machiavelian project managers

7/26/2019 Machiavelian Project Managers

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P e r g a m o n

International Journal o f Project Ma nagemen t

Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 67-74, 1996

Copyright 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd and IPM A

Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved

0263-7863/96 $15.00 + 0.00

0 2 6 3 - 7 8 6 3 ( 9 5 ) 0 0 0 6 1 - 5

M a c h i a v e l l i a n p r o j e c t m a n a g e r s

d o t h e y p e r f o r m b e t t e r ?

J H r a h a m

Cray Sys t ems Ltd . 110 Flee t Road Flee t H ant s GU 13 8BE UK

T h i s s t u d y l o o k s a t t h e v a l u e o f p o l i t i c a l s k i l l i n t h e f i e l d o f p r o j e c t m a n a g e m e n t . I t s a i m i s t o

l o o k f o r a r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e p o l i t ic a l s k il l o f t h e p r o j e c t m a n a g e r a n d t h e o u t c o m e i n t h e

s h a p e o f p e r s o n a l re w a r d s f o r h i m . A l t h o u g h t h e w o r d p o l it ic s h a s u n p l e a s a n t o v e r t o n e s fo r

m a n y p e o p l e , i f p o l i ti c a l s k i ll is r el a t e d t o p e r s o n a l s u c c e s s , a tr a i n e e p r o j e c t m a n a g e r w o u l d

d o w e l l t o o v e r c o m e a n y d i s t a s t e h e f e e l s a n d c u l t i v a t e M a c h i a v e l l i a n s k i l l s i n p a r a l l e l w i t h h i s

t e c h n i c a l s k il ls . P r i m a r y d a t a w a s o b t a i n e d f r o m a p o p u l a t i o n o f p r o j e c t m a n a g e r s a n d a li n e a r

r e g r e s s i o n e q u a t i o n f o r t h e p r o j e c t m a n a g e r s s a l a r y i s d e v e l o p e d . N o s u p p o r t w a s f o u n d f o r

a r e la t i o n s h ip b e t w e e n M a c h i a v e l li a n i s m a n d s u c c es s i n p r o j ec t m a n a g e m e n t . C o p y r i g h t

E l s ev i e r S c i e n ce L t d a n d I P M A

Keyw ords: politics, Machiav elli, success

T h e M a c h i a v e l l i a n v i e w o f b u s i n e s s

N i c o l o M a c h i a v e l li w a s b o r n i n F l o r e n c e i n 1 4 6 9 , w h e r e h e

w o r k e d a s a c i v i l s e r v a n t . M a c h i a v e l l i d e s c r i b e d h i m s e l f a s

a n a n a l y s t , w h o : . . . h a s a c q u i r e d a k n o w l e d g e o f t h e

a c t i o n s o f g re a t m e n f r o m a l o n g e x p e r i e n c e o f c o n t e m -

p o r a r y a f f a i r s a n d a c o n t i n u a l s t u d y o f a n t i q u i t y ' ' t . I n h i s

l a t e r l i f e, h e d i s t i l l e d h i s e x p e r i e n c e o f p o l i ti c s i n t o T h e

P r i n c e o n e o f t h e e a r l i es t h a n d b o o k s o n t h e a r t o f l e a d e r -

s h i p . B a s e d o n p e r s o n a l e x p e r i e n c e a n d a n a n a l y s i s o f

h i s t o r y , M a c h i a v e l l i a d v i s e d p o l i t i ca l l e a d e r s h o w t o a c q u i r e

p o w e r , r e s i s t a g g r e s s i o n a n d c o n t r o l s u b o r d in a t e s . M a c h i -

a v e l l i ' s p e s s im i s t i c v i e w o f h is f e l lo w m a n i s b e s t s u m m e d

u p b y h is c o m m e n t : M e n a r e in g e n e r a l u n g r a t e f u l , f ic k le ,

f a ls e , c o w a r d l y , c o v e t o u s , b u t a s l o n g a s y o u s u c c e e d , t h e y

a r e y o u r s e n t i r e l y . F o r t h is r e a s o n , M a c h i a v e l li w a r n s

t h a t w h e n p o w e r i s a t s t a k e , q u e s t i o n s o f m o r a l i t y a r e

i r r e l e v a n t - - l y i n g , d e c e i t a n d m a n i p u l a t i o n a r e l e g i ti m a t e

t a c ti c s . W h i l e p r o p o n e n t s o f e t h ic s a n d m o r a l i t y c o n c e n -

t r at e o n ' p l a y i n g t h e g a m e ' , M a c h i a v e l l i c o n c e n t r a t e s o n

w i n n i n g t h e g a m e b y w h a t e v e r m e a n s a r e m o s t e f f e c t i v e .

W r i t e r s c l a i m t h a t M a c h i a v e l l i ' s a d v i c e h a s b e e n f o l -

l o w e d b y r u l e r s t h r o u g h o u t t h e a g e s , a n d r e p r e s e n t s t h e

r e a l i t y o f w h a t l e a d e r s d o w h e n f a c e d w i t h s i t u a ti o n s w h i c h

t h r e a t e n t h e i r p o w e r a n d i n f l u e n c e , e v e n i f t h e y a r e u n -

w i l l i n g t o a d m i t i t 2 . A p a r t f r o m t h e f i e l d o f g o v e r n m e n t , i s

t h e r e a p r o f e s s i o n w h e r e M a c h i a v e l l i ' s w i s d o m c a n b e

a p p l ie d t o d a y ? T h e n e c e s s a r y c o n d i ti o n s a r e a n e n v i r o n m e n t

w h e r e c o m p e t i n g s t a t e s a r e r u l e d a b s o l u t e l y b y p o w e r f u l

m e n , w h e r e t e r r i t o r y i s g a i n e d b y c o n q u e s t , w h e r e a g g r e s s i o n

a n d e n t e r p r i s e a r e r e w a r d e d w i t h r i c h e s a n d w h e r e e x -

t i n c t i o n i s t h e p r i c e o f f a i l u r e . T h e m o d e r n c o r p o r a t i o n

s e e m s t o m a t c h t h i s d e s c r i p t i o n e x a c t l y , t h e c o r p o r a t i o n c a n

b e v i e w e d n o t a s s o m e t h i n g d i f f e r e n t f r o m a s t a te w i t h s o m e

i n t e r e s t i n g s i m i l a r i ti e s , b u t a s a st a t e w i t h s o m e u n i m p o r -

t a n t d i ff e r e n c es 3. T h e m o d e r n e n t h u s i a s m f o r ' g o o d ' a n d

' d e m o c r a t i c ' b u s i n e s s p r a c t ic e s t e n d s t o o b s c u r e t h e r e a l it y

t h a t t h e t a c t i c s b y w h i c h e x e c u t i v e s a c h i e v e , m a i n t a i n a n d

e x e r c i s e p o w e r d o n o t d e p a r t s u b s t a n t i a l l y f r o m t h e a d v i c e

g i v e n b y M a c h i a v e l l i 4 .

T h e b u s i n e s s l i t e r a t u r e t e l l s u s t h a t M a c h i a v e l l i a n b e l i e f s

a r e w i d e l y h e ld i n c o n t e m p o r a r y b o a r d r o o m s , b u t a s e a r ch

h a s r e v e a l e d n o r e f e r e n c e s t o t h e i r a p p l i c a t i o n i n t h e f i e l d

o f p r o j e c t m a n a g e m e n t . T h e p u r p o s e o f th i s p a p e r is t o

e x a m i n e i f a M a c h i a v e l l i a n b e l i e f s y s t e m b r i n g s a d v a n t a g e s

t o t h e p r o j e c t m a n a g e r .

T h e p r o j e c t a s a p r i n c i p a l i ty

T h e c o m p a r i s o n b e t w e e n t h e m e d i a e v a l s t a t e a n d t h e

m o d e r n c o r p o r a t i o n h a s l e d w r i t e r s t o s u g g e s t t h a t t h e

u s e o f M a c h i a v e l l i a n t a c t i c s is r e l a t e d t o s u c c e s s f o r th e

c h i e f e x e c u t i v e , b u t i s it u s e f u l f o r a p r o j e c t m a n a g e r t o

a d o p t t h e b e l i e f s y s t e m a n d b e h a v i o u r p a t t e r n s w h i c h

M a c h i a v e l l i a d v i s e s f o r t h e r u l e r o f a s m a l l k i n g d o m o r

p r i n c i p a l i t y ?

I t is o f t e n s t a te d i n t h e l i t e ra t u r e o f p r o j e c t m a n a g e m e n t

t h a t th e s u r v i v a l o f a p r o j e c t m a n a g e r d e p e n d s t o a h i g h

d e g r e e o n t h e s t r e n g th o f t he a l l ia n c e s w h i c h h e c a n f o r g e

w i t h p o w e r f u l s t a k e h o ld e r s , a n d b y h i s s u c c e s s i n c o m -

p e t i t i o n w i th o th e r i n t e r e s t s w i th in t h e f i r m 5 . A s i t is

u n l i k e l y t h a t a l l s t a k e h o l d e r s i n a p r o j e c t h a v e t h e s a m e

o b j e c t i v e s , c o n f l i c t c a n b e e x p e c t e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e e n t e r -

p r i s e , a n d i t s e e m s t h a t p r o j e c t m a n a g e m e n t i s n o t f o r t h e

6 7


2/8

M a c h i a v e l li a n p r o j e c t m a n a g e r s d o t h e y p e r f o r m b e t t er ? J H G r a h a m

f a i n t -h e a r t e d 6 . P r o j e c t s a l w a y s i n v o l v e c h a n g e , a n d M a c h i -

a v e l l i w a r n s t h a t :

. . . there is nothing more dif f icul t to take in hand, more

per i lous to conduct , or more uncer tain in i ts success , than

to take the lead in the int roduct ion of a new orde r of things .

Because the innovator has for enemies a l l t hose who have

done wel l under t he o ld condi t i ons , and only lukewarm

defender s i n t hose w ho m ay do wel l under t he n ew ~.

T h e p r o j e c t m a n a g e r m u s t f i g h t o n t w o f r o n t s a t t h e s a m e

t i m e , a s d e p i c t e d i n Figure 1 H i s t a s k i s t o p r o d u c e t h e

t e c h n i c a l d e l i v e r a b l e s o f t h e p r o j e c t w i t h a te a m w h o s e

m e m b e r s a r e s e c o n d e d f r o m d i f f e r e n t p a rt s o f t h e f ir m a n d

w h o t h e r e f o r e h a v e o t h e r l o y a l t i e s . T o c r e a t e a n e f f e c t i v e

t e a m w i t h s u c h p e o p l e , t h e p r o j e c t m a n a g e r s h o u l d i d e n t i f y

t h e i r p r i m a r y l o y a l t i e s , e m p h a s i s e o v e r l a p s w i t h t h e

p r o j e c t ' s g o a l s a n d t h u s f o r m a n i n t e r n a l c o a l i t i o n w i t h

t h e m 6 .

He who can command, and by h i s energy and r esolu t ion

keeps the whole people enc ouraged, wi ll n ever f ind h imsel f

dece ived in them ~.

A p r o j e c t m a n a g e r i s se l d o m a m e m b e r o f t h e f i rm ' s t o p

m a n a g e m e n t , a n d t o e n s u r e a c c e s s t o t h e r e s o u r c e s h e

r e q u i r e s , t h e s u p p o r t o f a t l e a st o n e p r o j e c t c h a m p i o n i s

r e q u i r e d 7 . T h e w i s e p r o j e c t m a n a g e r u n d e r s t a n d s t h e n e e d

t o s u p p o r t h i s c h a m p i o n b y b u i l d i n g a n external coalition

o f s e n i o r m a n a g e r s w h i c h w i ll s u p p o r t t h e p r o j e c t i n th e

h i g h e s t c o u n c i l s o f th e f i r m . F o r t h is r e a s o n , t h e n e e d f o r

p o l i t i c a l a w a r e n e s s i s e m p h a s i s e d b y s o m e w r i t e r s 6 . I t i s

c o n c l u d e d t h a t t h e s i m i l a r i t y b e t w e e n a p r o j e c t a n d a

p r i n c i p a l i t y i s s i g n i f i c a n t , a n d i t i s t h e r e f o r e c o n j e c t u r e d

t h a t M a c h i a v e l l i a n b e l i e f s a n d b e h a v i o u r m a y b e a n

a d v a n t a g e f o r t h e p r o j e c t m a n a g e r .

T h e n e e d f o r p o w e r

A s A l l i s o n p u t s i t: P o w e r i s a n e lu s i v e b l e n d o f b a r g a i n i n g

a d v a n t a g e s , s k i ll , a n d w i l l i n u s i n g b a r g a i n i n g a d v a n -

t a g e s ' ' 8 . M a n y w r i t e r s m a k e t h e p o i n t t h a t t h e o u t c o m e o f

a p r o j e c t i s c r i t ic a l l y d e p e n d e n t o n t h e a b i l i ty o f th e p r o j e c t

m a n a g e r t o i n c r e a s e h i s p o w e r 5 '6 9 1 . T h e h i g h e r t h e l e v e l

o f p o w e r a p r o je c t m a n a g e r p o s s e s se s , t h e m o r e t a s k -

o r i e n t e d h e c a n b e , a n d s i n c e t h e a u t o c r a t i c s t y l e i s r e c o m -

m e n d e d f o r t h e c e n t r a l s t a g e s o f a p r o j e c t , a h i g h l e v e l o f

p o w e r a p p e a r s t o b e r e l a t e d t o h i s s u c c e s s 2 4 .

T h e t e r m ' p o l i t i c s ' t e n d s t o b e a s s o c i a t e d o n l y w i t h

u n d e r h a n d a c t i v i t i e s a n d c o n f l i c t . A l t h o u g h t h e p o l i t i c a l

E x t e r n a l C o a l i t io n o f P o w e r f u l I n t e r e s t s a n d S t a k e h o l d e r s

[ m ] I

P r o j e c t M a n a g e r

I n t e r n a l Co a l i t i o n o f P r o j ec t P a r t i c i p an t s

Fig ure 1 The internal and external coal i t ions

t o o l k it i n c l u d e s t h e w e a p o n s o f d e c e p t i o n a n d d e c e i t , t h e r e

i s n o t h i n g i n t r i n s i c a l l y i m m o r a l a b o u t a c t i v i t i e s w h i c h a r e

a i m e d a t a c h i e v i n g p o w e r . P o l i ti c s , i f s k i lf u l ly u s e d , n e e d

n o t l e a d t o i l l- f e e l i n g , d o u b l e d e a l i n g o r c o n f l i c t . P o l i t i c s a r e

n o m o r e i m m o r a l t h a n c o m p e t i t i o n , w h i c h i s u s u a l ly r e f e r r e d

t o a s ' h e a l t h y ' . P o l i ti c a l p o w e r i s th e h i g h e s t f o r m o f

m a n a g e r i a l p o w e r , t h e ' b l a c k b e l t ' o f m a n a g e m e n t

s k i l l s 6 .

P o w e r i s r e l a ti v e , i n t h e s e n s e t h a t th e s o u r c e o f t h e

l e a d e r ' s p o w e r l i e s n o t i n h i m s e l f , b u t i n h i s f o l l o w e r s ,

s i n c e h e c a n o n l y e x e r c i s e t h e p o w e r w h i c h t h e f o l l o w e r s

a l l o w . M a n i p u l a t i o n i s a p o w e r f u l t o o l f o r e x e r c is i n g

p o w e r , a s it a l l o w s t h e le a d e r t o g a i n m o r e p o w e r o v e r

h i s f o l l o w e r s t h a n t h e y w o u l d o t h e r w i s e g r a n P . S i n c e

m a n i p u l a t i o n i s a k e y s k i l l i n t h e p o l i t i c a l t o o l k i t , a n d i s

r e c o m m e n d e d b y M a c h i a v e l l i , i t m i g h t b e c o n j e c t u r e d t h a t

t h e u s e o f m a n i p u l a t i o n w i l l b e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h s u c c e s s .

H o w e v e r , m a n i p u l a t i o n i s o n l y s u c c e s sf u l i f t h e m a n i p u l a t e d

a r e n o t a w a r e o f t h e p r o c e s s , f o r w h e n p e o p l e f e e l t h e y a r e

b e i n g m a n i p u l a t e d , t h e r e i s a r a p i d b u i l d - u p o f r e s e n t m e n t

a n d r e s i s t a n c e w h i c h r e d u c e s a t e a m ' s p e r f o r m a n c e . F o r

t h i s r e a s o n , p e r h a p s M a c h i a v e l l i a n t a c t i c s w i t h t h e i r

r e l i a n c e o n m a n i p u l a t i o n a r e l e s s a p p r o p r i a t e t o t h e t e a m o f

s o p h i s t i c a t e d t e c h n i c i a n s w h i c h t h e t y p i c a l p r o j e c t m a n a g e r

l e a d s .

Measuring poli t ical abi l i ty

T h e r e a p p e a r s t o b e a c o n s e n s u s i n t h e l i te r a t u re t h a t t h e

p r o j e c t m a n a g e r s h o u l d b e s k i l l e d i n p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t y , b u t

h o w c a n t h i s a b i l it y b e m e a s u r e d ? I n 1 9 7 0 , t w o p s y c h o l o g i s t s ,

C h r i s t ie a n d G e i s , c o n c l u d e d t h a t s i n c e t h e a d v i c e a n d r u l e s

w h i c h M a c h i a v e l l i s e t o u t s o c l e a r l y h a d s t o o d t h e t e s t o f

t i m e a s a b a s i s f o r s u c c e s s f u l p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n , t h e y m i g h t

f o r m t h e b a s i s o f a s c a l e t o m e a s u r e p o l i t i c a l a b i l i t y ~ . A

q u e s t i o n n a i r e c o m p r i s i n g 2 0 q u e s t i o n s w a s d e v i s e d a n d

t e st e d , n o w k n o w n a s th e M a c h I V s c a le w h i c h h a s b e c o m e

a s t a n d a r d t e s t fo r a p e r s o n a l i ty c o n s t r u c t c a l l e d ' M a c h i -

a v e l l i a n i s m ' , w h i c h i s c o n s i d e r e d b y s o c i a l p s y c h o l o g i s t s t o

b e a m e a s u r e o f p o l i t i c a l a b i l it y .

T h e p h r a s e ' H i g h M a c h ' h a s b e c o m e a n a c c e p t e d s h or t

h a n d i n th e l i te r a t u re f o r p e o p l e w h o s c o r e h i g h l y o n t h e

M a c h I V s c a l e . I n a s e r ie s o f 7 0 e x p e r i m e n t s , C h r i s t ie a n d

G e i s d e m o n s t r a t e d t h a t H i g h M a c h s a r e d i ff e re n t f r o m L o w

M a c h s , a n d in p a r ti c u la r : H i g h M a c h s m a n ip u l a te m o r e ,

w i n m o r e , a r e p e r s u a d e d l e ss , p e r s u a d e o t h e r s m o r e ' '~ j

The Machiavellian personality

T h e e s s e n ti a l e l e m e n t s o f t h e M a c h i a v e l l i a n p e r s o n a l i t y a s

d e f i n e d b y C h r i s t i e a n d G e i s a r e s u m m a r i s e d i n Table 1

T h e H i g h M a c h g e n e r a l l y h a s a n u n f l a t t e r i n g o p i n i o n o f

o t h e r s a n d a c y n i c a l v i e w o f p e o p l e i n g e n e r a l . H e i s m o r e

l i k e l y t o b e f o u n d i n u n b a l a n c e d s i t u a t i o n s , a n d w i l l d o

m u c h b e t t e r i n a m b i g u o u s s i t u a t i o n s w h e r e h e c a n c r e a t e

s t ru c t u re s w h i c h a r e t o hi s o w n a d v a n t a g e . T h e L o w M a c h

t e n d s t o t r e a t o t h e r p e o p l e a s i n d i v i d u a l s , w h i l e H i g h s t r ea t

p e o p l e a s t h i n k i n g o b j e c t s . H i g h s d o n o t b e h a v e i n a v i c i o u s

o r p u n i t i v e w a y t o w a r d s o t h e r s . G i v e n a n a p p r o p r i a t e

i n c e n t i v e , t h e y s i m p l y e x p l o i t w h a t e v e r r e s o u r c e s a r e

a v a i l a b l e t o g a i n a d v a n t a g e , a n d t h is i n c l u d e s a n y L o w s

w h o a r e a v a i l a b l e ~ .

H i g h M a c h s a r e n o t i n f l e x i b l e t o c h a n g e o r d e f e n s i v e

a b o u t t h e i r s h o r t c o m i n g s . T h e m o r e r e a s o n , i n c e n t i v e o r

r e w a r d t h e H i g h M a c h i s o f f e r e d , t h e m o r e r e a d i l y h e w i l l

a d o p t c h a n g e . L o w M a c h s c a n a l s o b e i n d u c e d t o le a r n a n d

6 8


3/8

Ta b l e S u m m a r y o f t h e Hi g h M a c h i a v e l l i a n p e r s o n a l it y

Lack of emotional involvement in interpersonal relationships being

cool and distant treating people as objects to be manipulated.

Lack of concern for traditional morality. Deceit is considered to be

utilitarian rather than reprehensible.

Low ideological commitment that is a focus on maintaining oneself in

pow er rathe r than on inflexible ideals.

[ S o u r c e Turn er and Martinez 1977:3 25 ]

ch an g e , b u t t h ey can b e i n d u ced to ch an g e fo r i r r a t i o n a l

r e a s o n s s u c h a s a n a p p e a l t o b e l i e f s a n d m o r a l v a l u e s . L o w s

a r e l i k e l y to d o w h a t a n o t h e r p e r s o n w i s h e s j u s t b e c a u s e h e

w i sh es i t , i n o th e r w o r ld s , t h ey a r e a ' so f t t o u c h ' . H ig h

M a ch s h a v e a d i s r eg a rd o f o th e r s a s i n d iv id u a l s an d ten d to

s t e r e o t y p e t h e m a s w e a k a n d s u b j e c t to p r e s s u r e , w h i l e t h e

L o w s a l l o w th em se lv es t o b e o u t -m an o e u v red w h i l e c l i n gin g

to th e i r i d ea l i s t ic p r e - co n cep t io n o f h o w p eo p le o u g h t t o

b e h a v e . A s u m m a r y o f t h e p r in c i p a l d i f fe r e n c e s b e t w e e n

t h e H i g h M a c h a n d L o w M a c h p e r s o n a l i t i e s i s g i v e n i n

Table 2 .

C h r i s t i e an d G e i s fo u n d th a t H ig h M ach s t en d to w in co n -

s i s ten t ly an d p red i c t ab ly i n t h e se t ti n g o f a l ab o ra to ry ex p e r i -

m en t , p ro v id ed th e fo l l o w in g th ree co n d i t i o n s a r e m e t :

1 . S u b jec t s i n t e r ac t f ace t o f ace w i th o th e r s .

2 . T h e re i s l a t i t u d e fo r im p ro v i sa t i o n .

3 . T h e re i s m u ch d e t a i l w h ich i s i r r e l ev an t t o w in n in g .

T h ey p red i c t ed t h a t , p ro v id ed th ese t h r ee co n d i t i o n s w ere

p resen t , t h e i r r e su l t s w o u ld t r an s l a t e t o t h e b u s in es s w o r ld ,

an d th ey p u b l i sh ed o n e o r tw o l im i t ed s tu d i e s t o su p p o r t t h i s

v i e w .

M a n ip u la t io n

T h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c b e h a v i o u r w h i c h H i g h M a c h s e x h i b i t i s

su ccess fu l m an ip u la t i o n . M an ip u la t i o n is d e f in ed a s : T o

o p era t e o n th e m in d o r i n t e l l i g en ce , w i th sk i l l ~2. M a n ip u -

l a t io n i s a z e r o - s u m g a m e , w h e r e t h e w i n n e r g e t s m o r e t h a n

h is fa i r share and the loser gets less . In bargain ing s i tuat ions ,

H i g h s d o b e t t e r t h a n L o w s b e c a u s e L o w s a r e e a s i l y

d i s t r ac t ed f ro m th e t a sk i n h an d b y th e i n t e rp e r so n a l ac t i v i t y

w h i c h s u r r o u n d s i t , a n d b e c a u s e L o w s a r e n o t g o o d a t

i m p r o v i s i n g r e p a r t e e a n d s t r a t e g y a t t h e s a m e t i m e .

I n t h e l a b o r a t o r y , H i g h M a c h s a p p e a r t o w e i g h u p t h e

s i t u a t i o n an d th en t e s t t h e l im i t s o f h o w m u ch th ey can g e t

a w a y w i t h . H i g h M a c h s t h r i v e w h e n a m b i g u i t y o b s c u r e s

t h e c la i m s o f L o w M a c h s f o r f a i r p l a y a n d j u s t ic e . T h e H i g h

M a c h p r o b a b l y h a s a n a c u t e s e n s e o f t i m i n g o n s o c i a l

o c c a s i o n s , b a s e d o n w h a t w i l l w o r k a t t h a t m o m e n t , n o t o n

sen s i t i v i t y t o o th e r p eo p le . I n p o s t - se s s io n d i scu ss io n o f

l a b o r a t o r y e x p e r i m e n t s w h i c h i n v o l v e d c h e a t i n g , H i g h

M a c h s c o n f e s s e d t o l y i n g l e s s t h a n L o w s .

W h a t h a p p e n s w h e n o n e g e ts M a c h e d ?

L o w s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y ' g e t M a c h ' e d ' b y H i g h s d u r i n g

b a r g a i n i n g . T h e l a c k o f c o r r e l a t io n o f M a c h s c o r e s a n d I Q

Ta b l e 2 Ke y d i f f e r en c e s b e t w e e n t h e Hi g h a n d Lo w M a c h

H i g h M a c h s L o w M a c h s

Resistant to social influence Susceptible to social influence

Focuses on T a s k Focuses on P e r s o n

Initiates and controls structure Accepts and follows structure

[ S o u r c e Christie and Geis 1970:2 85 ]

Machiavellian project managers: do they perform better?: J H Graham

sco res ru l e s o u t t h e p o ss ib i l i t y t h a t i n t e l l ec tu a l ab i l i t y

p ro v id e s an ex p lan a t io n . I t lo o k s a s th o u g h th e L o w s a re

m o re h eed l es s t h an h e lp l e s s . T h e H ig h p u r su es t h e t a sk g o a l

o f m a x i m i s i n g h i s g a i n , w h i l e t h e L o w i s m o r e i n t e r e s te d

in t h e p ro cess , an d b e fo re h e k n o w s i t , h e f i n d s h im se l f

m an o eu v red i n to a p o s i t i o n , o f t en a w o r se o n e . T h e re i s

o f t en l i t t l e h e can d o ab o u t i t o th e r t h an g r in an d b ea r i t ,

o r c o m p l a i n a b o u t l a c k o f ' f a i r n e s s ' . T h e H i g h c o n c e n t r a t e s

o n th e ex t e rn a l t a sk an d in i t i a t e s co n t ro l o v e r t h e s t ru c tu re

o f t h e e n c ou n t e r . T h e L o w i s o p e n t o t h e p e r so n a l p r e s e n c e

o f t h e H i g h , f o l l o w s a l o n g w i t h t h e H i g h ' s s t r u c t u r e a n d

e m e r g e s f r o m t h e p r o c e s s f o r c e d t o f a c e u p t o t h e r e a li t y o f

t h e w a y t h in g s h a v e b e c o m e . T h e H i g h M a c h c a n o b t a i n h is

r e su l t s i n p e r io d s a s sh o r t a s 5 m in u tes t o a f ew h o u r s H .

M a ch ia v e l l i a n c h a ra c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e p ro j e c t s e t t i n g

S in ce t h e p u b l i ca t i o n o f t h e C h r i s t i e an d G e i s ex p e r im en t s ,

a w i d e r a n g e o f s t u d ie s h a v e l o o k e d a t M a c h i a v e l l i a n i s m i n

b u s in es s s e t t i n g s , w i th m ix ed r e su l t s . I n h i s su rv e y o f th i s

b o d y o f w o rk , V lee m in g t3 c r i t i c i s ed a n u m b er o f t h e

s tu d i e s b ecau se t h e au th o r s d id n o t sh o w th a t t h e s i t u a t i o n

ex h ib i t ed t h e t h r ee co n d i t i o n s n ecessa ry fo r a H ig h M ach

to w in ( f ace t o f ace i n t e r ac t i o n , l a t i t u d e fo r im p ro v i sa t i o n

an d m u ch i r r e l ev an t d e t a i l ) . T o av o id t h i s e r ro r i n t h e

p r e s e n t s t u d y , t h e p r o j e c t m a n a g e m e n t l i t e r a t u r e h a s b e e n

s e a r c h e d t o d e t e r m i n e i f th e p r o j e c t s e t t i ng c o n f o r m s w i t h

th e t h r ee co n d i t i o n s .

T u r n e r p r o p o s e s a r a n k e d l i st o f c h a r a c t e ri s t i cs o f t h e

e f f e c t iv e p ro j e c t m a n a g e r , w h i c h h e h a s v a l i d a te d m a n y

t im es b y q u es t i o n in g h i s M S c(P M ) s tu d en t s 9. I t is r ep ro -

d u ced a s Table 3 . Three i tems on the l i s t , namely ne go t ia t ion ,

c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d s e l f - a s s u ra n c e , c o n f i r m t h e i m p o r t a n c e

o f f a c e -t o - f a c e i n te r a c t io n . F a c e - t o - f a c e m e e t i n g s a r e th e

s e t ti n g w h e r e p r o j e c t m e m b e r s o b t a in a n d g i v e c o m m i t m e n t

to each o th e r 6 . I t i s co n s id e red t h a t t h e f i r s t co n d i t i o n i s

fu l f i l led .

P ro b lem -so lv in g ab i l i t y r an k s h ig h i n Table 3 . G i v e n t h e

u n iq u en ess w h ich i s a ch a rac t e r i s t i c o f a p ro j ec t u n d e r -

t ak in g an d th e co n t in u o u s ch an g e a s i t p ro g res ses t h ro u g h

i t s l i f e cy c l e , t h e n eed fo r p ro b l em -so lv in g ab i l i t y co n f i rm s

th a t t h e re i s t y p i ca l l y am p le sco p e fo r im p ro v i sa t i o n i n a

p ro j ec t , an d i t i s co n s id e red t h a t t h e seco n d co n d i t i o n i s

fu l f i l led .

T h e i n c lu s io n o f p e r sp ec t iv e i n Table 3 co n f i rm s th a t

p ro j ec t s co n t a in a w e l t e r o f d e t a i l f ro m w h ich t h e k ey

fea tu res m u s t b e ex t r ac t ed . T h e ab i l i t y t o f i l te r r e l ev an t

i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m a d u l l m a t r i x o f i r r e l e v a n c e i s a n i m p o r -

t an t sk i l l ' 5 . I t i s co n s id e red t h a t t h e t h i rd co n d i t i o n i s

fu l f i l led .

M a c h i a v e U i a n i s m i n m a n a g e r s

C h r i s t i e a n d G e i s p r e d i c t e d t h a t L o w M a c h m a n a g e r s

w o u ld b e m o re su i t ed t o ad m in i s t r a t i v e p o s i t i o n s i n t i g h t ly

Ta b l e 3 C h a r a c t e r i s t ic s o f a n e f f e ct i v e p r o je c t m a n a g e r

1 Focused on results

2 Problem-solving ability

3 Energy and initiative

4 Self-assured leader

5 Perspecti ve--the helicopter mind

6 Communicat ion ability

7 Negotiati ng ability

[ S o u r c e Turner 1993:427 ]

69


4/8


structured organisations, while High Mach managers would

be more suited to positions which amount to detached

service where they can wheel and deal to the advantage

both o f themselves and their organisation ~. The description

'detached service' may be applicable to the typical project

because the purpose of the project structure is to create a

separate organisational entity.

The project manager is invariably a person of above

average intelligence who can be expected to be capable of

successful manipulation. He must be capable of dealing

with the politics of the external coalition, and one cannot

envisage that a person who is consistently 'Mach'ed' by

others would be attracted to or entrusted with the job of

project manager. From these considerations, it might be

conjectured that a significant relationship would be found

between the High Mach personality and success in project

management.

M e a s u r i n g s u c c e s s

How do we measure the success and failure of a project?

De Wit 14 expresses success by two variables:

1 Ef fec t i veness :

Defined as measuring whether project

goals have been met or not.

2 Ef f i c iency:

Defined as measuring the percentage of

management cost to total project cost.

Turner lists six criteria by which project effectiveness may

be judged, but notes that since the criteria are subjective

and measurements are difficult to take simultaneously, pro-

ject effectiveness is hard to measure 9. Althou gh examples

have been found where the effectiveness of projects is ranked

within a single company, no method has been found to

measure effectiveness between companies, far less between

industries.

If it is difficult to measure the success of projects,

how then does one determine if a project manager is suc-

cessful? Many organisations have a method of measuring

whether a project manager has delivered the project's

objectives within time and budget, but de Wit notes that

such measurements are often unreliable, not least because

the estimates against which the project manager is meas-

ured are often revised shortly before the assessment is

made ~4.

For the project manager, success or failure (however

measured) is often not the issue--it is the perception of

success or failure in the eyes of the senior stakeholders

which counts5. This perception can be expected to govern

the rewards which the project manager receives in the

form of pay. Even though it is an indirect and imperfect

measure, pay is considered to be the best available way

of measuring job performance across companies and

industries.

Hy p o t h e s i s

The purpose of this study is to ascertain if a Machiavellian

personality is related to project success and rewards for the

project manager. The study aims to disprove two null

hypotheses:

HI : That line managers and project managers do not differ

significantly in their levels of Machiavellianism.

H2: That a Machiavellian personality has no effect on the

project manager's performance.

Methodology

The questionnaire was administered by post, which intro-

duces the bias of self-selection and the possibility of

untruthful responses. The question: Is the Machiavellian

person so cunning that he manipulates his score ? was put

several times to the author. This question has been

examined by Christie and Geis who found no evidence to

support the idea that people who are strongly Machiavellian

lie when completing the Mach IV questionnaire ~j.

S a m p l i n g f r a m e

Since the title 'pro ject manager ' is often used carelessly to

describe an unqualified person thrust into the role, it was

considered that an objective test was required to decide

whether a person is a project manager or not. It was there-

fore decided to define the survey population to include only

people with a professional qualification in project manage-

ment. Two non-probability samples were taken. The first

sample of 103 hold the University of Cranfield master's

degree in project management MSc(PM), and was taken

from the Cranfield graduate yearbook dated 1993. A second

sample of 100 was taken from the Association of Project

Manager's membership list on 1 August 1994.

Pe r s o n a l r e wa r d s

Following the precedent set by other researchers in the

field 15'16, the project manager' s performance was measured

by his salary.

M a c h i a v e l l i a n i s m

The variable Machiavellianism was measured by the Mach

IV scale, details of which are given in Appendix 2.

S u r v e y m e t h o d

A pilot survey was conducted using a population of 20

project managers from the author's company, and the

respondents were interviewed to clarify their responses and

to tune the questionnaire. In the main survey, a self-

administered questionnaire (included as Appendix 2) was

mailed to 203 people, and 96 usable responses were

received. Because of the difficulties of definition referred to

above, a question was included asking the respondent to

identify himself as a project manager, a line manager,

neither or both. Responses were rejected if the respondent

identified himself as neither a project manager nor a line

manager.

Six per cent of the respondents said that they were self-

employed, and some thought was given as to whether to use

this data or not, because the salary of a self-employed

person may not be comparable with that of an employee as

it often excludes significant payments in other forms, for

example dividends. Based on the evidence of his writings,

Machiavelli might say that the self-employed are mer-

cenaries, and are not part of the state. Th e fact is,

mercenaries have no o ther attraction or reason for taking to

the field than a trifle of stipend ~. Howev er, after some

deliberation, such people were considered to be part of the

population under investigation, and their data was included.

indings

Since the questions are not interdependent, the Cronbach

70


5/8

Machiavel l ian projec t manager s do they per form bett er? J H Graham

T a b l e 4 M a c h i a v e l l i a n s c o r e s o f d i f f er e n t s a m p l e s - - S t u d e n t s t - te s t

S a m p l e N o . M e a n S D t v a l u e P r o b a b i l it y R e f e r e n c e

Purchasing managers (male) 98 98.0 12.6 2.2 >0. 05 (n.s.) Chonko (1982)

Project managers 96 95.8 12.3 Present research

Managers 102 95.8 12.7 0 >0. 05 (n.s.) Okanes Murray (1980)

Marketers 1076 85.7 13.2 8.0


6/8

M a c h i a v e l l i a n p r o j e c t m a n a g e r s : d o t h e y p e r f o r m b e t t er ? : J H G r a h a m

p o p u la t i o n su rv ey ed ( see Table 5 ) , n o r w as t h e re a s i g n i -

f i ca n t d if f e r e n c e b e t w e e n t h e m e a n s c o r e o f t h e s a m p l e a n d

th e f i nd in g s r ep o r t ed b y so m e o th e r s t u d i e s o f l i ne m an ag er s

( see Table 4).

M ach iav e l l i w o u ld p ro b ab ly h av e i n t e rp re t ed t h e f i n d in g s

a s e v i d e n c e t h a t p r o j e c t m a n a g e r s a n d l i n e m a n a g e r s h a v e

an eq u a l n eed fo r d ece i t , g u i l e an d m an ip u la t i o n i n t h e i r

w o rk . T h i s i n t e rp re t a t i o n a l so su g g es t s t h a t a p e r so n can

m o v e e a s i l y b e tw e e n l in e a n d p r o j e c t m a n a g e m e n t w i t h o u t

a s ig n i f ican t ch an g e i n h i s b e l i e f sy s t em . H o w ev e r , t h e

f in d in g s d o n o t im p ly t h e d i r ec t i o n o f cau sa t i o n , an d s in ce

M ach iav e l l i an i sm i s a l ea rn ed b eh av io u r , t h e f i n d in g s can

a l so b e i n t e rp re t ed a s su g g es t i n g t h a t t h e re i s n o d i f f e r en ce

in th e i n f lu en ce t h a t t h e tw o ty p es o f j o b h av e i n sh ap in g th e

b e l i e f s o f t h e j o b h o ld e r .

P e rh ap s t h e ab sen c e o f a s ig n i f i can t d i f f e r en ce b e tw ee n

t h e M a c h I V s c o r e s o f l i ne a n d p r o j e c t m a n a g e r s s u g g e s t s

th a t t h e co m p ar i so n w h ich h as b een m ad e in t h i s p ap e r

b e tw een a p ro j ec t an d a p r in c ip a l i t y i s n o t p ecu l i a r t o t h e

p ro j ec t s e t t i n g , an d i s ap p l i cab l e t o o th e r b u s in es s s e t t i n g s .

P e rh ap s t h e l i n e m an ag er f ee l s eq u a l ly t h r ea t en ed b y t h e

fo rces a t w o rk o u t s id e h i s f r ag i l e b o rd e r s . T h i s i d ea

su g g es t s t h a t t h e w ay m an ag er s b eh av e i n b u s in es s d ep en d s

m o re o n t h e b eh av io u r o f o th e r p eo p le i n th e f i rm , an d l e s s

o n h o w th e w o rk i s o rg an i sed . I f t h is i s t ru e , i t len d s su p p o r t

fo r t h e i d ea t h a t w h en r e l a t i o n sh ip s b e tw een m an ag er s i n a

f i rm a re p o o r an d co n f l i c t i s r i f e , r e -o rg an i sa t i o n a lo n e i s

u n l ik e ly t o im p ro v e t h e s i t u a t i o n , a s t h e p ro t ag o n i s t s w i l l

co n t in u e t o f i g h t t h e o ld b a t t l e s o v e r t h e n ew b o u n d ar i e s .

Machiavellianism and salary

B ecau se a p a ra l l e l can b e d raw n b e tw een a p ro j ec t an d a

p r in c ip a l i t y , i t w as co n jec tu red a t t h e s t a r t o f th e s tu d y th a t

a M a c h i a v e l l ia n b e l i e f s y s t e m a n d i t s a s s o c i a te d b e h a v i o u r

p a t t e rn s m i g h t b e a s s o c ia t e d w i t h h i g h e r p e r f o r m a n c e ( o r a t

l e a s t h i g h e r p e r c e i v e d p e r f o r m a n c e ) a n d h i g h e r r e w a r d s f o r

t h e p r o j e c t m a n a g e r . H o w e v e r , n o s u c h r e l a t i o n s h i p h a s

b een fo u n d . I t ap p ea r s t h a t M ach iav e l l i an i sm i s n o t r e l a t ed

to a p ro j ec t m a n ag er s s a l a ry , an d i f h is s a l a ry i s d e t e r -

m in ed b y j o b p e r fo rm an ce , t h en t h e f in d in g s i n d i ca te t h a t

M a c h i a v e l l i a n i s m i s n o t r el a t e d t o j o b p e r f o r m a n c e i n

p ro j ec t m an ag em en t . T h i s r e su l t su p p o r t s a s im i l a r s t u d y

w h ich f a i l ed t o f i n d a r e l a t i o n sh ip b e tw een M ach iav e l -

l i a ni s m a n d j o b p e r f o r m a n c e f o r a c l a s s o f M B A s t ud e n ts

d raw n f ro m a w id e r a n g e o f i n d u s t r i e s tT.

W h y d o es t h e l ab o ra to ry r e su l t f a i l t o b e t r an s l a t ed t o t h e

b u s in es s w o r ld ? T h e ex p lan a t io n m ay l i e i n t h e d i f f e r en t

t i m e s c a l e s o f a l a b o r a t o r y e x p e r i m e n t a n d b u s i n e s s . I n t h e

ex p e r im en ta l s i t u a t i o n , t h e H ig h M ach w as fo u n d to w in i n

p e r io d s f ro m a f ew m in u tes t o a f ew h o u r s . P e rh ap s t h e

H ig h M ach in b u s in es s a l so w in s i n i t i a l l y o v e r t h e sam e

sh o r t t im e sca l e , b u t a f t e r a l o n g e r i n t e rv a l , t h e L o w M ach

h as a ch an ce t o r e so lv e t h e n ew in t e rp e r so n a l r e l a t i o n sh ip

to w h ich h e h as b een su b j ec t ed an d th e d i f f e r en ce i s n o t

s ign if ican t . Perhaps as Vleeming specu lates , there i s reducing

l a t i t u d e fo r im p ro v i s a t i o n a s t im e p a sses ~3.

o n c l u s i o n

In

Table 3,

T u rn e r s l i s t o f t he ch a rac t e r i s t i c s o f an e f f ec -

t i v e p ro j ec t m an ag er , t h e f i r st i t em fo cu s o n r e su l t s i s a

ch a rac t e r i s t i c o f t h e H ig h M ach . ( I t w i l l b e r eca l l ed t h a t

t h e L o w M a c h t e n d s t o f o c u s o n p r o c e s s . ) H o w e v e r ,

v i e w e d a s a w h o l e ,

Table 3

sh o w s l i t t l e r e l a t i o n sh ip w i th

th e ch a rac t e r i s t i c s o f th e H ig h M ach g iv e n in

Table 1,

an d

p o l i t ica l ab i l i t y i s p r e sen t o n ly b y im p l i ca t i o n i n t h e l a s t tw o

a t t r i b u t e s , an d i t i s co n c lu d ed th a t t h e f i n d in g s d o n o t t h ro w

d o u b t o n T u rn e r s l i st .

T ak e n a s a w h o le , t h e f i n d in g s sh o u ld g iv e co n so l a t i o n t o

L o w M a c h s . T h e y m a y b e c h r o n i c l o s e r s i n i n t e r p e r s o n a l

en co u n te r s w i th t h o se w h o a re g o o d a t co n t ro l l i n g s t ru c tu re

a n d i m p r o v i s i n g r e p a r t e e a t t h e s a m e t i m e ; t h e i r r a n g e o f

t ac t i c s i n b u s in es s m ay b e l im i t ed b y t h e i r m o ra l b a l l a s t ;

t h e y m a y b e p o o r l i a r s a n d m a y s h r i n k f r o m d e c e i t a n d

m a n i p u l a t io n , t h e y m a y s u f f e r f r o m b e i n g M a c h e d b y

H i g h s w h o e x p l o i t t h e m a s a r e s o u r c e , b u t t h e y m a y b e

assu red t h a t t h e re i s a t l ea s t o n e f i e ld o f en d eav o u r w h ere

th e i r s a l a ry m ay n o t su f f e r i n

consequence--Project

Management

P e e r r e v i e w

S in ce t h e w o rk w as ca r r i ed o u t b y t h e au th o r w o rk in g

a lo n e , t h e f i n d in g s w ere r ev i ew ed fo r c r ed ib i l i t y b y an

ex p er i en ced p ro j ec t m an ag er , a d i r ec to r o f a c iv i l en g in ee r in g

f i rm . O n r ead in g th e p o r t r a i t o f t h e H ig h M ac h co n ta in ed

in

Table 1,

h e ex c l a im ed th a t i t d esc r ib ed h i s f e l l o w

d i r ec to r s ex ac t ly , an d h e w as su rp r i sed t o l ea rn t h a t t h e

s tu d y d id n o t r e fu t e t h e n u l l h y p o th es i s H 2 . H e su g g es t ed

th a t t h e H ig h M ach s i n t h e p o p u la t i o n m ay h av e b een

p ro m o ted t o h ig h e r p o s i t i o n s , w h ere t h ey w o u ld b e l e s s

l i k e ly t o co m p le t e t h e q u es t i o n n a i r e . I n co n seq u en ce ,

p e rh ap s t h e b i a s o f s e l f - se l ec t i o n , w h ich i s a lw ay s p resen t

in a s e l f - ad m in i s t e r ed q u es t i o n n a i r e , r ed u ced th e p ro p o r -

t i o n o f H ig h M ach s i n t h e sam p le w h o d id r e sp o n d .

R e f e r e n c e s

1 M a c h i a v e l l i , N T h e Prince W o r d s w o r t h E d i t i o n s L t d . , ( 1 9 9 3 )

2 C a l h o o n , R P N i c o l o M a c h i a v e l l i a n d t h e 2 0 t h c e n t u r y a d m i n i s t r a t o r

Academy of Management Journal

(June 1969 ) 207

3 J a y , A Management and Machiavelli H u t c h i n s o n P r e s s , U K ( 1 9 87 )

4 M a r t i n , N H a n d S i m s , J H T h i n k i n g a h e a d

Harvard Business

Review ( N o v / D e c 1 9 5 6 ) 2 5

5 H a r r i s o n , F L Advanced Project Management G o w e r P u b l i s h i n g ,

C a m b r i d g e ( 1 9 9 2 )

6 G r a h a m , R J

Project Management Combining Technical and

Behavioural Approaches for Effective Implementation V a n N o s t r a n d

R e i n h o l d C o . , N Y 1 ( 1 9 8 5 )

7 K o t l e r , P Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implemen-

tation and Control

P r e n t i c e H a l l I n c . , N Y ( 1 9 9 1 )

8 A l l i s o n , G T

Essence o f Decision: Explaining the Cu ban Missile

Crisis L i t t l e a n d B r o w n , B o s t o n , U S A 1 6 8 ( 1 9 7 1 )

9 T u r n e r ,

J R A H andbook o f Project Based Management

M c G r a w H i l l ,

L o n d o n ( 1 9 9 3)

1 0 M e r e d i t h , J R a n d M a n t e l , S J Project Management: A Managerial

Approach

W i l e y , N Y ( 1 9 8 8 )

1 1 C h r i s t i e , R a n d G e i s , F Studies in Machiavellianism A c a d e m i c P r e s s ,

N Y ( 1 9 7 0 )

12 Oxford English Dictionary ( O E D ) C o m p a c t E d n B o o k C l u b A s s o c i a t e s ,

L o n d o n ( 1 9 3 3)

13 Vleeming, R G Machiavellianism, a preliminary review Psychological

Reports 44

( 1 9 7 9 ) 2 9 5 - 3 1 0

1 4 d e W i t , A C o s t - E f f e c t iv e P r o j e c t M a n a g e m e n t - - t h e c h a ll e n g e f o r th e

f u t u r e Proceedings of INTERN ET 85 Conference 4 4 4 ( 1 9 8 5 )

1 5 G a b l e , M a n d T o p o i , M T M a c h i a v e l l i a n i s m a n d th e d e p a r t m e n t

s t o r e e x e c u t i v e Journal of Retailing S p r i n g 6 4 ( 1 ) ( 1 9 8 8 ) 6 9 - 8 4

1 6 C r o n b a c h , L J Essentials of Psychological Testin g H a r p e r C o l l i n s ,

N Y ( 1 9 6 0 )

T h e a u t h o r w o u l d b e i n t e re s t e d t o r e c e i v e c o m m e n t s , s u g g e s t i o n s f o r

f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h , a n d p o i n t e r s t o e x i s t i n g r e s e a r c h i n r e l a t e d a r e a s .

72


7/8

Machiavel l ian projec t manage r s : do they per form bet t er? . J H Graham

17 Hollon, C J Machiavellianism and managerial work attitudes and

perceptions Psychological Reports 52 (1983) 432-434

18 Hunt, S D and Chonko, L B Marketing and Machiavellianism J

Marketing Summer 48 (1984) 30-42

19 Moroney, M J Facts rom Figures Penguin Books, London (1990)

t ab l e s ( see R efe ren ce 1 9 ) g iv e a co r r e sp o n d in g v a lu e o f

p ro b ab i l i t y . I f t h e p ro b ab i l i t y t h a t t h e r e su l t co u ld h av e

a r i sen b y ch an ce i s l e s s t h an 5 , o r 1 i n 2 0 , i t i s accep ted

b y co n v en t io n th a t t h e r e su l t i s s t a t i s t i ca l l y s ig n i f i can t .

A p p e n d i x : S t a t i s t i c a l n o t e s

C h i s q u a r e d ( X 2)

T h e v a l u e X2 i s ca l cu l a t ed to d ec id e w h e th e r t h e o b se rv ed

d i f f e re n c e b e t w e e n t h e s a l a r y d is t r ib u t io n o f L o w M a c h s

a n d H i g h M a c h s c o u l d h a v e a r i s e n b y c h a n c e . S t a n d a r d

S t u d e n t s t t e s t

S tu d en t ' s t v a lu e i s ca l cu l a t ed to h e lp d ec id e i f tw o sam p les

c o u l d h a v e c o m e f r o m t h e s a m e p o p u l a t i on . S t a n d ar d t a b l e s

( see R efe ren c e 1 9) g iv e a co r r e sp o n d in g v a lu e o f p ro b -

ab i l i t y . I f t h e p ro b ab i l i t y t h a t t he r e su l t co u ld h av e a r i sen

b y ch an ce i s l e s s t h an 5 , o r 1 in 2 0 , i t i s accep ted b y

conven t ion that the resu l t i s s ta t is t ical ly s ign if ican t .

A p p e n d i x 2 : S u r v e y q u e s t i o n n a i r e

P a r t 1 : T h e M a c h I V Q u e s t i o n n a i r e L~

Strongly Agr ee Mil dly Neu tra Mildly Dis- Strongly

Agree Agree I Disagree agr ee Disagree

70 60 50 40 3H 2[~1 IO

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

T h e b es t w ay to h an d le p eo p le i s t o t e l l t h em w h a t

th ey w an t t o h ea r

W h e n y o u a s k s o m e o n e t o d o s o m e t h i n g f o r y o u , i t

i s b es t t o g iv e t h e r ea l r easo n s fo r w an t in g i t r a th e r

th an g iv in g r easo n s w h ich m i~, ht ca r ry m o re w e ig h t .

A n y o n e w h o c o m p l e t e l y t ru s ts a n y o n e e l s e i s a s k i n g

fo r t ro u b le .

I t is h a rd to g e t ah ead w i th o u t cu t t i n g co rn e r s h e re

an d th e re .

H o n es ty i s t h e b es t p o l i cy in a ll ca ses .

I t is s a fe s t t o a s su m e th a t a ll p eo p le h av e a v i c io u s

s t r eak an d i t w i l l co m e o u t w h en th ey a re g iv e n a

ch an ce .

N ev er t e l l an y o n e th e r ea l r easo n y o u d id so m eth in g

un less i t i s usefu l to do so .

O n e sh o u ld t ak e ac t io n o n ly w h en su re i t i s m o ra l ly

r igh t .

I t i s w i se t o f l a t t e r im p o r t an t p eo p le .

A l l i n a l l , i t is b e t t e r t o b e h u m b le an d h o n e s t t h an

b e im p o r t an t an d d i sh o n es t .

B a r n u m w a s v e r y w r o n g w h e n h e s a i d t h e r e ' s a

su ck e r b o rn ev er / m in u te .

P eo p le su f f e r in g f ro m in cu rab le d i seases sh o u ld

h av e th e c h o ice o f b e in g p u t p a in l e s s ly t o d ea th .

I t i s possib le to be good in a l l respects .

M o s t p eo p le a r e b as i ca l ly g o o d an d k in d .

T h ere i s n o ex cu se fo r l y in g to so m eo n e e l se .

M o s t p e o p l e f o r g e t m o r e e a s i ly t h e d e a th o f t h e i r

f a th e r t h an th e l o s s o f t h e i r i n h e r i t an ce .

M o s t p eo p le w h o g e t ah ead in t h e w o r ld l ead c l ean ,

m o ra l l i v es .

G e n e r a l l y s p e a k i n g, p e o p l e w o n ' t w o r k h a r d u n l e s s

th ey a re fo rced to d o so .

T h e b i g g e s t d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n m o s t c r i m i n a l s a n d

o th e r p eo p l e i s th a t c r im in a l s a r e s tu p id en o u g h to

g e t cau g h t .

M o s t p e o p l e a r e b r a v e .

H ~O ~H 40 ~H ~O ~O

70 oO ~O 40 ~O ~O ,O

~O oO ~O 40 ~O ~O ,O

~O 00 ~O ~D ~H ~O O

O ~H ~O 40 ~O ~O ~O

70 ~O ~O ~O ~H ~O O

O ~O ~O ~O ~H 00 70

O ~O ~H 40 ~O 00 ~O

70 .O ~O ~O ~H ~O O

,O ~O ~O ~O ~O 60 ~O

,O ~O ~O 40 ~O 00 ~O

~O 60 ~O ~O ~O ~O ,O

0 ~0 ~0 ~0 ~0 ~0 ~0

70 O ~O 40 ~O ~O ,O

~0 ~0 ~0 ~0 ~0 ~O O

7 3


8/8


P a r t : D e m o g r a p h i c q u e s t io n n a ir e

21

A r e y o u a L i n e M a n a g e r o r a

Project anager

Definitions.

(1) L i ne M a n a g e r : A ma n a g e r i n c o n t r o l o f a

f u n c t i o n o r d e p a r t me n t i n a f i r m .

(2 ) Pro jec t Manager . .4 ma nage r in con tro l o f a

d e f i n e d p a r c e l o f w o r k .

2 2 L e n g t h o f t i m e in t h i s r o l e ( y e a r s )

2 3 C u r r e n t A n n u a l S a l a r y

L i n e M a n a g e r i [ ]

P r o j e c t M a n a g e r 2 [ ]

N e i t h e r 3 [ ]

B o t h 4 [ ]

l e s s t h a n 2 0 k 1 [ ]

2 1 k t o 2 5 k . 2 [ ]

2 6 k t o 3 0 k 3 [ ]

3 1 k t o 3 5 k 4 [ ]

3 6 k t o 4 0 k 5 0

[ ]

4 1 k t o 4 5 k 7 [ ]

4 6 k t o 5 0 k 8 [ ]

5 1 k t o 5 5 k 9 [ ]

5 6 k t o 6 0 k 1 0 0

61 k to 6 5 k ~1 ]

6 6 k t o 7 0 k 1 2 ~

m o r e t h a n 7 0 k . . . . . . . . .

2 4 I s y o u r T o t a l C o m p e n s a t i o n r e l a te d t o a m e a s u r e Y e s ~ O

o f p r o je c t p e r f o r m a n c e ? N o 2 [ ]

2 5 S e x F e m a l e 2 U1 M a l e 1 [ ]

2 6 A g e i n y e a r s

2 7 M a r i t a l S t a t u s S i n g l e ~ [ ]

M a r r i e d / p e r m a n e n t p a r t n e r 2 [ ]

D i v o r c e e / w i d o w / w i d o w e r . 3 [ ]

2 8 E d u c a t i o n N o d e g r e e ~ [ ]

F i r s t d e g r e e ( o r e q u i v a l e n t ) 2 [ ]

M a s t e r s d e g r e e 3 [ ]

D o c t o r a t e . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 [ ] .

J o h n G r a h a m h o l d s an M B A d e g r e e

f r o m S u r r e y E u r o p e a n M a n a g e m e n t

Schoo l and a BSc in e l ec t r i ca l en -

g ineer ing f rom Glasgow Un iver si ty .

A f t er h i s f i r s t degree he j o ine d the

R o y a l N a v y a n d s e r v e d a s h o r t

serv i ce commiss ion a f t er wh ich he

worked f i~r some years i n t he de f ence

industry. He is curren t ly emp loyed

b y C r a y S y st e m s L t d . w h e r e h e

spec ia l i s es i n bus ines s s t ra t egy

c o n s u lt i ng a n d m a j o r I T p r o j e c t

managemen t .

7 4

machiavelian project managers

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