In this age of intense competition and unprecedented uncertainty, organizations do not merely look for technical skills in employees to succeed at workplace. To make a decisive contribution and leave an indelible mark in today’s environment, one has to be adept in dealing with one’s own self, others and clients. Professional excellence today is a line hung on two points, namely, technical skills and soft skills. Thus, there is a brisk demand for those who possess technical skills with a solid assortment of soft skills. For instance, organizations look for those who have the splendid ability to make presentations and sound refreshingly exciting or energetic while interacting with clients and employees. Most of the companies are looking for people who along with unassailable hard skills also possess an excellent ability to communicate clearly, listen attentively and respond empathetically, and possess an invincible personality. Managers who possess such great blend of soft skills can create a reverberating climate where employees can peak high levels of performance. Organizations thus are expending lots of money in honing up soft skills among its managers to enhance their effectiveness.

In their pursuit of imparting soft skills to its employees, organizations face innumerable challenges on multiple fronts. There is too little time available for training, and budgets for training are ever shrinking, making it difficult for managers to design and deliver training with maximum effectiveness. Jean Adams, in the paper, “Practical Advice for Developing, Designing and Delivering Effective Soft Skills Programs”, elaborately dwells on the issues involved in designing the content for soft skills training, and learning methodologies and offers excellent insights on making soft skills training more effective by emphasizing the need for e-learning to impart soft skills. The paper suggests that online-based soft skill programs with seemingly limitless potential can be an effective strategy to shift the control of learning and development from organization to individuals.

How to be successful at campus interviews is the question that intrigues thousands of engineering graduates as they anxiously gear up for campus interviews. As innovation in the business landscape shifts at breathtaking pace, organizations unquestionably look for engineers who are full of ideas that fuel innovation. However, companies do not just seem to lay singular focus on technical abilities but also curiosity, excellent interpersonal skills, and the ability to work in team which can stimulate and fuel creative thinking among the employees. In the paper, “‘Hired for Attitude and Trained for Skills’: Engineering Graduates’ Employability in Indian Software Services Industry”, the authors, V K Gokuladas and Sandhya Menon, focus on the factors that contribute to the success of engineering graduates during the campus interviews.

Self-regulated learning has attracted the attention of scholars and managers across the globe. Self-regulated learning indeed is highly efficacious and leads to solid academic achievement due to the choice and control it offers to the learners. Given the huge explosion of knowledge and multiplicity of interests among the learners, self-regulated learning becomes extremely relevant and imperative to autonomously fulfill one’s potential and make learning a stimulating experience. The paper, “A Study of the Impact of Self-Regulated Learning on Academic and Career Goal Clarity Among Postgraduate Women Students of Bangalore”, by Bharati Rao Pothukuchi, S Anil Kumar and Mihir Dash, examines the impact of self-regulated learning on academic and career goal clarity among the women students. It demonstrates how self-regulated learning helps learners to further their interests and set own goals, leading to career clarity and greater employability.

Companies no longer wait for the print media to carry the promotional messages, offers or features. The exciting news about the companies can travel faster through digital media. Whether it is a world-class business or small business, digital marketing has become a buzzword that can make or mar the business. The impact of digital media has not only been debated extensively but also measured accurately to know what it can do to a business. In the case study, “Digital Marketing at Nike: From Communication to Dialog”, the authors, Debapratim Purkayastha and Adapa Srinivasa Rao, insightfully discuss how the sportswear company, Nike, has leveraged the digital marketing as an effective tool to achieve its marketing goals.

-- Mendemu Showry
Consulting Editor