Attributes for effective nurse management within the health services of Western Australia, Singapore and Tanzania

Abstract

Participants desired a different relative mix of attributes in their nurse managers, with Western Australian respondents most likely to indicate that transformational leadership contributed most to managerial effectiveness. Tanzanian nurse managers were most likely to advocate transactional leadership, whereas Singaporean nurse managers' views were located somewhere between. Given that these perceptions are valid, the content and curricula of management-development courses need to be cognisant of the cultural backgrounds of participants. WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE TOPIC? Views differ as to the extent to which the criteria for management effectiveness are broadly universal or contingent on culture. This applies to the area of nurse management as it does to healthcare management in general. WHAT DOES THIS PAPER ADD? It is demonstrated that each of the three quite different countries or states considered identified a distinctive combination of attributes as desirable, with the nurse managers of Western Australia most likely to favour a transformational style of leadership, those from Tanzania a transactional leadership style and those from Singapore somewhere in between. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTITIONERS? Given the country- or state-specific desire for a different relative mix of attributes in their nurse managers, management educators in Australia need to ensure that the content and curricula of their courses are cognisant of the cultural backgrounds of their students. There are also important lessons to be taken on board regarding recruitment of nurses into management positions in terms of each of the four dimensions considered, particularly in terms of desirable personality characteristics and beliefs and values.