So, in the old days, companies built out huge, elaborate structures. They had tons of management layers. Why? In short, they wanted to prevent communication between leaders and workers. What better way to do that than force workers to go through 3 or 4 layers of bureaucrats before they get to anyone who could make a real decision?
But that got way too expensive for them. In the neoliberal era, companies started targeting middle managers (and other people who don’t work – but don’t have the power to fight back) for layoffs. They did so mainly due to pressure to cut costs. Sure, companies can lay off their actual workers. But that has certain limits. You can’t lay off everyone who does real work. That would also eliminate profits!
We can’t have that now, can we?
And so, companies faced a real problem. Without those extra layers, how would they keep power away from the hands of workers? In short, they created new structures. Those structures were far more complicated – matrix org charts, multiple hierarchies, Lean processes, and so on. But each new step amounted to roughly the same solution to roughly the same problem. Companies build structures in order to hoard power at the top, obscure who really holds power, create plausible deniability, and block communication.
The big difference now is that companies have applied the old corporate consulting motto – Do more with less! – to their own management layers. And shrouded much of it in the language of ‘empower workers.’
Bummer.
Postscript: Corporate Politics 101 Series
For any newer readers, this is the sixth post in the blog’s Corporate Politics 101 series. I write each post with ‘short and sweet’ in mind. Each one teaches a brief lesson about getting along in the business world. What does a leftist (or anyone else) need to survive corporate culture?
Here you can find the other posts:
1. Be Nice To Staff
2. Office Space Was Right
3. The Peter Principle Now
4. Workers Are More Competent Than Leaders
5. Event Names Are Ironic
