Business education for inclusive growth
The prevailing pattern of economic growth which is not accompanied by decreasing levels of poverty cannot be reversed by government alone. The private sector, especially business can be an effective catalyst for inclusive growth. Business leaders should be in the forefront of this endeavor. If the present crop are unable to change their mindset of corporate growth through horizontal and vertical integration, our hope is in a new breed of business entrepreneurs and corporate executives to transform Philippine business into a force for “growth for all.”
We begin the process of change by ensuring that business education is geared to provide learning and sharing experiences that make students become graduates with a strong commitment to inclusive growth and the skills and knowledge to make it happen.
Contrary to the emerging trend of decreasing student exposure to General Education (GE) subjects, the GE curriculum must be strengthened and emphasized. It lays the foundation for students to develop the values and skills essential to their becoming businessmen for inclusive growth. They begin to realize that their individualism is enhanced by being active members of a developed community and that they are part of a global society. They reaffirm their responsibilities and rights as citizens of the Philippines. They become critical thinkers, collaborators rather than competitors and entrepreneurial/ self-motivators. The seed of the love for lifelong learning is planted in their hearts. For all these to occur, the GE faculty must closely collaborate with the business faculty in curriculum mapping and defining education outcomes.
While it is important for business educators to interact with business and industry in determining the graduate traits essential for making the new recruits conform to the needs of their employers, such exchange should be approached with caution and a clear understanding of roles. Certain needs may be better addressed in the orientation seminars and on-the-job assignments of the new employee. In trying to pass on to the education sector the responsibility of having graduates on-the-first-day ready, too much may be expected from the business school. Both educators and recruiters must keep in mind the rapid changes and developments in the knowledge pool and that it is better to have the skill to learn than to be burdened with excess knowledge. A good compromise is for business schools to transform their present On the Job (OJT) training into internships which will be continuing and focused rather than the OJT’s 3 hours per week work experience.
Teaching strategies should be student-centered and while there is a long list of approaches available, from case studies to group work and reports, the business faculty needs to go through a refresher course to learn what is in the methodology pool, when to use a specific strategy and how to effectively use it. The faculty should not only be conversant but should be skilled in utilizing the latest in IT tools and as much as possible use the Internet for sending materials and other communications to students. Such a facility could enrich the mentoring process.
Readings and resource materials should emphasize examples of inclusive growth. Rather than focus on business models which demonstrate total ownership and control of the value chain, cases of successful collaboration between enterprises vertically and horizontally will be more instructive. Resource persons can come not only from corporate executives but also from small and medium entrepreneurs. Instead of inviting government officials to talk on the wide breadth of their departments’ programs, they can be asked to concentrate on those programs focused on inclusive growth and on supporting small and medium businesses. Local government executives can be asked to share their initiatives in bringing down the cost of doing business in their locality.
With a better crop of business leaders, the Philippines may finally achieve inclusive growth.
melito.jr@gmail.com