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Management
education provides food for thought
Management education is no longer something that is fitted in “after hours”. High-quality training not only forms the crux of the personal development plan of senior staff, but also contributes to developing a forward-looking organisational culture. An interview with General Director Patrick De Greve and Academic Dean Dirk Buyens of Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School.
Until about five years ago, management was regarded as a “bolt-on”, something you studied alongside your main field of expertise. Management education stood in splendid isolation – simply a subject taught in the classroom, divorced from any kind of real-life business context. Things are different these days. Patrick De Greve explains: “Professionals are now explicitly choosing to pursue a management career. People management, governance, transparency, organisational culture, etc. are all concepts they deal with in a more considered way. Management education and management development are an integral part of their personal career development plan. Consequently, they have a clear set of needs and expectations as regards training.”
Not only individual participants but also organisations now have high hopes when it comes to management programmes, which are seen as a driving force behind the development of the whole organisational culture. Professor Dirk Buyens: “Management education is much less informal than it used to be. Organisations expect an integrated approach to management topics, with the emphasis on ways of making improvements and changes in various areas and at different levels throughout the company.”
Management education, 2009-style
Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School offers two different management education options: business-to-consumer programmes – open enrolment programmes for which individual participants can sign up – and business-to-business programmes, in which the learning experience is tailored to an organisation’s specific needs. Patrick De Greve: “In our company-specific programmes, the integrated approach comes very clearly to the fore. The organisation uses the training not only to instil management skills in its employees, but also as a platform for working on its organisational culture: to support change processes, set up projects and impart knowledge. In a break from the past, organisations want ‘learning’ to be a deep-rooted part of their core culture so that it can make an impact on other processes.”
At the same time there is globalisation, which adds to the store of management know-how, but also exposes sensitive aspects, such as language and cultural differences within organisations and between individual participants. Patrick De Greve: “There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for all cultures: you can’t do just any role-play, complete just any questionnaire, play just any business game.”
Teaching methods have also changed in recent years. Professor Dirk Buyens: “The classroom-based teaching approach that used to predominate is gradually giving way to personal coaching, online tools and learning platforms outside the classroom.”
Shared responsibility
Against the backdrop of these new developments, responsibility for management education is now shared between the educational institution, the organisation and the individual participant. The training provider is expected to offer “quality”. A glance at the criteria of a number of executive rankings indicates what this actually means in practice. Patrick De Greve: “The rankings show that clients are looking for value for money, future use and relevance. The impact and applicability of a management programme are crucial. What’s more, we know that Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School is particularly rated for its flexibility, commitment and no-nonsense approach.”
Half of the return of a management programme depends on the chosen educational institution, but the rest is down to the organisation and the participants themselves. Patrick De Greve: “Nowadays, management education demands that companies get actively involved in the learning experience. They have to ensure that the participants receive coaching and monitoring – before, during and after the training. Their internal communications also have to be attuned to the new learning reality: not every training course necessarily increases personal promotion prospects, but it contributes to individual career development and to the success of the organisation as a whole.”
Return: from measuring to managing
Expectations regarding the return on investment from management education are quite a bit higher nowadays compared with about five years ago. Organisations are therefore looking harder than ever for ways of measuring the success of the training. The educational institution itself can assess client satisfaction with the programme, the lecturers, the course material, etc., which is what Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School does as a way of obtaining direct feedback. This evaluation offers no guarantees as to how the participants will apply the knowledge they have acquired, however.
Professor Dirk Buyens: “These days, the climax of many programmes is the submission of a ‘deliverable’: a business plan, a final assignment, a project. This is already a kind of direct payback. Moreover, I believe that most management education programmes should be measured on the basis of the conduct of the individual. That conduct should, in turn, lead to enhanced performance.” Patrick De Greve nods in agreement: “In that sense ROI is not measured, but rather managed, by considering all the factors that can contribute to a better performance: an accurate needs analysis before the start of the programme, the right programme coordinators, suitable lecturers, relevant teaching material, committed participants, and so on. The success of any training demands a professional approach, from both the provider and the client. The ROI will ultimately be reflected in the organisational culture: better leadership, more efficient marketing, greater expertise in financial matters, etc.”
Topics and trends in times of crisis
Return on investment is certainly not an insignificant factor in times of crisis. In the current turbulent economic climate, does management education have more or less added value than it used to? Patrick De Greve: “Companies are perhaps signing fewer people up for open enrolment programmes, but demand for in-house training is growing. These programmes act as a stimulus for ensuring that everyone is pulling in the same direction, tackling issues together as a team. All professional organisations are currently striving to make their operations as cost-efficient as possible. At the same time they realise that they have to invest in the future in order to keep top talent on board.”
Are particular topics in management education more popular than others at the moment? Patrick De Greve: “The top three favourite training themes at business schools are leadership, performance and strategy. One noticeable trend is the growing popularity of innovation management in all its many facets, from developing and marketing new products to setting up new processes and structures. This development was already evident before the economic crisis, but is now the focus of even more attention.”
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Critical success factors for a management education programme
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Shelf life of expertise getting shorter and shorter
The complexity of the challenges, markets and products we are faced with today requires people to constantly update their skills and knowledge. This is not a marketing slogan, but harsh reality.
With four years of training under your belt, you used to be able to build a forty-year career, based on a ratio of 1 to 10. These days, four years won’t get you very far. Developments such as the economic crisis and globalisation mean that we need to continually reframe our knowledge.
If you have talented people on the company payroll, it goes without saying that you have to permanently invest in them, but also that they need to invest in themselves. It’s no easy task to get people back into the classroom, as everyone is pressed for time nowadays. But the shelf life of expertise is getting shorter and shorter. This doesn’t mean that you’ll get the sack, but that you have to keep honing your skills. Management-related topics and themes are constantly evolving. Insights change and improve on a daily basis. It’s up to us to disseminate that new knowledge.
(Professor Dirk Buyens and Patrick De Greve)
Martine Plompen, EFMD Director of Knowledge Services: ‘Integrated approach is a priority’
“The need for interaction between providers of management education is greater than ever and will continue to grow,” according to Martine Plompen, Director of Knowledge Services at the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD).
EFMD is an international network of universities, business schools and companies involved in management development. The organisation currently has more than 700 institutional members in 82 countries. EFMD is also an accreditation body for EQUIS, a quality label for universities and business schools, which Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School also holds.
Martine Plompen: “Expectations concerning management education and management development are a lot higher than they used to be. The need for an integrated approach and immediate applicability of the theory learnt are key topics in the priority debate on management education. The corporate universities have a crucial part to play in the evolution process, with training programmes becoming increasingly goal-oriented, tailored to specific needs and learning requirements and targeted at specific categories of employees. This can only happen if the various market players, from business schools to corporate universities, work even more closely together.”
Alex Joos, CEO Joos Group: ‘Review your skill set every five to ten years’
Alex Joos of the Joos Group sees no link between the economic crisis and his company’s training budget. “I don’t believe in sending my managers on a training course if they happen to have some time on their hands during a downturn. If it fits into someone’s individual development plan at a particular stage in their career, then I never say no. Personally I think that everyone needs to review their skill set every five to ten years. Get back to basics! Otherwise, as a manager, you’ll lose that sharp edge and lag hopelessly behind. It’s not always easy freeing up time for that. You have to choose the right moment. And if you do it, then you need to give it 100%.”