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Introduction
Managerial work involves “turning a disparate group of employees in a work unit into an organized team that is capable of achieving the goals of the work unit effectively” (Kreitner 2008, p. 15). Generally, the roles of managers include planning, organizing, leading, and controlling various aspects of work in organizations.
Managerial work has undergone tremendous changes in the last few decades. The hierarchy system of power distribution, as well as, the clear characterization of titles, tasks, and departments has lost their popularity in most organizations. Most mangers no longer depend on the conventional sources of power and the traditional motivational tools to enhance productivity.
These changes have been occasioned by the competitive pressures that have forced organizations to employ flexible strategies, as well as, organizational structures. In response to these changes, extensive studies on managerial work have been conducted using different methods in the last five decades. This paper will evaluate the most important findings of these studies and their significance.
Evaluation of Research Findings
In a study of the changes in the roles of first-line managers in the UK, Hales (2005, pp. 471-502) refutes the claim that organizational change has led to a significant alteration of the roles of first-line managers. According to Hales (2005, pp. 471-502), the role of first-line managers has remained stable despite radical organizational changes.
However, he points out that first-line managers are increasingly taking more roles that are related to stewardship, strategy implementation, as well as, unit and business management. The role of first-line managers is still part of the hierarchical system of managerial responsibility and accountability.
The managers continue to exercise limited control and their contribution in decision-making is restricted to issues relating to business operations. The supervisory role of first-line managers has been strengthened by increasing their management responsibilities (Hales 2005, pp. 471-502). The importance of these findings is that they refute the belief that radical organizational changes have transformed the roles of first-line mangers from supervision to business unit management or coordination.
Furthermore, they show that the hierarchical organizational structure is still an important means of distributing power in organizations. In this regard, high performance is achieved through stringent controls and supervision by first-line managers rather than a system that empowers employees to manage themselves.
Hales and Klidas (1998, pp. 88-95) sheds light on the “meaning, application, purpose, and concomitants of the concept of empowerment as used in the service management literature.” Empowerment refers to the use of formal organizational practices to identify and to remove the situations that perpetuate powerlessness among employees.
The conventional approach to empowerment involves giving employees some discretion over their work or involving them in decision-making processes in order to ensure compliance and cooperation in the workforce. Proponents of empowerment argue that high performance can be achieved if control through direct supervision and regulation is replaced with self-control by employees.
Empowerment should be reinforced through recruitment and training strategies that foster attitudes and skills that enable employees to make acceptable and responsible choices. In addition, empowerment should include the use of performance-based pay systems, as well as, encouraging a service-oriented organizational culture.
According to the findings of Hales and Klidas (1998, pp. 88-95), empowerment simply involves increasing employees’ choices rather than a significant improvement in their participation in decision-making processes.
Concisely, it involves increasing employees’ responsibilities that are associated with handling routine tasks. The significance of this finding is that it highlights the danger of misunderstanding the concept of empowerment. Most organizations approach empowerment by relaxing their regulatory controls and increasing employees’ discretion. However, they fail to train and reward employees for using their discretion, thereby causing failure.
Heath, Luff and Svensson (2002, pp. 181-201) studied the use of CCTV to manage work in operation rooms in the UK. CCTV and other surveillance systems are often used in workplaces to monitor events and the conduct of employees. Supervisors use these systems to identify problems in real time and to develop appropriate solutions to rectify them.
According to Heath, Luff and Svensson (2002, pp. 181-201), the objective of using CCTV is to identify routine problems, which might disrupt operations at the workplace rather than monitoring employees’ behavior. CCTV enables supervisors to configure the work environment and to perceive employees’ behavior in an organizationally appropriate ways.
Concisely, it enables managers or supervisors to configure actions that might not correspond to employees’ perspectives. The significance of these findings is that they provide empirical evidence to support the use of CCTV and other surveillance systems in managerial work.
According to Heath, Luff and Svensson (2002, pp. 181-201), the use of surveillance should be perceived as a means of detecting problems at the workplace rather than a tool for invading employees’ privacy.
This perspective can help to alleviate employees’ resistance to surveillance. By using surveillance systems such as CCTV, managers will be able to give instructions and to empower their employees to develop appropriate solutions to problems at the workplace.
In a study on the role of video-based research in the contemporary work environment, Iedema, Long, Forsyth and Lee (2006, pp. 156-168) also provide evidence to support the use of surveillance in managerial work.
The contemporary work environment is increasingly becoming communication-based because the performance of organizations heavily depends on the feedback they get from stakeholders such as customers, policy makers, and employees. The implication of this change is that the principles that determine the organization of work are increasingly becoming tentative and temporal.
According to Iedema, Long, Forsyth and Lee (2006, pp. 156-168), employees in the post-bureaucratic workplace are responsible for designing their work and developing solutions by taking into account the public knowledge that they are expected to produce. Consequently, surveillance systems such as video technology can increase the pressure on employees to reform their conduct, as well as, their work in order to comply with work ethics and to achieve acceptable performance standards.
The significance of this finding is that video-based surveillance can facilitate managerial work and enhance productivity. The benefit of surveillance can be achieved if employees are allowed to articulate the aspects of work that should be filmed and those that should be avoided. The objective of surveillance should be to support productivity rather than carrying out managerial audits.
Tengblad (2006, pp. 1437-1457) shades light on the changes that have occurred in the roles of top managers in organizations. This study compared the behaviors of modern managers with those outlined in Henry Mintzberg’s study. Contrary to Mintzberg’s findings, Tengblad (2006, pp. 1437-1457) characterize the role of top managers as follows.
First, top managers are currently handling a larger workload than they did before. Second, the mangers are increasingly interacting with their subordinates in group-settings. Third, top managers emphasize the importance of sharing information at the workplace. Finally, they are less concerned with administrative work.
Overall, the roles of top managers such as CEOs have changed due to organizational culture, organizational structure, as well as, the adoption of new concepts such as transformational leadership. However, Tengblad (2006, pp. 1437-1457) refutes the claim that managerial work has radically changed.
His findings suggest that new managerial practices are used with the old ones. The significance of this finding is that organizations should focus on continuity and modification of managerial work. Additionally, managerial work is often complex and the behaviors of managers are not always determined by environmental pressures (Tengblad 2006, pp. 1437-1457). In this regard, organizations should allow top managers to use their discretion to make strategic decisions.
Willmott (1987, pp. 249-265) provides a critique of various empirical studies on managerial work and uses Gidden’s theory of structuration to present a different approach to management. Earlier studies by Dalton, Kotter, and Mintzberg have limitations because they explain managers’ behavior from an institutional perspective.
Consequently, Willmott (1987, pp. 249-265) explains how, “within capitalist relations of production, the work of managers is both a medium and outcome of the structural properties of a social system found upon the contradiction between socialized production and private appropriation.” Every person is born with a mission to accomplish. Thus, managers are born with the mission to manage.
This perspective leads to the distinction between managers and the managed in organizations. According to Willmott (1987, pp. 249-265), the managed also aspire to become managers.
In this regard, organizations should focus on empowering their employees by training them to become managers. Moreover, managers should approach management as a process in which calculated contributions and negotiations lead to maximum benefit at the least cost.
In a study of the roles of managers, Mintzberg (1990, pp. 163-175) distinguishes between facts and folklore associated with managerial work. These myths and facts include the following. First, managers are reflective and systematic planners.
On the contrary, Mintzberg (1990, pp. 163-175) asserts that managers perform their duties at unrelenting pace. Additionally, their actions are associated with brevity, variety, and discontinuity. Managers are action-oriented people with no preference for reflective activities. Second, effective managers do not perform regular duties.
The fact is that managers often carryout routine tasks such as negotiations and planning. Third, senior managers depend on summarized information, which can be obtained from a formal management information system. However, Mintzberg (1990, pp. 163-175) asserts that managers prefer verbal conversations, phone calls, and meetings to documents as sources of information.
Finally, management is “quickly becoming a science and a profession” (Mintzberg 1990, pp. 163-175). Science is associated with the performance of logically determined tasks or programs (Mintzberg 1990, pp. 163-175). Thus, management is not a science because managers’ programs such as processing information do not follow this principle.
Mintzberg (1990, pp. 163-175) categorizes managers’ duties into three groups namely, decisional, informational and interpersonal roles. The importance of these findings is that they highlight the link between performance and manager’s perception of their roles. Concisely, the effectiveness of managers depends on their ability to understand their jobs and to address their challenges.
Additionally, the findings highlight the importance of effective communication in managerial work. In this regard, effective management can be achieved through regular sharing of information between the manager and the managed.
The role of effective communication in managerial work is also emphasized by Gronn (1983, pp. 1-21). His findings indicate that most administrators or managers spend much of their time in verbal communication. This strategy has two benefits. First, talking enables managers to accomplish administrative tasks.
In this regard, talking enables employees to know the manager’s opinion about an issue. Moreover, it influences employees to do what the manager has said. Second, talking is a tool for implementing administrative controls. These findings are important because talking is the main form of communication in most organizations.
The implication for organizations is that they must train their managers on effective use of verbal communication in order to strengthen managerial work. This is because managers who cannot talk effectively will fail to inspire and to control their employees. Additionally, talking can be a means of wasting time by managers if it is not used for the right purpose.
Sims (1993, pp. 57-68) highlights the factors that managers consider to be the main determinants of their success. Sims’ findings include the following. To begin with, the upbringing of managers has a great influence on their success. Socio-cultural factors such as family ties, religious beliefs, and attitudes usually determine managers’ approach to their work.
For instance, managers who experienced economic hardship during their childhood are likely to focus on economical use of their organization’s resources. Similarly, managers from social backgrounds where quality and diplomacy are highly regarded are likely to use these attributes to enhance their work.
Concisely, they are likely to focus on high performance standards and product quality, as well as, peaceful conflict resolution. Education is also a major determinant of success in managerial work. Some managers owe their success to the skills they acquired through formal training. Moreover, some managers succeed because others have mentored them.
The significance of these findings is that several factors determine the success of managers. Consequently, organizations must understand the factors that managers consider to be central to their success. This will help them to design staff development programs in order to produce the best managers.
In a study of management pre-learning, Watson (2001, pp. 221-235) concludes that managers are made through training. Individuals become managers after undergoing a learning process that prepares them for the duties associated with the position. In addition, the process of learning and development continuous even after a person becomes a manager.
Managers will always continue to acquire new knowledge about managing and to develop their understanding of management practices. The managers focus on learning about themselves in order to improve their effectiveness. The implication of this finding is that learning programs that target managers can be effective if they are related to the managers’ work, as well as, their biographies.
Organizations should provide learning programs that not only enable managers to acquire knowledge and skills, but also gives them the opportunity to develop. Moreover, individuals who are aspiring to become managers should begin their preparations early in life rather than after joining formal employment. Watson (2001, pp. 221-235) asserts that past experiences also influence managers’ success.
Parental guidance and upbringing influence the way managers perceive their jobs and handle the challenges associated with it. There is also a direct relationship between family values and the performance of managers. Watson (2001, pp. 221-235) found that some managers are able to excel because they still adhere to the values that enhanced success in the families in which they grew.
The findings of Watson (2001, pp. 221-235) are important because they emphasize the importance of strengthening management learning both in schools and at the workplace. The effectiveness of managers can be enhanced if business schools align management training or learning to the management needs of organizations in various industries.
Mintzberg (1970, pp. 88-104), presents the structured observation method as an alternative to the indirect methodologies for studying managerial work. The indirect methodologies include the diary approach and the sequence of episodes method. The structured observation method involves observing managers as they perform their duties.
The observed events are categorized under different themes such as duration and participation. Unlike the diary method, the categorization in structured observation occurs concurrently with the observation. The importance of this approach is that the study is influenced only by what is observed rather than existing literature and the researcher’s past experiences.
This improves the reliability of the findings because the researchers’ bias will have little or no influence in the study. The disadvantage of the diary method is that it cannot produce reliable findings because managers are too busy to record their activities properly.
The findings of Mintzberg (1970, pp. 88-104) are important because most studies on managerial work are not reliable. Besides, most issues in the field of management are yet to be studied conclusively. These challenges can only be addressed if effective research methods are used.
According to Hales (1986, pp. 88-112), most studies on managerial work fail to provide precise descriptions of the roles and behaviors of managers. The substantive elements of managerial work include liaison, human resource management, and managing work processes. Work elements differ in terms of “duration, time span, recurrence, unexpectedness, and source” (Hales 1986, pp. 88-112).
Managers spend much of their time in finding solutions to routine problems. Additionally, their job mainly involves influencing people to do things. According to Hales (1986, pp. 88-112), managers are effective if there is a congruence between their actual performance and the acceptable standards of performance. An effective manager not only ensures success in his work, but also in the work of other members of the organization.
The manager is considered successful if he or she is able to ensure organization-wide improvements in performance. Hales (1986, pp. 88-112) asserts that most studies on managerial work focuses on jobs, but fail to illustrate the link between these jobs and management. Most researchers fail to define the roles of managers. Additionally, researchers are yet to provide a detailed explanation of the nature of managerial work.
These findings are important because they highlight the need for further research on managerial work. Future studies should focus on role prescriptions and the expectations associated with managerial work. Concisely, the managerial function should be reexamined in order to provide a clear understanding of managerial work. A clear understanding of managerial function will enable organizations to define managerial responsibilities and tasks.
In a study of managers’ perception of their jobs, Marshalls and Stewart (1981, pp. 177-189) concludes that managers perceive and tackle their jobs differently. In this regard, they group managers into three categories namely, job analysts, focused managers, and holistic managers. Job analysts believe that they have distinctive roles and specific targets to achieve.
Focused managers are often interested in achieving specific strategic targets such as improving customer satisfaction. Holistic managers believe that their position is very dynamic and entails execution of several roles rather than specific tasks. Managers in each category approach their jobs in different ways.
The factors that explain managers’ perception of their jobs include organizational culture, beliefs, past management models, and individual needs. The importance of these findings is that they link managers’ perception of their jobs to their performance.
Generally, managers’ approach to their work and their ability to change it depends on their perception. Consequently, strategies that aim at improving managers’ productivity can only be effective if they take into account managers’ perception of their jobs.
Conclusion
The aim of this paper was to evaluate the findings of existing research on managerial work. Even though several studies have been done in the last four to five decades, researchers are yet to build a consensus on what managerial work entails.
Nonetheless, scholars agree that managerial work is no longer restricted to the traditional roles such as planning, controlling, leading, and organizing work-related activities.
Managerial work has evolved tremendously due to factors such as organizational change, organizational structure, as well as, the introduction of new management concepts such as transformational leadership.
Consequently, managers perceive and approach their jobs differently. Generally, the factors that determine success in managerial work include the managers’ perception of their job, past experiences, personal values, and formal training.
References
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Hales, C 2005, ‘Rooted in Supervision, Branching into Management: Continuity and Change in the Role of First-Line Manager, Journal of Management Studies, vol. 42 no. 3, pp. 471-502.
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Hales, C & Klidas, A 1998, ‘Empowerment in Five Star Hotels: Choice, Voice or Rhetoric’, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 10 no. 3, pp. 88-95.
Heath, C, Luff, P & Svensson, M 2002, ‘Overseeing Organizations: Configuring Action and its Environment’, British Journal of Sociology, vol. 53 no. 2, pp. 181-201.
Iedema, R, Long, D, Forsyth, R & Lee, B 2006, ‘Visibilising Clinical Work: Video Ethnography in the Contemporary Hospital’, Health Sociology Review, vol. 15 no.1, pp. 156-168.
Kreitner, R 2008, Management, McGraw-Hill, New York.
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Mintzberg, H 1990, ‘The Manager’s Job: Folklore and fact’, Harvard Business Review, vol.1 no.1, pp. 163-175.
Mintzberg, H 1970, ‘Structured Observation to Study Managerial Work’, Journal of Management Studies, vol. 1 no.1, pp. 88-104.
Sims, D 1993, ‘The Formation of Top Managers: a Discourse Analysis of Five Autobiographies’, British Journal of Management, vol. 4 no. 1, pp. 57-68.
Tengblad, S 2006, ‘Is there a New Managerial Work? A Comparison with Henry Mintzberg’s Classic Study 30 Years Later’, Journal of Management Studies, vol. 43 no. 7, pp. 1437-1457.
Watson, T 2001, ‘The Emergent Manager and Processes of Management Pre-learning’, Management Learning, vol. 32 no. 2, pp. 221-235.
Willmott, H 1987, ‘Studying Managerial Work: a Critique and a Proposal’, Journal of Management Studies, vol. 24 no. 3, pp. 249-265.
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