Online Versus On-Campus Strategic Management Course: A Case Study
Introduction
In today's technology-centered business environment, students entering the workforce are better prepared than those of even a decade ago. The need for workers at all levels to have technology skills is now a reality. According to the educational website Teach-nology (2004), "Generation D (digital) learners will meet a workplace where using technology is as necessary as knowing how to read and write." In fact, in the data compiled by the United States Bureau of Census in 2001, approximately 80% of all executive, administrative, and managerial occupations used the computer in their work. However, in addition to the traditional computer skills such as word processing, spreadsheets, databases, e-mail, and Internet applications, online education has provided the opportunity to develop other technology skills that will be beneficial in the workplace of today and tomorrow.
Emergence of Online Instruction
Universities across the nation are now offering a wide variety of online courses. With the ever increasing competition for attracting and retaining students, online education has become a high priority for many institutions. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2003), enrollment in distance education courses has almost doubled in less than ten years. In fact, at the time of this 2003 report which included data from 2000-2001, more than half of the educational institutions were offering distance education courses. Gladieux (2000) reports the prediction from well-known management guru Peter Drucker that within 30 years, the residential university campus as we know it will be a thing of the past. While this prediction may be somewhat extreme, there is no doubt that significant changes in higher education are occurring. Gladieux (2000) went on to say it is impossible to know exactly what these changes will be because of the rapid change in computer and related technologies. Now with the push from administration and students for e-learning, a new set of challenges and opportunities arise for business instructors.
New Managerial Tools
Technology will play an ever increasing role for managers. The entire information and communication structure of organizations has changed due to technology. According to Hernez-Broome and Hughes (2004), leaders will need to be more techno savvy and comfortable with technology, and effective use of the Internet will be a necessity. They go so far as to say that technology will prove to be a "hierarchy buster."
In today's business environment, workers are being expected to communicate and work collaboratively through the use of technology. This technology for managers can mean learning to virtually lead (Hernez-Broome & Hughes, 2004). Townsend, DeMarie, and Hendrickson (1998) described the new workplace as "unrestrained by geography, time, and organizational boundaries; it will be a virtual workplace, where productivity, flexibility, and collaboration will reach unprecedented new levels." One way this is happening is through the use of virtual teams in business. According to the article from Purdue University (2003) Alge states, "virtual teams allow a manager to integrate employees' different schedules, time zones, and cultures." In 1999, deLisser reported in the Wall Street Journal that around 5000 employers were using virtual teams. Townsend, DeMarie, and Hendrickson (1998) give five specific factors that are essential for making use of virtual teams in place of the face-to-face method of the past. These five factors are:
- The increasing prevalence of flat or horizontal organizational structures.
- The emergence of environments that require inter-organizational cooperation as well as competition.
- Changes in workers' expectations of organizational participation.
- A continued shift from production to service/knowledge work environments.
- The increasing globalization of trade and corporate activity.
Martins, Gilson, and Maynard (2004) concluded that virtual teams are very prevalent and, in fact, almost every team has some virtual components.
E-mail has become commonplace in most businesses, especially for interoffice communication and virtual teams. Another one of the communication tools used by virtual teams along with e-mail is instant messaging. Once thought of as only a child's application of electronic communication, this communication venue has now been touted as both saint and sinner to the workplace. According to eWeek (2004), this mode of communication has seen a drastic rise in use in the past five years. Though a caution is given that instant messaging can negatively influence productivity if used inappropriately, in a META group survey 78% of respondents felt that instant messaging provided faster feedback than e-mail. Similarly, 74% felt that it was a channel that promoted faster problem solving. Another benefit cited was the lowering of phone bills due to fewer long-distance phone calls. In Training (2004), it was reported that though only 20% of Fortune 500 companies are using an instant messaging system, those that were reported increased productivity because of less e-mail and less phone tag.
Learning Outcomes
Despite the fact that some in higher education question the rigor of online courses when compared to their on-campus counterparts, researchers have reported that the learning outcomes are comparable and sometimes superior to the traditional face-to-face courses (Schoenfeld-Tacher, McConnell, & Graham, 2001). This finding was confirmed across a range of courses, including business offerings such as business statistics (Suanpang, Petocz, & Kalceff, n.d./2004), word processing (Jennings & Bayless, 2003), organizational behavior (Wang & Newlin, 2000), economics (Wang, Kanfer, Hinn, & Arvan, 2001), systems analysis and design (Parker & Gemino, 2001), computer concepts (Kekkonen-Moneta & Moneta, 2002), and general MBA courses (Arbaugh & Rau, 2004).
It can certainly be argued that learning outcomes are more multidimensional than the final grade that goes on the transcript; however, grades are a quantifiable method of comparing student performance. An observation made by Parker and Gemino (2001) in terms of learning outcomes of online instruction vs. traditional face-to-face included the fact that their online section had higher conceptual scores than did the face-to-face section. They attributed this to the increased level of interactivity possible for the online students since they are not limited to the "same room same time participation which includes fixed time allocations for discussion." A similar finding was noted by Brower (2003) who reported that because of the replacement of classroom time barriers with virtually unlimited cyber time, the participation in discussions was enhanced for her executive organizational behavior course offered online.
Student Satisfaction
There are many factors comprising what makes up student satisfaction with a course. These are, of course, based partially on the individual students and their motivation for taking the course (e.g. required for major, core course, interest in subject). An important consideration for many students in determining their satisfaction with online education was the availability of technical support with the platform used in the course. Having a technical support department available was important to the satisfaction of the student (Wang, Kanfer, Hinn, & Arvan, 2001). According to Cooper (2001), two of the major factors reported by students in preferring an online venue were convenience and flexibility. Students felt they were better able to juggle work, school, and family when taking an online course. The indirect costs such as travel, babysitting, and loss of work time associated with education for online students were also lower. Students also reported that they enjoyed the discussion boards as a way to be challenged to use higher-order thinking skills in the application of concepts covered in the course (Smith, Ferguson , & Caris, 2001).
Allen, Bourhis, Burrell, and Mabry (2002) found that overall student satisfaction with distance education was comparable with the satisfaction level of traditional classes. In a study by Holmes and Smith (2003), students in a college of business were given the opportunity to address their opinions and concerns on the grading practices of their instructors. The complaint that occurred most frequently was either minimal or no feedback with the grade. The second most frequent being that only criticism was provided – no positive feedback was included. Though it was not indicated whether this study was specific to online or on-campus students, it does provide insight into the preferences of students in regard to grading feedback.