Undergraduate management education: Its place, purpose and efforts to bridge the skills gap

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Economy ◽  
Business School ◽  
Management Education ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Employability Skills ◽  
Skills Gap ◽  
Business Graduates ◽  
Common Response ◽  
Industry Professionals

AbstractAustralian business graduates are deemed by industry as not being ‘job ready’ (BCA 2006; BIHECC 2007), lacking the skills required to successfully apply disciplinary knowledge and add value to our globalised, knowledge economy. There exists a lack of empirical evidence and professional input for business schools on profiling the attributes valued by industry. This is especially true for those majoring in management who are consistently overshadowed by their more commercially attractive postgraduate counterparts. In a bid to satisfy industry demands, the most common response among Australian business schools are the development of employability skills and enhanced involvement of industry professionals in curricula content and design, both subject to potential failings and criticism. This review of business school efforts to bridge the skills gap also examines the role, function and impact of undergraduate management education, a research area significantly overlooked in recent years.

Undergraduate management education: Its place, purpose and efforts to bridge the skills gap

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Economy ◽  
Business School ◽  
Management Education ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Employability Skills ◽  
Skills Gap ◽  
Business Graduates ◽  
Common Response ◽  
Industry Professionals

AbstractAustralian business graduates are deemed by industry as not being ‘job ready’ (BCA 2006; BIHECC 2007), lacking the skills required to successfully apply disciplinary knowledge and add value to our globalised, knowledge economy. There exists a lack of empirical evidence and professional input for business schools on profiling the attributes valued by industry. This is especially true for those majoring in management who are consistently overshadowed by their more commercially attractive postgraduate counterparts. In a bid to satisfy industry demands, the most common response among Australian business schools are the development of employability skills and enhanced involvement of industry professionals in curricula content and design, both subject to potential failings and criticism. This review of business school efforts to bridge the skills gap also examines the role, function and impact of undergraduate management education, a research area significantly overlooked in recent years.

Opportunities and Challenges for CSR Mainstreaming in Business Schools

2018 ◽  
pp. 613-643
Author(s):  
Dima Jamali ◽  
Hanin Abdallah ◽  
Farah Matar
Keyword(s):  
Business School ◽  
Management Education ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Profit Maximization ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Critical Juncture ◽  
Extant Literature ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Paradigmatic Change

Extant literature has highlighted that business schools have been accused of promoting an educational ethos that emphasizes shareholder value and the pursuit of short-term profits and thereby preparing overly competitive future generations interested in profit maximization. This paper highlights the importance of integrating CSR into the mainstream of business schools' curricula, arguing for the responsible role that business schools should play but also emphasizing the strategic case for such integration. The paper analyzes the main challenges and opportunities that both hinder and facilitate mainstreaming of CSR at the heart of the business school curriculum and the role that the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) can potentially play in this regard. The paper illustrates these drivers and constraints in the context of one specific business school in Lebanon that has successfully experimented with CSR mainstreaming, leading to a nuanced reflection on the possibilities of a real paradigmatic change in the context of higher management education at this critical juncture and what it is going to take to catalyze a real transformation beyond “bells and whistles” and mere rhetoric.

scholarly journals Management education and the theatre of the absurd

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 591-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Starkey ◽  
Sue Tempest ◽  
Silvia Cinque
Keyword(s):  
Business School ◽  
Management Education ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Eugene Ionesco ◽  
Theatre Of The Absurd ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Key Aspects

In this article, we recommend the drama of theatre of the absurd as a novel space for critically reflecting upon management and management education as shaped by the forces of emotion, irrationality and conformism rather than reason. We discuss the theatre of the absurd as uniquely relevant to understanding our troubled times. We present a brief overview of the history of business schools and management education. We apply the idea of absurdity to the world of business schools and management education, focusing on the work of one of the theatre of the absurd’s leading proponents, Eugène Ionesco. We emphasise the importance of fiction and fantasy as key aspects of organisation and education. We contribute to debates about management education by reflecting on possible futures for management education and the business school, embracing the humanities as a core disciplinary focus. We suggest that this will help rebalance management education, retaining the best of the existing curriculum, while re-situating the study of management in its broader historical and philosophical nexus.

The production of educational space: Heterotopia and the business university

2011 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 521-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timon Beyes ◽  
Christoph Michels
Keyword(s):  
Business School ◽  
Management Education ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Physical Design ◽  
Productive Force ◽  
Management Learning ◽  
Spatial Understanding ◽  
Experimental Teaching ◽  
Future State ◽  
The Future

This article responds to recent calls for rethinking management education and fostering a spatial understanding of educational practices. We propose to introduce Foucault’s notion of heterotopic space and the spatial thought of Lefebvre into the debate about the current and future state of business schools. In particular, we conceptually and empirically discuss the potential for understanding space in a way that addresses its productive force, its multiplicity and its inherent contradictions. Using the example of an experimental teaching project dedicated to the conception and physical design of a city of the future, we reflect upon the possibility of the emergence of ‘other’, heterotopic spaces within an institution of management learning. Our findings suggest that spatial interventions facilitate critically affirmative engagement with the business school by offering an imaginative approach to management education.

Responsible management education for a sustainable world

2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Dyllick
Keyword(s):  
Business School ◽  
Management Education ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Responsible Management ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
The World ◽  
Diverse Area

Purpose – The reforms in business schools based on the Ford and Carnegie Foundation reports (Pierson, 1959; Gordon and Howell, 1959) have been very successful in embedding management in a research-based body of knowledge, thereby elevating the academic status of business administration. These reforms, however, did nothing toward making management more socially trustworthy or management education more responsible. In the light of the pressing economic, social and environmental crises the world is facing, the feeling is spreading that not only business and economics but business schools also need to change fundamentally, if they want to be a provider of solutions to these crises and thereby keep and regain their legitimacy. The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical analysis of the fundamental challenges facing the role of business schools and their contributions in the areas of education, research, managing faculty, and role of the business school. It presents suggestions what responsible management education for a sustainable world could and should look like. Design/methodology/approach – The paper builds on the existing literature on the needed changes in business schools and has been written as part of a large international project, the 50+20 initiative (www.50plus20.org), which was developed by a broad coalition of organizations with the World Business School Council for Sustainable Business (WBSCSB), the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI) and the UN Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) at its core and 16 business schools and organizations from all around the world as supporters (Muff et al., 2013). Findings – Business schools need to transform themselves fundamentally, if they want to be a provider of solutions to the crises of responsibility and sustainability and thereby keep and regain their legitimacy. Originality/value – The paper pulls together insights from a diverse area of literature and develops practical conclusions.

How do Prospective Candidates Evaluate a Business School?

Paradigm ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.K. Bhattacharyya ◽  
Zillur Rahman ◽  
Anil K. Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Business School ◽  
Management Education ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Mba Program ◽  
Bright Students ◽  
Set Up

Management education currently enjoys high popularity in India. As a result, over seven hundred business schools have been set up all over the country. With so many schools competing with one another, it is likely that a business school may want to differentiate itself from other schools to attract and enroll bright students in sufficient number. For an effective differentiation, it is however necessary to identify the relevant criteria that candidates, willing to join an MBA program, use to evaluate a business school for admission and the relative importance of these criteria to them. The authors recently conducted a survey for this purpose and the article sumllwrizes the findings.

scholarly journals Improving Business Student Writing – A Ten-Step Model

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Cam Caldwell ◽  
Noof Jasim Hamdan Al-Ajmi
Keyword(s):  
Business School ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Colleges And Universities ◽  
Business Student ◽  
Student Writing ◽  
Business Writing ◽  
Business Faculty ◽  
Business Graduates ◽  
Step Model

The ability to write effectively has been widely acknowledged as a consistent problem of business graduates – even at the best colleges and universities where English is the native language of the students. This paper identifies the challenges facing business students in becoming effective writers and identifies a model for improving business student writing which business schools at colleges and universities can apply.Objective: The purposes of this paper are to address the problem of ineffective business student writing and to suggest a ten-step model for colleges and universities to implement as they seek to improve the quality of their business graduates’ writing skills. We begin by briefly summarizing the writing limitations of many business school graduates, citing examples from the scholarly literature and feedback from employers. After identifying key issues in effective writing identified by scholars, we then present ten specific components of a model for improving business writing skills and explain how each of those components fits within a comprehensive program to improve business writing. We conclude this paper with a challenge to business faculty, department chairs, and deans to raise the bar by incorporating this ten-step model for the benefit of their own students and for those students’ future employers.Method: This is a conceptual paper that examines and integrates the academic literature with concepts related to improving business student graduate skills, particularly related to their ineffective writing abilities. Results: The paper identifies ten specific steps that can be applied as part of a holistic program to remediate ineffective student writing for business school students.Conclusion: Business schools have long been ineffective in preparing their graduates to write effectively. This ten-step model presents a resource to enable business faculty and administrators to honor their obligation to their students, future employers, and society.

scholarly journals Employer Perspectives on the Skills Needed by Business School Graduates: A Review of the Literature

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 44
Author(s):  
Matthew R. Hodgman
Keyword(s):  
Business School ◽  
Business Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Skills Gap ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
College Majors ◽  
Business Graduates ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
School Curricula

Business is consistently among the most popular college majors in the United States. In order to better understand the skills business employers believe recent business school graduates need to possess and the degree to which business graduates are prepared for the workplace, this study reviewed the literature pertaining to employers’ perceptions of the skills needed by recent business school graduates and the degree to which business graduates possess these skills. This literature review provides insight into the skills business employers are considering when assessing business graduates for possible employment opportunities. Sources were reviewed and analyzed for reoccurring ideas or themes in the literature. Three themes emerged from the review: (a) the skills desired by business employers, (b) the skills gap between competencies required by business employers and those possessed by graduating business students, and (c) the need to align business school curricula with the needs of the workplace. Suggestions for institutions and future research are offered based on the emergent themes.

Business Schools and Management Education in the World: Present and Future

1980 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 163-172
Author(s):  
Harry L. Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Business School ◽  
Management Education ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
External Pressure ◽  
Pressure Groups ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future

This paper reports some of the trends that are likely to emerge in management education. In the past, curricula in management schools were developed when a disturbedreactive environment was prevailing. In the eighties, the need, is to introduce courses in environment scanning, communicating and negotiating with external pressure groups, etc. The aim of a business school, now and in the future, should be to develop in the manager the ability to face new facts and problems.

scholarly journals COVID-19: accelerator or demolisher of the RME agenda?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathias Falkenstein ◽  
Ulrich Hommel ◽  
Annie Snelson-Powell
Keyword(s):  
Opportunity Cost ◽  
Business School ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Management Education ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Strategic Choices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
The One

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to enrich the discussion at the intersection of responsible management education (RME) and the pandemic with new views that explore together the inhibitors of and drivers for a strengthening of RME in the emerging context. On the one hand, the pandemic crisis fosters the social role business schools play by supporting the enhancement of the RME rationale as an idealist foundational pillar of responsible business schools. On the other hand, it invites negative pragmatic responses in the light of financial and competitive disturbances that seem to enlarge the opportunity cost of moving RME forward. Design/methodology/approach The essay puts forward arguments that help dissect the inherent contradictions and synergies between idealistic and pragmatic business school strategies, as they are impacted by the dynamics of COVID-19. The analysis serves to frame a discourse over the extent to which the pandemic crisis is acting as an accelerator of the RME agenda or instead brings the risk of demolishing what has been achieved so far. Findings The authors form an opinion of the emerging factors that promote and inhibit RME in business schools as they grapple with the challenges of the pandemic whilst recognizing the inherent contradictions faced in their strategic choices and resourcing. Originality/value In light of the growing emphasis on RME in the literature, this study challenges the degree to which the agenda has already become firmly rooted as a core organizational and educational theme in business schools. By doing so, it delivers an assessment of RME progress as a relevant strategic lever for business schools, whilst nonetheless being at risk of back-sliding.

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