5. You’ll remember the cry of the
Ancient Mariner
Water, water everywhere and not a
drop to drink!
6. In the large commercial city this
has become
Christmas, Christmas, everywhere
and not a Christ to be found!
7. Faith “deintegrated”from the
commercial world
Having spent a great deal of time in Chicago this past
Christmas season..
I was struck that among the tinsel, ornate decorations,
large trees, Santa and his reindeer, and thousands of
shoppers, that Jesus is virtually impossible to find
in the modern big-city commercial environment.
This is “not a woe unto us” paper rather a call to
reintegrate Christ into Business
8. Businesses attempts to Keep
Christ in his proper place!
One can stop in at the Fourth Presbyterian Church, St.
Peters Catholic Church, and various other churches
and hear the good news, but in reality we are
confronted by the absolute secularization of the
commercial world.
9. Current state of affairs?
By and large, not only has American business
neglected the “technicality” of Christmas being a
sacred holiday celebrating Christ’s birth, but many
large enterprises seem to have deliberately purged
any mention and visibility of Jesus from the
enterprise.
10. But the good news is…
Before we despair too much…
Many Christians are active in their faith in the
business environment even though at times they are
not very visible.
We need to demonstrate to our students, whenever
possible, that there are opportunities in the field to
make the message and values of Christ known
11. Overview of paper
Chronicles the development and refinement over eight
years of a new approach to teaching Business Policy
and Strategy at the undergraduate level.
At the core of this approach is the “living case” study.
12-15 field visits to businesses, nonprofits, government
organizations
Now there is particular emphasis on several
examples of faith in the business
12. Experience as a teacher
In 1908, Henri Fayol asked, “Is there a better way to
learn to manage other than by experience?”
Experience is hard to come by, especially at the
undergraduate level.
Effectiveness of internship programs (Carson & Fisher,
2006)
Internship programs are generally limited to one or
two businesses and often are at the entry level.
…more later on this
13. Most of education is University
Centered not Business Centered
What is written about management education, puts
the university at the center of the educational
universe.
It is usually all about what happens within the
confines of its ivy walls.
What little interaction there is between practicing
mangers and academics is mostly done in an
academic setting.
14. Students expectations
Phillips and Phillips (2002) argue that students not
only expect an education that is relevant to their
career, but also appreciate this approach and
evaluate these courses higher.
15. Policy & Strategy
Policy and Strategy staple offering of business
programs for over 30 years in most business schools.
One of the original intentions was to encourage
and/or force integration into a comprehensive
whole.
We contend objectives for the course varies by
professors, their experience, type of institution, years
teaching, etc.
At Christian institutions we add the
faith dimension
16. Some of the most important objectives of
capstone courses
Understand the comprehensive nature
of business and business challenges
Understand how a particular function
contributes to the overall business
Learn key concepts and develop skills
in using tools of analysis from the field
of strategic management
Updating students about to enter the
work force with the latest real world
issues
Build and reinforce team-based skills
demanded by
businesses today
17. Many different approaches to teaching
the capstone course:
Traditional lecture/case analysis
Supplementing the course with current
literature such as Harvard Business Review,
Business Week, and Fortune, Christianity 9
to 5
Simulations and business games
Guest speakers
Use of a limited number of short, localized
tours
18. Limitations with current approaches
Most case studies are somewhat outdated even in
new books
For example, even 2012 copyrighted books carry cases
most of which were written with 2010 or earlier data
Use of even “new” cases usually requires considerable
updating and revision
In the case of Christian speakers they are terrific but
not immersed in their day to day environment
19. Limitations with current approaches
Utilizing current literature and guest speakers can be
helpful, but this still lacks the realism.
Field visits, are difficult to do given the normal
school year scheduling.
For institutions located in small communities, the
quality and variety available are often very limited.
20. Limitations with current approaches
Many students have heard the entire lingo about JIT,
lean manufacturing, program planning, globalization,
strategy formulation and implementation,
sustainability, CSR, etc.,
But often question whether these things are really used
in the “real world” – Deere example
21. Limitations with current approaches
Many of our students end up in careers in non-
business environments such as non-profit
institutions, government, or other types of service
organizations
And/or will sit on Community Boards
Most traditional strategy textbooks and courses do not
adequately cover these quasi-business organizations.
22. Limitations with current approaches
Relationship building is an important aspect of
Olivet’s mission.
Given other institutional responsibilities, it is difficult
to develop the more personal relationships that both
our students and we desire.
23. Experiential Education
For the last 30-40 years, adult education literature has
emphasized the importance of hands-on experience-
based learning.
Much of what has been learned in the adult education
field also applies to these young adults.
24. Experiential Education
Kolb’s (1984) landmark work suggests that experiential
learning proceeds through 4 modes including:
concrete experience;
abstract conceptualization;
reflective observation;
active experimentation;
25. Experiential Education
Approach we have take engages in at least the first
three stages, whereas conventional classroom
techniques or even the use of case studies may not be
as effective.
26. Experiential Education-same true
for professors
Professors who have attended academic
conferences that build in faculty field trips as part
of the conference, can testify years later to the
value that we have personally gained through
these trips.
Saturn (Tennessee)
Micron (Boise)
Walker Manufacturing (Virginia)
NBA Mavericks (Dallas)
Boeing (Seattle)
Wal-Mart HQ (Bentonville)
Rolls Royce Power Systems (Mt Vernon, OH)
27. One of the most significant changes from 2004-
2012 has been
Over a period of time, we have found strong
Christians in several of the organizations, who are not
only willing, but anxious to share their faith in the
work environment.
Most of us likely bring Christian business people into
our classrooms as guest speakers.
Without in anyway discounting the efficacy of those
encounters……
28. People in context
There is something very powerful and unique
about a Christian business person sharing their
faith in the “natural” environment and
demonstrating that Christ is found in their
business.
29. Advent of our program
Idea originated from 10 weeks European IBI program
in 2003- I went over for 7 weeks & was in 10 countries
Observed the power of structured field visits
Nokia; Daimler Benz; Deere; European Central Bank;
British Parliament, etc.
Great experience but beyond reach of most of our
students – from $12,000 then to now about $18,000
30. Advent of our program
Decided to develop a “domestic” version of the
course- allow 12-15 visits
Our course for 3 credits costs $1200 tuition + $375
travel fee. Allow more participation
Take advantage of being near Chicago and northern
Illinois businesses & organizations
Initially team-taught with a colleague- Dr. Gary Koch
31. The Nuts and Bolts of the Program-
CURRICULM
4 Week Summer Format
12-15 hours lecture time
Extensive readings and “take home quizzes” over
material
Pre-visit briefings & presentations
Corporate visits & formal briefing reports
De-briefing on return trips and follow-up lectures
Comprehensive written applied exam
32. The Nuts and Bolts of the Program-
CURRICULM
We did not do textbook case studies
rather our field trips were designed to be
“living” case studies.
We deliberately scheduled tours and
experiences to broaden our students’
perspective on businesses and other
organizations,
Build group coherence and sharpen their
analytical and observation skills.
33. The Nuts and Bolts of the Program-FIELD
VISITS-A Sampling
Caterpillar at Aurora
Deere and Company-Moline,
Illinois
Celebration Dinner Cruise-
Mississippi River
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Chicago Mercantile Exchange
Chicago Architectural
Foundation River Cruise
34. The Nuts and Bolts of the Program-
FIELD VISITS
U.S. Cellular Field (Chicago
White Sox)
Hamburger University and the
Hyatt Lodge at McDonald’s
Good’s Furniture
City of Ottawa (Illinois),
Ottawa Chamber of Commerce,
Ottawa Economic
Development
35. The Nuts and Bolts of the Program-
FIELD VISITS
State Farm Operations Center
Cigna Call Center
Baker & Taylor- book
distributor
Whitey’s Ice Cream
YMCA
Daily Journal
Alcoa
43. DEERE & Company-Topics Covered
JIT & lean manufacturing
Advanced manufacturing
techniques/Quality
Downsizing and corporate re-
alignment
Globalization
Labor relations
Heavy emphasis of faith in
workplace
Corporate culture
Career planning
44. Good’s Furniture
Kewanee, Illinois
Small business
innovation
Marketing and
advertising
Competitive
advantage and
distinctive
competence
Economic
development
46. Caterpillar, Aurora Illinois
Strategic alliances
Corporate culture
Training and development
Financial analysis
Career planning
Energy management
47. The Hyatt Lodge at McDonald’s &
Hamburger University
High performance
customer service
Marketing
Information systems
management
Overview of the
hospitality industry
Corporate culture
Training and
development
Strategic partnerships
48. Whitey’s Ice cream
Very innovative
Run with ethical principles
Small business that knows its limits
To franchise or not to franchise?
Give back to the community
Loyal employees
www.whiteysicecream.com
OKWU October 11 2011
49. Alcoa
One of largest rolling mills in the world
Gives real meaning to “Capital Intensive”
Importance Health & safety- working environment
Working with Unions and Labor Relations
Customers as Strategic Partners
50. PGM
True example of faith ministry
Serve 700+ men/women per night
Do not take any government funds
World famous broadcast- 6000+ times a week
played
Serving the least of my brethren
Different meaning of success
Consider serving on boards of non-profit
ministries
OKWU October 11 2011
51. Tradeoffs
Given the intensity of the course, we
meet in the classroom 2 days a week
for 2 hours
Use most classroom time in a
lecture/discussion format
Then meet 2-3 days a week for field
trips.
Students were charged an additional
$350 travel fee beyond tuition.
Given the nature of the course we had
to be creative in student evaluation
52. What We Learned From This
Experience
Team teaching is fun,
interesting and good for both
students and faculty
Businesses are willing to
support these types of
programs and are impressed
that we are doing this
You have got to be extremely
flexible and “go with the flow”
in this type of program
53. What We Learned From This
Experience
Students must be prepared before the
visits- by student led research
The briefing reports are absolutely
critical
Follow-up class discussion and
integration provides very strong
learning leverage
54. What We Learned From This
Experience
This approach to Policy and
Strategy breaks lots of
conventional rules but the
testimonies from the students
encourage us to continue the
course
Travel and intense experiences
like this build community and
will be remembered and
valued for years to come
Students must understand the
value of field visits and their
on-site behavior
55. What We Learned From This
Experience
The field-based approach can be especially
effective in a faith-integration approach.
From briefing reports, to testimonies, to seeing real
business people live out their faith, this has now
become a more deliberate and important objective of
the program.
56. What We Learned From This
Experience
Above all, this course is an integrative experience
that not only covers traditional strategy topics,
but emphasizes larger issues like economic
development, community responsibility,
historical context, industry context, social and
economic justice and Christian faith.
57. What We Learned From This
Experience
If Christ is to be put back into society and
Christmas (as reflected in the opening
lamentation), business and commerce must
LEAD THE WAY!
58. Students expectations
We have not found any strategy courses in
literature designed around field trips with the
exception of International travel experiences
Many, our students have told us, “It is the best course
they have had at the university.”
59. Every fall- The question is: to teach or not to
teach next summer. Why I did for a ninth year in
the summer of 2012!
Student feedback is so good- even many years later
Business and industry support!
Contacts become long time friends and associates
Helps the university in many other ways
Doing others a favor by letting them do you a favor!
It continues to be fun and make me a much better
professor– more current, informed, relevant
I actually get paid to have this much fun!
