Developing management skills 8e david whetten

9 Improving Management Skills 12 An Approach to Skill Development 13 Leadership and Management 16 Contents of the Book 18 Organization of the Book 19 Practice and Application 21 Diversit

my management lab is an online assessment and preparation solution for courses in Principles of Management, Human Resources, Strategy, and Organizational Behavior that helps you actively study and prepare material for class Chapter-by-chapter activities, including built-in pretests and posttests, focus on what you need to learn and to review in order to succeed.

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ISBN 10: 0-13-612100-4 ISBN 13: 978-0-13-612100-8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Whetten, David A (David Allred)

Developing management skills /David A Whetten, Kim S Cameron.—8th ed.

p cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-13-612100-8

1 Management—-Study and teaching 2 Management—Problems, exercises, etc I Cameron,

Kim S II Title.

Preface xvii

Introduction 1

3 Solving Problems Analytically and Creatively 167

9 Building Effective Teams and Teamwork 489

Supplement A Making Oral and Written Presentations 591

Supplement B Conducting Interviews 619

Supplement C Conducting Meetings 651

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Preface xvii

THE CRITICAL ROLE OF MANAGEMENT SKILLS 3

The Importance of Competent Managers 6

The Skills of Effective Managers 7

Essential Management Skills 8

What Are Management Skills? 9

Improving Management Skills 12

An Approach to Skill Development 13

Leadership and Management 16

Contents of the Book 18

Organization of the Book 19

Practice and Application 21

Diversity and Individual Differences 21

Summary 23

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL 24

Diagnostic Survey and Exercises 24

Personal Assessment of Management Skills (PAMS) 24

What Does It Take to Be an Effective Manager? 28

SSS Software In-Basket Exercise 30

SCORING KEY AND COMPARISON DATA 42

Personal Assessment of Management Skills 42

Scoring Key 42

Comparison Data 42

What Does It Take to Be an Effective Manager? 43

SSS Software In-Basket Exercise 43

SKILL ASSESSMENT 46

Diagnostic Surveys for Scale Self-Awareness 46

Self-Awareness Assessment 46

Emotional Intelligence Assessment 47

The Defining Issues Test 48

C O N T E N T S

v

Cognitive Style Indicator 52

Locus of Control Scale 52

Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale 54

Core Self-Evaluation Scale (CSES) 56

SKILL LEARNING 57

Key Dimensions of Self-Awareness 57

The Enigma of Self-Awareness 58

The Sensitive Line 58

Understanding and Appreciating Individual Differences 60

Important Areas of Self-Awareness 61

Emotional Intelligence 62 Values 65

Ethical Decision Making and Values 72 Cognitive Style 74

Attitudes Toward Change 76 Core Self-Evaluation 79

SKILL ANALYSIS 84

Cases Involving Self-Awareness 84

Communist Prison Camp 84 Computerized Exam 85 Decision Dilemmas 86

SKILL PRACTICE 89

Exercises for Improving Self-Awareness Through Self-Disclosure 89

Through the Looking Glass 89 Diagnosing Managerial Characteristics 90

An Exercise for Identifying Aspects of Personal Culture:

A Learning Plan and Autobiography 92

SKILL APPLICATION 95

Activities for Developing Self-Awareness 95

Suggested Assignments 95 Application Plan and Evaluation 95

SCORING KEYS AND COMPARISON DATA 97

Self-Awareness Assessment 97

Scoring Key 97 Comparison Data 97

Emotional Intelligence Assessment 97

Scoring Key 97 Comparison Data 99

The Defining Issues Test 99

The Escaped Prisoner 99 The Doctor’s Dilemma 100 The Newspaper 100

Cognitive Style Indicator 101

Scoring and Comparison Data for the Cognitive Style Indicator 101 Scoring Key 101

Comparison Data 101

Locus of Control Scale 101

Scoring Key 101 Comparison Data 102

Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale 102

Scoring Key 102

Diagnostic Surveys for Managing Stress 106

Stress Management Assessment 106

Time Management Assessment 107

Type A Personality Inventory 108

Social Readjustment Rating Scale 109

Sources of Personal Stress 111

SKILL LEARNING 112

Improving the Management of Stress and Time 112

The Role of Management 113

Major Elements of Stress 113

Eliminating Time Stressors Through Time Management 121

Eliminating Encounter Stressors Through Collaboration and Emotional Intelligence 128

Eliminating Situational Stressors Through Work Redesign 130

Eliminating Anticipatory Stressors Through Prioritizing, Goal Setting, and Small Wins 132

Cases Involving Stress Management 147

The Turn of the Tide 147

The Case of the Missing Time 150

SKILL PRACTICE 155

Exercises for Long-Term and Short-Run Stress Management 155

The Small-Wins Strategy 155

Application Plan and Evaluation 162

SCORING KEYS AND COMPARISON DATA 164

Stress Management Assessment 164

Type A Personality Inventory 165

Scoring Key 165 Comparison Data 165

Social Readjustment Rating Scale 166

Comparison Data 166

Source of Personal Stress 166

SKILL ASSESSMENT 168

Diagnostic Surveys for Creative Problem Solving 168

Problem Solving, Creativity, and Innovation 168 How Creative Are You ? 169

Innovative Attitude Scale 171 Creative Style Assessment 172

SKILL LEARNING 174

Problem Solving, Creativity, and Innovation 174

Steps in Analytical Problem Solving 174

Defining the Problem 174 Generating Alternatives 176 Evaluating Alternatives 176 Implementing the Solution 177

Limitations of the Analytical Problem-Solving Model 178

Impediments to Creative Problem Solving 178

Multiple Approaches to Creativity 179

Conceptual Blocks 183

Percy Spencer’s Magnetron 185 Spence Silver’s Glue 185 The Four Types of Conceptual Blocks 185 Review of Conceptual Blocks 194

Conceptual Blockbusting 194

Stages in Creative Thought 194 Methods for Improving Problem Definition 195 Ways to Generate More Alternatives 199

International Caveats 202

Hints for Applying Problem-Solving Techniques 203

Fostering Creativity in Others 203

Management Principles 204

SKILL ANALYSIS 210

Cases Involving Problem Solving 210

The Mann Gulch Disaster 210 Creativity at Apple 212

SKILL PRACTICE 214

Exercises for Applying Conceptual Blockbusting 214

Individual Assignment—Analytical Problem Solving (10 minutes) 214 Team Assignment—Creative Problem Solving (20 minutes) 215 Moving Up in the Rankings 216

Keith Dunn and McGuffey’s Restaurant 217 Creative Problem-Solving Practice 220

SKILL APPLICATION 222

Activities for Solving Problems Creatively 222

Suggested Assignments 222

C ix

SCORING KEYS AND COMPARISON DATA 224

Problem Solving, Creativity, and Innovation 224

SKILL PRACTICE Applying Conceptual Blockbusting 227

Observer’s Feedback Form 227

Answer to Matchstick Problem in Figure 3.4 229

Answer to Shakespeare Riddle in Figure 3.5 229

Some Common Themes Applying to Water and Finance 229

Answer to Name That Ship Problem in Figure 3.6 230

Answer to Nine-Dot Problem in Figure 3.7 230

Answer to Embedded Pattern Problem in Figure 3.8 231

Building Positive Interpersonal Relationships 238

The Importance of Effective Communication 239

The Focus on Accuracy 240

What Is Supportive Communication? 242

Coaching and Counseling 244

Coaching and Counseling Problems 245

Defensiveness and Disconfirmation 246

Principles of Supportive Communication 247

Supportive Communication Is Based on Congruence, Not Incongruence 247

Supportive Communication Is Descriptive, Not Evaluative 248

Supportive Communication Is Problem-oriented, Not Person-oriented 250

Supportive Communication Validates Rather than Invalidates Individuals 251

Supportive Communication Is Specific (Useful), Not Global (Nonuseful) 253

Supportive Communication Is Conjunctive, Not Disjunctive 254

Supportive Communication Is Owned, Not Disowned 255

Supportive Communication Requires Supportive Listening, Not One-Way

Message Delivery 256

The Personal Management Interview 260

International Caveats 263

SKILL ANALYSIS 266

Cases Involving Building Positive Relationships 266

Find Somebody Else 266

Rejected Plans 267

SKILL PRACTICE 269

Exercises for Diagnosing Communication Problems

and Fostering Understanding 269

United Chemical Company 269 Byron vs Thomas 271

Active Listening Exercise 272

SKILL APPLICATION 274

Activities for Communicating Supportively 274

Suggested Assignments 274 Application Plan and Evaluation 274

SCORING KEYS AND COMPARISON DATA 276

Communicating Supportively 276

Scoring Key 276 Comparison Data 276

Communication Styles 276

Comparison Data 276

SKILL PRACTICE Diagnosing Problems and Fostering Understanding: United Chemical Company and Byron vs Thomas 278

Observer’s Feedback Form 278

SKILL ASSESSMENT 280

Diagnostic Surveys for Gaining Power and Influence 280

Gaining Power and Influence 280 Using Influence Strategies 281

SKILL LEARNING 283

Building a Strong Power Base and Using Influence Wisely 283

A Balanced View of Power 283

Lack of Power 283 Abuse of Power 285

Strategies for Gaining Organizational Power 286

The Necessity of Power and Empowerment 286 Sources of Personal Power 288

Sources of Positional Power 293

Transforming Power into Influence 298

Influence Strategies: The Three Rs 298 The Pros and Cons of Each Strategy 300 Acting Assertively: Neutralizing Influence Attempts 304

SKILL ANALYSIS 310

Case Involving Power and Influence 310

River Woods Plant Manager 310

SKILL PRACTICE 311

Exercise for Gaining Power 311

Repairing Power Failures in Management Circuits 311

Exercise for Using Influence Effectively 312

Ann Lyman’s Proposal 313

Exercises for Neutralizing Unwanted Influence Attempts 314

Cindy’s Fast Foods 314

C xi

SKILL APPLICATION 317

Activities for Gaining Power and Influence 317

Suggested Assignments 317

Application Plan and Evaluation 318

SCORING KEYS AND COMPARISON DATA 319

Gaining Power and Influence 319

Scoring Key 319

Comparison Data 320

Using Influence Strategies 320

Scoring Key 320

SKILL PRACTICE Neutralizing Unwanted Influence Attempts 321

Observer’s Feedback Form 321

SKILL ASSESSMENT 324

Diagnostic Surveys for Motivating Others 324

Diagnosing Poor Performance and Enhancing Motivation 324

Work Performance Assessment 325

SKILL LEARNING 326

Increasing Motivation and Performance 326

Diagnosing Work Performance Problems 326

Enhancing Individuals’ Abilities 328

Fostering a Motivating Work Environment 330

Elements of an Effective Motivation Program 331

Establish Clear Performance Expectations 332

Remove Obstacles to Performance 334

Reinforce Performance-Enhancing Behavior 336

Provide Salient Rewards 344

Be Fair and Equitable 348

Provide Timely Rewards and Accurate Feedback 348

Work Performance Assessment 364

Exercise for Reshaping Unacceptable Behaviors 364

Shaheen Matombo 364

SKILL APPLICATION 367

Activities for Motivating Others 367

Suggested Assignments 367

Application Plan and Evaluation 368

SCORING KEYS AND COMPARISON DATA 370

Diagnosing Poor Performance and Enhancing Motivation 370

SKILL PRACTICE Exercise for Reshaping Unacceptable

Behaviors 372

Observer’s Feedback Form 372

SKILL ASSESSMENT 374

Diagnostic Surveys for Managing Conflict 374

Managing Interpersonal Conflict 374 Strategies for Handling Conflict 375

SKILL LEARNING 376

Interpersonal Conflict Management 376

Mixed Feelings About Conflict 376

Diagnosing the Type of Interpersonal Conflict 378

Conflict Focus 378 Conflict Source 380

Selecting the Appropriate Conflict Management Approach 383

Comparing Conflict Management and Negotiation Strategies 386 Selection Factors 386

Resolving Interpersonal Confrontations Using the Collaborative Approach 390

A General Framework for Collaborative Problem Solving 391 The Four Phases of Collaborative Problem Solving 392

SKILL ANALYSIS 405

Case Involving Interpersonal Conflict 405

Educational Pension Investments 405

SKILL PRACTICE 410

Exercise for Diagnosing Sources of Conflict 410

SSS Software Management Problems 410

Exercises for Selecting an Appropriate Conflict Management Strategy 418

Bradley’s Barn 419 Avocado Computers 419 Phelps, Inc 420

Exercises for Resolving Interpersonal Disputes 420

Freida Mae Jones 421 Can Larry Fit In? 423 Meeting at Hartford Manufacturing Company 424

SKILL APPLICATION 431

Activities for Improving Managing Conflict Skills 431

Suggested Assignments 431 Application Plan and Evaluation 432

SCORING KEYS AND COMPARISON DATA 434

Managing Interpersonal Conflict 434

Scoring Key 434 Comparison Data 435

Strategies for Handling Conflict 435

Scoring Key 435

SKILL PRACTICE Exercises for Resolving Interpersonal Disputes 436

Observer’s Feedback Form 436

C xiii

SKILL ASSESSMENT 440

Diagnostic Surveys for Empowering and Delegating 440

Effective Empowerment and Delegation 440

Personal Empowerment Assessment 441

SKILL LEARNING 443

Empowering and Delegating 443

A Management Dilemma Involving Empowerment 443

The Dirty Dozen 444

The Meaning of Empowerment 445

Historical Roots of Empowerment 446

Review of Empowerment Dimensions 451

How to Develop Empowerment 451

Articulating a Clear Vision and Goals 452

Fostering Personal Mastery Experiences 453

Advantages of Empowered Delegation 463

Deciding When to Delegate 464

Deciding to Whom to Delegate 465

Deciding How to Delegate Effectively 465

Review of Delegation Principles 470

International Caveats 471

SKILL ANALYSIS 474

Cases Involving Empowerment and Delegation 474

Minding the Store 474

Changing the Portfolio 475

SKILL PRACTICE 476

Exercises for Empowerment 476

Executive Development Associates 476

Empowering Ourselves 480

Deciding to Delegate 481

SKILL APPLICATION 483

Activities for Empowerment and Delegation 483

Suggested Assignments 483 Application Plan and Evaluation 483

SCORING KEYS AND COMPARISON DATA 485

Effective Empowerment and Delegation 485

Scoring Key 485 Comparison Data 485

Personal Empowerment 485

Scoring Key 485 Comparison Data 486

SKILL PRACTICE Deciding to Delegate: Analysis of “An Emergency Request” 486SKILL PRACTICE Analysis of “Biological Warfare” 487

SKILL ASSESSMENT 490

Diagnostic Surveys for Building Effective Teams 490

Team Development Behaviors 490 Diagnosing the Need for Team Building 491

SKILL LEARNING 493

Developing Teams and Teamwork 493

The Advantages of Teams 494

An Example of an Effective Team 497

Team Development 498

The Forming Stage 498 The Norming Stage 499 The Storming Stage 501 The Performing Stage 503

Leading Teams 506

Developing Credibility 507 Establish SMART Goals and Everest Goals 509 International Caveats 511

Team Membership 512

Advantageous Roles 512 Providing Feedback 516 International Caveats 517

SKILL ANALYSIS 519

Cases Involving Building Effective Teams 519

The Tallahassee Democrat’s ELITE Team 519 The Cash Register Incident 521

SKILL PRACTICE 523

Exercises in Building Effective Teams 523

Team Diagnosis and Team Development Exercise 523 Winning the War on Talent 524

Team Performance Exercise 527

SKILL APPLICATION 529

Activities for Building Effective Teams 529

Suggested Assignments 529 Application Plan and Evaluation 530

C xv

SCORING KEYS AND COMPARISON DATA 531

Team Development Behaviors 531

Diagnostic Surveys for Leading Positive Change 534

Leading Positive Change 534

Reflected Best-Self Feedback ™ Exercise 535

A Sample E-Mail Request for Feedback 535

Machiavellianism Scale—MACH IV 536

SKILL LEARNING 538

Leading Positive Change 538

Ubiquitous and Escalating Change 539

The Need for Frameworks 539

Tendencies Toward Stability 540

A Framework for Leading Positive Change 542

Establishing a Climate of Positivity 544

Creating Readiness for Change 550

Articulating a Vision of Abundance 553

Generating Commitment to the Vision 557

Institutionalizing the Positive Change 562

SKILL ANALYSIS 568

Cases Involving Leading Positive Change 568

Corporate Vision Statements 568

Lee Iacocca’s Transformation of Chrysler—1979–1984 574

SKILL PRACTICE 581

Exercises in Leading Positive Change 581

Reflected Best-Self Portrait 581

Positive Organizational Diagnosis Exercise 582

A Positive Change Agenda 583

SKILL APPLICATION 584

Activities for Leading Positive Change 584

Suggested Assignments 584

Application Plan and Evaluation 585

SCORING KEYS AND COMPARISON DATA 587

Leading Positive Change Assessment 587

PART IV SPECIFIC COMMUNICATION SKILLS 590

Supplement A MAKING ORAL AND WRITTEN PRESENTATIONS 591

SKILL LEARNING 592

Making Oral and Written Presentations 592

Essential Elements of Effective Presentations 593

SKILL PRACTICE 609

Exercises for Making Effective Oral and Written Presentations 609

Speaking as a Leader 609 Quality Circles at Battle Creek Foods 610

Supplement B CONDUCTING INTERVIEWS 619

SKILL LEARNING 620

Planning and Conducting Interviews 620

Specific Types of Organizational Interviews 629

SKILL PRACTICE 634

Exercises for Conducting Special-Purpose Interviews 634

Evaluating the New Employee-Orientation Program 634 Performance-Appraisal Interview with Chris Jakobsen 637 Employment-Selection Interview at Smith Farley Insurance 643

Supplement C CONDUCTING MEETINGS 651

SKILL LEARNING 652

Conducting Effective Meetings: A Short Guide

for Meeting Managers and Meeting Participants 652

The Five P s of Effective Meetings 652

Suggestions for Group Members 657

SKILL PRACTICE 660

Exercises for Conducting Meetings 660

Preparing and Conducting a Team Meeting at SSS Software 660 Role Diagnosis 660

Meeting Evaluation Worksheet 661

What’s New in This Edition?

Based on suggestions from reviewers, instructors, and students we have made a number

of changes in the eighth edition of Developing Management Skills.

• Added new skill assessments in Chapter 1 and a new case in Chapter 3

• Revised parts of the book to reflect suggestions and feedback from instructors and

students

• Clarified instructions for scoring skill assessments and updated the comparison

data for each assessment

• Updated the research supporting key points in each chapter

• Added a Resource Locator table at the beginning of each chapter in the Instructors

Manual, organized according to a chapter’s learning objectives

• Added new video clips and exercise recommendations in the Instructors Manual

• Enhanced the test bank by adding more application questions

• Revised the PowerPoint slides

A MESSAGE TO STUDENTS:

Why Focus on Management Skill Development?

Given that a “skill development” course requires more time and effort than a course using

the traditional lecture/discussion format, we are sometimes asked this question by

students, especially those who have relatively little work experience

Reason #1: It focuses attention on what effective managers

actually “do.”

In an influential article, Henry Mintzberg (1975) argued that management education had

almost nothing to say about what managers actually do from day to day He further faulted

management textbooks for introducing students to the leading theories about management

while ignoring what is known about effective management practice Sympathetic to

Mintzberg’s critique, we set out to identify the defining competencies of effective managers

Although no two management positions are exactly the same, the research

sum-marized in the Introduction highlights ten personal, interpersonal, and group skills that

form the core of effective management practice Each chapter addresses one of these

skills

P R E F A C E

xvii

Personal Skills

1 Developing Self-Awareness

2 Managing Personal Stress

3 Solving Problems Analytically and Creatively

Interpersonal Skills

4 Building Relationships by Communicating Supportively

5 Gaining Power and Influence

6 Motivating Others

7 Managing Conflict

Group Skills

8 Empowering and Delegating

9 Building Effective Teams and Teamwork

10 Leading Positive Change

Consistent with our focus on promoting effective management practice, the material inthese chapters provides guidance for a variety of contemporary management challenges,including: “How can I help others accept new goals, new ideas, new approaches?” “How can

I invigorate those who feel outdated and left behind?” “How do I help the ‘survivors’ of adownsizing pick up the pieces and move on?” “How do I help people with very different agen-das and philosophies work together, especially during periods of high stress and uncertainty?”Anyone tempted to dismissively argue that the answers to these questions are

“common sense” would do well to recall Will Rogers’ pithy observation: “Common senseain't common.” In addition, the research reported in the Introduction suggests that, inmany cases, managers’ “common sense” isn’t “good sense.”

The premise of this book and associated course is that the key to effective managementpractice is practicing what effective managers—those with “good sense”—do consistently

Reason #2: It is consistent with proven principles of effective teaching and learning.

A seasoned university professor advised a young colleague, “If your students aren’t learning,you’re not teaching—you’re just talking!” Here’s what some authorities on higher educa-tion have to say about how effective teachers foster learning:

“All genuine learning is active, not passive It is a process of discovery in which thestudent is the main agent, not the teacher.” (Adler, 1982)

“Learning is not a spectator sport Students do not learn much just by sitting in aclass listening to teachers, memorizing pre-packaged assignments, and spilling outanswers They must talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to pastexperiences, apply it to their daily lives They must make what they learn part ofthemselves.” (Chickering & Gamson, 1987)

In their classic book on active learning, Bonwell and Elson (1991) list seven definingcharacteristics

1 Students are involved in more than passive listening

2 Students are engaged in activities (e.g., reading, discussing, writing)

3 There is less emphasis placed on information transmission and greateremphasis placed on developing student skills

4 There is greater emphasis placed on the exploration of attitudes and values

P xix

6 Students receive immediate feedback from their instructor and peers

7 Students are involved in higher order thinking (analysis, synthesis, evaluation)

Our goals in writing this book were to bridge the academic realm of theory and research

and the organizational realm of effective practice, and to help students consistently

trans-late proven principles from both realms into personal practice To accomplish these goals

we formulated a five-step “active” learning model, described in the Introduction Based

on the positive feedback we’ve received from teachers and students we can state with

confidence that the form of active learning pioneered in this book is a proven pedagogy

for management skill mastery

Tips for Getting the Most Out of This Course

Whether you are an undergraduate or MBA student, or an experienced manager, based

on our years of teaching management skills here are some suggestions for making this

course a personally meaningful learning experience

• Read the introduction carefully Inasmuch as this is not a typical management

textbook, it is important that you understand its distinctive learner-focused

fea-tures especially the five-step learning model: Skill Assessment, Skill Learning, Skill

Analysis, Skill Practice, and Skill Application You’ll also find informative research

on how much managers’ actions impact individual and organizational

perfor-mance, and the characteristics of effective managers

• Thoughtfully complete the Skill Assessment surveys in each chapter These

diag-nostic tools are designed to help you identify which specific aspects of each skill

topic most warrant your personal attention

• Carefully study the Behavioral Guidelines and the summary model at the

conclu-sion of the Skill Learning section of each chapter before reading that section These

written and graphical summaries are designed to bridge the research-informed

description of each topic with the skill development activities that follow To help

you internalize research-informed “good sense” be sure to use the Behavioral

Guidelines as your frame of reference when reading and discussing Skill Analysis

cases, and participating in Skill Practice and Skill Application exercises

• Be sure to complete Skill Application exercise in each chapter Management skill

mastery requires out-of-class skill practice How to do this is pretty straightforward

if you are currently working in an organization, regardless of whether you are an

experienced manager or a new, part-time employee Whether or not you are

cur-rently employed, we encourage you to seek out skill practice opportunities in all

aspects of your life, including working in assigned teams in this and other courses,

planning social events for a campus or community organization, counseling a

troubled sibling or friend, managing end-of-semester deadlines, or handling a

diffi-cult issue with a boy/girlfriend or spouse The sooner you begin—and the more

you persist in—practicing what you learn in this course, the more you’ll be able to

count on these skills as “automatic responses” when you need them as a manager

Supplemental Material PASSWORD-PROTECTED ASSESSMENT WEB SITE

If your instructor has signed up for this object, an access-code-protected Web site is available

so you can take the Skill Assessments in the book online and receive immediate, real-time

feedback on how your scores compare with those of thousands of other students in our

ever-expanding database (Two assessments in the book—“Source of Personal Stress” inChapter 2 and the “Best-Self Feedback Exercise” in Chapter 10—are not available online.)

COURSESMART TEXTBOOKS ONLINE

CourseSmart Textbooks Online is an exciting new choice for students looking to save money

As an alternative to purchasing the print textbook, students can subscribe to the same tent online and save up to 50 percent off the suggested list price of the print text With aCourseSmart eTextbook, students can search the text, make notes online, print out readingassignments that incorporate lecture notes, and bookmark important passages for laterreview For more information, or to subscribe to the CourseSmart eTextbook, visitwww.coursesmart.com

Richard Allan, University of Tennessee–

ChattanoogaForrest F Aven, University of HoustonLloyd Baird, Boston UniversityBud Baker, Wright State UniversityJohn D Bigelow, Boise State UniversityRalph R Braithwaite, University ofHartford

Julia Britt, California State UniversityTim Bothell, Brigham Young UniversityDavid Cherrington, Brigham YoungUniversity

John Collins, Syracuse UniversityKerri Crowne, Temple UniversityTodd Dewett, Wright State UniversityAndrew J Dubrin, Rochester Institute

of TechnologySteven Edelson, Temple UniversityNorma Givens, Fort Valley State UniversityBarbara A Gorski, St Thomas UniversityDavid Hampton, San Diego StateUniversity

Stanley Harris, Auburn UniversityRichard E Hunt, Rockhurst CollegeDaniel F Jennings, Baylor University

Jay T Knippen, University of SouthFlorida

Roland Kushner, Lafayette CollegeRoy J Lewicki, Ohio State UniversityMichael Lombardo, Center for CreativeLeadership

Charles C Manz, University ofMassachusetts–AmherstRalph F Mullin, Central Missouri StateUniversity

Thomas J Naughton, Wayne StateUniversity

J Randolph New, University of RichmondJon L Pierce, University of Minnesota–Duluth

Lyman Porter, University of California–Irvine

Lyle F Schoenfeldt, Appalachian StateUniversity

Jacop P Siegel, University of TorontoCharles Smith, Hofstra UniversityNoel M Tichy, University ofMichigan

Wanda V Trenner, Ferris State UniversityUlya Tsolmon, Brigham Young University

P xxi

We especially thank our collaborators who adapted the book for the European and

Australian markets, as well as those who translated Developing Management Skills into

Spanish, Russian, Chinese, and Dutch

We are grateful for the assistance of many dedicated associates who have helped us

continually upgrade and enhance Developing Management Skills These include Nancy

Keesham and Don Clement, both of the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, for

their work on the supplement on making oral and written presentations; Gretchen

Spreitzer of the University of Southern California for her work on the chapter on gaining

power and influence; Richard M Steers of the University of Oregon for his work on the

motivation chapter; Pat Seybolt and Troy Nielsen of the University of Utah for their work

on the chapter on managing conflict; Cathy German of Miami University for her assistance

in revising Supplement A, and John Tropman, University of Michigan, for taking the lead

in revising Supplement C Special thanks are also due to Susan Schor, Joseph Seltzer, and

James Smither for writing the SSS Software In-Basket Exercise Our long-time collaboration

with Sue Campbell-Clark has been particularly fruitful and we anticipate that our work

with Jeff Thompson, Brigham Young University, will be equally energizing

We would especially like to thank Kim Norbuta, Claudia Fernandes, Kelly Warsak,

and Judy Leale of Prentice Hall; and Sharon Anderson of BookMasters for her expert

assis-tance with this edition

Finally, and most importantly, we express appreciation to our families for their

ongo-ing patience and support, which is reflected in their willongo-ingness to share their time with

this competing “labor of love” and to forgive our own gaps between common sense and

common practice

David A Whetten Kim S Cameron

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The Critical Role of

Management Skills

SKILL DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES

■ INTRODUCE THE IMPORTANCE

OF MANAGEMENT SKILLS

■ IDENTIFY ESSENTIAL MANAGEMENT SKILLS

■ EXPLAIN A LEARNING MODEL FOR DEVELOPING MANAGEMENT SKILLS

■ REVIEW THE CONTENTS

OF THE BOOK

I N T R O D U C T I O N

MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS

■ The Critical Role of Management Skills

■ The Importance of Competent Managers

■ The Skills of Effective Managers

■ Essential Management Skills

■ What Are Management Skills?

■ Improving Management Skills

■ An Approach to Skill Development

■ Leadership and Management

■ Contents of the Book

■ Organization of the Book

■ Practice and Application

■ Diversity and Individual Differences

■ Summary

SUPPLEMENTARY

MATERIAL

■ Personal Assessment of Management Skills (PAMS)

■ What Does It Take to Be an Effective Manager?

■ SSS Software In-Basket Exercise

COMPARISON DATA

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INTRODUCTION 3

The Critical Role of Management Skills

No one doubts that the twenty-first century will continue to be characterized by chaotic,transformational, rapid-fire change In fact, almost no sane person is willing to predict whatthe world will be like 50, 25, or even 15 years from now Change is just too rapid and ubiq-uitous The development of “nanobombs” have caused some people to predict that personalcomputers and desktop monitors will land on the scrap heap of obsolescence within

20 years The new computers will be a product of etchings on molecules leading to alized data processors injected into the bloodstream, implanted in eyeglasses, or included inwristwatches

person-Predictions of the changes that will occur in the future are often notoriously wrong, ofcourse, as illustrated by Thomas Watson’s (founder of IBM) prediction that only a few dozencomputers would ever be needed in the entire world, Thomas Edison’s prediction that thelightbulb would never catch on, or Irving Fisher’s (preeminent Yale economist) prediction in

1929 (a month before the crash) that the stock market had reached “a permanently highplateau.” When Neil Armstrong walked on the moon in 1969, most people predicted that

we would soon be walking on Mars, establishing colonies in outer space, and launchingprobes from lunar pads In 1973, with long lines at the gas pumps due to an OPEC-led fuelcrisis, economists predicted that oil would sell for $100 a barrel in the United States by 1980

Most notorious of all, of course, was the prediction by the United States patent office in 1896that it would soon close its doors since “everything that can be invented has been invented.”

Warren Bennis, a colleague of ours, half-jokingly predicted that the factory of the futurewould have only two employees, a person and a dog The person would be there to feed thedog The dog would be there to keep the person from touching the equipment! Tom Peterscounseled managers that, due to the chaotic pace of change, “If you’re not confused, you’renot paying attention.” And the late Peter Drucker characterized the current environmentthis way: “We are in one of those great historical periods that occur every 200 or 300 yearswhen people don’t understand the world anymore, and the past is not sufficient to explainthe future.” Almost no one would argue that “permanent white water” best characterizesour current environment Almost everything is in flux, from our technology and methods oftransacting business to the nature of education and the definition of the family

Introduction

Despite all this change in our environment, there is something that has remained, andcontinues to remain, relatively constant With minor variations and stylistic differences,what has not changed in several thousand years are the basic skills that lie at the heart ofeffective, satisfying, growth-producing human relationships Freedom, dignity, trust, love,and honesty in relationships have always been among the goals of human beings, and thesame principles that brought about those outcomes in the eleventh century still bring themabout in the twenty-first century Despite our circumstances, in other words, and despitethe technological resources we have available to us, the same basic human skills still lie atthe heart of effective human interaction.

In fact, human relationships are becoming more important, not less, as the mation age unfolds and technologies encroach even more upon our daily lives Most of

infor-us are exposed to more information each day than we can possibly pay attention to Morethan 6,000 business books are published each month Moreover, no mechanism exists toorganize, prioritize, or interpret that information, so it is often unclear what is crucial andwhat can be ignored Consequently, the relationship we have with the sources of thatinformation is the key sense-making mechanism Building trusting relationships is a criti-cal part of coping with information overload

It is a fact that when everything is changing, change becomes unmanageable No onecan manage constant, unorganized change Think of being a pilot on an airplane.Everything is changing—the entire plane is in constant motion—as the plane movesthrough the air Unless you can fix on something that is not changing—for example, theground or the stars—it is impossible to fly the plane Tragically, investigators found thatJohn F Kennedy Jr unknowingly flew his plane into the Atlantic Ocean killing himself, hiswife, and his sister-in-law because he lost sight of land and, consequently, lost perspective

He became unable to manage change because he did not have an established, ing point that helped him maintain his bearings

unwaver-We make sense of change by being able to identify a fixed, stable, permanent pointthat provides us with perspective In our current “white water” environment, the skills dis-cussed in this book serve as fixed points They have changed very little in their effective-ness and relevance over several thousand years And their relationship to effective humanand organizational performance has been well-documented Later in this Introduction weshare some of the scientific research that confirms the power of these management skills inaccounting for effective personal, interpersonal, and organizational performance

The problem, of course, is that what is known is not always the same as what isdemonstrated Although we have known about the principles of effective relationships for

a very long time, the history of humankind illustrates that these principles have notalways been practiced Especially in our current day, what we know and what we demon-strate do not always match Dr Bob Moorehead of Seattle’s Overlake Christian Church,who resigned his own position under a cloud of accusations, described it this way:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter pers, wider freeways but narrower viewpoints We spend more but have less; we buy more but enjoy it less We have bigger houses and smaller families, more con- veniences but less time We have more degrees but less sense; more knowledge but less judgment; more experts but more problems; more medicine but less wellness.

tem-We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry too quickly, stay up too late, get too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often We have learned how to make a living but not a life; we’ve added years to life but not life to years We’ve been all the way to the moon and back but have trouble crossing the

INTRODUCTION 5

street to meet the new neighbor We’ve conquered outer space but not inner space.

We’ve done larger things but not better things We’ve cleaned up the air but

polluted the soul We’ve split the atom but not our prejudice We write more

but learn less We plan more but accomplish less We’ve learned to rush but not to

wait We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies

than ever but have less communication These are the times of fast foods and slow

digestion; tall men and short character; steep profits and shallow relationships.

These are the times of world peace but domestic warfare; more leisure but less fun;

more kinds of food but less nutrition These are the days of two incomes but more

divorce, of fancier houses but broken homes These are the days of quick trips,

dis-posable diapers, throw-away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and

pills that do everything from cheer to quiet to kill It is a time when there is much in

the show window and nothing in the stockroom (Moorehead, n.d.)

This book is built on the presumption that developing management skills—that is, the

skills needed to manage one’s own life as well as relationships with others—is a ceaseless

endeavor These skills were largely the same a century ago as they are today The basic

behav-ioral principles that lie at the foundation of these skills are timeless That is one reason why

the shelves of bookstores and on-line newsletters are filled with prescriptions of how one

more executive or one more company struck it rich or beat out the competition Thousands

of books trumpet some special set of prescriptions for how to be successful in business, or in

life Many of these books have made it to the best-seller lists and have enjoyed lengthy stays

Our intention in this book is not to try to duplicate the popular appeal of the best-selling

books nor to utilize the common formula of recounting anecdotal incidents of successful

organizations and well-known managers We have produced a book that remains true to, and

is based on, social science and business research We want to share with you what is known

and what is not known about how to develop management skills and how to foster

produc-tive, healthy, satisfying, and growth-producing relationships with others in your work setting

Developing Management Skills is designed to help you actually improve your personal

man-agement competencies—to change your behavior This book, therefore, serves more as a

practicum or a guide to effective managerial behavior than a description of what someone

else has done to successfully manage an organization It will surely help you think, and it will

provide examples of success, but it will have failed if it also does not help you behave more

competently in your own life

Whereas the skills focused on in this book are called “management skills,” their

rele-vance is not limited just to an organization or work setting We focus mainly on work settings

here because our primary goal is to help you prepare for and improve your own competency

in a managerial role You will discover, however, that these skills are applicable in most areas

of your life—with families, friends, volunteer organizations, and your community

In the next section we review some of the scientific evidence that demonstrates how

management skills are associated with personal and organizational success, and we

review several studies of the key management skills that seem to be the most important

in our modern-day environment It is those key skills that this book has targeted We then

describe a model and a methodology for helping you to develop management skills

A large number of management fads abound proclaiming a new way to be a leader, get

rich, or both, but our intent is to rely on a proven methodology that has grounding in the

scientific literature We present what has been shown to be a superior process for

improv-ing management skills, and we base our claims on scholarly evidence This Introduction

concludes with a brief description of the organization of the rest of the book and the

importance of keeping in mind individual differences among people

The Importance of Competent Managers

In the last decade or so, an abundance of evidence has been produced that skillfulmanagement—especially those competent in the management of people in organizations—

is the key determinant of organizational success These studies have been conducted across

numerous industry sectors, international settings, and organization types The research ings now make it almost unquestionable that if organizations want to succeed, they musthave competent, skillful managers

find-For example, in one study of 968 firms, representing all major industries in the UnitedStates, organizations whose managers effectively managed their people—that is, they imple-mented effective people management strategies and demonstrated personal competency inmanagement skills—had, on the average, a decrease in turnover of more than 7 percent,increased profits of $3,814 per employee, $27,044 more in sales per employee, and

$18,641 more in stock market value per employee, compared to firms that had less effectivepeople management (Huselid, 1995; Pfeffer & Veiga, 1999) In a follow-up study of 702firms, shareholder wealth was an amazing $41,000 per employee higher in companiesdemonstrating strong people management skills than in firms that had a lower emphasis onpeople management (Huselid & Becker, 1997) A study of German firms in 10 industrialsectors produced similar results: “Companies that place workers at the core of their strat-egies produce higher long-term returns than their industry peers” (Blimes, Wetzker, &Xhonneux, 1997) A study of five-year survivability in 136 nonfinancial companies thatissued IPOs in the late 1980s found that the effective management of people was the mostsignificant factor in predicting longevity, even when accounting for industry type, size, andprofits Firms that did a good job of managing people tended to survive; others did not(Welbourne & Andrews, 1996)

A study by Hanson (1986) investigated the factors that best accounted for financialsuccess over a five-year span in 40 major manufacturing firms The question beingaddressed was: “What explains the financial success of the firms that are highly effective?”The five most powerful predictors were identified and assessed They included marketshare (assuming that the higher the market share of a firm, the higher its profitability); firmcapital intensity (assuming that the more a firm is automated and up-to-date in technologyand equipment, the more profitable it is); size of the firm in assets (assuming thateconomies of scale and efficiency can be used in large firms to increase profitability); indus-try average return on sales (assuming that firms would reflect the performance of a highlyprofitable industry); and the ability of managers to effectively manage their people (assum-ing that an emphasis on good people management helps produce profitability in firms) Theresults revealed that one factor—the ability to manage people effectively—was three timesmore powerful than all other factors combined in accounting for firm financial success over

a five-year period! We repeat, good management was more important than all other factorstaken together in predicting profitability

Even research by the U.S government confirms this management-effectiveness link TheU.S Office of the Comptroller of the Currency studied the reasons for the failures of nationalbanks in the United States during the 1980s Two major factors were found to account for therecord number of bank failures during that period: distressed economic conditions and poormanagement The relative impact of those two factors, however, was somewhat surprising.Almost 90 percent of the failed banks were judged to have had poor management Only

35 percent of the failures had experienced depressed economic conditions in the region inwhich they operated, and in only 7 percent of the cases was a depressed economic conditionthe sole cause of bank failure (U.S Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 1990).Dramatic anecdotal evidence also abounds regarding the impact of effective manage-ment on workers and organizations One of the most notable, for example, was theGeneral Motors automobile assembly plant in Fremont, California The plant was built in

INTRODUCTION 7

the 1950s and, at the beginning of the 1980s, was assembling the Chevrolet Nova model

The plant had a history of labor and productivity problems, however, and by the end of

1982 the performance statistics were dismal Absenteeism was running at 20 percent The

number of formal grievances filed by employees totaled almost 5,000 (an average of more

than 20 grievances per day for every workday of the year), and more than 2,000

griev-ances were still unresolved at year’s end An average of three to four wildcat strikes per

year had occurred during the previous few years, and morale, productivity, and quality of

production by the 5,000 employees were the worst in the corporation Costs of assembling

the automobile were about 30 percent above the Asian competitors In light of these data,

corporate headquarters issued an order to close the plant and lay off the workers

Three years later, General Motors signed a joint operating agreement with one of its

major competitors: Toyota Motors Much had been written about the Japanese method of

managing, so General Motors asked Toyota to reopen and manage the Fremont plant Most

of the former U.S autoworkers were rehired, and a new management team was put in

place Workers were exposed to training in high-involvement work practices, and a former

Ford Motor Company employee actually became the plant manager The primary difference

between the plant before it closed and after it reopened was that a new management team

was in place and employee training had occurred The workforce, in other words, remained

essentially unchanged One year after reopening, the organization’s performance data

looked like this:

Absenteeism: 2 percent

Grievances: 2 outstanding

Strikes: None

Employees: 2,500 (producing 20 percent more cars)

Productivity: Highest in the corporation

Quality: Highest in the corporation

Costs: Equal to those of the competition

Product: Toyota Corolla—rated AAA’s best car in its price range

The remarkable thing about this turnaround is that it did not take five or ten years to

produce major improvements in productivity, cohesion, and commitment It occurred in

just over a year simply by changing the way workers were managed

These studies indicate overwhelmingly that good management fosters financial

suc-cess, whereas less effective management fosters financial distress Successful organizations

have managers with well-developed people management skills In surveys of CEOs,

exec-utives, and business owners, results consistently show that the factor most responsible for

business failure is “bad management” and the best way to ensure business success is to

“provide better management.” Moreover, the data are clear, management skills are more

important than industry, environment, competition, and economic factors combined

Surprisingly, however, finding people who effectively manage people is not as easy as

might be expected Pfeffer & Veiga (1999) concluded that: “Even as these research results

pile up, trends in actual management practice are, in many instances, moving in a direction

exactly opposite to what this growing body of evidence prescribes.” Common sense and

common knowledge are not necessarily common practice Knowing and doing are not the

same things Being able to analyze a case, identify a problem, or recite a correct answer to a

question is not equivalent to being able to actually implement effective management skills

The Skills of Effective Managers

What, then, differentiates effective managers from less effective managers? If developing

management skills is so crucial for organizational success, what skills ought to be the

focus of attention?

The management literature is filled with lists of attributes, behaviors, orientations, andstrategies for enhancing successful performance For example, Pfeffer (1998) identifiedseven key practices associated with managerial and organizational effectiveness: ensureemployment security, selectively hire people, foster decentralization and self-managingteams, institute high levels of pay based on performance, train extensively, reduce statusdifferences, and share information Quinn (2000) identified eight “seeds” of effective man-agement and leadership: “envision the productive community,” “first look within,”

“embrace the hypocritical self,” “transcend fear,” “embody a vision of the common good,”

“disturb the system,” “surrender to the emergent process,” and “entice through moralpower.” An international study of 6,052 managers from 22 countries focused on differ-ences in managerial attributes and identified attributes such as inspirational, self-sacrificial,integrity, diplomatic, malevolent, visionary, administrative, self-centered, status conscious,autocratic, modest, and autonomous (Brodbeck et al., 2000) Rigby (1998) focused on the

25 most popular management tools and techniques in an investigation of the associationbetween management tools and techniques and organizational performance According to4,137 managers in North America, Europe, and Asia, the tools associated with organiza-tion success were: strategic planning, pay for performance, strategic alliances, customersatisfaction measurement, shareholder value analysis, mission and vision statements,benchmarking, cycle time reduction, agile strategies, self-directed teams, and groupware

These kinds of lists are useful, but they do not identify management skills per se.

Instead, they enumerate organizational strategies, personality orientations, or philosophicalapproaches to management, and their implementation is usually outside the explicit con-trol of the individual manager Either they are complex sets of activities in which manypeople must be involved—for example, “ensuring employment security,” “selectivelyhiring,” or “shareholder value analysis”—or they are cognitive activities that are notbehavioral in character—for example, “envisioning the productive community,” “firstlooking within,” or “avoiding malevolence.” Some of the lists enumerate personality char-acteristics or styles—for example, inspirational, or autocratic—or they enumerate organi-zational practices—for example, pay for performance, or strategic planning The effective-ness of the attributes on these kinds of lists depends on the manager’s skill in implementingthem, and that means being competent in fundamental management skills Managementskills form the vehicle by which management strategy, management practice, tools andtechniques, personality attributes, and style work to produce effective outcomes in organi-zations Management skills, in other words, are the building blocks upon which effectivemanagement rests That is why the focus of this book is on developing management skillsrather than on strategy, tools and techniques, or styles Management skills are the means

by which managers translate their own style, strategy, and favorite tools or techniquesinto practice

Essential Management Skills

A variety of investigators have sought to identify what specific skills are characteristic ofthe most effective managers In our own investigation, for example, we wanted to identifythe skills and competencies that separate extraordinarily effective performers from the rest

of us We identified 402 individuals who were rated as highly effective managers in theirown organizations in the fields of business, health care, education, and state government

by asking senior officers to name the most effective managers in their own organizations

We then interviewed those people to determine what attributes were associated withmanagerial effectiveness We asked questions such as:

❏ How have you become so successful in this organization?

❏ Who fails and who succeeds in this organization and why?

INTRODUCTION 9

❏ If you had to train someone to take your place, what knowledge and what skills

would you make certain that person possessed in order to perform successfully as

your successor?

❏ If you could design an ideal curriculum or training program to teach you to be a

better manager, what would it contain?

❏ Think of other effective managers you know What skills do they demonstrate that

explain their success?

Our analysis of the interviews produced about 60 characteristics of effective

man-agers The 10 identified most often are listed in Table 1 Not surprisingly, these 10

char-acteristics are all behavioral skills They are not personality attributes or styles, nor are

they generalizations such as “luck” or “timing.” They also are common across industries,

levels, and job responsibilities The characteristics of effective managers are not a secret

The management skills derived from our study are similar to those resulting from

several other surveys published in the management literature Table 2, for example, lists

a representative sample of surveys that relied on a heterogeneous mix of respondents Not

surprisingly, the two lists are very similar Regardless of whether respondents are CEOs or

first-line supervisors, whether they work in the public sector or the private sector, their

skills are quite easily identifiable and agreed upon by observers It is not hard to recognize

and describe the skills of effective managers

What Are Management Skills?

There are several defining characteristics of management skills that differentiate them

from other kinds of managerial characteristics and practices First, management skills are

behavioral They are not personality attributes or stylistic tendencies Management skills

consist of identifiable sets of actions that individuals perform and that lead to certain

out-comes Skills can be observed by others, unlike attributes that are purely mental or are

embedded in personality Whereas people with different styles and personalities may

apply the skills differently, there are, nevertheless, a core set of observable attributes in

effective skill performance that are common across a range of individual differences

Second, management skills are controllable The performance of these behaviors is

under the control of the individual Unlike organizational practices such as “selectively

1 Verbal communication (including listening)

2 Managing time and stress

3 Managing individual decisions

4 Recognizing, defining, and solving problems

5 Motivating and influencing others

Table 2 Critical Management Skills—A Sample of Studies

S TUDY ❏ R ESPONDENTS • F OCUS R ESULTS

❏ Luthans, Rosenkrantz, and Hennessey (1985)

• 52 managers in 3 organizations Building power and influence Communicating with insiders

• Participant observation of skills Communicating with outsiders Developing subordinates demonstrated by most effective Managing conflict Processing paperwork versus least effective managers Decision making Planning and goal setting

❏ Curtis, Winsor, and Stephens (1989) Employment Job Success

• 428 members of the American Society of Verbal communication Interpersonal skills Personnel Administrators in the United Listening Verbal communication States Enthusiasm Written communication

• (1) Skills needed to obtain employment Written communication Persistence/determination

• (2) Skills important for successful job Technical competence Enthusiasm performance Appearance Technical competence

• (3) Skills needed to move up in the organization To Move Up

Ability to work well with Ability to present a good others one-on-one image for the firm Ability to gather information Ability to use computers and make a decision Knowledge of management Ability to work well in groups theory

Ability to listen and give counsel Knowledge of finance Ability to give effective feedback Knowledge of marketing Ability to write effective reports Knowledge of accounting Knowledge of the job Ability to use business

machines

❏ Van Velsor & Britain (1995)

• Summarizes 5 previous studies of Problems with interpersonal relationships

“derailment” Failure to meet business objectives

• 20 U.S managers and 42 European Inability to build and lead a team managers Inability to manage self-development or to adapt

• Focus on skills causing “derailment”

(the opposite of success)

❏ American Management Association (2000)

• 921 managers in the United States

Implementing improvements 11 (4.29) 17 (3.33) 5

INTRODUCTION 11

hiring,” or cognitive activities such as “transcending fear,” skills can be consciously strated, practiced, improved, or restrained by individuals themselves Skills may certainlyengage other people and require cognitive work, but they are behaviors that people cancontrol themselves

demon-Third, management skills are developable Performance can improve Unlike IQ or

certain personality or temperament attributes that remain relatively constant throughoutlife, individuals can improve their competency in skill performance through practice andfeedback Individuals can progress from less competence to more competence in manage-ment skills, and that outcome is the primary objective of this book

Fourth, management skills are interrelated and overlapping It is difficult to demonstrate

just one skill in isolation from others Skills are not simplistic, repetitive behaviors, but theyare integrated sets of complex responses Effective managers, in particular, must rely on com-binations of skills to achieve desired results For example, in order to effectively motivate oth-ers, skills such as supportive communication, influence, empowerment, and self-awarenessmay be required Effective managers, in other words, develop a constellation of skills thatoverlap and support one another and that allow flexibility in managing diverse situations

Fifth, management skills are sometimes contradictory or paradoxical For example,

the core management skills are neither all soft and humanistic in orientation nor all driving and directive They are oriented neither toward teamwork and interpersonal rela-tions exclusively nor toward individualism and technical entrepreneurship exclusively Avariety of skills are typical of the most effective managers, and some of them appearincompatible

hard-To illustrate, Cameron and Tschirhart (1988) assessed the skill performance ofmore than 500 midlevel and upper-middle managers in about 150 organizations Themost frequently mentioned 25 management skills taken from about a dozen studies inthe academic literature (such as those in Table 2) were measured Statistical analysesrevealed that the skills fell into four main groups or clusters One group of skills focused onparticipative and human relations skills (for example, supportive communication andteam building), while another group focused on just the opposite, that is, competitivenessand control (for example, assertiveness, power, and influence skills) A third group focused

on innovativeness and individual entrepreneurship (for example, creative problem ing), while a fourth group emphasized the opposite type of skills, namely, maintainingorder and rationality (for example, managing time and rational decision making) Oneconclusion from that study was that effective managers are required to demonstrate para-doxical skills That is, the most effective managers are both participative and hard-driving,both nurturing and competitive They were able to be flexible and creative while alsobeing controlled, stable, and rational (see Cameron, Quinn, DeGraff, & Thakor, 2006) Our

S TUDY ❏ R ESPONDENTS • F OCUS R ESULTS

❏ Andersen Consulting (2000)

• Study of Andersen partners, consultants, Employee skills Leadership attributes

and client leaders Creativity Less controlling

Team building Shares authority Resilience/flexibility Culturally attuned Technical competence Encourages challenge Deal with ambiguity Clear vision

Speed Comfortable with risk Emotional intelligence Creates a motivated business Communication skills Manages intellectual diversity

Entrepreneurial

objective in this book is to help you develop that kind of behavioral competency andcomplexity.

Improving Management Skills

It is a bit unnerving that while average IQ scores have increased in the population over thelast half-century, social and emotional intelligence scores have actually declined In thepopulation in general, people are less skilled at managing themselves and managing othersthan they were 50 years ago (Goleman, 1998) While average IQ scores have jumpedapproximately 25 points, emotional intelligence scores (EQ) among young people andadults has fallen Moreover, whereas the “technological float” has shrunk dramatically—that is, the time between the introduction of a new technology and its being copied andrevised is constantly decreasing and is now measured in weeks rather than years—the

“human float” has changed very little It still takes about the same amount of time todevelop behavioral skills and human competencies as it always has No shortcuts or quickfixes have emerged, and the effort and practice that are required to become more emo-tionally intelligent and interpersonally skilled is substantial Progress regarding how to copewith and manage issues relating to other people has not kept pace with technologicalprogress, and it remains the biggest challenge for managers

The good news is that improvement in developing management skills has been found

in both students and managers who have been exposed to a curriculum such as the one

advocated in Developing Management Skills For example, MBA students showed

improvement of from 50 to 300 percent on social skills over the course of two years

by enrolling in two courses based on the approach to developing management skills sented here A greater amount of improvement occurred among students who appliedthese skills to multiple aspects of their lives outside the classroom, and people who weremore competent to begin with made the most progress In addition, a cohort of 45- to 55-year-old executives produced the same results as the MBA students That is, they alsoimproved dramatically in their management skills even though most were already experi-enced in senior managerial positions (Boyatzis, 1996, 2000, 2005; Boyatzis, Cowen, &Kolb, 1995; Boyatzis, Leonard, Rhee, & Wheeler, 1996; Leonard, 1996; Rhee, 1997;Wheeler, 1999)

pre-On the other hand, exposure to a traditional cognitive-based curriculum withoutexposure to management skills development does not correlate with improvements insocial competence, management skills, or career success For example, Cohen (1984)summarized the results of 108 studies of the relationship between performance in collegecourses (as measured by grade-point average) and subsequent life success Life successwas measured by a variety of factors, including job performance, income, promotions,personal satisfaction, eminence, and graduate degrees The mean correlation betweenperformance in school and performance in life in these studies was 18, and in no case didthe correlation exceed 20 These low correlations suggest that school performance andsuccessful performance in subsequent life activities are related only marginally

The data, in other words, appear quite compelling Attending school merely toachieve high grades in cognitive courses—while important—is not sufficient for manage-ment, career, or life success Going into debt for a formal education or achieving an addi-tional set of letters behind your name without also developing and improving yourmanagement skills will be an unfortunate lost opportunity That is why we feel so stronglythat in the management curriculum of universities, students should be exposed to a learn-ing model such as the one we describe here Our strong feelings, of course, are not based

on blind optimism Scientific evidence exists that such exposure can make a differenceboth to individuals and to the bottom-line performance of companies

INTRODUCTION 13

An Approach to Skill Development

Successful management development, of course, is more than just following a cookbook

list of sequential behaviors Developing highly competent management skills is much more

complicated than developing skills such as those associated with a trade (for example,

welding) or a sport (for example, shooting baskets) Management skills are: (1) linked to a

more complex knowledge base than other types of skills and (2) inherently connected to

interaction with other (frequently unpredictable) individuals A standardized approach

to welding or shooting free throws may be feasible, but no standardized approach to

man-aging human beings is possible

On the other hand, what all skills do have in common is the potential for

improve-ment through practice Any approach to developing manageimprove-ment skills, therefore, must

involve a heavy dose of practical application At the same time, practice without the

nec-essary conceptual knowledge is sterile and ignores the need for flexibility and adaptation

to different situations Therefore, developing competencies in management skills is

inher-ently tied to both conceptual learning and behavioral practice

The method that has been found to be most successful in helping individuals develop

management skills is based on social learning theory (Bandura, 1977; Boyatzis et al.,

1995; Davis & Luthans, 1980) This approach marries rigorous conceptual knowledge

with opportunities to practice and apply observable behaviors It relies on cognitive work

as well as behavioral work Variations on this general approach have been used widely in

on-the-job supervisory training programs, and they are common in executive education

programs and corporate universities—less so in business schools

This learning model, as originally formulated, consisted of four steps: (1) the

presen-tation of behavioral principles or action guidelines, generally using traditional instruction

methods; (2) demonstration of the principles by means of cases, films, scripts, or

inci-dents; (3) opportunities to practice the principles through role plays or exercises; and

(4) feedback on performance from peers, instructors, or experts

Our own experience in teaching complex management skills, as well as recent

research on management skills development among MBA students (e.g., Boyatzis et al.,

1995; Vance, 1993) has convinced us that three important modifications are necessary in

order for this model to be most effective First, the behavioral principles must be grounded

in social science theory and in reliable research results Common sense generalizations and

panacea-like prescriptions appear regularly in the popular management literature To ensure

the validity of the behavioral guidelines being prescribed, the learning approach must

include scientifically based knowledge about the effects of the management principles being

presented

Second, individuals must be aware of their current level of skill competency and be

motivated to improve upon that level in order to benefit from the model Most people

receive very little feedback about their current level of skill competency Most

organiza-tions provide some kind of annual or semiannual evaluation (for example, course grades

in school or performance appraisal interviews in firms), but these evaluations are almost

always infrequent and narrow in scope, and they fail to assess performance in most

criti-cal skill areas To help a person understand what skills to improve and why, therefore, an

assessment activity must be part of the model In addition, most people find change

uncomfortable and therefore avoid taking the risk to develop new behavior patterns An

assessment activity in the learning model helps encourage these people to change by

illu-minating their strengths and weaknesses People then know where weaknesses lie and

what things need to be improved Assessment activities generally take the form of

self-evaluation instruments, case studies, or problems that help highlight personal strengths

and weaknesses in a particular skill area

Third, an application component is needed in the learning model Most managementskill training takes place in a classroom setting where feedback is immediate, and it is rel-atively safe to try out new behaviors and make mistakes Therefore, transferring learning

to an actual job setting is often problematic Application exercises help to apply classroomlearning to examples from the real world of management Application exercises often takethe form of an outside-of-class intervention, a consulting assignment, self-analysis throughjournal writing, or a problem-centered intervention, which the student then analyzes todetermine its degree of success or failure

In summary, evidence suggests that a five-step learning model is most effective forhelping individuals develop management skills (see Cameron & Whetten, 1984; Kolb,1984; Vance, 1993; Whetten & Cameron, 1983) Table 3 outlines such a model Step 1

involves the assessment of current levels of skill competency and knowledge of the

behav-ioral principles Step 2 consists of the presentation of validated, scientifically based

principles and guidelines for effective skill performance Step 3 is an analysis step in

which models or cases are made available in order to analyze behavioral principles in realorganizational settings This step also helps demonstrate how the behavioral guidelines can

be adapted to different personal styles and circumstances Step 4 consists of practice

exer-cises in which experimentation can occur and immediate feedback can be received in a

rel-atively safe environment Step 5, finally, is the application of the skill to a real-life setting

outside the classroom with follow-up analysis of the relative success of that application.Research on the effectiveness of training programs using this general learning modelhas shown that it produces results superior to those based on more traditional lecture-discussion-case method approaches (Boyatzis et al., 1995; Burnaska, 1976; Kolb, 1984;Latham & Saari, 1979; Moses & Ritchie, 1976; Porras & Anderson, 1981; Smith, 1976;Vance, 1993) In addition, evidence suggests that management skill training can havesignificant impact on the bottom-line performance of a firm The U.S Postal Servicecompleted a study a few years ago in which 49 of the largest 100 post offices in Americawere evaluated An important question in the study was, “How can we make post officesmore effective?” Productivity and service quality were both monitored over a period of fiveyears The two major factors that had impact on these effectiveness measures were (1)degree of automation, and (2) investment in training Two kinds of training were provided:technical training (operating and maintaining the equipment) and management training(developing management skills) The study found that management training was moreimportant than technical training in accounting for improved productivity and service inthe post offices, and both kinds of training were more important than having up-to-date

1 Skill assessment Survey instruments Assess current level of skill competence and

Role plays knowledge; create readiness to change.

2 Skill learning Written text Teach correct principles and present a rationale

Behavioral guidelines for behavioral guidelines.

3 Skill analysis Cases Provide examples of appropriate and inappropriate

skill performance Analyze behavioral principles and reasons they work.

4 Skill practice Exercises Practice behavioral guidelines Adapt principles to

Simulations personal style Receive feedback and assistance Role plays

5 Skill application Assignments (behavioral and written) Transfer classroom learning to real-life situations.

Foster ongoing personal development.

INTRODUCTION 15

equipment in the post office Low-tech offices outperformed high-tech offices when

managers were provided with management skill training In short, its five-year study

convinced the U.S Postal Service that helping employees to develop management skills was

the best way to improve organizational effectiveness (Cameron & Ulrich, 1986)

This is consistent with the conclusion drawn by Eric Greenberg, Director of Surveys

for the American Management Association, upon summarizing the lessons learned from

years of surveys of American managers:

Where companies increased their training activity, the chances were much, much

better that they were going to increase their operating profits and that they were

going to increase their shareholder value Product quality, market share, and

pro-ductivity all tend to rise as training budgets go up Companies that don’t make

the investment are apt to see disappointing results (Greenberg, 1999)

More than thirty years ago, Mintzberg (1975) made a similar point about the

cur-riculum needed in business schools Things have not changed

Management schools will begin the serious training of managers when skill training

takes its place next to cognitive learning Cognitive learning is detached and

infor-mational, like reading a book or listening to a lecture No doubt much important

cognitive material must be assimilated by the manager-to-be But cognitive learning

no more makes a manager than it does a swimmer The latter will drown the first

time he jumps into the water if his coach never takes him out of the lecture hall,

gets him wet, and gives him feedback on his performance Our management

schools need to identify the skills managers use, select students who show

poten-tial in these skills, put the students into situations where these skills can be

prac-ticed, and then give them systematic feedback on their performance (p 60)

A senior executive in a major consulting firm similarly observed:

The higher up the organization you go, the less relevant technical knowledge

becomes It is important for your first couple of promotions, but after that, people

skills are what count.

A recent graduate from a Big Ten management school also reported:

I can’t believe it I went for my second interview with a company last week, and I

spent the first half-day participating in simulation exercises with ten other job

candidates They videotaped me playing the role of a salesman handling an irate

customer, a new director of personnel putting down a revolt by the “old guard,”

and a plant manager trying to convince people of the need to install a radically

new production process Boy, was I unprepared for that!

The message behind these personal observations is clear: from almost every

perspec-tive, competence in personal, interpersonal, and group skills is a critical prerequisite for

success in management Strong analytical and quantitative skills are important, but they

are not sufficient Successful managers must be able to work effectively with people

Unfortunately, interpersonal and management skills have not always been a high priority

for business school students and aspiring executives In a recent survey of 110 Fortune

500 CEOs, 87 percent were satisfied with the level of competence and analytic skills of

business school graduates, 68 percent were satisfied with conceptual skills of graduates,

but only 43 percent of the CEOs were satisfied with graduates’ management skills, and

only 28 percent were satisfied with their interpersonal skills and EQ!

To assist you in improving your own management skills, this book emphasizes

prac-ticing management skills, rather than just reading about them We have organized the

book with this specific approach in mind

Leadership and Management

Before outlining the organization of this book, we want to discuss briefly the place of ship in this volume Some writers have differentiated between the concepts of “leadership”and “management” (Bass, 1990; Katzenbach, 1995; Nair, 1994; Quinn, 2000; Tichy, 1999).Some have wondered why we concentrate on “management” skills instead of “leadership”skills in this book We have also been asked by professors, business executives, and students

leader-why we have not either changed the title of the book to Developing Leadership Skills, or at

least included one chapter on leadership in this volume These queries and suggestions areimportant and have motivated us to clarify at the outset of the book what we mean by man-agement, and why we believe our focus on management skills lies at the heart of leadership

as typically defined

One of the most popular models of leadership is based on the “Competing ValuesFramework,” an organizing framework for leadership and managerial skills It was devel-oped by examining the criteria used to evaluate organizational and managerial performance(Cameron et al., 2006; Quinn & Rohrbaugh, 1983) Extensive research has been conducted

on this framework over the past two decades, and a brief explanation will help clarify therelationship between management and leadership skills You should be aware that thisframework has been used on several continents to help managers and organizationsimprove their effectiveness, and a database of more than 80,000 managers has now beencompiled (Cameron & Quinn, 2006) That research has shown that leadership and manage-ment skills fall into four clusters or categories as illustrated in Figure 1 In order to be

an effective manager, in other words, individuals must be competent in: (1) clan skills, or a

Competing Values Framework

Flexibility Change

Stability Control

CLAN SKILLS—COLLABORATE

Internal Maintenance

Communicating Supportively Building Teams and Teamwork Empowering

HIERARCHY SKILLS—CONTROL Managing Personal Stress Managing Time

Maintaining Self-Awareness Analytical Problem Solving

ADHOCRACY SKILLS—CREATE

External Positioning

Solving Problems Creatively Leading Positive Change Fostering Innovation

MARKET SKILLS—COMPLETE Motivating Others Gaining Power and Influence Managing Conflict