The main research question in the paper understands the level of middle management staff applied in the private sector companies in the eastern province. Such empowerment includes some dimensions including skill, administrative and psychological dimensions meant to empower the middle managers (Feuille, & Voos, 1997). The central research question is important in the paper because it helps to give a wider understanding on the issue of empowering the middle managers of an organization and how doing so helps to spur growth the company (Rosenbaum, 2006). The middle managers in companies play a great role in ensuring that the junior employees implement all strategies and instructions passed down by the senior management and that all processes and operations of the company run smoothly. This means that for the middle managers to perform well they must be empowered administratively; the senior management is giving that administrative powers (Conway, & Monks, 2011). Organizational empowerment can include the relevant skills which can be obtained through education and training, regulatory powers and psychological dimensions which help the middle managers feel like they are in control.
The paper also attempts to find out the challenges faced by private sector organizations during the process of adopting and implementing the right level of administrative empowerment within the middle management teams within their companies (Thomas, & Dunkerley, 1999). Empowering the middle managers is important for both for the individual and the organization since it increases the working morale of the directors, leading to better results (Delmestri, 2005). Some challenges are faced by the middle-level management in the quest to empower the managers administratively, and the success or failure of the organization depends on how such problems are tackled (Patrick, & Laschinger, 2006). One such challenge is that the culture of most organizations does not give a lot of administrative authority to the middle-level managers, making hard for junior employees to take their orders (Holden, & Roberts, 2004). Despite middle-level managers being the backbone of the organizations, they do not have the necessary administrative powers such as disciplining junior employees (Weide, & Wilderom, 2004). Lack of such skills can be frustrating especially when they encounter a troublesome employee and can, in turn, hinder their work.
The level of administrative empowerment afforded to a certain individual mostly depends on their educational qualification, years of management experience and the number of training courses completed. Al-Jammal, Al-Khasawneh, & Hamadat (2015) acknowledge that delegating more authority to middle level managers can play an important role in enhancing the flow of an organization’s operations. Further, it was also found to ease the burden of top level managers who are capable to handle other challenges relating to their work. The main reason for ensuring that the people afforded the privilege of having administrative powers is to make sure that such a person can deliver on the responsibilities which come with such powers (Guo, 2012). The main perception in this case is that affording an individual who is not qualified administrative powers can result into problems since they can tend to misuse such powers for their benefit (Holden, & Roberts, 2004). As stated earlier, middle-level managers play a crucial role in the development of the organization and thus such persons should be highly qualified in their areas of expertise (Gunnarsdóttir, 2016). This research sub-question is important since it helps answer a crucial question on the extent to which academic qualifications or experiences can be used as a basis of giving administrative powers to the middle-level managers.
The need for organizational empowerment of middle management in private sector more so in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been brought up by the increasing influence that private companies have on the country's economy (Hodges, & Lapsley, 2016: Rouleau, & Balogun, 2010: Peters, & Savoie, 1996). Private companies are driving growth in all sectors of the Saudi Arabian economy including tourism, sports and events, manufacturing and even health. Middle-level managers play a crucial role in the success of the private sector companies and thus meaning that they are the major drivers of the country's economy (Wang, & Gibbons, 2013). Such changes have promoted the senior management of most enterprises in the eastern province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to delegate some of the administrative powers and privileges to the middle-level managers to increase their influence in the companies (Morrison, 2011). The eastern province is facing enormous economic growth, and some private companies have resulted to restructuring their management to make sure that the middle-level managers have everything they need to perform.
Some obstacles are however derailing the efforts made by such private companies to give more administrative privileges to the middle managers (Thomas, & Linstead, 2002). Some middle-level managers are still transitioning from employees to managers, and thus it might be difficult for them to issue orders and be obeyed. The new role can also be demanding, and the new middle manager might face some problems in trying to fit in and understand their responsibilities (Herzig, & Jimmieson, 2006: Husser, 2014). A middle manager also faces an obstacle of appearing to favor one side, either the senior management side or the employee's side. Such a scenario can be uncomfortable for any middle manager who wants to focus on their work without any distractions (Krausert, 2013: Kernaghan, 1992: Currie, & Procter, 2005). Team management is also another challenge which middle managers face and the senior management giving more administrative powers to the middle management can result in more confusion.
Solving for the above challenges calls for the senior administration of the company to engage with the middle managers since failing to do so may result in failure of the entire organization (Carson, et. al, 1999). There are many ways that the senior management level can engage with middle-level managers but the most important are engaging them in all decision-making processes. Linder, & Torp, (2014: III, & Hodges, 2015) posits that management control systems also play a significant role in hampering the engagement of middle level managers in entrepreneurial activities. Nearly all middle managers work well when engaged by the senior's management as they feel to have some degree of authority (Da Silva, 2004). The current workforce is changing rapidly and is no longer driven by command and control as the past management styles (McConville, & Holden, 1999). As such, middle level managers experience significant challenges in ensuring their productivity particularly in issues of decision making in an organization.
The new workforce is cross-cultural and crosses generational, and thus the middle managers can demand to be heard by the top management as the junior employees also demand to be heard by the directors (Ganter, & Walgenbach, 2002: McCann, 2005). Solving the above obstacles calls for abandoning the command and control approach and adopting a more democratic and involving style which can accommodate views of middle-level managers (DeConinck, 2010). The senior management can also share the strategies of the company with the middle managers since they are mostly involved in all efficient operations of the enterprise. Engaging the middle-level managers in the decision-making processes of the organization is an important part of making feel like part of the management and can help increase their morale to work (Rouleau, & Balogun, 2010). Administrative empowering of the middle-level managers starts with making them part of the decision-making organ of the company.
References
Al-Jammal, H. R., Al-Khasawneh, A. L., & Hamadat, M. H. (2015). The impact of the delegation of authority on employees' performance at great Irbid municipality: case study. International Journal of Human Resource Studies , 48 - 69.
Carson, K. D., Carson, P. P., Roe, C. W., Birkenmeier, B. J., & Phillips, J. S. (1999). Four Commitment Profiles and Their Relationships to Empowerment, Service Recovery, and Work Attitudes. Public Personnel Management, 28(1), 1-13. doi:10.1177/009102609902800101
Conway, E., & Monks, K. (2011). Change from below: the role of middle managers in mediating paradoxical change. Human Resource Management Journal, 21(2), 190-203. doi:10.1111/j.1748-8583.2010.00135.x
Currie, G., & Procter, S. J. (2005). The Antecedents of Middle Managers' Strategic Contribution: The Case of a Professional Bureaucracy. Journal of Management Studies, 42(7), 1325-1356. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6486.2005.00546.x
Da Silva, J. R. (2004). Brazilian Culture and Middle Managers’ Dilemmas in Organizational Change Contexts. Lateinamerika-Management, 535-557. doi:10.1007/978-3-322-90458-4_27
DeConinck, J. B. (2010). The effect of organizational justice, perceived organizational support, and perceived supervisor support on marketing employees' level of trust. Journal of Business Research, 63(12), 1349-1355. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2010.01.003
Delmestri, G. (2005). Mastering Techniques or Brokering Knowledge? Middle Managers in Germany, Great Britain and Italy. Organization Studies, 26(2), 197-220. doi:10.1177/0170840605049464
Feuille, P., & Voos, P. B. (1997). Contemporary Collective Bargaining in the Private Sector. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42(3), 597. doi:10.2307/2393744
Ganter, H., & Walgenbach, P. (2002). Middle Managers: Differences between Britain and Germany. Challenges for European Management in a Global Context, 165-188. doi:10.1057/9780230510180_8
Gunnarsdóttir, H. M. (2016). Autonomy and Emotion Management. Middle managers in welfare professions during radical organizational change. Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies, 6(1), 87. doi:10.19154/njwls.v6i1.4887
Guo, C. (2012). Middle managers strategic role in the corporate entrepreneurial process: attention-based effects. Strategic Direction, 28(4). doi:10.1108/sd.2012.05628daa.006
Herzig, S. E., & Jimmieson, N. L. (2006). Middle managers' uncertainty management during organizational change. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 27(8), 628-645. doi:10.1108/01437730610709264
Hodges, R., & Lapsley, I. (2016). A Private Sector Failure, a Public Sector Crisis - Reflections on the Great Recession. Financial Accountability & Management, 32(3), 265-280. doi:10.1111/faam.12096
Holden, L., & Roberts, I. (2004). The depowerment of European middle managers. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 19(3), 269-287. doi:10.1108/02683940410527757
Husser, J. (2014). Oblivion and the role of middle managers in an organizational change. Management international, 19(1), 31. doi:10.7202/1028488ar
III, L., & Hodges, R. (2015). Homeland Security and the Private Sector in Emergency Management Prevention. The Private Sector's Role in Disasters, 211-230. doi:10.1201/b19315-9
Kernaghan, K. (1992). Empowerment and public administration: revolutionary advance or passing fancy? Canadian Public Administration/Administration publique du Canada, 35(2), 194-214. doi:10.1111/j.1754-7121.1992.tb00688.x
Krausert, A. (2013). HRM Systems for Knowledge Workers: Differences Among Top Managers, Middle Managers, and Professional Employees. Human Resource Management, 53(1), 67-87. doi:10.1002/hrm.21554
Linder, S., & Torp, S. S. (2014). Do management control systems foster or hamper middle managers' entrepreneurial engagement? International Journal of Strategic Change Management, 5(2), 107. doi:10.1504/ijscm.2014.060257
McCann, L. (2005). Book Review: Lives under Pressure: Exploring the Work of Japanese Middle Managers. Organization, 12(1), 142-144. doi:10.1177/135050840501200111
McConville, T., & Holden, L. (1999). The filling in the sandwich: HRM and middle managers in the health sector. Personnel Review, 28(5/6), 406-424. doi:10.1108/00483489910286738
Morrison, A. (2011). Questions of degree? Middle‐class rejection of higher education and intra‐class differences in educational decision‐making. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 35(1), 37-54. doi:10.1080/0309877x.2010.540232
Patrick, A., & Laschinger, H. K. (2006). The Effect of Structural Empowerment and Perceived Organizational Support on Middle level nurse managers' role satisfaction. Journal of Nursing Management, 14(1), 13-22. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2934.2005.00600.x
Peters, B. G., & Savoie, D. J. (1996). Managing Incoherence: The Coordination and Empowerment Conundrum. Public Administration Review, 56(3), 281. doi:10.2307/976452
Rosenbaum, A. (2006). Cooperative service delivery: the dynamics of public sector-private sector-civil society collaboration. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 72(1), 43-56. doi:10.1177/0020852306061615
Rouleau, L., & Balogun, J. (2010). Middle Managers, Strategic Sensemaking, and Discursive Competence. Journal of Management Studies, 48(5), 953-983. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6486.2010.00941.x
Thomas, R., & Dunkerley, D. (1999). Careering Downwards? Middle Managers' Experiences in the Downsized Organization. British Journal of Management, 10(2), 157-169. doi:10.1111/1467-8551.00117
Thomas, R., & Linstead, A. (2002). Losing the Plot? Middle Managers and Identity. Organization, 9(1), 71-93. doi:10.1177/135050840291004
Wang, R., & Gibbons, P. T. (2013). Individual Level Antecedents to Middle Managers' Strategic Involvement. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2013(1), 15709-15709. doi:10.5465/ambpp.2013.15709abstract
Weide, J. V., & Wilderom, C. (2004). Deromancing leadership: what are the behaviours of highly effective middle managers? International Journal of Management Practice, 1(1), 3. doi:10.1504/ijmp.2004.004867
