____ managers could be called the frontline troops in the battle for productivity growth.

A) Contingency
B) Scientific
C) Operations
D) Upper-level
E) New

Operations managers are responsible for designing and overseeing the production process, improving efficiency, and ensuring timely delivery of products or services. They are the ones directly supervising and managing the workers who are performing the actual work, making them the frontline troops in the battle for productivity growth. Contingency and scientific managers are focused on specific management theories, while upper-level managers are more concerned with strategic decision-making. New managers may not have enough experience to be considered frontline troops for productivity growth.