For several decades, business schools have been the center of discussions that urge needed improvements in how and what is taught. The driving force for this change is the need for more ethical, socially responsible business managers running our companies and benefiting society. Almost everyone agrees on the needed change. But how does higher education, while adjusting to rapid expansion and economic pressure, achieve higher aspirations and more professional qualities for business students? This is where the old framework of “professionalism” may help solve a new and evolving problem. The nature of professions and professional education are particularly interesting subjects to address what is needed to improve business education. While the field of business has claimed the status of a “profession,” it has not closely examined the ideals and responsibilities that are intertwined with that status.
The current challenges are many, often because of the expansion of knowledge that business students need to master for their careers. Our book uses the concepts embedded in the definition of “profession” to begin to make the needed changes toward business professional education. We provide practical approaches that employ established and accepted practices used in other professions, such as medicine and nursing, but adapt them to the business discipline. Although the goal of professionalism does not end with undergraduate studies, this book was written with undergraduates in mind. Both authors teach at the undergraduate level, and therefore the techniques and approaches used targeted this group of students. However, there is a similar opportunity to utilize the platform of professionalism at the graduate level.
The book used Miller’s (1985) theoretical framework, namely the “Wheel of Professionalism” to build a model of recommended changes. Although the authors, for the most part, have used these approaches at their college, the book only recommends the suggested approaches—to the degree they can be adapted to various environments and programs. We hope that deans, administrators, and faculty involved in business programs at colleges and universities benefit from our work and adapt it to their programs.
The implementation of the book can be done in part or as a whole. For improvements in ethics education, Chapters 4 and 5 provide several suggestions. For more significant improvements toward professionalism, starting at Chapter 3 is important, in addition to reviewing the resources that we used to develop our methodology, which are listed in the references. For ideas on infusing theory, interdisciplinary learning, and leadership, Chapters 6 and 7 provide a wealth of examples. Finally, for adding a social agency component to a business program, Chapter 8 is good resource.
In the last chapter, the authors explain how they have been able to implement many changes within the business program and outline the steps to start on this path. We recognize that our work at Whittier College was to embed liberal arts approaches into our business curriculum. In that process, issues of ethical behavior and decision-making, analysis from multiple points of view, and engagement with the community were important. As Lana, and later Susan, began to see the connections to the “professional” model, we confirmed that what we were doing and the many ideas that were generated could be useful in the wider discussions about changing the education of undergraduate business majors. The extensive literature on professions suggested some of the same approaches that are at the core of the liberal arts. That “aha” moment was the start of our collaboration on this book.
Below is a brief description of the structure of the book. The first part covers the historical background of how the business discipline evolved, as well as theoretical models to study professionals. The goal of the first part is to understand how business education can incorporate a model of professionalism, as well as how business students compare to other students relative to the elements of the professional model namely, expertise, autonomy of judgment, self-concept, and social agency.
In the second part, the model uses the “wheel of professionalism” to present the curricular elements that are essential to achieve higher levels of professionalism. These elements include a foundation of ethics with repeating themes, multi-framing and leadership studies, theory development, research and continuous knowledge building, and community service orientation. The chapter explains each of the elements, as well as its importance for the professional development of business students.
In the third part, we recommend a separate course for building a foundation in ethics with a focus on the individual, the student, rather than the corporation and its stakeholders. We then suggest repeating and integrating ethical concepts in all subsequent business courses as described by the AACSB.
In the fourth part, we discuss other curricular elements such as interdisciplinary learning, multi-framing, leadership education, and civic engagement, using specific examples of how educators can implement these methods in the classroom. We end the book with a summary of recommendations for educators contemplating this approach. Following is a quick summary for each of the chapters, separated by parts.
Part 1: Theoretical Model for Professionalism and Prior Studies—Chapters 1 and 2
Chapter 1 briefly reviews the scholarly concepts associated with “professionalism” and the “profession,” and argues the point of their relevance to today’s education. This chapter points out that there is often limited use of these concepts, theoretical or in practice, in educational settings that teach management and other business disciplines. The goal is to point out the importance of a different curricular approach to teach this discipline in order to enhance the autonomy and social agency of pre-professionals, namely undergraduate business students.
Chapter 2 provides an understanding of the components of “professionalism” (Autonomy of Judgment, Expertise, Self-concept, and Social Agency) and the benefits of targeting these components pedagogically and in the classroom. It will briefly introduce the work that has been done in recent research studies on professionalism. Given that 68 percent of undergraduate students join professions at some point in their careers in areas such as business, engineering, health professions and others, this text proposes an educational approach that stresses these components.
Part 2: Wheel of Professionalism for Business Education Chapter 3
Chapter 3 provides a framework to build elements of professionalism within a professional program—in our case, business administration. This framework was originally developed by Miller (1985) for nursing, but adapted for business professionals in this study. Curricular elements of professionalism include a foundation of ethics, theory development, multi-frame and critical thinking, research and continuous knowledge building, community service orientation, code of ethics, participation in professional organizations, and autonomy. These areas need to be addressed in business programs to move them closer to professional programs. Each of these elements will be explained in the chapter. Thus, Chapter 3 lays the foundation for future chapters.
Part 3: Foundation of Ethics and Repeating Themes in Business Curriculum—Chapters 4 and 5
Chapter 4 discusses an issue that business schools have debated for years, namely, whether to offer a single course on business ethics versus integrating ethics within the entire business curriculum. We strongly propose a foundational business ethics course that allows students to become familiar with ethics as a discipline. The course should provide students with the framework and methodology for thinking of ethical dilemmas, regardless if they are associated with business or nonbusiness situations.
Chapter 5 argues that after building a foundation in ethics, it is important that students continue to see ethical issues in other business courses. As suggested by AACSB, we propose weaving ethical themes into all business curricula using a sequenced ethical model. Specifically, this means more attention to the stimulation of ethical sensitivity and motivation in the classroom, prior to ethical action. This step allows students to feel the ethical dilemmas first, prior to judging the rights and wrongs, and thus moving away from decisions that are based only on case facts and the law. Using Fink’s (2013) Model “Taxonomy of Significant Learning” is consistent with this approach. This method invites students to consider ethical situations by looking deeply into the circumstances, using multi-framing and visualization, putting oneself into the situation, and understanding various societal views on an issue. We borrow from the literature that Gentile developed in Giving Voice to Values (GVV) and how her research tremendously helps in the development of professionals. This innovative curriculum allows professionals to express their autonomy and voice their values. The chapter covers the linkage between GVV and professionalism. The chapter also explains our recommended step approach of developing students by giving them a foundation in ethics, building their ability for ethical sensitivity, using the humanities to develop their professional identity, connecting students to their communities in order to grow their social agency—all of which support their abilities to express their thoughts and values.
Part 4: Suggested Curricular Path Towards Professionalism: Interdisciplinary Approaches for Theory Building, Multi-frame Thinking, Research and Knowledge Building, Leadership, Autonomy and Social Agency—Chapters 6, 7, and 8
Chapter 6 describes the use of multi-disciplinarily approaches as a method to integrate theory and multi-frame thinking into the business curriculum. We also show how simple interdisciplinary modules can assist business students develop critical thinking skills—business faculty working with faculty in the humanities, arts, and social sciences (and some in science), which are then integrated into one’s business course. Faculty may also incorporate modules of global, environmental, and cross-cultural issues into an international business or marketing course. Moreover, for educational institutions that use paired courses, blocks, and the like, a course taught by business faculty can be linked to one taught by a faculty member in the humanities or sciences. These creative approaches also help build multi-frame thinking, ethical sensitivity, and autonomy in business students.
Chapter 7 examines the extensive literature on leadership and ties it to helping students develop the self-concept they need to become strong, autonomous professionals. The chapter starts by discussing that leadership and professionalism overlap and how both are critical to the development of business managers. By studying examples from the leadership literature, students begin to understand the different theories about leadership, thus encouraging critical thinking. The coursework described includes several assessments, which students can use to better understand their leadership skill and preferences. Use of these assessments helps students to look into themselves, which in turn can influence one’s self-concept. The goal of the chapter is to allow students to focus on aspects of leadership that help them become better business managers and professionals.
Chapter 8 provides an applied methodology that helps business students develop social agency (an area based on the quantitative studies shows they are clearly lacking). The chapter utilizes approaches present in business schools such as international courses, but broadens the purpose of them to include societal components such as the influence of business growth on society. Additionally, the chapter incorporates new methods in service learning courses that allow students to make sense of their communities while learning how to use their professional expertise.
Summary and Recommendations—Chapter 9
Chapter 9 provides some ideas and advice regarding how to work toward a business curriculum that addresses the elements of professionalism, and especially social agency and ethical behavior. Building on the work of Colby et al. (2011), we provide additional recommendations about what can be done and how to implement the professional model. Reviewing trends in higher education, such as the evolution of online learning and the deep specialization of business faculty into separate disciplines (e.g., marketing, accounting, finance), we see many challenges and opportunities for change.