The new non-manager managers.

• Author: Engel, Michael V.

1. Introduction

   This report discusses (1) What is happening to middle managers, (2) Summarizes the differences of a traditional manager and the new non-manager, (3) Outlines what type of new managers that will be needed for the competitive environment, and (4) Discusses teams, stress, and other factors that the new non-managers will relate to the dynamics of organizational behavior. Businesses are moving away from rigid hierarchical organizations. They are relying on the front line workers to make decisions. Knowledgeable workers will become the persons that will make many of the company's daily decisions. Teams will form to organize and accomplish the company's work. This paper outlines many of the concepts of the new emerging non-managers in the workplace.

2. Layoff and Restructuring of Employment, What is Happening to Middle Management

   Businesses do not need middle management as much as in the past. Workers are now empowered and trained to make decisions and trained to more efficiently handle many jobs. They are provided with more authority. Many U.S. companies have already recognized the new strength of the American worker. That is why middle manager layoffs accounted for 22% of all the layoffs during 1992. This is especially noteworthy because they accounted for only 5% of the workforce[1]. Middle management ranks have been hit hard due to layoffs and restructuring for four basic reasons.

   * Flattening of the hierarchical structure

   * Computers, technology and information explosion

   * Reduction of costs to meet the challenge of global competition

   * Change in the economic environment

   Nowadays, most of the U.S. companies try to empower their own employees. Empowerment incorporates the ideas of participation management, delegation, total quality management, and the granting of real power to make and enforce decisions to lower level employees. For example, production workers at Ford can stop the assembly line if they see significant problems. They do not need to get permission or authorization from a supervisor. The idea behind empowerment is to give responsibility to people who have potential and are involved with the work process.[2] This makes employees more responsive to customers and less dependent upon managers who are removed from project operations. As a result, the role and the necessity for middle managers have drastically shrunk. Those managers that remain must change with the competitive time if they want to survive and thrive.

   The new non-managers (new managers) ask questions, listen, and guide their following staffs. Instead of directing and giving orders, he or she facilitates and coaches. The direct consequence is that work is now organized around teams rather than individuals. Self-managed team (SMT) is a new way of structuring, managing, and requiring work. Companies have adopted SMT to meet the competitive challenges they face in the 1990s. This creative work design involves a highly integrated team of several skills and crosstrained employees who have responsibility and authority to carry out a well-defined function. They make decisions on a wide range of issues, often including traditional management prerogatives, such as (1) Decision on who will work on which tasks (work choice decisions), (2) How to address interpersonal difficulties within the group, and (3) How to resolve quality problems. Such groups are self-regulating and work without direct supervision.[3]

   Every worker is a manager. In other words, traditional middle managers are no longer needed in this type of organization. Many companies have adopted this "horizontal" structure and have thrown away their old "vertical" hierarchical structure. The main victim of these changes is the middle manager who now has no function in the company.

   Another reason why middle management positions have been hit hard is the explosion of computers, technology, and information. In the past, information was difficult to access. One of the significant roles of the middle manager was to collect information and share it with "his" or "her" employees. This is not the case anymore. With the wide development of computer technology, information can be gathered more efficiently and rapidly. Almost every employee is able to access any information they need. Consequently, the need for the traditional middle manager is disappearing. For example, because of the use of on-line services and CD-ROMS, there is not as much need for armies of sales personnel. Hence the need for sales managers has been reduced. Even if you are making your numbers, if a company needs to cut costs you are vulnerable. You can be a master at your craft and still be let go.[4]

   Middle management layoffs and restructuring are also consequences of the increasing competition. Indeed, companies have been forced to reduce costs. They had to learn how to do more with less. Many companies have also stated an emphasis on customer satisfaction. This means that organizations must get to know their customers better, listen to customers, and seek customer input during the design phase of products or services. For all these reasons, companies started restructuring their work force into self-managed teams. Employees feel better about themselves and the customer certainly feels better about having better and quicker services. Costs are reduced and productivity increases. Supervision no longer has a role to play in this type of structure. As a result middle managers are seen as a costly burden for companies. Thus, some middle managers are stuck in their job titles and positions and can not move beyond them. This has pushed some managers out of their company.

   The last reason why middle management has been in trouble is because of the changing economic involvement. The increasing competition has forced companies to reduce costs. One way to reduce costs is to get rid of middle managers. Other companies merged, and do not need more than one person doing a single job. Who needs two district sales manages in...