Tapping Your Student's Knowledge in Business Curriculum

 Online education was the latest adaptation but new models will eventually emerge that rest on the new virtual platform. If universities value is based on its knowledge that it provides to students and society is it also possible that collective intelligence will be the next step in university development. Universities are collectors of knowledge and disseminate societal wisdom making furthering that agenda a mater of improving the knowledge collection and dissemination process.

Each student comes with experiences and knowledge that has the potential to improve curriculum. In the case of MBA programs, much of that knowledge is industry relevant and relates directly to theoretical concepts taught in class. The student is an untapped source of information that has real life experience that can further curriculum development.

Virtual classrooms collect masses amount of information but are not effectively using student knowledge to update and adjust models, curriculum and examples. The technology to allow for mass open innovation in solving large problems and updating information is available.

Technology affords the opportunity to leave comments, propose changes in examples, and provide links to other resources by large amounts of people. Collecting, analyzing, and incorporating this information is the same methodology that allows for customer feedback and the customer as co-creator in advanced businesses.

Ultimately all information in college is only beneficial if it is relevant and solves practical problems. It must be applicable to the student and who need or use this knowledge. When seasoned students can update course information and contribute to others knowledge they are able to develop more relevant examples and and more effective resolutions to problems.

The process of collective intelligence also encourages greater motivation among a student body that sometimes views education as something fluid they can jump in and out of.  With co-creation students are not passive learners but actively engage in developing, owning, and advocating for universities where their knowledge made a lasting mark giving them more purpose to stay engaged. Those students are not only graduates but also contributors to the next generation which gives the idea of Alumni a whole new depth.

How Multiple Education Models Help Protect America's College Standing

Just like we wouldn't put all of our money into a single investment it is not wise to force higher education into a single model. Sixteen of the top 20 schools in the world according to the U.S. News and World Report on the "Best Global Universities". That ranking is important for high profile schools but most people don't attend such institutions. Ensuring multiple models are accepted will help keep America competitive in the future as these models institutionalize.

It wasn't but a decade or so ago that online education hit the market. Even though people viewed its quality as low it spread quickly to other schools and into the international market. It has become common in the higher education world and slow innovators are losing out on potential students and international reach.

Having multiple models and incorporating new ideas is important for helping the country keep its leading position. When we try and legislate higher education to the point where only traditional models are acceptable we loose our ability to adapt and change. Our innovation declines and the cost of education continues to rise while the nation looses its educational competitiveness.

Traditional models are hear to stay but will continue to adapt emerging technologies or they will fail to have the same clout in the future. Elite land based universities will still attract rich students. New generations of elite schools that have more virtual reach are starting to sow seeds that will bear fruit in the future and lead new markets.

Multiple tracks is great for the development of national intellectual capital. Wealthy 18-25 year olds can attend one type of school, while working CEO's and professionals can attend another. Their knowledge will contribute to the university that attracts the most professional attention and market reputation. New models mean new opportunities in the U.S. and overseas.

Innovation in education requires enough freedom to do something new without being subject to excess restrictions. The arguments of quality are beneficial but the arguments for particular models are not. Education may someday be cheap and accessible to billions of people on the planet through something as simple as their cell phone or watch. Where the U.S. wants to be in that equation is an open ended question.

Using Formal and Informal Team Communication

Communication is so fundamental to collective action and human interaction that one has to wonder if it isn't THE fundamental principle of all societies. Teams rely heavily on communication to ensure that all parties understand their parts and coordinate their activities to achieve their goals. If communication isn't clear or forthcoming the team begins to break down and become ineffective.

Meetings may not be the most exciting time spent in the work place but do help to formalize the team's identity and goals through physical and social presence. Team communication creates the official doctrine of the team and what it hopes to achieve.

What might be more important is the unofficial team communication that occurs behind the scenes. As people negotiate their responsibilities and work toward fulfilling their work they will have lots of conversation and sharing of information.

Effective communication requires the formal and informal methods of sharing information. The formal creates the framework while the informal keeps the work moving forward. Having regular team meetings and communicating formally can help foster grater informal discussions that lead to better projects. You can steer the later by the former.

Formal Communication: Meetings, Memo, Documents, Emails and Publications.

Informal Communication: Text, Phone, Emails, and Face-to-Face conversation.

Quality Curriculum Improves Student Motivation

Motivation is a big factor in successful  adult completion of education. That motivation can be fostered from the quality of the school and its benefit to the actual student. If the information appears to be helpful to students and solves a problem then it contributes to development. That problem can be employment related or a personal problem.

According to a study of 203 university students motivating factors includes instruction quality, curriculum quality, relevance, pragmatism, interaction with students, solid feedback, and self-directedness (Sogunro, 2015). Students appear to understand the quality and importance of their program and respond accordingly.

Each student decides if they desire to engage their education programs fully. This is something universities can screen for but can't control. When they offer high quality curriculum they are more likely to be motivated than if it isn't. 

The study helps us think about why it is important to ensure schools develop solid curriculum and create higher levels of relevancy in the market. Constantly updating curriculum and engage with students helps to raise their learning and motivation. Professors that are actively engaged in their classes are worth more than those aren't.

Sogunro, O. (2015). Motivating factors for adult learners in higher education. International Journal of Higher Educations, 4 (1).

Dumping Money into Poor Systems-Knowing When to Change Strategy

The greatest ability to succeed in business is to see trends and capitalize on those trends before everyone else does. Those who can find openings in the market and put forward a successful strategy will beat the market while those who cannot muster this ability will be beaten by the market. When old strategies become ineffective it is necessary to do something new and put investors money in places that actually work.

Strategies are inevitably tied to people's egos. We spend a great deal of time trying to develop strategies and looking through our personal knowledge banks to assess a situation and formulate a plan. They become personal extensions of ourselves.

This is one reason why changing a strategy once it has been solidified is so hard. People become opposed to change because it could reflect poor judgement, a changed situation, or invalidation of one's experience.

Strong leaders have the ability to see the need for change and be reflective of their strategies. They are able to draw in the collective knowledge of their teams and in turn are able to incorporate new knowledge when it becomes available without threatening their fragile sense of self.

There are times when it become apparent that a strategy change is needed. A few of red flags could include the following:

-When your business is losing revenue/customers.
-When the political and regulatory environment changes.
-When your business isn't differentiated from everyone else.
-When your value propositions become weaker.
- When your business fails to capitalize on emerging markets.
-When expenses and cost structure becomes over burdensome.
-When old strategies lose the support of internal stakeholders.
-When competitors move into your market.
-When new knowledge and ideas are not incorporated into management decision-making.
-When customer complaints rise.
-When mistakes and errors rise. 

Using Social Norms in Subconscious Organizational Management

Bare with an idea for a minute and lets get unique without making judgements. Do you believe that you can manage a company subconsciously? I picked up a study from 1994 that discusses Japanese inter-organizational control through subconscious normative and symbolic inducements. They had less need of utilitarian methods often utilized in current human resource practices.

Sounds crazy doesn't it?

Think for a moment about the design of organizations and how it uses incentives and punishments to coerce behavior. If you do something right you get rewarded with praise while if you do something wrong you get punished with chastisement or fired. The mechanisms of control are overt and part of the official management practices of an organization.

As long as a person believes in these mechanisms they have power (conscious).

There is also stronger internal, deep seated, subconscious mechanism based on our social upbringing and value systems. These are often symbolic by nature and are culturally laden. They are what makes us connected to a particular society through our shared value systems. If the Japanese are good at anything it is symbolism.

We conform to certain rules and values because we are have subconsciously pre-programmed ability to accept social structures. We can't live and be in a society unless we accept certain values and norms as part of who we are. Not only do we learn these values through interaction with others but are born capable of connecting to other people.

As long as we are connected to society we have certain norms and values we accept (subconscious).

Creating a subconsciously motivating business, in this case as found in a Mitsubishi Heavy Industry, is by perking cultural values and using symbolism. The person comes willingly, or at least unknowingly, to accept the values of the organization because they fit within the cultural context of society. They act and work in a way that is drawn from their subconscious desire to be connected to others and be accepted by a greater social network.

Nussbaum-Gomes, M. (1994). The subconscious in organizational control. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 35, 1/2.

The Impact of the Trans-Pacific Free Trade Agreement

The Trans-Pacific Free Trade Agreement (TPP) includes the U.S., Japan and 10 other nations (Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam).  The goal is to connect these countries together by lowering trade barriers in an attempt to increase transactions and the economic engines of all the nations.

There are a few things we can expect from such an agreement:

Increased Trade: When barrier are reduce there should be an increase in trade and commercial activities. This should lead to higher levels of interaction and hopefully economic contribution.

Cultural Influence: Cultural values are transferred  through trade. Throughout history people visited, explored, and traded with people from other places and in term influenced and were influenced by them.

Counter to China: The agreement offers a counter-balance to China. Trading partners whose economies become more integrated with the U.S. are likely to be more included to lean toward U.S. interests.

Job Gain or Loss: When trade increased jobs should also increase.  If the U.S. is gaining access to new markets to sell high value products then there should be net gain. If trading partners dump cheaper products in the U.S. there could be net job loss.

Access to Resources: The trade agreement should provide access to cheaper resources that is used to fuel development and growth in the U.S.