Purchasing Manager Career

Job Description: Plan, direct, or coordinate the activities of buyers, purchasing officers, and related workers involved in purchasing materials, products, and services. Includes wholesale or retail trade merchandising managers and procurement managers.


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Purchasing Manager Career

What skills are required for Purchasing Managers?

Importance Skills
  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.
  Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
  Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
  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.
  Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
  Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
  Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
  Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
  Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
  Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
  Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  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.
  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.
  Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
  Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
  Operations Analysis - Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.

What knowledge is needed to be a Purchasing Manager?

Importance 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.
  English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
  Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
  Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
  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.
  Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
  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.
  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.
  Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
  Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
  Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

Work Styles

Importance Styles
  Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical.
  Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
  Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
  Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
  Stress Tolerance - Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
  Adaptability/Flexibility - Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
  Self-Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
  Analytical Thinking - Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
  Initiative - Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
  Leadership - Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
  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.
  Concern for Others - Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
  Innovation - Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.
  Social Orientation - Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.