There is much discussion in educational circles recently about “employability” – that is, the degree to which students of a university are ready for employment when they graduate. From the Department of Education (DOE), to accreditation agencies, to universities, employability has become an important topic for consideration, particularly given the need for well-trained, skillful employees who can hit the ground running when they take up a new position and given the need of students to find appropriate work in an economy that continues to face many challenges, not the least of which is a tectonic shift in job trends and skills required.
At CIBU, employability is a primary focus. We want our students to graduate with useful skills, and with an education that will help them find suitable work. Though education is far more than simply a means to an end (career and employment), finding a job, or starting a productive enterprise is highly important to students and to the companies they will serve or start-up.
CIBU faculty are asked to address “Employability” as a specific focus on their course syllabi. CIBU faculty develop a comprehensive “Employability Skills Framework,” based upon Department of Education (DOE) research.
Briefly, the Framework looks at employability through three distinct emphases, which comprise nine skill areas:
- APPLIED KNOWLEDGE (i.e., 1. Critical Thinking, 2. Applied Academic Skills)
- EFFECTIVE RELATIONSHIPS (i.e., 3. Interpersonal Skills, 4. Personal Qualities)
- WORKPLACE SKILLS (i.e., 5. Resource Management, 6. Information Use, 7. Communication Skills, 8. Systems Thinking, 9. Technology Use)
This is an extraordinarily useful taxonomy that helps CIBU faculty and administrators think about employability and business development skills while also reflecting on what a business curriculum that includes employability as an important consideration.
With the Framework in mind, I attempted to analyze how our current MBA curriculum, for example, reflects (or fails to reflect) the 9 skill areas included in that Framework. My analysis is largely my interpretation, of course. Nevertheless, I believe it provides a reasonable perspective on the extent to which the MBA curriculum embodies each of the 9 skill areas:
1. APPLIED KNOWLEDGE:
- Critical Thinking:
- This is embedded in the CIBU “Mission” statement and the CIBU “Supporting Objectives,” and should therefore be an integral part of all MBA courses.
- Applied Academic Skills:
- This too is embedded in our CIBU Mission statement and the CIBU “Goals” statement, and should therefore be an integral part of all MBA courses.
2. EFFECTIVE RELATIONSHIPS
- Interpersonal Skills:
- CIBU 610: Organizational Development and Culture
- CIBU 620: Business Ethics
- CIBU 624: Strategic Management
- CIBU 626: Entrepreneurship
- CIBU 630: Operations Management
- CIBU 632: Negotiation and Legal Analysis
- CIBU 637: Public Relations and Advertising
- CIBU 645: Lifestyle Marketing and Media
- CIBU 646: International Marketing
- CIBU 667: Women in Leadership
- CIBU 668: Advertising
- CIBU 680: Business Internship
- CIBU 695: Project Management
4. Personal Qualities:
- CIBU 610: Organizational development and Culture
- CIBU 620: Business Ethics
- CIBU 624: Strategic Management
- CIBU 632: Negotiation and Legal Analysis
- CIBU 634: Portfolio Analysis
- CIBU 667: Women in Leadership
- CIBU 680: Business Internship
- CIBU Objectives
3. WORKPLACE SKILLS:
- Resource Management:
- CIBU 610: Organizational Development and Culture
- CIBU 624: Strategic Management
- CIBU 625: Entrepreneurship
- CIBU 626: Human Resource Management
- CIBU 627: Corporate Finance
- CIBU 630: Operations Management
- CIBU 631: Managerial Accounting
- CIBU 634: Portfolio Analysis
- CIBU 636: International Business and Commerce (now Global Business)
- CIBU 637: Public Relations and Advertising
- CIBU 680: Business Internship
- CIBU 695: Project Management
- Information Use:
- CIBU 610: Organizational Development and Culture
- CIBU 624: Strategic Management
- CIBU 629: Marketing
- CIBU 630: Operations management
- CIBU 631: Managerial Accounting
- CIBU 632: Negotiation and Legal Analysis
- CIBU 633: Economic Analysis
- CIBU 636: International Business and Commerce (now Global business)
- CIBU 637: Public Relations and Advertising
- CIBU 643: Management Information Systems
- CIBU 645: Lifestyle Marketing and Media
- CIBU 646: International Marketing
- CIBU 668: Advertising
- CIBU 680: Business Internship
- Communication Skills:
- CIBU Objectives
- All 600-level courses
- Systems Thinking:
- CIBU 610: Organizational Development and Culture
- CIBU 624: Strategic Management
- CIBU 630: Operations Management
- CIBU 633: Economic Analysis
- CIBU 636: International Business and Commerce (now Global Business)
- CIBU 643: Management Information Systems
- CIBU 667: Women in Leadership
- CIBU 680: Business Internship
- Technology Use:
- CIBU 610: Organizational development and Culture
- CIBU 624: Strategic Management
- CIBU 635: Entrepreneurship
- CIBU 629: Marketing
- CIBU 630: Operations Management
- CIBU 633: Economic Analysis
- CIBU 645: Lifestyle Marketing and Media
- CIBU 668: Advertising
- CIBU 680: Business Internship
In summation, CIBU’s MBA program easily includes the nine skills areas of the DOE’s “Employability Skills framework.” A similar analysis would reveal that the same is true of CIBU’s BS and DBA curricula.
To be sure, a CIBU education offers much to promote employability. Courses offer the kinds of skills called for by today’s employers, and CIBU degree programs, such as the MBA, cover the essential skills areas many times over. Given the record of our graduates over the past 20 years in securing extraordinary opportunities in many countries around the globe, we have always known anecdotally that we deliver an education that is meaningful to employers. Now, however, with the obvious evidence that we clearly address the employability skills areas desired by employers, it becomes clear that we are delivering a highly useful, practical education that truly promotes employability.
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