Students’ perception on developing conceptual generic skills for business. A knowledge-based approach

Pages490-505
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/VJIKMS-11-2016-0065
Date13 November 2017
Published date13 November 2017
AuthorConstantin Bratianu,Elena-Madalina Vatamanescu
Subject MatterInformation & knowledge management,Knowledge management,Knowledge management systems
Studentsperception on
developing conceptual generic
skills for business
A knowledge-based approach
Constantin Bratianu
Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, and
Elena-Madalina Vatamanescu
Faculty of Management, National University of Political Studies and
Public Administration, Bucharest, Romania
Abstract
Purpose The classical approach of teaching and learning mostly based on knowledge transfer is
questionable as knowledge life cycle is shortening and new type of jobs appear every day with new
knowledge request. In this vein, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how to switch the focus from
learningknowledge to learning generic skills liableto help future professionals to think and learnby doing.
Design/methodology/approach The research isbased on a 30-item questionnaire that was addressed
to over 500 students involved in managementand business undergraduate and graduate programs from two
well-reputed Romanian universities. Three hundred and forty questionnaires were lled in and processed
using SPSS, version 19. Additionally, a factorial analysis was performed, with a view to extract the most
importantfactors that are involved in developing genericskills in university programs.
Findings Results demonstrate that most of the students from the undergraduate programs prefer the
classical approach less implication and responsibility in doing a harder conceptual work while most
studentsfrom the master programs are open to the new perspective of learningto learn, namely, to developing
generic skills.
Research limitations/implications In the new turbulent business landscape, universities face a
signicant change in teachingtheir students. Although the research adds to the value of the extant literature
on generic skills (also known as core skills), it is mainly focused on a Romanian sample, thus reecting a
context-basedperspective.
Originality/value The current study provides a preliminary insight into the perception of Romanian
students about developing generic skills and into their readiness to assume the role of main actors in the
learningprocess.
Keywords Learning,Teaching, Knowledge management,Knowledge acquisition,Core competences,
Conceptualgeneric skills
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
The globalization and turbulence of the external business environment have progressively
generated new approaches from companies toward developing and implementing
knowledge strategies. From the rational and planned strategy, today, more and more
companies have switched to the emergent strategies or the process of strategizing to cope
with uncertainties and chaotic times (Andrei and Zait,2014;Bolisani et al.,2013;Bratianu
and Bolisani, 2015;De Toni etal.,2011;Kotter, 2012;Nonaka and Zhu, 2012;Spender, 2014).
VJIKMS
47,4
490
Received25 November 2016
Revised28 January 2017
Accepted2 March 2017
VINEJournal of Information and
KnowledgeManagement Systems
Vol.47 No. 4, 2017
pp. 490-505
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2059-5891
DOI 10.1108/VJIKMS-11-2016-0065
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2059-5891.htm
In this fast-changing business landscape, universities face a signicant change in
the process of teaching their students. The classical approach of teaching and learning
mostly based on knowledge transfer is questionable because the knowledge life cycle is
shortening and new types of jobs appear every day with new knowledge requests.
Thus, the arising question is how to shift the focus from learning knowledge to
developing generic skills (Bedwell et al., 2014;Dawe, 2002;Gibb, 2004;Goatman and
Medway, 2011;Singh and Gera, 2015), so that future professionals benetfrom
experiential learning. Thinking and acting should embrace new dynamics based on the
whole spectrum of knowledge comprising rational, emotional and spiritual knowledge
elds (Bolisani and Oltramari, 2012;Bratianu, 2015a). Generic skills, also known as core
skills, key skills, essential skills, basic skills, soft skills, key competences or
employability skills are those capabilities that are liable to power personal and
professional development based on learning. The difculty of implementing a new
vision concerning generic skills in universities comes mostly not from professors, but
from students who should work harder in developing their conceptual skills and the
capability of learning to learn in a changeable business environment. Learning to learn
becomes the new mantra of university education so that students develop their capacity
of searching for new knowledge instead of acquiring it already processed through
explicit lectures. This means that students assume responsibility for their learning and
developing generic skills as mechanisms able to handle novel issues in a changeable
world.
Generic skills areexpected to increase the chances foremployability and further learning
(Chan, 2010;Fallows and Steven,2000;Rahman et al.,2011;Senge et al., 2004;Sin et al., 2016;
Singh et al., 2014),being essential for developingpersonal mastery. According to Senge (1999,
p. 7), personal mastery is an essential cornerstone of the learning organization, and thus,
developing generic skills triggers a specic perspective on knowledge management both in
university andin any learning organization. Moreover, developing generic skills reveals new
connections between personal learning and organizational learning(Senge, 1999,p.8).
Although soft skills are gaining a growing interest in literature and praxis, studies by
Massaroet al. (2016, pp.236-237) show that:
[...] the attention of business schools to adopt soft skills and ethical principles is advancing very
slowly. Only a few soft skills are explicitly addressed in the business schoolscurricula, while
others are omitted or ignored.
Starting from these considerations, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate students
perception in what concerns changing the teachingand learning models from those mostly
based on knowledge accumulationand reactive thinking models toward developing generic
conceptual skills for business, respectively: collecting and processingdata and information,
problem-solving, creative thinking and learning to learn and strategic thinking. Both
undergraduate and graduate students were considered in the research sample, and, in this
context, their perception on the need of developing generic skills and their readiness for
being more active in the complex process of teaching and learning were compared. A
quantitative research based on a 30-item questionnaire was conducted, the research
instrument being distributed to subjects from two well-known universities in Romania,
enrolled in managementand business programs.
2. Knowledge management in higher education
Knowledge management in higher education is usually analyzed from the perspective of
organizational knowledge dynamics, the universities being considered as knowledge-
Conceptual
generic skills
for business
491

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