TIME MANAGEMENT OF MANAGERS IN EU COUNTRIES. Povilas Zakarevičius, Pranas Žukauskas Vytautas Magnus University

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1 TIME MANAGEMENT OF MANAGERS IN EU COUNTRIES Povilas Zakarevičius, Pranas Žukauskas Vytautas Magnus University The paper scrutinizes the problem of examining managers time management factors in some EU countries. Research was conducted in United Kingdom, Germany, Malta, Spain and Lithuania. Methodology developed by creative group of European Management Association in cooperation with the authors of this paper was applied in the research. Middle and senior managers were examined. Research was conducted in different sectors of the national economies. A lot of attention was paid for the examining managers from rural sector in different countries. The research results indicated large similarities of factors impacting the time management of managers in EU countries, on the other hand, areas of divergence between the countries were found. Human resources, Managers, Rural Companies, Time Management, EU countries. Introduction The importance of management efficiency for company s productivity in modern society, when rapid changes in globalization and internationalization of economic processes have a greater impact on organization performance, is obvious. The greater part of the success of these processes is predetermined by the managers performance quality. Management efficiency issues are tightly connected with their time management. Time management, in turn, depends on the number of influencing factors. The nature of these factors as well as their occurrence in different countries is not given the proper attention in the scientific literature. The aim of this article is to investigate and analyze factors influencing managers time management in different European countries, and to settle the similarities and differences in importance of some factors through comparison of investigation results. The survey was completed by a total of 1360 senior and middle managers across five countries: United Kingdom, Germany, Malta, Spain and Lithuania. Implementing the main aim of the research there was examined an influence of different factors (Working hours, Business and Activities which make up the working day) on the managers time. The findings of the research can be significant to: managers of organizations who are responsible for creating and implementing companies strategies; human resource management divisions in organizations; management consulting companies; faculties of business and management in universities, developing curriculums and study plans. 192

2 1. Conception and essence of time management Managerial work is a complicated informational and creative process. The result of this work turns out as decisions that determine the final activity of a whole company or its department. Therefore the importance of decision-making and the organisation of their performance are obvious. This process should be economical, operative, optimal and systematic (Kotter, 1999; Bakanauskiene, 2006). Rational distribution of work time is one of the important elements in manager s work alongside with the employment of progressive work methods, arrangement of comfortable work place as well as work division and cooperation among the managers of various level and the managers who are in charge of different functions. This is the reason why recently so much attention has been devoted to the management of manager s work time and free time. (White, 2003). Different aspects of manager s work time have been analysed by P. Drucker (1997), R. Drago (2001), S. Hart-Hester (2003), M. White, S. Hill, P. McGovern, C. Mills, D. Smeaton (2003), and other authors. On the other hand, comparative research that would allow evaluating the peculiarities of managers time management in different organisations of different countries is lacking, therefore such research is topical. The problems of the above mentioned time management should be analysed in three aspects: to analyse the expenditure of time devoted for manager s activity and life respectively a calendar period (within a month, a year); to analyse the distribution of manager s time within twenty four hours; to analyse the distribution of manager s time for separate elements of activity within a workday. The distribution of time within a workday is a key direction of the research. There should be identified activity elements that require respective amount of time, further it should be determined whether time is used effectively. In case of irrational distribution of time there should be foreseen means enabling to shift timetables of work time. (Hart-Hester, 2003; Fletcher, 1993). Research on the expenditure of manager s work time reveals that all work could be distinguished into three main groups: current work, recurring every day (analysis of correspondence, operative meetings, constructive talks with co-workers, communication, control of tasks performance, etc.) work or activities performed within a longer period though sometimes also repeatedly (every month or quarterly meetings, relations with other organizations, constructive meetings with partners, participation at conferences, duty and etc.) irregular work or occasional activities, which are difficult to foresee (unexpected problems in the organization s activity, unscheduled visits of clients, unexpected conversations by telephone or s, etc.) 193

3 It is very important that activities of the first two above mentioned groups would be performed as scheduled within normal work time. Irregular work or activities do not allow organising work effectively; therefore they need extra time that should be foreseen in timetables. One should manage time in such a way that all work could be performed throughout the official workday, but not longer. (Brett, 2003). The observance of work hygiene principles has fair influence on the successful management of managerial time. The following principles are of special importance: one should not put forth in order to start certain work; every work should be performed gradually, putting struggle systematically; work activities should be performed repeatedly; regular activities should be performed at the same time of a day according to the timetable. work activities should be performed successively and systematically; all activities should be scheduled, coordinated and systematically organized. The manager s skills, self-reliance, optimism, work conditions, adjustment of work and rest time have great importance on the successful work of a manager. 2. Research methodology, survey design and data collection process Sampling frame. The project used the database of the sampling frame for the selection of a panel of respondents representative samples of middle and senior managers across five European countries. The research used the membership and client databases of the European Management Association s organizations in participating countries as the basis for the representative sampling frame of respondents. Research was conducted in different sectors of the national economies. A lot of attention was paid for the examining managers from rural sector in different countries. The samples were stratified in order to ensure that, as far as possible, respondents were drawn from: middle and senior managers; those with significant financial and/or employee responsibility; all sectors including public and private; all sizes of organization; all management functions; all regions across each country. The sample size was different for each country and depended on number of managers and survey format. The general characteristics of our sample are presented in Table 1. Data collection. In order to define the main factors that effect European managers time management a quantitative research was executed. A selfcompletion questionnaire was developed. Our survey design for dimension and belief statements was adapted from the measures developed by the initiative of European Management Association. There were 18 core multiple-choice questions to be completed. The questionnaire was issued in and hard copy format. 194

4 Table 1. General Sample Characteristics Characteristic Measure Country unit UK Germany Lithuania Malta Spain Total Sample Size Person Age per cent per cent per cent per cent per cent Over 70 per cent No response per cent Gender Male per cent Female per cent No response per cent Number of employees in organization per cent per cent per cent Over 250 per cent Annual turnover of organization 0 2m per cent m per cent m per cent over 50m per cent No response per cent Number of directly reporting team members 0 per cent per cent per cent per cent per cent Over 20 per cent No response per cent Results and findings Working hours. The time (in hours) dedicated to various activities on an average working day for respondents in each country is shown in Figure 1. It appears that the allocation of time between these various activities is broadly similar between the countries. However, it can be seen that respondents from Germany, on average, spend the most time at work (10.7 hours) followed by Malta (9.9 hours), Spain (9.6 hours), UK (9.1 hours) and Lithuania (9.0 hours). Respondents from Malta and Spain allocate the least time to sport and leisure (1.2 hours). Respondents from the UK spend the most time traveling to and from work (1.6 hours) compared to all the other countries where traveling time accounts for approximately 1 hour. 195

5 Working time Rest time (incl sleep) Time with family Spain Malta Lithuania Germany UK Figure 1. Allocation of time to activities on an average working day Business. Tables 2, 3 and 4 show the propensity and frequency of business travel for each country in a typical year. Four countries are included in this analysis, as comparable data in Germany was not available. This is shown as respondents taking 1 to 9 business, or 10 and more business, the duration of the trip, and whether it was in: own country (but away from home); the European Union; the rest of the world. Table 2. Percentage of respondents taking business in own country UK Lithuania Malta Spain Within country (but away from home) 1 2 days days weeks More than 2 weeks Table 2 shows that business in the respondents own country were most likely to be between 1 2 days. These are most frequent in the UK and Spain in the UK 35 per cent of respondents take 10 or more business of 1 2 days and in Spain 37 per cent of respondents take 10 or more business of 1 2 days. Business in their own country are much less commonplace for respondents in Malta where only 5 per cent of respondents take 10 or more business of 1 2 days. It appears that there is a considerable degree of mobility for EU managers, given that across the countries approximately one-third travel regularly in the EU and one third also travel regularly worldwide. 196

6 Table 3 shows that, in all countries, only very small minorities of respondents make more than 10 business per year in the European Union. However, between 25 per cent (UK) and 57 per cent (Malta) of respondents make between 1 and 9 in the European Union of 3 6 days per year. In the UK, the majority of respondents take in the EU of between 1 2 days whereas, for the other countries, the majority of respondents take in the EU of 3 6 days. Table 3. Percentage of respondents taking business in the EU UK Lithuania Malta Spain In the European Union 1 2 days days weeks More than 2 weeks Table 4 suggests that the extent of travel in the rest of the world is fairly similar between respondents from the UK, Lithuania, Malta and Spain. Table 4. Percentage of respondents taking business in the rest of the world UK Lithuania Malta Spain In the rest of the world 1 2 days days weeks More than 2 weeks Activities, which make up the working day. Respondents were asked to indicate the amount of time allocated to each activity in a working day. Table 5 shows the time allocated to various work related activities collated for all five countries. This suggests that the work activity to which most time is allocated is work on own projects (40 per cent of respondents allocate 1 3 hours and 19 per cent of respondents allocate 3 6 hours). Other activities, which take a large proportion of time, are telephone/ (46 per cent of respondents spend 1 3 hours and 5 per cent 3 6 hours), meetings with colleagues (44 per cent allocate 1 3 hours and 3 per cent 3 6 hours) and administration (38 per cent allocate 1 3 hours and 6 per cent 3 6 hours). Work on continuing professional development accounts for the lowest proportion of time in the working day (75 per cent allocated 0 30 minutes to work on formal qualifications and 64 per cent allocate 0 30 minutes on informal training). These findings were fairly consistent across all the five countries, with the exception that respondents from Germany reported spending the majority of their time on planning and co-ordination. 197

7 Table 5. Allocation of time to activities in a working day (by percentage of Pan-European respondents) Activity min. min. hours hours Work on own projects Administration Telephone / Meetings with colleagues Meetings with management / committees / boards Meetings with clients / suppliers / external parties Formal qualifications Informal training Planning / thinking ahead Conclusions The findings suggest that managers in the five countries allocate fairly similar proportions of their time to work, travel, family, sport/leisure and rest. The most noticeable differences were in the length of the average working day: Germany 10.7 hours; Malta 9.9 hours; Spain 9.6 hours; UK 9.1 hours; Lithuania 9.0 hours. Although managers in the UK and Lithuania appear to have among the shortest working days. According to the situation in UK this is offset to some extent by the fact that managers in the UK are likely to spend more time traveling to and from work (1.6 hours) compared to all the other countries where traveling time accounts for approximately 1 hour. Smaller salaries and lower motivation determine the situation in Lithuania in that case. Distribution of frequency and duration of business is similar in all countries and is in tight correlation with a distance of these. The bigger distances determine longer period and shorter infrequence of the business. There appears to be much similarity in the proportion of time allocated to various work activities by managers across all the countries. This suggests that the work activity to which most time is allocated is work on own projects. Other activities to take a large proportion of time are telephone/ , meetings with colleagues and administration. The exception is that respondents from Germany reported spending the majority of their time on planning and co-ordination. The findings of the research can be significant to: managers of organizations who are responsible for creating and implementing companies strategies; human resource management divisions in organizations, planning the career of managers; management consulting companies, drafting projects of personnel development for organizations; business and management faculties of universities, developing curriculums and study plans. 198

8 References 1. Bakanauskiene, I.,Bartnikaite, E. (2006). Managerial Competence: The Attitude of Lithuanian Managers // Problems & Perspectives in Management. No Brett, J. M. and Stroh, L. K. (2003). Working 61 Plus Hours a Week: Why Do Managers Do It? // Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 88, Issue Drago, R. (2001). Time on the Job and Time with their Kids: Cultures of Teaching and Parenthood in the US // Feminist Economics, Vol. 7, Issue Drucker, P. (1997). Executive in Action. New York: Harper Business. 5. Fletcher, C. and Higginbotham, R. (1993). The Interrelationships of Manager's Work Time and Personal Time // Personnel Review, Vol. 22, Issue Graziano, C. Parigi, B. M. (1998). Do Managers Work Harder in Competitive Industries? // Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Vol. 34, Issue Hart-Hester, S. (2003). Time Managers: Secrets of Effective Leaders // Internet Journal of Healthcare Administration, Vol. 2, Issue Holland, J. (1985). Making Vocation Choices: A Theory of Vocational Personalities and Work Environments. Eaglewood: Prentice Hall. 9. In, L. (2005). Evaluation of Fortune 100 Companies' Career Web Sites // Human Systems Management, Vol. 24, Issue Kotter, J. P. (1999). What Effective General Managers Really Do // Harvard Business Review, Vol. 77, Issue Sengupta, S. S., Sinha, J. B. P. (2005). Perceived Dimensions of Societal and Organizational Cultures and their Impact on Managerial Work Behavior // Journal of Management Research Vol. 5, Issue White, M., Hill, S., McGovern, P. Mills, C. and Smeaton, D. (2003). Highperformance Management Practices, Working Hours and Work Life Balance // British Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 41, Issue Yukl, G. (2002). Leadership in Organizations. New York: Prentice Hall. VADOVŲ LAIKO VALDYMAS ES ŠALYSE Povilas Zakarevičius, Pranas Žukauskas Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas Santrauka Straipsnis skirtas organizacijų vadovų laiko valdymo tyrimams kai kuriose Europos Sąjungos šalyse. Tyrimai buvo atliekami Didžiojoje Britanijoje, Vokietijoje, Maltoje, Ispanijoje ir Lietuvoje. Tyrimams buvo naudota metodika, kurią, dalyvaujant straipsnio autoriams, parengė Europos vadybos asociacijos kūrybinė grupė ir kiekvienoje iš tyrinėtų šalių buvo naudojamos minėtos asociacijos narių duomenų bazės buvo apklausiami aukščiausio ir viduriniojo lygmens vadovai. Tyrimai buvo atliekami įvairiuose ūkio sektoriuose, ypač didelį dėmesį skiriant žemės ūkio ir kaimo verslų įmonių vadovų darbo laiko analizei. Įgyvendinat darbo tikslus, atskirose ES šalyse buvo tyrinėta vadovų dienos struktūra, jų verslo komandiruočių dažnumas ir trukmė bei darbo dienos laiko elementai. Tyrimo rezultatai, viena vertus, parodė didelius laiko valdymo veiksnių panašumus, antra vertus, atskleidė kai kuriuos skirtumus atskirose šalyse. Tyrimo rezultatai ir jų lyginimas parodė, kad nors ir egzistuoja kultūriniai skirtumai tarp atskirų ES šalių, daugelio jų organizacijų vadovų laiko valdymo veiksniai paklūsta bendriems dėsningumams. Žmogiškieji ištekliai, vadovai, kaimo įmonės, laiko valdymas, ES šalys. 199