Personal Insight: Opportunities and Challenges in the Business Management and Administration Cluster

This paper covers the opportunities and challenges in the Business Management and Administration cluster. It includes job clusters, transferable skills, industry dashboard, SWOT and GAP analysis, and employment challenges.

Running header: Personal Insight 1
Personal Insight
Student Name
Institutional Affiliation

Personal Insight 2
Executive summary
Employment has been a trending topic to many graduates. Therefore, many graduates are
off to better themselves in order to acquire employment opportunities. This paper covers the
opportunities section. Different areas have been looked into in this paper. To begin with, I have
identified the job cluster that I am well conversant with. In this section, I have explained why I
have chosen the cluster job and the key transferable skills present.
Secondly, I have chosen the business service industry as my industry of choice. The
industry dashboard seeks to explain further the areas of challenges and growth present in this
industry. I have also looked into the top organizations in this industry. In addition, due to the
changing job market, I have outlined the new changes involved and some career options that
risen as a result. Skills required for graduates in the finance service industry to operate
effectively have been discussed quite clearly. Lastly, I have discussed on the employment
challenges facing the graduates in securing a job.
Thirdly, I have analyzed the Gap and SWOT analysis in the finance industry in order to
clearly address the current state of the finance industry and also what as an individual I would
love to achieve.

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Contents
Executive summary 3
Introduction 4
My job clusters 4
The industry dashboard 6
The swot and gap Analysis 7
Conclusion 8
References 9

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Introduction
Across the globe, business leaders are going through different phases in their careers both
challenging and exciting. The ever-changing business environment has brought different
challenges in the work force while on the other hand, it has resulted to opportunities to innovate
and learn hence promoting excitement in the workplace (Greenwood & Scharfstein, 2013). As
seasons are changing due to the dynamic global business climate, career roles are being
approached differently to ensure success in three distinct ways.
To begin with, we have adaptation of strategies to stay relevant. Since customer and
stakeholders’ needs are changing due to shifts in the market, business leaders are considering
strategic choices to ensure relevance to their clients. Adjustments due to new market entrants can
be an added advantage to an organization’s traditional customers. For example, introduction of
customer service roles to ensure satisfaction of employee’s needs.
Secondly, we have new management perspectives. In today’s organization, workers are
expected to more be committed to missions and goals rather than rules and orders. Through
empowering the employees in the sense of gaining decision authority, manager roles become
much easier. Lastly, we have cognitive competence. Tasks in the workplace are getting more
complex and solid hence requiring workers to know more and also be able to work effectively in
teams (Hollenbeck, Noe & Gerhart, 2018). New careers are arising hence allowing the workers
to grow their cognitive skills hence being competitive.
My job clusters
My cluster of choice is the Business management and Administration cluster. This job cluster
allows individuals to apply their leadership and organizational skills in preparation for careers
where planning, directing and evaluation is necessary to ensure a business runs successfully. I
have chosen this job cluster to different reasons. To begin with, I believe job groups in the
business management and administration cluster have high demand in the market. According to
different sources, a business student is more likely to land a job within six months after the
graduation of the student (Cottrell, 2013). In Todays economy, the demand for business
graduates is increasing and this trend has no signs of slowing down.

Personal Insight 5
Secondly, it promotes learning of transferrable skills. This includes the skills one learns and
is able to adopt them for other career options or job positions. Business programs promote the
ability of thinking critically, solving problems using innovative ways and also better time
management among students (Bennett, 2002). Therefore, one is enabled to make quick decisions
regarded both career capacity and day to day life.
Thirdly, the job cluster allows one to be to able gain a global perspective. In today’s
economy, study of business allows one to examine things with a global lens. Particularly for
people with a desire to engage more on global outlooks, this job cluster is advantageous. In
addition, business programs promote valuable communication skills. Therefore, people are able
engage different cultures by being able to understand each other. These skills can be of great
benefit to future jobs.
As highlighted above, transferable skills are relevant and helpful in different areas of life.
Employers are also in search of employees able of demonstrating a great set of transferable skills
(Assiter, 2017). The Business management and Administration cluster includes different
transferable skills. However, they are divided into personal soft skills and technical knowledge
and skills. To begin with, the personal soft skills include the following;
 Team work
 Time management and organization.
 Research and analytical skills.
 Great communication skills.
On the other hand, the transferable technical knowledge and skills one is able to gain includes
the following;
 Financial management.
 Marketing, sales and customer service.
 Project Management
 Data management and analytics.

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THE INDUSTRY DASHBOARD
Finance services Industry
Industry growth areas
The finance industry also has
areas that can be developed
further. To begin with,
compliance is another critical
cornerstone for financial
institutions. New protection laws
that promote transparency would
be of great assistance to ensure
financial crisis is prevented (Fox
& Stevenson, 2006). In addition,
evolution of financial services
into mobile services can be of
great importance.
Industry challenges
To begin with, consumers of
financial services are demanding
more sophisticated services. For
example, companies in the finance
industry are under pressure to
provide services that match up
with today’s technology.
Therefore, to be able to meet this
demands financial organizations
are forced to lay a ground work
for online bots that can meet
consumer expectations (Cottrell,
2013).
Secondly, meeting the strict compliance
demands is another challenge. Today financial
service organizations are faced with special
regulations to report in case of issues due to
the highly sensitive data they hold. In case of
loss of data, reputation among customers
would be totally destroyed and also cost
implications could be higher.
Lastly, we have driving efficiency and cost
reduction. Every business considers doing
more at little budget. The recent economic
changes have allowed the financial sector to
focus on conducting reviews on existing
business procedures so as to drive in
efficiency in the processes.
Other leading organizations
Across the world, we have a number of large
publicly traded finance service companies.
One, bank of America is considered to be one
of the leading financial institutions in America
by assets and revenue. Secondly, AXA, a
multinational insurance company is also a
leading insurance services company. In my
opinion these organizations are doing well in
the market due to the demand of financial
services and also being able to provide
customer satisfaction.
Skills required for graduates
Finance graduates require different soft and technical skills
so as to be able contribute effectively in financial
institutions. On the soft skills, graduates need to have
interpersonal skills, problem solving skills, communication
skills and team work (Bennett, 2002). On the other hand,
technical skills include; financial reporting, analytical
ability, information technology skills and organizational
skills.
Changing job market
Technology is playing a critical in the future of the finance
industry. Therefore, new careers are arising due to such
changes. To begin with, the need for cloud banking is
growing at a fast rate. For example, the De Nederlandsche
Bank uses Amazon Web services for some of its services.
Offering services has become easier and faster. New roles
such as database administrator have risen hence requiring
competent workers (Hollenbeck, Noe & Gerhart, 2018). In
addition, need for promoting agile working methods has
reduced operating costs on businesses. This has opened
gates for individuals with higher cognitive financial skills
to get hired.
Employment challenges
In search for employment, graduates face different
challenges. For example, lack of real world experience has
become a major challenge (Polach, 2004). In addition,
their expectations are usually to high. Graduates finish
their university levels with desires to hand pick the best
job. However, they get disappointed for not getting the
jobs. Lastly, competition due to many graduates has been
another considerable issue.

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MY SWOT AND GAP ANALYSIS
Professional dashboard
Strengths
1. Better communication skills.
2. Problem solving skills.
3. Financial reporting skills.
4. Better interpersonal skills
Professional dashboard
Weaknesses
1. Poor technical skills.
2. Lack of experience.
3. Poor time management.
4. Poor team work
Industry dashboard
Opportunity
1. New career titles.
2. High demand for financial services.
3. Learning of transferable skills.
4. Gaining of global perspectives
Industry dashboard
Threats
1. Increased costs.
2. High user demands.
3. Strict compliance rules.
4. Competition.
5. Changing job market.
SWOT ANALYSIS
GAP ANALYSIS
Current state
The financial services industry requires different technical and soft skills. To begin with,
we have analytical skills. This skill is important in the industry since it aids in financial
evaluation and analysis (Cottrell, 2013). Secondly, we have communication skills and problem-
solving skills. Besides, technical skills and team work skills are required in the industry.
Personally, the skills I have include; financial reporting skills, better interpersonal skills, and
organization skills.
Skills I need to develop
However, I would want to have all these critical skills that are needed in the industry.
This makes me more competitive since many graduates are out to look for employments. Lack of

Personal Insight 8
employment due to competition has made graduates to upgrade their skills and also be more
determined to have experience. In my career line, I believe real experience is also very important
since it promotes an individual in the market place. Actualizing my goals will be easier and more
efficient since I’ll be able to meet the industry’s needs effectively.
Conclusion
Careers options are critical to every individual in any job cluster. The challenges in the
finance service industry particularly has assisted the industry to determine areas it can improve
on. Competition among the finance service industries in the market is opening avenues for
technology to be implemented. New job roles have therefore arose hence leading to more career
options for individuals. It has also caused different individuals to update their skills so as to be
able to match the requirements needed.
The transferable skills have also been an added advantage to the finance graduates. This
is because they have allowed competitiveness in the work place. Today, employers are also
looking for individuals who have excellent transferable skills. For example, team work has led to
the development of leaders in the workplace. Therefore, providing guidance to a team with the
aim of attaining goals has prompted employers to look for such graduates

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References
Assiter, A. (2017). Transferable skills in higher education. Routledge.
Bennett, R. (2002). Employers' demands for personal transferable skills in graduates: A content
analysis of 1000 job advertisements and an associated empirical study. Journal of
Vocational Education and training, 54(4), 457-476.
Cottrell, P. L. (2013). Industrial finance, 1830-1914: the finance and organization of English
manufacturing industry. Routledge.
Fox, A., & Stevenson, L. (2006). Exploring the effectiveness of peer mentoring of accounting
and finance students in higher education. Accounting Education: an international
journal, 15(2), 189-202.
Greenwood, R., & Scharfstein, D. (2013). The growth of finance. Journal of Economic
Perspectives, 27(2), 3-28.
Hollenbeck, J. R., Noe, R. A., & Gerhart, B. A. (2018). Human resource management: Gaining
a competitive advantage. McGraw-Hill Education.
Polach, J. L. (2004). Understanding the experience of college graduates during their first year of
employment. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 15(1), 5-23.