Business research Assignment II

Name:- Semere Tesfaye

Id:-MBAO/8977/14B

Submitted To:- Dr. Berihun M.

January 2023
Title
Managerial skills, mindsets, and roles: advancing taxonomy to relevancy and practicality

Abstract
Theory of management research has been challenged by the altering realities of organization life,
job roles, and individual motivations. The results of a study show that interpretation and
application of managerial roles are primarily influenced by the individual's intentions rather than
organizationally based theoretical taxonomy.
Introduction
Study examines whether existing role taxonomies taught in business schools hold relevancy and
practicality for contemporary managers. We also investigate the foundational parameters of
managerial roles as well as related factors that may influence engagement and ultimately
organizational performance. A central question remains in how to view the relevance of known
work role requirements that are taught in businesses schools. There is a need for revising
theoretical managerial research as organizations have become more competitive and confusing
(Fells, 2000; Dierdorff, Rubin, & Morgeson, 2009). Business schools appear not to concentrate
on what students and other stakeholders consider most beneficial.
There appears an oversimplification of leadership and soft-skills training when in reality these
more intangible and multifaceted capabilities sit at the core in running modern organizations. A
stronger orientation towards research relevancy without sacrificing rigor would at least
contribute to usefulness and make theory much more appealing to a practicing profession. It is
important to determine to what extent the role requirements upon which these frameworks were
derived are still considered important and relevant. We provide an overview of the literature on
roles, skills, and mindsets, followed by a discussion on some of the issues in nomenclature.
MANAGERIAL PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS: OVERVIEW AND
CHALLENGES
Classifying the content of just managerial roles reveals a rich literature that renders the formation
of an exhaustive compilation of findings unrealistic. Some of these formulations were a response
to requests for theory-driven predictors of job performance. There is wealth of theoretical
taxonomic research, yet few empirical studies that have explored role taxonomy in relation to
practice or utility. (Dierdorff, Rubin, & Morgeson, 2009) offered a comprehensive study of the
managerial work and performance literature that spanned a 50-year period. The authors provided
further empirical confirmation that the 18 managerial roles already identified may be categorized
in three areas: conceptual, interpersonal, and technical/administrative.
Previously, (Tett et al. 2000) identified 53 additional 'hyper-specific' competencies and numerous
other studies also contributed to our understanding of what managers do. Henry Mintzberg's
well-known study of observing five executives each for 1 week has become a mainstay of
business education and prompted extensive related studies. Some have argued that his taxonomy
is merely an incremental variation on already known managerial roles and provides little insight
on how things might be done to improve organizational effectiveness.
MANAGERIAL BEHAVIORS: ROLES, SKILLS, AND MINDSETS
Table 3 presents a high-level summary of some key managerial skills categories or frameworks.
Top managers, middle managers, first-line managers, and team leaders are most likely to have
distinct managerial roles. The lack of a larger and more vertically stratified sample group in
Mintzberg's analysis precluded any accurate inference. Mindsets are beliefs about the nature of
human behavior and open the debate regarding the extent to which humans can change their
mindsets. 'Ways of thinking' is especially critical to management in today's environment and is
among the most challenging from a pedagogical perspective.
Changing Nature of Managerial Roles and Relevancy
Study examines whether previously accepted taxonomy for role-related content holds relevancy
and reflects the range of today's managerial job content. The study examines Dubrin's (2012)
model with 17 role categories as it is widely cited and examined through management textbooks.
Research design and procedures
This study is the result of an extensive literature search that dated back to the early 1800's as well
as reviewing leading US management textbooks. We were more interested in studying how
respondents related to the classical managerial role definitions than in exploring additional role
classifications. Since the research required both exploration and empirical analysis, we chose
consensual qualitative research (CQR), which is a proven approach for examining human
experience. The interviews were conducted by undergraduate honors students who were taking
part in a field interview project at William Paterson University. The respondents were asked to
describe the extent to which they utilized each component of the three domains as defined in
(DuBrin's 2012) taxonomy. Each of 281 completed questionnaires was then reviewed by MBA
management students for quality, consistency, and usability.
Sample organizations and demographic information
This study consisted of 259 useable questionnaires completed by individuals from 200 diverse
industry sectors. Industry classifications were based upon the 2012 US North American Industry
Classification System codes.
DISCUSSION
This study is distinctive within the numerous explorations of managerial work in several
respects. The findings with respect to the five managerial skills (interpersonal, technical,
diagnostic, conceptual, and political) were found to be a separate domain from both the
managerial roles and five mindsets. A rank ordering and grouping by significance revealed a
three-level hierarchy with interpersonal skills as most important. The identification of a discrete
Team cluster as a major role category was unexpected, but supports the view that contemporary
managers are shifting from traditional command and control models to more inclusive group-
oriented management styles. This would suggest that the taxonomy may be limited by its focus
in defining and categorizing specific behaviors at the exclusion of other activities.
Only one group (19% of the respondents) scored high in all four categories, suggesting that
managers are not as strongly influenced by organizational forces as they once were. The
identification with historic organizational. Roles may no longer be consistent with emerging
phenomenon that in order to advance or achieve one’s. Personal goals, one may need to place
his/her interests above the collective well-being of the organization.
LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH
This study has several limitations, but offers a number of interesting areas for future research.
The results suggest that further segmentation and analyses in future research would be useful in
determining if role requirements, skills, and mindsets are more specific to various population
groups. We provided two layers of oversight and expert review to ensure minimal bias, but
welcome other methods of data collection. However, it is argued that the classroom context is
largely theoretical and the application or practical relevancy tends to be minimal. Further, the
taxonomy is skewed toward specific work-related tasks but fails to address the significant effort
managers expend on soft skills such as social currency and reputational capital.
IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations are offered to strengthen the relevancy of the taxonomies and enable
individuals, academic communities, business students, and schools to acquire more theoretical
and practical knowledge. Interpersonal skills was ranked number one (level 1) in the emerging
hierarchy by both mid- and upper-level managers as the most critical competency in their
activities. One possible explanation is that technology is rapidly becoming a strategic success
tool for individuals, like it has become for organizations.
CONCLUSION
Business school pedagogy and theoretical research are at a cross-road and both would better
serve students and organizations with a deeper understanding of role relevancy and its
application. This presents an important opportunity for educators, practitioners, and researchers
to reevaluate the delicate relationship between organization and individual needs.

Reference
 Dierdorff, E. C., Rubin, R. S., & Morgeson, F. P. (2009). The milieu of managerial work:
An integrative framework linking work context to role requirements. Journal of Applied
Psychology, 94, 972–988.
 Fells, M. J. (2000). Fayol stands the test of time. Journal of Management History, 6, 345–
360.
 Tett, R. P., Guterman, H. A., Bleier, A., & Murphy, P. J. (2000). Development and
content validation of a “hyperdimensional” taxonomy of managerial competence. Human
Performance, 13, 205–251.