Relations between managers' abilities, task performance, and accomplishment of long-term objectives: A study of R&D manager

This study advanced the understanding of managerial performance by providing an integrated, empirically-based description of managers' abilities, their performance on critical activities, and their performance in achieving long-term objectives. An ability appraisal battery developed for this study (and for Friedman & Fleishman, 1996) measured 91 research and development managers' relative levels of 12 abilities suggested by the job analysis literature to be particularly critical to performance. In addition, managers' performances were appraised on two sets of criteria: (a) managerial activities, and (b) long-term objectives. Important contributions from this research include: (a) the validation of the ability assessment battery, (b) identification of dimensions summarizing appraised performance on the long-term objectives, and their conceptual relations to organizational performance dimensions, (c) a description of the relations between achieving these long-term objectives and appraised performance on the managerial activities, and (d) a description of the interrelations between all 12 abilities and managers' performance on both types of criteria. A major specific finding is the prevalence of problem sensitivity as a unique predictor of appraised performance across the range of dimensions for both types of criteria, indicating this may be a keystone ability for managerial success upon which other abilities build. Finally, limitations and future research needs are identified.