Integrated Curriculum in College Business Programs

Integrated Curriculum in College Business Programs refers to an educational approach that combines various business disciplines to provide a comprehensive understanding of how organizations function. This model contrasts with traditional teaching methods that often isolate subjects like marketing, accounting, and operations. Instead, the integrated curriculum emphasizes the interconnections between these areas, preparing students for real-world challenges by fostering teamwork and critical thinking skills.

With the evolving landscape of business in the 21st century—marked by globalization, technological advancements, and a heightened focus on ethics and social responsibility—educators recognize the need to equip students with practical skills alongside academic knowledge. This curriculum model often includes experiential learning opportunities, such as internships and community service, to enhance student engagement and job readiness.

Despite its potential benefits, the implementation of integrated curricula faces challenges, including faculty preparedness and varying levels of institutional support. Nonetheless, this approach aims to better align business education with the expectations of the business community and the complexities of modern organizations, ensuring graduates are more adept at navigating the intricacies of the workplace.

Published in: 2021

By: Wienclaw, Ruth A.

Subject Terms

Integrated Curriculum in College Business Programs

Abstract

From their inception in the late nineteenth century, college business programs have evolved from trade schools to research-oriented academic departments. Although this may be a step forward in some ways, many observers in both the business community and in academia believe that this approach ill-prepares students for leadership and success in the real world. As a result, many business programs are integrating their curricula across disciplines to give students a better picture of how an organization operates. In addition, there is an increased emphasis on the acquisition of practical skills for finding a job, gaining hands-on experience in the real world, and increased professionalism through ethics and social responsibility.

Overview

Business & Business Schools. Business programs came into existence in the US during the late nineteenth century, in response to pressure from the business community to teach students practical skills that they could use upon graduation (Bohanon, 2008). Business programs in colleges and universities in the twenty-first century are part of a liberal education. This means that not only do students acquire knowledge and skills appropriate to their chosen career, but also do so while studying other subjects considered part of a well-rounded education. Because the business courses are part of the university experience, they must be disciplined and approached with scientific rigor. While it provides many benefits, this often works against the acquisition of practical skills.

For the most part, business schools are intended to be professional schools on the order of medical, engineering, or law schools, that prepare their students for real-world applications rather than giving them general knowledge. The question, however, is whether business concepts comprise a similar type of skills set as those taught in professional schools. The trend in business schools associated with colleges has been to become more academic rather than practical in nature, with an emphasis on scientific method and research rather than on pragmatic workplace skills. Bennis and O'Toole (2005) observe that many of the faculty members of business schools may not have actually applied the skills they are teaching in real business settings. As a result, many in the business community have decried this practice and have pointed out that many business school graduates seem ill-prepared to be leaders in the business world.

The concept of the integrated curriculum is held as a way to rectify these issues. It uses an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary approach to expand the student experience. Practical education, including internships and startup incubation, is a major focus of the integrated curriculum at the college business program level.

Further Insights

Criticisms regarding business schools abound, including that they do not impart useful skills to students, fail to prepare future leaders for the tasks they will face, do not sufficiently instill ethical norms for business behavior, and, in fact, may not even lead to better corporate jobs for their graduates.

Theoretical & Practical Business Education. Bennis and O'Toole (2005) believe that at least part of the blame for this practical failure on the part of business schools lies with the fact that while business programs are dedicated to educating future business leaders, they also have the goal of expanding the frontiers of knowledge through scientific research as is practiced in other academic disciplines. Although it can certainly be argued that research is necessary to advance any profession, Bennis and others believe that many business schools focus too much on the theoretical and not enough on the practical. This does not mean, of course, that applying the tenets of science and research to better understand business problems and how to solve them is a bad thing. Rather, Bennis and those who agree with his position believe that many business schools have embraced scientific rigor at the expense of practical knowledge. To rectify this lack of balance, it is suggested that business schools try to pattern themselves more after the approach of other professional schools where research is an important part of the curriculum, but takes second place to learning—and practicing—real world skills.

Whether this is the appropriate course of action for business schools in the future depends on whether business can truly be thought of as a profession in the same terms as medicine, dentistry, law, and engineering. Bohanon (2008) notes several characteristics of professional schools. First, they require extensive periods of specific training in order for the student to learn his/her craft. Second, practitioners of the profession have ethical obligations to various stakeholders (e.g., employees, suppliers, distributors, stockholders, customers, the public). Often, these ethical obligations run counter to the monetary interests of the professional, or the obligations to the various stakeholders may be in conflict. Third, professions typically have common bodies of knowledge and certification procedures to affirm that the individual has achieved mastery of that knowledge. Whether these characteristics are representative of the business profession remains a matter of continuing debate (Bohanon, 2008).

Whether business is a profession in the same way as medicine, law, and others may be a matter of debate. However, the observation that many business schools have failed to adequately prepare students for leadership in the real world has been widely noted by students, professors, academic administrators, and corporate observers. In addition, the changing landscape of business possibilities in the twenty-first century has resulted in new emphases:

The use and leveraging of advanced technology to make better business decisions or improve the efficiency of work processes;
Issues of environmental impact and sustainability related to the business's products and processes;
The perceived need to be socially responsible and contribute to the needs of the community in addition to making a profit;
Issues related to globalization and international business including cultural diversity, customer service, and communications; and
New approaches to marketing and branding that reflect the cultural zeitgeist and increase market share.

To prepare future business leaders to meet these and other challenges of doing business in the twenty-first century, business programs in higher education need to address these issues in addition to teaching the basics principles of business operation and leadership. Otherwise, graduates will be ill-prepared to meet the challenges of the real world.

Curriculum Integration. One of the major approaches to rectifying this situation is through curriculum integration. In this approach, business sub-disciplines (e.g., marketing, accounting, production) are not taught in isolation, but are presented in context with their effect on other sub-disciplines. Curriculum integration has been used at the pre-college level as a way to help students understand the relationship between subject areas and to make their studies more meaningful. This same approach applies to college-level business curricula. Curriculum integration at this level is broad-based, multiple disciplinary, and organization-centric (Athavale, Davis, & Myring, 2008). Through this approach, students can acquire a better appreciation of the dependencies of different areas of an organization on each other. This helps students work better in cross-functional teams in the workplace and assists them in better understanding how the organization functions, the reality and use of common resources, and how functions can work together to reach organizational goals. This understanding helps students be better prepared for the realities of the workplace and a successful career.

In addition to making the curriculum more meaningful to students, another major reason cited for the use of curriculum integration is the changing nature of business. The changes in the way that business is conducted in the twenty-first century have often had positive results. Advances in communications technology, for example, have resulted in globalization and a marketplace that operates outside constraints of time zone or national boundary. Similarly, data management technology allows the collection and storage of information that can be used to inform an endless array of business decisions from what coupons to send to customers to guiding new product development. However, too often the daily newspaper shows other ways that the face of business in the twenty-first century has changed. The Enron scandal and subprime mortgage crisis, for example, illustrate that ethical considerations and critical thinking are still important. Similarly, the 2010 British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico illustrates the wide-spread ramifications on both environment and society that can result from bad business decisions.

There are a number of different ways that business schools practice curriculum integration. One of the most popular methods is through the use of a comprehensive case study that is studied in multiple classes across functional areas. Another popular approach to curriculum integration is to follow the path of new product development to examine how different functions all contribute to the process. Others include offering a course in business policy and strategy, the use of current events in the business world and examining cross-functional implications, using common themes across courses in the curriculum (e.g., emphasis on ethics, social responsibility, teamwork), offering community service, mentoring, or internship programs to students, and field work with local businesses.

Although there appears to be a mandate for curriculum integration both from the business community and from professional business organizations, support for these programs varies from school to school and the effectiveness of the efforts is often related to the level of support (Pharr, 2003). One problem is that many faculty members are either unprepared for or uncomfortable with teaching in an integrated curriculum. This may be due to several factors. As pointed out by Bennis and O'Toole (2005), many business faculty members (with the encouragement of their schools) have become focused on research rather than practice. Since much research is focused on advancing the state of the art for a given functional area, many faculty members may not have sufficient background or incentive to learn about other functional areas. This situation is compounded when faculty members are primarily academicians and have not ever practiced their skills in the real world. However, as the mandate for integrated curricula and the learning of practical, real-world skills continues, it is likely that curriculum integration efforts will continue and that business programs will adapt to meet the needs of the business community and better serve all stakeholders.

Co-Curricular Career Preparation. Although curriculum integration is one approach to improving both the curriculum of business schools and their contribution to the profession, it is not the only approach. Xavier University, for example, instituted a mandatory, noncredit, co-curricular career preparation program, called the Business Profession, for its undergraduate business majors (Clark, 2005). The philosophy behind this co-curricular career preparation program is to help students to better understand how academics, extracurricular activities, and work experience combine to position them for a better career after graduation. Such a program also helps them overcome the problems of procrastination, rationalization, and unrealistic expectations that can hamper them in achieving early career goals.

As opposed to optional, piecemeal career programs offered in some schools, the Xavier University program was a mandatory noncredit program that is integrated throughout the four-year business curriculum. The program also had a co-curricular administrative structure that helps make it successful (see Figure 1). By setting up the program in this way, it was possible to expedite approval for the program because it did not require changes to the existing business curriculum. In addition, because the courses in the program were noncredit, it was not necessary to fit them into the time constraints and other parameters of a for-credit course, thereby allowing more flexibility in the offerings. The program also involved local business leaders to evaluate the courses and programs, thereby helping to ensure the relevance of the program to the students (Clark, 2005).

The first year of the program focuses primarily on self-assessment and setting goals. During this phase, there is a mandatory orientation, career testing, a business ethics and diversity seminar, a time management course, and individual discussions with an executive in residence. After the end of the first year, the emphasis of the program shifts from an inward focus to an outward focus. In the second year, the focus is on helping students develop the skills needed for successful placement into an internship or co-op opportunity. These opportunities not only help students acquire real-world experience, but also give them practice with such practical skills as writing a resume, applying for a job, and interviewing. The second year also includes an orientation to the activities of the sophomore year including the benefits of internships and co-ops, a workshop on resume writing skills, and another workshop on interviewing skills. During their junior year, students are required to attend an orientation for the year, a workshop on how to successfully work a career fair, an event concerning diversity across careers, and a "meet the firms" night. During their senior year, students attend another orientation, meet individually with their mentors, take a workshop on behavior-based interviewing, learn how to evaluate job offers, and take a workshop on how to conduct a job search campaign (Clark, 2005).

In addition, students are required to attend a minimum of four elective events during the second through fourth years. Second year options include workshops on professional etiquette, executive presence, dressing for success, and an arts event. Third year options include a seminar on women and careers, careers in nonprofit organizations, and entrepreneurship as a career option. The elective events in the fourth year include a resume review, a mock interview, and a workshop on professional associations (Clark, 2005).

Terms & Concepts

Business: An economic system in which goods and services are exchanged between parties. The metric for the exchange of goods and services is based on their relative perceived worth, and may be done for money or for other goods and services. To be viable, a business requires an investment, customers, and the ability to consistently sell goods and services at a profit.

Curriculum: A set of training or education courses that must be followed in sequence in order to acquire a diploma or degree. The term "curriculum" may be used to refer to the set of courses or their content. (plural, curricula)

Entrepreneur: At its most basic, an entrepreneur is a person who starts a new business. However, the word typically carries with it the connotation of taking risks to turn innovative ideas into profit-making ventures.

Ethics: In philosophy, ethics refers to the study of the content of moral judgments (i.e., the difference between right and wrong) and the nature of these judgments (i.e., whether the judgments are subjective or objective.

Globalization: Globalization is the process of businesses or technologies to spread across the world. This creates an interconnected, global marketplace operating outside constraints of time zone or national boundary. Although globalization means an expanded marketplace, products are typically adapted to fit the specific needs of each locality or culture to which they are marketed.

Leadership: The process of influencing people and providing an environment in which they can achieve team and organizational objectives. Leadership can be attempted, successful, or effective depending on the response of those who the leader is attempting to lead. The term leadership can also be used to refer to those within an organizational setting that have the responsibility of balancing the interests of all organizational stakeholders, setting and communicating a vision for the organization, and inducing others to help meet the vision.

Market Share: The proportion of total sales of a given type of product or service that are earned by a particular business or organization.

Scientific Method: A cornerstone of organizational behavior theory in which a systematic approach is used to understand some aspect of behavior in the workplace by individuals, teams, or organizations. The scientific method is based on controlled and systematic data collection, interpretation, and verification in a search for reproducible results. In organizational behavior theory, the goal is to be able to apply these results to real-world applications.

Social Responsibility: The philosophy that an individual, corporation, government, or other entity has the obligation to contribute to the welfare of the community of which it is a part. Social responsibility includes taking the impact of one's decisions or actions on others, in particular those who are disadvantaged.

Stakeholder: A person or group that can affect or be affected by a decision or action. In marketing, stakeholders may include the organization's employees, suppliers, distributors, and stockholders.

Technology: The application of scientific methods and knowledge to the attainment of industrial or commercial objectives. Technology includes products, processes, and knowledge.

Bibliography

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Integrated Curriculum in College Business Programs

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Subject Terms

Integrated Curriculum in College Business Programs

Abstract

Overview

Further Insights

Terms & Concepts

Bibliography

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