Running Head: EVOLUTION OF THE CONCEPT OF EXECUTIVE 1

The Evolution of the Concept of the 'Executive' from the 20th Century Manager to the
21st Century Global Leader


Connor Kloepfer
Trinity University
Leadership and Effective Communication






















Running Head: EVOLUTION OF THE CONCEPT OF EXECUTIVE 2

Summary:
Theories regarding management can be traced back to Socrates and the ancient
Greeks. As times change, techniques used for communication and motivation, and even
organizational design standards constantly change as the environment requires. The
journal article by Joyce Thompson Heames from WVU and Michael Harvey from Ole Miss
details the transitions made by companies over the past 70 years by analyzing Chester
Barnards work in 1938 and George Hollenbeck and Morgan McCalls qualitative worldwide
study done since the turn of the century. Their purpose was to take an in-depth look at
the profiles of executive skills and competencies.
Mechanical and technological advancements combined with the depression and
multiple wars took a toll on the value of human assets. Often if jobs werent replaced by
machinery, standards and/or scrutiny were irrationally raised as an attempt to keep up
with competition. In many cases, companies were able to execute their strategies and
maintain performance despite less than ideal morale in the workplace. This is not to say
that no one was concerned with getting workers to perform their best. There are studies
investigating how people work in groups, but for years the results failed to make much of
an impact on the hierarchical structures and principles in place.
The characteristics Barnard demised as necessary for managers in the 20
th
century
are all very blatant, yet they intentionally sound like steps to being a successful artist. The
irony can be heralded as Barnard being ahead of his time in referencing the value of
flexibility and creativity. He even touted how a well-rounded liberal arts education
beyond business made managers/executives more flexible and adaptable in their
thinking. In general he was a big proponent of intellect in general as he correctly
Running Head: EVOLUTION OF THE CONCEPT OF EXECUTIVE 3

predicted the future would be full of unimaginable complexities. His further interest lay in
the areas of human relations, persuasion and rational behavior with a special importance
given to instinct in addition to intellect. Impressively, what Barnard stated decades ago has
rung true ever since. His forethought can be attributed by his resistance to taking a
mechanical approach, but instead focusing on the human capital.
When comparing the early work with the recent qualitative study by Hollenbeck and
McCall, the themes of being open and promoting personal interaction were echoed as keys
to management. Their work also stresses executives are always acting as a role model for
those outside and inside the organization. The similarities between research done so far
about lead the authors of the article to one piece of advice, use todays profile as a basis for
growth tomorrow.

Course Relevance:
The most underrated part about Leadership and Effective Communication to date is
the variety in perspectives provided by a diverse class make-up. Hollenbeck and McCall
would use this to emphasize one of their main points that each person has their own
talents and strengths. This is drawn on the concept over 2,000 years old of management
by understanding the key areas of needs by a given group. Maslows finding on self-
fulfillment correlate with this way of thinking.
Barnard gained much of his credibility through his work an executive and an outside
consultant. He is described as exhibiting charismatic leadership qualities. As the President
of New Jersey Bell, he showed an unbounded enthusiasm and concern for his employees,
making his success easy to comprehend. Even when traditional organization structures
Running Head: EVOLUTION OF THE CONCEPT OF EXECUTIVE 4

were hierarchical and relied on legitimate authority, he avoided abusing that form of
power.
Later down the line, the article references how Japanese management styles were
effected the environment in the U.S. Theory Z concept contributed to the recognition that
employees represented a vital resource just as important as capital. This represents an
important change from Theory X concept that people are naturally lazy and not inclined to
work hard. Again the article made sure to state that it has been found that companies rest
on their human assets and thus must be treated with value and not solely on the basis of
authority. The prediction is coming true, and the traditional hierarchical organization is
giving way. It is becoming common knowledge that interaction and experiences are needed
to fully understand physical and psychological needs.

Personal Reaction/ Strengths & Weaknesses:
I was very impressed by foresight shown by the research congregated in this
journal. Equally admirable was the ability of the authors to find consistency between
people working so far apart. The contrast in the title between the 20
th
century manager
and the 21
st
century global leader instantly drew my interest and provided a fitting
platform to present the top opinions in the field. Before getting into the specifics, its
important to note that management has been viewed as an art, and although it may have
strayed away from fitting this category with the mid-90s focus on functional expertise, it
has swung completely back into that state of thinking with current emphasis on
management processes.
Running Head: EVOLUTION OF THE CONCEPT OF EXECUTIVE 5

The description of 21
st
century business as involving fluid and reactive operating
procedures provides strong support for the observations on the need for flexibility. This
trend of organizing by labor provided the appropriate countervailing power to the
economic strength of the corporate world.
Something I constantly think about is to what degree a person is the result of their
experiences versus their genome. Unfortunately, there was not much depth on this topic,
but it did mention it as a key thing to keep in mind when determining management
strategy. I liked how they contrasted this to the reality of things that many boards-of-
directors are in the struggle to survive position that can cause them to skip thinking about
those at lower levels.
Overall, I enjoyed the refreshing nature of the article as it provided a clear
explanation of why were how they were and how they are destined to evolve with the
times. All along, they kept with the theme that the need to capture unique combinations of
human resources to gain competitive advantage will always keep management organic as
opposed to mechanistic.

Reference:

Heames, J., & Harvey, M. (2006). The Evolution of the Concept of the 'Executive' from the
20th Century Manager to the 21st Century Global Leader. Journal Of Leadership &
Organizational Studies (Baker College), 13(2), 29-41.