CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.0 Chapter Overview - DSpace@UM

23) Established a way to forecast future talent needs.24) Established a way to plan for meeting succession planning needs throughindividual development plans.25) Established a means to track development activities and preparesuccessors for eventual advancement.26) Established a means to evaluate the results.According to the Chief Executive Magazine (April 2004, pp. 1&4), the best practices ofsuccession planning encompass four key elements. They are:1) Identify - find high potential candidates in the organization by usingconsistent, objective criteria.2) Diagnose - assess individual candidates’ strengths and weaknessescompared to the organizations’ needs.3) Prescribe - provide the right development to build competencies in theorganization.4) Monitor - ensure that the succession process works to build leaders overtime.According to Huang (2001), the success of succession planning depends on the carefulimplementation process, well-planned design, commitment of top-level management,credibility of staff, and resource allocation. In many organizations, there are a huge gapbetween the desire for effective succession planning and its actual practice (Hall, 1986).30