Thomas Horan emphasizes ‘21st century business skills’
In a ceremony on Feb. 24, the University of Redlands community came together to celebrate the installation of Thomas A. Horan as the H. Jess and Donna Colton Senecal Endowed Dean.
“[At] the School of Business, what is our distinctive purpose?” Horan says. “We are keenly focused on empowering our students to succeed through what we are calling ‘21st century business skills.’ In survey after survey, employers reveal that they recruit and promote professionals who can work in diverse situations, drawing upon a host of technical, organizational, and people skills. We are organized to deliver these valued proficiencies.”
According to Horan, 21st century business skills are:
- Integrative, enabling complex
problem-solving - Analytical, providing disciplined approaches to business knowledge production and interpretation
- Spatial, grounding business solutions in this fundamental approach
- Ethical, guiding sound decision-making
- Collaborative, fostering innovation and creative outcomes
- Persuasive, building solutions from critical thinking, data-driven analysis, and practical reasoning
- Entrepreneurial, spanning the elements of thinking, planning, and executing
- Societal, taking into account the diversity of business, organizations, and people
- Environmental, recognizing the importance of sustainability in determining business success
- Global, offering a broad perspective on the business landscape
“This holistic view of business is grounded in the liberal arts tradition,” says Horan, “but focused on the practical aspects of business success.”
