EMERGING TRENDS IN BUSINESS
 EDUCATION

Business activities which involve production of goods and services contribute in a variety of ways to the development of nations. Over the last few years there has been a tremendous change In nature, scope and functioning of business enterprise. Increasing standards of living, growing consumer awareness, continuous innovations in product designs and technology and worldwide telecommunication links have put business under immense pressure to strive for its survival and growth.

To cope with a business environment with increasing complexity and rapid changes, there is an urgent need to give a critical look at the existing curriculum In Business Studies at the school stage. Rather than loading it with not-so-relevant chunks of content, it is necessary to base it on themes, issues and skills which are useful, practical, functional and related to one's personal life at home and at work place. For this purpose, the first step required is to review/redefine the objectives of teaching Business Studies at Senior Secondary stage. It may be necessary to restructure the modules in terms of their being core (such as organisation, management and accounting), allied (such as business law) and instrumental (statistics, computer application) modules.

Accountancy in turn can also be restructured in terms of the underlying principles which form the base of the entire accounting work; their application to practical situations such as in sole-trading firms, partnership firms, companies, and so on.

With this back-ground in view, given below is a list of emerging trends in modem business world which may guide practitioners and educationists in reviewing the existing curriculum in Business Studies at school stage.

1. Business update

: The urge to modernise business organisations, in the wake of increasing competition, knowledge explosion and continuous innovations in Science and technology has made it obligatory for our business students to update their knowledge of what is latest in different fields in the business world. Thus, inclusion of recent trends in distribution, communication, financing as well as other time and labour-saving techniques will enhance the practical value of the course in business. With the growing emphasis being given to agro-industries, it is desirable to include such topics which cater to the specific needs of rural population.

2. Career awareness

: The world of business has tremendous potential for offering career opportunities in the field of wage employment and self-employment.

It is the right time for the students to get fundamental knowledge about such career avenues in the world of business so as to help them pick up one for themselves in future. For this they should identify new career paths in various business fields and acquire job opportunity

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information. A good Business Studies curriculum should prepare students for proper job placement best suited to their personality traits, expectations and preferences. Besides, self employment appears to be the only solution for the growing problem of unemployment. Thus there is a need to include such practical & application-based topics in the curriculum which will guide and motivate young boys and girls towards self-employment and entrepreneurship in future.

3. Sex-equity

: Separate emphasis be given on encouraging women entrepreneurship since it is coming up in a big way now. Studies should be integrated through out the curriculum to stress the role of women in various occupations in economic and commercial fronts. There is a need to encourage young women attain professional status in business areas and to aspire for, higher managerial and executive positions.

4. Management Studies

: With the growing organisational problems, the current emphasis in Business Studies is on management. In management also there is a need to include such issues, themes and skills, which will guide one towards better performance in one's daily activities. Thus inclusion of basic learning skills, art of decision making, importance of self achievement motive, striving for perfection, and problem solving will help students in making management a deliberate habit. It should also help one to manage the business effectively.

For this he needs to be able to apply the basic management instruments, such as:-

(i) Risk Management

(ii) Strategic management

(iii) People oriented philosophies, and

(iv) Environmental decision-making.

(i) Risk Management

: Risk Management involves not only eliminating risk but also recognising the unavoidable risk, assessing it and taking it. Risk taking is a big challenge as it involves both hope for success and fear of failure.

(ii) Strategic Management

: Change is the spice as well as essence of life. Coping with change brings in the concept of strategic management techniques, which means establishing an enduring and resilient field of strength in an increasingly global and technologically innovative market. This can be done by making the best use of available and potential resources and skills so as to enable business firms to adapt to the ever changing economic, social and political environment around them.

(iii) People oriented strategies

: There has been increasing tendency in the business world towards more people oriented policies which will help, support and back up other people. Recognising and channelising peoples' strength towards achievement of organisational goals is a rewarding challenge by itself. Thus, knowledge about what makes people work-not only individually but also in team is worth for every student to acquire.

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(iv) Environmental decision making

: Environmental protection is the general concern of all including business. Economic policies cannot be separated from environmental decision making. Thus there is a need to generate and promote awareness regarding environmental problems which involve proper management of our natural resources, sanitation, abatement of industrial pollution, management of urban wastes because of influx of rural poor, etc.

5. Inter-disciplinary approach

: Business studies is an inter-disciplinary subject encom- passing relevant information from Geography, Economics, Psychology and Law to make it more real and context based. Thus business studies should also include major economic, social and fiscal issues affecting the strength of our economy, such as issues relating to reservations in job quota, industrial & economic policy, major trade pacts and their impact, and so on.

6. Practical and Skill Oriented Curriculum

Students of Business Studies should be more exposed to practical aspects of conducting business. Thus the syllabus should include more of drafting of reports, minutes, conducting case studies, undertaking project work, field survey, etc. to get a real feel of the ever-changing nature of the dynamic world of business. He should have developed the ability to use language effectively to think, listen, speak and write clearly.

A Commerce student should also develop desirable work habits and interpersonal skills relating to group dynamics, communication, computation, consumerism, career development etc. and to apply these personal and business related skills for responsible participation in Society.

7. Scientific temper

: With the increasing application of science and mathematics in the modem business world, there is a need to imbibe scientific spirit in the students, so that their power of inquiry gets strengthened and they become more methodical, logical, analytical and rational in making various decisions and executing them.

8. Consumerism

: There is also a greater need for students to analyse and understand consumer rights, issues and responsibilities. They should be equipped to face dishonest traders and producers and get them penalised for their unfair and illegal trade practices. Thus inclusion of topics on consumer awareness and consumer protection is necessary for enriching their knowledge and experiences.

9. Value Education

: Modem society is characterised by fast technological changes affecting every aspect of human life and resulting in erosion of basic human values which form the core of a sound human being. It is a must to emphasise value education relating to one's personal life, job and business. Identification of personal values and work & business ethics will allow one to cope with the demands of the technological innovations and to adjust to a changing social environment. Economic factors happen to be the main cause of

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disharmony and conflicts in the world. A syllabus in Business Studies will gain many fruitful results if it includes the concept of and role of interdependence and international understanding in establishing a just economic order.

10. Scope of Participatory, Exploratory and Innovative learning approaches

There is a tendency towards breaking away from the age-old tradition that knowledge is something external, to be respected and feared by those at the receiving end. The current trend is towards considering knowledge as something internal to be discovered personally, examined and applied for decision-making. Thus, the process of transacting curriculum has also improved a lot. Students need to be given ample experience situations through case studies, role plays, simulation exercises, discussions etc., where they can think, express and act originally. Continuous participation and interactions in such experience situations will help in strengthening their faculties of analysis, logical thinking and creativity, considered essential for a successful life in future.

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