Beliefs about the appropriate degree of directiveness in the management relationship, as related to demographic characteristics, educational background, and organizational position

• Main Author: Pershing, Janet L
• Format: Others
• Published: ScholarWorks 2003
• Online Access: http://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/hodgkinson/1; http://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=hodgkinson

Correlations between beliefs about management and age, gender, nationality, level of education, education field, functional area, and hierarchical level were examined. Analyses were conducted at the ecological level and focused on beliefs regarding appropriate degree of directiveness in the managerial relationship. Two thousand staff members of an international intergovernmental organization received an electronically distributed written survey. Factor analysis was used to develop summated rating scales for each independent variables. Differences between subgroup means were then examined using ANOVA or t tests. The strength of the association between the independent variables and a common scale was assessed using eta squared. Directiveness was found to relate positively to age, and negatively to education level and hierarchical level. More directive, on average, than members of other groups were males, those educated in academic disciplines classified by Biglan as involving single thought paradigms or focusing on nonlife systems (e.g., physical sciences and economics), those in professional functional areas, and those from Japanese, Latin, and Nordic nationality groups. For all independent variables, differences reached high levels of significance (p < .001). Hypotheses regarding the relative strength of association between independent variables and the common scale were not supported. The results suggest that information about subgroup membership can help managers better meet the needs of a diverse staff. The concept of directiveness proved highly effective in predicting outcomes but requires refinement. Further investigation into those independent variables that have not previously been widely investigated and replication of the study in other venues are recommended.