5 Stereotypes and Myths of 'Management Action'

Question 1

Myth: Managers are reflective, systematic planners, think and act in a structured way and always possesses ‘inside’ knowledge of future decisions and actions

Answer 1

Truth: managers work in “unrelenting pace and their activities are typically characterized by brevity, variety, fragmentation, discontinuity and they are strongly oriented to action”

Question 2

Myth: Managers depend on aggregated information ideally supplied by a formal system

Answer 2

Truth: there is a tendency to prefer informal media of communication, especially phone calls and meetings, emails over formal systems

Question 3

Myth: Managing is mostly about hierarchical relationships between a “superior” and “subordinates”

Answer 3

Truth: General Management is just as much about lateral relationships between colleagues and partners as it is about hierarchical relationships

Question 4

Myth: Managers maintain tight control of their time, activities and units

Answer 4

Truth: „The manager is neither a conductor nor a puppet: Control to the possible extent tends to rather be covert (not openly shown) than overt.“

Question 5

Myth: Management is exposed to constant change

Answer 5

Truth: the characteristics of Management have remained surprisingly robust over decades and are characterized by a high degree of conformity.