Contemporary Perceptions of Effective and Ineffective Managerial Behavior: A 21st century case from the U.S.A.

Abstract

This qualitative study explores how contemporary US managers and non-managerial employees in the metropolitan region of Atlanta, Georgia behaviorally differentiate effective managers from ineffective ones. We collected from 81 research participants 381 critical incidents (CIs) of observed effective and ineffective managerial behavior. These CIs were subjected to open, axial and selective coding which resulted in the emergence of 10 effective and 13 ineffective behavioral indicators of perceived managerial and leadership effectiveness. The findings could be valuable to managers seeking to make better decisions about how best to behaviorally manage and lead US employees in the 21st century.