A New Mixture of Management Skills: Meeting the High-Technology Managerial Challenges

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Shenhar, Aaron J.^a | Thamhain, Hans J.^b

Affiliations: [a] Center for the Development of Technological Leadership, University of Minnesota, 107 Lind Hall, 207 Church St. S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA | [b] Management Department, Bentley College, Waltham, MA 02154, USA

Abstract: This paper suggests a new model for analyzing the issue of management skills in modern organizations. The model is an update development of R. Katz's classical framework of 1955, and it attempts to surmount several ambiguities and limitations existing in Katz's early model. This update is particularly relevant in high technology organizations where managers are often faced with changing technologies that have a direct impact on both operational and strategic decisions. The approach presented here is then used to discuss the managerial transformations in today's organizations from the first level of management to the middle level, and then to the top level. Further questions addressed are related to management skill development and managerial obsolescence in high technology organizations.

Keywords: Management skills, high technology management, managerial levels, management development

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-1994-13105

Journal: Human Systems Management, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 27-40, 1994