What is a General manager’s job?
A general manager (GM) is a competent and authoritative role that oversees a department or a company’s operations.
A general managerial role stands at the top of the pyramid below corporate-level executives in the hierarchy of an organization.
A general managerial profile is an executive position that has an inclusive authority over the administrative functions of the company.
The role of a general manager is a senior position in the hierarchy of a company that oversees policy-making, operational responsibilities, and budgeting.
General managers are experts who drive the company’s objectives, both long term and short term and ensure compliance with the company’s standards, policies, and code of conduct.
What does a General manager do?
The general manager is a link between the board of directors and middle management. It involves coordination between the two levels in a hierarchy of an organization.
The general manager’s responsibilities and authorities vary depending upon the organizational structure of the organization that they are employed with.
The role of a general manager is one that mentors and build a talent pool of supervisory roles for the company.
General managers act as catalysts who collaborate with varied teams to build a pool of solutions that trigger and contribute to the growth and development of their organizations.
General managers are an integral part of decision-making and play pivotal roles in budgetary allocation, policymaking, and conceptualization of long and short-term strategies. They perform supervisory functions and regulate and control the execution of strategies implemented. General managers are self-motivated and charismatic individuals that motivate the hierarchy under them to accomplish the company’s objectives.
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General manager job duties include:
A general manager has expertise knowledge of the overall business and varied aspects of an organization and is capable of handling business procedures and policies.
General managers are accountable for financial reporting and various departments like advertising, finance, marketing, research and development, and human resource management. They are also experts in technical languages in specialized sectors.
The obligations of a General manager involve several aspects.
- Driving optimization of productivity through strategic planning
- Assess and improvise organizational effectiveness through dynamic processes
- Oversee the workforce through a well-established and secure environment that is highly motivating and rewarding.
- Driving excellence through innovation and strategic design masterpieces of eminence
- Steering standards of excellence through stringent quality management
- Exploring and pursuing opportunities for expansion and growth by bridging strategic alliances
- Providing guidance and timely feedback to nurture and strengthen subordinates and build a talent pool of skilled and accomplished employees
Job brief for a General manager:
A General manager is a skilled and experienced expert and a master in communication and negotiation skills. The industry stipulates gigantic benchmarks and demands perfection to the core.
They are a driving force that acts as a catalyst for the growth and expansion of the organization through their expert management and strategic agility and planning.
- Riding the herd on day-to-day business operations
- Assigning, driving, and executing weekly performance goals and assessing their completion, while accomplishing their own set of goals and objectives
- Recruitment, onboarding, and training of a high-performing task force to achieve desired business objectives of sales and profitability
- Stringently overseeing and managing project timelines to ensure tasks are delivered successfully on time
- Development, execution, and sustenance of budgetary controls and resource allocation and apportionment plans
- Meticulous and accurate delegation of responsibilities to exemplary employees to bring out the best from the human resources
- Stringent enforcement of human resource policies, ethos, procedures, and processes, through standardization, specifications, driving adherence of guidelines, and scheduling of training programs
- Mediation and resolution of conflicts both internal and external efficiently to the mutual benefit of all parties.
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Responsibilities of a General manager:
- Planning, coordination, and driving of business operations that target revenue goals
- Stringent control over budgetary stipulation constraints through effective cost control and implementation of plugins for blocking off loopholes
- Implementation of stringent auditory measures and procedures to achieve compliance with processes and regulations
- Conceptualizing and executing innovative strategies that improve employee productivity and optimization of resources
- Overseeing the generation of reports revolving around human resource optimization, financial management, profitability, cost controls to the board of directors and corporate-level executives
Requirements for a General manager job:
A General manager is a management expert that drives excellence and catapults organizations to the top of the pyramid in the industry through their skills and collaborations.
- Master’s degree in business administration from a reputed institute
- Accomplished experience of overseeing large-scale operations in a managerial position
- Robust and agile decision-making capabilities
- Exemplary negotiation skills combined with excellent communication, collaboration, and delegation skills that command honor and respect in the industry
- Accomplished track-record of development and sustenance of financial strategies and plans
- Charisma to propel, inspire and trigger growth through effective and motivational people management skills that delegates responsibilities and drill down accountability
- Operational expertise of policies, procedures, and regulations that govern the industry
- The expertise of performance evaluation procedures and systems
- A business acumen that propels expansion and excellence
- Meticulous about data analyses and driving numbers
- The technical expertise of the relevant field
- Risk mitigation
Average Salary for a General manager
- Entry-Level (0-2 years of experience): Approximately RM 60,000 - RM 90,000 per annum.
- Mid-Level (3-5 years of experience): Approximately RM 90,000 - RM 150,000 per annum.
- Senior-Level (5+ years of experience): Approximately RM 150,000 - RM 300,000 per annum.
| City | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| Kuala Lumpur | RM 120,000 |
| Penang | RM 100,000 |
| Johor Bahru | RM 90,000 |
| Kota Kinabalu | RM 85,000 |
| Kuching | RM 80,000 |
| Industry | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| Information Technology | RM 150,000 |
| Financial Services | RM 140,000 |
| Manufacturing | RM 130,000 |
| Retail | RM 120,000 |
| Company | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| Petronas | RM 250,000 |
| Maybank | RM 220,000 |
| CIMB Bank | RM 210,000 |
| Telekom Malaysia | RM 200,000 |
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General manager Job Key Skills:
- Adept in conceptualizing and driving targets
- Pliancy and agility
- Master negotiator
- Analytical skills and expert at minute detailing
- An advocate of talent building
- Result-oriented and a drive for excellence and reaching pinnacles
- A master salesman who sells concepts and drives results from motivated staff
Why pursue a career as a General manager?
The profile of a General manager is an achievement of years of an excellent record of accomplishments.
The role of general manager is highly rewarding and challenging. It requires leadership qualities that treat challenges as opportunities for scaling new heights.
It is a role that catapults companies to the top of the pyramid of the related industry and hence requires an agile business acumen combined with a motivational ability to drive the resources that execute business opportunities with excellence.
If you are inclined to drive excellence through detailing and procedural implementation by delegating to the best of the task force then the general manager’s role is rewarding and satisfying.
How to become a General manager?
A master’s in business administration coupled with a business acumen that drives excellence and an accomplished record in the related industry is the basic requirement to start your journey toward becoming a general manager to start your journey as a General manager.
As a middleman between the board and the lower and middle management a general manager needs to be adept at negotiating and bridging the communication gap between people.
A role as a General manager requires agility and risk-taking and hence you need to garner expert knowledge about the relevant industry, procedures, regulations, and ethos.
As a leader who drives results, a general manager should know the best of his or her resources and also have the capability to nurture and build a talent pool. Since the lower and middle cadre employees look to the general manager for inspiration, he or she is expected to be self-motivated, disciplined, and knowledgeable.
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