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Using The Time Machine To Gain Historical Perspective In Management Courses
Kellyann Berube Kowalski
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, USA
ABSTRACT
The time machine is a learning activity that provides students with an active and interesting way to critically think about management history and theory. Students are transported through history to different times, places, and people, providing them with a chance to learn about theories of management within the context they were developed. Understanding the context in which theories were developed provides students with historical perspective that they can use to better understand the present. Time machine activities can be used in courses specifically devoted to management history and theory as well as more mainstream management courses.
Keywords: management history, management education, management theory, active learning, teaching
Word Puzzles in an Operations Analytics Class
Jaideep T. Naidu, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
ABSTRACT
Teaching Operations Analytics in business schools requires a review of basic algebra. We spend the first week of the semester to review algebra (or Linear Algebra fundamentals for the School of Engineering). Our classroom experience has been very positive when we reviewed such basics using simple word puzzles. One such word puzzle is a problem related to Nickels, Dimes, and Quarters – available on the internet in a variety of forms. It is a simple puzzle, but we make it interesting by going beyond the algebra. We explore the Data Analytics concepts by showing how each additional piece of information (or data) adds value and improves our analysis of the problem. Furthermore, we encourage the student to make logical deductions of possible solutions when we have only partial information available. The students perceive this as fun activity and enjoy the solution process. The student involvement and motivation continue to be high when we discuss topics such as Linear Programming.
Keywords: Word puzzles, Analytics, Algebra, Linear Algebra, Logical Deduction.
Graduate Business Student Performance in a Hybrid Class
Lynn A. Fish, Canisius College, Buffalo, NY USA
ABSTRACT
Prior research on student performance with different content delivery formats shows mixed results and often occur across semesters, students, and instructors. This study compares graduate business student performance in an operations management course for content delivered in a hybrid course where content delivery is both face-to-face and online to the same students by the same instructor in the same semester. Results demonstrate a significant difference in student performance and favor face-to-face content delivery.
Keywords: Hybrid, Graduate business students, Performance
Undergraduate Student Performance in Multi-Modal Educational Format
Lynn A. Fish, Canisius College, Buffalo, NY, USA
ABSTRACT
In a multi-modal environment where students could self-select their education method, differences in student performance exist. While average student performance for students who attended at least one class was better on graded assignments than online students; online students were not significantly different than other students on overall performance, homework and exams. Students who attended more than 75% of in-class opportunities performed significantly better on graded assignments than other students. The number of times that a student attended the face-to-face sessions appears to have an impact upon performance. Results have implications for education following the pandemic.
Keywords: Undergraduate students, performance, multi-modal
The Efficacy of a Business Simulation in an Orientation Course on
Student Engagement and Learning
Ronald Drozdenko, Ph.D.
Donna Coelho, M.S.M.
Thomas Zarecki, M.B.A.
Marketing Department, Western Connecticut State University, USA
ABSTRACT
For more than five decades simulations have been used in business courses. More recently, simulations have been developed to provide an overview of the business disciplines for students starting the program. These simulations are team based, requiring students to collaborate on decisions. With the objective of enhancing student engagement and providing a foundation for understanding how businesses function, a comprehensive but basic simulation was introduced into a freshman orientation course. Focusing on student perceptions of engagement and learning, the findings of a survey support the value of introducing the simulation at the freshman level.
Keywords: Student engagement, business simulation, orientation course
Teaching Business Analysts How To Construct
Predictive Multi-Variate Regression Equations
Or
The Art And Science of Creating Multiple Regression Equations for Prediction
Norman E. Pence, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado, USA
Viktor M. Kiss, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado, USA
ABSTRACT
This article presents a methodology that could be used by professors teaching model building and by practitioners in the business world for creating a regression equation to predict a future event given the pattern of the past occurrences continues. The procedure is a heuristic that creates an estimated regression equation with the smallest number of independent variables. The estimated regression equation is created from data observations void of outliers and high influence data observations. The estimated regression equation also does not contain any independent variables whose observed p-values exceed the chosen level of significance and independent variables that have a high variance inflation factor. The statistical analysis in this six step procedure was performed using Python but any software package capable of performing statistical analysis can be used for this heuristic. The procedures in steps 2 through 5 of this tutorial can be performed in any sequence.
Keywords: regression, outliers, high influence data values, multi-variate regression analysis, predictive analytics, observed p-value, data observations, dataset, stepwise regression, backward elimination regression
Do It Yourself: Adding Value and Relevance in a Graduate Business Program
David Epstein, University of Houston Downtown, Houston, TX
ABSTRACT
The relevance of graduate business education has generated considerable controversy over the past decades. In this paper, I demonstrate an approach used to add relevance to graduate education through solving real world work problems tailored to individual students and methods used to generate discussion among students leading to peer-to-peer collaboration on their work situations. I begin by describing the class and then discuss the learning theories that were applied and how they were used in this course. Finally, I conclude with several suggestions for creating a similar class.
Keywords: Graduate education, Problem-based learning, Self-determination theory, Scaffolding, AACSB
Developing Teamwork Skills in Accounting Education:
Integrating Process Controls into Group Projects
Guy Rotondo, Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, Connecticut, USA
ABSTRACT
This paper presents the successful integration of teamwork process controls into a group project. The project was assigned in an undergraduate auditing course at an AACSB-accredited university. The subject of the assignment was a case study from the Ernst and Young Foundation Academic Resource Center. An online teamwork assessment tool from Capsim Management Simulations, Inc., was used for team performance feedback and confidential peer evaluations. Both the case-study work and the assessments were completed in two stages. This approach afforded teams and team members an opportunity to improve their case-study work and team performance before final grading. The quality of the case-study work increased significantly. The team and peer assessment scores were positive throughout and improved during the assignment, despite an increase in team conflict. A post-assignment survey indicated that students were satisfied with the group project.
Keywords: accounting education, group project, peer assessments, team assessments, teamwork skills
A Mathematical Model of Loyd’s Archery Puzzle
Robert C. Forrester, Midwestern State University – Wichita Falls, Texas, USA
Mike C. Patterson, Midwestern State University – Wichita Falls, Texas, USA
ABSTRACT
Recreational mathematics is the term frequently used to refer to applications of mathematics for fun. It is used to refer to games and puzzles and thus has a much broader appeal to students and the general public than would mathematics. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how a classic mathematical puzzle, written by Sam Loyd, which appeared in Sam Loyd’s Cyclopedia of 5000 Puzzles Tricks and Conundrums with Answers can be utilized in the pedagogy of engagement with and understanding of critical thinking and development of mathematical skills.
Keywords: problem-solving, puzzle-based learning, recreational mathematics, Excel Solver, LINGO
The Reflective Leader As a Cultural Diversity Advocate
Patricia A. Castelli, Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan, USA
ABSTRACT
Today’s leaders are navigating new territory and are at a critical crossroad. COVID-19 has caused significant changes to the workforce. With new pressing matters cultural diversity may take a back seat. Further, outdated and ineffective leadership styles might not be tolerated in the post-pandemic era where employees have more employment choices and power. Reflective leadership offers a fresh and innovative approach for promoting today’s multicultural organizations. Respecting diverse cultures and challenging beliefs and assumptions are central to reflective leadership. This paper focuses on the leader’s role in advocating cultural diversity as a top business initiative. Leadership barriers that hinder diversity, a survey for assessing reflective behaviors vital for multicultural success, and best practices for leading culturally diverse teams are presented.
Keywords: reflective leadership, cultural diversity, diversity, equity, inclusion
Teaching Data Mining Online to Business Undergraduate Students
Using Python
Min Li, California State University, Sacramento, California, USA
ABSTRACT
This article describes the design and delivery of an online Python-based undergraduate data mining course by applying the Quality MattersTM standards. Student evaluations show significant improvement after the implementation of these standards. The challenges of and solutions to delivering such a course online during the COVID-19 pandemic are illustrated through a six-part assignment in the course Quality MattersTM Improving Your Online Course. The practice of teaching undergraduate business students data mining using Python discussed in this article complements Wu et al. (2015) who shared the practice of teaching such a course using R.
Keywords: Business analytics, online course, open-source software, project, Quality MattersTM
Jujutsu Persuasion: Learning How to Coopt with Another’s Values
Robert D. Costigan, St. John Fisher College, Rochester, New York, USA
Kyle E. Brink, Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
Abstract
The purpose of this pedagogical paper is to present three innovative exercises that foster learning of oral-persuasion skills at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Namely, business students are instructed to frame their arguments on delicate issues with the other person’s values. The technique is called jujutsu persuasion because it uses an adversary’s force (i.e., their key values) against them, instead of attempting to persuade with one’s own values. Prior research has shown that jujutsu persuasion can moderate the other person’s more extreme attitudes and reduce their defensiveness. Using Bloom’s Taxonomy as a framework, the first exercise develops knowledge and understanding by having students experience and reflect on the jujutsu-persuasion technique. In the second exercise, students apply and analyze the persuasion technique by developing and experimenting with framing arguments using another person’s values. In the third exercise, students engage in a role play to further apply and analyze the jujutsu-persuasion technique.
Keywords: oral persuasion, communication framing, values, cooptation, civility, undergraduate, MBA
Data Mining Skills for Marketing Education
Kurt D. Kirstein, Ed.D., Central Washington University
ABSTRACT
Accessible data mining skills have often been excluded from traditional marketing education programs, although this is beginning to change as more business programs begin to include analytics as an elective or even a core part of the curriculum. Given the increasing volume of data that is becoming available, and the need to establish more personalized relationships with customers, it is important that all marketing students be taught how to use a fundamental set of data mining skills. This article briefly describes three categories of data mining skills that should be covered in every marketing program’s curriculum. These include skills that allow graduates to discover data, learn from the past, and segment datasets.
Keywords: data mining, marketing
Reducing and Detecting On-line Exam Cheating: Building a Better Mousetrap Protocols for Canvas and Other Learning Management Systems
Elizabeth Stanny, Sonoma State University – Rohnert Park, California, USA
John C. Urbanski, Sonoma State University – Rohnert Park, California, USA
ABSTRACT
The authors provide protocols to reduce item harvesting and item pre-knowledge (Le et al., 2021) in order to protect the integrity of online multiple choice examinations for use in future administrations of an exam. The study also adapts methods used in Golden and Kohlbeck (2020) to help the instructor determine if cheating is occurring with online exams, and provides resources for use with the Canvas and other online learning platforms. A multiple choice exam protected by the protocols was administered to 82 undergraduate business students in a management class taught each semester by one author. Questions for the exam were randomly assigned to students using methods adapted from Golden and Kohlbeck. A statistical analysis of exam results demonstrated that widespread cheating did not occur.
Keywords: academic dishonesty, cheating, online exams, Canvas, learning management systems
Measuring Retailers’ Timing of Payments to Suppliers
in Good and Bad Economic Times
Martin Gosman, Wesleyan University, Middletown CT, USA
Aoife Reynolds, Wesleyan University, Middletown CT, USA
ABSTRACT
Days’ purchases in accounts payable (DPAP) is introduced as a measure to reveal how long retailers take to pay suppliers for merchandise purchases. Data for the 2004-2019 period confirms conventional wisdom that large retailers increasingly delay payments, not so much out of economic necessity, but because they possess the power to do so. Accounts-payable stretching by apparel retailers in 2020 is compared to their stretching during the previous 15 years. This sector reported greatly diminished sales and cash from operations in 2020 as COVID sharply reduced consumer purchases. In response, apparel retailers delayed payments to a degree never seen before, with the larger firms increasing DPAPs by more in 2020 than during the prior 15 years. DPAP is seen to represent a useful financial measure to gauge the extent to which powerful retailers dictate payment terms to suppliers, in good and bad economic times.
Keywords: Accounts-payable stretching, retailer-supplier relationships, COVID’s effect on retailers’ payments
Comparing Learning Outcomes in Remote vs. In-Class Negotiation Courses
Paulette McCarty, D’Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Edward G. Wertheim, D’Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
ABSTRACT
In March 2020 the Covid pandemic generated disruption to academic institutions around the world. While challenging to both students and professors, the forced pivot to on-line and remotely taught courses has prioritized long needed discussions on educational reform in general, and, in particular, the relative effectiveness of remote vs. in person delivery.
This dramatic increase in remote, hybrid, and distance learning has raised obvious questions about the efficacy of these new modes of remote delivery compared to traditional in-class education. Many educators, and much of the public remain highly skeptical about online education. Despite conclusions from past studies which generally conclude that in-class instruction is not significantly superior to distance education in terms of impact on learning outcomes, there are many reasons to question both the validity as well as the usefulness of this generalization. Might conclusions differ when other factors such as course content, kinds of student learners, or nature of technology are taken into account? Research needs to dive deeper and compare outcomes for specific course content, technology, types of learning environments, and types of students.
This study steps modestly into this issue here by comparing outcomes on a number of measures in a “high touch” negotiation class, comparing students who took the highly experiential course online versus those who took the course in-class. While a majority of the measures showed an advantage for the in-class mode, few of the thirty-seven measures approached a level of significance. Contrary to the expectation expressed frequently by faculty, students, and industry, learning outcomes for both in-class and remote classes were similar. Furthermore, the study highlights the need for research to explore under what particular conditions (e.g. subject matter, pedagogy, technology, learning types) in-class or its alternatives may be more effective.
Keywords: Negotiation, online, remote, learning outcomes, distance learning, in-person, face to face instruction
Examining Self-Efficacy Change as a Mediator between Goal-Performance Discrepancy and Self-Set Goal Change
Kyle E. Brink, Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
Abstract
This study investigates student goal setting in the undergraduate classroom environment. More specifically, this field study attempts to clarify the relation between goal-performance discrepancies and self-set goal change by examining student self-efficacy change as a mediator variable. Learning goal orientation and performance goal orientation were tested as moderators of the relationship between goal-performance discrepancy and self-efficacy change. The results clarify the goal-setting process over time, and the important role of student self-efficacy in goal revision and self-regulatory processes. Implications for instructors in higher education are discussed.
Keywords: goal setting, self-efficacy, self-regulation, goal-performance discrepancy, learning goal orientation, performance goal orientation.
Using a Staged Trial to Develop Critical Thinking and Teamwork in an Undergraduate Fraud Examination Class
James J. Donegan, Western Connecticut State University – Danbury, Connecticut, USA
Michele W. Ganon, Western Connecticut State University – Danbury, Connecticut, USA
ABSTRACT
This article presents an active learning assignment with the purpose of enhancing student engagement in a fraud examination course. It achieves this goal by integrating the development of critical thinking and team-building skills within the context of a staged trial. Students identify a case of possible or actual fraud, develop a script based on public information and present a staged reading to a jury of their classmates. Recent cases tried by student teams have included Purdue Pharma, Wells Fargo, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, and Theranos.
Keywords: critical thinking, teamwork, accounting education, reflection, role-playing
I Can Relate to That: An Activity to Illustrate Segmentation and Targeting
Julie Steen, University of South Carolina Aiken, South Carolina, USA
ABSTRACT
To increase student engagement and retention, many business professors have embraced active learning activities that reinforce the subject matter. The purpose of this paper is to describe an activity that can be used in marketing classes to illustrate the topics of segmentation and targeting. Since the topic of the activity is the segmentation of college students, students can easily relate to the subject matter.
Keywords: Segmentation, Targeting, Engagement, Active Learning, Principles of Marketing
Prevailing Through Partnership: Take-Aways from Developing Data Analytics Programs in Collaboration with SAS Academic Programs
Michael J. Salé, Stonehill College, Massachusetts, USA
Alicia T. Lamere, Bryant University, Rhode Island, USA
ABSTRACT
As the need for data analytics skills in the workforce continues to grow, colleges and universities are creating new undergraduate and graduate academic programs to cover the scarcity of these competencies. While many professionals in the data analytics and data science fields agree on the important skills necessary to be data fluent, it can be difficult for an institution to curate and navigate the optimal curriculum for their student body. Decisions such as course content, software platforms, data sets, and rigor can seem overwhelming to faculty who have been tasked with the responsibility of creating these data analytics programs. This paper explores the experiences of two institutions who partnered with SAS Academic Programs to form and shape their curriculums with a Tier 3 Academic Specialization—one to create a master’s degree in Data Analytics, and the other to create undergraduate certificates in Data Mining to meet the latest industry trends. The benefits of this unique partnership with SAS will be discussed, including access to free pedagogical materials and a suite of industry-standard software packages, enhancement of a program’s visibility, and the encouragement of program growth and evolution over time. Solutions to potential tradeoffs will also be explored, such as supporting students’ exposure to other programming languages and the reinforcement of conceptual understanding in SAS’s task-based curriculum. The paper covers their journeys from the decision to partner with SAS, applying for Academic Specialization, crafting pedagogy around the partnership requirements, teaching and classroom experiences, and assessment of the academic programs.
Keywords: Curriculum development, corporate partnership, statistical language, statistical software, data analytics, data certification, SAS.
Everybody Works: A Post-Secondary Business Course For Disability Inclusion Practices
Whitney McWherter Cranna, MGH Institute of Health Professions – Boston, MA, USA
Dr. Sarah McKinnon, MGH Institute of Health Professions – Boston, MA, USA
ABSTRACT: Despite the establishment of the ADA 30 years ago, adults with disabilities are vastly underrepresented in work roles and are twice as likely to be unemployed compared to nondisabled adults. This employment inequality contributes to significant financial, health, well-being, and social outcome disparities for disabled adults. Current interventions are ineffective and often negatively perpetuate biases. They typically operate parallel to each other with little information sharing amongst policy makers, educators, and business professionals. Major contributing factors to disabled employment disparities include ambiguous disability policy, employer biases and misconceptions, and insufficient academic and professional business curricula. This paper proposes a disability theory informed curriculum, Everybody Works, to address current gaps in education by teaching undergraduate business students strategies for and benefits of implementing disability inclusive workplace practices.
Keywords: disability inclusion, disability inclusive practices, disability inclusive workplace
Reflections on the Use of a Virtual Business Case Competition to Enhance Student Experiential Learning and Develop Business Partnerships
Jing Liu
Yohann Mauger
Richard Gilson
Denise J. Luethge
Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY
ABSTRACT
The current AACSB standards emphasize student engagement and the application of knowledge and skills to real-world situations. Engagement and real-world application are important because they influence the depth of student learning and commitment to their academic program and provide value to the businesses the students work with on these projects. The Covid-19 pandemic has challenged us to provide the same type of learning project to our students in an online-only (virtual) context. Online classes without direct face-to-face sessions pose a significant challenge to the use of student teams to accomplish these projects. Furthermore, there appears to be little research in business education to guide educators in designing and executing such projects for a virtual context. In this paper we describe a client-based learning project that we designed and conducted in a virtual context, discuss the outcomes of the project, and describe the challenges and implications for future practice.
Keywords: virtual learning, experiential learning, engagement, stakeholders, case competition, business partnerships.
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