White paper
Leadership and e-learning
Too many graduates: not enough plumbers
A recent review of UK competitiveness carried out by Harvard
academic Professor Michael Porter, an expert in international
competitiveness, points to significant improvements since
the 1980s. Drawing on data from the Global Competitiveness
Report of his Institute, he ranks the UK first in a comparative
group of 23 nations that includes the US, France, Germany
and Japan, for its further potential to increase GDP/capita.
That's the good news.
The not-so-good news is that he identifies a significant
gap in management skills. The problem is not necessarily with
senior management, who often hold elite qualifications from
the UK's respected management schools, but at junior and middle
management levels.
According to John Burgoyne, Professor of Management Learning
at Lancaster University Management School (and a past contributor
to Epic Think Tanks) 'It's the management equivalent of having
too many graduates and not enough plumbers.'
Developing and maintaining the skills and abilities of organisational
managers and leaders is a major challenge for UK organisations
across the board. Potential reasons for the lack of management
development at middle levels include:
- High costs of traditional training methods
- Difficulty of engaging busy managers
- Difficulty of providing flexible access and consistent
delivery
- Difficulty of sustaining learning initiatives: classroom-based
events tend to be short term in effectiveness
This paper, written by Steve Rayson, Drector,
Epic, details just some of the work Epic has done with organisations
in meeting the leadership gap - and the role that has been played
by online learning and blended learning. Examples given include
Barclays University and the UK Cabinet Office.
Portfolio report: Filling the Leadership Gap
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