THE ROLE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION IN FOSTERING ENTREPRENEURIAL ATTITUDES AND COMPETENCES IN SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

There is a growing interest in the entrepreneurship education at educational institutions, particularly at secondary education level, expressed by academicians, industrialists and politicians. Entrepreneurship education has been shown to contribute to the development of students’ entrepreneurial intentions and it can be placed in a wider context than business preparing not only “an entrepreneurial person” who may become self-employed and an owner of an enterprise, but also a person who is able to pursue entrepreneurship and innovation as an employee and/or be a person who exhibits “enterprising behaviour”.

Dr.Alamelu Mangai Raman

2019

Sultanate of Oman

HR Strategies and Tapping Top Talent in the Downturn with special reference to Oman

The global economic crisis, and the downturn which is experienced by the industries in Oman and business, are not novel events. They occur periodically, though the intensity varies. Undoubtedly, it is hard to predict when a booming economy will give way to a downturn, and hardly anyone had predicted the current events. Those companies which recognize the possibility of a downturn and plan for such an event by building internal strength are likely to emerge stronger after a business downturn. Without such a plan, the ability to deal with an adverse environment will be limited. In today`s environment, HR should effectively contribute as a trusted advisor towards developing and retaining "top talent" because these individuals are central to achieving the company`s overall business strategy and corporate goals. Thus, HR plays a crucial role creating avenues to harness their full potential to benefit the organization. To make this successful in the current challenging market conditions, HR practices and processes should be aligned to attract, select, create, develop, retain and reward top people.This paper explores the contours of the on-going process of downsizing and the HR practices involved in doing so. Throughout this paper, there is an underlying focus on the impact of HRM strategies used in the downturn and the ways to take a well-planned, creative approach to workforce planning and talent acquisition.

Dr.Alamelu Mangai Raman

2017

Sultanate of Oman

A study on Awraeness among the students on entrepreneurial financial assistance provided by Sultanate of Oman.

The Sultanate of Oman is one of the Gulf Cooperation Countries in the Middle East which has a steady and progressive economic growth predominately due to its abundance of oil resource. The discovery of oil formed the basis for the development of infrastructure, social and economic prosperity in this region. Oman mainly concentrates on exporting oil to other countries which contribute around 80 percent of total government revenue . At this juncture, it is estimated that run out of oil reserves is less than 20 years, which has alarmed the government to think over on diversifying of its economy. The diversification has lead the government to opt for globalization, privatization and liberalize its policy and to revive the economy. The major challenges faced by the government are unemployment and provision of opportunities for higher education. The number of job seekers has been increasing due to preference of job in government sector when compared to private sector. It is impossible to provide employment for all the graduates in Government Sector. The Government identified that promoting entrepreneurship has become one of the policy options for nations to sustain growth and create more jobs in the economy . Entrepreneurs are the leaders who are willing to take risk and exercise initiatives, taking advantages of market opportunities by planning, organizing and employing resources (Deakins & Freelk, 2012). The business environment is not conducive for doing business and creating more jobs, as the entrepreneurial environment in Oman is a Malaise among the graduates. It is evident that Oman ranks 62nd globally in 2016 for doing business, this is because of lack of knowledge about Entrepreneurship and raising finance for their business .The Government of Oman encouraged both men and women equally to participate in the process of economic development of the Sultanate. This is emphasized on “Vision Oman 2020” policy on the industrial development of small and medium enterprises . Therefore, Entrepreneurship Education and initiative are the pivotal concern in the Arab states. The Curriculum of College of Technology only discuss on Introduction to Entrepreneurship, Small and Medium Enterprises, feasibility study and developing business plan. The curriculum lacks in motivating the graduates by experiential learning how to rise funds, how to deploy funds and awareness about various financial assistance programmes provided by the Government among the students. The present study analyses the knowledge among the students about the various financial assistances provided by the Government and to suggest measures to initiate startups in Colleges of Technology to accomplish the vision and mission of Sultanate of Oman. Need for the Study The purpose of this research is to outline student’s awareness about financial assistance provided for entrepreneur in Oman with special reference to the students studying in College of Technology. The financial assistance plays a significant role to startup any business, the students who want to be an entrepreneur should be aware of the various financial assistance provided to the entrepreneurs by the Ministry of Manpower. The identification of the role will lead to analyze the knowledge among the students’ about the various financial assistances and how it could help them start a business.

Dr.Alamelu Mangai

2017

Sulatane of Oman