IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/humman/v5y2020i2d10.1007_s41463-020-00099-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Importance of the Discussion Method in the Undergraduate Business Classroom

Author

Listed:
  • Jonathan Ying

    (Purdue University)

Abstract

The Discussion Method produces significant student learning outcomes. In a time where we are only beginning to witness artificial intelligence’s disruption of work and the economy, these learning outcomes are crucial to personal and professional success. This paper begins by tracing the role of the Discussion Method within the liberal arts tradition, and by extension the Confucian tradition. Second, this paper examines how the Discussion Method lost its value in higher education as a consequence of the employability problem. In this section, the employability problem is defined as a two-fold misunderstanding among students and parents regarding the purpose of education and how to prepare for the workplace. Third, this paper reframes the purpose of the Discussion Method in an integrated curriculum for preparing students to achieve personal and professional success. Also, in the third section, student generated data serve as evidence to support the argument that (1) discussion-based classes are an important missing element in undergraduate management education and (2) discussion-based classes are superior to large lectures. This paper concludes that a discussion-based business pedagogy anchored by the liberal arts and sciences leads to eight major learning outcomes: (1) how to reconcile opposing arguments; (2) how to think on one’s own two feet; (3) how to formulate cohesive arguments to reach a consensus; (4) how to mitigate fear of sharing individual opinions by building relationship among classmates; (5) how to allow students to learn better by motivating them to prepare more for class; (6) how to enable students to remain engaged during and after class; (7) how to embraces nuance; and (8) how to integrate new ideas from disparate perspectives and disciplines.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonathan Ying, 2020. "The Importance of the Discussion Method in the Undergraduate Business Classroom," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 5(2), pages 251-278, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:humman:v:5:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1007_s41463-020-00099-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s41463-020-00099-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s41463-020-00099-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s41463-020-00099-2?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Korten, 2019. "What Will it Take for Business to Improve Lives?," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 101-110, July.
    2. Michael Pirson, 2016. "Editorial: Welcome to the Humanistic Management Journal," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 1-7, September.
    3. J. -C. Spender, 2017. "BSchools and Their Business Models," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 187-204, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Anne M. Greenhalgh & Douglas E. Allen & Jeffrey Nesteruk, 2020. "Preface to the Special Issue: Bringing the Humanities and Liberal Learning to the Study of Business," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 5(2), pages 153-158, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michael Pirson, 2017. "In a Time of Global Upheaval- Humanistic Management Thinking Needed More Than Ever," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 155-157, April.
    2. S. Aqeel Tirmizi & Ken Williams & S. Noor Tirmizi, 2023. "More Human, Not Less: Global Relevance of Values-Based Leadership," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 13-28, April.
    3. Michael Pirson, 2018. "Reclaiming our Humanity- a Cornerstone for Better Management," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 2(2), pages 103-107, February.
    4. Claudius Bachmann & Laura Sasse & Andre Habisch, 2018. "Applying the Practical Wisdom Lenses in Decision-Making: An Integrative Approach to Humanistic Management," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 2(2), pages 125-150, February.
    5. Michael Pirson, 2017. "Better Stories Needed: How Meaningful Narratives can Transform the World," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 1-6, October.
    6. Rundshagen Volker & Reiser Dirk & Scherle Nicolai, 2023. "Re-orientation through Humanistic Management? The promotion of dignity, well-being and flourishing in tourism contexts," Zeitschrift für Tourismuswissenschaft, De Gruyter, vol. 15(2), pages 117-121, August.
    7. Wild, Phillip, 2017. "Determining commercially viable two-way and one-way ‘Contract-for-Difference’ strike prices and revenue receipts," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 191-201.
    8. Michael Pirson, 2019. "Managing Towards a World that Works for all," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 1-4, July.
    9. Abigail B. Schneider & Daniel P. Justin, 2020. "Educating for an Inclusive Economy: Cultivating Relationality Through International Immersion," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 133-151, July.
    10. Michael Pirson, 2020. "A Humanistic Narrative for Responsible Management Learning: An Ontological Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 162(4), pages 775-793, April.
    11. Michael Pirson, 2018. "Humanistic Management – Sucks Less and Better for your Health," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 1-7, July.
    12. Natàlia Cugueró-Escofet & Josep M. Rosanas, 2020. "Practical Wisdom for Sustainable Management and Knowledge Sharing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-17, May.
    13. Ross, Timothy & Buliung, Ronald, 2019. "Access work: Experiences of parking at school for families living with childhood disability," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 289-299.
    14. James P. Walsh, 2019. "Who Will it Take for Business to Improve Lives? The “Man” in the Mirror," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 111-117, July.
    15. Michael Pirson & Jonathan Keir, 2018. "Humanistic Management: a Universalist Perspective Based on a World Ethos," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 141-145, December.
    16. Nigri Giorgia & Del Baldo Mara & Agulini Armando, 2020. "The Mondora Method: Quantum Leaders in Benefit Corporations," Entrepreneurship Research Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 10(4), pages 1-25, October.
    17. Raymond Fisk & Angie Fuessel & Christopher Laszlo & Patrick Struebi & Alessandro Valera & Carey Weiss, 2019. "Systemic Social Innovation: Co-Creating a Future Where Humans and all Life Thrive," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 4(2), pages 191-214, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:humman:v:5:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1007_s41463-020-00099-2. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.