Basic skills of business management

Studying Business management equips the learner with the knowledge to develop a broad understanding of the business setups and also enables the student to acquire the specific expertise in the business field regarding business policies and strategies, consumer behavior, information technology, business operations, finances and the interplays in the markets. According to research done by Menzies and Baron (2014), the process of business management itself involves goal setting, planning and the entire control of the business enterprise. From the unit, the learner acquires knowledge on the basic skills of business management which include strategic management, basic accounting, financial management, managing people, operations management, sales, and marketing.

From the same unit, students learn about business planning that helps define it as the managing of resources and priorities in a systematic manner. The best way to plan is to come up with the plan, describe how the success of the project would look like and carry out the program. As researched by Matthewman, Nowlan, and Hyvönen (2018) based on the unit, students learned that there are four main types of planning which include; operational planning, strategic planning, tactical planning, and contingency planning.

From this unit learning outcome (ULO1), students learned about business development. Business development entails the improvement of the value of a business enterprise over a given period. All the management basics are included in business development aimed at making the firm better.

Field tour, visiting the actual business premises, helped the unit sink as the learners experienced how real processes of business management, planning, and development are done.

The learning of business management, planning, and development from this unit (ULO1) equip learners with the skills in critical thinking, problem-solving, global citizenship, and acquire discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities. The goal setting process learned in business management and planning allows the students to employ critical thinking as they try to come up with new ideas on how to achieve the ever-evolving business dynamics (Zimbardi & Myatt 2014, p. 23). The process of business development assists learners acquire the qualities of a problem solver such as being open-minded, risk taker and being open to new challenges. Additionally, students also learn the need to adapt to new cultural practices as they develop and expand the firm into new markets. These are qualities of a global citizen. Learning the basic concepts in business management, planning and development enable the student to gain the professional specific knowledge that shapes their future professional careers.

Types of planning

According to Zimbardi and Myatt (2014), cross-disciplinary learning involves the process of learning and being engaged in activities related to disciplines other than the subject under consideration. Through this unit learning outcome (ULO3), the students acquire the knowledge and the importance of having some idea on other topics even if they are not related to their discipline of study. This unit equips the learners with the knowledge on how to integrate skills from two or more unrelated areas of studies to solve a given life or business challenge.

An incidence when the learners were presented with an example of a life challenge that could not be solved using business skills only enabled the students to understand the unit in details. The situation proved to the learners that one should have some knowledge of other subjects to solve some specific life or business challenges.

The unit learning outcome concerned with the integration of cross-disciplinary knowledge and skills in developing business plan helps the students acquire some specific concepts that help them define their profession.  For example, the skills on how to use the knowledge from finance and marketing help the student become a good business manager. This knowledge helps the students become responsible global citizens as they are trained to listen and learn from people with varying practices and professions (Menzies & Baron 2014, p. 32). It instills the urge to adapt to different conditions depending on the prevailing circumstances and be open-minded when solving a problem. Being open-minded involves thinking and collecting facts in details when trying to come up with a solution to a problem. It also includes listening and obtaining ideas from people from different fields of studies, information that when put together assists in coming up with solutions.

Based on this illustration made by Lovelace, Eggers, and Dyck (2016), it can be seen the unit learning outcome (ULO3) helps in enhancing the various graduate learning outcome (GLO) by making student being critical thinkers, problem solvers, and professionals with specific capabilities as well as being global citizens.

This unit learning outcome (ULO4) that focuses on the assessment of the application of various business and administrative strategies helps the students acquire knowledge about the importance of evaluating and putting to task the strategies employed by managers of a given business enterprise. From this unit, we realize that businesses use various approaches to achieve the ultimate goal of trying to meet the ever-evolving consumer needs (Matthewman, Nowlan, & Hyvönen 2018, p. 54). Firm’s use multiple strategies like cost leadership, differentiation, low focused cost, and integrated low cost in their bid to make the achievement. The students also learn the five critical moments to evaluate a given strategy. According to Acquaah (2011) these pointers include whether the target is achieved or changed, whether or not the consumers’ needs to be replaced, if the innovation changed the market, if the rivals perception on value changes, and whether the capabilities improve or reduce. A student with adequate skills in solving problems tends to be an asset in the society as a mediator in cases of conflict and disputes in the community and or workplace.

Business development

From this unit, the learners acquire skills and knowledge of how to gather information regarding the performance of a given business or managerial strategy and make an informed judgment whether the there was success or failure. The ability to critically subject the strategy to positive scrutiny makes the learners obtain skills like observation, questioning, analysis, and evaluation, which are qualities of a critical thinker (Menzies & Baron 2014, p.789). The ability to be an unbiased evaluator make the student becomes effective problem solvers. Finally, the unit provides the learners with the skills in critical analysis of issues before making any firm decision makes them global citizens (Gabryelczyk & Roztocki, 2018, p. 56). Generally, the unit learning outcome (ULO4) enhances some of the main Deakin graduate learning outcome (DGLO) such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and global citizenship.

From the above illustrations, it is clear that the unit Business Management helps the learners attain some life-changing unit learning outcomes (ULO) and graduate learning outcome (GLO). For instance, the ULO1 helps students obtain the skills that aid in managerial activities like firm management, planning, and development (Zimbardi & Myatt, 2014). This knowledge equips the learners with the skills like being a good observant, analytical, reflective, and the confidence in asking questions; making him or her critical tinker.

Unit learning outcome (ULO3) which addresses the ability to integrate the knowledge and skills from two or more nonrelated disciplines of study helps the student gain the ability to develop a broader understanding of the issues surrounding the society (Matthewman, Nowlan, & Hyvönen 2018, p. 89). He or she can understand and acknowledge how various aspects of life depend on each other. Based on the vast knowledge base in the multiple disciplines, the student can quickly adapt to a foreign environment, and these qualities make a good global citizen. These graduate learning outcomes help students in their professional and personal life within and outside the university. A critical thinker finds it easy to take a keen analysis of a situation before making any decision.

Finally, unit learning outcome (ULO4) which focuses on the evaluation of strategies applications presents the student with the ability to be innovative, multi-skilled, flexible, and objective; which makes him or her ability to find solutions to various problems in a business or community set up. According to Liu, Shankar, and Yun (2017), the student, therefore, becomes a problem-solving asset in the society. The graduate learning outcome attained, critical thinking, problem solver and global citizenship are of great importance in the society. As illustrated by Josephson, Johnson, and Mariadoss (2016), critical thinking helps in coming up with new ideas in handling the dynamic life and professional challenges. People good in solving problems help the society maintain peace, they make good mediators. Such people assist their businesses and workplaces in finding solutions. Someone skilled in global citizenship finds easy to adapt to new environments (Ghanbari et al., 2017, p. 12). Such a person has a professional advantage in that they can represent their businesses or companies in foreign countries with different cultural practices.

Conclusion 

Graduate learning outcomes that students acquire in Deakin University such as critical thinking, problem solving, and global citizenship help a lot in the society. Being good in global citizenship makes an individual a critical thinker which in turn leads to adequate problem solving qualities. These GLOs from the institution have modeled many students into being respectable, responsible, and reliable professionals in various fields.

List of References

Acquaah, M. 2011. ‘Business Strategy and Competitive Advantage in Family Businesses in Ghana: The Role of Social Networking Relationships’, Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, Vol 16, Issue 1, pp. 103–126. Accessed on 27^th Sept, 2018

Gabryelczyk, R. and Roztocki, N. 2018. ‘Business process management success framework for transition economies’, Information Systems Management, Vol 35, Issue (3), pp. 234–253. Accessed on 27^th Sept, 2018

Ghanbari, A. 2017. ‘Business Development in the Internet of Things: A Matter of Vertical Cooperation’, IEEE Communications Magazine, 55(2), pp. 135–141. Accessed on 27^th Sept, 2018

Josephson, B., Johnson, J. and Mariadoss, B. (2016) ‘Strategic marketing ambidexterity: antecedents and financial consequences’, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 44(4), pp. 539–554. Accessed on 27^th Sept, 2018

Liu, Y., Shankar, V. and Yun, W. 2017. ‘Crisis Management Strategies and the Long-Term Effects of Product Recalls on Firm Value’, Journal of Marketing, Vol 81, Issue, (5), pp. 30–48. Accessed on 27^th Sept, 2018

Lovelace, K, Eggers, F. and Dyck, L. R. 2016. ‘I Do and I Understand: Assessing the Utility of Web-Based Management Simulations to Develop Critical Thinking Skills’, Academy of Management Learning & Education, Vol 15, Issue 1, pp. 100–121. Accessed on 27^th Sept, 2018

Matthewman, L, Nowlan, J. and Hyvönen, K. 2018. ‘Reciprocal peer coaching: A constructivist methodology for enhancing formative assessment strategy in tertiary education’, International Coaching Psychology Review, Vol 13, Issue 1, pp. 35-47. Accessed on 27^th Sept, 2018

Menzies, L. and Baron, R. 2014. ‘International postgraduate student transition experiences: the importance of student societies and friends’, Innovations in Education & Teaching International, Vol 51, Issue 1, pp. 84–94. Accessed on 27^th Sept, 2018

Zimbardi, K. and Myatt, P. 2014. ‘Embedding undergraduate research experiences within the curriculum: a cross-disciplinary study of the key characteristics guiding implementation’, Studies in Higher Education, Vol 39, Issue 2, pp. 233–250. Accessed on 27^th Sept, 2018