Using the Q-Sort to Help Answer Key Questions

With more information on the characteristics of a manager’s organizational culture, practitioners may be better able to understand the potential fit (or otherwise) between a manager and client. In particular, it should be possible to gain more insight into questions such as:

• Are there specific cultural characteristics common to certain manager peer groups (by size, location, style, age of firm, or other factors)?
• In what way does a specific manager’s culture differ from its peers?
• Is there consistency between the internal (management/employees) and external (client/consultant) measures of a manager’s organizational culture?

In 2004, the InvestmentQ ™ team conducted a study of the organizational decision-making process of a broad sample of the top management teams (TMTs) at 46 investment management firms. The limitations of the size of the sample mean that any conclusions should be regarded as indicative, not definitive. However, this research may be regarded as a first step in raising awareness of the Q-Sort and its availability as a useful tool for the investment industry.

Using the Q-Sort, the InvestmentQ ™ team sought to quantify business management skill (not portfolio management skill), the decision-making environment, and any patterns among distinguishing characteristics (such as assets under management, age of firm, etc.) at managers in the United States and Europe.

Results were analyzed for the managers who participated, including for each firm a response from their TMT, plus responses from an outside consultant, and (in many cases) an independent "referee."

To open a pdf of this report, click on the following link: BI_QSortPaperfinal.pdf