Larry Ross describes his experiences as an executive manager over several decades in large U.S. corporations. He discusses themes of constant fear, rigid hierarchies, and human resources treated as expendable. Managers face loneliness, stress, and insecurity. Communication is limited for fear of exposure. Loyalty is nonexistent as both corporations and employees act in self-interest. While some idealism exists in new companies, older corporations likely still reflect Ross's experiences of prioritizing profits over people.

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Running head: LARRY ROSS: A MANAGER IN HIS OWN WORDS
Larry Ross: A Manager in His Own Words
Jeff Burkhardt
Bernd Ruehlicke
University of Houston-Victoria
MGT6351
Spring 2005
February 2, 2005

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Larry Ross: A Manager in His Own Words
Larry Ross, now a self proclaimed advisor to top management, tells originally in an
interview over 30 years ago about his experiences in executive management for nationally
known U.S. corporations. Starting with no formal education in 1957, Ross (not his real name)
grew up in various corporations working his way up to executive vice-president of one company,
and then another, until ultimately becoming president and CEO of yet another.
Issues Raised by Larry Ross
As we analyze the contents of Ross’ interview, we are able to identify several repetitious themes,
which underscore more issues as they relate to the structure of U.S. corporations and the
philosophies of executive management. We will examine each, and discuss their implications on
the corporations and managers of the 21st century.
Overview of (U.S.) Corporations
Ross describes the corporation as a jungle, stating, “Working in a corporation…isn’t a
game.” “It’s a question of living or dying. It’s a question of eating or not eating.” Ross
eventually unveils the two faces of corporations. The first is their face to the public, the face that
demonstrates the corporation as always right. And then there’s the face with all of its rules,
demanding that you fit the mold. Ross acknowledges that not all corporations behave that way.
“The older the corporation, … , the more rigid, the more conservative they are” “Your swinging
corporations are generally the new ones, the upstarts, the nouveau riche. But as they get older …
they become more rigid”.
Life of the (Executive) Manager
In keeping with his theme of the corporation as a jungle, Ross declares, “The executive is
a lonely animal in the jungle who doesn’t have a friend.” Furthermore, he never feels free or sure

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about his current situation and is constrained by constant job security concerns. Executive
managers also make great personal sacrifices in order to fulfill their role. These sacrifices range
from long hours, including weekends and holidays, to physical afflictions from the stress and
strain of the job. And when it’s all said and done, and a top executive is let go, suddenly he’s
“persona non grata”, i.e. any friends the manager might have had, withdraw for fear of gilt by
association.
Abuse of Human Resources
The corporations and managers that Ross describes, take a very cavalier position with
regard to people as human resources. Ross bluntly classifies the many people working for the
corporation as being either black (or white) or gray. He defines black and white as definite
colors, thus signifying, “The ambitious people, the leaders, the ones who want to get ahead.”
Conversely, “The gray people come there from nine to five, do their job, aren’t particularly
ambitious.” Also, once again, the corporation presents it two faces. The board of directors would
have the public believe that money isn’t important. Rather it’s the decisions you make about
people that are most important. However, according to Ross, “To the board of directors, the
dollars are as important as human lives”, so “When things go bad, they have to protect
themselves and fire somebody.” A human sacrifice if you will. Finally, corporations are out to
protect their best interest. They will promote a person as it fits their needs, perhaps for as long as
twenty-five years, but once he’s outlived his usefulness, he becomes expendable.
Presence of Fear
Perhaps the most prevalent theme outlined by Ross is that of fear. Seemingly, fear is
present in almost every aspect of daily corporate life, whether it’s fear of who you associate with
or fear of how you behave in public. Specifically, Ross mentions fear of the “big mistake”. The

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“big mistake” could be anything, which might ultimately lead to being fired. It is this fear that
creates apprehension, and make for a tentative manager. He also discusses the fear of being
“caught in a squeeze” as a mid-level manager, stating, “You have the guys working for you that
are shooting for your job. The guy you’re working for is scared stiff you’re gonna shove him out
of his job.”
Lack of Communication
Fear of “the squeeze” spawns fear of exposure, which ultimately reduces the channels of
communication. Speaking about the executive manager, Ross declares, “He can’t confide and
talk with the guy working under him. He can’t confide and talk to the man he’s working for. To
give vent to his feeling, his fears, and his insecurities, he’d expose himself.” However, this void
in communication still leaves the executive with the need for a sounding-board, which often
times leads to outside consultants with no vested interest in the operations of the corporation
necessarily becoming involved. Describing his role as a business advisor, Ross claimed, “The
executive who calls me usually knows the answer to his problem. He just has to have somebody
to talk to and hear his decision out loud.” Furthermore, in the absence of good communication
within a corporation, gossip and rumor take root, which many will use to build-up their own
personal importance.
False Sense of Loyalty
It is about this final issue of loyalty that Ross is perhaps most emphatic. He describes
loyalty as, “the most stupid phrase…in business”. Ross emphasizes this statement by pointing
out that, “The corporation is out to make money.” Likewise, the ambitious employee will also go
where he can make the most money. Alternately, Ross says, “The schnook is the loyal guy,
because he can’t get a job any place else.”

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Discussion
Do you think most managers in the 21st century would describe their jobs in the same was as
Larry Ross?
We believe that managers today, especially those in middle- and upper-management of
U.S. corporations, would describe their jobs in this way. We believe a shift toward high-
involvement organizations has begun, but also believe that it is still an idealistic concept which
has not yet been fully implemented. We further believe that a new organizational life-cycle has
evolved. We observed that during the 1990s, many technology companies where started and run
by young, idealistic managers. However, once these companies went public on a stock exchange
and inevitably brought in a “professional” CEO, they reverted back into a traditional
organization. Therefore, we think smaller organizations will be more successful at maintaining a
high-involvement management structure in the future. “In some instances managers will need to
consciously limit and even reverse the growth of their businesses to assure both the short- and
long-term prosperity of the organizations entrusted to their care.” (McKenna, 1991).
Does Larry Ross provide an accurate and realistic picture of how organizations operate? If you
think so, is it true of all, most, some, or only a few organizations? Why did you answer as you
did?
We believe that Ross provides an accurate picture of how organizations operate in the
U.S.—certainly large, older corporations. “The more important challenge to managers of the 21st
century is to pry themselves and their organizations from valueless histories. This must be done
even when the past represents highly successful products, procedures, and personnel. Managers
will have to recognize that the very aspects of their businesses that produced so well for them in
the past may actually be negatives in the future; they may need to abandon formerly successful

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methods and areas of operation.” (McKenna, 1991). It is important to note that in our experience
this picture may be different in other countries, like Norway for instance. Strict employment laws
favoring labor, generous social security in the form of unemployment compensation, and other
governmental regulations aimed at corporate ethics reduces fear, and thus increases
communication.
Is the organization better (or worse) off if managers behave like Larry Ross? Why? Do you think
Larry Ross would be successful in most 21st-century organizations?
We recognize that organizations are worse off if managers behave like Ross. Along with
a rigid corporate structure and the constant presence of fear, this type of management creates an
abuse of human resources, reduced communication, and diminished loyalty. Based on the
assumption that many organizations still operate in this way as mentioned in response to the
previous question, we conclude Ross would in fact be successful—even in the 21st century.
Assuming that you would like to become an executive in a large organization, would you be
willing to do the things Ross does to achieve your goal? Why?
For us personally, we are not willing to employ the same tactics as Ross to achieve the
goal of becoming an executive of a large corporation. We would rather follow a model of high-
involvement management, acting as liaison, motivator, and mentor. We also subscribe to the idea
that, in order to be successful in business, one must achieve balance with life outside of work.
Do you see Larry Ross as a person who has largely contributed to his own problems, or as a
person who simply goes along with a world he did not create? Why?
In the final analysis, we believe that Ross is simply going along with a world that he did
not create. The fact that Ross makes his observations over many decades, at different levels of
management, and in many different corporations supports this notion. Unfortunately, we believe

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that this is still the case today. However, it is more of an indictment of human tendencies than it
is of corporate organizations. Money, greed, and power have the ability to corrupt still today, as
illustrated in the many examples of corporate impropriety, like that Enron, Tyco, and Worldcom,
to name a few. “We are just in the beginning of the beginning. The 21st century is going to be
hard on corporations, governments, and all the rest of us. But the changes the century will bring
will be nothing short of astonishing” (McGraw-Hill, 2000).

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References
McGraw-Hill. (2000, August 28). The 21st Century Corporation. Business Week, 278.
McKenna, John F. (1991, Fall). Management in the 21st Century. SAM Advanced Management
Journal, 56, 4-8.