HRD3702 – Management of Training and Development
TOPIC 2: WORKBOOK 5: Developing managers and the HRD capabilities.
3. The concept of Management Development
An SHRD manager should not only empower all other managers to apply these functions, but also offer complete
management development to them. What an HRD department offers to the rest of the organisation should be aimed at
equipping managers with the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to manage their subordinates, to develop strategies and
to achieve organisational goals successfully - in other words, to improve performance, productivity and the achievement
of goals.
Modern society is characterised by continuous change, specifically in those areas that affect the management of
enterprises, namely technology, workforce change, economic and political change. To proceed one must;
1. The difference between management and leadership must first be identified,
2. the characteristics of a leader should be established.
3. the tasks need to be identified that leaders need to execute, and fourth,
4. relevant management development methods need to be determined to help managers meet the
challenges of their job, which includes change management to further improve their performance as well.
Management development should be aimed at helping to prepare and equip managers to perform the following activities in
an organisation:
• managing subordinates in an attempt to achieve organisational goals:
• developing critical and conceptual skills
• developing organisational strategies
• managing change and constantly monitoring changes in the business world and environments related to the
enterprise.
4. Characteristics of Management Development
4.1 – The characteristics and tasks of managers as leaders
Terms leader and manager are often used interchangeably in everyday conversation. There is, however, a clear
distinction between the two.
Leader does not replace manager.
Management is about coping with complexity. Its practices and procedures are largely a response to one of the
most significant developments of the 20th century, namely the emergence of large enterprises. Without
good management, complex enterprises tend to become chaotic in ways that threaten their very existence.
Good management brings a degree of order and consistency to key dimensions like the quality and profitability
of products, but it is rather focused on the static and maintaining equilibrium of issues in an enterprise.
• Management deals with the implementation of the vision
Leadership is about coping with change. Part of the reason is that the world has become more competitive and
more volatile – therefore organisations have to react speedily to change. If the change is not addressed properly
by the managers, it would lead to chaos and ultimately the demise of an enterprise. Taking it one step further,
sustainable leadership should also be pursued in the modern-day context.
• Leadership in particular focuses on vision, strategic development and initiative
Leadership can be defined as ‘the process whereby one individual influence other to willingly and
enthusiastically direct their efforts and abilities towards attaining defined group or enterprise goals’. This
definition suggests that leadership involves the exercise of influence and not coercion. The leader attempts to
change the attitudes and actions of people that are not related to the enterprise’s goals. The difference between
the two concepts is illustrated in.
CRITERIA LEADERSHIP MANAGEMENT
Change Provide a vision and initiate change Implement changes as suggested by
leader
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, HRD3702 – Management of Training and Development
People Inspire and develop Control
Power derived from Ability to influence others Authority
Task Do the right things Do things right
Commitment to goal Passionate Impersonal
Source: Nel et al. (2017)
4.1.1 – Identification of the characteristics of leaders and managers
Several well-known characteristics of leaders have been identified over time:
Leaders have the ability to create a vision and excite people to achieve the impossible.
Great leaders have an external energy and an inner strength to face challenges through tough times.
Leaders have a mental agility that enables them to make effective decisions much faster than most other
people.
Leaders allow their team members to grow and carry out tasks without interruption. They relinquish
power to others.
Leaders have the ability to tap into people’s souls. They are emotionally intelligent and enhance people’s
confidence by understanding and dealing appropriately with their emotions and concerns.
Leadership reflects the ability to adapt one’s style to the needs of the situation and people.
Various desirable characteristics of contemporary leaders have been identified:
Leaders are highly capable to create and communicate visions of the organisation to the employees by
becoming future-focused leaders. They are able to foster inspiration to staff through creativity and
innovation in leadership, which would excite employees into achieving the targets with passion on behalf
of the organisation.
Leaders are passionate about values and culture by focusing on positive values rather than solely on
task completion.
Leaders possess open channels of communication and are willing to listen to verbal and non-verbal
information from the employees.
Leaders are able to build trust relationships with employees and are willing to move beyond the status
quo.
Being ethical in the business of business as leaders and managers is also critical in the contemporary
business world, since a series of global occurrences which have highlighted the focus on ethical
leadership.
Characteristics of leaders who are admired worldwide are:
honest, fair-minded, straightforward, imaginative, ambitious,
forward-looking, supportive, dependable, caring, loyal,
inspiring, broad-minded, courageous, determined, self-controlled
competent, intelligent, cooperative, mature, independent
The role of managers as leaders also entails keeping up with change. Change, however, entails transformation
and therefore much emphasis is currently placed on the role of managers as leaders who are capable of
exercising the transformation activities of the enterprises to keep up with the competitive world.
Management can be defined as ‘the planning, organising, leading and controlling of resources to achieve
organisational goals effectively and efficiently’. Management therefore revolves around the execution of things
that need to be done by people in enterprises to ensure success and a sustainable satisfaction of societal
needs.
Managers play three distinctive roles in enterprises as leaders, namely interpersonal, informational and
decision-making roles.
➢ Interpersonal roles include being a figurehead, leader and liaison,
➢ Informational roles include being a monitor, disseminator and spokesperson, and
➢ Decision-making roles include being an entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator and
negotiator.
INTERPERSONAL ROLE INFORMATIONAL ROLE DECISION-MAKING ROLE
Being a: Being a: Being a/n:
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