Technology will cause change

It is the combination of changing technology and economics, in particular of information technology and biotechnology, and the economics associated with them, which are thought to cause the discontinuity. For instance cordless telephones which belong to a person not to a place, or crops which can now be genetically engineered to grow in water fields, or expert systems with specific knowledge available to a large number of specialists within a certain area, or decision support systems which will allow specialists to make more accurate decisions based upon actual knowledge.

These are just a few examples demonstrating why management training needs to track and anticipate paradigm shifts..

The question they raise is, how can we learn to enjoy more of the opportunities and less of the risks?

First of all, we will have to understand change better and be much more aware of the factors causing change and next our behaviour and our attitudes have to change. Therefore management training is as much about securing these changes as it is in advancing skills.

In days of old proactive management training was the means for stability and linear growth, but with change and new opportunities organisations learnt how to be flexible and how to adapt, this necessitated developing a reactive style, but rapid and discontinuous change linked to continuous reaction simply generated confusion, chaos and falling morale and productivity. It was perceived that leadership was poor, lacking decision making qualities and constantly changing or moving the goalposts. This undermined belief that management training programmes, linked to key organisational change initiatives, would continue to serve the needs of the organisation and that they would be changed, cut-back or even scrapped. This generated a fatalistic culture, a culture of disbelief, low morale, enthusiasm and commitment. Change would become stagnant with management training becoming impotent.

The antidote is a return to proactive management training but not as was previously constructed with decision making in the hands of the few. If the organisation initiates active participation in making and managing decisions all will be mobilised to seek out opportunities for change thereby changing the organisation from one of following new initiatives to one of innovation, i.e., leading change.

Creating the ability to engage innovation is at the heart of modern management training programmes.