Title: Effective managerial performance and education: towards closing the gaps

Authors: Mahmoud M. Yasin, Carlos F. Gomes, Filipe Almeida

Addresses: Department of Management and Marketing, East Tennessee State University, PO Box 70625, Johnson City, TN 37614, USA. ' School of Economics, University of Coimbra, Institute of Systems and Robotics, Av. Dias da Silva 165, 3004-512 Coimbra, Portugal. ' School of Economics, University of Coimbra, Av. Dias da Silva 165, 3004-512 Coimbra, Portugal

Abstract: Desired performance-related characteristics for entry-level managers are studied from the perspective of 106 Portuguese executives. The results indicate that soft characteristics and skills, such us leadership, entrepreneurship and organisational learning skills, appear to be more important than technical skills. While these skills and characteristics are valued by today|s business organisations, the educational system does not appear to be preparing its graduates accordingly. The resulting educational gaps have important performance-related implications to both the business organisations and the higher education institutions.

Keywords: cross-sectional sample; educational preparation; managerial performance; performance gaps; Portugal; Portuguese executives; leadership; entrepreneurship; organisational learning; business education.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCEELL.2009.023058

International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning, 2009 Vol.19 No.1, pp.59 - 73

Published online: 08 Feb 2009 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article