Changing the Role of the General Manager. An Evolutionary Perspective

Description

We are constantly bombarded with news about managerial excellence and ineptitude, executives saving and destroying companies, or shareholders asking for the replacement of executives, in the search for promising new talents able to rescue a firm from awkwardness. As Mintzberg said: "No job is more vital to our society than that of the manager. It is the manager who determines whether our social institutions serve us well or whether they squander out talents and resources." Companies are fundamentally different because of choices made by general managers acting on the basis of their different idiosyncratic experiences, knowledge and values. However, despite this recognition of the general manager's influence on firm performance, in the last few decades, managerial practice has reflected a lack of consensus on which are the key managerial functions that add value to the organization. It is the goal of this technical note to study what should be the role of the general manager today.

Keywords

Board of Directors Leadership Management Management styles Top management