Section One
More systematic approaches toward in-house and off-site
management development programs have been recommended
by human resource practitioners and scholars. In some
organizations, such approaches are evident. From the author’s
personal observations of in-house programs for project
managers in large banks and insurance companies, several
companies are taking an investment perspective in systematic
developmental approaches. Such programs involve high-level
management in the analysis of the skills needed and in pilot
tests of program content. They are also conducted on a
continuous basis, as opposed to one-shot training sessions.
They also utilize customized cases and materials, involve
participants in exercises in which skills are developed and
practiced, provide exercises in which participants apply
program content to real problems that they currently have, and
communicate either implicitly or explicitly that the managers
are of critical importance to the organization.
Although these positive trends have been observed, a
continuing problem exists. Management training is still an early
casualty of budget cuts when companies encounter economic
downturns. Unfortunately, in many organizations, management
development is given a low priority and is viewed more as an
avoidable cost rather than an investment. Where management
development has to be “sold,” it is important to build in several
of the components just noted to include specification of the