Follow the leaders? An analysis of convergence and innovation of faculty recruiting practices in US business schools

The debate associated with the qualifications of business school faculty has raged since the 1959 release of the Gordon–Howell and Pierson reports, which encouraged business schools in the USA to enhance their legitimacy by increasing their faculties’ doctoral qualifications and scholarly rigor. Today, the legitimacy of specific faculty qualifications remains one of the most discussed topics in management education, attracting the interest of administrators, faculty, and accreditation agencies. Based on new institutional theory and the institutional logics perspective, this paper examines convergence and innovation in business schools through an analysis of faculty hiring criteria. The qualifications examined are academic degree, scholarly publications, teaching experience, and professional experience. Three groups of schools are examined based on type of university, position within a media ranking system, and accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Data are gathered using a content analysis of 441 faculty postings from business schools based in the USA over two time periods. Contrary to claims of global convergence, we find most qualifications still vary by group, even in the mature US market. Moreover, innovative hiring is more likely to be found in non-elite schools.

Understanding the process of greening of Brazilian business schools

This study analyses business schools' incorporating environmental management issues into their core activities, defined through teaching, research, outreach and management. Taking into account the relative lack of literature on this theme, case study fieldwork is utilized. Two case studies were conducted at Brazilian business schools. The results were analyzed using the conceptual background of barriers to organizational change, transition to a more sustainable society, and path dependence. The main findings indicate that: (a) the incorporation of environmental management issues tends to begin with researching and teaching; (b) this incorporation process depends on the personal motivation of few or single faculty researchers; (c) the trajectory of the analyzed business schools is marked by advances and stagnation, when analyzing the incorporation of environmental management issues to its four core activities; (d) paradoxically, the analyzed business schools can be considered academic leaders in the field, but have had difficulties in adopting environmental management practices internally; (e) there is a path dependence effect in this process; (f) there are barriers to organizational change towards green business schools; (g) institutional entrepreneurs are important to the process of greening. This research represents the first research shedding light to understanding the process of greening of Brazilian business schools while considering the multidimensional aspects (teaching, research, outreach and university management). © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Business problems of the war

Diversity, fertilize, motorize, specialize.--The truth about the price of meat.--Lest women realize.--Our diminishing herds.--Why the banker should help to increase livestock production.--Food shortage: an appeal to physicians.--Stabilizing business.--Enthusiam.--Thoroughness.

Letters of a business woman to her daughter, and, Letters of a business girl to her mother

by Zora Putnam Wilkins.

Identification and feasibility test of specialized rural pedestrian safety training. Volume 3: PEDSAFE junior/senior high school materials. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Jobs for which you can qualify if you're a high school graduate.

May 1980.

National longitudinal study of the high school class of 1972 : sample design efficiency study: effects of stratification, clustering, and unequal weighting on the variances of NLS statistics /

Project officer: William B. Fetters.

High school and beyond : a descriptive summary of 1980 high school seniors, six years later /

"Data series: HSB-80/86-2.0, HSB-80/86-2.1."

Encouraging student to reflect on their employment experience

The purpose behind this case study is to share with a wider audience of placement officers, tutors and those who are involved in the management of placement students or employment of graduates, the approach taken to encourage reflective learning in undergraduate placement students at Aston Business School. Reflective learning forms an important foundation of the placement year at Aston Business School, where a professional placement is a mandatory element of the four year degree, for all Home/EU students (optional for International students) who are taking a Single Honours degree (i.e. a fully business programme). The placement year is not compulsory for those students taking a Combined Honours degree (i.e. a degree where two unrelated subjects are studied), although approximately 50% of those students taking an Aston Business School subject opt to take a placement year. Students spend their year out undertaking a ‘proper’ job within a company or public sector organisation. They are normally paid a reasonable salary for their work (in 2004/5 the average advertised salary was £13,700 per annum). The placement year is assessed, carrying credits which amount to a contribution of 10% towards the students’ final degree. The assessment methods used require the students to submit an academic essay relating theory to practice, a factual report about the company which can be of use to future students, and a log book, the latter being the reflective piece of work. Encouragement to reflect on the placement year has always been an important feature of Aston Business School’s approach to learning. More recently, however, feedback from employers indicated that, although our students have excellent employability skills, “they do not think about them” (Aston Business School Advisory Panel, 2001). We, therefore, began some activities which would encourage students to go beyond the mere acquisition of skills and knowledge. This work became the basis of a programme of introductions to reflective learning, mentoring and awareness of different learning styles written up in Higson and Jones (2002). The idea was to get students used to the idea of reflection on their experiences well before they entered the placement year.

The contribution model:a school-level funding model

Over a number of years, as the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)'s funding models became more transparent, Aston University was able to discover how its funding for teaching and research was calculated. This enabled calculations to be made on the funds earned by each school in the University, and Aston Business School (ABS) in turn to develop models to calculate the funds earned by its programmes and academic groups. These models were a 'load' and a 'contribution' model. The 'load' model records the weighting of activities undertaken by individual members of staff; the 'contribution' model is the means by which funds are allocated to academic units. The 'contribution' model is informed by the 'load' model in determining the volume of activity for which each academic unit is to be funded.

Entrepreneurship and innovation through experience:student and employer perspectives of the value of work-based learning in promoting entrepreneurialism

The 'internationalisation' of Business and Management education, reflective of EU enlargement and the unprecedented globalisation of education, has resulted in growing numbers of overseas students adding a diversity and richness to the learning environment within many contemporary European Higher Educational Institutions (Green, 2006, Sliwa & Grandy, 2006). However, cross-national studies analyzing the impact that the internationalisation of business education has on the employability of business and management graduates are rare. Furthermore, there exists a notable gap in research aimed at identifying and conceptualising the generic business skills and competencies required by European employers of business and management graduates. By proposing a conceptual framework based upon a working model of business graduate employability, this goes some way to addressing this gap.