3.2 Middle Managers
Middle managers hold positions like plant manager, regional manager, or divisional manager. They are responsible for setting objectives consistent with top management's goals and for planning and implementing subunit strategies for achieving those objectives.31 One specific middle management responsibility is to plan and allocate resources to meet objectives.
A second major responsibility is to coordinate and link groups, departments, and divisions within a company. In February 2008, a tornado destroyed a Caterpillar plant in Oxford, Mississippi, the only plant in the company that produced a particular coupling required for many of Caterpillar's machines. The disaster threatened a worldwide production shutdown. Greg Folley, a middle manager in charge of the parts division that included the plant, gave workers 2 weeks to restore production to pre-tornado levels. He said, “I was betting on people to get it done.” He contacted new vendors, sent engineers from other Caterpillar locations to Mississippi to check for quality, and set up distribution operations in another facility. Meanwhile, Kevin Kempa, the plant manager in Oxford, moved some employees to another plant, delivered new training