Suchergebnisse

This paper describes problems which were experienced by business faculty and students at two large universities in planning and executing two separate field projects, one an externally funded private field research project and the other a publicly sponsored evaluation of a government program. In the private field research project, there was a tendency to underestimate the demands of the administrative tasks upon faculty required to provide students with this innovative experiential learning opportunity. In the government sponsored program evaluation effort, the sponsoring agency tried to exercise input, process, and output control. of the research work. The paper concludes that field research projects teach students the lessons of self confidence in problem-solving, adaptability to changing circumstances, independent thinking, and social confidence, and also provide an opportunity to apply theoretical concepts and principles to real world situations and problems. It also concludes that the close working relationship between faculty and students which develops during such projects may unintentionally teach students much about business faculty weaknesses and strengths in dealing with unanticipated research and administrative problems. The behavior and example of business faculty who face threats to their academic integrity teaches more about academic standards and values than any amount of formal classroom instruction.