The Ideal Curriculum for Business

Education

What do small-business leaders think?

Prepared for

Ms. Amarilda Mukaj

Executive Director
State Association of Small-Business Executives
Thessaloniki, 56634

Prepared by

Faton LEKAJ
QPEA Research Organization
Thessaloniki, 56634

January 19, 2007

 Tsimiski 36
Thessaloniki, 56634
January 10, 2007
Ms. Amarilda Mukaj, Executive Director
State Association of Small-Business Executives
Eganatia Street 30
Thessaloniki, 56634

Dear Ms. Mukaj:

Here is the report you authorized in December concerning the ideal curriculum for
business education.

As you know, the curriculum of business education is a field that evolves and it should be
appropriately modified with the developments in the businesses. For this purpose, I
conducted a survey with small-business executives, members of your association, to
determine the ideal curriculum for business education. Knowing the activities of business
executives, their needs, and their opinions helped me a lot in deciding the rationale
behind the courses that I think should be taught in business schools.

Specifically for reaching concrete recommendations, I divided the survey into two
phases. In the first phase, executives were asked about their activities, performances and
opinions about business education while in the second phase they were interviewed about
their experiences in education and specific business and liberal courses. While writing the
report and recommendations, I have considered and referred to the results of the survey,
respectively, to the opinions of small-business executives.

As a result of my data analysis, I can say that curriculum for business is a very changing
field and therefore, we should always consider the opinions of business leaders in
defining the curriculum. My recommendations are that the new and ideal curriculum for
business education should address the activities, needs and opinions of business leaders. I
think that only in this way we can build effective future business leaders. Furthermore,
the curriculum should include both, core business courses, and liberal, non-business
courses.

The information in this report came from several online sources, a survey with small-
business executives and interviews with selected executives. Data on small-business
executives, which were made available by your organization, were very helpful for my
survey.

Thank you for the opportunity to conduct this research. I consider very valuable the work
on business education, especially designing the curriculum. If you have any further
questions about the report, please contact me.

Sincerely yours,
Faton LEKAJ

i
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL..........................................................................................................................I

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................................III

INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................................1

Purpose and Scope...............................................................................................................1

Assumptions and Limitations.................................................................................................1
Methods................................................................................................................................1
THE NEEDS OF SMALL BUSINESS EXECUTIVES................................................................................................2

Activities of small-bussiness executives................................................................................2

Opinions of small-business Executives on the Adequateness of Education for their Careers
3
BUSSINES CORE COURSES FOR BUSINESS EDUCATION.....................................................................................4

Accounting.............................................................................................................................4
Economics.............................................................................................................................5
Information Systems..............................................................................................................5
Management........................................................................................................................................5
Finance.................................................................................................................................................5
Advertising............................................................................................................................................5
Entrepreneurship.................................................................................................................................6
NON-BUSSINES LIBERAL COURSES FOR BUSINESS EDUCATION...........................................................................6

Language..............................................................................................................................7
Social sciences......................................................................................................................7
Humanities............................................................................................................................7
Science.................................................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................................................................................8

Summary and Conlusions.....................................................................................................8

Recommendations................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................9

APPENDIX A.......................................................................................................................................10

Companies of the Executives Comprising the Sample.......................................................

.....10

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure 1 Percentage of Executives Involved in Activity..........................................................2

Figure 2 Opinions about the Adequateness of Education and the Form of Education ..........3

Table 1 Ranking of Traditional Business Courses ...............................................................4

Table 2 Ranking of Non-Business Courses..........................................................................7

 The Ideal Curriculum for Business Education:
What do small-business leaders think?

ExecutiveiiSummary

Curriculum for business education should change as the businesses evolve. Therefore, it
is crucial to determine the ideal curriculum for educating future business leaders. To have
an effective business education, the curriculum should address the needs and opinions of
business executives, include traditional business courses and liberal, non business
courses.

A survey with small-business executives has shown that the business degree was
adequate for their careers. In addition, they expressed a number of needs through the
activities that they are engaged in and opinions on the inclusion of business and non-
business courses in the curriculum for business education. Knowledge in accounting,
economics management, language and humanities are considered as essential and
desirable courses to be taught in business education.

Curriculum for business education should be adapted and upgraded continuously, in order
to be effective for future business leaders. The ideal curriculum for business education
should:

1. Address the activities, needs and opinions of business leaders. When writing a
curriculum a special attention should be paid to the current market and the
forecasts of business executives who know and shape the future of business

2. Include core business courses. Business executives think that the business
courses that have taken are important for future leaders. Business courses that
should be included in the curriculum are:
• Accounting
• Economics
• Information Systems
• Management
• Finance
• Advertising
• Entrepreneurship

3. Include liberal, non-business courses. The majority of business leaders thinks

that the ideal curriculum of business education should be mostly practical and
have some liberal courses as well. Therefore, the curriculum should encompass
the following liberal courses:
• Language
• Social sciences
• Humanities
 • Science

Introduction

State Association of Small Business Executives

iii (SASBE) advises a number of business
schools in the state. However, they wonder if they truly represent the business leader
population. They think that it would be good if they could know their opinions as well on
the topic of curriculum for business education.

Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this report is to recommend the ideal curriculum for business education.

The report will discuss three main issues related to the ideal curriculum for business
education:
- Needs that business executives have and the importance of business education
- Business courses that should be taught in the business education
- Non-business courses (liberal) that should accompany the business education

The report will not compare curriculums of different schools. In addition, it will not
discuss the feasibility of applying the recommended curriculum in schools.

Assumptions and Limitations

This report is based on the following assumptions:

- The curriculum presented on the report will be appropriate for every school
- The opinions collected from small business executives are similar to other
executives
- The field of curriculum development is a very changing and evolving field

This report has the following limitations:

- the opinions expressed in the surveys are those of small business executives
- a random sample was used and the findings are generalized according to that
sample
- “small-business” refers to organizations employing fewer than 500 people

Methods

The research methods were separated into two phases. In the first phase, I collected
information on the activities of business executives. Using the organization’s
membership rolls, I surveyed a random sample of 200 leaders of small business in the
U.S. (only 161 proved to be usable). They explained their major functions and their
everyday activities. Finally, specific questions were asked to executives on their

1
experience with business education and with business courses taken during their
education.

In the second phase, I conducted interviews with the selected samples coming from
different business fields (manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing, service). Executives were
asked about their educational background (business degree, non-business degree, no
degree) and about the opinions for the adequateness of their education and the form of
business education.

The Needs of Small-Business Executives

Over the past years, businesses have evolved a lot in different dimensions. Now, we have
many specialized businesses in a special field rather than having a business providing
many different services or producing different products. In addition, the technological
advancements have drastically changed the way businesses do their job. Thus, many
developments took place that resulted in a need for a proper education of future business
leaders. Gleason (2006) argues that “what to teach? It is this most basic of questions that
defines who we are” (p.22). To answer this question the report first identifies the
activities of the business executives and their opinions about the adequate form of
business education.

Activities of Small Business Executives

Small business leaders develop a range of activities in their work. They engage in
different fields and have a multi-tasking position. According to our survey shown in
Figure 1, the majority of executives are involved in the management and policy planning.
It is interesting the fact the small – business leaders have a lot of interaction and
engagement with the control of personnel and their empowerment. This seems one of the
major activities that they are involved which describes the nature of small-businesses.
Furthermore, executives are very much dealing with the accounting and finance issues
and with the production system of their companies (see Appendix A for types of
companies of the executives used in this sample).

Figure 1: Percentage of Executives Involved in the Activity

12 Management and Policy Planning

50 70
Personnel Control and Empow erement

Production and service

Accounting and Finance

63
66
Advertising

50 Other controls
 Small-business leaders have stated different areas and activities that they are engaged in.
This is an important fact to consider for future business education. Thus, the activities in
general and the problems that arise from these activities should be tackled during the
2
academic and professional development of business leaders. In this regard, there is a need
for an appropriate business curriculum that would cover these activities and would assure
that the future leaders have clear expectations about their future careers.

Opinions of Small Business Executives on the Adequateness of Education for their

Career

Before determining the courses which the ideal curriculum for business should
encompass, the opinions of business leaders for their education would help us define the
scope of the curriculum and its main divisions.

We have surveyed small-business executives in two dimensions: their opinions about the
adequateness of their degree and their opinions on the liberal-practical balance in
business education. The data is grouped on Figure 2 and they show that the business
executives that have a college degree in business think that their degree and education
was adequate for their career. In addition, most the executives (regardless of their
educational background) think that the most appropriate form of education should mostly
include business practical courses and also some liberal courses.

Figure 2: Opinions about the Adequateness of Education and the Form of

Education
Opinions of Sm all-Busine ss Executives on Ade quate of Opinions of Small-Business Executives on Liberal-Practical
The ir Educa tion for Their Ca re ers Balance of Business Education

60
100
90 50
80 College degree in
70 Bus ines s 40

60 College degree in Liberal

Arts 30 All executives
50
College degree in Other
40 Non-Bus ines s Areas 20
30 No College degree
10
20
10 0
Entirely Moslty Half liberal, Moslty Entirely
0
liberal liberal, some half practical practical, practical
Adequate Not Adequate practical some liberal

Previously, the need for a business education was shown through the percentage of
involvement of executives in different activities of small-business. Now, we observe two
main points:

3
 i. The form of business education should be mostly practical and some liberal
meaning that the curriculum of business education, besides core business
courses, should include liberal courses
ii. College degrees in business are adequate for future leaders and managers of
businesses

Business Core Courses for Business Education

Business core courses are an essential part in the curriculum for business education. The
activities that business executives develop demonstrate that the curriculum should
involve basic business courses that will fulfill the needs of future leaders in the business
area. In this regard, Gleason (2006) argues that business core courses “provide a vehicle
to encourage dialogue, teamwork and a focus on student needs as identified by the
business community” (p. 26).

In addition to the questions about their needs and careers, business executives were asked
about their opinions on traditional business courses. Table 1 below shows the ranking of
these courses by executives as essential or desirable. As shown below, the courses that
executives selected as essential and desirable to be taught in business education
correspond to the activities chart (Figure 1) and to their needs as leaders of small-
businesses.

Table 1: Ranking of the Traditional Business Courses

Courses % Classifying Essential % Classifying Desirable Total %

Accounting 58 23 81
Economics 39 40 79
Information systems 61 28 79
Management 47 31 78
Finance 35 38 73
Marketing 37 35 72
Entrepreneurship 27 29 56

To better understand the reason why the above mentioned subject matters should be
included in the curriculum, each of them will be discussed.

Accounting

Accounting is one of the basic knowledge that executives need to know for their future
careers. As a subject, it ranks as one of the most essential subjects that executives have
chosen (Table 1). Also, executives spend much of their time in accounting (Figure 1);
therefore, it is one of the subjects needed for the curriculum of business education. The
National Business Education Association (NBEA) has identified accounting as “an
essential aspect of every business and organization” and “students who understand basic
accounting principles will more knowledgeably manage their companies'
financial resources (“Using APA”, p.2).

4
Economics

In our survey conducted with business executives the need for economics classes is
clearly shown by the activity of policy planning where the majority of executives are
engaged. Additionally, business executives ranked this subject as one needed to be
engaged in the curriculum.

Information Systems

The use of technology in businesses has imposed for future leaders to have knowledge in
information systems and computing. The knowledge of management of information
systems has become and essential in the business world. Therefore, the curriculum of
business education must include this core subject, a thought that is supported strongly by
the NBEA which considers that “all teachers must…Coordinate information
technology curricula not only in business education but also across the
entire curriculum” (“Using APA”, p. 13).

Management

Besides their ability to lead, business leaders should also have the ability to manage. In
this context, management and policy making is one of the activities that small-business
leaders are mostly engaged in. Future business leaders must have basic and advanced
knowledge in the management of labor force, of sales and other activities related to their
position. “This highly competitive market place”, argues Cant (2004), “requires
sophisticated management competencies necessary to work with staff,
customers, suppliers, and government officials with fundamentally
different values, assumptions, beliefs and traditions” (p.177).

Finance

Financial issues are mostly the responsibilities of leaders, especially in small businesses.
Money, banking, and corporate finance are activities that business leaders deal a lot in
their job. Business education curriculum has to include this subject as a core business
course so that all future leaders have the necessary knowledge in finance.

Marketing

The image of a business is very important for its activity and for its success. Leaders do
play a role in deciding about the appropriate image that the company should have and
should go out with in the market. Therefore, it is necessary for future leaders of
businesses to know about advertising and marketing. Half of the interviewed business
executives are engaged in advertising and marketing and they think that it is more
essential than desirable to include course of this field in the curriculum of business
education. The NBEA insists that “general marketing concepts are important

5
to everyone since they impact individuals, business, and society”
(“Using APA”, 19).

Entrepreneurship

Executives, especially in small-business, are very much engaged in the operations of a

business such as wholesaling and retailing. Future business leaders should have
knowledge in the operations of their businesses since it is essential to know about and to
be successful in planning about your business. Business education curriculum should
leave space for entrepreneurship since it is “a natural fit for business education”
and it “integrates the functional areas of business” (“NBEA”, p.12)

Non-business Liberal Courses for Business Education

Business traditional courses are an essential part of the curriculum for business education.
We should consider very seriously the impact and benefit of other non-business – liberal
courses. Thus, business leaders, besides their background on business and economics
should have some knowledge on general education fields.

In this regard, Nora Braun points out that “decision-making is a daily occurrence in the
business world” (p. 232, n.d). This is a skill that could be learned through non-business
courses as well such as humanities and social sciences. Furthermore, a study conducted
by the Undergraduate Curriculum and Policy Committee (as cited in Sautter, Popp, Pratt,
& Mills, 2000) concluded that “the college and its constituencies wanted students who
could apply and integrate business and non-business knowledge”(p. 20). Finally, Gleason
(2006) insists that “successful performance in all areas of business management depends
on the application of mathematics and English language principles, the use of scientific
problem-solving skills, and the application of computer technologies to business
situations” (p.25).

Finally, in the results shown in Figure 2, we see that the majority of business executives
think that the business education should be mostly practical but should include some
liberal, non-business courses as well. And below that there are is a number that thinks
that the curriculum of business education should half liberal and half practical. As we can
see, there is huge importance given to liberal courses in business education so that future
leaders get some basic skills and knowledge in general education.

As Table 2 shows below, small-business executives have classified some non-business

courses as very essential for the business education. All five groups of courses presented
below have a high percentage of being essential and desirable for business education.
Below each of these courses will be discussed in detail.

6
 Table 2: Ranking of Non-Business Courses

Courses % Classifying Essential % Classifying Desirable Total %

Language 51 24 75
Social sciences 31 36 67
Humanities 39 27 66
Science 33 39 62

Language

Speech, presentations, literature are very important for leaders in general and for business
leaders in particular. It is necessary for managers to communicate efficiently and
effectively while they deal with the employees, customers, and partners. Therefore,
language tops the list of preferences of small-business executives (Table 2) as a non-
business course that should be taught in business education.

Social Sciences

Through social sciences students are able to know about people, society, and social
organizations. Future business leaders should be able to deal with different people from
different backgrounds and cultures. Knowledge for society, mind and philosophy
enhances the thinking of business leaders and makes it easier for them to interact with
people and adapt to different circumstances.

Humanities

In doing business, leaders have to cooperate with different sections of society and
different institutions. They would also need to have a background on what happened
throughout the history of humankind and get a clearer idea on what should be done.
Therefore, humanities should be as a part of curriculum for business education since they
enable future leaders to expect and prepare for the way of the organization of life and the
institutions that they have to cooperate. Cant (2004) concludes that taking classes in
humanities “does provide important benefits in respect to cultural awareness” (p.181),

Science

Beside the qualitative subjects, future leaders need to have some knowledge in
quantitative and science courses. More than half of small-business executives think that
science courses are essential and desirable for business education. Furthermore, math
knowledge and skills are necessary for finance and accounting courses which are
considered as essential for business education. In a study conducted by the American

7
Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (as cited in Sharpe and
Pischet, n.d.) with deans of liberal-arts and business programs, as well
as corporate executives, concluded that nearly all of representatives of
the surveyed sample “felt that a background in science or engineering
was among the most desirable educational backgrounds for students
pursuing a business career" (p.2). Therefore, it is necessary for the
ideal curriculum to include science courses.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Summary and Conclusions

Curriculum of business education is a very evolving field and it should appropriate with
the changes in business filed. Therefore, it is crucial to have an optimal curriculum in
order to have effective future leaders of businesses. For this purpose, a number of small
business executives were asked in a two-phase questionnaire. First, business executives
expressed their needs and activities. Second, they were interviewed about their
experience with different courses and about their careers.

Based on the survey data and the analysis, business leaders should be considered when
determining the ideal curriculum for business education and the curriculum should meet
the current needs of business leaders and should prepare students for the future.

Recommendations

Curriculum for business education should change and be upgraded continuously, in order
to be effective for future business leaders. The ideal curriculum for business education
should:

4. Address the activities, needs and opinions of business leaders. When writing a
curriculum a special attention should be paid to the current market and the
forecasts of business executives who know and shape the future of business

5. Include core business courses. Business executives think that the business
courses that have taken are important for future leaders. Business courses that
should be included in the curriculum are:
• Accounting
• Economics
• Information Systems
• Management
• Finance
• Advertising
• Entrepreneurship
 6. Include liberal, non-business courses. The majority of business leaders thinks
that the ideal curriculum of business education should be mostly practical and
have some liberal courses as well. Therefore, the curriculum should encompass
the following liberal courses:
• Language
• Social sciences 8
• Humanities
• Science

______________________________________

References

Braun, N. ([YEAR]). Critical Thinking in the Business Curriculum. Journal of Education

for Business, 79(4), 232-236. Retrieved Wednesday, January 17, 2007 from the
Academic Search Premier database.

Cant, A. (2004). Internationalizing the Business Curriculum: Developing Intercultural

Competence. Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge, 5(1/2), 177-
182. Retrieved Monday, January 15, 2007 from the Business Source Premier
database.

Gleason, J. (2006). Contemporary Business Administration Curricula. (Cover story).

Techniques: Connecting Education & Careers, 81(7), 22-26. Retrieved Monday,
January 15, 2007 from the Academic Search Premier database.

National Business Education Association (NBEA). (2006). The National Standards for
Business Education. Retrieved Monday, January 15, 2007 from
http://www.nbea.org/curriculum/bes.html

Sautter, E., Popp, A., Pratt, E., & Mills, S. (2000). A "NEW AND IMPROVED"
CURRICULUM: PROCESS AND OUTCOMES. Marketing Education Review,
10(3), 19-28. Retrieved Wednesday, January 17, 2007 from the Business Source
Premier database.

Sharpe Radke N., & Prichett, D. G.([YEAR]). Business Curricula Should

Integrate Liberal-Arts and Vocational Skills. Retrieved Friday, Monday,
January 15, 2007 from
http://www.eric.ed.gov/sitemap/html_0900000b8035ecad.html
APPENDIX A: Companies of the Executives Comprising the Sample

9 Type of Company
Company Size in
Number of Employees Manufacturing Wholesaling Retailing Service Total

1-15 6 7 20 14 47
16-50 5 17 14 16 52
51-100 4 9 3 8 24
101+ 7 4 14 13 38
Total: 22 37 51 51 161

10