The Hindu Business Line : The dawn of self-management

It was during the last quarter of the last century that the word empowerment became popular in management parlance. Of course, the term subordinate had vanished from the corporate vocabulary much earlier. Of late, the word employee has also gone out of usage. It has been substituted by a more egalitarian expression — associate — in most forward-looking companies.

Meaningful milestones

It must be emphasised and understood that these changes in the nomenclature are by no means cosmetic; they are cataclysmic. They are meaningful milestones in the employees’ journey towards self-management. Prior to this metamorphosis, their role was mere compliance with the command-and-control syndrome.

Management had the monopoly in defining work schedules. Employees displayed mere rote behaviour — there was no commitment nor initiative. There was no passion for work. Nothing was ventured beyond the framework fixed by the company. The management made sure that the employees followed its diktat fully and faithfully.

Change in mindset

This mindset was challenged during the 1970s, when participative principles made powerful inroads into the managerial milieu. Operating managers were compelled by the circumstances to concede more choice and voice to their “associates” in all matters concerning work and welfare. By the 1990s, further changes took place, thanks to the technological progress triggered by the global marketplace, resulting in acute competition and the imperative for faster responses. Customers demanded better quality and reliability. Individualistic and personalised product preference became the order of the day — a phenomenon that Stan Davis christened as “mass customisation”.

Inside the company, the advent of the computer and automation changed the complexion of work from A to Z. The axe fell on a number of low-tech operations. Workers gained easy access to much vital information that not only facilitated, but also warranted extensive decentralisation. The situation was a fulfilment of the prophecy that Warren Bennis had made years before — “the death of bureaucracy”. In this new environment, many middle management positions were rendered redundant. Employees became strategic partners in the business. The name of the game was self-management.

Self-management is characterised by intrinsic energy and total involvement in the work. Close supervision and blind obedience are shown the door. Rewards come to the worker rather directly from his work itself — such as job satisfaction, pride in workmanship, and a sense of fulfilment derived from creativity. Far from dragging themselves to work, people look forward to the joy and pleasure in going to work.

More freedom

“Monday-morning-sickness” is yielding place to “Friday-evening-freshness” that induces people to stay on the job until the work is over. Companies expect their employees to use their own judgment and make decisions, which were earlier made by their managers. As decision-making has been decentralised and downloaded, rules and rituals are correspondingly reduced. Employees enjoy more freedom and space. Self-management has emerged as the better style in management.

(The author is a Chennai-based freelance writer.)