MANAGERIAL BEHAVIOR AND EVALUATOR EFFECTIVENESS (FROM EVALUATOR AND MANAGEMENT, 1979, BY HERBERT C SCHULBERG AND JEANETTE M JERRELL - SEE NCJ-63825)

• NCJ Number: 63831
• Author(s): L SPROULL; P LARKEY
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 16 pages
• Corporate Author: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

LACK OF EVALUATION IMPACT ON DECISIONMAKING IS OFTEN DUE TO COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS. THIS ARTICLE SUGGESTS THAT EVALUATORS NEED TO UNDERSTAND HOW MANAGERS MAKE DECISIONS IN ORDER TO INTERVENE IN THE PROCESS.

Abstract

THERE IS NO UNIFIED THEORY OF DECISIONMAKING, BUT A GROWING BODY OF WORK IN COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY AND ORGANIZATION THEORY INVESTIGATES ACTUAL DECISIONMAKING BEHAVIOR. THESE INSIGHTS CAN BE USEFUL TO EVALUATORS WHO WANT THEIR WORK TO BE INFLUENTIAL. THIS ARTICLE REVIEWS THE KEY ELEMENTS OF MANAGERIAL BEHAVIOR: MANAGERIAL TIME ALLOCATION, INFORMATION PROCESSING, AND DECISIONMAKING. FROM RESEARCH INTO THEIR TIME ALLOCATION, MANAGERS EMERGE AS CONSTANTLY BUSY, TURNING AND TURNED FROM ONE PROBLEM TO ANOTHER THROUGHOUT THE DAY, WITH NO TIME TO THINK, GATHER ACCURATE INFORMATION, OR WEIGH ALTERNATIVES, AND BARELY TIME TO MAKE SUPERFICIAL RESPONSES TO COMPLICATED MATTERS. DECISIONMAKING UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES IS A PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING SIMPLIFIED REPRESENTATIONS OF PROBLEM SITUATIONS WHICH RESTRICT THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION PROCESSED. THE PROBABILISTIC REASONING OF MANAGERS, THE WAY IN WHICH THEY ANTICIPATE CONSEQUENCES, IS BASED ON SIMPLE CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS THAT CAN BE CREATED AND HELD INDEPENDENTLY OF DATA. THIS CONCEPT SIMPLIFICATION PROCESS IS IDENTIFIED BY VARIOUS HEURISTICS OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY. MANAGER-EVALUATOR INTERACTION CONTRASTS IN BOTH FORM AND CONTENT WITH THE MODAL BEHAVIORS OF MANAGERIAL INFORMATION PROCESSING AND DECISIONMAKING. EVALUATOR INFORMATION IS USUALLY PRESENTED IN AGGREGATE AND GENERALIZED FORMATS. DATA THAT EVALUATORS LABEL AS UNINTERPRETABLE OR IRRELEVANT MAY BE THE CORE TO MANAGERS' UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM. TO BE EFFECTIVE, EVALUATORS NEED TO CHANGE THE WAY IN WHICH THEIR INFORMATION IS CONVEYED TO MANAGERS. SUGGESTIONS INCLUDE BEING AVAILABLE FOR FREQUENT INFORMAL CONTACT, USING ILLUSTRATIVE STORIES TO MAKE THEORETICAL POINTS, INFORMING THOSE PEOPLE MANAGERS USE AS INFORMATION SOURCES, AND PRESENTING THE SAME FINDINGS FROM A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES. RECOMMENDED PROGRAM CHANGES FROM EVALUATION SHOULD BE PRESENTED AS PUBLICLY DEFENSIBLE ARGUMENTS RATHER THAN SCIENTIFIC ONES. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (MRK)