The 'new organization' and the 'new managerial work'

Managers are currently exhorted by 'gurus' to adopt new management thinking in the face of obvious rapid change and uncertainty. In essence, the new thinking advocates shifting from 'command-and-control' to 'facilitate-and-empower' forms of organization and work. In a survey of senior managers from a sample of the Times 600 companies, Mahmoud Ezzamel, Simon Lilley and Hugh Willmott show that UK managers are indeed aware of major shifts occurring in their environment, and accept the need for change. But the managers point to difficult cultural barriers in attempting to implement the 'new organization' and the 'new managerial work'. The authors concur with the managers' scepticism about claims made for the new management theory. The practical problems in implementing the theory are underestimated, and there are flaws in the theory itself, e.g. the assumption that employers and employees' interests can be made to coincide by inducing them to adopt a different philosophy or mindset.