Middle Management's Pivotal Role

The impact of structural change is being substantially felt in middle management, with many commentators prepared to write off this tier of management. The changing role of middle managers and the implications for human resource management (HRM) are explored by drawing on research from 2 research projects. The first is a study commissioned by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions which examined the nature of the changes affecting middle management jobs and careers, and middle managers' reactions to these changes in 6 European countries - the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Denmark, and the Netherlands. The 2nd is fieldwork undertaken in a number of organizations in Europe as part of Project GAMMA, a study of global changes in middle managment. The implications of these changes for HRM are discussed and it is suggested that middle management is pivotal to HRM