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Business learning leads the way

Business education is really lifelong learning as employees are staying longer in the workforce and changing to roles that require a new set of skills

In this swiftly changing corporate environment where technology advances and market forces are continually progressing, business management education is becoming essential to keeping up with the global competition. Both large multinationals and smaller SMEs are investing in management qualifications. Lifelong upskilling can vary from MBA degrees to strategic planning seminars to ensure that managers of the future have the latest digital data analysis, financial education, and technical resources at their fingertips.

Prestigious academic institutions such as UCD Smurfit Business School, Trinity Business School, the IMI and tech companies are creating customised courses to meet the demands of leading organisations.

Helen Brophy, director of executive development at UCD Smurfit Business School in Dublin has witnessed a phenomenal increase from both graduates and business executives. She is also delighted with the financial ranking that puts her college 31st in the world of top Business School Educators.

“UCD Smurfit School has now been listed among the world’s top business education providers by the Financial Times for two decades,” says Brophy. “This milestone comes at a time when we are seeing extraordinary changes to ‘business as usual’ as we collectively face the defining challenge of a generation. Now more than ever, investment in the development of leadership talent is essential.”

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Strategic leadership and a flexible approach to management are key to continued success and the Smurfit Business educators have degrees and courses tailored to meet the workforce.

“We have a popular portfolio of three-day programmes that are online and also in person as well,” explains Brophy. “Covid swiftly transformed the online learning experience and accelerated the creation of customised courses that are structured and updated continually to meet a transformed landscape. The Business degrees, leadership programmes and diplomas are accessible to students and executives who can enrol not only outside Leinster but beyond the perimeters to reach an international market as well.

“Business education is really lifelong learning as employees are staying longer in the workforce and changing roles that require a new set of skills and valuable learning curves. It is no longer possible to stay still if you want to excel and at Smurfit Business School future business leaders meet like-minded people who may be currently mid- to senior managers.”

The academic choices on offer include MScs in Business Analytics, Digital Marketing, and Aviation Finance as well as a much-needed degree in Renewable Energy and Environmental Finance. Companies that want to retain and train their brightest recruits are allocating an education budget to finance their employees to gain these credentials and to become motivated leaders in their future strategic plans.

Another key provider of advanced business education programmes is the Irish Management Institute, a globally ranked provider of executive development programmes. They have devised a number of courses that are geared at preparing leaders for the challenges ahead in this rapidly evolving marketplace. Cyrilla Costello, programme lead at IMI, highlights some of their latest offerings.

“One of the programmes that is of particular interest to companies is in our Customised Solutions offerings. It touches directly on the key priority of succession planning in companies and we run it in conjunction with the IDA,” she explains.

“Future Subsidiary Leaders aims to develop the mindsets and capabilities of leaders so that there is a strong pipeline in place to bring the organisation forward,” she adds.

Another leadership programme at the IMI run in association with IDA is titled Leading with Strategic Intent. This programme is mainly focused on increasing the influence of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) subsidiary companies in Ireland by becoming more strategic in their outlook. It has a module dedicated to shaping future leaders, which caters for the development and growth of the organisation through talent management.

“Irish subsidiaries have long recognised the need to broaden their ‘bench’ of leaders who can strategically represent the organisation at global level and contribute to and influence strategic decision making,” says Costello. “By focusing on building the mindset and capabilities of high potential talent we will prepare these individuals to move from aspirational positioning to ready-now site leadership roles.”

A long-term strategy is also a key component of the IMI’s programmes — that means taking a futuristic view of how to move forward with continued progress and market gains.

“IMI’s work with senior teams in FDI multinationals has highlighted the need for organisations to become more strategic in terms of their long-term influence and impact,” adds Costello.

“The need to balance day-to-day operations with a more innovative and entrepreneurial mindset. This is now more critical than ever as leaders grapple with continuous change and disruption.”

Costello explains that it is aimed at high-potential candidates seeking leadership roles. Participating companies will be made up of a team of four executives selected from across the organisation and they collaborate to facilitate the development of a succession plan. Mentoring is provided by senior executives, while expert speakers, panel discussions and company group work will also form part of the experience.

Costello believes that the recent health crisis and resulting disruption and ambiguity have propelled us to develop more agile ways of working. Leading With Strategic Intent will address the critical challenges facing leaders in multinationals and will enable the crafting of a future-focused strategy.

Other rapidly evolving areas of business management education are providing cybersecurity and grappling with the jungle of privacy laws. The rapid diffusion of interconnected digital technology in recent decades has changed profoundly how people interface with the world around them.

Peter Carberry is a privacy and compliance expert at Huawei and they have cyber security courses aimed at tackling hacking risks as well as taking a people-centric approach to technology which guarantees informed choice and consent.

“A key component is a focus on the professional capabilities of those involved in developing the company’s digital products and services. This evolution has been further accelerated since the onset of Covid-19 with video conferencing, cloud offices, and contactless commerce becoming deeply embedded in our lives. The digitalisation of our society offers countless opportunities for improving people’s lives, but it also expands the array of risks posed to cyber security and privacy.” Huawei offers internal training and certification for cybersecurity and privacy practitioners’ knowledge. They also encourage employees to pursue external professional certification programmes to keep up with the competition. These include the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) which offer training to many of their staff and employees of other digital companies in the areas of law and regulations, privacy operation management, and privacy in technology. The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) also provides important data management and privacy learning and is accredited for validating privacy expertise.

According to Carberry: “By supporting employees to constantly upskill in these areas they will keep abreast of the contingent worlds of cybersecurity and privacy.”

Miriam Di Nardi is the student recruitment officer at Trinity Business School and they have developed a number of MSC programmes as well as MBAs directed at business graduates, non-business graduates and business executives alike. The International Consulting Project, part of the MSc International Management programme, prepares graduates for the career environment ahead and they get to interact with successful Irish companies and evolve an implementation plan for them.

“The top companies know that Trinity graduates are high calibre and bring boundless energy and perspective so they are in big demand. Our students can ultimately end up evolving a real implementation plan within a leading company,” says Di Nardi. “We often see students gaining employment in the company they’ve been working with during the course of their studies.”

“For those who would like to study a more specific business course can avail of a suite of Masters in areas such as digital marketing strategy and human resource management as well as business analytics, which is popular due to the high demand for managers with data literacy. Their Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting is a particularly popular route for those seeking to fast-track the qualification because it provides significant exam exemptions from professional accountancy bodies (ACCA, CAI and CIMA), and can be accomplished in just nine months.

Eoghan O’Sullivan is Trinity’s Business School MBA recruitment officer and describes the type of applicants that enrol in their degree courses.

“Trinity MBA’s can help experienced professionals from any industry achieve their personal and professional goals and ambitions. Successful applicants are clear in their motivations, goals and rationale. Demonstrating collaboration and a desire to work in teams is also important. Peer-to-peer learning is central to the Trinity MBA so we seek applicants from a wide range of backgrounds and professional experiences.”

The Trinity MBA is an intensive project-based programme for those who want to accelerate their current career path or transition into a new industry. The programme facilitates live-action learning through participation in three company projects to help graduates develop leadership qualities. There are three distinct MBA’s on offer — the one-year full-time — suitable for professionals who can dedicate themselves to an intensive one-year programme. Then the Executive MBA which is a two-year, part-time programme for those who wish to study while working. The third one is the Flexible Executive MBA, this is a two-year, part-time, distance-learning model. Students have the flexibility to study remotely without attending classes on campus.

“Most of those who enrol in the MBA would have five-year professional experience in a company and a degree or else sit a GMAT to gain entry. There is a big demand for knowledge in the area of business analytics, artificial intelligence and block chains.

“Gender-wise, the classes are very well balanced with a more or less 50-50 male and female split. They are heavily projected and conducted in association with feedback and advice from leading Irish companies,” says O’Sullivan. “A lot of the group work is done via online theatres that were launched and worked well through the pandemic.

Finally, O’Sullivan advises that most of the MBA recruits would have on average five years of professional experience working and can therefore apply the teaching to real case scenarios.

As business team leaders and marketing managers navigate an increasingly complex business world, the need to constantly update skillsets through further education programmes is essential in this fast-moving digital economy. In today’s market, the notion of being a Born Leader is hypothetical — instead the truly ambitious learn how to become business leaders of the future.