Matrix Management

At BigRedCo we are fond of matrix management and I have two reporting lines. (In fact, I have three but even the least-informed among us know that the regional dimension is entirely toothless, so we can safely disregard it).

Travelling up my main, or solid, reporting line I am six levels below the CEO.

I cannot say exactly how I know this for there hasn't been an organogram published in two years, but nonetheless I know it, just as know that the staircase E is the shortest route to the canteen, that we are at war with Eastasia, and that blogging about one's work life is unwise.

In BigRedCo you just know.

Tracing my other reporting line I am only five levels below the CEO ! Consequently I prefer this reporting line as it's much easier to get things done. It's just a shame that it is my dotted reporting line.

On my solid reporting line my boss's boss's boss is new. Not just new to us, but entirely new to BigRedCo. This is a bad thing as he will want to do things differently. Indeed he has already performed an internal reshuffle in which my boss's boss was reshuffled so badly he's out of the pack. He has been replaced. This is also a bad thing: two new bosses who must both 'come up to speed' rapidly. For them that means walking the floors firing opinions. For my colleagues and I it means Powerpoint - a lot of Powerpoint. And in the middle of the budget season as well.

Frequent reorganisations are important for large companies. They give the impression of change, action and progress. They also allow the commitments of previous year to be forgotten and the plans for next year to be forged anew. We're working on the 100 day-plan, preparatory to the two year plan.

I, for one, welcome our new management overlords.