Contents — The complexity of the telecommunications industry determines the management organization complexity of a telecommunications company. In complex business environment the company management is expected to achieve profit and growth. To achieve given goals, the management needs to make tough business decisions in all segments of business, the middle management being especially vulnerable. The goal of this paper is to identify, examine and evaluate the key external and internal determinants of the position of middle management in a company. The research focused on the effects of recession and technology as the external determinants, and computerization and reorganization as the internal determinants that significantly determine the position of middle management in a telecommunications company. Key words — telecommunications company, computerization, recession, reorganization, middle management position. I. INTRODUCTION he bright side of the telecommunications world can easily be seen through the constantly present multimedia advertisement with a colourful array of services that enable users to globally connect, work and socialize. Telecommunications industry changes habits and life philosophy. The bright side is alluring to the users as well as present and future employees of the company, thanks to the possibility of working on new technologies and platforms, but also thanks to a motivating work environment and good earnings. The dark side of telecommunications shouldn't be ignored. Medias have reported about suicides in France Telecom, about constant lay-offs in telecom companies and other unpleasant news about the industrial branch that should be a prestige environment for employees. Global economic crisis didn't bypass the telecommunications industry. Depression and recession go hand to hand. The question is what major consequences of the global economic crisis are important for the business organization of the telecommunications company and its management. Section organization is as follows. The key determinants Antonija Krtalić is with HT Eronet Mostar, Kneza Branimira, 88000 Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina (phone: 387-36-395221, e-mail: antonija.krtalic@hteronet.ba ). Božo Tomas is with HT Eronet Mostar, Kneza Branimira, 88000 Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina (phone: 387-36-395292, e-mail: bozo.tomas@hteronet.ba ). that presumably have a determinable effect on middle management position in telecommunications company are defined in section II. The results of research are shown in section III. Section IV concludes the paper with recommendations and grades that can help improve the position of middle management in order to raise the general level of managerial success. II. DETERMINANT IDENTIFICATION The research issue has been determined by earlier knowledge about the vulnerability of the middle management generally ([1] i [2]), and the authors found it especially interesting to research the issue in a telecommunications company. Middle management is a management layer that needs to prepare operational proposal of changes for the top management, and implement the accepted proposal to the employees. Management quality has a significant impact on efficiency and productivity of the organization. Programs for management quality must be implemented through middle managers. Plenty of determinants affect the success and position of a manager in a company, besides the personal abilities and the co worker’s abilities, different aspects of the situation in which managers operate play a significant role [3]. The key determinants of the middle management position in a telecommunications company are: global economic crisis and recession, changes in ownership structure, development of new telecommunications technologies, implementation of managerial information systems. Recession means slowing down capital investments of telecom operators, less government investments in telecommunications infrastructure projects, humble investment budgets, constant pressure from regulatory agencies to lower prices of telecommunications services, lesser user purchasing ability, strengthening of the competition and alternative service providers, as well as appearance of alternative telecommunications services. Cutting costs in time of crisis significantly affects business education. Constant education and development of all employees, especially managers, is the safest investment in the company's future. According to [3] it is estimated that managers should dedicate at least 20% of their business hours to their own education. The same source claims that the midlevel managers are generally Recognizing key determinants of the position of middle management in a telecommunications company Antonija Krtalić and Božo Tomas T