Business Education is Misunderstood

How many times have you heard people saying that going to university to study business is a waste of time and money and that the University of life is a much better option? I have taught business studies for over twenty years and have run my own company for over thirty, so I feel in a unique position to give an opinion on this hotly debated topic.

Nobody was born understanding a balance sheet or HR law etc, and despite what the popular version of an entrepreneur is: you must somehow develop all-round business skills to be successful. There is no doubt that entrepreneurs have some genetic traits that underpin their success. I was born with a compulsion to achieve short-term goals and this trait aided my ability to become a successful salesperson early in my business career. However, my business acumen in my early twenties was zero!!! It was only during my MBA that I started to look at the business from multiple, interconnected perspectives. Whilst I had gained years of business experience at this stage in my life, I hadn’t developed the reflective skills to make informed decisions that are necessary to have a successful business.

Many young people struggle to know what career they want to pursue, and yet they are forced to make big decisions about A-levels and degrees. The more motivated students, choose their A-levels and degrees with confidence and conviction, and these students are seen as high achievers. I think it would be fair to say that the more motivated students choose what are considered by some to be the more difficult A-levels and degrees. I chose the word motivated deliberately, as I believe academic maturity underpins motivation and vice versa and it is this alchemy that sets young people apart, not their ability or intelligence. This leaves the less motivated students choosing courses such as business studies, more by default than a considered choice to enhance their career prospects. This creates a negative view of both business studies and the students embarking on these courses rather than the classics. Should these less motivated students take up courses or A-levels just because they don’t know what else to do? And should the more motivated students dismiss business studies because it is not considered an academic degree or A-level?

Business studies are underpinned by social sciences and are one of the most academic and enlightening degrees you could undertake. It is misunderstood by many who choose to believe that business theory is somehow isolated from real life and constructed by academics in ivory towers divorced from reality. Theories are observations of life and only become teachable once they have been grounded in some kind of epistemological truth. In simple terms, theories are nothing more than collectable observations of life. Undoubtedly, living life gives us more and more experience to develop ideas, but I can say with certainty that business theory provides a perfect catalyst to speed up observational insights that might otherwise take years to develop. As an academic discipline, business studies are incredibly interconnected within the fabric of life and can be one of the most challenging degrees to undertake. It can be dismissed by motivated and driven students for all the wrong reasons.

After years of watching Dragons Den, it is apparent that lots of people have creative business ideas, but many fall short when it comes to evaluating their idea from multiple perspectives. How many times are ideas ripped to shreds due to a poor understanding of the financial implications of their business plan? There is no doubt that the UK would produce more entrepreneurs if we stopped concentrating on the next invention and concentrated on making sure that business studies are at least understood and not dismissed for all the wrong reasons.

We can teach students the art of reflection, whilst exploring best practices in all functional areas of business using case studies, and in some cases, years spent in industry on work placements. Most degree students are working their way through their course and can have plenty of experiences to reflect upon. We can also provide mind maps of concepts and models that can be applied to everyday situations to enable students to better understand the world around them and allow them to come up with new business ideas.

Undoubtedly a person can gain real first-hand experience if they go straight into the workplace and observe human behaviour, marketing mixes, management styles etc. In my experience, motivated students who are genuinely interested in business studies in the first place would thrive in either the workplace or academic setting because of their heightened need to learn and observe: a hybrid approach for these students is perfect.

But what about the young students that don’t know what they want to do and drift into business studies? Do we think these students will reflect on their day-to-day experiences if they go straight into the workplace at 18? The less academic students who are unsure about business studies and a business career need time to mature, and sufficient encouragement even if they show low levels of interest, and a safe environment to learn in. It is too easy to disregard these students academically and suggest they go straight into the workplace, at a time when they need support for the next stage of their lives.

Business studies should be explored as a potential degree or A level with all students not just the least motivated ones. As a subject, it can be misunderstood and underrated more from myth than reality. We should adopt a hybrid approach to the committed and motivated students embarking on a career in business studies and we should never give up on students who are finding their way into a career.

ARTICLE AUTHOR: Simon Ward