The identification of management potential

[摘要] The study was undertaken in order to determine whether itwould be possible to isolate certain competencieswhich could be used to identify individuals with management potential in a populationof branch and area managers within a financial institution.The competencies selectedfor study were extracted from an extensive reviewof the relevant literature and were selected forboth relevance and ease of measurement. Thecompetencies were Locus of Control, AchievementMotivation, Cognitive skills and Interpersonalskills.The subjects were divided into two groups on thebasis of a panel assessment by senior managementof the organisation. The first group consistedof those individuals who were seen as having thepotential for further advancement and the secondof the balance. The relevant competencies weremeasured for both groups.It was found that age, time spent in current position, Control ofSocial relationships, a sub-factor of Locus of Control and Awareness oflevel and Personal Excellence, sub-factors of Achievement Motivationdifferentiated significantly between the twogroups. In addition, Cognitive and Interpersonalskills differentiated strongly between the twogroups.Contrary to expectations, subjects with potentialwere found to be significantly more externallycontrolled with respect to the factor Control ofSocial relationships.Possible reasons for this are explored.Finally, it was attempted to construct apredictive model for use in identifyingmanagement potential. The model met with limitedsuccess, but was significant in that ithighlighted the inadequacies of thecountry-club method of assessment.

[发布机构] University of the Witwatersrand