Business leadership in the classroom

This action research assesses a framework that assists business educators in promoting leadership within a classroom. It is designed to better prepare students to assume leadership and fill the "leadership gap" in business. Two classes of 2nd-year community college business students participated in running and managing their own business community as teams of sales professionals by developing and practicing their own individual leadership for 28 weeks during their sales courses. The intent was to assess the development of leadership resulting from the implementation of the "Business Leadership in the Classroom" framework. This framework balances leadership principles to simulate a business environment with the practical elements of a learning community under the facilitation of an experienced business educator. The action research approach was used to assess and adjust approaches to business leadership on a continuous basis throughout the research. Data were collected from 61 students based on journals, surveys, peer group reviews, and my (facilitator) reflective journal.The findings reveal that both individual and collective business leadership views and practical skills developed over time. A business leadership mind-set evolved that ranged from a general awareness of the importance of leadership, to a conscious and deliberate use of individual leadership. Areas important in building a progression of leadership included: leadership teams, membership roles, weekly leadership teams, peer feedback, and activity-based learning. Emerging themes included leadership, leadership style, teamwork, as well as influence and motivation. The research framework was effective in supporting the development of business leadership but required some adjustments. These included increased structure and feedback mechanisms. Interpretation of the findings demonstrates the importance of real-world practical education in the classroom. Results show how focusing on a single mind-set such as business leadership, can result in enormous individual growth and development. When business students are encouraged to act as real businesspeople, managing their own learning, the results are effective in preparing them for the business world. All participants expressed their leadership in different ways based on personality and individual strengths. There was an overwhelming and, in some cases, passionate interest in leadership. The use of action research with a range of data collection methods provides a way to measure and track individual student learning and to generate adjustments to the research framework design and learning approaches. The findings generate implications and recommendations to continue this research further. Key recommendations center around how to ensure leadership development is sustained, including improved approaches to heighten the real-world feel of the classroom. Specifically, the use of leadership goals and action plans for each individual participant and an active use of outside business resource people as contacts for participants is recommended.

Burgoyne Centre for Entrepreneurship fonds

An Entrepreneurship Centre was established at Brock University in 1988 as a joint venture between the University and the City of St. Catharines. In Januaray 1989, a generous donation was made to the Centre by the Burgoyne family, proprietors of the St. Catharines Standard. The Centre subsequently became known as the Burgoyne Centre for Entrepreneurship (BCE). The Centre’s mission was to “promote excellence in research, education and training for entrepreneur development and new venture creation”. To achieve this objective, it was necessary for the BCE to become a community focal point and serve as a link between academic, private and government sectors in the Niagara Region that were involved in entrepreneurial activities. This was primarily done with the provision of educational programs offered through cooperating organizations. Funding for the Centre came from multiple sources, including fees for services and contract research, endowments and grants, as well as Brock University. An Advisory Council, composed of local prominent businesspeople and chaired by Henry Burgoyne, assisted the Centre with promotion and fundraising. The partnerships established by the BCE with other community bodies such as the Lincoln County Board of Education and the Niagara Region Development Corporation resulted in important collaborative community initiatives such as the Niagara Enterprise Agency and the New Enterprise Store. Such collaborations increased the Centre’s profile without duplicating or competing with services offered by existing agencies. The BCE was also instrumental in establishing an entrepreneurship curriculum for secondary school students, and collaborated with the Faculty of Education at Brock University to offer an Ontario Secondary School Entrepreneurship Specialist Teaching Certificate Program to teachers. As the BCE became more prolific in the community, and the iniatives it fostered in the community began to thrive, the Centre’s leadership required the authority to make instantaneous decisions. This was at odds with the hierarchical structure of the University, to which the BCE was accountable. Ultimately, this situation led to the demise of the Centre. The university focused its efforts on academic research and undergraduate courses, while the community partners took responsibility for any joint programs.