Priorities of Business Education

Professor Temur Khomeriki, TSU Management and Administration Department Head

Leaders and intellectuals’ have always been appreciated in Georgian reality. Recently intellectuals` basically appeared in the role of submitted to advisers.

The issue mainly changed under current market economy condition and managers- professional positions more and more occupied by the University graduators. The noted middle level is the society stability guarantee, because being politically balanced and not suffering influences of any extremism of any direction. They are evolution way self- realized, because they appreciate cultural values besides resource ones. Under such sort of condition, international level managers’ professional training created into priority of society development.
Georgia provides business administration and management education at many high schools, and the most preferable programs are presented by Tbilisi State University, Caucasus Business School, European School of Management, University of Economy Affairs, Social –Science University of Georgia and others. Foreign partners relationship based business –schools foundations are also faces in Georgia. The most score competitive are Business and Economy faculties of TSU, and the passing exams include specialization subjects (bachelor of social science) and business and administrating (bachelor of administration science) finance, banking and insurance; accounting and tax; audit; business organization and administration, management and administration; tourism, according to Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, November 11, 2005, edict No: 633.
Manager profiles of the named high –schools appear to be two-side extreme: traditional universities make basic reference on academy education and the programs are mostly overloaded with theory courses, and newly created business –schools focus the opposite –they are based on less modification foreign programs of managers retraining. So, educating, retraining and qualification programs of managers are too mixed. But the result is “every knowing” theory specialists with academy degree, from the one side and from the other practice adapted staffers without any theory education. But the west programs include equally both –academy and professional retraining elements. Theory study effectively runs in conjunction with active methods of study and professional internship. People of different professions getting business education following seminars, trainings, symposiums, conferences, short term coursers of masters` and doctorate, also while retraining courses at their jobs.
University graduators frequently come across the hardships while jobs searching, but business school graduators start their jobs while being students on low position specialists, basically in favor of foreign languages and computer strong skills got at the business schools. But the University classical education having persons move further steps in their career for middle and institutional level managers, because general theory preparation and analytical –research capacity in conjunction with practical work providing maintain them quick way assimilating dynamic environment and provide their professional level growing.
Classical programs of Business administration and Management founded in 60th of recent century in Europe, as a sort of DBA (Doctor of Business Administration), MBA (master of Business Administration), BBA (bachelor of Business Administration) an ect but they are not directly related to the Bologna process, and accreditation with the programs provided by concerned associations of U.S. and European business –schools. The whole world submitted to the following forms of education program: day (full- time), evening (part –time) and distance education. There are above 700 such sort of programs in U.S and above 300 of them find modification in Europe. University programs include four years bachelor coursers and 2-3 years for masters and doctorate. According to Georgian legislation, bachelor’s degree requires 240 credit hours, master` s –120 credit hours, and doctorate 180 credit hours.
Business Administration university programs include pre –diploma (bachelor) and after –diploma (master and doctorate) educating programs based on academy education and professional internship. The graduators’ receive concerned academy degree and professional qualification for manager. Theoretical knowledge assists managers its use while exact conditions. University programs for managers excelling in auditory theoretical education element, but retraining programs are separating for adapting with environment. New programs should broader inter- disciplinary specter (management, as a sphere of scientific research, social –psychological, math and other fields of science) and its practical aspects. (management while modern condition of people and their behave handle in organizations, following of the enforce coordination and resolutions making, manager achieves his (her) goal what requires ability of handling over others and strategy capacity together with affective administrating of the operations.
Management education and professional re- training of managers is not able to be provided while lecture and a student` s traditional relationship, when a lecture provides just educating lectures, meanwhile essay and self- training bears huge importance for the specialists preparing. Skills of future manager should obligatory include: personal characteristics, leadership ambitious, ethical –psychological ideology and cultural values. For the named to be developed, active methods of education are necessary: business plays, debates, case- studies (exact situations analyze), seminar presentations, experiments, home works, distinguishes showing, resume and act arrangements providing, professional internship is among the issues. And the result is the audience knowledge growth, view specter development, manager capacity and style improvement, self –estimation and self- management system development. Education participators every side to be equally interested with the final results is necessary, but the motivation background while professional internship is future employment perspective.
The University Management Schools ideology is depended on both, as well as on education program content and education method as on high –schools culture and mentality. Active methods of study imagineless without concerned material –technical supplement. Audience attracting with showings and computer techs utilization, and related esthetic environment creating are necessary issues while study ideological regime running. Management skills may be different ways got: by work experience, getting the knowledge on methods of recent managers, by educating tours providing in successful organizations, internship and ect; But academy preparation actually requires audience educating of the managers.
Management typical programs give every possibility for interdisciplinary education widening. Exactly to say, in conjunction with minor specialization subjects (economic basis, macro economics, institutional economy, business statistics and ect;) provide business- law teaching. Students get proper knowledge on amount analyze and information technologies, several chapters in high math and theory of probability, just before hearing lectures on resolutions making technologies. Business –environment best way adaptation needs skills on taxpaying issue, accounting calculation and audit, financial management and ect. Together with Human Resources teaching, main accentuate is made on business ethics, management sociology and psychology, PR technologies and ect issues. Besides managerial economy broad study, students get knowledge in macro economic regulation and state administration; in parallel of management general courses (general management, administrating theory, management basis and ect), get knowledge in exact aspects of management (strategy administration, projects` administration, operations management, organization behave, corporate administration, anti –crisis management, risk –manager and ect). Master (MBA) and doctoral (DBA) programs of the management based on business administration masters and doctor academy teaching, scholar- research works and professional training, business administration or business manage, what mentions U.S. classical programs for management give qualification together with the academy degree. Academy degree of Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Sciences (MS) is confirmed to the separate specialists having pre- diploma education and practice, wishing two-three years complementary education for their qualification increase. Every business school builds its education methodology its own way. Harvard, Stanford, Wharton and other schools pay mush attention to the situation manage and practical issues, but the Sloane` s school, Carnegie –Melon` s school, Massachusetts Technology Institute Columbia University and ect accentuate on academy education and analytical capacity providing. European (Barcelona, London, Grenoble and ect) and U.S. (for instance, Chicago) Management Schools actively use both directions, but prefer internship in corporations then the cases providing.
As a rule, U.S. masters ` programs require testing in (for instance): GMAT (General Management Admission Test), SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test), GRE (Graduate Record Examination), TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), together with bachelor academy degree having. Part of them is general but part (for instance SAT and GRE) includes as general skills, so exact subject knowledge to be passed by special inquiry.
Doctorate academy education of management is expedient to be provided in accordance with doctor of business administration (DBA) programs. DBA presents to be high –level degree in business, which is basically confirmed to masters already passing through doctoriship course, having essay of working as chairperson.
They frequently maintain the thesis in PhD –Doctor of Philosophy of management thematic, in Europe and U.S. The program includes educating bocks, independent work of doctorship applicant and dissertation preparing and maintain of the thesis. Modern thematic includes leadership, organization behave and development, affective management, project-management, quality management, marketing administration, procurement- management, tourism and sport management, operation management, social management and ect. Doctorship project deadline is three academic years, the first three terms includes academy education, and left other time –practical researches and professional internship, seminar presentations, theoretical preparation of thesis, research results approbation and publishing and doctor thesis maintain. The second course includes practice in pedagogy under scholar –head surveillance. Doctor thesis maintain is provided at concerning councils according to University acting order.
Getting the right of study at doctorate requires meeting the following: master` s diploma, concerning recommendations, but in several European countries (for instance Switzerland) Academy Degree in Philosophy. Master` s and Doctor` s degrees are basically received by top managers. Education process goes by specially created programs (Executive MBA and Corporate MBA). Applicants are required the named testing.
High education of Georgia affiliation to Bologna process supported business education closing to European programs, but the programs and American analogies need concerning accreditation, because business education standards of Georgia are far from international level. Maters` and doctorate financing issue remains to be opened in Georgia for today. (The issue ought to be resulted up till January 1, 2007, according to High Education Law). Well- known fact is that business- education one of most expansive pleasure and just state financial maintain can not be enough. The question is if Georgian business is ready for managing personal education financial maintain. Just several organizations for today pay attention on the issue of their staffers training in business administration sphere. Not just business –school level is the background of successful manager career: opportunity of got knowledge use is the basic.
Modern world faces frequent challenges and transferees, technology and social progress, competitive strengthening and limited rationales, development of freedom and democracy. Successful organizations presenting to be flexible and face capacity of adequate adaptation towards the environment, basing on proper training and consultations way scientifically attitude towards challenges. Consulting is a sort of intellectual – professional dealing, while qualification consultant provides successful administration of client- organization. Consultants appear in different cases: experts, auditors, advisers, ideologists, instructors, innovators and ect. Consulting product improvement and specialization of spheres takes place gradually. Administration consulting suggests most spread forms like consulting service on business reorganization issues, operations and quality and quality manage. Corporations and information strategy, business development and organization projects issues, marketing and finance issues are among the important consultations.
Georgian market of administrate consulting faces its peculiarity:
. Firms basically make reference on law required documentation process.
. Despite of local consultants rare have special professional education and essay of the sphere, their suggested advices are more preferable for acting managers, because of service low prices and local environment being adapted.
. Foreign consultants objectively consider relationship of client and consultant, but Georgians are separate with their subjective attitude.
. International practice faces more confidence of manage personal towards consultants and pass managing of the company to the consulting groups, what is very rare fenomen in Georgian practice.
. International consulting firms (consultants) prefer formal relationship via agreement, but personal relationship remains turning point in Georgia and frequently passes by agreement duties.
. International consulting is much more pragmatic and free of emotional issue, then that appears in Georgian reality.