Academic Writing and Research - Essay Example

Academic Writing and Research           School Affiliation:          Introduction The current global setting is averse with diverse changes. This has hugely affected the business environmental setting. One major spectacle affecting the business environmental setting is the fact that technological advancements have become commonplace. With the ever increasing changes, it is a prerequisite to carefully plan and outline how adoptions are to be made in response to addressing the issue. In respect to that, individual attributes are expected to play a crucial role. Such would include leadership, communication, flexibility, ambition among others. On the basis of neo-classists, the last two hundred years have witnessed the replacement of the two known factors of production, labour and capital. Information and knowledge have arisen to replace the above two factors. It is at this stage that the economy has come to be referred to as a knowledge economy. In addition to this, the present technological advancements have revolutionised the economic world. The move has been characterised by the shift from physicality to knowledge based (Dolfsma, 2006). To offer support to the knowledge economy has been the developments in the mobility of both information and human expertise. This implies that technological developments can in a very easy way be transmitted across country borders in an instance. Of note here is also the ability to move expertise from place to place, an attribute that narrows the development gap between companies. So the advantage that could be gained by a researching company is washed away and as such knowledge can easily be replicated elsewhere within a very short period of time. The only enjoyment of a company in this era could only emanate from the activities of innovations within the company. Through the combination of knowledge and market know-how, a company would be in a position to derive a competitive status. Equally important would be the ability of a company to gather and act on meaningful information. This reflects the economic environment as one that is basically driven by knowledge hence the reference to the knowledge economy (Debra, 1997). The need to be in possession of better skills and qualifications underlie the sustainability of employment status. This is the basic work ingredient that ensures that individuals secure employment and most importantly retain the jobs or enjoy the likelihood of shifting to better opportunities when they arise. Once people have secured work, the learning process does not need to end there. This is so because the global economic setting is fast changing. New technologies and ways of doing things do emerge at an alarming rate. As a result, good employees will continue offering training to their staff to ensure that they keep pace with the ever changing economic landscape (Vigoda, Gadot and Drory, 2006). The training may not always be provided by the employer, in such case scenario, the onus is on the part of the individual employee to take it upon themselves to ensure that they learn while still working. In this way, changes in job demands can easily be made without much ado. The provision for combined learning through the development of partnerships can be a necessary step in the development of labour providers as this act predisposes the work force to different work environments, and as a result enhances their employability. This is an activity that heavily relies on the employers, so it all depends on the goodwill from them to develop a reliable work force. An examination of the current feeder programmes to employers need to revise their strategies to reflect the changing circumstances. By addressing this aspect the institution prepared individuals would be ready to be engaged in the provision of labour for a reasonably long time (Reich, 2008). In a nutshell, the qualities of an employee that can be sustained in the workforce include a professionally competent individual; competency is obtained through initial college training and later harnessed with the work requirements through in service training. An employee should be flexible, able to learn and adapt to the changes in areas of work (Schienstock 2004). The understanding of the labour market is important in developing sustainable employment. This is due to the fact that labour markets vary from time to time and from region to region (Ranjit, 2005). Such an understanding should enable the planners to develop mechanisms that address the issue and thus ensure sustainable employment. Governments in these markets should also focus on the development of the human skills so as to ensure they adjust according to the requirements of the market. A visible attribute here is responsiveness to market needs both by the employers and employees, not to ignore the role played by the government (World Bank 2003). Analysis of personal skills, qualities, behavioural profile Leadership skills From my own experience I can authoritatively report that I am a true leader. As a leader I am able to organise, influence, negotiate, solve problems and do all that appertains towards work execution with a view to achieving the best results. To begin with, a true leader should be in a position to offer the direction that an organisation takes (World Bank 2003). This appertains to all spheres of operation. For example it is the top management that sets out what the targets are and the way to achieve those targets. The technological changes may occasion a change in the procedure that issues are addressed, as a leader this ought to be communicated to the rest of the employees (Richard, Brealey, Stewart and Franklin 2006). Conclusions regarding your strengths and weaknesses As indicated above, strengths far outweigh the weaknesses. The leadership, the flexibility, the aggressiveness and the communication aspects are quite desirable to any individual irrespective of the work that they handle. It is in this regard that I seek to step by step show the strength of each. On the leadership front, it is said that for a business to be successful, it must be in possession of intelligent people. Given that this is what I possess, I would be in a pole position to address issues that affect the business and work out a route to success. Secondly, the flexibility part allows me to shift from unfavourable positions. This is quite necessary as it allows for adoption of convenient measures that help advance an individual and an organisation. The aggressive nature would also be a big strength as it pushes me towards success, it is through aggressive and action oriented activities that the business entity that I lead would build on towards offering sustainable development. The major weakness appears in the form of accommodativeness. While I appreciate the role of accommodating other peoples’ ideas as they may help at times, it would be a big waste of time if not objectively done. It is on this basis that I find my accommodativeness to be a liability at certain times. References Debra, M 1999, Innovation strategy for the knowledge economy: The ken awakening Business Briefcase Series, Butterworth-Heinemann. Dolfsma, W 2006, Understanding the dynamics of a knowledge economy: Studies in evolutionary political economy, Edward Elgar Publishing. Schienstock, G 2004, Embracing the knowledge economy: The dynamic transformation of the Finnish innovation system: New horizons in the economics of innovation, Edward Elgar Publishing. Richard, A, Brealey, M, Stewart, C & Franklin, A 2006, Principals of corporate finance, 8th ed, New York, McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Schiffman, S 2002, Getting to ‘Closed’, New York, Kaplan Publishing. Walter, B & Robert, F 1970, Financial Accounting, 4th ed, New York, McGraw-Hill Book Company. World Bank, 2003, Lifelong learning in the global knowledge economy: Challenges for developing countries, World Bank Publications. World Bank, 2003, Lifelong learning in the global knowledge economy: Challenges for developing countries, World Bank Publications. Read More