General Manager/Operations Managers

Career Overview

General and operations managers oversee operations that are too diverse and general to be classified into one area of management or administration. Responsibilities may include formulating policies, managing daily operations, and planning the use of materials and human resources. They make staff schedules, assign work, and ensure that projects are completed. In some organizations, the tasks of chief executive officers may overlap with those of general and operations managers.

Education

Although education and training requirements vary widely by position and industry, most top executives have at least a bachelor’s degree and a considerable amount of work experience.

Future Outlook

Employment of general and operations managers is projected to grow 6 percent from 2019 to 2029, faster than the average for all occupations. Organizations will continue to rely on these workers to help them operate successfully.

Work Environment

They work for both small and large businesses, ranging from companies in which they are the sole employee to firms with hundreds of thousands of employees. Top executives frequently travel to attend meetings and conferences or to visit their company’s local, regional, national, and international offices.

Recommended High School Courses

Psychology
Business
Communication
Finance
Marketing
Statistics

Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Management of Financial Resources - Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
Management of Material Resources - Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Analyze data to inform operational decisions or activities.
Analyze financial records to improve efficiency.
Direct organizational operations, projects, or services.
Direct sales, marketing, or customer service activities.
Prepare staff schedules or work assignments.
Determine pricing or monetary policies.
Monitor performance of organizational members or partners.
Direct financial operations.
Provide basic information to guests, visitors, or clients.
Implement organizational process or policy changes.
Develop organizational goals or objectives.
Develop organizational policies or programs.
Conduct employee training programs.
Hire personnel.
Develop marketing plans or strategies.
Determine resource needs.
Manage construction activities.
Recommend organizational process or policy changes.
Manage environmental sustainability projects.
Plan facility layouts or designs.

Schools

Bethany College- Lindsbor...

Bethel University

Bethel University (indian...

Boise State University

Bowling Green State Unive...

Bradley University

Brandeis University

Brenau University

Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University-...

Bryan College

Bryan University

Bryant University

Butler University

Cal Poly Pomona

California Baptist Univer...

California Coast Universi...

California Institute Of A...

California State Universi...

Carnegie Mellon Universit...

Central Christian College...

City University Of Seattl...

Clackamas Community Colle...

Clarion University

Clarkson University

College Of Business And T...

College Of Charleston

College Of Lake County

Colorado Christian Univer...

Colorado Mesa University

Columbia International Un...

Columbia Southern Univers...

Concordia College- New Yo...

Concordia University- Irv...

Concordia University- Neb...

Concordia University- Tex...

Corban University

Creighton University

Culver-stockton College

Cuyahoga Community Colleg...

Cypress College

Dallas Baptist University

Delaware Technical And Co...

Depaul University

Diablo Valley College

Florida Southwestern Stat...

Franklin And Marshall Col...

Fresno City College

Friends University

Frostburg State Universit...

Gadsden State Community C...

Gateway Community College...

Georgetown College

Golden Gate University

Hartwick College

Harvard University

Herzing University- Brook...

Herzing University- Kenos...

Herzing University- Madis...

Herzing University- Onlin...

Hillsborough Community Co...

Hope International Univer...

Humboldt State University

Idaho State University- M...

Indian River State Colleg...

Indiana University-bloomi...

Ithaca College

Jacksonville State Univer...

Johnson And Wales Univers...

Judson University

Juniata College

Kansas Christian College

Kentucky Wesleyan College

Kettering University

Key College

King University

Lake Forest College

Lanier Technical College-...

Lee University

Lewis And Clark State Col...

Long Island Business Inst...

Louisiana State Universit...

Louisiana Tech University

Loyola University - Maryl...

Loyola University- New Or...

Maccormac College

Madonna University

Malone University

Mansfield University Of P...

Marlboro College

Massachusetts Institute O...

Mcneese State University

Mcpherson College

Mid-state Technical Colle...

Midwestern Career College...

Miller-motte College- Jac...

Miller-motte College- Onl...

Miller-motte College- Wil...

Miller-motte Technical Co...

Millsaps College

Moravian College

Morehouse College

Morningside College

Mount Aloysius College

Mount Mercy University

New York University

North Greenville Universi...

Northeast Wisconsin Techn...

Northeastern State Univer...

Northern State University

Northwest Nazarene Univer...

Northwood University- Mic...

Notre Dame University Of...

Oakland City University

Oakland Community College

Ohio State University- Li...

Ohio Wesleyan University

Oklahoma Wesleyan Univers...

Olivet Nazarene Universit...

Oral Roberts University

Oregon Institute Of Techn...

Penn Foster Career School

Pennsylvania State Univer...

Plaza College

Quinnipiac University

Saint Joseph's College -...

Saint Xavier University

Salisbury University

Santa Clara University

Southern Arkansas Univers...

Southern New Hampshire Un...

Sullivan University- Cent...

Sullivan University- Fort...

Sullivan University- Lexi...

Sullivan University- Loui...

Tennessee Tech University

Trident University Intern...

University Of California-...

University Of Lynchburg

University Of Management...

University Of Mary

University Of Massachuset...

University Of Michigan- A...

University Of North Carol...

University Of North Flori...

University Of Notre Dame

University Of Pennsylvani...

University Of San Diego

University Of South Dakot...

University Of South Flori...

University Of Southern Ca...

University Of St. Francis

University Of Texas- Aust...

University Of Valley Forg...

University Of Virginia

University Of Wisconsin-...

Valparaiso University

Western Washington Univer...

Anderson College Of He...

Booth University Colle...

Bow Valley College- Do...

Brandon University

Brock University

Burman University

Canadian Business Coll...

Canadian College Of He...

Canadian Institute Of...

Canadian Mennonite Uni...

Canadore College- Coll...

Canadore College- Stan...

Capilano University- L...

Cdi College- Calgary C...

Cdi College- Calgary N...

Cdi College- Calgary S...

Cdi College- Edmonton...

Cdi College- Mississau...

Coast Mountain College...

College Of The North A...

College Of The Rockies...

Conestoga College- Bra...

Fanshawe College- Lond...

Great Plains College-...

Herzing College- Montr...

Herzing College- Onlin...

Herzing College- Ottaw...

Herzing College- Toron...

Herzing College- Winni...

Huron University Colle...

Ibt College

Insignia College Of He...

Keyano College- Clearw...

Keyin College

King's University Coll...

Lakeland College- Lloy...

Langara College

Lasalle College

Maritime Business Coll...

Medicine Hat College

Memorial University

Metro College Of Techn...

Mohawk College- Fennel...

National Academy Of He...

Nova Scotia Community...

Okanagan Valley Colleg...

Olds College- Main Cam...

Portage College- Lac L...

Red River College- Int...

Red River College- Por...

Red River College- Ste...

Red River College- Win...

Robertson College- Mai...

Royal Roads University

Saint Mary's Universit...

Sheridan College Insti...

Stanford International...

Trinity Western Univer...

Université Laval

University Canada West

University Of Moncton

Vancouver Career Colle...

Yorkville University-...

Yukon University

Crandall University

Potential Scholarships

5 Strong Scholarship

Agnes M. Lindsay Scholars...

Approx Salary Expectation

Currency:

Low End:

$45,050.00 /yr

Avg/Med:

$100,780.00 /yr

High End:

$208,000.00 /yr

Related Careers

Real Estate Broker

Lodging Managers

General Manager/Operations Managers

Training & Development Specialist

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.