Richards, Georgina
(2014)
The Effectiveness of Business Education in Addressing Strategic Leadership and Corporate Governance.
[Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)]
Abstract
Abstract
In the last decade, globalisation and technological advancements have led to changes in global competition. Consequently, there has been a demand for strategic leaders, because they can exploit opportunities in the market. A company with strategic leaders will remain competitive, in today’s business environment. Furthermore, Enron and the Financial Crisis of 2008 have highlighted the importance of the relationship, between strategic leadership, business ethics and corporate governance and its impact on financial performance. This has raised the debate about the role of the business school, in developing future leaders who can add value to the wider society. As a result, this study aims to assess the role of UK business schools, in developing undergraduates into effective strategic leaders for good business practice.
In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were used, to explore recent graduates’ experiences at three different business schools. This hoped to identify if business education, does effectively teach undergraduates the necessary skills for strategic leadership and corporate governance. From analysing the findings, graduates believed that business education lacked practical training, for strategic leadership and corporate governance. This demonstrates that UK business schools lack relevance, in developing undergraduates into effective strategic leaders for improved corporate governance. As a result, graduates supported the idea that business schools should be amended, to incorporate more practical training for management practice. However, graduates stated an amendment would only be worthwhile, if it involved compulsory placements or work experience outside of the classroom. The main argument for this was that graduates believed that practical skills, for effective strategic leadership aren’t learnt in a business school environment. If business schools manage to achieve partnerships with local businesses to support this idea, graduates argued that UK business schools would be effective at developing strategic leaders. This will lead to an improvement in corporate governance, once graduates have entered the business environment.
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