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Managerial Work Time And Space: Literature Review

Time and space in managerial work: literature review

In the article of Stefan Tengblad (2002, Time and space in managerial work, Scandinavian Journal of Management, pp. 543-566.), the working behaviour of top management in the internationalised economy is investigated. He studied the behaviour of eight CEOs in Sweden. The purpose of his article is to make a comparison with CEO behaviour 50 years ago by using similar methods as the classic study "Executive Behaviour" (Carlson, 1951). Both similarities and differences are examined. The focus of the paper of Tengblad is mainly about continuity versus change regarding time and space allocation of the top managers.
The objective of this review is to evaluate the research of Stefan Tengblad (2002) compared to the Carlson study (1951) and to find out of the methodology provide useful input for theoretical discussion about managerial work.

Since the second part of the last century an increase in interest appeared in the nature of managerial work and the way managers allocated their time. Tengblad (2002) said that there were three theoretical interpretations in particular presented in earlier research regarding the stability or change of managerial work: the importance of the environment, strategic action and sense-making; and the existence of traditions (pp. 544-545). These three aspects are connected and they outline the content of the study about managerial work (p. 545).
The previously mentioned Tengblad and Carlson studies divided the CEO behaviour in several dimensions which influenced the work behaviour of the CEO. These dimensions are: the dimension of space concerning the physical location, the use of communication techniques, contact patterns such as meetings, the functional orientation of CEO work (concerning what kind of functional areas the CEO activities are related to), the type of administrative action and fragmentation in CEO work. These dimensions are based on the three theoretical aspects...