scholarly journals Behavioural economics and social economics: opportunities for an expanded curriculum

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (8) ◽  
pp. 992-1003
Author(s):  
Paul Manning
Keyword(s):  
Business School ◽  
White Collar Crime ◽  
White Collar ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Behavioural Economics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Teaching Case ◽  
School Pedagogy ◽  
Economic Understanding

Purpose The global financial crisis (GFC) undermined the legitimacy of orthodox economic assumptions, which nevertheless continue to frame business school pedagogy. In consequence, there is an opportunity for socio-economic insights to be more fully incorporated into the business school curriculum. This paper reports and reflects on a socio-economic case study that was delivered to MBA students. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the developing literature on behavioural economics (BE) has the potential to enhance students’ social economic understanding of key areas of the curriculum. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents an inter-disciplinary socio-economic teaching case that was informed by insights from BE. The teaching case concerned a socio-economic understanding of corruption and white-collar crime. It was also inter-disciplinary to include inputs from business history and criminology. The aim of the teaching case was to develop an appreciation among students that corruption and white-collar crime can be analysed within a social economics lens. Findings The teaching case example discussed in this paper offered an alternative socio-economic understanding to core areas of the MBA curriculum, enabling students to apply a behavioural economic approach to corruption and more generally to white-collar crime. The findings derived from this case study are that behavioural economics has the potential to enhance the teaching of socio-economics. Practical implications The GFC presents an opportunity to re-shape the business school curriculum to acknowledge the centrality of socio-economics and consequently to offer an alternative to the dominant ontological assumptions – taken from the economic understanding of rationality – that have previously under-pinned business school pedagogy. Originality/value The originality of this paper is to apply BE to a socio-economic teaching case studies in core subject areas of the MBA curriculum.

scholarly journals Behavioural economics and social economics: opportunities for an expanded curriculum

2018 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Manning
Keyword(s):  
Business School ◽  
White Collar Crime ◽  
White Collar ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Behavioural Economics ◽  
Social Economics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Teaching Case ◽  
Mba Curriculum ◽  
Economic Understanding

Purpose The global financial crisis (GFC) has undermined the legitimacy of orthodox neo-classical economic assumptions, which nevertheless continue to frame the philosophical assumptions of teaching in business schools. The purpose of this paper is to make a case in favour of an expansion of the business school curriculum to incorporate behavioural economics. The paper will also contend that behavioural economics can be connected to social economics, as they are both heterodox in this study and analyse economic phenomenon outside of a neo-classical framework. The aim is to contribute to arguments for an expanded curriculum, beyond the framing assumptions of neo-classical rationalism. This paper will also support its case by reviewing behavioural economics to make the case that this literature can be connected to social economics. This assertion is based on shared connections, including the importance of Kantianism in behavioural economics and in social economics. These connections will be discussed as a common point of reference points, or ties that can serve to broker links between these two economic paradigms. Practical implications (if applicable) the GFC presents an opportunity to re-shape the business school curriculum to acknowledge the centrality of socio-economics and behavioural economics, and consequently to offer an alternative to the dominant ontological assumptions – taken from the economic understanding of rationality – that have previously underpinned business school pedagogy. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents an inter-disciplinary teaching case, which incorporates socio-economic and behavioural economics perspectives. The teaching case concerned a socio-economic understanding of corruption and white-collar crime. It was also inter-disciplinary to include inputs from business history and criminology. The teaching case developed an appreciation among students that corruption, white-collar crime and entrepreneurship can be analysed within a social economics and behavioural economics lens. Findings The teaching case example discussed an alternative socio-economic and behavioural economics understanding to core areas of the MBA curriculum with the potential to be included in other academic disciplines. This enabled students to apply a behavioural economic approach to white-collar crime. The findings derived from this case study are that behavioural economics has the potential to enhance the teaching of socio-economics. Originality/value The originality of this paper is to apply behavioural economics to a socio-economic teaching case, in core subject areas of the MBA curriculum.

The Global Goals: bringing education for sustainable development into US business schools

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy E. Landrum
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Business School ◽  
Role Model ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us

Purpose This paper aims to learn how sustainability and the circular economy were being integrated into the curriculum of a Dutch university and to transfer that knowledge back to a US university business school curriculum. Given the resistance toward integrating sustainability into the US business school curriculum, the Dutch university served as a role model for education for sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach This case study used ethnographic methods of participant observation over a four-month residency at the Dutch university. Findings Themes observed are as follows: success in the current context relied upon sustainability being integrated into the culture and lifestyle, legislative enforcement, a focus on urban sustainability, use of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and collaboration as a key to success. The course proposal shifted to a class on the SDGs which is broader, more inclusive, and interdisciplinary. The proposal to integrate circular economy into the US business school curriculum shifted to a class on the SDGs. It was determined that the SDGs presented a more amenable approach to introduce sustainability into the business school curriculum and meet the objectives of education for sustainable development. Research limitations/implications This case study is based upon the author’s experience at one university in the Netherlands. Limitations include the generalizability of the findings to another university as well as the question of transferability across cultures. Practical implications This case study offers one suggestion for integrating sustainability into the business school curriculum. Social implications Integrating sustainability into the business school curriculum through the SDGs might help overcome resistance. Originality/value The findings offer an alternative approach for integrating sustainability into the business school curriculum that is aligned with AACSB standards and which might face less resistance.

“Heads I Win, Tails You Lose”: Deregulation, Crime, and Crisis in the Savings and Loan Industry

1990 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kitty Calavita ◽  
Henry N. Pontell
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Crime ◽  
White Collar Crime ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Congressional Hearings ◽  
Savings And Loan ◽  
Thrift Industry ◽  
Savings And Loan Industry ◽  
Finance Capitalism

This study examines fraud in the savings and loan industry as a case study of white-collar crime. Drawing from extensive government reports, Congressional hearings, and media accounts, the study categorizes three types of savings and loan crime and traces them to the competitive pressures unleashed by deregulation in the early 1980s, within the context of a federally protected, insured industry. In addition, the study delineates the limitations of the enforcement process, focusing on the ideological, political, and structural forces constraining regulators. Although savings and loan crime is in many respects similar to corporate crime in the manufacturing sector, a relatively new form of white-collar crime, referred to as “collective embezzlement,” permeates the thrift industry. The study links the proliferation of collective embezzlement and other forms of thrift crime, as well as the structural dilemmas that constrain the enforcement process, to the distinctive qualities of finance capitalism.

Challenges for academic organizations' legitimacy in Colombia's transition to a postconflict context

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 1011-1028
Author(s):  
Jacobo Ramirez ◽  
Claudia Vélez‐Zapata
Keyword(s):  
Business School ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Legitimacy Theory ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Organizations ◽  
Business Profitability

PurposeWe explore and explain how academic organizations attempt to establish legitimacy in a transition to a postconflict context, and we examine the ethical challenges that emerge from insightful approaches to formal education in such contexts.Design/methodology/approachWe use legitimacy theory to present a case study of a business school in Medellin, Colombia (herein referred to by the pseudonym BS-MED) in the empirical setting of the end of the most prolonged armed conflict in the world.FindingsWe identify the mechanisms implemented by BS-MED to comply with the Colombian government's peace process and rhetoric of business profitability and the faculty members' initiatives in response to social and academic tensions.Originality/valueThis study identifies the sources of the tensions and discrepancies between the regulatory and pragmatic versus moral and cultural-cognitive criteria of legitimacy in transitions to a postconflict context. This examination advances our understanding of the challenges that organizations face regarding changes to legitimacy over time. The extreme setting of our case positions academics as key players who lead the search for legitimacy. This study challenges the understandings of legitimacy in the literature on organizations, which rarely consider broader sociopolitical transitions to a peace context.

scholarly journals Towards sustainable capitalism in the development of higher education business school curricula and management

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 523-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Beusch
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Business School ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Broad Class ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Content Type ◽  
External Forces ◽  
Education Business ◽  
School Curricula

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to account for, and conceptualize, the internal and external forces that influence higher education business schools as they strive to integrate sustainability issues into their curricula in the effort to achieve a more sustainable (yet capitalist) world. Design/methodology/approach – A case study approach is used for the research, which is grounded in the relevant literature, to investigate sustainable development issues in the context of a Swedish business school (university level). The empirical data consists of a review of internal documents plus e-mail surveys and interviews and discussion seminars with university teachers/researchers and key administrators. Findings – Two tentative models are presented that map the various internal and external forces behind business schools’ curriculum change. One important finding describes how supply and demand influences business schools and recruiters of business students. Research limitations/implications – Because this research is based on a single case study, the analysis and the mapping in the paper are somewhat limited in their general applicability. However, the research context of the business school permits drawing conclusions that may apply to a broad class of colleges or departments in higher education. In addition, because the research is supported by significant ideas from the literature, general inferences may be drawn about business school curricula. Originality/value – The two tentative models provide a holistic framework that adds to the understanding of the composition and interrelationship of influential forces on business schools when major changes in curricula and their management are contemplated.

scholarly journals Future-proofing placements

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 434-444
Author(s):  
Julie Fowlie ◽  
Clare Forder
Keyword(s):  
Business School ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Local Economies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Student Demand ◽  
First Time ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a case study centred on steps taken at a Business School in a UK university, to improve local work placement provision, respond to student demand and engage more productively with local businesses. It is situated against renewed focus on universities’ engagement with local economies and the graduate labour market context as demonstrated by the government’s Industrial Strategy (BEIS, 2017) and the OfS (2018) business plan. It aims to emphasise how moving the focus back from graduates to placement students could offer a useful collaborative opportunity for local businesses to articulate what they want from future employees. Design/methodology/approach The paper follows a mixed methods approach, drawing upon a case study on a new intervention piloted in the Business School as well as qualitative research gathered from questionnaires and interviews with students. Responses to questionnaires and interviews were analysed thematically in the Grounded Theory (Glaser and Strauss, 1967) tradition. Findings The paper highlights the lack of literature on local placements and also demonstrates findings which echo existing research on typical barriers and drivers to placements in general. It offers original outcomes such as how for some students local placements offer a convenience value but for others they are part of committing to living and working locally after graduation. Research limitations/implications The small-scale nature of the study means that only indicative findings are presented. Further research is necessary for a more detailed examination of its implications. Practical implications Recommendations are made for a systematic approach to developing, or establishing for the first time, university–employer relationships in order to future-proof local placement opportunities. Originality/value The paper fills a gap in the literature on local placements and also provides a fresh approach to how universities and employers might work together to identify local skills gaps and increase the provision of local placements. It also offers ways in students’ often negatively framed reasons for not undertaking a placement can be mitigated through engaging with the local context.

Lean thinking and higher education management: revaluing the business school programme management

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saad Zighan ◽  
Ahmed EL-Qasem
Keyword(s):  
Business School ◽  
Value Added ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Learning Objectives ◽  
Value Stream Mapping ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
School Students ◽  
Lean Thinking ◽  
Content Type

PurposeThis paper explores the applications of lean thinking in re-evaluating the business school curriculum, syllabus and intended learning objectives to enhance the employability of graduates through identifying and eliminating non–value-added activities.Design/methodology/approachThe research employed multilevel qualitative methodology, where 55 semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data from academics, students and graduates from several private and public universities in Jordan.FindingsThe study finds that the application of lean thinking in the business school is twofold – it helps the developer of the school curriculum to get rid of many superfluous and non–value-added activities and also emphasises and reinforces the value-added activities. Value stream mapping, with a consideration for internal and external outputs, has been found to be a useful tool for developing an employability-focussed curriculum that equips business school students with the required competences and skills in the labour market.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is based on a qualitative research approach. The generalisability of the findings is difficult to assess, and future research would benefit from the insights obtained from the quantitative dataPractical implicationsIn practice, this study has identified different types of non–value-added and unnecessary activities in business school curriculum and has made suggestions for the development of a more employability-focussed curriculum.Originality/valueThis paper investigates the non–value-added activities of the business school curriculum, syllabus and the intended learning objectives to enhance the employability of graduates in Jordan.

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