How Leadership and Team Working Might Improve the Career Prospects in the Field of Business Management - Term Paper Example

Discuss the extent to which a knowledge of wider management issues, such as leadership and team working might improve the career prospects of someonewishing to work in the field of business management. Name University Discuss the extent to which a knowledge of wider management issues, such as leadership and team working might improve the career prospects of someone wishing to work in the field of business management. Today’s modern organizations operate in an integrated economy that is highly competitive and demanding. This compels the organization to hire and retain employees who are multifaceted in terms of skill and knowledge would perform according to the level of competition that the business organization they are in. Organizations would prefer employees who would already fit in the competitive world of business management and these employees are those who already have a wide range of knowledge in management issues such as leadership and team working because they already know the realities of business and is aware of what is expected from them. Thus it is imperative for employees to already have a wider knowledge in these management issues to improve their career prospect of being hired and promoted in a business organization when they graduate from college. This learning can begin right in the university as Cottrell advised students to determine early the purpose of their study in the university to make it useful in life (2008). Employees who are already knowledgeable of wider management issues, such as leadership and team working already have the advantage over those who does not have them. This advantage is already apparent beginning at the hiring process. This means that employees who are already knowledgeable in a wide range of management issues such as leadership, team work, conflict resolution, project management already has a high learning curve that would make them effective in the job and could already be noticed during the hiring process. Cottrell recommended active learning beginning in the university to become more effective in one’s professional life (2008) and the beginning of reckoning would be during the application process particularly during interview whereby interviewers will peer into the competence of applicants through a series of questions. Interviewers normally ask applicants about their backgrounds and part of this is their knowledge wide ranging management issues of leadership, conflict resolution, team work, customer interaction etch. Applicants who could narrate his or her competencies on these wide range of management issues are likely to be hired because these knowledge are indispensable in the field of business management. In short, the prospective applicant would appear to be promising to the business organization and therefore that would make the management see his or her potential thereby increasing his or her chance to be hired. The advantage of an employee who is knowledgeable of wider management issues, such as leadership and team working extends beyond the hiring process to become more evident during the actual work. Employees who are knowledgeable of wider management issues, such as leadership and team working are better at doing their job. Knowledge in leadership and team working imbues them initiative to learn, adapt, work with others and deliver results. Compared to an individual who has no idea or is little trained about important management issues such as leadership, team work, conflict resolution, project management and so on, employees who are already well verse in these management issues are already doing it in the organization and can complete the responsibilities assigned to them effectively and efficiently. Employees who have no idea about leadership, project management, team dynamics still needs to be trained with these concepts and therefore lags behind the employee who knows them. This will cost the organization valuable resources to train them not to mention that their productivity and performance is not as effective and as high as those who are already well verse about leadership and team working. Having these ready knowledge in management issues such as leadership, project management and team working can create an opportunity for an employee in organization (Lumley and Wilkinson 2013). For example, an employee who is already trained in the university about leadership and is likely to be given a huge responsibility and would know how to handle them including the resources needed in terms of materials, human resource and time. Knowing the importance of them, such employee knows that he or she cannot do it alone and that teams are needed as well as resources to complete the task in a given time. He or she then would ask resources that would be marshalled such as materials and human resource to effectively do the job. In management, this is called delegation and logistical management which is reassigning responsibilities to people who could better do it and effective use of resources to get a job done. He or she would then employ the concepts controlling and monitoring to ensure that the course of action is consistent with the object. Any deviations are then realigned by corrective measures to ensure that its results are aligned with the objectives. This guarantees that the employee would make a positive report that the responsibility was done. This would not have been possible to an employee who has no idea about leadership, delegation, teams and most likely will be overwhelmed by the task given. He or she may still needed to be train before he acquire such skills which could cost the organization valuable resources. The same employee who is already knowledgeable about management issues such as team work and conflict resolution is also more productive because he or she can easily work in team and therefore is not prone to conflict which is counterproductive that could bog the team or organization. An employee who is already knowledgeable about a wide range of management issues also has a better chance in being promoted. Having known these management issues early improves the prospect of advancing in the corporate ladder due to the high learning curve of the individual. This competence due which is grounded on prior knowledge about management issues would manifest during employment and is likely to deliver desired results. Every time a desired result is achieved he or she is likely to be trusted more to handle projects and responsibilities since such employee can deliver. These projects and responsibilities makes the employee more visible to the upper management who are in the position to promote such employee. Also, having been assigned to do more projects improves and hones those management skills such as leadership, project management, team work, conflict resolution, communication skills and other relevant skills making such employee more effective in handling projects and responsibilities. In a way, he or she is already training himself or himself to position of responsibility making the employee more prepared for promotion. Lumley and Wilson identified this as creating opportunities for oneself by developing early essential employability assets which includes managing projects, managing yourself, team work and customer facing skills (2013). In sum, employees who are already knowledgeable of wider management issues, such as leadership and team working has the advantage over employees who are unaware of these management issues. This is already an advantage for employees who are knowledgeable beginning at the hiring process as interviewers are likely to notice and take note of these knowledge because they are needed in the organization. Management would see potentials on employees who display knowledge of wider management issues early on making them desirable to hire. Upon hiring, the employee who has these knowledgeable of wider management issues will display the application of these knowledge through demonstrated skill such as better handling of projects, effective leadership skills, ability to work effectively in teams, effective conflict resolution, customer interaction skill and effective communication skill. As a result, such employee is more productive. The same employee who demonstrated knowledge in wider management issues, such as leadership is also likely to be given more responsibilities and be trusted to handle projects. Having these knowledge and skills in a wide area of management, it is expected that such employee would be effective and deliver the expected result. This would also hone and improve the leadership skills, team working skills, conflict resolution skills, project management skills and other managerial skills through constant practice making the same employee more effective with every responsibility delegated to him or her. In a way, this already prepares the employees for more responsibilities in the near future. The increasing frequency of such employee to be delegated with projects and responsibilities more visible to the higher management who would surely take notice of his or her performance due to the result and value he or she contributes to the organization. This would then increase his or her chance for promotion and could even be earlier than the normal course of promotion. Having knowledge therefore of wider management issues, such as leadership, conflict resolution, project handling and team working is not only advantageous to the employee who would likely to be hired and promoted because of these knowledge but also beneficial to the organization because of higher productivity and increased performance. It is imperative therefore that students must already learn these knowledge early in the university to be improve the career prospects of working in the field of business management. As Lumley and Wilson would put it, having a knowledge of wider management issues creates opportunities in one’s career in the field of business management (2013). Bibliography Lumley, M. (2013). Developing employability for business. Oxford ; New York : Oxford Un. Pr., 2013. Cottrell, S. (2008). The study skills handbook (3rd ed.). Basingstoke, U.K.: Palgrave Macmillan. Read More