PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS REQUIRED OF BUSINESS EDUCATION GRADUATES BY EMPLOYERS

Abstract

The study assessed problem solving skills required of business education graduates by employers for successful management of organizations in Delta State. The study was guided with one research question and two hypotheses. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The population which served as sample comprises 1,886 business operators in 8 Local Governments Areas in Delta Central Senatorial District. A 24-item questionnaire was instrument used for data collection. It has 2 parts: Part A contains 4 items based on the demographic variables namely: name of organization, local government area, gender and years of experience. Part B contains 20 items based on the research question. The questionnaire was structured on 4-point rating scale having the following response options: Very High Extent (VHE), High Extent (HE), Low Extent (LE), Very Low Extent (VLE). There was face and content validity of the instrument by 2 experts in business education and 1 expert in measurement and evaluation at the Delta State University, Abraka. To determine the internal consistency of the instrument, 132 copies were administered to 132 employers in Oshimili South Local Government Area which was not part of the study sample. Data collected were analyzed using Cronbach Alpha with 0.83 coefficient result of the Research Question. A total of 1,886 copies of the questionnaire with the help of 48 research assistants were administered to 1,886 business operators, 1,834 were completed and returned (97.24% returned rate). Mean and standard deviations were used to analyze the research question and t-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings on Research Question one are: flexible in taking decisions, timely in taking decisions, futuristic and possess wealth of experience in office occupation are to a high extent amongst others. It was recommended that business education students at the university level should have the necessary problem solving skills and business education graduates should undergo workshops and conferences to acquire more problem solving skills.

 

Keywords: Problem Solving Skills, Business Education Graduates, Employers, Management, Organizations.