It is hard to argue with the fact that the contemporary education system of the UK is quite sophisticated. However, it still has certain gaps that are to be addressed. In fact, the problem lies far beyond the terms of legislative solutions. The entire doctrine of relations between the education and national economy should be reconsidered as the talent and knowledge management is not recognised by business and governmental representatives to sufficient extent. As a result, a lack of appropriate funding thwarts the U.K. society from rapid developments in the economy as the citizens do not have enough access to educational opportunities. Thus, the main problem is based on the fact that the education is funded by business representatives, but these investments are still considered as acts of charity rather than a proactive intention to establish a well-educated society that is able to make an extreme progress in technology, economics, and science. Regarding that issue, the educational situation heavily depends on business initiatives and can be addressed by a complex of governmental and business activities. Thus, the education funding in the UK can be improved via a complex of legal, governmental, and business initiatives.
Political Issues
The allocation of political forces matters to a particular extent, but any ruling party should realise a value of a well-funded education. The main mistake of contemporary politicians is their inability to envision a larger context of the national economy. Education is still the primary source of a preliminary training of the human resource that is expected to satisfy the demands of business both quantitatively and qualitatively. On the contrary, the political agenda is not the most reliable support that the U.K. educational system needs. The promotion of education can potentially become a trend within the political community. As a matter of fact, education funding cannot be a temporary tendency but a regular component of the governmental budgeting. This issue refers to drastic changes in the business taxation as it is the primary source of sufficient funds, and the business itself needs a constant provision with the educated human resource.
Governmental Perspective
It is appropriate to start with tackling the governmental issues. The Education Act should be substantially expanded in that regard. It is expected to outline specific metrics for measuring educational funds and expenditures. This step will allow the government to invest sufficient money in the education as its current vision of education-related expenditures does not comply with the objective reality, though. A developed framework has to establish a bottom line margin that will be associated with the minimal funding of the educational sector. At the same time, additional expenditures can be calculated annually so that the budget is fairly balanced. Needless to say, the Education Act should consider business representatives as they are the primary source of taxes. This policy can expand its jurisdiction on the business as a compulsory tax collection. It does not have to be additional taxation of business; therefore, this aspect needs to be negotiated with representatives of business.
Relation to the Business Taxation
As a consequence, the business taxation needs to undergo certain improvements. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the taxation has to correlate with the bottom line margin of education-related funds and expenditures; therefore, the taxation tends to be moderately tough. What is more, funding in the educational segment presupposes that an increase in the scientific and professional base will positively reflect on the national economy of the United Kingdom. Therefore, business representatives may receive returns on their taxes throughout provision with personnel, permission for the innovation use or invention, and ROI, for example. It will place business in a new competitive environment. Thus, the deployment of a new taxation system is an attempt not to regulate business more but to initiate a close cooperation aimed at bringing the educational system to a new level. Hence, business representatives may be required to make some additional efforts besides allocating a certain percentage of their income to the governmental funds.
Business Initiatives
To be more specific, business will have to expand its corporate social programs to the educational sector. Organisations may involve schools and universities in various programs, internships, workshops, and any other forms of integration with educational institutions. A particular interest of business in the development of the U.K. education will result in the according motivation of students as their professional future will become clearer or, at least, multiple occupational opportunities will be available. It will address a problem of unemployment and simplify talent management in the business sphere. Global macroeconomics expects to face the third wave of the so-called digitalisation of business; therefore, the innovation will become one of the leading competitive advantages. For that purpose, business representatives, as well as the government, will need a profound knowledge base that can be supplied with the human resource prepared in the national institutions of education.
Involvement of Technology
Besides governmental and business perspectives, technological issues should be also addressed. The optimisation, personalisation, and facilitation of the contemporary education can be accepted only in terms of e-learning that present an entirely different paradigm of education. A concept of individual educational trajectory needs considerable advancements, but an initial concept suggests that the digitalisation of education is also a natural phenomenon, as students will feel comfortable in the personally arranged environment. E-learning will reduce the costs, motivate students to study in a preferable way, and control the knowledge gained throughout the course. A technology will have to face standardisation issues, but it is obligatory for any innovative component. Nevertheless, initial investments in this technology are required; therefore, the reliance on the governmental decision-making and business empathy is the primary concern. E-learning is a long run objective; however, its implementation is possible, especially in terms of the forthcoming third wave of the digital revolution. Hence, at least, an approximate governmental framework will be needed.
General Framework
Taking all points into account, a distinct methodology for further actions should be presented. In spite of the allocation of political forces in the government, amendments to the Education Act have to be made since it is the main law related to the educational system. The design and implementation of funding metrics are a responsibility of the educational and economy ministries, as amendments to this law render positive outcomes for business, as well as for the education. Needless to say, a discussion of the amendments has to take place initially in both Houses of Parliament. Business representatives may take any education-oriented initiatives in a preferable form because the law does not have to limit them in this regard. However, launching meaningful educational programs is the most effective way to involve the U.K. education system in the business process. Surprisingly, such an evident opportunity has been raged unabated for many years. A close connection between the economy and business of various forms of ownership does not mean a proactive influence of the government. In the light of such a potential tendency, the government is entirely a third party, which only regulates the process. Therefore, the rise of educational awareness is the primary objective that can be met throughout widespread requesting the government to react to the rising social change.
To speak about the framework for the innovative perspective of education, it is reasonable to make a remark about the forthcoming third wave of digitalisation. That event, however, produces its impacts on the sphere of business. In terms of a close cooperation with education, business representatives may share their advancement in information technologies and any other innovations. Since the development of integrated business models is possible, a similar pattern can be applicable to the intelligent educational system, so that e-learning can be implemented in the nearest future. The entire switch on digital education is not possible and tending to harm the social welfare of a student; therefore, the integration with business would be the best outcome.
Conclusion
All in all, it is appropriate to make a general comment on the fact that the educational system of the United Kingdom is not funded in an appropriate way. Therefore, the suggested strategies and framework are crucial for gaining a better value of education in the modern British society. Needless to say, a complete deployment of the outlined solutions may take a long period, but the main purpose of the suggested strategy is to cause a paradigm shift in the educational funding. The contemporary vision of education depicts it as an element relating to the social sector. Certainly, it is true to an obvious extent, but the relation of education and business is also explicit. Business, as well as government, needs the involvement of education in the formation of a strong national economy, especially in terms of optimisation, as well as independent and export-free industrialisation.
Under these circumstances, a legally approved requirement in cutting costs on education is a definite step backwards. The overall concept of this decision is clear. The government attempted to commercialise education in order to raise the governmental incomes in order to prevent the adverse economic situation. However, education can be capitalised on in an entirely different way. Making education become a part of the business does not necessarily mean its monetisation. Education is capable of bringing far better benefits than money. Educated professionals, who obtain an up-to-date expertise in the field of their occupations, will always be popular with various organisations since talented specialists are one of the most valuable assets. In such a way, an investment in an asset that will become the primary profit-generator on a long run is an evident competitive advantage. Conversely, it is essential to note that the human resource should not become a matter of trading. Therefore, this aspect has to be also tackled in the Education Act.
Creativity in Business
Creativity is quite widespread term nowadays. It is applied to many spheres of human activity, but a real understanding of this concept is hardly explainable. This issue is a matter of discourse, in which a concept of creativity is immersed. In other words, every single case of the appliance of this concept may presuppose different meaning. Creativity can be observed in various spheres, even in business. Thus, a question emerges: What is business creativity? This question is also hard to answer as each businessman considers creativity as an attribute of their business in multiple ways. Hence, a reference to the best practice of creativity should be made. Again, an indication of a creative organisation is also a difficult task; therefore, it is necessary to choose a company that demonstrates the best performance. As a consequence, business creativity is measured with the effectiveness of corporate performance.
Definition of Creativity
For starters, it is appropriate to define what is exactly meant by the term of creativity. In fact, it is an ability to create material and non-material elements of culture beyond the terms of artistic merit. In other words, creativity can be traced not only in art and culture but also in numerous spheres of human activity. It is hard to argue with the fact that business obtains a distinctly large segment of human life; therefore, creativity in business can be applied to the widest extent. In the light of the creativity’s definition, it is certainly true because an ability to create is the main driving force of business. One of the companies, which manage to utilise this ability appropriately, is Procter & Gamble. Hence, this organisation has to be briefly described.
Procter & Gamble: Brief History
Procter & Gamble is one of the largest companies in the world; it focuses on household goods, retail trading, family care products, and more than forty various brands, including a chain of Walmart supermarkets comprise the entire variety of consumer goods. Procter & Gamble was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. Initially, the joint venture oriented at the production of soap in the Western areas of the USA. The wave of industrialisation boosted the business of Procter & Gamble. In such a way, advertising the company’s products was included in radio broadcasts of drama or comedy plays. As a result, these broadcasts have been called soap operas. This definition is quite widespread even nowadays; this way, a strong cultural influence of the company was initially established. Today, Procter & Gamble follows its traditions and creativity in its business solutions can be easily observed; therefore, it is necessary to discuss several examples.
Examples of Creativity
Procter & Gamble initiated one of the most widespread methods of marketing research. Representatives of the company gave local citizens samples of the newly designed washing powder and asked them to tell about its effectiveness after a month of washing clothes with that powder. It was a creative decision as the entire system of customer survey had been developed. By the same token, branding of Procter & Gamble products is always creative. Tide, Arial, Pringles, and Pampers, among many other brands, have become independent cultural references since their presence in daily routines has become normal. The marketing strategy of the company can be also considered creative as it launches multiple products of horizontal line thereby indicating the top selling product. One may argue that this evidence is rather weak to name Procter & Gamble a creative company. In fact, creativity in business should be associated with the effectiveness of innovative solutions. The majority of brands, strategies, and advertisements that were artistically creative have led their companies to a decrease in sales and even bankruptcy.
Negative Side of Creativity
On the contrary, certain negative sides of Procter & Gamble’s creativity should be described. The company was blamed for using experiments on animals in designing its products. In the light of this evidence, creativity is obviously a harmful attribute of business since the deployment of effective solutions does not have to be initiated at any cost. Procter & Gamble keeps designing various consumer products and even licensed perfumes for Mexx and Hugo Boss, for example. Thus, the overall creativity of Procter & Gamble is explicit as both its vertical and horizontal product lines keep growing. The firm manages to implement various solutions for the achievement of their business objectives so that it is possible to regard its creativity one of the key competitive advantages.
Conclusion
Overall, creativity in business can be defined as an ability to create effective solutions that prove their sustainability throughout the years of performance. An example of Procter & Gamble can clearly prove that, as its performance remains an embodiment of marketing planning. Still, creativity should not be excessive. This assumption can be explained by the fact that the excessive use of creativity may result in a decrease in the performance or even in more complicated consequences. Therefore, creativity in business has to be measured even though it can become a competitive advantage. Creativity is closely related to the innovativeness; thus, it is recommended to follow the same requirements. To speak about the business creativity, in general, it does not have to be creativity for just a creative form of a solution. Instead, it is expected to deliver value to the business performance. Hence, the simplicity of solutions does not mean that they are not creativity since creativity is measured by the eventual outcomes of implemented solutions.
