The needs of nature warrant greater investment

Business Impact: The needs of nature warrant greater investment

The needs of nature warrant greater investment

Business Impact: The needs of nature warrant greater investment
Business Impact: The needs of nature warrant greater investment

New means of enticing private sector investment are needed to fund nature restoration projects in Southeast Asia that could cost up to $200 billion. That’s according to a new study from researchers at Imperial College Business School’s Centre for Climate Finance & Investment (CCFI). It argues that investing in nature projects of this kind offers a logical and powerful response to the climate emergency in Southeast Asia, where a number of economies are underpinned by nature.

“Climate change is already impacting Southeast Asian economies and, together with the risk of ecosystem collapse, provides a strong motivation for investing in nature. Investors stand to benefit greatly from nature investments – whether for resilience, portfolio diversification or cost reduction efforts,” said report author and CCFI research fellow Pernille Holtedahl.

Sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) offer one route to further investment, according to the report. SLBs to the tune of $73 billion were issued globally in 2022 and are designed to tie organisations to specific sustainability commitments, with penalties incurred for missed targets. Drawing on cases studies from Malaysia, the report recommends that SLBs are administered with credible and verifiable key performance indicators.

The report, Nature Investment as a Response to the Climate Crisis: Opportunities in Southeast Asia, also cautions against basing investment cases for nature around carbon credits, arguing that the goal should be the long-term incorporation of nature benefits into broader corporate investment decisions. 

Headline image credit: Eutah Mizushima on Unsplash

This article originally appeared in the print edition (Issue 3 2023) of Business Impact, magazine of the Business Graduates Association (BGA)

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Furthering female education in rural India

Business Impact: Furthering female education in rural India

Furthering female education in rural India

Business Impact: Furthering female education in rural India
Business Impact: Furthering female education in rural India

In a sleepy semi-rural spread of the Medak District in the state of Telangana in India, in a cluster of several villages, one government model school in Munipally decided to try and empower its female students who were meritorious but faced hurdles in furthering their education and career. These girls were often married off at an early age and destined to live a life completely dependent on men in the family and community. This clearly put them at a disadvantage and many young girls remained trapped in violent and unhappy marriages, bearing children at a young age. Yet, most girls simply accepted this as their fate.

During a neighbourhood survey visit for Woxsen University’s centre of excellence for diversity, equity and inclusion, the school’s principal and I discussed what they could do to give their female students a better life and secure future.

Business Impact: Woxsen project aspiration

A ‘train the trainer’ initiative

This was the genesis of Project Aspiration, which was conceptualised to offer career development and confidence-building training to female students that would encourage them to aspire to enrol in higher education that leads to a career and supports their upward social mobility.

Together with the school, a group of 22 female students from classes IX-XII (usually aged between 14 and 18) were identified to be part of a ‘train the trainer’ initiative. The training programme created a lot of excitement among the girls involved, who all felt proud to be part of the initiative. A group of Woxsen University MBA students were then identified to manage this training programme, as part of their own DEI training – the idea being that working on the initiative doesn’t just help MBAs to develop awareness of the social disparities that exist around them, but also allows them to work actively towards eradicating them.

A great deal of effort was put into the training programme’s design and the necessary government permissions were sought. For three weeks in December 2022, these bright little girls in school uniforms were often seen walking around Woxsen’s campus, interacting with other university students during lunch hours as part of this novel project. They were on campus with a purpose – to get trained to train their own.

The girls were exposed to different aspects of their future, learning about themselves and the world around them. However, the project’s main intention lies in the idea that the trainee must not remain a student alone. Those trained at Woxsen were also expected to become a trainer in a different setting and teach their siblings, classmates and others. Education has no limit and learning has no age. Allowing these young minds to be responsible for what they take away from the Aspiration programme and expecting them to pass the knowledge on to others is designed to help them demonstrate what they have learnt and develop resilience to overcome challenges and barriers and grow.

Empowering schoolchildren while developing MBA capabilities

In the first iteration of Project Aspiration, 21 girls from Telangana Model School and Junior College received training. All were from a local government school and most live in a rural village. The majority of the families in this context cannot afford higher studies and many of them end their education at the end of class 12 [the end of senior secondary education and, therefore, prior to undergraduate education].  

The students learnt about the importance of having goals in life, how to develop SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timebound) goals and how to work towards them. They also went through various types of soft skills training and learnt about psychological capital, as well as how to build resilience. They were briefed about various avenues of higher education and career opportunities they could prepare for. They also received counselling about mental health and the importance of counselling. A multitude of career development activities and debates were held to boost their confidence and aspiration levels, with several open discussions on crucial social topics.

Project Aspiration was multi-aimed. While the main aim was to empower female students in the region, it was also designed to develop the capabilities of MBA students when it comes to project management. Team members were given different roles, with principal organisers and those involved in the training itself supplemented by those working on graphic designer, photography, social media and content development elements.

The future

Project Aspiration was not designed to be a one-time initiative, but rather a continuous process of teaching and learning. As trainees evolve into trainers, the project will evolve organically.

With certificates awarded to trainees and trainers alike, the last day of the programme was filled with smiles, accompanied by confident presentations from the trainees. The metamorphosis of the students through the weeks was a heart-warming moment for all those involved in the project.

Woxsen believes in developing its ecosystem and empowering the community around its campus to become self-sustainable. Our creative initiatives seek ways to help and support the people and their livelihoods. Our classrooms offered a chance for the female students involved to aspire to create a new world for themselves. Our campus became a stage for them to hone their skills before taking centre-stage in their own school. In this way, we hope that Woxsen can forever be a part of their life-changing journey.

 “Education for girls from a background like this is basically a way to fill their ‘stop gap period’, in which their parents send them to school long enough for them to search for a marriage alliance. The girls are then essentially married off to cook and take care of their families for the rest of their lives. For the students to see girls pursuing higher studies is very important. It might influence them and lead them to change their own futures,” said Miss Jhansi, a biology teacher at school involved in the first Project Aspiration initiative.

A spark was also lit from Woxsen’s perspective, with 2022’s Project Aspiration followed by another training programme called Project Inclusion that was aimed at the boys and which focused on teaching them how they can make a difference to the lives of their mother, sisters, fellow students, wives and daughters, alongside developing their own confidence and ambitions.

Since then, Woxsen University’s centre of excellence for diversity, equity and inclusion has been approached by another government school in a similarly disadvantaged area to offer training for their students. We couldn’t be prouder of our work in this area and the difference we are trying to make to enable a more equitable society, where everyone gets opportunities to grow and live a dignified life.

Kakoli Sen

Kakoli Sen is professor and dean of the School of Business at Woxsen University in Hyderabad, India. She teaches and trains in the areas of organisational behaviour, human resource management and leadership

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Side hustles worth almost AUD$10 billion

Business Impact: Side hustles worth almost AUD$10 billion

Side hustles worth almost AUD$10 billion

Business Impact: Side hustles worth almost AUD$10 billion
Business Impact: Side hustles worth almost AUD$10 billion

So-called ‘side hustle’ businesses in Australia number more than 315,000 and are worth an estimated AUD$9.8 billion (c$6.4 billion) to the economy, according to a study from La Trobe Business School, Melbourne.

Defined as ‘hybrid entrepreneurship’ in the study and referring to those pursuing paid employment and entrepreneurship simultaneously, the research also indicates that approximately 24 per cent of all Australian entrepreneurs start their businesses while still in a full-time job.

“Hybrid entrepreneurship provides an option to supplement personal or family income and provide social upliftment and wellbeing,” said lead researcher and professor of entrepreneurship at La Trobe Business School Alex Maritz. “Not only can individuals increase their income, they can also learn new skills and gain experience. Hybrid entrepreneurship is an excellent way for aspiring entrepreneurs to ‘test the waters’ of self-employment.”

Maritz noted that the pandemic and ongoing economic difficulties accelerated the side-hustle trend. He also said the findings showed that risks, such as overstretching existing time commitments, were outweighed by the benefits. Indeed, individuals who are more risk averse are more likely to opt for a side hustle than full-time entrepreneurship. The study was published in a special issue of Administrative Sciences.

This article originally appeared in the print edition (Issue 3 2023) of Business Impact, magazine of the Business Graduates Association (BGA)

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Empowering the journey to net zero with data

Business Impact: Empowering the journey to net zero with data

Empowering the journey to net zero with data

Business Impact: Empowering the journey to net zero with data
Business Impact: Empowering the journey to net zero with data

Amid the ominous challenge and existential threat of climate change, the urgency to achieve net zero has become paramount. Moreover, the race to net zero demands the swiftness of a hare, not the slow pace of a tortoise. Time is of the essence.

Both public and private sector organisations worldwide are under pressure to reduce their carbon footprints and actively contribute to the goal of net zero by 2050. However, many are asking how to achieve this ambitious target. The answer lies in the power of data.

Data-driven solutions are becoming a critical tool in paving the way forward. Using resource management data, businesses can gain a deeper understanding of their emissions and identify areas for improvement. With organisations struggling to manage workspaces effectively, data has become the key to taking targeted steps in reducing their carbon footprint and implementing more sustainable practices. The countdown has begun and the race to net zero is one where businesses cannot afford to fall behind. It’s time to get a head start with the help of data.

Charting the course

Without accurate data, businesses across all sectors may not have a clear picture of their environmental impact, making it impossible for them to identify areas for improvement.

Those dealing with an organisation’s resources are pushed to their limits to simply maintain efficiency, let alone achieve net zero. Since the pandemic, underused space and turbulent energy prices have been driving real estate executives to reset their strategies and place greater focus on space optimisation and reducing energy expenditure.

Yet, the biggest challenge to acquiring accurate data is funding. Implementing energy-efficient technology or data collection software, or even investing in renewable energy sources can require significant upfront costs. This may be a barrier for many, particularly in the public sector where budgets are restricted. However, you can’t manage what you don’t measure. Data provides a clearer insight into combatting these challenges and can lead to a long-term return on investment (ROI). More importantly, it supports an organisation on its journey to net zero.

Set the heading for net zero

As one of the most powerful tools in the fight against climate change, the right data can allow businesses to gain valuable insights into their energy usage patterns, identify areas for improvement and track progress over time. One element for organisations across every sector to consider is how employees now work.

The shift in how we work has led to wasted resources and unnecessary carbon emissions in other areas, specifically office spaces. Therefore, implementing the right management data can allow firms to better understand their physical resources. For example, data might reveal certain areas of an office that are consistently overused or underused, indicating an opportunity to adjust the layout or occupancy to save energy and improve efficiency from a business perspective.

Furthermore, saving money on reduced office space and equipment can free up investment for net zero initiatives, such as green leasing. Green leases serve as a means for decarbonising real estate and opens a more collaborative effort between landlords and tenants, all in support of achieving net zero.

While reducing the size of office spaces can help organisations cut their carbon footprint, there is a catch. As more people work from home, the burden of emissions is shifted to their households instead. Individual staff behaviours are harder to measure and control, let alone enforce. Therefore, it’s crucial to instil a company culture of sustainability by setting policies and providing support to help workers reduce their environmental impact while working from home.

Unchartered territory

The term ‘net zero’ should inspire change towards a more efficient and cost-effective business model. Rather than considering net zero as a burden, business leaders should think of it as an opportunity to improve how they operate, decrease long-term costs and increase efficiency.

Now more than ever, data can be used to inform and drive business decisions to capitalise on climate action. However, achieving this will require a full-scale review of an organisation’s internal strategy that targets precisely where it can reduce emissions and eliminate waste.

With the application of data management systems, companies can take advantage of insights that not only align with their business objectives but also their net zero objectives, enabling them to better understand their environmental impact and forecast reduction scenarios accurately.

With governments around the world observing matters closely and the general public exerting mounting pressure, the sprint towards net zero is in full swing. Business leaders must now focus their efforts on this crucial goal before it slips out of reach.

Business Impact: Karl Breeze, CEO, Matrix Booking

Karl Breeze is CEO at workplace management firm, Matrix Booking

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Reflecting on the use of ChatGPT in education

Business Impact: Reflecting on the use of ChatGPT in education

Reflecting on the use of ChatGPT in education

Business Impact: Reflecting on the use of ChatGPT in education
Business Impact: Reflecting on the use of ChatGPT in education

The use of ChatGPT in education continues to divide opinion – some see it as a tool to complement teaching, while others think it is a threat to students’ ability to think critically.

One school that has embraced it is the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEN) at Andrés Bello University, where it has already been incorporated for analysis and problem-solving tasks in economics courses. To understand it further, faculty members were asked to reflect on its impact.

“ChatGPT could widen the skills and knowledge gap between different students,” said director of FEN’s Department of Economics and Administration Nicolás Garrido. “In the hands of students with a solid background, high motivation and discipline, it can significantly improve their knowledge and skills.

“However, for students who lack a good foundation, motivation or proper habits, the use of AI does not make a noticeable difference. It shows that the learning process is the result of the interaction between knowledge and the socio-emotional skills of students,” he added.

The biggest positive reported in the survey is ChatGPT’s ability to make tailored recommendations for students. “These became the starting point for an individualised strategy for each student,” Garrido revealed.

There were, however, some problems identified, notably that not all of ChatGPT’s applications are free. In addition, it has limited knowledge of anything taking place after September 2021, making it unreliable for connecting classroom learning to current affairs and the developing geopolitical situation.

This article originally appeared in the print edition (Issue 3 2023) of Business Impact, magazine of the Business Graduates Association (BGA)

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Reflecting on the use of ChatGPT in education

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How storytelling can revitalise business schools and business

Business Impact: How storytelling can revitalise business schools and business

How storytelling can revitalise business schools and business

Business Impact: How storytelling can revitalise business schools and business
Business Impact: How storytelling can revitalise business schools and business

Business schools are in trouble and it’s not just because of artificial intelligence (AI). The challenges of our times cut to the heart of business education and of business and capitalism itself. This became clear to me as a guest lecturer at several reputable business schools when my storytelling sessions got similar responses from executive MBA students – and their faculties.

Responses from students usually go: “We need more of this! Why didn’t we have storytelling at the start rather than the end of the semester? We could have used it in all our assignments.” Meanwhile, independent responses from faculty members tend to be: “This was great. Too bad we don’t have any room in the curriculum to learn and practice more.”

Some argue that storytelling skills – like entrepreneurship – must be earned rather than learned. Fair enough. While a strong theoretical foundation can help accelerate learning, ultimately you master these skills in practice. However, the typical response from business schools goes much deeper. It shows they may not have grasped the true need for storytelling. Neither in business, which they teach, nor in their business.

The need for purpose

The effectiveness of traditional business education is under scrutiny and for good reason. When a company replaces a CEO who has no business degree with one who does, they may be in for a disappointment. In research from MIT, there was no evidence that a business graduate at the helm increased sales, productivity or investment.

Reducing pay for the workforce can boost profitability and share price in the short term. Whether corporate performance improves in the long term is another matter. As an investor, I was shocked to learn that over the last century, all net US stock exchange wealth was generated by just four per cent of listed companies.

Regardless of one’s stance on stakeholder capitalism, the rising interest in, and need for, business ‘purpose’ is an undeniable reality. Ironically, the relentless pursuit of profit maximisation failed to generate wealth for the vast majority. That’s before we factor in the relational, health and environmental costs. Could pursuing holistic value creation instead improve financial value creation, too? This is what Mars Inc. and Oxford University’s Saïd Business School have discovered over the course of 15 years of research on the ‘Economics of Mutuality’.

Ultimately, at the individual and organisational level, long-term, performance-boosting management is purpose-driven. However, driving purpose-based performance requires a different mindset and skillset to those classically taught at business schools. It requires what I call ‘narrative intelligence’, the ability to influence an ecosystem by recognising and reiterating, reframing or replacing stories.

So, while a few pioneering business schools do now teach storytelling, are they equipping students with narrative competence equal to this mission-critical task? In my experience, it isn’t even on the radar. This is curious, given that storytelling is central to delivering their own business value.

After all, what makes a ‘great’ teacher great? One distinguishing mark of an excellent teacher is the ability to hold the attention of students. That is not only due to mastery of the content which needs to be communicated, but also the skill with which the content is communicated. Every student knows from experience that even business cases can be taught less than brilliantly – usually because the teacher hasn’t integrated storytelling techniques in the way they lead the discussion of the business case.

Do excellent teachers integrate storytelling techniques because they were lucky enough to formally or systematically learn such techniques? This is unlikely, because there was practically no awareness of the importance of storytelling in business education until recently. In other words, the current generation of excellent teachers are good storytellers because of talent and instinct or simply because they observed excellent storytellers in action. It was caught rather than taught.

Narratives that matter

Today, as more and more business schools are becoming aware that storytelling is an essential skill for business school professors, they are beginning to help their own professors learn the skills involved. But as storytelling is essential in business itself, why isn’t it taught properly alongside other business disciplines such as finance, business models, competitor analysis, organisation behaviour and strategy?

In addition, is it only individual class sessions that need to be storified? Is it not also the way entire modules are taught? How about the curriculum as a whole? Far too many students graduate from business school with some sense of the individual subjects or modules they studied, but no overall sense of how the different modules fit together. They received no framework regarding business as a whole.

This brings us back to companies embracing purpose as something central to their business models, rather than peripheral. To get the best results, business schools, like business, need to zoom out their focus on numbers and frame them within narratives that matter. It’s high time for business schools to embrace the transformative power of storytelling, not just as an add-on, but as a core component of their mission. Doing so will help revitalise the businesses they are preparing tomorrow’s leaders to serve. With generative AI set to disrupt both arenas and empower changemakers, the timing could hardly be better, nor more urgent.

Headline image credit: Nathan Trampe on Unsplash

Jyoti Guptara is a story strategist, speaker and the author of Business Storytelling from Hype to Hack

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New programme brushes with fine art

Business Impact: New programme brushes with fine art

New programme brushes with fine art

Business Impact: New programme brushes with fine art
Business Impact: New programme brushes with fine art

Geneva Business School has launched the Fine Art International Management MBA – heralded as being the first of its kind.

Covering topics that include finance, art law, technology, logistics, ethics and compliance, the programme’s aim is to prepare managers for careers in art sales, banks and museums, as well as roles that work with cryptocurrencies and NFTs.

“There has never been a more exciting time to get into the art world. The pace of change over the past year has been electric,” explained Geneva Business School programme manager Sixtine Crutchfield-Tripet. “The added complexities of new digital formats have highlighted the industry’s need for people with real business management expertise. We have designed this course specifically to meet that demand.”

The English-language programme encompasses six conferences, as well as involvement in a school-wide intensive leadership week that is designed to allow participants on all master’s programmes at Geneva Business School to network.

The school says it is the perfect place to study an MBA in art because Geneva is a centre of art law and home to a renowned free port thought to contain art collections worth $100 billion. Switzerland is also home to celebrated art fair Art Basel. The programme’s first cohort starts classes this autumn.

This article originally appeared in the print edition (Issue 3 2023) of Business Impact, magazine of the Business Graduates Association (BGA)

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How will generative AI impact higher education?

Business Impact: How will generative AI impact higher education?

How will generative AI impact higher education?

Business Impact: How will generative AI impact higher education?
Business Impact: How will generative AI impact higher education?

The OECD’s initial prediction that around 1.1 billion jobs will undergo significant transformation due to artificial intelligence (AI) over the next decade now seems quite cautious in light of the rapid advancements in technology. Advanced AI systems, such as GPT-4 and Midjourney, have broadened the horizons of what AI can achieve. They can generate diverse content, understand complex scientific concepts and have the potential to reshape industries, such as medicine and entertainment.

It’s clear that the scope of AI’s capabilities has surpassed earlier expectations, prompting a re-evaluation of skills and professions. This changing landscape emphasises the importance of adapting higher education to equip individuals for this AI-driven world.

In this, the concept of ‘humanics’ put forward by the World Economic Forum’s Education 4.0 initiative is critical – fostering skills that are resistant to automation, such as creativity, interpersonal awareness and civic responsibility, will be invaluable in the changing job landscape.  

Yet, underscoring the ethical dimensions of AI’s growth is an open letter from the Future of Life Institute that calls for restraint in training AI systems beyond GPT-4’s capabilities. Endorsements of this letter from influential figures, such as Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak, demonstrate the concern for responsible AI development.

AI’s expansion

In spite of such challenges, AI’s power is expected to expand, reshaping industries and potentially redefining the nature of work itself. Generative AI’s transformative potential spans diverse fields and will make its presence keenly felt in education. Content creation is a prime example, as it offers industries that include media and marketing a tool to generate written materials, leveraging models such as GPT-3 to produce news articles and other forms of written content. Generative AI also has the power to aid researchers in crafting academic research papers and literature reviews, streamlining information synthesis and laying the groundwork for further refinement.

In higher education, generative AI is already reshaping simulations and virtual laboratories. Virtual patient simulators in healthcare, for example, simulate clinical scenarios and enable medical students to refine their skills in a risk-free environment. In engineering, digital prototypes and simulations replicate real-world situations, facilitating efficient product testing and development. Intelligent tutoring  technologies are also evolving, with generative AI helping platforms, such as Carnegie Learning, to deliver personalised guidance based on individual student performance, thus enriching the learning journey.

Why higher education must adapt

As AI continues to disrupt industries and redefine job roles, it’s essential for universities to step up and adapt their approach to education, ensuring that students are equipped not just with technical skills, but also with the cognitive and social skills that can’t be easily automated. Blending theoretical knowledge with practical experience through experiential learning programmes is one proactive strategy that can help business schools prepare students for an AI-driven future. Such programmes offer students the chance to establish meaningful connections with their environment and peers, giving them a competitive edge over automation. By immersing students in AI-driven workplaces, they can gain a deep understanding of industry fundamentals, even if AI begins to narrow traditional entry paths.

Experiential learning serves as a valuable alternative route, catering to a changing landscape. The impact of this shift extends far beyond the classroom. It reshapes apprenticeships, corporate training and educational technologies, fundamentally altering the existing educational system. It calls for universities to pivot their focus towards lifelong learning, recognising that the dynamic nature of AI and technology requires continuous adaptation.

In addition, this transformation aligns with the evolving needs of non-traditional learners by bringing the focus on to tailored programmes that cater to their evolving professional requirements. The synergy between experiential learning and generative AI showcases the dynamic potential of education in preparing individuals for a rapidly changing landscape of work and technology.

How AI can improve higher education

Generative AI’s influence in education spans a wide range of areas. Platforms such as Duolingo use generative AI to create language lessons and offer immediate feedback. Writing assistance systems, such as Grammarly, use generative AI to recommend ways to enhance your grammar, style and ability to spot plagiarism. Existing applications of the technology also extend to data analysis and visualisation, where tools like Tableau use generative AI to suggest efficient ways to present complex datasets in order to facilitate interpretation.  

These examples highlight the varied functions that generative AI may serve to improve education. It has the potential to transform higher education in a number of ways. One significant application is content creation, which enables generative AI models to create excellent instructional materials. This might entail writing well-organised research papers, perceptive essays and thorough textbooks and would allow educators and researchers to focus on other important facets of their job while also saving them significant time.

Generative AI also presents opportunities for individualised learning. The algorithms behind the technology can produce custom content that caters to the distinct requirements and preferences of each student by examining individual learning patterns. This could entail creating tests tailored to each student’s learning preferences, interactive activities, or even life-like simulations. Additionally, generative AI models acting as virtual teaching assistants accompany students in real-time by providing prompt responses, precise justifications and customised coaching. Bring with it a guarantee of prompt support and clarification, this type of personalised feedback stands to improve the learning process considerably. 

The significance of generative AI is further expanded by its potential applications in language learning and translation. To help learners master new languages, it can produce language drills, conversations and pronunciation manuals. Additionally, it can make translation work easier while encouraging a greater grasp of other languages and efficient interlinguistic communication. Similarly, it can speed up research and data analysis across a variety of academic domains, by developing hypotheses, navigating enormous datasets, and modelling difficult scenarios. In the arts, generative AI offers ways to ignite innovation and stimulate the birth of new artistic movements, musical compositions and architectural ideas. In this light, it becomes clear that generative AI has the potential to revolutionise education by precipitating and facilitating a re-evaluation of how humans discover, create and learn in a variety of contexts.

Rajat Gera Business Impact

Rajat Gera is director of research at the School of Business, Woxsen University.
Gera has co-authored more than 50 international and national publications, as well as three edited books and case studies published by Western University’s Ivey Business School and London Business School. He holds a PhD in management from University School of Management Studies, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi

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The evolution of management careers in HR

Business Impact: The evolution of management careers in HR

The evolution of management careers in HR

Business Impact: The evolution of management careers in HR
Business Impact: The evolution of management careers in HR

Human resources (HR) has always played an important role in business, but in the past was typically seen as dealing largely with mundane but necessary tasks, such as payroll or booking staff holidays. However, in recent years, HR has become a critical function, playing a central role in facilitating change, increasing productivity and boosting brand reputation. – all of which contribute directly to bottom-line growth. Consequently, the image and importance of HR practitioners have transformed significantly.

A skilled and productive workforce is necessary for any company’s success in an increasingly competitive, global business environment. However, people today have a far better sense of their own worth and are far more willing to leave their existing job or refuse an offer of one if the role doesn’t fulfil their expectations. That’s why HR is so valued by today’s companies. It not only understands how to meet the ever-evolving demands of today’s workforce, but also the right way to create consumer-grade candidate experiences that attracts fresh talent.

Why effective HR is far more than custodianship

Despite this, HR is still too often viewed solely as the custodian of employment policies, practices and procedures. A custodian is a professional who performs tasks that keep the building in good shape and ensures everything runs smoothly. However, HR offers far more than simple maintenance. When senior management teams embrace and invest in it, it quickly becomes a respected part of the strategic decision-making process. This is because an established HR department understands the needs and concerns of the workforce and how decisions by senior leaders will affect them. While progress is being made in this regard, the next generation of HR leaders must continue to showcase the direct correlation between HR investment and business success.

A new study commissioned by Speaker’s Corner recently found that 91 per cent of UK business owners are struggling to recruit and retain highly skilled employees. It’s a terrible situation for businesses, especially start-ups and SMEs. In today’s world, if you want to grow your business, you must prioritise HR because recruiting, training, engaging and retaining good people is essential for organisational effectiveness.

Also, it must be understood that employee wellbeing and development have become ever more important in the last few years as recent studies, such as the WorkBuzz State of Employee Engagement report, will attest to. This found that culture, rather than higher salaries, was the most effective lever to attract talent. Simply put, keeping todays’ employees happy nowadays requires more than just a paycheck.

Careers in HR

The current geopolitical and economic climate has impacted the financial security of employees and their belief systems greatly.

HR can help steer companies through this uncertainty because it serves as a catalyst for change that is essential for survival and success. Today’s HR managers are being empowered to create employee-centric cultures, which allow for ideas, creativity and communication to pervade the organisations they work for. This allows employees to freely raise issues that senior management teams may not be aware of, but which are interfering with productivity and performance. Putting such a structure in place is a lot of responsibility and not everyone is cut out for it, but for those who are, it’s extremely rewarding.

Who wouldn’t want a career motivating people to perform at their best or creating cultures that espouse positivity and employee wellbeing? After all, you’re benefitting the business, fellow employees and your own professional development.

From HR manager to leader

All good leaders understand the importance of professionalism, the power of experience and the need to treat those they have a responsibility to well, regardless of their status. Anyone who wants to become a leader should ask themselves: “Why would anyone want to follow me?” If you’re not inspired enough to answer that question about yourself, you’re unlikely to be able to motivate others or help develop the inspiration of tomorrow’s business leaders.

In terms of HR specifically though, you must have emotional intelligence and the ability to recognise when an organisation needs to change, whether that is by analysing market trends and competitors or identifying areas for improvement or transformation. By keeping a finger on the pulse of the industry, HR can anticipate future challenges and drive proactive change initiatives.

Michael Doolin

Michael Doolin is a subject matter expert in the areas of HR employment law, reorganisation and change, HR infrastructure and policy and procedure development. He has held board director positions and designed and developed HR strategy for some of Europe’s leading brands

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BGA members in Egypt and Germany lead way in AMBA & BGA awards

Business Impact: BGA members in Egypt and Germany lead way in AMBA & BGA awards

BGA members in Egypt and Germany lead way in AMBA & BGA awards

Business Impact: BGA members in Egypt and Germany lead way in AMBA & BGA awards
Business Impact: BGA members in Egypt and Germany lead way in AMBA & BGA awards

ESLSCA University in Egypt and Germany’s Berlin School of Business and Innovation (BSBI) are among the BGA business schools to receive multiple nominations in this year’s AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards.

With 11 accolades up for grabs in this year’s ‘Oscars’ of management education, ESLSCA University has a nomination in three categories. The Cairo-based school has been shortlisted in the prestigious BGA Business School Impact Award for its MBA programme aimed at transforming government officials into change catalysts. In addition, its diploma for visually impaired individuals has a nomination in Best CSR and Sustainability Initiative and one of the school’s students is in the running for the BGA Student of the Year Award.

BSBI, meanwhile, has secured a nomination in two categories. Alongside recognition in the Best Lifelong Learning Initiative, the school has  been shortlisted for Best Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative for activities focused on celebrating and learning from other cultures.

Other members of the BGA network receiving multiple nominations in this year’s awards are the Indian Institute of Management Indore, the UK’s Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, Polimi Graduate School of Management in Italy and Mexico’s Egade Business School.

Global accolades for a global industry

A total of 63 business schools based in 18 different countries are in the running for this year’s AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards. The annual awards celebrate excellence in global business education, while recognising the achievements of individual students and graduates.

With separate categories for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), CSR and lifelong learning, among others, AMBA & BGA’s awards are designed to reflect business schools’ potential for impact on the world of business, through their research, initiatives and development of influential leaders and entrepreneurs.  

Take a look at the full shortlist of business schools in each category, as well as all the student and graduate nominees.

Winners are to be announced at a ceremony and gala dinner in London in January 2024, with one free place on offer to every business school member of the AMBA & BGA networks. Learn more about the AMBA & BGA Gala Dinner 2024.

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