Postsocialistický management mezi zajišťováním kariéry a profesionalizací

The role of management in post-socialist economies and societies is usually described bv sociologists as that of control by a group of managers. On the basis of a case study in one Czech machine-tool concern this article examines this thesis of a reborn, powerful nomenklatura. The core question is that of whether and in what way managers are using their experience from socialism and transformation to create rational competences for action and a new style of management. The empirical basis of the analysis consists partly of qualitative research on employees from top managers to production workers, and partly on the results of observation in the concern. The study shows that the sociostructural continuity mentioned above partly conceals the special dynamic of the personal and professional formation of management in the process of industrial reorganisation. It is our view that management in Eastern Europe is trying, in turbulent social, economic and company conditions, to find a balance between securing career and professionalisation which is leading to the emergence of entirely different types of action and habitus, communication and supervision.