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Creating a comprehensive professional development program for MBA students: a needs analysis

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Content Running head: CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 1

CREATING A COMPREHENSIVE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR
MBA STUDENTS: A NEEDS ANALYSIS

by

Daniel L. Chatham

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

August 2016

Copyright 2016 Daniel L. Chatham
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 2
Acknowledgements
No educational journey of this significance could be successful without contribution and
support of many people that deserve recognition. First and foremost are my family, Burcu and
Piers, who deserve my deep appreciation for their love and understanding during this process. I
will forever owe them a debt of gratitude for allowing me the countless solitary hours of focus.
Faculty members at USC’s Rossier School of Education have been wonderful,
inspirational, and supportive people, without whom my educational journey and this project
would be incomplete. Though there are too many to name individually, I would like to especially
thank my dissertation chair Dr. Cathy Krop, for her mentorship guidance and understanding.
Other members of my committee, Dr. Tambascia and Dr. Robison, could not have been more
suited to guide me in this project, and I appreciate their thoughtful recommendations.
To the Global Executive EdD program directors and professional staff, as well as the
leadership of the Rossier School of Education, I thank you for your dedication to this program.
Your investments of time, energy, and resources make it successful. It is a wonderful program.
I would like to express appreciation and thanks to the organization I studied, for its
support and access to be able to analyze its needs to create an innovation that will lead to higher
employment outcomes for MBA students. It is my sincere hope that this project is a meaningful
contribution to the future of the school.
Lastly, to my wonderful colleagues and classmates, I will hold you forever among my
closest confidants. Working with each of you throughout this experience has been a privilege and
an honor that I cherish. I have appreciated the challenges, struggles and successes, as well as
what I learned from each of you. I am thankful for our time together, but recognize that it is now
time for us to FIGHT ON!
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 3
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements 2

List of Tables 6

List of Figures 7

Abstract 8

Chapter One: Introduction 9

Organizational Context and Mission 10

Organizational Performance Status 11

Related Literature 12

Needed Skills From MBA Programs 14

Importance of the Organizational Innovation 15

Organizational Performance Goal 16

Stakeholders and Stakeholder Performance Goals 16

Stakeholder for the Study and Stakeholder Performance Status 18

Purpose of the Project and Guiding Questions 20

Methodological Framework 21

Definitions 21

Organization of the Dissertation 22

Chapter Two: Related Literature 23

Historical Changes in Business Education 23

Business Conditions Are Changing 24

Shifting Economic Climate 25

Critical Perspectives 25

The MBA Continues to Evolve 27

New Academic Curriculum 27

Employer Needs 28

Needed Skills from MBA Programs 28

Student Development Theory 31

Foundational Theory 31

Integrative Theories 32

Integrated Curriculum 33

Learning and Motivation Theory 34

Knowledge and Skills 34

Motivation 35

Organization 35

Stakeholder Group Knowledge, Skills, and Motivation 35

Beyond Student Affairs 35

Knowledge of Faculty 36

Knowledge of Student Affairs Staff 36

Motivation 37

Organization 39

Conclusion 41

Chapter Three: Methodology 43

Methodological Framework 43

Knowledge and Skills 45

CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 4
Motivation 46

Organizational Barriers 46

Assumed Performance Needs 46

Preliminary Scanning Interviews 47

Learning and Motivation Theory 51

Summary 55

Participating Stakeholders 57

Data Collection 58

Surveys 59

Interviews 60

Document Analysis 61

Validation of the Performance Needs 62

Trustworthiness of Data 63

Role of Investigator 64

Data Analysis 64

Limitations and Delimitations 65

Chapter Four: Results and Findings 66

Results and Findings for Knowledge Needs 67

Survey Results 68

Interview Findings 76

Synthesis of Results and Findings for Knowledge Needs 83

Results and Findings for Motivation Needs 84

Survey Results 86

Interview Findings 88

Synthesis of Results and Findings for Motivation Needs 96

Results and Findings for Organization Needs 97

Survey Results 99

Interview Findings 100

Synthesis of Results and Findings for Organization Needs 107

Summary 108

Chapter Five: Solutions, Implementation and Evaluation 111

Validated Needs Selection and Rationale 112

Solutions 114

Implementation Plan 126

Evaluation Plan 128

Level 1: Reactions 129

Level 2: Learning 130

Level 3: Transfer 130

Level 4: Impact 130

Critical Issues 131

Conclusion 132

References 134

Appendix A: Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory 146

Appendix B: Email Participation Invitation 147

Appendix C: Directions and Online Survey Questions 148

Appendix D: Faculty Interview Questions 151

CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 5
Appendix E: Administration Interview Questions 153

Appendix F: Email Participation Invitation 155

Appendix G: Professional Development Program Implementation Plan 156

Appendix H: Action Steps and Transfer Evaluation Actions 158

CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 6
List of Tables
Table 1: Organizational Mission, Organizational Goal and Stakeholder Performance Goals 18

Table 2: Summary of Assumed Needs for Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Issues56

Table 3: Assumed Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Needs 62

Table 4: Synthesis of Results and Findings for Knowledge Needs 67

Table 5: Synthesis of Results and Findings for Motivation Needs 85

Table 6: Results of the Assumed Motivation Needs Survey 87

Table 7: Synthesis of Results and Findings for Organizational Needs 99

Table 8: Results of Assumed Organizational Needs Survey 100

Table 9: Validated and Partially Validated Needs, Grouped by Gap Analysis Category 108

Table 10: Summary of Validated Assumed Needs by Need Area 112

Table 11: Validated and Partially Validated Needs, Grouped by Gap Analysis Category 113

Table 12: Solutions and Needs They Address 115

Table 13: Examples of Collaboration Between Center for Professional Development and
Other Units, Groups, or Audiences 121

Table 14: Potential Implementation Steps and Associated Timeline 127

Table 15: Implementation Action Steps to Develop Comprehensive PDP for MBA Students 157

CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 7
List of Figures
Figure 1: Illustration of Key Components of Gap Analysis Framework 45

Figure 2: Level of Disagreement for Each Measured Skill as Shown by Standard Deviation 71

Figure 3: Faculty Knowledge About 21st Century Workforce Skill Developed in SOM's MBA
Program 72

Figure 4: Current Organizational Structure at the SOM 119

Figure 5: Possible Organizational Structure After Launching CPD 119

Figure 6: Example of Services and Information Flows of a CPD 120

Figure 7: Bioecological Model of Development Under Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems
Theory 146

CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 8
Abstract
The 21st century’s global and interconnected business climate is increasingly different than that
which existed in the latter half of the 20th century, when the MBA degree was popularized. The
MBA model from the late 1960s has remained largely intact through since that time, with a few
periodic updates when new academic components became necessary. Courses on ethics,
internationalization, and entrepreneurship have been introduced in response to shifts in employer
needs and the overarching business climate. Today, the literature supports the contention that
employers today are increasingly looking for MBA graduates with significant so-called soft skills
to be prepared for the complexity of the 21st century workforce. The literature further shows that
employers are prioritizing these skills, and that they are dissatisfied with MBA programs due to a
lack of focus on developing these 21st-century skills.
In this study an AACSB accredited business school in Southern California was evaluated,
using the gap analysis framework, to determine what needs exist in knowledge motivation and
organizational areas, to create an innovative professional development program (PDP). This PDP
would focus on teaching MBA students 21st-century work for skills throughout the two-year
duration of their MBA curriculum, integrating curricular and co-curricular components.
The study found 18 validated or partially validated knowledge, motivation, and
organizational needs and recommended solutions appropriate in this organizational context. The
overarching solution is to create a center for professional development as a solution framework
tying together each of the individual solutions. This center creates a nexus between employers,
faculty, and students that improves workforce readiness and employment outcomes of students,
responsiveness to employer needs, and faculty teaching capacity, while strengthening the
relationships between each of these stakeholder groups.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 9
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Skills required in today’s business climate have changed over time, particularly with an
increasingly global economy, and employers report that skills of current Master of Business
Administration (MBA) graduates are not sufficient. Employers face challenges hiring
professionals to fill needed positions, and new MBA graduates often have difficulty obtaining
meaningful employment within a reasonable time after graduation. The challenge of quickly
gaining employment affects MBA students at many business schools, particularly those with
programs that are not highly ranked (US News & World Report, 2016).
Graduate business education is a substantial segment of higher education, with some
13,000 business schools worldwide (Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of
Business [AACSB], 2013). Across this large segment of higher education, there are many
measures used to assess performance, ranging from business only accreditations such as the
AACSB, European Quality Improvement System, and the Association of MBAs (AMBA), to
rankings schemes by popular business media outlets such as US News & World Report,
Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and many others. Indeed, graduate schools of business
administration also use their own measures to assess performance, including student perceptions
of quality. Students themselves often refer to a school’s past success in job placements to assess
quality (Briggs, 2013; Heslop & Nadeau, 2010; Kong & Jiang, 2013). Besides various other
academic metrics, a common characteristic of many of these types of quality measures is
employment data. Employment data often serves as a proxy for student growth and development
and is accepted as a measure of graduates’ career readiness and success in gaining post-
graduation employment (Heslop & Nadeau, 2010). The use of career outcomes data is even now
applied to certain kinds of educational institutions for them to maintain eligibility for Title IV
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 10
federal financial aid funding as a cornerstone of the Department of Education’s gainful
employment regulations (American Council on Education, 2014).
Though there is much focus on employment in these outcome measures, many
researchers criticize the structure and curricula of MBA programs as no longer adequate for
today’s workforce. They contend the current MBA concept fails to develop required skills in
many areas, such as international awareness, leadership, creativity, and even critical thinking
(Datar, Garvin, & Cullen, 2010; Graduate Management Admissions Council [GMAC], 2014;
Hart Research Associates, 2015). The performance problem in this study of low employment
rates at graduation and below average starting salaries represents the larger problem of
improving professional readiness of MBA students in graduate business programs in American
universities. With the ever-changing business climates, the MBA has fallen behind the needs of
today’s economy. Past evolutions of the MBA concept include expansion of ethics, international
business, entrepreneurship, and ecommerce. Now that the current workforce needs have again
evolved beyond the current concept of the MBA, the degree must evolve to better deliver skills
more commonly developed in liberal arts curricula, including communications, creativity, and
international awareness, among others (Hardy & Everett, 2013). To achieve strong student
growth in these areas, business schools need to incorporate student development theories into
their curricula and, importantly, into extra or co-curricular activities.
Organizational Context and Mission
This study is of an AACSB accredited business school at a university in Southern
California that is part of a large university system. For the purposes of this study, the school is
referred to as “School of Business” or SOB. The school offers a portfolio of six undergraduate
and graduate degrees to a growing student population.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 11
The SOB has over 14,000 alumni and a large undergraduate business program. SOB
offers graduate programs in a separate school, in this study called “School of Management”
(SOM). The SOB has 29 tenure-track faculty, and another 17 lecturers, offers a full-time MBA
program, other flexible and specialized master’s programs, and a PhD program. During the 2015-
16 academic year, the full-time MBA program enrolled 52 incoming students, and the Flex MBA
enrolled 27 students during the same period. The school is currently ranked in the “Rank Not
Published” section between #93-127 of the US News & World Report’s Best Business Schools
Rankings (US News & World Report, 2016).
Organizational Performance Status
The organizational performance problem considered in this study is the low employment
rate of 30% of SOM's full-time MBA students, measured at graduation at average starting
salaries 3.5% below the national average of $73,951 (National Association of Colleges and
Employers [NACE], 2016). Although there has been improvement, this is not a new problem. In
2013, the average SOM MBA salary was just 3.6% higher than the national average for
undergraduates completing a business major (NACE, 2014b). This problem suggests that the
organization falls short of expectations in developing future business leaders who can positively
affect the global economy as it is stated in SOB's mission statement. It also impacts the school’s
ability to enroll a high quality student body and help them obtain high quality jobs in the field of
their choosing. The school is aware of this problem, and according to SOB’s Dean, over the next
several years, the school will seek improved quality within the student population.
This dissertation of practice focuses on defining SOM's needs to be able to design and
implement a student professional development program (PDP) integrated throughout the
curriculum and co-curricular programming, which provides comprehensive development
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 12
opportunities necessary to improve the school’s employment outcomes of MBA graduates.
While this study considers professional skill enhancements in the classroom context, it excludes
academic skill development, such as finance, marketing, or accounting. In either context, the
goal is to help develop a research-based set of skills employers seek in the 21st century
economy.
Related Literature
Business today is very different than it was in the distant, and even the more recent past.
Before World War II factory work was a dominant business model, while even into the 1970s
there were whole industries that did not exist that do today, such as biotechnology. Information
technology, too, was an entirely different concept than it is in today’s web-enabled, social
environment (Whitesides, 2013). Factory based, rote work has given way to creative and
intellectual work. In the 21st century, business assets are no longer predominantly mechanical, as
they were during the industrial revolution (van Baalen & Moratis, 2001).
Though the term knowledge economy has been used since the early 1960s (Drucker,
1969), it is increasingly accepted that today’s business climate has more knowledge work than
ever before. In this post-industrial era, Huey argued that the means of production shifted “from
something physical to something human” (as cited in van Baalen & Moratis, 2001, p. 27), and
others contend that a company’s biggest asset is the productivity of its employee base (Patil,
2012; van Baalen & Moratis, 2001).
Besides a shift in the type of jobs in the US, the global workforce is also under pressure.
According to the International Labour Organization (2015), by 2019, approximately 280 million
new jobs will be needed globally, just to reduce unemployment to the level it was at before the
2008 financial crisis. These jobs may come from existing industries, but this is such a staggering
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 13
number that Whitesides (2013) suggests there is a significant need for invention of entirely new
industries. One part of his argument is that incremental improvement is inadequate, a view
strongly supported by Christensen’s (2007) call for disruptive innovation as both a survival and
growth strategy. Besides the growth in competition and disruption, there is also a palpable shift
in organizational structures from big hierarchies to smaller, more nimble organizations (Kotter,
1995), which will also impact opportunities for new entrants to the workforce.
Although changes like these are widespread today, change in business education is not
and lags these needs. In the 1942 volume “Better Business Education” Margaret Hoke wrote
about improvements in methods of teaching and assessing shorthand over the preceding 20 years.
Also in that volume, Harold Smith described the importance of distinguishing between teaching
knowledge of and developing skills in typewriting (Andruss, 1942). Andruss’ point that business
education had difficulty achieving skill development is a particularly poignant parallel to recent
criticisms of the MBA, suggesting once again that lower level factual knowledge is being
developed when higher-level skill development is needed.
By 1959, one-seventh of all graduate and undergraduate degrees awarded in the United
States were in business administration (Gordon & Howell, 1959). Despite its popularity, changes
in business education had been necessary for some time when the Ford Foundation
commissioned its seminal assessment of business education. This 1959 report, Higher Education
for Business, concluded a comprehensive, three-year study that determined vocational
approaches at many business schools were inadequate. The study praised curricula that had
evolved and were beginning to focus on applying social and behavioral science to business
problems (Gordon & Howell, 1959).
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 14
Evolution of MBA curricula has been inconsistent over many decades since the Gordon
and Howell report, and the recent changes in economic climate and employer needs has led to a
steady stream of criticism of the MBA. Many voices call the degree out of touch, or even broken
because it no longer develops the necessary competencies (Rubin & Dierdorff, 2009). Besides
criticism from academics and employers, students also find weaknesses in the MBA curriculum.
In spite of the need for MBA programs to develop human capital competencies such as cultural
awareness, global perspectives, leadership, creative and critical thinking to name a few, a 2011
survey of over 5,000 MBA graduates conducted by GMAC found graduates reporting that their
degrees placed more emphasis on other areas like strategy and decision-making processes
(GMAC, 2013). Recently, much of the literature describes a new MBA model that centers
around integrating liberal arts thinking, which is considered more effective at developing human
capital competencies, into a new curriculum that will continue to develop subject matter
expertise in traditional business areas (Hardy & Everett, 2013).
Needed Skills From MBA Programs
In the new globally competitive business climate, employee training is shifting from an
expense categorization to become perceived as an investment, through which firms plan to create
competitive advantage (van Baalen & Moratis, 2001). In this context, management is more
complex and new competencies and new kinds of collaborations are needed at the point of entry
to the workforce (Cohen & Mankin, 2002; van Baalen & Moratis, 2001). Employers seek a high
quality labor supply with related skills (GMAC, 2012; NACE, 2014a) that are broad and indicate
a certain amount of cross training (van Baalen & Moratis, 2001).
The employer needs for related skills are compatible with students’ expectations from
their business school experience because students report satisfaction from their MBA programs
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 15
when they achieve career growth and high skills utilization (Hwang, Bento, & Arbaugh, 2011).
To achieve high skills utilization after graduates enter the workforce, it is necessary to match the
skills employers need with those students will develop during the MBA program. The literature
identifies several critical areas of professional development, including communication (McEwen,
2013), creativity / problem solving (Burford & Arnold, 1992), entrepreneurialism (Kotter, 1995),
ethics (Datar et al., 2010; Evans, Treviño, & Weaver, 2006), international awareness (Datar et
al., 2010; Kotter, 1995), information technology, interpersonal skills, and leadership (Datar et al.,
2010; Eberhardt, Moser, & McGhee, 1997). These 21st century skills are “generally transferable
across jobs, occupations, and industries” (Stevens & Kirst, 2015, p. 185) and each skill may be
developed in different ways, sometimes through curricular and sometimes through co-curricular
experiences.
Importance of the Organizational Innovation
Student motivation to pursue an MBA is closely related to their desires for career
advancement (Heslop & Nadeau, 2010). A clear measure of the organization’s success is,
therefore, the employment outcomes, and specifically the employment rate and average starting
salaries of new graduates. It is important for SOM to implement a PDP for MBA students
because high placement rates correlate with satisfied alumni, companies that are eager to hire the
school’s graduates, and affirmation that the curriculum itself is helping prepare students for their
careers.
High employment rates and average salaries have positive effects on the school as well.
They help attract higher quality students, build a broader reputation, and improve the school’s
position in various MBA program rankings (US News & World Report, 2014; Financial Times,
2015). Low employability, on the other hand, creates a poor reputation among prospective SOM
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 16
students, lowers morale within the school and can make corporate relations more difficult,
among other negative effects.
Organizational Performance Goal
The SOM performance goal is to identify the extant needs that will allow the organization
to develop a PDP for MBA students by September 2017, the entrance month for the class of
2019. The scope of this study is to focus on the full-time MBA program, in particular.
Stakeholders and Stakeholder Performance Goals
There are multiple stakeholders in every business school, and the extent of their
involvement within the organization can vary from school to school. Some explanation of
relative levels of stakeholder engagement are due to different standards in place at various
business education accrediting organizations, such as AACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS.
According to AACSB, stakeholders should contribute to review of the school’s mission
statement and should have input into the development of and changes to curricula. AMBA’s
view of stakeholders has special emphasis on the business community, alumni, and employers.
This accrediting body expects stakeholders to contribute to program and governance policy
development (Association of MBAs, n.d.). EQUIS (2011), on the other hand, calls for
significantly more stakeholder engagement. Cooper, Parkes, and Blewitt (2014) describe the
extensive EQUIS requirements as emphasizing “students, alumni, national education authorities,
government agencies, companies and business leaders” (p. 244)
Primary stakeholders for a business school are the students (current and future) and
employers. As students enter the workforce, the conversion of students to employees determines
much of the satisfaction each group has with the business school that trained the students.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 17
Students seek career growth and skills utilization (Hwang et al., 2011), while employers seek
quality employees to join their firms.
Given their roles in governance, curriculum design, and teaching, the faculty is another
important stakeholder group. Much literature has been written about curriculum and teaching in
business education, but a gap exists about co-curricular student and professional development in
graduate business education, which this dissertation specifically focuses on.
Other, non-academic, members of this school comprised of the career development and
student services staffs are another important stakeholder group. Members of this group interact
with, guide, and train MBA students throughout their two-year experience in professional skills
needed for successful careers, among other types of interactions.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 18
Table 1
Organizational Mission, Organizational Goal and Stakeholder Performance Goals
Organizational Mission
The mission at the School of Business (SOB) is to develop diverse leaders, propel research-based
innovation, and promote the sustainable growth... within the global economy. SOB harnesses the
powerful resources of [the university system] and its location at the nexus of commerce to create
a laboratory for education, research, and productive partnerships across economic enterprises.

Organizational Innovation Goal
By September 2017, develop a Professional Development Program for students in support of
achieving full employment of SOM MBA graduates.

Faculty and SOM student
services staff that contribute
to student professional
readiness

By September 2017, SOB
faculty, career services, and
student service staff will
launch an MBA student
professional development
program including activities,
modules, or instructional units
necessary to prepare
incoming MBA students for
21st century employment
opportunities.

MBA Students

By June 2019, all SOB MBA
students demonstrate skills
required for 21st century
employment opportunities.

Employers

By September 2017, SOM's
top five MBA graduate
employers will provide
professional skills training to
the current MBA student
population.

Stakeholder for the Study and Stakeholder Performance Status
This study used the lens of faculty and non-academic personnel that contribute to student
professional readiness. This stakeholder group combines faculty with student services personnel
working in the graduate programs office and with career development personnel. In the context
of improving professional readiness and employment outcomes of MBA graduates, this
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 19
combination provides a unique assessment of efficacy in SOM's context because these groups are
intertwined with the goal of high employment. These two groups intersect due to preparing
students for current workforce needs, helping them find meaningful employment, and identifying
quality candidates to fill positions. Their collective view allows assessment of the school’s
success in training and skill development in service to the business community.
The performance level of SOM MBA employment at graduation is low. For the
graduating class of 2014 only 33% of new MBA graduates have job offers at graduation.
Another 32% usually are employed by three months after graduation (US News, & World Report
2015) and the remaining graduates take longer than three months to find meaningful
employment. These employment rates are lower than the SOM goal of 100%. Currently a PDP
does not exist at the SOM, leading to a performance gap of 100%. The employment rate
compares poorly to average employment at graduation of 48% for the other business schools in
the “ranking not published” segment and to the 57% employment rate of the programs ranked
75-100 in the US News & World Report MBA ranking (US News & World Report, 2015).
To effect change in this employment outcome, the stakeholder group was designed to
comprise faculty and two operational units: career development and the graduate programs
office. The career development office has been operating at full staff after growing from one to
four positions over the last two years. The graduate programs office has also been going through
much change due to long-term open positions, a change in leadership due to a retirement, and an
organizational restructuring started in late 2015. Each stakeholder segment, including faculty,
also has varying levels of knowledge about student needs, motivation to support student
professional development and organizational barriers that affect their ability to help students
develop professional readiness.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 20
Purpose of the Project and Guiding Questions
Within this study of the subject university’s SOM, the performance goal was to identify
the extant needs that will allow the organization to develop a PDP for students by September
2017, the entrance month for the class of 2019. Such a program will allow students to develop
the necessary 21st century professional skills that literature cites as a weakness of current MBA
program models and that are validated by the business community SOM serves. The scope of
this study was to focus on the full-time MBA program, in particular. The purpose of this project
was to understand these needs through application of a gap analysis methodology, and it
analyzed areas of knowledge and skills, motivation, and the organizational needs within the
stakeholder group.
The project began by focusing on the possible or assumed needs to achieve development
of the PDP and examined them to determine actual, validated needs. This project focused on the
stakeholder group of those who instruct or guide MBA students in the SOM, which included
faculty as well as select administration in the Career Development and Graduate Programs
offices. A comprehensive gap analysis would have included several stakeholder groups,
including students.
Focusing on the stakeholder group under evaluation, the study addressed the following
guiding questions:
1. What are the knowledge, motivation, and organizational needs necessary for the SOM
faculty and professional staff to design an innovative professional development program
in support of full employment of SOM MBA graduates?
2. What are the recommended knowledge, motivation, and organizational solutions to
support implementation of this innovative professional development program?
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 21
Methodological Framework
The project utilized Clark and Estes’ (2008) gap analysis framework as a systematic,
analytical method that helped clarify SOM's organizational goals and identify the needs to fill the
gap between the current performance level as well as the future performance level within the
organization, adapted for innovation analysis. Assumed needs for the performance gap
assessment were generated based on direct knowledge and related literature. These needs were
validated through surveys, interviews, and document analysis. Research-based solutions were
recommended and comprehensively evaluated.
Definitions
Term Definition
100% employment The goal for employment by three months after graduation from the
MBA program.
SOM School of management, the graduate section of the school of business.
CPD Center for professional development.
Competency “a capability or ability” (Boyatzis, 2008, p. 6).
Employment rate The percentage of MBA students from each graduating class
employed at graduation or three months after graduation.
Human capital the knowledge, skills and talents an individual or group has, when
considered from the perspective of their value to an organization.
Non-academic staff Staff members at the school of management who are in a position to
influence student growth and development. Specifically excludes
faculty and administrative staff with no contact with graduate business
students.
PDP Professional development program being developed at the SOM for
MBA students.
SOB School of Business. The university’s entire school of business, of
which the school of management is part.

CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 22
Organization of the Dissertation
The dissertation is organized into five chapters. This chapter provides background of the
problem, the implications and impact beyond the individual school under study, the
organization’s mission, definition of the problem within that organizational context and
stakeholder goals within the organizational context under study.
In Chapter Two, a literature review is conducted to establish several of the appropriate
performance metrics already mentioned, and to identify extant knowledge about the problem of
improving quality in graduate business education, student development theory, and improving
professional readiness.
In Chapter Three, the dissertation then describes the assumed needs and selected
methodology in detail. A description of the choice of participants and data collection is also
included.
Chapter Four presents results and findings, followed by chapter five where
recommendations for solutions and an implementation plan are provided. The evaluation and
discussion section serves to review the guiding questions for this study and the subsequent
research process as well as the study’s limitations or potential to be generalized.

CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 23
CHAPTER TWO: RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter begins with a historical perspective of business education that illustrates
how economic evolution has led to change in management education. It then reviews changes in
the economy lead to the need for different skill sets in today’s MBA graduates. The reader is
then presented with literature related to relevant student development and student transitions
theory. This literature review then progresses through an overview of learning and motivation
theory before ending with a discussion of necessary skills related to stakeholders in this study.
Historical Changes in Business Education
From the launch of the first MBA program in the US in 1908 to the middle of the
century, business education was not research-based and was so vocationally focused that Nobel
Laureate Herbert Simon characterized the period as a “wasteland of vocationalism” (Thomas,
Lorange, & Sheth, 2013, p, 7). By the mid-1900s, business had become the most popular of
degree choices (Gordon & Howell, 1959), but change was necessary in business education. Two
influential assessments of business education would soon alter the structure and focus of
business education.
One of the two reports, from the Ford Foundation (Gordon, & Howell, 1959), was an
assessment of business education that determined that the MBA curriculum at many business
schools had become inadequate. The study praised curricula that had evolved to start focusing on
new problems and techniques, such as the application of social and behavioral science to
business problems. Authors Gordon and Howell also recommended business school faculty take
up serious academic research, which the Ford Foundation subsequently financially supported at
several business schools. The second influential report of the same era was commissioned by the
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 24
Carnegie Foundation (Pierson, 1959). In the Pierson report, business schools were derided for
both low quality education and excessive specialization.
The two reports and subsequent financial investments led to refocusing business
education on research activities and expanding it considerably across the country in the
following decades (Thomas et al., 2013). By the 1980s however, criticism had begun to
resurface. Porter and McKibbin (1988) conducted a new review of management education on
behalf of the AACSB and found skill gaps between what employers wanted in new employees,
what business school deans thought was important, and what was being taught in the curricula
(Porter & McKibbin, 1988). The era following Porter and McKibbin’s criticism was marked by
expansion of humanism and globalization within curriculum, while not escaping debate about
curricular relevancy (Pfeffer & Fong, 2004).
Business Conditions Are Changing
Business today is very different than it was in the past 50 years. Before World War II
there was no biotech industry, for example, and information technology was an entirely different
concept than it is in today’s web-enabled, social environment (Whitesides, 2013). In the 21st
century, business assets such as intellectual property and human capital are much different than
they were during the industrial revolution when they were typically means of production (Porter
& McKibbin, 1988). Some categorize the current economic structure as a network economy
where firms are giving way to networks of production and suggest business education must also
evolve along the same logic (van Baalen & Moratis, 2001).
As it was over 70 years ago when Hoke and Smith (Andruss, 1942) each wrote about the
disconnect between the teaching of business knowledge and developing business skills, today’s
typical MBA curriculum has become disconnected from current workforce needs. More recent
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 25
criticisms of the MBA point out that the “increasing rate of new knowledge” is also a factor in
the lower relevance of today’s MBA curricula (Davis, 2013, p. 27). Though the term knowledge
economy has been around since the early 1960s (Drucker, 1969), it is increasingly accepted that
today’s business climate has more knowledge work than ever before. Although there are multiple
definitions of knowledge work, this kind of work is commonly characterized by “the acquisition,
creation, packaging, or application of knowledge” (Davenport, Jarvenpaa, & Beers, 1996, p. 54)
and today can lead a company’s biggest asset to become the productivity of its employee base
(Patil, 2012).
Shifting Economic Climate
The global labor force is expected to undergo substantial growth through new entrants,
and there is high unemployment already (Gönner, 2013). To accommodate this influx of job
seekers, Whitesides (2013) suggests entirely new industries need to be created. Christensen
(2007) also argues for a disruptive innovation strategy for both survival and growth.
Organizationally, there is a clear shift in structures from big hierarchies to smaller, more nimble
organizations (Kotter, 1995). This dynamic employment setting requires different skills than
those required during the industrial revolution, as was the case when the economy shifted to
industrialization from the agricultural-based economy.
Critical Perspectives
Given the recent changes in economic climate and corresponding evolution in employer
needs, some say that while the MBA degree imparts deep functional knowledge, it does not teach
new graduates the broad knowledge needed today (van Baalen & Moratis, 2001) or, according to
Booth, how to apply and integrate that knowledge in the workplace (as cited in Davis 2013).
Largely, the criticism centers around the lack of applying skills in real world settings as well as
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 26
developing universal skills in non-business specific areas, like international awareness,
leadership, creativity, interpersonal skills, and even critical thinking (Datar et al., 2010;
Eberhardt et al., 1997). These general areas of skill concern are complemented by six specific
management competencies identified by Dierdorff and Rubin (2006) as essential for
management work. These include the following:
● Managing decision-making processes
● Managing human capital
● Managing strategy and innovation
● Managing the task environment
● Managing administration and control
● Managing logistics and technology
In subsequent work, Rubin and Dierdorff (2009) empirically determined that managing
decision-making processes, managing human capital, and managing strategy & innovation were
the lowest focus of MBA curricula but were also the highest priority of the six competencies,
according to incumbent managers in the study. Despite differences in specific skills
recommended by different authors, they seem to coalesce around human interaction and decision
making (Datar et al., 2010; GMAC, 2014; Hart Research Associates, 2015).
Besides criticisms from academics and employers, students also find mismatches
between their MBA curricula and human capital competencies, like managing people. A survey
of over 5,000 MBA graduates conducted by GMAC (2011) found graduates reporting that their
degrees emphasized areas like strategy and decision-making processes more than human capital
competencies (GMAC, 2013), a skill that is more needed in the workplace.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 27
The MBA Continues to Evolve
The MBA has gone through periods of criticism and crisis that call for reform in the
concept, after which there is some measure of response from the business school community.
Recent criticism has led many to describe necessary changes that would once again update the
MBA to meet today’s needs.
New Academic Curriculum
Management education intends to prepare graduates to “recall, use, and adapt what they
have learned when they are practicing managers” (Rousseau, 2012, p. 613). Consistent with this
overarching intent, curriculum design has long been considered by some to be the most
important faculty responsibility in a business school (Capon, 1996). More recently, much of the
literature describing prospective new MBA models shifts curricular focus from functional skills
and increases attention on building thinking and other universal skills into the curriculum (Datar
et al., 2010; Hardy, 2013).
Moldoveanu and Martin (2008, p. 97) propose recasting the MBA as a practicum in
which students are guided and shaped by interactions with their instructors, but where decisions,
ultimately, rest with the student. In their model, the student assumes the “implementation risks.”
This is a similar view to Lorange’s suggestion of “project-based action learning” (2005, p. 785),
which may increase opportunities for students to increase emphasis on interdisciplinary synthesis
skills. More focus on synthesis of disparate knowledge needs to go along with a relative
reduction in the importance the functional skills within MBA programs according to Thomas et
al. (2013), which may aid in successfully dealing with complexity present in today’s knowledge
work and globalized economy. These and other recent recommendations center around the
specific curricular makeup of the MBA degree.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 28
Employer Needs
The overarching criticism of MBA curricula, when considered from the employer
perspective, is its lack of relevancy (Rubin & Dierdorff, 2009). This weakness is particularly
poignant because there is sometimes a disconnect between what business school deans believe is
important and what industry values (Porter & McKibbin, 1988).
In the new, globally competitive business climate, employee training is shifting from an
expense to an investment that creates competitive advantage (van Baalen & Moratis, 2001). To
meet their needs, employers seek a high quality labor supply with related skills (GMAC, 2012)
that are broad and indicate a certain amount of cross training (van Baalen & Moratis, 2001). In
this context, new competencies and new kinds of collaborations are needed (Cohen, & Mankin,
2002). To comply with accreditation guidelines already discussed in this chapter and to be able
to identify the kinds of skills each school’s predominant employer group seeks, it is incumbent
on MBA programs to consider employers as a contributing stakeholder when developing
curriculum.
Needed Skills from MBA Programs
Studies often show overlapping sets of universal skills that employers seek or value in
their employees, beyond the functional skills required to perform the specific job tasks at hand.
With that said, some scholars have recently called for shifting focus from specifying lists of
needed skills to empowering graduates with flexible abilities to perform in a variety of
workplace settings that take into consideration their organization’s purpose (Collet, Hine, & du
Plessis, 2015). Among research that does specify skills needed in today’s workforce,
commonalities include interpersonal skills, ethical decision making, and ability to use knowledge
in real world settings (Burford & Arnold, 1992; Datar et al., 2010; Eberhardt, Moser, & McGee,
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 29
1997; Hart Research Associates, 2015; Rousseau, 2012). These general skill areas represent the
types of universal professional competencies that the literature has coalesced around, but are not
intended to be an exhaustive list of skills the MBA program must deliver.
Interpersonal skills. Interpersonal skills is a broad term that could encompass over 100
different skill components (Spitzberg & Cupach, 2011), including communication, teamwork,
and leadership. Looking specifically at communication skills, the National Standards for
Business Education identifies 14 dimensions to teaching strong communications skills. The
dimensions cover traditional communication skill development in reading, writing, listening, and
speaking, but they also include newer skills related to technology etiquette and social media,
among other topics that should be incorporated into business education (McEwen, 2013).
Although some of these subcategories did not exist a few years ago, it would be incorrect to
assert that communication skills represent a new area of skill needs. The influential 1988
AACSB study of business school deans found written and oral communication to be two of the
top three most desired skills that should be part of the MBA curriculum, yet the surveyed deans
also indicated their curricula were far from delivering that level of skill development in their
programs (Porter & McKibbin, 1988).
Within the area of leadership, a recent study of five Southern California MBA programs,
including the one under study at the SOM, indicated the need for leaders to “help their followers
find personal fulfillment, not be coercive, should have strong interpersonal skills, should be able
to relate to others, should incorporate collaborative decision-making practices, should lead with
honesty and integrity, should understand the value of human capital, and above all remain calm
during moments of crisis” (Najera, 2015, p. 117). These are needed skills to be developed in
MBA programs.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 30
Ability to use skills in real world settings. There are many plausible scenarios that
would illustrate how and when MBA students would need to use their skills in real settings after
graduation. The literature reviewed within this area centered around strong secondary
competency areas, including creativity, problem solving, and international awareness.
Creativity has become a basic workplace skill and is ever more important as work has
evolved away from the rote and repetitive (Burford & Arnold, 1992). Additionally, as Pinard and
Allio (2005) advocate, businesses need to foster cultures where creativity can be applied to
problem solving situations and imagination is a skill in regular use.
Creativity and problem solving skills can be useful when operating in the international
environment, which can be more complicated than other contexts due to cultural, legal, linguistic
and other challenges. In this setting, successful graduates must be prepared to work in ambiguous
and fast moving circumstances that provide business opportunities (Kotter, 1995). Although
internationalization of curricula has progressed since the AACSB report roundly criticized
business schools’ lack of implementation of this perspective into MBA programs (Porter &
McKibbin, 1988), it remains an active concern among those evaluating business schools. Datar et
al., (2010) describe several methods to increase student skills with respect to the international
environment. Ranging from promoting a more international student body to the opening of an
overseas campus, there are multiple options available to business schools today to add an
international perspective into the curricula.
Ethical decision making. Research on business ethics began to increase in the 1980s
(Schoenfeldt, McDonald & Youngblood, 1991) before becoming subject of debate about how to
teach it in the MBA curriculum during the 1990s (Ghorpade, 1991; Piper, Gentile, Parks &
MacArthur, 1993). In the early 2000s, business schools varied widely in how they taught ethics
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 31
to MBA students (Evans et al., 2006), from discrete courses to case studies, to modules within
courses, and some programs had even begun to shrink ethics requirements (Kelly, 2002).
Between 2005 and 2009, for example, the number of ethics-related elective courses offered in
MBA programs doubled, but they were largely concentrated in courses within the management
discipline and recommendations were still being made for schools to make structural changes to
the curriculum that would close the gap between rhetoric of business school leaders around
ethics education and their actual MBA curricula (Rasche, Gilbert, & Schedel, 2013).
The development arc of business ethics becoming considered important, being part of the
common MBA curriculum, and now the continued dialogue about how much is enough or how
to best to include this topic are indications that the management education industry has not
coalesced around a common view of ethics and perhaps business schools have not yet achieved a
consistent standard of developing ethics among students. By a decade into the 21st century,
slowly evolving MBA programs were still criticized for the need to increase attention to
“accountability, ethics, and social responsibility,” which had become centrally important in the
business climate (Datar et al., 2010, p. 323) in the wake of numerous corporate ethics scandals of
the early 2000s. The evolution and lifecycle of ethics education is a salient example for skills
training in other areas that may need added to today’s MBA curriculum.
Student Development Theory
Foundational Theory
To better prepare to introduce PDPs in business schools, it is helpful to review key
foundations of student development theory. Chickering and Gamson (1991) found students
develop along seven specific lines:
1. Primary focus to develop competencies and skills
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 32
2. Managing their emotions
3. Movement from autonomy toward interdependence
4. Development of mature interpersonal relationships
5. Development of identity
6. Development of purpose
7. Development of integrity
Each of these developmental areas should be taken into consideration when attempting to
develop curricula that teach broadly applicable skills like thinking, teamwork, and
communications. Chickering and Gamson (1999) later identified a key element of high quality
curricula structure is the opportunity to practice new skills. A structural component of a potential
PDP may be to leverage this skill development strategy to effectively progress students through
stages of development appropriate to each skill valued in the 21st century workplace.
An additional consideration is how the stakeholder group considers these theories and
applies them. According to Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton and Renn (2010), when considering
student development programs and services, “collaborative efforts by faculty and student affairs
professionals are necessary to provide developmental programs and services” (p. 71). While
developing a PDP, it may be important to provide adequate information to students, faculty and
student services staff about the benefits of applying these theories because their motivation to
learn them and to apply them increases when they find value in an activity or learning goal
(Ambrose, Bridges, DiPietro, Lovett, & Norman, 2010).
Integrative Theories
Integrative theories of student development are important because they consider the
campus environment as well as the student’s personal growth and change. A current college
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 33
impact model derived from Lewin’s classic work (1943) is D = f(PxE), where development (D)
is a function (f) of the interaction (x) between a person (P) and their environment (E). Dannefer
(1984) focuses on the environmental structures influencing developmental opportunities and
classifies them into three levels: micro (personal and small group interactions); organizational
(units, bureaucracies, schools); and society (class, race, gender).
Complementing Dannefer’s work, Bronfenbrenner and Morris’s (2007) theory of
developmental ecology extends Lewin’s theory. Bronfenbrenner and Morris define several scales
or layers of how students interact with different environments, divided by the level of interaction
between the student and the system. Considering Lewin’s framework and Bronfenbrenner and
Morris’s theory may allow PDP curriculum planning and evaluation with specific outcome goals
for the participating MBA students.
Integrated Curriculum
A 2005 study of 143 deans of AACSB accredited business schools about integration of
undergraduate curricula found that 81% reported a “strong need or a mild need to integrate the
business curriculum across disciplines” (Athavale, Davis, & Myring, 2008). In the same study,
the most important factor reported was that “it was critical to the future success of students”
(Athavale et al., 2008, p. 298). This points to the assumed need in this study that a potential PDP
would be seen as a valuable addition to the curriculum.
Porter and McKibbin (1988) found that the curricular tool used to integrate learning from
across academic areas was very frequently only a single capstone course at the end of the
program. Synthesizing learning from across the full range of professional and functional skills
developed in a graduate business degree may need more integration than a single course can
provide. Van Baalen and Moratis (2001) pointed out this curricular weakness and that MBA
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 34
programs need to be more tightly integrated across courses to better reflect the holistic views of
business that corporate recruiters value. That kind of integration across the curriculum may be
difficult, particularly at MBA programs that heavily emphasize functional discipline expertise
(Varela, Burke, & Michel, 2013). New efforts that involve reorganizations or new, hybrid
programs also “raise the question of who will teach in those programs and where to find the
instructional expertise needed for this kind of learning” (Colby, Ehrlich, Sullivan, & Dolle, 2011,
p. 174).
It may be a challenge for PDP designers to decide whether to include specific skill
training as discrete courses or to incorporate training opportunities throughout an entire
curriculum, and to decide on the most appropriate faculty-staffing model. Successful design,
however, can leverage learning and motivation theory, discussed next, to break down content and
to create a program that is accessible to students, taught by appropriate personnel, and that
students want to participate in.
Learning and Motivation Theory
Knowledge and Skills
Anderson and Krathwohl’s (2001) discussion of the four major types of knowledge
provide a valuable framework for analyzing the knowledge and skills of the stakeholder group in
question. These four types of knowledge include factual, conceptual, procedural, and
metacognitive. Factual knowledge refers to knowing facts and details, while conceptual
knowledge refers to understanding principles, models, and how things relate to one another.
Procedural knowledge focuses on how, including techniques and methods of processes.
Metacognitive, the fourth knowledge type, is centered around knowledge of one’s own thoughts
or actions, as well as self-management.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 35
Motivation
Motivation problems were identified using the Clark’s (1998) framework relying on the
indicators of active choice, persistence, and mental effort. These three indicators provide
diagnostic clues about where to look for potential underlying causes. Active choice describes
situations where one has intent, but does not take action. Persistence is the likelihood that an
individual will continue work to reach a goal. The third indicator, mental effort, refers to failure
to utilize knowledge to solve problems. Within each of these areas are several underlying
potential needs relating to each indicator and concepts like self-efficacy and goal orientation are
predictors of performance (Bandura, 1997; Sitzmann & Ely, 2011).
Organization
To properly identify potential causes of organizational performance problems, it is
important to evaluate potential barriers that exist structurally, within the organization itself.
Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001) describe how organizations can be analyzed, both for their
cultural setting and their cultural models. The cultural settings are specific and tangible
representations of how and why tasks are completed, as well as the social context around the
relevant work. Cultural models, on the other hand, refer to shared mental attitudes within the
organization.
Stakeholder Group Knowledge, Skills, and Motivation
Beyond Student Affairs
Student affairs is the term typically used to describe the non-academic staff responsible
for extracurricular activities, academic advising, and that provide other non-classroom support
(McClellan, Stringer, Barr, & National Association of Student Personnel Administrators
[NASPA], 2009). Because students develop through many different experiences beyond the
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 36
curricular, the stakeholder group for this study merged what would be typically seen as two
separate groups: student affairs and career services.
Knowledge of Faculty
Faculty have been trained to be specialists within their academic area, and their post-PhD
degree work experience does not necessarily provide “relevant business world experience”
(Porter & McKibbin, 1988, p. 132). Porter and McKibbin (1988) further assert that faculty do not
have the direct knowledge needed to provide MBA students “insights and perspectives that will
be necessary when they graduate and go out into the practice of management” (p. 132).
Knowledge of Student Affairs Staff
According to the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS),
there are three major categories of career advising competencies. Two of these standards address
knowledge and skills assessment within this gap analysis directly: (1) “an understanding of
student development, student learning, career development,” and (2) “a comprehensive
knowledge of the institution’s program, academic requirements, policies and procedures…”
(CAS, 2006, p. 32). Beyond factual knowledge, academic staff need procedural knowledge to
identify students’ significant professional development needs as well as conceptual knowledge to
relate their goals and needs with the extant programming and learning opportunities at the SOM
(Hughey & National Academic Advising Association, 2009). Within the SOM, there may be
uneven levels of knowledge about these areas between the staff and faculty components of the
stakeholder group for this study.
The historical recruitment of student affairs personnel was largely through the two
primary professional organizations for the field, NASPA and American College Personnel
Association. Though prospects and positions will have and require different skill sets for
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 37
different roles, selection of personnel active in the national associations may have a stronger,
more consistent knowledge base about student development than candidates without that past
exposure (McClellan et al., 2009). At the SOM, no staff or faculty are members of either
professional organization and do not utilize their related training, although some staff in the
career development center do maintain memberships in NACE. This may suggest knowledge
needs among student affairs personnel at the SOM that includes procedural knowledge about
how to develop the types of 21st century skills within this study, and conceptual knowledge to
connect different types of extant knowledge to students’ development plans.
In addition to these types of knowledge, it is helpful for SOM non-academic services
staff to be familiar with and able to apply Schlossberg’s transition theory. Schlossberg (1981)
described how people move their focus from the specifics of a transition to integration of that
transition into their lives, and then to moving forward well. These transition stages are present
when students enter an MBA program or enter the workforce after graduating from an MBA
program. The stakeholder group within this study may have a need for more even knowledge of
transition theory and how it applies to MBA students to better help them define what they need
to focus on during their transition into, through, and out of the degree program.
Motivation
An outcome of a potential PDP for MBA students is better preparation for their careers
because through improved “decision making across the lifespan, students will leave college
better equipped to navigate today's complex world of work throughout their professional lives”
(Pipkins, Rooney, & Jaunarajs, 2014, p. 36). Motivational considerations for faculty, and
professional staff may influence these groups’ willingness to contribute to developing a PDP
with such goals.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 38
There are two key areas to assess with each of these stakeholder groups: intrinsic
motivation to contribute to professional growth of MBA students, and extrinsic factors that may
influence choice of activities and programs to contribute to a PDP. The balance of intrinsic and
extrinsic motivational factors may influence these stakeholders’ potential contributions to a PDP.
The assessment of motivation is important because of the increased importance of “Recent shifts
within the nature of work…impact career counseling by making the link between career
development and human development more obvious” (p. 4)
Faculty motivation is often explained as strongly aligned with activities leading to tenure
(Chen, Nixon, Gupta & Hoshower, 2010). Research publications contribute to tenure decisions at
the SOM. More widely, research publications are seen as recognizing content expertise among
faculty and these are dominant drivers of faculty promotion and rewards at large research
universities (GMAC, 2013). Research activity is related to faculty interest areas providing
intrinsic motivation, while also providing external rewards of tenure. Two related assumed needs
in this study are that faculty need “to feel positive about the idea of a PDP and that it would be a
valuable supplement to the academic curriculum”; and “Faculty need motivation to collaborate
with administration throughout the MBA student lifecycle.” These are salient needs to test
because it is not clear whether motivational structures at the SOM reward service or teaching
adequately to motivate faculty to be involved in PDP development and implementation.
Besides academic personnel, professional staff also have motivational influences that
may impact their motivation toward a PDP. The third CAS standard appropriate for this gap
analysis is that career services directors should possess “an interest and effectiveness in working
with and assisting students” (CAS, 2006, p. 32). Application of Schein’s career anchors theory
by Bogenschutz (1987) shows that there may be advisors who are motivated by the work they
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 39
do, and others are more self-career oriented. Extending this finding through the lens of social
cognitive theory suggests that those motivated by the work place high value on it and are
potentially highly interested in mastery of the work. Advisors that Bogenschutz describes as
more self-career oriented would be considered to have a performance orientation which, also
according to social cognitive theory, leads to lower overall performance.
This study evaluated both intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors for faculty and
professional staff. The assumed motivational needs are identified in Chapter Three.
Organization
There are several organizational considerations important to this innovation study.
Among them are the need for collaboration between faculty and administrators within the
stakeholder group, the student affairs structural model in place, and resource allocation for the
career development center.
Collaboration is an idea many in the university setting support and there has been an
increasing recognition about the importance of collaboration between units like academic affairs
and student affairs because of the benefits to students and possible increased learning (Kezar &
Lester, 2009). For these collaborations to be productive and effective there should be “a free
flow of ideas and decision-making processes between academic and student affairs divisions”
(O’Connor, 2012, p. 43). As Kezar and Lester (2009) point out, however, such collaboration
across units has its challenges, which may include bureaucracy, different goals and values, type
of governance, level of centralization, incompatible academic and administrative cultures, and
more. SOM as an organization may need additional collaboration between stakeholder groups to
allow for the innovation of a PDP and the specific collaboration related assumed need under
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 40
consideration is the need for a cultural model that promotes creativity, collaboration, and sharing
of knowledge in developing a new program.
Separate issues affect the various types of student affairs organizational models that exist
in the university setting, which include extracurricular centered, learning centered, and
administrative centered models. Each model has different areas of organizational effectiveness
and different weaknesses, (Manning, Kinzie, & Schuh, 2006). The student affairs model in place
for the last several years at the SOM has been administrative centered, with low staffing and
focus on transactions like student course registrations, graduation clearance forms, etc. The
model at the SOM may need to continue evolving to a more student centered approach
throughout the student lifecycle. The related assumed need under investigation is the need
functioning feedback mechanisms to monitor student progress throughout the MBA curriculum.
Though some organizational structure and design is a possible point of analysis, there is a
general gap in the literature dedicated to “organizational design and structural models”
(McClellan et al., 2009, p. 321). The literature does identify traditional and vertical structures as
a potential cause or organizational barriers in the form of decreased interaction and coordination
between different units (O’Connor, 2012; Schroeder, 1999). Within the administrative structure
at the SOM is a unit from the career development center as well as the group of student affairs
officers in the graduate programs office. Career development and student affairs are separate
operational units, but share common executive leadership. This allows for separate vertical
structures, while mitigating some of the organizational risks of silos through the common
leadership connection but does not integrate either unit with the academic units at the SOM. This
suggests an organization need for a structure where specialized expertise, fragmented work, does
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 41
not cause deterioration of the culture into silos (Schroeder, 1999; Knefelkamp, 1991) so the PDP
may further develop student professional readiness.
Besides having requisite knowledge and motivation to provide quality coaching and
counsel to students, efficacy of career services directors is largely influenced by having adequate
resources for the job and experience in career services (Livengood, 2012). at the SOM, the career
development center staff have prior experiences that mostly align with the department’s needs,
but there are some resource shortfalls, specifically in the areas of data management systems and
administrative support.
Conclusion
In this chapter, a review of related literature was conducted to provide the reader
necessary historical background of business, changing economic climate, and employment
requirements in the 21st century. Within this context, additional literature discussed criticism of
business education, student development theory, and learning and motivation theory related to
this innovation study. The literature review concluded with a review of the literature related to
the stakeholder group in areas of student affairs, knowledge of faculty and student affairs staff,
and motivation and organizational influences.
To describe the literature broadly, there’s an increasing complexity and
interconnectedness in today’s economy and business climate which calls for stronger 21st-
century skills. As the economy and business climate changed in the past, the management
education sector responded with curricular evolution, as happened with ethics education in the
early 2000s. There is currently much research documenting the gap between employer
expectations, and skills developed in the common MBA curricula, establishing that MBA
programs need to teach skills that lie outside traditional academic areas, and that are, by their
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 42
nature, interdisciplinary and transferable. In the current study, this creates a need for a PDP that
incorporates relevant theories of how students change during an academic program, as well as
relating their academic and professional growth to stages of their professional transitions. The
overarching learning and motivation theories discussed in this chapter establish needs
specifically among faculty for increased knowledge, among student affairs personnel for more
conceptual and procedural knowledge about how their work relates to professional growth and
development, needs for improved motivation that places student professional growth more
prominently in the SOM MBA experience, and organizational cultures and structures that foster
and facilitate successful PDP creation and implementation.
Review of these areas suggests there are several assumed knowledge, motivation, and
organizational needs to successfully developing a comprehensive PDP that increases
employment outcomes of SOM MBA students. The following chapter discusses these assumed
needs and links them with the research methodology employed in this study to better understand
and assess those needs.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 43
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
The purpose of this study was to understand the needs for the SOM to design an
innovative PDP in support of full-time MBA students and achieve 100% employment at degree
completion. Through a gap analysis framework, the study analyzed needs in areas of knowledge,
skills, and motivation within the stakeholder group, and the organizational needs. It began by
focusing on the possible or assumed needs to fully achieve the innovation and then examined
them in detail to determine actual, validated needs within the organization. While a complete
needs’ analysis would focus on all stakeholders, for practical purposes, this project focused on
the stakeholder group of those that instructed or advised MBA students in the SOM, which
included faculty as well as selected administrators in the Career Development and Graduate
Programs offices.
Focusing on this study’s stakeholder group, the project addressed the following guiding
questions:
1. What are the knowledge, motivation, and organizational needs necessary for the SOM
faculty and student support personnel to design an innovative professional development
program in support of full employment of SOM MBA graduates?
2. What are the recommended knowledge, motivation, and organizational solutions to
achieve implementation of the innovative professional development program?
Methodological Framework
Clark and Estes (2008) argue that gap analysis can help diagnose organizational
problems, stemming from knowledge gaps, motivational weaknesses, or organizational barriers.
They suggest that performance improvement tools are often selected without regard for how well
they fit the organization’s performance problem and also point to a lack of effort identifying
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 44
underlying needs of performance problems as partial explanation for why this may be.
Additional performance issues include mismatches between how well organizational goals are
defined and translated into goals at the operational unit or individual level (Rueda, 2011).
With this context, Clark and Estes (2008) contend that gap analysis must examine the
knowledge present within the organization, the extent to which motivation accounts for the
performance gap, and other organizational barriers that may inhibit performance. The authors
contend that there must be congruence between each of these three factors for goals to be
achieved at both the individual and at the team level.
The gap analysis model allowed for determination of SOM's extant needs and assets to be
able to implement the PDP, through analysis of knowledge, motivation, and organizational
needs. The study’s analysis followed the gap analysis methodology described by Clark and Estes
(2008) and first started by measuring SOM's performance goals: successful development of a
PDP for full-time MBA students. Analysis of the gap between the current performance level and
the desired level showed a gap of 100% because although there were some professional
development activities at the SOM, there was no cohesive PDP integrated into the MBA
program. After successfully implementing an appropriate PDP, SOM's performance would be at
100%, relative to this organizational goal.
Clark and Estes (2008) outline the third step in their methodology as identifying the
assumed needs within knowledge, motivation, and organizational categories. These assumed
needs must be enough to close the performance gap. After identifying the assumed needs, the
next step is to test the validity of those needs. Next, and only after SOM's validated needs are
prioritized, solutions to the validated needs would be offered and outcomes evaluated.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 45

Figure 1. Illustration of Key Components of Gap Analysis Framework
To assess the needs, data was collected primarily through a mixed method approach
combining surveys and one-on-one interviews. The survey was distributed to the full faculty of
43 people (29 tenure-track and 14 lecturers). Five follow-up one-on-one interviews were
conducted with three faculty members and two senior administrators. Faculty were selected for
interview based on their current role as the coordinators of academic subject areas, such as
finance or marketing, or their position as Associate Dean. The two other interviews were
conducted with relevant administrators of the Career Development and Graduate Programs
Offices at the SOM. Additional data was collected through document analysis of relevant
materials. This approach ensured the needs were identified and triangulated from multiple
perspectives. All procedures and protocols were submitted for review and approval by the
University of Southern California’s Institutional Review Board, as well as the subject
university’s equivalent review board, as appropriate.
Knowledge and Skills
The gap analysis framework suggests that it is necessary to determine if people know
how to accomplish their goals and have the skills to do so. Assessing this within a study
population can be challenging because people are often unaware of their level of knowledge or
skills. Clark and Estes (2008) recommend interviewing study participants about the skills and
knowledge of others in the study organization to better gain insights into the actual knowledge
Causes Goals
Organizational
Barriers
Knowledge Motivation
Evaluate
Current
Achievement
Gaps
Implement Solutions
Root
Causes

CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 46
issues within an organizational performance problem. They also point to weak communication as
a common cause for knowledge gaps. Knowledge, in the context of this study, was comprised of
the following four elements: factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive (Clark & Estes,
2008).
Motivation
Within the framework, motivation can be more difficult to assess than knowledge or
organizational factors because it is a complex interplay of one’s active choice, persistence in a
task or activity, and the mental effort exerted therein (Clark & Estes, 2008). Motivation is
described as an internal characteristic that influences a person’s choice to engage in an activity,
their commitment and persistence at it, and the mental effort they put into achieving the goal.
Organizational Barriers
The third tenet of the gap analysis framework is to identify organizational structures or
resources that may need to be in place to achieve an expected innovation. In the context of this
innovation study, organizational barriers were described as the physical artifacts at the SOM:
student online learning portal, mock interview equipment, computer labs, student breakout
rooms, or other facilities that are needed to deliver a PDP, for example, and the organizational
design, including processes or procedures, that facilitate successful implementation of a PDP at
the SOM.
Assumed Performance Needs
Performance-related needs within organizations are often assumed by managers and
others while considering an innovation, but these needs are also often not validated. These
presumptions can lead people to often fail to identify real needs. Clark and Estes (2008) support
this contention that without knowing true knowledge, motivation, and organizational needs,
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 47
organizations can make poor choices about how to improve performance. As Rueda (2011) also
points out, there is often a mismatch between organizational improvement solutions and the
underlying problems they were intended to solve, therefore conducting a gap analysis may help
the organization identify appropriate performance tools. Doing so helps prevent problems from
persisting, resource waste, or even harming the organization by applying inappropriate
performance tools. Within the SOM, conducting the gap analysis informs the design of an
innovative PDP challenging and to, ideally, avoid solutions that are possibly incomplete or off
target or, fail to meet the needs of MBA students.
A thorough assessment of SOM's performance included the following three components:
informal scanning interviews with the appropriate stakeholders; assessment of relevant theories
of learning, motivation, and organization/culture; and finally, a literature review about the
specific question under investigation. A review of related literature was included in Chapter
Two. Preliminary scanning interviews and relevant theories of learning, motivation and
organization are discussed below.
Preliminary Scanning Interviews
Preliminary scanning interviews with SOM faculty and administrators in the stakeholder
group were conducted in the beginning phase of this project to give shape to the general areas of
inquiry. Those informal conversations helped inform the initial research question, which was
then more fully explored through a comprehensive literature review that was presented in
Chapter Two. The results of preliminary scanning activities, including the interviews just
mentioned and a review of documents or websites, are discussed below in the knowledge and
skills, motivation, and organizational categories.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 48
Knowledge and skills. As discussed in Chapter Two, the literature identifies multiple
knowledge needs relating to 21st century workforce skills, student development and transitions,
and career development. The starting point of knowledge needs are to understand what
constitutes professional development for 21st century careers. This knowledge is external to the
organization and necessary career readiness attributes of MBA graduates are well documented in
the literature (reviewed in Chapter Two).
Within the SOM, there are several assumed knowledge and skill needs in the areas just
mentioned. Based on preliminary scanning data, the stakeholder groups may need to know what
professional development activities already in place contribute to career readiness of the MBA
students, both in and outside the academic curriculum. Indeed, there are some professional
development activities already in place at the SOM, including etiquette training, mock
interviews, teamwork activities in the curriculum, and more.
Besides having varying levels of knowledge from each other, faculty may need to know
how students develop and change during a professional degree program and there is not much
current evidence of this knowledge. Additionally, administrators have an assumed need to
understand how their interactions with students can contribute to students’ professional
readiness.
Beyond that assumed need, faculty may need knowledge of how students develop and
change during a professional degree program. The implications of this assumed knowledge need
are that if faculty are knowledgeable about how students are actually affected by the degree
earning experience, they may be able to make adjustments to curricular activities specifically for
the purpose of developing professional readiness. Based on preliminary scanning data, some
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 49
faculty already indicated concern for the professional growth of SOM students and proactively
monitored student progress throughout the curriculum.
Skill needs for today’s workforce and related activities at the SOM, as well as student
development processes represent the factual and conceptual knowledge types, respectively, but
there are also assumed needs for procedural and metacognitive knowledge. The stakeholder
groups may need knowledge of how to integrate professional development activities throughout
the student experience, in both curricular and co-curricular settings. This consideration is vital
because the only channels available for delivering a PDP are set in curriculum and co-curricular
settings.
Lastly, both faculty and SOM administrators within the stakeholder group have an
assumed need for an even understanding of how their interactions with students can contribute to
students’ professional readiness. Achieving an even understanding requires the ability to self-
monitor the group and ensure that, collectively, the members maintain adequate knowledge of
the MBA PDP as well as its results and the implications on their various parts of the program.
This step is to become self-monitoring, and a comprehensive PDP must have a mechanism for
self-monitoring.
Motivation. Considering motivation is multifaceted, and there may be differences within
segments of the stakeholder group as well as from individual to individual which contributes to it
being a complex need to assess. As with the assumed knowledge needs, there are fundamental
issues to consider, such as why and how a PDP would be valuable. If the concept of an
innovative PDP has low task value within SOM's stakeholder group, a program may be difficult
to develop. Beyond that, there needs to be an expectancy that such a program would lead to
higher employment rates of MBA students. This particular outcome has benefits to the individual
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 50
graduate as well as the reputation of the institution, and the link between program and outcome
needs to be clear to members of the stakeholder group.
Understanding the link between the PDP and its outcomes is important, and it is also
important that SOM faculty and staff believe they can succeed in implementing such a program.
This principle of collective self-efficacy, believing that one can actually achieve a goal, is
important because people have higher motivation to pursue goals they believe they can achieve
(Ambrose et al., 2010).
If the stakeholder group believes it can achieve development of an innovative program
that will improve employment of SOM MBA graduates, then it is also important the group
believes developing the program depends on effort, rather than ability. Though the understanding
of what constitutes reasonable effort may vary from person to person, the belief that effort yields
results is important to establishing motivation to pursue developing this program. Some members
of the stakeholder group, especially those in the career development center, already feel that
student employment is significantly influenced by their work and they expend considerable effort
in that regard.
As shown in the previous assessments of some of its different components, motivation
can be complicated. While career development staff expend effort, an eagerness to develop
mastery of the concepts and methodologies may also be important. Such a mastery orientation is
helpful for successful implementation and maximal resultant learning from the implementation
of this program.
One area of motivation important to achieving this performance goal is to have clear and
challenging goals related to implementing a PDP. Sometimes academic organizations exhibit
surprisingly low communication on important institutional level issues, which can lead to
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 51
confusion or lack of commitment to achieving those goals. Within this performance goal, it is
assumed that the stakeholder group needs to understand that achieving this goal can lead to
achieving other institutional goals, which would allow different people to be motivated by
different outcomes.
Lastly, within the many components of motivation is affect. Members of the stakeholder
group are assumed to need positive affect about the value of a PDP supplementing the academic
curriculum. The stakeholders are more likely to have motivation for something they find a
positive concept than one they find distasteful or disagreeable.
Organization. Among the organizational assumed needs are to determine what progress
may have already been made toward processes and procedures necessary to develop a PDP. This
assessment creates an opportunity to provide development programming that leverages extant
assets while narrowing the development focus to newly found needs. Within the cultural model
at the SOM, however, another assumed need is a culture of collaboration that promotes
creativity, collaboration, and sharing of knowledge in developing a new program.
In one sign of existing collaboration, initial conversations with members of the
stakeholder group revealed a new course was about to be approved for addition to the
curriculum. This course has since been approved and focuses on job-search skills. This scanning
data suggests a need to know what processes or policies will need to be revised to support
reaching the goal and another assumed need to assess what existing assets may be leveraged to
achieve the innovation goal.
Learning and Motivation Theory
For the purposes of this study, knowledge, motivation, and organizational issues were
decomposed into several appropriate component parts. Knowledge was comprised of four
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 52
subtypes: factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001).
Motivation indicators centered around the three concepts of active choice, persistence, and
mental effort (Clark & Estes, 2008). Organizational barriers considered in this study focused on
cultural models and cultural settings as described by Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001) and
Schein (2004).
Knowledge and Skills. Learning and motivation theory suggests that at the SOM, faculty
and staff members need to know what 21st century skills are developed in our MBA program, in
the curriculum and co-curricular programming. It was important in this research study to identify
and assess prior knowledge of survey and interview participants about how the school already
prepares students, professionally, because prior knowledge affects learning potential and must be
taken into consideration (Ambrose et al., 2010).
Anderson and Krathwohl (2001) describe four levels of knowledge, each progressively
more sophisticated than the previous. These levels: factual, conceptual, procedural, and
metacognitive, provided the framework for assessing the knowledge needs in this innovation
study. At the SOM, there may be different needs and levels of knowledge about professional
development and career readiness within the faculty and within the administrative components of
the stakeholder group for this study.
Factual. Factual knowledge is information or discrete facts that are needed to
successfully implement the innovative professional development model described in this study.
To determine the scope of needs to implement an innovative PDP, assessment of existing
knowledge is critical. The factual knowledge needs suggested by learning and motivation theory
include knowing what professional development is, in both the curricular and co-curricular
settings. Additionally, the theory suggests factual knowledge is needed of the activities already
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 53
being done across the MBA program that may constitute components of a cohesive and
integrated PDP.
Conceptual. Conceptual knowledge is more complex knowledge than factual knowledge
because it centers on complex organizational schema like classifications, models, or
generalizations (Krathwohl, 2002). The conceptual knowledge investigated in this study related
to the interplay between curricular and co-curricular goals for SOM's full-time MBA students. It
is important to know the full concept, even if individual stakeholders’ influence is largely
confined to either curricular or co-curricular settings.
Procedural. How to do things is the primary domain of procedural knowledge. This type
of knowledge retains processes, instructions, and methods, and often draws on factual and
conceptual knowledge (Krathwohl, 2002). Procedural knowledge of interest within this study
focused on how to develop a professional development curriculum, how professional
development activities and a PDP could be delivered most effectively in and outside the
classroom.
Metacognitive. Within the subcategories of knowledge, it is necessary to investigate the
stakeholder group’s metacognitive knowledge, effectively their self-knowledge. Understanding
the stakeholder group’s metacognitive knowledge can reveal knowledge assets that may not have
been discovered earlier and which may help SOM achieve the innovation outlined in this study
(Krathwohl, 2002). It is vital, therefore, that the organization know how to monitor the outcomes
of a PDP and that self-monitoring function be built into the program.
Motivation. It is imperative that, in addition to assessing knowledge needs, the
stakeholder group’s motivation is assessed. Investigating the underlying causes for the three
primary indicators of motivation problems, active choice, persistence, and mental effort (Clark &
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 54
Estes, 2008) inform the study’s recommendation for motivation related solutions necessary to
achieve the increased employment outcomes sought for SOM's full-time MBA students.
Specifically, while investigating motivation needs this study evaluated task value, utility value,
attribution, and self-efficacy.
Learning and motivation theory suggests that active choices are necessary to design
innovative programs or activities to increase student professional development and employment
outcomes of SOM's full-time MBA students. Active choice is considered a critical step in
because it is when to intention becomes action (Clark & Estes, 2008). An underlying cause of a
lack of active choice can be low task value. Understanding of the task value of developing the
PDP can influence stakeholder motivation to develop a comprehensive program. This suggests
an assumed motivational need that stakeholders need to know why and how a PDP would be
valuable. Similarly, utility value is a component of learning and motivation theory that suggests
an assumed need that the stakeholder group needs to believe a PDP would lead to higher
employment rates. This expectancy outcome perspective can be critical to helping motivate the
stakeholder to make an initial choice as well as persisting with actions needed to develop and
implement the PDP under investigation in this study.
A second critical component of motivation is persisting at the task. Learning and
motivation theory suggests that the stakeholders at the SOM will need persistence in pursuit of
implementing a robust PDP for full-time MBA students (Dembo & Seli, 2012). According to
Pintrich (2003), two underlying causes for motivation problems are attribution and self-efficacy
related. Determining critical motivation related success factors for developing a comprehensive
PDP leads to investigation of two assumed needs:
1. Successful implementation of a PDP depends on effort, rather than ability.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 55
2. Close collaboration with administration throughout the MBA lifecycle is an important
component of a potential PDP program.
Likewise, in this study, self-efficacy is also investigated with the assumed need being the effort
faculty contribute to developing a PDP will help the initiative succeed.
The last indicator of motivation needs assessed in this study was mental effort. This
motivational factor will influence what level of effort is needed for SOM, as a collection of
individuals, to achieve successful outcomes within the organizational goals (Clark & Estes,
2008). It also refers to creating or implementing new approaches to a problem, rather than using
“familiar but inadequate solutions” (Clark, 2003, p. 2; Pintrich & Schunk, 2002). The assumed
need that a PDP for full-time MBA students will be a valuable addition to the curriculum helps
test mental effort needs within the motivation area because it reflects a new way of attempting
professional development at the SOM.
Organization. The organizational section of the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis
framework suggests organizational needs related to work processes, material resources,
organizational culture, and organizational change elements. According to Gallimore and
Goldenberg (2001), it is important to evaluate cultural models and cultural settings when
assessing performance issues. In this study, assumed organizational needs that were identified
earlier in this chapter test both organizational models and organizational settings, including the
assumed need for functioning feedback mechanisms to track or monitor student progress in
professional readiness metrics throughout the two-year MBA curriculum.
Summary
A summary of the sources of assumed needs categorized as Knowledge, Motivation, and
Organization is found in Table 2.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 56
Table 2
Summary of Assumed Needs for Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Issues
Assumed Needs and Sources
Knowledge Motivation Organization
Preliminary Scanning Data
Faculty and staff members need to
know what professional readiness
skills are developed in our MBA
program, in the curriculum and co-
curricular programming. (Factual)
Stakeholder needs to understand
the importance of Professional
Development Programming.
Need to assess what possible
progress and existing assets may be
leveraged throughout the
organization to achieve the
innovation of developing a PDP.

Administrators need to understand
how their interactions with students
can contribute to students’
professional readiness. (Conceptual)
Faculty need motivation to
collaborate with administration
throughout the MBA student
lifecycle.
Need a cultural model that promotes
creativity, collaboration, and sharing
of knowledge in developing a new
program.
Stakeholders need to maintain
flexibility to adjust strategies to
accomplish full employment.
(Metacognitive)

Need to know what processes or
policies will need to be revised to
support developing a PDP.
Learning and Motivation Theory
Both faculty and administration
stakeholder groups need to know
how to integrate professional
development activities throughout
the curricular experience.
(Procedural)
Stakeholders need to understand
that success implementing a
professional development program
depends on effort, rather than
ability.
Need functioning feedback
mechanisms to monitor student
progress throughout the MBA
curriculum.
Both faculty and administration
stakeholder groups need to monitor
student professional development
progress during their two years in
the MBA program and make
adjustments to the program.
(Metacognitive)
Stakeholders need to feel positive
about the idea of a professional
development program and that it
would be a valuable supplement to
the academic curriculum.

Stakeholders need to believe that a
professional development program
would lead to higher employment
rates.

Stakeholders need to know why
and how a professional
development program would be
valuable.

CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 57
Table 2, continued
Related Literature
Stakeholder groups needs to be
aware of professional skills needed
for 21st century careers (Datar et al.,
2010). (Factual)

Faculty need to know how students
develop and change during a
professional degree program.
(Factual)

Stakeholders need an organizational
structure that is not restrained by
specialized knowledge, fragmented
campus work, and deterioration of
work into separate silos (Schroeder,
1999; Knefelkamp, 1991).
Faculty need to know how to
incorporate relevant student
development theories into the
coursework in support of
professional development.
(Procedural)

Participating Stakeholders
The stakeholder population for this gap analysis was SOM's 29 tenure-track faculty, 14
lecturers, and two administrators leading graduate programs and career development center staff.
The non-academic personnel contribute to student professional readiness through co-curricular
programs and activities while the academic faculty influence curriculum-based opportunities.
There are, of course, many other important stakeholders for a business school: the students
(current and future), employers, alumni, and the university at large.
With this performance innovation and organizational goal as context, the population
group is all faculty and the non-academic personnel that contribute to student professional
readiness. This stakeholder group is unusual within the typical business school organization
because it combines faculty with student services personnel working in the graduate programs
office, and career development personnel. These groups are typically separate operational units
but were merged in this study due to their intersection of contributions to helping students
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 58
prepare for and find meaningful positions after graduation. The group’s collective view allowed
assessment of the school’s success in training and skill development for its MBA students.
Specifically, the combined study group comprised the entire SOM faculty of 29 people
across various academic disciplines, as well as two senior administrators (executive director of
graduate programs, and director of the career development center). Both the career development
center (CDC) and the graduate programs offices have grown their organizational structure over
the last two years. Both offices report to the executive director of graduate programs.
The CDC currently includes the following positions:
1. Career counselor and manager of employer relations
2. Career counselor and manager of internship programs
3. Associate director, graduate career development center
4. Director, graduate career development center

The graduate programs office has eight positions including
1. Graduate programs assistant
2. Admissions and recruitment specialists (2)
3. Associate director, communications & student services
4. Associate director of graduate programs recruitment
5. Assistant director of recruitment
6. Graduate academic advisor
7. Director, graduate programs

Each of these positions in the graduate programs office reports to the director of graduate
programs, who is the author of the study. In addition to interviewing the CDC director, one other
staff person included in the study group is the executive director of graduate programs, who
oversees both the CDC and the graduate programs office, through their respective directors.
Data Collection
Data about these topics were collected primarily through a mixed method approach
combining surveys, one-on-one interviews, and document analysis. The survey was distributed to
all tenure-track faculty members and the lecturers that teach MBA students. In addition, in-depth
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 59
interviews were conducted with faculty members representing different academic areas at the
SOM, as well as with senior administrators involved with student affairs or career services.
Additional data were collected through document analysis of MBA course syllabi for nine
required MBA courses taught in the 2014-15 school year, and relevant websites. The document
analysis was conducted at the same time as the initial interviews to confirm findings and explore
potential additional areas to explore in remaining interviews.
This multifaceted data collection approach ensured the needs were identified and
triangulated from multiple perspectives. All procedures and protocols were submitted for review
and approval by the University of Southern California’s Institutional Review Board, and the
subject university’s equivalent review board, as appropriate. The full survey and interview
instruments are presented in Appendix C and D, respectively.
Surveys
An online survey of SOM faculty assessed the presumed needs to develop a PDP that will
increase SOM's career outcomes at graduation. The entire faculty population was invited to
participate in the online survey. This group comprised all 27 tenure-track faculty and 14 lecturers
at the time of the survey. Complete responses were provided by 19 of the 27 tenure-track faculty
and two of the lecturers. The survey data captures perspectives of 70% of the tenure-track faculty
and is considered to represent the organization very well because the lecturers are not typically
full-time faculty as directly involved with the MBA program. The survey was developed and
administered from November 2015 to January 2016, before the interviews. The survey measured
essential beliefs around professional development needs enabling SOM to maximize career
readiness of MBA graduates and the results served as context for interviews of selected faculty
and the staff included within this stakeholder group.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 60
The survey instrument comprised six questions with a total of 24 subparts using a four-
segment Likert scale (Fink, 2013). Numerical scales were assigned the following meanings, as
appropriate to each question.
1. Not at all Strongly disagree
2. Little Disagree
3. Somewhat Agree
4. Very much Strongly agree
This survey was conducted online, using Qualtrics, and no personal identification was collected.
Survey data was manipulated using appropriate spreadsheet software and saved in a secure
cloud-based location. The faculty participation invitation and survey instrument can be found in
Appendices B and C, respectively.
Interviews
Survey results were further investigated with individual, semi-structured interviews with
three faculty and two administrators in the stakeholder group. Faculty were invited for interviews
based on their current role as academic subject area coordinators or because the area coordinators
were not available. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with the director of the CDC
and the executive director of graduate programs.
In-depth interviews consisted of approximately 12 inquiry questions and were conducted
with faculty in accounting, management, and marketing, as well as with the director of the CDC
and the executive director of graduate programs to determine where presumed needs are valid
(Merriam, 2009). CDC personnel have considerable responsibility to contribute to students’
professional development as preparation for entering the workforce. The executive director of
graduate programs oversees the CDC and other professional staff with responsibility ranging
from student recruitment and admissions, through to academic advising and, to a lesser extent,
MBA program management. These personnel were selected due to their role guiding or teaching
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 61
MBA students, and their familiarity with professional development within the curriculum and
co-curricular activities. Their interview feedback was critical input in answering this study’s
inquiry questions.
Interviews of approximately one hour were recorded after obtaining permission to record
and all interviewees were over 18 years old. Interviews were conducted in person, in the
interviewee’s regular office without interruption. All interviews were transcribed and notes taken
during the interviews were securely stored. The faculty interview protocol can be found in
Appendix D and administrator interview protocol in Appendix E.
Interviews started with a set of standardized, open-ended questions and the interviewer
pursued more in-depth exploration of responses as needed. Interview questions were developed
on the basis of the assumed knowledge and skill needs, motivation issues, and organizational
barriers, presented in Table 2 earlier in this chapter. Interview responses were categorized by
themes through coding and analysis using HyperResearch. These data were analyzed in
aggregate to provide anonymity.
Document Analysis
Although document analysis had not been expected to be a significant source of data for
this study, it was conducted to determine what professional development expectations the MBA
program set for students and what skills the program sought to develop. Specifically, a review of
MBA core course syllabi, student handbook, the SOM website, and other internal documents
were sought that outline activities related to professional development. In addition, document
analysis was conducted on the MBA program website to determine what professional
development activities were outlined as part of the MBA program.

CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 62
Validation of the Performance Needs
Within this study, surveys, interviews, and document analysis were conducted to jointly
validate the performance needs for SOM to implement an innovative PDP for MBA students.
Table 3 summarizes which instruments helped validate assumed knowledge, motivation, and
organizational needs.
Table 3
Assumed Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Needs
Assumed Knowledge Needs Survey Interview
Document
Analysis
Faculty need to know how students develop and change during
a professional degree program.
X

Stakeholder group needs to be aware of professional skills
needed for 21st century careers.

X

Faculty and staff members need to know what professional
readiness skills are developed in our MBA program, in the
curriculum and co-curricular programming.
X X

Administrators need to understand how their interactions with
students can contribute to students’ professional readiness.

X X
Both faculty and administration stakeholder groups need to
know how to integrate professional development activities
throughout the curricular experience.

X X
Faculty needs to know how to incorporate relevant student
development theories into the coursework in support of
professional development.
X

Stakeholders need to maintain flexibility to adjust strategies to
accomplish full employment.
X X

Both faculty and administration stakeholder groups need to
monitor student professional development progress during their
two years in the MBA program and make adjustments to the
program.

X X
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 63
Table 3, continued
Assumed Motivation Needs Survey Interview
Document
Analysis
Stakeholders need to understand that success implementing a
professional development program depends on effort, rather
than ability.
X X

Stakeholders need to feel positive about the idea of a
professional development program and that it would be a
valuable supplement to the academic curriculum.
X X

Faculty need motivation to collaborate with administration
throughout the MBA student lifecycle.
X X

Stakeholders need to believe that a professional development
program would lead to higher employment rates.
X X

Stakeholders need to know why and how a professional
development program would be valuable.
X X

Stakeholders need to understand the importance of professional
development programming.
X X

Assumed Organizational Needs Survey Interview
Document
Analysis
Need a cultural model that promotes creativity, collaboration,
and sharing of knowledge in developing a new program.
X X

Stakeholders need an organizational structure that is not
restrained by specialized knowledge, fragmented campus work,
and deterioration of work into separate silos (Schroeder, 1999;
Knefelkamp, 1991).

X X
Need to assess what possible progress and existing assets may
be leveraged throughout the organization to achieve the
innovation of developing a PDP.

X X
Need to know what processes or policies will need to be
revised to support developing a PDP.
X X X
Need functioning feedback mechanisms to monitor student
progress throughout the MBA curriculum.

X X

Trustworthiness of Data
Data obtained from the survey were compared with that gained from the interviews and
document analysis to triangulate the correct interpretation of these results. Respondents and
interviewees were assured anonymity and confidentiality as a precursor to their contributions.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 64
Survey instruments were developed based on the work of Krathwohl (2002), Clark and Estes
(2008), and Rueda (2011). A pilot study was not conducted although member checks were
utilized during the interview process to confirm survey results.
Role of Investigator
The author’s role within this study was to determine SOM's needs within the areas and
subareas of knowledge, motivation, and organizational issues, to be able to implement a PDP for
MBA students. The goal is to increase employment rates of MBA students and therefore,
improve organizational performance.
Besides authoring this study, the investigator is employed at university’s SOM as director
of graduate programs. The author collaborates with faculty on enrolled student performance
issues and is considered a direct colleague of the director of career development. Both the author
and the director of career development report to one of the remaining interviewees within the
stakeholder group.
Data Analysis
A mixed methods approach allowed quantitative assessment with validation and further
depth coming from in-depth, qualitative interviews. Although the survey in this study was
distributed to just 41 people, the 22 respondents were mostly from the tenure-track faculty and
represent 70% of that group. Data analysis for the survey results included frequency calculations,
mean, and standard deviation calculations. Interviews were transcribed and coded into salient
themes that aligned with the identified and emerging knowledge, motivation and organization
categories. When there was substantial agreement of survey responses, or when interviews added
weight to the initial survey results, the assumed knowledge, motivation, and organizational needs
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 65
were considered to have been validated or not validated, as dictated by the actual results. There
were no situations where the survey results were significantly contradicted during interviews.
Limitations and Delimitations
This study is designed to describe the needs at the SOM within the context of
implementing a specific innovation and there may be some limitations to this project. First,
extant theories of learning, motivation, student development, and transition seem to not have
been studied specifically with MBA student populations. Secondly, within the survey or
interviews, stakeholders may overstate the extent to which the organization is already preparing
MBA students for 21st century careers. The mixed nature of the stakeholder group also presented
challenges in that faculty and administrators have different motivation for participating and do
not necessarily share the same expectation of providing true and valuable responses. Lastly, there
was a high survey response rate among faculty survey recipients, but due to the small population,
a declined interview invitation of one faculty area coordinator and inability to complete
interview with a second area coordinator limited the ability to triangulate survey and interview
data to arrive at true findings.
In terms of delimitations, the underlying Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis framework
may be of value to other business schools or organizations seeking to implement a new
innovation. There is much literature criticizing and describing weaknesses in MBA program
models, but not as much describing innovative improvements. This study was limited in that it
was specific to extant circumstances at the SOM. It may, however, partially inform leaders at
other business schools about how a PDP can be implemented in a similar context.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 66
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND FINDINGS
The global creative and knowledge economy of the 21st century is different than the
regionally isolated, production-based industrial economy of the mid-1900s. That change has
meant that business leaders of today need a different skill set than did newly minted MBAs of
the 1960s, 1980s, and even more recent periods. To best position MBA students graduating from
the university’s SOM for success in their careers, it is necessary to develop and implement an
innovative PDP that ensures students develop necessary skills for the 21st century workforce.
This study evaluated 20 assumed knowledge, motivation, and organizational needs to be able to
develop and implement such a program and found several validated needs in each of these three
areas.
As described in Chapter Three, assumed needs centered around determining whether
there is requisite knowledge of 21st century skills, motivation to proactively pursue teaching or
developing those skills in the SOM MBA students, and what organizational needs may exist to
promote or inhibit this initiative. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected through
multiple sources to validate the aforementioned assumed needs in this study.
The findings presented in this chapter are organized by assumed need categories
themselves: knowledge, motivation, and organizational. Findings were considered validated
when survey respondents agreed that there was a need, or when survey responses suggested
disagreement and then interview results provided clarification that a need exists. Partially
validated results were less conclusive, or a new interpretation of a need emerged. New findings
also became available and are discussed below. This chapter reviews each knowledge motivation
and organizational needs group separately and synthesizes results at the end of the chapter.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 67
Results and Findings for Knowledge Needs
This section presents a summary of knowledge needs, and is followed by review of
findings for survey, and then interview sources. Knowledge questions comprised 63% of the
total questions on the survey instrument, so assumed needs related to survey results are presented
separately from assumed needs interview findings, though results from both research methods
sometimes intertwined and have been identified in the discussion. Table 4 presents results and
findings for the assumed knowledge needs and is organized by knowledge type.
Table 4
Synthesis of Results and Findings for Knowledge Needs
Assumed Need Result Explanation
Factual Knowledge

Faculty need to know how students
develop and change during a
professional degree program.
Validated Survey: 79% indicated students of different ages were
not accommodated differently, a key element in
adapting to students as they change during a degree.
Faculty and staff members need to
know what professional readiness
skills are developed in our MBA
program, in the curriculum and co-
curricular programming.
Partially
validated
Interview: Staff interviews showed inconsistent
knowledge of what skills are developed within the
curriculum.

Survey: The six selected workforce readiness skills
were tested. Faculty disagreed about how much one of
these skills are developed, while there is more
agreement about the five others.
Stakeholder groups needs to be
aware of professional skills needed
for 21st century careers.
Validated Interview: Administration interviews revealed a general
familiarity with some skills national surveys report, but
no knowledge of skills specifically needed for
employers of SOM graduates. Faculty interviews
indicated a need to consult secondary sources and that
there was limited extant knowledge.
Conceptual Knowledge

Administrators need to understand
how their interactions with students
can contribute to students’
professional readiness.
Partially
validated
Interview: Administrators cited their programmatic
interactions with students as contributions to
professional readiness but were more specifically
focusing on hireability rather than more comprehensive
professional readiness.
Procedural Knowledge

Both faculty and administration
stakeholder groups need to know
how to integrate professional
development activities throughout
the curricular experience.
Validated Interviews: Some faculty include some related activities
in their areas, but all suggested they may not be the
appropriate people to teach the professional skills
evaluated in this study.

CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 68
Table 4, continued
Faculty need to know how to
incorporate relevant student
development theories into the
coursework in support of
professional development.
Partially
validated
Survey: 61% indicated efforts are not taken to
accommodate different types of personal, academic, or
professional transitions students are moving through
during the MBA program.
Metacognitive Knowledge

Stakeholders need to maintain
flexibility to adjust strategies to
accomplish full employment.
Validated Survey: 50% of faculty respondents believe that
students’ concepts of their future careers leads to
adjusting class activities to facilitate their growth in
those directions.

Interviews: Interviewees expressed that some systems
were in place to be able to make changes, but that
convincing humans was the challenge.
Both faculty and administration
stakeholder groups need to monitor
student professional development
progress during their two years in the
MBA program and make
adjustments to the program.
Validated Interviews: Faculty do not usually teach students
throughout the curriculum and are not able to
effectively monitor professional development over time.

Survey Results
The online survey comprised 22 subparts, of which 14 were related to knowledge
attributes. This survey instrument was used to explore assumed knowledge needs: two factual,
one procedural, and one metacognitive. Survey results suggest there is a higher level of
knowledge than had been expected in these the assumed need areas. This section reviews survey
results and is organized by knowledge type: factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive.
Factual knowledge. Developing a successful PDP requires knowledge of the skill sets
considered essential to 21st century careers, as well as knowledge of what students need as they
develop and change during a degree program. This survey investigated two assumed factual
knowledge needs:
1. Faculty need to know how students develop and change during a professional degree
program.
2. Faculty and staff members need to know what professional readiness skills are developed
in our MBA program, in the curriculum and co-curricular programming.

Need validated. Faculty need to know how students develop and change during a
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 69
professional degree program. A key element to adjusting teaching to meet students’
developmental needs as they progress through a degree program is knowing how they change
through that process due to either age or transitions. Survey results indicated 79% strongly
disagreed or disagreed that students of different ages are accommodated differently because they
may have different needs. Additionally, although it also speaks to the use of transition theory in
the classroom, 61% strongly disagreed or disagreed that efforts are taken to accommodate the
different types of personal, academic, or professional transitions students are moving through
during the MBA program. This finding suggests solutions are needed that support increasing
faculty knowledge about student development and student transition theories, so they may more
effectively accommodate increasingly complex student learning challenges in the MBA program,
including professional development.
Need partially validated. Faculty and staff members need to know what professional
readiness skills are developed in our MBA program, in the curriculum and co-curricular
programming. One of the tested 21st century skills with notable findings is international
awareness. It is notable that although international awareness was rated as a 3.05, or
“Somewhat” well developed in the MBA curriculum, there was less agreement among faculty
about how well this skill is developed than all five other tested skills. One way to compare this
amount of disagreement is standard deviation, a measure illustrating the level of agreement or
disagreement among respondents. A high standard deviation of responses indicates wider variety
of responses and less agreement across the respondent population while a low standard deviation
indicates higher agreement within the respondent group. As shown below in Chart 4.1, all other
skills investigated had higher agreement across faculty respondents and had lower standard
deviation of responses. International awareness had the largest standard deviation of 1.00. This
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 70
disparity of responses suggests that at least some of the faculty stakeholder group do not know
how well or how poorly this international awareness is being developed in the MBA program,
and the disagreement partially validates the assumed need. Additional data stemming from
interviews with faculty and with professional staff is reviewed below.
In contrast with international awareness, there was considerable agreement among faculty
about the level of teamwork development, with a low standard deviation of responses, 0.64 also
shown in Chart 4.1. With teamwork as an example skill, the data generally show an even level of
understanding, among faculty, about the extent to which the SOM MBA curriculum develops
21st-century skills. The more consistent agreement across faculty respondents, the stronger the
suggestion that the level of skill development faculty reported could be considered reliable
measurement.
These survey results suggest it may be important to have solutions that establish baseline
professional skill expectations in the MBA program. Additionally, there may be a need to better
communicate existing student learning standards to the community.

CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 71

Figure 2. Level of Disagreement for Each Measured Skill as Shown by Standard Deviation
Expanding on the perceived agreement of how much each tested skill is developed in the
MBA program, survey data also provided insight into how leadership, teamwork, and
international awareness are addressed at the SOM. Regarding leadership, 55% of respondents
said leadership was developed “Not at all” or “Little.” While this skill is perceived to be the least
developed within the MBA program, teamwork is believed to be better developed than all the
other 21st century skills studied. There was agreement among respondents about teamwork, with
18 of 20 respondents assessing that skill as “somewhat” or “very much” developed within the
MBA program.
Teamwork, critical thinking, and international awareness all are considered just over
“somewhat” well developed within the curriculum. As shown in Chart 4.2, these scored much
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 72
higher than leadership, creativity, and communication, which all measured between “little” and
somewhat developed within the curriculum. These results establish an initial estimate of how
much SOM faculty feel these skills are being developed in the curriculum and show there is
inconsistency between different skills. Across this skill set there is room for improvement in how
well they are developed within the MBA curriculum. Assessment of the level of skill
development in co-curricular settings was done through interviews.

Figure 3. Faculty Knowledge About 21st Century Workforce Skill Developed in SOM's MBA
Program
Conceptual knowledge. The assumed conceptual knowledge need in this study,
“Administrators need to understand how their interactions with students can contribute to
students’ professional readiness,” was not investigated in the survey instrument. This assumed
need was investigated through interviews with professional staff in the stakeholder group.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 73
Procedural knowledge. Using the survey instrument, this study evaluated the assumed
procedural knowledge need that faculty need to know how to incorporate relevant student
development theories into the coursework in support of professional development.
Skill development is a process to be executed in the classroom as well as co-curricular
settings. To that end, faculty were asked survey questions around how they incorporate
professional development activities and student development theories into their academic
activities. These questions included asking to what extent they agreed that
● Efforts are taken to accommodate the different types of personal, academic, or
professional transitions students are moving through during the MBA program.
● Efforts are taken by faculty in your academic area to learn how second-year MBA
students’ internship experiences affected their career plans.
● Efforts are taken to help all students find value within the learning goals or activities.
Professional development activities conducted by the administration were explored
through in-depth interviews and is reported later in this chapter.
Need validated. Faculty needs to know how to incorporate relevant student development
theories into the coursework in support of professional development. All respondents agreed or
strongly agreed that efforts are taken to help all students find value within the learning goals or
activities. This strong agreement suggests some use of student development theory in the
classroom, though as shown in the data below, it is possible this has only been applied to
functional or academic activities.
On the survey, 61% of respondents indicated efforts are not taken to accommodate
different types of personal, academic, or professional transitions students are moving through
during the MBA program. Exactly half of respondents indicated that they strongly disagree or
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 74
disagree that efforts are taken to learn how internship experiences affect second-year MBA
students’ career plans. This survey result corresponds to an interview result discussed later in this
chapter which illustrates that students’ internship experiences are not able to be taken into
consideration by faculty teaching elective courses in the second year of the program.
These procedural knowledge findings represent the extent to which student transition and
student development theories are applied to coursework in support of professional development
activities. The faculty’s strong belief in the importance of developing functional skills and
finding value in the academic course content but significantly less action to accommodate
students of different ages or in different career transitions, when taken together, suggest that
solutions may be needed that provide faculty the procedural knowledge to adapt lessons to
students in different stages of the students’ careers.
Metacognitive knowledge. Metacognitive knowledge includes monitoring of progress
toward goals, and making changes if necessary (Marzano & Kendall (Eds.), 2006). In this case of
the SOM improving 21st century workforce readiness of MBA students, the two assumed needs
center around use of self-monitoring techniques as an organization, and maintaining flexibility to
make adjustments to a potential PDP program when necessary.
Need validated. Stakeholders need to maintain flexibility to adjust strategies to
accomplish full employment. Evidence of the need for more flexibility came from multiple
questions. Only 50% of faculty respondents agree or strongly agree that students’ concepts of
their future careers leads to adjusting class activities to facilitate their growth in those directions.
Additionally, while also addressing use of transition theory in the classroom, 61% of respondents
strongly disagreed or disagreed that efforts are taken to accommodate the different types of
personal, academic, or professional transitions students are moving through during the MBA
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 75
program. This finding points to the need for a PDP to have feedback and continuous
improvement components in place to maintain flexibility to make adjustments to the program.
Need validated. Both faculty and administration stakeholder groups need to monitor
student professional development progress during their two years in the MBA program and make
adjustments to the program. Internships are required of all MBA students and many faculty serve
as internship advisors, reading and grading the students’ final reports. Survey results show
faculty are evenly split in their view of whether efforts are taken to learn how second-year MBA
students’ internship experiences affected their career plans. 50% of respondents disagreed or
strongly disagreed with the statement that “efforts are taken by faculty in your academic area to
learn how second-year MBA students’ internship experiences affected their career plans.” The
internship program provides a platform to learn how students changed their career goals as a
result of that internship experience, but if half of the faculty do not gain insight into student
career goals after the internships complete, opportunities to adjust the program may be lost.
While this finding primarily stems from the assumed metacognitive needs to maintain
flexibility and adjust the program based on continuing feedback, it also touches on the other
metacognitive need to monitor student professional development progress. To some extent, it
also complements the conceptual knowledge need for faculty and administrators to understand
how their interactions with students can affect professional development.
This finding suggests solutions that leverage the SOM internship program as a conduit
bridging student professional development through communicating students’ career growth to
faculty teaching second-year courses. Interview findings discussed in the next section also
support the notion that the internship program could more effectively connect student
professional development to the academic curriculum.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 76
Interview Findings
In-depth interviews were conducted with faculty representing three academic areas, as
well as two senior administrators leading the student services and career development areas.
These interviews allowed cross checking of survey results and for additional topics to be
explored. The interviews lasted from 40 minutes to one hour and 12 minutes.
Assumed knowledge needs were explored through questions such as these:
● What skills are not being developed with our current academic program or extracurricular
activities that are necessary for 21st century careers?
● Within your discipline, what professional development activities are needed to support
development of non-academic soft skills in MBA students?
● What would be the most effective ways to deepen professional development skills
acquisition through the curriculum within your discipline?
These questions, and others, were designed to ascertain how much professional skills
development was a purposeful part of the MBA program and students’ current learning
opportunities. The faculty and staff interview protocols are in Appendices D and E, respectively.
Need validated. Stakeholder groups needs to be aware of professional skills needed for
21st century careers. Interviews showed a wide variety of ideas about what skills are required in
the 21st century workforce. When asked what specific professional skills are required in today’s
job market for SOM MBA graduates, there were answers that it all depends on specific contexts
of “where someone is looking for a job, what type of company, what type of function in the
company, for example.” There were also general references to third party publications, like
national surveys of employers, and many interviewees quickly provided skills lists that, while
not exhaustive, included all of the following:
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 77
● Leadership skills ● Character
● Teamwork ● Communication
● Ability to perform at an interview ● Technical skills
● How to motivate others ● Etiquette
● Knowing what specific work
environment looks like
● Ability to negotiate when on the job
● Ability to have a conversation at a
networking event
● Knowing what is type of work ethic
that's expected
Although there were other skills mentioned, these examples show the variety of types as
well as how the skills are thought if. The responses illustrated that these skills are often thought
of not as macro level, transferrable skills, but as narrow skills in the application of a specific
task, such as having a conversation at a networking event actually reflecting the larger skill of
verbal communication, and the still larger family of skills some interviewees referred to simply
as “communication.” Respondents quickly also pointed out the SOM MBA students often lack
these skills, primarily “because they don't have work experience, most of them.” These interview
findings are compatible with survey results showing that when presented with specific skill sets,
respondents are able to assess the degree to which they are developed within the MBA program,
but that there are potentially different interpretations of some terms, such as “international
awareness,” which had a 1.00 standard deviation among responses.
Interviews showed a lack of specific knowledge of SOM employer needs. One
interviewee stated that they would have to consult secondary sources about employer needs if he
wanted to know anything about employer preferences. Another faculty response explained the
lack of knowledge about employer needs by commenting, the CDC has “all the outside contacts”
and that most faculty in that academic area “don't have a huge number of contacts that they have
in industry.”
This lack of contact with employers seemed to translate into a lack of knowledge about
needed skills. According to one interviewee “I don't really have much direct contact with
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 78
employers. So it's not that I meet them, and I talk to them, and they tell me what they're looking
for.” This knowledge gap about what skills are necessary in the 21st century workforce became
evident in the administration as well when an interviewee suggested a particular national survey
that might answer the question of what skills SOM employers are looking for.
This finding that the stakeholder groups need to be aware of 21st century skills is
consistent with the survey finding described earlier in the survey results discussion that there
needs to be more consistent knowledge of 21st century skills among faculty. It also suggests
need for solutions that increase institution-wide knowledge of preferences held nationally and by
employers that hire SOM graduates, or that increase interaction between employers and faculty.
Need validated. Faculty and staff members need to know what professional readiness
skills are developed in our MBA program, in the curriculum and co-curricular programming. The
wide variety of skills mentioned above in the previous finding, and the wide range of specificity
of application illustrate inconsistent knowledge about what skills are needed in the 21st century
workforce, as well as how the current SOM MBA curriculum develops those skills. Interviews
yielded information about skills needed as well as skills developed in SOM curricular and co-
curricular programming. Short-term, job-search skills were provided in response to the question
“how to write an email, how to do a resume” Communication skills were often mentioned as a
need, and more specifically English skills were mentioned, in response to the high international
student ratio at the SOM.
Besides communication skills, teamwork was discussed as an example of a 21st century
skill purposely developed within the curriculum. Teamwork is a significant component of a
required MBA course called “Communications, Leadership, Teams, and Ethics,” Management
404, but was only mentioned specifically by one faculty member and one administrator. None of
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 79
the remaining interviewees specifically mentioned this course, which is provided at the
beginning of the MBA program. This course is specifically focused on helping students with
“self-discovery” related to these 21st century skills, yet the course typically is provided over four
intense days at the start of the program, and it is only a two credit course. That so few
respondents mentioned this course illustrates the need for more knowledge about how SOM
develops some of the 21st century skills.
These interview findings suggest the need for solutions that provides knowledge of how
21st century skill development is conducted at the SOM more broadly throughout the
administration and faculty. The findings were also consistent with survey results, discussed
earlier in the knowledge findings, showing faculty disagreement about how much international
awareness is developed.
Need partially validated. Administrators need to understand how their interactions with
students can contribute to students’ professional readiness. Some administrators cited their
programmatic interactions with students as contributions to professional readiness but were
specifically focusing on hireability rather than more comprehensive professional readiness.
Within the student services area, administrators do not have formal or regular programming with
students that will help them develop 21st century skills and one interviewee stated “I think we
haven't done a good job either on observing that, and how all of their activities relate to finding a
job.”
The last two years of increasing average starting salaries and increasing employment rate
at three months after graduation support the contention that MBA graduates are more prepared to
get jobs than they were in previous years. This is a result of job-search focus within the CDC, but
that focus reduces potential for the CDC to contribute to development of longer-term 21st
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 80
century workforce skills and was well articulated by one interviewee, who said the CDC “should
not be doing anything… that does not relate to meeting that bottom line of getting students
placed and getting them jobs.”
These interview findings are supported by survey results where 61% of faculty indicated
that accommodations are not made for different types of student transitions during the MBA
program. Professional staff members are more well positioned for continuous relationships with
students than faculty, who may only teach students in one or two courses over two years, and
these interview findings illuminate the need for more broad knowledge of the conceptual
connections between job-search skills and workforce readiness, more broadly. They also suggest
that solutions linking student-administrator interactions to professional development could be
valuable.
Need validated. Both faculty and administration stakeholder groups need to know how to
integrate professional development activities throughout the curricular experience. Some faculty
include some related activities in their areas, but many suggested they may not be the appropriate
people to teach professional skills evaluation study in this study. Faculty were direct in their
assessment of how to teach 21st century skills, with comments like, “unfortunately, I cannot
teach you guys the communication skills because that's not my expertise area.” Another response
suggested that faculty may have a motivation issue as well as a knowledge need by commenting,
“faculty are here primarily to teach [functional skills].”
Other assessments of integrating professional development skills into the curricular
experience were equally direct, saying, “I don't do it and I doubt anybody is doing it…. But
specific industry within, I don't think so,” or
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 81
It's possible that everybody thinks that other people are doing it, but eventually nobody
do it because if you will ask somebody, "Do you do it?" It's a kind of rumor. Nobody was
[doing it], but everybody thinks [someone else is].
These results and validated need suggest it may be difficult to separate knowledge needs
from motivation needs, but that solutions able to provide knowledge and increase motivation
may yield results when implemented.
Need validated. Stakeholders need to maintain flexibility to adjust strategies to
accomplish full employment. This assumed need addresses a metacognitive knowledge function
of self-regulation, and approximates a continuous improvement perspective within the
organization. Most interview respondents provided comments directing attention to specific
actions, organizational structures, or policies. One comment however, raised the possibility that
the value of flexibility to make adjustments to the program was unclear when they asked
“Flexibility for what? Why do we need flexibility? Why not be rigid about it?” This comment
was an outlier, but illustrates that the stakeholder group may need training about how flexibility
in program structure can lead to improved outcomes.
Other comments show specific areas about where there is already flexibility that can lead
to adjustments of the PDP, though they make it clear that changes are not necessarily easy:
Anything that we do has to go through the Executive Committee. I don't know. There
seemed to be a lot of checks and balances put into place that before you can make any
change, it always has to get approved by someone, by the faculty, by EC, by some group.
I think what it really requires is to have a better feedback loop through all the
stakeholders that we mentioned, the faculty, staff, students, employers actually, that
should not be left out.”
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 82
Other feedback suggested the annual curriculum review process was sufficient to ensure
ability to adjust the program. These comments are counter to indications received in preliminary
scanning interviews that the curriculum had not been updated in 10 years or more.
The flexibility is already built in, in the sense that the curriculum is not a fixed entity but
it is subject to change and presumed we should change it. The mechanism of how to
change it is there.
The job of the faculty is to review the curriculum. Actually, by our by-laws, every
year, we have to review the curriculum every year and decide if it's still relevant.
Lastly, this assumed need was further validated through survey results that showed 50%
of faculty respondents strongly disagreed or disagreed that students’ concepts of their future
careers leads to adjusting class activities to facilitate their growth in those directions, a sign of
the need for more flexibility to make adjustments at the level of student learning activities.
These findings suggest the need for solutions establishing effective and sustainable
program self-monitoring processes create the opportunity for adjustments. A second aspect of
potential solutions should be to integrate that feedback into the extant curriculum update, or
other appropriate processes.
Need validated. Both faculty and administration stakeholder groups need to monitor
student professional development progress during their two years in the MBA program and make
adjustments to the program. Results from interviews showed a lack of extant monitoring of
student professional development over their two years in the MBA program. Interviewees
described the kinds of things that could or should be monitored, though none confirmed that
monitoring is already taking place.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 83
There's a lot of things that you can measure, but first of all you have to decide what you
think we are measuring.
We can monitor exactly the same way we're monitoring any other progress.
Presumably, most of these soft skills are measured and so presentation skill, all
communication, written communication, negotiation skills, and persuasion skills. You
can probably measure it and see how well people are doing.
Interviews also pointed to a key challenge in monitoring student progress during their
two-year MBA program: faculty do not usually teach students multiple times throughout the
curriculum and are not able to effectively monitor professional development over time.
● But I definitely don't see their development across the program, right? So, I don't really
know how to judge it.
● [After I teach students], some of them I don't ever see again.
This finding suggests a need for solutions that can establish appropriate evaluation
processes, and can provide full lifecycle access to students throughout their development.
Synthesis of Results and Findings for Knowledge Needs
All of the original assumed knowledge needs are either validated or partially validated
based on survey data and / or interview findings. Eight assumed knowledge needs were
originally identified, with five validated, three partially validated, and zero not validated. These
knowledge needs ranged from factual knowledge of what 21st-century skills are, through the
procedural knowledge of how to teach such skills, and metacognitive knowledge of how to
adjust strategies and to monitor student development during the two years of an MBA program.
The findings suggest that knowledge needs about 21st century skills are high across the
organization, that the school can more consistently teach or develop the skills (in and out of the
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 84
curriculum), that they need to be connected with students’ career plans, and that both
motivational and organizational considerations will influence how much these knowledge needs
can be addressed within SOM for the institution to create a PDP to improve employment
outcomes for SOM's full-time MBA students.
Results and Findings for Motivation Needs
The assumed motivation needs identified in Chapter Three were based on expectancy
value theory, which states success requires the belief that a task can be accomplished, and
requires that the individual want to do the task (Wigfield, Eccles, Schiefele, Roeser, &
DavisKean, 2007). Even with this framework, assessing the motivation of stakeholders is
challenging because of variations across different segments of the stakeholder group, such as
different educational backgrounds, expertise areas, and incentives. Assessing motivation is
necessary, however, because motivation needs inform the study’s recommended solutions and
action steps to create a PDP that will increase employment outcomes for SOM MBA students.
Like the knowledge needs, there are motivational issues ranging from the basic to the
highly nuanced. The motivation findings for all assumed motivation needs evaluated in this study
are summarized in Table 5. Table 5 is followed by overviews of survey and interview results.
Because the survey and interview results must be taken together to support and explain the
findings, they are co-mingled in each finding explanation presented later in the chapter, after the
overview of survey and interview results.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 85
Table 5
Synthesis of Results and Findings for Motivation Needs
Assumed Need Result Explanation
Stakeholders need to understand that
success implementing a professional
development program depends on effort,
rather than ability.
Validated Survey results 53% disagreement and 47%
agreement. Interviews showed wide variation in
what respondents felt developing a PDP depends on
most.
Stakeholders need to feel positive about
the idea of a professional development
program and that it would be a valuable
supplement to the academic curriculum.
Partially
validated
In interviews there was less agreement about
whether it belongs in the academic curriculum,
though recent addition of the career development
class is an indication the faculty have debated part of
this and agreed that it could be added to the
curriculum.
Faculty need motivation to collaborate
with administration throughout the MBA
student lifecycle.
Partially
validated
All interviewees agreed there is a need for
collaboration, though there are several different ideas
about what kind of collaboration, when, and how to
do it.
Stakeholders need to believe that a
professional development program would
lead to higher employment rates.
Not Validated 89% of survey respondents agreed or strongly
agreed that a PDP would lead to higher employment
rates. Nearly all interviewees mentioned the specific
benefits of improved employment outcomes.
Stakeholders need to know why and how
a professional development program
would be valuable.
Not Validated 95% of respondents agreed that it is important to
have a PDP and nearly all interviewees mentioned
specific benefits to students or the organization.
Stakeholder needs to understand the
importance of professional development
programming.
Not validated Survey results and interview findings aligned and
showed the stakeholders already does understand the
importance of a potential PDP for MBA students and
for the school.
Current goals in subunits of the
stakeholder groups are not tailored for
developing a PDP providing 21st century
skill development.
New finding Interviews revealed strong goal orientation for the
faculty to publish research and for the career
development center to focus on job-search skills and
strategies, leaving a gap where no unit has goals to
develop 21st century skills in MBA students.
Stakeholders will need high intrinsic
motivation to sustain a PDP after it is
developed.
New finding Interviewees discussed the need for incentives and
extrinsic motivation to stay involved with a PDP on
an ongoing basis.

Overall there is agreement about the utility value of a PDP as most survey respondents
and interviewees felt this concept would lead to improved employment rates for MBA students.
Although there was agreement on the value a PDP holds, interviews showed wide motivational
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 86
variation across the stakeholder groups based on their different types of goals, varying
attributions of what developing a PDP depends on most, different levels of intrinsic value for
faculty, and for some, a greater need for external motivational influences, such as incentives. It is
also notable that the incentives in place for the CDC, tenure-track faculty, and for lecturers are
not just different from group to group, but goals in these groups are not currently aligned to
creating and sustaining a PDP.
These overall motivation findings are further discussed below, first with overviews of
survey results and interview findings, then with discussion of each study finding and the
supporting survey data or interview information.
Survey Results
The online survey included six questions or subparts meant to assess the six assumed
needs evaluated in this study while assessing the four motivation characteristics of task value,
attribution, self-efficacy, and utility value. Respondents indicated rated their degree of agreement
or disagreement on a four point Likert scale. Assumed motivation needs are tabulated in Table 6,
along with descriptive statistics and findings.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 87
Table 6
Results of the Assumed Motivation Needs Survey
Assumed Needs Question Item
Strongly
Disagree Disagree Agree
Strongly
Agree
Stakeholder needs to
understand the importance
of professional
development programming.
It is important to have in place
a cohesive and comprehensive
professional development
program for full-time MBA
students.
0 1 9 9
Need to know why and
how a professional
development program
would be valuable.
A professional development
program for full-time MBA
students will be a valuable
addition to the academic
curriculum.
0 4 11 4
Need to believe that a
professional development
program would lead to
higher employment rates.
A comprehensive professional
development program for full-
time MBA students would lead
to higher employment rates.
0 2 10 7
Need to understand that
success implementing a
professional development
program depends on effort,
rather than ability.
Successful implementation of
a professional development
program depends on effort,
rather than ability.
1 9 9 0
Faculty need motivation to
collaborate with
administration throughout
the MBA student lifecycle.
Close collaboration with
administration throughout the
MBA lifecycle is an important
component of a potential PDP
program.
0 2 11 6
Need to have a mastery
orientation for successful
implementation and
maximal learning from
implementing this program.
The effort I contribute to
developing a professional
development program will
help the initiative succeed.
3 2 14 0

Survey results confirm agreement about the importance (attainment value) of having a
PDP for MBA students, with 95% of faculty agreeing or strongly agreeing that it is important to
have a comprehensive PDP for MBA students, as shown in Table 6. There is somewhat less
agreement about whether it should be part of the academic curriculum, with 79% of faculty
agreeing or strongly agreeing that such a program would be a valuable addition to the academic
curriculum, a result echoed in some of the interview comments and further considered in the
organizational findings. Results further confirmed agreement that a PDP holds high utility value
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 88
due to improving employment outcomes, with 89% of faculty agreeing or strongly agreeing that
a PDP would lead to higher employment rates.
Interview Findings
Interviews corroborated much of what the survey results indicated while also providing
new findings about the different motivational forces in place throughout SOM. They specifically
reconfirmed stakeholders believe that a PDP would hold value for students and be a good
addition to the SOM MBA program.
Tenure-track faculty at the SOM are research activity oriented, and campus incentive
structures related to research productivity and tenure do not seem to provide external motivation
for developing expertise in or teaching 21st century professional skills. Also notable was
indication that there was not widespread intrinsic interest in these skills that would cause most
faculty to be motivated to teach the skills developed in a PDP. One faculty member suggested
the need to outsource training to professionals with specialized expertise as a remedy to that
situation.
Need validated. Stakeholders need to understand that success implementing a PDP
depends on effort, rather than ability. In a somewhat surprising finding, survey results show that
most respondents, 53%, attribute successful development of a PDP to ability more than effort.
This response contrasts with the high self-efficacy shown by most respondents, 74% as shown
earlier in Table 6, who agree that the effort they contribute to developing a PDP will help it
succeed. There is a split here, in that faculty feel their effort can help PDP development succeed
and the indication that existing faculty may not be most suited to teaching 21st-century skills.
When asked what successful development depends on most, interviewees cited
“resources” including money, visionary leadership, and a program champion as various
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 89
cornerstones of successful PDP development. Interestingly, no interviewees said that the project
would depend on effort more than ability, even though several obstacles were mentioned that can
be overcome by effort, such as resistance and cultural barriers.
Also in interviews, faculty stated that they would not be the best choice to teach the 21st
century skills in this study within a PDP because these skills are outside their area. Interviewees
indicated that they stayed well within their expertise area, that there were many reasons
professors were not the best suited for this kind of teaching, and one even suggesting “a
developmental or Ed. psych person would know better than I would.” The following quotes
further illustrated self-efficacy among the faculty:
● Unfortunately, I cannot teach you guys the communication skills because that's not my
expertise area.
● [SOM would] need a co-director for [a PDP] because maybe you need somebody who is
more in the field.
● [A PDP course would need to be co-taught] possible that not one faculty would be able to
teach everything.
Faculty have high confidence in their abilities, and therefore feel they can contribute
meaningfully to developing a PDP. They realize, however, that there may be specialized
instructors for the types of skills covered in a PDP, and who may be more appropriate to teach
the skills than SOM research faculty. Interviewees also do not consistently see a PDP as
something within their locus of control, suggesting that solutions should incorporate faculty into
the design process, regardless of their contribution to teaching in the PDP. These motivation
findings also correlate to organizational findings that are explored later.
Need partially validated. Stakeholders need to feel positive about the idea of a PDP and
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 90
that it would be a valuable supplement to the academic curriculum. As mentioned in survey
results, most respondents (79%) feel that a PDP would be a valuable addition to the academic
curriculum. In interviews, the support was not as strongly conveyed because there was less
agreement about whether it belongs in the academic curriculum or as a co-curricular program.
The recent addition of the Business Career Professional Development Workshop, Management
402, is an indication the faculty have debated related issues of job-search skills and agreed that it
should be added to the curriculum. The Management 402 course is a single academic term, and
one interviewee expressed that something longer may be helpful, suggesting “something
structured that would last virtually from orientation to commencement, or maybe even from
orientation to finding a job; having a continuing development program that would actually be
addressing these skills.”
Much of the commentary centered around increasing student utilization and participation
in a PDP. One interviewee estimates that guest speakers and special events may have a 10%
attendance rate. The quote below represents sentiments echoed by other commentators:
If we want be absolutely sure that all our students are actually taking these courses, then
we need to make it formal part of the curriculum. On the other hand, if we think that our
students are motivated enough, often they can recognize important of these soft skills,
they we will do it on their own. I kind of suspect that given our clientele, we probably
have to incorporate it into the curriculum.
Though there was general agreement that the PDP should be a component of the
academic curriculum, interviewees expressed conservative opinions about whether that was
possible. One interviewee worried about increasing the length of the MBA program, stating, “our
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 91
MBA is already very very heavy [in] credit[s]. I mean, if you will add another unit, it will be
even heavier. Maybe some students are not interested in coming and getting [even more units].”
Referring to the approval process, justification and negotiation emerged as important
issues when one interviewee stated “It's not just that we identify a need, but it also needs to be
justified why it should be part of the curriculum, just for that sake why.” Another study
participant had tried to make a curricular change for professional development in another setting
and said of that experience, “I had hard time to convince my colleagues to actually incorporate it
into the curriculum. So said yeah, I could do it as extracurricular activities, but I thought it is
important enough [to be in the curriculum].”
This partially validated need suggests that during PDP development, the curricular / co-
curricular discussion may be important. Implementation plans and solutions should allow
adequate time to come to a suitable decision with all the relevant stakeholders’ input.
Need partially validated. Faculty need motivation to collaborate with administration
throughout the MBA student lifecycle. All interviewees agreed there is a need for collaboration
and survey results indicated that 89% of respondents believe collaboration is an important
component of a PDP. Interviews revealed there are different ideas about what kind of
collaboration, when, and how to do it. Initial development, through teaching, and evaluation
efforts were all examples of phases with collaboration needs, according to interviewees. In one
instance, an interviewee suggested it was important to have sustained collaboration so a new
PDP would avoid becoming “something that is [not] being assessed or measured.” In additional
confirmation of earlier knowledge findings, one interviewee stated, “the professional [staff]
should educate faculty about what are the [important] soft skills.” This sentiment was applied to
leadership of a PDP initiative in one comment “the director also should be able to communicate
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 92
with the faculty to try to persuade faculty to teach the right things, and of course, you need the
[faculty] consent.”
One specific collaboration area that emerged was a need for significant involvement from
the CDC, possibly using administrators as instructors or co-instructors, as is the case on the
newly implemented Management 402 course, “Business Career Professional Development
Workshop.” In another sign of current collaboration, the CDC uses some career interest surveys
and the center compares their tools with those used by faculty some courses.
This finding suggests acceptance of the need for collaboration. Solutions that provide
opportunities to define types of collaboration, where in the program they fit, and the scope of
effort between faculty and professional staff may be important to develop a PDP.
Need not validated. Stakeholders need to believe that a PDP would lead to higher
employment rates. Interviewees consistently agrees that “A comprehensive professional
development program for full-time MBA students would lead to higher employment rates.”
Although interviewees expect a PDP will result in higher employment outcomes, there was some
level of caution expressed about that expectation because, as one interviewee stated, “we have
multiple issues, not one or two.” The following statements were representative of stakeholders’
beliefs that a comprehensive PDP would lead to higher employment rates:
The outcome is that our students, our graduates will be more professionals in the sense
that then when they're going for the interview, they will conduct themselves in a
professional manner. They will get better jobs. People will think that, indeed, we are
providing good products.
Having students sort of develop more introspective skills that when they go to, for
example, a job interview or are out on the job, they can be more professional, can ask
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 93
better questions or answer questions in better way, to understand how that environment
works and how would they fit in it
This interview finding is consistent with 89% of survey respondents indicating they
believe a comprehensive PDP would lead to higher employment rates. Stakeholder beliefs that
align with the assumed need lead to not validating the need.
Need not validated. Stakeholders need to know why and how a PDP would be valuable.
Nearly all interviewees demonstrated knowledge of how and why a PDP would be valuable
through mention of specific benefits like improved employment outcomes and career
enhancement. Likewise, 89% of survey respondents indicated that a comprehensive PDP would
lead to higher employment outcomes. Supporting interview comments included “for a vast
majority [of our students], I think a lot of those skills will serve not only to find a first job, but
for the rest of their careers.” Some Interviewees also identified more subtle benefits to the
school, including getting “a better pool of [MBA program] applicants” or improving relations
with employers because students will be more prepared job candidates. Interviews confirmed a
similar result found through surveys with 95% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing that
it is important to have in place a cohesive and comprehensive PDP for full-time MBA students.
As with the previous assumed need, the stakeholder group has an understanding of why a PDP
would be valuable and this need is not validated.
Need not validated. Stakeholders need to understand the importance of professional
development programming. There is strong agreement among faculty and staff stakeholder
groups in both interview findings and survey results about the attainment value and importance
of having such a PDP program for MBA students at the SOM. In the survey, 95% of respondents
indicated they believe having a comprehensive PDP in place is important. Interviewees
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 94
elaborated and considered a PDP important because “it would hopefully help our placement
record and particularly that's important to place people in the US as opposed to outside of the US
because then that's what's reflected in the business rankings.” The high levels of agreement about
the attainment value of developing a PDP suggest a receptive environment within which to
design the program. Other statements illustrated the high value this way “our graduates will be
more professionals in the sense that then when they're going for the interview, they will conduct
themselves in a professional manner. They will get better jobs, people will think that indeed we
are providing good products;” and that an increased placement record would help us in the US
News & World Report rankings.
These interview findings and survey results mentioned in earlier discussions of findings
show the stakeholder groups do understand the importance of a PDP, and therefore the assumed
need is not validated. Both stakeholder groups also know how and why a PDP would be
valuable, rendering that assumed need not validated as well. In case of both needs, the high
utility value and attainment value placed on a PDP by study participants is a motivation asset that
will influence proposed solutions in chapter five.
New finding. Current goals in subunits of the stakeholder groups are not tailored for
developing a PDP providing 21st century skill development. Interviewees mentioned different
goals between faculty and staff, as well as with faculty of different tenure levels or categories
within the organization, and these goals do not necessarily align across the organization or even
within subunits. One interviewee explained that professional development could be viewed by
one unit as important, while another has goals related to specific employment outcomes that do
not necessarily also include professional development. Faculty largely acknowledged goals
revolving around research productivity with one respondent saying, “I can't blame a professor
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 95
who is spending all his time doing research because that's his incentive. His incentive is
completely clearly defined. It's basically research, research, and research.” No faculty
interviewees disclosed goals relating to learning or placement outcomes of MBA students,
though one did suggest having “a professional development advisor...that's not just helping you
sort through the course work but helping you chart your career plan.”
Interviews also found that faculty are mostly goal oriented, but suggested there may be
some tenured faculty whose goals may not go beyond fulfilling the minimum teaching load. The
implication was there might be pockets of apathy toward new initiatives such as the PDP. That
apathy seemed to be an anomaly, but there was also limited confirmation from other interview
when one person stated “for faculty what's measured is research, teaching second. And really,
remotely third is service.” Another interviewee stated “research becomes such a parameter and
you aren't on any other dimension. See, everybody responds to their incentives.” These
comments were not universally presented in interviews, but may not be completely unexpected
in a university with an emphasis on research.
New finding. Stakeholders will need high intrinsic motivation to sustain a PDP after it is
developed. As previously discussed, survey respondents widely agreed that a PDP is valuable
and that the effort they contribute to it can help it succeed. That said, utility value seems
important in this initiative because most interviewees suggested faculty needed additional
extrinsic motivation or incentives to embrace developing a PDP program for MBA students. One
respondent suggested the need for a personal “reward” for being involved. Another spoke about
the value of a PDP potentially helping the MBA program become ranked, another form of
extrinsic motivation due to the perceived attainment value of a ranking.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 96
The suggested needs for extrinsic motivation suggest that support for a PDP might
diminish if external rewards were removed. While external rewards may create initial
motivation, ensuring sustainability of a PDP may require higher levels of intrinsic motivation
among faculty and administration stakeholders that are involved. Some faculty interviewees
found the topic of student professional development interesting because it has stronger
connection to their academic discipline.
Partly due to the disparate goals about research already discussed in this chapter, high
intrinsic motivation may be necessary to sustain faculty PDP contributions when the incentive
and reward structure is not aligned for service contribution from research faculty. As a
motivation finding this is important to the potential PDP, but it also suggests an organizational
consideration about staffing strategy, which will be discussed in the organizational section of this
chapter.
Synthesis of Results and Findings for Motivation Needs
There was considerable alignment between survey and interview findings, with
stakeholders believing development of a PDP program would hold value for students and the
school. Half of the assumed motivation needs measured in this study were not validated,
meaning that the stakeholders already have met the needs in these motivational areas, and
motivational assets may exist. There were two new findings that emerged, and of the new
findings, partially or fully validated needs, the biggest need is for stakeholders to have sufficient
intrinsic motivation to overcome different goals, resistance, and other barriers inhibiting
development of a PDP.
Overall, many of the motivational considerations were not limitations but reflected
organizational factors affecting a potential PDP. The areas where stakeholders disagreed from
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 97
one another most were related more to the organizational location and home for a PDP program,
rather than its value, importance, or benefit. Their feedback about the organizational needs for a
PDP program will be explored further in the in the next section.
Results and Findings for Organization Needs
The third area under study in this research was organizational factors. As shown in
preceding sections, some of the knowledge and motivation findings suggest some organizational
considerations or possible needs. The following five assumed organizational needs were
explored through this research:
● Need a cultural model that promotes creativity, collaboration, and sharing of knowledge
in developing a new program.
● Stakeholders need an organizational structure that is not restrained by specialized
knowledge, fragmented campus work, and deterioration of work into separate silos
(Schroeder, 1999; Knefelkamp, 1991).
● Need to assess what possible progress and existing assets may be leveraged throughout
the organization to achieve the innovation of developing a PDP.
● Need to know what processes or policies will need to be revised to support developing a
PDP.
● Need functioning feedback mechanisms to monitor student progress throughout the MBA
curriculum.
Findings from surveys and interviews alike suggest that a culture of collaboration is
necessary to successfully develop a PDP. This culture was said to be required of the leaders of a
PDP initiative, and on a continuous basis for sustaining such a program.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 98
SOM faculty suggested in interviews that the primary policy to modify is the curriculum
itself through the required annual curriculum review process. The MBA curriculum has not been
updated in about 10 years, calling into question the usefulness of this suggested organizational
component it its current format. Recently, however, a new course focused on job-search skills
was added to the required curriculum (Business Career Professional Development Workshop,
Management 402). This course was initiated by the administration before debate and approval of
the faculty. The course addition suggests there may be more opportunity for more collaboration
than the surveys and interviews suggest previously existed.
The findings for all assumed organizational needs evaluated in this study are summarized
in Table 7, which is followed by an overview of survey and interview results. The survey had
two questions and meant to inform the assumed organizational needs evaluated in this study and
the information gained from surveys and interviews lead to several combined findings. Because
the survey and interview results must be taken together to support and explain the findings, they
will be co-mingled in explanation for each of the findings presented later in the chapter.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 99
Table 7
Synthesis of Results and Findings for Organizational Needs
Assumed Need Result Explanation
Need a cultural model that promotes
creativity, collaboration, and sharing
of knowledge in developing a new
program.
Validated Surveys: 63% of respondents indicated there is not
currently a culture of collaboration between faculty and
administration.

Interviews: No respondents indicated that this culture
already exists at the SOM, though there were a few
examples and a seeming willingness to engage in
collaborative activities.
Stakeholders need an organizational
structure that is not restrained by
specialized knowledge, fragmented
campus work, and deterioration of
work into separate silos (Schroeder,
1999; Knefelkamp, 1991).
Validated Interviews: Interviews showed that stakeholders are
cognizant of the need for expertise, which may lead to
specialization. Interviewees also expressed support for
exchange of ideas or feedback, while embracing co-
teaching or co-director positions for a potential PDP
program.
Need to assess what possible
progress and existing assets may be
leveraged throughout the
organization to achieve the
innovation of developing a PDP.
Partially
validated
Surveys: 82% of respondents indicate that SOM does not
already have the processes or policies in place to develop
a PDP.

Interviews: Several assets exist across the curriculum and
organizational structure, but the assets identified
represent an incomplete inventory.

Document analysis: Implementation of career
development course with job-search focus.
Need to know what processes or
policies will need to be revised to
support developing a PDP.
Partially
validated
Interviews: The curriculum is required to undergo an
annual review and therefore is an existing procedure to
launch a PDP. Interviews did not lead to discovery of any
other existing procedures or policies that may need to be
created or revised and it seems that reflects a knowledge
gap among the interviewees.
Need functioning feedback
mechanisms to monitor student
progress throughout the MBA
curriculum.
Validated Surveys: 82% of respondents indicate that SOM does not
already have the processes or policies in place to develop
a PDP.

Survey Results
To investigate the extant policies, procedures, and culture needed to develop a PDP,
SOM's organizational setting and organizational model were assessed briefly on the survey and
explored more through interviews. The assumed organizational needs investigated in the survey
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 100
were primarily around having the necessary policies and processes, as well as the supportive
culture needed to develop a PDP. Assumed needs were investigated with respondents providing
their agreement or disagreement with the questions in Table 8 by using the four-part Likert scale
shown.
Table 8
Results of Assumed Organizational Needs Survey
Assumed Needs Question Item
Strongly
Disagree Disagree Agree
Strongly
Agree
Need a cultural model that
promotes creativity,
collaboration, and sharing
of knowledge in
developing a new program.
Faculty and administration
currently share a culture of
collaboration.
4 8 6 1
Need to know what
processes or policies will
need to be revised to
support developing a PDP.
SOM already has the processes
or policies needed to develop a
professional readiness program
for MBA students.
1 13 3 0

Interview Findings
Interviews investigated the assumed organizational needs listed in Table 8 and allowed
survey results to be explored more. Interviews were the primary method for investigation of the
following additional assumed organizational needs:
● Stakeholders need an organizational structure that is not restrained by specialized
knowledge, fragmented campus work, and deterioration of work into separate silos
(Schroeder, 1999; Knefelkamp, 1991).
● Need to assess what possible progress and existing assets may be leveraged throughout
the organization to achieve the innovation of developing a PDP.
● Need functioning feedback mechanisms to monitor student progress throughout the MBA
curriculum.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 101
Lastly, a document analysis provided data about policies, procedures, courses, and feedback
mechanisms.
Need validated. Need a cultural model that promotes creativity, collaboration, and
sharing of knowledge in developing a new program. Over half (63%) of survey respondents
strongly disagreed or disagreed that faculty and administration currently share a culture of
collaboration, which contrasts earlier discussions about motivation where 89% of faculty survey
respondents indicated that close collaboration with administration throughout the MBA lifecycle
is an important component of any PDP program. No interviewees indicated that this culture
already exists at the SOM, though there were a few examples of collaboration and a seeming
willingness on the part of interviewees to engage in collaborative activities related to
development of a PDP, or broadly, to foster a positive environment. The dichotomy of survey
results illustrates awareness of the value of a culture that supports collaboration and sharing, but
the survey and interview results pointedly illustrate the assumed need is valid.
In interviews, the assumed need for a collaborative and sharing culture was also made
especially evident when an interviewee spoke about teaching 21st century skills and stated “It's
possible that everybody thinks that other people are doing it, but [maybe] nobody does it.” This
could lead to educational gaps going unnoticed.
Interviewee comments such as those listed below also suggest there are underlying
cultural issues that could emerge as resistance to developing a PDP.
● “It is very difficult to get a buy in from most of the professors.”
● Get “the faculty who are open to this idea for actually developing a professional
development theme. Your work from then on is relatively easy.”
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 102
● “If you have, let's say buy in from staff and not faculty, or... Then it's not going to go far,
or the other way around.”
These comments reflect organizational needs in the cultural model, and can they also
have an impact on motivation, specifically self-efficacy.
From the leadership of a PDP initiative to the ongoing execution of a program, close
collaboration is vital, but it may not be easy in the apparent culture. Commenting about
leadership needs, one interviewee noted that it is important to be able to “persuade faculty that
it's okay to replace one account of my class with some soft skills.” Another commented that “you
need leadership which can actually persuade faculty to go along with some changes.” These
comments suggest the need for a more collaborative and sharing culture at the SOM.
Operating the PDP on a continuous basis after creation also requires close collaboration
and sharing of knowledge. One interviewee stated “I think what we need is actually stronger
[staff] collaboration with faculty,” and also “to bring in skills and the shared expertise, definitely
faculty could be very viable contributor[s] there.”
Although the needed culture does not exist, new collaboration has begun this year when
SOM began the first school-wide strategic planning process in over five years. The strategic
planning process has been, in itself, a collaborative process involving many stakeholder groups,
including those in this study. The highly collaborative strategic planning process are positive
signs of more collaboration and sharing and according to documents from the planning
committee, collaboration was one of the highest ranking shared values emerging from the
discovery work.
Need validated. Stakeholders need an organizational structure that is not restrained by
specialized knowledge, fragmented campus work, and deterioration of work into separate silos
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 103
(Schroeder, 1999; Knefelkamp, 1991). Interviews showed that stakeholders are cognizant of the
need for expertise, which may lead to specialization, yet they also expressed support for
exchange of ideas or feedback, while embracing co-teaching or co-director positions for a
potential PDP program.
An interviewee expressed concern about the current organizational structure by stating,
“going small first is probably what will work better, especially because we don’t have a huge
amount of manpower.” The lack of bandwidth was suggested as a limitation on the ability to
monitor the program but has also been expressed in other contexts, including leading
responsibilities, teaching duties, and subject matter expertise.
Besides the 79% of survey respondents saying they agree or strongly agree that a PDP
would be a valuable addition to the academic curriculum, interview feedback almost universally
pointed to reasons it should be organizationally housed in the curriculum. Some reasons for this
structure included attendance:
If it's just co-curricular and you should attend, that's how we actually run most of our, at
least for the last two years or three years, run most of the activities at the career
development center. So we have probably less than 10% attendance rate.
Assurance of compliance was another reason to require the PDP in the curriculum:
If we want be absolutely sure that all our students are actually taking these courses, then
we need to make it formal part of the curriculum. On the other hand, if we think that our
students are motivated enough, often they can recognize important of these soft skills,
they we will do it on their own. I kind of suspect that… we probably have to incorporate
it into the curriculum.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 104
One investment in professional skill development was made when, in January 2016, a
two credit, one semester course focusing on job-search preparation was added to the MBA
program (MGT 402, Business Career Professional Development Workshop). This course is
evidence that faculty and administration have worked beyond their silos and that professional
development activities have been added to the curriculum formally.
An interviewee presented a dissenting opinion about making a PDP part of a curriculum
requirement, which was based on tapping into students’ self-interest and motivation. Specifically
saying, “it has to be something where I feel like it's more intrinsically motivated, as opposed to
something that's more of a compliance measure.” Although it aligns with motivational theory
described in Chapter Two, this perspective was not shared by other interviewees.
Need partially validated. Need to assess what possible progress and existing assets may
be leveraged throughout the organization to achieve the innovation of developing a PDP. Most
(82%) survey respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement that “[SOM]
already has the processes or policies needed to develop a PDP for MBA students.” Although
there may be many new parts needed for a PDP, several parts program exist throughout SOM
and the MBA program, including curricular components, extracurricular activities, and
opportunities to practice 21st century skills in different settings. The main assets are described
next.
The Management 404 course, “Communication, Leadership, Teams, and Ethics,”
includes considerable personal growth and development opportunity. In exploring the subjects of
this course, students are guided through internal assessments, practical developmental exercises,
and are exposed to several feedback opportunities.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 105
Although MGT 404 has been part of the curriculum for many years, the newly approved
course “Business Career Professional Development Workshop,” Management 402, focuses on
the short-term aspects of job-search strategies. The course description shows it lacks significant
focus on longer-term professional skills beyond those used in the internship or job-search, but
the course does provide students opportunities to use some 21st century skills in a professional
job-search setting.
Another asset involving the CDC is the MBA program required internship in which
faculty members can serve as advisors for student papers, though many faculty require different
content in the final papers. Discussed earlier in this chapter, interviews suggest this is an area for
organizational improvement because there is not currently any particular focus on 21st century
skill development. Recent efforts to improve the internship program have focused on efficiency
and better matching of students with employers.
Need partially validated. Need to know what processes or policies will need to be revised
to support developing a PDP. As mentioned in the preceding discussion, most survey
respondents indicate that SOM does not currently have the processes or policies needed to
develop a PDP, suggesting the need to create new processes or policies as well as revising extant
policies. Interviews primarily pointed to the required annual curriculum review as an existing
procedure to launch and maintain a PDP as a curricular requirement. Interviewees also
mentioned potential process or policy changes like potentially testing students’ professional skill
progress (not currently done), changing admissions standards to enroll stronger students, or the
potential creation of a job category called Lecturer with Stability of Employment (LSOE).
Specific suggestions included having “a better feedback loop through all the stakeholders
that we mentioned, the faculty, staff, students, employers” for metacognitive monitoring, and in
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 106
support of students’ conceptual knowledge learning and “tailoring the content to the general
interest of the students in the classroom based on industry, for example.” With respect to the
kinds of skills taught in Management 404, “Communication, Leadership, Teams, and Ethics,”
one interviewee suggested a change in process by delivering the knowledge “not in a capsule
over four days, [but] teaching it over a whole quarter, or maybe actually even teaching it over
two-quarters so students can have actually more time for self-reflection and so on.”
The Management 404 course is one area for improving feedback, and the internship
program is another. Besides data from interviews, document analysis shows active work is
underway to strengthen processes and procedures supporting the internship program, which is
discussed more in the next validated need section.
This need to know what policies or processes need revision is partially validated because
survey respondents were clear in their assessment that the policies and processes are not all in
place, but the several examples of policies or processes to possibly change shows knowledge of
several to potentially consider for change. The examples do not necessarily present a complete
set of processes or procedures that may need to be reviewed, and discovery of the full set
represents a possible area for additional inquiry.
Need validated. Need functioning feedback mechanisms to monitor student progress
throughout the MBA curriculum. Academic terms at the university are 10 weeks long and most
faculty teach students only one or two times during the student’s academic experience over two
years. This teaching model and curriculum structure does not provide opportunity for faculty to
observe student growth and change over time. Illustrative comments from interviewees include
● I definitely don't see their development across the program
● I really just see them in the beginning [of the MBA program]
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 107
One of the challenges developing a two-year PDP is bandwidth. One faculty member
recommended checking in with students after their first year as a follow-up to their early
coursework, stating, “Well, now, that you've been through a whole year, let's check in, and kind
of see where you can go from here.”
Lastly, the required internship is an asset to the MBA program that could be leveraged to
help provide monitoring of student progress. According to one interviewee, the internship
program is “not quite teaching the soft skills, but at least the students are exposed to work
environment.” Faculty feedback about the internship program specifically highlighted knowledge
gaps, and as a process, an organizational gap that could be leading to a learning gap. An
interviewee indicated as much by saying, “I don't know what kind of feedback they get from the
employer. I get the paper that they write, and I seldom see some really insightful comment about
what are the skills that are required.” Another indicated this program could be more effective
than it currently is, stating, “sometimes I feel like the papers at the end are a bit more done as a
bureaucratic measure than to really integrate kind of the learning that they've achieved from both
the coursework and the internship itself.” This possibility also creates concerns due to capacity
because “certain faculty get more students than others, which can prevent the ability to invest the
time in [student feedback].”
Synthesis of Results and Findings for Organization Needs
While the initial assumed organizational needs for SOM revolved around needs for
additional collaboration and a cultural model in support of the creation of a PDP, this study
suggests existence of several potential PDP components and a recent shift in the collaborative
culture. In addition to the organizational assets and needs already in place, the interview and
survey findings provided information that supports the PDP design process. A major
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 108
organizational need to develop a PDP is to align the organizational structure and incentives to
support that goal. Changing these incentives may be necessary to broaden focus and goals so
there can be increased development of 21st century skills and improved employment outcomes.
Summary
Through extensive review of the assumed knowledge needs, all assumed needs were
validated or partially validated. Half of the assumed motivation needs were not validated, while
the rest were validated or partially validated, and there were two new findings. Many of the
validated knowledge and motivation needs also pointed to organizational needs. Like the
motivation needs, all assumed organizational needs were validated or partially validated. Table 9
summarizes the validated knowledge, motivation, and organizational needs.
Table 9
Validated and Partially Validated Needs, Grouped by Gap Analysis Category
Validated Needs by Gap Analysis Category
KNOWLEDGE
Faculty need to know how students develop and change during a professional degree program. (V)

Faculty and staff members need to know what professional readiness skills are developed in our MBA program,
in the curriculum and co-curricular programming. (PV)

Stakeholder groups needs to be aware of professional skills needed for 21st century careers. (V)

Administrators need to understand how their interactions with students can contribute to students’ professional
readiness. (PV)

Both faculty and administration stakeholder groups need to know how to integrate professional development
activities throughout the curricular experience. (V)

Faculty need to know how to incorporate relevant student development theories into the coursework in support of
professional development. (PV)

Stakeholders need to maintain flexibility to adjust strategies to accomplish full employment. (V)

Both faculty and administration stakeholder groups need to monitor student professional development progress
during their two years in the MBA program and make adjustments to the program. (V)
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 109
Table 9, continued
MOTIVATION
Stakeholders need to understand that success implementing a professional development program depends on
effort, rather than ability. (V)

Stakeholders need to feel positive about the idea of a professional development program and that it would be a
valuable supplement to the academic curriculum. (PV)

Faculty need motivation to collaborate with administration throughout the MBA student lifecycle. (PV)
Current goals in subunits of the stakeholder groups are not tailored for developing a PDP providing 21st century
skill development. (NEW FINDING)
Stakeholders will need high intrinsic motivation to sustain a PDP after it is developed. (NEW FINDING)
ORGANIZATION
Need a cultural model that promotes creativity, collaboration, and sharing of knowledge in developing a new
program. (V)

Stakeholders need an organizational structure that is not restrained by specialized knowledge, fragmented campus
work, and deterioration of work into separate silos (Schroeder, 1999; Knefelkamp, 1991). (V)

Need to assess what possible progress and existing assets may be leveraged throughout the organization to
achieve the innovation of developing a PDP. (PV)

Need to know what processes or policies will need to be revised to support developing a PDP. (PV)
Need functioning feedback mechanisms to monitor student progress throughout the MBA curriculum. (V)

The specific needs discussed in this chapter suggest that developing and implementing a
PDP program will need solutions that rely heavily on organizational components that support
provision of knowledge or providing and sustaining motivation. Specifically, knowledge
solutions will need to address the uneven factual knowledge about 21st century skills, and
procedural knowledge gaps about how to teach those skills in curricular and co-curricular
settings. Solutions will also have to address conceptual knowledge needs about connecting 21st
century skill training to students’ future career goals. Solutions addressing the validated
metacognitive knowledge needs will have to address self-monitoring and flexibility to adjust
strategies within a PDP program. The solutions for motivation needs should leverage the high
utility value and importance stakeholders place on a PDP, while addressing the gaps in intrinsic
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 110
motivation and in goals between existing faculty and professional staff units. In solutions
addressing the organizational needs, leveraging the recent collaborative culture will be important
to establish an environment where a comprehensive PDP program helps students thrive.
Solutions responding to other organizational needs will specifically need to provide feedback
mechanisms, flexibility, and monitoring of student progress. Lastly, the interaction between
knowledge, motivation, and organizational needs is high and possible solutions will necessarily
integrate or address multiple needs. Comprehensive and integrated potential solutions will be
discussed in chapter five.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 111
CHAPTER FIVE: SOLUTIONS, IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION
As discussed in Chapter Two, the literature suggests the current MBA model is growing
out of touch with employer needs. The SOM offers a traditional, two-year MBA program and
there is a disconnect between the 21st-century skills employers are seeking and what the MBA
program is producing as indicated by employment rates and average starting salaries at
graduation. SOM aspires to higher employment rates and starting salaries for new graduates of
this program.
The goal for this needs analysis is by September 2017 to develop a PDP that will help
establish or refine skills considered essential in the 21st century economy, including many or all
of those assessed in this study: communication, creativity, critical thinking, international
awareness, leadership, and teamwork. Over time, the PDP would lead to higher employment
rates and starting salaries because potential employers will recognize SOM MBA graduates are
appropriately and competitively prepared in these key areas for employment in the new
economy. The PDP would last the entire two years of the MBA program and include
contributions from and collaboration between faculty and selected staff members.
A total of 21 assumed knowledge, motivation and organizational needs were identified
that were thought to be necessary to achieve development of an innovative PDP. Chapter four
validated 9 and partially validated 7 of the 21 assumed needs while also identifying two new
needs. Table 10 breaks these findings out by assumed need area. These validated and new needs
are interconnected, which permits solutions to address multiple needs. This chapter discusses
proposed solutions and provides an overview of implementation and evaluation plans. Detailed
implementation and evaluation plans are provided in Appendix G and Appendix H, respectively.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 112
Table 10
Summary of Validated Assumed Needs by Need Area
Assumed Need
Area
Validated Partially
Validated
Not Validated New Findings
Knowledge 5 3
Motivation 1 2 3 2
Organization 3 2

Most of the validated needs to be able to develop a PDP, as well as the new findings
identified in the previous chapter center on
1. A knowledge gap about workforce readiness skills for the 21st century.
2. Motivational issues related to the potential delivery of this skill training program.
3. An organizational culture that would benefit from more collaboration between faculty
and the administration.
4. A need for an organizational alignment and processes that are suited to conducting a
PDP.
The following section identifies the validated needs specifically and provides a rationale
for which validated needs will be addressed in the remaining sections of this chapter. In the case
of completing a full gap analysis, all validated needs would be addressed. In this study, the most
significant validated needs have been selected and solutions have been recommended. Those
solutions are then described and an evaluation plan is recommended.
Validated Needs Selection and Rationale
The study’s survey data and / or interviews confirmed that knowledge, motivation, and
organizational needs and assets exist. The data validated or partially validated 16 assumed needs
while leading to discovery of two new findings, which were detailed in chapter four. The
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 113
validated (V) or partially validated (PV) needs and new findings are listed by gap analysis
category below in Table 11.
Table 11
Validated and Partially Validated Needs, Grouped by Gap Analysis Category
Validated Needs by Gap Analysis Category
KNOWLEDGE
Faculty need to know how students develop and change during a professional degree program. (V)

Faculty and staff members need to know what professional readiness skills are developed in our MBA program,
in the curriculum and co-curricular programming. (PV)

Stakeholder groups needs to be aware of professional skills needed for 21st century careers. (V)

Administrators need to understand how their interactions with students can contribute to students’ professional
readiness. (PV)

Both faculty and administration stakeholder groups need to know how to integrate professional development
activities throughout the curricular experience. (V)

Faculty need to know how to incorporate relevant student development theories into the coursework in support of
professional development. (PV)

Stakeholders need to maintain flexibility to adjust strategies to accomplish full employment. (V)

Both faculty and administration stakeholder groups need to monitor student professional development progress
during their two years in the MBA program and make adjustments to the program. (V)
MOTIVATION
Stakeholders need to understand that success implementing a professional development program depends on
effort, rather than ability. (V)

Stakeholders need to feel positive about the idea of a professional development program and that it would be a
valuable supplement to the academic curriculum. (PV)

Faculty need motivation to collaborate with administration throughout the MBA student lifecycle. (PV)
Current goals in subunits of the stakeholder groups are not tailored for developing a PDP providing 21st century
skill development. (NEW FINDING)
Stakeholders will need high intrinsic motivation to sustain a PDP after it is developed. (NEW FINDING)
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 114
Table 11, continued
ORGANIZATION
Need a cultural model that promotes creativity, collaboration, and sharing of knowledge in developing a new
program. (V)

Stakeholders need an organizational structure that is not restrained by specialized knowledge, fragmented campus
work, and deterioration of work into separate silos (Schroeder, 1999; Knefelkamp, 1991). (V)

Need to assess what possible progress and existing assets may be leveraged throughout the organization to
achieve the innovation of developing a PDP. (PV)

Need to know what processes or policies will need to be revised to support developing a PDP. (PV)
Need functioning feedback mechanisms to monitor student progress throughout the MBA curriculum. (V)

To solve educational problems, solutions must support each other within the knowledge,
motivation, and organizational areas. Applying these principles, solutions proposed in this
chapter will address multiple knowledge, motivation, and / or organizational needs, and therefore
the needs are addressed as components of a solution that support development of the PDP, rather
than as separate solutions for each need.
Solutions
Each of the proposed solutions identified below, in Table 11, contributes to the overall
innovation goal of creating a PDP that monitors students throughout the two-year MBA
curriculum, that integrates professional skill development activities into the co-curricular
experience while strengthening learning opportunities within the classroom, and compliments the
CDC’s work with focus on longer-term skill needs. The solutions presented address the validated
needs, partially validated needs, and new findings below, also identified in Table 12. Each
solution or major activity will be discussed and described in sections that follow the table.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 115
Table 12
Solutions and Needs They Address
Solution / Major
activity
Need(s) addressed
1. Launch a Center for
Professional
Development with
faculty director.
(Establish capacity
and collaboration).
A. Both faculty and administration stakeholder groups need to know how to
integrate professional development activities throughout the curricular
experience.
B. Faculty need to know how to incorporate relevant student development theories
into the coursework in support of professional development.
C. Stakeholders need high intrinsic motivation to sustain a PDP after it is
developed.
D. Need to know what processes or policies will need to be revised to support
developing a PDP.
2. Increase integration of
internship program
into curriculum to
increase connection
and provide stronger
development
opportunity for
students.
A. Stakeholders need to maintain flexibility to adjust strategies to accomplish full
employment.
B. Both faculty and administration stakeholder groups need to monitor student
professional development progress during their two years in the MBA program
and make adjustments to the program.
C. Faculty need motivation to collaborate with administration throughout the
MBA student lifecycle.
D. Need to assess what possible progress and existing assets may be leveraged
throughout the organization to achieve the innovation of developing a PDP.
E. Need functioning feedback mechanisms to monitor student progress throughout
the MBA curriculum.
3. Reorganize CDC
reporting structure
from administrative
reporting line to
academic, specifically
inside the center for
professional
development.
A. Stakeholders need to feel positive about the idea of a professional development
program and that it would be a valuable supplement to the academic
curriculum.
B. Current goals in subunits of the stakeholder groups are not tailored for
developing a PDP providing 21st century skill development.
C. Need a cultural model that promotes creativity, collaboration, and sharing of
knowledge in developing a new program.
D. Stakeholders need an organizational structure that is not restrained by
specialized knowledge, fragmented campus work, and deterioration of work
into separate silos (Schroeder, 1999; Knefelkamp, 1991).
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 116
Table 12, continued
4. Improve knowledge
of 21st century skills
and how to develop
them.
A. Faculty need to know how students develop and change during a professional
degree program.
B. Faculty and staff members need to know what professional readiness skills are
developed in our MBA program, in the curriculum and co-curricular
programming.
C. Stakeholder groups needs to be aware of professional skills needed for 21st
century careers.
D. Administrators need to understand how their interactions with students can
contribute to students’ professional readiness.
E. Stakeholders need to understand that success implementing a professional
development program depends on effort, rather than ability.

The solutions proposed here to develop a comprehensive PDP for MBA students, when
implemented, will
1. Create an organizational structure that enables productive and sustained collaboration and
communication around student professional development.
2. Overcome motivation gaps related to teaching or providing professional skill
development.
3. Improve connection between student professional development and the academic
curriculum.
4. Close the knowledge gap about needed 21st century skills needed by employers, and how
to develop them.
Solution 1: Launch Center for Professional Development with Faculty Director.
Findings suggest the current organizational structure is not sufficient to meet the validated
knowledge and motivation needs. This proposed solution is to create a center for professional
development (CPD) that, through creation and operation of a PDP, will provide faculty and
administration stakeholder groups training, partnership, and support necessary to integrate
professional development activities throughout the curricular experience. The CPD will also
increase student professional development by helping faculty incorporate relevant student
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 117
development theories into the coursework through training and job aids. To ensure long-term
success of a PDP, this center will need to be created with goals primarily aligned with
professional development, and the center will need to be led by a faculty member that has
intrinsic interests closely related to the CPD’s work. Creation of a CPD and PDP will help
systematically identify processes or policies will need to be revised to ensure a PDP is fully built
and sustainably operated.
To be successful achieving the outcomes above, the CPD will need to increase
collaboration between faculty and professional staff, and build feedback mechanisms that
connect student employment outcomes to the annual curriculum review. This need for
collaboration is specifically to address successful conduct of the PDP, but the benefits of
collaborating around this solution may extend well beyond this potential solution. As Kezar and
Lester point out (2009, 3-4),
In the last two decades, there has been increasing recognition among organizational
leaders more broadly and higher education change agents specifically about the
importance of collaboration among functional areas (e.g., student and academic affairs) to
achieve their organizational mission and be effective.
A key element in this proposal is that the CPD be led by a faculty member to sustain
professional skills development beyond initial creation of a PDP. The role of faculty director of
the CPD will require the incumbent to have an interest in professional development, as it will be
the center’s priority. As was mentioned three times in faculty interviews, research activities of
existing faculty members at the SOM may not prepare them to teach professional skill
development and research faculty may not have much practical work experience (Jackson &
Chapman, 2012). Selecting a leader with this low self-efficacy around teaching professional
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 118
skills could lead to a loss of motivation and the program would lose impact. Umbach and
Wawrzynski (2005, 175) support that view, saying, “recruiting and training faculty committed to
[student engagement and student learning] will create a collegiate environment that will have a
dramatic impact on student learning.” Accepting that current research faculty self-efficacy and
goals may not align with taking leadership role in a new CPD, SOM may need to plan this role to
be held by an LSOE. The LSOE position category is being developed and may help the CPD and
the PDP succeed by using a position category that has incentives is central to the role of CPD
director.
Figures 4 and 5 describe the current organizational chart and illustrates the possible new
organizational alignment that establishes a formal link between professional development and
the academic curriculum through having the CPD led by a faculty director. The value of creating
a new CPD within the recommended organizational structure is particularly important because it
establishes a line of communication from employers to faculty on the Executive Committee. The
Executive Committee oversees curricular issues and having regular career related reporting from
another faculty member may help elevate the importance of career outcomes and placement so it
can potentially become part of the organizational values. This connection should help foster
integrating professional development activities into the curriculum, while also understanding
challenges faculty face integrating professional development into their classes.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 119

Figure 4. Current Organizational Structure at the SOM

Figure 5. Possible Organizational Structure After Launching CPD
Besides having structural connection with faculty, the CPD establishes relationships with
stakeholders and provides services and information flow between each of them in a way that
supports professional development of MBA students. Some examples of CPD responsibilities
include
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 120
1. Producing or procuring professional skill development activities over the two years of a
PDP program.
2. Providing a communications conduit between faculty on the curriculum committee and
employers through academic oversight over the career development center (which is fully
described as Solution 3 later in this chapter).
3. Supporting professional skills development inside the curriculum and in co-curricular
settings.
An illustration of how potential services and information flows move between groups is
provided in Figure 6 and more detailed examples of CPD-facilitated collaboration are provided
in Table 13.

Figure 6. Example of Services and Information Flows of a CPD
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 121
Table 13
Examples of Collaboration Between Center for Professional Development and Other Units,
Groups, or Audiences
Unit, Group, or
Audience
Sample CPD Collaboration
Students CPD provides development training in 21st century skills and provides
feedback as students progress through the MBA curriculum.

CPD facilitates communication about internship experiences and career
goals between students and faculty teaching MBA students each term.
Faculty Receive actionable information about student career interests, goals, and
experiences for curricular input.

Are supported through information, teaching aids, syllabus analysis, and
appropriate forms of coaching that empower them to increase opportunity
for 21st century skill development within the context of the individual
course they may teach.

Have opportunities to connect with employers through the CPD, as
needed by their research or other interests.
Curriculum
Committee
CPD director communicates with the curriculum committee to represent
employer needs and industry trends within the context of the academic
program.
Career
Development
Center
Center is able to communicate regularly with faculty about student career
goals, learning from internships, and feedback about employer
experiences with SOM students.

Creating a new CPD leverages a level of adaptability and openness to new ideas that has
emerged since 2015 when the school embarked on meaningful brand assessment, strategic
planning, and unit reorganization exercises. These new investments and implementation of a
PDP will be necessary to achieve the vision at the SOM to climb in national MBA rankings
because the rankings are heavily influenced by employment outcomes, which will improve with
the success of a PDP.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 122
Solution 2: Increase Integration of Internship Program into Curriculum. Improving
integration of the internship program into the curriculum increases opportunities to monitor
student professional growth and to make adjustments that continue to improve skill development
and employment outcomes. This requires a feedback mechanism, flexibility within the structure
and processes, and motivation of faculty and professional staff involved with MBA students.
There are several areas the internship program can be improved and better integrated into the
curriculum. Some examples are described here.
The SOM internship program should better promote professional skill development and
growth through improvements in report requirements and in communicating student career
growth to faculty teaching second-year courses. Written internship reports are, in practice if not
policy, the only academic requirement students have to deliver in this required, four-unit course.
This solution includes creating and implementing standard guidelines for internship report
content that direct each student to address learning about specific professional skills identified as
SOM priorities. Implementing this recommended solution would use job aids (Clark & Estes,
2008) for faculty after there is agreement on the content and format of the report template(s).
Implementing this solution is an update to existing processes conducted by faculty and
administrators, and is considered a cost-effective and quicker recommendation to implement.
A second component of improving the internship program is establishing a
communication procedure to analyze student growth and development after the internship
concludes, and then presenting the results to faculty members who will teach elective courses in
the second-year of the MBA program. This process will help gauge student progress mastering
complex skills (Varela et al., 2013) and allow classroom adjustments. Currently there is no post-
internship debriefing of returning students and the second-year faculty gain no new information
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 123
about students’ career goals and plans, how students have changed those goals and plans as a
result of their summer internship experience, or the current challenges companies face
(Narayanan, Olk, & Fukami, 2010). A formal communication channel would provide faculty
with concise briefings about students they will teach and enabling them to potentially adjust their
teaching and learning environment to leverage those student development experiences. This part
of the solution addresses the need to improve monitoring of student progress throughout the
MBA program and provides increased opportunity to adjust strategies for professional skill
development in year two of the curriculum.
Solution 3: Reorganize CDC Reporting Structure from Administrative to Academic.
This solution addresses motivation, organizational setting, and organizational model findings
established in chapter four by changing the reporting structure, so the CDC reports to and
through the faculty director of the new CPD (described in solution 1). Establishing this formal
reporting structure through a faculty position with responsibility for helping integrate
professional development opportunities into the curriculum closes an institutional blind spot
created by the different goals between the faculty stakeholders and the Career Development
Center. It also promotes continuous improvement in the institution (Brown & Koenig, 1993), and
aligns with trends in management education with faculty members increasingly responsible for
operation of the internship program at business schools (Dillon, McCaskey & Blazer, 2011). The
gap between research and job-search is where the new CPD would provide professional skills
development. Realignment also bridges the silos present between professional staff and faculty.
As described above, reorganization is a necessary step to increasing collaboration and
communication. It is also however, an important step in addressing motivation gaps. When the
CDC begins reporting to the faculty director of the CPD, the incentives for strong career
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 124
outcomes remain the same for the CDC and are supplemented with longer-term professional skill
development focus by the CPD.
Under the current organizational structure, the CDC’s incentives lead to focus on skill
sets such as resume writing, mock interviews, and networking training, among other activities.
Though employment outcomes are a measure of the center’s success, changing the reporting
structure to an academic unit will create a collaboration and communication bridge between the
employer relations function of the center and the curriculum assessment function of the
curriculum committee. This solution allows the CDC to remain focused on short-term job-search
skill training, while the CPD more broadly leads development of sustainable career skills related
to 21st century employment, a model of career and professional development that is gaining
popularity (Blau & Snell, 2013).
Solution 4: Improve Knowledge of 21st Century Skills and How to Develop Them.
Stakeholder groups need to be aware of professional skills needed for 21st century careers and
the combination of solutions one, two, and three create the platform, communication channels,
and motivation necessary to provide stakeholders with knowledge and understanding of 21st
century professional skills.
Besides closing the knowledge gap for faculty, this proposed solution includes providing
administrators with the conceptual knowledge necessary to understand, for example, the
differences between job-search skills and longer-term workforce skills, the various forms of
professional development needed by SOM MBA students, and the interrelationship between co-
curricular professional development activities and potential for improved employment rates at
graduation. The method for providing this conceptual knowledge understanding is initially
through training activities, while sustaining the conceptual knowledge is accomplished through
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 125
ongoing development of job aids, and coordination of co-curricular activities and goals with the
outcomes sought by the curriculum committee.
As discussed in chapter four, there was uneven development of 21st century skills across
the range of skills tested in this study and that are needed for management graduates in today’s
economy. This solution is to provide SOM faculty on the curriculum committee knowledge of
21st century skills presented in relevant literature and other sources, so an appropriate selection
of skills can be codified as additions to the SOM curriculum and throughout the educational
experience for MBA students. Filling this knowledge gap can be facilitated by creating a
permanent communication channel between SOM employers and the curriculum committee, as
discussed in solution one, and providing ongoing training and reporting on employment trends
and employer preferences, which aligns with applicable accreditation requirements and recent
trends (AACSB, 2013).
Having sufficient knowledge of 21st century skills and increasing administrators’
conceptual knowledge are important components in developing a PDP. Beyond that, more
professional development activities need to be integrated throughout the curricular experience,
by both faculty and staff stakeholder groups. This recommended solution provides the
stakeholder with hands-on guidance (Clark & Feldon, 2008) of how to apply their (new)
knowledge of 21st century workforce skills to the challenge of incorporating professional skill
development into the curriculum. In a discussion of accounting programs, de Villiers (2010. p.
12) pointed out that faculty “often prefer quick-fix programmes or standalone modules to
achieve the demanded focus on soft skills development.” At the SOM, the solution may take the
form of initial teacher training and be supported with annual teaching workshops that focus
specifically on professional skill development techniques and opportunities within the
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 126
curriculum. This solution does not equal the investment of business schools at Harvard
University or Columbia University, which both have dedicated teaching centers offering training
and support in pedagogy (Graduate Management Admission Council, 2013). Other alternatives
should be explored, such as utilizing outside experts in teaching soft skills as supplements to the
functional academic focus of the faculty. This also partially addresses a motivation need based
on improving perceptions of self-efficacy and, to some extent, attributions.
Moving toward a student development model that considers each student separately, in
terms of his or her pre-existing skills in each professional area, needs for their careers, and the
transitions they are moving through will be a more dynamic work environment than exists today
at the SOM. The student development underpinning of a PDP highlights the need for more
training and knowledge of student development and student transition theories for administrators
contributing to the program to develop adaptive expertise for those situations. The CPD will
create and coordinate “teacher training” opportunities for faculty to develop better understanding
of student development and transition theories, and support them in developing teaching tools
and aids that help incorporate that knowledge into their teaching procedures in the classroom.
Implementation Plan
Developing a PDP and an appropriate organizational structure that will increase
employment outcomes for MBA students depends on many types of effort. The process will
bring together several different stakeholder groups, gather data, create an appropriate plan
informed by analysis of that data, and generate teaching and assessment materials and processes,
among other things. This development and implementation process requires a significant
investment of personnel, their energy, their effort, and their time. The implementation timeline to
create a PDP reaches approximately a year but a successfully implemented PDP will be in place
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 127
indefinitely so return on implementation efforts is potentially high. It is incumbent upon the
organization to allow enough time to develop each component carefully.
As with many long-term policy or project implementations, this implementation interacts
with and is affected by the normal operational schedule of the organization. There are often times
where exam schedules, holidays, and transition from one academic term to another will likely
cause implementation delays. Collectively, these periods will add an estimated five months to the
project and are included in the projected timeline.
The plan outlined here reflects phases and steps needed to implement the overall
recommended solution set and each component solution described in this chapter. The steps
proposed in Table 14 are intended to be a guide because flexibility will be necessary as
conditions or circumstances may change the implementation process.
Table 14
Potential Implementation Steps and Associated Timeline
Action Steps Timeline
Propose development of PDP to school leadership. Sep-2016
Obtain feedback about potential PDP development from faculty. Oct-2016
Define scope of steering committee responsibilities. Oct-2016
Develop internship program feedback mechanisms. Nov-2016
Form steering committee to develop PDP. Nov-2016
Appoint director of center for professional development. Nov-2016
Confirm scope and parameters of finalized PDP program. Dec-2016
Identify communication needs and who will be responsible for
communicating.
Jan-2017
Define scope and mission of center for professional development. Jan-2017
Identify stakeholders whose opinions will inform PDP design. Feb-2017
Launch center for professional development. Feb-2017
Determine what data is necessary to help develop PDP. Mar-2017
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 128
Table 14, continued
Validate internship program improvements. Mar-2017
Plan organizational transition for career development center to CPD. Apr-2017
Gather data from stakeholders about what 21st century skills are most
important within the specific SOM context.
Apr-2017
Initiate Internship coaching for faculty and new academic standards. Apr-2017
Analyze stakeholder feedback. May-2017
Complete organizational structure transition for CDC to join CPD. May-2017
Outline initial draft of PDP structure. Jun-2017
Determine ideal / likely organizational location for the PDP. Jul-2017
Collect initial internship feedback from students. Jul-2017
Validate the PDP draft recommendations. Aug-2017
Debrief students about internship experiences and provide briefing to
faculty teaching 2nd year student classes.
Sep-2017
Develop learning materials, teaching tools, and training materials. Sep-2017
Design annual evaluation process. Oct-2017

One sensitivity not modeled within this timeline is how responsive each stakeholder
group will be during the PDP development process outlined above in Table 14. The organization
could need additional time to gather feedback from various stakeholder groups. Unexpected
delays potentially affecting the timeline above necessitate focused and persistent leadership
support coupled with open project communication as delay mitigation strategies.
Evaluation Plan
Evaluating an existing PDP for MBA students requires analysis of many activities and
results. As an overarching guideline, feedback and evaluation should be constructed to allow
quantitative analysis at each level of evaluation, even when in-depth statistical analysis is not
possible (Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick, 2006). Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick advise complementing
numerical results with interviews, or open-ended questions on surveys, when practical and
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 129
necessary. One potential embodiment of this need to quantify results is the potential development
of a balanced scorecard that would measure the full lifecycle of a PDP and operations of the
CPD. Because balanced scorecards typically include a mixture of leading indicators and trailing
indicators, they may be suitable to measure performance of a PDP program that begins at
orientation and continues throughout the two-year lifecycle of an MBA program.
What follows is an overview Kirkpatrick’s four levels analysis of learning with a detailed
chart of how to measure learning that occurs during each step in development of a PDP provided
in Appendix H. Because Kirkpatrick’s four levels apply more appropriately to training programs
than the development process to create a training program, there are somewhat limited
opportunities to apply this framework to the solution under evaluation, but the model applies
very well to evaluating an ongoing PDP.
Level 1: Reactions
The first level of the evaluation plan recommended in Appendix H provides an overview
of reaction assessments. Measuring reactions is akin to measuring the affect participants had
toward the training. Although critics dismiss reaction evaluations as “smile sheets,” and point to
research showing a lack of connection between this level of evaluation and actual learning
(Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick, 2006), the four-level evaluation plan provides a framework to
progress beyond reactions and ensure the program moves through higher-level results of
learning, transfer, and the impact. During PDP development, reaction measurements can help
monitor the understanding of, motivation for, and general effect of those contributing to the
process.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 130
Level 2: Learning
Evaluating learning is measurement of what training program participants have learned as
a result of the training (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2006). Future expansion of the evaluation
plan will ensure the program moves through higher-level results of learning, transfer, and the
impact. These data will provide stronger feedback into program design and informs the PDP
design process by identifying areas where and how much contributors struggle with the concepts.
Level 3: Transfer
Adapting “transfer,” level three of Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2006) four-level
learning evaluation model, to developing a new PDP requires flexibility. This level in the model
measures what changes in behavior have occurred because of the training (Kirkpatrick and
Kirkpatrick, 2006). Evaluation efforts would determine if contributors begin to apply concepts of
professional development to their academic or professional areas, or to describe how the PDP
planning process changed their areas. As the PDP development process and the sub-solutions are
different than a training program, Appendix H is application and description of Kirkpatrick’s
analysis of transfer, where appropriate.
Level 4: Impact
Measuring impact (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2006) of development of a PDP for MBA
students to obtain 21st century workforce skills (e.g. communication, teamwork, and critical
thinking) is different than measuring the impact of the program after it is implemented. The
development process impact is measured on those that contribute to creating the program, and
measurement of the ongoing PDP program, while also critical, would focus on student
participants in the training program itself.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 131
Participants in the program development process will be able to describe ways their
involvement in the PDP development program has changed their approach to or willingness to
incorporate professional skill development into their academic or professional areas. This
evaluation level relies on subjective reporting more than impact evaluation of the fully
implemented PDP would. Measuring impact of a fully implemented PDP will include
measurements of changes in skill levels covered in the program, data on employment outcomes,
and other factors.
Critical Issues
There are several potential areas of additional research that would extend this study for
the organization to increase likelihood of success developing and implementing a PDP, as well
as other inquiry questions that could apply to management education more broadly. Some of the
many potential lines of inquiry relate to professional skill development, while others may also
relate to employment outcomes for MBA students. The following are potential research ideas
that may extend this research study.
1. What 21st century skills do employers of SOM MBA graduates expect and how do those
expectations compare with expectations described in literature or national employer
surveys?
2. What kinds of teaching support would be helpful for teaching professional skills already
included in core courses of MBA programs?
3. How different are incoming MBA students' perceptions about skills employers desire
from graduating students' perceptions and knowledge?
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 132
4. What are MBA student expectations about professional development, and how do they
differ from faculty expectations of professional skill development within MBA
programs?
5. To what extent do research faculty and adjunct faculty have similar or different
expectations about the importance of professional skill development within the MBA
curriculum, or their role in providing professional skill development within the MBA
curriculum?
Conclusion
Evolution in the nature of commerce and business since the popularization of the MBA
degree in the 1960s continues and causes business schools to periodically assess the degree to
which they are producing graduates that meet employers’ needs. Employers increasingly desire
employees that have human competency skills for the 21st century workforce, and often place
these skills at the top of their requirements lists. Literature shows that MBA curricula have
increasingly grown out of touch and disconnected from employer needs, and produce
increasingly narrow specialists that do not fit in today’s increasingly complex and
interdisciplinary work world.
The purpose of this study was to assess what needs exist at the university’s SOM to be
able to create an innovative PDP with a mandate to ensure that its MBA graduates are fully
prepared for the 21st century workforce and develop the soft skills employers seek.
Although there are many interrelated factors, key metrics illustrating how desirable MBA
graduates are from a particular school or program include the employment rate at graduation and
the average starting salaries of those graduates. These data contribute heavily to MBA rankings
and to decisions prospective applicants make about what universities to apply to. Creating a PDP
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 133
eliminates institutional blind spots created if faculty focus exclusively on research and career
development centers exclusively on job-search skills. Business schools often claim to use holistic
admissions criteria that considers applicants’ entire package of credentials to base admissions
decisions on. Those schools that conscientiously develop 21st century workforce readiness skills
that are transferrable and long lasting are holistically educating their graduates, as they
holistically evaluated their applicants.
Key findings in this study are the needs for knowledge of 21st century skills to be
distributed throughout the organization to professional staff as well as faculty. Educators need to
know not just what those skills are, they also need to know how to incorporate training
opportunities into their own areas to increase student learning opportunities. A second key
finding is that institutional norms around goals and incentive structures can be challenges to
expanding professional skill development and must be overcome. The third area for key findings
was that the knowledge and motivation issues must sometimes be addressed, or at least
supported, through organizational changes that may include new structures or personnel with
goals and intrinsic motivation aligned with professional skill development.
Enrollments at the university’s SOM have grown very quickly in recent years, from a few
dozen students to around 300 and, as the school’s growth continues, it is important to ensure the
educational experience continues to make a meaningful difference for every student and their
ability to embark on successful careers. Indeed, business schools are training grounds for tens of
thousands of students every year who are the future ranks of organizational leadership. These
same schools must consider if they are committed to making the best possible contribution to
these organizations, and society, or if they will ignore the holistic needs of their stakeholders and
grow ever more out of touch.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 134
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CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 146
Appendix A
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory

Figure 7. Bioecological Model of Development Under Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems
Theory

CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 147
Appendix B
Email Participation Invitation
Subject: Research study invitation
My name is Daniel Chatham and I am pursuing a Doctor of Education degree at the
University of Southern California, I am conducting a research study for my dissertation. The
study aims to examine how to improve workforce readiness of MBA students, specifically at the
SOM. You are invited to participate in this study; your perspective as a staff or faculty member
may help determine the feasibility and potential next steps to create an innovative program to
help improve employment outcomes for our students.
If you agree, you are invited to:
● Complete an online survey of five questions, with parts, that is expected to take no more
than 15 minutes to complete.
● Participate in a possible follow-up interview. Interviews will be conducted some time
after the survey. They will last no more than 60 minutes and be held in a mutually agreed
upon place. Interviews will be recorded for transcription and coding and you do not have
to answer any questions you do not want to. If you do not want to be recorded,
handwritten notes will be taken.
Participation in this study is completely voluntary. Your identity as a participant will remain
confidential at all times. If you have any questions about this study or your possible
participation, please contact me at dchatham@usc.edu or extension #-####. Should you wish to
speak with my dissertation chair, please contact Dr. Cathy Krop at krop@usc.edu.
Thank you for your consideration. If you wish to participate, please follow the link below
to begin the survey.
Sincerely,
Daniel Chatham
Doctoral Candidate, University of Southern California
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 148
Appendix C
Directions and Online Survey Questions
Please answer each of the following questions to the best of your ability.
1. Which of the following categorizes your status best?
Ladder-rank
Faculty
Lecturer

2. How many years ago did you receive your PhD?
Less than five between five and fifteen over fifteen
3. To what extent do you believe our MBA program’s academic curriculum develops the
following skills?
Communication Not at all Little Somewhat Very much
Creativity Not at all Little Somewhat Very much
Critical thinking Not at all Little Somewhat Very much
International
awareness
Not at all Little Somewhat Very much
Leadership Not at all Little Somewhat Very much
Teamwork Not at all Little Somewhat Very much
Other

4. To what extent do you agree with each of the following statements about integration of
the following concepts into MBA courses within your subject area.
Students of different ages are
accommodated differently
because they may have
different needs.
Strongly
disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly
agree
The students’ concepts of Strongly Disagree Agree Strongly
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 149
their future careers leads to
adjusting class activities to
facilitate their growth in
those directions.
disagree agree
In my subject area, students
are expected to develop each
of the following:

Competencies and skills in
this functional area
Strongly
disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly
agree
Movement toward
independence with
mastery of concepts.
Strongly
disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly
agree
Efforts are taken to help all
students find value within the
learning goals or activities.
Strongly
disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly
agree
Development is achieved by
helping students project how
their learning would be
impacted in professional
environments beyond the
classroom.
Strongly
disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly
agree
Efforts are taken to
accommodate the different
types of personal, academic,
or professional transitions
students are moving through
during the MBA program.
Strongly
disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly
agree
Efforts are taken by faculty in
your academic area to learn
how second-year MBA
students’ internship
experiences affected their
career plans.
Strongly
disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly
agree

5. To what extent do you agree with the following statements:
It is important to have in
place a cohesive and
comprehensive Professional
Strongly
disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly
agree
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 150
Development Program for
full-time MBA students.
A comprehensive
Professional Development
Program for full-time MBA
students would lead to higher
employment rates.
Strongly
disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly
agree
A Professional Development
Program for full-time MBA
students will be a valuable
addition to the academic
curriculum.
Strongly
disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly
agree
Successful implementation of
a Professional Development
Program depends on effort,
rather than ability.
Strongly
disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly
agree
The effort I contribute to
developing a Professional
Development Program will
help the initiative succeed.
Strongly
disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly
agree
Close collaboration with
administration throughout the
MBA lifecycle is an
important component of a
potential PDP program.
Strongly
disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly
agree
[SOM] already has the
processes or policies will
needed to develop a
Professional Development
Program for MBA students.
Strongly
disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly
agree
Faculty and administration
currently share a culture of
collaboration.
Strongly
disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly
agree
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 151
Appendix D
Faculty Interview Questions
Respondent ID code: Date of interview:
Department:
Introduction
I would like to remind you that your participation is voluntary. You can skip any question
you wish and may stop the interview at any time. I would like your permission to record the
conversation for transcription and accurate coding. Are you comfortable if I record the
conversation? Do you have any questions? Let’s begin.

1. What specific professional skills are needed for employment in today’s job market? (K)
2. What skills are not being developed with our current academic program or extracurricular
activities that are necessary for 21st century careers? (K)
3. How do students change in their professional readiness as they progress during MBA
courses in your academic discipline? (K)
4. Within your discipline, what professional development activities are needed to support
development of non-academic “soft skills” in MBA students? (K)
5. How do you use the following techniques within the classroom? (K)
a. Accommodating different needs of students of varying ages and amounts of
professional work experience.
b. Showing how the material being learned applies in a variety of industries,
functions, or at different levels of one’s career.
c. Provide special non-academic support as students transition from academic focus
to internships in year one, and to full-time employment in year two.
6. How can we, as an institution, most effectively train students on meaningful professional
skills? (K)
7. What would be the most effective ways to deepen professional development skills
acquisition through the curriculum within your discipline? (K)
8. Why and how would a Professional Development Program be valuable to the institution?
(M)
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 152
9. What outcomes would come from a comprehensive Professional Development Program
for MBA students? (M)
10. How can SOM most effectively monitor MBA students’ professional development
progress during their two years? (K)
a. How can adjustments be made to the PDP on the basis of that monitoring?
11. How can we build flexibility into a PDP to foster improvements needed to obtain full
employment of MBA students? (K)
12. What does developing and implementing a Professional Development Program depend
on most? (M)
13. What kind of collaboration would be necessary between faculty and administration
throughout a Professional Development Program? (M)
14. What assets already exist in your academic area that could be leveraged to develop a
comprehensive Professional Development Program for full-time MBA students? (O)
15. What processes or policies will need to be revised to develop a Professional Development
Program for MBA students? (O)
16. How can we create a culture that promotes the kind of creativity, collaboration, and
knowledge sharing required to make a PDP program successful? (O)
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 153
Appendix E
Administration Interview Questions
Respondent ID code:
Date of interview:
Department:
Introduction
I would like to remind you that your participation is voluntary. You can skip any question
you wish and may stop the interview at any time. I would like your permission to record the
conversation for transcription and accurate coding. Are you comfortable if I record the
conversation? Do you have any questions? Let’s begin.

1. What specific professional skills are needed for employment in today’s job market? (K)
2. What skills are not being developed with our current academic program or extracurricular
activities that are necessary for 21st century careers? (K)
3. How do students change professionally as they progress during the MBA program? (K)
4. How do your department’s interactions with students contribute to their professional
readiness? (K)
5. Within your department’s focus, what professional development activities are needed to
support development of non-discipline “soft skills” in MBA students? (K)
6. What would be the most effective ways to strengthen professional development skills
acquisition through the activities within your department? (K)
7. What outcomes would come from a comprehensive Professional Development Program
(PDP)? (M)
8. How can SOM most effectively monitor MBA students’ professional development
progress during their two years? (K)
1. How can adjustments be made to the PDP on the basis of that monitoring?
9. How can we build flexibility into a PDP to help achieve full employment? (K)
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 154
10. What does developing and implementing a Professional Development Program depend
on most? (M)
11. How important would collaboration between faculty and administration be throughout a
Professional Development Program? (M)
12. What assets already exist in your area that could be leveraged to develop a
comprehensive Professional Development Program for full-time MBA students? (O)
13. What processes or policies will need to be revised to support reaching the goal? (O)
14. How can we create a culture that promotes the kind of creativity, collaboration, and
knowledge sharing required to make a PDP program successful? (O)

CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 155
Appendix F
Email Participation Invitation
Subject: Research study invitation
As you [may] know, my name is Daniel Chatham and I work at the SOM as Director of
Graduate Programs. You may not know that I am also pursuing a Doctor of Education degree at
the University of Southern California and am researching how to improve workforce readiness of
MBA students, specifically at the SOM. With [the] Dean’s support, I would like to ask for your
participation in this study as part of my dissertation. Your perspective as a faculty member is
valuable and will help determine the feasibility and potential next steps to create an innovative
program to help improve employment outcomes for our students.

If you agree, you are invited to:
● Complete an online survey of five questions, with parts, that is expected to take no more
than 15 minutes to complete.
● Participate in a possible follow-up interview. Interviews will be conducted some time
after the survey. They will last no more than 60 minutes and be held in a mutually agreed
upon place. Interviews will be recorded for transcription and coding and you do not have
to answer any questions you do not want to. If you do not want to be recorded,
handwritten notes will be taken.

Participation in this study is completely voluntary. Your identity as a participant will
remain confidential at all times during and after the study. If you have any questions about
this study or your possible participation, please contact me at chatham@SOM.edu or extension
#-####. Should you wish to speak with my dissertation chair, please contact Dr. Cathy Krop at
krop@usc.edu.

Thank you for considering contributing to this study. I hope to make valuable
contributions to both institutional goals and my academic interests in management education
with your collaboration and participation. If you wish to participate, please follow the link below
to begin the survey.

Sincerely,

Daniel Chatham
Doctoral Candidate, University of Southern California

CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 156
Appendix G
Professional Development Program Implementation Plan
This study focuses on the needs SOM has to be able to create a Professional
Development Program, not the development process for that actual program. In the course of this
project however, it was possible to consider what steps would be needed to develop the PDP
after the needs of this current study were addressed. This appendix provides a draft of those steps
and, considering the complex SOM context and many other initiatives underway, the process
will last a considerable time. Developing this multi-year training program and adding it to the
MBA curriculum includes significant collaboration between internal stakeholder groups, input
from external stakeholder groups, considerable validation effort, and careful consideration to the
implementation plan. Table G.1 outlines the process of developing a comprehensive PDP for
MBA students and elucidates
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 157
Table 15
Implementation Action Steps to Develop Comprehensive PDP for MBA Students
Action Steps Explanatory Notes
Propose development of PDP to school leadership. Explain evidence a PDP is needed, get feedback from
leadership and permission to go to faculty.
Obtain feedback about potential PDP development
from faculty.
Get feedback, reconcile faculty feedback with school
leadership, get leadership approval to proceed.
Define scope of steering committee responsibilities. Based on feedback from school leadership, faculty, and
administrative directors.
Form steering committee to develop PDP. Definition of roles and recruitment of members. Could
be part of proposal steps.
Confirm scope and parameters of finalized PDP
program.
To ensure all steering committee and school leadership
are on the same page.
Identify communication needs and who will be
responsible for communicating.
For different phases of program, for different
audiences, and with what key messages. Periodic
announcements, periodic updates and meetings, etc.
Identify stakeholders whose opinions will inform
PDP design.
Possibly also part of proposal stage. If not, then
discrete action early in implementation.
Determine what data is necessary to help develop
PDP.
What skills are needed, how important they are, how
best to teach or develop those skills that rise to the top
of this data collection.
Gather data from stakeholders about what 21st
century skills are most important within the specific
SOM context.
Surveys, interviews, assessment, feedback to
committee.
Analyze stakeholder feedback. Use to shape PDP content, delivery methodologies, and
ongoing evaluation protocols.
Outline initial draft of PDP structure. Skills, content, delivery methods.
Determine ideal / likely organizational location for
the PDP.
Operational and organizational leadership, reporting
structure, oversight and execution responsibilities for
potential center for professional development.
Validate the PDP draft recommendations. Back to stakeholders. Review motivation issues with
SOM leadership. Use feedback to make adjustments to
program design.
Develop learning materials, teaching tools, and
training materials.
Validate with stakeholders.
Design annual evaluation process. To collect performance data and create feedback loop
for continuous improvement.
Plan the implementation timeline. Target stakeholders with knowledge needs. Validate
implementation timeline with stakeholders. Include
handoff to PDP "owners" and evaluation points in
implementation timeline.
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 158
Appendix H
Action Steps and Transfer Evaluation Actions
Action Steps Reactions Learning Transfer Impact
Propose
development of
PDP to school
leadership.
Observe responses and
request feedback about
PDP concept. Follow-
up after proposal with
request for reactions,
perceptions, and
suggestions.
Ask for recap of the
PDP program in
their own words,
checking to see that
most of the concept
is complete in their
responses.
How has
consideration of a
potential PDP
program changed
your perspective of
professional skill
development at the
SOM?
What difference has PDP
development made to the
mission of the school?
Obtain feedback
about potential
PDP
development
from faculty.
Assessment during
faculty meeting of
perceptions about
proposed PDP
components and
scope.
Ask faculty to
explain how they
see their role in
developing a PDP.
What parts of their
academic area will
be affected by a
PDP and how?
How has considering a
potential PDP changed
their approach to
professional skill
training within their
academic area?
Define scope of
steering
committee
responsibilities.
Were the objectives
clear? Did we use the
time well? Are you
clear about next steps?
What did you
learn about these
roles?
What new insights
do you have as a
result of this
meeting?
What changes have been
made within their
academic area based on
steering committee
responsibilities and
experiences?
Form steering
committee to
develop PDP.
Validate proposed
committee
composition through
survey of
representatives of each
stakeholder group.
Ask why this
committee
composition
makes sense, or
why it might not.
Ask how this
composition will
allow their
academic
department to
represent itself.

Confirm scope and
parameters of
finalized PDP
program.

Identify
communication
needs and who
will be responsible
for
communication.
Were the objectives
clear? Did we use the
time well? Are you
clear about next steps?
Ask what new ideas
have come to mind
since the last
meeting.

Identify
stakeholders
whose opinions
will inform PDP
design.
Was your perspective
adequately represented
within the stakeholder
identification process?
Were there
stakeholders
identified that you
previously did
know about?

Determine what
data are necessary

CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 159
to help develop
PDP.
Gather data from
stakeholders about
what 21st century
skills are most
important within
the specific SOM
context.
Ask stakeholders how
satisfied they are with
their level of inclusion
in the PDP
development process.
What surprises or
existing knowledge
confirmations have
come from your
interaction with
PDP stakeholder
groups?
What new
relationships have
been built between
your unit and
stakeholders as a
result of stakeholder
feedback about 21st
century skills?
How has interaction with
other stakeholders
changed professional
skill development
activities within the
academic area?
Analyze
stakeholder
feedback.
Is the stakeholder
feedback sufficiently
broad and deep to
inform the rest of the
PDP development
process?
What values
(related to your
academic area) do
stakeholders have
that were
previously not
known to you?
How have your
unit’s academic or
training programs
changed based on
stakeholder
feedback?
How have students
benefitted from changes
you have made within
your academic area that
were based on
stakeholder feedback in
the PDP development
process?
Form
“Implementation
Team.”
Ask how satisfied the
stakeholders are with
their representation on
the “implementation
team.”
What have you
learned about other
units’ needs as a
result of formation
of the
implementation
team?
How has
involvement on the
implementation
team changed your
understanding of
other units within
the school?
How has involvement on
the implementation team
changed your
relationships with other
units within the school?
Outline initial
draft of PDP
structure.

Determine ideal /
likely
organizational
location for the
PDP.
Do you feel your
perspectives about the
organizational structure
were well considered in
the decision process?
What did you learn
about the ideal /
likely
organizational
location for a PDP
that you did not
know before this
phase of
development?
How has
determination of the
ideal organizational
home for a PDP
changed your
perspective about
how the school
delivers
professional skill
development to
students?
What opportunities have
your students taken
advantage of that stem
from this organizational
structure?
Validate the PDP
draft
recommendations.
Do you feel the PDP
draft was adequately
described and conveyed
to SOM leadership?

Develop learning
materials,
teaching tools,
and training
materials.
Obtain initial feedback
about materials and
tools from faculty and
administrators that
will be using them
after presentation of
draft materials in
faculty forum.
Ask how faculty
will use these
materials and the
goals for such
tools.
Ask what specific
parts of their
functional area each
tool will be able to
measure, compare
with learning
objectives for that
subject area.
How have the new
learning tools affected
students’ learning levels
in your area?
CREATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 160
Design annual
evaluation process.

Plan the
implementation
timeline.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The 21st century’s global and interconnected business climate is increasingly different than that which existed in the latter half of the 20th century, when the MBA degree was popularized. The MBA model from the late 1960s has remained largely intact through since that time, with a few periodic updates when new academic components became necessary. Courses on ethics, internationalization, and entrepreneurship have been introduced in response to shifts in employer needs and the overarching business climate. Today, the literature supports the contention that employers today are increasingly looking for MBA graduates with significant so-called soft skills to be prepared for the complexity of the 21st century workforce. The literature further shows that employers are prioritizing these skills, and that they are dissatisfied with MBA programs due to a lack of focus on developing these 21st-century skills. ❧ In this study an AACSB accredited business school in Southern California was evaluated, using the gap analysis framework, to determine what needs exist in knowledge motivation and organizational areas, to create an innovative professional development program (PDP). This PDP would focus on teaching MBA students 21st-century work for skills throughout the two-year duration of their MBA curriculum, integrating curricular and co-curricular components. ❧ The study found 18 validated or partially validated knowledge, motivation, and organizational needs and recommended solutions appropriate in this organizational context. The overarching solution is to create a center for professional development as a solution framework tying together each of the individual solutions. This center creates a nexus between employers, faculty, and students that improves workforce readiness and employment outcomes of students, responsiveness to employer needs, and faculty teaching capacity, while strengthening the relationships between each of these stakeholder groups.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Chatham, Daniel L. (author)

Core Title Creating a comprehensive professional development program for MBA students: a needs analysis

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Global Executive

Publication Date 08/08/2016

Defense Date 07/18/2016

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag 21st century skills,career development,faculty motivation,management education,MBA program,OAI-PMH Harvest,professional development,soft skills,student development,workforce readiness

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Krop, Cathy (committee chair), Robison, Mark (committee member), Tambascia, Tracy (committee member)

Creator Email dchatham@gmail.com,dchatham@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c40-300224

Unique identifier UC11280477

Identifier etd-ChathamDan-4756.pdf (filename),usctheses-c40-300224 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-ChathamDan-4756.pdf

Dmrecord 300224

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Chatham, Daniel L.

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

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