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Introduction
Porter and McKibbin (1988) suggested some time ago that business graduates are not considered by the business community to be well prepared for the daily realities of the business world. They predicted that five variables would have a major impact on the future business environment. One, the American economy would gradually shift from being industry-based to being service- and information-based. Two, there would be some major changes in technology. Three, the business environment would become increasingly international in nature. Four, there would be a growth in entrepreneurism. Five, the nature of work itself would change. The authors criticized business schools for not preparing students to respond adequately to such trends and recommended that the teaching of various interpersonal skills (including communication and leadership) be incorporated into the business school curriculum in order to assist students in their roles in the business community.
Despite the Porter and McKibbin study, concerns about business school education have continued. Lorange (1994) criticized U.S. business schools for failing to respond to the two groups that constitute their customers, namely businesses and students. Witt (1994) suggested that the need for significant curriculum change has affected almost every MBA program "from Harvard to whichever school is ranked last among the country's 700 MBA programs" (p. 43). Skousen and Bertelsen (1994) wrote that "all colleges of business management must have a strategic plan developed by administrators, faculty, students, alumni, and external supports. Continuous review and curriculum development are essential to academic excellence" (p.13). The Business-Higher Education Forum (1995) concluded that within the business community graduates are viewed as lacking in the areas of leadership, communication skills, quantification skills, interpersonal relations, the ability to work in teams, the understanding needed to work with a diverse work force nationally and internationally, and the ability to adapt to rapid change. A study by ACNielsen (2000) found that employers saw graduates as deficient in communication and interpersonal skills and unable to understand appropriate business practice. Based on a survey, NACE (2002) reported that employers were planning to hire "19.7 percent fewer new college graduates in 2001-02 than they did in 2000-01.... Among employers who hired a large number of new college graduates last year (250+), that number is an even steeper drop of 23.2 percent" (p.1). As such, it is more imperative than ever for business schools to rise to the challenge of better preparing their graduates for jobs in the business world.
In response to such criticisms, academics and administrators have pointed to the need for curriculum development and a more competence-based approach to learning (Farmer, 1988; Harcharik, Hanson, Gallegos, Pinkus, and Cummins, 1998; Newton, 1994; San José State University Library, 1994), as well as the need for better methods of outcome assessment (Banta, 1998; California Department of Education, 1996; Robinson, 1991; University of Colorado at Boulder, 1996). Attention has turned to finding core competencies that are relevant to business students. Banta (1998) identified writing and speaking as two such basic competencies or skills. Surveys of employers indicate that a variety of skills and attributes are important to employers when hiring college graduates. These include skills in interpersonal relationships, communication, leadership and supervision, team building, decision making, empathy and active listening, report writing, oral presentation, and a number of others (Bullis, 2001; Hope, 1997). Many authors agree with Porter and McKibbin (1988) that the increasingly global business environment makes skills like the ability to understand employee and customer diversity even more important to management education (Hofstede, 1984, 1991, 1993; Kwok, Arpan, & Folks, 1993; Kwok, & Arpan, 1994; Malekzadeh, 1998; Monye, 1995; Odenwald, 1993; Sauser, 1993). Some have suggested that ethics be incorporated as part of the business school curriculum (Brown, 1994; Stewart, Felicetti, and Kuehn, 1996). Computer skills have been identified as crucial to today's technology-driven work environment (Green, 1995; Parker, 1996; Russell, 1995; Ramakrishna, Vijayraman, & Quarstein, 1995). Still others have pointed toward functional-area competence (Barksdale, 1998). Clearly, business school education is multifaceted and needs to incorporate a number of key competencies.
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