As a utility is transitioned from a bureaucratic monopoly to a competitive and efficient
organization, middle management usually feels the pinch of a flattening organization.
The world really changes for the supervisor in the middle.
The impact on frontline supervisors is that they become more critical to the organization
in terms of their institutional knowledge and experience.
One of the most successful organizational changes comes from implementing team
structures, where teams are multi-functional and empowered to take care of things
without a lot of red tape. The former supervisors find themselves in a new position, of
sharing the responsibilities and decision making with a new kind of team that doesn't
need a lot of supervision.
As a result, there are fewer of them needed for these new roles, many of them having
been "flattened" out. And, they must have (or develop) new attitudes toward employees
and new behaviors as well. Utilities today face the problem of trying to protect and retain institutional knowledge that
has been the hallmark of the frontline supervisor. This paper discusses the process for changing from a bureaucracy to a teambased
utility, while bringing the frontline supervisor from being the scapegoat to being
the savior. With the new streamlined and more responsive organization,
productivity soars, as much as twice as high with teams, because people now have initiative, authority, responsibility, knowledge, and
accountability to do the right thing at the right time. Includes 4 references, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 1.6 MB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 9 |
