Anita Kaur's Interview with Mr Alexander

Something very intriguing about business management is that it is such an applicable and employable skill, that it is something of a mystery why someone possessing an MBM would go into teaching. Is there a particular reason Mr Alexander chose this career rather than actually start his own business? "Well, basically, I never had an idea. I'd say if you have an idea, a good idea, and it's something you're passionate about, you should definitely just go for it,". But is an idea really enough for a young entrepreneur? "Well, you must also be focused, do pleantly of research and remember your goals. If you work hard, there will be many rewards,". However, this doesn't answer why he came into teaching. He says that he has always been interested in teaching and in business, so chose a career where he use the two together.

A recurring feature of Mr Alexander's lessons are his anecdotes about his previous jobs and his life in Italy. When I bring up Italy, and the country's very different economy, he says that it is much harder to get loans (especially government grants and bank loans}. Mainly due to this, the businesses are very simple and are mainly based on agriculture. He said the majority of the businesses are run by a family and are passed down. However, he warns me that the business climate there is getting worse.

Mr Alexander always talks about his previous aspirations and achievements - the police force, sports journalism, finance, Italy…would it be accurate to suggest he merely came into teaching as a last resort? "No, no, not at all," he appears uncomfortable with the more personal questions, but genuinely refutes the claim, "teaching's always been there - in fact, that's what Italy was. A chance to try teaching, to see if it was what I really wanted to do,". He talks about how teaching finally gives him job satisfaction and a sense of achievement. When he worked in London, it was all about the money, but he's not financially orientated "I can live off my wage, that's all that matters to me when it comes to cash". Yes, lots of people claim to believe this, but if it's not money he wants, why turn up every day? "I like to see how far my teaching ability can go. Head of Department? Deputy?".

Mr Alexander is clearly passionate about his job, and is highly motivated in his career. His varied and extensive experience allows him to bring even the most abstract material in his subject to life, and provides his class with much more than the basic grounding needed.