Softer Skills Research Articles

Devising a cyber security management module through integrated course design

ABSTRACT Cyber security is a growing area of international importance, with shortages present for cyber security skills. While many universities have introduced degree programmes for cyber security, the major focus of these programmes is on the development of technical skills with some reports indicating how graduates of these courses lack in softer skills and business acumen. However, cyber security management is a topic area where students can develop such skills. This paper presents the pedagogical and assessment approaches used for cyber security management education, and presents a case study of developing a ‘Cyber Security Management’ module of study through utilising Finks’ Integrated Course Design. This paper presents the findings that active learning approaches are effective methods for teaching this subject area, which include the use of decision-making scenario tasks, group projects, and tasking students with conducting a management report for a real company, where they should conduct interviews with the organisation.

The tennis coach as a leader

Tennis coaches are leaders! Success as a tennis coach involves far more than simply hitting balls over a net on a daily basis as the role involves leading diverse stakeholders such as club managers, parents, committees, and most importantly players. The development of leadership skills has received growing interest in recent years and it is widely accepted that there is a link between leadership skills and corporate success. Sports researchers have recognised the ecological system that surrounds an athlete and the multiple stakeholders connected to their development. However, little is known about how the tennis coach should be educated and prepared to deal with the coach’s leadership demands, and in particular, the softer skills needed to become a more effective sports leader. The aim of this article is to provide tennis coaches with a brief context surrounding the necessity for leadership skills as a tennis coach. Secondly, the article provides a three-step process based on self-reflection and self-awareness to help coaches consider their individual leadership development.

The role of social enterprise in student employability: the case of SIDshare, a co-curricular student led social enterprise

ABSTRACT Within Geography, as in other disciplines, the neoliberalisation of Higher Education has led to an increasing curriculum focus on graduate attributes with student employability as an outcome. The multiple and competing discourses of employability that shape pedagogies can at times ignore social enterprise and enterprising skills that are too often neglected within geography curricula. In this contribution we draw on our experience working with SIDshare, a co-curricula student run social enterprise operating as an NGO (non-governmental organisation), to show how enterprising skills nurtured through student communities of practice have enhanced employability. Drawing on a series of semi-structured interviews undertaken with graduates who previously participated in SIDshare we analyse how their engagement contributed to graduate employment outcomes. SIDshare had increased not only the development of enterprising skills and entrepreneurialism but also encouraged the development of transferable, so-called “softer skills”. These included strong interpersonal skills, team skills and good working relationships as well as professionalism developed through participation in an extracurricular student community of practice alongside engagement with external partners. Effectual and causal reasoning skills were developed further encouraging entrepreneurialism. Graduate interviewees clearly demonstrated that their career success had been aided by their involvement in the co-curricular student led social enterprise, SIDshare.

Gender diversity in supply chains: towards more sustainable decisions? evidence from interviews

ABSTRACT Gender diversity (GD) has become an open topic of discussion, with a focus on gender gaps in terms of salary and access to education. There has been little research highlighting the active role women may play in sustainable decision making. This study addresses this gap by considering the case of supply chain management (SCM), a function mostly led by men and where several unsustainable issues prevail. It focuses on determining whether GD has an impact on sustainability-related decisions made in SCM. An exploratory and qualitative approach was taken to look at managerial, operational and hybrid skills and practices. The findings reveal three main opinion groups and show that GD would bring softer skills such as empathy at the managerial level, or more socially responsible supplier selection at the operational level. More GD in SCM would improve social relations, communication, compliance and health and safety issues. This study contributes to filling the gap on the social dimension of sustainability.

Kinship and collegiality

PurposeExternal partnerships are crucial to the functioning of a university education department. The purpose of this paper is to explore the underpinning characteristics of such partnerships. It examines different types of partnerships from those in initial teacher education, to continuing professional development to international. Evidence-based data are gathered from both external partners and university staff who deal with partnership. Softer skills and intellectual kingship are identified as the fundamental drivers of partnership and the subsequent implications for universities are examined.Design/methodology/approachIn order to explore the nature of these partnerships, a qualitative approach was essential as the focus was in the motives and perspectives of the authors’ partners, the authors’ colleagues and the university as a corporate entity. To this end, questionnaires were designed for use with a broad range of teacher education partners. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with university-based colleagues involved in a range of these partnership activities.FindingsThe institutional reputation on its own does not appear to be the main driver for partnership and as such, the partner bases their decisions and judgements upon the relationship and discussions with the link person they deal with. In turn, those key actors in the university education department also see the wider university as an inhibitor and constraint upon partnership but maintain their relationships by drawing on autonomous forms of professionalism. Thus, intellectual kinship, collegiality and common goals may be argued as key to generating successful external relationships.Practical implicationsIt is important to note that a business relationship which relies on an individual is fragile; people move, become ill and change roles. Clear strategies are essential for succession planning across all such partnerships in an institution, if they are to avoid the potential financial and reputational repercussions arising from unplanned change.Originality/valueThis study highlights the significance of effective communication between the department establishing the partnership and those responsible for broader managerial and administrative systems in the institution, as well as the potential importance of shared values across departments in respect of supporting and maintaining international partnerships. Further, institutions should recognise the fundamental importance of the link person, in terms of the boundary-spanning nature of the role, the importance to that role of intellectual kinship and the potential this has for the development of new or expanded relationships.

Online learning as a form of distance education: Linking formation learning in theology to the theories of distance education

Distance education (DE) has a long and complex history. It accounts for more than one-third of all higher education students in the world and, because of its very nature, has produced some of the top graduates worldwide who were unable to study fulltime and on-campus for various reasons. One of the most prestigious graduates of the DE system was the former state president of South Africa, the late Nelson Mandela. Online learning is a form of DE and fast becoming the preferred method of instruction and delivery. Critiques of online learning, and of DE itself, will argue that, because of the separation of the teacher and the student, only academic skills can be taught and learnt using this medium. The so-called ‘softer skills’ – those that focus on the development of the person – are best taught in a face-to-face, traditional environment. This article focuses on a review of DE theories and models. A particular emphasis is placed on online learning theories, and how the teaching of formational learning skills can be successfully incorporated into this educational setting. The article draws from a range of studies that have been conducted, based on conceptual and empirical research evidence from various authors. Drawing from Garrison, Anderson and Archer’s Community of Inquiry framework for online education, it presents key elements that relate to the formational (spiritual) training of theology students. The article examines research that both supports and cautions against online learning for formative development. It concludes by suggesting a blended model of both face-to-face and online learning, where meaningful interactions between the learner and teacher take place, is desirable. The article highlights the important role that DE (and specifically online education) can play in developing the human component of education.

Using life cycle assessment in environmental engineering education

ABSTRACTLife cycle assessment (LCA) is a method of assessing the environmental impacts of the manufacture and use of a product or provision of a service such as waste management. LCAs are based on quantitative science, but softer skills are also required in interpreting the results. Therefore, LCA provides an ideal opportunity for students to develop and apply both quantitative and qualitative skills in order to address complex real-world problems. In this research a simplified spreadsheet LCA tool was produced for students to assess the environmental impacts of a waste management system. Detailed feedback from face to face and distance-learning students were positive about the tool, with students welcoming the detail provided in the results and the use of a practical example to help their learning. In conclusion, LCA is an effective way of encouraging environmental and engineering students to develop and apply a wide range of transferable skills.

Professional development of the BIM actor role

The implementation of building information modeling (BIM) has resulted in the development of new roles for BIM actors, but few empirical studies have been conducted on how these roles develop professionally. The present study investigates the professional development of the BIM actor and how this role is perceived by BIM actors and non-BIM actors in Sweden. The study uses a questionnaire (N=342) in eight companies, comprised of contractors, architects, and clients. The BIM and non-BIM actors were compared on similarities and significant differences in their characteristics, tasks, experience, education, and barriers to the role’s development. We found that BIM actors perceive their role, characteristics, tasks and education as coordinating and driving change. However, non-BIM actors perceive the BIM actor role as focusing more on technical skills than on softer skills. The perceptions of the two groups indicate possible tensions toward the future professional development of the BIM actor role.

Information management – a skills gap?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore very recent data about how large organizations are dealing with a shortage of information and communications technology (ICT) specialists, in terms of its implications for information management.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is based on qualitative interview-based research with 11 large European companies, with an estimated ICT workforce of around 400,000 (about 14 per cent of ICT professionals in Europe), covering hiring, retention and upskilling of ICT staff, and expectations concerning graduates from European universities. These data are combined with International Data Corporation (IDC) analyst reports on the demand for different categories of ICT products and services, and data from the authors’ consulting work.FindingsLarger organizations expect hiring to be a challenge, with strong competition for talent, whether from existing users or from the many rapidly digitalizing companies – digitalizing their organizations; their products and services; and their relationships with customer, suppliers and business partners. Upskilling and retraining workforces is seen by large organizations as a better approach than hiring, allowing them to create the right skills balance and retain their workers better. However, softer skills, such as communication and problem solving, are seen as just as important. ICT workers will benefit from a lifelong approach to learning, acquiring new skills and adapting existing skills. Many ICT companies have created academies for developing employee skills and certifications related to their own technologies, while the education sector has been working on creating curricula (alone or sometimes in partnerships with vendors) to improve graduate employability.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is based on a small sample of large companies. The situation may be different in other companies and smaller organizations.Practical implicationsOrganizations can cope with the skills shortage by anticipating and working with the market forces rather than trying to oppose them.Social implicationsICT employees will show the way for employees in other sectors where skills are scarce, by demonstrating how to reinvent themselves as the skills needed change.Originality/valueThis paper demonstrates that employers have changed their expectations of universities. They expect less that graduates will be ICT-employment ready, and more that they will have the skills to make and keep themselves employment ready. This has significant implications for university course design.

The Perceived Psychological Responsibilities of a Strength and Conditioning Coach.

Radcliffe, JN, Comfort, P, and Fawcett, T. The perceived psychological responsibilities of a strength and conditioning coach. J Strength Cond Res 32(10): 2853-2862, 2016-Research is limited in exploring the specific psychology-oriented responsibilities of the strength and conditioning professional. The present research explored the psychological responsibilities adopted by accredited strength and conditioning coaches. Participants comprised 10 coaches working within the United Kingdom, 3 within the United States, and 5 within Australia offering a cross-section of experience from various sport disciplines and educational backgrounds. Participants were interviewed either in person or via Skype. Thematic clustering was followed using interpretative phonological analysis to identify common themes. Over half (61%) of the respondents reported that their position as a strength and conditioning coach required additional psychology-oriented responsibilities. These comprised a counseling role in the absence of a psychologist and the use of "softer skills" in a mentoring role to the athlete during a challenging situation. The coach could play an influential role in shaping the mentality of the team. The coach identifies how the role results in working to relay information from the athlete to other support staff and similarly from the support staff to the athlete. In addition to identifying the resonant psychology-oriented responsibilities, discussion is made with specific focus on the ethical boundary within which strength and conditioning coaches must reside regarding the competencies to provide psychological support.

Alarm at Ofsted's Reception conclusions

Bold or premature? Ofsted's small-scale report into the Reception curriculum has alarmed many with its dismissal of softer skills and focus on quick starts and rapid progress. Suzanne O'Connell reports

The 21st century public servant - what roles and skills do we need from public servants to deliver better outcomes for citizens?

Introduction: The session will report findings from research on the 21st century public servant, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. The project built on the 2011 University of Birmingham Policy Commission into the 'Future of Local Public Services' which identified the need to pay attention to the changing roles undertaken by public servants and the associated support and development needs. The research is now influencing the development of policy and practice within local public services including social care, health, police and fire services in the UK. Theory/Methods: The research comprised a review of the international literature followed by 40 semi-structured interviews with people working in a purposive sample of public services in the West Midlands region of England. National figures working in public services were also interviewed. A survey of a cohort of recent graduates on the National Graduate Development Programme for local government was conducted. Interviewees were drawn from organisations in the public, private and third sectors, reflecting the mixed market of providers of public services. Results: The research identified 10 themes which exemplify the emerging expectations and challenges for people working in local public services. These included: a new set of roles for the workforce (such as municipal entrepreneur, storyteller and resource weaver), the need for a new way of working with citizens (‘being human’), a combination of softer skills alongside professional, technical skills the need to combine public service ethos with a sense of commerciality new collaborative leadership skills, moving away from ‘hero’ leaders Discussions: The research suggests that there is a need to recruit, develop and support public servants in different ways in future. The new roles and skills that are needed to work in collaborative, integrated ways with a range of organisations, and with residents, are currently lacking. Conclusions (comprising key findings): 21st century public servants are often working in 19th century style organisations where incentives, development opportunities and performance management frameworks do not support the development of new skills and roles that are needed to work in collaborative ways, both across organisations and with citizens. The research is of direct relevance to those organisations seeking to develop a workforce that is able to deliver integrated, collaborative services to achieve improved outcomes for citizens. Lessons learned: Although the research was carried out across a wide range of public services the workforce challenges are similar for all organisations. Limitations: The interviews were carried out with 40 people in the West Midlands, so the findings may only be applicable within this region. However, the researchers have spoken to over 100 organisations about the research and the response suggests that the findings are relevant across all regions and across a range of public services. Suggestions for future research: The research has been extended to study the roles and skills of elected members. The missing part of the ‘triangle’ is to study the role of the citizen in terms of working in a collaborative way with public services to achieve improved outcomes.

Teaching for Justice in a Contradictory World

School today is caught in the dilemma of being expected to educate young people so that they can be integrated into modern industrial society. Because of structural injustices in society, not all students have equal chances in this integration process. Education in school is also expected to impart proficiency in skills which go beyond the functional skills which a productive society needs. These softer skills can threaten the aims of modern society because they have the potential to question its underlying rationale. Young people learn these skills in their everyday lives with their peers outside of school. They form part of the cultural wealth which students bring with them to school. It is up to school to draw on this cultural wealth of students and to foster the various forms of cultural capital contained therein so that students learn not to be victims of a one-sided schooling which reproduces those injustices that pervade modern society by placing excess value on cultural assets which are favored by dominant groups in society.

Change Management in Quality Improvement: The Softer Skills

Quality improvement work in healthcare requires an understanding of not only the methodology and science of improvement but also a mastery of the concepts of change management. These “softer skills” include leadership, team building, culture, context, and patient and family engagement. Capable leaders and teams facilitate improvement by fostering a culture of improvement. By engaging patients and families, interventions and innovations can be appropriately tailored to suit individual contexts. Without the incorporation of these change management concepts, successful, sustainable quality improvement cannot be achieved.

Excellence in IT Project Management

With almost thirty years since the start of our quest to find Fred Brooks' magical “Silver Bullet” to slay our productivity horrors, and twenty years since the first Standish report on IT project success and failures, are we getting closer? This paper discusses and challenges current thinking on process improvement initiates to provide answers of how we can significantly improve IT project productivity and consider that to achieve a step change in improvement requires a different approach. Recent Standish research has highlighted the Agile Methodology as being particularly successful for the smaller IT project. However, what specifically is creating this improvement? Is it the process itself or is there something that the process enables? The hypothesis presented is that in order to create the step change improvement in IT project management delivery, we need to significantly improve the inter-personal skills of the whole IT project management team. The revolution for improved productivity will stem from challenging the typical career paths of technology learning to provide a much greater focus on the softer skills.

Interpretive and critical research: Methodological blasphemy!

Critical and interpretive research styles are often qualitative and more subjective than statistically-based positive techniques. As such, critical and interpretive methodologies are less highly regarded by the academic establishment and are often relegated to the footnotes of postgraduate courses. After all, is there really a need to train prospective accountants and managements in ‘softer skills’? This critical essay argues that changes in accounting and business mindsets are moving critical and interpretive research styles into an era of greater recognition. Rather than be driven by positive tradition, management-based research needs to be more aware of practical realties and post graduate students need to be trained accordingly. Key words: Accounting research, interpretive research, mainstream, methodologies, post graduate students, qualitative research.

Optimizing Product Improvement Spending with Third-Party Security Consultants

Companies should try to match security consultancies or even individual consultants to specific projects. To do this, get to know the consultants-in particular, their skills, experience, and interests. Attend security conferences to be aware of their latest research. Beyond this, look for softer skills, such as good communication skills, and an understanding of the challenges that product teams face. Also, develop relationships with consultancies that can grow along with your changing security needs. These steps can improve security and optimize the outlay of your product improvement dollars.

Cultural Competence and the Legal Profession: An Annotated Bibliography of Materials Published Between 2000 and 2011

“…it is both impressive and effective to understand the culture in which you are doing business and demonstrating that understanding to clients. ‘There are cultural sensitivities even when you are dealing domestically,’ said Neena Gupta, a partner with Gowlings in Waterloo who heads up the firm's India Practice Group. Such cultural skills – speaking another language, being familiar with another culture, having lived outside Canada – while often acknowledged as softer skills are still seen as an enhancement to core legal skills. “We are conscious of the fact that a candidate with linguistic ability and global awareness does bring something to the table that others do not,” said Gupta. That something is very good for the business of law.”

Looking at the Big Picture: Engaging Natural Resource Students in Landscape Level Planning through a Capstone Course

Abstract In increasingly fragmented environments, it is insufficient to train natural resource students to only develop site level plans. They must be encouraged to think about planning larger landscapes. Natural resource students also need to develop competencies in “softer skills” such as communication, leadership, teamwork, and addressing public concerns. This article describes an approach to combining the pedagogies of service learning and problem-based learning in a capstone course in landscape level planning. Students work in interdisciplinary teams to develop a plan that meets the needs of diverse stakeholders who represent more than one property owner. Feedback indicates that students are learning problem solving skills and how to think and plan at the landscape level.

The Placing of Skills in Accounting Degree Programmes in Higher Education: Some Contrasting Approaches in the UK

The development of research-led teaching is an important objective of University education, and the placing and development of skills within accounting degree curriculum continues to be a subject of much debate. Prior research by Hill and Milner (2005) has interviewed colleagues in all Scottish Universities, and has established that different university degree programmes in Scotland have adopted different strategies for developing students' 'transferable' skills, including in particular, special considerations to enhance critical and writing skills. The current study is aimed towards extending the prior research, to investigate qualitatively examples of other HE academies, to broaden the field of learning approaches to skills development in Accounting Education in the UK. There are particularly interesting angles to contrast the perspectives within the UK of: the pre/post 92 universities; the three versus four years degree curriculum; and other more structural issues within the HE sector; changing pressures and demands of students; accreditation; and the RAE. An interpretive methodology was pursued, and personal interviews were carried in 6 selected universities (located in England, Wales and Northern Ireland). The respondents (13 academics) have flagged up examples of good practice in skills learning. Main Findings: 1. Waves of teaching 'innovations' have been pushed through in response to demands from Modern Academy and directions from managers and educationists. 2. The selective panel of Accounting academics have raised arguments and important considerations for the 'softer' critical, reflective skills. 3. There is a clear agreement of the importance of and need for attention to development of skills within the Accounting degree programme. However, the skills grid approach, its effectiveness and its link to assessment all require critical discussion. 4. There are interesting and fundamental debates about identifying even what are the essential skills; and whether it could be or should be taught. 5. There is a firm belief in trying to develop students' critical thinking, to encourage reflective learning, getting them to question and be able to deepen thinking about implicit assumptions even, to evaluate complex problems and to make up their own mind. 6. Interviewees have pinpointed significant constraints to the teaching/learning of: a. the softer skills, including: • physical limitations of large class sizes; • the over-crammed accredited curriculum; • the pre-disposition of Accounting students, as against b. non-numerical/technical skills: • the problems of student part-time working and finances; • the pressures from semesterisation; • and from the hierarchical administration; Despite a clear recognition of the 'low rating' (especially as regards the RAE) given to Accounting Education research, there are some examples of active-researchers who are dedicated to teaching. They see education as the raison d'etre of their role, and they are applying what they have learned from research toward developing and implementing innovative changes in their teaching. Working and coping with these various constraints and pressures, in their research and teaching experiences, the respondents have demonstrated some exemplary approaches to skills teaching. In a limited way, the study has allowed for some sharing of experiences between a number of Universities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The skills debate may benefit from a more extended UK-wide and systematic survey study for exploring HE academics' opinions on the place and space for student skills development and examining different learning issues and approaches, and to capture a balanced snapshot of the educational debate within the diverse UK honours (3/4 years) programmes. The conflicts and pressures voiced by the interviewees definitely echo those of the Scottish academics, and these may reflect the concerns of stress (and distress) that apply across the UK HE sector. Indeed, the warning signals might have resonances elsewhere in a number of countries even (see Saravanamuthu and Tinker, 2002). Whilst the quality assurance, funding, policies reform and politics will continue to drive the agenda for change within the UK, research and teaching/learning developments within the local context and at the 'coal-face' of learning, could benefit from a more shared, open and transparent account. As pointed out by some of the Accounting education researchers, simply periodically to be able to have the time and space for reflection and dialogue is beneficial; and it could be empowering to ensure feedback to the learning community. The responsibility of collective reflexivity is arguably one of the fundamental principles to our academic freedom.