Business Commons^™

The Effectiveness Of Social Responsibility Courses In Higher Education, Courtney Droms Hatch, Sheryl-Ann Stephen

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Individual and corporate social responsibility has been gaining more and more attention over the last several years. We examine the effectiveness of incorporating social responsibility courses into the curriculum in higher education, with a specific look at Butler University. In general, the results indicate that implementing this type of curricular program is beneficial to the students but affects students differently based on their gender and age. Specifically, the results show that female students generally have a higher level of individual social responsibility than their male counterparts. The results also indicate that the students’ level of social responsibility influence their perceptions …

Spend Now Or Spend Later: The Role Of A Business Education And Critical Thinking Skills In Increasing Retirement Plan Saving Rates For New, Young Enrollees, Priscilla Arling, Jill Kirby, Kegan Saajasto

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

For college graduates entering the workforce, contributing to an employer-sponsored 401(k) retirement plan can be an important way of saving for the future. However, contribution rates for young people in these plans are far below recommended percentages, leading to concerns about future financial stability for these individuals. Prior work has shown that a college student’s major and academic coursework affect their general financial knowledge. However, little is known about what content within a course of study correlates with specific financial decisions. The decision of how much to save in a 401(k) plan is complex and requires thinking beyond a present-day …

A Systems Analysis Experiential Case Study: Repeatable Real World Problem Solving, Priscilla Arling, C. Deeter, H. Eggers

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Many business schools today are emphasizing experiential education, particularly in undergraduate instruction, where students often have had limited exposure to business settings. While a business problem can be presented in the form of a written case study, real world projects for external clients are increasingly being incorporated into the classroom. However finding suitable clients and projects for multiple student teams each semester can be difficult.

Pedagogical Strategies For Teaching Moral Minimalism, Richard Mcgowan

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

In 1986, Stephen Satris’s article, "Student Relativism," means to "offer analysis of, and suggest some methods for dealing with, a quite particular and peculiar problem in teaching philosophy…I speak of the problem of student relativism." (Satris, 1986, p. 193) The problem has not gone away.

However, psychological research suggests that the problem of relativism, a problem especially critical for teaching business ethics (or any other class in applied philosophy) is not insolvable. This paper, extending earlier work by R. McGowan, provides a brief account of research by Lawrence Kohlberg and William Perry on the structure of thought exhibited by students, …

The Impact Of A Computer Proficiency Exam On Business Students' Admission To And Performance In A Higher-Level It Course, Patrick Rondeau, Li Xiaolin

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Many colleges of business now assume incoming freshmen arrive on campus possessing high levels of computer skill and ability. Students are frequently offered the opportunity to take and pass a computer proficiency exam (CPE) in lieu of a freshman information technology (IT) course. While promoted as an efficient alternative, our analysis of the implementation of a CPE as a replacement for the freshman IT course at a small, Midwestern university revealed mixed results. As expected, we found those students who took and passed the CPE generally scored higher in their follow-on, sophomore IT course than those who passed the prerequisite, …

Building Momentum For Business School Curriculum Change: Measurable Lessons From A Pilot Course In Real Business Experience, Mark Uchida, Craig B. Caldwell, Friel Terry, Lawrence J. Lad

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Curriculum change requires thoughtful planning and a willingness to experiment with different modes of content delivery. While many business schools are experimenting, few measure student outcomes against the traditional courses they replace. One element of Butler University's College of Business Administration curriculum revision was a pilot course, "Real Business Experience ", in which students developed a professional business plan, sought and received funding from a professional level funding panel, and ran their businesses. To determine whether the pilot course was successful in reaching its goal of "teaching students about the messiness of business and developing more adaptable and confident business …

Effectiveness Of Online Learning Program: A Case Study Of A Higher Education Institution, Hongjiang Xu, Omamerhi Ebojoh

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Online learning has become a popular tool in addition to traditional learning methods. This study emphasizes on how assessment and delivery methods employed can influence the effectiveness of online program, as well as the benefits and constrains experienced in e-learning. The research project was conducted at a Higher Educational Institution for a period of three months. A case study methodology was employed to investigate the opinions and experiences of faculty and students involved in online programs. Various factors that affect the effectiveness of online programs were studied in order to provide insights on the major challenges, benefits and limitations faced. …

The Effect Of Instructional Technologies On The Finance Classroom, Steven D. Dolvin, J. Michael Morgan, Mark Pyles

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Using a survey technique, we evaluate the effect of PowerPoint, online lecture notes, financial calculators, and machine readable forms (MRF) on students' assessment of the quality of instruction, perceived knowledge level, satisfaction, post-course interest in the subject, and average grade in introductory finance courses. We also examine these opinions on a relative basis by comparing the responses of Finance majors versus non-Finance majors. The results suggest that certain technologies are received better than others and further, that the perceived quality of instructional techniques is largely contingent on the student's choice of major.

A Survey Of Aacsb Accredited Institutions And The Use Of Work Experiences As Part Of The Business Curricula, Karel A. Updyke, James F. Sander

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

This paper describes a survey of all American AACSB-accredited schools of business. The survey gathered information concerning work experiences (internships or cooperative education) required or offered in business curricula. Of the targeted schools, 133 responded. Results are presented regarding internship characteristics (prerequisites, student compensation, and course credit); assessment of students' performance (grading. learning objectives, academic and work components of grade determination); and administrative issues (site visits, release time, and faculty compensation). Of the 133 respondents. 12 require work experience of all majors, 14 require it of some majors, 88 offer but do not require, and J 9 offer no work …

The Psychological Foundation For An Integrated Course In Law And Ethics, Richard Mcgowan

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Centuries ago, Thomas Aquinas noted that “human reason must proceed from the precepts of the natural law as from certain common and indispensable principles to other more particular dispositions” (ST I-II, 91, 3) He said that “because of the uncertainty of human judgment, especially in contingent and particular matters, it happens that different decisions are made about different human acts so that laws are often divergent and even contradictory.” (91, 4) To the casual reader, Thomas might be endorsing a position akin to ethical relativism but Thomas finds little to endorse about that position: “the truth is the same for …

The Impact Of Group Selection On Student Performance And Satisfaction, Sakthi Mahenthiran, Pamela J. Rouse

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Investigates whether the performance and attitudes of students could be improved by giving them some control over the group selection process. Groups were formed either by randomly combining paired friends or by randomly assigning all students. Students completed a group exercise and a group case. The dependent variables were the project grades and student satisfaction. Student satisfaction was measured using a questionnaire. The results show that attitudes of students were more positive when they were allowed to choose a single friend in the group. The project grades were significantly higher when students were paired, and this result was true regardless …

Assessing Higher-Level Thinking Skills, Federation Schools Of Accountancy Accounting Pedagogical Resource Series, C. Johnson, C. Baril, Sakthi Mahenthiran, M. Sarhan, G. Weinstein

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

This resource catalog is one of a series prepared for the Pedagogical Resources Committee of the Federation of Schools of Accountancy. The aim of the resource catalog series is to provide background information for instructors interested in enhancing classroom pedagogy. Each resource catalog focuses on a single pedagogical issue or approach. The catalogs are authored by educators who are familiar with the issue or approach in both their classroom efforts and research writings.