MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT

Management Development is described as the process from which the managers

learn and improve their skills & knowledge not only to benefit themselves but also
their employing organizations.

Earlier training programmes in industrial organisations were mostly concentrated on

improved performance in a particular job. They were intended to emphasise on
learning whatever skill and knowledge necessary for the satisfactory
performance of the job. Training were for the most part job holders in rank and
file-positions. With the passage of time organisations are growing and the
complexity in the work is also increasing. Now the role of the mangers is not as
easy as it was earlier. The term manager has been used to mean people at
different levels of hierarchy. All those persons who have authority over the
others and are responsible for their activities and for the operation of an
enterprise are managers. They have not only to deal with the staff but also with
other outsiders etc., and have a decided influence on the organisation. Even the
corporate chairman, departmental head, personnel administrator, planner or
coordinator is. In fact a manager, although many of them do not supervise
others but are on the board of management. So the title of manager cannot be
standardized. It is their actions which are significant. Even a worker may be
considered a manager, some times. So a manager is the dynamic life-giving
element in any concern. His calibre and performance will largely determine the
success of any enterprise. If any concern wants to expand, it must attempt to
improve the quality of managers, it should introduce imaginative and
systematic development schemes for them. So it can be said that due to the
increasing role and its complexities and importance a new word like
management development came into existence. Because the term training
seemed inappropriate.

Management Development is a systematic process of training and growth by

which managerial personnel gain and apply skill, knowledge, altitude and
insights to manage the work in their organisation effectively and efficiently. In
other words.

"Management Development is an educational process utilizing a systematic and

 organized procedure by which managerial personnel learn conceptual and
technical knowledge for general purpose."
Management Development has become very important in today’s competitive
environment.
According to a survey, those companies that align their management development
with tactical planning are more competitive than the companies who are not. It has
also been indicated that 80% of the companies report MDP, compared with 90% that
provide executive leadership training. For most of the companies 37% of the training
budgets go to management development and learning programs. Therefore, it is
important to consider management development as an important part of
organizational competitiveness.

Some of the reasons behind the management development programs are:

1. It is managements’ responsibility of ensuring the success of the organization.

2. It is the management who deal with people of different background, culture,
language, etc.
3. Mergers and acquisitions, downsizing, etc. are all under management’s control.
4. It is managements’ responsibility to ensure that the employees obtain the
required KSAs to perform the tasks.
5. It is managements’ responsibility to ensure that right people is hired for the
right job, at the right time for the right place.
6. Manager’s job is complex i.e. for the managers understanding the training need
is not easy because his training need is determined by how well his department
is meeting its objective and goal.
7. It is the management who makes decisions on the basis of judgment and
intuition.
8. It is the management that understand the organization, its vision, mission,
ethics, values, strategies, capabilities, and how his organization fits into the
industry, and how his behavior will influence people outside the organization

Therefore, managers must be able to get the required knowledge, skills, and attitudes
(KSAs) to meet the challenges as soon as they arise.

The more future oriented method and more concerned with education of the
employees. To become a better performer by education implies that management
development activities attempt to instil sound reasoning processes.
OBJECTIVES OF MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT

The objective of management development is. in general, to improve the quality of

managers/executives performance now and in future. Some main objectives of the
management development ore as under:

1. To develop managers/executives for better performance on their present job or

assignment
2. To provide a steady source of competent persons at different levels so as to
meet the future requirements of the organisation.
3. To enable the managers to understand the problems of the business
organisation in so far as they arise out of its policies and system of control.
4. To create conditions and a climate which contribute to the growth process.
5. To replace elderly executives, who have risen from low ranks, by highly
competent and academically qualified professionals.
6. To increase morale of the managers.
7. To acquire knowledge about the problems of human relations.
8. To create the second line of defence in the organization so as to meet the
emergencies.
9. To broaden the outlook of the various levels of management especially top
management regarding their role, position and responsibilities.
10. To help the top management to understand the economic, technical and
institutional forces in order to solve business problems.
11. To increase the versatility of the managers
12. To stimulate creativity in the thoughts of the managers.
13. To create a sense of inter-departmental coordination among managers.
14. To indicate how to apply to practical problems the knowledge of the
physical and social aspects of business problems and management.

So we can say that management development is an educational process utilizing a

systematic and organized procedure by which management personnel learn
conceptual and theoretical knowledge for general purpose. These purpose are
 i. Productivity
ii. Quality
iii. Human Resource Planning
iv. Morale
v. Obsolescence prevention, and
vi. Personnel growth.

Management development method is further divided into two parts:

1. On – the – Job Methods of Management Development

2. Off – the – Job Methods of Management Development

ON – THE – JOB METHODS OF MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT

The development of a manager's abilities can take place on the job. The four
techniques for on the job development are:
1. COACHING
In coaching the trainee is placed under a senior manager who acts as an guide
or coach and teaches job knowledge and skill to the trainee. He instructs him
what he wants him to do, how it can be done etc., and helps him to correct
errors and perform effectively. It is just as track coaches who observe, analyse
and attempt to improve the performance of their athletes. This technique of
development is quite rewarding. As the managers learn by doing. It also creates
the opportunities for high level interaction and rapid feedback on performance.
But this has a limitation also as we cannot expect that alt excellent managers
will be effective coaches. Thus, the effectiveness of this technique relies on the
ability of the concerned 'coach'.

According to a survey conducted by International Coach Federation (ICF), more

than 4,000 companies are using coach for their executives. These coaches are
experts most of the time outside consultants.

A coach is the best training plan for the CEO’s because

a. It is one-to-one interaction
b. It can be done at the convenience of CEO
c. It can be done on phone, meetings, through e-mails, chat
d. It provides an opportunity to receive feedback from an expert
 e. It helps in identifying weaknesses and focus on the area that needs
improvement This method best suits for the people at the top because if
we see on emotional front, when a person reaches the top, he gets lonely
and it becomes difficult to find someone to talk to. It helps in finding out
the executive’s specific developmental needs. The needs can be identified
through 360 degree performance reviews.

2. JOB ROTATION

Job-Rotation: It refers to the transfer or movement of executive from one job to

another and from one plan to another on some planned basis for educational
learning purposes. Such rotation may continue for a period ranging from 6
months to 24 months. Under this method, the trainees are rotated over various
routine jobs in a department, division or unit before they are due for promotion
as managers. The idea behind this is to give them the required diversified skills
and a broader outlook, which are very important at the upper management
levels. It also increases the inter-departmental cooperation and helps in
reducing the monotony of the work. This also helps in turning the specialist into
generalists. Under this job rotation can be either horizontally or vertically.
Vertical rotation is nothing more than promoting a worker into a new position.
Horizontal job transfer can be made on a planned basis or on a situational basis.
The main advantage of job rotation is that it permits a greater understanding of
other activities within the company. People are prepared more rapidly to accept
greater responsibility, especially at upper levels. Further ability and talent of
each manager are best tested, so the enterprise can secure his best utilization
in the emergency period. But this is not free of drawbacks. Due to this
developmental costs increase. It upsets the routine system of the concern itself.
An extensive rotation programme can result in having a vast number of
employees shifted in a position where their job knowledge is very limited. And
even though there may be significant long-term benefits from the programme.

Benefits of Job Rotation

Some of the major benefits of job rotation are:

1.       It provides the employees with opportunities to broaden the horizon of

knowledge, skills, and abilities by working in different departments, business
units, functions, and countries
 2.       Identification of Knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) required
3.       It determines the areas where improvement is required
4.       Assessment of the employees who have the potential and caliber for
filling the position

3.  MENTORING

Mentoring is an ongoing relationship that is developed between a senior and junior

employee. Mentoring provides guidance and clear understanding of how the
organization goes to achieve its vision and mission to the junior employee.

The meetings are not as structured and regular than in coaching. Executive mentoring
is generally done by someone inside the company. The executive can learn a lot from
mentoring. By dealing with diverse mentee’s, the executive is given the chance to
grow professionally by developing management skills and learning how to work with
people with diverse background, culture, and language and personality types.

Executives also have mentors. In cases where the executive is new to the
organization, a senior executive could be assigned as a mentor to assist the new
executive settled into his role. Mentoring is one of the important methods for
preparing them to be future executives. This method allows the mentor to determine
what is required to improve mentee’s performance. Once the mentor identifies the
problem, weakness, and the area that needs to be worked upon, the mentor can
advise relevant training. The mentor can also provide opportunities to work on special
processes and projects that require use of proficiency.

Some key points on Mentoring

 Mentoring focus on attitude development.

 Conducted for management-level employees.
 Mentoring is done by someone inside the company.
  It is one-to-one interaction.
 It helps in identifying weaknesses and focus on the area that needs
improvement.
4.  JOB INSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE (JIT)

Job Instruction Technique (JIT) uses a strategy with focus on knowledge (factual and
procedural), skills and attitudes development.

Procedure of Job Instruction Technique (JIT)

JIT consists of four steps:

   Plan – This step includes a written breakdown of the work to be done because
the trainer and the trainee must understand that documentation is must and
important for the familiarity of work. A trainer who is aware of the work well is
likely to do many things and in the process might miss few things. Therefore, a
structured analysis and proper documentation ensures that all the points are
covered in the training program. The second step is to find out what the trainee
knows and what training should focus on.
Then, the next step is to create a comfortable atmosphere for the trainees’ i.e.
proper orientation program, availing the resources, familiarizing trainee with the
training program, etc.

  Present – In this step, trainer provides the synopsis of the job while presenting
the participants the different aspects of the work. When the trainer finished, the
trainee demonstrates how to do the job and why is that done in that specific
manner. Trainee actually demonstrates the procedure while emphasizing the
key points and safety instructions.

 Trial – This step actually a kind of rehearsal step, in which trainee tries to
perform the work and the trainer is able to provide instant feedback. In this
step, the focus is on improving the method of instruction because a trainer
considers that any error if occurring may be a function of training not the
trainee. This step allows the trainee to see the after effects of using an incorrect
method. The trainer then helps the trainee by questioning and guiding to
identify the correct procedure.

  Follow-up – In this step, the trainer checks the trainee’s job frequently after the
training program is over to prevent bad work habits from developing.
OFF THE JOB METHODS OF MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT

There are many management development techniques that an employee can take in
off the job. The few popular methods are:

1. CASE STUDIES
Case Studies try to simulate decision-making situation that trainees may find at their
work place. It reflects the situations and complex problems faced by managers, staff,
HR, CEO, etc. The objective of the case study method is to get trainees to apply
known concepts and ideologies and ascertain new ones. The case study method
emphasize on approach to see a particular problem rather than a solution. Their
solutions are not as important as the understanding of advantages and
disadvantages.

Procedure of the Case Study Method

1. The trainee is given with some written material, and the some complex
situations of a real or imaginary organization. A case study may range from 50
to 200 pages depending upon the problem of the organization.
2. A series of questions usually appears at the end of the case study.
3. The longer case studies provide enough of the information to be examined while
the shorter ones require the trainee to explore and conduct research to gather
appropriate amount of information.
4. The trainee then makes certain judgment and opines about the case by
identifying and giving possible solutions to the problem.
5. In between trainees are given time to digest the information. If there is enough
time left, they are also allowed to collect relevant information that supports
their solution.
6. Once the individuals reach the solution of a problem, they meet in small groups
to discuss the options, solutions generated.
7. Then, the trainee meets with the trainer, who further discusses the case.

Case Study method focuses on:

 Building decision making skills

 Assessing and developing Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes (KSAs)
 Developing communication and interpersonal skills
 Developing management skills
  Developing procedural and strategic knowledge

2. BUSINESS GAMES METHOD

Under this, scheme an atmosphere is created in which the participants play a dynamic
role. Usually management games consist of several teams which represent competing
groups. Each team consists of 2 to 6 persons.
Each team has to make discussion and to arrive at decisions concerning such as
production; pricing, research expenditure. The participants are assigned such roles as
Managing Director, General Manager etc. They make decisions affecting price level,
production volume and inventory levels etc. These business games are intended to
teach trainees how to take management decisions in an integrated manner. The
results of their decisions are then compared by a computer programme. The
participants learn by analysing problems and by making trial and error method.

3. EQUIPMENT SIMULATORS

Equipment simulators are the mechanical devices that necessitate trainees to use
some actions, plans, measures, trials, movements, or decision processes they would
use with equipment back on the their respective work place.

This is the technique of working up a real thing, in which a situation is created and
attempt is to make to make it resembled to the actual situation. So a duplicate
atmosphere but like original sense is created. Trainees are assigned different roles in
that situation and they

The literature on socio-technical approaches to organizational development provides

guidelines for the design or redesign of tools. Human Resource professionals involved
in propose of simulators and their pre-testing should engage those who will be using
the equipment and their supervisors. Their input can help in reducing the potential
resistance, errors in the equipment and more importantly, it also increases the degree
of reliability between the simulation and the work setting.

Equipment simulators can be used in giving training to:

1.       Air Traffic Controllers
2.       Taxi Drivers
 3.       Telephone Operators
4.       Ship Navigators
5.       Maintenance Workers
6.       Product Development Engineers
7.       Airline Pilots
8.       Military Officers

4. IN-BASKET TECHNIQUE

In this method, each team of trainees is given the different files of correspondence of
the business problems. These are also called business papers like memoranda,
reports and telephone messages and other general papers which come across the
table of the manager. The trainees are asked to study them, analyse them and make
their comments on the file.

Procedure of the In-basket Technique

In this technique, trainee is given some information about the role to be played such
as, description, responsibilities, general context about the role.

 The trainee is then given the log of materials that make up the in-basket and
asked to respond to materials within a particular time period.
 After all the trainees complete in-basket, a discussion with the trainer takes
place.
 In this discussion the trainee describes the justification for the decisions.
 The trainer then provides feedback, reinforcing decisions made suitably or
encouraging the trainee to increase alternatives for those made unsuitably.

This technique focuses on:

 Building decision making skills

 Assess and develops Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes (KSAs)
 Develops of communication and interpersonal skills
 Develops procedural knowledge
 Develops strategic knowledge
5. SENSITIVITY TRAINING/ T GROUP TRAINING
Sensitivity training is about making people understand about themselves and others
reasonably, which is done by developing in them social sensitivity and behavioural
flexibility.
Social sensitivity in one word is empathy. It is ability of an individual to sense what
others feel and think from their own point of view.

 Behavioural flexibility is ability to behave suitably in light of understanding.

Procedure of Sensitivity Training

Sensitivity Training Program requires three steps:

1. Unfreezing the old values –It requires that the trainees become aware of the
inadequacy of the old values. This can be done when the trainee faces dilemma in
which his old values is not able to provide proper guidance. The first step consists of a
small procedure:

a.       An unstructured group of 10-15 people is formed.

b.      Unstructured group without any objective looks to the trainer for its guidance
c.       But the trainer refuses to provide guidance and assume leadership
d.      Soon, the trainees are motivated to resolve the uncertainty
e.      Then, they try to form some hierarchy. Some try assume leadership role which
may not be liked by other trainees
f.        Then, they started realizing that what they desire to do and realize the
alternative ways of dealing with the situation

 2. Development of new values – With the trainer’s support, trainees begin to examine
their interpersonal behaviour and giving each other feedback. The reasoning of the
feedbacks are discussed which motivates trainees to experiment with range of new
behaviours and values. This process constitutes the second step in the change
process of the development of these values.

3. Refreezing the new ones – This step depends upon how much opportunity the
trainees get to practice their new behaviours and values at their work place.