Legend: INCLUDED IN THE REPORT

WHY IS THERE A NEED FOR EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM?

Executive Development – Need

There is growing need for the development of an efficient managerial pool to meet the challenges of
industry. Realizing this, many management institutes and training organizations have geared up their
training and development activities to a great extent. However, there is a certain imbalance in the spread
of management education. A concentration of management training is found in the industrial sector mostly
in traditional industries and public sector enterprises.

Therefore, additional trainings for the following are needed:

1. Techno-managers in such sectors as engineering and steel, coal, fertilizer, oil and cement industries.
Personnel in these industries need training not only in the functional areas of management but also need
to acquire a thorough knowledge of the sector.

2. Management resource mobilization towards professionalizing such public utilities as water supply,
power distribution, transport and communications, for agriculture and industry are dependent on the
efficient functioning of these utilities.

3. Government and civic offices organized to render public services, including municipal services, housing,
insurance, mass media, police, medical services and education, have been untouched by the management
movement. The “managerialisation” of these services needs immediate attention.

4. Management principles and techniques need to be introduced in other areas of national economy –
managerial services for agriculture and rural development, irrigation, co-operation and animal husbandry,
fisheries, forestry and marketing. Management know-how also needs to be brought to bear on production
processes at the farm level with a view to increasing efficiency in the tertiary or service sector in rural
areas.

5. Public administration is a vast sector which needs management attention, because this segment has a
direct relevance to economic and social activity, for it brings functionaries into contact with the citizenry
and the entrepreneurial class.

6. Management development programmes for all those who are engaged in positions above the
supervisory level of operations – whether as Deans of hospitals, the Vice-Chancellors of Universities,
Superintendents of Police or Collectors of districts. Their job calls for the use of a management component
which is concerned with such skills as leadership and communication. For them, training in management,
productivity and human relations would be very valuable.

Executive development programmes help managers to cope with rapid technological change, cutthroat
competition, sudden changes in government policies, changes in the outlook and expectations of a vast
majority of workers possessing transferable skills.
Managers can update their skills, knowledge and competencies from time to time in sync with these
changing trends and tackle knotty issues with confidence. In short, no organisation can achieve success in
the long run unless it tries to improve, expand and develop its talent pool through constant learning
initiatives.

Executive Development – 3 Levels of Management: Top, Middle Management and Middle Functional
Executive and Specialists

1. Top Management:

This consists of chief executives designated as chairman, managing director or as chief executive officer.
This level is responsible for overall management of an organization within the policy frame work framed by
the Board of Directors.

The following functions fall within their authority jurisdiction:

i. Formulation of long-term strategies.

ii. Issuing directions and instructions to various lower level functional areas.

iii. Coordinating the functions of different functional units.

iv. Appointing key personnel, performance appraisal, compensation decision and training and development
of leaders.

v. Reviving and controlling organizational performances.

vi. Maintaining and being in constant touch with environmental elements.

vii. Continuously leading the organization for betterment and excellence.

2. Middle Management:

The various functional heads form the middle management. They act as interface between the top
management and the operative management. This level faces pressure from three fronts namely, top
management who impose targets and transmit downwards policies and strategies for implementation,
operative management which give its views and suggestion and middle peers who depend on one another
for smooth work performance at various domains.

Following are the responsibilities of the middle management:

1. Performance of domain functions.

2. Securing cooperation from their peers at various domains.

3. Integrating the various intra-domain functions.

4. Hiring human resources for its domain and training and developing the human resources employed in its
domain.

5. Managing the respective domains in a way that it contributes its share to overall achievement of the
organizational goal.

3. Middle Functional Executive and Specialists:

(i) To increase knowledge of business functions and operations in specified fields in marketing, production,
finance, personnel;

(ii) To bring about an awareness of the broad aspects of management problems, and an acquaintance with,
and appreciation of, interdepartmental relations;

(iii) To develop familiarity with the managerial uses of financial accounting, psychology, business law and
business statistics;

(iv) To inculcate knowledge of human motivation and human relationships; and

(v) To develop responsible leadership.

Vertical Management

Vertical management, also called top-down management, refers to the various levels of management
within an organization. Managers at different levels are free to focus on different aspects of the business,
from strategic thinking to communicating information to operational efficiency. During the nineteenth
century and much of the twentieth century, vertical management was highly structured with many layers
of management (as depicted by a pyramid). In industries where processes and conditions are stable and
where ongoing innovation is less critical, the vertical structure of management can still be very efficient.
Workers in labor-intensive industries such as manufacturing, transportation, and construction need to
follow established procedures and meet specific goals. Everyone knows who is in charge and assumes the
job they do today will be the same next year or in five years.

Vertical management in a traditional organizational structure

A main disadvantage of vertical management is that it limits information flow from the lower levels of the
organization to the upper levels (like water, information flows downhill easily). Without easy two-way
communication, top management can become isolated and out of touch with how its plans affect core
processes in the organization. It also fosters vertical thinking. Vertical thinking refers to using traditional
and recognized methods to solve particular problems. It is the opposite of “thinking outside of the box.”
The digital age exposed the shortcomings of management that addressed problems in formal or
bureaucratic approaches at the expense of creativity and innovation. Today, many organizations use
“flatter” structures, with fewer levels between the company’s chief executives and the employee base.
Most organizations, however, still have four basic levels of management: top, middle, first line, and team
leaders.

Top-Level Managers
As you would expect, top-level managers (or top managers) are the “bosses” of the organization. They
have titles such as chief executive officer (CEO), chief operations officer (COO), chief marketing officer
(CMO), chief technology officer (CTO), and chief financial officer (CFO). A new executive position known as
the chief compliance officer (CCO) is showing up on many organizational charts in response to the
demands of the government to comply with complex rules and regulations. Depending on the size and type
of organization, executive vice presidents and division heads would also be part of the top management
team. The relative importance of these positions varies according to the type of organization they head.
For example, in a pharmaceutical firm, the CCO may report directly to the CEO or to the board of directors.

Top managers are ultimately responsible for the long-term success of the organization. They set long-term
goals and define strategies to achieve them. They pay careful attention to the external environment of the
organization: the economy, proposals for laws that would affect profits, stakeholder demands, and
consumer and public relations. They will make the decisions that affect the whole company such as
financial investments, mergers and acquisitions, partnerships and strategic alliances, and changes to the
brand or product line of the organization.

Middle Managers

Middle managers must be good communicators because they link line managers and top-level
management.

Middle managers have titles like department head, director, and chief supervisor. They are links between
the top managers and the first-line managers and have one or two levels below them. Middle managers
receive broad strategic plans from top managers and turn them into operational blueprints with specific
objectives and programs for first-line managers. They also encourage, support, and foster talented
employees within the organization. An important function of middle managers is providing leadership,
both in implementing top manager directives and in enabling first-line managers to support teams and
effectively report both positive performances and obstacles to meeting objectives.

First-Line Managers

First-line managers are the entry level of management, the individuals “on the line” and in the closest
contact with the workers. They are directly responsible for making sure that organizational objectives and
plans are implemented effectively. They may be called assistant managers, shift managers, foremen,
section chiefs, or office managers. First-line managers are focused almost exclusively on the internal issues
of the organization and are the first to see problems with the operation of the business, such as untrained
labor, poor quality materials, machinery breakdowns, or new procedures that slow down production. It is
essential that they communicate regularly with middle management.

Team Leaders

A team leader is a special kind of manager who may be appointed to manage a particular task or activity.
The team leader reports to a first-line or middle manager. Responsibilities of the team leader include
developing timelines, making specific work assignments, providing needed training to team members,
communicating clear instructions, and generally ensuring that the team is operating at peak efficiency.
Once the task is complete, the team leader position may be eliminated and a new team may be formed to
complete a different task.
Executive Development – 10 Main Principles or Guidelines Observed by the Management towards
Executive Development

The following principles or guidelines should be observed by the management towards executive
development:

1. It is the responsibility of the management to arrange for executive development, which should be kept
in charge of a senior executive.

2. Every departmental manager should take the responsibility of developing his subordinate extinctive.

3. Executive development programme should aim at meeting the needs of the individual executive as well
as the needs of the enterprise.

4. The pre-requisite of effective executive development is the selection of the right man for the executive
position.

5. The management should formulate a definite strategy of executive development specifying clearly the
various objectives, coverage and type of development.

6. The management should prepare a realistic time schedule for the executive development programme
keeping in view the present and future needs of the organisation.

7. The executive development programme should be made applicable to each and every executive so as to
avoid executive obsolescence and impart latest knowledge and skills to all the executives.

8. The management should create congenial and favourable climate conducive to executive development.

9. The participation of executives in every development programme should be made mandatory.

10. The management should arrange for feedback to its trainee executives so as to enable them to take
necessary steps to improve themselves.