Authors: Belasen, Alan T.¹; Frank, Nancy Miller²

Source: International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, Volume 4, Number 2, 4 August 2004 , pp. 144-163(20)

Publisher: Inderscience Publishers

Abstract:

Middle managers are often called upon to exercise completely new skills that may well be the opposite of those they had exercised successfully before organisational downsizing. These same managers are suddenly expected to become vastly more valuable in their current roles. In this research, we have set out to survey the perceptions of human resource (HR) managers across industries regarding the shifting importance of managerial roles before and after downsizing and whether existing or planned HR systems are well enough designed to handle the training and development needs of surviving middle managers. Overall, 85% of the HR managers in our sample agreed that, after downsizing, transformational roles are more important than transactional roles for the functioning of middle managers. Across the board, HR managers reported that tasks and responsibilities underlying transactional and transformational managerial roles shifted significantly after downsizing. About 47% of the HR managers believed that more could have been done to ease the adjustment and increase the success of the transition of middle managers into a changing organisational environment, but their suggestions differed little from activities provided before or during the transition. It is proposed: that the transformation of middle managers should be followed by a parallel transformation of the HR function; and that redressing the long term unsustainable effects of hypereffective managerial behaviour lies in the ability of HR executives and professionals to design competency and educational programmes that help restore the confidence of surviving middle managers, while also supporting their developmental needs.

Keywords: EDUCATION AND LEARNING JOURNALS; Learning and Human Resources Development; MANAGEMENT JOURNALS; Policy and Organisational Management

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJHRDM.2004.004976

Affiliations: 1: SUNY-Empire State College, 28 Union Avenue, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866, USA. 2: SUNY-Empire State College, 28 Union Avenue, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866, USA

Publication date: 2004-08-04

More about this publication?

• The International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management is established to cover all issues that arise when dealing with the most important of all resources - the human resource. This includes issues that are related to their growth and development as a tool in the workplace (e.g. skill training and proficiency enhancement) and in managing them effectively as a resource. The workplace is defined very broadly - it could be in a manufacturing setting or in a service setting in a changing and dynamic global environment. The International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management provides a refereed and authoritative source of information on aspects of human resources development and management, in manufacturing and services enterprises in a changing and dynamic global environment.
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