The Importance of Soft Skills - Essay Example

? “The Importance of Soft Skills to Business and MBA Professionals in the Age of Globalization Introduction To be a professional business person requires a lot of skill; likewise, a business person who has attained the status of a professional should have the right attitude coupled with adequate and proper communication skills that include ethics, decorum, the right attitude or behavior, and other soft skills which are attained through constant practice and training. The world of intense globalization has brought in new perspectives, new businesses, new paradigm shifts, and new phenomena. This world of new things also created countless changes and innovations. Young professionals dominate the economy and the world of business. Students of business have new worlds to dominate and explore. And these students who will become the masters of business tomorrow should be equipped with knowledge, skill and expertise that have to be continuous and maintained all throughout their existence in the real and the virtual world. There is one very important knowledge and skill that they should have – soft skills. (Carbonara, 2005, p. 197) According to Banerjee (2008), professional people should polish and continually improve their “communication skill, office etiquette and decorum to acquire a place of unrivalled supremacy”. Communication skill is a part of professional life. If a professional wants to improve, he/she has to improve continually along with the soft skills required of the job as a professional or as a business person. MBA graduates use soft skills to enhance and further their careers. Global research conducted by the Association of MBAs stated that post-graduates use soft skills more than ever to climb up the ladder of success. In one survey, named the Career 2008 Survey, 2,000 MBA students from business schools worldwide took part to answer questions by researchers. The survey doubled the response to the previous survey which took place in 2006. The study examined the impact on career development and found that there were five predetermined skills that were beneficial to their careers, and these were conceptual competence, which involves using theory to deal with business problems; business planning skills; interpersonal skills; working within a group, and leadership. (McGahern, 2009) These skills were not learned in a formal classroom setting but through a special training for soft skills. The training requires a special programme and involves interaction among peers. There will be more on this discussion in the proceeding sections of this paper. Aims and Objectives The objectives of this essay are: a.) to define and discuss the soft skills business students and professionals must have in order to climb up the ladder of success; b.) to know what professional communication skills are needed for business students; and, c.) to recommend the proper etiquette, ethics and attitude for an effective communication in the professional and business world. Methodology The strategy used in this essay is to focus on an analysis of the vast literature on communication skills, touching on areas of soft skills being practiced by business people, and about effective communication implemented by business leaders and managers. The strategy will be to conduct an analysis of the literature, focusing on the definition and the soft skills needed business students and professionals. There have been various researches conducted in the past, but not enough analysis have been done to show whether these researches helped, one or another, in formulating adequate communication skills for business students and members of organizations involved in various communicative tools. Fraenkel and Wallen (2006, p. 16) stated that “critical researchers should raise a number of philosophical, linguistic, ethical, and political questions ... about all fields of inquiry, ranging from the physical sciences to literature.” Critical research on the literature regarding soft skills is an interesting topic for discussion. The emphasis is to provide a critical analysis and then raise issues that may be of benefit to business students. This topic is important for students of business in that it will give them a chance to improve their soft skills as they enter an unpredictable world of intense globalization, where changes and innovations occur every minute, every second of the day. 2. Literature Review We live in a fast-paced world where the weak have to catch up with the strong. This is not only true with people and organizations but also countries of the world. Where before a developing country could live amidst big and competitive countries, now these developing and smaller ones have to catch up, and catch up fast. Distance is no longer a problem of businesses, organizations, and countries. Distance has been ignored. Business organizations on one hand are free to locate many screen-based activities wherever they can find the best bargain of skills and productivity. The world is having access to networks that are all interactive. There is increased mobility. On the other hand, economies of the world are inter-related and interconnected; when one goes down, the rest may be carried away or may go the opposite end. (Cartelli, 2005, p. 38) Globalization has revolutionized transportation and communication. There are countless opportunities and benefits the world has offered because of globalization. Technology is the powerful force that drives the world toward a single converging commonality. (Sharkey and Brandt, 2005, p. 64) No place and nobody are insulated from the alluring attractions of modernity. Almost everybody everywhere wants all the things they have heard about, seen, or experienced via the new technological facilitators that drive their wants and wishes. We have to be effective communicators in this fast paced and globalized world. Although we need to be fast and accurate in our personal and everyday businesses, we also need skills not easily learned in the classroom; these are what they call soft skills which include a number of disciplines. Soft skills belong to the category of lifelong learning and those acquired through constant practice and training. In product innovation, they may be termed as having continual improvement. (Lynch, 2008, p. 767) Lifelong learning is part of the many aspects formed out of globalization. There is an increasing demand for continuing education and lifelong learning in business and labor environments. The word more appropriate than demand is “stir”; stir is for the educational institutions of higher learning which have, for quite a while now, been market-oriented. Educational institutions battle like business-oriented organizations with their promotional gimmicks. Business people do not learn their most-coveted traits through competition and profit-motivating activities. They learn soft skills through training and constant interaction with peers and customers. Market-oriented educational institutions are competing for customers’ attention and applying every available marketing tool to gain supremacy. Soft skills are taken aside. Students and business professionals should know that they have to learn traits that are not profit-wise. Soft skills are customer-wise, career-wise, and organization-wise. Taking these perspectives one by one, it is right to start on business students and MBAs. MBA students use soft skills of leadership and interpersonal skills in order to succeed. These skills can be learned during MBA programs. According to Durham Business School professor Nikos Bozionelos (cited in McGahern, 2009, p. 22), soft skills are “the things that differentiate companies from their competitors and employees within those companies from each other … [and] the majority of companies have access to similar technology but their human capital and soft skills can never be replicated in the same way as technology.” A study also showed that MBA programs worldwide have been instrumental in the study of soft skills. Another study by Rynes et al (2003 cited in McGee, 2005, p. 166) found that poor attitudes and behavior, or the lack of soft skills, were negative traits found in young graduates. Mintzberg and Gosling (2002 cited in McGee, 2005) called for a reformatting of management education to focus on interpersonal skills. McGahern (2009, p. 22) distinguished soft skills from ‘hard skills’ which are “generally standardized and easier to learn … they consist of knowledge, techniques and strategy, for example accounting systems … acquired from books, classes or courses” (McGahern, 2009, p. 22). Knowledge can be acquired from educational institutions and training institutions, but soft skills are acquired from constant interaction with people, although soft skills can also be learnt in a university setting but through a different (special) programme. Soft skills can be termed as the right attitude and behavior. While companies look for people with knowledge and expertise to sell or handle products of the company, it is important that these employees have the right attitude. This is what most companies need now. Soft skills can refer to how we communicate, how we sell and market ourselves, how we behave and how others perceive of us. Other authors term it as ‘impression management’ or the way we negotiate and deal with people. These are the things that differentiate people. Professionals may have the expertise, or they may have come from prestigious universities, but how they interact with people can help them be quickly employed and be a part of a successful team. For leaders, it can be called charisma, but in psychology, it is attitude and behavior. People usually look at training as purposely for skills. Programs for these skills training are designed for development and proficiency of skills. A workshop for sales people or teaching them how to conduct online interaction with customers may be skills-based training. (Aldisert, 2001) Training and development in soft skills should be introduced in universities and schools of learning. This can help in the performance of students and future managers and employees of multinational corporations. Lisa Aldisert (2001) explained the five groups of soft skills that can tell successful performance of an employee. Flexibility – To be flexible is to accept different tasks without complaining, or you want to improve and accept several tasks. Being a multitasker enables you to accept various ideas and suggestions and can lead you to become ‘other’ people that you are not. The main point here is ‘improvement’. If you really want to improve and succeed in whatever you do, you will accept whatever task and responsibility is assigned to you. Or, you don’t have to wait for the tasks to come to you, you go direct to the ‘boss’ or co-employee and ask what are there still to be done. That is precisely because you are flexible and can accommodate any responsibility. Creativity/innovation – To be creative in the workplace means to bring in new ideas and suggestions, or variations of the existing themes. It also means to accept new concepts and ideas from others, or to introduce new ideas to the company’s products and services. Aldisert says, “You are able to see the patterns in processes or systems and adapt these to new methods.” Persuasion – To have this soft skill means to have the power of convincing others to adapt to your point of view. To have the power of persuasion is to easily assess a particular situation and be able to take the best out of that situation. Trust and credibility are required before proceeding further with the marketing process. The individual is motivated to challenge the status quo and introduce new concepts. We should also be able to differentiate between needs and wants. Presenting – To have the power of presentation is to be an effective communicator. It is also having a verbal ability to convey abstract messages into more concrete ones through effective explanation or presentation. Marketers should explain clearly their ideas and opinions for approval and consensus with peers, or from customers. They should explain in simple layman’s terms things that can entice approval. Mastery of language and the ability to tell a story are a must in the presentation process. Self-management – Competence and self-confidence are prerequisites for a successful communication. One should be able to control emotions and manage one’s self effectively. Professional and personal life should have a certain degree of separation. If you are able to do this, you have self-control and are a responsible person. Lisa Aldisert further tells business students and professionals that they should be able to ‘talk’ to their job; meaning, if the job is personalized, what would it tell them. “By evaluating the job impartially, you can determine the top soft skills that are necessary for the position,” she says. Soft skills cannot be standardized; meaning there is no common way of teaching people because attitudes cannot be taught. Yes, some interpersonal skills can be taught, like communications skills, the right manner and etiquette, but there are soft skills which cannot be taught, like attitude. The principles of soft skills can be taught in schools, but behavior cannot be taught, though they can be learnt through constant interaction. The individual can hone soft skills during business dealings and in the practice of one’s profession. But they cannot be learnt outright. They have to be practiced. Each person is unique and therefore each person’s style of interaction must also be unique. Each person can adapt to a particular situation, but two persons with different personalities can learn through constant interaction and negotiation. They can be good later on as time goes by. Like the organization, human nature is complicated; it is filled with emotions and feelings. In an organization, there are complexities, errors, and successes, because organizations are manned by humans like us. We are not governed by theories but we formulate these theories out of our experiences and continued socialization. In the course of time, these theories seem to rule over our behavior and activities. Professor Bozionelos adds that nowadays “organizations are more fluid and there is a lot more uncertainty … roles change quickly and people stay with companies for far less time … people have to be able to adapt quickly and it is things such as the ability to negotiate and to influence others that will ultimately determine their success in the role.” One survey found that the ability to organize, communicate and collaborate is more valuable than technical talent or knowledge. This survey showed further that “less tangible soft skills” are more prized than technical expertise. The International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP), in cooperation with HR.com conducted a survey on human resources managers, and found that 67% of HR managers would hire “an applicant with strong soft skills whose technical abilities were lacking; only 9% would hire someone who had strong technical expertise but weak interpersonal skills”. Ninety-three percent of the participants said that technical skills are easier to teach, but soft skills need time to develop in individuals. (OfficePro, 2007) There were 300 administrative professionals and 400 HR managers who were taken of their opinion in the survey. It is striking to note the results of the survey, particularly the kind of soft skills that are in demand in organizations. These skills are organizational skills (87%); verbal communication (81%); teamwork and collaboration (78%); problem solving (60%); tact and diplomacy (59%); business writing (48%); and, analytical skills (45%). The results of this survey stated that while business students and professionals focused on enhancement of their skills in business and other technical expertise, it is also important that they honed the soft skills mentioned in the survey. Diane Domeyer was quoted in OfficePro (2007) in saying that, “The ability to collaborate and build consensus on projects distinguishes top performers.” From the soft skills mentioned, analytical skills, verbal communication, negotiation and problem-solving skills were more preferred by the IAAP members. Durham Business School focuses on soft skills enhancement by having a boardroom simulation programme which encourages students to demonstrate how to be top company directors. The students also develop persuasive, collaborative and negotiation skills. The simulation practice “culminates in a 90-minute boardroom meeting where the students have to convince the chairman, who typically is a successful corporate leader, that their strategy for the company will meet the real-life needs of the business and ensure its future”. (McGahern, 2009, p. 23) Sometime ago, the focus of many organizations, and even formal schools of learning, were on the so-called “hard skills”. Students learned the formal ways and the technical knowledge needed for them to land a job in businesses and organizations. The purpose of going to a ‘technical’ college was to learn the skills needed for them to run the machine, to type business communications, and at the advent of computers, to learn encoding and decoding. The skills were job-specific – they were specially related to the task to be performed. Today, there is more that managers and organizations want. They know that many of the fresh graduates are more skilled in technical jobs – they have mastered their skills from the colleges and universities they came from. Managers want the critical soft skills of the new graduates. How these new employees and future managers will interact with people and employees in the office, or in the workplace, is very important. They will run people, delicate people. They will not just run machines, or push buttons of computers. Their soft skills learned from the years of training are important. How they become motivated is also important. It is a common belief that when people are motivated, they accomplish goals. Workers become productive when they feel they are a part of a team, or part-owner of the organization. They feel this sense of belongingness and so they strive for the organization’s improvement. Buhler (2001) says, “As the world has changed and the nature of work has changed, the skill set required of managers has changed.” Let’s take an example, the traditional traits for manager which is the masculine one. Before, management was dominated by men, but now we can see the entry of most women in the workforce, and attention now is drawn to the feminine characteristics to be used in management. There is even a shift to develop what Buhler (2001) calls the ‘androgynous manager’, which calls on a combination of the best of both the feminine and masculine characteristics. This idea draws us to the concept of soft skills. Soft skills are really needed in the world of management. Buhler also supports the results of the various surveys conducted in American businesses, which state that soft skills are needed in management and, in general, the world of business. Unfortunately, however, the law of supply and demand also applies to soft skills – there is great demand for it, and supply is scarce. The soft skills American businesses want include “communication skills, interpersonal skills, team player skills, ethics, creativity, an ability to value diversity, responsiveness and a willingness to change” (Buhler, 2001). Soft Skills Practices Communications skills are a major concern for most organizations and managers nowadays. Employees should be able to communicate clearly and effectively in order to relay their messages for the company and its products. Employees cannot provide the necessary service for the organization if they do not know how to communicate effectively. The individuals who have the ability to effectively communicate can provide good service for the firm. Communication and communication skills are interrelated but are distinguished from each other. Communication is “the sharing of meaning”, which further connotes the transmission of information as sharing necessitates transmission. (Jobber and Lancaster, 2009, p. 459) Entrepreneurship needs effective management and administration and it is here where good communication is needed. To establish rapport and communication with everyone in the team, the manager and employees should maintain business etiquette required of everyone in the organization. “One needs to develop communication skill by focusing on certain areas that help in enriching one’s professional relationship in corporate governance.” (Banerjee, 2008) One should have public speaking abilities in conducting seminars, conferences, workshops and meetings which are regular features in an organization or business firm. Effective communication skills can mean more profits for the company. The manager can introduce change, effect leadership as a manager and leader. This is also true with other professions. Lawyers also make a lot of money with their effective communication skills by defending their clients in court. Communication has a source who maybe a person, group or organization that has a meaning it intends and attempts to share with an audience. For example, a source can be a person who wishes to communicate a message or an advertisement to the thousands of consumers. On the other hand, a receiver of the message could be an individual or a group of people or organization. The process of communication is the sending and receiving of the message. How the message is received and understood determines whether the communication has been effective. The communication process can be illustrated in the figure below. The figure above demonstrates the coding process wherein meaning is transmitted by a source converted into a series of signs which represent ideas or concepts. When coding meaning into a message, the source has to take into consideration the characteristics of the receiver or audience. The source may do this by transcribing messages that are familiar to the receiver or audience. (Jobber and Lancaster, 2009, p. 460) Business firms that advertise their products realize how important it is to know their target market and the characteristics of that market. For example, if a marketer targets the young demographic for their product, they have to know the language and other characteristics of that market, including their likes and the trend of the day. A source should also use signs that the receiver or audience uses for referring to the concepts the source intends. Marketers should generally avoid signs that can have several meanings for an audience. For example, an international advertiser of soft drinks should avoid using the word soda as a general term for soft drinks. Although in some places soda is taken to mean “soft drink”, in others it may connote bicarbonate of soda, an ice cream drink, or something that one mixes with Scotch whisky. (Jobber and Lancaster, 2009, p. 460) A style of communicating which takes into consideration the reader or the audience (the reader gets the greatest consideration) is known as the American style of communicating. This was emphasized by William Strunk, Jr., an English professor at Cornell University in New York, who taught a reader-oriented style of communication in his classes. (Langosch, 1999, p. 1) Communication “Developing a learning culture has everything to do with communication.” (Ellis, 2009, p. 14) Culture has to be practiced and harnessed all through the years. It cannot answer the demands of interpersonal relationship in just a short period of time. It requires people interacting with each other, and people developing the right attitudes. Good attitudes may connote virtues, which can be a concept in one’s own morality. Many of the institutions of learning and universities may have forgotten it, or taken it for granted. In the age of computers and Information Technology, this is a forgotten word. This is what business students and professionals need now. We have to contemplate that this is what the world needs now. The peoples of the world should go back to basics, study philosophy and religion, know the virtues of their own religion. The global village, as authors and commentators contend, is a complicated world with less of morality and virtues, and more of the material things. The term communication refers to the “sharing of ideas and views” between persons. Communication involves two or more persons. Language is an important requirement for an effective communication. Since English is the international language, it is necessary that to be an effective communicator, one should have knowledge and be a master of the English language. Professionals cannot be effective communicators without knowledge of English. Professionals have to interact with business partners and clients, and they use English in communication. They cannot always be in company of interpreters, or glance at the dictionary in searching for words that they don’t understand. Technology Technology has changed our way of communication. While before we have the so-called snail mail, now we have the internet and emails. This is faster than the traditional way. Employees are more knowledgeable in the use of emails and the Internet. But there is an ethical aspect to this method. There are etiquette rules to be followed, what they call the “netiquette”, which is the proper way of using technologies such as emails, internet chat, and so forth. A simple comparison between the traditional one and the technology-oriented way of communication is that the former always had the personal touch. The personal touch in the new style is lost to the virtual world. Interpersonal skills Interpersonal skills are important and one of the most in demand among the soft skills we have discussed. Managers are not anymore the powerful ‘boss’ that traditional organizations used to have. In the workplace, team building and teamwork are very important. Workers have to work as teams, and the manager has to rely on the teams to deliver the necessary output the organization so urgently needs. What do teams need and demand but interpersonal skills from the individual members. Interpersonal skills connote companionship and camaraderie amongst peers. Individuals should be able to get along with co-members of the team. The team cannot function effectively if members work individually. Organizations now function along this line of management. Organizations employ many strategies to improve competitive advantage. Group dynamics and team building are concepts of continual improvement. Group dynamics influence individual behaviour. (Firth, 2002, p. 23) Team building is one of the many innovations which benefited workers. In team building, workers are formed in clusters and function through teamwork and motivation. Each team is given independence, the members are allowed to function at their own utmost capacity, and are trained in the process, becoming multi-skilled, while each member is responsible to the team. A cluster competes with other clusters when it comes to skill, but they are all working for one organization. As individuals mature in their job, and become accustomed to it, they significantly improve their skill and organizational knowledge, becoming more professional and expert in their own fields. The philosophy behind teambuilding is that when individual workers are allowed to work at their own pace and given the responsibility as part of the team, they become well motivated. The motivation is that each individual works for improvement and advancement of the organisation. A member becomes like a part owner of the business. Each cluster works like an independent body but each member is multi-skilled that allows the cluster members to be flexible. Cluster methods provide improvement not only as workers but as developed individuals. Teamwork can develop individual flexibility and learning. This concept is like that of motivation. The purpose is to motivate the workers into aiming for the success of the organization. Ethics Employers want employees who are ethical. Employees should also respect each other regardless of race, creed, sex, and age. Nowadays, sexual harassment in the workplace seems an ordinary occurrence. There are times that this is undetected when victims are afraid to report, or there are no protective measures being done by managers and superiors in the office. Violence in the workplace is also another no-no where women are the usual victims. Business ethics is our standard of morality in the workplace. We have to observe and be careful about it because it guides our professional conduct in the office. Nevertheless, since we emphasize money and profits in business, we sometimes ignore the morality of what we are doing. You have to respect everyone in the organization because we are equal in this world of emotional humans. We also have to minimize negativity in the office in order to have a pleasant atmosphere while focusing on profits. We have to ask our fellow employees and managers if they approve of some behavior by others and if they are not, then we have to correct it. Most businesses and organizations have their own code of ethical conduct of ordinary employees in line with the organization’s mission and objectives. But, these codes of conduct usually point to the particular morality and religious beliefs and culture of the people. In the United States, the codes of conduct in the different offices and organizations coincide with Christian beliefs and attitudes. The Jewish people base their codes of conduct to the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses, and the Jewish customs and tradition. Generally, however, codes of conduct are based on what is right and what is wrong. There can never be a disagreement on the right and wrong concepts in a civilized world like ours now. Creativity As said earlier, creativity spawns new ideas and suggestions, and also variations. Employers want employees who are creative because they can positively contribute their ideas and their inner thinking to the team and to the organization. Creative employees will help formulate the vision and objectives of the organization. Companies evolve, organizations have to change and introduce innovations. And creative people are needed in this kind of scenario. Employees should “think outside the box”. Creative people are productive and work for the fulfillment of the organization’s objectives. Value Diversity The global village is now becoming a reality, and the workforce is now composed of diverse cultures. It is important that employees value the diversity of organizations and accept the multi-ethnicity of organizations and the workplace. Buhler (2001) states that “heterogenous groups are more creative”. Diversity in the workplace allows us to value people, and the manager should be able to get out of his office, talk and mingle with the members of the group or the team. As we have discussed, the workforce should function as a team. And so how come the team function if the manager does not get out of the office and talk with the people? Valuing diversity also connotes valuing the customers who may be of diverse culture. An Active and Responsive Organization These are one of the important traits of an organization – to be fast and responsive. Other authors include agility. Since organizations have to be so, employees have to act likewise and be more responsive to the needs of the customer and co-employees. The employees inside the organization have to work this way. There is a new trend in the quest for customer focus and loyalty for marketers and organizations nowadays – i.e. focus on the employees first. The simple logic is that satisfied employees result into satisfied customers. Employees have the responsibility to the organization, and vice versa. But employees have to look beyond the organization to look for changes, and react to these changes. Finally, employees who know their soft skills do not only react to changes, but also are willing to change for the team and the organization they so serve. Conclusion Soft skills are the traits students need to quickly land a good job in any company or organization. This is what managers and organizations are looking for. Employers are not so keen on looking for applicants with technical knowledge; they look for the soft skills that applicants have. Soft skills have multiple benefits for managers and for employees. Soft skills allow them to work objectively for the organization. The most common soft skills which were discussed in the literature include interpersonal skills, ethics and creativity, which are not learned in a formal classroom. These require a special programme to spawn creativity and interpersonal skills among students and professionals. References Aldisert, L., 2001. Soft skills make a difference. ABA Bank Marketing, 15397890, Jul/Aug2001, Vol. 33, Issue 6, [e-journal], Available through: City University London [Accessed 9 May 2011]. Banerjee, S., 2008. Soft skill business and professional communication (for BBA & MBA students). New Delhi: I.K. International Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. Buhler, P., 2001. The growing importance of soft skills in the workplace. 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Integrating technology literacy and information literacy. In D. Carbonara, Technology literacy applications in learning environments. United States of America; United Kingdom: Information Science Publishing (an imprint of Idea Group Inc.) Read More