BBS200: Understanding Business Research - An Introductory Approach - Annotated Bibliography Assessment Answers

***Research topic: Are business students work-ready?***

Information about the unit

Unit description

This unit introduces students to the process of research and covers a broad range of contemporary research designs in business-related disciplines. The aim of the unit is to provide students with the opportunity to develop a critical understanding of the value of research in the business context in order to address management dilemmas.

Aims of the unit

The broad aims of this unit are to:

• Prepare you to better understand how research informs practice within the business discipline;
• Enable you to independently examine and critique existing research;
• Provide opportunities for you to develop conceptual and analytical skills involved in research problem formulation, and conducting literature reviews; and
• Develop appropriate communication skills in the preparation of assessable course work.

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Every year, a large number of students leave universities with different types of degrees in UK but this is a matter of fact that all students who leave university are not ready for workplaces. This paper aims to analyze whether the students who leave university after completing their courses are work ready or not. Five journal articles have been chosen and they have been critically analyzed to answer to the question.

Jackson, D. (2014). “Testing a model of undergraduate competence in employability skills and its implications for the stakeholders.” Journal of Education and Work 27 (2): 220-242.

Jackson conducted the research based on primary data and he collected the primary data has been collected from a large number of employers. As per the research conducted by Jackson, more than a half of the employers stated that it has become quite easier for the students to get a job while they are in their college or university due to the involvement of the college or university in the recruitment process but in most of the cases it is found that the students are not qualified enough to work properly in the corporations as per their standards. The employers also reported that almost all the graduate candidates start working without the vital attributes, such as communication skills, team work, punctuality and the ability of the employees to work under pressure (Sassen, 2009). The result of the research has not been supported by secondary research which could check the validity and reliability of the research.

Mowday, R. T., Steers, R. M., & Porter, L. W. (2009). The measurement of organizational commitment.Journal of vocational behavior,14(2), 224-247.

Mowday et al. (2009) conducted the research with a number of companies. The research was aimed at finding out the level of organizational commitment among the employees who join the organizations newly. A survey was conducted with the leaders of a number of companies which found that only one in five businesses believe that the graduates are ready to work in practical environment. The conclusions of the research also stated that there is growing concern among schools, colleges and universities which are focused on the process of ensuring people to pass exams without the personal skills.

Oliver, M. B., Tucker, M.B., Jones, M.S., & Ferns, M.S. (2007). Are our students work ready? Graduate and employer feedback for comprehensive course review. Computers and education, 56 (2), 429-440. Studies in higher education, 22 (2), 187-203.

As stated by Oliver et al. (2007), in most of the universities in UK, the main focus of the teachers are focused on ensuring high marks of the students and they always put pressure on the students regarding the subjects they study but they do not focus on the personal development of the students. As the expenses are also carried out by the students itself, often it is found that the teachers do not focus on teaching various skills such as communication skills, team work etc (Roberts, 2010). There are huge differences between studying in university or college and working in a practical environment. In university or college, the main focus is put on theories whereas in practical workplaces, the focus is put on the application of the theories learnt. Apart from the subjects studied by the students, extra care are needed to be taken by the teachers regarding the personal development but in most of the colleges and universities, it is found that it is not done properly. As a result, when the students leave universities, their employability is reduced.

Plattner, I.E., Lechaena, M., Mmolawa, W., & Mzingwane, B. (2009). Are university students psychologically ready for entrepreneurship? A Botswana study. African Journal of Business management.

The main aim of the article was to analyze whether the university students who leave their colleges or universities are ready for work, whether entrepreneurship or to work in any organization. The authors conducted a primary research with 635 employers including 419 employers who recruit employees directly, without involving any recruitment agency. In the result of the survey, 52% of all graduate employers stated that there are very few or often none of the candidates recruited by them are work ready, i.e. they are capable to work as per the industry standards. Only 19% of the leaders of the companies stated that the candidates recruited by them are work ready. The survey also mentioned that only 17% of the total employees recruited by them are focused on the university degree for graduates while hiring the employees. Only 8% of the employees make their decisions based on the universities in which they study. The conclusions of the research stated that the publication of the figures stated that almost one in every ten students, around 26000 could not get a job at the final year of their university because of the fact that the companies who came for selection at the universities could not find suitable candidate to work with them. The statistics also showed that the unemployment rate is increasing day by day in the universities after completion of courses. There are many universities such as London South Bank University in which the unemployment rate among pass out students are as high as 26% (Mowday, Steers, & Porter, 2009). As a result, a huge number of students are coming out of college or university without a job and when they go out for getting a job in market, they face immense competition.

Wilton, N. (2011). Do employability skills really matter in the UK graduate labour market? The case of business and management graduates. Work, Employment and Society 25 (1): 85-100.

Wilton (2011) stated in the article titled “Do employability skills really matter in the UK graduate labour market? The case of business and management graduates”, in today’s competitive business market, the corporations are looking for the maximum output from the employees and that is the reason why the management of the corporations always try to get experienced and qualified employees on board as they are willing to pay the remunerations as per the industry standards. As a result, the job market for the fresher employees has become quite tough. The authors also conducted a survey with the university students who has left the universities and colleges recently and joined the company recently, and the survey stated that the poor infrastructure of the universities in terms of personal development training is needed to be improved and the investments should also be increased for this purpose (Mohr, 2012). There should be special aids and equipments which will improve the communications skills of the students while they study at college. The survey also reveals that on an average the course fee per year for a degree course in UK is around 27000 Pounds which is a huge amount but very less amount of it is invested on the personality development activities of the students at the university or college which must be improved (Staw, Sandelands, & Dutton, 2013).

From the research, it can be concluded that the universities should always try to develop students programs and initiatives rather than just a degree. Many universities have equipped their classrooms which modern techniques which are being used by them for improving the employability of the students after they complete the courses. The universities are also trying to ensure that the employees are more attractive to the employers due to the skills they are getting. The universities also arrange various types of on job training program with stipends in collaboration with many companies. It also helps the employees to learn things in practical environment. But, many steps are needed to be taken by the universities to make their students ‘work ready’.