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This paper describes the experiments that I have made with different types of diaries and summarizes my conclusions from these experiments about diaries as a means of studying managers' jobs. My aim was to study some of the similarities in, and differences between, managers' jobs. In order to do this a method had to be devised that would fulfil the five conditions that: 1. it could be used to study at least a hundred managers. This seemed a minimum number for the study of differences between different types of managers' jobs; 2. it would be applicable to managers in different kinds of jobs; 3. it would cover a sufficient period of time to show up variations in the job. Unless this was done one would not know whether the period studied was representative, nor could one detect one of the possible differences between jobs, that of the amount of variation in the job; 4. it would produce comparable results; 5. it would be sufficiently simple for the managers to be willing to keep it for the required time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which examines the job activities of production foremen. The study uses questionnaire that was pre-tested by distributing it to 51 foremen who did not participate in major observational study, in which items were refined and grouped according to job activity themes according to the similarity of content. The study reveals correlations between self-reports of job activities and job performance ratings of the foremen. The study concludes that a reasonably valid summary description of differences on ways in which effective and ineffective foremen performed their jobs was well presented by the questionnaire incorporating frequency estimates.

The article examines the patchy degeneration ('die-back') of Spartina townsendii. A general survey of British Spartineta was used in the study and the growth performance of the plant was compared in different localities. Results showed that the grass is frequently present on land covered by high tides and it can establish itself on a wide range of substrata. Findings from the survey support the hypothesis that the cause of 'die-back' is a physiological/ecological problem. Also, soil observations indicates that 'die-back' is associated with particularly soft, wet, finely particled substrata and obstructed drainage.