Personal and Professional Development for Business Essay

Personal and Professional Development for Business - Essay Example In the recent years, MBA programs have been construed as general education in the practice of managing rather than specialized training in the functions of business; however, Henry Mintzberg, one of the leading influential teachers of business strategy argues that â€Å"Management is, above all, a practice where art, science and craft meet†. In light of this statement, this paper aims to provide a critical analysis of the value of management education from a range of perspectives. In today’s complex and highly challenging global business environment, business leaders are predominantly engaged with the task of transforming nondescript firms into a billion dollar corporations. Tough business environment conditions and emerging trends in the traditional business world have created a knowledge gap that business schools have ardently strived to fill through management education. Through management education, business schools are seriously rethinking the concept of leadership with a special focus on the need to train the next-generation managers (Uba, 2011); the training seeks to raise a breed of next-generation managers fully equipped with knowledge and skills to deal with the emerging global challenges in the business world. The need for such training is justified by the dynamic nature of modern enterprise; traditional managers rarely had to move past the basics of what was taught and even then, the scope was often limited to their immediate environment. The need to raise a breed of next generation managers who have been equipped with the necessary tools to deal with the emerging business challenges is the underlying importance of Management education. In addition to that, management education directly correlates with business and economic development because it highlights key essential areas of focus in the global business environment. For instance, corporate social responsibility and corporate sustainability have been flagged as essential elements i n business management today thanks to Management education (Uba, 2011). Business management has taken on a much broader meaning in today’s workplace in response to globalization that has resulted into new complexities and interdependence between multinational corporations, the environment and society. Many companies have become multinationals and they are required to compete in environments radically different from the ones in which the managers were trained. For these reason, they must be flexible so they can tackle the new social political and legal challenges that will unequivocally come their way, such versatility can only achieved through intense and progressive training. Given the myriad complexities and interconnectivity at the workplace in response to globalization, business management in the 21st century tends to take on a multi-faceted approach that calls for integrative business tools. Management education provides an avenue for managers to adapt to the changes at the workplace by building their capacity to deal with emerging complexities and challenges of interconnectivity. Managers are put to task to meet their fiduciary responsibility to both customers and shareholders, while paying close attention to environmental, socio-cultural and political considerations at the workplace. The role of management education is to empower managers to execute these roles effectively and efficiently to lead their organizations into achieving optimum results and excellent success. Management education helps shape the attitudes and behaviour of business leaders through a number of ways; the most prominent way in which management education does this is through business education, research and management programmes. Management educ

Why did Britain want a trading post on Singapore Research Paper

Why did Britain want a trading post on Singapore - Research Paper Example The Sultan of Singapore, Abdul Rahman, was under relatively tight Dutch control and as such, could not allow for the British to set up any trading post in Singapore. However Raffles formulated a plan through which the Sultan’s elder brother would be able to take up the sultanate. Sultan Abdul Rahman’s elder brother Tengku Hussein Shah was supposed to be the rightful ruler due to his having been the eldest son (Rahim, 2010). Sir Raffles drew up papers that effectively recognized Hussein Shah as being the lawful sultan of not only Johor, but also Singapore. After recognizing Hussein Shah as sultan, Sir Stamford Raffles signed a treaty in February 1819 with Hussein Shah and Temenggong Abdul Rahman, the treaty declared the approval the establishment of a British East India Company trading post in Singapore (Rahim, 2010). The treaty also specified that Sultan Hussein Shah and the Temenggong would in turn receive an annual income from the British. In the establishment of this trading post, it can be noted that Sir Raffles undertook a number of drastic measures in what can be construed to be an indicator of the importance that Britain attributed to the establishment of this trading post (Yew, 2013). This paper will seek to establish why Sir Stamford Raffles and Britain wanted a trading post in Singapore. The geographical location of Singapore is believed to have been one of the key reasons as to why the British essentially chose it as the location where they would set up a new port in the region. The Straits of Melaka had become an important trade route for British traders who would use it when travelling to China during the 19th century. The strait had proven to be a relatively great source of income for these British traders as a result of its facilitation of the lucrative opium-tea and silk trade with China (Yew, 2013). When using the route, British traders would travel from Europe, around the African continent to SEA,