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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
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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
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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 ]
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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
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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
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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
7/26/2019 Machiavelian Project Managers
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
7/26/2019 Machiavelian Project Managers
8/8
Machiavellian project managers: do they perform better?: J H Graham
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