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‘Demand for “good graduates” will remain highly competitive. The most successful recruiters will be those from financially strong organizations with stable recruitment records and a good training and development policy.’ Such is one informed forecast of the likely trend in graduate recruitment between 1976 and 1980. Much research has been carried out and written up on the topic of graduate recruits' attitudes both towards choosing an employer and towards their first years of employment. The conclusions reached consistently focus on the importance of the employer's reputation and economic strength, its utilisation of their knowledge and skills and its training and development policies. The success with which an employer recruits graduates will, therefore, depend a good deal on these factors. But what, or who, is a ‘good graduate’? And how can a ‘good graduate’ be identified? It is to these two questions that this article is directed, with a description of one company's experiences in attempting to answer them by developing techniques which have not been widely used in the area of graduate selection.

An assessment centre typically involves several trained assessors evaluating the performance of individuals working in a small group. This evaluation is based on a number of different techniques such as group discussions, in‐tray exercises and psychometric tests. The roots of the assessment centre method are usually traced to the Officer Selection Programmes used during the Second World War. These were further developed after the war both by the armed forces and the Civil Service who instituted the Civil Service Selection Board in 1945. The first commercial organisation to utilise the assessment centre method was AT & T in the US, and other large American firms soon followed suit. However, it is only in recent years that a number of British business organisations have committed themselves to the use of assessment centres.

The results of a survey of production managers in the UK, carried out in 1986, on behalf of the British Institute of Managers (BIM). It compares these results with those from an earlier, similar survey carried out in 1977. The evidence shows that changes in production management have not kept pace with changes in technology and competitive priorities, such as the importance of consistent quality. Recommendations include the closer involvement of production managers in determination of manufacturing policy, reorganisation to allow responsibility to be taken for quality, production control, and maintenance, increased training, and better liaison between production, marketing, and design functions.

A review of the relevant literature and case study analysis draws the conclusion that a skills approach to leadership makes it possible to describe and provide training in the core skills required in a wide variety of managerial situations. Such skills are most effectively acquired through practice, with feedback and guidance provided by skilled interpersonal skilled tutors. The latter skills are also best learned via feedback and guidance; unless there is a growth in effective interpersonal skills training there will ultimately be a shortage of tutors to pass on the skills learned.

The purpose of this paper is to report on an empirical study of the effectiveness of transformational, transactional and laissez‐faire leadership across hierarchical levels in manufacturing organizations in the UK. The aim was to develop a framework of leadership across hierarchical levels that would be useful for leadership development programmes and interventions.

Managers from 38 companies completed a 360‐degree version of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. Multiple responses – self, superior, subordinate and peer ratings – were obtained for 367 managers of whom 15 per cent were female and 85 per cent male, aged between 21 and 62 years (mean=42 years), from 38 organizations in the UK manufacturing sector. Of the 367 subjects, unanimous (cases were used only if all ratings agreed on the hierarchical level of the subject) opinions on hierarchical level were gained for 215 (58 per cent), which includes 30 top‐level managers, 33 directors, 54 senior managers, 43 middle managers and 55 lower managers. Data concerning time span were also obtained for 253 managers.

The findings of the research show a distinct pattern of behaviours across different hierarchical levels of organizations. Transformational leadership is equally effective across hierarchical levels in organizations, whereas transactional leadership is not effective at the uppermost hierarchical levels in organizations but effective at levels lower down. Laissez‐faire leadership is ineffective at all hierarchical levels.

A framework of effective leadership behaviours across hierarchical levels in organizations was developed from the findings. This framework can be used as a basis for leadership development in UK manufacturing organizations and potentially wider more general organization contexts.

In this second and concluding part of an extensive review of the management development literature, attention is directed to studies which have sought to describe and explain how managers are in fact made and to studies which have emphasised the contextual aspects of the process. The review is concluded with an overall assessment of the management development literature – its strengths and weaknesses – and with an analysis of the implications which this assessment carries for the conduct of future research. Crucial gaps are identified, not least of which is a general failure to locate descriptions of particular management development initiatives within the context of other ways in which the management stock is enhanced, replenished and managed. Another major shortcoming which is singled out as requiring urgent attention is the failure to place management development accounts and prescriptions within the wider context of organisational characteristics.

This article describes a course in interviewing skills for local authority auditors. It represents a further development of the “Bradford Approach” to interviewing skills training developed by Randell et al for appraisal interviewing and subsequently extended to include grievance interviewing by Gill. As such, it relies heavily on the notion that successful interviewing depends upon a number of precise behavioural skills which can best be acquired through practice in role plays. The course was developed at the request of the Internal Audit Section of Humberside County Council, who felt that existing courses for auditors did not provide adequate training in interviewing skills.

This article examines the careers and changing roles of British production and operations managers through three surveys covering the last quarter of the twentieth century. Careers are examined in terms of both their organisational context and the subjective experiences of those who have chosen this field, during a period of great turbulence for manufacturing due to growing global competition. The persistent features of such roles and responsibilities are contrasted with the changes in focus and demands. The managers' sources of satisfaction and frustration are outlined as are their perceptions of their situation in relation to managers in other areas. The article concludes by considering what has changed and what needs to change, in order for manufacturing to gain maximum benefit from the contribution of these managers.

Off‐shore market entry approaches of firms using trade missions and those who do not are investigated and found to differ. Comparative results of a sample of Canadian industrial manufacturing firms point to different marketing management styles in terms of greater planning orientation, a more systematic approach, and greater sensitivity toward market and knowledge problems among trade mission users. Trade missions are widely available in many exporting countries and, as exporters face similar challenges when entering new foreign markets, it is concluded that such missions are a potentially useful export marketing tool, however, their use seems contingent upon management style. Implications for export marketing management and public policy are discussed.

This paper describes the results of surveys which provide information on the relative status, qualifications, knowledge, practices and needs of production/operations managers within the UK. The qualifications and ambitions of production managers are shown to be lower than managers in other functions. A disturbing finding is the level of knowledge of established operations management techniques and concepts. Moreover, those who do have knowledge make low utilisation of it. Comparison of American and British‐owned companies indicates that production managers in the former make greater use of good management techniques. There is demonstrated a need for active career development to enable well qualified and ambitious recruits to enter the profession and progress to senior management positions.