Chief Executives

Description

Determine and formulate policies and provide overall direction of companies or private and public sector organizations within guidelines set up by a board of directors or similar governing body. Plan, direct, or coordinate operational activities at the highest level of management with the help of subordinate executives and staff managers.

Tasks

Direct or coordinate an organization's financial or budget activities to fund operations, maximize investments, or increase efficiency.
Confer with board members, organization officials, or staff members to discuss issues, coordinate activities, or resolve problems.
Analyze operations to evaluate performance of a company or its staff in meeting objectives or to determine areas of potential cost reduction, program improvement, or policy change.
Direct, plan, or implement policies, objectives, or activities of organizations or businesses to ensure continuing operations, to maximize returns on investments, or to increase productivity.
Prepare budgets for approval, including those for funding or implementation of programs.
Direct or coordinate activities of businesses or departments concerned with production, pricing, sales, or distribution of products.
Negotiate or approve contracts or agreements with suppliers, distributors, federal or state agencies, or other organizational entities.
Review reports submitted by staff members to recommend approval or to suggest changes.
Appoint department heads or managers and assign or delegate responsibilities to them.
Direct human resources activities, including the approval of human resource plans or activities, the selection of directors or other high-level staff, or establishment or organization of major departments.
Preside over or serve on boards of directors, management committees, or other governing boards.
Prepare or present reports concerning activities, expenses, budgets, government statutes or rulings, or other items affecting businesses or program services.
Establish departmental responsibilities and coordinate functions among departments and sites.
Implement corrective action plans to solve organizational or departmental problems.
Coordinate the development or implementation of budgetary control systems, recordkeeping systems, or other administrative control processes.
Direct non-merchandising departments, such as advertising, purchasing, credit, or accounting.
Deliver speeches, write articles, or present information at meetings or conventions to promote services, exchange ideas, or accomplish objectives.
Serve as liaisons between organizations, shareholders, and outside organizations.
Review and analyze legislation, laws, and public policy, and recommend changes to promote and support interests of both the general population and special groups.
Nominate citizens to boards or commissions.
Interpret and explain policies, rules, regulations, or laws to organizations, government or corporate officials, or individuals.
Make presentations to legislative or other government committees regarding policies, programs, or budgets.
Refer major policy matters to elected representatives for final decisions.
Administer programs for selection of sites, construction of buildings, or provision of equipment or supplies.
Direct or coordinate activities of businesses involved with buying or selling investment products or financial services.
Direct or conduct studies or research on issues affecting areas of responsibility.
Attend and participate in meetings of municipal councils or council committees.
Organize or approve promotional campaigns.
Conduct or direct investigations or hearings to resolve complaints or violations of laws or testify at such hearings.
Represent organizations or promote their objectives at official functions or delegate representatives to do so.
Prepare bylaws approved by elected officials and ensure that bylaws are enforced.
Direct or coordinate activities between the United States Government and foreign entities to provide information or promote international interests and harmony.

Knowledge

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.
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.
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.
English Language: Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
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.
Education and Training: Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Mathematics: Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Skills

Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Management of Financial Resources: Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Management of Personnel Resources: Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
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.
Persuasion: Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Abilities

Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
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.
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
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).
Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Work Activities

Communicating with Persons Outside Organization: Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships: Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems: Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates: Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Monitoring and Controlling Resources: Monitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of money.
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others: Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
Developing Objectives and Strategies: Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
Provide Consultation and Advice to Others: Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others: Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
Selling or Influencing Others: Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.

Work Context

Telephone: How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?
Electronic Mail: How often do you use electronic mail in this job?
Face-to-Face Discussions: How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results: How do the decisions an employee makes impact the results of co-workers, clients or the company?
Frequency of Decision Making: How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate: How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?
Freedom to Make Decisions: How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?
Contact With Others: How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?
Letters and Memos: How often does the job require written letters and memos?
Time Pressure: How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines?

Interests

Enterprising: Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Conventional: Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Social: Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Artistic: Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.
Investigative: Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Realistic: Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Work Style

Integrity: Job requires being honest and ethical.
Leadership: Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
Initiative: Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Stress Tolerance: Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Dependability: Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Achievement/Effort: Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Independence: Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Persistence: Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Adaptability/Flexibility: Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Cooperation: Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Work Values

Recognition: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.
Independence: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Achievement: Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Working Conditions: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Support: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Relationships: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.

Related Occupations

Marketing Managers

Treasurers and Controllers

Industrial Production Managers

Purchasing Managers

Storage and Distribution Managers

Education Administrators, Postsecondary

Food Service Managers

Natural Sciences Managers

Postmasters and Mail Superintendents

Lay Titles

Aeronautics Commission Director

Agricultural Services Director

Alcohol and Drug Abuse Assistance Program Administrator

Arts and Humanities Council Director

Bakery Manager

Bank President

Brokerage Office Manager

Bureau Chief

Business Coordinator

Business Development Executive

Business Development Officer

Business Enterprise Officer

Business Executive

Cemetery Manager

Chairman

Chancellor

Chief Administrative Officer

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Chief Information Officer (CIO)

Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Chief Technical Officer (CTO)

Chief Warden

City Administrator

City Manager

City Superintendent

City Superintendent of Schools

City Supervisor

Classification and Treatment Director

College President

Commissioner of Internal Revenue

Community Services and Health Education Officer

Compliance Analyst

Compliance Director

Compliance Manager

Conservation of Resources Commissioner

Consumer Affairs Director

Controller

Corporate Administrator

Corporate Executive

Corporate Manager

Corporate Officer

Corporate Planner

Corporate Security Manager

Corporation Officer

Correctional Administrator

Correctional Agency Director

Council On Aging Director

County Administrator

County Commissioner

County Superintendent of Schools

County Supervisor

Department Manager

Department Store Manager

Deputy District Customs Director

Deputy Insurance Commissioner

Director of Vital Statistics

District Customs Director

Economic Developer

Economic Development Coordinator

Educational Institution President

Election Assistant

Employment Research and Planning Director

Employment Services Director

Environmental Analyst

Executive Administrator

Executive Director

Executive Vice President (EVP)

Federal Aid Coordinator

Field Representatives Director

Finance Vice President

Financial Institution President

Financial Responsibility Division Director

Financial Secretary

Fire Chief

National Wages and Employment Info

Median Wages (2008):: $80.84 hourly, $168,140 annual.

Employment (2008):: 255,940 employees