Management development in a complex organisation

Abstract

Human resource development is an important function contributing to a country’s growth potential. During periods of transformation, organisations are in particular need of an adequate supply of leaders and managers. In order to ensure the constant supply of qualified and experienced individuals with leadership and management skills, organisations design their own development interventions to suit their needs. A complex organisation prescribes specific characteristics that management development should facilitate. A complex organisation balances chaos and order by providing a vision that the manager is capable of exemplifying and communicating to all subordinates. This places an emphasis on the type of manager that would be required. This paper will focus on the planning, selection and evaluation of management development. The assumption is made that selecting the appropriate candidate for management development will sustain a complex organisation. Management development should take place based on the principle of formalised selection, which not only contributes to a more objective evaluation of development programmes, but also will ensure appropriate placement of employees in critical managerial and leadership positions. The paper will investigate the applicability of the proposed policy framework for management development, while focusing on the applicability of formal selection methodologies to ensure a sustainable pool of managers.