Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Conference Track
Marketing Research/ Demographics/ Consumer Behavior
Publication Date
2010
Abstract
This paper looks at a course for marketing majors developed to examine literature in
several areas of the business disciplines that are relevant to marketing professionals-to- be. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and potential
employers have increasingly suggested that the integration of learning rather than functional silo-oriented learning is the preferred andragogy for business schools, providing students with soft skills as well as technical expertise that are needed for the contemporary employment environment. In examining the then existing traditional General Education Requirements (GER) for Wingate University, the faculty assembly considered ways to increase such cross disciplinary integration. As a result of these deliberations, a new Core Curriculum was instituted to replace the GER. Included in this revision was a decision to allow a literature requirement to be filled through courses offered outside the traditional English Department silo. In response to the move toward an integrative andragogy, the School of Business proposed a Special Topics class taught by marketing faculty in business literature. Offered as an upper division marketing elective, the course attempts to introduce the students to a wide range of business topics and business environments, the expectation was three-fold. First, the intent was that the students will be able to apply their course work from marketing and other business areas to non-traditional ‘case studies’, both real and fictional. Secondly, the expectation was that students would begin to integrate rather than silo knowledge in a meaningful manner. The third thrust was to incorporate and expand the process of writing and reading beyond the classical freshman English course. In examining business literature for semantics, style and syntax and examining ‘traditional’ literature that makes use of business concepts to further a story line, the students were expected to improve the placement of business activities and concepts into a conceptual framework, improve their ability to interpret activities within chaotic environments in a meaningful manner, and improve the written and oral communications skills of students thereby enabling them to better express themselves in an integrated work environment.
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
Digital Commons@Georgia Southern License
Recommended Citation
Bush, Nancy L., "Business Literature: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach to Marketing Education" (2010). Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2010. 66.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/amtp-proceedings_2010/66
About the Authors
Nancy Bush is an Assistant Professor of Marketing and International Business at Wingate University in NC. After working in private industry, mainly for Japanese companies, she returned to academia where she earned a Doctor of Business Administration from United States International University in International Business with a Specialization in Marketing.