The purpose of this investigation was to outline a profile of first-line managers, Head Nurses, with respect to their job performance. Head Nurses were employed at a Chicago teaching hospital when data were collected.

A profile was utilized to increase understanding of managerial job motivation by assessing responses to job design, job satisfaction, values, needs and demographic characteristcs. The profile's four major components were measured by the Job Diagnostic Survey, the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, the Personal Values Questionnaire, and the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule. Job performance was measured by an abbreviated form of the Head Nurse's existing performance appraisal instrument completed by their regular evaluators for purposes of this investigation.

Head nurse evaluations identified two performance categories, below-median and above-median. An ANOVA statistic identified no significant differences between the two performance groups with respect to job design reactions. However, job design reactions for Head Nurses in both performance categories were influenced by differences in age, job tenure, and education. An ANOVA statistic also identified no significant differences between the two performance groups with respect to job satisfaction. However, job satisfaction for Head Nurses in both performance categories was influenced by differences in age and job tenure. The Pearson product-moment statistic identified a moderately positive relationship between job design reactions and job satisfaction indicating that Head Nurses experiencing higher job satisfaction also found their job's design motivating.

Assessment of values and needs further described the Head Nurses in both performance categories. Operative values, those most likely to influence managerial behavior, were more similar than different for the two groups of performers. However, operative values for success-oriented pragmatic managers and hedonistic affective managers differed greatly. Need levels for achievement, aggression, autonomy, change, deference, dominance and intraception were very similar for Head Nurses in both performance categories.

Discriminant analysis identified that the more education and the longer job tenure Head Nurses had the more likely they were to be rated below the median. Regression of the performance rating identified that the need for autonomy contributed to lower performance ratings while the values of influence and aggression contributed to higher performance ratings.