Business Education Innovation Journal

The New Bankruptcy Law:  Implications for Home Ownership

And Mortgage Foreclosure

A Teaching Module for Principles of Real Estate Courses

Marion Rogers Sillah – SC State University – Orangeburg, SC, USA

ABSTRACT

The new bankruptcy law (BAPCPA) was enacted in 2005.  While the original intent of the law was to prevent abuse of the bankruptcy process, it has had significant consequences for homeowners and other real estate investments.  The new requirements coupled with the complexity of the law, dictate that more should be taught in real estate courses about the U. S. bankruptcy laws and the impact of the laws on real estate demand and values.  This module presents key changes in the law and the implication of these changes on home ownership and mortgage foreclosure.

The Jazz Metaphor for Management Educators:

Making Meaning with Students through Swinging Improvisation

Gordon W. Meyer, Canisius College, Buffalo, New York, USA

Girish Shambu, Canisius College, Buffalo, New York, USA

ABSTRACT

We apply the metaphor of jazz improvisation to teaching and learning processes in the management classroom.  We describe several characteristics of effective jazz improvisation, and behavioral analogues in teaching for which we provide classroom examples.   The underlying structure of improvisational teaching, the role of accompaniment and swing, the importance of “improvisational memory,” and improvisational teaching as performance are all discussed.  We briefly explain how improvisation in the classroom can foster new teaching practices that, in turn, set the stage for the next cycle of improvisation.  We also outline the risks of using improvisation in the classroom.

Freshman Integration and Retention in the Business School: The Long Term Effectiveness of A Dedicated First Year Business Freshman Experience Course

Lawrence J. Belcher, Stetson University, DeLand, Florida USA

ABSTRACT

Faced with a shrinking pool of applicants, schools have had to become more creative and attentive in recruiting and retention than ever before.  This is especially true in small private, tuition driven schools.  To address some issues of establishing a connection to the Business School and University, the School of Business Developed a “University Experience” course specifically for freshmen business majors.  This had several objectives: developing skills employers’ desire, “bonding” with other students as well as faculty, and better integration into the college experience itself.  This paper describes the course and looks at some long-term issues in its survival.  We hope to share the blueprint with others, so that it might serve as a platform for discussion of retention issues in collegiate

ENRICHING BUSINESS STUDENTS’ FIRST YEAR EXPERIENCE:

A UNIQUE APPROACH

Sheri L. Erickson, Minnesota State University Moorhead, Moorhead, MN, USA

Mary F. Stone, Minnesota State University Moorhead, Moorhead, MN, USA

Marsha Weber, Minnesota State University Moorhead, Moorhead, MN USA

ABSTRACT

This paper describes a Freshman Year Experience (FYE) course offered to business students during their first year of college that provides them with the opportunity to interact with professors and professionals in their intended field of study and to integrate them into the university and into their major very early in their experience.   This course is part of a three-pronged sequence designed to help students with the transition to university life and to provide them with skills they need to succeed in college.  The desired outcomes of offering these courses are to improve university and business school retention rates and to provide students with the skills they need to be productive and successful students.   Surveys were administered to determine student perceptions of the Business FYE course, the School of Business, and the University.  Survey results and interviews with course instructors were used to develop suggestions for future FYE courses.

Interactive Investor Education:  An Exploratory Impact Study in

Non-traditional Learning Environments

Wanda F. Lester, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina, USA

Vereda J. Williams, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina, USA

ABSTRACT

The need for financial literacy, including financial market competencies, is urgent.  Lack of education and skill in these areas is negatively impacting all age groups.  As states attack this problem through mandates for financial literacy programs in K-12, colleges and universities have a unique opportunity to enhance these skills within their student population while providing a valuable service to the community.  The project discussed in this article describes the first of two phases of engaging college students as teachers to introduce the Stock Market Game™ (SMG) to groups of students who attend alternative high schools.  The high school faculty and students responded positively to the SMG and to method of teaching used during the first phase of the project.  Other lessons learned from the project suggest the need to introduce greater organizational structure and enhanced partner reciprocity into the second phase of the project.

Employment Acquisition Skills Panel Exercise

Sarah A. Humphries, Georgia College & State University, Milledgeville, GA USA

ABSTRACT

In today’s extremely competitive job market, excellent employment acquisition skills are more important than ever before.  This exercise exposes students to four “real world” business persons who are in positions to hire recent college graduates.  Students hear firsthand what potential employers are looking for in job candidates.  In addition to the valuable information students hear from the speakers, students also have three writing opportunities throughout this exercise; two group deliverables and one individual deliverable.

A Business School’s Unique Hiring Process

William P. Cordeiro

Martin V. Smith School of Business and Economics

California State University Channel Islands – Camarillo, CA, USA

ABSTRACT

Hiring effective employees is essential to the success of all organizations - regardless of their vision, mission, tactics or discipline. Effective employees understand, support and promote the organization’s mission and strategy. The Martin V. Smith School of Business and Economics (Smith School) is part of California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI) that was established as the 23^rd campus of the California State University (CSU) system in Camarillo, California in 2001. The CSUCI Mission Statement strongly emphasizes interdisciplinarity. The Smith School reflects this emphasis in its academic programs, and participates in a unique search process to hire faculty members committed to interdisciplinarity. This paper describes the Smith School’s interdisciplinary approach to its curricula and the linking of the interdisciplinary approach to its hiring process.

Making Teams Relevant: Applied Management Education by Combining Service Learning and Learning Communities

James B. Lee, Stonehill College – Easton, Massachusetts, USA

ABSTRACT

Service learning has been shown to provide important learning opportunities for business students to apply the theories learned in the classroom to challenging problems in the community while strengthening skills related to cultural awareness, citizenship, and oral and written communication. Using teams to address service learning projects enables the learning of team-related skills while teams grapple with significant problems involving the needs of people in the community. However, in order to sustain the use of team in service-learning projects, there needs to be sufficient common time in student schedules for teams to be created and for part of the team project to be conducted. One mechanism for providing this common time, as well as a cross-disciplinary perspective and an applied-learning focus, is the learning community.

Designing Effective Team Assignments: Kolb’s Learning Cycle modified by the 4 S Method

Linda Lynam, University of Central Missouri – Warrensburg, Missouri, USA
Mary McCord, University of Central Missouri – Warrensburg, Missouri USA
Larry Michaelsen, University of Central Missouri – Warrensburg, Missouri USA

ABSTRACT

This paper gives an overview and several examples of how to design effective team assignments for Information Technology/Information Systems (IT/IS) Management related courses.  We modify the Kolb learning cycle, which is intended to explain individual learning, to a model that explains group learning by adding activities from a method for designing team assignments called the ‘4 S’s’.  This method of designing team assignments can be used independently in any curriculum but is especially effective when integrated into an experiential learning course.  First, the paper will give an overview of Kolb’s Cycle of Learning (1984), which has 4 stages; 1) Concrete Experience, 2) Reflective Observation, 3) Abstract Conceptualization and 4) Active Experimentation.  Next, the 4 S method of creating effective team assignments is explained.  To be effective, the team assignments must meet conditions: 1) Significant Problem, 2) Same Problem, 3) Specific Choice and, 4) Simultaneous Report.  Each of Kolb’s learning steps relates to a particular condition from the 4 S method, and the two are integrated.  Finally, examples of effective assignments using the 4 S’s for information systems are given.

Business Students’ Perceptions towards Environmental Sustainability: 
Is it a Legitimate Business Issue?

Kathleen Dale, Minnesota State University – Mankato, Minnesota, USA

Bradley W. Mayer, Lamar University – Beaumont, Texas, USA

Marilyn Fox, Minnesota State University – Mankato, Minnesota, USA

ABSTRACT