"If you want to invest for one year, grow rice.
If you want to invest for 10 years, grow trees.
If you want to invest for 100 years, grow people."

(Confucius, 551-479 BC)

Introduction

These days we tend to rely heavily on the technologicalpotential of society. Modern multimedia means facilitate themanagement development (MD) process, such as interactive cd romswith simulation games, recruitment, practice cases, instruments,and professional development opportunities. MD websites (e.g. http://opal.ddiworld.com/opal, and http://www.sylvan.net )enable the new domain of virtual MD.

In this article we will use the concepts of the managers(trainees or managers) and their coaches in the online MDenvironment (learning and/or working). We will concentrate onthe issue of online coaching and explore essential competencies(knowledge, skills, behaviour) of online coaches. First, thestate of the art of virtual training will be described. Itwill be shown that currently attention is mainly focussed on thetechnical competencies of online coaches. The Open UniversityBusiness School (UK) is a pioneer in identifying competencies ofonline coaches. The cultural and social competencies will beanalysed in cultural competency and in socialcompetency. Both competencies are essential to make the onlineMD process a success. Outlook offers some suggestions for furtherresearch.

State of the art

A competent conventional coach is not always a competent onlinecoach. In an online MD environment, the coach is not able topresent his/her personality in the same way as a real learningsituation. The coach has to give some control to the manager. Afterall, it is questionable whether the power of a competent coach canbe condensed digitally. Virtual communication is much more informaland managers work more independently. In everyday practice manybottlenecks remain unsolved. Especially senior coaches have seriousdifficulties working in an online MD environment. A forced transferto online work is almost as unrealistic as asking someone to changehis/her religion. The online manager has the feeling of listeningto a talking head which can isolate him from the real MD process.Unfortunately, there are very few training courses for onlinecoaches. The Business School of the British Open University is apioneer in this respect (Salmon, 1999).

Case OUBS

Currently, the OUBS has 650 part-time tutors and associatelecturers, spread…