The leader of the band: the pivotal role of the academic department head in the pursuit of continuous improvement and innovation in business education

College Student Journal, Sept, 2004 by Randall P. Settoon, David C. Wyld

Administrators of business schools across the country are coming under increasing pressure to demonstrate accountability in many ways, from curriculum to faculty development. As such, department heads are being asked to formalize processes and assess outcomes for purposes of "continuous improvement". Toward this end, it is vitally important for department heads to continuously scan the environment and reevaluate their programs in an effort to ensure that their degree programs, planning processes, and initiatives carry out the department's mission. Providing an impetus to strong leadership are recent trends in academia, including new modes of content delivery through Internet courses, weekend executive programs, and a new emphasis on creating partnerships with external constituencies, including industry and international universities. In this article, a roadmap--heavily influenced by AACSB (1999) standards--is presented for academic department heads. Based on the successful transformation of the authors' academic department, the article demonstrates both the roadmap for change, as well as discussing the challenges that must be addressed in instituting such a continuous improvement process in the academic environment.

INTRODUCTION--THE PERPETUAL CYCLE

Across departments in business schools, missions may vary and different activities may be emphasized. Nevertheless, a primary purpose of all departments is to provide a high-quality education. As a result, department heads are responsible for working with faculty to develop departmental action plans in support of their mission, strategic goals and strategic plans. With the proper departmental committee structure in place, including an external advisory board, departments can focus on necessary activities, ALL of which are driven by its mission and core values of the department. Generally, the four most important processes to be formalized by an academic department should focus on the following four interconnected processes, depicted in Figure 1.

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These four processes are ongoing, thus leading to the focus on "continuous improvement." As can be seen in Figure 1, strategic planning uses the department's mission and core values as a basis for developing goals and actions plans. Based on the devised action plans, departmental resources are dedicated in crucial areas. Finally, progress toward goals--specified in the strategic plan--are evaluated. The results of these analyses are used subsequently in refining the mission development and ongoing strategic planning. Therefore, it is clear that the most important job of the department head is to manage this ongoing cycle of activities.

WHERE IT ALL BEGINS: THE MISSION STATEMENT

Because the mission statement is the focus for the department's activities, a formal review process should he implemented, as depicted in Figure 2. The department should conduct a thorough review and revision of its mission, involving faculty representatives, student representatives, alumni and representatives of local businesses. The resulting mission statement should clearly delineate an emphasis on quality teaching, research, and service, ranking them in importance, according to the mission of the department.

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

The departmental mission statement should appear prominently in a variety of high-profile, readily accessible locations, including the university catalogue, college and departmental brochures, college annual reports, and college and departmental publications and web sites.

Although mission statements are purely a reflection of the department and its purpose, all missions should emphasize a minimum of four key themes, as outlined in Table 1.

The department should engage in decision-making that reflects a commitment to the key themes of its mission statement, allowing the decision-makers to choose their own pursuits from a wide range of activities, all of which relate to the mission of the unit.

Educational objectives for each degree program should be created, reviewed, and revised continuously, with an emphasis on developing business leaders. To achieve this, departments can do many things. For example, providing extra-curricular business programs brings together students, business leaders, and other dignitaries to discuss leadership and other contemporary business topics. Internship opportunities provide relevant practical business experience to students. Partnerships with international universities foster understanding of global business issues. Departments should actively seek opportunities such as grants and special appropriations to enhance its ability to recruit and retain high quality faculty. Faculty evaluation instruments are directly linked to the mission, with quality teaching as the primary expectation.

In addition to a commitment to high quality teaching, faculty should adopt quality research as a key value. Research plays an important role in professional development, as it keeps the faculty member aware of the most recent trends in the academic literatures and, as a byproduct, enhances instruction through ensuring that faculty are themselves more knowledgeable.