In Support of Evidence-Based Healthcare Management: an ...

In Support of Evidence-Based Healthcare Management_________________________________________________________________________________________AbstractThis paper presents arguments in support of evidence-based healthcare management, drawing onorganisationally based empirical research, set within an NHS Trust Hospital in the UK. The researchfocuses on identifying the criteria of managerial effectiveness applying at the middle and front linemanagement levels of the organisation, using critical incident technique and factor analysis methods.It appears that the self-perceptions of managers and the perceptions of their superiors and subordinatesare very similar, and only differ on a limited number of criteria. This challenges the ‘perspectivespecific’models of managerial effectiveness advocated by some researchers. The results arecompared against those from an equivalent study carried out within one part of HM Customs &Excise, a major department of the British Civil Service. The findings suggest the existence ofgeneralised criteria of managerial effectiveness, supporting the notion of the ‘universally effectivemanager’. This challenges the ‘contingent models’ of managerial effectiveness adopted by otherresearchers. In addition, the research makes a substantial contribution to the empirical base requiredto support the current drive towards establishing evidence-based management within the healthcaresector.3 Management Research Centre 2001