Re-Organizating A Structured Corporation

In my prior career as a Portfolio Manager in the Automotive Industry, I was curious to know about the internal workings and foundation of an established company. What I had realized, or noticed through my tenure, was a company that had way too many 'ladders' and/or 'hoops to jump through' to simply make a decision. The following blog will address reasons why these ideals could pose a serious problem for a company.


Historically, my former employer, not mentioned to retain anonymity, had engaged in a taller hierarchy with several layers of management. To me, the problems experienced with this situation are readily apparent - "Too many Chiefs and not enough Indians." I'm not trying to ruffle the feathers of readers, but in an organizational level, the employees are the ones who actually make a product, provide a service, or supply the expertise to their direct manager. When there are excessive layers of management, usually the information will become bottle-necked and generally slows down the internal approval process. Furthermore, the actual employees who complete the work are not recognized for their completed work, rather the management officials gloat in their exemplary work. Not only will this lead to poor job satisfaction, but eventually the employee may respond by leaving their job, voicing their opinions to peers and/or management, suffer in silence by remaining meek and reserved, or most commonly - neglecting their work efforts, not paying attention to their quality of work, or arriving late or not showing up at all.

The theory previously mentioned is commonly referred to as the EVLN Model, standing for Exit-Voice-Loyalty-Neglect. A manager who engages with their team will be able to identify these types of actions that may eventually lead to one of these 4 ailments, but changing someone's emotional and habitual actions can be more difficult once they have a problem with a senior co-worker or a member of the management staff.

Taking into account my desire for success and employee empowerment, I decided to take a stand. I often times voiced my opinion, albeit trying my best to avoid inserting my foot in mouth, while playing the corporate political game. I proposed that the corporation 'de-layer' the roles of management, eventually flattening the role of bosses. Theoretically, my plan would reduce labor costs, increase output performance, and reduce the approval time processes. All positive views, however, I forgot to identify the possible negative attributes such as the undermining of managerial functions, increased workloads and stress on managers, and the restriction or absence of managerial career development opportunities. This could definitely have detrimental impacts to the new wave of employees and their viewpoint of where their hard work and efforts could eventually land them in the next 3-5 year timeframe.

Unfortunately, I cannot inform the reader of management's final decision-making fate. You may ask, why not? Well, fortunately for me, I decided to high tail it out the door and let someone else clean up the mess. I had remained loyal to a company that promoted, relocated, and taught me a wealth of knowledge; however, they missed one vital component that any member of management should not overlook: empower your employees to ensure that they feel their work will eventually lead them to a position of power. Management was religiously quoting, "You should all be happy that you still have a job," in an otherwise stagnate or depressed economy. Conversely, members of management should have been stating, "Great job with that last Proposal,” or “That Financial Analysis of Client X was absolutely right on!" Fortunately for me, multi-tasking is in my DNA and I had already planned my exit strategy and my commitment to the continuation of my MBA education. To this point, I have not regretted my decision and look forward to a promising career in future Finance and Management endeavors!