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Business Education 2.0

Introduction

Business Education 2.0 describes a business learning model that in addition to classroom learning of business theories and concepts, also takes into consideration additional elements that business institutes must incorporate to align business learning with the actual requirements of the global business world. ‘Global intelligence’ and ‘real-world skills’ are the two additional elements that are incorporated into course design and delivery to facilitate Business Education 2.0.

As the name suggests, Business Education 2.0 denotes an improvement over conventional business programs, commonly referred to as Business Education 1.0 programs.

A business school that applies the Business Education 2.0 model allows its students to learn not solely from business textbooks, but also through global experiences and application of real-world skills. The end result being graduates who understand the complex subtleties of doing business in global environments, and equipped with cognitive, analytical and creative skills that enhance decision-making and problem solving.

Components of Business Education 2.0

Global Intelligence

Given that companies today, irrespective of the sectors they operate in, move more freely to set up bases across borders, manpower requirements of the working world have changed. Knowledge and sensitivity to global issues are must-have requirements today. The knowledge and experience gained through exposure to global environments will enable students to adapt efficiently to a workforce that is ethnically and culturally diverse, and facilitate a greater understanding of international business practices. Jonathan Jones, Campus Recruiting Director for Goldman Sachs explains:

“In the financial world, cultural awareness and cultural adeptness are far more important than undergraduate majors or existing skill sets… These needs touch all industries, from banking to healthcare to engineering.”

Global intelligence hence, forms the essence of Business Education 2.0. It emphasizes the impact exposure to multinational business environments and cultures have on student development as global business managers. Business schools that apply Business Education 2.0 allow students to study in multiple countries thereby enabling global intelligence.

Stacie Nevadomski Berdan, co-author of Get Ahead by Going Abroad: A Woman’s Guide to Fast-Track Career Success, in her article “Employers expect more international exposure in MBA graduates” explains:

“What does a company that operates globally expect of today’s graduating college students? Such companies need managers and leaders with an international perspective to drive further growth in China, India, Brazil, Russia, the Middle East, South Africa and Eastern Europe.”

She adds in that leading multinational companies like Du Pont have acknowledged the important role international experience plays. In her article, she quotes Diane Gulyas of DuPont who explains:

“Campuses must expose today’s students to an interconnected global marketplace. Students’ intellectual curiosity about other cultures, countries and ways of thinking should be encouraged.”

Adding in a global element to make learning more relevant and effective is not novel – summer abroad and foreign internships continue to be popular choices for business institutes. However, several studies have highlighted a direct correlation between the duration of the study aboard program and student development. In her article titled “More is better: the impact of study abroad program duration”, Mary M. Dwyer highlights:

“Conventional wisdom in the study abroad field has held that more is better; that is, the longer students study abroad the more significant the academic, cultural development and personal growth benefits that accrue. The standard assumption is that meaningful advancement in language learning and other academic disciplines using a culture-specific pedagogy requires at least a full year of study abroad.”

A correlation between the duration of the study abroad program with student development has resulted in several b-schools establishing campuses in multiple locations, allowing students the opportunity to learn from exposure to multiple cultures. Business Education 2.0 requires students to spend a specified amount of time in each campus (in each country) and then move on to the next location. This continues throughout the duration of the business program. An internship may follow.

In addition to locating programs in multiple countries, b-schools that adopt Business Education 2.0 also require students to conduct corporate projects in each country thereby permitting them the opportunity to study local business practices from corporate mentors and industry professionals. This immensely enhances the global learning quotient. Structured out of classroom activities may also be conducted that allow students the opportunity to immerse themselves in local cultural elements.

Real World Skills

The second pillar of Business Education 2.0 indicates a shift from academic knowledge to skill development. Real-world skills as an element of Business Education 2.0 highlights decision-making along with a set of 8 business-oriented soft skills that graduates must possess to be corporate ready.

Decision-making (DM)

Daniel Connolly in an article titled “Why b-schools should teach Business Intelligence” explains:

“To succeed in business, one needs to be smart—really smart—but business intelligence (BI) is not measured by college degrees. BI is about quickly making sense of the vast amounts of data collected about all dimensions of a business, and then making sound decisions that will generate value for the company. For business schools, it’s also a big opportunity, one that is, by and large, being missed.” Decision-making, as a subset of real-world skills acknowledges that success in business rests on the quality of decisions that are being made. An important discovery however is that today, decision-making is no longer restricted to senior management levels, junior to mid-level management members are expected to analyze problems and take decisions every day. Business managers at every level today face business decisions that are often conflicting and therefore, difficult to make in the presence of risk and ambiguity. Decision-making is therefore, a fundamental skill for any successful business manager.

Traditional decision-making courses often fail to make an impact as they do not consider the unique context of the organization nor do they harness the analytical and cognitive abilities managers need to develop to aid the decision-making process.

Interactive tools and techniques that add in a practical dimension to decision-making and train students to develop the analytical, cognitive and creative skills to make wise decisions have found their way into business schools. A decision-making laboratory is one such tool. These labs are equipped with computer aided simulations that present business problems for students. Students arrive into the classrooms prepared for intense boardroom meetings where issues are discussed, ideas are born, problems are solved and the right decisions are taken.

Though decision-making is often linked with intuition, business experts agree that sound decision-making is a skill that one can develop and improve through training. A curriculum that incorporates decision-making as a core element of the business curriculum is important. Business Education 2.0 addresses this need.

Personal Effectiveness Skills

A research by Carnegie Institute of Technology revealed that 85 per cent of an individual’s financial success is due to skills in “human engineering” – one’s personality and ability to communicate, negotiate and lead. Only 15% may be attributed to technical knowledge. Personal effectiveness, as a subset of real-world skills emphasizes a core set of business-oriented soft skills that business graduates must possess to make an effective impact in the global business world.

These skills include:

• Business communication • Presentation • Selling • Creative thinking • Persuasion and negotiation • Networking • Relationship building • “Can-do” attitude

A variety of tools and techniques may be adopted to train business students in these areas. Video recorded workshops, feedback sessions, role plays are commonly used options.

External links

• example.com