Higher education remains a competitive business as students, parents, college administrators and professors struggle to balance educational costs with a shrinking economy, and, at the same time, maintain program integrity and rigor while vying for scarce resources.

This uneasy balance between education and global slowdown is currently driving those in education to reevaluate course and program objectives and outcomes in context with existent world practicality and reality. This balance of pragmatism and idealism in the articulation of the goals of education specifically in business programs, differ widely and contradict each other particularly in a global enterprise in which knowledge information is not only accessible but also pliable and shifting.

How do we balance theory and conceptual models with authentic purpose and relevance? How do business programs prepare graduates with the comprehensive skills that go beyond just academics? How do we prepare graduates to become leaders with a global perspective and global understanding of world economies and markets? These questions provoke all of us in higher education to reflect upon what we must do to prepare students for global success and to refine our practice for understanding the global conditions. We must begin with a common understanding and framework of the goals of educational programs and determine what relevance they provide to the current set of world conditions. Educational goals emphasize both immediate subject matter and enduring value to the individual. For example, one could hardly contest the goal of learning for personal satisfaction and contribution to the larger social order in concert with being able to maintain and sustain a job and profession over the course of a lifetime. Course preparation and program outcomes have been shortsighted in that having content knowledge does not adequately prepare a graduate to integrate theoretical approaches into a complex and malleable set of world conditions.

One would hardly have a medical doctor train via coursework and then operate on an individual with hopes that the person survives without some prior rehearsal and demonstration of performance skill. One does not instruct a teacher without some sort of internship or practicum prior to placing them in a school setting. How we provide ongoing education, training, and development so that those in influential positions remain abreast of the current issues and trends is vital in our knowledge-based economy. For those navigating their way through business enterprise and global economies, knowing how to make informed decisions based on data, projected trends, and outcomes is a vital skill that requires a combination of both competence through academic preparation and confidence through ability and expertise.

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