Management Style

Management styles have changed over time. The industrial style of management gradually evolved from the turn of the twentieth century up to the 1990s and can be characterized as a hierarchical leadership run by “command and control.” Leadership started at the top, and workers were closely supervised. Workers did as they were told and were responsible and accountable for a few closely related tasks.

A breakdown began to occur, however, as work has gradually shifted to an information economy. No longer can a command-and-control mentality supervise sophisticated knowledge, as it once did with physical labor. Employees themselves control much of what is accomplished. And as workers expand the breadth and depth of their skills, today’s management style has adapted and become faster-paced in a more intellectually based environment. Command and control have been replaced by dialogue and empowerment. Managers need people who are more autonomous. When a company cuts or lays off an empowered work force today, the ability to get work done is lost.