ABSTRACT

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book. The book outlines the broad approach to management development which are emerged from intensive consultations with line managers. These consultations centred on the overhaul of an unpopular appraisal scheme. The aim was to give the managers a process, the outcome which they thought was more worthy of their precious time. Having presented a series of intellectual skills courses and another series addressing interpersonal skills, managers in the organisation were polled on the subject of the next series. They chose management coaching skills by a narrow margin. The book shows that the psychology has an important contribution to make management related functions. It presents the latest findings from the field of personality and individual differences and the features a sound model of learning design. Both have delivered results, the former as reported in the academic press and the latter in the responses of several hundred managers.