Dear Colleagues,
I received many responses to my inquiry about strategic management as a capstone in the undergraduate business program. Thanks to all of you! (And I apologize that my mailbox became full!) Most of the schools that responded DO have a capstone that involves strategic management or business policy required by all majors. The most important message from the responses is that there is a great deal of interest in this subject. It is definitely a good topic for this listserv or for a workshop/symposium at the 2011 AOM meeting in San Antonio.
Klaus was one step ahead of me with regard to the capstone course and assessment (assurance of learning.) Our former AACSB consultant advised us not to put all of the assurance of learning in the capstone.
This course has been a political football in many schools as faculty claim they teach it a "right" way and others don't. Let me try to generate some of the diverse perspectives that I have heard during my career as a strategy professor. I am sure there are others.
1) If taught correctly, strategic management courses involve functional integration.
2) Strategic management does not involve functional integration. It can be an elective or required course for Management majors only.
3) Simulations are the only way to truly teach functional integration.
4) Students can learn strategic management from simulations without a strategic management textbook describing concepts and analytic tools.
5) The case analysis is dead as a useful pedagogical approach.
6) The best capstone course in strategy is to use theory, cases and simulation.
7) All of the assurance of leaning data should be gleaned from graduating seniors in the capstone course.
8) Assurance of learning data should not be located in the capstone but distributed throughout the curriculum.
9) A capstone course is any course that integrates the functional areas and does not necessarily need to include strategic management.
10) Entrepreneurship can be used as a capstone that integrates functional areas and introduces business planning processes.
11) Simulation "assurance of learning" options are/can be/are not effective measures of learning strategic management?
I am sorry to report that my general inquiry did not produce any significant results other than this is a question others have thought about and many individuals want to hear what other schools do. This is a great topic for a large sample survey what of "common practices" are for business schools today, although "common practices" may not necessarily represent "innovations." I am interested in hearing about the "common practices" as well as the "innovations." I am sure others are, as well.
I apologize for the long post.
Frances M. Amatucci
Associate Professor
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
E-mail: frances.amatucci@sru.edu