Volume 1, Number 2, published Fall 2009
Abstracts
Full text of this issue now available. Click on the link for the pdf file.
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A Continuous Improvement Process to Include Closing the Loop Activities
Stephen Allen, Truman State University, Kirksville, Missouri, USA
Paul Fellows, Truman State University, Kirksville, Missouri, USA
Keith Harrison, Truman State University, Kirksville, Missouri, USA
ABSTRACT
This paper examines a continuous improvement model for business program courses and suggests a curriculum-based activity to provide significant curriculum improvement. Curriculum delivery may take many forms from lectures to case-studies to homework and more. Traditional curriculum delivery techniques alone may fail to complete the assessment process. We define a Closing the Loop activity as an activity that addresses an assessment shortcoming while going beyond traditional curriculum techniques by providing an external curricular experience for the course content. We also present a model to facilitate the generation of Closing the Loop activities and illustrate the use of Closing the Loop activities for a project management course, an entry level accounting course, and an investments course.
"Bug Reports" and "Too Cools": Experiential Entrepreneurship Exercises to Develop Students? Creative, Innovative, and Technological Abilities
Ji-Hee Kim and Lynn A. Fish, Canisius College, 2001 Main Street, Buffalo, NY, USA
ABSTRACT
The objectives of the ?Bug Reports? and ?Too Cools? experiential methods are to teach students not only a process for opportunity recognition, idea generation and development, but also process improvement. Through looking at opposite cases ? best and worst ? students develop skills to improve new product and service development. The activities enhance students? creativity, innovation, and technological abilities ? particularly for entrepreneurship students. The ?Bug Reports? and ?Too Cools? experiential methods offer a proven methodology to accomplish this goal over 2 weeks in a freshman-level course.
Increasing Student Engagement through Community Organization Partnerships
Dan A. Yates, The University of Findlay-Findlay, Ohio, USA
Chris Ward, The University of Findlay-Findlay, Ohio, USA
ABSTRACT
This paper introduces a partnership model that uses several approaches to teaching and learning that encourages students to be actively engaged in the community by working with either small business owners or non-profit organizations. The model utilizes the collaboration of a university, the chamber of commerce, and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) by pairing small business owners or non-profits with teams of college students. One approach assigns business owners to student groups within a college course with the outcome of a completed business plan for the owner. Another approach engages students from the university marketing club to develop marketing ideas through various venues for struggling business owners. A third approach uses college students from the marketing or entrepreneurship classes to create solutions and ideas for non-profit organizations or business owners. All approaches provide an excellent opportunity for the students to engage in active learning and use the information they have learned in their current and previous courses to assist the community. The approaches stress to the students about the importance of giving back to the community by using their accounting, financial, marketing, and research skills. (key words?active learning, experiential learning, community service)
Business Student Performance in Traditional vs. Honors Course Settings
Dr. Kristie Ogilvie, California State University at San Bernardino, San Bernardino, California, USA
Dr. Ernesto M. Reza, California State University at San Bernardino, San Bernardino, California, USA
ABSTRACT
Institutions of higher learning present a broad range of choices concerning student qualifications, course delivery, and program considerations. Student honors programs constitute one such discretionary choice for academic leaders that has received very little research attention and has been virtually ignored in most business education programs. In this study, we compare the experiences and performance of business students in a course section offered solely for honors students and an identical course section offered for non-honors students. Systematic comparisons of performance measures indicate that students in the honors section scored significantly higher in eight of ten evaluation measures collected during the 2008 spring semester at a public California university. Alternative explanations for the empirical results and implications for learning effectiveness are raised as basic issues that further research on honors programs can explore.
ABSTRACT
Founded in 2002, California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI) is the newest campus in the CSU system. An important element of CSUCI?s mission is to ?facilitate learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches?? CSUCI has addressed this mission element in part by forming partnerships with familiar social institutions?art museums, zoos, libraries, and universities?to develop and deliver courses that examine these institutions from business perspectives, as well as from other perspectives appropriate to the institution. A distinctive characteristic of these courses is that much of the course content is delivered by professionals employed by these institutions at these institutions (for example, much of the course about zoos is delivered at the Santa Barbara Zoo). Through these courses, business majors (a) develop a deeper and richer understanding of these institutions, (b) learn about business practices in ?real-life? situations, and (c) learn of business careers in these institutions.
The Four-Year Experience: Expanding Horizons and Preparation
James C. Rothwell, Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, Arkansas USA
Philip F. Rice, Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, Arkansas USA
Marshall J. Horton, Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, Arkansas USA
ABSTRACT
The Four-Year Experience program of the Hickingbotham School of Business at Ouachita Baptist University is designed to help students bond with the school beyond the classroom through on-campus activities and off-campus trips to major U.S. cities that expose students to cultural and learning events. Interactions with alumni and potential employers are an important part of the unique program. Preliminary results indicate that the program has been helpful in student retention.
Effectiveness of Interactive Technology in Business Education
Sarah A. Humphries, Georgia College & State University, Georgia, USA
Catherine Whelan, Georgia College & State University, Georgia, USA
ABSTRACT
This study investigates both the effectiveness of a Personal Response System in enhancing student learning and student perceptions of the use of a Personal Response System. The technology was tested in two different courses being taught by different professors in Accounting and Business Communications. Each professor taught one class incorporating the Personal Response System and another class without the system. The same content was covered and the same major assessment items were used in each class. Results supported the hypothesis that the use of a Personal Response System enhances perceived student learning. Furthermore, survey data indicated that the interactive nature of the technology was appealing to students. However, objective measures of student learning (exam results) did not show the anticipated improvement based on publishers’ claims about the effectiveness of Personal Response Systems. This research suggests that instructors should carefully weigh the cost of implementing this type of technology against perceived benefits to student learning.
ACHIEVE: A Career and Professional Development Program for Undergraduate Business Students
Karl D. Majeske, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA
James S. Serocki, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA
Abstract
The faculty in the School of Business Administration at Oakland University identified the need to supplement the traditional business curriculum with a career and professional development program. To this end, it was decided to implement the “ACHIEVE” program to assist students with selecting a career that matches their interests and skill set, and ideally increase job placement in their chosen field. ACHIEVE consists of four zero credit courses – taken one per year during a student’s undergraduate education. Each course consists of a collection of tasks such as attending a student organization meeting, networking with professionals and participating in a job fair. A student survey administered at the end of the first year served as one assessment tool that provided feedback to modify the program for the second year. A summary of the “lessons learned” is provided in this article which may benefit others who develop similar programs.
Incorporating Academic Integrity into an Online Information Assurance Program
Jeffrey A. Livermore, Walsh College – Troy, MI, USA
ABSTRACT
Plagiarism and cheating is on the increase around the world. Academic misconduct hurts the student committing the offense, other students who know about the offense, the faculty, and the academic reputation of the school where the misconduct occurs. Information Assurance (IA) programs are not exempt from academic misconduct and can be seriously damaged by incidents at their host schools. Information Assurance is a relatively new academic discipline that addresses the protection of information systems by balancing their confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Because the graduates of IA programs go on to trusted positions in the military, law enforcement, legal firms, consulting, and national intelligence, it is important that these graduates have strong ethical backgrounds. Walsh College has found students in their completely online Information Assurance program that had plagiarized and cheated in their coursework. This paper presents the problem, suggests some methods of minimizing academic misconduct, presents best practices from a variety of schools, and hopefully begins a dialog on what can be done to eliminate academic misconduct from the Information Assurance educational system.
Rethinking Motivation:
Self-Interest vs. Others-Directed Models of Human Behavior
J. Andrew Morris, CSU-Channel Islands, Camarillo, California, USA
John C. Urbanski, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, California, USA
James W. Slate, Catawba College, Salisbury, North Carolina, USA
ABSTRACT
Emerging literatures in both evolutionary economics and evolutionary psychology suggest that human behavior may be a complex mix of hedonism and altruism, and under certain conditions, may exhibit a high propensity for others-directed behavior. Here, we draw from this evolutionary research and explore ways in which a fuller, more complete understanding of the human capacity for cooperation and others-directed behaviors can impact how business educators understand motivation and teach motivational theory.
Internationalizing Business Curricula: An Outcomes-Focused Approach
Kurt D. Kirstein, City University of Seattle, Bellevue, WA
Elizabeth A. Fountain, City University of Seattle, Bellevue, WA
Kelly A. Flores, City University of Seattle, Bellevue, WA
ABSTRACT
Recent literature has highlighted the need for including internationalization into higher education programs, especially business programs, but there does not seem to be agreement on the best method to do so. City University of Seattle has adopted an outcomes-focused approach to infusing international content into both program and course level outcomes where appropriate and useful. This process is presented and described along with key lessons that were learned during implementation.
Online Discussion and Communities of Practice
Herbert E. Rau, Utica College – Utica, New York, USA
ABSTRACT
The increased use of online course offerings provides the opportunity for learners to engage in written discussions with others. However, an issue arises regarding the establishment of standards for acceptable online postings. A rubric has been created that attempts to address this issue by providing clarity to students regarding their individual postings, and attempts to create an electronic Community of Practice for a graduate-level management course.
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