Seeking success through strategic management development

Abstract

Strategic management development (SMD) uses corporate objectives and strategies as drivers for management development and aims to achieve multiple outcomes. Most studies of SMD have concentrated on consultant‐ or practitioner‐based accounts of “best practice”. There has been little development of conceptual frameworks to inform a more rigorous understanding and evaluation of SMD. Considers the usefulness of some existing frameworks and then, based on literature review and synthesis, proposes new conceptual frameworks for SMD. The first of these new frameworks explores the relationships between individual and organisational objectives in the SMD processes. Many management development interventions have both types of objective and other interventions may be more polarised in purpose. These tensions have to be resolved at the level of the individual manager. Because of environmental change account will need to be taken of emergent needs and opportunities. The second framework reflects this showing how a dynamic environment will lead to more organic forms of management development. The third framework considers the barriers and drivers influencing SMD, and proposes the key requirements for success.