The
Cleveland-based executive search firm Management Recruiters International (MRI) surveyed
4,300 executives. Fifty-six percent of those plan to increase their managerial and
professional staffing levels in the first half of 1998. That's the highest rate
sense MRI began its survey some 16 years ago. Only 6.7% of those surveyed plan to
decrease managerial and professional staff.
WALLY'S COMMENT ... Hopefully this is a turn around in the idea that we can replace
middle management with technology. Surely, we can do some of that, but the down
sizing, right sizing, business process reengineering programs of the last decade that
shredded the social fabric in the name of greater efficiency have left many companies
without adequate managerial staffing in critical places.
There are, and will continue to be many places where the middle management function can
easily be replaced by technology. What can't be replaced is judgement and
organizational memory the stuff that makes successful companies.
The simple fact is that we are not smart enough and our computers are not powerful
enough to figure out all the possible choices, options, and situations that front line
workers will be faced with. When those big problems hit, when priorities have to be
sorted out, that's when you need management. If you doubt that, try getting a simple
answer from a voice mail system at almost any major corporation or large non-profit
institution. Most of the time you wind up wishing the options were, "if you're
ticked off press 1, if you're really ticked, press 2."
This material originally appeared in Wally Bock’s Briefing Memo Newsletter of 1
August 1998.
Created/Revised/Reviewed: 12/31/00
Reviewed: 2/15/03
Top of
page
If you enjoyed this article, you may want to use the search engine on this page to find other articles of interest. The search engine searches this site as well as Wally Bock's Monday Memo newsletter site and the site which describes Wally's speaking and consulting services.
Reprinting and Reposting This Article
You may reprint or repost this article providing that the following
conditions are met:
- The article remains essentially unaltered.
- Wally Bock is shown as the author.
- The notice Copyright 2003 by Wally Bock or similar appears on the article.
- Contact information for Wally is included with the article. You may refer readers to this Web site as a way to meet this requirement. Please link to http://www.bockinfo.com/
- Here is the wording we suggest when linking to this site. "The article you've just read can be found on Wally Bock's extensive Resource Web site along with many other articles and resources."
Any other reprinting or reposting requires specific permission which is almost always
granted. Click here to request permission if necessary.
