The challenge of front-line management

"As the way work is done changes and as organizations "flatten themselves down" in response to demands posed by the new global economy, managers on the front lines need a broader set of skills than ever before. They must learn to see their jobs differently, become tougher and more durable, and they must also become more flexible in how they interact with the organization itself and its changing work and economic environments. The authors emphasize key tasks that frontline managers must embrace today, such as strategic planning, budgeting, quality management, benchmarking, and how they must focus attention on their customers, until now far removed and perhaps out of mind. They must also recognize the need for effective information systems and find ways to align their immediate work units with larger organizational strategies and processes. In short, the authors offer a new paradigm for the way front-line management should now be practiced. This is a far-ranging book that today's managers will need to keep up with changes that could threaten their personal careers, and a book that offers others on the way up a way to start out on the right foot."--Jacket.