Management Development Review: Volume 10 Issue 4
Table of contents
Leadership : is … something to be shared by everyone
How can workers best be encouraged to give their energy and commitment to the company? In the 1980s, performance‐related pay was favoured. Rejects that approach and emphasizes the…
Unleasing the power within
Whether in sport or in business, everyone is capable of achieving more than they do at present, regardless of their education or current successes and achievements. That is the…
The power of leadership: a view from the arts
Benjamin Zander, founder and conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, made a significant discovery when he realized that the conductor of an orchestra does not make a…
Machiavelli, Mother Theresa and the concept of empowerment
Debates whether male and female managers adopt different leadership styles. If so, asks do the differences reflect how the two sexes interpret the idea of empowerment?
Wielding the axe … creatively
Making people redundant has become a way of life for many multinationals over the past decade. In a quest for efficiency, firms have been laying off thousands of employees ‐ and…
Making the most of mentoring
Increasing numbers of companies are introducing formal mentoring programmes. Examines how five firms ‐ Hallmark Cards, Texaco Trading and Transportation, Imperial Oil Ltd, Shell…
Carry on coaching?
Executives have for years used management consultants to help with day‐to‐day business decisions, but frequently lack people to turn to who could help with the daily challenges of…
Learning styles and mentoring
Most managers and professionals learn most of the time through their real work experiences. Seeks to identify what can and should happen when a mentor and learner look together at…
Deskilling: myth and reality
The idea that companies should provide their employees with less training, not more, is about as fashionable as the beehive hairstyle. Explores the link between training and a…
Turning human imperfections into productivity gains
The flawed hero is a staple of literature, and a fact of life for companies across the world. Yet companies and management systems rarely cater for anything other than a perfect…
Welcome to the office “hotel”
Office “hotelling”, which involves itinerant members of staff sharing workstations, can help companies to save on office space. But extensive planning and finely tuned booking…
The failure of participatory management
Bureaucracy has reached its limits. The simplicity and power of top‐down, rule‐based administration created competitive advantage in the past, but blocks the responsiveness and…
New developments in customer service training
Customer service representatives are no longer perceived as secretaries or telephone operators, nor considered as mere support staff for personnel working in the field. Rather…
How to make early retirement work
The last 15 years have seen a large fall in the number of older workers remaining in jobs in Europe and the USA. Much of the drop has been because of early retirement. Governments…
The business of asking the boss
Have you ever considered the mental processes which a diligent employee goes through before asking for a pay rise, a promotion or extra responsibilities? Examines workplace issues…