Abstract
This is my final editorial for the Journal of Management Education (JME). It has been a great honor, privilege, and learning experience to lead the JME editorial team for the past 7 years, first as coeditor with the late Susan Herman, and subsequently as editor. I have been delighted to represent the publication of a cutting-edge organization: The OBTS Teaching Society for Management Educators has always been on the forefront of pedagogical change in the field of management education. During my tenure, the OBTS values of active learning, participatory involvement, problem-based learning, and interdisciplinary approaches to management education have been gaining credence throughout the country and internationally. Many OBTS stalwarts have been part of these transformations, and so has JME.
During the past 7 years, JME has published a wide variety of articles both in print and online, maintained an acceptance rate of 15% per year, and enjoyed increased visibility at academic conferences. JME special issues have broadened the management education conversation to consider contemporary issues such as poverty; sustainability; service learning; indigenous knowledge; the relationships between stress, performance and wellness; and the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME). Forthcoming special issues will address technological advances, crisis management, the neuroscience of learning, and assessment in management education.
None of these achievements could have been accomplished without the contributions of many individuals. My personal thanks go to Joan Gallos, former President of OBTS, for her trust and foresight in appointing Susan Herman and me as coeditors of JME, and to the subsequent Presidents of the Society for their continued support: Jeanie Forray and Rae André. I thank Susan Herman for joining me at the outset of what turned out to be an unexpectedly long editorial term. Thanks to all those who have served as JME associate editors, even in the midst of their own demanding professional and personal lives: Joan Benek-Rivera, Jon Billsberry, Anthony Chelte, Debra Comer, Bill Ferris, Charles Fornaciari, Cindi Fukami, Janet Gillespie, Mary Ann Hazen, Susan Herman, Courtney Hunt, Roy Lewicki, Kathy Lund Dean, Gordon Meyer, Tracey Sigler, John Stark, and Gina Vega. I thank all the contributors—authors, editorial review board members, ad hoc reviewers, and special issue guest editors—whose care and attention in the service of JME continue to make this journal a reality. I thank our publishing team at Sage, whose creativity and orientation to continuous improvement has made them such a pleasure to work with. Finally, it is my pleasure to welcome Jon Billsberry, JME’s incoming editor, and his new editorial team, and thank them for their commitment and enthusiasm for maintaining this fine journal.
This Issue
The concept of “role,” which has long shaped our thinking about behavior in organizations, permeates this issue of JME. The issue opens with the announcement of this year’s Roethlisberger Award, which was conferred on an article about teaching skills associated with the leadership role. Then David Balkin and Jeffrey Mello initiate a thought-provoking debate about the role of academic administrators in business schools, with invited commentaries by Ross Chapman and Roy Lewicki.
Three activities follow: a role-play and two film-based exercises about role-related concepts. Melissa Paschall and Rolf Wüstenhagen report on a transdisciplinary course on climate change that culminates in a 2-day multischool role-play that simulates international climate negotiations. Debra Comer and Robert Holbrook offer a compact lesson on key concepts related to work groups, including task and maintenance roles, using a documentary about the making of a music album. Finally, Brian Huffman and Claire McCarty Kiliany use a classic film to focus attention on interpersonal aspects of project management, such as team formation and team roles.
Teaching-Related Benefits of the JME Editor’s Role
This issue-wide attention to roles provides a golden opportunity to reflect on the role of the JME editor. The editorship has been an opportunity to practice management, to learn, and to grow. I have learned more than I ever expected about management education, the scholarship of teaching and learning, journal publishing, and more. For these closing remarks, I have chosen to focus on the teaching-related benefits of this service. Now, as my term comes to an end, I look back on it as an extended exercise in lifelong active learning. Although I write from my own personal experience, JME readers, reviewers, associate and former editors have similar stories to share.
I have always enjoyed reading JME. Long before becoming the editor, I would apply ideas from the journal in my teaching. However, since becoming the editor, opportunities to do so have increased substantially. Like other JME editors and reviewers (see Schmidt-Wilk & Fukami, 2010, for an example), I have become an early adopter. Adopting—or adapting—JME ideas in my courses has been beneficial in at least three ways: in terms of course content, teaching strategies, and deeper understanding of the principles that govern learning.
Course content
Concepts taught in my courses have become not only more concrete but also more personally meaningful for students through the use of JME exercises. For example, in my management course, JME activities have been used to illuminate abstract concepts such as ethical stances (James & Smith, 2007), emotional expression at work (Gibson, 2006) and uses of power and influence (Shapiro, Ingols, & Blake-Beard, 2011). Similarly, my leadership and teamwork course has become a laboratory for practice and self-knowledge through additions of a writing assignment (Sommers, 1991); brief but recurring opportunities for student leadership practice (adapted from André, 2011); and an experiential team-based simulation (Rollag & Parise, 2005).
Teaching strategies
JME articles explore a wide range of teaching strategies, some of which have been incorporated in my courses, irrespective of specific course content. For example, individual quizzes are now commonly followed by group quizzes (Stark, 2006). Student writing assignments mirror a journal’s “revise and resubmit” process (Rubin, 2006), and I try to provide feedback on student papers using the developmental tone JME prefers. Students who know about my editing responsibilities have expressed their appreciation. For example, I can recall one student who happily exclaimed to his classmates on receiving my feedback on his paper: “She’s an editor!”
Understanding the learning process
It stands to reason that the more we understand the science of learning, the better we can develop the art of teaching. Unfortunately, our current system of higher education places little to no attention on educating future professors about either pedagogy or andragogy. Thus, those who desire to become effective teachers by learning about teaching and learning must demonstrate lifelong learning themselves: they must seek out this knowledge by talking to colleagues, attending teaching conferences like OBTC, and reading pedagogical literature (see Whetten, 2007).
JME offers an ongoing course in pedagogical theory. Reading so many manuscripts exposes one to multiple theories about learning as well as creative approaches for testing those theories. With a more comprehensive grounding in educational theories, it becomes easier to identify the requisite elements for learning in any lesson: concrete examples and emotional connections to abstract ideas, opportunities for practice, feedback, and reflection. Since redesigning my students’ writing assignments around Kolb’s (1984) theory of learning, I find that their papers hold my attention, and I have a better sense of whether, what, and how they have learned.
To conclude, JME provides us all with many opportunities not only for learning but also for improving our teaching, thus reminding us of the practical value of the scholarship of teaching and learning. Although my editorial term is ending, I look forward to continuing this process of lifelong learning with all of you. Thank you for your support and involvement!