Management Development in the Irish Public Service

The old adage that management is “getting things done through other people” puts the emphasis quite rightly on the human resource aspect, but management also involves objectives, the acquisition and allocation of resources to achieve them, and the environmental constraints both within and outside the organisation. Management is carried out by a wide range of employees from the foreman to the chief executive; the significant differences in terms of development and training needs are those of emphasis and balance. “Getting things done” in this context means solving problems and resolving conflict created by the interplay of resources, objectives and environment in producing the required end product. The complexity of both problems and conflict, and the extent of authority to resolve them will increase as one moves upwards through the organisation.