The key to a successful organization is said to lie within a good manager. It is in fact the effectiveness of this manager and the qualities that they possess that are vital to the development and preservation of an efficient management system within a corporation. The question remains however, as to whether or not these good managers are born, if they possess qualities that will mould them into exceptional managers. Or are they made? Is it possible to develop and acquire the necessary skills to become the good manager a successful organization needs?
It is of importance that we define what a manager is before taking any steps further. According to Tripathi, (2008, p.2) “a manager is one ...view middle of the document...
Kouzes and Posner (2010, p.339) consider it a myth that the noti
on of leadership is reserved for those lucky enough to be born with it. Leadership is, “an observable set of skills and abilities” (Kouzes & Posner 2010, p.338).
Therefore the query still remains as to whether a good manager can be made; it may just be that a good manager must also be required to possess good leadership skills.
There are surely many corporations that still value the theory that: Good managers are born not made, however the common organizational failures that can be detected within many individual companies suggest that this theory is in fact flawed. Werner and DeSimone (2006, p.441) suggest that management development is a huge way to increase the effectiveness of managers within an organization. Werner and DeSimone (2006, p.441) make a strong point emphasizing that even though according to popular belief the ability to manage is an inborn capability, there is a contemporary view that the KSAOs (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics) which all work to develop an effective manager can be learned or acquired. Nonetheless, before touching on how companies can establish a new found understanding on developing effective management within an organization, the notion of management development must firstly be explained. Werner and DeSimone (2006, p.441) defined management development as:
“An organization's conscious effort to provide its managers (and potential managers) with opportunities to learn, grow, and change, in hopes of producing over the long term a cadre of managers with the skills necessary to function effectively in that organization.”
The definition above supports the notion that management development should be seen specific to a particular organization. This is due to the fact that each organization is unique and should aim to develop individuals into effective managers within the context of the particular organization. In addition, the entire idea behind management development is the fact that employees are granted the opportunity to learn, grow and improve. Therefore when you refer this back to the ability to further develop ones skills, according to Werner and DeSimone (2006, p.441) it assists managers in “learning how to learn.”
The authors also indicate that management development is made up of three components: (1) management education, (2) management training, and (3) on-the-job experiences (Werner &...
