Reference no: EM133158059

Succession Planning: Who's Next?

Succession planning is a very important part of any organization-and it is not limited to senior positions. Many companies are finding that their middle managers are not ready to move into upper management positions because their skills are weak or they lack experience. Succession planning involves identifying and tracking high-potential employees as they develop in their careers and work experiences. In some instances, interpersonal relationships such as mentoring and coaching help organizations identify key people and allow them to "stretch" by taking on additional responsibilities and assignments-even before they are placed in senior management or promoted in the organization.

Read the case and answer the questions that follow.

Imani Stephens is the managing editor for a small publisher in Washington, D.C. She has worked her way up to this prestigious position from an entry-level position more than six years ago. She loves what she does and is committed to staying with the organization. There are three levels of management above her current position (director, vice president, and CEO), and each person has been very generous with time and expertise to help Imani improve her managerial and interpersonal skills. Her immediate supervisor tells her that he has been selected to run the company's start-up operation in the United Kingdom and will be leaving shortly to find a place to live in London. He tells Imani he has recommended her for his position and asks if Imani has a successor in mind for her managing editor's job. Imani has always thought that Heather Reed would make a terrific managing editor but never asked Heather about her career aspirations. Heather has done an exceptional job as a production manager for the last four years, and everyone expects her to be next in line to take over Imani's current duties. Now that Imani looks likely to get promoted to director, she talks to Heather about taking over the managing editor's role. Imani is stunned to learn that Heather wants no part of management and says she wants to stay in her current position. Imani is scrambling and has to come up with plan to fill her position as quickly as possible.

1. Which of the following is not true about succession planning?

2. What is the term for employees the company believes are capable of being successful in high-level management positions?

3. What should Imani have done differently to avoid the unpleasant surprise that Heather was not interested in the managing editor's position?

4. Which would not be one of the major disadvantages if the company decides to tell employees if they are on or off the lists of potential candidates for high-level manager positions?

5. Which of the following characteristics would not place an employee on the high-potential list?