Newly Promoted City Managers

Bibliographic Data

ID6359102
AuthorsDaniel M Barber (corresponding author)
Year1988
Volume48
Issue3
Pages694-694
Publication date1988-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePublic Administration Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-3352 • E-ISSN: 1540-6210
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.2307/976248
OpenAlexW2315396634
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited1

The city manager profession has been examined from numerous perspectives, but little has been written concerning newly promoted city managers. Given the limits of such information, California State University, Long Beach sponsored a national survey of individuals throughout the United States who had assumed new positions as city or town managers during 1986. Survey subjects were taken from the bimonthly listings of the International City Management Association (ICMA) Newsletter' which appear under the heading Placement and Support Services-Appointments. The survey was mailed to 253 managers, the entire universe of eligible respondents, and 183 returned the lengthy, selfadministered questionnaires. Six returned forms were incomplete and unusable, leaving a total of 177 usable replies out of the eligible survey population of 247 managers appointed in 1986. The return rate of 71.7% suggests a high level of professional interest in the questions posed. Both national and regional sorting of data were performed to draw comparisons between regions as well as to offer regional/national comparisons. Table 1 shows responses grouped by principal Federal Regions. The 32 survey questions were adapted from a format developed at the University of Michigan's Graduate School of Business Administration. The Michigan research program, called the Management Succession Survey (MSS),2 was begun in 1970 and, as of 1987, had a database of 7,419 respondents. The MSS offers researchers valuable information for both current trends and conditions as well as important longitudinal analysis on the upward mobility of business leaders. The Long Beach study provides the foundation for a parallel information base for public leaders. The survey results are presented under the following headings: Personal Characteristics and Spousal Roles; Work Settings and Professional Backgrounds; Education and Training; Reasons for Change and Job Expectations; and Wages, Hours, and Fringe Benefits

Business · Political science · Public Administration · Public Policy and Administration Research

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub