The year 2020 has given business schools a nerve-wracking experience from start to finish, but it does not mean they cannot start the new year strong. Here are some of the challenges they have to address to help them be among the providers of the top business administration programs.
Remote work may be permanent
As motivational speaker Zig Ziglar said, “You don’t build a business, you build people, and then people build a business.” This rings true in a post-pandemic world. Future business managers need to know how to manage human resources in a remote setup.
In the Philippines, telehealth provider AC Health foresaw that the lines of work and personal life such as assisting one’s child in online classes have been blurred. To promote productivity without getting the worker to feel burned out, the company allotted paid working hours for creative breaks and errands. Christian Besler, chief digital officer at AC Health, said that it is beneficial for both the company and its employees to bring their core of trust.
More forward-thinking methods in managing human resources should be included in the overhauled curricula of the best Business Administration programs. This can include how to rally the organization toward a higher purpose to eliminate resistance to upskill and adapt.
Digitization is a necessity
The line in business circles, “Digitize or perish,” should be a mantra among learners of business administration. Institutions like the Harvard Business School have magnified the importance of digitization of businesses in the post-pandemic world.
Sunil Gupta, who co-chairs the executive program on Driving Digital Strategy at Harvard, said that new technologies can now give you the competitive edge—a paradigm shift from the conventional low cost and product differentiation. A case in point is Amazon, which from being a seller of books and electronics, now competes for the market of Netflix viewers and eBay marketplace consumers.
The students enrolled in the best Business Administration programs would at least be able to know how to manage an e-commerce site or app, how to market their products or services online, and which revenue streams can have an online counterpart. It is important to shift old-fashioned mindsets in managing a business.
New tech-focused business models
When everything is online, future business managers need to learn every business tech model. When creating apps and e-commerce sites, they will have to know the difference between Agile and DevSecOps processes.
In Agile, a team fixes and improves the app or e-commerce site as they go. With constant collaboration with stakeholders, they update apps now and then. Whereas in DevSecOps, fixing security issues stay within the developers.
Those who study abroad in business administration should also be able to know how to pivot for the survival of their future companies. They will have to learn which revenue streams they want to keep, how to scale their activity quickly, and what their customers want and how they want it. The basics of old-fashioned business management can still be there but learners need to get more knowledge on how to future-proof their businesses.
The pandemic has brought a challenging year for business. Learn more of the business programs by browsing through MSM Unify.