Business school research: bridging the gap between producers and consumers

There has been a great deal of continuing discussion concerning the seemingly unbridgeable gap between so much of the research produced by business school professors and the needs of the business people who, ideally, would use it. Here, we examine this gap and suggest a model for bridging it. We sample four groups of people, business school academics (professors), deans of business schools, executive MBA students/recent graduates, and senior business executives. Each group rates 44 different (potential) properties of exemplary research. We analyze within-group differences, and more meaningfully, between-group differences. We then offer commentary on the results and use the results to develop the aforementioned suggestions for bridging the gap we find.     

案例行动学习法——效率与效果的兼顾

案例教学法、行动学习法等主流商科情境教学模式虽在国内商学院中得到广泛的应用,但囿于使用过程中的资源限制、实施变形及方法本身的局限性,导致教学双方的反馈尚不尽如人意。本文介绍了一种全新的商科情境教学方法--"案例行动学习法"。论文应用建构主义理论探讨了"案例行动学习法"的基本原理,研究了该种方法的能力建构机理,分析了其成为工商管理主流情境教学方法的效率与效果的平衡机理,介绍了前期应用的效果。研究结果表明,"案例行动学习法"作为一种全新的工商管理情境教学方法,能够将案例教学与行动学习两种方法的优点有机结合在一起,具备在全国范围内推广的条件。     

Notwendigkeit,Ziele und Inhalte einer Ethik-Ausbildung in der Betriebswirtschaftslehre

Although business administration scholars in German-speaking countries increasingly engage in business ethics research, their business schools have so far not systematically included ethics related contents into their standard curricula. Based on an understanding of business administration as an applied discipline that should not shun the scientific discussion of normative statements, this article argues that our field needs to address ethical questions not only in research but also in teaching. The subsequent analysis addresses aims, contents, and methods of teaching business ethics in higher education. Rather than teaching students ‘moral truths’, the main aim of business ethics education is seen in providing students with a variety of theories, concepts, and tools that are able to support them in ethical decision processes, which they are likely to encounter in their management careers.     

TOWARD TEACHING EXCELLENCE IN THE DECISION SCIENCES*

Recently the National Commission on Higher Education Issues found serious problems with college-level teaching and recomended educational reforms. This paper describes one attempt at reform—namely, a course at Georgia State University on university teaching for College of Business doctoral students. The 45-hour seminar, based on a university teaching model, covers setting instructional objectives, lecture and discussion methods, teaching methods for higher-level learning, test construction, course evaluation instruments, and instructional and technological innovations. Previous studies have demonstrated repeatedly that teaching improvement seminars can improve teacher and student performance in the classroom. This paper discusses how the seminar could be implemented at other colleges of business administration, extended to faculty development workshops, and ultimately result in a master teacher or instructional professorship.     

BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES AND THE QUANTITATIVE METHODS COURSE

The topic of behavioral objectives has recently received considerable attention in the academic community. This paper contains a comprehensive overview of issues and explores the relevance of using the behavioral objective framework for teaching quantitative methods (QM) to undergraduate business administration students. Included in the paper are (1) a discussion of the nature and meaning of behavioral objectives, (2) arguments for and against their use, (3) a rationale for their use in a QM course, and (4) a series of examples demonstrating the use of behavioral objectives in a quantitative course. The evidence-consisting of expert opinion from professionals who have successfully used behavioral objectives for teaching quantitative material, the logic of the arguments for behavioral objectives, consideration of arguments against objectives along with rebuttal to these arguments, and the available empirical studies-indicates that behavioral objectives do appear to offer considerable potential for improving QM teaching. The use of behavioral objectives is worthy of thoughtful consideration by QM teachers.     

整合能力与企业绩效：商业模式创新的中介作用

经济全球化的背景下,企业为了构建竞争优势,获取更好的绩效,开始利用整合能力和商业模式创新应对多变的外部环境。然而,当前研究对于两者之间存在何种联系的认识是模糊的。针对理论研究的缺陷,基于动态能力的理论视角,通过分析商业模式创新对整合能力与企业绩效的中介作用,揭示企业整合能力和商业模式创新促进企业绩效提高的内在机制,采用中国6省1市319个企业样本数据,运用线性回归的统计方法对理论假设进行实证检验。研究结果表明,整合能力和商业模式创新都对企业绩效具有正向的促进作用,同时整合能力与企业绩效之间存在着一定的中间机制。整合能力通过提高组织变革和价值创造效率两个方面促进商业模式创新,而商业模式创新作为中间纽带将整合能力与企业绩效联系起来。企业的整合能力越高,越有利于开展商业模式创新,进而促进企业绩效的提高。研究揭示了整合能力和商业模式创新共同促进企业绩效提高的内在理论机制,打开了能力与绩效间关系的“黑箱”,对于中国企业开展商业模式创新具有重要的实践指导意义。     

THE EFFECTS OF GAME COMPLEXITY ON THE ACQUISITION OF BUSINESS POLICY KNOWLEDGE *

Certain cognitive and affective results obtained by three increasingly complex business games were examined. All simulations taught facts and concepts but the most complex simulation produced the greatest effect. More game complexity also brought about heightened challenge, lesser monotony, and greater decision-making comprehensiveness. Motivational and learning levels, however, were not linearly positive with increasing complexity. The intermediate game was as motivating as the complex one although it was inferior to the simple game as a teaching device. The complex game also experienced higher student mortality.     

A LOOK AT THE SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL AS A TOOL TO ASSIST FACULTY TEACHING EVALUATIONS

The evaluation of the effectiveness of faculty teaching is a difficult process. This paper presents the results of an experimental empirical investigation into the possibility of using a psycho-linguistic measurement technique, the Semantic Differential, to measure faculty communication of terminology to students. This measurement could be used to supplement other teaching evaluation devices. The paper determines a set of “key concepts,” derives a set of S.D. meanings from a Faculty to act as a standard, and measures student meanings at the beginning and end of an introductory course. These sets of meanings are then compared.     

Revitalizing the MBA for the New Millennium: A Collaborative Action Research Approach

Business schools are facing increased competition due to information technology innovations and customer dissatisfaction. In response, business schools are turning to a variety of solutions, such as team teaching, integrated curricula, and distance learning. This article presents the results of a collaborative action research project initiated by one business school faced with the need to revitalize its MBA program. The faculty engaged in this project learned much about the challenges of teaching an integrative course and the constancy of change. We share our conclusions and recommendations about an integrated curriculum, distance learning, adult learning, team teaching, revisions in program duration and structure, as well as advice on the necessary administrative support and compensation for business schools contemplating such changes. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Personal computers in business education: An experimental assessment

The growing importance of personal computers in business and the difficulties that business schools have had in effectively employing PCs in business education motivated an experimental study of the use of PCs in an educational context. The study confirms the merits of the strategy of off-loading basic computer instruction from mainframes to PCs. The results of the study also illustrated some important methodological points regarding the assessment of the effectiveness of computer systems.     

Making and Mending your Nets: Managing Relevance, Participation and Uncertainty in Academic–Practitioner Knowledge Networks

Making and mending your nets is concerned to examine, from an actor–network theory perspective, how the relevance debate concerning research and teaching is a significant non‐human actor in the development and management of industry–academic networks associated with UK business schools. By significant, we do not imply the most important because it is only one of many human and non‐human actors that may arouse interest, be problematized, enrolled and/or mobilized for such networks to become ‘obligatory passage points’ and ultimately irreversible collective assemblies. The paper then utilizes actor–network theory as a framework for examining our primary empirical research on academic–practitioner knowledge networks – nets that require a continuous making and mending in managing relevance, participation and uncertainty. We argue that the actor–network framework is more compatible than alternative knowledge diffusion or transfer models with the data we have collected on academic–practitioner knowledge networks in the UK. In accounting for the dynamic instability and precariousness of knowledge networks, it avoids raising false expectations about business knowledge and its relevance or effectiveness. If knowledge in the physical sciences and engineering unfolds slowly and unevenly in the face of many disputes, disruptions and setbacks, as actor–network theory has claimed, then how much more likely is this to be the case in the social sciences? Consequently there should be no expectations of one‐to‐one, direct causal chains between knowledge production and application, as some business school critics seemingly demand.     

The teaching of business policy—A fresh approach

The artificiality of the circumstances in which much of management education takes place is exemplified in the teaching of business policy where the missing ingredient of responsibility is most crucial. The use of ready made cases compounds this problem by presenting the student with a partly identified problem and the information he must use in tackling it. A different approach in which students prepare their own studies of named companies and discuss their analysis and proposals with senior executives from those companies reduces to a worthwhile degree the artificiality of much business policy teaching. This paper discusses the problems of teaching in this field and describes an approach using the method described above.     

Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management: Can We Afford to Neglect Them in the Twenty-first Century Business School?

This article reviews the case for business schools becoming more seriously involved in teaching and research in the field of entrepreneurship and small business. It begins by reviewing some of the global pressures that underpin the need for management schools to devote more serious attention to these phenomena. It then argues the central case for a clear conceptual stance to be taken on the relationship between small business and entrepreneurship as a basis for core programme and pedagogical design. It finally reviews the key issues of change that will confront business schools wishing to move into this area under the three headings of: involvement with the community; teaching and research; and organization design.     

Maintaining Relevance in Business Education. A Framework for Exploring Alternative Teaching Paradigms

Relevance has become a critical factor in business education programs. Such programs must deliver the skills and knowledge that enable participants to learn and thrive in a context of change, growing business complexity and technological sophistication. This paper explores the need to realign our teaching approach to the new demands of business managers in pursuit of maintaining relevance. It considers the changes this requires in the learner: teacher relationship, and the way in which information communication technologies have a powerful role to play in developing and managing this new relationship. A model is proposed to explore the alternative teaching paradigms associated wich might be best described as seismic shifts in the learning landscape. For educators it suggests a change in teaching values that emphasise stronger attention to process skills, less teacher autonomy, direction and control, and a more creative use of technology to encourage diversity, dialogue and distributed team learning. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Transformational Leadership Education and Agency Perspectives in Business School Pedagogy: A Marriage of Inconvenience?

We critique transformational leadership education in university business schools based on a literature review, a study of the websites of 21 leading business schools, and an analysis of two presentations to business school students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University by the former CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch. Our critique draws attention to the unresolved tension between two motivating ideas that underpin much teaching in business schools: collective interest ideas that permeate transformational leadership education; and self-interest ideas derived from agency theory. Transformational leadership tends to be depicted as a process by which leaders exert a 'top-down' influence over the activities of others, while simultaneously asserting that their organizations have a common purpose and pursue a collective interest. We highlight the risk that business schools are producing graduates who will attempt to appeal to common needs (guided by precepts of transformational leadership) but who will simultaneously enact contradictory performance management systems (guided by agency theory). We encourage business school educators in leadership to adopt approaches which are more critical, relational and reflexive. We suggest some general directions for an alternative leadership prospectus, based on followership, the promotion of critical upward communication within organizations, and the recognition of leadership as a contested, discursive and co-constructed phenomenon.     

Strategic planning in large firms—some guidelines

Some argue that a foundation for planning has been achieved when a firm can state its strategic plan in terms of products and markets. (This is referred to as the ‘business form’ in this article). If this statement is true, what factors will aid a firm in achieving the business form in its strategic plans? In this article, details of strategic planning in over 50 large firms taken from an empirical research sample are examined to illustrate which factors seem to lead to the business form of strategic plan in these firms.     

EXTENDING THE BOUNDARIES OF OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT: AN INTERNATIONAL FIELD-STUDIES APPROACH INTEGRATING INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Continued globalization, extensive use of information technologies, increasing cross-functional dependencies, and new organizational forms are rapidly changing the learning context of operations management. This paper describes an example of a mba elective course that has been created to address and learn from these new realities. We have taken a process view of the global firm, focusing mainly on the new product/service development, order fulfillment, and supply chain/ after-sales service processes. We have designed our course to contain most of the traditional topics in operations management (om) with information systems (is) woven in to support the key business processes. Our underlying belief is that these two functional areas should be seen as a blend, a seamless merging of the two fields, to obtain a competitive advantage. Besides teaching om and is in this integrated manner, the course engages in face-to-face student consulting projects with multinational companies. This paper describes our rationale for the course design and how it has been implemented over the last 6 years-as well as our plans for the future.     

Production Competence and Business Strategy: Do They Affect Business Performance?

The purpose of this article is threefold. First, a comprehensive measure of production competence that assesses the level of support that manufacturing provides for the strategic objectives of a firm is developed. Second, hypotheses relating production competence to several financial measures of business performance are tested using data from a large sample of firms (n=65) in the furniture industry. Third, the impact of business strategy both directly on performance and as a moderating variable in relation to production competence is analyzed. The results of the study suggest that production competence may have more of an effect on business performance for certain strategies than for others.     

Business Ethics and Business History: Neglected Dimensions in Management Education

This article highlights two large gaps in the business school curriculum: the neglect of historical and ethical dimensions. An overview is provided of progress made so far in the UK in the evolution of business history as an academic discipline; and also of the take–up of business ethics in university teaching. Both have had some success, but overall the response to these areas has been somewhat lacklustre — at least in the UK. A justification is provided for adding both components to a fully relevant business education. When the two are combined, the result can be a highly rewarding combination that provides insights that may not be possible for management writers, who work only in the present. Corporate ethics, the social responsibility of companies, disclosure, the environment, the actions of multinational companies overseas, the dilemmas of whistle–blowing, the impact of lobby groups and health and safety issues can all be understood more fully by students if they approach these subjects from an ethical and historical standpoint.     

REALIZATION OF THE VIRTUAL ENTERPRISE PARADIGM IN THE CLOTHING INDUSTRY THROUGH E‐BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY

This paper presents a methodology and a case study for supply chain management in the clothing industry that makes extensive use of the virtual enterprise paradigm. The main research goal was to design and implement a prototype e‐business software component and carry out tests in several industrial users. The research effort resulted in the extended production data management system (epms), which supported the business processes of customer order management, subcontractor selection, and multi‐site/multi‐firm production orders release. The enablers of this software application were business‐to‐business (b2b) e‐commerce technologies in the operating context of application service providers (asps).