The use of micro student consulting projects as an alternative to traditional field-based student consulting projects: an exploratory study.

Heriot, Kirk C. ; Cook, Ron G. ; Simpson, Leo 等

ABSTRACT

Entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education are widely recognized to have made tremendous progress in the U.S. over the past 20 years (Solomon, Winslow, and Tarabishy, 1998). This paper uses a case study to analyze the efforts of a faculty member to introduce a new form of active learning into the classroom experience. Active learning is defined as any strategy "that involves students in doing things and thinking about the things they are doing" (Bonwell and Eison, 1991, p. 2). The introduction of active learning has become increasingly important to schools and colleges of business as they respond to criticisms about the lack of relevancy in the classroom (Bennis and O'Toole, 2005; Porter and McKibben ,1988; Lyman, 1997).

A case study methodology is employed to describe the process used to help students gain a better understanding of the problems facing small business owners through the completion of micro consulting projects. Using field-based student consulting projects as a point of departure, an alternative to traditional field-based consulting projects is presented in the form of micro student consulting projects. Then, the results of a semester's worth of projects are described that were completed by students at a small, public university in the Southeast.

Among the benefits of the micro projects to the student are the confidence gained by selling their abilities as a consultant to a small business owner. The small business owners benefit from the analysis and recommendations that the students make. In addition, the students benefit from offering a professional opinion on a real business problem. We discuss how other instructors might entertain the option of having their students complete micro consulting projects. Then, we conclude by discussing possible directions for future research for faculty who use micro student projects as a form of active learning.

This research provides a unique look into the process of conducting field-based student consulting projects at a school with little or no history of entrepreneurship education. Given the continued interest in entrepreneurship that exists, this study provides the reader with a template for creating and maintaining an alternative pedagogy for entrepreneurship education. More importantly, given the lack of formally trained entrepreneurship educators, this study provides a detailed assessment of the efforts of a faculty member to attempt an alternative pedagogy to help students grasp the challenges of small business management. While the specific objectives and milestones of any academic program are unique to that institution, this study may be used as a benchmark for the efforts of others to teach small business management at their own university or college, especially those institutions with limited resources.

INTRODUCTION

Jim Fiet (2001b) of the University of Louisville said, in 2001, "Today, there are over 800 colleges and universities with entrepreneurship classes, programs, and initiatives." (Fiet, 2001b, 102). He goes on to point out that this figure demonstrates phenomenal growth in the thirty year period since 1971, when only sixteen colleges and universities taught entrepreneurship in the U.S. Entrepreneurship continues to be a popular program of study among college students in the U.S. In fact, the growth rate of entrepreneurship among colleges and universities in the U.S. is nothing short of phenomenal (Katz, 2003). In 1980, fewer than 20 universities and colleges offered courses in entrepreneurship, while today more than 1,200 universities have at least one course in entrepreneurship (Katz, 2006). This paper uses a case study to analyze the efforts of a faculty member to introduce a new form of active learning into the classroom experience. Active learning is defined as any strategy "that involves students in doing things and thinking about the things they are doing" (Bonwell & Eison, 1991, 2). The introduction of active learning has become increasingly important to schools and colleges of business as they respond to criticisms about the lack of relevancy in the classroom (Bennis & O'Toole, 2005; Porter & McKibben ,1988; Lyman, 1997).

Thus, the purpose of this study is to describe the efforts of one individual to introduce active learning in a small business management course at a school with little or no history in entrepreneurship education. As entrepreneurship education is still in the exploratory stage (Gorman and Hanlon, 1997), our choice of a research design was influenced by the limited theoretical knowledge researchers have of entrepreneurial education (Fiet, 2001). In such a situation, it is appropriate to use a qualitative research method in order to gather the necessary information (Eisenhardt, 1989; Yin, 1994). The current research necessitated that we observe the process of teaching a course in small business management that included a micro consulting project in great detail. Thus, we adopted a research method described by Audet and d'Amboise (1998) which was broad-minded and flexible. Like their study, our aim was "to combine rigor, flexibility and structure without unduly restricting our research endeavor" (Audet and 'Amboise, 1998, p. 11 of 24).

We use the following sections to describe this unique approach to teaching small business management. First, we briefly review the literature on entrepreneurship education. Second, using traditional field-based student consulting projects as a point of departure, we describe an alternative to traditional field-based consulting projects in the form of micro student consulting projects. Next, we describe the results of a semester's worth of consulting projects that were completed by undergraduate students at a small, public university in the Southeast. We conclude the study with a discussion of the practical uses of micro field-based student consulting projects and possible areas of future research.

SUPPORTING LITERATURE

The literature on entrepreneurship education is still in a developmental stage (Fiet, 2001). This conclusion is startling when one considers just how far entrepreneurial phenomena have come in the last thirty years. Fiet (2001) points out that in 1971 only sixteen colleges and universities taught entrepreneurship in the U.S. "Today, there are over 800 colleges and universities with entrepreneurship classes, programs, and initiatives." (Fiet, 2001, p.102).

Entrepreneurship education has been evaluated from a variety of perspectives including what is taught, why it is taught, how it is taught, and how well it works (see Gorman and Hanlon, 1997; Vesper and Gartner, 1997; Solomon, Winslow, and Tarabishy, 1998).

Solomon, et al. (1998) discuss the results of a twenty-year investigation of teaching entrepreneurial education and small business management in the U.S. Their data is based upon six national surveys. They believe a trend exists toward greater integration of practical applications and technology. They note that new venture creation, small business management, and small business consulting remain the most popular courses in the field.

Shepherd and Douglas (1997) argue that entrepreneurial education falls into four categories. These categories include the Old War Stories approach, the Case Study approach, the Planning approach, and the Generic Action approach. The "Old War Stories" Approach provides a series of success stories told by entrepreneurs. The emphasis is upon experience, intuition, and judgment. The leader's innate qualities are emphasized without any recognition of the contribution of the organization or the environment. This approach uses very little theory and emphasizes anecdotal evidence. The "Case Study" Approach assumes that entrepreneurship is "a process that is a controlled and is a conscious thought process" (Shepherd, et al., 1997, p. 4 of 10). Mintzberg (1990) argues that this perspective assumes that formulation can be separated from acting, as if the world stands still while the planning occurs. The "Planning" Approach breaks a controlled, conscious process into a series of steps that lead to a full-blown strategy, often in the form of a business plan. Meyer (2001) argues that the use of business plans may be problematic. He questions whether we have validated the hypothesized positive relationship between business plans and firm performance. Shepherd, et. al. (1997) also question its usefulness because the very nature of planning is designed to extrapolate known trends. Thus, the planning process is too inflexible to accommodate the entrepreneurial spirit. The "Generic Action" Approach is linked to the competitive markets model. It assumes that market forces, such as bluffing, price deterrence, and the timing of entry, dictate action. "Once formulated, there is no need for initiative, 'only' implementation" (Shepherd, et al. 1999, p. 5 of 10). This approach argues that after scanning the environment, the entrepreneur will be able to draw appropriate conclusions necessary to move in the right direction. Shepherd, et al., are critical of this approach, arguing that this form of entrepreneurship education emphasizes the science of entrepreneurship while ignoring the art of entrepreneurship. Shepherd, et. al. emphasize the importance of creative thinking and learning throughout entrepreneurship education. They believe entrepreneurship should be taught so that the direction is deliberate but the details are emergent.

Vesper and Gartner (1997) present the survey results of ranked university entrepreneurship programs. The top seven criteria for ranking these programs were courses offered, faculty publications, impact on community, alumni exploits, innovations, alumni start-ups, and outreach to scholars. A U.S. university may wish to focus on these criteria as it develops a new entrepreneurship program. It remains to be seen if these criteria are meaningful or affordable for universities in other countries, particularly developing nations.

Pedagogical issues are among the most debated in the entrepreneurship education literature. A variety of techniques are used in entrepreneurship and small business management courses. These techniques include, but are not limited to, case studies, lectures, experiential exercises, business plans, consulting projects, and guest speakers. Just as entrepreneurship itself is often associated with creativity and innovation (see, e.g., Kuratko and Hodgetts, 2001), teaching entrepreneurship has similar associations. The faculty should feel free to use any technique they believe will enhance the learning environment. As Schaper (2001) argues, numerous techniques are a wiser choice than only one or two regular techniques.

Schaper's (2001) comments are also particularly appropriate for the current research. He states that cultural issues impact entrepreneurial education because perspectives on risk-taking, individual initiative and personal achievement are different in different cultures. He concludes that a variety of techniques and methods should be used to teach entrepreneurship.

Field-Based Consulting Projects

The literature on entrepreneurship education and field-based consulting is dominated by descriptions of the Small Business Institute[R]. The Small Business Institute[R] (SBI) was formerly a federal outreach program created and directed by the U.S. Small Business Administration on a contractual basis with over 500 colleges and universities. Participating colleges and universities were paid a small fee to complete consulting projects on behalf of small businesses. Faculty members were responsible for recruiting clients and assigning teams of undergraduate and graduate students to complete the project during the fall or spring semester (Small Business Institute, 2006). However, federal funding for this program was eliminated in 1996, so a group of SBI Directors used their existing advisory organization, the Small Business Institute Director's Association (SBIDA), as a means to continue this program on an independent basis. SBIDA trademarked the mark Small Business Institute[R] and continues to operate SBI programs on a limited basis through their members.

Several studies discuss the Small Business Institute program (See Brennan, 1995; Dietert, Halatim, and Scow, 1994; Hatton, and Ruhland, 1994; and Watts and Jackson, 1994). Most of the studies focus on the ability of the SBI program to provide clients with a viable consulting job or with the program's student-educational benefits. For many schools, a primary impetus for starting an SBI program was the potential benefits for students' learning experiences. The literature (Hedberg and Brennan, 1996, and Brennan, 1995) provides considerable evidence that SBI programs are of educational value to students. In addition, recent evaluations of business schools have called for "a stronger practicum and projection emphasis in both curriculum and coursework" (Lyman, 1997). The SBI program represents just such a practical approach to learning and applying business concepts.

Many of these publications study the benefits of SBI programs to either the student (Brennan, 1995) or the client (Madison, et. al. 1998), or they study the impact of losing federal funds (Hoffman, et. al. 1996). However, none of these studies investigated the issues associated with starting an entirely new SBI program without federal funding.

According to Cook and Bellieveau (2006), field-based student consulting offers students an opportunity to integrate their academic and work experiences in the creation of a consulting solution for a client's real world problem. The consulting course provides students with experiential learning in small group dynamics, problem definition, research methodology and application, project management, and in making presentations. They contend that consulting fieldwork is an excellent mechanism to improve research abilities and critical thinking skills.

Figure 1 shows the process that is used in part or in its entirety to manage a student, field-based consulting project. The process is fairly systematic, although there are allowances made for modifying the project parameters. As Cook notes, since fieldwork involves an actual client and a real-life experience, the situation will be fluid and information may change over the course of the consulting assignment. As a result, the consulting process can be somewhat unsettling, as many issues do not have a clear-cut solution. Nonetheless, the typical field-based consulting project is initiated by the instructor rather than by the student. The student is assigned to the project after the client has agreed to participate. In addition, as Figure 1 demonstrates, the student is fairly well-supervised throughout the entire semester.

Cook and Belleview (2006) point out that field-based consulting programs have a variety of benefits. In addition, they also address the fact that this pedagogy has a major weakness--field-based consulting requires a number of critical resources, especially time on the part of the instructor to seek out clients, supervise students, coordinate multiple sections, and teach other assigned courses. Thus, Cook and Bellevieu (2006) suggest that the instructor may need to limit the number of cases supervised in order to provide a quality experience. In addition, they point out that the instructor may need the support of the school in order to teach a small class, perhaps smaller than they would otherwise have in their normal teaching load.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

Unfortunately, the time constraint described by Cook and Belliveau (2006) is a major issue. In fact, Heriot and Campbell (2002) describe client recruiting and case supervision as major challenges of creating and sustaining a field-based consulting program. While the literature does not explicitly distinguish types of student consulting, it stands to reason that one way of doing so is to measure the degree to which the faculty member is actively involved with the consulting process from start to finish (See Figure 2).

The micro consulting project is suggested as a means of responding to the time constraints identified by Cook and Bellevieu (2006). The micro field-based student consulting project transfers responsibility for developing the project from the faculty member to the student. This single move changes the dynamic of the project considerably. Figure 3 shows the modified process as contrasted to the process described by Cook and Belliveau.

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

[FIGURE 3 OMITTED]

RESEARCH METHOD

The challenge of conducting research about entrepreneurship education is that no generally accepted pedagogical model has been adopted in the U.S. or Europe (Solomon, et. al. 1998). This assertion suggests that entrepreneurship education is still in the exploratory stage (Gorman and Hanlon, 1997). Thus, our choice of a research design was influenced by the limited theoretical knowledge researchers have of entrepreneurial education (Fiet, 2001). In such a situation, it is appropriate to use a qualitative research method in order to gather the necessary information (Eisenhardt, 1989; Yin, 1994). The current research necessitated that we observe the process of using micro field-based student consulting projects to help students learn more about managing a small business. Thus, we adopted a qualitative research method described by Audet and d'Amboise (1998) which was broad-minded and flexible. Like their study, our aim was "to combine rigor, flexibility and structure without unduly restricting our research endeavor" (Audet and 'Amboise, 1998, p. 11 of 24). We start by describing background information that provides a context for using the micro consulting projects. Then, we describe the way the projects were handled as well as some of the projects that were completed by students during the Fall Semester 2006.

Background

One of the authors was hired to become the first Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship at a public university in the southeast. Prior to joining the university, he served as the Director of a Small Business Institute program at one large research university and two small regional universities. During this time he supervised over 150 student consulting projects with businesses in the areas served by these universities. In addition, he gained prominence as an officer in two academic organizations devoted to the study of entrepreneurship and small businesses. As parti of his duties, the instructor was charged with teaching courses in the area. This charge was the first major attempt by the university to make entrepreneurship a specific focal area in the curriculum in the College of Business.

The University and Region

The university was a comprehensive university with a student body of approximately 7,700 students at the time the individual was hired. The university has programs of study in Education, Science, Arts, Letters, & Humanities, and Business. The university also owns a community college that permits students to transfer to the four-year institution. The university has 88 academic majors and 57 academic minors. In addition, it offers several masters degrees including the Master of Arts, Master of Education, and the Master of Business Administration. Table 1 shows a profile of the university and the region in which it is located.

Their College of Business is accredited by AACSB. The university recently completed a five-year capital campaign that generated $100 million. Among the gifts was the creation of an endowed chair in entrepreneurship that was charged with teaching courses in entrepreneurship with an emphasis in starting and operating small businesses. Prior to the 2006-2007 academic year, the university had very little experience with entrepreneurship education. None of the incumbent faculty had taught courses in this area. Thus, not only were new courses being offered, but a new pedagogy was being introduced to the students.

Sixty-two students were enrolled in two sections of Small Business Management, a three-credit-hour elective offered to business students. The university notes that the average SAT for entering freshmen at the university in 2004 was approximately 1,060 on the former 1,600 point scale. Thirty students were enrolled in a morning section of the course. The remaining students were enrolled in an evening section of the course. Most of the students in the class worked part-time or full-time while enrolled as full-time students (12 or more credit hours per semester).

The syllabus for the course provided written instruction to each student at the beginning of the fall semester 2006. Appendix A shows this information. In addition to verbal and written instructions, time was spent during several class periods explaining what to do and answering students' questions. Lastly, several students met the instructor after class or contacted the faculty member via e-mail or telephone to discuss their projects.

Students were regularly reminded of the project and required to advise the instructor of the nature of their project and their progress on the project. Unlike traditional field-based student consulting projects (See e.g., Heriot and Campbell, 2002; Cook and Bellevieu, 2006), the student projects were not managed by the instructor. A total of 62 students were enrolled in two sections of Small Business Management, a course that marketing and management students took as either a Management Elective or a Business Elective. Thirty-two projects were completed by the 62 students with most of the projects being done by two-student teams and only a few projects being done by one student.

LIMITATIONS

This study is limited by the nature of case studies (Yin, 1994). The findings of case studies cannot always be generalized to other situations. However, given the lack of a universal model for entrepreneurship education, it was both practically and theoretically appropriate to use a case study. While the results of this research may not specifically be extended to other American universities, the faculty and administration at other universities may certainly use the current study as the basis for their own efforts to use consulting as a means.

DISCUSSION

It is premature at this juncture to argue either for or against the success of micro consulting projects in this study. The variety of techniques used to teach entrepreneurship and small business management courses are probably only limited by the imagination of the instructor, the abilities and motivations of the students, and the resources available to the school. Clearly, pedagogical issues are among the most debated in the entrepreneurship education literature. We believe instructors should feel free to use any technique they believe will enhance the learning environment. Table 2 highlights the critical differences between traditional field-based student consulting projects and the Micro field-based consulting projects completed during the Fall Semester 2006, using four primary issues as the basis for comparison.

Table 2 highlights differences on the following four issues: Project identification, project supervision, project topic, and project completion. These four issues best capture the differences between the two forms of field-based student consulting. Project identification refers to the way that projects are typically chosen. In the traditional consulting project, the instructor meets with the client prior to the semester/quarter to determine what they need and whether they will be a good fit for the course and students. Students must take the initiative to find a small business owner that has a compelling issue to be resolved and is willing to cooperate with the student.

Project supervision is the extent to which the instructor is actually involved with the ongoing consulting project. In the traditional approach to field-based, student consulting, the instructor requires regular deliverables (completed items) to be turned in for review throughout the semester or quarter. In the micro approach, students are given limited instruction. This lack of instruction is intentional. The students must learn to take responsibility for their topic, their progress, and their final recommendation. The lack of information creates ambiguity which is frustrating to many students, but helpful to them as they learn that life in a small business has few certainties. Life does not throw problems at you that can be easily categorized and solved.

Project topic refers to the specific consulting work that is to be done. The traditional consulting project is appropriate for either a comprehensive consulting assignment or a specialized consulting assignment in a single functional area or process within the firm, such as developing a marketing plan or a bookkeeping system. In the micro approach, projects are very narrowly focused. The emphasis in micro student consulting is on identifying a need quickly and providing feedback on that need. For example, a student would probably not attempt to undertake a complete marketing plan, but rather a narrower task within the larger framework of marketing, or finance or operations. The micro student consulting process is much more tactical than is traditional field-based student consulting. It is limited to a specialized topic as the students complete the project on their own or with a single partner.

Project completion describes how and when a project is considered finished. The traditional approach includes a formal written paper and a final oral presentation to both the client and to the instructor (SBI website, 2006). Field-based consulting projects may be submitted to the Small Business Institute[R] for annual awards in their Case of the Year program. The micro approach described in this study is limited to a very short presentation using MS PowerPoint. The final presentation is limited to six (6) minutes. Students do not submit a formal written paper. The oral presentation forces the students to truly think about what they have done, why they did it, how they did it, and whether it helped the client.

This research does not propose that the micro consulting project is suited for all instructors. We concur with Schaper (2001), that using numerous techniques are a wiser choice than only one or two regular techniques. Rather, this research was completed to describe an alternative to the traditional field-based student consulting project, especially those projects described in the literature on Small Business Institute[R] projects (Cook, 2000). In particular, we argue that micro consulting projects are an alternative pedagogy to consider when teaching entrepreneurship or small business management, especially if course load, class size, and time for identifying and recruiting clients and/or supervising projects is limited.

Future research should attempt to follow-up on the use of micro student consulting projects. A number of issues remain uncertain as the literature does not explicitly address this alternative form of field-based consulting. For example, do other instructors use a similar approach? Is this approach appropriate in other courses, such as accounting or operations management, to name a few? Is the use of micro student consulting projects a skill that can be taught to faculty without prior experience with student consulting projects?

This research provides early evidence of the viability of employing unsupervised student consulting. Is it easy? No, but not too many worthwhile endeavors are easy to start. Using students as consultants requires a great deal of time and effort in the traditional field-based approach (Heriot and Campbell, 2002; Cook and Bellevieu, 2006). However, traditional student consulting projects are a proven method. Thus, modifying this approach was a reasonable alternative. While student consulting is not the only practical approach available to instructors, it can be distinguished from other options because it requires interaction between the student and a small business owner. The challenge of using the proposed micro approach to student consulting may be three-fold: 1) The faculty member must be sold on consulting as a pedagogy; 2) the faculty member must be sure to match the program to their particular circumstances, and 3) the faculty member must be comfortable with letting the students take control of the process. The lack of time or resources suggest that a traditional student consulting program (Cook, 2000) may not always be possible. Thus, the micro approach proposed in this research offers an alternative to the traditional approach that shifts the burden of learning even further on the students.

The lessons learned from this study are particularly germane to small colleges and universities seeking to become involved in their local/regional communities, or seeking to increase the relevance of their business curriculum for their students. The school in this study is a small university with total enrollment of 7,700 students. Thus, resources are very scarce. This case study demonstrates not only the efficacy of such a program, but the impact that it can have. This program influenced at least 62 in its first semester students as they actively participated in consulting projects. Over thirty small businesses participated in the program.

The implications of introducing micro student consulting are easily stated. At a time when critics, both old (Porter and McKibben, 1988) and more recent (Bettis and O'Toole, 2005) complain about the lack of relevance in business education, we demonstrate the impact that micro consulting projects can have, especially on students. For a small university, micro student consulting projects can provide an effective pedagogy for business students and a valuable form of outreach to the local or regional business community.

APPENDIX

Communication to Students

Original Assignment:

Student Small Business Project

Each student must select one partner with whom to complete a project. The purpose of this assignment is to have you investigate some aspect of Small Business Management in the real world of manufacturing, retail, and/or services. You must analyze an issue in a small business and report your recommendations and findings in a professional manner.

Suggestions for selecting and conducting a successful project.

A. Get started early and identify a good candidate for this type project.

B. Do some "homework" prior to your interview. Know something about the company and try to have some basic questions about the area you are investigating.

C. Keep your area of investigation narrow and try to get examples of actual forms, procedures, and methods used by the company.

D. Analyze your findings in terms of the theory presented in class; i.e., are the methods the organization uses good, bad, like the ones we learned, different, etc.? E. You must make a recommendation to them or conduct an experiment that helps them in a tangible way. You must help the company or organization improve some element of small business management. Do not simply present a descriptive report. I want you to apply what you have learned in this class. Focus on proposing new procedures based on improving effectiveness, customer service, competitiveness, and productivity.

Suggestions for a successful oral presentation:

A. Use visual aids such as overheads.

B. Keep in mind you only have 6 minutes. Time is critical so practice your presentation so that it lasts only six minutes.

C. Present the most important aspects of your project rather than getting too involved in detail. You may provide me with additional written information that supports your analysis and demonstrates your efforts. You must attend class each day that student projects are to be presented! No excuses will be accepted!

Working With a Partner.

You may choose to complete this assignment by yourself if you prefer to do so. You may also fire a partner if you choose to do so. However, you must inform the student and the instructor via e-mail NLT than October 11, 2006 of your decision. Once you fire a partner, you may not select a new partner.

Update:

Please provide me with the name of your proposed client and the nature of the project you have considered. If you have not determined what you will do, then please let me know that so we can meet.

Reminder 1:

Please update me on your progress on your project for a small business (one typed page).

1. Remind me of the name and type of business.

2. What do you plan to do?

3. How do you expect it to help your "client"?

Reminder 2:

Please meet with me if you have any questions about what you are doing or how you are doing it. Do so before the Fall Break (Verbal Reminder about a week before Fall Break).

Reminder 3:

Presentations will be done during the final exam period for the course. Please remember to print out a copy of your MS PowerPoint slides for me to use as a reference during your presentation (Verbal Reminder the last week of class).

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Kirk C. Heriot, Columbus State University

Ron G. Cook, Rider University

Leo Simpson, Seattle University

Richard Parker, High Point University

Table 1: Profile of University and Region

Item Description Comments

Region Southeast U.S. Small Metropolitan City in a
 largely rural region.

Environment Suburban/ Major service area was county in
 urban area which the city and university are
 located (pop. 275,000) and some
 neighboring counties. Also went
 into counties in neighboring
 state.

City/town City and County City and County have large retail
 have shared and service ventures., the
 governance. headquarters of numerous banks,
 information technology firms, and
 large manufacturing firms. A
 large U.S. military base is
 nearby.

University State University Public university with ~8,000
 students. Business college is
 accredited by AACSB. College is
 less than 50 years old.

Program Micro Field-Based Projects were completed as
 Consulting requirement for Small Business
 Projects Management. The project counted
 20% of the student's final
 average.

Table 2: Comparison of Traditional Versus Micro
Field-Based Consulting Projects

Issue Traditional Micro

1. Project The client usually Students must identify a
Identification discusses the nature business and meet with
 of the project before the owner or manager.
 the semester begins.

2. Project Highly structured with Students are given very
Supervision regular deliverables limited direction.
 (completed items) to be
 turned in for review.

3. Project Some traditional projects Specialized projects with
Topic are comprehensive, while an emphasis on making an
 some are specialized. The immediate impact. The
 unit of analysis is unit of analysis is
 usually strategic. tactical.

4. Project Traditional field-based Microsoft PowerPoint
Completion consulting projects Presentations with copies
 include a written analysis of slides. Email and
 and a final presentation. course website were used
 SBI projects may be for communication.
 submitted to the Small
 Business Institute for
 awards.

Issue Rationale

1. Project The onus is placed upon
Identification the student to take
 initiative in finding a
 project.

2. Project The lack of instruction is
Supervision intentional. The students
 must learn to be
 responsible for their own
 project. This ambiguity
 can become very
 frustrating to the students.

3. Project A comprehensive project
Topic requires a great deal of
 supervision (Cook and
 Bellvieu, 2006; Heriot
 and Campbell, 2002)..

4. Project The students were forced
Completion to truly think about what
 they did, why they did it,
 how they did it, and
 whether it helped the
 client, as they only had 6
 minutes to present their
 results.