Executive Training And Development
Authors: Gray Robert D. 
Published: December 2007

Gray, Robert D., California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.

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Executive training has two coequal objectives: to help all members of management improve their performance and to prepare at least some for advancement. Since individuals, jobs and companies vary, each program must be tailored to fit specific needs.

Development of executives requires the proper "climate" and adequate information on individuals and jobs. Everyone in management can contribute to the development of himself and his subordinates. The success of a program and the company itself depends upon an appropriate philosophy of human relations based on sound principles of economics, psychology and management expressed in effective policies implemented with consistent procedures.

OBJECTIVES

The success of a program of executive training and development, like the successful execution of any other program, depends upon a clear understanding of its objectives. What do you want to accomplish? Why?

To be effective, your program of executive training and development must give equal weight to two objectives;—To prepare some individuals for advancement to meet the current and future needs of the organization—To help many individuals do a better job of managing, in order to be more effective in their present positions

The necessity of having two coequal objectives can be best understood by examining seven assumptions which underlie a program of executive training and development.

BASIC ASSUMPTIONS

The first assumption is that the company or organization which is initiating or maintaining a program of executive training and development expects to continue its operations indefinitely. If this observation does not apply to you, if your company is planning to liquidate its assets or terminate its activities in some other fashion in the near future, it is probable that your present management group can accomplish these results. If, on the other hand, your company would like to be in business 10, 20, 30 or more years from now, you need to give serious thought to a program of executive training and development. This conclusion is especially valid if you can accept the second assumption: Managers are necessary.

The production of any economic good or service involves equipment, materials and manpower. It is true that one company may differ from another, or that one industry may differ from another, with respect to what kind and how much of each are used.