Information is presented on a study which investigated the managerial role of the academic department chair and compared it to a study of traditional managers. The study compared management activities to determine whether or not there was a difference between academic management and management outside of the university setting. It made use of the structured observation method of Mintzberg to document the actions of a department chair in an academic university. In addition to 8 days of structured observation, the study included semi-structured, in-depth interviews with the person being studied and two chairs from other departments along with time logs from 2 days when the subject of the study was working outside of the office. The subject was a chair of a Department of Educational Administration and Supervision in a major research university. The study looked at the amount of time in minutes spent on five incidents (scheduled meetings, unscheduled meetings, phone calls, tours, and desk work). Results include the following: one of the main frustrations of academics who attempt to perform the administrative role is the very limited amount of uninterrupted desk work; time concerns weigh heavily on all department chairs; time spent in scheduled meetings is not usually rewarding to university department chairs; and 6% of their time is spent on phone calls. Tables are included. Contains 27 references. (SM)