Role of Managers Was That of Thinkers

¶ … role of managers was that of thinkers for the organization and the employees were encouraged only to follow directions. This has led to the disillusionment of the initially, highly motivated people. In current times, managers have to be more proactive in an organization than reactive. There is an increasing trend of organizations allowing their employees more freedom to make decisions and changes in the work process. The age of worker empowerment is here. In this situation managers have to change their attitude and become more like coaches than enforcers of the rules or referees. (White, 1997)

Employees generally work to their full potential if they are aware of their importance, allowed reasonable latitude with the way they perform their jobs and receive constant feedback on the performance of their jobs from their managers. The Japanese concept -- real power rests with the worker -- is catching on in industrialized society and more managers are realizing the benefits of such a structure. (Oono, 1978)

Managers will have to also constantly update their skills and become proficient at multi-tasking. In the current business world a manger is expected to have knowledge of more than just his field of expertise -- he needs additional information to make sound decisions. With lead-times becoming shorter and profit margins shrinking, managers have to become more knowledgeable of the other external and internal factors that may be affecting their operation. The ability to react to the market and forecast for future markets as opposed to operating on the basis of past markets is also becoming more crucial to managers in organizations today.