Mastery and Frequency of Managerial Behaviors Relative to Sub-unit Effectiveness

Abstract

This research was undertaken in response to a review which called for a behavioral approach to the study of leadership. The subjects of the study were the managers of sub-units in a hospital. Eleven managerial behaviors were assessed using their subordinates as untrained observers, and behaviorally-anchored questionnaires. Effectiveness was assessed by industrial engineering measures of performance and employee attitude. The results indicate that managers of sub-units of high and low morale and/or performance exhibited significantly different levels of mastery of managerial behaviors. In contrast, no differences in frequency of managerial behaviors were observed for either high or low morale units, and only one managerial behavior was observed to be significantly more frequent for managers of high and low performing units. Whereas, higher frequency of managerial behaviors was found, overall, to be associated with low and not high performing sub-units.