Developing Task-based Management Development Program and Assessment Framework: A Case of Grade-8 Supervisors in Local Government
Irving Yi-Feng Huang*
Abstract
This paper aims to explore the design of management development program and its assessment framework for Grade-8 supervisors in local governments through interviews with SMEs and a questionnaire survey of current supervisors in municipal and county governments. The results indicate there are 28 major tasks and 11 managerial competences required of supervisors. The survey statistics indicate the most important tasks for supervisors are subordinates performance appraisal, budgeting, assigning job to subordinates, documents review, and oversight of professional activities. The most important job skills for supervisors are communicating and coordinating, problem-solving, representing, implementing, and crisis management. Through factor analysis, the tasks can be categorized into five types: attending meetings and activities, outsourcing and coordinating, internal HRM, reception and interview, oversight of professional activities. The five types can be further derived as the program modules. The Content Validity Ratio was employed to explore the relations between tasks and managerial competences. The results can be used to design the assessment framework for the program. An Importance-Frequency analysis was conducted to set the priority order of goals when the training resources are limited.
This paper provides practical suggestions for HRD professionals to develop a task-based development program for supervisors. Implementation issues will need further verification.
Keywords: management development program, grade-8 supervisors, assessment framework
* Associate Professor, Department of Public Administration, Tamkang University. email:
irving@mail.tku.edu.tw.