Interdisciplinary Business Education: Combining the Power of Inter-professional Collaboration with

the Benefits of Student Engagement

Alan Belasen, Ph.D., Chair, Business, Management, Leadership Programs

Rosalyn Rufer, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Management

• Our world is increasingly interconnected and interdependent

• Global environments are characterized by multiplicity, interdependence, and complexity

 • Exchange systems around the globe put pressure on professionals

and managers to collaborate

 • Interdisciplinary knowledge bring a broad view to projects and

strategic decisions

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Interdependence

Integration

• A functional specialist is the best choice for depth of knowledge 

 • However, decision processes require holistic and cooperative

modes of inquiry

 • Breadth of knowledge provides for information from diverse

perspectives

• Students with interdisciplinary skills and knowledge increased marketability for career choices

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Collaboration for Interdisciplinary Teaching

• Two or more faculty from different disciplines collaborate

• Provides for mutual understanding and respect for each discipline

 • Emanates from an understanding and appreciation of each

discipline

• Provides students with the opportunity to actively participate in the learning

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Interconnected Fields of Experience

• Opportunity for students to see connections and relevance between topics and perspectives.

• Faculty members are involved in the planning and development of interdisciplinary learning modules:

• Selecting a focus or thematic topic

• Generating ideas or connections between related topics

• Establishing guiding questions for the scope and sequence of the module

• Designing activities to fulfill the goals of the learning module

• Engages students in epistemological questions such as • “What is knowledge?”

• “What do we know?” and

• “How can we present knowledge?”

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Examples of Interdisciplinary Work At Different Levels

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Interdisciplinary: Research and Course Development

• Management Problem: Preparing to teach students to successfully integrate technology transferred from one organization to another

• Solving the Problem: Interdisciplinary research with one who has expertise on how to manage innovation, the other with expertise on how to create a learning organization

• Outcomes:

1. Book chapter by Belasen & Rufer (2014). “Innovation Communication and Inter-functional Collaboration: A view from the competing values framework for Corporate Communications” in Strategy and Communications for Innovations, Nicole Pfeffermann (Ed).

2. Two interdisciplinary courses one on Innovation and Global Commercialization; the other, Application of Innovation for Strategic Planning and technology transfer.

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Interdisciplinary: Course and Program Development

• Management Problem – Addressing complexity, multiplicity and interdependence in global business environments

• Solving the problem – team teaching with faculty from multiple disciplines: Economics, marketing, management, and business law

• Outcomes – 1. Scanning the Business Environment -- Team taught holistic design using

broader perspectives and integration of knowledge areas

2. Development of MBA in Global Leadership – Focusing learning on cultural competence, flexibility in architecture, and diversity of understanding.

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Interdisciplinary: Scholarly Work, Certificates, and Partnerships

• Management Problem - increased complexity in managing health care systems and a movement toward inter-professional collaboration

• Solving the problem –integration of competencies and functional knowledge from a variety of disciplines including management, marketing, and sociology.

• Outcomes –

1. A new book by Belasen, Eisenberg, & Huppertz (2014). The Master Leader: Strategies for Increasing Leadership Effectiveness in Health Care Organizations, Jones & Bartlett Learning.

2. Advanced graduate certificate in Health Care Management

3. Joint venture with SUNY College of Optometry to teach optometrists how to manage their practices.

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Interdisciplinary: Dual Diploma, New Design

• Management Problem - bridging the knowledge gap

• Solving the problem: international cooperation and integration through alliances

• Outcomes

1. Dual diploma that provides specialized courses throughout the curriculum, culminating in a team taught capstone project

2. MBA for Veterans with functional knowledge from military training, and leadership and managerial competencies through course work that culminates in a team taught capstone.

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Interdisciplinary: New Models of Teaching

• Management Problem – making management education relevant for changing careers

• Solving the problem – interdisciplinary curricular development

• Outcomes –

1. Blended residencies with interdisciplinary based, skill oriented workshops and seminars

2. Competency-based models of learning for MBA in Management degree

3. Belasen, A., Chukhlomin, V., Chukhlomina, I., Lus, B., & Rufer, R. (2013). Making Business Curricula More Relevant to Global Changes: The MBA in Global Leadership. In Littrell, R.F. (ed). Leadership in Russia, Proceedings of the 2013 Conference: Leadership in Russia and Global Context, 22-24 October 2013

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Your Examples of Interdisciplinary Collaboration

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VENUES FOR INTERPROFESSIONAL COLLABORATION.

• Where else can we improve our teaching through interdisciplinary inquiry and mode of teaching?

1. What other issues are we facing in management education today?

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Breakout Groups

Master list: What other issues are we facing in management education today?

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VENUES FOR INTERPROFESSIONAL COLLABORATION

• Where else can we improve our teaching through interdisciplinary studies?

1. What other issues are we facing in management education today?

2. Solving the problem – what do you currently do in your institution?

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Breakout Groups

Master list: Solving the problem – what do you currently do in your institution?

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VENUES FOR INTERPROFESSIONAL COLLABORATION.

• Where else can we improve our teaching through interdisciplinary studies?

1. What other issues are we facing in management education today?

2. Solving the problem – what do you currently do in your institution?

3. How can we improve outcomes?

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Breakout Groups

Master List: How can we improve outcomes?

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VENUES FOR INTERPROFESSIONAL COLLABORATION.

• Where else can we improve our teaching through interdisciplinary studies?

1. What other issues are we facing in management education today?

2. Solving the problem – what do you currently do in your institution?

3. How can we improve outcomes?

4. How do we increase collaboration across major fields in business?

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Breakout Groups

Master list: How do we increase collaboration across major fields in business?

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