Introduction
Management development is the practice by which managers or company administrators gain the knowledge of improving their proficiency not only to profit themselves but also for good of the organization as a whole.
The skills acquired from management development is the key word here, they determine the life line and prosperity of any business. For any business to be successful it needs to have good managers who have experience and skills that can enable it together with its employees attain the goals set forth. (Sui-Pheng & Khoo, 2001 p.105-111)
A Human resource manager has a duty to mobilize the resources available and identify opportunities available and invest the available resources thus bring a positive change to the business.
One is also entitled to identify the threats that are in the market that can hinder the business from achieving its goals whereby after noting the opportunities and threat in the market and the solution to threats, he then puts the resources available and the capacity into use. (Brayden, Teppo &Whetten 2010, 1-20)
Linking Corporate and human resource strategies
Management development has a direct impact on the corporate strategy adopted by an organization to ensure it gains a competition advantage. In any business, competition is healthy as it encourages businesses to set strategies that will enable them survive the race. There are several things that the management of every business must put into consideration for its smooth running in the market. (Drath, 2001, p.144)
The management must always ensure that they have set their strategies in a manner that will enable them overcome all the obstacles that they might meet in the process of doing their daily duties.
As a manager, one must be in a position to think ahead and see beyond what is happening at that particular time, meaning that a manager must be able to forecast and budget. The following model explains how the management has to plan the running process of a business and ensure that it’s in a position to stand on its own, survive the threats and yield profits.
Threats
Figure I: Illustration derived from Herold & Fields (2004, 91)
A business has several threats, which include political, technological, and economical issues. State affairs can interfere with the way business operates through subsidies, increase or reduction of taxes.
Technology can also affect business especially when new technologies have come up, which improves efficiency and increases production but one cannot change into them automatically hence affecting their business. We also have economical Change which can be caused by lack of raw materials and change in demand. (Hersey, Blanchard, & Johnson, 2007, p.71-75)
To overcome the threats a business must have its strategies which include the following;
- Cutting cost –this involves reducing expenses to reduce the amount. Spent from the business to avoid losses this can be due to change of technology or even political.
- Diversity- a company also decides to work with a range of products so as to survive the threats.
- Should they expand – to cub the challenges the business may decide to expand to increase its profit base hence they are not affected much.
While the company is still debating on basic causes of action, the vital points one has to consider is to making business more stable from those threats by recruiting employees who are qualified, hence one has to select the team carefully, train them well to ensure they suit for the positions that they are being recruit for.
They need to organize themselves and be equipped with crucial information to avoid setbacks. (Hogan & Kaiser, 2005, p.17-23)
The company also needs to know its strengths and weaknesses so that incase a problem arises; they will know how to go about solving the problem and also make use of available opportunities. Company must always know its strong holds and work on how to solve its weakness and in turn it will improve the organizations performance. (Hyatt, 2010, p.54)
Role and responsibility of management
Management’s roles and responsibilities continue to evolve over time from personnel management to human resource hence gaining momentum as human capital management. There are evolutionary changes which are driven by multitude of factors both internal and external of the organization.
Emphases today are on creating values by enhancing human competences. Since leaders establish visions, develop strategic intents and imperatives, they need to be informed, flexible and prepare for challenges ahead.
Management development issues
Management development focuses on basics, functional skills or specific business issues. It also involves development of targets at specific business issues which is increasingly important, what matters is the speed of response of the management and the ability to meet business needs.
Recent changes have demanded a more strategic perspective from those who lead and manage organizations, placing increased pressure on employees to be more productive, innovative and change orientated. This has impulse the look for a more inclusive approach for man power development.
Forms of management
- Individual or collective: Here, management is exercised on an individual basis, which means one cannot consult anyone because they are working as an individual and is liable to decisions made within the business but on a collective basis, they have to discuss and come up with solutions or suggestions. It has several people on the management board therefore, they need to consult each other and come up with the best solution. (Koontz & Weihrich, 2009, 255-260).
- Internal or external: This is where management can be done internally by those involved, this is where the managers within the business undertake full decisions without outside consultation and must work together to solve the situation at hand but sometimes they can seek external help when need be hence external management. In some occasions one can also find that the business is externally managed.
- Mandatory or voluntary: There can also be a mandatory management whereby it is there duty to take full responsibility of day to day running of the business. Voluntary is where one volunteers to something though it is not a duty assigned to him but it is something he/she can do well.
- Central or devolved: This is where either management is done at a central place, thus there is a central place where all decisions are made as compared to devolved one.
Merits of management
The human resource manager has various roles that he must undertake which are important to the business, they include:
Identification of what certain employee is good at. He has to place every worker in a position that they are good at in order to promote efficiency, quick production and a healthy working environment also make work easier since one does what he is best at hence enjoys doing it. This is only achieved through offering some training to the staff to identify their strength and Weakness.
Ensure that employee’s innovation is taken into consideration because, businesses needs new Ideas and those from organization employees can be very important and can increase organizations profitability hence a manager should encourage innovation from his employees.
In managerial position, one has to train their workers for them to be efficient in their work and also to enable them adjust to business life-cycle with ease. This also enables smooth running of the business.
Managing business activities missions and while ensuring achievement of goals are all duties of a manager. The vision of the business sets an important pace at which the business aims at achieving hence meeting new demands in the market, a business must always have a mission and a vision.
The learning climate also needs to be set within the working environment so as to provide opportunities to employees interested in learning new things which in turn can help the company in future incase of changes in the business environment.
The manager also needs to identify the market needs and demands in order to determine what to produce, therefore he must have the knowhow of what is needed most in the market, produce it and make the sales.
The manager should be fully informed by mainly communicating with people and more so, his employees to enable him know what happens both within and outside the business (Jung & Avolio 2000, 32-34).
Drawbacks
Although human management is important to all businesses, sometimes this might bring problems or issues that can bring some setbacks:
- It is the administration that provides information of which one must follow and sometimes one finds that this information is not very good for the business but because it is the decision of the top management it is implemented;
- In some occasions you find that the managers are only told what to do but they are not involved in the decision. The top management of the business may decide to implement something into the business and you find that you are not even informed you are only told to implement it;
- Sometimes you also ask for opinions from elsewhere and get feedback which at times sounds good but in the long run u regret ever using it;
- The manager becomes fully involved in the process and sometimes their decisions may not be the best. This becomes a problem when you are not sure if what u want to done and you are not in a position to ask.
Implication and Importance of management
In organizational development, the effectiveness of management is one of the determinants of any business success. Hence, investing in managing function can have a direct financial impact to the firm because managers are exposed to learning opportunities whilst doing their jobs. In-house management development programs give employees the chance to utilize special leadership skills that may possess.
Hence, the staff will positively bring an improved outlook to management as they will be acquainted to the functioning of the organization in all the activities, as against the managerial capacity that is tapped in from the market. This casual learning process if formally applied then it is known as management development.
Management development has to be an integral part in developing the strategy of a business, because it enhances the learner the capacity to manage and organize the resources available and the staff so as to achieve it objectives. Basically, management involves planning, organizing, leading and coordinating resources.
Most people are promoted to a managerial level because they are good at their jobs but not necessarily because they are good managers, therefore to develop a business and ensure that it prospers a lot of training needs to be undertaken. (Jung & Avolio 2000, 77)
Budgeting is another important function of a manager, for one to set up a business and deliver, that is, it can take care of all the expenses, pay employees and buy materials necessary for production. A manager must be in a position to balance all this and still be within the budget.
Business involves staff members; they are the most important in prosperity of a business. They need a good manager who has Skills that can bring them together and work as a team this in turn enables the business to run smoothly and goals set are easily achieved. The manager plays figurehead role.
All managers must undertake some roles of a ceremonial nature. A manager always has to set an example as the head that attracts and encourages the client to want to associate with them. These functions are essential to the smooth running of a firm.
The leadership roles must also be enacted by the manager, this is leading directly. For instance the manager has the responsibility for recruiting and teaching his own employees. The leadership role covers mutual engagements with subordinates, including motivating them to work, encouraging communication and influencing them positively (Koontz & Weihrich 2009, 216).
The liaison role encompasses the manager making contacts within and outside the firm with various partners and affiliates, such as employees, customers, business affiliates and governmental bodies among other stakeholders. The connection process is important because it determines the final outcome of the business, if well done can promote production and smooth sell of products.
Managerial communication skills are important since the manager is the middle figure bridging the top management and the teams that are under his supervision. The manager ensures that communication channels run smoothly and relayed properly to avoid misunderstandings and maybe conflicts in the organization.
Hence, it is necessary for a manager to develop his/her negotiating and client service skills, particularly in cases where one deals with customers directly. In addition, manager should be a good planner. For one to attain long-term objectives and obligate to plans for significant earnings, there should be clear communication of the visions of the organization to various stakeholders.
The manager breaks down and clarifies the goals that each team should achieve, that involves learning and planning out ways on how to enhance quality and at the same time take into consideration of the costs. Setting objectives and the commands allow for effectual time management and savings on costs and resources (Jones 2010, 43-45).
A manager needs to be a good appraiser. One should have the ability to ascertain and study a strategy or a plan and make a decision on the best alternative aiming to achieve a certain result. So the appraiser looks at the significance, quality and worth before settling the most viable choice.
One also needs to follow the progress of all the subordinates’ activities and efficiency, evaluate them and give response and advice wherever there is need; this will always increase efficiency since one can tell what one is good in hence assign each employee duties according to what they do best (enhance specialization and division of labor).
The manager should be able to provide satisfaction to his employees. Employees are happy when they are given with the essential production means and resources and feel more secure if the management emphasizes on their physical condition, protection, hygiene and providing a conducive working environment.
This increases the efficiency of the workers because they are more comfortable and happy at work and serve the clients better by providing quality services and paying attention to their demands.
Management development is a “subject commanding intense interest from organizations serious about the personal development of their staff, and the ways, which they can maximize their potential. If one is informed of new research and in-company practice, one are better placed to make appropriate decisions about the introduction of new techniques in your own organization” (Hyatt 2010, 241).
The decisions made in a business can either destroy or make the business so whoever makes them must be well informed and must have done some research and is sure of the outcome before putting it into practice.
Management development is a necessary process for any business with immediate returns on the company. It involves establishment of a strong team of person who are obligated to the development and improvement of the business, however, the team needs inspiration from the managers.
In the long-run, this leads to enhanced competence and productivity as the managerial capacity in the organization becomes stronger because of good team building by the management. Management development involves nurturing of skills such as strategizing, putting things in order, managing and mobilizing resources. Also all the employees should be able to organize their work and direct their career paths.
Satisfied and self-driven employees can acquire experience and other gains for their organization by putting in place sound management development programs. Management development is important in any organization and organizations should be encouraged to implement it.
References
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Drath, W. H., 2001. The deep blue sea: Rethinking the source of leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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Hersey, P., Blanchard, K. H, and Johnson, D. E., 2007. Management of Organizational Behavior: Leading Human Resources. New York, NY: Prentice Hall.
Hogan, R., and Kaiser, R. B., 2005. “What we know about leadership.” Review of General Psychology, 9(2), 169-180.
Hyatt, K., 2010.” The influence of the leadership practice “challenging the process” on perceived organizational support.” Proceedings of ASBBS 17(1), 351-361.
Jones, G., 2010. Organizational theory, design, and change. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Jung, D. I. and Avolio, B. J., 2000. “Opening the black box: an experimental investigation of the mediating effects of trust and value congruence on transformational and transactional leadership.” Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21(8), 949-964.
Koontz, H. & Weihrich, H., 2009. Essence of Management an International Perspective. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill.
Sui-Pheng, L. and Khoo, S.D. 2001. “Team performance management: enhancement through Japanese 5-S principles.” Team Performance Management: An International Journal, Vol. 7 No. 7-8, pp. 105-11.