Transmission of the so called „soft skills“ at the MBA studies
Lubomír Kostroň 1
František Hroník 2
Abstract
The paper intends to summarize our experiences in teaching the so called „soft-skills“ in
a course of „human relations and knowledge management“, offered as a part of the
MBA studies. While acquiring the knowledge of a wide range of managerial theories
develops the overall understanding of the managerial task and context in which
organizations exist in students, let us say the cognitive aspect of the expertise, the HRM
module seeks to develop different aims: to broaden the understanding of leadership and
the use of personal and collectively shared emotional resources and believes at play.
1.The goals
The core content of the HRM course is focused upon the organizational culture of the
„learning organizations“ (P.Senge), the question if to strive for one is needed to
accomplish the strategic goals of the students´ organizations and then ways, how to
achieve its approximation. The rationale behind is, that the knowledge economy
(I.Nonaka, D.Tapsott), which the Czech society must strive to participate in, is the only
feasible future for our local economy within the European context. Organizations,
which compose this kind of advanced economy, find it insufficient to be managed by
the top-to-down hierarchical style and must open a communication and an active
participation even in strategic decision-making matters both ways (including down-totop one). Thus the individual capabilities and motivation of employees become a matter
of strategic importance and a major resource of organizational development. For some
of us it is interesting to note, that under such circumstances, the evolution of an
organization is not just a matter of adaptation to external changes, but the source of
(sometimes) unpredictable change comes from within the organization itself (emergent
phenomena in complex systems). This, of course, is a classic topic, developed by most
modern managerial approaches. What makes an objective to change the organizational
culture this way to be a matter of the utmost importance are the circumstances, in which
the Czech economy finds itself. Let us name just few:
- the admission into EU as a major change in the competitive and co-operative
framework (part of the economical globalization influences),
- a significant demographical slide (the near future aging and reduction of the
domestic population with all the labor market and social care consequences),
- resulting growth of uncertainty in strategic decision-making and a need of new
leaders who know what is the right thing to do (a general lack of a clear,
unifying vision).
Thus the goal of our module is to introduce European–wide issues and to warn, that the
focus of students´ thinking just within the scale of their particular organizations is
defeating. They also must to understand the concept of a sustainable growth and to see,
under which circumstances just a quantitative growth of their organization leads to
doom. The good way how to express this concern is the Club of Rome old slogan „think
globally, act locally“.
Of course, the HRM course is also stuffed with the „learning organization“ theory,
systems feedback thinking (P.M.Senge) and a number of other related theoretical
concepts (K.R.Hammond, G.Morgan), which are intended to supply the analytical
mind´s needs. However, these additional concepts are off the focus of our discussion.
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We try to make students to think as managers, who not only have the power, but who
also are also responsible for a creation of a society (networks of organizations), which
will be able to handle the transition with success – for all, and for coming generations.
The way to begin is on a personal level, within the immediate environment, later
organizations and their nets. The way how to do it is to stimulate their personality
growth, ripening into natural, wise leaders, a process, which must go on long after they
leave the MBA program.
2. The means used
How do we do it? First, we try to assure them, that the lever to touch the inner
resources of employees is to evoke and get involved their dreams into what they do as
their particular job. To make a room for their dreams´ implementation into the daily
routines. To make them believe, that their job has a lasting meaning and it is the
individual responsibility to find one, the one, which suits and decently fulfills one’s life
span and a sense of a mission (Ch.Handy). To assure them, that it is within their powers
to leave a footprint and in a final effect to change the world. The students need to know
and to believe that, since they themselves have to become leaders, who can and must to
persuade the others to achieve synergy in their efforts.
At the very beginning of the HRM course we present a pictorial story of a „Gray city,
which the dreams turned into a colorful one“ and ask them to analyze the story from a
managerial point of view. Interestingly enough, no one „directs“ the change there, no
one there is in a command, but things do happen, conflict rises and gets solved not by a
force of an authority.
Subsequent topic intends to show how the „soft“, intuitive, hard to be analyzed concepts
in our mental models become of a crucial importance in the organizational growth. We
show the difference between the focus of the HRM module and other MBA modules,
which are dealing more with issues, which can be approached by analytical thinking and
planning, not much by personal and shared feelings and experiences, as the HRM issues
are.
A good, symbolic story ends one of our sessions. It is a story, which shows the powers
of newly awakened mutual respect and a shared belief in a common purpose in a setting
of a dying monastery, composed of few old monks, which turns into a renewed spiritual
center of a kingdom. The message of the story is subsequently left to be thought of.
In a small-group discussion we ask the students to solve problems in a set of a brief
mini-case-studies and to discuss how their solutions will effect upon the organizational
culture – will it change it to more directed “personal management“ style or to „human
resources development“ style? Cases and students solutions reflect their initial mental
models, judgment and abilities to achieve a consensus and the uncertainty in a real life
contradictory situations.
Finally, our module ends with the presentation of a R.Redford´s movie „The Horse
Whisperer“. The story of this movie shows powerfully the difference between the
“personal management world” and the “turning people into resources (HRM) world”. It
shows how the deep transition is achieved while facing serious crisis, which cannot be
handled otherwise. It shows, that when the normal managerial practices fail to obtain
the right solutions, one must seek for a deeper insight and to come with a courageous
decisions, also intuition has its part (just partly understood feelings, an understanding of
what is going on, that can not be fully explained and proved). Relying on deeply based
feelings of righteousness one may undertake serious risks – which, in return, change and
ripen him /her forever. The story and messages of the movie is widely discussed and
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conclusions for actual managerial tasks at hand are discussed with students. The choice
to achieve this understanding by a movie presentation and subsequent discussion is
based upon our belief, that feelings and experiences can not be shared verbally (in a
lecture, not in a poem) effectively enough – and then, we do not have enough space to
invite the students for a real outdoor experiential program.
3. Discussion
What is the problem? The question is how to make sure, that the main message of our
course does not get lost just by writing the assignment. The task is to write on how to
achieve the learning organization culture in organizations, which the students serve in
and getting the grade for it. How to make sure, that the messages
- the need for them to grow into a well emotionally balanced leaders, who
permanently seek for self-assurance, for a sense of their mission and the mission
of their organizations,
- that they are here to serve to a socially decent purpose and not to dominate
others,
- that their main task is to open a room for the developments of others´ creative
powers
are well understood and not to be forgotten? How can we convey such a complex
message in a format of a classroom and at a given time? It is obvious, that our goal
reaches far behind just a transmission of a textbook knowledge.
The feedbacks we obtain, are mixed. A clear majority refrains from assessing the course
in writing immediately. Few voice dismay, some are excited. From time to time we also
obtain a clear signs of disapproval. We hope, that they these come from a people, who
are presently unable to understand to us due to their personality dispositions (for
instance those, who like and also need to be in a power positions, since it is simply
sufficient to reach their goals and fits the settings. The worse interpretation is, that we
simply do a poor job). Occasionally we meet students years later, which are friendly
and say, that all what they remember, are the good stories, we presented to them.
What we need most are systematic, delayed feedbacks, which are hard to obtain except
by means of periodic meetings with former students (which, by the way, the B.I.B.S.
organizes).
Of course, we cannot be satisfied just with that and feel rather permanently frustrated.
As a possible mean how to get our points across better, is to show more explicitly how
our goals merge with other MBA modules. Namely with strategic management and
marketing modules. We try to suggest to other lecturers, that developing the human
potential, sense of purpose and permanent learning are understood today as the major,
almost the only remaining strategic advantage in a growing number of organizations.
HRM itself is ultimately a tool of an individual and collective strategic thinking. And
the tie to the marketing module? Contrary to a regular understanding of this concept, it
is possible to revert the situation and to see the target group of marketing activities
inside the organization. Why not to know better and to influence the inner environment
of our own organization? The concepts of inner a outer customers directly suggest that.
What we can do, of course, is to market our understanding of what HRM means for us
here and today. Hopefully we succeeded in this effort even in respect to you, to our
audience.
Literature:
Hammond K.R., 1996, Human Judgment and Social Policy, Oxford University Press
Handy Ch., 1997, The Hungry Spirit, Hutchinson, London
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Morgan G., 1997, Images of Organizations, Sage Publications
Nonaka I., Nishiguchi T., 2001, Knowledge Emergence, Oxford University Press
Senge P.M., 1990, The Fifth Discipline, The Art and Practice of Learning organization,
Doubleday, N.Y.
Tapscott D., 1997, The Digital Economy, McGraw-Hill
Notes:
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Lubomír Kostroň, PhD.,CSc.,M.A., associate professor at the Department of
Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Masaryk University, Gorkého 7, 602 00 Brno,
Czech republic, e-mail: kost@fss.muni.cz
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František Hroník, PhD, director and owner of a consulting agency MotivP, Mariánské
nám.11, 602 00 Brno, Czech republic, e-mail: hronik@motivp.cz
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