HRM - Excel Books - Chapter 10

8/9/2019 HRM - Excel Books - Chapter 10

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EXECUTIVE

DEVELOPMENT

EXCEL

BOOKS

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10

Chapter


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ANNOTATED OUTLINE

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Executive Development

Introduction

The basic purpose of executive development is to improve managerial

performance by imparting knowledge, changing attitudes or increasing skills.

Training certainly helps in improving job-related skills but when the intent is to

enhance executives ability to handle diverse jobs and prepare them for

future challenges the focus must shift to executive development.


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Training vs. executive development

Training

Learn specific behaviours and

actions; demonstrate techniques

and processes.

Short term.

Tries to improve a specific skill

relating to a job (mostly technical

and mechanical).

Meet current requirements of a

job; aims at improving employee

performance on a currently held

job.

Performance appraisals, cost-benefit analysis, passing tests

or certification.

I tem

Focus

Time Frame

Process

Goal

Effectiveness

Measures

Development

Understand and interpret knowledge;

Develop judgement; Expand capacities

for varied assignments.

Long term.

Aims at improving the total personality

of an individual (largely analytical and

conceptual abilities).

Meet future challenges of the job and

the individual; aims at providing

learning opportunities designed to help

employees grow.

Qualified people available whenneeded, promotion from within

possible, HR-based competi t ive

advantage.


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Invaluable investment in the long run as it helps managers to acquire requisite

knowledge, skills and abilities needed to handle complex situations in business

Enables executives to realise their own career goals and aspirations

Helps executives to step into superior positions easily

Assists executives in enhancing their people-management skills,

taking a holistic view of various problems.

Importance of executivedevelopment



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Steps in the organisation of an

executive development programme


Executive DevelopmentProgrammes: Steps

Analysis of organisational development needs

Appraisal of present managerial capabilities

Inventory of executive talent(in terms of age, service, education, experience etc

Planning of individual development programmes

Devising appropriate development programmes

Evaluating results


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Methods/techniques

Various methods are employed to develop managerial skills and knowledge,

such as:

Methods of executive development


1. Decision-making skills

2. Interpersonal skills

3. Job knowledge (a) On-the-jobexperiences

(b) Coaching

(c) Understudy

4. Organisational knowledge (a) Job rotation(b) Multiple management

5. General knowledge (a) Special courses

(b) Special meetings

(c) Specific readings

6. Specific individual needs (a) Special projects

(b) Committee assignments

(a) In-basket

(b) Business game(c) Case study

(a) Role play(b) Sensitivity training(c) Behaviour Modelling


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In-basket: The trainee is asked to look into a number of papers such as

memoranda, reports, telephone messages that typically confront a

manager and respond appropriately.

+Trainees learn quickly, as they have to do everything within a time frame+Creates healthy competition between participants allows them to grow

-The method is somewhat academic and removed from real life situations.

-Participants rarely respond to such imaginary situations in an enthusiastic manner

Case-study: The participant is asked to take up a simulated businessproblem and take appropriate decisions.

Methods/techniques


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When the problem requires problem solving, thinking skills

The KSAs are complex and participants need time to master them

Active participation is required

The process of learning is as important as the content

Tem problem solving and interaction are possible.


When is a case study most appropriate?


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Merits and demerits of the case studymethod


Me rits

Imp ro v e s p ro b le m -s o lv in g s k i ll s o f p a r t i c ipa n ts .

T ra in e e s c a n a p p ly th e o ry to p ra c t i c a l p rob le m s a n d

le a rn q u ic k l y. I t is a wa y o f l e a rn in g b y d o in g .

T ra in e e s le a rn h o w o th e rs s o lv e a s i t u a t io n in th e i r

o w n u n i q u e w a y . T h e y g e t a f e e l o f h o w o t h e r s

w o r k a t a p r o b l e m a n d b e g i n t o a p p r e c i a t e e a c h

o ther s th ink ing .

Ca s e s tu d ie s c a n p ro v id e in te re s t in g d e b a te s a mo n g

t r a i n e e s , a s w e l l a s e x c e l l e n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r

i n d iv id u a ls to d e fe n d th e i r a n a ly ti c a l a n d ju d g e m e n ta l

abi l i t ies.

I f the case re f lec ts a rea l l i fe s i tua t ion , par t ic ipan ts

ta k e k e e n in te re s t a n d e x a m in e th e c ro s s -c u r re n ts

w i th a n o p e n a n d in q u is i ti v e m in d .

Demerits

Go o d c a s e s tu d ie s d o n o t o r ig in a te e a s i l y . Th e y a rec o s t l y a n d t i m e - c o n s u m i n g ( c o l l e c t d a t a , a n a l y s e ,re p o r t , s u mma r is e ) e x e rc i s e s .

Ex a m in in g h is to r i ca l e v id e n c e m a y fa i l to d e v e lo p th ea n a ly t ic a l a n d re a s o n in g a b i l it i es o f p a r t ic ip a n ts .

Cases , somet imes, a re no t su f f ic ien t ly rea l is t ic to be

u s e f u l .

Ca s e s ma y c o n ta in in fo rma t io n in a p p ro p r ia te to th ek in d s o f d e c is io n s th a t tr a in e e s wo u ld m a k e in a re a l s e t t i n g .

I n d i s c r i m i n a t e u s e o f c a s e s t u d i e s m a y n o t h e l p p a r t i c ip a n ts wh o a re n o t ma tu re e n o u g h to a n a ly s eand par t ic ipa te in d iscuss ions ac t ive ly .

A t r a i n e e w h o i s n o t s k i l l e d i n t h i s t e c h n i q u e c a nu n d e rm in e i t s u s e fu ln e s s .

T h e c a s e s t u d y m e t h o d h a v e l i t t l e o r n o t h i n g i nc o m m o n w i t h t h e t r a i n e e s w o r k p l a c e , w h i c h m a y l im i t i ts e f fec t iveness .


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Be clear about learning objectives and explore possible ways to realise theobjectives

Decide which objectives would be best served by the case method

Find out the available cases that might work or consider developing your own

Set up the activity including the case material, the room and the schedule

Observe the principles that guide effective group interactions

Provide an opportunity to all trainees to participate meaningfully and try to keep thegroups small.

Stop for process checks and get set to intervene when interactions go out of hand

Allow for different learning styles

Clarify the trainer's role as a facilitator

Bridge the gap between theory and practice


When using case studies


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Business games: It is a learning exercise representing a real-life

situation where trainees compete with each other to achieve specific

objectives.


Methods/techniques

Merits and demerits of the business

game method

Business games compress time; events that take

painfully long time are made to occur in a matter of

hours.

One can learn from mistakes, take a different course

of action by looking at the consequences and

improve performance.

They promote increased understanding

of complex relationships among organisational units.

They help trainees develop their problem solving

skills as well as to focus attention on planning rather

than just putting out fires.

Prompt feedback facilitates quick learning.

Difficult and expensive to develop and use good

business games.

They are often far removed from reality. In real life,

an executive may get unlimited chances to find his

way through the jungle, depending on his mental

make-up (instead of choosing from an imaginative

list of alternatives).

Participants may become so engrossed in pushing

others to the wall that they fail to grasp the

underlying management principles being taught.

Creativity may take a back seat when unorthodox

strategies advanced by innovative participants may

not find acceptance from others in the race.

M e r i t s D e m e r i t s


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Role play: This is a technique that requires the trainee to assume

different identities to learn how others feel under different circumstances

+ Participants develop interpersonal skills

+ They learn by doing things actually

+ The competitive environment compels participants to listen, observe, analyse and

improve their own performance by exploiting their potential fully

__lack of realism in this method comes in the way of enthusiastic participation

--not easy to duplicate the pressures and realities of actual decision making

--most trainees may not be very comfortable in role playing situations

Methods/techniques


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Trainers responsibilities in roleplaying situations

Ensure that members of a role playing group get along with eachother

Select and prepare the participants by introducing a specific situation

Ask participants to actually come out with potential characters

Realise that volunteers make better role players

Prepare observers by giving them specific tasks such as evaluation, feedback etc.

Guide the role play enactment over its bumps, since it is not scripted

Keep it short

Discuss the enactment and prepare bulleted points of what was learned


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Sensitivity training: This is a method of changing behaviour through

unstructured group interaction. (also known as T-group training, where T

stands for training)


Features of T-group training

T-Group consists of10-12 persons.

A leader acts as a catalyst and provides a free and open environment for

discussion

There is no specified agenda

Members express their ideas, feelings and thoughts freely and openly

The focus is on behaviour rather than on duties

The aim is to achieve behaviour effectiveness in transactions with one's

environment

Methods/techniques


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Benefits


Participants gain rich experience in getting along with people

The exclusive focus on each others' behaviour helps participants to

observe, analyse and then respond appropriately

Trainees can find out where they stand in comparison to others

The agenda less discussions encourages the participants to come out

more openly and share their opinions with others

The opportunity to take charge of the group is always inherently

present for the right candidate.


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Costs

Considerable time is wasted in agenda-less, direction-less discussions

T-group leaders may lack the skills to instil enthusiasm and confidence

in participants.

There is an immoral and unjustified invasion of privacy, based on falseassumptions about the nature of human relationships at work.

The interchange of opinions in an open manner may be punished by

superiors at a later stage, using some pretext or the other

T groups may actually destroy team learning and team spirit as they

encourage participants to be hostile without feeling guilty during

training.


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On the job experience: This is a kind of class room learning where

the trainee learns by actually doing things under the supervision of an

experienced supervisor. Such methods are highly useful for certain

groups like scientific and technical personnel

Behaviour modelling: This is an approach that demonstrates desiredbehaviour and gives trainees the chance to practice and role-play

those behaviours and receive feedback.

Coaching: This is a development activity in which a supervisor plays

an active role in imparting job knowledge and skills to the trainee. For

effective coaching, a healthy and open relationship must exist betweenemployees and their supervisors.

Methods/techniques


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+ Trainees learn quickly by actually doing a piece of work and obtain feedback

+Where the trainer and the trainee interact in an open manner, there is tremendous

scope for the trainee to grow by seeking clarifications continuously and rectifying

mistakes

__ A lot depends on the interpersonal skills of the supervisor---The learner, often, cannot develop much beyond the limits of his own supervisor


Merits and demerits of coaching


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Understudy: This is a development method wherein potential

managers are given the chance to temporarily relieve an

experienced manager of part of hi job and act as his substitute

during the period, giving him vital insights into the overall job

that would make him the automatic choice in the succession

process.

Job rotation: Moving a trainee from job to job so as to offer

cross training is called job rotation. The idea behind this is to

give managers the required diversified skills and a broader

outlook.

Multiple management: It is a system in which permanent

advisory committees of managers study problems of the

company (thereby gaining first hand experience of various

important aspects of business) and make recommendations to

higher management.

Methods/techniques


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Special courses, meetings, readings: In addition to the above,

managers could also benefit by attending workshops organised

by academic institutions, attending special meetings organised

by various government and voluntary organisations and by

reading specific articles relevant to their respective fields.

Special projects: In this method, a trainee is put on a project

closely related to the objectives of the department.

Committee assignment: In this method, an adhoc committee is

appointed to discuss, evaluate and offer suggestions relating to

an important aspect of business.

Conferences: A conference is a meeting of people to discuss a

subject of common interest. The participants exchange notes,

opinions and ideas on the subject in a systematic and planner

manner.

Methods/techniques


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Lectures: Lectures are formal presentations on a topic by an

experienced and knowledgeable person. The presentation is

generally supported by discussions, case studies, audio-visual

aids and film shows.

Group discussion: In this method, papers are presented bytwo or three trainees on a selected topic, followed by thought-

provoking discussions.

Programmed instruction: This is a learner-oriented

technique which presents subject matter to the trainees in

small sequential steps requiring frequent responses from the

trainee and immediately offering him of their accuracy or

otherwise.

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Methods/techniques


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Selection Of A Suitable Method

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While choosing a specific method, the following guidelines might be

kept in mind

Suitability of executive developmenttechniques

Technique Suitability

Job Rotation To develop diversified ski lls and broaden the outlook of an executive

Understudy To aid succession planning by developing the skills of juniors according to a pre-set plan

Multiple Management To assist managers in expanding their outlook and knowledge in various functional areas

Case Study To develop analytical, reasoning and problem-solving skills

Role Playing To translate theoretical knowledge into action plans and to promote good human relations

skills among trainees

Behaviour Modelling To teach inter-personnel and cognitive skillsIn-basket To promote situational judgement and social sensitivity

Business Games To develop smart thinking, quick reactions, initiative, organising and leadership skills

Sensitivity Training To promote self awareness and its impact on others

Conference To improve and expand knowledge, atti tudes and develop interpersonal skil ls

Lecture To impart conceptual knowledge to a large audience within a short span of time.

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HRM - Excel Books - Chapter 10