MBA SEMESTER 1- MB0043 –Human Resource Management- Q2. Define Management Development. Discuss the Off the job development methods.

Management development is related to the development and growth of the employees in an organisation through a systematic process. This development is future-oriented and prepares managers for a career of valuable contribution to the organisation. It is concerned with the learning and development of the employees. It helps in the development of the intellectual, managerial and people management skills of managers. It trains managers to understand and analyse different situations, and to arrive at and implement the correct solutions.

Objectives of management development

The main objectives of management development programmes are:

·         Improving the performance of the managers.

·         Enabling the senior managers to have an overall perspective about the organisation and also equipping them with the necessary skills to handle various situations.

Off the job development methods

The different types of off the job development methods are:

(i) Simulation exercises: The popularly used simulation exercises are:

1. Case study: Case studies are prepared based on actual experience of the organisation. Trainees study, analyse and discuss the case, identify the hidden problem and try to get an appropriate solution.
2. Business games: In this method, the trainees are divided into different groups and teams. They play the roles of competing firms in a simulated market.
3. Role play: In this method, participants enact roles to solve problems that are common in real life. They react to the situation and to one another, in the same way as they would do in their managerial jobs.
4. Incidental method: This method aims to develop the intellectual ability, practical judgment and social awareness of the employees. Each employee is given a written incident which he analyses, identifies the problems and the probable causes and suggests a solution.
5. In basket method: This is a method of development that simulates the aspects of a manager’s job. The trainee receives documents similar to the items normally found in managers in basket, such as memos, letters, reports etc.

(ii) Sensitivity training: Sensitivity training or Laboratory training is a method which helps to change the behaviour through unstructured group interaction.

– Training groups (T-groups) that seek to change behaviour through unstructured group interaction.

– Provides increased awareness of others and self.

– Increases empathy with others, listening skills, openness, and tolerance for others.

(iii) Transactional analysis: This is a theory of personality development which provides an approach for defining and analysing the interaction between people. The basic theory behind transactional analysis is that an individual’s personality comprises three ego states, namely, the parent, the child and the adult ego states.

The parent ego state is characterised by a feeling of superiority and authority. A person in the parent ego state is dominating and authoritative.

The child ego state includes all those impulses that are common in an infant. A person in the child ego state is either obedient or manipulative, charming at one point of time and repulsive at another.

The adult ego state is objective and rational. In the adult state, actions such as processing of data, estimation of probabilities or alternatives and making decisions are done systematically and logically.

(iv) Conferences: A meeting of people to discuss a topic of common interest is referred to as a conference.

(v) Lectures: A lecture is the simplest technique of presenting and explaining a series of facts, principles and concepts.