iPad 12:15 AM * 96% < class.waldenu.edu + Heart Faild Jobs at Pr Walden St... 9: Advanc... class.wald... x class.w... 8: Impact... Form... N... M Journal of Business and Economics, ISSN 2155-7950, USA July 2014, Volume 5, No. 7, pp. 937-944 DOI: 10.15341/jbe(2155-7950)/07.05.2014/001 © Academic Star Publishing Company, 2014 http://www.academicstar.us Academic Star Problem Solving in the Workplace through Application of Business Knowledge and Quantitative Methods Robert T. Barrett, Samuel H. Tolbert (School of Management, Lander University, Greenwood, SC 29649, USA) Abstract: Ensuring that management curricula are current and relevant requires input from many stakeholders. Faculty planning committees call on business leaders, alumni, students, and future employers of graduates to provide necessary guidance in this process. In the study reported here, graduates of an undergraduate business program were asked to rate the importance of business knowledge and skills areas in the workplace. Twelve knowledge areas and twelve quantitative skills areas were included in the survey, specifically addressing frequency of use, general importance of the knowledge and skills, and necessity to include the knowledge and skills in a business curriculum. The graduates identified communication and operations management as the most important knowledge areas in business. The most frequently used quantitative skills listed were basic statistical analysis, budgeting, and financial analysis. Insights gleaned from this analysis will help with curriculum planning. Key words: business curricula; communications; operations management; problem solving; quantitative methods JEL code: A2 1. Introduction and Background Recent concentrated focus on Assurance of Learning by accrediting bodies has encouraged business programs to evaluate curricula placing specific emphasis on measurable learning goals. These learning goals are set by faculty who are experts in the disciplines covered in the program. Learning goals are based on input from many stakeholders and are designed to ensure that graduates of the program are prepared for challenges of the business world. The intense focus on curriculum is directly related to underprepared graduates. At least as far back as the 1970s, researchers found gaps between management education and practice (Badawy M. K., 1976). And many of these findings are reality today (Chia Robert & Holt Robin, 2008; Holter Norma C. & Kopka Donald J., 2001; Peckham Susanne, 2010). Business programs present theory without real world application to complement the theory. In addition, Badaway (1976) found that management education trains students for top-management positions rather than entry level or mid-level-management positions where most will begin their careers. Peckham (2010) reported that, according to a survey of employers conducted by the American Management Association (AMA), knowledge and skills learned in business programs fall short of expectations. Fletcher (2007) notes that Robert T. Barrett, Dean, College of Business and Public Affairs, Lander University; research areas/interests: assessment, curriculum design, and quantitative analysis. Email: rbarrett@lander.edu. Samuel H. Tolbert, Associate Professor, School of Management, Lander University; research areas/interests: health care management and curriculum design. Email: stolbert@lander.edu. 937 iPad * 95% 12:15 AM class.waldenu.edu Problem Solving in the Workplace through Application of Business Knowledge and Quantitative Methods industry is critical of graduates' lack of skills in communication, critical thinking, problem solving, and business knowledge. Peckham (2010) notes that the AMA survey found that “four Cs” were most important to employers: critical thinking and problem solving; communication; collaboration and team building; and creativity and innovation. The current workforce is not well-developed in these areas. Survey results indicated that employers felt that it is easier to develop these skills in students rather than experienced workers. The AMA survey found that employers believe these skills to be most important because of another C: the pace of change. The ability of graduates to reason and adapt is critical to their success in the business world. Brzovic and Matz (2009) note that experiencing practical, real-world problems builds students' skills in leadership, problem solving, and communication. Experiential learning brings theory and practice together. Students carry these experiences beyond the classroom and beyond graduation. Clinebell and Clinebell (2008) discuss the debate between academic rigor in business programs and incorporating more practical applications. Employers have indicated that graduates from business programs are ill-prepared for management positions. These findings have led business schools to hire professionally qualified faculty members to bring increased relevancy into the classroom. Chia and Holt (2008) propose that students gain knowledge and skill only through repeated experiences of real business life. Further, Chia and Holt believe that demonstration of skills and decision making strategies by educators is critical to the process. If students can mimic the actions of seasoned professors and practitioners, learning will take place. Hoover, Giambatista, Sorenson, and Bommer (Fletcher Geoffrey H., 2007) and Holter and Kopka (2001) discuss pedagogy focused on skills. Hoover, Giambatista, Sorenson, and Bommer (Fletcher Geoffrey H., 2007) developed pedagogy designed to improve MBA student skills in communication, teamwork, leadership/initiative, decision making, and planning/organizing. These skills were deemed highly important by the researchers. The 5-year study results indicated that all skills except teamwork showed significant improvement as students experienced the teaching methods. Holter and Kopka (2001) developed a course to help students build communication, teamwork, thinking, and problem solving skills. As others, the authors indicted that their research found that employers were not happy with graduates' skills in these areas. The course required students to participate and demonstrate skills learned. Positive and negative student reactions to the new pedagogy were noted. Generally, skill improvement was observed. 2. Alumni Survey Provides Input A recent survey of graduates of an undergraduate program with a bachelor of science in business administration asked the graduates to rate the importance of knowledge and skills learned in the program. The purpose of the survey was to gauge the current business practices of the program’s alumni in order to broadly assess the curriculum. Faculty should regularly assess curricula and it was determined this type of outside input would greatly augment the expertise of the program's faculty. From a research perspective, this type of information can greatly benefit the broader academic community whose business programs are attempting to become more practical and real-world focused. The business administration program is a part of a small public university with a total of approximately 3,000 students. The university was originally a “teachers college” and offered a program in business education for many years. The undergraduate degree in business administration was initiated in the mid 1960's and the business 938 iPad * 95% 12:15 AM class.waldenu.edu Problem Solving in the Workplace through Application of Business Knowledge and Quantitative Methods education program was phased out. Records of the university's alumni office revealed contact information on 2,809 alumni with degrees in business administration. Email addresses were available for 1,380 of the alumni (49%) and the researchers determined the most cost-effective method for data collection would be to conduct an online survey. The researchers, with input from the business faculty, developed a survey instrument that gathered a profile of the respondent (age, year of graduation, etc.); asked for feedback from alumni regarding the current mission and learning goals of the program; and solicited information regarding current business practices in five broad areas: Communications . . Teamwork . Ethics • Application of Business Knowledge • Problem-solving Learning goals for the program are centered on these five themes. The survey instrument was lengthy with 75 questions with several having subparts. The instrument was approved by the university's IRB in June 2012 and survey conducted in August. Email invitations were sent with two follow-up reminders to non-responders over a three week period. A total of 1380 emailed surveys were sent to alumni. Of those sent, 251 usable responses were received, an 18.2% response rate. The business administration program offers the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with four emphasis areas. The respondents reported the following distribution by emphasis area. Table 1 Emphasis Area Emphasis Areas of Survey Respondents % of Respondents 8.60% Fall 2012 Enrollment No Area Indicated 24.60% 21.67% 12.90% 6.87% Accounting Economics/Finance Health Care Management Management/Marketing 29.83% 11.30% 42.60% 41.63% The program began offering emphasis areas within the Bachelor of Science in business administration in the early 1980s. The Health Care Management emphasis was added within the business program in 2001. A separate Bachelor of Science degree in health care management was offered prior to 2001, but it did not include the same core courses and the graduates of that program were not included in this study. Fall 2012 enrollment by major is shown in Table 1. Health Care Management has grown steadily since its introduction in 2001. Currently, the number of students majoring in Accounting and Management/Marketing closely follow the number of survey respondents who completed those majors. The percentage of students majoring in Economics/Finance is smaller than that percentage in respondents. The year of graduation of the responders was compared with the overall database to determine if the sample was representati Figure 1 shows the distribution by year of raduation of respondents is nearly identical with the historical data. The respondents represented a broad range of industries and were relatively evenly divided by level of management as shown on Table 2. 939 iPad * 95% 12:15 AM class.waldenu.edu Problem Solving in the Workplace through Application of Business Knowledge and Quantitative Methods Currently on our campus, 67% of students enrolled are female and 33% are male. On the survey, 40% of the respondents were female and 60% were male. Comparison of Database vs. Respondents by Year of Graduation 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% 1966-1970 1971-1975 1976-1980 1981-1985 1986-1990 1991-1995 2001-2005 2006-2010 1996-2000 1965 or earlier 2011-present Database - Respondents Figure 1 Percent of Respondents by Year of Graduation Table 2 Respondent Level of Management Level of Management Top Management/Senior Staff Middle Management First-Line Supervisor/Junior Staff, with no direct reports % of Respondents 28.20% 33.50% 38.30% 3. Analysis of Results We extracted from the survey information on the respondents' opinions regarding the application of business knowledge and their use of specific quantitative methods in their work. 3.1 Application of Business Knowledge Here we compared respondents' stated use of “standard” areas of business knowledge with the perception of the importance of that area to their work and the level of emphasis that it should receive in an undergraduate business program. It is hoped that insights gained from this study will help in the modification and continuous improvement of business programs. The survey asked respondents to provide feedback on their practices in 12 business knowledge areas. In each, three questions were asked, with responses ranging from 1 to 5: (1) How often do you apply this knowledge? = Rarely or never, 5 = Very frequently on a daily basis) (2) How important is it to your work? (1 = Not important at all, 5 = Critical to my success) (3) How much emphasis should this topic receive at the undergraduate level? (1 = Not important at all, 5 = Needs very heavy emphasis) 940 iPad * 95% 12:15 AM class.waldenu.edu Problem Solving in the Workplace through Application of Business Knowledge and Quantitative Methods The average response calculated for each area and question is displayed in Table 3. In addition the difference (in percent) between the ratings for each question is shown. Teach vs Business knowledge discipline Table 3 Use and Importance of Business Knowledge Areas Importance in Use of knowledge Importance to Import vs work teach use 3.35 3.40 3.80 1.7% Teach vs import 11.8% use 13.7% Accounting Communication 4.84 4.83 -0.2% -0.2% -0.4% 4.82 3.30 Economics 2.63 2.67 1.5% 23.9% 25.8% 3.44 3.38 3.82 -1.6% 13.0% 11.3% 2.76 3.03 3.44 9.9% 13.5% 24.7% 3.6% 4.11 4.12 0.3% 4.25 3.31 2.68 2.75 2.4% Finance Legal matters Operations management Human resources Strategic management Marketing management Personal sales Analytical methods Management info systems 3.3% 20.4% 12.1% 23.3% 3.13 3.39 3.79 8.1% 21.2% 2.59 2.70 3.47 4.2% 28.5% 33.9% 2.55 2.64 3.07 3.3% 16.3% 20.2% 2.94 3.02 3.49 2.9% 15.3% 18.6% 3.09 3.26 3.72 5.3% 14.1% 20.2% It is interesting to note that each Business Knowledge Discipline is used by practitioners, and all score above average on the 5 point scale of rarely used to very frequently used. In most disciplines, the “Importance in Work” and “Importance to Teach” categories scored higher than the “Use of Knowledge” category. Maybe these managers believe they need more knowledge in these areas. Continued and increased focus on these disciplines is important for graduates as they prepare for their business careers. Communications and Operations Management are reported as the Business Knowledge Areas most frequently used. Accounting, Finance, Strategic Management, and Management Information Systems are each used frequently as well. For the managers responding to the survey, Personal Sales, Economics, Human Resources, and Marketing Management scored lowest on Use and Importance scales. Personal Sales may be considered a part of Communication. Pure Economics may not be seen by practitioners as a daily need. Table 4 Use of Business Knowledge Areas by Discipline Economics/Finance Healthcare Management Accounting Management/Marketing 4.4 3.3 2.9 3.0 Accounting Communication 4.8 4.9 5.0 4.8 Economics 2.8 3.0 2.0 2.6 3.8 3.6 3.3 3.3 2.8 2.5 2.7 2.9 4.1 4.1 3.8 4.2 2.7 2.5 2.6 2.7 Finance Legal Matters Operations Management Human Resources Strategic Management Marketing Management Personal Sales Analytical Methods MIS 2.9 3.3 2.8 3.3 2.1 2.7 2.0 3.1 2.2 2.7 2.0 2.9 3.2 3.3 2.5 2.9 3.0 3.4 2.8 3.2 941
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