Companies do away with chief operating officers as real-time business metrics make it easier to manage

Gary L. Neilson, a senior partner with management consulting company Strategy&, said the COO job is being made increasingly superfluous by technology, from e-mail to real-time business metrics, which makes running a company easier. And as companies increasingly have the CEO and chairman job done by separate people, "CEOs are expected to be closer to the business," Neilson said.

Matthew Daneman, USA TODAY

Full Story: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/08/26/number-of-chief-operating-officers-declining/14644255/