What Do Managers Do? A Critical Review of the Evidence

Hales, Colin

doi:10.1111/j.1467-6486.1986.tb00936.x

Cited by 319 publications

(253 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Managers often value information that is speculative and informal (tacit) rather than information that is authoritative and formal (explicit) (Mintzberg, 1973;Hales, 1986;Turner & Makhija, 2006). Although accounting information in the form of reports and analyses is likely to be explicit, verbal communications around the meaning and implications of accounting information can facilitate the exchange of more tacit forms of information, and provide a context within which to debate and discuss the meanings and implications of accounting data.…”

Section: Accounting Information and Forms Of Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although managers do make decisions, and many of these are undoubtedly important, empirical investigations of what managers actually do show that such activities are only a relatively small part of managerial work and sometimes not that critical (for example, see Mintzberg, 1973;Kotter, 1982;Hales, 1986;Hales, 1999;Stewart, 1988). Much managerial work involves responding to the unusual, the ad hoc, and the unplanned, where problem boundaries are typically hazy and unstable (Hales, 1999;Kotter, 1982;Hanaway, 1989).…”

Section: The Role Of Accounting Information In Developing Knowledge Omentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Managers have a strong preference for verbal communication, preferring contacts with people in meetings, informal discussions, and via the telephone (Kotter, 1982;Hales, 1986;Hanaway, 1989;McKinnon & Bruns, 1992;Preston, 1986). Managers use these verbal contacts to easily bypass formal organisation charts and seek information from those people who have it, rather than wait for information to arrive from formal channels (McKinnon & Bruns, 1992;Preston, 1986).…”

Section: Accounting Information and Forms Of Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, much managerial work involves addressing problems that involve turbulence, doubt, uncertainty, and the potential for significant error (Hales, 1986;Kotter, 1982;Isenberg, 1984;Landau & Stout, 1979). As such, a strong focus on how managers use accounting information to make specific decisions in well-defined contexts is restrictive as it limits consideration of other, potentially much more important, ways that managers use accounting information in their work.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although managers do make decisions, and many of these are undoubtedly important, empirical investigations of what managers actually do show that decision making is only a relatively small part of managerial work and sometimes not that critical (for example, see Mintzberg, 1973;Kotter, 1982;Hales, 1986;Stewart, 1988;Whitely, 1985). In addition, much managerial work involves addressing problems that involve turbulence, doubt, uncertainty, and the potential for significant error (Hales, 1986;Kotter, 1982;Isenberg, 1984;Landau & Stout, 1979).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Accounting information and managerial work

Hall

2010

Accounting, Organizations and Society

245

269

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Despite calls to link management accounting more closely to management (Jonsson, 1998), much is still to be learned about the role of accounting information in managerial work. This lack of progress stems partly from a failure to incorporate in research efforts the findings regarding the nature of managerial work, as well as inadequate attention devoted to the detailed practices through which accounting information is actually used by managers in their work. In this paper I draw on prior research to develop a series of propositions focused on three primary insights into how and why managers use accounting information in their work. First, managers primarily use accounting information to develop knowledge of their work environment rather than as an input into specific decision making scenarios. In this role, accounting information can help managers to develop knowledge to prepare for unknown future decisions and activities. Second, as accounting information is just one part of the wider information set that managers use to perform their work, it is imperative to consider its strengths and weaknesses not in isolation but relative to other sources of information at a manager's disposal. Third, as managers interact with information and other managers utilising primarily verbal forms of communication, it is through talk rather than through written reports that accounting information becomes implicated in managerial work. These insights have important implications for how managers use accounting information, and, in particular, require reconsideration of the types accounting information that managers find, or could find, helpful. The paper also considers how existing experimental and field-based methods could fruitfully be adapted to focus on the detailed activities through which managers engage with accounting information.

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Section: Accounting Information and Forms Of Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Role Of Accounting Information In Developing Knowledge Omentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Accounting Information and Forms Of Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Accounting information and managerial work

Hall

2010

Accounting, Organizations and Society

245

269

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Evidence‐based Management and Leadership

Briner¹,

Walshe²

2013

The Wiley‐Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Leadership, Change, and Organizational Development

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Managerial Roles

Harney

2015

Wiley Encyclopedia of Management

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Drawing on role theory this article examines definitions and meaning of managerial roles. It explores the evolution of understanding of managerial roles from tight associations with traditional managerial functions toward a broader understanding informed by in‐depth inductive studies. Commonalities in constitutive roles are identified before an exploration of recent research examining continuity in roles overtime and the implication of context and levels on managerial roles.

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What Do Managers Do? A Critical Review of the Evidence

Cited by 319 publications

References 17 publications

Accounting information and managerial work

Accounting information and managerial work

Evidence‐based Management and Leadership

Managerial Roles

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