Fixing holes where the rain gets in : Problem areas in the development of generic skills in business

Purpose – Little attention is paid to understanding generic skills in business. Even less attention is paid to collecting evidence of students' development of these skills. This paper aims to fill this gap. Design/methodology/approach – Four generic skills in business undergraduate and graduate programs are examined – written communication; critical thinking; use of mathematical and statistical tools; and information literacy. A total of 341 individual student assessments were reviewed. Findings – Results suggest that there are skills deficits in effectively using language and coherence in writing; taking different perspectives and integrating ideas; understanding, presenting and solving a problem; and evaluating information to produce new and original thought. Originality/value – This paper presents some important findings from the evaluation of student development of four different generic skills promoted in business disciplines.