Research on meeting the needs of Business
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Introduction
The issue of business leadership has been a central concern to most theorists and scholars who are concerned with management, leadership and psychology within the training of graduates within the Australian education system. The idea of how the psychology or leadership mindset affects the performance of the graduates when they enter the practical business environment has been viewed to be a potentially right area for significant contributions on matters of societal arrangement and theory of organization of education (Kraak, Paterson & Boka, 2016). During the recent times, a commendable number of educational scholars and theorists have outlined approaches that offer an exposition on the idea of how the graduates can be tailored to meet the objectives of business leadership and how this aspect is contextualized in the larger society. In particular, the identified foundations seek to respond to the questions on the individual characteristics and dispositions of a business leader and the manner in which the graduate training relates to the development of followers or the leaders of the team in business environment (Goodwin, 2011).
Developing Outcome- Based Training for Graduates
Moreover, the other key inquiries include the puzzle why certain business leaders are thought to be better or effective in offering leadership in comparison to others and yet the all seem to be graduates of the same system of education within Australia. The researchers have also interrogated the specific instances that may bring out the best or the very worst in terms of qualities of the graduates and whether business leadership is a virtue that a person may obtain by training or through learning (Lund & Tannehill, 2014). In order to arrive at a consensus on some of these critical questions in the manner in which graduate training can meet the needs of the diverse business environment, this analysis breaks down the contents of its focus into a comprehensive appreciation of three diverse areas. First, these areas include the perspectives on business leadership that form the core of the debate on the training of graduates within the Australian education system. The analysis also looks at the issues or factors that dictate whether a business leader is effective or not as well as the implications of such an effective approach on the individual leader based on the current graduate training system (Lund & Tannehill, 2014). The aim of this analysis is primarily not to offer a uniform approach through which the concept of business leadership in the context of the current graduate training may be perceived, but rather to help in the conceptualization of the different perspectives that have emerged on how the needs of business can be met from the training of the graduates.
Graduate Training and Business Needs
Business leadership is considered to be a highly controversial issue especially because of the amorphous nature of its construct and on the question as to whether leadership as a virtue exerts a considerable amount of influence on the behaviour of the individual or the organization. The other issue is the role that the graduate training program plays in the ultimate outcome of the organizational objectives or societal expectations in the ability of the fresh graduates to meet the needs of the evolving business environment (Kraak, Paterson & Boka, 2016). At the core of the debate on graduate training and the need to meet the needs of business organizations is the divide that furthers the view that the training of graduates determine the of business leaders that organization obtain. Moreover, properly trained graduates help organizations to adapt to the ever changing business situations and the ultimate success of such business entity in the competitive market as a result of the decisions of such leaders (Yusof, 2012). On the other hand, those who oppose this perspective assert that the organizational structure is itself as self-sufficient mechanism within which performance and achievement of objectives can be realized even without the input from the educational system.
The conception that the training of the graduates to suit a given business environment is highly irrelevant in terms of influencing the organizational change and behaviour appears to be quite pragmatic; there is lack of evidence to support the assertion. Moreover, the absence of empirical evidence to support the position can only be understood to mean that indeed the training of graduates has a massive impact on the way organization or a society functions or performs in the context of business environment (Yusof, 2012). There are several definitions that are directly attributable to the concept of business leadership and this analysis limits leadership to the processes that are involved in the motivation of a team to achieve the set objectives. These processes directly require the input of the leader responsible towards the effective functioning of the team in order to ensure that the organizational goals and objectives are realized. The initiative to gather the manner in which a leader may command the attention of the organization as well as the team to attain the set objectives must be analyzed at different levels because at the core of this is the graduate training program itself (Goodwin, 2011). The understanding on how a leader impacts the performance of an organization is achieved by looking at the different levels at which leadership training operates and this includes the overall input of the educational system in shaping the graduates to meet the challenges of the dynamic business environment. This is done with a view to developing a clear appreciation on the question of whether graduate training affect other variables such as the overall performance of such students in practical business leadership position within an organization in a given way; and if so, how and when (Yusof, 2012).
The overriding assumption is that business leadership is a critical aspect that is naturally inherent in a person. Indeed, most researchers have acknowledged the effect that the business environment or varied situations have on the manner in which a leader performs but the studies maintain that there is a unique and inherent aspect of a personal training through the graduate training that influences business leadership (Yusof, 2012). This determines whether an individual becomes an extraordinary business leader or not. However, the aim of this analysis is to comprehensively consider that which the business leader does as a primary justification for the debate as opposed to that which the leader is born to be in the absence of any formal graduate training. The basis of this formulation is that business leadership is by and large a developmental matter and so an individual has a lot to learn through the ranks on the path towards being an excellent leader. The learning aspect is a direct product of the graduate training hence the need to bolster effective training of the graduates to meet the evolving business needs (Goodwin, 2011). The other key assumption is that business leaders who become successful and are effective in most scenarios are those who exhibit certain traits like confidence, self-awareness, team building, and have good interpersonal relationships as a result of the graduate training program. Principally, the mandate of every business leader within a business environment is to provide the right context and mind-set for the success of the team and the effectiveness of the leader can be sufficient assessed on the basis of the performance of the team when the leader is absent. The other key Assessment angle could be whether the leader has taken the initiative to Help the team members to effectively internalize the organizational goals and objectives for the progress towards a common team achievement. It is readily evident that these crucial skills are purely a product of the graduate training process and this informs the urgent need for the graduate training to meet the objectives of the current business environment (Yusof, 2012).
Graduate Developmental and the Business Environment
This postulate suggests that business leaders are not born but are a sole product of the development or learning process that occurs through the organizational ranks and this training process begins right from the graduate training. Indeed, the inherent talents and other related natural capabilities are important for the success of every business leader although it suffices to outline that these are not the only pointers (Jones et al., 2017). Other skills that have to be polished by each and every passing day of interaction and team work are particularly crucial for the success of any leader in a business environment and this demands that the graduate training is tailored to meet this business objective. The skills or traits that are highly inherent and may prove to be relevant include being assertive, confident, as well as a fair level of intelligence and comprehension abilities as taught in most graduate schools (Lund & Tannehill, 2014). However, there are other features of a business leader that are psychologically related and may prove to be most important for the success in an organizational setting. The features seem to cut across all classes of leaders and go beyond the individual behaviour or any other related differences such as the changes in graduate training. Indeed, the ability of the business leader to diagnose the situation that the organization is undergoing, the ability of the leader to be flexible and to adapt to changing times as well as the level of a leader’s understanding are key determinants that are passed along as a person undertakes the graduate lectures (ICHL & Wang, 2009).
Graduate’s Ability to Diagnose the Business Situation
This debating perspective suggests that the business leader’s ability to look at a given situation that has presented itself and to ask the relevant questions towards arriving at the right solution is a key factor that is obtained from the graduate training (Goodwin, 2011). At the fundamental bit of this formulation is the analysis of the specific value and insight that a business leader brings on board that would otherwise not be available in the absence of such graduate training for the business person to help solve the problem. This suggestion places at the forefront the ability of the leader to understand the nature of the prevailing situation and to make rational judgment and decisions based on the graduate training knowledge and insight (Jones et al., 2017). Graduate training is also highly relevant for business because it also emphasizes the need to sharply comprehend the circumstances and the varying aspects that come along with each challenges and for the business leader to proceed to satisfy the required demands. There are recently introduced constructs that seek to emphasize individual intelligence as well as the ability to monitor oneself as key requirements for successful business leadership (Goodwin, 2011). It is important to note that these two innovations of intelligence and self-monitoring solely attempt to represent this broader construct on the diagnostic abilities of the business leader that are not necessarily the products of any formal graduate training. This is achieved by way of laying emphasis on the crucial place of undertaking keen Assessment of the emotional and social indicators that govern the given business situation as a supplementary measure to the graduate training skills. Indeed, a lot of scholars have undertaken studies whose conclusion are to the effect that social and emotional intelligence act as key determinants to show the effectiveness of a business leader as opposed to the graduate training itself (Jones et al., 2017). In light of this discussion on the diagnostic abilities of the leader, it is clear that certain traits must be developed as an individual comes into contact with different hostile situations while at the helm of a business leadership role that are entirely outside the scope of the normal graduate training (ICHL & Wang, 2009).
Flexibility in Graduate Training
The process of having to critically diagnose a given situation is a fundamental one for a business leader and this aspect is usually followed by the flexibility requirements for the leader. This implies that the leader must have a highly flexible ability to be able to respond to the numerous conflicting and complex circumstances in an appropriate manner (Tatto & Bruner, 2012). In an ideal setting, ordinary individuals tend to limit their ability to tackle a situation by developing a narrow and limited set of responses to the problem based on the strict confines of their graduate training. It is imperative to note that in today’s business environment, the business leader is required to readily distinguish himself or herself by having a broad set of responses to motivate a comprehensive approach towards tackling the situational problem. This is a key trait that comes as a product of development and graduate learning and cannot be said to be inherent or naturally built in an individual as advocated for by the proponents who propagate the idea that leaders are naturally born (Kraak, Paterson & Boka, 2016).
Conclusion
In conclusion, research shows that business leaders who demonstrated traits that aligned towards great strides of flexibility and whose action shows close response towards reporting of behavioral actions were considered to be most effective by the people they lead. Other attributes that have linked to a business leader’s flexibility include the elements of adaptability as well as openness of a leader towards the people they engage with and these key skills are imparted during the graduate training program. It has been shown that flexibility arises out of mental or cognitive qualities that inform the social understanding of a business leader. The value of cognition is seen in cases where a business leader chooses to employ complex cognition related responses to take appropriate behavioral actions in a given environmental situation and this justifies the usefulness of the graduate training program in meeting the needs of business environment.
References
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Jones, T., Jones, S., Elliott, K. C., Owens, L. T. R., Assalone, A. E., & Gándara, D. (2017). Outcomes based funding and race in higher education: Can equity be bought?. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-49436-4.
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