University Executive Education Gets Real

Business simulations apply a 'learn-by-doing' approach.

FROM OPEN-ENROLLMENT nondegreed programs to small-group fast track MBAs or customized management education programs, university executive education programs are changing to meet the needs of executives. Having already experienced the demands and speed of the real world, managers grow weary with lectures and theory. As the pace of business accelerates, corporations are seeking a faster, more tangible return on their investment in education.

In response, university executive education programs are changing both the materials and the teaching methods by incorporating business simulations and interdisciplinary teaching teams into the classroom. By injecting real-life situations into the classroom, adult learners are more engaged in the curriculum.

Classroom simulation

Recognizing the flexibility and relevancy of all aspects of business education, many universities are adding business simulations to their academic tool chest. As a way to reduce costs, many are partnering with corporate education companies and consultants. The partnerships enable universities to provide managers with powerful educational tools that are normally reserved for corporate education settings.

"The move toward implementing more experiential learning into the classroom through simulations is in response to a need for more integration of functional business areas," says Dayle Smith, professor of management and organizational behavior at the University of San Francisco's School of Business and Management. "This provides the working manager with the problem-solving experience and skills he will need to effectively maneuver in today's complex business world."

Experiential learning

Business simulations utilize discovery learning. Psychologists Carl Rogers and B.F. Skinner both agree that adults learn best through self-discovery. Rogers, the humanist, said, "Learning is facilitated when the learner participates responsibly in the learning process...significant learning is acquired by doing." Skinner, the behaviorist, said, "To acquire behavior, the student must engage in behavior."

The increased use of simulation has led to interdisciplinary teaching teams. A long-time complaint from the business world has been the academic tag-team teaching approach that sometimes includes the organizational theorist, the financial expert, and the marketing professor. This teaching method often fails to build bridges among different areas of expertise.

"A team approach not only brings the discussion of a business case study to life, but it gives students access to all the areas of expertise that they'll need to call on in the real world," says Doug Bowie, manager of custom executive programs at the University of Calgary's Haskayne School of Business.

Smith agrees, adding that "real integrative learning takes place when students have the opportunity to discuss and analyze business issues as they relate to different functional areas. Imagine a finance professor, a marketing professor, and an organizational behavior professor bringing up issues that require reconciling different priorities. Asking these types of questions requires the students to see how the areas fit together." .

Teamwork

Another benefit of interdisciplinary teams is a more accurate representation of how problems should be approached in the workplace.

"Solving an issue effectively often calls for input from several different departments within the organization," says Smith. "Using faculty from different disciplines to role model the kind of discussion and interaction that may occur in a corporate boardroom challenges students to think like senior managers. While a particular area may not be your expertise, your senior role sets the expectation of an understanding of the language and tools of other areas."

Additionally, when teachers work together to create the best possible outcome, students see firsthand the key relationship between having common goals and achieving objectives.

"The constant improvement that results from working in an interdisciplinary team also accurately models the successful collaboration of cross-functional teams that are characteristic of more agile and competitive organizations," says Bowie. "Working toward a common goal ensures that any problem is solved faster while continuously improving the entire process."

That is a huge departure from a single professor lecturing to the students about his area of expertise without stopping for discussion.

"This change alone is dramatically improving the quality of the teaching and the learning taking place in the university management classroom," says Bowie.

Business simulation

All of the universities using simulations agree that they are powerful tools for learning. First and foremost, simulations allow people to learn by doing. Research proves that concepts learned through discovery are quickly transferred from theory to action. In the words of Chris Agyris, discovery learning promotes "double-loop learning," which promotes behavioral changes.