Middle Manager, I think 'middle managers' are an employer's most important leaders .Although middle managers may be work under increased pressure and feel more stressed,but they are strongly committed to the work itself.
A middle manager’s role may emphasize:
- Executing organizational plans in conformance with the company’s policies and the objectives of the top management.
- Defining and discussing information and policies from top management to lower management.
- Providing guidance to lower-level managers to assist them in performance improvement and accomplishment of business objectives.
I also believe because middle managers work with both top-level managers and first-level managers, middle managers tend to have excellent interpersonal skills relating to communication, motivation, and mentoring.
I like to create tactical plans, which have more detail than strategic plans. So, I believe middle managers may be the most important people in any company

When looking inward at myself and asking if I would be a better suited in upper management or middle management, I would say that it is a tough decision. However, I would have to choose upper management because I believe that I am more in tune with seeing the bigger picture and communicating to others our companies potential. I strongly believe that though communicating effectively to everyone in the organization, staff and management alike, where I would like to see the company in the near future, I could make a most effectively express my skillset for the better. I also find that this type of strategic thinking is both very challenging and rewarding when your vision comes to life and results in a successful, driven work environment. I would also like to say that I am in strong agreeance with Scott when he states above that the best upper managers spend some time as middle managers to get a good feel for all aspects of the company before being able to effectively guide the entire organization in upper management. However, choosing just one option, I would be much more adept in an upper management environment once I gained a strong background in the current culture and direction of the company.

I also believe that I could do both. I believe that I have the leadership qualities to set a vision and to make sure that it gets done to completion. However, I would be more comfortable in middle management. Setting daily tasks and being organized are my strengths and I feel that each day another goal needs to be accomplished in order to get closer to the ultimate goal. The middle managers are important in order to get things done and to delegate work to others. As mentioned above, communication is a big key to effectively getting things done and I believe that I am personable enough to fulfill this role as a middle manager. I am driven to work long and hard in order to ensure that a vision is set to completion before taking on more goals.

I read a Forbes article that sought to use a data driven approach to analyze if there are different skills required for senior executives. They asked 332,860 bosses, peers and subordinates to indicate which competencies, if done well, would have the greatest impact on a leader’s ability to be successful in their current position. Each subject would choose the top four competencies out of a list of 16. Over all, the same 7 competencies were identified as most important for a person at one level of the organization were also selected for someone at a higher or lower level.

I thought this was interesting because my initial reaction to the post was that my skill set is better suited for middle management because I am very “results” driven. But it seems like the prominent skill set is relative to which competencies are most critical for your current role.

Check out the article if you have time.
www.forbes. com/sites/joefolkman/2014/08/22/are-different-skills-required-for-senior-executives/#6437b5d55bb4

I think I can do both. I'm more suited starting out in a middle management role then transitioning to upper management. It goes in line with what @Scott said where upper managers would be best if they spent some time with the company as a middle manager. I think that being able to complete/fulfill a task on a daily/weekly basis is a fulfilling accomplishment which motivates me to pursue more responsibilities in the future. Also as @dag56 mentioned, getting a good feel of the company's culture will give me a good idea as to where the company is heading where I can then help plan direct the company towards that direction.

I think I would be more suited for choosing upper management, but I also think I would be able to work in middle management as well. I also agree with the assertion that upper managers should spend time in middle manager roles because that role could be a real eye opener for an upper manager to understand more about the company. I think that an internal upper manager may be more in-tuned to the company if he had prior experience with that company as a middle manager. As for choosing between managements I would prefer upper management because I feel like the long term and big picture vision would a better fit for me than the day to day tactical work of the middle manager.

I personally perfer upper management because I tend to look at things in a big picture and for long term processes and I agree with @dag56 and @scott that to be a upper manager, you should have to have certain experience in middle management. Also, I have read the article that @kak33 posted and actually agree with the opinion stated in the article that "while there is some logic to having a distinctive competency model for every level in an organization, this appears to not be necessary. As long as you are measuring “Developing Strategic Perspective” you simply need to expect top executives to get higher scores on that competency." I believe all level of management should have various competencies: the ability to inspire and motivate others. the drive for results, work ethics, integrity & honesty...

I would personally be better suited for upper management. Upper management requires someone that is able to strategies, lead, is financially incline, able to negotiate, strong combination skills, and able to encourage and motivate team development. As upper-level management, you still need to be able to complete middle-level management duties. To lead a group, you need to be able to walk in their shoes. Hence, I feel that while I believe I possess the skills needed for an upper management position, I would like to get experience working in middle-level management before I took a role in upper management. From my experience, the best leaders I have worked with are people that have worked their way up and have experienced working the same positions that you are currently in.

Middle management is lower in position to Upper management. As briefly discussed in class and mentioned by you, the upper management are responsible for making the primary and strategic decisions within a company. This people are the CEO, CFO, CMO, CSO ect. While Middle management are responsible for implementing the top management's policies and plans and also leading subordinate staff. They comprise of managers who head specific departments or business units, or who serve as project managers in flat organizations.
I would prefer the upper management but to become a CFO or CEO, one would need to acquire enough education and experience to take that role. So, with that being said, at this moment in my life I would be better suited for the Middle management. As a middle management, they involvement into day-to-day running of a business of the company, make sure vision proposed by the upper management is successful carried out. Lead junior staffs to reach the target goals. A company future depends on them and it a good and challenging role to take on to becoming a good leader.

I believe that to think strategically and manage a range of projects, it is important to understand the work culture and have some experience in that field. I agree with a0242 and all others who said that right now being suited to our level of experience. I can implement the tasks assigned to my team at a middle-level manager, think tactically and the drive for results. with experience and understanding the goal and vision of the company, climbing up the order is a safe option.

I believe that I am better suited for a role in middle management with my current skill set. I have a fair amount of technical expertise which would allow me to think about logistics much more naturally. I believe that moving into upper management from middle management requires time and experience. Time and experience, over a variety of different projects, allows someone who understands the many different facets of the logistics involved in a project to then start seeing bigger picture and thinking strategically.

I agree with nititnhebbar and other who believe that at this stage, middle level manages will best suit us. Experience in the field and aligning to the vision of the company is a must to think strategically. Unlike upper management, middle-level management generally set tasks and set milestones to project members that are monitored by lower level managers.

Delegation is one of the key differences between upper and middle management. Since a senior manager spends most of his energy on creating effective strategies. He has to be able to delegate decision making on non-strategic issues. In order for this to happen, a manager needs to realize the strengths and weakness of his team to delegate properly. Since delegating comes with trust in subordinates, therefore delegating should be done properly. A senior manager can only delegate if he knows what his subordinate is capable of. hence, having experience in middle management is essential to be able to recognize that. Personally, I would like to stay in middle management for sometime as you recognize the hardship. Once, you are able to cope up there then only you can become a successful manager.

I also see myself to be better suited for a middle management role. I have limited experience and would not be suited for an upper management position which would require expertise on a more global level. Middle management is in charge of smaller groups of individuals and is an important link in the chain of command whereas upper management oversees the future of the company.