Developing Managerial Skills: an Exploratory Investigation Into the Personality of Management Students
Developing Managerial Skills: An Exploratory Investigation into the Personality of Management Students Background
A MBA program is a much sought after course today, with B-Schools continually making an effort to inculcate knowledge, skills and attitude in an attempt to carve out ideal managers from young & naïve graduates. The growth of India’s economy has made more resources available to institutions and they are working to improve the quality of management education thus making their graduates compete favorably with those produced in the best Universities of the World. The 80s and 90s saw a big jump in the number of students opting for Master in Business Administration course as a means of career advancement across a broad range of industries. In India particularly in the late 90s, the post-liberalisation era, with the entry of multinational companies into India, the demand for management graduates increased manifold (Gupta & Gollakota, 2005 as cited by Shahaida, 2009). It is expected that a course in management will equip graduates for different managerial roles, help them gain a better understanding of the industrial and business world, enrich their skills and provide them with competencies and capabilities relevant for career success (Baruch & Leeming, 2001).
However, though most B-Schools realize the importance of developing managerial competencies, along with enhancing domain knowledge, few actually succeed in taking an integrative approach to management education (Shahaida et al, 2009). Critiques, such as Bennis & O’Toole (2005), Mintzberg (2004) and Pfeffer & Fong (2002) point to the gap between theory and practice, with too much emphasis on analytical techniques at the cost of leadership, interpersonal and communication skills (Mihail & Elefterie, 2006). Mintzberg argues management programs offer “specialized training in the function of business, not general educating in the practice of managing” (Mintzberg, 2004). According
A MBA program is a much sought after course today, with B-Schools continually making an effort to inculcate knowledge, skills and attitude in an attempt to carve out ideal managers from young & naïve graduates. The growth of India’s economy has made more resources available to institutions and they are working to improve the quality of management education thus making their graduates compete favorably with those produced in the best Universities of the World. The 80s and 90s saw a big jump in the number of students opting for Master in Business Administration course as a means of career advancement across a broad range of industries. In India particularly in the late 90s, the post-liberalisation era, with the entry of multinational companies into India, the demand for management graduates increased manifold (Gupta & Gollakota, 2005 as cited by Shahaida, 2009). It is expected that a course in management will equip graduates for different managerial roles, help them gain a better understanding of the industrial and business world, enrich their skills and provide them with competencies and capabilities relevant for career success (Baruch & Leeming, 2001).
However, though most B-Schools realize the importance of developing managerial competencies, along with enhancing domain knowledge, few actually succeed in taking an integrative approach to management education (Shahaida et al, 2009). Critiques, such as Bennis & O’Toole (2005), Mintzberg (2004) and Pfeffer & Fong (2002) point to the gap between theory and practice, with too much emphasis on analytical techniques at the cost of leadership, interpersonal and communication skills (Mihail & Elefterie, 2006). Mintzberg argues management programs offer “specialized training in the function of business, not general educating in the practice of managing” (Mintzberg, 2004). According
Links: Hammersley, Charles H & Kastrinos, Glenn (1993) “Vocational Profiles of Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialists Based on the 16 PF”, Sourced from http://www.prm.nau.edu/prm447/tr_vocational_profile_study.htm