Now-a-days, more than ever, the focus of organisations is on human resource, and in this competitive global business environment, human resource is an asset that plays a predominant role in positioning the company on the top of the others. Today businesses are in a State of dynamism and flux in every field. If organisations want to succeed and grow, efficient managers and executives who are capable of enhancing and updating their skills to match fast-changing needs are required in such a business environment, Management development is defined as a systematic process that enables the managers to develop their abilities in order to attain sustained development and growth. Management development is an educational process with the long-term objectives of imparting theoretical and conceptual knowledge to managerial staff. It is not concerned with developing operational skills and technical know-how. Thus, it focuses on a broader educational canvas and has long-term outcomes as goals.
Features of Management Development
Management development has the following features:
Ongoing Process: Ideally, development of managers is an ongoing procedure, spanning the whole occupational career of the management personnel of an organisation. However in India, management development was treated as an unsystematic and periodic activity, failing to fulfil the desired organisational needs. In contrast, a Zen philosophy has considered management development to be a systematic and ongoing process in any organisation.
Knowledge-Updating Activity: Organisational goals and needs are in a continuous state of change, requiring managers to be ever ready to update and enhance their skills and knowledge. Management development processes need to tap the potential of managers and develop their skills and knowledge so as to fill the gap between their present competencies and the future demands. This should be a continuous process as organisations move up the ladder of change.
Change in Attitude and Perception: Attitudes and traits of human beings are the basis of their decisions and actions. The complexity of actions cannot be understood without understanding the attitudes underlying these actions. Management development programmes are directed towards understanding the perceptive, attitudinal and behavioural perspectives with the help of simulating sessions. Once these are understood, properly planned management development programmes can be undertaken to achieve the changes in attitudes. With change in perceptions and attitudes, meaningful behaviour and improved interpersonal skills can be achieved, which are essential for effective management.
Achievement of Greater Managerial Competence: It is necessary to devise management development programmes considering issues like employees’ age mix, situations leading to confusions and disputes, needs of motivation, and habits. Such programmes bring about improvement in managerial functions, making managers and executives more competent, effective and result oriented. In order to optimally utilise the potential of managers and executives, they need to be accustomed with the complexities of managerial stress and strain through various management development programmes for achieving organisational goals.
Scaling Down Deficiencies: Managerial development programmes are directed towards determining work-related individual deficiencies and identifying the measures to overcome them. enables the organisation to reap immense benefits in terms of obtaining better functional output from its managers and executives.
Promoting Self-Development: Simulation sessions re-enact live situations in classrooms. This helps to sharpen interpersonal skills and the likes, before managers actually face such live situations. Thus, management development prepares them to face future challenges. Interaction between managers facilitates learning from each other. Thus, these management development programmes promote self-development through simulation and observation.
Purposes of Management Development
Following are the purposes of development programmes for various managerial personnel:
Top Management
- To widen the perception of every manager about his position, role and responsibilities within the organisation and outside it.
- To enhance the thought process and the ability to analyse in order to pinpoint the problems and make the best decisions which are for organisation’s good.
- To recognise technical, institutional and economic influences in order to tackle business related issues.
- To determine various problems generally faced by the organisation and foresee future problems so that precautionary actions can be taken.
- To gain knowledge about problems related to human relationships.
Middle Line Management
- To be absolutely clear about managerial duties and activities.
- To develop problem-analysing abilities and corresponding competencies to take the required action.
- To acquaint managers with the effects of business laws, financial accounting and business statistics on managerial functioning.
- To impart knowledge of all aspects of managerial problems and be acquainted with, and be aware of the importance of interdepartmental relations.
- To understand the role of motivation and interpersonal relationships in performing management functions efficiently.
- To inculcate a sense of responsibility among managers to play leadership roles effectively.
Middle Functional Executive and Specialists
- To enhance the knowledge of business operations and functions in particular areas like marketing, finance, production, and human resource.
- To increase the level of expertise in management techniques like operations research, quality control, work study, etc.
- To stimulate out-of-the-box thinking so as to establish improved methods and procedures.
- To understand various organisational functions.
- To comprehend problems related to human relations.
- To develop problem-solving ability in one’s functional domain.
Process of Management Development
Once the organisation has taken the decision to change the job profile of an employee, it begins to prepare for planning and implementation Of some specific management development programmes. Opting to promote an employee, considering him for taking extra responsibilities, deputing him for a challenging assignment, developing his existing work profile are some examples of changes in job profile. In such cases, a need-based and object-oriented management development programme is very important. In general, process of management development involves three steps as
Step 1: Evaluating the Organisation’s Strategic Needs: First and foremost, a management development process of an organisation consists of the assessment of its potential managerial requirements. This assessment is based on the organisation’s business strategies. For example, introduction of a new product. market growth, merger and acquisition, etc. and a strategic response to a competitor’s activity, impose the managers to develop novel skills and gain additional knowledge. However, determining the number and quality of the skills needed by the managers for future plans of the organisation is not an easy task. The reason for this is that business strategies are mostly devised as immediate, intuitive or incremental responses of an organisation to external developments rather than as intentionally pre-planned and calculated action.
Step 2: Assessing Competencies and Skills of Managers: In the next Step, the existing competencies and skills of managers are assessed with respect to organisation’s future strategies. In this step, fundamental competencies like the manager’s present ability to deliver results and his aptitude are assessed. Generally, performance evaluation techniques are used to assess the competency levels and skill deficiencies of managers. The skill gaps, so determined, usually constitute the basis for drawing up the management development programmes.
Step 3: Formulating Strategies for Development of Managers: In the last step, the organisation makes a decision about the method of proceeding with the process of development of managers to meet its future requirements in terms of management functions. It makes a decision regarding the fundamental aspects of the management development programmes, such as their aims, advantages and the costs to achieve these benefits, methods, assessment techniques, location and timings. Often, the type and size of the organisation, the prevalent environment, the level of technological advancement and the management philosophy have substantial bearing on the management development activities. The needs, type, and procedure of management development are generally focused around the individual employee. For example, few organisations choose to adopt a pre-designed development programme with result-oriented evaluation Systems. Management development can be specific, different and customised for each organisation. On the other hand, some other organisations possibly will ensure availability of ample support and opportunities for their managers to develop themselves in their profession with minimal concern for customs and formalities. Similarly, learning capacity of managers and the opportunities at their disposal may be different for different managers. For example, some managers may have high levels of motivation and enthusiasm for acquiring new skills or inherently better communication skills as compared to others. Some managers may have efficient superiors who may have excellent abilities to inspire and train others while other managers may not be as lucky in such matters and may not get sufficient opportunities and an environment conducive to grow in their job. It is therefore necessary for an organisation to evaluate the developmental requirements of managers on a case-to-case basis.
Importance of Management Development
Importance of management dewelopment is as follows:
- It enhances leadership qualities and problem-solving abilities of managers.
- It facilitates the development of those trainees who have a good grasp of the fundamental principles of management, possess the capability of working in a team, leading a team as well as coordinating the worker’s activities with time, familiar with resources and machinery to become an effective supervisor.
- It enhances the efficiency of supervisors in training and developing their workers, both old and new. This is done to make them competent to perform their present and future tasks to adapt according to the changing strategies and goals of the organisation.
- It promotes and maintains good relations between managers and labour by fostering better understanding of organisational rules and policies, including the collect interpretation and implementation of the collective bargaining agreements.
- It promotes and helps to maintain excellent employee relations by providing training with regard to interpersonal relationships, inspiring them to achieve better performance by understanding their strengths, weaknesses and personal characteristics, and by encouraging them to maintain proper attitude towards their work.
Limitations of Management Development
Though a company receives many benefits from these development processes but there are several drawbacks of administration development procedure. Some of its limitations are as under:
Lack of Top Management Support: Each and every function taking place in an organisation needs the guidance and supervision of the higher authority. Without the cooperation and coordination of higher authority, accomplishment of goals becomes a bit difficult. In simple words, it can be said that support of top management is essential for any development programme to become successful. There are two ways in which top management can help in making any development process successful. These are as follows:
- Taking initiatives to participate vigorously in any development plan Of the establishment.
- Creating a suitable atmosphere for the trainees during management development programme.
Refusal to Change: Change is the necessity of time. Thus, to attain the organisational objectives, the changes have to be accepted by all the employees. However, the things do not move so easily. There are very few competent employees who can simply adapt themselves according to the changes in the organisation. On the other hand, there may exist certain individuals who resist modifying themselves. But, for proper implementation of any growth programme and in order to improve the working style of the authority, these employees need to adjust as per the changing situations.
Miscommunication: Organisation’s vision about development must be clear to all the employees. For this, constant communication is required among the employees throughout the organisation. Any kind of miscommunication about the changes taking place in the company may adversely affect the positive outcome of the management development.
Lack of an Action Plan: Action plans are very essential for incorporating any kind of change in business. Without action plans, it is impossible for the organisation to move forward in the business process. Action plans give the right direction to the organisation on which they can successfully achieve their predefined objectives and meet the deadlines. Any flaws in the action plan can cost heavily to the organisation as well as to growth of its staff. Thus, frequent meetings can be conducted to oversee the progress of the action plan and opportunity should be given to the employees to express their ideas about the new developmental strategies.
Absence of Job Security: When an organisation is unable to provide a work security and steadiness to its employees, it Obviously lowers down the morale Of employees and hampers their smooth functioning, which in turn negatively affects the development of the management staff.
Frozen Supervisors: Sometimes, limited growth opportunities are available in the company which keep the managers frozen. It adversely affects the management development as their chances of getting promotion are very less. They feel as if they are fenced within their job responsibilities and are unable to get any enrichment in their working experience.
Social Inhibition: Absence of job security and less chances of promotion makes the employee stressful to think about other aspects of his life such as family, friends, career, future, etc., which in turn hinders his development.
Stressed Industrial Relations: Cordial industrial relations between the higher authorities and the employees are very crucial for the Overall development Of managers. Superiors do not get enough time to motivate their subordinates because of their busy schedule which may create a relation of fear in the employees, and hence their chances of growth naturally diminish. But, if the relation between the two is smooth and adjusting, it eventually creates a suitable environment for their mutual development. Therefore, if the managers are able to build cordial relations and give congenial environment to their subordinates, they can easily retain good and quality workers for a longer period of time.
