Number of Management Science Courses in AACSB Undergraduate Only Business Programs

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1 Journal of US-China Public Administration, ISSN August 2012, Vol. 9, No. 8, D DAVID PUBLISHING Number of Management Science Courses in AACSB Undergraduate Only Business Programs George Boger Texas A&M University-Texarkana, Texas, U.S. This was a study to determine the amount of management science taught in the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)-accredited undergraduate general management programs. These programs exist in institutions that are typically smaller than the population of all AACSB-accredited institutions and therefore have fewer resources. The results of the study show that half of the business schools offer management science in their business core and approximately 60 percent of the undergraduate programs in management require a course that covers management science topics such as linear programming. The number of courses covering management science topics seems to be in line with the number taught in the broader population of all AACSB-accredited schools. Keywords: education, management science, AACSB For decades a major driver for including a management science in the business school curricula has been AACSB (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) international accreditation. AACSB is the most prestigious and influential business accreditation organization. The organization accredits general management degrees at both the undergraduate and graduate levels for traditional business disciplines such as accounting, finance, marketing, information systems, operations, and organizational management. The organization accredits general management degrees at both the undergraduate and graduate levels for traditional business disciplines such as accounting, finance, marketing, information systems, operations, and organizational management. Until 1991, AACSB standards required business curricula to provide students with a common body of knowledge. This body of knowledge included a basic understanding of the concepts and applications of quantitative methods for MBA programs and mathematics and statistics for undergraduate programs (Horner, 2003). Business schools understood the requirement for quantitative methods to mean a full-term traditional management science course which emphasized a set of standard algebraic models and algorithms for solving them (Grossman, 2001, 2003). Many business schools also included a course typically entitled Management Science or Quantitative Methods in their undergraduate programs to fulfill the mathematics requirement. In 1991, AACSB changed the philosophy of accreditation from specifying curriculum content to a mission-linked philosophy. Business schools were required to develop a mission statement, mission-linked learning goals for each program, and then set their own curricula. The common body of knowledge was Corresponding author: George Boger, assistant professor, College of Business, Texas A&M University-Texarkana; research fields: linear programming, spreadsheet analytics and business education. George.Boger@tamut.edu.

2 954 NUMBER OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCE COURSES replaced by a flexible foundation of knowledge for business in the areas of accounting, behavioral science, economics, and mathematics and statistics (Grossman, 2003). At that time quantitative methods was removed from the standards. The elimination of quantitative methods from the standards precipitated a decline in the amount of management science in undergraduate business programs. Some schools dropped the undergraduate quantitative methods course because it was included implicitly only in the MBA requirements and because many business school professors and deans were not fully aware of the impact analytical tools have on organizations (Horner, 2003). Also students failed to see the relevance of these courses and struggled with the algebra used to express algebraic models and in the algorithms used to solve them. If a quantitative methods course remained in a school s business curriculum, it was an elective course that most students were not taking (F. S. Hillier & M. S. Hillier, 2007). Kalian Singhal from the Merrick School of Business at the University of Baltimore lead a successful petition drive to have statistical data analysis and management science explicitly included in the new 2003 AACSB accreditation standards (Horner, 2003). The petition emphasized the importance of analytical tools in managerial decision-making, the role that these tools play in driving the economy through company operations, supply chains and e-commerce, and the economical utility of the tools achieved by advances in information technology especially spreadsheet software (Singhal, 2003). It received support from senior practitioners, deans of business schools, Nobel laureates, and professors from almost all areas in business (Horner, 2003). The 2003 AACSB standards focus on curriculum management processes and continuous improvement while still keeping a mission-linked philosophy. The standards suggest that a school s curriculum management process normally results in learning experiences in certain management-specific knowledge and skills areas. One area for undergraduate and master s level general management degree programs is statistical data analysis and management science as they support decision-making processes throughout an organization (AACSB, 2003, pp ). For the first time, AACSB standards explicitly mentioned management science. Although the 2003 AACSB standards mention coverage of management science and statistics, the standards do not require any specific courses in the curriculum. The easiest way for a school to include management science in its curriculum is to offer a dedicated course or offer a blended management science and statistics course. Singhal assumed that management science might require one full-term course and statistical data analysis would require another, with the number of courses likely to be the main issue as business schools implement the standards (Singhal, 2003). This study was conducted to determine the amount of management science taught in undergraduate management programs since AACSB adopted the latest standards in April The study covered AACSB-accredited business schools that were classified as undergraduate only business schools. These schools are accredited to offer bachelor s degrees in one of the traditional business disciplines. Business schools offering both accredited undergraduate and graduate business degrees were not included in the study. Methodology The descriptions of quantitative business courses in university catalogs of 47 of the 48 AACSB-accredited undergraduate only business schools were reviewed (see Appendix). These schools have smaller student enrollment and thus have fewer resources than larger AACSB-accredited institutions with accredited graduate programs (AACSB, 2010b, 2010c). Approximately 75 percent of the schools in the study had budgets falling in

3 NUMBER OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCE COURSES 955 the lower quartile of all AACSB schools. In general, they also have only half of the number of participating and supporting faculty, which are two classifications for faculty defined in the AACSB standards based on the level of faculty involvement in activities of the business school (see Table 1). One school, Virginia State University, was excluded from the study because they were redesigning their curriculum toward a more integrated model. Table 1 Comparison of Resource of Study Schools With All U.S. AACSB-accredited Schools Business school budget Average number faculty 75% Median 25% Participating Supporting U.S. AACSB schools 18,563,551 8,337,045 4,398, Our study schools 4,803,566 3,219,392 2,172, In this study, university course catalogs are reviewed to seek answers to the following questions: (1) Is there a management science or related quantitative methods department? (2) Does the school offer an undergraduate management science degree program or major? (3) Does the school offer an undergraduate management science course, and if not, does it offer an upper division statistics course? (4) If the school offers an undergraduate management science course, is it in the business core taken by all business students, a required course for management majors, or an elective course for management majors? Albritton, McMullen, and Gardiner (2003) asked similar questions in their study of 342 AACSB-accredited business schools. Their study covered undergraduate and graduate programs and represented approximately 87 percent of AACSB-accredited schools. Their schools were more representative of all AACSB-accredited schools than the ones included in this study. In this study, only upper division undergraduate courses that were included in the school s business core courses that were required or elective courses for management majors, emphasis in management, or concentrations in management were considered. All management degree classifications are referred to as management majors in this paper. Only two instances of a school offering management science as an elective course for marketing majors were found. There was no instance of management science being required for other functional business areas, unless the course was included in the business core. The courses examined at included such terms in their title as management science, quantitative methods, analytical methods, decision science, and modeling. These courses were typically taught by business school faculty with a few instances where a statistics course was being taught in a mathematics or statistics department. Operation management or courses in related disciplines such as supply chain, logistics, or quality control were not counted. These courses usually cover applications based on management science, but their emphasis is on the practice of operations with little delving into the quantitative techniques that have their roots in management science. Course descriptions given in university course catalogs were examined in order to label a course as: (1) a management science course; (2) a blended quantitative methods and statistics course covering management science and statistical topics; or (3) a statistics only course. Courses labeled as management science covered traditional topics such as linear programming, simulation, and queuing. Traditional management science topics are covered also in blended quantitative methods and statistics courses along with advanced statistical topics such as multiple regression and analysis of variance. Quantitative course descriptions that covered introductory

4 956 NUMBER OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCE COURSES statistical topics and management science topics were not found. Courses were classified into four categories: (1) core; (2) required for management majors; (3) elective for management majors; and (4) free electives. Core courses are courses taken by all students in the business school. Required management courses are required for all management majors. Elective management courses are optional courses explicitly appearing in a list that management majors choose from to satisfy a degree requirement. Free electives are courses appearing in the catalog, but are not explicitly included in a list of elective courses for management majors. Results In searching for the existence of a management science or quantitative methods department, only one department that offered coursework in the area was found, but that school did not offer a bachelor s degree in management science (Siena College). Also only one school with a major in management science was found, but that school did not have a dedicated department to management science (Tuskegee University). In comparison, Albritton et al. (2003) found 9.6 percent of their schools had a quantitative department and 4.1 percent offered a bachelor s degree in management science (see Table 2). Table 2 Business Schools in Study Offering a Management Science Department or Major Number of schools Our study (%) Albritton study (%) Management science or quantitative methods department in business school (Sienna College) Undergraduate program or major offered (Tuskegee University) In searching for management science courses, it was found that approximately 49 percent of the business schools offer a course solely dedicated to management science topics (see Table 3). Of those schools, about 40 percent offer the management science course in the business core and 60 percent require management majors to complete a management science course as either a core or a required course. Table 3 Number of Business Schools Offering Quantitative Courses Quantitative courses No. of schools Percentage Management science course Core Required management Elective management Free elective Blended quantitative methods and statistics course Core Elective management Statistics only course (upper division) Core No management science, quantitative methods or upper division statistics courses found When blended quantitative methods and statistics courses are included in the tabulation, approximately 57 percent of the business schools offer a course with exposure to management science topics. Approximately 63 percent of the schools require management majors to complete a core or required course containing topics in management science. Almost one third (31.9 percent) of the business schools in our study did not require a

5 NUMBER OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCE COURSES 957 management science, quantitative methods, or statistics course in their upper division undergraduate degree requirements for management majors. To compare the study s results with the study by Albritton et al. (2003), courses were relabeled using their method. Courses were labeled as management science if the course title clearly specified management science or operations research, which was a title for management science most often used outside business schools. In the case of courses with quantitative analysis or quantitative methods in their titles, they were checked to see if an upper division undergraduate statistics course also existed in the program. If not, Albritton et al. (2003) assumed that the quantitative analysis or methods course likely contained some blend of statistics and management science topics. Otherwise, the quantitative course likely covered management science topics, with statistical topics covered in a separate course. Albritton s method created four categories for management science courses. The first two are based on the number of courses with management science in the course title: (1) two or more management science courses; (2) one management science course. The latter two categories included quantitative courses not clearly titled management science; (3) only quantitative methods, in which case the school offers an upper division statistics course; and (4) blended quantitative methods and statistics course, in which case the school does not offer a separate upper division statistics course. The relabeling resulted in nine courses moving out of two of our categories and into one of Albritton s four categories as shown in Table 4. Table 4 Nine Courses Shifted out of This Study s Two Categories and Into Four of Albritton s Categories To Albritton s category Two or more management science courses Blended statistics and quantitative methods Only quantitative methods From our category: Management science course Blended quantitative methods and statistic course Only statistics This study found results similar to Albritton s et al. (2003) as shown in Table 5. Between 35 percent and 36 percent of the business schools have one or more courses clearly labeled as management science. Adding in schools categorized as quantitative methods only courses and blended courses, between 55 percent and 57 percent of the business schools have at least one course covering management science topics. In both studies, approximately one third of schools did not offer any quantitative course at the undergraduate upper division level. Table 5 Comparison of Results Between Albritton s and This Study Quantitative courses No. of schools Percentage Percentage in Albritton s study Two or more management science courses One management science course Only quantitative methods course Blended quantitative methods and statistics course Only a statistics course No management science, quantitative methods or upper division statistics courses found Two notable differences were found between the two studies. More schools in our study combined

6 958 NUMBER OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCE COURSES management science with statistics (10.6 percent versus 5.6 percent). This might reflect the reduced availability of resources in smaller business schools to offer more courses. Also more schools in our study offered courses with management science in the course title (34.0 percent versus 27.5 percent) and less courses with quantitative methods related terms in the title (8.5 percent versus 14.3 percent). Discussion The study found only one school with a quantitative department and one school offering a major in management science. The absence of management science from the business school is probably due to it not being considered as a traditional business discipline around which business schools and undergraduate degree offerings are usually organized. In searching for management science courses, the study found that half of the AACSB-accredited business only schools did offer a management science course in their business core. Approximately 60 percent of programs in management require a course that covers management science topics such as linear programming. The amount of management science taught in the smaller business schools seems to be in line with the amount taught in the broader population of all AACSB-accredited schools covered in the study of Albritton et al. (2003). Schools may, however, be moving away from using the name management science in the course title in favor of other quantitative related names such as modeling or analysis. Approximately a third of business schools do not have a clearly identifiable upper division quantitative course. Under the 2003 AACSB standards, business schools have flexibility to fashion curricula to meet their missions and to fit with specific circumstances of particular programs. Some topics can be de-emphasized or grouped with other topics to integrate learning. Presumably some business schools could integrate management science topics into another functional business area course such as operations management. While reviewing curricula, the author found that most business schools in the study did place an operations management course in their business core. References AACSB. (2003). Eligibility procedures and accreditation for business school accreditation. Retrieved June 11, 2010, from AACSB. (2010a). Accredited schools Undergraduate programs only. Retrieved June 11, 2010, from accreditation/ug-prgms-only.asp AACSB. (2010b). Average operating budgets of AACSB international member institutions Retrieved June 11, 2010, from AACSB. (2010c). Business school data trends and 2010 list of accredited schools. Retrieved June 11, 2010, from Albritton, D. M., McMullen, P. R., & Gardiner, L. R. (2003). OR/MS content and visibility in AACSB-accredited US business programs. Interfaces, 33(5), Grossman, T. A. (2001). Causes of the decline of the business school management science course. INFORMS Transactions on Education, 1(2), Grossman, T. A. (2003). Getting down to business. OR/MS Today, 30(4), Retrieved from com/orms/orms-8-03/frgetdown.html Hillier, F. S., & Hillier, M. S. (2007). Trends in operations research and management science education at the introductory level. Tutorials in operations research. INFORMS. Horner, P. (2003). A second bite at biz school apple. OR/MS Today, 30(3), 72. Retrieved from orms/orms-6-03/lastword.html Singhal, K. (2003). Petition makes the case. OR/MS Today, 30(3), 36. Retrieved from

7 NUMBER OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCE COURSES 959 orms-8-03/fractionsb.html Appendix Table A1 Study Schools and Course Catalog Websites 1 School Arkansas Tech University Christopher Newport University Clayton State University Coastal Carolina University Cornell University, Dyson School Dalton State College Fort Lewis College Grambling State University King s College Lander University Longwood University Manhattan College Minnesota State University Moorhead Missouri Western State University Montana State University Billings Morehouse College Norfolk State University North Carolina A&T State University North Georgia College & State University Northern Michigan University Northwestern State University Ohio Northern University Ouachita Baptist University Roger Williams University Santa Clara University Savannah State University Sienna College Southern Arkansas University State University of New York at Geneseo State University of New York at Plattsburgh Website conomics+and+management %20Undergraduate%20Catalog.htm pdf ulletin.pdf tin/index.htm g% pdf (to be continued) 1 Retrieved June 11, 2010, from

8 960 NUMBER OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCE COURSES Susquehanna University The College of New Jersey The University of North Carolina at Asheville Towson University alog_001.pdf Tuskegee University University of Evansville University of Hawai i at Hilo University of Houston-Downtown University of Montevallo University of Northern Colorado University University of South Carolina Aiken South Carolina Upstate University 10/13%20Business09.pdf U.S. Air Force Academy U.S. Coast Guard Academy pdf Utah Valley University Virginia Military Academy Washington and Lee University