This study investigated changes in the skill levels of managers which occurred two years following the managers' participation in 360‐degree feedback. The major objective was to investigate how skill development, development efforts, and environmental support for development are related. The Management Skills Profile (MSP) was used to measure skills and to give feedback. Of the original 198 managers who received feedback, 48 accepted the opportunity to complete the instrument again two years later. At that time, they also completed a questionnaire surveying what development activities they had completed and the extent to which they received support for development from their supervisor and the organization. The first hypothesis was that, for the group, (a) participants' skills would increase following feedback, and (b) self–other agreement would be greater at Time 2 than at Time 1. This was supported. The second hypothesis was that management skills would be related to later advancement. This also was supported. The third hypothesis was that skill development would be related to both development efforts and environmental support, and that some development activities would be more effective than others. Hypothesis four was that those who put more effort into development (a) would have received at Time 1 ratings which were more favorable and more congruent with their self‐ratings, and (b) would have received more environmental support. Hypotheses three and four were only partially supported. The results have implications for what managers can do to develop their skills and how others can support this development. © 1993 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

To respond to the challenge of how organizations can develop leaders who can think strategically, we investigate the relation of leaders' global work experiences--that is, those experiences that require the role incumbent to transcend national boundaries--to their competency in strategic thinking. We further examine whether leaders' exposure to a country whose culture is quite distinct from the culture of their own country (i.e., one that is culturally distant) moderates these relationships. Our analyses of 231 upper level leaders reveals that the time they have spent in global work experiences positively relates to their strategic thinking competency, particularly for leaders who have had exposure to a more culturally distant country. We discuss these findings in light of the research on international work experiences and leader development.

The effects of rater and ratee race on performance ratings of managers were examined. Ratings were obtained from peers, subordinates and bosses as part of a multirater, developmental feedback program for managers. Two data sets were created for purposes of this study. The between‐subjects data set consisted of ratings from over 20,000 bosses, over 50,000 peers, and over 40,000 subordinates. The repeated measures data set was substantially smaller because it included only those Black and White managers who were rated by both a Black and White rater from each of the three perspectives. Results for rater race indicated that Black raters from all perspectives (peers, subordinates, and bosses) assigned more favorable ratings to ratees of their own race. Results for White raters differed according to the particular rating source. White bosses assigned more favorable ratings to ratees of their own race, but White subordinates did not. White peers assigned more favorable ratings to Whites in the repeated measures analysis, but not in the between‐subjects analysis. Results for ratee race indicated that both White and Black managers received higher ratings from Black raters than from White raters, and the effect was more pronounced for ratings assigned to Black managers.

Sample size requirements needed to achieve various levels of statistical power using posttest-only, gain-score, and analysis of covariance designs in evaluating training interventions have been developed. Results are presented which indicate that the power to detect true effects differs according to the type of design, the correlation between the pre-and posttest, and the size of the effect due to the training program. We show that the type of design and correlations between the pre-and posttest complexly determine the power curve. Finally, an estimate of typical sample sizes used in training evaluation design has been determined and reviewed to determine the power of the various designs to detect true effects, given this sample-size specification. Recommendations for type of design are provided based on sample size and projected correlations between pre-and posttest scores. Support for this paper was provided by the School of Management, University of Minnesota. Dr. Scott E. Maxwell provided statistical consultation regarding the statistical derivations found within the manuscript. COPYRIGHT 0 1985 PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY. INC 493

A study was conducted that examined which managerial skill dimensions were critical for effective leadership for managers in the USA and seven European countries. The results suggested more similarities than differences across countries. Specifically, a core group of two skill dimensions emerged as critical for effective leadership across countries and operationalizations of criticality. These dimensions were analyze issues and drive for results. However, results did differ depending on how criticality was operationalized. The findings of the study suggest that: users of 360-degree feedback instruments should not rely solely on perceived importance of a skill dimension to aid in ratings interpretation, and the ability to solve complex problems and learn quickly on the one hand and being hard-working and persistent on the other hand are prerequisites for effective leadership, regardless of whether you are leading in Pittsburgh or in Paris.