John R. Schermerhorn

Management dialogues: Turning on the marginal performer

olj) is an employee in the R&D laboratory of a large high-technology firm. He was hired by the lab supervisor, Fred, after a thprough recruitment and selection process. Both men were enthusiastic about the appointmeht. Bob had excellent technical credentials, wa^ glad to be hired by the lab, and really liked Fr^d. Fred was confident in Bobs abilities and feure that E5ob was just the person the lab needed. He passed by Bobs work station during Bobs first day on the job. Heres the way thirlgs started off:

Planned Fading as a Technique for Introducing Case Analysis Methods in Large-Lecture Classes

As university and college budgets become more and more constrained by scarce resources the pressure builds to enroll students in ever larger class sections. This problem has been acutely experienced in U.S. business schools and at many large colleges and universities. The introductory functional area courses required by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) are increasingly taught in section sizes of over 100 students. One of the unfortunate offshoots of this movement towards large class sections is a corresponding difficulty that instructors often experience in employing the case method of instruction in such settings. Indeed, Weingart and Serey (1984) have suggested that instructors have cognitive maps about how their courses should be taught and argue that large classes effectively limit our ability to operationalize these conceptual frameworks. The implication is that a large class size is a limitation which prohibits the instructor from using preferred teaching methods. Several specific problems which are often encountered in large lecture classes include difficulties in eliciting student participation, a lack of individual student attention in and out of the classroom, and difficulties in generating and maintaining student interest in lecture presentations. While the above discussion presents a rather discouraging view of the large lecture environment, a more positive perspective has recently emerged which views this setting as providing a challenge to the instructor rather than as an insurmountable obstacle (Kraft, Snodgrass & Jauch, 1986-1987; Brass & Gioia, 1984-1985; Weingart & Serey, 1984). Brass & Gioia (1984-1985), for example, assert that one of the popular myths about the large class is that it prohibits any student participation. In addition, these authors suggest how large lecture classes can be more dynamic and rewarding for both the instructor and the student. Thus, one can view large lectures as providing both a challenge and an opportunity to achieve more

An Empirical Evaluation of Repeatable Testing as a Technique for Improving Management Education

The article presents information on a study that investigated an empirical evaluation of repeatable testing as a means of improving management education. Repeatable testing gives students the oppor...

Unequal Care: A Case Study of Interorganizational Relations in Health CareUnequal Care: A Case Study of Interorganizational Relations in Health Care, by Milner Murray Jr. New York: Columbia University Press, 1980, 204 pp.,

The article reviews the book “Experiential Learning and Change: Theory, Design and Practice,” by Gordon A. Walter and Stephen E. Marks.