Importance of Soft Skills in

Management Education
Paper presented by

Mr. Venkataram Bhat

Assistant Professor in Commerce
Government First Grade College,
Shankaranrayana, Karnataka state – 576227
E-mail: nsvbhat@gmail.com Mobile -91-9900199644

8th and 9th April -2011

International Conference on Re-engineering Management
Education
Karnataka State Open University, Mysore.
 Introduction
• Need for re-inventing and re-engineering
management education.
• 75 percent of long term job success depends

on soft skills and only 25 percent on technical

skills.
• Progress and profits of any company depend

on soft skills (marketing and consumer service)

• Soft skills play a vital role for professional and

personal success
• Quality issues with business schools.

• Reason for employability deficit is lack of soft

skills among management graduates.

 Objectives
•What is the importance of soft skills in
management education?
•What are the important soft skills for

management graduates?
•What are the suitable methods of

teaching the soft skills in management

institutes?
 Methodology
Primary data collected from the
•
management students

Primary data collected from

•
management educators
•Descriptive data collected from
books and prior survey reports of
industry associations and research
institutes.
• *Subject to limitations of time, resources and samples survey.
 Findings - Analysis
Students :-
•Soft skills are most important for employability
and success.
•Agreed that at present academic environment
had highest impact soft skills learning level.
•Communication skills and attitude are most

important soft skills.

• Academics stress on teaching technical

aspects than soft skills.

•They suggested that team projects,

corporate visits, guest lectures and

seminar presentations are methods to
inculcate soft skills.
 Findings - Analysis
Business Educators :-
•Soft skills are most important for employability
and success of their students.
•There is limited scope for teaching soft skills in
management courses due to the present
academic policies.
•Every teacher has his own method of imbibing
soft skills amongst students beyond the
university syllabus.
•Industry wants management graduates who
are “job ready”, so that the training costs can
be reduced.
 Important soft skills
•Have a "winner" attitude
•Be a team player

•Communicate effectively

•Exude confidence

•Hone your creative skills

•Accept & learn from criticism

•Motivate yourself & lead others

•Multitask & prioritize your to-do list

•See the big picture

 Suggestions
•Suitable academic policies.
•Structure programs to simulate the
workplace.
•Outdoor Learning Programs.

•Feedback and mentoring.

•Two parts in soft skills training

• Developing attitudes and attributes
• Fine-tuning communication skills to
express attitudes, ideas, and thoughts
well
 Conclusion
Soft skill is the ability required and expected
from persons for finding a suitable job, its
maintenance and promotion.
To conclude, soft skills training is about
enabling and empowerment of management
graduates for individual and organizational
success.
 References
Web References
•Soft skills training, http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/lrnanddev/general/_head-heart-
work (accessed on 12-03-2011)
•Survey on Career Competencies & Employability Skills for B-School Students,
http://www.nasscom.in/Nasscom/templates/NormalPage.aspx?id=54827 ( accessed on
12-03-2011)
•Nine Soft Skills For Success By Sean Hewitt, Career Advisor, http://competency-
matrix.blogspot.com/ ( accessed on 16-03-2011)
•E-Learning Formats for soft skills, research paper from www.ddiworld.com ( on 13-
03-2011)
•Carole Nicolades “Focus on Soft Skills: A Leadership Wake-up Call”,
http://www.businessknowhow.com/growth/softskills.htm, 2002.
•Soft skills training, http://www.softskillsinstitution.com/faq.htm (accessed on 16-03-
2011)
•Soft skills in curriculum, times news, http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-
02-07/kanpur/28024118_1_soft-skills-curriculum-stress-free-life (accessed on 16-03-
2011)
• Article by Archna Sharma http://schoolofeducators.com/2009/02/importance-of-soft-
skills-development-in-education/ dated February 22nd, 2009 (accessed on 18-03-2011)
 References
Books and Journal References
•Management texts and cases, Rao V.S.P and Harikrishna V., Excel books, New Delhi,
2010, Pp829.
•Management of Organization Behavior leading to Human Resources Management,
Hersey P., Blanchard K. and Johnson D.E., Prentice Hall India, 2002, Pp176.+
•Skills in demand for fresher’s, lets master American soft skills –Raj Gadasalli,Vipra
Books Inc, Norwalk,USA,2005, P126
•Valuable soft skills, article from Times of India dated 4th January, 2004.
•‘Training Students in Soft Skills for the Liberalization, Privatization & Globalization
Era’ - Research Article by Dr. Richa Tewari in ETW.
•Integrating Soft Skills Through Active Learning In The Management Classroom –
article by Chynette Nealy, University of Houston-Downtown, 2005.
•M.B.A. Programs Hone 'Soft Skills' article by PHRED DVORAK, February 12, 2007,
Page B3 of Wall street Journal Online.
•Importance of Soft Skills: Students Perspective, ASSOCHAM business barometer
study by Nusrat Ahmad, June 2009.
• Management Education in India, Paper presented at State University of Management,
Moscow, Russia during October 22 – 24, 2008 by Prof. J. Philip, (XIME), Bangalore.