Managing for Development

Citation

Line, M.B. (2000), "Managing for Development", The Electronic Library, Vol. 18 No. 6, pp. 448-469. https://doi.org/10.1108/el.2000.18.6.448.2

In common with other books by the Lifeskills International team, this uses what it calls an “open learning format, in which readers are afforded a variety of opportunities to interact with the text material”. This involves the carrying out of a number of exercises, which are an essential part of the book.

Its contents are much what one would expect, but the structure and balance are not. The first chapter, “People development – it comes with the territory”, occupies less than a fifth of the book, the bulk of which is made up by the two other chapters, “Conducting a development interview” and “Manager as coach”. Staff development is defined as “any effort to support employees in increasing their competencies and growing in their jobs”. “Remedial” and “purely developmental” staff development are both covered. What is only hinted at – and this to me limits the value of the book – is the question whether the aim should be restricted to development in the organisation or extended to personal development, which may lead the person developed either to gain more satisfaction and perform better where they are or to seek work elsewhere. Longer‐term organisational self‐interest may well encourage the maverick to express his/her personality more fully, on the grounds that radically new ideas and approaches may be worth the disruption they are not unlikely to cause.

“The developmental review”, says the Preface, “is offered … as the foundation component of staff development for organizations; that foundation, in turn, is seen as a collaboration between managers and staff members”. This looks like an excessively structured approach to staff development, which is seen by most people (including me) as a continuing process, to be kept under constant review, with occasional formal interviews. That said, the topic is well covered, from the angle of the developed as well as the developer.

The third chapter is directed almost entirely at the manager. Most of what it says is obvious enough: the value lies in the presentation and exercises, which force reluctant (or overburdened) managers to think about what they are doing to develop staff and how they can do it better.

This book is useful mainly because of its “open learning” style, but a recognition that not everything is reducible to this style would have been welcome. If the limitations noted above are considered acceptable, managers may well find it worth getting – which means buying and using; it is not a book for libraries, unless they are prepared to have it scribbled on.