A comparative study as to how business students, business college faculty members, corporate recruiters, and contemporary critics view the objectives of collegiate schools of business

Includes bibliographical references.Attention continues to be spotlighted on three widely discussed phenomena: the information explosion, the accelerating rate of technological change, and the relevancy of the college curriculum. The three merge in the requirements and curriculum for an undergraduate degree in business. In the business school the needs of the student and the business community are shaped by the degree requirements and the faculty members. The problem was to compare the objectives of the collegiate school of business as perceived by business students, business college faculty members, and corporate recruiters. As a basis of viewing the study in terms of contemporary criticism, the study included four additional topics: contemporary education for business, contemporary business management, business education for the future, and business trends. The research study sampled 65 business students from three schools: Northern Illinois University, De Kalb, Illinois; Kansas State Teachers College, Emporia, Kansas; and Midwest Institute of Business Administration, Eureka, Kansas. Eleven business college faculty members were sampled from the same three schools. The stratum of selected corporate recruiters was determined from the list of recruiters who had conducted on-campus interviews through the Placement Office of Northern Illinois University during the 1967-68 academic year. Questionnaires were mailed to 55 recruiters. The medium selected was the group-specific questionnaire, with ten specific questions related to: business school graduates with a bachelor's degree, business organizations, and the undergraduate business curriculum. Critics of contemporary education for business cited the following criticisms: 1. The quality of students admitted to business colleges was lower than of other students in general. 2. The quality of instruction in business colleges was lower than the already low levels in other colleges. 3. A liberal arts background was better training for business management than studies in some functional area. 4. By adhering to worn-out doctrines the business colleges were turning out students lacking competence, imagination, and flexibility. 5. Other criticisms included: the use of the playback theory; curriculum restrictions dictated by narrow interests of senior faculty members; and narrow vocationalism. Contemporary business management was highlighted by the changes taking place in business organizations. Computer-controlled information processing systems were considered the foundation of the Second Industrial Revolution. Business education for the future would feature education as being the root of technological change, and as the basis for adaptation to change. Education would help men understand the new opportunities and responsibilities brought about by new knowledge and advanced technology. Trends in business education included: computer-assisted instruction, organizational and situational models, experimentation by individuals and groups, and individualized approaches to learning. Business trends included: continued hierarchical structures, but with more recentralization of programmable decisions, rapid scientific and technological change, more technicians and specialists, and use of analytical approaches to decision-making. The research study on the objectives of the collegiate schools of business revealed the following: 1. Over one half of the population sampled (58.0%) felt that the number of specific business courses required for an undergraduate degree was neither too large nor too small. 2. A large percentage of the population (88.2%) agreed that the average graduate would be adequately prepared for his first position in business management. 3. A slight majority of students and recruiters thought that the graduate would have adequate preparation for future, upper-level management. However, 88.9 per cent of the faculty members felt he would not. 4. While 44.5 per cent of the recruiters felt that the number of liberal arts requirements should be increased 50.8 per cent of the students thought it should stay the same; and 46.2 per cent of the faculty felt that it should be reduced. 5. Only the business students (62.3%) felt that employers were looking for a specialized background. Both the faculty members (63.6%) and the recruiters (55.6%) disagreed. 6. The population agreed (62.4%) that the average business curriculum did not contain too much theory. 7. The majority of faculty members (55.6%) thought that business management would be more specialized in the future. Both the students (50.0%) and the recruiters (46.2%) thought that it would "definitely" be more specialized. 8. The population unanimously agreed (86.2%) that the business college graduate would need to continue his education. 9. The courses which the population considered necessary for success in management included: accounting, human relations, marketing, data processing, on-the-job training, business communications, and finance. 10. Courses which the students would like to see dropped included: history, the sciences, and the liberal arts in general.M.S. (Master of Science