Previous research on the nature of managerial work has defined managerial activities, assessed their importance, and examined the contribution of the activities to managerial success and effectiveness. Researchers have not examined preferences for managerial activities, however. This article describes a paper-and-pencil instrument designed to assess managerial activity preferences and provides evidence to support its reliability and validity. Participants in five countries responded to the instrument. Results indicated that substantial similarities exist between countries in the relative attractiveness of 10 managerial activities. The managerial activities receiving the highest ratings involved leading employees, networking, and innovating. Activities receiving the lowest ratings included controlling employees, doing desk work, and handling time pressures. Country differences were related to each country’s culture and business environment. Within each country, women and men showed a high level of agreement in their preferences, and the observed gender differences were related to shared conceptions of femininity and masculinity.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Abramson, N. R.
, Lane, H. W., Nagai, H., & Takagi, H. (1993). A comparison of Canadian and Japanese cognitive styles: Implications for management interaction. Journal of International Business Studies, 24, 575-587.
2.
Ashton, D.
(1986). Managerial activity theory and the education of general managers. Journal of General Management, 11(3), 27-36.
3.
Aycan, Z.
(2000). Cross-cultural industrial and organizational psychology: Contributions, past developments, and future directions. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 31, 110-128.
4.
Beechler, S.
, & Yang, J. Z. (1994). The transfer of Japanese-style management to American subsidiaries: Contingencies, constraints, and competencies. Journal of International Business Studies, 25, 467-491.
5.
Bentler, P. M.
(1980). Multivariate analysis with latent variables: Causal modeling. Annual Review of Psychology, 31, 419-456.
6.
Bentler, P. M.
(1990). Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 238-246.
7.
Bentler, P. M.
, & Bonett, D. G. (1980). Significance tests and goodness of fit in analysis of covariance structures. Psychological Bulletin, 88, 588-606.
8.
Best, D. L.
, & Williams, J. E. (1998). Masculinity and femininity in the self and ideal selfdescriptions of university students in 14 countries. In G. H. Hofstede (Ed.), Masculinity and femininity: The taboo dimension of national cultures (pp. 106-116). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
9.
Black, S.
, Gregersen, H., & Mendenhall, M. (1992). Global assignments. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
10.
Bollen, K. A.
(1989). Structural equations with latent variables. New York: John Wiley.
11.
Brierley, W.
(1990). The business culture in Italy. In C. Randlesome (Ed.), Business cultures in Europe (pp. 107-157). Oxford, UK: Heinemann.
12.
Bronson, P.
(1999). The nudist on the late shift and other true tales of Silicon Valley. New York: Random House.
13.
Burn, S. M.
(1996). The social psychology of gender. New York: McGraw-Hill.
14.
Cappelli, P.
(1999). Rethinking employment. In R. S. Schuler & S. E. Jackson (Eds.), Strategic human resources management (pp. 282-316). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
15.
Carlson, S.
(1951). Executive behavior: A study of the workload and the working methods of managing directors. Stockholm, Sweden: Strombergs.
16.
Carroll, S. J.
, & Gillen, D. A. (1987). Are the classical management functions useful in describing managerial work?Academy of Management Review, 12, 38-51.
17.
Clark, J. L.
, & Hill, O. W., Jr. (1994). Academic procrastination among African American college students. Psychological Reports, 75, 931-936.
18.
Cudeck, R.
, & Browne, M. W. (1983). Cross-validation of covariance structures. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 18, 147-167.
19.
Dakin, S. R.
, & Hamilton, R. T. (1990). How “general” are your general managers?Management Decision (UK), 28(1), 32-37.
20.
DeVellis, R. F.
(1991). Scale development: Theory and applications. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
21.
Dewhirst, H. D.
(1989). Management in Australia: ‘No worries. ’Survey of Business, 25(2), 3-6.
22.
Eby, L. T.
, Freeman, D. M., Rush, M. C., & Lance, C. E. (1999). Motivational bases of affective organizational commitment: A partial test of an integrative theoretical model. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 72, 463-483.
23.
Erez, M.
, & Earley, P. C. (1993). Culture, self-identity, and work. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
24.
Feldman, S.
(1988). Structure and consistency in public opinion: The role of core beliefs and values. American Journal of Political Science, 32, 416-440.
25.
Ferrari, J. R.
(1993). Christmas and procrastination: Explaining lack of diligence at a ‘real-world’ task. Personality and Individual Differences, 14, 25-33.
26.
Fishbein, M.
, & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
27.
Gittleman, M. (1998, December). Declining caseloads: What do the dynamics of welfare participation reveal? [Online]. Available: www.welfare-policy.org/gittlema.htm
28.
Hales, C. P.
(1986). What do managers do? A critical review of the evidence. Journal of Management Studies, 23, 88-115.
29.
Hansen, F.
(1999). Executive compensation is still rising. Compensation and Benefits Review, 31(1), 7-11.
30.
Hansen, J. C.
(1987). Cross-cultural research on vocational interests. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 19(4), 163-176.
31.
Harpaz, I.
, & Meshoulam, I. (1994). Israel: Exploring management in the Middle East. International Studies of Management & Organization, 24, 231-248.
32.
Harris, P. R.
, & Moran, R. T. (1991). Managing cultural differences: High-performance strategies for a new world of business (3rd ed.). Houston, TX: Gulf.
33.
Hofstede, G. H.
(1980). Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
34.
Hofstede, G. H.
(1998). Masculinity/femininity as a dimension of culture. In G. H. Hofstede (Ed.), Masculinity and femininity: The taboo dimension of national cultures (pp. 3-28). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
35.
Italy is at a turning point. (2000, June 12). Business Week, 34-34.
36.
Jöreskog, K. G.
, & Sörbom, D. (1984). LISREL-VI user’s guide (3rd ed.). Mooresville, IN: Scientific Software.
37.
Kotabe, M.
, Duhan, D. F., Smith, D. K., & Wilson, R. D. (1991). The perceived veracity of PIMS strategy principles in Japan: An empirical inquiry. Journal of Marketing, 55(1), 26-41.
38.
Kotter, J. P.
(1982). The general managers. New York: Free Press.
39.
Kraut, A. I.
, Pedigo, P. R., McKenna, D. D., & Dunnette, M. D. (1989). The role of the manager: What’s really important in different management jobs. Academy of Management Executive, 3, 286-293.
40.
Lau, A. W.
, & Pavett, C. M. (1980). The nature of managerial work: A comparison of public and private sector managers. Group and Organization Studies, 5, 453-466.
41.
Lavy, N.
(1991). The view from Israel… Quality for competitiveness. Journal for Quality & Participation, 14(4), 86-87.
42.
Lipshitz, R.
, & Nevo, B. (1992). Who is a ‘good manager’?Leadershipand Organization Development Journal, 13(6), 3-7.
43.
Loehlin, J. C.
(1987). Latent variable models: An introduction to factor, path, and structural analysis. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
44.
Lubatkin, M. H.
, Ndiaye, M., & Vengroff, R. (1997). The nature of managerial work in developing countries: A limited test of the universalist hypothesis. Journal of International Business Studies, 28, 711-733.
45.
Luijk, H.
, & de Hanika, F. (1963). How the executive spends his time. London: Business Publications.
46.
Luthans, F.
(1988). Successful vs. effective real managers. Academy of Management Executive, 2, 127-132.
47.
Luthans, F.
, Hodgetts, R. M., & Rosenkrantz, S. A. (1988). Real managers. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.
48.
Luthans, F.
, Welsh, D. H. B., & Rosenkrantz, S. A. (1993). What do Russian managers really do? An observational study with comparisons to U. S. managers. Journal of International Business Studies, 24, 741-761.
49.
Maman, D.
(2000). Who accumulates directorships of big business firms in Israel? Organizational structure, social capital, and human capital. Human Relations, 53, 603-630.
50.
Margerison, C.
(1988). Trends in management development: The need for some hard based rules. Journal of Management Development, 7(6), 35-47.
51.
Martinko, M. J.
, & Gardner, W. L. (1990). Structured observation of managerial work: A replication and synthesis. Journal of Management Studies, 27, 329-357.
52.
Mintzberg, H.
(1973). The nature of managerial work. New York: Harper & Row.
53.
Mintzberg, H.
(1975). The manager’s job: Folklore and fact. Harvard Business Review, 53(4), 49-61.
54.
Mohrman, S. A.
, & Lawler, E. E., III. (1999). The new human resources management: Creating the strategic business partnership. In R. S. Schuler & S. E. Jackson (Eds.), Strategic human resource management (pp. 433-447). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
55.
Morris, M. H.
, Davis, D. L., & Allen, J. W. (1994). Fostering corporate entrepreneurship: Cross-cultural comparisons of the importance of individualism versus collectivism. Journal of International Business Studies, 25, 65-89.
56.
Morse, J. J.
, & Wagner, F. R. (1978). Measuring the process of managerial effectiveness. Academy of Management Journal, 21, 23-25.
57.
MOW (Meaning of Work) International Research Team
. (1986). The meaning of working: An international perspective. New York: Academic Press.
58.
Mueller, T.
(1997, December 15). A town where cooperation is king. Business Week, 155-155.
59.
Mullen, M. R.
(1995). Diagnosing measurement equivalence in cross-national research. Journal of International Business Studies, 26, 573-596.
60.
Oskamp, S.
(1977). Attitudes and opinions. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
61.
Pavett, C. M.
, & Lau, A. W. (1983). Managerial work: The influence of hierarchical level and functional specialty. Academy of Management Journal, 26, 170-177.
62.
Popp, G.
, Davis, H., & Herbert, T. (1986). An international study of intrinsic motivation composition. Management International Review, 26, 28-35.
63.
Porter, M. E.
(1990). The competitive advantage of nations. New York: Free Press.
64.
Raelin, J. A.
(1986). The clash of cultures: Managers and professionals. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
65.
Ralston, D. A.
, Gustafson, D. J., Cheung, F. M., & Terpstra, R. H. (1993). Differences in managerial values: A study of U. S., Hong Kong, and PRC managers. Journal of International Business Studies, 24, 249-275.
66.
Rokeach, M.
(1973). The nature of human values. New York: Free Press.
67.
Shapira, Z.
, & Dunbar, R. L. M. (1980). Testing Mintzberg’s managerial roles: Classification using an in-basket simulation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 65, 87-95.
68.
Singh, J.
(1995). Measurement issues in cross-national research. Journal of International Business Studies, 26, 597-619.
69.
Steiger, J. H.
(1990). Structural model evaluation and modification: An interval estimation approach. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 25, 173-180.
70.
Stewart, R.
(1985). The reality of management (2nd ed). London: Heinemann.
71.
Torrington, D.
, & Weightman, J. (1987). Middle management work. Journal of General Management, 13(2), 74-89.
72.
Tung, R. L.
, & Miller, E. L. (1990). Managing in the twenty-first century: The need for global orientation. Management International Review, 30(1), 5-18.
73.
Veiga, J. F.
(1988). Face your problem subordinates now!Academy of Management Executive, 2, 145-152.
74.
Williams, J. E.
, & Best, D. L. (1990). Measuring sex stereotypes: A multination study. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
75.
Wood, G.
(2000). A cross-cultural comparison of the contents of codes of ethics: USA, Canada, and Australia. Journal of Business Ethics, 25, 287-298.
