Management and changes in the command range: a study in the industrial sector in Montes Claros- MG, Minas Gerais and Brazil

Abstract

Changes in management concepts and practices in companies also bring on changes in the organizational structure, mainly in the amplitude of command, that is, the number of subordinates under the control of a manager. This is the focus of this article. The aim is to analyze such feature in the industrial sector in Brazil, the state of Minas Gerais and the city of Montes Claros-MG. From the database of RAIS/MTE, we observed the behavior of the number of superiors and subordinates in the companies in the period between 1985 and 2011, and, in a descriptive perspective, we compared these numbers and the relationship between them. The results showed that, while there was no significant change in the command range regarding the president-managers relationship, the managers-subordinates relationship has grown considerably. This reinforces the idea that the organizational structure is flatter, with greater range of managers’ command, although at higher levels this was not confirmed. The analysis also highlighted the differences in the indicators for Brazil, Minas Gerais and Montes Claros, trying to point out, albeit preliminarily, the importance of regional characteristics in defining the organizational structure of the companies.