managerial skills in business essay

Managerial Skills Analytical Essay

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Introduction

Relevance to top management.

In a continuously changing organizational setting, it is no shock that the roles of top management have evolved. Per se this paper will cover three major elements. Firstly, the essay will determine the role played by the top manager as described by Katz and their importance and finally, whether an additional skill is appropriate to the role of the top executives. A manager is described as a person who coordinates and oversees the work of employees in order to accomplish company goals (Robbins et al., 2008, p. 9).

Basically, there are 3 lines of managers. First, there is the first-level manager who “supervises and coordinates the duties of working staff” (Peterson, 2004, p. 1299). The first-level manager’s duty comprises supervising daily activities, guaranteeing that production goal is performed proficiently and successfully since it directly impacts the organization’s profit margins.

Second, we have the mid-level manager who is mainly concerned with executing the regulations and goals generated by top management and with supervising and coordinating the operations of bottom line manager. For example, a mid-level manager would monitor machine breakdowns, quality control, and coordinates the role played by a supervisor guaranteeing the company functions properly (Carmeli & Tishler, 2006).

Thirdly, we have top managers who “set institutional strategies, objectives and business practices” (Mintzberg, 1994, p. 13). For instance, the manager of Crazy John’s, John Ilhan, would have generated goals for the company in achieving a desired profit margin per annum and have put in place guidelines and/or rules that must be followed so as to attain company aims through cost-effective tactics.

Robert Katz (1974) suggested that people in all management levels required 3 major skills in order to ensure successful management. Such skills include the aspects of conceptual, technical and human attributes (Katz, 1974).

Top managers and Conceptual skill

Top level management form the executive managerial employees in any company. Robbins et al. (2008) assert that top managers form the highest level in the hierarchy to which first line and mid-level management report to. Thus the completion of all decisions is based on the conceptual skills of the top managers.

When, for instance, critical changes in marketing policies are undertaken, it is important to consider their impacts on output, quality, monetary, research, and the persons implementing the changes. And it appears important to all top managers who should integrate the fresh policies. If all executives recognize the general interactions and importance attached to the changes, they are nearly assured to be efficient to administer them. As a result the opportunity to succeed is highly enhanced.

Conceptual skills, as described by Robert Katz, become gradually more crucial in highly demanding top levels where their impacts is optimized and most readily seen. Indeed, contemporary study findings result to the assumption that at the high position of coordination these conceptual skills become the most crucial skill for all (Katz, 1974, p. 96).

Top managers and Technical skill

Kraut et al. (2005) asserts that technical skills imply a comprehending of, and efficiency in, certain activities, especially one entailing techniques and protocols. Technical skills involve good understanding, analytical capability, and capacity to utilize devices and methods of a particular discipline.

Basically, technical skills are probably the most popular since they are the most tangible, and since, in this period of specialization, they are the skills needed by many people. Many of the on- the-job tertiary and coaching projects are greatly linked to establishing these professional technical skills. Therefore, at top position, technical skills are comparatively less significant.

Top managers and human skill

As described by Katz (1974), interpersonal skill refers to the manager’s capability of working efficiently in a team and of building collective effort within the group he/she heads. Interpersonal skills are mainly linked to working with individuals. Human skills are illustrated in the manner the individuals perceive (and recognize the views of) their seniors and juniors, and in the manner they behave afterward (Katz, 1974, p. 91).

The individuals bearing highly established interpersonal skills are aware of their personal attributes, presumptions, and perceptions regarding other persons and teams; they are capable of seeing the importance and restrictions of such attitudes.

By accommodating the presence of perspectives, feelings, and attitudes which greatly vary from their own, they are skilled to understand what an individual truly means by his actions and activities. They are equally knowledgeable to communicate to an employee, in his personal situations, what they mean by their attitudes (Katz, 1974, p. 92).

These persons work toward generating a setting of security and confirmation whereby a junior employee feels free in expressing himself with no dread of ridicule or condemnation, through promoting him in participating in the preparation and implementation of something that directly impacts him.

They are efficiently concerned with the need and motivation of individuals in their company in order that they can identify the likely response to, and result of, different actions they may carry out. This sensitivity aids them to be capable and ready in acting in ways that would integrate external perceptions (Robbins et al., 2008).

It would seem that, conceptual skills embody attribute of technical and interpersonal elements of the company. However, the idea of skills, as abilities in putting knowledge into practice, should empower people in distinguishing between the 3 basic skills to carry out the technical aspects (technical skills), encouraging and appreciating people and teams (interpersonal skills), and preparing and implementing entire operations and desires of the company toward achieving universal goals (conceptual skills) (Robbins et al., 2008).

From the discussion, it appears that technical skills become comparatively insignificant while the relevance of conceptual skills increase gradually. At the top position of any company, conceptual skills become the most significant skills for effective coordination. Senior executives may have limited interpersonal or technical abilities and still remain efficient if they have junior staff who possess strong interpersonal and technical skills. But if their conceptual skills are less strong, the organization’s success may be compromised.

The comparative significance of technical, interpersonal and conceptual skills is based on the position of management duties. At top management positions, the manager’s efficacy relies greatly on conceptual and interpersonal skill. At the higher position, conceptual skills become the most critical for the 3 skills for flourishing management.

This 3-skill concept stresses that an excellent top manager is unnecessarily born; he can be established. It emphasizes the need of identifying certain attributes in a quest for providing a more effective method to look into the management policy. By aiding in identifying the skill most required in the top administration, it may attest necessary in the choice, coaching, and enhancement of top managers.

Carmeli, A., & Tishler, A. (2006). The relative importance of the top management team’s managerial skills. International Journal of Manpower , 27(1), 9-36.

Katz, R. (1974, September-October). Skills of an effective administrator: HBR Classic , pp. 90-102.

Kraut, A., Patricia R., Douglas M., & Marvin D. (2005). The role of the manager: What’s really important in different management jobs? Academy of Management Executive , 19(4), 122-129.

Mintzberg, H. (1994). Rounding out the manager’s job. Sloan Management Review , 36(11), 11-26.

Peterson, T. (2004). Ongoing legacy of R.L. Katz: an updated typology of management skills. Management Decision , 42(10), 1297-1308.

Robbins, S., Bergman, R., Stagg, I., & Coulter, M. (2008). Management (5 th ed.). Frenchs Forest, Australia: Pearson Education Australia.

• Theory of Attitudes by Katz: Theoretical Framework
• Katz v. United States and Terry v. Ohio
• "Breaking the Yemen-Al Qaeda Connection" by Katz
• Strategic Management at the Benson Metal Company
• Analyzing the Two Types of Personalities in a Workplace
• The Force Field Analysis for Leadership Team Effectiveness
• Management & Leadership Approach: Cheap as Chips Company
• Jack Welch: Former GE CEO
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2018, November 6). Managerial Skills. https://ivypanda.com/essays/managerial-skills/

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Bibliography

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Managerial Skills: Types, Definition, Levels & Examples in Management

Managerial skills can be defined as certain abilities that a manager/executive should possess in order to fulfill specific tasks in an organization.

From the very beginning of the development of management thought, both management practitioners and researchers have emphasized different skills for managers.

Therefore, the list of managerial skills is very long. And various management authors and researchers have categorized managerial skills on the basis of levels of management and many other factors also. 

In this article, we have shared what are managerial skills? and the detailed discussion about the type of managerial skills with examples.

So let’s start with the definition of Managerial Skills.

Managerial Skills Definition

Managerial skills are Simply, Knowledge and expertise to fulfill some activities or tasks.

Managers must possess certain skills in order to perform management functions effectively. Skill refers to practical ability or expertness in a specific action or doing something.

This knowledge can be learned. However, it also can be acquired through practice fulfillment of these activities. Therefore, skills can be acquired through the learning and experience of individuals.

There are many definitions of skills that define it as some type of talent. Talent is something personal in an individual and represents a native gift from nature about something in that individual. All individuals cannot be artists. Usually, artists are born with the gift of art and after that, they develop their talent in quality art skills through educational systems.

Managerial Skills by Robert L. Katz

According to Robert L. Katz,

“if managers have the necessary management skills then they will probably perform well and be relatively successful.

On the other hand, if managers do not have the necessary management skills, they will probably perform poorly and be relatively unsuccessful in their careers.

There are three types of primary skills that are important for successful management performance.”

In 1955, Robert L. Katz published a book named “Skills of an Effective Administrator”. 

Managerial Skills Types

Katz has grouped various managerial skills into three broad categories in his book;

• Conceptual skills,
• Human skills,
• Technical skills.

Conceptual skills – A conceptual skills are Manager’s ability to work with ideas and concepts.

These skills enable executives to understand and better decide the actions that have to be taken in a particular field of work.

For example, managers use conceptual skills to take decisions and formulate strategies.

Human skills – This is a manager’s ability to work with people, understand and motivate them.

For example, managers use human skills to get along with people and to communicate and work within teams.

Technical skills – This is a manager’s ability to use tools, procedures, or techniques in his specialized area.

For example, using certain computer software packages (like; MS Excel or Access) is an advanced technical skill.

Must Read ➜ What is Planning?

Importance of Managerial Skills 

Managerial skills are very important in order to be an effective manager. Today’s business world is very competitive, hence it’s imperative that you possess much more skills than ever before.

Not every executive has all the skills that would make them highly effective managers. As the technological trend moves forward and the demand for grouped software and faster hardware increases, the skills that will be needed by managers will change rapidly.

In every business, there are different departments with different types of managers. With different managers come different protocols and required skills.

For example, the HR manager should have proper knowledge of how to conduct the recruitment process as well as he/she should have enough skills to select the best candidate for the vacant position. 

HR Candidate should have all three types of managerial skills to perform his duties. 

⦿ To formula policies, conceptual skills are required.

⦿ To taking interviews, human skills are required.

⦿ While filtering resumes of suitable candidates, good technical skills are required.  

If a Manager has good managerial skills then he influences and motivates his subordinates in every manner.

By developing good managerial skills, Managers will provide effective training to their employees and make proper coordination among their team. These managerial skills are equally important for all types of managers.

Let’s discuss all 3 managerial skills in detail. 

• Conceptual skills
• Human skills
• Technical skills

Conceptual Skills

Conceptual skills are related to concepts and mental conception. It is a conceptual framework intended to develop a new product and or idea.

Since conceptual skills are in the form of imagination. – chimerical, fantasy, or vision. Boulton has called these soft skills and is hardly visible in a person. 

Conceptual skills are also known as general management skills in an organization. It refers to the ability to see the whole picture to recognize significant elements in a situation.

For managers, conceptual skills are required for the following managerial job roles:

➤ Decisional Roles: Conceptual skills are required for making decisions, particularly non-programmed or strategic decisions. Non-programmed decisions are relevant for solving sudden problems in which various alternatives cannot be decided in advance.

For example, launching a new product, business expansion, and so on.

For making non-programmed decisions, various factors such as the business environment have to be taken into account. Environmental factors are quite dynamic and changes in these cannot be predicted easily.

Therefore, managers have to use their conceptual skills for broadly defining the likely change in contextual variables affecting decision-making.

➤ Entrepreneur: Conceptual skills are relevant for planning and building models. From an entrepreneurship mindset, a model is an abstraction of reality. It is a simplified representation of some real-world phenomenon.

Models are used in different fields, for example, economic models, business models, transport models, etc.

In management, models are used for difficult activities like business models. It shows how different business activities will contribute to revenue generation.

For constructing a model, information remains available partially and the gap is fulfilled by the model creator using his conceptual skills.

There are various examples of using conceptual skills in making non-programmed decisions.

Conceptual Skills Examples

In the 1980s, Hero Group of Ludhiana considered some new products in the personal transport product. They chose to add a four-stroke motorcycle which is not considered highly lucrative at that time as compared to the scooter.

Many professional people questioned the efficacy of this decision from Brij Mohan Lall (Founder of Hero Group). On this, Lall, the chairman of Hero Honda Motors replied that future personal transport will be dominated by motorcycles and not by scooters.

In the age of increasing fuel prices and speed-oriented transport, motorcycles would have an edge over scooters. 

We can see very easily how much true this perception has been. Presently, motorcycles have overtaken scooters by a big margin. And Hero Honda company has become the number one motorcycle manufacturer.

Must Read ➜ Human Resource Planning

Human Skills 

Human Skills also referred to as human relations skills or interpersonal skills.

Human Skills can be defined as one’s ability to work effectively with others on a person-to-person basis and to build up cooperative group relations to accomplish organizational objectives.

Management in process of getting things done with and through people and no manager can be effective without suitable human skills irrespective of his being technically and conceptually competent.

Human skills are required for the effective performance of the following Managerial Roles :

➤ Disseminator: Every manager disseminates and interacts on a daily basis with his superior, subordinate, and outsider. To make this communication effective, the manager must have good interpersonal skills so that he can understand others and make himself to be understood by others.

➤ Group Communication: Managers interact with others as a member of groups. Such groups may be constituted either formally by the organization in the form of various committees and workgroups.

A manager will be effective as a group member only when he has the ability to understand other group members and to make himself understood by these members.

➤ Empathy Monitoring: Every manager communicates with others frequently. These people may be from within the organization or from outside.

Every manager must have the ability to be ’empathic to understand others’ views in the right perspective as a good listener besides a good orator. This ability is very important for making communication effective.

➤ Leader: When a manager directs his subordinates, he does not only use his formal authority because of its obvious limitations but relies more on his leadership ability. By doing this he gets the willing and enthusiastic efforts of his followers for achieving organizational objectives.

Therefore, It is essential for a manager to must have emotional stability, empathy, objectivity, and the ability to influence others.

➤ Negotiator and Motivator: It is essential that managers motivate their subordinates properly, so the best result can be achieved. It is the responsibility of a manager to create such an environment in which people may have the perception that they will be able to satisfy their needs by working in the organization.

Therefore, the manager should be capable to understand the needs of his people and the way these needs may be satisfied.

➤ Disturbance Handler: Conflicts may arise in the organization between two persons, in the group, or between two groups. If such conflicts are not resolved amicably and within the given time frame, these may disturb organizational inefficiency.

Therefore, a manager must have the ability to resolve conflicts and disturbances appropriately. For this purpose, the manager must be a good compromiser, smoother and negotiator.

All the above human skills can be learned and developed by an individual or Manager by going through appropriate literature and practicing accordingly.

Must Read ➜ Management by Objective (MBO)

Technical Skills

Technical Skills are concerned with what is done, it shows an ability to use tools, procedures, or techniques in a specialized area.

These skills pertain to knowledge and proficiency in procedures, methods, and techniques which are used in doing work.

Matthew Boulton has called these skills hard skills and is easily visible in a person.

Technical skills learned by Accountants, Engineers, Managers, Operators, and other persons are developed by the actual practice on the job.

For example, the person who is responsible to maintain files and records in an organization must have technical skills relating to how files are maintained and he learns this through practice.

For managers, technical skills are required for the effective performance of the following managerial roles:

➤ Managers are responsible to maintain workflow in the organization. The workflow involves the initiation of actions, that is, who will initiate action and who will receive it.

For example, in an organization, one person gives materials to another person, initiation of action, and other people receive it. For directing workflow, managers must have technical knowledge of the work concerned.

➤ Managers are responsible to maintain order in the work system. that is there should be a place for everything and everything should be in its place. For maintaining an effective order system, the manager must have knowledge of the work systems and workflow.

Managerial Skills Summary

• Technical skills deal with things,
• Human skills deal with people, and
• Conceptual skills deal with ideas.

Every person has all these skills in varying proportions depending on the structure of his brain and the environment he lives in the case with managers.

Every manager is required to possess these skills in varying proportions depending on the nature of his functions.

Since managers at different levels perform different types of functions, as discussed earlier, managers at different levels require different skills. Generally, as one goes up higher in the organization level, one needs conceptual skills more.

Besides these three skills, various writers and researchers have provided other skillsets for various levels of management.

Top Management Skills

In the competitive world, much attention has been focused on the skills and their development in top-level management because it is the major driving force in an organization.

Osmond has identified 8 specific skills required for a top-level manager.

These are skills relating to; 

1. Balancing, 2. Integrating, 3. Setting priorities, 4. Setting and developing standards, 5. Conceptualizing, 6. Leading, 7. Matching oneself with one’s job, 8. Delegating.

A recent survey of 90 global chief executives, conducted by Anderson Consulting, a US-based consultancy firm, shows that the chief executives require 14 skills .

Accordingly, a chief executive 

1. Thinks globally, 2. Anticipates opportunity creates a sharped vision, 3. Develops and empowers people, 4. Appreciates the cultural diversity, 5. Teamwork 6. Partnership, 7. Embraces changes, 8. Technological savvy, 9. Encourage constructive challenges, 10. Ensures customer satisfaction, 11. Achieves competitive advantages, 12. Demonstrates personal mastery, 13. Shares leadership and, 14. Lives the values.

In the Indian context, one such study of 125 chief executives has identified various relevant personal skills like 

• Analytical skills,
• Creativity, sense of high achievement,
• Risk-taking aptitudes,
• Business aptitudes,
• Leadership;
• Job-related skills such as corporate perspective,
• knowledge of the external environment,
• Outside contracts,
• Planning process ,
• Accuracy in work

Middle Management Skills

In the middle management group, there may be managers at different levels placed between the top management and supervisors.

Usually, they are concerned with a particular functional area of the organization.

There is a tendency for faster movement of this group of managers.

Therefore, they require a variety of skills that must be relevant for their entire career. while at the lower end of the middle management, more technical and human skills are required.

Thus, the managers in middle management require

• Human relations skills,
• Leadership skills,
• Motivating skills, and
• Integrative skills.

Supervisory Management skills

Supervisors may also be further classified into front-line, intermediate, and senior.

Since they are directly concerned with operatives where the actual operations of the organization take place, supervisors should possess skills that help them to get things done by operatives.

Every supervisor in the organization should have sound technical knowledge of his field to provide;

• Proper instructions and guidance to operatives,
• Interpersonal skills to develop cohesive operative-management relations,
• Accuracy in work,
• Motivational skills for creating a proper work environment,
• Communication skills for interacting with higher management.

Assess Your Managerial Skills

Given below are the skills relevant for effective managers. Find out the extent to which you possess these skills. Degree of skill possession has been indicated by 3, 2, 1 for high, medium, and low respectively.

Management Skills Checklist For a Successful Manager

• Analytical Skill
• Ability to withstand pressure
• Emotional stability
• Communication skill
• Interpersonal skill
• Hardworking
• Sense of high achievement
• Risk-taking aptitude
• Business aptitude

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6.8: Managerial Skills

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7. What set of managerial skills is necessary for managerial success?

In order to be successful in planning, organizing, leading, and controlling, managers must use a wide variety of skills. A skill is the ability to do something proficiently. Managerial skills fall into three basic categories: technical, human relations, and conceptual skills. The degree to which each type of skill is used depends upon the level of the manager’s position as seen in Exhibit 6.8 . Additionally, in an increasingly global marketplace, it pays for managers to develop a special set of skills to deal with global management issues.

Exhibit 6.8 The Importance of Managerial Skills at Different Management Levels (Attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY 4.0 license.)

Technical Skills

Specialized areas of knowledge and expertise and the ability to apply that knowledge make up a manager’s technical skills . Preparing a financial statement, programming a computer, designing an office building, and analyzing market research are all examples of technical skills. These types of skills are especially important for supervisory managers because they work closely with employees who are producing the goods and/or services of the firm.

Human Relations Skills

Human relations skills are the interpersonal skills managers use to accomplish goals through the use of human resources. This set of skills includes the ability to understand human behavior, to communicate effectively with others, and to motivate individuals to accomplish their objectives. Giving positive feedback to employees, being sensitive to their individual needs, and showing a willingness to empower subordinates are all examples of good human relations skills. Identifying and promoting managers with human relations skills are important for companies. A manager with little or no people skills can end up using an authoritarian leadership style and alienating employees.

Conceptual Skills

Conceptual skills include the ability to view the organization as a whole, understand how the various parts are interdependent, and assess how the organization relates to its external environment. These skills allow managers to evaluate situations and develop alternative courses of action. Good conceptual skills are especially necessary for managers at the top of the management pyramid, where strategic planning takes place.

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Management and Managerial Skills

Management is a very challenging job. Someone requires managerial skills to undertake such a challenge. There are three specific managerial skills that managers are supposed to possess depending on the level of management. The three managerial skills include conceptual skills, technical skills and human relations skills (Chapman, 2008). Top-level management mostly requires conceptual skills so that they can visualize the organization as a whole. Conceptual skill includes creative, analytical and initiative skills. The operations manager of Yahoo County required this skill so that he can easily solve the problems identified for the benefit of the whole organization.

In the case of Yahoo County, the operations manager has done a great job of identifying certain problems affecting the productivity of this organization. The problems which were identified included: decreased productivity, increased overtime hours, and an increase in mileage and gas costs. These problems were caused by the misuse of the county’s vehicles. Now, the challenge does not lie in identifying these problems but in the decision he has decided to take. The operations manager decided to install GPS tracking devices to minimize these problems.

The challenge of this decision lies in the implications it will have on the organization in terms of productivity as well as employees trust. One thing the manager should do so that the county can improve its performance is to win the employee’s trust. I would request him to introduce a rewarding system whereby the best-performing employee is rewarded after a certain period so that he can win their trust. Such a system will improve productivity and quality, boost their morale, foster teamwork, as well as increase competition among the employees and they, will struggle to provide their best so that they can be rewarded when the time comes (Ryan, 2007). Another thing that the manager needs to do before installing GPS tracking devices is to consult other counties which are using tracking devices. This will help him gather enough information on the nature of the devices he should use without facing problems such as employee privacy infringement.

The operations manager is the key driver of Yahoo County’s performance. This implies that he has to play a key role in ensuring that all the vices identified are rectified without destroying the reputation of the company. He must be able to implement his decisions in a wise manner since his success or failure will be influenced by the correctness of his decisions. Since the manager does not know how the employees may react to his tough decisions, he is supposed to play his cards well to avoid failing the organization rather than improving its performance.

What I would recommend the manager to do is to let the employees know the problems he has identified and explain to them some of the steps he is intending to take. This will alert the employees and they will be able to voice their opinions. Through what will be raised by the employees, the manager will be able to learn how they will react when new policies are put in place. When things are carried out this way, everyone will be psychologically prepared and it will be easier to decide on which direction to take as a manager. This will also evade misguided retaliation from the employees as well as bad feelings which might occur as a result of “on the spot” decisions. Reflex decisions sometimes are not good and they can hamper the performance of an organization (Chapman, 2008). Therefore, managers need to consider all the implications of the decisions they may want to implement.

A major factor that the manager should consider while implementing his decision is the financial implications of installing GPS tracking devices. The installation of these devices will obviously incur some costs such as supervisory control cost, training cost for staff who will be taken care of tracking, and cost for tracking modifications of the vehicles. I would recommend that the operations manager consider the repay back period of the cost to be incurred before implementing his decision. This will help in deciding whether the decision is worth the price.

A good cost-benefit analysis is supposed to be carried out to avoid wasting the organization’s resources. The operations manager for Yahoo County did not carry out a cost-benefit analysis of his decision. This affected the success of his decision and has influenced the employee’s productivity negatively. He needs to go back to the drawing board and come up with a concise solution before the organization collapse. A meeting with all the staff is necessary so that the management can deduce the problem with the new policies. This will assist the management to effect the necessary changes which will help in improving the performance.

Employee monitoring using GPS tracking devices in most cases is one-sided, that is, it favors the organization only (Iqbal, 2007). Some of the advantages which an organization can gain from the monitoring services include: an increase in profits as employees are working efficiently and workers are encouraged to be honest. On the other hand, employees get more negatives from this service compared to the positives. The only positive they can claim to be getting from the monitoring services are security (Mcnamee, 2005). Some of the negatives which the employees are getting from the monitoring services include privacy infringement, being tracked outside working hours and this information used against them, and the drivers may be unfairly disciplined.

GPS tracking is not considered ethical by the public at large (Joem, 2010). There are a number of changes that might occur when the monitoring system is introduced within an organization. The ethical issues discussed above will directly influence the productivity of the employees. Employees will feel demoralized when their privacy is violated, leading to decreased productivity. This can also take another angle where the employees can sue the organization for violating their privacy rights. Such cases will cause legal damages to an organization as well as destroy its reputation. Managers can also accuse the employees wrongly and possibly terminate their jobs. Due to such terminations, the organization will incur compensation costs for wrongful accusations. It is, therefore, very vital for the managers to consider all the negatives associated with the monitoring system before they implement it.

In conclusion, I would urge all managers to be cautious when implementing their decisions to avoid unnecessary hectic and resistance from the employees. To strengthen the performance of Yahoo County, I would request the HR department to introduce a consent form. The consent form should indicate all new policies by which the workers should abide. All employees should sign this form to make sure that they will work with an aim of achieving the county objectives. This form will ease the conflict between the employees and the management (Wang, 2008). The employees also cannot sue the organization since by signing this form they have already agreed to be monitored.

Chapman, A. (2008). Ethical leadership, decision-making, and organizations . Web.

Iqbal, M. U. (2007). Legal and Ethical Implications of GPS Vulnerabilities. Web.

Joem. (2010). Is GPS Tracking Ethical? Web.

Mcnamee, A. (2005). Ethical Issues Arising from the Real-Time Tracking and Monitoring of People Using GPS-based Location Services. Web.

Ryan, S. (2007). Rewards and Recognition. Web.

Wang, J. L. (2008). Privacy and Ethical Issues in Location-Based Tracking Systems.

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BusinessEssay. (2022, January 10). Management and Managerial Skills. https://business-essay.com/management-and-managerial-skills/

"Management and Managerial Skills." BusinessEssay , 10 Jan. 2022, business-essay.com/management-and-managerial-skills/.

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You Need New Skills to Make a Career Pivot. Here’s How to Find the Time to Build Them.

• Elizabeth Grace Saunders

Even when you have a full-time job.

With any significant change in your career comes the need for new skills. But that’s even more true when you want a radical career change. In these situations, it’s going to take more than listening to a few webinars to build the knowledge you need get to where you want to go. You must set aside a significant amount of time for self-directed learning, formal training, or even a second job to gain the skills for the big leap.

There are a few strategies to be effective for consistently making time for acquiring new career skills. First, accept the time commitment; you may need to scale back on nonessential activities. Second, research what’s required for your new field, whether it’s formal licensing, independent working, or side hustle work. Third, layer in learning onto activities you’re already doing throughout your day. Fourth, designate specific times you’ll dedicate to skill-building — and stick to it. Finally, modify your work schedule, if needed.

Sometimes you don’t just want a new job, you want a radical career change . Perhaps you’ve been in finance and now want to be an acupuncturist, you’re a marketer eager to lead a startup, or you’re an educator looking to shift into catering and event planning.

• ES Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a time management coach and the founder of Real Life E Time Coaching & Speaking . She is the author of How to Invest Your Time Like Money and Divine Time Management . Find out more at RealLifeE.com .

Partner Center

A new future of work: The race to deploy AI and raise skills in Europe and beyond

At a glance.

Amid tightening labor markets and a slowdown in productivity growth, Europe and the United States face shifts in labor demand, spurred by AI and automation. Our updated modeling of the future of work finds that demand for workers in STEM-related, healthcare, and other high-skill professions would rise, while demand for occupations such as office workers, production workers, and customer service representatives would decline. By 2030, in a midpoint adoption scenario, up to 30 percent of current hours worked could be automated, accelerated by generative AI (gen AI). Efforts to achieve net-zero emissions, an aging workforce, and growth in e-commerce, as well as infrastructure and technology spending and overall economic growth, could also shift employment demand.

By 2030, Europe could require up to 12 million occupational transitions, double the prepandemic pace. In the United States, required transitions could reach almost 12 million, in line with the prepandemic norm. Both regions navigated even higher levels of labor market shifts at the height of the COVID-19 period, suggesting that they can handle this scale of future job transitions. The pace of occupational change is broadly similar among countries in Europe, although the specific mix reflects their economic variations.

Businesses will need a major skills upgrade. Demand for technological and social and emotional skills could rise as demand for physical and manual and higher cognitive skills stabilizes. Surveyed executives in Europe and the United States expressed a need not only for advanced IT and data analytics but also for critical thinking, creativity, and teaching and training—skills they report as currently being in short supply. Companies plan to focus on retraining workers, more than hiring or subcontracting, to meet skill needs.

Workers with lower wages face challenges of redeployment as demand reweights toward occupations with higher wages in both Europe and the United States. Occupations with lower wages are likely to see reductions in demand, and workers will need to acquire new skills to transition to better-paying work. If that doesn’t happen, there is a risk of a more polarized labor market, with more higher-wage jobs than workers and too many workers for existing lower-wage jobs.

Choices made today could revive productivity growth while creating better societal outcomes. Embracing the path of accelerated technology adoption with proactive worker redeployment could help Europe achieve an annual productivity growth rate of up to 3 percent through 2030. However, slow adoption would limit that to 0.3 percent, closer to today’s level of productivity growth in Western Europe. Slow worker redeployment would leave millions unable to participate productively in the future of work.

Demand will change for a range of occupations through 2030, including growth in STEM- and healthcare-related occupations, among others

This report focuses on labor markets in nine major economies in the European Union along with the United Kingdom, in comparison with the United States. Technology, including most recently the rise of gen AI, along with other factors, will spur changes in the pattern of labor demand through 2030. Our study, which uses an updated version of the McKinsey Global Institute future of work model, seeks to quantify the occupational transitions that will be required and the changing nature of demand for different types of jobs and skills.

Our methodology

We used methodology consistent with other McKinsey Global Institute reports on the future of work to model trends of job changes at the level of occupations, activities, and skills. For this report, we focused our analysis on the 2022–30 period.

Our model estimates net changes in employment demand by sector and occupation; we also estimate occupational transitions, or the net number of workers that need to change in each type of occupation, based on which occupations face declining demand by 2030 relative to current employment in 2022. We included ten countries in Europe: nine EU members—the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Sweden—and the United Kingdom. For the United States, we build on estimates published in our 2023 report Generative AI and the future of work in America.

We included multiple drivers in our modeling: automation potential, net-zero transition, e-commerce growth, remote work adoption, increases in income, aging populations, technology investments, and infrastructure investments.

Two scenarios are used to bookend the work-automation model: “late” and “early.” For Europe, we modeled a “faster” scenario and a “slower” one. For the faster scenario, we use the midpoint—the arithmetical average between our late and early scenarios. For the slower scenario, we use a “mid late” trajectory, an arithmetical average between a late adoption scenario and the midpoint scenario. For the United States, we use the midpoint scenario, based on our earlier research.

We also estimate the productivity effects of automation, using GDP per full-time-equivalent (FTE) employee as the measure of productivity. We assumed that workers displaced by automation rejoin the workforce at 2022 productivity levels, net of automation, and in line with the expected 2030 occupational mix.

Amid tightening labor markets and a slowdown in productivity growth, Europe and the United States face shifts in labor demand, spurred not only by AI and automation but also by other trends, including efforts to achieve net-zero emissions, an aging population, infrastructure spending, technology investments, and growth in e-commerce, among others (see sidebar, “Our methodology”).

Our analysis finds that demand for occupations such as health professionals and other STEM-related professionals would grow by 17 to 30 percent between 2022 and 2030, (Exhibit 1).

By contrast, demand for workers in food services, production work, customer services, sales, and office support—all of which declined over the 2012–22 period—would continue to decline until 2030. These jobs involve a high share of repetitive tasks, data collection, and elementary data processing—all activities that automated systems can handle efficiently.

Up to 30 percent of hours worked could be automated by 2030, boosted by gen AI, leading to millions of required occupational transitions

By 2030, our analysis finds that about 27 percent of current hours worked in Europe and 30 percent of hours worked in the United States could be automated, accelerated by gen AI. Our model suggests that roughly 20 percent of hours worked could still be automated even without gen AI, implying a significant acceleration.

These trends will play out in labor markets in the form of workers needing to change occupations. By 2030, under the faster adoption scenario we modeled, Europe could require up to 12.0 million occupational transitions, affecting 6.5 percent of current employment. That is double the prepandemic pace (Exhibit 2). Under a slower scenario we modeled for Europe, the number of occupational transitions needed would amount to 8.5 million, affecting 4.6 percent of current employment. In the United States, required transitions could reach almost 12.0 million, affecting 7.5 percent of current employment. Unlike Europe, this magnitude of transitions is broadly in line with the prepandemic norm.

Both regions navigated even higher levels of labor market shifts at the height of the COVID-19 period. While these were abrupt and painful to many, given the forced nature of the shifts, the experience suggests that both regions have the ability to handle this scale of future job transitions.

Businesses will need a major skills upgrade

The occupational transitions noted above herald substantial shifts in workforce skills in a future in which automation and AI are integrated into the workplace (Exhibit 3). Workers use multiple skills to perform a given task, but for the purposes of our quantification, we identified the predominant skill used.

Demand for technological skills could see substantial growth in Europe and in the United States (increases of 25 percent and 29 percent, respectively, in hours worked by 2030 compared to 2022) under our midpoint scenario of automation adoption (which is the faster scenario for Europe).

Demand for social and emotional skills could rise by 11 percent in Europe and by 14 percent in the United States. Underlying this increase is higher demand for roles requiring interpersonal empathy and leadership skills. These skills are crucial in healthcare and managerial roles in an evolving economy that demands greater adaptability and flexibility.

Conversely, demand for work in which basic cognitive skills predominate is expected to decline by 14 percent. Basic cognitive skills are required primarily in office support or customer service roles, which are highly susceptible to being automated by AI. Among work characterized by these basic cognitive skills experiencing significant drops in demand are basic data processing and literacy, numeracy, and communication.

Demand for work in which higher cognitive skills predominate could also decline slightly, according to our analysis. While creativity is expected to remain highly sought after, with a potential increase of 12 percent by 2030, work activities characterized by other advanced cognitive skills such as advanced literacy and writing, along with quantitative and statistical skills, could decline by 19 percent.

Demand for physical and manual skills, on the other hand, could remain roughly level with the present. These skills remain the largest share of workforce skills, representing about 30 percent of total hours worked in 2022. Growth in demand for these skills between 2022 and 2030 could come from the build-out of infrastructure and higher investment in low-emissions sectors, while declines would be in line with continued automation in production work.

Business executives report skills shortages today and expect them to worsen

A survey we conducted of C-suite executives in five countries shows that companies are already grappling with skills challenges, including a skills mismatch, particularly in technological, higher cognitive, and social and emotional skills: about one-third of the more than 1,100 respondents report a shortfall in these critical areas. At the same time, a notable number of executives say they have enough employees with basic cognitive skills and, to a lesser extent, physical and manual skills.

Within technological skills, companies in our survey reported that their most significant shortages are in advanced IT skills and programming, advanced data analysis, and mathematical skills. Among higher cognitive skills, significant shortfalls are seen in critical thinking and problem structuring and in complex information processing. About 40 percent of the executives surveyed pointed to a shortage of workers with these skills, which are needed for working alongside new technologies (Exhibit 4).

Companies see retraining as key to acquiring needed skills and adapting to the new work landscape

Surveyed executives expect significant changes to their workforce skill levels and worry about not finding the right skills by 2030. More than one in four survey respondents said that failing to capture the needed skills could directly harm financial performance and indirectly impede their efforts to leverage the value from AI.

To acquire the skills they need, companies have three main options: retraining, hiring, and contracting workers. Our survey suggests that executives are looking at all three options, with retraining the most widely reported tactic planned to address the skills mismatch: on average, out of companies that mentioned retraining as one of their tactics to address skills mismatch, executives said they would retrain 32 percent of their workforce. The scale of retraining needs varies in degree. For example, respondents in the automotive industry expect 36 percent of their workforce to be retrained, compared with 28 percent in the financial services industry. Out of those who have mentioned hiring or contracting as their tactics to address the skills mismatch, executives surveyed said they would hire an average of 23 percent of their workforce and contract an average of 18 percent.

Occupational transitions will affect high-, medium-, and low-wage workers differently

All ten European countries we examined for this report may see increasing demand for top-earning occupations. By contrast, workers in the two lowest-wage-bracket occupations could be three to five times more likely to have to change occupations compared to the top wage earners, our analysis finds. The disparity is much higher in the United States, where workers in the two lowest-wage-bracket occupations are up to 14 times more likely to face occupational shifts than the highest earners. In Europe, the middle-wage population could be twice as affected by occupational transitions as the same population in United States, representing 7.3 percent of the working population who might face occupational transitions.

Enhancing human capital at the same time as deploying the technology rapidly could boost annual productivity growth

About quantumblack, ai by mckinsey.

QuantumBlack, McKinsey’s AI arm, helps companies transform using the power of technology, technical expertise, and industry experts. With thousands of practitioners at QuantumBlack (data engineers, data scientists, product managers, designers, and software engineers) and McKinsey (industry and domain experts), we are working to solve the world’s most important AI challenges. QuantumBlack Labs is our center of technology development and client innovation, which has been driving cutting-edge advancements and developments in AI through locations across the globe.

Organizations and policy makers have choices to make; the way they approach AI and automation, along with human capital augmentation, will affect economic and societal outcomes.

We have attempted to quantify at a high level the potential effects of different stances to AI deployment on productivity in Europe. Our analysis considers two dimensions. The first is the adoption rate of AI and automation technologies. We consider the faster scenario and the late scenario for technology adoption. Faster adoption would unlock greater productivity growth potential but also, potentially, more short-term labor disruption than the late scenario.

The second dimension we consider is the level of automated worker time that is redeployed into the economy. This represents the ability to redeploy the time gained by automation and productivity gains (for example, new tasks and job creation). This could vary depending on the success of worker training programs and strategies to match demand and supply in labor markets.

We based our analysis on two potential scenarios: either all displaced workers would be able to fully rejoin the economy at a similar productivity level as in 2022 or only some 80 percent of the automated workers’ time will be redeployed into the economy.

Exhibit 5 illustrates the various outcomes in terms of annual productivity growth rate. The top-right quadrant illustrates the highest economy-wide productivity, with an annual productivity growth rate of up to 3.1 percent. It requires fast adoption of technologies as well as full redeployment of displaced workers. The top-left quadrant also demonstrates technology adoption on a fast trajectory and shows a relatively high productivity growth rate (up to 2.5 percent). However, about 6.0 percent of total hours worked (equivalent to 10.2 million people not working) would not be redeployed in the economy. Finally, the two bottom quadrants depict the failure to adopt AI and automation, leading to limited productivity gains and translating into limited labor market disruptions.

Four priorities for companies

The adoption of automation technologies will be decisive in protecting businesses’ competitive advantage in an automation and AI era. To ensure successful deployment at a company level, business leaders can embrace four priorities.

Understand the potential. Leaders need to understand the potential of these technologies, notably including how AI and gen AI can augment and automate work. This includes estimating both the total capacity that these technologies could free up and their impact on role composition and skills requirements. Understanding this allows business leaders to frame their end-to-end strategy and adoption goals with regard to these technologies.

Plan a strategic workforce shift. Once they understand the potential of automation technologies, leaders need to plan the company’s shift toward readiness for the automation and AI era. This requires sizing the workforce and skill needs, based on strategically identified use cases, to assess the potential future talent gap. From this analysis will flow details about the extent of recruitment of new talent, upskilling, or reskilling of the current workforce that is needed, as well as where to redeploy freed capacity to more value-added tasks.

Prioritize people development. To ensure that the right talent is on hand to sustain the company strategy during all transformation phases, leaders could consider strengthening their capabilities to identify, attract, and recruit future AI and gen AI leaders in a tight market. They will also likely need to accelerate the building of AI and gen AI capabilities in the workforce. Nontechnical talent will also need training to adapt to the changing skills environment. Finally, leaders could deploy an HR strategy and operating model to fit the post–gen AI workforce.

Pursue the executive-education journey on automation technologies. Leaders also need to undertake their own education journey on automation technologies to maximize their contributions to their companies during the coming transformation. This includes empowering senior managers to explore automation technologies implications and subsequently role model to others, as well as bringing all company leaders together to create a dedicated road map to drive business and employee value.

AI and the toolbox of advanced new technologies are evolving at a breathtaking pace. For companies and policy makers, these technologies are highly compelling because they promise a range of benefits, including higher productivity, which could lift growth and prosperity. Yet, as this report has sought to illustrate, making full use of the advantages on offer will also require paying attention to the critical element of human capital. In the best-case scenario, workers’ skills will develop and adapt to new technological challenges. Achieving this goal in our new technological age will be highly challenging—but the benefits will be great.

Eric Hazan is a McKinsey senior partner based in Paris; Anu Madgavkar and Michael Chui are McKinsey Global Institute partners based in New Jersey and San Francisco, respectively; Sven Smit is chair of the McKinsey Global Institute and a McKinsey senior partner based in Amsterdam; Dana Maor is a McKinsey senior partner based in Tel Aviv; Gurneet Singh Dandona is an associate partner and a senior expert based in New York; and Roland Huyghues-Despointes is a consultant based in Paris.

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Related articles.

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The economic potential of generative AI: The next productivity frontier

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If A.I. Can Do Your Job, Maybe It Can Also Replace Your C.E.O.

Chief executives are vulnerable to the same forces buffeting their employees. Leadership is important, but so is efficiency — and cost-cutting.

• Share full article

By David Streitfeld

Reporting from San Francisco

As artificial intelligence programs shake up the office, potentially making millions of jobs obsolete, one group of perpetually stressed workers seems especially vulnerable.

These employees analyze new markets and discern trends, both tasks a computer could do more efficiently. They spend much of their time communicating with colleagues, a laborious activity that is being automated with voice and image generators. Sometimes they must make difficult decisions — and who is better at being dispassionate than a machine?

Finally, these jobs are very well paid, which means the cost savings of eliminating them is considerable.

The chief executive is increasingly imperiled by A.I., just like the writer of news releases and the customer service representative. Dark factories, which are entirely automated, may soon have a counterpart at the top of the corporation: dark suites.

This is not just a prediction. A few successful companies have begun to publicly experiment with the notion of an A.I. leader, even if at the moment it might largely be a branding exercise.

A.I. has been hyped as the solution to all corporate problems for about 18 months now, ever since OpenAI rolled out ChatGPT in November 2022. Silicon Valley put $29 billion last year into generative A.I. and is selling it hard. Even in its current rudimentary form, A.I. that mimics human reasoning is finding a foothold among distressed companies with little to lose and lacking strong leadership.

“In struggling companies, you’ll be replacing operational management first but probably keep a few humans to think beyond the machines,” said Saul J. Berman, a former senior consulting partner with IBM. Overall, he said, “the change delivered by A.I. in corporations will be as great or greater at the higher strategic levels of management as the lower ranks.”

Chief executives themselves seem enthusiastic about the prospect — or maybe just fatalistic.

EdX, the online learning platform created by administrators at Harvard and M.I.T. that is now a part of publicly traded 2U Inc., surveyed hundreds of chief executives and other executives last summer about the issue. Respondents were invited to take part and given what edX called “a small monetary incentive” to do so.

The response was striking. Nearly half — 47 percent — of the executives surveyed said they believed “most” or “all” of the chief executive role should be completely automated or replaced by A.I. Even executives believe executives are superfluous in the late digital age.

When Anant Agarwal, the founder of edX and a former director of M.I.T.’s Computer Science and A.I. Lab, first saw the 47 percent, his initial response was that the executives should be saying something else entirely.

“My first instinct is they would say, ‘Replace all the employees but not me,’” he said. “But I thought more deeply and would say 80 percent of the work that a C.E.O. does can be replaced by A.I.”

That includes writing, synthesizing, exhorting the employees. More subtly, A.I. — if it reaches any of the levels its salespeople are promising — will democratize the job of top management even while scaling it back.

“There used to be a curve of people who were good with numerical skills and those who were not,” Mr. Agarwal said. “Then the calculator came along and was the great equalizer. I believe A.I. will do the same thing for literacy. Everybody could be C.E.O.”

Working for the robots has been a long time coming, at least in the realm of popular culture. Perhaps the first use of the phrase “robot-boss” was in 1939 in a story by David C. Cooke in a pulp magazine called simply Science Fiction. It was not an empowering tale of mentorship and mutual support.

“Remember,” the robot-boss says, “my photon gun will shoot faster than you can run, so don’t try to get away.”

Many science fiction stories and movies followed that portrayed the human-machine relationship in an equally dark light. Nevertheless, real people seemed to perversely warm to the idea. In a 2017 survey of 1,000 British workers commissioned by an online accounting firm, 42 percent said they would be “comfortable” taking orders from a computer.

Long before the current A.I. boom, Jack Ma, then the chief executive of the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba, predicted that in 30 years “a robot will likely be on the cover of Time magazine as the best C.E.O.” He pointed out that robots were quicker and more rational than humans, and were not driven by emotions like anger.

The Chinese online game company NetDragon Websoft, which has 5,000 employees, appointed what it calls an “A.I.-driven rotating C.E.O.” named Tang Yu in 2022. “We believe A.I. is the future of corporate management,” said the company’s founder, Dejian Liu, adding that it was part of NetDragon’s move into the “metaverse-based working community.”

Tang Yu, who is personified as a woman, does not appear on an online chart of NetDragon’s management team, but the company announced last month that she had won “the coveted title of ‘China’s Best Virtual Employee of the Year’” at the China Digital Human Industry Forum. Another executive picked up the award for her. NetDragon’s A.I. employee team is in charge of performance evaluations and mentoring, among other duties, the company says.

On the other side of the world, the upscale Polish rum company Dictador announced in November that it had an A.I. humanoid C.E.O., Mika. She proclaimed on LinkedIn that she was “devoid of personal bias, ensuring unbiased and strategic choices that prioritize the organization’s best interests.”

Executives with the National Association of Chief Executive Officers might have something to say about this trend — if only to deny it — but its website does not list any actual human beings affiliated with the group. A message sent through a “contact us” prompt received no reply.

A.I. experts, the human kind, cautioned that we are still at the beginning of any transition but said this is a natural progression.

“We’ve always outsourced effort. Now we’re outsourcing intelligence,” said Vinay Menon, who leads the global A.I. practice at the consultant Korn Ferry. He warned that “while you may not need the same number of leaders, you will still need leadership.”

For one thing, humans provide accountability in a way that machines do not. “A.I. may be exploited by some as a way to shield folks from having to take fiduciary responsibility,” said Sean Earley, a managing director of the executive consulting firm Teneo. “At what point does it become culpable for a mistake?”

“Never” was the position one company took in court recently. A customer brought a case against Air Canada for declining to give the bereavement fare reduction that a chatbot on the airline’s site had promised. The customer took his complaint to a small claims tribunal. Air Canada argued in its defense that it cannot be held liable for information provided by one of its agents, servants or representatives — including a chatbot.

The judge ruled against the airline and in favor of the passenger in February, but the specter of a company’s arguing that its own A.I. could not be trusted did not bode well for A.I. management teams. Air Canada declined to comment.

Much of the discussion over the last year about A.I. in the workplace has revolved around how rank-and-file employees are at risk unless they incorporate new technology into their jobs — without, of course, letting their jobs become A.I. Automation historically puts workers at risk even as it benefits investors and managers.

Now the tables are turned. Researchers speculate that automation on the executive level could even help lower-level workers.

“Someone who is already quite advanced in their career and is already fairly self-motivated may not need a human boss anymore,” said Phoebe V. Moore, professor of management and the futures of work at the University of Essex Business School. “In that case, software for self-management can even enhance worker agency.”

The pandemic prepared people for this. Many office workers worked from home in 2020, and quite a few still do, at least several days a week. Communication with colleagues and executives is done through machines. It’s just a small step to communicating with a machine that doesn’t have a person at the other end of it.

“Some people like the social aspects of having a human boss,” Ms. Moore said. “But after Covid, many are also fine with not having one.”

David Streitfeld writes about technology and the people who make it and how it affects the world around them. He is based in San Francisco. More about David Streitfeld

Explore Our Coverage of Artificial Intelligence

News  and Analysis

OpenAI said that it has begun training a new flagship A.I. model  that would succeed the GPT-4 technology that drives its popular online chatbot, ChatGPT.

Elon Musk’s A.I. company, xAI, said that it had raised $6 billion , helping to close the funding gap with OpenAI, Anthropic and other rivals.

Google’s A.I. capabilities that answer people’s questions have generated a litany of untruths and errors  — including recommending glue as part of a pizza recipe and the ingesting of rocks for nutrients — causing a furor online.

The Age of A.I.

After some trying years during which Mark Zuckerberg could do little right, many developers and technologists have embraced the Meta chief  as their champion of “open-source” A.I.

D’Youville University in Buffalo had an A.I. robot speak at its commencement . Not everyone was happy about it.

A new program, backed by Cornell Tech, M.I.T. and U.C.L.A., helps prepare lower-income, Latina and Black female computing majors  for A.I. careers.

Publishers have long worried that A.I.-generated answers on Google would drive readers away from their sites. They’re about to find out if those fears are warranted, our tech columnist writes .

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10 Important Business Skills Every Professional Needs

• 23 May 2019

Understanding essential business concepts and tools can benefit all professionals.

For example, it’s critical for business owners to ensure all members of their organizations are equipped with skills like critical thinking, time management, and effective communication to ensure daily operations run smoothly and reach business goals.

Here’s an overview of why it’s important to improve your business skills and ten you should prioritize to advance your career.

Access your free e-book today.

Why Is It Important to Improve Your Business Skills?

A foundation in business can not only lead to greater confidence in the workplace but open the door to a myriad of career opportunities. For those who've broadened their knowledge by taking a Harvard Business School Online course , the experience has led to such outcomes as:

• More responsibility at work
• A promotion or title change
• Greater attention from recruiters
• The ability to transition into a new field

If you want to achieve similar objectives in your career, here are ten business skills you should develop.

Business Skills Every Professional Needs

1. an understanding of economics.

A baseline knowledge of economics can be valuable in any industry. In addition to an in-depth understanding of pricing strategies and market demand, studying economics can provide a toolkit for making key decisions at your company.

For Nicholas Grecco , a former CORe participant who works as an educator and healthcare administrator, the lessons learned in Economics for Managers were instrumental in helping his organization invest in solar energy.

“I knew investment in solar was a good opportunity, but the concept of willingness to sell (WTS) helped me to understand and explain why,” Grecco says. “Because of extra incentives from the city program and group purchasing power, the electrical contractors were willing to sell solar energy systems for a much lower price than usual, thereby increasing our consumer surplus. By explaining WTS, I was able to convince the owner to move forward with this project.”

Related: A Beginner’s Guide to Value-Based Strategy

2. Data Analysis Skills

Research shows that an increasing share of firms—including Microsoft, Uber, and Blue Apron —use analytics to generate growth and improve their services and operations.

According to LinkedIn, analytical reasoning is one of the most sought-after hard skills in today’s job market. Knowing how to summarize datasets , recognize trends, and test hypotheses can provide an analytical framework for approaching complex business problems and help you make informed decisions that benefit your firm.

“Using data analytics is a very effective way to have influence in an organization,” says HBS Professor Jan Hammond , who teaches the online course Business Analytics . “If you’re able to go into a meeting, and other people have opinions, but you have data to support your arguments and recommendations, you’re going to be influential.”

3. Financial Accounting Skills

Accounting know-how can be beneficial to your career, even if you’re not in a numbers-focused role. While it can seem like an intimidating subject, it’s far more approachable than you might think.

Concepts such as cash flow and profitability are useful for understanding your organization’s performance and potential, while knowing how to read and interpret a balance sheet is critical for communicating financial results .

Pankaj Prashant , an engineer who took CORe, says the principles he learned in Financial Accounting helped him build on his technical background and advance his career.

“I’ve been keeping track of my company’s annual reports, and the accounting that I learned helps me in understanding where the business may head in the future,” Prashant says. “I’ve also been tracking a few other companies for investment purposes, and I’ve realized I can make more informed decisions with my improved knowledge of company financials.”

Related: 7 Business Skills Every Engineer Needs

4. Negotiation Skills

Whether you’re just beginning your professional journey or operating at a senior level, it pays to be an effective negotiator. In a report by the World Economic Forum , negotiation was identified as one of the top 10 people skills needed to thrive in the future workforce.

Honing your deal-making skills can not only help secure value for your organization at the bargaining table but for yourself when advocating for a higher starting salary or raise .

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to crafting a successful negotiation strategy . The key, according to HBS Professor Mike Wheeler , who teaches Negotiation Mastery , is to be open to improvisation and plan to think on your feet.

“However you happen to see yourself as a negotiator, most people you deal with likely have a different style, at least to some degree,” Wheeler says. “To succeed, therefore, you must be agile. That means flexing yourself so that you deploy different skills depending on the situation and whom you’re dealing with.”

Related: What’s Your Negotiation Style?

5. Business Management Skills

Strong managerial skills are intrinsically linked to organizational performance. A study by Gallup found that managers account for 70 percent of variance in employee engagement, underscoring the need for companies to develop leaders who drive team productivity and morale.

For seasoned and aspiring managers alike, it’s valuable to know how to lead meetings and communicate organizational change . Equally important is being aware of the common missteps team leaders make.

In the case of Monica Higgins , a public relations account director, taking the online course Management Essentials was a way to augment her managerial knowledge and develop a fresh outlook in her role.

“I'm more aware of looking at things through a larger lens, from a variety of perspectives,” Higgins says. “I've always been a fan of asking thoughtful, learning questions—as opposed to making declarations—and I'm now a big fan of playing devil's advocate.”

Related: 7 Effective Ways to Become a Better Manager

6. Leadership Skills

Whether you hold a management position or not, leadership skills are vital to workplace success. While some people think of leadership and management as one and the same, there are differences between the two . Whereas management is centered on implementing processes, leadership is more focused on the people and vision that guide change.

In addition to honing your management skills, building your leadership skills can be beneficial in any profession. From learning to keep calm during times of pressure to developing your own leadership style , these skills can help you understand how to bring your vision to life and position your team for success.

7. Effective Communication

In any business setting, professionals rely on communication to coordinate efforts and accomplish organizational goals. Ineffective communication—or a lack of communication altogether—can prove catastrophic.

Along with developing your skills, a large contributor to success is understanding and adapting to others' communication styles. Other key communication skills include active listening, empathy, and reading body language.

8. Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is another essential business skill, and research shows it’s a leading indicator of performance in the workplace. According to a study by TalentSmart , 90 percent of top performers have a high degree of emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence is commonly broken down into four concepts: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. In short, this skill refers to your ability to understand your emotions and recognize and influence those of others.

No matter your industry or position, having awareness of yourself and those around you can enable you to have more control over your interactions and effectively accomplish goals.

9. Decision-Making Skills

All professionals need strong decision-making skills to navigate complex workplace challenges. For those specifically working in business or management, the need for such skills is even greater.

Determining how to allocate resources, which employees comprise a team, and how to implement a new organizational initiative are all decisions that need careful consideration. With the growing number of tools and resources that can be used to capture data, managers can fuel their processes with valuable insights to make data-driven decisions and generate better outcomes.

Related: 8 Steps in the Decision-Making Process

10. Networking

Networking is another critical business skill that all professionals should exercise.

Whether you want ideas or advice on a specific challenge or are preparing for a career change, the people who make up your professional network can be valuable resources.

Related: How Leaders Develop and Use Their Network

To make the most of your network, be open to opportunities to step out of your comfort zone and build new relationships. Once you have your network in place, it’s important to maintain relationships you’ve formed and find new ways to expand your web of contacts.

How to Improve Your Business Knowledge

If you aim to advance your career, the value of business skills can’t be overstated. In addition to hard skills (such as financial accounting and an understanding of economics), you need soft skills (such as emotional intelligence and leadership) as your organization grows.

No matter your industry, knowledge of essential business concepts can help you better understand your organization’s performance and acquire the tools needed to spearhead initiatives and drive strategic decision-making.

Do you want to take your career to the next level? Explore our online business essentials courses . Download our free flowchart to choose the right course for you.

This post was updated on August 19, 2022. It was originally published on May 23, 2019.

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How education leaders can teach time management to high school students.

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Chirali Jain is the Founding Member and Head of Product at ByDesign . She is passionate about design and technology.

High school is no joke these days. A whirlwind of responsibilities—including homework, extracurricular activities and even a job—can leave many teenagers feeling overwhelmed or disorganized. In the middle of all this, one key skill that can separate the students merely surviving from those thriving is time management.

I believe developing organization and solid time management skills should be a priority from day one of high school. Why? These skills can help students now and continue serving them for decades to come. In the professional world, the ability to juggle multiple tasks, meet deadlines and effectively prioritize is crucial. Employees who struggle with time management and disorganization can quickly become overwhelmed, make careless mistakes and fail to achieve their goals. However, those who have honed skills like calendar and to-do list management, as well as focused work habits, can operate with efficiency and poise under pressure.

Too often, I've found people assume time management is just a given skill that someone will pick up on their own. But just like math, science and other academic abilities, I believe organizational skills must be explicitly taught, modeled and reinforced. Leaving it up to chance could result in some students slipping through the cracks.

As someone who has created a productivity and community-building tool for schools, I've witnessed firsthand how transformative strong time management skills can be, especially when developed early. So, how can education leaders and teachers start instilling these skills early on?

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Consider making time management and organization a core part of what students learn, not just an occasional motivational chat. One suggestion is to build dedicated lessons, workshops and real practice into required classes across grade levels. Treat it as an academic skill instead of an afterthought.

2. Provide structured tools.

Go beyond simply preaching the importance of planners and to-do lists. Offer specific systems and strategies teens can use, such as calendar apps, task managers, note-taking methods, etc. The more structured, the better. If schools opt to provide organizational tools and apps, ensure all students have access to accounts and subscriptions.

3. Get other educators on board.

Too often, I've found poor time management gets written off as laziness. Recognize that organization is a skill that requires teaching, modeling and coaching. From my own experiences working with educators, I've found professional development is key to getting teachers on board with treating time management as a learnable skill rather than an inherent trait.

Host training sessions where you explore the research and science behind productivity as a skillset; I've seen this make a big difference. I also suggest highlighting real student success stories. Hearing firsthand how developing these abilities impacted students' self-confidence, grades and overall well-being can illustrate the benefits to teachers.

4. Lead by example.

Having teachers model time management strategies themselves and make their processes transparent to students can be effective. For example, in my company, we have a recurring "Productivity Power Hour," where I record a video narrating how I prioritize my own tasks and schedule for the week, and then I share it with my team. For educators, something similar could be highly impactful. Share your own carefully planned weekly calendar or a video walkthrough of how you timeline all upcoming assignments and tasks.

5. Incentivize students.

I believe our culture too often praises the relentless all-nighter as a badge of honor. Instead, celebrate and incentivize the students who exemplify focused efficiency, routines and work-life balance. Schools can offer awards or certain privileges to recognize and reward students displaying exceptional time management and organizational abilities. Even low-cost incentives like being able to leave class five minutes early could help motivate students.

Time management is key in academic and professional settings.

Effective time management can help students allocate adequate time to study, which could lead to a better understanding of concepts and higher grades. With better organization and prioritization, students can also learn how to manage their workloads more efficiently and carve out time for extracurricular activities, hobbies and personal interests, leading to a more balanced lifestyle. These skills can ultimately better prepare them for the future. Mastering time management in high school sets students up for success in college, their careers and beyond, where similar skills are essential for thriving in a fast-paced world.

As a result of teaching time management, schools might also see improvements in student performance . Furthermore, focusing on these skills can foster a culture of accountability, responsibility and achievement among students, thus contributing to a positive learning environment.

In conclusion, time management isn't just a skill; it's a cornerstone of success. By integrating it into the curriculum and fostering a culture that celebrates efficiency, educators can equip students with the tools they need to thrive in high school and beyond.

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