Sep '22
Focus
Today, no summit on education or employment would be complete without stimulating discussion on the employability of graduates and skills demanded by organizations. What do students learn today and how well it supports and promotes the acquisition of employability skills that the companies want is a matter of grave importance. Especially in times when employers look for skills that surpass academic qualifications and domain expertise, it is vital to develop a firm understanding of employability skills. In the paper "Different Perceptions of Teachers and Students Towards Basic and Modern Employability Skills", Renu Bala seeks to examine multiple perspectives on modern employability skills prevailing among the teachers and students. Though teachers lay adequate emphasis on skills, most of the students, in their pursuit of excellence in exams, narrowly remain focused on theoretical knowledge. Hence, it is imperative to make them understand the actual demands of the market to facilitate the acquisition of much desired skills.
Whether working in isolation or as a team, the significance of adept communication cannot be understated. Despite the unshakable belief in teams and the profound importance of communication in promoting collaboration, teams often are crippled by poor and hurtful communication which ultimately sabotages their effectiveness. Every team member needs to understand the role and importance of communication, and then develop critical communication skills crucial to establishing common purpose and shared understanding among the members. In the paper, "Fostering Communication Skills Among Teams in Organizations", Swatantra Singh Rathod explores the art of communication and underlines the importance of acquiring effective communication skills to create more effective, efficient and engaged team environment.
Is the gap between the skills that employers expect and those that educational institutions teach perennially widening? If so, what can the educational institutions do to bridge this gap? What should be the preamble of education institutions today? Before answering such questions, it is equally important to understand the purpose and objective of education. It is also pertinent to examine whether the role of education can be confined to imparting job-specific skills for an entry level job in an industry in the short run or lay a firm foundation to develop an array of skills needed during their long-term career. The employers may be narrowly focused on skills the fresher needs in the first job, but the attention of educational institutions should be to prepare professionals for a lifelong career. "Bridging the Employability Skills Gap: A Review", by Kirti and Ram Rattan Saini, draws attention to the skills that go beyond easily learnable technical skills. If students can learn and master these rare skills known as life skills or soft skills, they can become career-ready.
It is said that procrastination is the enemy of progress. Unnecessary and inordinate delay in completing the tasks is a rampant phenomenon plaguing several managers and organizations today. Workplace procrastination, where employees, instead of spending time on doing critical tasks, waste their time on trivial tasks or unproductive activities, results in inefficiency and ineffectiveness. In the paper "Understanding and Overcoming Procrastination", Revathi Turaga draws readers' attention to workplace procrastination and drives home the importance of overcoming procrastination at work.
Hybrid Workplaces in Post-Pandemic India: Effect on Communication and Managerial Functions
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way we work. The pandemic forced companies to hastily shelve the age-old model of 'complete workforce in the office' to the 'work-from-home' model in March 2020. This study is an attempt to understand if the hybrid workplace is going to be the future of work for most industries and what could be its implications on communication and managerial functions for the employees. Interestingly, in our survey 78.8% of the respondents opined that hybrid workplaces would be the new norm in the future. The study indicates that none of the industries can opt for a complete work from home model, and will instead choose a hybrid workplace. New tools and techniques need to be designed to make this model effective. The main challenge for the companies in adopting the hybrid working model is the segmentation of employees based on on-site presence and off-site work schedule, which varies from industry to industry. Another challenge that companies will face is to assess the productivity of their employees. Keeping a record of onsite discussions and conveying the same to off-site employees will be a communication challenge. As the future of work transforms, it is essential that employers need to design a new work module that is conducive to the organization as well as its employees.
Different Perceptions of Teachers and Students Towards Basic and Modern Employability Skills
This paper seeks to examine the viewpoints of teachers and students regarding basic and modern employability skills. For the study purpose, secondary and primary data were gathered. For primary data, two separate questionnaires were framed with a five-point Likert scale, and for secondary data, various websites, blogs, newspapers, journals, reports and research papers, etc. were explored. To collect the viewpoints of teachers and students, data was gathered from various universities in Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana and Chandigarh. From the analysis, it is concluded that for students, gaining marks is the priority, and for teachers, it is not the basis of education. Teachers try to impart multiple skills to the students, but most of the students focus on theoretical knowledge. There is a need for proper training to the students so that they can understand the actual market demand and work on building their personality for better future opportunities.
Fostering Communication Skills Among Teams in Organizations
Communication is the art of conversing, and understanding this art helps us to communicate more effectively. It is a skill that is often taken for granted-from our school-day seminars to facing interviews or corporate meetings. Acquiring effective communication skills can help in all aspects of life, i.e., from professional/personal life to social gatherings. In organizations, learning and understanding effective listening and speaking skills have become essential. With good communication skills, one can create a work environment that is more effective, efficient and engaged. Nowadays organizational leaders are striving hard to understand the different perspectives of their team members. The best way to have proper and quality communication is to first listen and understand the person you are talking with. This paper attempts to explain the importance of communication, improving and nurturing communication skills with changing times, and exploring the advantages of effective communication.
Bridging the Employability Skills Gap: A Review
Companies require various attributes in addition to the technical skills of their employees. Since companies can achieve success with the help of the contribution of skilled workforce, they always try to recruit only candidates with the necessary skills. But in reality, all the skills required by the companies are not imparted by educational institutions. On an average, only 50-60% of skills are acquired by the students in higher educational institutions. On the basis of literature review, this study aims to determine the skill gap between the supply and demand of industry and highlight the significance of employability skills in the workplace. Previous research studies identified essential employability/soft skills like communication skills, decision making, problem-solving, self management, working in groups, motivation, etc.
Understanding and Overcoming Procrastination
Workplace procrastination happens when people unnecessarily postpone dealing with work-related tasks. This happens more often than we think, and can lead to serious issues both for the people who procrastinate and for their employers. Overcoming procrastination at work is crucial for keeping ahead in career competition. So, whether you are an employee looking to stop procrastinating yourself, or an employer looking to reduce employee procrastination, it is important to understand why people procrastinate at work, and what can be done to stop this.
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