General Management Programme  

For high potential executives transitioning from leading a business unit to managing a strategic and complex business entity.

General Management is considered to be the most important contributor to the overall success of a business. Individuals in this position are required to lead and manage business units and formulate strategies to compete effectively across the core competencies of the organisation. They must be competent and have a strategic in-depth understanding of all business disciplines, from finance and operations to marketing and human resource management; from information technology to the psychology of consumer behaviour. The General Manager is also required to possess two distinctive abilities: to develop a vision for the organisation and to equip subordinates with the wherewithal to attain the vision, through effective goal setting and performance management.


HOW YOU WILL BENEFIT

• To expose individuals to a rigorous and holistic development experience incorporating a knowledge and skills component but also a on-the-job support and mentoring experience to ensure the application of this knowledge
• To expose participants to a network of identified top talent allowing personal benchmarking, teamwork and collaboration
• To optimally prepare individuals for the role as general manager to minimise the adaption time and ensure full performance to potential in the shortest time
• To allow participants to understand the role and complexity of leading organisations and proactively understand if the move from technical functional expert is indeed the appropriate career path for them
• Extensive support and coaching in the form of an executive coach, workplace mentor and peer support. Exposure to leading executives in South Africa
• Exposure to a leading business simulation, which will assist you to master functional skills, and highlight your strengths and challenges in creating successful teams
• Use customised toolkits to help you develop your own personal development plan
• Access to leading GIBS faculty for the entire duration of the programme, who will assist you with challenging workplace issues as they arise

HOW YOUR ORGANISATION WILL BENEFIT

• Full understanding of the capabilities and profile of top GM talent and best deployment opportunities
• Chance to expose own best talent to a community of top talent, allowing networking, collaboration and peer learning
• The opportunity to partner with a leading business school to direct certain elements of the holistic development experiences for a selected group of top talent
• Have a development opportunity which is aimed at transitioning and embedding executives for the core role of GM, thus mitigating risks and the opportunity cost of incorrect deployment
• Ability to build a pipeline for critical and core skilled roles, especially transition technical experts to a general management role

PROGRAMME ARCHITECTURE

This programme will consist of the following two parts:

Core Development (10 days at GIBS, 4 study blocks of 2,5 days each):

Participants will have a total of 10 contact days at GIBS. This programme is aimed at personal mastery in a general management position and will include personal, strategic and functional excellence components. There will be four blocks of approximately 2,5 days each to focus on multifunctional excellence and integration, and personal effectiveness and leadership.

Workplace Support and Embedding, Personal Coaching (approximately 3 days between core blocks):

This will include personal coaching, simulations and networking. In addition delegates may select to attend one nominated Executive Education short course and one conference within the duration of the programme.


PRE-PROGRAMME PHASE: April to July 2012

• You will be asked to complete online leadership assessments which you will use during the programme.
• You will also participate in a coaching session with your line manager and appointed coach.

ON-CAMPUS CONTACT TIME:

• Study block 1         17 – 19 July 2012
• Study block 2         11 – 13 September 2012
• Study block 3         30 October – 1 November 2012
• Study block 4         29 – 31 January 2013

POST- PROGRAMME PHASE: January to July 2013

• During this period you will continue with individual coaching sessions.
• You will also be given access to selected GIBS faculty whom you can call on to assist you with challenging issues you face at work.
• The programme will conclude with a final day on the GIBS campus.

OUTCOMES

After completion of this intervention, delegates will have an increased capacity to:

• Competently lead and manage a business unit of a company in a sustainably profitable manner;
• Ensure optimal leadership and execution of the business strategy;
• Fully understand their personal strengths and weaknesses and effectively lead the business unit supported by a personal coaching circle;
• Develop a business support network that can be called upon to assist the general manager in leading the business;
• Understand how globalisation will affect business decision making; and
• Lead the organisation in a multicultural environment with diverse stakeholders.

*A global elective will be considered depending on interest


WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

The programme is designed for high potential executives earmarked as future leaders transitioning from leading a business unit to managing a strategic and complex business entity across its entirety, as well as General Managers with profit and loss responsibility for a business or business unit. Individuals must have held numerous leadership positions both in corporate and civil society and have been earmarked as talent and succession.


PROGRAMME FEE: The fee of R110 000 includes tuition, instruction material, textbooks, lunches and refreshments and is VAT exempt. No registration will be confirmed without payment.
*A global elective will be considered depending on interest. This elective is not included in the fee above.


FACULTY

Leading faculty who will be directly involved with the programme include:

Professor Nick Binedell

Nick Binedell is the founding Director and Sasol Chair of Strategic Management at the Gordon Institute of Business Science. His area of expertise is in the field of business strategy across the globe.

Professor Steve Bluen

Steve was the Head of the Psychology Department and the Professor of Industrial Psychology at Wits University. He spent a sabbatical at Queen’s University, Canada. Steve also ran a consulting business, working with many leading SA companies. He joined SA Breweries in 1993 as Consulting Psychologist. Since then, he has held several positions in both the South African and the Africa & Asia businesses.

Professor Karl Hofmeyr

Karl is a full-time Professor at the Gordon Institute of Business Science. He was a Professor at the University of South Africa’s Graduate School of Business Leadership until 1999. He has been a visiting Professor at the HEC business school in Paris since1997. Karl’s interests lie in organisational behaviour, leadership and transformation.

Dr Prem Shamdasani

Prem is Associate Professor of Marketing; Associate Dean, Executive Education; Academic Director at the NUS Business School, National University of Singapore. He holds a BBA degree with first class honors from the National University of Singapore, and received his PhD from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. His research and teaching interests include Brand Management, New Product Marketing, Retail Strategy, Relationship Marketing, and Cross-Cultural Consumer Behaviour. Aside from teaching graduate and executive MBA courses, Dr Shamdasani is very active in executive development and has worked with more than 50 companies globally. He has also written a number of books and published articles in leading journals.

Dr Lyal White

Lyal White is the Director of the Centre for Dynamic Markets (CDM) and a Senior Lecturer at the Gordon Institute for Business Science (GIBS), University of Pretoria.


*Faculty subject to change


DURATION: 12 months, including 10 contact days


CANCELLATION POLICY
Delegates who cancel their registration after the closing date for registrations, or where there is no closing date less than 14 days prior to programme commencement, will be liable for 50% of the programme fee. Those who do not arrive for the programme will be liable for the full fee. Notification of cancellation must be sent in writing either via email or via fax. All who cancel or do not attend must return the programme material intact.


CONTACT US
Tel: +27 (0) 11 771 4313
Email: essopf@gibs.co.za  

Note: GIBS reserves the right to amend dates and prices at short notice, while protecting the consumer rights and interests of prospective delegates.