Developing an International and Technology-Driven Business School Program

Abstract

Academics and practitioners alike have voiced their concerns about how to continuously improve the quality of education in the business school. Two central issues that have received recent attention are (1) how to address a rapidly changing and increasingly global economy, and (2) how to infuse technology into the business school curriculum. Both of these issues are changing at break-neck speed, whereas the academic environment, by its very nature and structure, is struggling to meet these demands ata much slower pace. We attempt to offer solutions to these major issues by developing an action plan for international business and technology. One key factor in developing global and technological programs in business schools is the input of its stakeholders-the international and technological business community. In this study, we report the results of an investigation of the international business and technological community's perceptions of the skills they require of recent business school graduates. A total of 126 business organizations provide insights for business schools to develop action plans to address international and technological needs. A discussion and implications of our findings provides an initial avenue for schools to follow in their strategic planning for the future.     

Cross-Functional Globalization Modules

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to present cross-functional international teaching modules. The modules presented in this paper are intended to assist higher education institutions in initiating and implementing the first level of internationalization of the business school curriculum. Although the focus is on achieving a level of global awareness, the paper also addresses how the first stage of globalization leads to advances in the second stage-understanding. Applicable means and methods to initiate the “internationalization” process for business schools in the internationalization process are provided. The paper also addresses the students' perceptions of this process, especially concerning global awareness. Implications, challenges, and recommendations are provided.     

The Development of International Business as an Academic Discipline

Abstract

This article reviews the emergence of international business (IB) as an academic discipline through an examination of IB research, curriculum, and location within the organisational structures of universities and business schools. A selective review of the literature on IB education is used to identify different approaches to the formulation of the IB curriculum and its constituent parts and principal features: internationalisation of business functions; integration of constituent subject areas; multidisciplinary and strategic orientation. This is used to derive a number of pedagogic implications for both teachers and students of IB: sequencing and ordering of the curriculum; revealing the ontology and epistemology of IB; breadth versus depth in the curriculum; emphasising a study of or for IB; locating and structuring IB within a modular programme; class room practice for delivering the IB curriculum.     

Manager Perspectives on Embedding Workplace Spirituality into the Business Curriculum: Bridging the Gap

The purpose of this article is to share findings from an Australian qualitative study (n = 40) about the perspectives of managers and professionals around embedding workplace spirituality into the business curriculum. Academics are now publishing work that addresses workplace spirituality in the business curriculum, but few studies exist that focus on the perspectives of managers and professionals in the field. This article seeks to bridge that gap. Analysis revealed that managers as participants constructed rationales focusing on why workplace spirituality should or should not be addressed in the business curriculum and issues about how it might occur. Some of the perceived complexities of embedding workplace spirituality into public university programs were also identified. The findings of the paper would be particularly relevant to business schools considering the inclusion of workplace spirituality into their curriculum and structuring discussions to incorporate stakeholder perspectives from the business community. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Internationalising the Business Student

SUMMARY

This paper reviews approaches to internationalising business education and describes an alternative approach to designing an international business degree program. The paper goes on to describe two competing paradigms of international business education. The paper recommends that rather than develop strategies to internationalise the business curriculum, course designers attempt instead to internationalise the business student.     

Business School Curricular Responses to the Emergence of Electronic Commerce

Abstract

The latest innovation to draw the attention of business schools and their stakeholders is electronic commerce (e-commerce). The purpose of this paper is to examine how business schools are responding to the curriculum challenge of e-commerce. The results indicate that business schools are initiating three types of responses: The first concerns programmatic changes. The second concerns changes in the disciplines of management information systems, marketing, operations management, and accounting. The third response is the establishment of centers/institutes of e-commerce. Before we report on these responses, we present an overview of e-commerce. After our responses, we present a summary of our results and predict future trends.     

Strategically Assessing International Business Course-Specific Learning Aims

Abstract

During the past 30 years, there have been calls for universities and business schools to internationalize curriculum, students and faculty. As most U.S. business schools have added international components to their respective programs, the assessment of these programs was subsequently recommended from accreditation and competitive perspectives. To sustain competitiveness, business schools must expand their program assessment activities and rigorously conduct assessment at the course level as well. We propose a model of international business course assessment that links learning aims to delivery methods and reviews two separate approaches based on that model.     

Consumer Curriculum Materials: The First Content Analysis

Teachers in public schools have ready access to free consumer curriculum materials from a variety of sources, including, increasingly, the business community. Critics claim that materials from business sources are commercial in nature. The research reported in this paper evaluates the extent to which this criticism is justified. A systematic content analysis was conducted on materials from business (corporate and trade association) and nonbusiness (government and nonprofit) sources. Findings indicate that business-sponsored consumer curriculum materials contain significantly more commercial and advertising content than non-business materials.     

Trends in Executive Education in Business Marketing

ABSTRACT

Business marketers in the 21st century are grappling with the harsh, tough demands of a consolidated customer base, rapid product and service commoditization, complex channel structures, and hyper-competition in a rapidly evolving, information-intensive global economy. Across the globe, firms concerned with developing managerial talent to respond to these trends are demanding and expecting changes in the executive education programs offered by business schools. We consider in this paper a number of recent trends and changes in customer expectations, program format, content development and delivery, and program marketing that we have observed in executive education in the field of business marketing.     

International Marketing (14th edition), by Philip R. Cateora,Mary C. Gilly,and John I. Graham

Abstract

The trend toward internationalizing business curriculum at American colleges and universities should be incorporated as a strategy throughout the United States. The catalyst that has led most business schools to adopt a systematic acceptance of the internationalization of their curriculum was the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) 1984-1985 Standards and Guidelines for business school accreditation. Most would agree that without AACSB mandates, the transition would be slower, but inevitable, due to the focus on worldwide business issues. The global economy is rapidly evolving and the needs for competencies in international business are becoming very important to the U.S. and its economic well-being. Because of this, industry is looking for a new kind of employee, the kind that understands both the importance of international business and how to operate within it successfully. The halls of academia must respond to this pressing need by going much further than providing a sporadic array of “elective” international topics. Their response has to be synergistic with university presidents, deans and faculties fully supportive of an organizational design change that promotes a new way of thinking. The new organization is one in which there must be an international focus throughout the business school. With that synergy in place, the process of internationalizing students, the university, curriculum and faculty can move forward.     

Content,Pedagogy, and Learning Outcomes in the International Marketing Course

Abstract

The early internationalization of business school curricula was in response to corporate needs and expectations, and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) fostered changes by instituting accreditation outcomes that focused upon international content in the curriculum. By the late 1990s, a course in international marketing was standard at most accredited college and universities, and faculty in these courses reported on various approaches to teaching the course. The main objective of the current study was to examine the course content, pedagogy, and learning outcomes of current international marketing courses. As such, a content analysis of international marketing syllabi from 89 colleges and universities was conducted. Findings from this indepth analysis offer insights regarding knowledge content coverage, pedagogical strategy, and learning outcomes assessment and provide an update on the current status of teaching international marketing in schools of business.     

Developing an Interdisciplinary Major in International Business

ABSTRACT

Since the change of the accreditation standards by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) requiring internationalization of the business school curriculum about twenty years ago, different models of internationalization have been developed and tried by different types of business schools across the nation. However, no single model has emerged as an ideal model suitable for all kinds of institutions, large or small, urban or rural. At small and rural universities, internationalization efforts pose some extra challenges because of the general lack of global exposure and practices among its faculty and students, lack of adequate resources, financial crunch and locally centered vision of its leadership. This paper describes how a small and rural university has successfully implemented its own model to internationalize its business programs in spite of all the financial and non-fiscal challenges. Such a model could be emulated by similar small and rural institutions across the country.     

Teaching business ethics: Is there a gap between rhetoric and reality?

In light of the continued erosion of business ethics in America, the ongoing question is what are the nation's business schools doing to prepare ethically responsible future leaders of industry and government? This paper reports the findings of a survey mailed to every program accredited by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business. The curriculum treatment of business ethics is identified at the undergraduate and the graduate levels in public as well as in private colleges and universities. In addition, the paper presents the status (required versus elective), credits, and enrollment patterns associated with institutions offering a special course whose primary focus is the ethical or moral component of business decisions. Depending on one's perspective, the results range from “encouraging” to “disappointing” and suggest that more can and should be done within the curriculum of American post-secondary higher education.     

Business Marketing Education: A Distinctive Role in the Undergraduate Curriculum

ABSTRACT

By extending their knowledge of markets beyond the consumer-goods domain, by deepening their understanding of how organizations make buying decisions, by strengthening their grasp of cross-functional processes, and by providing them with decision-making skills in this important area of marketing, the business marketing course makes a special contribution to undergraduates and the undergraduate marketing curriculum. Moreover, the content and focus of the business marketing course are closely tied to important themes that are transforming business practice. This article isolates the distinct contribution of business marketing education and examines important trends that are reshaping this domain. The central knowledge areas that comprise the undergraduate business marketing course are detailed and linked to specific course design strategies that can be pursued to strengthen the skill set of marketing students and respond to the needs of important constituents.     

Internationalization of MBA Program in Asia-Pacific

Abstract

With the global village becoming a reality, efforts at the internationalization of business education have ceased to be merely fashionable. The internationalization of business education has become an increasing relevant and important goal for business schools. Most of the efforts have been focused at the internationalization of MBA programs as this is the level of business education targeted at the training of middle management personnel, for whom the creation of a global mindset and the exposure to the international realm of business would have the most immediate effect. With the Asia-Pacific becoming a major arena of international trade and business in what has been called the Pacific century, the internationalization of MBA programs in Asia is of great interest as most of the efforts at internationalization of MBA programs have taken place in developed countries, with much of the literature being about the North America and European experience. Little is known about the MBA programs offered in Asia and their internationalization. This paper provides some insights on the internationalization efforts at the Nanyang Business School (NBS), Singapore. The experience at the NBS is unique because its efforts at internationalization have coincided with government policy initiatives in encouraging Singapore businesses to extend their operations into countries of the region. The paper provides some lessons from the experiences at regionalizing the MBA programs in China, India and the transitional economies of Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia. Apart from the admission of international participants to its programs and the changes to its Business Study Missions, new initiatives have been introduced in the form of the MBA in International Business. The paper also explores other future initiatives for the internationalization of MBA programs in Asia-Pacific.     

A Global MBA for Tomorrow's Global Business Leaders

Abstract

Traditional IB programs have received mixed reviews from the corporate world. With this in mind, the Suffolk GMBA was benchmarked against the leading international business programs. The Suffolk GMBA was designed to be different and to ascertain the global environment in which business operates. A unique feature of the GMBA curriculum detailed in this article is the combination of Boston's international business locational advantage with functional integration of the many disciplines that make international business unique. Borrowing components from the fields of economics, government and politics, finance, marketing, ethics, and law, a curriculum matrix was developed identifying and sequencing the key topics to be taught. The authors also explain potential pitfalls and outline a model which can be successfully implemented in other graduate international business programs. This program is shaping the thoughts and actions of tomorrow's global business leaders through its integrative decision-making framework of global perspectives and competencies.     

Do International Cocurricular Activities Have an Impact on Cultivating a Global Mindset in Business School Students?

ABSTRACT

In today’s integrated global economy, business executives of multinational corporations are required to have a flexible global mindset in order to cope with the driving forces of globalization. Thus, the global market forces stress the importance for business schools to graduate students with skill sets pertinent to functioning competitively in the ever-changing business environment. In this article, we conducted a survey of 165 students in the Albers School of Business and Economics at Seattle University to examine whether international cocurricular activities help achieve the goal of cultivating a global mindset in students. The results suggest that international cocurricular activities enhance students’ global mindset. Short-term study tours and international internships do have a significant impact on students’ global mindset as other long-term cocurricular activities, which may cost more time and money. We recommend that short-term study tours be used as an alternative cost-effective way to engaging business students in the internationalization of the business curriculum at their institutions.     

BOOK REVIEWS

ABSTRACT

The paper examines Africa's progress towards AACSB accreditation, especially to satisfy the 5 strategic management standards. Sadly, although there are 515 accredited business schools (as of January 2006) in 28 countries, Africa-with 54 nations-does not have a single AACSB accredited school. Many African business schools (ABSs) have the capacity to meet Standard 1 (mission statement), Standard 3 (student mission), and Standard 4 (continuous improvement objectives). But they have limited capacity to meet Standard 2 (mission appropriateness) and Standard 5 (financial strategies). Therefore, if AACSB-International wishes to truly become the accrediting agency for business schools worldwide, the agency and its members will need to play a more proactive, facilitative and enabling role in assisting business schools in Africa tackle these significant obstacles to accreditation.