ENTERPRISING INTERNATIONAL MARKETING EDUCATION

164 ENTERPRISING INTERNATIONAL MARKETING EDUCATION Fred Scharf, University of Ulster at Coleraine and Patrick Ibbotson, University of Ulster at Coleraine 1

ENTERPRISING INTERNATIONAL MARKETING EDUCATION Abstract In Business and Management, for many years there have been calls for more relevant teaching materials and more creative approaches to learning. A series of government initiatives have sought to address this issue in prescribing the inclusion of 'enterprise skills' in undergraduate curricula. One response is the use of "live" client-sponsored projects as a pedagogic technique in management education. This active learning approach enables students to apply theoretical concepts in practice and encourages them to develop enterprising behaviours, attributes and skills. This paper describes how this learning approach has been used with a group of students on an International Marketing module. The students' development was charted through the use of a pre- and post project survey. It evaluates the outcomes of the project from the perspective of all the stakeholders involved: students and teaching staff, client companies, government support agencies. Introduction The last two decades in Higher Education in the United Kingdom have been marked by significant change in every aspect of the sector. Whilst the external monitoring of institutional research and teaching is now established practice, the debate concerning the role of the university in the 21 st. century is still ongoing. In 2

this context, the aspect of technology transfer and the part universities are expected to play in the economic development of their region, are of particular relevance. Within the core activity of most universities, the provision and delivery of relevant undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, the concept of graduateness and employability are the latest manifestations of a development of twenty years or more. In the discussion surrounding these concepts, reference is frequently made to key, core, generic, transferable or enterprise skills. Since the paper focuses on the development of skills, it may be useful to clarify the origins and meaning of some of these terms. The first formal policy initiative in this context was the Enterprise in Higher Education (EHE) initiative, launched in 1987. Its objective was to assist institutions of Higher Education develop enterprising graduates in partnership with employers (Training Agency, 1988). The terms enterprise skills and personal transferable skills were used synonymously as the Assistant Director of the Higher Education Quality Council commented: Enterprise skills or personal transferable skills are those competencies which enable and assist students to be successful not only throughout their student career but also in their subsequent personal and professional work lives. Today s student needs to be able to translate theory into practice - not just know how to but actually perform (Bailey, 1993). The report by the National Committee for Inquiry into Higher Education, chaired by Sir Ron Dearing and subsequently known as the Dearing 3

Report again emphasised the development of relevant skills as an integral part of all undergraduate programmes. The report identified four particular skill areas: Communication skills Numeracy Information Technology Ability to Learn Based, in part, on the recommendations of the Dearing Report, a wide-ranging series of reforms for 16-19 year olds followed. In Curriculum 2000", introduced in September 2000, a set of key skills was identified. These key skills were considered to be essential to remaining employable (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, 2000). The six key skills were given as: communication application of number information technology working with others improving own learning and performance problem solving. Key skill awards were to be offered at five levels, levels 1-3 in schools and levels 4 and 5 in Higher Education institutions. 4

In the same year the subject benchmark statement for Business and Management was published by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA). Following a recommendation of the Dearing Report, it established national benchmarks for relevant areas of knowledge and understanding as well as a range of cognitive and intellectual skills (http://www.qaa.ac.uk). A further outcome of the Dearing Report and currently in the process of being implemented is the development of Student Progress Files or Personal Development Plans (PDP). The prime objective of PDPs is to improve the capacity of individual students to understand what and how they are learning and to make them aware of their own employability. The QAA expects students graduating in 2005/6 to have PDPs documenting their achievements. Against this background this paper draws heavily on Gibb (1993) and his comprehensive framework of enterprise education. Gibb sees enterprise education (or the enterprise approach to education ) as helping to develop enterprising people and, in particular, to inculcate an attitude of self-reliance through the process of learning. This approach will also enhance students insights into, as well as knowledge of, any particular phenomenon studied. He develops the conceptual link between the enterprise approach to learning and the organisational dynamics of small business. A clear distinction must be made between enterprise education and entrepreneurship and small business education and training. Gibb proposes the definition of enterprising persons in terms of behaviours, attributes and skills (Table 1): 5

Table 1 Enterprising Persons Definition Behaviours Attributes Skills acting independently on own initiative actively seeking to achieve goals flexibly responding to challenges coping with and enjoying uncertainty taking risky actions in uncertain environments solving problems/conflicts creatively opportunity seeking commitment to make things happen persuading others self confident autonomous achievement oriented versatile dynamic resourceful problem solving creativity persuasiveness planning negotiating decision taking (source: adapted from Gibb) He also makes the point that these behaviours, attributes and skills reflect innate abilities and personalities and, therefore, will vary between individuals but they can be enhanced through education and training. This, according to Gibb s model of enterprise education, is based on three interrelated elements: 1. An enterprising mode of teaching where the teacher is the facilitator, a guide and partner in the learning process employing a learning by doing approach where students learn by discovery and from each other. 2. Learning takes place around the project. Students manage all the project tasks within an environment which exudes ambiguity and uncertainty. 3. The process must be embedded in a learning environment which gives ownership to the students, allows the freedom to learn by mistakes and affords the opportunity for a holistic experience in problem-solving. 6

The lack of relevance of educational offerings has been a recurring theme in the business education literature and the latest changes introduced by government agencies are, in part at least, a response to it. More than a decade before the EHE initiative in the UK Mintzberg (1976) called for the use of powerful new skill development techniques which are experiential and creative in nature. Handy et al. (1988) criticised much of the recent management education literature for being too remote from the world of business and management about which they claim to teach. The need to focus on internationalising the business curriculum is also well documented and vital in an increasingly global business environment (Beck et al.1996, Gneiwosz 1996, Bell et al. 1997, Green & Gerber 1997). 'Live' client-sponsored projects have long been recognised as a useful pedagogic technique in management education (Humphreys 1981, Watkins 1985, Bell & Brown, 1990, Kennedy et al 2001)). They enable students to apply theoretical concepts in practice, provide 'real life' perspectives and allow them to develop enterprising behaviours, motivated and enabled by appropriate enterprise attributes and skills. For many years the authors have utilised these approaches in a variety of international marketing courses and have reported the outcomes in terms of the benefits derived by students and participating firms (Scharf, 2000, Scharf & Bell 2002). This paper outlines the most recent series of international marketing projects and evaluates them from the perspective of student learning outcomes. The research approach involved benchmarking students' skill sets at the start of the course and 7

measuring the extent to which they were enhanced by the projects. Students were also asked to indicate and rank key learning outcomes. The Client-sponsored Project The client-sponsored project is an integral element of a conventional International Marketing course that provides final-year undergraduate students in international business with the core concepts and theoretical underpinnings of the subject. It also forms part of the final assessment for the course and for the award of the degree. The instructor works closely with representatives from the local economic development agency (Invest NI) and its agents to identify 'client' firms. Typically, these are Irish SMEs that often employ fewer than 50 staff. In the 2001-2002 academic year twelve projects were undertaken on behalf of eight local SMEs. These firms were seeking to enter markets in Europe (Germany, Holland and Spain), Japan and the USA with a range of products (apparel & textiles, energy & construction-related products/services, machinery, medical equipment and software development). A total of fifty-eight students were involved in teams of, usually, 4 or 5. Once 'client' firms have been identified and recruited, a team of students is allocated to undertake a specific export marketing research project on their behalf. Typically, these projects involve a PEST (political, economic, social and technological) audit of the target export market, scoping market prospects, the 8

identification of key contacts in the market and recommendations on appropriate entry and development strategies. Each student team is briefed by the firm's CEO or by a member of the management team. This usually takes place at the client's premises and involves the team gaining an appreciation of the firm's current operations, modus operandus and resource constraints. Thereafter, initial research is conducted, utilising published secondary and online data sources. Increasingly prevalent is the use of the World Wide Web (www) to obtain pertinent market intelligence. At a later stage and when appropriate, teams also contact potential clients, channel intermediaries and other prospects by fax or telephone to obtain more detailed and specific information. Following a detailed analysis of the information collected, teams prepare and present a written and verbal report for the client firm. During this process, teams maintain contact with the firm to obtain supplementary information and to advise of progress and opportunities that may require immediate action on the client's part. Research Approach Evaluations of prior offerings have involved a post-project questionnaire to students and discussions with CEOs of participating firms. Typically these confirm that both the students and participating firms derive significant benefit from the 'live' case approach. (Scharf & Bell 2002.) Valuable as these analyses were, they also raised interesting questions regarding different skill sets among students at 9

the start of the project due to the nature and scope of their company internship in the previous year, overseas exposure, nationality and so forth. The latter was of particular interest as some of the students on the course are EU or international exchange students and have quite different backgrounds from their Irish counterparts. In consequence, a decision was taken to survey students before and after the project to explore the impact of these issues on learning outcomes further. A preproject questionnaire obtained a self-reported assessment from the students of the levels of skills and competencies they believed they possessed at the start of the project. A post-project questionnaire sought to establish student's perceptions of improvements in a spectrum of skills and competencies that could be attributable directly to participation in the projects. Students were asked to record their perceived level of skills and competencies as well as their perceived level of improvement on a five-point Likert scale (where low level of competence or improvement = 1 and high level of competence or improvement = 5). The post-project questionnaire also asked them to identify and list in rank order the five skills/attributes they found to be most important for the successful completion of the project. The skill/competency ranked in first place was allocated five points and the item with the least perceived importance one point. The final rank order was obtained by adding the number of points of all the nominations and the results are represented in Table 4. The items measured were derived from benchmarking statements in the Business and Management subject review documentation (http://www.qaa.ac.uk). As can be seen from Table 2, these included export marketing and information communication technology (ICT) skills as 10

well as a spectrum of 'soft' skills. A number of open questions were included to allow students to evaluate and comment upon the overall learning experience. While not the primary focus of this enquiry, views of CEOs/managers of client firms, in terms of benefits derived by the firm were also solicited via follow-up e-mails and phone calls. Table 2: Skill Set Items Little improvement major improvement Self awareness 1 2 3 4 5 Sensitivity to other people and cultures 1 2 3 4 5 Time management 1 2 3 4 5 Motivation and initiative 1 2 3 4 5 Listening, negotiation and persuasion 1 2 3 4 5 Presentation 1 2 3 4 5 Team work 1 2 3 4 5 Oral communication 1 2 3 4 5 Written communication 1 2 3 4 5 Critical thinking, analysis and synthesis 1 2 3 4 5 Decision making 1 2 3 4 5 Problem solving 1 2 3 4 5 Ability to conduct research into export marketing issues 1 2 3 4 5 Data analysis and interpretation 1 2 3 4 5 Use of Communication and Information Technology (ICT) 1 2 3 4 5 Improving own learning 1 2 3 4 5 Other skills 1 2 3 4 5 Overall level of development of skills 5 1 2 3 4 base Table 3: Pre Project Assessment of Levels of Skills and Competencies Skill/Competency Mean Sensitivity to other people and cultures 4.09 Motivation and initiative 3.83 Written Communication 3.78 Team work 3.74 Self awareness 3.72 Use of Communication and Information Technology (ICT) 3.67 Oral communication 3.61 Improving own learning Problem solving 3.57 Decision making 3.54 Listening, negotiation and persuasion 3.52 11

Critical thinking, analysis and synthesis 3.46 Presentation 3.28 Time management 3.26 Data analysis and interpretation 3.17 Ability to conduct research into export marketing issues 2.96 Table 4: Post Project Perceived Improvement Skills and Competencies Skill/Competency Mean Ability to conduct research into export marketing 4.11 issues Team work 3.96 Listening, negotiation and persuasion 3.76 Problem solving 3.72 Improving own learning 3.67 Use of Communication and Information Technology 3.65 (ICT) Critical thinking, analysis and synthesis 3.65 Motivation and initiative 3.61 Data analysis and interpretation 3.61 Decision making 3.59 Presentation 3.57 Sensitivity to other people and cultures 3.54 Oral communication 3.48 Time management 3.30 Written Communication 3.28 Self awareness 3.17 Table 4: Most Important Skills and Competencies Skill/Competency Points Team work 127 Motivation and initiative 75 Time management 73 Oral communication 55 Ability to conduct research into export marketing 54 issues Listening, negotiation and persuasion 37 Problem solving 31 Data analysis and interpretation 26 Decision making 25 Use of Communication and Information Technology 20 (ICT) Sensitivity to other people and cultures 19 Critical thinking, analysis and synthesis 12 Presentation 11 Written Communication 6 Self awareness 3 Improving own learning 0 12

The most obvious outcome of the findings is the dramatic improvement which students have shown in their ability to conduct export marketing research, an integral element of the students module in International Marketing. This corroborates Gibb s tenet that the enterprise approach to education, apart from developing enterprising skills, behaviours and attitudes, also enhances subject knowledge. This deep approach to learning (Entwistle, 1992) or active learning, as it has become known, is driven by a search for meaning and understanding; a greater student responsibility for learning; a concern with skills as well as knowledge; and an approach which looks for wider career and social settings. (Denicolo et al., 1992). This is supported by a significant improvement in the ability to improve own learning, despite the fact that not one student felt it was of any consequence in the completion of the project. It is equally revealing to note that in the final ranking, the ability to conduct research into export marketing is only ranked in fifth place, a long way behind, the soft skill teamwork, the attribute motivation and initiative and the practical skills of time management and oral communication. The overriding importance attributed to teamwork requires no further comment. The apparent contradiction of time management being ranked as number three in importance and third from bottom in the perceived improvement of skills can probably be explained by the fact that most projects were being completed under extreme time pressure. The module International Marketing is offered in second semester, much of the project work is being completed concurrently with the final year dissertation, another very timeintensive module. Whilst students might have felt that it is very important to manage one s time effectively, they might have concluded that they had not made much progress in that respect due to the pressure at the time of completing and presenting 13

the project. Despite the fact that a substantial element of the project is based on web based research, the use of ICT received only a minor ranking. Students reported a good level of competence and an above average improvement in this practical skill, One must remember, however, that the use of ICT for personal and recreational purposes is second nature to young people in this age category and the project may have simply been considered as the application of that particular skill for a different purpose. Student views: very interesting piece of work which offered experience in dealing with people from the real world I found my confidence has most definitely improved and my communication skills along with my presentations has enabled me to interact better with people. Due to lack of useful information on the internet our problem solving skills were developed and we had to use initiative to access relevant information. By evaluating other people's performance I became much more critical about my own performance. Views of client firms: 14

It has proven to be a very worthwhile project as the company has been provided with an excellent report on the Oil & Gas industry within the Gulf of Mexico as the students completed all the necessary objectives of this project. We intend to put some if not all the research into our EDP plan. The EDP plan will then have an impact on the company's future strategy. Group of students can focus on market research - this tends to drop as a priority at work. We have now identified the Netherlands as a potential market and intend to develop this by introducing our product next year. The report contains considerable useful information that will be acted upon and I much appreciate the depth of the research undertaken. The link with the University students for similar exercises in the future is one I would recommend. Views of business support agency/consultants: The International Marketing students from the University of Ulster have again made a very useful contribution to the client companies' export development plans. Some of the better teams have presented reports which are pretty close to the quality one might expect from professional consultants. As with any student group, of course, there is the normal distribution of results but even the weaker reports contain much useful information for the client company. 15

Over the past 2-3yrs, we have worked with UUC final year International Business Studies students. We have been able to provide practical support and advice and offer "real-life" International research projects to 15 student groups per year. Local firms who require bespoke research, have benefited from the students focused market research projects. This has been an invaluable resource to our businesses, especially those SME's who lack in-house marketing and/or language resources. We look forward to all future collaborations with the University in the area Discussion From the qualitative and quantitative evidence above one might assume that the client-sponsored project is an unqualified success. Whilst there are indeed many benefits associated with this kind of approach, there are also a number of issues which merit further discussion. Student issues: The problem is that there is a great deal of ambiguity in this type of course. This comment by Kennedy et al. (2001) sums up one of the most important issues in this approach to learning. Whilst the tutor can give advice and guidance on the process and desired format and content of the intended outcome, there is not always a clear-cut and definitive route to a successful outcome. Students who are used to rote learning, and often it is those who have earned good results with this particular 16

approach are reluctant to leave their comfort zone and move into new territory as far as the mode of learning is concerned. Although a comparison of final results and mark bands in the students various modules year on year shows a very favourable outcome in comparison with other modules, some students need a great deal of reassurance and encouragement in order to be able to deal with this ambiguity and uncertainty. Difficulties may arise within individual groups. It is essential, therefore, for students to have a theoretical understanding of group processes and, most importantly, appropriate conflict resolution strategies. The high score for teamwork in the postproject survey would appear to support this principle. Within the setting up process of the various groups, the principle of self-selection is strictly adhered to. Most of the students will have known each other for several years and they are aware of each other s strengths and weaknesses, eliminating many of the problems which can occur earlier in the course. It is interesting to note that each of the three groups who achieved the highest marks in this year s projects, had a native exchange student from their target market as a member. Institutional issues: The most important issue for the institution is the provision of adequate facilities. Whilst a great deal of the research work is internet-based, it is still essential for students to have access to telephone and fax facilities. This use of resources may cause raised eyebrows or adverse reactions by some more conservative colleagues. In the case of the University of Ulster, this is no longer an issue due to the financial sponsorship of the projects by Invest NI. 17

Client company issues: A thorough briefing session by the client company for the student groups at the start of the project is an essential ingredient for a successful outcome. It is also important for the groups to have one agreed contact person in the company for any queries which might arise. A query left unanswered can have a devastating effect on the motivation of the entire group. In this particular project, some of the briefing and debriefing is carried out by the programme leader and her colleagues in Invest NI. This reduces the time commitment on behalf of the companies and ensures consistency of approach. Staff issues: As in the case of the students, ambiguity and uncertainty are important issues. The involvement of outside parties brings with it additional pressures for the module co-ordinator to maintain professional and institutional reputations. On the other hand, seeing a group presenting a thoroughly researched report in a professional way to the general acclaim of outside professionals must rank among the highlights of any teacher involved in this kind of project. For the project-based learning approach to be successful, there must be a genuine partnership between tutor and students. Much of the control associated with the conventional teaching approach has to be relinquished. The resultant informality is conducive to the learning process but not everyone might be at ease in this kind of 18

atmosphere. Since each group develops its own unique process and comes up against its own unique problems, there needs to be a considerable amount of individual consultation throughout the semester. This makes it a very time-consuming way of facilitating learning compared with more traditional methods aimed at teaching large numbers. Finally, internal as well as external teaching assessment methods currently in use are perhaps not the most reliable means of assessing this kind of student learning. Benefits: One of the benefits of this kind of approach and the continuous interaction with professionals helps professors to keep close to reality and to develop a pragmatic approach to business (Bisaccianti & Feron, 1999). Firms have an additional resource at their disposal at no cost other than a detailed briefing meeting with the students. This kind of exercise also helps to bridge the ignorance gap which Graduates and SMEs have about each other (Westhead et al., 2001). Most importantly of all, as the paper has shown, it benefits the students 19

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