Management Development Works: The Evidence
Extracts from:-
The Chartered Management Institute’s Executive Summary:
Achieving Management Excellence
Research Series 1996-2005
Prepared by Dr Chris Mabey
“Foreword
This research project, the third of its kind, produces results that provide further evidence of the actual and perceived value of management development, as well as reassurances of the beneficial evolution of the formal and informal techniques and processes being adopted by organisations.
Professor Leo Murray CCMI
Chair, Research Advisory Panel”
“Introduction
This study includes measures of impact, including organisational commitment, performance and productivity, and provides evidence showing how strategically driven Management and Leadership Development, implemented over time, makes a significant difference.
These new findings are key in that they show:
- How sustained management and leadership development can improve organisational performance
- The need for MLD to be driven strategically if competitive advantages are to be realised through improved people management
- Growing demand for development activities that improve people skills and change-management capabilities”
“Key Findings: The Evidence
- How can investment in MLD improve organisational performance?
In summary, this report provides new evidence demonstrating how management and leadership development works when it is:
- A clear organisational priority with employers taking responsibility
- Linked to business strategy with established processes and frameworks
- Designed to build relevant competence and behaviours
- Focused on long-term tenure of employees
- Linking MLD to business strategy makes a difference
“There has been a significant shift in terms of the priority given to MLD, specifically towards the employer, as against the individual, taking responsibility for MLD.
Moreover, the evidence reveals that the greatest benefits of MLD are in fact derived when this is the case, as development activities are more likely to be implemented in a coherent and strategic way to support and achieve the overall business goals.”
“Employers are taking on far more responsibility for management training and development now than they were in the past. When it comes to implementing MLD, senior involvement has steadily increased since 1996. In 2004, 57 per cent of organisations claim that central HR/Personnel are responsible for implementing MLD policy and 24 per cent claim that their CEO, the Board or a single director are responsible.”
- In Demand: people skills and change management
“The skills that organisations are most concerned to develop are those associated with people management, leadership, customer care and motivation/teamwork.
A clear trend also emerges in those skills that employers will be developing for the future: the ability to manage change and manage risk will be key for managers in the coming years.”
- Most effective forms of development
“Over half of HR managers rate training courses as the most effective form of development”
“There also appears to be a significant trend towards active talent management, with a focus on selecting and developing a strong management cadre, through fast-tracking and career planning. This appears to be paying off in terms of the longer tenure of those managers.”
Research Context
“The UK is now predominantly a service and knowledge-based economy and it is predicted that managerial and professional occupations will continue to grow in importance over the next decade. We rely heavily on our managers to sustain our place as one of the world’s leading economies: Michael Porter’s study into UK Competitiveness (2003) concluded that “As part of the overall efforts to upgrade UK competitiveness, there is a clear role for management. UK Managers need to reorient company strategies towards a greater level of innovation and the provision of higher value goods and services”.
“The Department of Trade and Industry’s Innovation Review (2003) also recognised that the ability of companies to innovate and deliver high value products and services critically depends on a high level of management skills.”
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