| dc.description.abstract | Management development has been described as having three main components: Management
education, Management Training and on- the- job experiences (Keys & Wolfe, 1988).
Management Education can be defined as “the acquisition …of conceptual knowledge and skills
in formal classroom situations in degree granting institutions” (Keys & Wolfe, 1988).
Management Training focuses more on providing specific skills or knowledge that could
immediately be applied within an organization and/or a specific position or set of positions
within an organization (Keys & Wolfe, 1988). On – the – Job experiences are planned or
unplanned opportunities for a manager to gain self knowledge, enhance existing skills and
abilities, or obtain new skills or information within the context of day to day activities e. g.
mentorship, coaching, assignment to a task force.
The objectives of the study were to establish the strategies used for management development
among insurance companies in Kenya and also to determine the factors that influence strategies
for management development among insurance companies in Kenya.
The study used a descriptive census survey design. The target population was human resource
managers of various insurance companies. The researcher sampled 41 human resource managers
although the insurance companies that responded and returned the questionnaire were 30.
Once the questionnaires were received, they were edited to ensure that they were well completed
and the responses consistent. The data collected was analyzed using the content analysis
technique. Descriptive statistics were used to compare the approaches used by the insurance
companies on the basis of size and other demographic variables.
From the findings most companies developed their managers in order to develop their potential
and also to remedy their weaknesses. These organizations used strategies such as appraisal and
performance reviews and also informal identification for management development. The factors
that influenced management development in the organizations were commitment to professional,
top management support and interest in the profession, initiative and group factors,
communication, negotiation skills, feedback, culture, involvement of consultants, organization
re-structure, board of directors, history, lack of motivation, increased responsibility, job redesign,
time factors, insufficient learning culture and unclear roles and follower factors developments in
technology and demands by clients of the organization, and availability of development
interventions and Macro Economic conditions. | en |
