Introduction
In the article titled, “The Practice of Management Education in Australian Universities”, by Rosalie (2004) an attempt has been made to identify the hidden relationship between business and education. This has been done by answering three critical questions. The first question probes the role of management educators in the field of imparting impartial managerial education to the students. The second question asks whether management educators are capable of becoming efficient managers, while the third and final question reverses the role-playing in the second question and asks whether managers can become effective management educators or scholars. The research paper focuses on the existing standards of education in the Australian business schools, wherein the educators belong to the above-mentioned subheads, namely, teachers, managers and academic discipline experts.
Rosalie (2004) has tried to highlight the interrelationship between the three categories of educators. This is because the overall success of Australian business schools is completely dependent on the interrelationship of the three diverse educators and their level of competence in terms of imparting free and impartial management education to aspiring students. Rosalie (2004) has also tried to highlight the importance of local as well as global management education methodologies and the role universities play in executing their tasks to perfection.
The overall impression of the article is both positive as well as negative. This is because Rosalie (2004) has tried to present her perception of the educational field by remaining unbiased in her approach. To portray her dilemma, she has tried to cite the gaps in the execution of management education in the Australian business school, while trying to steer clear of the outdated practices, which are followed by the “old school” of management educators. Rosalie’s (2004) critical approach clearly states that if the existing level of management education in Australia has to rise in terms of the global standards, an attempt has to be made to ensure that both academic discipline experts as well as effective managers in the corporate world, be brought together to impart an education which has a perfect blend of both the practical as well as the theoretical aspect of the existing business world
Main Findings and Conclusion
In the paper, Rosalie (2004) has tried to highlight the actual plight of the educational standards in Australian universities. In her report, the author has categorically stated that most management institutes in Australia have faculty members, who are not trained on the subject. They belong to varying backgrounds and have no managerial degree to boast of. Likewise, most corporate-level managers are lacking a basic management education degree. Rosalie (2004), through her paper, now asks the universities as well as multinational corporations whether the importance of a formal management degree is still under wraps. She states that the need for the latest teaching aids and the emphasis on soft skills needs to be initiated on a grass-root level.
Well-developed business skills are a prerequisite with the deans of business schools if they are to keep pace with the global education techniques and maintain the quality of their staff by avoiding poor teaching performances. The paper also states that managers are not born or made. In reality, their skills are developed over time. For this, the managers need to acquire the related managerial degree and attain relevant experience, by working in a managerial corporation. To answer the second question, whether the manager can become effective educators or not, Rosalie (2004) clearly states that this is only possible if the Australian academic schools increase their salaries and allow judicious interaction amongst the students and the acting managers of multinational corporations. Lastly, when the question revolves around the possibility of management educators taking over as administrators, the answer as per research Rosalie (2004) paper is, “No”. This is because management educators in Australian universities often consider themselves as teachers and not “administrators”.
Evaluation of Article
The article is very useful about the gaps in the Australian education model. With special regards to management education in Australia, it needs to be noted that the onset of global managerial practices is still regarded as a distant dream in Australia. While managers have no educational degree to boast of, teachers in universities have a background that is ironical to the subject they teach. If this is allowed to continue, the students would never get the managerial education, they truly deserve. The author has clearly stated that while the classical management theory is important, the need for continuous development is also very essential. The main strength of this article is to allow people to realize that gaps do exist in terms of managerial education in Australian Universities; nonetheless, the biggest weakness of this article is the conclusion. Had the author ended the article in a decisive mode, it would have been fairly clear regarding her approach.
In my opinion, a perfect ending should have allowed the inclusion of academic teachers, corporate managers and the latest teaching aids, in the context of Australian managerial studies. A lack of decisiveness has left a gaping hole in the minds of the readers and this, in turn, hampers the decision-making powers of those who read this article as a means of drawing a close-ended conclusion.
Conclusion
Rosalie’s (2004) approach is comparable to a seasoned management researcher. She has studied the educational practices in Australian universities with utmost care and has drawn a conclusion that is backed by substantial proof. In her study, Rosalie (2004) had tried to highlight the fact that the managerial department of the Australian universities has failed to comply with the norms of the international colleges of immense repute. The paper categorically states that there is a lack of coordination between various departments within the colleges. It has also been noticed that the management teachers are not inclined to impart quality education as they lack the required managerial degree. Likewise, managers working in Australian corporations have moved up the ladder, without actually strengthening their basics by attending a suitable managerial school of knowledge.
If the Australian management institutes are to succeed, they need to comply with the latest global teaching aids and involve training from leading management trainers. Likewise, managers from leading business houses should be included in the academic curriculum, so that the students can learn the art of practical skills.
In the end, it would be appropriate to state that Australian universities are in dire states. To improve, they need to revamp their management and involve best practices from across the globe. If the above-mentioned steps are followed and an effort is made to rationalize the entire process, the chances are that the management universities of Australia would emerge as the leading managerial schools of the world.
References
Rosalie, H. (2004). ‘The practice of management education in Australian universities’, Management decision, Vol. 42 No. ¾, pp. 396- 405.