Business School or B-School usually introduces ‘Intro to Business’ course to newly enrolled students. It’s one of the favorite courses for many students because in this class professors assign them a company project. In this project, students go out, find a small business, meet with the business owner, and then they share with their classmates—key technical information about the business. This information includes, what’s the company’s product? How do they price their product, or promote their product? It’s a great assignment because it really brings to life all the technical theories that students have been reading about in their textbooks. But the biggest insight from this assignment is when students share with their classmates. They share the single biggest piece of advice the business owner has for a young person starting a business career.
The world has changed for driving businesses. Things have changed beyond imagination. And that’s accordingly what a business owner would tell students the key to success; the development of inner-self, character, life skills, passion for work, work ethic, persistence, determination, and all the good old-fashioned grit. That’s how business owners are guiding young entrepreneurs suggesting these as the key to a successful business career.
But how to teach grit? How to teach these life skills? Some schools are trying to teach these through self-help books and seminars. However, still there’s a problem; they don’t cut to the chase, they don’t force students to actually apply what they’re reading about in the textbook, it’s all theory. For instance, if someone wants to learn to ride a bike then reading a book or watching a video about riding a bike may give an idea of how to just sit over. But the person will really learn only when he/she actually sits on the bike pedaling, braking, and ringing the little bell on the handlebar. That’s what real education is.
Bringing ethics to the B-classroom
Top business schools have been making an effort to infuse ethics into the curriculum through company projects, workshops, thoughts sharing, and courses. Business schools are determined to embed ethical principles into students that can act as a compass to navigate the challenges of the future. Although it’s infeasible to put all the chapters on experience display, B-schools’ ethics are attainable-up to see every uncertainty as a new possibility.
Discover some ways business schools are teaching to explore inner self;
- B-schools emphasize the need for equanimity and the ability to handle uncertainty— to handle uncertainty, students just have to handle the reality.
- With an ability to impact millions of lives, businesses have become bigger than even nations. With such vast power, comes great responsibility. Future business leaders evolve from personal ambition to a larger vision, making a difference. Students are being taught to see life as a combination of time & energy. They should invest-in both wisely.
- If students think that the work they do is important, the first important thing for them is to work on themselves. If they want to shoulder their business effectively and handle their energies differently, they should do more in less time. What one does in 10 days, they must do in one day.
- Business schools believe in possibilities, no matter how hard it takes to get. Students learn that problems don’t exist, only solutions do. Some students might know how to handle situations and some might not. What is a problem for one is an opportunity for another.
- Students get skilled enough to learn to fight the storm. They can learn to prevent a storm or they can learn to ride the storm. If they learn to ride the storm, the storm is not a problem anymore.
Actual things to fuel startup
Entrepreneurs are highly motivated individuals who intend to follow their desires. Business schools teach self-assessment to let future entrepreneurs see the reflection of their personal goals and develop strategies accordingly. Through their application, students see success not only in terms of size but also in terms of finding the full expression of who they are, their capabilities, and their competence.
Managing a business essentially means entrepreneurs are managing thousands of minds. If they cannot manage theirs, how will they manage others? And if they can manage theirs, where is the question of pressure? Where is the question of stress? There is no such thing. Work is not pressure and neither stress. It is the inability to manage own system—body, mind, emotions, and energy.
For an entrepreneur money comes first as important for survival in the field. But money does not come because one desires money. It comes because an entrepreneur does something well. If an entrepreneur thinks only about money, that means he/she is only interested in the consequence, not in the process. It has been witnessed for years that those who enjoy working the process get the consequence in favor. And rest only dream about it, they will not do it.
Entrepreneurial stress dealing with expectations
Studies show that ‘dealing with expectations’ is one of the leading causes of stress among entrepreneurs. The main stress point for any entrepreneur is to lighten or to deal with the burden of societal expectations.
B-schools teaching entrepreneurship or leadership do not suggest students to run after money. Entrepreneurs instead of constantly thinking about how much money they want to earn they should look at what they want to create and if what they have created is truly worthwhile, money will happen naturally. For example, modern-day entrepreneurs who made big changes, such as Netflix, where Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings did not bother about money. They only focused on creating something that can be enjoyed by people all over the world. And because what they created was valuable for today’s generation, money naturally came in. Above all, if a person is creating what he values and he sees as being immense value to everyone’s life, he will have the joy of creating it.
B-schools hopes to create gender equity
Colleges enrolling female students and industries employing female workers/professionals have historically been male-dominated. The issue of gender inequity in business schools is ubiquitous. Studies suggest this gender gap begins with education, such as MBA programs that are dominated by men with a ratio of 3:1 to female. The percentage of global female applicants remains at approximately 38%, despite bids to increase female participation. Research also shows that when women are given equal opportunities and training, they thrive as much if not more than their male counterparts. But why aren’t more women in fields?
Business schools offering MBA programs are working hard to create gender harmony, a better balance. It is a necessity to represent women on MBA programs to level the playing field in the workforce. McKinsey report found that increased gender diversity in the workplace has a direct correlation with profitability, as companies with strong female representation outperformed industry peers by 21%. According to the Graduate Management Admission Council’s (GMAC) Prospective Students Survey Report for 2018, there has been growth among female applicants in comparison to men. Compared to the 2017’s statistics, the percentage of female students has certainly improved by 10%. The MBA program in the number one spot this year has 65% female representation.
Read more: The 10 B-Schools in the USA to Watch in 2022
