A general is located at the top of the military hierarchy.
From the Latin generalis , general is something common to many objects of different nature or to all individuals that are part of a whole . The adjective allows us to name something common, usual or frequent . For example: "The orange coat is a general characteristic of this breed" , "The Italian people are very boisterous in general" , "Violence is a general feature of all their productions" .
The general, therefore, is differentiated from the specific and the infrequent. To say that a dog has four legs and barks is to talk about general characteristics , common to the entire species. On the other hand, pointing out that a dog has two black legs and two white legs along with a heart-shaped spot on its back is a specific reference to a particular dog.
Some things can be general at a historical moment and cease to be so with the passage of time (such as wearing a hat, much more frequent in the past than today).
General as a military rank
General, on the other hand, is a military rank or rank . The general is an officer who is at the top of the military hierarchy, above commanders, colonels, lieutenants, captains and other ranks.
The general is the one who commands the largest units, such as brigades, divisions or armies , although the specificity of his functions and powers depends on the military structures of each country: «General Alcorta launched a proclamation in defense of national sovereignty» , « Generals do not usually die in combat, but simply watch their comrades die from the comfort of the barracks .
The concept in the workplace
As an adjective, the general term is attached to certain job titles to slightly affect their meaning. For example, the person in charge of managing and administering the resources of a company , institution or organization is known as the general director , and is considered to have the highest authority. In turn, you have the possibility of coordinating other directors, designating each one a particular sector within your company, as occurs with marketing, operations or credit directors.
On the other hand, there is the general manager , a title that describes the occupation of a business executive, with variations depending on the area in which they perform their duties.
The CEO is usually the highest authority of a company.
Functions of a general manager
Among the functions that general managers usually perform are the following:
* appoint all manager positions;
* periodically evaluate the performance of each department to ensure that they meet their objectives;
* They are responsible for planning and developing short- and long-term objectives, as well as annual goals, and deliver their reports to corporate managers for subsequent approval;
* They work in coordination with the administration offices to be sure that their tasks are carried out satisfactorily.
Broadly speaking, a general manager is someone who is in charge of the general administration of a company's income and expenses. In other words, it is the person who has the responsibility of controlling all the market and sales operations of a company, in the same way as those that are carried out on a daily basis. In addition, it is common for a general manager to lead and coordinate the tasks of developing and implementing plans to achieve various goals.
It is worth mentioning that in some companies, the general manager position has different names; The most common thing is to be called president , but there are also less frequent alternatives, such as being a financial , operational or marketing manager. In certain companies, country , product , or segment managers, vice presidents, and executive directors perform functions typical of a general manager.