Remember when managers managed? They spent time planning, organizing, leading and controlling. They delegated, they mentored, and they enjoyed their jobs and their staff. They built products, promoted their wares, took pride in their reputation and the quality of their merchandise and services. They built this country, economically, and socially. There was an unwritten contract between employees and management-one based on mutual respect and obligation. They built this country.  

I teach management, and I’m concerned about what I see, encounter, and have knowledge of. Managers have changed and so has the practice of management. Management was an honorable profession. Organizations were built over a period of years. All of this didn’t take an inordinately long time. Management is a young science; Peter Drucker created the term business “management” in the 1950’s (“The Man Who Invented Management,” BusinessWeek, Nov. 28, 2005).

It would be naive and untrue to state that managers were management, leadership, or righteous and wonderful for the past seventy years. We know the history of worker exploitation and mistreatment. We understand that unions were initially created to fight management abuses. And, all of us can cite examples of ruthless, manipulative, executives and managers. However, there was a brief window of enlightenment as managers were educated with the concepts of “Theory Y,” empowerment,” “self direction,” “teamwork,” “work-life quality,” “participative management,” “democratic” workplaces, “trust,” and so forth.  

Management Changes 

Managers and the practice of management are changing as the environment evolves. The “rights” of workers and the “obligations” of employers are undergoing revision. Management is once again reverting to “Theory X,” dis-empowerment, mistrust, and the seeds of exploitation are beginning to sprout once again. This is largely in reaction to foreign and domestic competitive realities, a surplus of labor in the United States, and reversals in the U.S. economy. It is necessary and purposeful that managers are able to adapt to changes in the environment. This is essential for survival, and some pause for “regrouping” may be in order. Of course there are costs to be saved and avoided. But there are risks as well.   

The emergence of a dissatisfied, unmotivated workforce is a threat, and endangers creativity and contribution. The motivational theories (e.g., “Hygiene Theory”) reveal that employees are not satisfied with just making a living, and while money certainly may be considered an essential ingredient of the employer-employee equation, they want more. They want respect, a sense of accomplishment and an opportunity to grow. Without this, neither the employee nor the employer will attain maximum benefit from the contract.  

While this may seem like common sense, the need for business survival is preeminent. And businesses must do what is necessary to stay in business. After all there won’t be any employees without any employers.   

The Death Spiral  

Management began its demise when short term profits became more important than people. It continued to decline as technology eroded management’s role in the organization, and expanded the supervisory “span of control.” It weakened further as competitive pressures shrank the planning time frame and promoted reactive, short-sighted tactics.  

It accelerated into the death throes when government became the bailer-outer, customer of last resort, protector of industries in a competitive world, the rescuer of failed companies and practices, the provider of an ever-increasing array of service, the watchdog, overseer, and mover of the markets. The increasingly large and dysfunctional role of government made large industries even more political and less business-focused. After all, why practice good management when the government is ready to step in and reward the results of poor management? It’s a simple psychological concept: Behavior that gets rewarded increases and activities that are not, diminish.   

A Balance 

Perhaps what is needed is a balance; a balance between the needs of the worker and the needs of the employer. Of course this has always been the case but sometimes the balance has tilted in favor of one side or the other. In the late twentieth century, for example, the balance tilted significantly away from the automobile companies and toward the United Auto Workers. The result was disastrous. The companies could not produce vehicles at competitive prices, largely because of contractual benefits including unsustainable pay rates and healthcare benefits. But most of the time the balance has favored the employer, except in those areas like government, where competition is non-existent, and compensation and benefits are not subject to normal market forces.  

Reversing the Death Cycle 

To resurrect management and return the “patient” to health is not a quick fix. Recovery will take time, but more than that, it will require a will to live, powerful medicine, and attention to healthy practices.  

Executives need to realize the necessity of strong professional management and the role they played in the deteriorated condition of the profession. They must realize that reactive, short term focus can in no way result in the long-term success of their organizations. They need to demonstrate leadership by inspiring and motivating their employees. Leading by example is always the most powerful influence.  

Executives also need to reward managers for managing, and for looking beyond the day-to-day activities and pressures. Essentially, managers need to be inspired, motivated, encouraged, and recognized for their efforts to sustain the organization as a whole, over the long-term.  

This is a necessity to have commitment to the organization based on values and respect. Most importantly, the culture and climate of the organization must change to demonstrate a concern for employees as a person, not just as a number or producer.  

There’s an old saying: “Money can’t buy you love!” Nowhere is this truer than in the business world of today, where managers move from organization to organization like “temp” employees. Their “love” for their employer is marginal at best, and their long-range planning is reduced to planning their next career move.  

Once these values, behaviors and rewards have been put (back) in place, perhaps managers can re-learn what management means, and practice their tasks of Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling with vigor, enthusiasm, and effectiveness. The long-term survival of the business organization will not be achieved through a next-quarter mentality, cuts to achieve target profits, or disposable managers. Reinvigoration will occur once a management mentality has been put back in place.