CAREERS NEWS | IN BRIEF
BUREAUCRACY BARRIER TO INNOVATION
Three quarters of business executives think bureaucracy within organisations is the biggest barrier to innovation, according to a survey by London Business School. When polled, 77 per cent of the business audience said that improving incentives, reducing red tape and promoting greater flexibility in the business environment was key to stimulating entrepreneurship. Sir Andrew Likierman of the London Business School said: “Entrepreneurship and innovation are the key drivers of growth for both business and the economy in normal times. They are crucial right now in creating jobs to help economies emerge from the financial crisis. The poll also found that two-thirds said there should be greater rewards for innovative behaviour.
NATIONAL FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
Despite the fact that three quarters of us believe that good presentation skills positively impact on career success, nearly half of us (45 per cent) hate public speaking with a passion and fail to prepare properly for a presentation. Although 29 per cent of us get “slide envy” when we see someone with better looking PowerPoint slides than us, this feeling of jealousy isn’t enough for us to recognise pre-planning as a worthwhile investment with half of us (47 per cent) admitting to doing minimal research and then relying on our instincts. More than two thirds (67 per cent) of those surveyed said that presenting or public speaking was among their top ten fears.
ACCOUNTANTS SEE RED ON NEW UNI FEES
The £88,700 opportunity cost of higher education means only 40 per cent of accountancy and finance professionals would have decided to go to university today. If faced with today’s costs, only 40 per cent of accountancy and finance professionals would have gone to university. Currently, new accountancy and finance graduates earn an average salary of just under £25,000, which means it would take more than three and a half years to earn enough to cover the cost of their higher education. Tim Hedger of Marks Sattin says: “People considering university should bear in mind not only the price of tuition and the debt they will take on, but also the financial loss from not working for three years.”