FLATTER STRUCTURES NEED SHARPER MANAGERS.

Abstract

This paper examines the qualities required by managers to succeed within the flatter management structures resulting from the merger of Local Authority technical departments. It notes that the pressure of compulsory competitive tendering turns service deliverers into small business units and that the purchaser side of the organization also comes under commercial pressures by way of the introduction of performance indicators. Such business units should seek to learn from existing small businesses. The challenge is to marry the old public service ethos to a new commercial pragmatism. In this environment the added value of good management and strategic thinking is crucial. Municipal engineers must embrace these changes or see their influence reduced.