Classic, but not seminal: revisiting the pioneering study of managerial work (original) (raw)

Executive Behavior: An Examination of Three Decades of Administrative Work across Organizational Settings, Industries, and Contexts

2001

This study examined the executive behavior of educational administrators in schools and universities, and compared it with that of business executives. Data were obtained by tabular review of four select studies on patterns of behavior. Analytical results point to considerable similarity in the daily work realities of executives studied, in spite of differences in organizations and goals. However, when differences did emerge, they were largely due to the executive's proximity to the operational core. Executives closer to the operational core were less likely to have flexibility and control over their work than executives who had layers embedded in their organizations to shield them from the intensity of the operational core. Those closer to the operational core all faced fast-paced days that are commonly fragmented by interruptions and intense to the point that time was not scheduled for non-work-related activities, such as breaks and time for reflection. An implication from this analysis is the need to develop an understanding of how the executive's relative proximity to the core can affect the nature of his or her work. It is hoped that this study will help administrators develop an operational framework for enhancing their work. (Contains 31 references.) (RT) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.

Managerial Behaviour Research in Private and Public Sectors: Distinctiveness, Disputes and Directions

Journal of Management Studies, 2000

A managerial behaviour approach is identified that has sought to understand managerial work by analysing the day-to-day behaviour of individual managers: what do managers do? It is argued that this approach is distinctive and that its distinctiveness is valuable and has not received adequate attention. The distinctiveness is defined by its research background, object, focus and methodology. The managerial behaviour approach has developed from research over nearly fifty years: long enough for there to have been a variety of disputes about what has, or ought to have been, achieved. The relevance of these criticisms and what later research has done to meet them is assessed. Recent research directions are identified and suggestions are made for building on the distinctiveness. It is concluded that the institutional embeddedness of managerial work should attract further scholarly attention, and that the contribution of researchers in the public sector, who come from a different disciplinary background, needs to be integrated with that of researchers from organizational behaviour as they can contribute new conceptual approaches, which could help to revivify this field of research.

Is there a 'New Managerial Work'? A Comparison with Henry Mintzberg's Classic Study 30 Years Later

Journal of Management Studies, 2006

This comparative study of top executives' work aimed at examining the stability of top managerial behaviour reveals a relatively different pattern of behaviour compared with the study by Henry Mintzberg. The main differences are a much larger workload, a contact pattern to a larger degree oriented towards subordinates in group-settings, a greater emphasis on giving information, and less preoccupation with administrative work. One important finding is that fragmentation of time -in previous studies highlighted as a central tenet of managerial work -was not as prevalent in the new study. The different results can be attributed (with caution) to the impact of the management discourse about leadership and corporate culture, and to factors such as organizational structure and geographical dispersion of companies. However, there are also significant similarities between the two studies which indicate that claims of the emergence of a radically different managerial work are much exaggerated. Instead the empirical data shows that new work-practices are combined with older practices, both in a complex and context-specific ways. Therefore, there is a need for better integration between theoretical development and empirical investigations in this field of inquiry.