*Tfie Academy ol Managemeni f XECUnVE. 1989. Vol III. No. 4, pp. 286-293

The Role of the Manager: What's ReallyImportant in Different Management Jobs

Allen 1. Kraut and Patricia R. PedigoIBM Corporation, Inc.

andD. Douglas McKenna and Marvin D. Dunnette

Personnel Decisions Research Institute, Inc.

Can we safely assume (to paraphrase Gertrude Stein)that "a manager is a manager is a manager"? Should

we expect the jobs of al! managers to be pretty much thesame? And should managers expect their colleagues' jobs tobe like their own? Well, "yes" and "no," according to theresearch described below. An analogy to team sports mayhelp illustrate this answer, and suggest implications fororganizational performance.

One of the signs of a successful athletic team is itsalmost uncanny ability to perform as a single unit, with theefforts of individual members blending seamlessly together.When this level of teamwork exists, unusual things happen.Quarterbacks complete blind passes, throwing the ball tospots on the field where they "know" their favorite receiverwill be. The point guard playing basketball lobs a pass highabove the basket, which enables a leaping teammate tocatch it in midair and make a spectacular slam dunk. Thislevel of teamwork requires a great deal of practice andnatural ability, but members of the team must also have aclear understanding of their own roles, the roles of theirteammates, and the way they must work together to besuccessful.

In addition to understanding specialized roles andassignments, players must also recognize the things thateveryone, regardless of his or her position, must be readyand willing to do If the team is to win. When necessary, thequarterback must block like a lineman to allow the halfbackto break free of the defense; diminutive kickers must tacklekick return specialists twice their size to stop a touchdown.The point Is that the demands of a team sport call for eachparticipant to be both a specialist and a generalist.

Management, we believe, is a team sport that makessimilar demands of its players. Unfortunately, many execu-tives (the "team captains") and managers do not recognizehow managerial jobs are similar and yet different acrossorganizational levels and functions. This lack of mutualunderstanding among management players can make it verydifficult for them to appreciate one another's work andcoordinate their work activities. It can make winning thatmuch harder.

In addition to being able to coordinate work moreeffectively, executives who understand similarities and dif-ferences in managerial jobs gain other advantages. Forexample, they are better able to:

• Communicate performance expectations and feed-back to subordinate managers.

• Prepare others and themselves for transitions tohigher organizational levels or different functions.

• Forecast how different managers would perform ifpromoted or moved into a new function.

• Ensure that management training and develop-ment programs are targeted to fit the needs of managers asthey change positions.

• Diagnose and resolve confusion regarding man-agerial roles, responsibilities, and priorities.

For the most part, research on managerial work hasfocused on the common denominators of managementjobs. Indeed, a considerable amount of research has beenpublished on this subject.̂ We, however, have recentlycompleted a study designed to shed light on the differencesin management roles and aaivities across different levels andfunctions. We started with a sample of 1,412 managers^ andasked them to rate the relative importance of 57 managerialtasks to their jobs. Their choices included "Of utmost impor-tance," "Of considerable importance," "Of moderate im-portance," "Of little importance," "Of no importance," and"I do not perform this task." Almost all tasks were rated "Ofmoderate importance" or higher.

Using these importance ratings, we statistically identi-fied seven major factors or groups of management tasks; ̂

Managing individual performance.Instructing subordinates,Planning and allocating resources.Coordinating interdependent groups.Managing group performance.Monitoring the business environment, andRepresenting one's staff.

We then studied how important these seven factorsand their component tasks were to managers at differentlevels and functions.

286

The Role of the Manager: What's Really Important in Different Management Jobs

70, -

PERCENTAGE

Exhibit 1

Supervising Individuals*

55 Managing IndividualPerformance

45

InstructingSubordlnales

0First-Line Supervisor Middle Manager Executive

•Numberii refer to the percentage of managers who said the task was of theutmost" or "considerable" importance.

First-Level Managers: One-to-One WithSubordinates

The first two factors involve supervising others. Theseactivities are most important to first-level managers anddecline in importance as one rises in management. (SeeExhibit 1.)

"Managing individual performance" was rated thesingle most important set of activities by first-level manage-ment. Such tasks include motivating and disciplining sub-ordinates, keeping track of performance and providingfeedback, and improving communications and individualproductivity. These tasks are traditionally associated withlower-level management. Although Exhibit 1 shows thatmany executives contmue to see these tasks as very impor-tant, it is clear that their importance drops off as one movesup the management hierarchy.

The tasks in the "managing individual performance"set are listed in order of the percentage of the total samplewho rated each as of "utmost" or "considerableimportance."

76% Motivate subordinates to change or improvetheir performance.

76% Provide ongoing performance feedback to sub-ordinates.

69% Take action to resolve performance problems inyour work group.

69*/̂ Blend subordinates' goals (e.g., career goals,work performances) witb company's work requirements.

63% Identify ways of improving communicationsamong subordinates.

50% Keep track of subordinates' training and specialskills as they relate to job assignments to aid their growth anddevelopment.

48% Resolve conflicts among subordinates.40^1 Discipline and/or terminate personnel.

37% Review subordinates' work methods to identifyways to increase productivity.

The cluster "/ns(rucffng subort/inafes" includes train-ing, coaching, and instructing employees in how to do theirjob. Of moderate importance to most first-level managers,this cluster is considerably less important to executives.

Eor tbe "instructing subordinates" set, the items arelisted below:

52% I nform subordinates about procedures and workassignments.

46% Explain work assignments to subordinates.44% Provide technical expertise to help subordinates

resolve work problems or questions.43% Train subordinates in new techniques or pro-

cedures.6% Schedule daily activities of subordinates.

Middle Managers: Linking Croups

The concept of linking groups seems to drive themiddle manager's work. Three task factors involve linkinggroups. The importance of these tasks jumps sharply (anaverage of 19 points) from first- to middle-level manage-ment. Thus, managers going from the lowest level of super-vision to middle management need to develop skills in sev-eral new areas if they are to link groups successfully. Theimportance of these tasks drops slightly for executives (seeExhibit 2).

The most important tasks for middle managementinvolve "p/ann/nganc/a//oca((ng resources" among differentgroups. Examples include estimating group resource require-ments and making decisions about how resources should bedistributed. One part of this cluster includes translatinggeneral directives into specific plans and communicatingtheir benefits. Middle managers and executives see thesetasks as crucial to their jobs.

Exhibit 2

Unking Groups*

70 ^

PERCENTAGE

Planning andRtsource Allocation

CoordinatingInterdependent

Groups

Managing GroupPerformance

0First-Line Supervisor Middle Manager Executive

•Numbers refer to the percentage of managers who said the task was ol "theutmost" or "considerable" importance.

287

November, 1989

The relative importance of the "planning and allocat-ing resources" tasks is shown below:

72% Establish target dates for work products orservices.

70% Estimate resource requirements for operationalneeds.

67% Develop evaluation criteria to measure progressand performance of operations.

65% Decide which programs should be providedwith resources (e.g., manpower, materials, funds, etc.).

63% Translate general directives (e.g., strategic plans)from superiors into specific operational plans/schedules/procedures, etc.

58% Communicate the benefits or opportunitiesposed by a new idea, proposal, project, or program.

40% Distribute budgeted resources.Both middle managers and executives also rate

"coordinating interdependent groups" as highly importantto their jobs. This cluster includes reviewing the work andplans of various groups and helping them set priorities aswell as negotiating and integrating various group plans andactivities. This duster — which involves bringing severalefforts together to create a final product — jumps sharply inimportance when a supervisor moves into higher man-agement.

The tasks in "coordinating interdependent groups"were rated in this way:

70% Stay informed of the goals, actions, and agendasof top management.

60% Persuade other organizational groups to providethe information/products/resources needed by your workgroup.

58% Monitor events, circumstances, or conditionsoutside your work group that may affect its goals and/orperformance.

53% Persuade other managers to provide supportand/or resources for a new project or program.

51% Set priorities for responding to other groups.50% Determine the possible effects of changes in the

activities or outputs of your work group on other organiza-tional groups.

45% Maintain awareness of the goals and plans ofother groups within the organization.

44% Negotiate working agreements with othergroups for the exchange of information, products, and/orservices.

43% Ensure coordination of the activities and outputsof interdependent groups.

42% Integrate the plans of related organizationalgroups.

42% Provide advice or assistance to managers of otherorganizational groups.

39% Disseminate information about the activities ofyour work group to other groups.

27% Gather information on the needs/capabilities/resources {e.g., information, services) of other groups in thecompany.

Of the three factors most important to middle man-agement, the biggest shift in importance occurs for the factor"managing group performance." This includes managingthe performance of various work groups and working withsubordinate managers on this performance.

Rated low in importance by first-level managers,"managing group performance" increases sharply (by 26percentage points) in importance for those in middle man-agement. It is the hallmark change for those going intomiddle management. While the middle manager must stillmonitor the performance of individual supervisors, measur-ing and managing group-level performance indicatorsbecomes a significantly more important part of his or herresponsibilities.

The items in "managing group performance," andtheir level of importance are as follows:

57% Define areas of responsibility for managerialpersonnel.

50% Inform managers when performance in theirgroups does not meet established goals or standards.

48% Meet with managers to discuss the likely effectsof changes on their groups,

44% Monitor your work group's performance byreading reports, information system outputs, or otherdocuments.

25% Prepare produaion and productivity reports.23% Gather or review information on the activities

and progress of several different work groups.

Executives: An Eye on the Outside

The activities encompassed in "monitoring the busi-ness environment" are a sharp shift in emphasis for manag-ers reaching the executive ranks (see Exhibit 3). These activi-ties require the executive to have an increased awareness ofsales, business, economic, and social trends.

Exhibit 3

Monitoring the Business Environment*

70 r

PERCENTAGE

Monitoring theEnvironment

0First-Line Supervisor Middle Manager Executive

•Numbers refer to the percentage of managers who said the task was of "theutmost" or "considerable" importance.

288

The Role of the Manager: What's Really Important in Different Management lobs

For managers below the executive ranks, these tasksrate the lowest in importance. At what point do managersneed to become aware of and proficient in adopting newviewpoints for their high-level jobs? Clearly, executives findthat this expanded perspective is a key requirement of theirposition.

The tasks involved in "monitoring the business envi-ronment" and their importance ratings are as follows:

47% Develop/maintain relationships with man-agement-level customers or clients from the outside busi-ness community.

38% Participate in task forces to identify new businessopportunities.

37%. Monitor sales performance and promotionalactivities.

36% Gather information about trends outside yourorganization.

35% Identify developing market trends.32% Develop/maintain relationships with man-

agement-level vendors or consultants in the businesscommunity.

31% Consult on companywide problems.26% Attend outside meetings as a company repre-

sentative.20% Monitor multinational business and economic

trends.15% Release company information to the public (e.g.,

the news media).

Managers at All Levels: The Ambassador

Unlike the factors discussed earlier, which rise ordrop in importance as the manager moves up the corporateladder," representing your staff" h ranked equally high by alllevels of management (see Exhibit 4). This is the spokesper-son role, noted in earlier studies by Henry Mintzberg. Itinvolves representing one's work group to others andincludes communicating the needs of one's work group toothers, helping subordinates interact with other groups, andacting as the work group's representative.

The importance ratings of tasks involved in "repre-senting your staff" are as follows;

68% Develop relationships with managers of otherorganizational groups that may be able to provide your workgroup with information/products/services/resources.

59% Communicate the needs or requirements ofyour work group to managers of other organizationalgroups.

58% Provide information on the status of work in yourwork group to managers of groups that depend on you forinformation/produrts/services/resources.

57% Determine the appropriate response(s) to man-agers demanding information/products/services/other re-sources from your work group.

Exhibit 4

Representing People*

Representing OwnWork Group

70

PERCENTAGE

0Firil-Line Supervisor Middle Manager Executive

'Numbers refer lo Ihe percentage of managprs who said (he lask was of "theutmost" or "considerable" imponance.

48% Provide information or assistance to subordi-nates interacting with other organizational groups.

46% Communicate capabilities and resources of yourwork group to other managers in the organization.

39% Serve as an intermediary between your subordi-nates and managers of other organizational groups.

One might speculate that a big transition regardingsuch activities takes place when one is initially promoted intomanagement. Until then individuals may have spoken onlyfor themselves; thus, some adjustment is required before themanager will recognize and take on the role of groupambassador.

Differences Across Organizational Functions

Most managers would argue that different functionspresent significantly different management challenges. Ourdata permit some tests of this hypothesis.

We examined the importance of management tasksacross three funaions; (1) mar/ceting, which includes man-agers in the sales and related support organization,(2) manufacturing, which includes managers in all phases ofthe manufacturing process, and (3) administration, whichincludes managers in finance, planning, and related staffssuch as personnel.

As Exhibit 5 shows, the importance levels of manage-rial task factors are remarkably similar across functions,although some noteworthy differences exist. (The three lev-els of management are weighted equally in each function sothat no one level has undue influence.) Marketing andadministration appear to differ most in their rating of factors,with manufacturing falling in between.

289

November, 1989

cENTAGE

100

90

80

Exhibit 5

The Importance of Managerial Activities^

R 70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0 L

InstructSubordinates

40

ManageIndividuals

59

RepresentStaff

59

Plan andAllocate

Resources63

CoordinateGroups

27 Marketing ManagersManufacturing ManagersAdministration Managers

Monitor theOutside

Environment32

18

•Numbers refer to the percentage of managers in each function who said the task was of "tbe utmost" or "considerable"importance.

"Instructing subordinates" is least important amongmarketing managers (27% said it was of "the utmost" or"considerable importance"), perhaps because so much ofthe training of marketing employees is done in corporate-sponsored programs. In administration, however, wheremany highly specific staff jobs and relatively little formalcorporate training exists (at least in this company), "instruct-ing subordinates" is a relatively more important manage-ment activity.

On the other hand, we suspect that a high level ofprofessionalism among most administrative staff reduces theemphasis that their managers place on "managing individualperformance" (50%). This factor, by contrast, is considerablymore important in marketing (59%).

"Representation" is rated highest in importance bymanagers in marketing (59%). Obviously, these managersrepresent the company's products to others, mainly custom-ers. By contrast, the demand for representing one'sstaff is 11points lower among managers in administration. These rela-tive differences apply also for "planning and allocatingresources," which is rated highest by marketing (63%) andmanufacturing (59%), and lowest by administration (52%).The activities involved in coordinating interdependent workgroups is equally important for all three functions (47%).

"Managing group performance" is of somewhathigher importance to the managers in manufacturing (43%)and somewhat lower to managers in administration (32%).Presumably the administration funaion is made up of morespecialists and professionals who work alone.

The activities involved in "monitoring the outsidebusiness environment" take on the highest importance formanagers in marketing (32%). This external orientation,which results from their interaction with customers andneed to remain current on competitors' products and mar-keting strategies, should not be too surprising.

Overall, our data suggest there are indeed differen-ces in the importance of various managerial tasks acrossfunctions. Nevertheless, the similarities across the entirespectrum of functions are clearly more striking. (Such con-clusions are also suggested in the findings of Cynthia M.Pavett and Alan W. Lau in their extension of Mintzberg'swork.'') This suggests that a common approach to selecting,training, and developing managers may be both feasible anddesirable for many functions in an organization.

Where significant differences do exist across func-tions, a common management development program orcross-functional work assignments may make managersmore aware of different funaions' perspectives, and helpthem avoid seeing all managers' jobs as either the same orunique. As John Kotter has noted in his work on executivebehavior, people with narrow functional backgrounds whoare promoted into general management positions may facea very difficult transition.^

Appropriate preparation may minimize suchhardships.

Theoretical Implications

While we tbink this study bas a number of practicalimplications that can help organizations make more effec-tive use of their managerial resources, it is important toconsider its limitations as well. Eirst, the data are based onmanagers' own perceptions of tbe importance of varioustasks. Certainly their bosses, peers, and subordinates mayhave a different view of things.^ Second, because we took a"snapshot" of managers at different levels, rather than fol-lowing a group of managers over time, we cannot be certainthat managers will experience the differences we describe asthey move to higher-level management jobs; however,because the company whose managers we surveyed strictlyfollows a "promote from within" policy, it seems likely thatthe differences we note are indeed changes accompanyingupward moves.

290

The Role of the Manager: What's Really Important in Different Management jobs

Despite these limitations, the study provides a care-fully gathered record of the role and task perceptions of alarge sample of real managers working in a diverse array ofpositions. As we noted at the beginning of this article, theresults can be interpreted as supportive of Mintzberg's viewthat managerial jobs involve essentially the same managerialroles^ as well as Katz and Kahn's argument that managers dodifferent things at different levels.̂

In support of Mintzberg, we found that managers atall levels rated most of the tasks on the questionnaire of someimportance. The differences we observed were typically dif-ferences in the degree of importance of the tasks, not differ-ences in whether thetaskswere important at all. Yet, as Katzand Kahn would maintain, these differences are significant.Considering the costs of a manager's time, the differencebetween outstanding and average performance may welldepend on the priority he or she assigns to each of the manytasks that are basically important.^

Practical Implications

How should we prepare our managers to meet thevarious demands that different managerial roles place onthem? Who should we selea to move up the managementhierarchy? What training can we provide? How can wedevelop the skills essential for the manager's and team'ssuccess? The findings of this study provide some clues as tohow a winning team can be fostered by training, develop-ment, and selection.

Training

Typically, management training has emphasized thebasics of management; individually focused supervision,motivation, career planning, and performance feedback. Allof these aspeas should clearly be a central focus in thetraining of first-level managers. Given that managers con-tinue to use these skills as they move up the hierarchy,periodic reinforcement also seems appropriate. Our study,however, indicates that training for managers above the firstlevel must cover more than these one-to-one skills.

To help middle managers deal successfully with theirresponsibilities for managing and linking groups, training atthis level should focus on skills needed for designing andimplementing effeaive group and intergroup work andinformation systems; defining and monitoring group-levelperformance indicators; diagnosing and resolving problemswithin and among work groups; negotiating with peers andsuperiors; and designing and implementing reward systemsthat support cooperative behavior. As these topics suggest,the psychology of the individual, so important to the first-level manager, gives way to social psychology and sociologywhen one reaches middle management. Since the lattertopics are generally less well known and more abstraa thanthe former, it is not surprising that the transition to middlemanagement can be very confusing and disorienting.

The executive's need to emphasize the externalenvironment can also be partially addressed through train-ing. The curriculum should focus on broadening the execu-tive's understanding of the organization's competition,world economies, politics, and social trends. A number ofexecutive training institutes and university-based programsare geared toward providing these broadening experiences;however, we think it is a serious mistake to wait until a personbecomes an executive before teaching him or her to recog-nize the importance of attending to the relationship betweenthe business and its environment. Consider the potentialadvantages of having middle and lower-level managers whounderstand the nature and strategic direaion of their organ-ization's business and are constantly on the lookout foropportunities and threats in the environment. We think thisperspeaive should receive continuous attention in man-agement training and development efforts at all levels.

Development

Planned development programs can also contributeto expanding the skill base of managers. At the first level,experiences such as filling in for the middle manager duringvacation times, aaing as a liaison between linked funaions,or representing the entire function at important meetingscan build group management and coordination skills.

For the middle manager, increased customer contact,visits to other organizations, and subscriptions to importantbusiness and trade publications can help impart the skillsnecessary for the executive ranks.

Selection

The results of this study also have implications for theseleaion of managers. Given our findings, it should not besurprising that executives are often chosen from the market-ing funaion; these people have had their eyes on the out-side environment for the majority of their careers. Yetthrough planned development, employees and managersfrom other funaions can also acquire the skills required inexecutive management, and their contribution to overalldecision making can be significant.

A Winning Team

The results of this study clearly identify the differentroles that managers play and can provide organizations withthe framework for building management training anddevelopment programs. By understanding the common anddifferent roles played by managers as they move up themanagement hierarchy, we can develop programs thatensure that these managers have the skills needed to puttogether a winning team. •

291

November. 1989

Endnotes

1. The questionnaire used in ihis study vt/as based on an extensivereview of research on managerial activities. A classic work in this area isManagement Behavior. Performance, and Effectiveness, by J. P. Campbell,M. D. Dunnette, E. E. Lawler, and K. Weick, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1970.Another work that strongly influenced the questionnaire because of itsdepiction of ihe dynamic quality of managerial work, is L. Sayles's Leader-ship, New York: McCraw-Hilt, 1979, aplly subtilled "Whal Effective Manag-ers Really Do and How They Do It."

2. This siudy was conducted by the authors in a large U.S. businessenterprise. A random sample, designed to overrepreseni higher-stratamanagers, resulted in 1,412 respondents: 658 first-ltne managers, 553 middlemanagers, and 201 executives. After extensive pretesting, a list of 65 activitieswas used on the final survey questionnaire. Through statistical analyses,these activities were "factored," or grouped, into seven sets, which com-prised 57 activities. (Eighl activities fil poorly into the seven sets and weredropped.}

Despite, or perhaps because, we used a literature search as the basis forour list of activiiies, some activities valued in this and other organizationsmay not have appeared in our survey. In passing we might mention that theimportance placed on various activities is not necessarily related Io "good"performance. The correlation between importance and effectiveness hassimply not been examined in this study. By the same token, ihese activitiesare not necessarily the "correct" or "best" ones for any particular position. Itremains to be determined which activities are desirable or appropriate,especially for the future.

3. Other invesligators have studied patterns of managemenl tasks. Forexample. James MacDonald and his colleagues (Charles Youngblood andKerry Glum) report their comprehensive effort to determine training needsof firsi- and second-level supervisors working at AT&T in their book Per-formance Based Supervisory Development, Amherst, MA: Human Re-source Development Press. 1982. Since they were concerned specificallywilh developing training guidelines, (heir categories of management (listedbelow) are much more focused on knowledge and skill developmenl thanare the seven behavioral factors developed in our investigation. Theircategories of supervision include ihe following:

Planning the jobControlling the jobProviding performance feedbackManaging limeDecision makingProblem solvingMaintaining upward communicationsMaintaining downward communicationsMaintaining peer communicationsCreating a motivating atmosphereDeveloping subordinatesSelf-developmentProviding written communicationsInvolvement with meetingsCommunity relationsOf more direct relevance to our work is the recent work reported by

Fred Luthans, Stuart Rosenkraniz, and Harry Hennessey in "What Do Suc-cessful Managers Really Do? An Observation Study of Managerial Activi-lies." Tbe journal of Applied Behavioral Science. 21(2), 1985, 255-270. Seealso Fred Luthans, "Successful vs. Effective Real Managers," The Academy o/Management Executive. May 1988, 127-132. Luthans and his colleaguesobserved and recorded the actual activities of managers at all managementlevels and in many types of organizations. Observations were recordedaccording lo four categories: communicalion. consisling of exchanginginformation and processing paperwork; traditional management, consist-ing of planning, decision making, and controlling: human resource man-agement, consisting of motivating, disciplining, managing conflict, staffing,and training/developing; and networking, consisting of socializing, politick-ing, and interacting with outsiders.

It should be noted that the seven factors developed from our investiga-tion encompass all the categories studied by MacDonald and Luthans intheir earlier investigations.

4. See C M . PavettandA. W. Lau. "Managerial Work: The influence ofHierarchical Level and Functional Speciality," -Academy of Managementyouma/, 26(1), 1983,170-177,

5. See j . P. Kotter, The Genera/ Managers. New York: Free Press. 1982.6. An excel leni review of the pro's and con's of various means to study

managerial work is the report "Studies of Managerial Work: Results andMethods," by M. W. McCall, A. M. Morrison, and R. L. Kaplan, Greensboro,NC: Center for Creative Leadership, 1975.

7. A well-known book on this subject, Henry Minuberg's The Natureof Managerial Work. New York, Harper, 1973, is based on observations of adozen chief executive officers. His work has been replicated by others, suchasL. B. Kurkeand H. E. Aldrich,"Minizberg Was Right!: A Replication andExtension of the Nature of Managerial Work," Management Science, 29,8,1983. 975-984.

8. D. Katz and R. L. Kahn's Social Psychology of Organizations (2ndEd.), New York: Wiley, 1978, presents a view of very different demands,cognitive and emotional, on managers al various levels in an organizaiion.

9. Finally, some further support for the argument that managers dosome things differently at various levels was shown in one of Lulhans' earlierinvestigations based on observations of some 53 managers (sere Endnote 3).Comparisons between top executives and front-line supervisors revealedthat executives engaged in much more networking, considerably moreplanning and decision making, and less staffing than front-line supervisors.These results are certainly compatible wilh ours.

292

The Role of the Manager: What's Realty Important in Different Management lobs

Allen I. Kraut is professor of management at BaruchCo//ege, City University of New York. For most of his profes-sional career, he has been involved in personnel research atthe IBM Corporation. Until his recent move to academia. Dr.Kraut was manager of personnel research studies in IBM'sCorporate Staff, conducting strategically oriented personnelresearch. He also spent several years at IBM's World TradeCorporation, vi/here he was responsible for personnelresearch and management development worldwide.

His interests in management have been expressed inresearch and consulting on executive succession planningand management development, and in several other studieson ihe use of peer ratings, management assessment centers,and execuOVe selection. He has also done many employeeattitude surveys, some of which have focused on executives'opinions.

Dr. Kraut is a Fellow of the American PsychologicalAssociation and a Diplomate of the American ̂ oard of Pro-fessional Psychologists. He received an M.A. from ColumbiaUniversity and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.

Dr Patricia R. Pedigo conducts marketplace and bus-iness partner research for the marketing and services organi-zation of IBM. In addition to studying these topics and themanagement issues reported here, her research has coveredattitudes toward financial planning, retirement, performanceappraisal systems, benefit programs, corporate culture, man-agement potential, succession planning, and personnelselection.

Before assuming her current position. Dr. Pedigo hasheld management and personnel generalist positions withinIBM. She received a B.S. from tbe University of Washington,and an M.A. and Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychol-ogy from tbe University of Soutb Florida. She has consultedin public and private organizations, including AT&T. Pep-siCo, and GTE. She has also taught personnel administrationand organizational behavior at the Graduate Business Schoolat Pace University.

D. Douglas McKenna is an associate professor andchair of the Management Department in the School ofBusiness and Economics at Seattle Pacific University, teach-ing courses in human resource management, organizationdesign, and organization development. He is currently writ-ing a chapter (with Louis W. Fry) entitled "OrganizationAnalysis and Design" for the upcoming second edition ofMarvin Dunnette's Handbook of Industrial/OrganizationalPsychology.

His current research interests focus on the questionof how to design and implement human resource systems indifferent types of organizations, particularly high-tech andknowledge-delivery firms. He has an active consulting prac-tice and works regularly with Microsoft, Boeing, and othercompanies in the Pacific Northwest. During tbe time inwhich the research reported in this article was conducted, hewas senior research psychologist at Personnel DecisionsResearch Institute, Inc. in Minneapolis.

Marvin D. Dunnette is professor of psychology at tbeUniversity of Minnesota and cbairman and CEO of Person-nel Decisions Research Institute, Inc. of Minneapolis. He alsois one of the founders and continues to serve on the board ofPersonnel Decisions Research Institute, Inc.

Dr. Dunnette has been influential in industrial andorganizational psychology through both teaching and pub-lication. He has served as academic advisor to 50 studentswho have received Ph.D. degrees in the fields of industrial/organizational psychology and counseling psychology. He iseditor of the Handbook of Industrial and OrganizationalPsychology, pu6/;s/iec//n 1976 (Chicago: Rand McNally), anda co-author (with John Campbell, Edward E. Lawler, and KarlWe/c/()o/^Managerial Behavior, Performance,and Effective-ness, New York: McGraw-Hill, 7970. A second edition oftheI/O Handbook is now in preparation.

Dr. Dunnette is a Fellow of the American Psychologi-cal Association (APA) and holds tbe Diplomate in IndustrialPsycbology. He served as president of APA's Division ofIndustria! and Organizational Psychology during the 1966-67year and was the 1985 recipient of tbat division's Award forOutstanding Scientific Contributions.

293