Liberal arts education and business hiring practices

Liberal Arts and Business: How Liberal Arts Relates to Business

Liberal arts and business

There has been a huge debate roaring in Canada and the U.S. On the virtues of a broad education system as compared to a practical education system Carr, 2009.

This debate is and continues being heated for many reasons. Siegfried and Bidani (1992)

assert that the most important reasons are powerful emotional factors. In the past, vocational training was reserved for the lower classes while the more academic subjects which include the liberal arts were reserved for the upper classes. In the present, this argument continues roaring on as a result of the many people who are in favor of the liberal arts. These people have this favoritism as a result of their sense of elitism. The other emotional driver of this argument is the sense that this world that we are currently living in has become dominated by business and thus this kind of domination has led to change in the education system to concentrate more on training people to become good employees thus shutting out any kind of appreciation of the other aspects of being human that are regarded as more important Roland, 1999()

This divide is not necessarily unbridgeable. Pace and Connolly (2000)

state that advocates for the liberal arts do not bear a denial that there is need for practical training and more importantly regarding business. Thus, to some extent, they recognize the value of liberal arts in the business world. Advocates for the liberal arts know very well in their hearts that this kind of education will make a huge difference between how the people think and what they are able to see. Liberal arts teach students to apply their knowledge into the practical business world.

Business and liberal arts

If businesses place value in liberal arts, it would be expected that companies will seek graduated from the disciplines of liberal arts. Placement officers in Universities have a profound belief that students of liberal arts have the skills that businesses need to get their work done. They believe that the graduates of liberal arts have skill such as writing, research, critical thinking, and verbal communication. Businesses should thus seek graduates who have these skills rather than just looking at the person's degree or qualifications. Universities have created a profile of essential skills for new graduates and these are the ones that are liberal arts graduates are given Moore, 1998()

There are also some hiring managers who argue that an education in liberal arts doesn't help the students to get a good job. Their argument is based on the thinking that employers want more than candidates who are learned. They want specific skill sets. Delucchi (1997)

showed that other managers, on the other hand, have stated that graduates of liberal arts have skill sets that are important for their businesses. Some of these skill sets include passion, being great thinkers, asking questions to get clarification, ability and courage to think independently and critically, questioning what others say, being their own thinker, seeing the bigger picture, and dealing effectively with ambiguity and complexity Volkwein & Sweitzer, 2006()

The business world continues to become complicated. There is a need for morally ethical and procedural managers who work face-to-face with challenges that were not imaginable before. Demands of customers are changing and there is a global possibility to keep making fundamental possibilities to sustain the current successes of the world Lutz, 1979.

Innovation in the education sector can thus go a long way to create a positive future for businesses.

Scholars play a vital role in shaping the capacity of the future leaders of businesses. They hold the opportunity to alter the lives of students to make them fit into their potential and into the huge potential of the business world. Bauman (1987)

posits that such radical ideals require communities to have dedicated people. This is why there is a huge debate regarding how liberal arts affect and relate to the business world.

Liberal arts teach about resource-sharing and they facilitate collaborative exchange of knowledge. The purpose of this is to foster dialogue among business professionals in order to cultivate responsible global citizens in the world who will change tomorrow's business world. It is the belief of the liberal arts world that the business world needs a positive change and this change could come by enhancing the vision of business and creating a strong business education that would make tomorrow's business world to be a better place for all.

Liberal arts and leadership

Liberal arts have developed into sciences that teach about the parlance of employment and they also encourage good quality leadership skills. Liberal arts teach that leadership is ubiquitous. Leadership shouldn't be reserved for supervisory duties only Toombs & Thomas, 1976.

It can be done everywhere. It involves being a mentor, giving a good example and having a relationship with followers in order to create a healthier work environment that makes businesses successful.

Liberal arts teach that leaders should have the ability to visualize what needs to be done next and how they can describe it to their followers. This involves leaders being able to see a problem before it ensues and also being able to think big to solve these problems as soon as they are envisioned. Liberal arts also teach leaders to demonstrate initiative Toombs & Thomas, 1976.

It teaches them to be good examples to their followers. This helps the followers to emulate their leaders and follow the right path.

Liberal arts also help leaders to be more comfortable with ambiguity. This is important in prioritizing issues especially when there are conflicts in the priorities and also when they need to change interpretations of the facts which may cause the followers to see like the leaders are inconsistent in their direction and strategy when they end up forgetting what they said the last time Toombs & Thomas, 1976()

Liberal arts teach leaders not to be surprised by any strange behavior by the individuals they lead or by the emotional reactions of the members of the group. They need to understand that everyone has their opinion and that their opinion needs to be respected Toombs & Thomas, 1976.

This also deals with human motivation where leaders are taught the essentials of motivating human beings through liberal arts.

Liberal arts also teach people to work well with others no matter what their cultural background, race, religion, color, etc. is. Through liberal arts, leaders are taught to accept all individuals in the organization and to understand their differences Toombs & Thomas, 1976.

They also learn that these differences will bring differences in social interaction, conventions and communication in the workplace and this leads to a better work place where everyone understands the other and there is reduced conflict.

Leaders also learn through liberal arts not to be bosses. They learn that how they react in the workplace is important in reinforcing the workforce to make the workplace better. Therefore, liberal arts teach leadership how they should be like in action and thus the need to be well-prepared in all situations no matter how challenging they are through motivating their employees and proper prioritization Toombs & Thomas, 1976()

Liberal arts and employees

Liberal arts also prepare students to become good employees. It helps them to understand the nature of national cultures and the importance of good effective communication in the work place. It also teaches students to be visual and to be able to use their imagination and through communication to work together as teams in order to get the work done in a timely fashion. Dean and Dolan (2001)

assert that liberal arts also call on the ability to write clearly and speak well in order to carry forward on plans and ideas generated from the different brainstorming meetings in the organization.

Liberal arts also teach about ambiguity to students as they become future employees. They learn how to specialize in determinism. This is where they learn how to prioritize issues and to find the right thing to do at the right time Dean & Dolan, 2001.

This is important in the business situation where they are able to handle their workload effectively and to be able to find the issues that are most important to deal with first.

An interesting observation in liberal arts graduates is that they are usually determined to even work on things that they are not well versed in. This is because they have learnt to be determined and to take chances in their work regardless of how complex the situation is. Employees with liberal arts backgrounds also have learnt to be effective communicators, researchers, readers and researchers Dean & Dolan, 2001.

These are essential human behaviors in the workplace. Liberal arts also teach employees the need to plan ahead. They learn the importance of creating schedules and trying to beat deadlines at all times.

Emotional smarts and liberal arts

Emotional smartness is extremely important in the business environment. It helps business people to be able to separate business activities from their emotions. This is what is referred to as emotional intelligence. Some of the characteristics of emotional intelligence are confidence, emotional awareness, collaboration and empathy. There is also political awareness and adaptability Bodenhorn, 2003()

The business person also needs to be able to read the emotions of other in order to know the right time to push for something such as a hard bargain in a business deal and the time not to push for it. One thing that business people need to know is that there is a need to think logically and to work efficiently no matter what may be disturbing them emotionally. Liberal arts help the people to cater for this kind of situation Bodenhorn, 2003()

Experienced employees learn to do the repeatable tasks no matter their emotional status. However, for the more complex tasks, there is a need for the employees to be able to separate their emotions from their work. Liberal arts also teach employees to create a happy work environment. This can be done by employees occasionally smiling at each other when they meet in the work place and at the end of the day, discussing what they have done in the office in order to create a good work relationship.

Companies are often known to be hotbeds for emotional activity. This is because they bring insecurity, anger, frustration, competition, enthusiasm, excitement and fear. All of these are emotions that are in operation in the workplace day by day. These emotions affect decisions made in the workplace, revenue generation and progress also. Therefore, managers and employees too need to know how to handle the emotional realities of their jobs and that they should not take emotions into account when making decisions. Such emotions that are made on an emotional background are later regretted. When there is a lack of emotional balance in the workplace, this leads to dysfunctional work teams and the business will be unable to achieve its set goals and objectives Bodenhorn, 2003()

Liberal arts creates emotional intelligence in the business circle which leads to effective management and creates a growing awareness that even though emotions are important in the success of the business, it can also be a hindrance to the success of the business. Emotions also have a lot to do with the success of each individual member of the organization. It is not just a mere coincidence. Rather, it is an important consideration that all businesses should have and it is often learnt through liberal arts Bodenhorn, 2003.

This is because liberal arts teach team dynamics, collaboration of information between culture, history and philosophy and also about human behavior.

Liberal arts and conflict resolution

Liberal arts also help to resolve conflicts that arise in the workplace. Team conflict needs to be managed in order for the team to work together as a functional unit and to achieve their goals and objectives. Managing conflict is in most cases the role of the team leader. The team leader should remain impartial in all cases and needs to facilitate a good understanding among the group members. The biggest challenge faced by the team leader is in figuring out how they should balance the forces of anger, frustration and alienation with those of generating and evaluating ideas in order to resolve the conflict effectively Jarvenpaa & Leidner, 1999()

In management of conflict, it is first important to try to prevent or minimize the conflict. This is done by setting ground roles which would incorporate those behaviors or processes which prevent or minimize conflict. Conflict can also be resolved by having the members of the team being well motivated and to understand their various roles in the team. This prevents clashing of roles of the individual members of the teams Hinds & Bailey, 2003()

Conflict can also be managed through withdrawal whereby one member of the teams takes a side-step or postpones the issue. Sacrifice can also help in conflict resolution where one member of the team yields to the other. Conflict can also be resolved by splitting the differences between the members of the team in order to arrive at a common or middle ground which merges the differing opinions of the team members Hinds & Bailey, 2003()

Liberal arts also help employees to differential between good conflict and bad conflict Good conflict is whereby the conflict leads to positive results such as positive progress towards the achievement of the objectives or goals of the company or organization. Bad conflict is that which leads to negative results such as one member of the team quitting from the team or refusing to partake in the activities of the team. It can also lead to the death of the team Heywood & Jirjahn, 2004()

Good conflict is encouraged since it helps to strengthen the relationships that exist between the members of the teams. It can include people chipping in their differing ideas which when they are then merged together, leads to the resolution of the conflict and the team moves forward and becomes high performing and has a high level of growth Heywood & Jirjahn, 2004()

Bad conflict includes high-toned arguments or those which are held when members of the team are angry. Such conflict rarely leads to any positive results and at times leads to the team being divided or even dying out Heywood & Jirjahn, 2004()

Liberal arts also help to learn the essential skills for conflict resolution which help the business environment to continue being productive and not to be full of bad conflict. Conflict is bound to arise but good conflict is beneficial to the work environment and it is only through liberal arts that the employees can learn to differentiate good conflict and bad conflict.

Liberal arts and project management

Projects are either temporary or permanent endeavors that are undertaken by businesses which often have start dates and end dates. In between the project may have milestones which are tasks that need to be completed and deadlines for each task or milestone. In business, projects range from construction, process improvement, recruitment, etc. In each project, there are usually phases which include planning, analysis, design, creation, test, launch, and evaluation of performance. Some of the phases of projects are boring but some existing phases are planning and launch. The phases in the middle are usually not exciting since they are more complex.

Projects usually have a lifecycle and at times a project methodology. The lifecycle of the project is basically four steps of the project which are cyclic in nature. The first is initiation, planning, execution and then evaluation.

Through liberal arts, business people learn about management of projects and how the project needs to be arranged into phases in order to ensure the success of the project. Business people also learn that during the planning and implementation of the project, there is a need to finish with one phase before moving to the next one. Liberal arts also teach that projects are all about delivering and that there is a need for the project to have measurable deliverables that can be evaluated.

Liberal arts and high performance work environment

In today's world, all businesses are faced with high competitive pressure to get their activities done much faster and with more efficiency Hoopes & Postrel, 1999.

This is why many companies and organizations are resulting to the use of high performance work environments which are critical for the current marketplace Okey, 1995(; Olk & Young, 1997)

. The creation of a high performance work environment has many advantages to the organization Kumar, Aalst, & Verbeek, 2001.

One is that it helps the managers to develop the skill and methods which are needed to drive high performance of the employees of the organization or company and to be able to maintain a work culture of high effectiveness Krajewski, Goffin, Rothstein, & Johnston, 2007.

It also helps the organization to increase the performance and to support the achievement of the various objectives and goals of the company or organization Ittner, Larcker, & Meyer, 2003.

It also helps to build leadership capabilities of the managers which are necessary in meeting the needs of the business Gondzio & Kouwenberg, 2001(; Massey, Montoya-Weiss, & O'Driscoll, 2002)

High performance work environments are used in those organizations which use an approach which is fundamentally different to manage the activities that are carried out as compared to the traditional approach which is usually associated with mass production and scientific management Hill, Martinson, & Ferris, 2004(; Hyatt & Prawitt, 2001)

. There is usually a different employer-employee relationship that occurs in a high performance work environment and this creates a huge potential for sustained growth of the company as well as giving it competitive advantage Luo, 2002.

This is part of what is learnt through liberal arts.

Liberal arts and strategic decision making

There is much that is learnt about making strategic decisions through liberal arts. Many business organizations are finding themselves in a situation which they need to make strategic decisions. These decisions need to be aligned to ensure the delivery of quality services provided and effectively manage the institution. This situation is fueled by the increasing demands of customers and other stakeholders such as investors and suppliers. Competitive forces from other organizations all over the world are also fueling this situation. What makes the situation worse is that the marketplace in which they need to make these decisions is highly unusual and there are many stakeholders. All these stakeholders are interrelated, and their relationship depends on the decisions made Bhushan & Rai, 2004()

Therefore, an appropriate strategy needs to be devised to attempt to understand the real situation on the ground, as opposed to the perceived environment. This is to imply that it is a must for the decision makers to know what is happening on the ground rather than rely on what they believe to happen which may largely deviate from the actual situation Swayne, Duncan, & Ginter, 2006.

The quality of the decisions made will depend on the strategy that is put in place.

The strategy should be set to drive the factors which lead to the success of the organization. Secondly, the strategies need to be focused on a specific element. Thirdly, the strategies should be efficiently linked to the potential of the organization and employees. Lastly, the strategy should be unique in a way that it is difficult to be emulated by competitors Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2010()

In order to make a strategic decision, the organization must be able to conform to the dynamic environment. In simpler words, the strategy needs to be monitored and evaluated regularly to make sure it is still workable. The decision makers and other stakeholders need to evaluate the strategy often for various reasons. One is that the strategy can be rendered useless if a competitor gains a significant market share due to uprising competition or rivalry Gurbutt & Donovan, 2011.

Other factors that can render the strategy futile is if there is increased buying or selling power, decreased barriers to entry of new market players, the terror of replacements or ineffective management of resources available to the organization. In this way, the organization must be able to ingeniously foreshadow and reflect upon the recent activities which will affect or affected the decisions Kirkwood, 1997.

By doing this, they will be able to effectively manage resources, think about the past, look at the financial implications of the decision, motivate higher-ranking performance of staff and much more, all this in an effort to make strategic decisions and make the strategic decisions count Boyd & Reuning-Elliott, 1998()

As technology advances and business organizations find themselves in a competitive environment, there is a need to develop non-obsolete strategies which are well thought out and which position the institution for economic and market success Gore, Murray, & Richardson, 1992()

The strategic decision making process

For a practicable strategic decision to be made, the decision making process must be carefully outlined, and its path must run in a smooth way to make sure it is done in an orderly manner. This is also learnt through liberal arts. It is by so doing that the final decision made will reflect what needs to be done to remedy the situation Mullins & Walker, 2009()

The process of making a strategic decision is founded on four pillars. These are:

1. Centrality

2. Formalization

3. Information

4. Confrontation

The pillar of centrality comes from the chain of command. In the strategic decision making process, the organization's management must involve the bottom level personnel since these are the people who are well versed with the situation on the ground. Since the strategic decision must reflect the real situation which is best understood by the lower level workers and not the overall management who play a more managerial role. The second pillar of formalization comes from an ad hoc, often improvised situation. For decisions to be considered strategic, they must have guided principals or procedures to direct the decision makers. The third pillar is that of information. All strategic decision should have a strong conceptual and theoretical framework. The pros and cons of effecting the decision must be detailed, and it is only by doing so that the decision will be a well-informed one. The last pillar of the strategic decision making process is that of confrontation. Here, this is the extent to which any political or personal interest present in the decision makers drives the process. These interests will usually conflict with those of other parties who have differing interest and may hinder the process Boulding et al., 1994()

Apart from these four pillars, two other highly influential factors need to be considered in making strategic decisions. These are content and context. Content is a composite of two other factors which are subject matter and proposed intervention. Subject matter is essentially a significant factor especially when controversy arises. Controversy is a key issue that can inhibit the process of strategic decision making especially in a situation where there is a conflict of interest Smith & Detlof von, 2004.

The second element under content which influences the strategic decision making process is proposed intervention. This is the solution that is provided to the issue being addressed. Context factors are affected at three levels. This is the level of the individuals charged with the responsibility of making the decision, the level of the organization as the body which is most affected by the decision and eventually the surrounding of the organization Butler, 1993.

These are the three principal context factors which influence the process. The first context factor is noteworthy since as previously discussed, issues of personal interest, expertise and personal experience or a person's unique line of thought may arise thus hindering the decision making process. At the level of the organization, the structure of the organization or institution and the culture of the organization are the biggest factors. Lastly, in the environment, there are competitors, the government and regulations, societal and economic factors Zaccaro & Klimoski, 2001()