc.).

Chief information officer (CIO)

A relatively new invention in the corporate hierarchy (and increasingly important), the CIO is responsible for everything IT-related. It's not just making sure everyone has the proper computer equipment. The CIO must consider questions of legacy and succession planning (are our systems outdated? will we be able to handle upcoming expansion in personnel and product lines?), security, compliance, and overall structure (are our systems efficiently configured to maximum benefit?). CIOs often have advanced management degrees as well as expertise in software, hardware and/or connectivity.

Chief marketing officer (CMO)

Such an officer must be able to relate easily to people that fall into two distinctly different camps - salesmen and "creatives" - as he oversees all aspects of the performance of a product or line of business. The CMO directs the activities of the advertising, marketing, promotions, public relations and sales managers and keeps the CEO apprised of progress and developments.

Chief operating officer (COO)

The COO is generally seen as the No. 2 behind the CEO; indeed, the COO frequently rises to become chief executive. The COO is more hands-on in the day-to-day life of a company, and reports back to the CEO with detail and insight. The COO must achieve outcomes under budget constraints, and balance customer, employee and organizational goals.

Corporate communications executive

For years, corporate PR was considered to be exclusively for damage control during events like the Exxon Valdez or the Tylenol cyanide scare. Whenever a CEO had problems with the press, the white knights of corporate PR came to the rescue to help avert a worse catastrophe. Corporate PR groups still perform this function. However, the work of corporate PR groups is much broader than just handling crisis management. Corporate PR groups now manage corporate spokespersons, serve as experts on media training and public appearances and coach CEOs as they prepare for media appearances and event marketing. The corporate PR group is also known for initiating major press coverage in industry and business trade publications, as well as corporate-focused articles in general interest magazines like Time, Newsweek or Vanity Fair. PR professionals also develop relationships with government officials and lobbying groups that may have influence over legislation affecting the company’s growth and development. Often, this group works with outside public relations agencies like Edelman Worldwide, Bozell or Hill & Knowlton.

Corporate development

Corporate development encompasses large-scale projects that generally fall outside of any one department's responsibilities. Fundraising is one function that would fall under this umbrella, as would planning a merger or acquisition, launching a new product line (or sunsetting one in decline), or considering a partner for a strategic alliance.

Corporate planning

This area is the think tank that produces a firm's short- and long-term planning reports, which outline where a company stands, what it wants to achieve, and how it expects to meet its goals. Strategic managers and directors work closely with other company leaders. A successful planner must possess a logical and analytical mind, and be able to reformulate strategy as market conditions change.

Corporate security services

A director in this division would keep the company's physical and intellectual property safe from harm, by establishing protocols for such events as dealing with emergencies and handling terminated employees. Depending on the employer, a security services manager may also get involved with building security (deliveries, visitors, magnetic entry cards for workers) or, to some extent, computer system security.

Corporate strategic planning

This area is the think tank that produces a firm's short- and long-term planning reports, which outline where a company stands, what it wants to achieve, and how it expects to meet its goals. Strategic managers and directors work closely with other company leaders. A successful planner must possess a logical and analytical mind, and be able to reformulate strategy as market conditions change.

Division management

Part of middle management, the division manager is only responsible for one limited section of the company. Depending on the company and its structure, this could mean being responsible for one product type (say, Green Giant's frozen vegetables division) or one function (marketing tomato products at Ragu), or operations in a specific geographic area.

Facilities management / grounds

A worker in this area would oversee the maintenance of the firm's physical plant and supplies. The manager might have to arrange for landscaping or painting, maintain heating/cooling/plumbing systems, manage a fleet of company cars, or repair broken windows, for instance.

Franchise / business ownership

It's necessary for a franchisee or business owner to be extremely organized: He or she must keep track of all aspects of the business and serve as accountant, customer service rep, staff manager, QC manager, service provider/product manufacturer, equipment/building manager and marketer simultaneously. And there's no one to fall back on. A franchisee may or may not have to report location sales results to a corporate home office.

General manager

"General Manager" is more a broad description than a title. The GM may carry the title of brand manager, managing director or executive director depending on what type of business he works in. (For our illustration, in consumer products, in law or accountancy, or at a non-profit.) The GM is responsible for P&L (profit and loss) within a business segment.

Project manager

Being a project manager can mean many things—it all depends on what industry you're talking about. In the dot-com and advertising worlds, project managers are in charge of supervising writers, editors, developers, designers and advertising teams and are called upon whenever a company wants to launch a new product, redesign the site, add a new service or upgrade old systems. A big part of being a project manager is the ability to understand the intricacies of a particular project and to micromanage a creative team to complete a project on time and within budget constraints. While the project manager manages the day-to-day progress of the project, he/she is also the "first arbiter of quality." In short, he/she is responsible for making sure the project is a success.

Coordinating many different teams for one goal can be hard, especially if each team's vision is different. The project manager sees everything going on inside and in between the many teams on a project; and is therefore expected to know when things have gone awry. He/she is responsible for identifying the problem - such as a lack of commonality between the departmental visions or that the project has simply gotten off track - and creating a solution. Project managers often state that the stress is the toughest part of the job. It's no easy feat navigating the choppy waters between upper management and the creative team and still producing quality results on time.

The ultimate success or failure of a project falls to the project manager; regardless of who makes a mistake, the project manager is the one who will be held responsible for it in the end. Due to this, a project manager has to always remain on his feet, both literally and figuratively. As one contact says, "I spend much of the afternoon calling clients to get any revised specs and to bounce new ideas our creative team has come up with off them. We speak about how the project is going and try to resolve any outstanding issues while reviewing the overall strategy we are trying to present."

Although the office environment may at times be a bit chaotic (especially in a start-up environment), project managers often have their own offices close to the creative or design teams that they supervise. One contact in a web consulting/design firm said: "My basic premise of project management is the theory of management by walking around, so I spend a large part of the day speaking with the various people on my projects. I ask them if they need anything or have any questions. I find that there are always issues and I try to take care of them as soon as I receive them."

Many times, project managers have to put in more than 40 hours a week, depending on the status of the project on which they are working and the pressures they are under to complete it. If you do happen to find yourself with some extra time during the day, that means you're probably not doing your job as well as you could. As one proactive insider points out: "If I have any down time during the day, I usually try to read up on new trends in the industry and stay up-to-date on technical issues so that I can talk the talk and walk the walk." Much of the day will most likely be spent in client meetings streamlining various projects and giving progress reports to the client, as well as working hand-in-hand with management and marketing teams to ensure the overall success of the particular project.

Project managers need to be able to coordinate between departments with very different specialties, each with its own lingo. The technical team, for example, will have a different way of talking about the project than the business stakeholders. One NYC project manager describes the ability to communicate with all departments as being "multilingual" and "translating" between departments. Coordinating with the different departments can also be problematic because project managers are not direct managers of the teams whose work goes into the project. In addition, project managers usually don't have the hands-on technical skills and experience of the technical and creative teams.

Encouraging and directing the different teams without the standard authority of management or skill can be difficult, but project managers get it done. Says one project manager, "This takes clever politicking and personal credibility to establish de facto authority when, in fact, the project manager has no authority except over the project schedule." Being on the outside has its perks. By not being a part of one particular team and section of the project, the project manager is, in fact, a part of all the teams and sections on the project. The project manager can be involved in any stage in which he/she takes an interest, and this offers many possibilities, including career advancement.

Higher-level project managers are often called "program managers" and manage a number of projects, as well as a project management team. In order to keep track of these often disparate elements, project managers must be super-organized. At all of the meetings project managers attend, they are expected to take detailed notes. Each project manager has his or her own way of keeping track of all the details of a project. Some rely on the CPM or the Critical Path Method, an organizational model that outlines the sequence in which things must happen. Some useful software applications are Microsoft Project, Primavera, Scitor Project Scheduler, AEC FastTrack and CA-SuperProject. Other project managers use simpler systems, such as MS Word or Excel documents, or even whiteboards above their desks. However, in the words of one project manager, it doesn't really matter what system is used, "a good project manager rarely has to go back to their notes."

Educational requirements vary greatly for project managers depending in which industry they work. Those who work for high-tech startups are usually expected to have a degree in a related field and/or some prior history in computer science or engineering. The Project Manager Institute (PMI) also offers a certification for project management. PMI is a good starting place to learn about industry trends and other professional developments. Regardless of industry, however, it is common for project managers to have a BS in accounting or business administration, and those with an MBA will probably find it much easier to score that ever-elusive high-paying job.

Starting out as a full-blown project manager is unusual and difficult. Most project managers start as assistants, helping the project manager oversee his/her projects, and then transition to a smaller company as a project manager or to business school. After that first straight project manager job (classified as junior project manager), one advances to a senior project manager position. One gains more projects and those projects become more challenging and intricate as one climbs the ranks. Being a project manager can also open other doors. Project managers get a taste for all parts and stages of a project, and often decide that they want to learn more about a specific one. This can lead to an unforeseen career as anything from a Java expert to upper management.

Project managers bring the ideas of the creative design team to life. One project manager describes it as a "very fun and interesting field." Working well and "building personal relationships" with people - both the clients and your team - is "key." Another project manager says project managers have the "ability to work on issues that will make the efforts of the staff easier and better in the long run. You feel like you make a difference." However, being a project manager isn't just about working with the team. "You are responsible for defining requirements, scheduling, budget, and reporting to management on the progress of the project," says a NYC project manager. Says another, "The worst part of being a project manager - depending on the technology available - is scheduling meetings." Advises another project manager from Texas, "Learn to handle stress and take one day at a time." And if something goes wrong, projects managers take the blame - the buck stops with them. "Your job is closely tied to the project. If the project is cancelled you may be out of work." But while project management can feel thankless - even if the project is a success, the project manager shares the credit with all of the teams that went into the success - in the words of one project manager, "rest assured, a project manager’s individual efforts rarely go unnoticed" In the end, project managers love the challenge and variety of the work. "You are not just doing the same thing over and over. Every project is new and challenging."

Strategic planning

This area is the think tank that produces a firm's short- and long-term planning reports, which outline where a company stands, what it wants to achieve, and how it expects to meet its goals. Strategic managers and directors work closely with other company leaders. A successful planner must possess a logical and analytical mind, and be able to reformulate strategy as market conditions change.

Strategy and corporate development

Corporate development encompasses large-scale projects that generally fall outside of any one department's responsibilities. Fundraising is one function that would fall under this umbrella, as would planning a merger or acquisition, launching a new product line (or sunsetting one in decline), or considering a partner for a strategic alliance.