The compatibility of general managers' activities and intentions in managing change in the NHS

As Hales (1986) has observed, the problem of much of the managerial research to date has been the reluctance to ask why managers behave in the way they do. The behaviour of general managers in tackling organisational change in the NHS needs to be viewed not only with respect to what is done but also with respect to how personal and organisational objectives are construed. In other words, the implementation of organisational change ultimately rests on how general managers perceive the nature of this change and their role in structuring their own personal and organisational objectives into appropriate activities. Examining the compatibility of managerial activities and the underlying values and intentions which support them is of critical importance in any cognitively-based approach. These intentions provide an important link between perceptions (i.e. how the organisation is construed) and behaviour (i.e. what activities managers choose to perform). Understanding the conceptual frameworks which underpin managerial activities could have profound implications for assessing the performance of general managers.