The Senior Production Manager: Working within a Network of Human Relationships

Senior production managers are placed in a network of relationships which both influence and are influenced by the responsibilities of their jobs. The results are reported of a study of the difficulties of the relationship demands imposed by the job requirements of 16 senior production managers. In addition, similarities and differences among their jobs are identified and discussed. Results indicate that work relationships perceived as similar and highly demanding include, among others: bargaining and negotiating with external contacts, supervising the quality of their subordinates' work, and needing to create a good impression on people outside their firm. Differences among their jobs were most evident in the following areas: the level of importance assigned to supervising the quantity of their subordinates' work, the manner in which the respondents earned their authority, and the extent to which the participants depended on their bosses to determine the scope of their job boundaries. Consideration of these demands and how they affect the job context may help to identify the particular skills necessary for a specific senior production management position.