A Descriptive Model of Managerial Effectiveness

This study was designed to help understand what effective managers really do. Unlike previous research on managerial effectiveness, a diverse sample (N = 78) of managers was directly observed in natural settings. These data on managerial activities gathered by trained observers were related to a subordinate-report measure of unit effectiveness. Using canonical correlation analysis, a descriptive model of managerial effectiveness was derived. This one-dimensional model consists of a continuum ranging from a quantity-oriented human resource manager (who was observed to exhibit considerable staffing and motivating or reinforcing activities and was perceived to have quantity performance in the unit) to quality- oriented traditional manager (who was observed to exhibit a lot of interaction with outsiders, controlling and planning activities, and was perceived to have quality performance in the unit). This empirically derived descriptive model helps identify needed managerial activities and skills for quantity and quality performance in today's organizations.