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As a non-native speaker, I always found the term "executive" for managers somewhat strange. Why call someone who doesn't actually execute anything "executive"?

umanwizard 5y ago
There is probably some explanation, but I don’t think the etymology is any more transparent to native speakers than it is to you. It’s just one of those words whose meaning has drifted over time.
- ghaff 5y ago
  The modern sense of executive seems to be originally a US thing related to the executive branch of government. Which does indeed carry out laws and policies but also, especially in more modern times, is the branch of government that's most "in charge."
e1g 5y ago
The label is used as a parallel to the "executive functions" of the brain. This layer control the behavior of the overall organism: it selects goals, and monitors behaviors required to attain those goals. This describes the intended role of (upper) management inside a complex interdependent organism that is a business with 1,000+ independent brains working on it.
protomyth 5y ago
Ah, you are missing the key thought that they do the execution by getting all the cogs in the machine to move.
- chris_wot 5y ago
  It’s quite possible that they move the cogs in opposing directions, jamming up the machine.
  - protomyth 5y ago
    Sadly, that seems to happen more often than it should. They also remove cogs for no reason.
geocar 5y ago
An executive isn't the same as a manager, but decide what the business shall do (and then do it/execute it; usually this means hiring people though). They are accountable only to the owners of the business and legislation (and maybe only the latter if they are also the owner). An executive doesn't have to be a manager, for example the programming CTO who has no employees and writes all the code themselves. A manager can also be an executive, for example the CEO who manages their direct reports. A manager might not be an executive, for example, if their boss is another manager
- froh42 5y ago
  It's managers all the way down.
  - geocar 5y ago
    Sometimes yes: If those managers are managing vendors (or other business relationships). Confusingly some companies use "executive" to refer to their lowest positions, since they "do" as well. I hope it's clear I'm not talking about that.
rkangel 5y ago
My interpretation is that these are the group of people who "execute" the will of the board. The board are the ones who set the direction of the company, but then the Executive Officers of the company are the ones who execute that.

umanwizard 5y ago

There is probably some explanation, but I don’t think the etymology is any more transparent to native speakers than it is to you. It’s just one of those words whose meaning has drifted over time.

ghaff 5y ago
The modern sense of executive seems to be originally a US thing related to the executive branch of government. Which does indeed carry out laws and policies but also, especially in more modern times, is the branch of government that's most "in charge."

e1g 5y ago

The label is used as a parallel to the "executive functions" of the brain. This layer control the behavior of the overall organism: it selects goals, and monitors behaviors required to attain those goals. This describes the intended role of (upper) management inside a complex interdependent organism that is a business with 1,000+ independent brains working on it.

protomyth 5y ago

Ah, you are missing the key thought that they do the execution by getting all the cogs in the machine to move.

chris_wot 5y ago
It’s quite possible that they move the cogs in opposing directions, jamming up the machine.
- protomyth 5y ago
  Sadly, that seems to happen more often than it should. They also remove cogs for no reason.

geocar 5y ago

An executive isn't the same as a manager, but decide what the business shall do (and then do it/execute it; usually this means hiring people though). They are accountable only to the owners of the business and legislation (and maybe only the latter if they are also the owner). An executive doesn't have to be a manager, for example the programming CTO who has no employees and writes all the code themselves. A manager can also be an executive, for example the CEO who manages their direct reports. A manager might not be an executive, for example, if their boss is another manager

froh42 5y ago
It's managers all the way down.
- geocar 5y ago
  Sometimes yes: If those managers are managing vendors (or other business relationships). Confusingly some companies use "executive" to refer to their lowest positions, since they "do" as well. I hope it's clear I'm not talking about that.

rkangel 5y ago

My interpretation is that these are the group of people who "execute" the will of the board. The board are the ones who set the direction of the company, but then the Executive Officers of the company are the ones who execute that.