Five major skills for a successful Career in Management

Are you planning for a lucrative and sustainable career in Business Management? Well, there are many factors that you should wisely consider while opting for MBA or PGDM programs. The following sections shall provide a brief overview of the future industry scenario, the nature of the workplace and 5 major skills that would be essentially needed to sustain and excel in the management profession.

JIMS Rohini Admission Open 2023: Apply Now 

Shift in the Industry and Business Environment

Last decade has witnessed a rapid transformation in corporations due to the introduction of new technologies, fluctuation in global economies, shift in political equilibrium and society. Besides, the last two years of Covid 19 pandemic have opened up many new work avenues and the ways of doing them. This brings a huge challenge for management educators to impart skills that remains relevant in the future complex and ambiguous environment. Technologies such as AI, Data Sciences, Cloud Computing, Metaverse, Blockchain, and Virtual & Augmented Reality are no longer the buzzwords but are now becoming part of business operations. These are likely to replace or considerably change the job profiles in future.

Nature of workplace and job profile in future

Consulting firm PwC has predicted that nature of work shall evolve in the future world according to four colours. The Red World will allow small businesses to tap into the vast reservoirs of information, skills, and financing. HR will no longer exist as a separate function, and firms will rely on outsourcing. There would be fierce competition for talent, and those with in-demand contemporary skills would reap the benefits. In the Blue World, global corporations will become larger, powerful, and more influential. Organizations will expand their businesses for survival and profits. Top talent would be in acute demand. As per PwC, in the Green World there shall be limited resources and pressure on the organizations to conserve them. Also, regulations by various agencies shall force them to be more environmentally friendly. In the Yellow World, workers and companies will seek out larger meaning and relevance of their existence. Organizations shall focus on ethical work practices and would be more socially responsible. Those working in such organizations shall be having more flexible work environment, fair remuneration and job satisfaction.

JIMS Rohini Admission Open 2023: Apply Now 

Five major skills required

In view of future industry scenario and workplace environments, following are the Five major skills that a person would require for successful growth in MBA or PGDM career. 

1. Competency in Functional specializations

Primarily students opt for Marketing, Finance, HR and Operations as their major specializations. Then there are few sectoral specializations such as International Business, Retail, Analytics, Machine Learning, Information Technology, Entrepreneurship, etc. A candidate should be proficient in whichever area he is specializing in order to contribute effectively in his job role and responsibilities

2. Professionalism and Soft Skills

There is no substitute for discipline, diligence and Integrity at workplace. Having an intrapreneurial mindset will help a person achieve much greater heights within an organization compared to those who don’t have it. Most in-demand skills for the future could be higher cognitive such as advanced literacy and writing, critical thinking, analytics and statistical skills.

3. Resilience to work under unpredictable business environment

Covid-19 crisis and subsequent lockdown led to many innovative adoptions by the organisations and educational institutions. E-commerce, Work from home as well as Learning in online mode, got a big boost. The managers of the future would require skills such as complex problem-solving, originality, fluency of ideas, and active learning. It is prophesied that the future workplace will have everyone as a leader. The hierarchical structure of organizations may be replaced by flat structure where people shall be working in teams and not under any bosses. Hence, being an active team player and ability to manage work in both offline and online mode would be vital.

4. Proficiency in the latest technology-aided tools

In future, technologies such as AI and wearable devises will assist employees. There won’t be any physical desks. Virtual meetings and interactions among staff in different work locations, through video-conferencing, etc. may become a norm. The recruitment process would be technology and analytics assisted. The candidate’s profile shall be assessed through their social media accounts and postings on LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. Job Performance of employees would be assessed using VR for on-the-job testing, training, and diversity initiatives.

5. Social and Emotional Skills

Skills such as advanced communication, empathy, adaptability, conflict resolution and the ability to unlearn & learn periodically would be essentially required. Those with strong ethics, concern for environment and society are likely to be more in demand, as organizations would focus on ethical governance. Jagan Institute of Management Studies (JIMS, Rohini), Delhi, for last over two and half decades, has been vigorously preparing its students with the Skills for the Future.

About the author

The article has been written by Dr Sumesh Raizada, Professor at Jagan Institute of Management Studies

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha