“Do Students Learn What Employers Want?
This is an article which may be controversial in academic circles, but is sure to be warmly received in business/employers circles, and is of special interest to Students.
This will be published later this year in Business Horizons, a highly regarded business journal published by the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.
This article examines disparity between business school focus and business community needs.
From the ABSTRACT:
A content analysis of 200 corporate job descriptions collected in Fall 2009 revealed 140 specific license/certification/skills commonly cited as required for candidates applying for business jobs . A detailed matching of these post-graduation proficiencies with pre-graduation business major tracks is provided to assist schools in better aligning curricula with job requirements. This matching and aligning process is proposed as a key means for reducing disparity between post-graduation licenses/certification/skills required and the academic tracks that are feeders for such positions. Examination of 200 resumes of business students nearing graduation revealed low to no proficiency on the job description-derived skill sets. This finding suggests that disparity between school of business focus and practitioner needs is ongoing and potentially problematic, at least at the institutions sampled. A content analysis of 100 school of business course syllabi and 20 textbooks supported this conclusion. This article provides suggestions for closing the gap between business school curricula and corporate needs.
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Forest R. David received his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) Degree from Auburn University and his Masters of Business Administration (MBA) Degree from Francis Marion University (FMU) before completing two years towards a PhD in Strategic Management at Mississippi State University. Forest has taught at Mississippi State University, Campbell University, and Francis Marion University teaching: Strategic Management, Principles of Management, Human Resource Management, Organizational Theory, Intro to Business and has supervised Management Internships. Forest has been sole author of the Case Instructor’s Manual for Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases published by Prentice Hall for the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th editions. He is also published in such journals as Business Horizons, International Journal of Management, Journal of Business Strategy, Proceedings of the National Academy of Management, and has spoken at numerous professional meetings.