Notes on Some Typologies of Managerial Development and the Role of Mentor in the Process of Adaptation of the Individual to the Organisation

This paper outlines some typologies of managerial and professional development. It then examines some aspects of the informal structure of an organisation and the significance of the role of mentor within that structure. It proposes that the mentor oversees the adaptation of the individual to the needs of the organisation and thus influences the pattern of managerial development. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of this for management development programmes and suggests some areas which call for further research. During a review of the literature concerned with career development there occurred several references to the question of the adaptation of the individual to the organisation. This is a matter of significance in understanding both the individual's career development and the organisation's practice of management development. Although the literature review was concerned with a relatively narrow field and there are, therefore, probably other relevant and important issues which are not raised below, it uncovered several research findings which are of particular significance for the practice of management development. They have been noted and are discussed in this paper.