Getting to the Core

After two semesters as a Marriott School student, Karren Thomas thought she had figured out the basics of a business education: spreadsheets, business models, and case studies.

But her outlook changed on the first day of her business management suite class when the instructor posed the question: “Is it wrong to be rich?” The ensuing discussion about obtaining wealth wasn’t expected in a business class, but this wasn’t a typical class.

Questions about religion and business are tackled daily in this one-of-a-kind course—the business management suite—offered only at BYU. Students earn one business and two religion credits, while confronting difficult situations they may encounter as business professionals.

This popular class is one of several courses students take together as cohorts in the undergraduate program’s integrated core curriculum. Besides the business management suite, students enroll in the same sections of marketing, supply chain management, business finance, and organizational behavior.

The integrated core is one result of a facelift the program underwent in 2000. Faculty and administrators wanted to strengthen the undergraduate community and better prepare students to enter the workforce. By forming an integrated core, adding a combined business-religion class, and creating a more collaborative atmosphere for faculty, the Marriott School is better preparing undergraduates to live and lead in a global environment.

Integrating the Core

To Associate Dean Lee T. Perry the decision to restructure the curriculum into an integrated core was simple. “We wanted to build a tighter undergraduate community. We wanted our students to have deeper friendships,” he recalls. “We figured if our students were closer, the dynamics of the classroom would change—creating a more comfortable learning environment.”

A key factor in creating this tightknit learning atmosphere is teamwork. At the beginning of the semester, students are placed in teams of five and are assigned to work together on nearly all projects and assignments throughout the semester. “We saw the success the MBA program had with its core, and we wanted our undergraduates to have a similar experience,” says Joan Young, director of the Marriott School’s undergraduate program. The idea is to place students from each emphasis together on teams so they learn to draw from each others’ strengths and differences.

“You learn how to compromise, and you realize your way is not the only way,” comments Jeff Dempsey, a senior from Raleigh, North Carolina, in the business management core. “I enjoy working in groups. Even though it takes longer to make and implement decisions, I think we come to more correct conclusions. It helps us prepare for the real world because we’ll be dealing with group projects our whole lives.”

Professor Grant McQueen, a member of the committee that overhauled the curriculum, says, “Before the core, there was just a menu of classes; there was no culture or chance to form friendships. Now, for at least one semester, students can take classes together in sync, where they’re exposed to the same ideas and discuss the same issues.”

Organizing the core on such a large scale requires a lot of planning and coordination. Each year the program admits 850 students, with about 1,900 students total. To keep a pulse on how the integrated core is running, Young meets with twelve student teams—two from each section—every semester. She quizzes them about their classes, group work, teachers, and overall impressions of the core. Responses have helped the program evolve and move beyond the trial stage.

Over the last three years, feedback has largely been positive. “I would consider it a success,” McQueen says. “I’ve visited a few classes, and as I’ve walked in it has been really noisy—a lot of talking and laughing. You get a sense by the decibels that they’ve bonded with each other.”

Because of the time the students spend together, they get to know one another well and begin building small networks. “At a university with thirty thousand people, you usually don’t get a chance to get to know your classmates,” Dempsey says. “In the core, I’ve become comfortable with the other students, and I can be myself and answer questions that I probably wouldn’t answer in another class.”

That level of confidence and trust is exactly what the teachers and administrators hoped to accomplish with the integrated core classes. Professor David Cherrington says he notices that within the first few weeks, students build camaraderie.

“Some students don’t agree with their classmates; some don’t agree with me. But there is an openness, an acceptance, that allows them to express their point of view in a nonthreatening way,” he says. “I tell them that they ought to feel free to say anything as long as it’s not frivolous, disruptive, or demeaning. And if they want to change their mind, that’s okay.”

OPENING THE DOORS FOR MORE STUDENTS

Despite efforts to accommodate more students, the demand for business-degree graduates continues to far exceed the supply. More than 1,100 students vie each year for 850 slots in the Marriott School’s undergraduate management program.

Turning away nearly 300 students a year is a tough job that was made only slightly easier when the school increased admissions from 700 to 850 in 2001.

“I thought the number of applicants might drop because of the business scandals, the economic troubles, and the transition of BYU–Idaho to a four-year program, but the number of applications hasn’t gone down,” says Joan Young, undergraduate management program director.

While the demand for the management major has grown steadily, the number of students seeking a business minor has spiked. In 2002, almost 750 students earned business minors, up 80 percent from 1997.

“Twenty-five percent of the minors presented by BYU are business minors,” Young says. “It’s a practical addition to almost any degree, and the reputation of our program is very high.”

To serve the ever-present interest in both majors and minors, the school has juggled faculty teaching schedules, added a spring/summer business minor, encouraged student internships during fall and winter semesters, and hired more visiting faculty. “It’s not a bad problem to have,” Young says. “But it’s not an easy one to resolve.”

For more information about the business management program, visit marriottschool.byu.edu/bsmgt. Information about the business management minor is available online at marriottschool.byu.edu/mgtminor.

Combining Business and Religion

Perhaps the most unique aspect of the integrated core is the business management suite class. To help students prepare for their business careers, class discussions revolve around circumstances that could challenge their values.

“The course was established on the premise that we do not live separate lives—we cannot be a different person at work than we are at church,” Perry explains. “By anticipating future dilemmas, students prepare themselves to deal with them more effectively and valiantly.”

Like most religion classes, this one begins with a hymn and a prayer. But as the discussion begins, it takes a unique turn as students explore topics such as pride and the economic cycle, women in management, idleness versus relaxation, or the difference between gambling and investing in the stock market.

“What we talked about in the business management suite class applied to our other classes. We learned the ethical principles behind what we were studying,” Thomas says. “It was never redundant, just reinforcing.”

Professor Kaye Hanson believes the class helps students define their values. “The students come motivated and grateful to face these gospel issues; where else could you ever talk about these sorts of things?” she asks.

The lessons being taught in the business management suite have positively affected those outside the class as well. Last winter semester, one class taught by Bill Price, director of the Marriott School Institute of Marketing, took a discussion on social responsibility to heart. The students voluntarily donated $5,000 to the Marriott School, which was matched by donors and ended up creating a scholarship endowment worth more than $30,000. This was the first endowed scholarship funded by a single class, with ninety percent of the fifty-five students in the class contributing. One student donated a large cash birthday gift he received from his mother. He told Price that he felt better putting his money toward a scholarship than spending it on himself, like he had with other birthday gifts.

“It was especially gratifying for me to see these future business executives putting up their money to match the intent of their hearts,” Price says.

The open environment in the business management suite is ideal for the sometimes-sensitive class discussions. “What students really benefit from is being able to share ideas with one another,” reflects Cherrington, one of the six management suite instructors. “It’s refreshing for them to have questions raised and allow them to talk among themselves and get a perspective on each other’s feelings. I believe they tend to learn more from one another than from anyone else.”

Thomas, who was initially surprised by the unique class discussions, says her Marriott School experience wouldn’t have been the same without the business management suite. “I loved my other BYU religion classes, but this was so personally centered to what I was learning in my major. In that class we had similar career goals and interests—and it really enriched our discussions,” she says.

A KNACK FOR COACHING

Although Joan Young had never coached before, within a matter of a few weeks she found herself leading two high school teams.

Her student-coaching career began at Salt Lake City’s East High School in 1984, where she taught English and coached the school’s swim team. Although swimming wasn’t Young’s forte, she did have some experience. “Fortunately, I had learned a little from my children who were competitive swimmers,” she recalls. Young’s knack for coaching shone through, and East High soon had one of the best swim teams in the state.

Others took notice of Young’s ability, and she was recruited to help coach the school’s football team—a team that had the longest-running losing streak west of the Mississippi. Young was put in charge of the kicking and special teams and was given the charge to motivate players. “I clocked hang time on punts, held the ball for place kicks, and dodged errant tackles,” she says.

Two weeks after Young started coaching, the football team faced its rival, West High School, and won its first game in four years.

Through her coaching experience, Young has witnessed the great things people can do as part of a team. “If you want to perform at your best level, become part of a team,” she advises. “Struggles become easier if we make life a team sport.”

That attitude buoyed Young in her studies as a Marriott School MBA student and later in her work as an administrator. In 2000, after working as the MBA program assistant director, Young became director of the school’s undergraduate program.

With the help of faculty and program coordinators Amy Kohler and Cami Green, Young has successfully coached the program through a series of changes. Besides launching and overseeing the integrated core, where students work together in teams, they also published an undergraduate handbook, formed an advisory board, created new courses, and refined old courses including the program’s required orientation course.

As a coach for undergraduate students, Young advises and motivates on a daily basis. “It’s an approach similar to coaching,” she explains. “I give them information and confidence they need and help them set goals to get there.”

Increasing Faculty Collaboration

Students aren’t the only benefactors of the recent changes in the program. Integrating the core has given the faculty more incentive to collaborate and coordinate their curricula. Throughout the year, the professors meet to compare their syllabi, discussion topics, and schedules—often making adjustments to help students by spreading out due dates for major tests, papers, and projects.

Because faculty members are aware of each others’ lesson plans, they can reference knowledge students have already covered in other core classes. For example, a marketing professor can pull finance topics into a class discussion because he or she will know what was covered in other courses.

Faculty teaching post-core classes also benefit because their students have had a more standardized undergraduate experience. McQueen says that before the core, students didn’t always have the same background because there was no order to how classes were taken.

Faculty members are also more involved in guiding students’ career paths thanks to Young’s revamped orientation class. When students are first admitted to the program, they are required to take a half-credit, eight-week orientation course. During that time, faculty members advise and prep students for their business school experience. “They talk about their respective fields—what skills, careers, and direction the students can expect,” Young explains. “It’s also a great way to introduce students to our excellent undergraduate faculty team.”

Perry sees the curriculum’s progress as a product of the faculty’s vision. It was a faculty committee that designed the integrated core and the plan to implement it. “The bottom-line is many faculty members deserve credit for the advances made in the Marriott School’s undergraduate programs in recent years—too many to mention by name. It has truly been a community effort,” he says.

This community effort is making a difference to hundreds of business students. Through the integrated core, Marriott School undergraduates are forming long-lasting relationships, developing strong team skills, and learning to network. The management suite class is preparing them to recognize and uphold their values throughout their business careers. Their undergraduate experience is also enhanced by faculty members who work closely together to ensure their students are gaining a solid core education.

“It’s been a great experience,” Dempsey says. “I’ve learned skills I’ll be using for the rest of my life. I feel the program has helped me prepare both academically and ethically for a career in business.”

Notwithstanding the improvements, Perry believes the students remain the greatest strength of the undergraduate program. “Our students are getting better and better all the time,” he comments. “And we’re not the only ones picking up on that—recruiters are also taking note of the improving quality and skills of Marriott School undergraduates.”

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Article written by Emily A. Smurthwaite