Purpose This paper aims to offer a solution to the dilemma of board members using their personal values to drive decision-making and strategy. Board members are asked to discuss the collective values at the onset of strategy planning. Design/methodology/approach Six questions, developed over a 15-year period of working in the area of strategy and governance, unite research on values in organizations, and provide a guide for arriving at a set of agreed-upon values for decision-making. Findings Two examples from practice showcase how agreeing on values before beginning the strategy process has assisted boards with better decision-making. Research limitations/implications The questions and process are meant to be a reflective tool for board members to consider when discussing values and decision-making rather than predicting behaviour or explaining outcomes. The process is most effective for boards whose culture supports a desire for improvement and therefore a willingness to experiment with new processes. The process can be enhanced by using an external facilitator having the ability to extrapolate meaning as the discussion unfolds. Practical implications This work empowers board members to be more effective in assessing strategic options and in communicating the inner logic and meaning of the strategy throughout the organization and to the external stakeholders. Originality/value Advocating that boards engage in focused discussion around values at the beginning of the strategic process improves decision-making and provides a litmus test for evaluating the strategic options. Agreeing on a set of values also makes board members more aware of the implications of each option in the long term.

The Kobayashi Maru is a training simulation that has its roots in the Star Trek series notable for its defining characteristic as a no-win scenario with no "correct" resolution and where the solution actually involves redefining the problem. Drawing upon these characteristics, we designed a board meeting simulation for an experiential course in nonprofit governance, which places students in a high-stakes decision-making situation closely modeled on real events. To do so, we uniquely integrated principles from acting literature with theory and research in training and development. The Kobayashi Maru Meeting is a simulation with high physical and psychological fidelity-that is, one that closely resembles the "look and feel" of real-world board governance. The topics are deliberately sensitive to personal, organizational, and societal values to create high engagement and deep learning and to highlight the importance of good governance for organizational leadership. Results from multisource, multimethod data suggest that the simulation enhanced students' decision making, critical thinking, and communication skills, as well as their ability to deal with their own and others' reactions in intense circumstances. Beyond board governance, the simulation creates an authentic learning experience that can be adapted to multiple learning contexts including leadership, ethics, decision making, and communication.

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The academic literature commonly exposes large components of informal economies housed in developed countries as nefarious systems designed to help people evade taxes or carry on other illegal activities. However, our community-based participatory action study uncovered a significant element of a social and economic system that was largely undocumented, but was viewed as far more righteous than dishonorable and immoral. Our research involved approximately 375 participants from seven communities spread across a large and sparsely populated geographic region in the northern part of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The purpose for the research was to explore how entrepreneurship contributes to the good life, well-being, and prosperity by building social and economic capacity across a rural business ecosystem. We found that an important, yet undocumented part of the business ecosystem was grounded in history, culture, and tradition. When considered through a legitimacy theory lens, this perspective challenges the implication drawn from some of the academic literature that those who participate in informal business systems in developed countries usually do so for immoral reasons that might warrant a legal penalty. Further, we propose that researchers, policy makers, and community development professionals use the term undocumented economy rather than expressions like informal, hidden and underground economy to distinguish components of economic systems based on righteous motivations and activities from those founded on iniquitous practices and non-existent or unofficial record keeping. We begin this article with a definition for the undocumented economy in which we describe why we consider it to be righteous.

(1) Background: Combined MBA programs are becoming increasingly popular, and it is anticipated that there will be 60 combined pharmacy–MBA programs across North America in 2015. We aimed to see if there would be support for a combined PharmD–MBA program at the University of Saskatchewan. (2) Methods: A questionnaire was distributed to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year pharmacy students at the University of Saskatchewan. A separate questionnaire was developed and all practicing pharmacists in Saskatchewan were emailed a link to SurveyMonkey® (Palo Alto, CA, USA) to fill it out online. In-person and phone interviews were conducted with pharmacy stakeholders in Saskatchewan and across the country. (3) Results: Of the 265 students, 193 (72.8%) were present on the days the questionnaires were distributed, and they all completed the questionnaires. When asked if they would have pursued a combined degree if the U of S had offered it when they entered the pharmacy program, 16.6% (32/193) and 37.3% (72/193) either strongly agreed or agreed and 29.0% (56/193) were unsure. When pharmacists were asked if an MBA would be valuable or applicable in their current job, 42.2% (128/303) agreed and 13.9% (42/303) strongly agreed. When asked if they felt students graduating with a combined degree would be at an advantage for certain job opportunities upon graduation, 33.6% (100/298) strongly agreed and 55.4% (165/298) agreed. A total of 8 interviews were conducted with key stakeholders from across Canada. Of these 8 stakeholders, only 2 were aware that other combined programs were offered. All of the stakeholders were in favour of the idea of a combined degree. Some felt it was important for the program to have a clear value proposition and healthcare related content would be desirable. (4) Conclusions: Overall, pharmacist, pharmacy student, and stakeholder input indicate that a combined program could be supported at the University of Saskatchewan.