Hope College Management Program Distinctives

Mission

Our program is distinct in that it has dual purposes: we strive to give students the competencies so that they can do “well” and do “good” as alumni. We desire that our students make a significant positive contribution to society.

Educational Outcomes

Management guru Peter Drucker said that management is a “liberal art.” We concur. Our program, therefore, is also distinct in that our educational outcomes overlap those of a liberal arts education. That is, we desire that our students be equipped with both intellectual characteristics and dispositions. For instance, we strive to enhance students’ decision-making, persuasive dialog, and learning skills. In addition, we strive to enhance students’ dispositions toward life-long learning and toward making a positive contribution to society.

Teaching and Learning Strategies and Tactics

How we achieve our outcomes is also unique. We attempt to create a learning environment centered on the concept of academic intimacy. In other words, we seek to attain a high level of involvement with students in the form of personalized teaching and mentoring. For instance, we may work collaboratively with students on research and consulting projects and we strive to keep our class sizes small. In short, we try to create experiences for undergraduates that at larger colleges and universities only graduate students receive.

In addition to offering a learning environment distinct from that at large colleges and universities, we offer a learning environment that is distinct from other small colleges. First, our Management 150 students engage in the same business simulation model used by a local Fortune 400 company to train its executives. Many students are also taught by the same instructor that consults with these executives! This simulation allows students to experience how the various business functional areas are integrated.

Second, our management students are grounded in the foundational content areas of business. Students learn to see management issues from the perspectives of accounting, finance, management, marketing, and operations as well as from an economics perspective.

Third, our Management 222 students may find themselves not reading management textbooks, but “primary” readings written by influential management scholars. This “perspectival” learning strategy helps students better understand management assumptions, concepts, models, and theories. This type of learning strategy allows students to draw from multiple perspectives when dealing with complex organizational issues.

Fourth, we emphasize a perspective that is often overlooked: a Christian perspective. While we don’t try to indoctrinate students with “the” Christian perspective, we do believe the Christian faith has much to offer management theory and practice.

Fifth, in addition to utilizing “perspectival” learning strategies, we also utilize experiential learning strategies. We believe students can learn a lot by doing. For those students interested in marketing, our Management 331 students may find themselves engaged in a semester long “marketing audit” consulting project for a local business. By seeing marketing issues from the perspective of managers, customers, suppliers, and other constituents, students gain a better understanding of marketing and enhance their learning, thinking, decision-making, and dialog skills.

Sixth, for those students interested in additional experiential education opportunities, we offer formal semester-long internship programs locally and in Chicago and Philadelphia. Our goal is for students to learn how to understand others both intellectually and emotionally.

Seventh, we attempt to connect our students’ academic experiences by way of our management seminar course (Management 401). In addition, the seminar explores the notion of work and vocation at this critical stage of a student’s life. To facilitate academic intimacy, the class size is restricted to less than 15 students per section.

Finally, for a few select students, we offer the distinction of being Baker Scholars. The purpose of the Baker Scholars program is to provide students with leadership potential experiences and opportunities outside the normal curriculum of the College.

Faculty

One reason we are able to offer the distinctive advantages we do is because we are a unique faculty. As a management faculty, we have both industry experience and academic credentials (MBA, Ph.D). This allows us to offer students both theoretical and practical knowledge. As academic scholars, we can say with confidence that few management departments are more engaged in faith-based scholarship. At the same time, as practitioners, we can say that few management departments have more experience per faculty person in the world of business.

Students

Another reason we are able to offer the distinct advantages we do is because we attract active and curious students, students with the potential to make a significant positive contribution to society.
Why Study Management at Hope?

In summary, why study management at Hope College?
• Mission: preparing students to do both “well” and “good” so that they can make a significant positive contribution to society.
• Educational Outcomes: concentrating on the development of skills and dispositions.
• Teaching and Learning Strategies: incorporating academic intimacy, “perspectival,” and experiential learning strategies
• Teaching and Learning Tactics: utilizing business simulation, primary” readings, multiple perspectives, a Christian perspective, consulting projects, internships, management seminar, Baker Scholars.
• Faculty: offering both theoretical and practical knowledge.
• Students: enriching the learning environment with their passion and curiosity.