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Developing Research Skills for Undergraduate Business Students: Experiential Learning on Introduction to Personnel Administration and Industrial Relations Course.
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Figueroa, Carmen I. González, Cándida |
| Copyright Year | 2014 |
| Abstract | This paper reports on research into developing research skills in human resources management of apprentices through experiential learning. The target groups were undergraduate business students registered in the Introduction to Personnel and Industrial Relations course. The research identified the appreciation level of importance and satisfaction from apprentices since the acquisition and development of research skills for human resources management discipline. Data analysis indicates, firstly the importance of acquisition and development research skills in human resources management are congruent with the needs required for the contemporary organization and career objectives of the apprentices and future human resources professionals. The results obtained have positive implications on apprentices from research skills statements such as organizational goal’s achievement, job analysis, human resources audit, strategic planning, statistical analysis, and evidence-based in human resources management to diminish the skills gap through the curriculum development in human resources management. Carmen I. Figueroa & Cándida González Developing Research Skills: Experiential Learning on Personnel Administration and Industrial Relations Course 32 Journal of Learning in Higher Education 33 Spring 2014 (Volume 10 Issue 1) REVIEW OF LITERATURE Institutional Background The Mayagüez Campus of the University of Puerto Rico (UPRM) originated in 1911 as the College of Agriculture. The development and diversification of academic programs maintains its reputation as the key institution in higher education in the Caribbean and Puerto Rico. Sharma and Dika (2007) emphasize that certain aspects of the vision of UPRM should ensure continuity as a leading institution of higher education in Puerto Rico and the Western Hemisphere so that meets the needs of modern society considering the dynamic global environment and the constant search for truth, knowledge, justice and peace. The quality of the students and graduates of UPRM has been recognized globally for organizations that recruit students for permanent positions, internships in Puerto Rico and the United States as well as exchange programs worldwide. Predominantly, the history of the College of Business Administration at UPRM spans over forty years. The vision of the College of Business Administration of the Mayagüez Campus following points; “ in Puerto Rico be the best option in Business Administration for the best students, faculty and recruiters.” Similarly, the mission of the College of Business Administration of the Mayagüez Campus outlines the statement that follows: “prepare qualified graduates for the business world through a comprehensive education and promote research excellence recognized locally and internationally.” The Introduction to Personnel Management and Industrial Relations (ESOR 4008) is a core curriculum undergraduate course in Business Administration. Essentially, ESOR 4008 allows the student to understand processes such as personnel management, recruitment, selection, training and administration of salaries and wages. The course is designed to enable students to develop interpersonal skills, ethical and professional conduct, the acquisition of knowledge and skills from the perspective of business nationally and internationally and the development of skills, abilities and knowledge related to business. The teaching-learning course design includes active learning through class discussions, case studies, exercises, experiences, among others. Experiential Learning Theory Experiential learning theory involves active learning mainly from experience with positive outcomes. The primary focus should be on engaging students in a process that best enhances their learning (Dewey 1987). Also, Lewis and Williams (1994) highlight the significance of the twenty-first century on the transformation from formal to experience-based. Prior research has reveal that learning styles are influenced by personality type, educational specialization, career choice, current job role and tasks, and cultural influences (Kolb, 1984; Kolb & Kolb, 2005). Also, experiential learning may be obtained from a variety of sources, such as work experience, training activities, cooperative education opportunities, among others. The learning process as a cyclical process focused on the four framing stage-cycles such as concrete experience, reflective observation, and abstract conceptualization and planned experimentation. Education and pedagogy discipline offers many ways to drive the learning experience between the facilitator and apprentices. As well, experiential learning theory suggests an approach to study management as a learning process that is dynamic and holistic, working at three different levels (individual, team and organization). The main question commonly determines the best group of learning techniques to establish formal educational experience to promote knowledge. The upward trends from contemporary organizations requesting knowledge and skills development on business research and the usage of metrics in promoting better results place challenges on business education. The experiential learning process provides several learning constructs such as knowledge, skill, and value directly from the experience and outcomes. To meet these trends, organizations are placing alliances and partnerships with universities including a range of experiential opportunities extending from internships, cooperative education, experiential fields experiences, among others to expand the content understandings and challenge the apprentices. Development of Research Skills The higher education environment in the twenty-first century aims to further develop the abilities, skills and competencies, particularly in the area of human resources management. Mainly, the contemporary organizations enforced the undergraduate student’s background with the business research skills appropriate to addressing managerial challenges and organizational goals. Ulrich (2012) argued about the capability of the human resource professional to acquire and develop the essential competencies as strategic thinker, change agent, talent expert, data oriented, and credible leader. Also, Ulrich (2012) mentioned about the contemporary challenge to Business Schools to consider the transformation of undergraduate business students and prepare them with the essential competencies such as active strategist, organization navigation expert, technology champion, active leader, and human resources mastery to deal in the 21st organizations scenario. Business Schools should consider the curriculum development to promote the essential competencies domain in undergraduate business students such as capability and talent management, credible leader, business and human resources integration, strategic planning, change management. Descriptive studies suggest intellectual gain is associated with undergraduate research (KHakim 1998, Kardash 2000, Raukhous and Czaja 2002, Hathaway et al. 2002). The development of research skills place based learning when carefully selected experiences are supported from classroom interaction promoted by reflection exercises, critical analysis, among others on special themes, simulation exercises, synthesis, case analysis portfolio, written reports, and oral presentations, among others. The instructional design for the development of research skills includes the consideration of both practical and traditional research on human resources development. Apprentice’s experiences are structured to require the learner to take the initiative, make decisions, and to be accountable for the results. The purpose of this study is to examine an instance of significance change of apprentices in higher education for the acquisition and development of knowledge in research methodology in human resources management. This study aims to develop the first stage as complete a picture as possible of process, challenges, and outcomes necessary to develop the research methodology in human resources management and labor relations course. The principle research questions this work seeks to answer are: 1. What research skills do apprentices most hope develop in research skills in human resources management? 2. How did the apprentices learning experiences through the classroom practices contribute to the awareness and the acquisition of knowledge in research methodology in human resources management? |
| Starting Page | 31 |
| Ending Page | 38 |
| Page Count | 8 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Volume Number | 10 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1143309.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
