Managing Director Job Description

Tap to Read ➤ Kundan Pandey

The job of a managing director includes various administrative tasks and managerial roles. Here is information about the role of an individual in this position.

Administrative units, public offices, private firms, and business enterprises generally have a hierarchical system of governance. Starting from workers and employees at the helm of a business unit to the management team, there are innumerable designations and job responsibilities.

Contributing to the management of a business is the essence of all jobs, and one designation that is concerned with managing firms in their daily operations is that of a managing director (MD).

MD is a generic term used for the head of a business group or office. Some businesses interchage the term 'CEO' (Chief Executive Officer) and 'managing director'. The duties of a CEO are similar to that of a managing director, that is to manage, monitor and guide the working of a firm.

Education, Skills and Experience

Generally, managing directors are graduates or post graduates in subjects related to business management. Many organizations place high importance on the reputation of the academic institutes the candidate has been to.

More than anything else, reaching a top position, like that of a MD requires years of experience at lower- and middle-level managerial positions. For working at this reputed designation in fields like health care, law, finance, etc., it helps if the person has either a graduation or post graduation and additional certificates related to those fields.

He/she must have effective decision-making and excellent communication skills. Being a creative problem solver and having multitasking abilities are always a strength, while strong managerial and leadership skills are the most important traits required in this job position.

Primary Responsibilities

Implementing Policies

Being at the top management position in a firm, a managing director works for charting the blueprint of policies, and implements them for the improvement of the firm. He is also responsible for implementing the company policies for the employees of the company, as well as for the everyday working of the organization.

He acts as a head of the firm scrutinizing, assessing, and monitoring various departments. The heads of all departments are answerable to him, and he is answerable to the customers, and also the board of directors, on issues regarding the firm's performance.

As the topmost executive, he ensures that the work culture and working environment in the organization is conducive to optimum employee productivity. Since he is the representative of the firm's ideologies and mission statement, he regulates, modifies, and implements changes that are aimed to boost employee efficiency, thus garnering profits to the firm.

Promoting Innovation

Another facet of the job of a managing director is to encourage employees by providing them better growth opportunities. He appreciates the dedication and hard work of employees to inspire them and make them feel rewarded.

As the head of things, he tries to innovate newer dimensions in his working methods that can be fruitful for the firm. He should inspire the employees to think differently and do something innovative to attract clients. He should work towards creating a culture where the employees are motivated to improvise constantly.

It may be something as simple and obvious as improving communication skills or enhancing the designing of the firm's website or offering more unique services to the clients. The managing director needs to do whatever it takes to make sure the organization's reputation doesn't take a beating in any manner.

Decision Making

A managing director needs to have good analytical and decision-making skills.

Analyzing a situation, getting to its base, diagnosing the cause, and making quick decisions to overcome any problem is a very necessary skill that he should have. He also needs to ensure that all the decisions he takes are within the scope permitted to him as a managing director.

Sector-wise Responsibilities

Since managing directors are employed in various types of market settings, like investment banking, finance, health care, insurance or law offices, corporate world and various other managerial fields, their job varies for every firm.

Investment Banking

The MD of an investing banking firm is responsible for merger and acquisition deals, and investing large monetary funds. He also needs to access financial risks and returns. Investment bankers are typically hired by financial companies, investment firms, and banks.

Insurance

The head of an insurance firm should be able to predict future insurance trends and strategies accordingly. He should oversee the functioning of the firm's insurance agents, and track and access their records. In many firms, he is also responsible for planning the budget and overseeing efficiency, quality, and services provided to customers.

Legal

The MD of a legal firm is responsible for creating and implementing marketing campaigns, maintaining the firm's website, and undertaking all similar promotional campaigns. His responsibilities also include planning the annual budget, creating strategies for the firm's expansion of franchising, and assessing the performance of the legal and non-legal staff.

Pharmaceutics

Supervising the production and research of products is a crucial duty here. Other duties include establishing strategic ties with dealers and distributors, and forming business partnerships with counterparts, if required.

Software

In a software company, an MD is often considered to be the whole and sole of the organization. Recruitment and assessment of employees is done by him if he comes from a technical background. He needs to understand, organize, and implement sales strategies through various channels, and oversee the marketing campaigns too.

A software company, specifically needs to appoint a managing director with entrepreneurship skills, as the company always needs a forward-looking strategy for its growth.

The Who's Who

Here's a look at the MDs/CEOs of some of these popular and well-known organizations - Kim Hyun Suk, Koh Dong Jin, Kim Ki Nam - Samsung Chuck Robbins - Cisco Sundar Pichai - Google

Satya Nadella - Microsoft Dave Lewis - Tesco Mukesh Ambani - Reliance Mark Zuckerberg - Facebook Jeffrey Bezos - Amazon Michael Dell - Dell Larry Ellison - Oracle

As 'management' is the buzzword today, there is no dearth of career opportunities for managers wanting to climb up the ladder from middle-level managers to senior managing directors. All you need is a considerable amount of work experience and a wide spectrum of knowledge about some specific industry, not to mention the requisite educational qualifications.