Search results

Stuebs et al. (2021, p. 38) note that soft skills “are essential for accountants to carry out their moral agency role in society.” Indeed, calls for aspiring accounting professionals to have well-developed soft skills have been ongoing for decades (American Accounting Association [Bedford] Committee on Future Structure, Content, and Scope of Accounting Education, 1986; Accounting Education Change Commission, 1990; Albrecht & Sack, 2000; Big 8 White Paper, 1989; Lawson et al., 2014; Pathways Commission, 2012). Despite these calls, the development of accounting students’ soft skills remains elusive (Fogarty, 2019; Rebele & St. Pierre, 2019). Perhaps this is not surprising as a commonly accepted, profession-specific definition of the term is lacking, as is consensus about the corresponding capabilities comprising accounting professionals’ soft skills. Instead, those in the accounting profession have treated the term soft skills much the way Justice Potter Stewart famously described hard-core pornography: “I know it when I see it” (Jacobellis v. Ohio 1964, p. 197). The problem, of course, is that such a description is individualistic and can lead to conflicts and inconsistencies not only in identifying the phenomenon (Baskin, 2018; Goldberg, 2010) but, more importantly, particularly in the case of soft skills, in taking steps to foster its development and measuring changes in it. Thus, understanding the term soft skills and its fundamental capabilities is a necessary prerequisite to the development of the soft skills deemed critical for future accounting professionals. In this chapter, the authors advance that understanding by developing an accounting-specific definition for soft skills and identifying a set of capabilities that comprise soft skills applicable to accounting professionals. The authors also discuss the implications of the work and conclude by recommending soft skills in accounting be referred to as professional competencies.

Introduction: Skill development is crucial in developing economies by enhancing productivity and creating employment opportunities. At the macro level, it also leads to industrial development and economic growth.

Purpose: The research is to identify the types of skills required for increasing the probability of employability of labour. It also aims to define the challenges and opportunities in skill development to drive change.

Need of the Study: Studying opportunities and challenges for skill development in developing economies is essential for achieving sustainable economic growth, reducing poverty, increasing employment opportunities, and promoting global competitiveness.

Research Methodology: Some skills are recognised through research that has been published to determine the skill set needed to increase labour productivity. To draw lessons, some skill development initiatives by various companies are also identified and presented in case studies. Additionally, several government programs are available to assess the possibilities and prospects for skill development in the Indian market.

Practical Implications: The research will be valuable in micro and macro decision making. At the micro level, research is advantageous for a business person to initiate the skill development of its employees by using government schemes. Nations other than India can understand the policy framework for skill development.

Findings: The term ‘skilling’ has become fashionable. Due to the need for skill-based earnings data, only some studies examine the return on skill (ROS) of the labour market. Skill development plays a significant role in bringing change at the micro and macro levels. Hence it is necessary to exploit all opportunities for skill development.

Entrepreneurship is a new field of research in Russian higher education. This chapter discusses the emergence of entrepreneurial education in Russian universities by examining their key documents and relevant curricula. Findings indicate that only a few modern Russian universities develop entrepreneurial programmes that contribute to the income of the less funded from research organisations. These programmes are mainly student-paid graduate programmes aimed at providing students with hard skills. The study also addresses factors that influence students’ entrepreneurial intention following the theory of planned behaviour. Beyond attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control, a new contextual variable of entrepreneurial environment and education significantly impacts intention. This result along with subjective norm influence implies that prospective graduate entrepreneurs in Russia are motivated to venture to contribute to their society. Finally, this study provides recommendations on how Russian universities could empower entrepreneurial education to undertake a substantial role in regional entrepreneurial ecosystem development.

Industry 4.0 or the Fourth Industrial Revolution is characterized by robotic process automation and machine-to-machine communications. Since computers, machines, and robots share information and knowledge more swiftly and effectively than humans, the question is what human beings' role could be in the era of the Internet-of-Thing. The answer would be beneficial to institutions for higher education to anticipate. The literature reveals a gap between the intended learning outcomes in higher education institutions and the needs of employers in Industry 4.0. Evidence is shown that higher education mainly focused on knowledge (know-what) and theory-based (know-why) intended learning outcomes. However, competent professionals require knowledge (know-what), understanding of the theory (know-why), professional (know-how) and interpersonal skills (know-how and know-who), and need intrapersonal traits such as creativeness, persistence, a result-driven attitude et cetera. Therefore, intended learning outcomes in higher education should also develop interpersonal skills and intrapersonal characteristics. Yet, personality development is a personal effort vital for contemporary challenges. The history of the preceding industrial revolutions showed the drawbacks of personality and character education; politicians have abused it to control societies in the 19th and 20th centuries. In the discussion section, the institutions for higher education are alerted that the societal challenges of the twenty-first century could lead to a form of personality education that is not in the student's interest and would violate Isaiah Berlin's philosophical concept of ‘positive freedom’.

This chapter describes the workforce trends in developed and developing countries, depicts the changes, and provides a road map for countries seeking to become a hub for professional workers. The roadmap outlined the factors that countries should consider in their strategic planning to succeed as suppliers, transforming the country into a knowledge economy and a hub for professional gig workers. As discussed in Chapter 4, professional gig workers are knowledge workers who work and deliver tasks online, and they participate in professional knowledge-based online jobs. How to organise, train, and structure this skilled workforce to maximise economic growth, income, decrease unemployment, prevent outflow, and transform the country into a professional hub is a critical question that requires special attention from the government and industry players.

The impetus for this paper was the recognition, based on recent surveys and our own experiences, that organizations face special challenges when designing and validating selection procedures for information technology (IT) workers. The history of the IT industry, the nature of IT work, and characteristics of IT workers converge to make the selection of IT workers uniquely challenging. In this paper, we identify these challenges and suggest means of addressing them. We show the advantages offered by the modern view of validation that endorses a wide spectrum of probative information relevant to establishing the job relatedness and business necessity of IT selection procedures. Finally, we identify the implications of these issues for industrial/organizational psychologists, human resource managers, and managers of IT workers.

Smart scenarios related to industries or cities, characterized by intensive technology transfer and use of innovative and disruptive technologies, have been in the spotlight either on academic or organizational discussions, especially those with a technocentric focus. Among these technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) emerges as the most challenging one due to its complexity. Therefore, this chapter aims to address AI, in particular the future of the labor market, exploring the challenges regarding the skills required in the context of AI technology, addressing its uses, challenges, and benefits. In order to achieve this goal, a systematic review was conducted on the extant literature using the methodology Methodi Ordinatio. The results show that the current literature is gradually changing from a more critical and negative view of AI to a more optimistic one, with more positive approaches and expectations regarding its benefits. As practical implications, the findings can be used as a guide for governments to develop strategies aiming to deal with upcoming challenges, especially regarding future jobs and employability.

In the previous chapter, from the research conducted, it has been determined that a set of 11 entrepreneurial competencies are the most relevant in relation to Sierra Leone. In line with the results of this research, this chapter aims to explain the content/structure, the purpose, and the fit of the context in each competence. The specific competencies include spotting opportunities, creativity, setting a clear vision, self-awareness, and self-efficacy, motivation, and perseverance, mobilisation of resources, financial and economic literacy, management, risk-taking, teamwork, and learning through experience.