In addition to their vertical differences, managerial jobs differ on a horizontal dimension that relates to the nature of the responsibility area involved. In horizontal differentiation, there are three major types of managerial jobs : Functional, General, and Project.

Functional Managers

General managers are managers who have responsibility for a whole organization or a substantial subunit that includes most of the common specialized areas. In other words, a general manager presides over a number of functional areas. General managers have a variety of titles, such as division manager and president, depending on the circumstances. A small company will usually have only one general manager, who is the head of the entire organization. Depending on how it is organized, a large company may have several general managers (in addition to the chief executive officer) each of whom usually presides over a major division.

Project Managers

Project managers are managers who have responsibility for coordinating efforts involving individuals in several different organizational units who are all working on a particular project. Because the individuals report not only to the managers in their specific work units but also to their project manager, project managers usually must have extremely strong interpersonal skills to keep things moving smoothly. Project managers are frequently used in aerospace and other high-technology firms to coordinate projects, such as airplane or computer project development. They are also used in some consumer oriented companies to launch or stay on top of market development for specific products. Such as cookies or margarine.