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Experience and previous research indicate that the effective transfer of management training to the work environment requires a holistic approach, embracing several important factors. These include interpersonal skills, resistance to change, mentoring, attitudes towards training, and organizational climate and culture. During this investigation a brief, flexible treatment programme was drawn up. This involved discussing the application of managerial skills with trainees who had completed a management training course some time ago, in the presence of their supervisors. Other activities included in the treatment ranged from retraining to psychotherapy. The treatment was applied to 32 trainees. Some three month's later a role play situation and questionnaire were used to assess their application of the skills taught during management training in their work, in comparison with an untreated control group. The results indicate that the treatment programme resulted in much improved transfer of managerial training to the work environment. / Psychology / M. Sc. (Psychology)

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this highly competitive market, organisations are placing a strong emphasis on leveraging its organisational learning (OL) activities to achieve a sustained advantage. Organisations are increasingly recognising the value of partnering with external education providers to implement customized executive education programmes that can address their unique business need. Coaching interventions are frequently incorporated in such learning initiatives to enhance the alignment of the learning and development practises with the organisational goals and to increase the level of learning transfer once the program has been completed. The best-practises of coaching interventions remain however several understudied. This study therefore investigated the importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships on the effectiveness of coaching interventions within a customised executive programme. Qualitative data was collected through a series of semi-structured interviews targeting coaches, organisational learning drivers and delegates to obtain multi-source feedback for enhanced validity of perceptions. The findings were subsequently subjected to thematic analysis resulting in the emergence of 7 core themes. The results emphasised the importance of aligning the interpretation of management, organisational learning drivers (OLDs), coaches and delegates regarding the goals of the organisation and the coaching initiative. A recurring theme across the datasets related to the importance of transparent, direct and open communication prior to the commencement of coaching. Furthermore, the advantages of group coaching highlighted in this study were supported by previous literature. Another important contribution of this study pertained to evaluating and sustaining the mental and behavioural shifts delegates experienced during the coaching interventions. This highlighted the importance of soliciting management support, eliciting informal accountability and post-coaching interventions. As a result of combining multi-stakeholder perceptions, the findings of this study may contribute towards developing a best-practice model for coaching interventions in customised executive education (CEE) programmes.

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

Thesis (M.M. (Research)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Business Administration, 2012. / This research was conducted to explore what factors are inhibiting the career progression of black executives in South Africa and to investigate how coaching can contribute to their development. A qualitative approach was chosen for the research methodology, to explore the inhibiting factors and perceived coaching needs in depth. A discussion guide for semi-structured interviews was derived from a theoretical framework developed from the literature review. Thirteen interviews were conducted with senior black male executives in the private sector, many of whom were managing directors of large corporations, but all of whom operate at the level of functional manager or higher, according to the Charan and Drotter pipeline model (Charan, Drotter, & Noel, 2011). The sample was split into executives who were coached and not coached to create some triangulation. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and uploaded into Atlas CAQDAS software for analysis. A codebook was created deductively for the initial coding, with 140 codes, 22 categories and four themes being developed from the subsequent analysis. Regarding inhibiting factors, the findings showed that black executives experience high levels of racism. Achieving a critical mass of black executives would create an opportunity to adopt a blend between the current common Eurocentric management style and an Afrocentric one. Aspects of black culture can be detrimental to executives’ effectiveness, particularly the ability to confront other executives as superiors or colleagues. Experience gained overseas seems to limit this effect. Creating a positive support environment for the black executive is important for the creation of a pipeline of executives. Having a supportive family background, and maintaining a positive attitude is key. Educational background no longer appears to be an inhibiting factor, as most executives have attended historically white institutions (HWIs). Most respondents had co-opted unofficial mentors at work during their careers. A distinct lack of visibility through substitute networks for the historical Anglo American model from schools and universities makes sourcing black male recruits ii difficult. Lack of experience is a limiting factor, and observations were unanimous in condemning the destructive effect of job-hopping on black executives’ careers. Talent management practices were surprisingly positively reviewed; coaching is seen as beneficial for creating a pipeline. Fifty areas for application of coaching were identified and grouped under the Katz (1974) model of skills needed for managerial practice, namely conceptual skills, human skills and technical skills. 40% of the findings revolved around human skills, both interpersonal and intrapersonal. The most important topics include: enhancing leadership, performance management, managing corporate politics, building networks, leadership style and team leadership. In the intrapersonal category, topics noted were: raising self-esteem, coaching for performance, raising self-awareness, emotional intelligence, coaching through strengths, and coaching for transitions. South Africa still suffers from a historical legacy, where numerous factors are inhibiting the full participation of black executives in top management at the level required to achieve a sustainable political and economic environment. Coaching was found to be a suitable leadership development tool for many applications identified in the research.

Thesis (M.M. (Business Executive Coaching))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Business Administration, 2013. / Peer coaching within the South African context is not widely promoted or implemented. In the field of coaching, peer coaching is slowly entering the marketplace with a focus on career learning and self-driven leadership development. It is one of the options available to organisations in which to assist leaders with addressing development needs. This research set out to establish the factors behind the rationale to implement a peer coaching program at executive level. The research followed a qualitative design methodology making use of semi-structured interviews to gather data. The richness of the data lay in the semi-structured approach which allowed for the participants to air their views, yet for the researcher to remain true to the purpose of the study. The findings suggest that within the current South African context, there are more constraining factors present which may inhibit the decision to implement a peer coaching program than enabling factors. These include the perceived limited choice of peer coaches available; the challenges of setting up a coach-coachee relationship, which includes trust and confidentiality; the presence of dominant leaders; power dimensions within organisations; environments of mistrust, gossip and competitiveness and the presence of diversity discrimination. It further posits that the leaders of the organisations play a pivotal role in determining the rationale behind the decision to implement a peer coaching program.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Alfred P. Sloan School of Management, 1981. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND DEWEY. / Bibliography: leaves 109-110. / by Elizabeth Ann Joyce. / M.S.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, School of Management, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

The study was designed to construct an instrument which could measure enthusiasm and caution in decision makers. A second purpose was to determine if instrument results could identify a decision maker's style as either enthusiastic or cautious.There were 688 instruments mailed to Superintendents of Indiana Public Schools. Superintendents selected school employees as participants. The 226 selectees who returned usable survey instruments constituted the study population.The first primary purpose of the study was to construct an instrument which could measure enthusiasm and caution in decision makers. Validity of the instrument as used to measure enthusiasm and caution in decision makers was; tested with confirmatory factor analysis. Findings revealed the instrument did validly measure both enthusiasm and caution in decision makers.The second primary purpose of the study was to determine if instrument results could identify a decision maker's style. Concurrent validity of the instrument as an identifier of a decision maker's style as either enthusiastic or cautious was tested with discriminatory analysis. Findings disclosed the instrument could identify at the .01 level which style decision makers had used.A secondary purpose of the study was to discover what has been reported regarding effects of enthusiasm or caution in decision makers. Scholarly sources were examined to locate reports regarding effects of enthusiasm or caution in decision makers. Each report found was assigned to a category representing various behaviors expected from either enthusiastic or cautious decision makers. Frequency counts were made for all sources in which reports were found, for all reports found, and for all categories to which reports had been assigned.