O triste destino da área de O&M - II

Abstract

This article is the second part of a study investigating what happened to the Organization and Methods (O&M) function and career in Brazilian organizations since 1985. This research aims to empirically verify whether or not the O&M career and professional have suffered, as some authors have argued, a significant decline as compared to related areas, such as human resources, information technology and quality. For that purpose, the study analyzed the evolution of job offers for O&M positions (compared to that of other areas), measuring the volume, quality and prestige of job positions posted in a large circulation newspaper in São Paulo, between 1985 and 1996. The data obtained in such study was combined with the results in the first part of the research, which came from questionnaires about the destiny of the O&M department gathered in 60 organizations in the state of São Paulo. The study also suggests how the understanding of the transformation process of the O&M career may be relevant for the comprehension of those changes that other managerial careers are going through in today’s organizations.