What do you subscribe to?
What do you subscribe to?Occasionally I wonder what journals/magazines schools subscribe to. Whether they simply stop at magazines/journals dealing with A levels or whether they consciously endeavour to extend their pupils.
Take for example, the A level Business Studies syllabus. Do schools stop at Maslow, McGregor, Taylor etc or do they also encourage pupils to read about Drucker, Handy, Porter etc. How many pupils know about Ouchi, Alderfer – indeed how many teachers do? I was running a conference in the North of England a few years ago and the topic of cheating came up. I explained to the assembled group that though cheating was unethical sometimes candidates bluffed their way in the exams (Their teacher was not in the room at the time.) As an example I asked them whether they had heard of Theory X and Y. ‘Yes’ they said. ‘But what about Theory R?’ I asked.
No-one had heard of this theory.
‘Theory R is hands-on management,’ I said. ‘The R stands for Reiki which is a form of alternative therapy. Reiki evolved in Japan from the experience and dedication of Dr Mikao Usui (d. 1926). Dr Usui developed this healing system from ancient teachings after many years of study, research and meditation. Treatment usually consists of someone places their hands non-intrusively in a sequence of positions which cover the whole body. From this we get hands-on management. Therefore Theory R extols the virtues of this particular Japanese management style and directly lead to Management By Walking Around’
I was about to say, ‘And this is all complete nonsense. My description of Reiki is accurate but the rest I just made up’ when I realised that a teacher had come into the hall and had been listening patiently.
I paused.
The teacher then stood up and said, “Yes, we haven’t covered Theory R yet but we’re scheduled to do so next week’.
The hall erupted, the teacher was furious as my behaviour was ‘unethical’ etc etc. What I didn’t know at the time is that there genuinely is a Theory R Management which is to do with the need of the worker to be valued. Anyway, the point is that these pupils had been ‘drilled’ to follow the syllabus, and nothing more besides – and it looked like the teacher had too!
Take for example the two books on the Oxbow site about Drucker and Handy. These have been independently reviewed elsewhere and praised. The books are only £2.50 (though they are £25 elsewhere) and yet teachers/pupils are not exactly falling over themselves to buy the copies (all proceeds go to charity).
Perhaps they prefer to read only about Abraham Maslow and stick rigidly to the syllabus.
Which brings me back to journals and magazines. I wonder how many students/schools order the Financial Times. I am sure many buy magazines specifically for the A level – but what about reading and thinking outside the box? Take for example the February 2006 issue of the Harvard Business Review. This covers the following ideas:
- Howard Gardner contends that the ability to synthesize information will be the most valued trait for leaders.
- Dan Williams explores how body area networks can lower health care costs and improve safety.
- William McDonough describes China as a seedbed for environmental innovation. Nitin Nohria and Thomas A. Stewart say the next frontier for business will be managing incalculable uncertainty.
- Jeff Cares outlines the challenge confronting business as networks face off against networks.
- Claire Craig reports how scientists are going beyond the lab and using the world outside as their petri dish.
- Ted Halstead recommends that every newborn in America receive $6,000 as a down payment on a productive life.
- Georg von Krogh warns that customer-collaborators are starting to demand a stake in IP.
- Ged Davis envisions an OPEC-like organization to benefit consumers instead of producers.
- Nancy M. Dixon describes a model for peer-to-peer leadership development.
- Harris Allen and Sean Sullivan contend that investment in employees' health can pay for itself.
- David Weinberger says that stores should imitate Web design.
- Gerd Gigerenzer shows how a leader's personal rules of thumb influence employees. Zachary Karabell discusses the growing gap between nations' and companies' economic performance.
- Paul Hemp tells why avatars make good customers.
- Philip Parker explains why creating private labels for your retail customers is smart strategy.
- Judith Samuelson and Claire Preisser describe how companies are combating short-term thinking.
- George Stalk Jr. explains why many firms aren't benefiting from China sourcing. Michael S. Gazzaniga punctures inflated expectations about what neuroscience can do for business.
- E.L. Kersten says employees shouldn't expect their jobs to provide meaning.
Source: Harvard Business Review
All of those topics fit into the A level Business Studies syllabus. However the way the articles are written may make it difficult for pupils to understand at the first reading.
But that’s not a reason not to try. Think about the levels at which you aspire to. If you read the Guardian/Telegraph/Independent every day so your vocabulary will improve. Then you could move onto the Financial Times. BUT if you stick to some of those textbooks currently around which have plenty of pictures and short sentences, sticking to a very narrow vocabulary then though the basic ideas may be imparted, how is this preparing pupils for university?
Take for example these business buzzwords:
- B2B
- Braggables
- Buns of Steel
- Cockroach problem
- Drop your pants
- Event horizon
- Frictio-free capitalism
- Fume date
- Hedgehog concept
How many do you know?
True, they will not appear in any Business Studies syllabus but that does not mean they should not form part of any business pupil’s vocabulary!
I suppose it’s all to do with ‘results’ and ‘standards’. If you attempt to raise the standards of your pupils and truly ‘educate’ them then there is a possibility that exam results will not be as good as if you had focussed entirely on the syllabus, learnt the vocabulary in the syllabus, rehearsed approaches to extended questions, or thoroughly digested a story about Chinese Takeaways or Aromatherapists. Which pupil has been educated – and which one has simply jumped through the necessary hoops? You only have to look here to see for yourself how standards have fallen.
It seems to me that the school that actively pursues a policy of extending pupils, coercing them into reading widely (e.g. by setting homework based on Handy, Drucker etc) will still achieve good results because as A2 progresses, pupils will have the necessary tools to learn instead of relying on the teacher’s handouts (or commercial analyses). When the pupil leaves s/he will be thoroughly educated and have good results whereas the pupil who is given the picture-textbooks and where the teacher has chosen the easiest board to ‘up’ results, will leave with good results but no real ‘education’.
Chris Sivewright
posted by Duncan Williamson @ 10:38 AM
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