Effectiveness of French management : Analysis of the behaviour, attitudes and business impact of top managers

Bases its findings on the results of a survey of 168 top level managers in French organizations. Demographic variables, behavioural characteristics and measures of business impact have been linked in order to discover whether organizational infrastructure concerns, educational achievements of top management, or the behaviour of top management, or a combination of these, influence the business performance of French private sector organizations. The results show that the level of qualification attained does not indicate whether French senior managers will perform effectively, nor is the configuration of organization structure significant for effective management. Crucial, however, are the attitudes and behaviour of senior managers, who are identified as significantly impacting on group and organizational performance. Considers that four areas of management development are pertinent to the continued growth and development of French senior managers, namely enhancing the ability to respond positively to feedback, enhancing interfacing skills, effective use of consultants and assisting managers to be high achievers.