As has been illustrated in the chapter, the nature of management effectiveness is to some degree dependent upon context. There may be a number of skills, personal qualities and behaviours which are central to effective management in any context, but the need for a contingency approach based upon the nature and environment of an organisation is highlighted by many of the authors whose work is discussed here. Talented people with successful careers can sometimes fail to fulfil expectations in new roles or changed circumstances. At many levels of organisational life, management training and development programmes can help to smooth out individual transitions, arising from promotion; but experience and performance remain key to the assessment of managerial effectiveness. An increasing amount of academic research is revealing that the perceived effectiveness of managers may also be of significance both in relation to the evaluation of an individual’s success in a managerial role, and with regard to decisions about their future promotion. This mix of fact and perception can sometimes have a damaging effect on the careers of both specific individuals, and others in the group to which they appear to belong, as typified by the longrunning debate about the effectiveness of women as managers.

Your tasks

1. It has been argued that some effective managerial behaviours are universal, and others contextually determined. Using the chapter and the case as a starting point, identify what you believe to be examples of each. Discuss and justify your choice.

2. Critically review the suggestion in this case that some parenting skills can be used by managers in an organisational setting. What sorts of parenting skills might be effective, and under what organisational circumstances?

3. The case illustrates the way in which a successful and talented individual has designed an organisation to suit her specific abilities and requirements. What might managers in larger and more traditional organisations learn from her experience, and how could they apply it in practice?

4. Discuss the contention that the financial crisis was caused in part because of the lack of women in the financial services sector.