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The paper describes the results of an exploratory study of the application of programme management in six companies. A classification of programmes developed may help in understanding the differences between programmes and the managerial impact of these differences. The research shows that the formalised and rigorous approach as described in most programme management handbooks is not widely adopted. The cases show less centralisation, less formalisation and less management of the interdependencies between the projects in the programme than one would expect on the basis of the programme management literature. This is especially the case in programmes that originate as a grouping of a set of existing projects. Yet, formalisation is mentioned as the main success factor in managing programmes.

Discusses the impact of a self‐governing hospital trust’s accredited management development programme designed for health‐care professionals responsible for managing natural clinical groups. The programme was a dual qualification: a level 5 national vocational qualification in management, and a diploma in management. Identifies key issues resulting from this type of programme. Discusses participants’ evaluation of the two different formats for management development. Highlights the reservations of health‐care professionals in respect of competence‐based management development, particularly regarding assessment of their work performance. Recognizes that when a group of senior health‐care professionals are involved in a long‐term in‐house management development programme, they may be perceived as a threat by senior management. Concludes that health‐care professionals will only engage proactively with management development activities which they perceive to have value for them.

Management development is a widely recognised strategy for improving an organisation's effectiveness. Large amounts are spent to develop effective managers but few studies show these training programmes lead to improved organisational performance. The result is wasted time and money and the possibility of creating or reinforcing negative attitudes to management development. A four‐step process is suggested to minimise the possibility of conducting unnecessary or cost‐ineffective development programmes. It includes linking programmes to business plans, validating programme content, making programmes responsive to individual needs and encouraging the transfer of training. Each of these areas is discussed.

Despite their fairly widespread use among large companies, little information is available to those interested in designing, managing, or evaluating high‐potential (fast‐track) management development programmes. In an attempt to fill this void, three sources of programme ineffectiveness are examined: participants′ dissatisfaction, the negative attitudes of non‐participants, and cultural misfit. Also examines ten ineffectiveness‐avoiding lessons for programme design and implementation learned during an in‐depth assessment of one company′s formalized, entry‐level high‐potential management development programme

Posits that every enterprise must institutionalize its workplace learning systems and opportunities in such a way that it radiates what it has already achieved and from this moves on to realize its full potential – in short, the enterprise itself is the key. Examines in successive chapters: the individual manager and questioning insights (Q); the major systems which the enterprise uses to capture and structure its learning; a SWOT analysis of the enterprise′s total learning; action learning, its contribution to the achievement of enterprise growth, and the role of programmed knowledge (P); the Enterprise School of Management (ESM) as a phoenix of enlightenment and effectiveness rising from the ashes of traditional, less effective management training initiatives; and, finally, the practical realization of the action learning dream, as evidenced by emerging examples of successful and profitable implementation worldwide. Concludes with a selection of pertinent abstracts.

BUSINESS SCHOOL GRAFFITI is a highly personal and revealing account of the first ten years (1965–1975) at Britain’s University Business Schools. The progress achieved is documented in a whimsical fashion that makes it highly readable. Gordon Wills has been on the inside throughout the decade and has played a leading role in two of the major Schools. Rather than presuming to present anything as pompous as a complete history of what has happened, he recalls his reactions to problems, issues and events as they confronted him and his colleagues. Lord Franks lit a fuse which set a score of Universities and even more Polytechnics alight. There was to be a bold attempt to produce the management talent that the pundits of the mid‐sixties so clearly felt was needed. Buildings, books, teachers who could teach it all, and students to listen and learn were all required for the boom to happen. The decade saw great progress, but also a rapid decline in the relevancy ethic. It saw a rapid withering of interest by many businessmen more accustomed to and certainly desirous of quick results. University Vice Chancellors, theologians and engineers all had to learn to live with the new and often wealthier if less scholarly faculty members who arrived on campus. The Research Councils had to decide how much cake to allow the Business Schools to eat. Most importantly, the author describes the process of search he went through as an individual in evolving a definition of his own subject and how it can best be forwarded in a University environment. It was a process that carried him from Technical College student in Slough to a position as one of the authorities on his subject today.

Since 1983, the School of Business Administration, the University of Western Ontario, has been offering an annual two‐week management development programme in Kenya. The programme is described — how it began, why it was done, details of the classes and course contents. The problem of management transferrability is discussed, followed by what has been learned from the experience.

In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.

The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains features to help the reader to retrieve relevant literature from MCB University Press' considerable output. Each entry within has been indexed according to author(s) and the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus. The latter thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid retrieval. Each article or book is assigned its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. This Volume indexes 29 journals indicating the depth, coverage and expansion of MCB's portfolio.

There has been a surge in interest in public management development in the 1980s. Countries that had no management development programmes introduced new ones, while countries already having such programmes made far‐reaching changes to them. Initiatives have been costly precisely at a time when most governments have had to exercise restraint in their spending. Suggests that governments should have in place rigorous evaluation plans to assess if the programmes are successful. Reviews the evaluation efforts of several countries in public management development programmes. The study reveals that the evaluation record is spotty with the evaluation efforts of some countries, notably the United Kingdom, showing promise. In addition, points to several suggestions for governments to strengthen their capacity to assess the impact of their management development programmes. Concludes by arguing that governments tend to bias their evaluation of management development efforts and the results when they initially identify what ought to be evaluated and how.