Methods / Techniques 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. On-the-job Methods

A) 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

1. It is one-to-one interaction

2. It can be done at the convenience of CEO

3. It can be done on phone, meetings, through e-mails, chat

4. It provides an opportunity to receive feedback from an expert

5. 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 review.

B) 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:

• 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

• Identification of Knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) required

• It determines the areas where improvement is required

• Assessment of the employees who have the potential and caliber for filling the position

C) 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.

D) 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.

2. Off-the-job Methods

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

A) 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

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.

A series of questions usually appears at the end of the case study.

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.

The trainee then makes certain judgment and opines about the case by identifying and giving possible solutions to the problem.

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.

Once the individuals reach the solution of a problem, they meet in small groups to discuss the options, solutions generated.

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

B) 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 analyzing problems and by making trial and error method.

C) 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 made 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

D) 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

E) 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 behavioral 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.

  • Behavioral 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 behavior and giving each other feedback. The reasoning of the feedbacks are discussed which motivates trainees to experiment with range of new behaviors 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 behaviors and values at their work place.