The purpose of this article is to discuss relatively recent approaches to describing the nature of managerial work and identify the skills needed for successful managers and the implications of such research for the development of managers.

Early post‐war business schools in the major English‐speaking countries were, by present standards, generally “inelegant”, their function being very much directed towards training. They were staffed by people who, whilst often strong on practice, were frequently not particularly well...

This paper examines how management promotion decisions are made in a large organisation, drawing upon interview and survey data and the results of a decision‐making simulation completed by managers at three organisational levels. The findings describe the relationship between elements of...

This paper outlines a programme of concept development, research and application on the career motivation of young managers. An assessment centre was used to evaluate dimensions of career motivation. The results were corroborated by other research data and suggested the need for considering...

A key feature of management development is the policies and practices adopted by organisations. As part of a series we have invited executives accountable for introducing management development policies to outline their approach. Barry Smith of Mobil Oil starts the series.

This article examines some key principles underlying the design of development programmes and provides some examples of the principles in practice.

Management development in the US has now reached its most critical stage in the past three decades. As we are presently emerging from a nation‐wide recession, which has left in its wake disemployed white and blue collar workers on all organisational levels, a depletion of management resources...

People in many walks of life are becoming increasingly aware that the environment in which they work and live is turbulent. The days of certainty and predictability seem to have vanished. Things happen which significantly affect us but over which we appear to have little or no control: things...

Faced with the conflict between decreasing productivity and a disenchanted labour market, what opportunities does management have to rebuild a healthy work environment? One solution lies in the ability of management to stimulate work behaviour to meet productivity demands and reward desired...

As Japanese firms become more involved in foreign operations, they need more personnel skilled in international business. Firms try to obtain such skilled personnel mainly by sending their employees to the United States for MBA degrees. Foreign‐trained Japanese businessmen are currently...