A Real-World Business Approach to Teaching M.B.A. Managerial Accounting: Motivation, Design, and Implementation

Abstract

This article explains the motivation, design, and implementation of a real-world business approach to teaching managerial accounting in an M.B.A. program to facilitate a shift in student learning from traditional passive listening to active participation. A teaching methodology requiring students to work through the evolution of a potentially viable business contributes to a long-standing effort in the profession to link practice and theory. The course immerses students in the life of an evolving business in four ways: working assignments based on lectures, discussing costing concepts individually with the instructor, summarizing existing research papers, and most importantly participating in mutual interest groups to develop a realistic business plan based on personal research. This approach integrates learning of cost concepts with developing critical thinking skills. It differs from other student projects because students may choose a business based on interest in any industry, and the instructor provides no cost or industry data. Anecdotal evidence indicates that this approach works to stimulate student learning. This paper also addresses some limitations of this approach.

Critical Thinking in Accounting Textbooks

“…Then, students have to consider their experience in handling the previous cases and the opinions of all team members in order to make a right and clear decision which is supported by good and accurate reasoning in accordance with the professional standards. Thus, it is necessary to integrate the real-case business world into the textbook materials as supported by some research [9], [13], [14]. EduLearn ISSN: 2089-9823  Massey and Hise [16] stated that the materials for developing a custom-published textbook might come from four useful sources of information: textbooks, professional and business publications, articles describing the results of academic research, and resources posted on reliable Internet websites.…”

“…Consultative teaching model utilizes active learning and student-centered approaches. [14] implemented a new approach to teach managerial accounting which integrates the concept of cost with critical thinking ability. Tan, Satin, & Lubwama called it as 'a real world business approach.'…”

“…The students can experience the real business world through 4 ways of learning, namely by doing tasks, personally discussing the concept of costing with their lecturer, summarizing research articles, and the most important is by actively participating in a team to develop a business plan. Tan et al [14] claimed that this approach is different from the usual project-based learning since students can choose their business model in accordance with their interest. The lecturer will not provide the students with market/industrial costing or data.…”

Cultivating Critical-Thinking Dispositions Throughout the Business Curriculum

“…She observed the need to "join forces" with other faculty, so that they could reinforce these concepts across multiple courses (p. S21). In addition to the "dedicated course" approach, we also found integration represented by teaching principles of critical thinking in courses on other topics, such as negotiations (Page & Mukherjee, 2007), accounting (Sharifi et al, 2009;Tan, Satin, & Lubwama, 2013), and marketing (Hershey & Walker, 2006). Such approaches, while effective in their own right, can be ad hoc and nonunified, which lessens their impact.…”

Arquiteturas pedagógicas inovadoras nos mestrados profissionais em Administração

“…Além disso, as oportunidades para os alunos interagirem com o conteúdo do curso e receberem feedback gradual antes de completar uma tarefa, aumentam o aprendizado e a compreensão dos materiais (Blumberg, 2009;Nelson, 2010). Quando os alunos recebem feedback formativo que orienta sua aprendizagem, eles percebem que o professor se preocupa com os indivíduos e seu desenvolvimento, o que muitas vezes aumenta a sua motivação no curso (Mostrom & Blumberg, 2012;Tan, Satin & Lubwama, 2013 A abordagem centrada na aprendizagem tem implicações sutis, mas profundas para você como um professor. Ela pede que você pense com cuidado sobre sua filosofia de ensino, o que significa ser uma pessoa educada em sua disciplina ou campo, como o seu curso se refere a programas disciplinares e interdisciplinares de estudo, e as suas intenções e propósitos para a produção e avaliação da aprendizagem.…”