The vast majority of organizations provide training and on-the-job experiences as part of their efforts to develop managers. Most organizations use a combination of externally provided and internally developed courses and programs to achieve this goal. Organizations frequently design their own courses and seminars as one way to develop their managers. Such courses have the advantage of being tailored to the specific issues, skills, and attributes of the organization and its managers.

A large number of organizations have concluded that a significant component of their management development should include a company academy or college in which all managers at certain levels are required to complete a specific curriculum. On-the-job experiences play an important role in the development of managers and executives. Many organizations use job assignments and experiences as an explicit part of their management development efforts.

However, despite the importance of on-the-job experience to management development, too often organizations leave such development to chance, hoping managers discover the lessons to be learned on their own. There are a variety of ways organizations can systematically use on-the-job experiences to develop managers. On-the-job experience should be a significant component of an organization’s management development strategy.