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Measuring management and leadership competencies of business school educated managers in South Africa
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Shaikh, Ahmed Bisschoff, Christo Alfonzo Botha, C. J. |
| Copyright Year | 2018 |
| Abstract | This paper explores a model to measure managerial and leadership competence of business school educated managers. It starts by reviewing the literature on general management and leadership, seeking to establish a broad theoretical framework to guide this study. After statistically ensuring that the respective theoretical measuring criteria selected do measure the specific management and leadership competency, the paper then presents a model to measure management and leadership competencies. The final model has a total of eleven management and leadership competencies. These are Personal Value System, Career Awareness, Ethical and External Influences, Leading Change, Cultural Sensitivity, Team Building, Strategic Leadership, Conflict Management, Communication Skills, Global Leadership Mindset and Emotional Intelligence. This paper goes on to statistically measure the management and leadership competencies while also determining if the demographic variables influence the management and leadership competencies in any way. Also, the paper seeks to determine if any significant correlations exist between management and leadership competencies. The results of this study are of value to business school educated managers who aim to improve their managerial and leadership skills. It is also of value to researchers and scholars who intend to explore this avenue of managerial and leadership competency models further. Corresponding author: Christo A Bisschoff Email addresses for corresponding author: Christo.bisschoff@nwu.ac.za First submission received: 8th February 2018 Revised submission received: 25th April 2018 Accepted: 22nd May 2018 Introduction In the current highly integrated global economy where many organisations operate across multiple geographies, the importance of a talented and competent workforce is axiomatic. Competent employees are not only central to productive and enriched work environments but also contribute to prosperous outcomes for organisational performance. These, and other, business environmental issues have generated an urgency among organisations to build their executive teams with the requisite managerial and leadership competencies, so that these competencies can be deployed in a manner that achieves superior individual and organisational performance. Previous studies in the field of work-based competencies demonstrate a link between managerial and leadership competencies, and superior executive performance. Following the formalisation of management and leadership competencies as a managerial concept, management and leadership competencies have gained significant impetus as a substantive management focus area in recent human resource management literature (Lewis, Donaldson-Feilder and Tharani, 2012; Sinh, 2016; Bagraim et al., 2016). The concept of competency-based human resources has been explored seminally by David McClelland (1973). Since then it has moved from a novel approach to widespread practice in the last four decades since McClelland first proposed it as a key differentiator of performance. According to research in this area by Analoui and Hosseini (2001) and later by Boyatzis and Ratti (2009), managerial effectiveness is Journal of Business and Retail Management Research (JBRMR), Vol. 13 Issue 2 December 2018 www.jbrmr.com A Journal of the Academy of Business and Retail Management (ABRM) 153 strongly correlated to organisational effectiveness and economic performance. In this respect, Analoui and Hosseini (2001) argued that competent managers and leaders have played a significant role in the overall success of their organisations and development of their societies. In an earlier study, Boyatzis and Case (1989) found that management educated graduates, and more specifically MBA graduates, displayed a greater number of skills and competencies related to effective managerial performance. Later, as more studies were completed (Analoui and Hosseini, 2001; Mintzberg, 2004, 2005, 2008; Camuffo et al., 2009), patterns of managerial and leadership competencies could be observed that recurrently appeared to distinguish exceptional performers. This led to the development of numerous competency models; this avenue of research is even more relevant today where managers are confronted by the disruption of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Cornellissen, 2017). Most recently though, relentless change within and outside organisational boundaries, coupled with volatility and uncertainty in the general business environment, has forced managers and leaders to rethink organisational design and the managerial skills sets required to succeed under such circumstances. In this regard, Hoffmann (2016) warns that conventional organisational structures with multiple hierarchical levels will disappear in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In line with this view, Truxillo, Bauer and Erdogan (2016) confirm that the modern organisation has to develop and learn continuously and that the shifting organisational boundaries will lead to adjusted organisational structures. One key aspect, as highlighted by Sinh (2016:14), is that, in contrast to a conventional executive, effective contemporary leaders are characterised by their openness and willingness to embrace change and innovation. Thus, with the acceleration in innovation and massive disruptions in global business brought about by the digital economy, Cornellissen (2017) warns that managers and leaders must have the skills and competencies to identify managerial problems and know suitable strategies to fix them. Given this background, the purpose of this study is to measure management and leadership competencies of business school educated managers in South Africa. The current study also attempts to determine if significant correlations exist between the demographic variables and management and leadership competencies as well as determine if significant correlations exist between the management and leadership competencies. Problem Statement The profile of the 21st century workplace is undergoing large-scale and fundamental changes. Managers, therefore, have to operate in a complex environment and are required to respond rapidly to demands that are, at most times, unpredictable (Bagraim et al., 2016). In recent years though, there has been a rising surge of contemporary criticisms of management education as well as approaches to management and leadership development (Varela, Burke and Norbit, 2013). A number of these post-2000 studies assert inadequacies in the development of managerial skills and competencies (Mintzberg, 2004; Pfeffer and Fong, 2004). The seminal claim by one of the pioneering proponents holding this view, Mintzberg (2004:199) stated that “management education sits worlds apart from that of management development”. Despite the growing concerns about the impact of graduate management education, Boyatzis and Case (1989) argued that few studies have measured their impact on the development of students’ managerial and leadership competencies. Here Camuffo et al. (2009) contend that even in instances where researchers support the hypothesis that management education leads to enhanced managerial performance, measurement of the specific skills and competencies associated with such management education remains somewhat hazy and unclear. This is especially true in the South African context where, apart from studies by Thekiso (2011) and Shaikh (2013), there is a dearth of such scientific and empirical research. This article, therefore, addresses this specific problem of measuring management and leadership competencies amongst business school educated managers in South Africa. Research Objectives The primary objective of this article is to measure management and leadership competencies of business school educated managers in South Africa. Journal of Business and Retail Management Research (JBRMR), Vol. 13 Issue 2 December 2018 www.jbrmr.com A Journal of the Academy of Business and Retail Management (ABRM) 154 This primary objective is achieved by addressing the following secondary objectives: Theoretically study management and leadership; Ensure the relevancy of of the theoretically selected measuring criteria; and Empirically measure the competencies and demographic profiles of the respondents. Theory on Management and Leadership To ground the theoretical framework of this study, literature is presented on the role of management and leadership in organisations, with brief discussions on the nature of management and the nature of leadership. Second, a brief debate on whether management and leadership are theoretically a different or interrelated concept is presented, explaining the various paradigms held by diverse researchers and scholars. Lastly, an attempt is made to reconcile the long-standing debate around whether effective management and leadership are all about nature or nurture. The role of management and leadership in organisations The challenges of being an effective manager have never been greater. In a globalised economy that is characterised by rapid advances in technology and hyper-competition, organisations have become highly complex and exposed to constant change. Smit, Botha and Vrba (2016) suggest that, in addition to dealing with issues such as climate change, sustainability, business ethics and corporate governance, present-day managers must also be sensitive to cultural differences that are central to doing business around the globe. In the South African environment specifically, Smit et al. (2016) go on to argue that organisational managers are facing even greater challenges such as a politically turbulent environment characterised by corruption and bribery. Coupled with these challenges, a very tough labour market, a volatile public higher education sector and Black Economic Empowerment transformation charters for almost every sector of the South African economy, managers have to reflect on sound management principles |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| DOI | 10.24052/jbrmr/v13is02/art-14 |
| Volume Number | 13 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://www.jbrmr.com/cdn/article_file/2018-12-07-12-15-32-PM.pdf |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://doi.org/10.24052/jbrmr%2Fv13is02%2Fart-14 |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
