British Managers Research Articles

The case for management history

This article defines the case for treating management history as a discrete subject area, although one closely related to business, accounting, labour, and industrial history. It seeks to concentrate on the nature, process, and practice of management as an activity within the organization, and to argue that it is important that modern British managers understand the intellectual and cultural roots of their profession, since without these they will tend to be swayed by short-term management ‘fads’. Within the broad topic there are several identifiable sub-areas for potential exploration, including the comparative historical development of management between different countries, management institutions, managerial careers and labour markets, management structures, management skills, and management thought and theory.

The case for management history

This article defines the case for treating management history as a discrete subject area, although one closely related to business, accounting, labour, and industrial history. It seeks to concentrate on the nature, process, and practice of management as an activity within the organization, and to argue that it is important that modern British managers understand the intellectual and cultural roots of their profession, since without these they will tend to be swayed by short-term management ‘fads’. Within the broad topic there are several identifiable sub-areas for potential exploration, including the comparative historical development of management between different countries, management institutions, managerial careers and labour markets, management structures, management skills, and management thought and theory.

Creativity, the corporate curriculum and the future: a case study

This paper explores the proposition that the successful companies of the future will be those that find the means to help their employees to think and act creatively. Based on a case study of British managers’ perceptions of creativity and how it can be nurtured in a large US-based manufacturing company, the study shows that prevailing models of creativity in the organization are inadequate. Firstly, the structure of management in the organization and many features of the culture and corporate curriculum of the company, inhibit creative thinking and action. It is not the intention of the company to do this. The company has developed many methods of problem-solving and team-working intended to release the creative energy of employees. The organizational culture of the company is not, however, as supportive of creative endeavour as it needs to be. Secondly, the models of creativity in the minds of managers and supervisors reflect a wider cultural misunderstanding of the phenomenon. Creativity is perceived in highly individual terms. It is thought of as something which expresses itself fully in non-work areas and it is not seen as a process that can be facilitated through new ways of working and thinking within the organization. To have a successful future, this company, like many others, must change the ways in which its managers perceive the creative potential of their employees.

A comparison of work values and motives among Zimbabwean and British managers

Work values and attitudes were compared for 117 African and 82 British managers and management students. It was predicted that Africans would place more importance on status, prestige and position as motivators, would be less likely to accept criticism, and rate courtesy, social approval and loyalty more favourably than British respondents. Existing scales of social approval and derived need satisfaction were modified and a third one constructed in order to obtain the measurements. The results confirmed the hypothesis relating to status, prestige, position, tentatively supported that relating to social approval, partly confirmed the hypothesis for loyalty and the results for courtesy and acceptance of criticism were not proven. These results are discussed in terms of the methodological issues associated with cross‐cultural comparisons and the implications for motivation and management activities.

Indian and British personnel specialists' understanding of the dynamics of their function: an empirical study

This paper highlights the need for cross-national HRM comparisons from a cognitive perspective. It examines the perceptions of top Indian and British personnel specialists regarding their function. The influence of national culture, national institutions and dynamic business environment on HRM is evaluated. An interview based “ visual cards sorting” technique is used to tap the comparative thinking of respondents. The research was conducted in 48 manufacturing (24 Indian and 24 British) firms. The sample firms were closely matched on a number of control variables. A number of differences and similarities were found in the thinking of Indian and British managers regarding their HRM functions. The impact of certain dimensions of national culture, different national institutions and some aspects of competitive business environment on Indian and British HRM practices and policies helps to highlight the context specific nature of HRM function. The findings of the study have both research and practical implications. The analysis opens avenues for future research.

Implementation of strategic plans: a comparison of British and Japanese production managers

Refining the learning style of a company is one of the promising ways to build up sustainable competence. However, as a first step, one has to know one's current learning style and we think ‘style’ can be understood more clearly by comparing one's own with the styles of others—akin to bench-marking. The main theme of this paper is to clarify two different learning styles, namely the Japanese and the British as derived from data from their middle management personnel in production firms. We were concerned to obtain data from mono-culture firms. Two large surveys were carried out—one in the UK (to 621 managers: 24.2% response rate), and the other in Japan (to 1000 managers: 39.1% response). The analyses have revealed that the UK and the Japanese managers were quite different in some respects. For instance, the British managers seem to be more participatory in their style compared with the Japanese. They were similar in others—with both sets of managers saying they learn better by carrying out extensive monitoring and giving explanations thereafter to their subordinates. We conclude by noting that the ‘strengths and weaknesses’ are a sort of “lego” system: they could be complementary building blocks. This might indicate potential trouble points in Joint Ventures between the Japanese and the British—or strengths, if both sides can learn about their strategic fit.

The use of visual card sorting technique to study managers’ belief structure – An international comparative study

Considering the ever increasing interest of researchers in the study of managerial cognitions, this paper details the what, why and how of visual cards sorting (VCS) technique. Recently, this technique has been successfully adopted to examine managerial cognitions. VCS is an interview‐based approach and helps to highlight how individuals (managers) categorise concepts within a particular knowledge domain. To show the operationalisation of this methodology, results from a recent research conducted in 48 closely matched manufacturing (24 each in Indian and British) firms are presented. The VCS technique helped to glean out the main differences and similarities in the thinking of Indian and British managers regarding the influence of different institutions and different aspects of dynamic business environment on their human resource management (HRM) policies and practices. This confirms the context‐specific nature of HRM. The paper also highlights the limitations and issues of validity and reliability of the VCS methodology.

Organization and Management in an Anglo-French Consortium: The Case of Transmanche-Link

This paper presents the results of a comparative organizational assessment of the behaviour and organization of the British and French managers who constructed the Channel Tunnel. In the context of a common adhocratic organization, a principal components analysis of the survey results differentiates the British and French respondents on five dimensions: fonceur/procedural; competitive/collegial; involved/distanced; individualistic/supportive; and stress. These quantitative results are supported by qualitative data from interviews and open-ended questions. A preliminary explanation of the results in terms of a configurational analysis of the differences between the British and French managers surveyed is then offered. The paper argues that an organizational assessment methodology is compatible with societal approaches which attempt to understand nationally distinctive configurations of organization and management.

NOTE DE RECHERCHE: ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING IN PRACTICE: THE BEHAVIOUR OF SENIOR PRODUCTION MANAGERS IN BRITAIN AND JAPAN

Japanese firms recognize they cannot sustain their past performance and they are considering reviewing their management methods. To an extent, such management reviews of organizations are not confined to Japan, they are a global phenomenon - often called business re-engineering or some such term. It is postulated that refining the learning style of the company is a better way to build up sustainable competence rather than engaging in an organization revolution that may upset all the staff. However, as a first step, one has to understand one's current learning style: this can be defined more clearly by comparing one's own style with the styles of others - akin to the process of bench-marking. This appear concerns analysis of the learning styles of Japanese and British managers. Two large surveys were carried out - on in the United Kingdom and the other in Japan. The analyses have revealed the UK and Japanese managers are quite different in some respects and similar in others.

A cross‐cultural comparison of British and Turkish managers in terms of Protestant work ethic characteristics

This paper presents a cross‐cultural comparison of Protestant work ethic characteristics of practising Protestant British and practising Muslim Turkish managers using Mirels and Garrett’s Protestant work ethic scale. Max Weber’s Protestant work ethic thesis is used as the conceptual framework in this study. The nature of the Protestant work ethic thesis and its relationship with organisation culture is discussed. Multivariate and univariate analysis of variance were used to analyse the data. The results suggest that there is a significant difference between practising Muslim Turkish managers and practising Protestant British managers: the Turkish group showed relatively higher Protestant work ethic scores than their Protestant counterparts. Possible reasons for the difference between British and Turkish groups are advanced in the light of Turkish economic, social and political developments. It is argued that representative Islamic sources also support the results of this research by pointing to the important role of a work ethic in Islam.

Enthusiasm Constrained? British Industrial R&D and the Transition from War to Peace, 1942–51

During the second half of World War II and in the years which immediately followed, British firms demonstrated a considerable enthusiasm for expanding their R&D activities. Severe restrictions on the availability of resources limited the extent to which this could be translated into practice, but many firms nonetheless managed to achieve rapid growth in the scale of their R&D facilities. Drawing on a range of archival sources generated by both government and industry, this article examines the nature of this enthusiasm and how it was shaped by the need to conform to controls on building, defence requirements, including the National Service ‘call up’, and the investment priorities determined in response to the export drive. These constriants not only underprinned the development of industrial R&D during the transition from war to peace, they also helped to ensure that British managers retained their belief that ever more R&D would ensure industrial success.

Workload, stress and family life in British Members of Parliament and the psychological impact of reforms to their working hours

Demands on Britain's Members of Parliament (MPs) have grown steadily over the last 15 years, resulting in parliamentary recommendations of working hours reform. This study was the first psychological research on national politicians and comprised two stages. Initially baseline data were gathered via questionnaire on the psychological impact of the job—124 out of 651 MPs (20 percent) responded. Results revealed long working hours, higher mean scores on physical stress and Type A behaviour scales compared to British managers, as well as greatly reduced levels of perceived control. Type A behaviour was linked to the ages of MPs and their children, while perceived control was altered significantly by political party membership and constituency location. At stage two, following a 9-month trial of reforms to MPs' working hours, a follow-up questionnaire was circulated. One hundred and ten out of 200 MPs responded. Results indicated increases approaching significance in both physical and emotional symptoms of stress and in difficulties at the home–work interface. MPs highlighted the stressful role of time pressures, family and constituency problems and job insecurity. Stress levels were significantly affected by the MP's age, their children's ages, constituency distance from Westminster, weekly travel time and extra work roles outside politics. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The role of social process in participative decision making in an international context

If participation is to be a reality, the institution of appropriate structures is not enough ‐ the social processes within these must also facilitate power sharing. In an international context, national cultures will have different effects on social process. The attitudes of managers towards aspects of decision making in their organizations, and their own behaviour, characterise the social process. Organizational characteristics concerning information sharing and manipulation, decision style, and the role of IT, and personal behaviour involving information control, flexibility, and role playing, are considered for their impact on particpative decision making. A comparison between French and British managers, drawn from an international study of decision making, illustrates the issue considered. While considerable similarities were found between the two cultural groups, differences of degree as well as opposed views were also found. Overall attitudes were fairly favourable to particpation, but limitations were found, and these differed between the two groups.

Understanding Management Performance

Current models of the factors underlying management performance make use of a variety of variables at different levels of analysis. A framework is presented in which variables of three different types are linked together. Using data from a sample (n = 437) of British managers this article explores relationships between personality factors (using the big‐five factors), work competencies and managerial performance. Results from the analyses reveal a set of underlying competency factors, which show different patterns of correlation with two facets of performance: current proficiency and promotability. In turn, these factors and the facets of performance show relationships with the big‐five personality factors. Current proficiency is more closely related to competencies of organization, specialization and analysis – competencies more likely to be displayed by people who are conscientious and introverted. Promotability is linked more closely to competencies concerning action/motivation, flexibility/sensitivity and communication – competencies more likely to be displayed by people who are extroverted with lower conscientiousness and agreeableness.

The Dimensionality of Honey and Mumford’s Learning Styles Questionnaire

The Learning Style Questionnaire (LSQ) developed by Honey and Mumford (1986) is one of several measures of individual learning style. Despite its popularity in the UK there is little published evidence for construct validity. This survey of 329 British managers used cluster and factor analysis to assess the validity of the LSQ. Cluster analysis revealed learning style profiles dominated by Reflector/Theorist traits. The factor structure of the LSQ does not cleanly reflect the four‐stage Learning Cycle relied upon for a theoretical foundation. The observed structure is more indicative of a three‐stage learning cycle of Action, Reflection and Planning.

The quality of British management: Asia‐Pacific perceptions

A stratified random sample of respondents was identified from databases compiled by associate researchers located in each of five countries, namely Singapore, Malaysia Taiwan, Indonesia and Japan. The aim of the study was to establish which dimensions of management skill are important to regional customers; to compare British management skills on these dimensions with those of major trading nations active in the region and to prioritise key areas for improvement if Britain is to become a valued member of the region. The major conclusion of this study was that British managers were generally perceived, amongst managers in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan and Japan, to be inferior to Japanese and US managers and, in most areas, inferior to German managers. British managers were ranked fourth above Australian and Taiwanese managers, who were ranked as the weakest amongst the countries being investigated on a number of skills.

Learning to Trust and Trusting to Learn

There is insufficient trust between top British managers and those they manage, trust which is essential to the mode of learning implied in the concepts of organizational learning and the learning organization. Requisite levels of trust will not be created and nurtured without institutional change, at national and organizational level, and a new form of politics which allows `rank-and-file' members of organizations to ensure that their own experience is given voice and taken into account. It is proposed that radical theatre, founded on notions of trust and learning, has the potential for introducing such a conception of politics into organizational life.

“Real” managers don’t do NVQs: a review of the new management “standards”

In 1997 the Management Charter Initiative (MCI) officially launched the new management NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications), benchmarks which attempted to describe the work performed by British managers. This article is a review of those qualifications. It remembers some of the main problems associated with the original management NVQs and, drawing on some of the best theoretical and empirical accounts of managerial work, argues that the new qualifications have failed to live up to the MCI’s original promise, to assist the development and training of managers.

How negotiators work in teams

Investigates the theory and practice of negotiation through studying British managers in a role playing situation; observations then formed the basis of this questionnaire survey, which was sent to 300 UK managers, and follow‐up interviews were carried out with 30 managers. Refers to earlier research conducted by the same authors and explains how this research builds on their previous findings. Explains the methodology of this study. Reports on the use of teams in negotiating behaviour, the size of the teams, team preparation and formation, team roles, team management, acquiring information, understanding agreements, demonstrating a united front, establishing facts, attempting to split the opposition, exaggerating divisions in an opposing team, tactics, and the use of adjournments. Concludes that smaller teams, consisting of people used to working together, are perceived to be more effective. Highlights the areas where teams new to negotiations or working together should focus their attention. Suggests areas for further research.

Managers' Perceptions of their Identity: A Comparative Study between the Czech Republic and Britain

After a period of more that 40 years of Communism, the Czech Republic is in the midst of an economic transformation. One aspect of this transformation is the development of a new managerial ethos, important to manage the current infrastructural changes and ensure that Czech organizations are able to compete in international markets.This paper reports research that examines what Czech managers think about themselves and their roles, and contrasts these perceptions with those of their British counterparts. Many of the concepts and development approaches being applied in the Czech Republic are closely related to concepts and development approaches in the West and have often been accepted unchallenged even though they are being applied in very different circumstances. The focus of this research was to understand how Czech and British managers view their jobs; how their different views relate to the techniques and approaches they adopt. The method chosen was discourse analysis applied to responses from a questionnaire, interviews and repertory grid technique. Using this approach a very different kind of understanding was gained in the way Czech managers think about management than has hitherto been assumed.The research takes a matched group of Czech and British managers and contrasts their respective views. Our findings give important new insights for management and management development practice for both the Czech Republic and Great Britain.