A solid business education continues to be considered a major pathway to a successful future. Economics, accounting, finance and marketing, to name a few, are popular destinations for current and aspiring business personnel, managers and entrepreneurs. Many consider business literacy a vital component in our society.
Technology and the rapidity of change has created the need for an organization’s ability to alter direction as well as education systems to teach methodologies consistent with such change. Globalization and international exchange have also attributed tremendous influence to the way business is conducted. Domestic and international business are a robust and growing reality that will continually develop and connect people. Current trends reveal that today’s business environment is virtually about survival and maximizing profits, usually at all costs, and at the expense of doing what is right and valuing people. However, it is incumbent on our education system to deliver thoughtful and meaningful education to students to ensure their readiness.
Business education should be about more than the numbers. A host of historic corporate catastrophes throughout the past decades have necessitated the need for a change for more sound business ethics and values training in conjunction with regulation and laws. We need to more “people stuff”, ethics and leadership training in our education systems. A sound business education is very important as we should try look beyond corporate profit. Managers and leaders have a responsibility achieve the mission and objectives of the organization but also to conduct themselves in a way consistent with ethical and moral codes.
Azusa Pacific University strives to include Christian ethics, training and thinking in its delivery of a top-notch business education. Current and future business leaders gain a solid understanding business and management methods with the integration doing the right things and people engagement. This is method is important as globalization and technology are bringing the world closer together. I enjoy working a business professor for this very reason.
I have found that going beyond the numbers in business and management training has caused greater participation and classroom discussion in the classroom. Students enjoy talking about how to better themselves, their employees and our society while engaged in business and management studies. History has often taught valuable lessons in unethical and immoral acts in business. The organizational and personal costs can be extremely high and one way or another take financial toll. Trends in business will consistently show people with strong ethical and moral foundations harbor satisfied employees and produce a more efficient and effective workforce.