Strategic Human Resource Management

Section Four

An important insight into these assignments is provided in the
following description:

While expertise-oriented managers are the

bedrock of any organization, they succumb to

Peter Principle traps when in leadership positions

... But if one moves a manager who is thought
to have leadership potential to another area of
expertise, that person is obligated to develop
leadership skills in delivering results through
people who have more expertise. The duration of
this cross-functional job should be at least 3–4
years (contrary to the practice of many firms)—
otherwise people will only develop skills in
starting things off, not in implementation and
execution.^83

A good description of management training practices is
provided by a study that surveyed training practices for
managerial personnel in 611 companies having at least 1,000
employees. Although systematic assessment of formal training
would seem prudent, the study found that only 27 percent of
the responding companies reported having needs assessment
procedures. However, needs assessment and company size
were significantly correlated as larger companies are more
likely to have needs assessment procedures. A number of other