The “real‐world” challenges of managers: implications for management education

Purpose – This study aims to examine the day‐to‐day problems that managers face in trying to be effective and the resources and solutions that they access as a means of dealing with these challenges. Design/methodology/approach – This research summarizes the results of 185 interviews with managers employed at a broad range of levels and employers. Findings – The managers were concerned with managing employee conflict, addressing employee performance and attitude issues, and finding employees who do not present these problems. Helpful advice came from the people around them rather than from print sources. The managers were unlikely to view consultants as sources of help. Research limitations/implications – In identifying relevant teaching from a managerial perspective, this study suggests that curriculum designers pay more attention to teamwork and generic skill sets. Future research should examine the implications of pedagogical approaches on the practice of management, employ a random sample of a larger group of managers in order to cross‐validate this study's results, and, given that there may be a disparity between managers' perceptions and practice, a follow‐up study is needed that examines day‐to‐day managerial practice. Practical implications – This study proposes that management researchers and teachers may need to do a “Mintzbergian turn” and examine how much time they spend directly addressing the issues that are important to managers on a day‐to‐day basis. This study suggests that management educators may need to move beyond presenting managerial issues as a series of “topics” to be recalled by students at a later date. Rather, there is a need to consider what issues real managers grapple with and how they go about doing so. Originality/value – This study's open‐ended research approach permitted the examination of what was most important to managers from their perspective.