No more bosses

06/02/20 • 23 min

Can companies operate better without managers? We hear from people who’ve got rid of managers and say it has helped them do a better job, made them happier and saved money.

But there are pitfalls, too. Co-ordination and hiring talent for what are usually considered top management jobs can be a challenge when there’s no traditional hierarchy.

Produced and presented by Dina Newman.

Picture credit: Getty Images

Can companies operate better without managers? We hear from people who’ve got rid of managers and say it has helped them do a better job, made them happier and saved money.

But there are pitfalls, too. Co-ordination and hiring talent for what are usually considered top management jobs can be a challenge when there’s no traditional hierarchy.

Produced and presented by Dina Newman.

Picture credit: Getty Images

Previous Episode

The ancient technology getting a second wind

Old ships, powered by the wind, are sailing small amounts of cargo around the world again to help cut pollution. Some of them were built more than 100 years ago. The shipping industry moves 80% of traded goods around the planet. But the diesel engines that propel modern cargo ships through the oceans burn the dirtiest type of fuel.

Nick Holland speaks to sailors and brokers who, for the sake of the environment, are breathing new life into these vintage vessels. And he hears how new types of sails could get monster-sized modern cargo ships using the wind as well. Producer / Reporter: Nick Holland

Next Episode

Kids fixing the world

This week we look at four brilliant inventions by children: a phone app to stop drivers missing road signs; a robot that is activated when a vulnerable person falls over; a tool to help fire departments predict the likelihood of wildfires, and a way to make your fish tank double as a vegetable patch for microgreens.

The future engineers and scientists behind these innovations are aged between 12 and 16 and were all entrants in the UK’s Big Bang Competition. Head judge Helena Dodd joins William Kremer to discuss what makes a winning design, and what grown-ups everywhere can do to unleash the problem-solving power of the next generation.

Reported and produced by William Kremer.

Picture: Freddie with Fallbot