FOR INFORMATION

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S.91-36

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SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

Vice-President, Academic

MEMORANDUM

To: ?

Senate ?

From: ?

J.M. Munro, Chair

Senate Committee on

Academic Planning

Subject: External Review

?

Date: ?

June 17,1991

The External Review of the Faculty of Business Administration, and the

response prepared by the Faculty were considered by the Senate

Committee on Academic Planning at its meeting of June 12, 1991. Any

interested member of Senate may obtain a copy of these reports by

phoning the office of the Registrar at 4176.

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Simon Fraser University

FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

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MEMORANDUM

May 10, 1991

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(LLLRLN

TO: ?

Dr.

J.M.

Munro, Vice-President/Academic ?

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FROM: ?

Stanley

J.

Shapiro, Dean

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SUBJECT:

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Faculty of Business Administration ?

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Response to External Review

Attached you will find this Faculty's response to the report of the External

Review Committee which examined our activities last. May. I would urge all of

those reading both the External Review and our response to keep the following

two factors in mind. First, we did not consider it appropriate to discuss at length

those aspects of the External Review directed primarily to the central

administration of SFU rather than to its Faculty of Business Administration. We

are, however, prepared to comment on those dimensions of the report if you

consider such action in order. Also, this FBA submission is only the first step in

a process of review now underway. All three academic programs will be

examined in great detail over the next year. To the extent that such action is

necessary, new curriculum and course initiatives should go forward to the

appropriate University-level review committees in the Fall of 1992.

SJS/mbo.

End:

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• ?

Simon Fraser University

FACULTY OF

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION ?

MEMORANDUM

May 10, 1991

To:

?

Senate Committee on Academic Planning

From: ?

Stanley J. Shapiro, Dean

Subject: ?

External Review of the Faculty of Business Administration

An external review of the Faculty of Business Administration was conducted

May 29 - 31, 1990. The External Review Committee consisted of Dean Roger

Wolff, University of Toronto, Professor Peter Bell, University,of Western Ontario,

and Professor David Fowler, York University.

This report provides an account of the Faculty's response to the Conclusions

and Recommendations presented in the External Review document received in

October, 1990.

The Reviewers examined all aspects of the Faculty's operations

including the organizational structure of the FBA, the breadth of coverage of

topics in the degree programs, and the scholarly activities and standards of

faculty members. Recommendations were made in six areas: Goals,

Objectives and Policies; Programs; Faculty Strengths and Weaknesses;

Faculty Resources; University Relations; and External Relations.

OVERALL CONCLUSIONS

The Reviewers have concluded that the FBA "is

a good Faculty with the

potential to become much better .... the individual faculty members

are fine

academics and are highly committed to their research and

teaching ....

Dean Shapiro has provided excellent leadership and as

a result the Faculty

has progressed well during the past few years.

We also have the view that the FBA has not fully arrived as a

professional Faculty of Business Administration."

We agree with the Reviewers' comment that we have not reached professional

maturity as a Faculty of Business Administration. This Faculty is still young and

growing. While we take pride in our considerable achievements since attaining

Faculty status in 1982, we acknowledge that there remain opportunities to

further strengthen programs and areas of operation.

The FBA considers the External Review Report as providing an opportunity for

careful reflection upon its various programs and activities, and as an impetus for

planning for the 1990's. Many of the issues raised by the Reviewers are

fundamental strategic ones, such as a redefinition of the Faculty's mission and

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is objectives, and a review and potential restructuring of programs. The process

of strategic reevaluation proposed by the External Review will be lengthy and

possibly contentious. Moreover, implementation of any of the recommendations

willcome about only after thorough review and debate among all members of

this faculty.

The Faculty of Business Administration commits to comprehensively reviewing

strategies, structure, and processes with a view to making positive changes that

will place us in a position to meet the challenges of the next decade. The

following sections describe our responses to the specific recommendations

presented on

pp.

16- 18 of the External Review Report.

1; GOALS, OBJECTIVES, AND POLICIES

The Reviewers' rcommend that "the

.FBA must develop a ,much clearer

sense of direction or mission. This direction should help to define

the unique role the FBA intends

to play

in management education

and research in Canada and British Columbia."

We believe that the FBA has distinguished itself from other schools of Business,

particularly U.B.C., through implementation of unique educational strategies.

Some examples of these strategies are: a) a BBA degree with strong

40

foundations in the Liberal Arts; b) a very successful and highly regarded Co-op

program;

C)

a well-known Executive MBA program; and d) a research oriented

MBA program. We do agree with the Reviewers' comments, however, that now

is an appropriate time for the Faculty to develop and to articulate its vision about

where the organization is headed over the next decade.

Clearly, major changes are occurring in the environments of Business Schools

throughout the world. For example, one of the most notable is the trend towards

globalization of industries. In response, North American and European schools

of Business are being spurred to make their curricula more international in

focus. The Faculty of Businss Administration here at Simon Fraser is affected

by these same trends. As we approach the start of our second decade as an

independent Faculty, the time is right to review the organization's mission,

objectives and strategies in the context of a changing environment.

To this end, the Faculty is committed to holding a number of working meetings

and retreats wherein the members of the FBA will reflect on the primary strategic

issues facing the organization and workable solutions to problems will be

developed. These will include, but not be limited to "macro" issues such as

writing a new mission statement, reevaluating the focus of degree programs

and discussing the Faculty's stance toward improving relationships with the

external business community; as well as "micro" issues such as curriculum

review of existing programs and curriculum development. The first two of these

meetings took place in January and April of 1991,

and this process will continue

over the next 12 to 18 months.

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2. PROGRAMS

The Undergraduate Program (BBA)

I) The Reviewers note that "the Faculty should place a higher

priority on the program related activities and perhaps less

emphasis on individual courses. We believe that the program

could be significantly improved if more effort was devoted to

coordination 6nd planning."

This recommendation is made specifically with respect to perceived Area

autonomy that works to the detriment of overall Faculty or Program concerns.

The Reviewers' perceptions of autonomy may be accurate on the surface.

However, the extent of this behaviour, and the curriculum consequences of it

(lack of integration) are exaggerated, and stem in part from the Reviewers'

familiarity with more centralized decision-making and implementation

processes than those that are part of this Faculty's culture. Faculty-wide and

area-specific course requirements have a fairly high degree of internal

consistency and programmatic analysis underlying then,, both of which promote

integration. Additionally, some 400 level courses in the curriculum are

designed specifically as integrative or "capstone" courses. The seminar in

Administrative Policy (BUS 478) is an example of such a course, which all

Business majors are required to take.

The Review committee overemphasized the formal mechanisms and

underemphasized (or were not aware of) the informal coordinating mechanisms

for determining such matters as calendar entries, the role of specific courses in

programs and frequency of offerings. A great deal of informal interaction,

multiple iteration, feedback, etc. goes on between central FBA administration

(Dean, program directors, and senior program administrators) and Area

coordinators (and other concerned faculty members). The formal appearance

of Area autonomy, for example, in the initiation of new calendar language and

teaching schedules, does not reflect exclusive and unconstrained Area pursuit

of local interests. A well-developed FBA culture, existing Faculty norms, and a

high level of prior discussion are informal moderating and coordinating

influences on Area activities. Undergraduate Curriculum Committee

discussions and decisions also are an important formal coordinating

mechanism.

Three indicators suggest that there is a much greater synergy between Areas

than the Review Committee perceived: 1) a large and increasing number of

students completing two or more Areas of Concentration; 2) the substantial

number of cross-area joint research projects; and 3) a high level of consultation

between Areas whenever course or concentration changes in one Area are

anticipated to affect another. Special note also should be made of our very

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successful Co-op Program, which enrols approximately 25% of Business

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majors from all Areas of Concentration. The Co-op Program places a high

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priority on program-related activities, including such things as career

development skill seminars and practicum work reports.

The FBA could, of course, move to a more centralized decision-making and

control system, one more similar to the Business faculties with which the

Reviewers were familiar. There is no desire on the part of Faculty members to

move in this direction. The Faculty currently is examining the macro issue of

internal structure and organization of the FBA. As part of this discussion, we will

review the mechanisms for coordinatiing Programs and Areas.

ii)

The Reviewers recommend that

"more

time should

be spent

developing

a sense of community in the program. This can

primarily be undertaken by students, however the faculty must show

leadership."

This recommendation has the support of the Faculty, although it is clearly

understood that our ability to implement any major new initiatives is dendent

on resource availability. Spaces for undergraduate activities are plannedn the

new West Mall Complex that will house the Faculty. These include a student

lounge and student club rooms. Discussion also has been initiated with respect

to appointing a part- time staff coordinator to facilitate student activities. These

would include, for example, club activities, newsletters, social events, guest

speakers, intercollegiate competitions, and overseeing the activities of the

• student consulting group. These activities would be in addition to those

currently carried out by the Co-op Program. Co-op students already have a

strong sense of group identity and community. Many Co-op activities such as

social events, workshops, and skill building seminars are designed to foster

this.

The Faculty agrees with the Reviewers comments that it would be most

desirable if the Business Administration Student Society (BASS) were to

receive a substantially larger share of the revenues that SFSS obtains from

Business students. This would allow BASS the resources to initiate programs

to help enhance the educational experience of Business majors. Activities such

as initiation of a visiting executives program, and participation in competitive

inter-university case competitions would be most useful for the student body.

The Faculty recognizes, however, that the current system of student funding is

a University issue, which affects all Faculties. To the extent that this system is

changed, such changes must be made in a manner consistent with established

patterns of student governance.

iii)

The Reviewers recommend that

"since many of

the students study

on a

part-time basis, the scheduling

of classes and availability of

services (library, computing,

etc.) should consider the constraints

on student time."

The Faculty agrees completely with the recommendation on class scheduling.

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The FBA does do a very good job (within the constraints of prudent

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management of manpower resources and their opportunity costs) in ensuring

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• the availability of evening courses and the frequency of daytime offerings over

the three semesters. In the 90-3 semester, for example, 42% of our

undergraduate courses were offered as evening sections.

We acknowledge that sometimes 400 level courses in the Faculty are

oversubscribed; this may hinder a student's ability to complete a desired

concentration within a planned time span. The FBA, however, over the past

four years has moved toward a system of demand driven course scheduling.

While every attempt is made to accommodate students' genuine needs, it's hard

to see that the FBA would ever have the resources to adopt a policy of

guaranteeing that qualified students always gain entry into 400 level courses

in the semester desired.

The availability of Library and central computing facilities for evening students

is an issue beyond the control of this Faculty.

The MBA Program

i)

The External Review recommends that "the Faculty should review

the objectives of this program carefully

and commit to a specific

direction. If the original objective is retained the Faculty should

reconsider the desire for expansion."

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The FBA one year ago (January 1990) passed a resolution to modify the initial

plan for the MBA that was developed in 1984. This modification was to add a

series of 500 level courses that would make the MBA program accessible to

students without a Bachelor's degree in Business or Commerce. In part, this

change was made in response to market demand. The original focus of the

program, however, that of a research oriented, specialist degree, was re-

affirmed by the Faculty. The FBA is committed to this specific direction. We are

committed to further expansion until an efficient scale of operations is reached

that allows for a full curriculum. As the MBA program is a relatively new one, it

is anticipated that incremental changes will be made as experience dictates.

ii)

The Reviewers recommend that "the virtues

of the program should

be broadcast more widely.

We believe that a strong market could

exist

if the program

was marketed more aggressively across the

country."

The FBA agrees completely with this comment. The increasing number of

applicants to the MBA program suggests that it is gaining acceptance and

recognition, certainly on an international basis. In part, this is the result of a

wider scale and more aggressive marketing effort that was started last year;

and in part, to the natural maturation process of any new program.

iii) ?

The Report recommends that "the

Faculty should consider

dropping the "500

course" option as an entry route. We do not

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believe that this option is consistent with the stated objective for

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the program."

The Faculty rejects the recommendation that the "500 course" option be

dropped as an entry route. The 500 level courses are a new initiative (see item

above) and the FBA intends to go through at least

two

500 level cohorts

before assessing the success or failure of this innovation. This assessment will

take place in the summer of 1992.

iv)

The Reviewers recommend that "effort should be made to build a

stronger sense of community for the MBA students. A separate

lounge in the new building would help greatly."

The FBA agrees with this recommendation. Small steps have been taken in

thFs direction. For example, a number of social events such as a welcoming

reception and a semester end party is held for students. A separate MBA

lounge has been included in the plans for the new West Mall Complex.

v) The Reviewers note that "

[MBA]

students should not have

common courses with the EMBA students."

We agree with this recommendation in principle. For the most part, the Faculty

has eliminated joint courses. However, the FBA is conscious also of the need

to manage its resources prudently. It is necessary occasionally to combine

students from the MBA and EMBA programs to achieve minimum levels of

efficiency. This is particularly true for new course initiatives and for elective

courses.

The Executive MBA Program

The Reviewers recommend that "the Faculty should undertake

an in-

depth review

of this program

and consider an expansion in the

number of courses."

The External Review notes that the Executive MBA has been most successful in

establishing and maintaining a niche in the Vancouver market, and that the

program has been a remarkable success for SFU and the FBA. The FBA

agrees, in principle, with the recommendation that it is time for a thorough

program review of the EMBA to ensure that the curriculum reflects the changing

nature of management education in the 90's.

The FBA will undertake such a comprehensive review of the program and the

curriculum over the next 12 months. The last curriculum review was undertaken

in 1980/81. Another review would be timely to consider modifying or reaffirming

our present direction. For example, we will consider ways of incorporating the

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topics of internationalization and business ethics into the curriculum (topics

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currently not explicitly addressed). We also will look at the possibility of

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7

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including a short residential component in the program and of "fine tuning"

some of the new courses (for example, the Strategic Analysis Seminar,

International Marketing and Managing Technology) that have been introduced

in the last three years.

The FBA disagrees most strongly with one of the Reviewers' comments: that the

EMBA program is not really equivalent to other Executive MBA programs in

North America. A recent study conducted by the Faculty (motivated, in part, by

the External Review) shows that the EMBA Program at SFU most definitely is

equivalent to other programs. The study of student contact hours required for

an Executive MBA degree in North America shows that Simon Fraser ranks in

the mid-range of schools. The University of Toronto had the lowest requirement

and Syracuse University the highest requirement in terms of contact hours.

SFU differed from other schools in that we do not have a residential

requirement. Most Business Schools, but not all, require students to complete

five to twenty days in a residential teaching session, spread over the length of

the program.

The PhD Program

The Reviewers recommended that "the Faculty should delay

consideration of a PhD program until the existing programs are

improved and sufficient resources are made available". The FBA

agrees with this recommendation: given the current size of the Faculty and

limited resources, establishing a PhD program would be premature. However,

we anticipate occasional use being made of the "ad hoc" option over the next

few years.

The Executive Programs

The Reviewers recommend that "the Faculty should have far more

autonomy and responsibility for design and operation of Executive

Programs."

While from some perspectives it may be desirable to have a separate Executive

Programs division, such as that run by our sister school, Faculty of Commerce,

UBC, this simply is not an option for us at this time. SFU policy mandates our

sharing responsibility for such programs with Continuing Education. We do

agree with the Reviewers, however, that Harbour Centre is the perfect venue

from which to develop a stronger focus in Executive Education.

The Faculty is very aware of the growing demand for short term management

and executive programs. Many schools throughout North America and Europe

are expanding activities in this area. With finite resources, however, trade-offs

may have to be made between expansion of degree and non-degree programs.

The Faculty believes its first responsibility is to deliver degree programs of high

academic standard. The FBA, however, currently is discussing increased

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• participation in Executive programs as part of a larger, overall issue: the

development of stronger external relationships with various constituencies in

the environment.

3. FACULTY STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

a)

The Reviewers state that "overall the FBA must develop a clearer

statement of mission and purpose. Following this effort each area

or subgroup in the Faculty should develop their own mission in

order to create a stronger sense of overall direction."

This recommendation was prompted, in part, by the Reviewers' perceptions of

a number of dysfunctions in the Areas, including such things as understaffing,

lack of focus, too much cohesion in some intances, and too little cohesion in

other instances. The implication is that actions undertaken by the respective

Areas are not necessarily in accordance with the overall direction of the Faculty.

As mentioned elsewhere in this report, and consistent with the Reviewers'

recommendations, the FBA has committed to a full review of its overall mission

and purpose over the next 18 months. This will include all current disciplines

within the Faculty (Areas) and emerging fields not as yet developed

(International Busihess, for example). Areas will be encouraged to develop

their own missions to build a stronger sense of overall direction to create

synergies with the Faculty as a whole.

b)

The Report recommends that "within the context of the overall

mission, the Faculty must decide the priority

to be placed on each

Area".

In general, the FBA agrees that we need to establish clear priorities to guide our

growth over the next decade. In response to this recommendation and to an

internal assessment of the Faculty structure prompted by the Review, the FBA is

discussing structural mechanisms that would provide for a first level review of

Faculty-wide activities and issues. We are very much aware of a need to

maintain and promote the focus of Faculty-wide interests and to set priorities for

our various activities.

The FBA definitely does not support the view of the External Reviewers that

Areas either ought to be abolished altogether or combined into a few larger

groupings. Areas perform several valuable functions that could not be replaced

in a different arrangement. Most obvious s the fostering of common disciplinary

roots and interests of faculty members within each area, and the offering of

mutual support that comes from developing a shared knowledge within the

discipline. This latter feature is especially crucial in the process of integrating

new faculty members into the academic lifestyle.

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participation in Executive programs as part of a larger, overall issue: the

development of stronger external relationships with various constituencies in

the environment.

3. FACULTY STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

a)

The Reviewers state that

"overall the FBA must develop a clearer

statement of mission and purpose. Following this effort each area

or subgroup in

the Faculty should develop their own mission in

order to create

a stronger sense of overall direction."

This recommendation was prompted, in part, by the Reviewers' perceptions of

a number of dysfunctions in the Areas, including such things as understaffing,

aàk of focus, too much cohesion in some instances, and too little cohesion in

other instances. The implication is that actions undertaken by the respective

Areasare not necessarily in accordance with the overall direction of the Faculty.

As mentioned elsewhere in this report, and consistent with the Reviewers'

recommendations, the FBA has committed to a full review of its overall mission

and purpose over the next 18 months. This will include all current disciplines

within the Faculty (Areas) and emerging fields not as yet developed

(International Business, for example). Areas will be encouraged to develop

their own missions to build a stronger sense of overall direction to create

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synergies with the Faculty as a whole.

b)

The Report recommends that

"within the context of the overall

mission, the

Faculty must decide the priority to be placed on each

Area".

In general, the FBA agrees that we need to establish clear priorities to guide our

growth over the next decade. In response to this recommendation and to an

internal assessment of the Faculty structure prompted by the Review, the FBA is

discussing structural mechanisms that would provide for a first level review of

Faculty-wide activities and issues. We are very much aware of a need to

maintain and promote the focus of Faculty-wide interests and to set priorities for

our various activities.

The FBA definitely does not support the view of the External Reviewers that

Areas either ought to be abolished altogether or combined into a few larger

groupings. Areas perform several valuable functions that could not be replaced

in a different arrangement. Most obvious is the fostering of common disciplinary

roots and interests of faculty members within each area, and the offering of

mutual support that comes from developing a shared knowledge within the

discipline. This latter feature is especially crucial in the process of integrating

new faculty members into the academic lifestyle.

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• As a Faculty we are going through a period of tremendous growth. As a young

Faculty, some of the dysfunctions and lack of cohesion that the External Review

Committee perceived are those typical of adolescence and these problems will

be overcome as the FBA matures. The FBA recognizes the need to explicitly

develop a strategy to guide our growth and promote the integration of all

disciplines within the organization as a whole. We are committed to achieving

this objective.

4.

FACULTY

RESOURCES

The External Review document notes that the

"proposed new building

should be so constructed that the FBA and its students have

a

separate and distinct identity.

This does not mean a separate

building, however, a sense of separate identity is essential."

The FBA concurs wholeheartedly with this recommendation. We await most

eagerly the start of construction on the West Mall Complex, which is planned to

be the new home of the FBA. As a young, growing professional Faculty we are

in critical need of adequate office, classroom, and laboratory space, which is

specially designed to meet our needs. The FBA is most optimistic that the new

building will provide us with,-badly needed physical facilities that are designed

to present an appropriate and well defined image to the community, and allow

us to meet our teaching and research objectives.

5.

UNIVERSITY RELATIONS

It is the opinion of the Review Committee that constraints imposed on the FBA

by the application of centralized, uniform university policies

"places it at a

competitive disadvantage vis-a-vis other business faculties in

Canada."

Specifically, the Committee notes that the FBA is noncompetitive to

other Business Schools with respect to salaries, and that hiring procedures

appear to be extremely bureaucratic and inflexible.

It is clear that our ability to hire new faculty members is hampered by our

inability to offer salaries on a par with many other Canadian Business Schools.

It has become evident that we cannot even compete financially with our sister

university, U.B.C. in those instances where we are trying to hire the same

individual. Our success in hiring new faculty, to a large extent, depends upon

candidates having very strong locational preferences, on the attractiveness of

the intellectual climate we have established, or on the temporary existence of

adverse hiring conditions in other markets, particularly the U.S.

While the FBA shares the Reviewer's concerns about salary policy and hiring

procedures, we acknowledge that our situation is shared with the other

professional Faculties and Departments at SFU. The Reviewers raised some

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important issues and problems. Constructive action to address these issues is

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a University-wide matter.

6. ?

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

The Reviewers recommend that the

"Faculty must make a much stronger

commitment to the development of positive external relations."

The Report notes that, except for the EMBA Program, the Faculty is not well

known in the local community, and compared with the Faculty of Commerce at

UBC, the FBA has a very low profile. The Faculty agrees that both we and the

University must place a higher priority on building closer ties with the business

community.

Already, we are taking steps to implement one of the Reviewers' primary

recommendation - to define the proper role for the External Advisory Board of

the FBA. The Dean has been actively seeking out potential new members and

searching for ways to mobilize the energies of the business people serving on

this board. In addition, the Faculty is actively discussing how we can build

better alliances with the business community to the mutual advantage of both.

May 10, 1991

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aser Univers"

PIWJII

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REVIEW OF

THE FACULTY OF

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

September 1990

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INTRODUCTION

1. Purpose and Terms of Reference

The Commit e review was guided by the University's recently (May 14, 1990)

approved Guidelines for External Reviews. Although it was clearly understood

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this review did not fall under the new guidelines, the Committee structu

red

the review and this report to address the questions raised in the guidelines.

In

p

articular, -,he Committee was asked by the Academic Vce-Presioent to

comment on the Toilowing points:

a) organizationaistructure of FBA;

) breadth ot coverage ot topics relevant to tne study ol business;

c)

v'Ha are the s

p

ecific strengths of the Faculty and how do the scholarly

activties and standards of the faculty compare to other institutions;

d)

the re

!

at;onshp of the

FBA

with other university d:visons, especially the

Department of Economics.

2. Review Procedures

The Committee visited the SFU campus on May 29,30 and 31, 1990. Fnorto

aHvel, we received an extensive package of background materal whici

incuded the following material:

a) outlines of FBA programs;

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b) current CVs of all faculty;

c) FBA overview, includina development plan;

c) course oescr

p

tons tor a selection of FBA oTterngs,

e) SrU Fac

t

BOOK

outlining statistical information for tne University;

pro

p

osal Tor the Business and Management Sciences Building;

g) submissions from a numoer of discipline groups

w

i

th tre FEA.

In addition aer arrival the Committee requested and received:

a)

detailed financial data on the FBA;

b)

procedures for hiring new faculty;

c)

tenure and promotion review procedures and standards;

d)

data on levels of external funding available to the FBA.

We are most grateful to all of the staff who supplied us

with

material or who met

with us during the visit. In particular we want to thank Professor Carolyne Smart

who organized much of the material made available to the Committee; Dean

Shapiro for his fine hospitality and Helene Michaels who organized our time and

shepherded us between meetincs. Everyone was most cooperative and candid in

their comments and as a result vie were able to form a good overall impression of

the present state of the FBA.

The Committee generally followed *,heschedule outlined in Appendix I. In

addition to those individuals listed in the schedule, the Committee met with the

Chairman of the External Advisory Board, Mr. T. Enemark and the Acting Director

OT

Development, Ms. Madeleine Nelson.

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3. Overall Conclusions

It maybe useful ii at the outset we state our overall conclusions. The Faculty of

Business Administration is a good Faculty with the potential

to

become much

better. Generally speaking, the individual faculty members are fine academics

and are highly committed to their research and teachin

g .

We

got the sense that

Dean Shapiro has provided

excellent

leadership and as a result the Faculty has

progressed weil during the past few years.

We also

have

the view that the FBA has not fully arrived as a

p rofessional Faculty

of Business Acrnn;stration, ether in the mincs

07

the University administration

or

fl

the minCs 07

individual faculty members. The University administration

must come to arips

with

the cost of Havin g

an excellent Faculty of Business. These

costs come both in terms of finnc:al resources, especially for hgHer base salaries,

2nd autonomy for the Dean and faculty.

The salary issue dominated our dscussions with individual faculty members and

with most area groups. To us, the choice facing the University is quite simple:

either provide resources to the FB.A that are more appropriate for a traditional

department in Arts and Scence and you receve a ow level of commitment to the

institution and its teaching p rograms, or provide a honer level of resources more

in lne with other business schools and expect greater faculty commitment to

professional proar

a

ms and the external business communit

y

. While we have not

undeaken a detailed assessment of the entire salary structure, we believe that

base s2iary acustments I

fl

tne FBA of up to 20 percent are warranted.

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This ceneral conclusion led us to the view that the FBA suffered from an ?

orientation in which the whole is less than the sum of its cars.

In the final section of this report we present more specific recommendations.

However, in our view, the University must decide what is expected from the FB,A

before any action should be taken on the specific recommendations.

II GOALS, OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES

In a document entitled "A Develo p ment Plan for the Faculty of Business

Administration 1990-1995", the Faculty states its overall mission as:

"The Faculty of Business Administration is a professional school of management

and administrative studies dedicated to the pursuit of academic excellence in

research and teachna. The Faculty's primary role is to create new knowledge in

the fcIds of applied social science, business, and management and to disseminate

knowled g

e, through programs of instruction, integral to the practice of

management".

In our opinion, this is a reasonable statement of mission to distinguish the FBA from

other divsions of SFU. However, it does not attempt to position the FBA as a

business school in the Canadian or No'n American scene. The FBA should reconsider

its mission in light of expected developments in the next two decades and attempt

to position the Faculty within British Columbia and the lower mainland as a clear and

distinct alternative to UDC. In some wa

y

s, soecifically the actual implementation of

S ?

the mission through research activities and educational programs, the FBA has

articulated a unique mission. We do believe however that the time is right for the

-2-

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FBA to reconsiderits overall mission and develop a stronger commitment from areas

9 ?

within the Faculty.

As a final oint, we note in the following material that each functional area appears

to have defined their own mission. Sometimes the area directions are contradictory

to the FBA mission. This leads us to the conclusion that a potential major weakness

in the FBA is that the whole is less than the sum of its parts. The challenge for the

Faculty and the Dean is to focus efforts more clearly in order to reap the benefits as a

Faculty instead of as individuals.

II! PROGRAMS

The Facu'ty has three basic degree programs: an undergraduate program

(

6

0

1A),

an

academic MBA program (MBA) and an executive MBA program (EMBA). In addition,

PhD studies in Business and Economics can be accommodated through a program

adFninistered by the Department of Economics. The Faculty also operated non-

degree executive programs through the Continuing Studies Division of the

University.

In this re p

ort we will deal

p

rimarily with the degree programs. We deal

with each

searate!y even thcuah this may result in some repetition of material.

1. Undergraduate Program (SBA)

The undergraduate

p

rogram is the FBA'sfiacship program, being the !argest

S

.

program and the principal consumer of FBA resources.

The purposeof the program is "to provide an educational package that equips

students with management decision making skills and provides them with some

insight into the role and function of management in the modern organization".

The courses a pp

ear to be directed towards providing "content" rather than skills

training, thus the em p hasis of the pro

g

ram is on analytical tool development

rather than decision-making training: the program is theoretically oriented

rather than action oriented.

The program Has healthy enrolments, good admission standards, and appears

capable of ongoing expansion. The program is currently in an expansion phase

along with SFU, but is being limited to about 10% of SFU's total undergraduate

enrolment by raising GPA admission requirements. This policy does raise the

issue for the University of what program(s) can be offered to undergraduates

interested in business administration who do not have a high enough G?A to be

admitted to the FBA.

The obvious success of the program in competition with UBC's undergraduate

business program appears to be partly the result of the program's flexibility and

consequently its ability to attract part-time and co-op students. As a result, FBA

undergraduate students are older and more mature than is usual for an

undergraduate program, and take longer to complete their degrees. While this

positioning of the program has worked well for the FBA, there are some costs in

terms of a lack of continuity, little sense of cohort, only 6 weak sense of

S ?

community and program, and low loyalty to the Faculty. We would like to see

some active steps taken to address these weaknesses: for example, the new

building should include a comfortable lounge where students can interact

-3-

---

informally witheach other and with faculty, whenever possible. The business

students' association should be encouraged to play a much more active role in

the activities of the FBA (see below).

The basic pedagogy of the early years of the program is the lecture mode with

(typically) tenure track faculty lecturing to large classes supported by teaching

assistants instructing smaller groups. During the fourth year a large proportion

of the courses are taught by faculty and sessional instructors in smaller classes.

The strength of this approach is the exposure provided for students to qualified

faculty, although this may be diluted if extensive use is made of sessional

inst r u ct o rs.

The 'program' is best understood as a collection of courses rather than an

integrated learning experience. There are few attempts at, or oppor

t

unities for,

integration across courses. We are concerned about the coverage of several

im p

ortant topics which either cross functional areas or which, while important,

'ould not generally be given a whole course: for example, business ethics,

globalization, microcomputer use, communications/presentations skills

development, the environment.

We are a!so concerned about the processes in

place

for decision-making on issues

that affect severa courses. For exampe, a change of software in BUS 237 could

have abroad mpact throughout the program, but there does not appear to be

an adequate planning/review process in place to provide broad input to these

types of decisions which appear to be up to individual instructors).

S

?

The course designs themselves are traditional rather than topical, and academic

rather than managerial. The content of the course outlines provided to us were

highly variable: some had no course objectives, some no topics list, some no

grading scheme. We think it important that more care go into the preparation of

course descriptions including, perhaps, the adoption of a standard outline that

provides a more consistent evel of information for the students.

We heard a variety of comments with respect to teaching assistants (TA5). There

appears to be many excellent TAs, but it also appears that others need more

support and supervision. We would like to see a process in place to help new TAs

adjust to FBA and to teaching; perhaps experienced (highly rated) TAs should be

assigned to "mentor" new TAs,including providing planning help, sitting in on

some early tutorials, and rating performance. There should be a process to

identify poor TAs and to help and/or motivate them to improve.

The business students' association (BSS) seems to be barely alive, which is a pity.

The FBA students are a major resource of the school, and they should be

encouraged to participate fully in their educational experience. The FBA

students make up approximately 10% of the SFU student body, and efforts

should be made to secure a similar portion of the SFU student activities budget.

BASS should be provided with an office in the new building which should be

staffed full-time with a BASS officer. With this level of resources and some FBA

student entrepreneurship and initiative (with some FBA control), BASS can do

much to enhance the FBA programs. This might include management of the

student areas of the building, a visiting executives program, orientation and

placement activities of various kinds, an FBA student resume book distributed to

prospective employers, a resume writing program, student/faculty formal and

-4-

---

informal gatherings, and intra- and inter-university activities (such as case

competitions etc.).

The nature of the FBA undergraduate students places some extra demands on

the FBA and the University. In particular for working students, it is very

important that libraries and computer facilities be available outside of working

hours. There seemed to be a fairly strong sense that the present hours of

operation for these facilities were inadequate.

2. The MBA Program

We tend to position Canadian MBA programs in a spectrum ranging from the

strona!y manacerial emphasis at Western to the strong theoretical program at

UBC. We were therefore quite surprised to hear a view from several FBA faculty

that UBC's MBA program was 'applied', and to find SFU's MBA to be positioned

more theoretical than UBC's. However, we found the concept of the one year

SFU MBA for undergraduate business majors to be interesting although we feel it

is more çf an "MS" degree than an "MBA".

The rnotvaton for this program appears to be related more to the interests of

the faculty than the needs of the marketplace: the MBA program provides TAs

for the undergraduate program and provides FBA faculty

with

oppo1Lnites to

teach higher level materials. In fact the Faculty has directly stated that the

program was vewed as a "means for attracting and retaining high quality faculty

by offering greater opportunity to teach material closely related to their research

I nt crest".

There appears to be no student oriented program objective: students that we

talked to saw the program as one of the few that provided funding (by being a

TA) for an MBA degree. We are very concerned about the lack of applied work

and the very strong research emphasis of this program which appear to be

contrary to the general intent of the MBA degree.

The objectives of this program, although originally clear ,now run the risk of

becoming clouded. In an effortto enhance enrolment, the FBA has recently

initiated some "500 level" courses which provide access to the MBA for

individuals with nonbusiness undergraduate majors. We have several concerns

about these courses:

Who is expected to teach these courses? Originally, the program was

designed to provide faculty the opportunity to teach higher level materials,

but now, apparently, additional faculty resources are to be devoted to

teaching more basic materials.

What

will

the policy be towards SFU undergraduates who do not qualify for

admission to the undergraduate business program? Will they be allowed to

take a two year MBA through the "500 course" MBA program? How

will

these students compare to BBA-MBA stream students? We recognize that

strict enrolment limits have been placed on the 500 level courses but the

school could be under pressure to ease the restrictions.

How will the program compete with, and be compared to, the well

established UBC MBA?

-5-

---

( ?

We suggest that the FBA focus on the original objectives of the one year MBA

and consider other steps to increase enrolment in the MBA program. In

particular, this program is not well known but looks like an attractive

opportunity for many MBA candidates holding an undergraduate degree in

business or commerce (a West Coast MBA with good funding possibilities). Also,

the idea of a one year research oriented MBA appears to be an attractive option

for some students, es

p

ecially those considering a PhD program.

I

t may well be

that additional efforts to market the program to a broader geographical area

will significantly increase enrolment.

While the course list for the MBA program looks extensive, we are concerned that

a significant number of the courses listed are offered infrequently (or have never

been offered). We are also concerned that students in the program often have

minimum flexibility in course selections as a result of major and minor selection

constraints and limited course offerings.

While the MBA students appear to have a greater sense of community and cohort

than the undergraduate students, there are clearly opportunities for greater

student involvement and interaction. An MBA students' lounge in the new

building would be an important addition, along with more attention to

p!acernent, orientation, and academic counselling activities.

Finally, while there may be some administrative efficiencies gained in integrating

MBA and Executive MBA students in the same courses, we suggest that the

different backgrounds of the students, and the distinctly different emphases of

• ?

the two programs make this quite undesirable.

3. Executive MBA Program

The Executive MBA program has been most successful in establishing and

maintaining a hiche in the Vancouver market. Clearly, this program has been a

remarkable success over a considerable period of time for both FBA and SFU.

We raise the following issues for consideration:

Is 12 course program (even '5 unit' courses) sufficient for an MBA?

Do faculty teaching in this program really treat the courses as the equivalent

of 1 2/3 MBA courses? Do the course descriptions reflect this higher level of

intensity?

Are the quantitative prerequisites really essentia! for this MBA program? If so,

is the program itself too quantitative for this executive audience?

Are the 'integrated' topics (ethics, international, operations management)

adequately covered during the program?

These specific questions do motivate the general concern that the SFU Executive

MBA (EMBA) is not really equivalent in content to other Executive MBA programs

in North America nor is it equivalent to exiting twenty course (60 credit hours)

MBA programs. While the program is said to be designed to offer broad-based

• management education to practitioners employed at middle management to

senior management levels, we note that the data does not support this as the

target market. In a study undertaken in 1986 (by Eva Chiu), the average work.

-6-

---

( ?

experience (of the 278 students in the sample) was 11.1 years but the average

management experience as measured by the Executive Position Description was

2.7 years. Our objective here is not to criticize the academic credibility of the

program but to raise questions about the actual versus perceived target market.

We recognize that the program has been an unqualified success but we would

suggest that this might be the consequence of the fact that both the UBC and SFU

cam p

us MBA programs are extreme

l

y academic rather than the result of the

EMBA meetings its stated objectives. If UBC were to introduce a more

managerially oriented MBA program, the future of the EMBA could be seriously

jeopardized. On the other hand, the perceived and actual EMBA markets may be

segmentable providing an opportunity for a "senior MBA" that SFU could

exploit. We, therefore, believe that the FBA should carefully review the

objectives and structure of the EMBA and consider expanding the length of the

program to make it equivalent to other MBA programs.

4.

PhD Program

The FBA currently has the opportunity to offer PhD studies -through the

Department of Economics. While this does limit the riumberf optional areas of

study, we believe that the FBA should continue to work with Economics in this

venture. Giventhe smaU size of

the

F3A, the current difficulty in recruiting, and

the reluctance of several areas to take on more activities, we believe that

establishment of a separate PhD program at this time is premature.

5.

Executive Programs

The FBA has been presented with a golden opportunity to develop a strong focus

in Executive Education through the Harbour Centre facility. We are impressed

with the effort that the Dean has made to develop this potential. However, we

do not believe that the potential can be fully realized without changes in

University policy and attitudes on behalf of individual faculty members.

The University "ap

p

ears" to have overly centralized the delivery of Continuing

Education. We use the word, appears, to indicate that in our discussions with the

Dean of FBA and the Dean of Continuing Studies we don't see any constraints on

the FBA's ability to deliver programs. In our meetings with individual faculty

members however, they clearly perceived control and centralization of

Continuing Education to be a problem. For the long term development of the

FBA and continuing education in business, it is extremely important to get a solid

commitment from individual faculty. They must be allowed to participate in the

risk and benefits of executive programs. We therefore believe that the University

should give the FBA more autonomy and control in the development of executive

programs. The Faculty should also reap the benefits (profits ?) from successful

programs.

We are not sure if the lack of interest in executive education on the part of

individual faculty and areas is a result of the "perceived" University policy or a

lack of interest or commitment to such activities. The FBA must come to grips

with this issue and in our view make a much stronger commitment to this

important area of endeavor. If this is not done the FBA will lose a golden

opportunity to position itself as a strong alternative to the UBC Faculty of

Commerce.

-7-

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id

IV

FACULTY STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

During

ourdiscussions with the areas.and in reviewing the supporting documents,

we are struck with the general high level

of

competence

of

the faculty and

of

their

dedication to research and scholarship. We are also very sympathetic to the concerns

expressed about the difficulties of maintaining standards and reasonable workloads

when hiring new faculty, and to the difficulty

of

retaining experienced faculty.

The high demands on faculty time make it important that every effort be made to

improve the level of administrative support provided to faculty. General secretarial

support for most faculty appears to be almost nonexistent (although typing can be

done) and research assistants are scarce. Both these issues could be eased if faculty

were more.active in seeking research grants from external agencies (NSERC, SSHRC,

etc.).

Many areas share our concerns about the extensive use of sessional instructors.

These part time instructors are generally poor substitutes for qualified faculty, and

their supervision adds to

L t

he burden on the tenure track faculty. Sessional

instructors should be uses on a temporary basis oniy,'and should not be used as a

long term substitute for full-time faculty.

We also have some concerns about the narrowness of the training of some of the

newer 'acuy. deally, business school faculty should be able to demonstrate a

breadth of knowledge about all the functional areas of business that would

normally be obtained through a good MBA program, coupled with advanced

•

?

?

knowledge in a business area and research training obtained through a doctorate

from a good business school. Promising faculty who match this profile are

expensive, and are keenly recruited internationally. The FBA has had some recent

success recruiting in this pool, but has also hired several individuals who lack the

MBA or whose PhD is not in a business function or not from a business school. It

iS

very important to the long term future of the FBA that it be able to fill vacant

positions with well qualified faculty.

Over the last several years, starting salaries for new business faculty (as determined

by the marketplace) have increased much faster than the rate of inflation. The

consequence has been the perception of a salary inversion where senior (often very

capable) faculty see themselves being paid lower salaries than new recruits. It is very

important that SFU make every effort to maintain a salary scale that reflects actual

Seniority within the faculty: as starting salaries increase, existing faculty salaries must

be increased to maintain some seniority differentials even though these might be

small.

1. Accounting

The Accounting area group was subject to an external review in 1984. The first

two recommendations of this review were: to hire a new senior faculty member

and to seek other tenure track appointments to increase the proportion of

courses taught by tenure track faculty. Neither of these recommendations have

been acted upon, but we believe that a new senior appointment is now of critical

importance to the area.

I ?

The group appears to be demoralized and lacking focus (again no change from

1984). They feel that they have worked very hard to try to meet the needs of the

FBA and the professional community, but their efforts have gone largely

-8-

---

unrewarded. They feel that they are stuck with large classes, low salaries, and

little support.

While many of the area's difficulties are the result of external factors, we have

some concerns about the area's internal management. Improved self-

management including acceptance of more realistic goals, some realignment of

activities, and more attention given to the constraints under which the area will

most likely have to operate for the foreseeable future, would all contribute to

the well being of the accounting faculty.

2.

Finance

The finance area appears to be well managed, cohesive, and very competent.

They have clear shared group objectives, and a firm dedication to excellence in

teaching and research.

We are somewhat concerned that they have taken a number of steps towards

their vision of excellence that may not be particularly helpful to the FBA. These

include identifying themselves closely with the economics department, restricting

their course offerings so as to minimize the use of sessional instructors, and being

very selective about hiring new faculty.

3.

Marketing

We were impressed with the marketin g

group's commitment to schoarship and

• ?

their cohesiveness. We are concerned however, that this group has become quite

insular, and does not appear to have any interest in helping the FBA forge links

with the local business community. A short 'executive' marketing course at

Harbour Centre would be a logical first step into the short management course

market (where SFU and the FBA could reap some major benefits), but it appears

that this group has little interest in these kinds of initiative.

4.

Management Science and Information Systems

The mana g ement science and information systems area group is split between

those with traditional management science interests and those who have an

expertise at the micro end of the MIS spectrum. To round out this area, the FBA

badly needs to hire someone with an interest at the macro end of MIS (including

the strategic use of IS and computer resources management).

The management scientists have varied interests from traditional mathematical

and statistical modelling to some more modern topics (AHP, Expert Systems, DSS

etc.) and the courses offered reflect this diversity.

We have some concerns about the design of the core (336) Management Science

course. The course outline provided to us includes no course objectives and so it

is difficult to judge the instructor's intent, but in the outline the majority of this

course is devoted to topics in mathematical programming. As such, the course

appears dated and does not appear to prov

i

de a very good overview of

Management Science in 1990. Particularly absent from the outline is any

reference to application of the theory; surely an important feature of teaching

management science in a business faculty?

-9-

---

Thetenure track MIS faculty (including Jones) have very similar interests; there is

a critical mass here that the FBA might be able to exploit to its advantage.

However, the workload on this group appears to be very high, and includes

responsibility for a very large pre-business course (BUS 237), as well as

administrative responsibilities for developing and maintaining computing within

the FBA.

The MIS area would like to offer a new MIS concentration at both BA and MBA

levels; while business realities make this a desirable step for the FBA, we are

concerned that the existing load on the (mostly very junior) MIS faculty may

prevent this. We suggest one important step should be taken to make better use

of the existing MIS faculty. This should involve the delegation of responsibilities

for day to day FBA computer operations

tO

a sta'f person (probably reporting to

the Dean through an MIS faculty member) - this should free u

p considerable MIS

faculty time (and, perhaps, avoid some future problems at the

P&T

stage).

5. Organizational Behaviour

This area includes some individuals with very impressive academic

recordds

who

seem to be doing everything very well. The area appears to be very well

managed, and several of its members are active consultants with local businesses.

There are individuals with organizational skills within this group who could be

useful resources in helping some of the other areas with their own self-

management.

• ?

6. Policy Analysis

The policy analysis group is quite diverse and the group appears to be a location

for individuals who do not fit into another area. As a result, the group lacks a

common sense of direction. For examp!e, the two outlines for Bus 478-

Administrative Policy (Spring, 1990) provided to us were quite different. One

appears to be essentially a case course with readings from Hill & Jones, while the

other appears to be a course on Porter's Comoetitive Stratecv (no course

objective is provided on the 478-3 outline). The marking schemes for the two

courses are very dftferent, although both involve written case assignments. We

understand that the differences in the courses may have been intentional. We

suggest a better effort at coordinating the teaching of policy is required; aside

from the obvious inconsistency in the materials, there are some very obvious

difficulties if students are handing in written assignments on the same or similar

materials at different times in the term.

Overall we were generally impressed with the quality of individual faculty

members and their commitment to research and teaching. However, we do

believe that the FBA is a classic case of the sum of the parts being greater than

the whole: This may be partly caused by the lack of a clearly, stated

and

accepted, statement of mission and goals and objectives for the Faculty. Each

area appeared to have a sense of direction or mission that was quite independent

of (and sometimes contrary to) the stated mission of the FBA. The rigid area

definitions tend to contribute to this phenomenon. In our opinion, the FBA is far

too small an entity (47 faculty) to have such rigidly defined areas. The Faculty

should seriously consider the elimination of areas entirely or at least a reduction

to two or three broadly defined areas. This could lead to more cross fertilization

in both teaching and research programs.

-10-

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V.FACULTY RESOURCES

..0

As a general point we note that the Dean does not appear to have full autonomy

over the deployment of the resources available to suppOrt FBA programs. As in

other sections of this report, we strongly recommend that the University consider

decentralizing full responsibility to the Faculty.

1.

Facilities

The most glaring weakness in the FBA's resource base is the lack of well defined

and self contained teaching, research and administrative facilities. The proposal

for the Business and Management Sciences Building appears to be well

conceived. We recognize that it is important for the FBA to be located in close

proximity to Departments and Divisions which share a common interest and

program orientation. However, we strongly believe that it is essential for the FBA

to have its "own space" which is designed to present an appropriate image to the

community. We would therefore strong!y recommend that the new building be

designed to provide the FBA with this separate identity.

2. Administrative Support

The administrative staff appear to be competent and highly committed to the

FBA. The

y

did raise Serious concerns about the distribution of work load among

administrative units. We therefore recommend that the Dean undertake a

review of the organization and deployment of the administrative resources to

ensure that the workioad is equitable. It a!so appears that the FBA is in need of

additional secretarial support.

3.

Computing Resources

a) Teaching Support

We were impressed with the significant strides the FBA has taken towards

creating a supportive computing environment for faculty, staff, and students

in quite a short time. We suggest that now might be the time for a ft:e "fine

tuning" concerning management of the FBA computing resources. We would

like to see an active dialogue amongst the faculty to resolve some important

issues surrounding the use of computers in teaching:

i)

How can the FBA encourage faculty to develop the new materials required

to integrate computing into their courses? Updating course materials to

reflect the "information" age (both PC and mainframe) should be a major

part of on

g oing course development for all programs; note that this

involves not just having students use computers, but also introducing

!ssues about computin

g whenever possible and appropriate (strategic

issues, marketing issues, human resource issues, etc.).

ii)

What administrative structure is appropriate to support teaching

computing in the FBA? Should there be a "computing director"? If so,

should he or she be a tenured faculty member or a staff person? What role

should the MIS faculty be expected to play in administering the FBA's

computing services? How can faculty be rewarded for such service?

-ii-

---

iii)

Should the FBA move towards a standardized hardware and software

package for teaching purposes? The present use of several different

spreadsheets as well as Macs and IBM compatibles has some advantages

but also several major disadvantages (including an appearance of chaos,

significant additional support requirements, and significant student and

faculty overhead spent adjusting to different systems).

iv)

What process should be used to make decisions about software used in the

programs? Should/can software decisions for BUS 237 be left to the

instructors teaching the course when this decision will have an impact

throughout the program?

b) Administrative Staff Computing

!t appears to us that the administrative staff are being provided with a

minimum level of computer support. Further training opportunities, "hand

holding" su

p

port, and technical support would all create a more supportive

computing environment for the administrative staff.

VI UNIVERSITY RELATIONS

The relationship between the University administration and the constituent Faculties

at Simon Fraser University appears to be rather different from that at other

universities

with

which we are familiar. The Facuies at SFU appear to have

substantially less autonomy over matters such as hiring, salaries and promotion and

tenure standards. It is our opinion that the constraints imposed on the FBA

by

the

application of uniform university policies places it at a competitive disadvantage vis-

a-vis other business faculties in Canada. These policies can be seen to have the

following effects on the FBA:

1. Salary Policy

The imposition of a uniform salary scale (with minor adjustments) across the

university makes it difficult for FBA to hire new faculty and can be expected to

increase the problems associated with the retention of existing faculty as the

market becomes more competitive. The addition of a market differential

attempts to address this problem but the method of application is such that it is

only partially effective. The current size of each step in the market differential is

six percent over the "normal" salary. Even if faculty receive a number of step

adjustments the resulting salary hardly seems adequate to attract junior faculty

in several business disciplines particularly Accounting, Finance and Marketing.

We have been informed that the maximum starting salary, including market

differential ,that can currently be offered at SFU is $55,000 with the possibility

that this could rise to $58,000 under exceptional circumstances. New graduates

in Accounting and Finance are currently being offered $65,000 plus "summer"

money of about $10,000 for the first three to five years at many Canadian

universities including UBC. The market differential being applied, therefore, only

partially reflects existing market conditions in these fields. Furthermore, the

market differential is phased out either when the faculty member's total salary

. ?

reaches the Associate Professor's ceiling or when the Associate Professor's

breakpoint is reached.

-12.

Iri

---

This policy suggests that the market differential can be viewed as a temporary

aberration that disappears after some period of time. This perception is far from

reality in that the competition for full professors is as intense as for other ranks.

The ceiling that is placed on salaries for both Associate and Full professors means

that such faculty members who perform well will only remain at SFU if they either

have strong geographical preferences or private means (or both).

A more flexible application of a market differential that recognizes the

competitive environment is necessary if FBA is to compete successfully for new

faculty.

2.

Hiring Procedures

The hiring procedu

r

es appear to be extremely bureaucratic and inflexible and

result in the production of considerable documentation and delays in confirming

"unofficial" offers extended by FBA. When non-Canadians are being considered

Canada Employment and Immigration regulations and the concomitant

documentation must obviously be complied with. In other cases however,

simpler procedures could be considered.

We find it surprising that control of the overaU academic faculty salary budget for

the University as a whole is centralized in the Office of the Vice-President,

Academic, a practice that substantiaflyreduces the Dean's flexibility in matters

related to hiring and the distribution of salaries between different members of

• ?

the Faculty. For example, when a senior facuy member retires the Dean is

expected to hire a single replacement at a more junior :evel (and a lower salary)

unless he can make a strong case for a senior appointment. A more flexible

system in place at some other universities allows the Dean to retain the salary

released by the retirement so that he can either hire a senior member at the same

salary or two juniors for the same total dollar amount depending on the needs of

the Faculty. The practice of allocating a given number of new pos

i tions to be

filled at a particular average salary rather than specifying an increase in the salary

budget also reduces the Dean's ability to service the Faculty's requirements in an

optimal manner.

3.

Promotion and Tenure Procedures

The SFU procedures appear to be similar to and consistent with those of other

institutions in Canada in all respects except that there is no recognition of

creative professional activity as a legitimate input to promotion and tenure

decisions. Examples of creative professional activity include for example, the

preparation of a research report for a Royal Commission or other governmental

body or the execution of a study for a professional body such as The Canadian

Institute of-Chartered Accountants. Such activities will not generally result in

publications in refereed academic journals but can be expected to have a

significant impact on public policy or the practice of management or the

application of professional standards as a result of the development and

implementation of scholarly knowledge. 11 should be unusual for an individual to

obtain tenure as a result of only such professional activities but a judicious

mixture of academic publications and significant professional accomplishments

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should be acceptable. Junior faculty members expressed some concerns about

the following aspects of the tenure and promotion process all of which should be

addressed:

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a) The Faculty Tenure Committee may not include a member of the candidate's

subject area. In a multidisciplinary Faculty such as FBA this may mean that

there is no one on the Committee who can either judge the quality of the

work under review or who may recognize the external referee's assessment.

In such a case the Committee may then be reduced to judging solely on the

basis of the number of publications.

b)

Significant institution building or support activity is not recognized. For

example, a junior faculty member hired for his statistical expertise may

provide extensive programming and/or technical support to his colleagues

and may be disadvantaged if his publication record does not reach the

required level despite the fact that he has assisted his colleagues' research

efforts through unrecognized creative activity. A similar point can be made

with regard to junior faculty who take on responsibility for the planning,

development, and administration of computing iacilties. It is difficult,

therefore, to find individuals willing to. undertake support or administrative

activities with the Faculty.

c)

Course or programme development activity receives little or no credit. One of

the recommendations of this report is a reassessment and possible

restructuring of the Executive' MBA programme. We anticipate that it will be

difficult to find faculty members willing to volunteer for this task.

4. Other Factors

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a) Relationship with Continuing Education and University Fund Raising

Facu!ty members' perceptions are that any funds generated by the Faculty

through Continuing Education will generate no benefits for the Faculty. As a

result we noted a definite lack of enthusiasm for undertaking the

development of professional courses for managers through Continuing

Education. Following discussions with the Deans of FBA and Continuing

Education we are satisfied that these perceptions are incorrect and steps

should be taken to rectify the situation.

There is also a wides

p

read belief within the Faculty that all funds raised by the

Faculty from outside sources will be directed to general university revenues

and not benefit the Faculty. This too appears to be a misconception that

should be corrected.

b)

Reporting of Consulting Income

We have been informed that there are university guidelines that require

facultymembers to report both consulting time and income with an upper

limit on the latter set at approximately $18,000. This seems unreasonable in a

business faculty facing noncompetitive salaries especially since consulting

activity can result in research ideas and generate useful examples for

teaching.

c)

Relationship between Revenues and Expenses

One of our suggestions is that the fees for the Executive MBA and the

proposed "weekend" version should be raised to provide additional revenue

and to make the programme self-supporting. We were told that an increase

IA

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in fees could result in a reduction in the funds the FBA receives from the

University and, therefore may not be worth considering. A judiciously

established fee increase could be of value to both University and Faculty and

should be considered.

d) Relationship with other University Units

After a period of what appears to be isolation the Faculty's relationship with

other Department's appears to be improving with the establishment of three

or four new joint programmes. The current dispute between FBA and the

Economics Department over the BUEC courses was not examined by us but we

believe efforts should be made to settle this issue in an equitable manner. In

general, we find the relationships between the FBA and the Department of

Economics to be quite amicable and do not see any major concerns in this

area. It was wide

l y felt that Dean Shapiro has made significant progress in

developing positive relationships between FBA and other University divisions.

VII External Relations

In assessing the overall impact the FBA has had in the external community we must

recognize where the Faculty and the University have come from. First, until recently

SFU has had little institutional contact with the external community, especially with

the business community. However, with the recent fund raising effort and

•

development of the Harbour Centre facility the University appears to be making

great strides in developing a strong external image. The Faculty has been in a similar

position. Until recently FBA was a department within the Faculty of Arts and as such

had no real mandate for working with the business community. We were impressed

with the accomplishments already achieved by the Dean in this area. From

discussion during the review process and elsewhere we received very positive

comments about the Dean. We must emphasize that these comments.were directed

at the Dean and not the FBA. It is our impression that except for the work on the

Executive MBA, the Faculty is not well known in the local community. Certainly

when compared with the Faculty of Commerce at UBC the FBA has a very low profile.

We believe that both the University and the Faculty must place a much higher

priority on building relations with the business community. If possible the University

should allocate resources to the FBA to support such an initiative. As an example of

such effort, more attention must be placed on defining the proper role for the

External Advisory Board. In our view there is a great deal of goodwill and interest in

the FBA and an active Advisory Board could help to mobilize this energy. However,

the University administration must recognize that an active advisory board takes

time from the Dean's schedule and usually requires,financial resources. The

administration should provide the Dean with adequate support to staff and operate

an active board. The same points can be made about alumni relations and executive

education. Successful programs in these areas take seed funding as well, in the

longer term the FBA should reap financial rewards for such efforts but the payoff

may take three to five years.

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VIII Conclusions and Recommendations

We have presented our recommendations in a format that is intended to build on

and extend the general conclusion reached in Section I. To repeat our point, the FBA

has good leadership, has a solid, committed faculty and student body and has the

opportunity to become an excellent Faculty that is positioned well against UBC.

However, the University must decide if it is willing to give the Dean and the Faculty

the autonomy and the resources necessary to be competitive.

The Faculty, particularly the individual faculty members, must decide if they want to

develop a clearer sense of mission and make the necessary commitment to carry it

out.

Assuming the answer is positive to both questions, we make the following

recommendations:

1.

Goals, Objectives and Policies

The FBA must develop a much clearer sense of direction or mission. This direction

should help to define the unique role the FBA intends to play in management

education and research in Canada and British Columbia.

2.

Programs

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a) The Undergraduate Program (B BA)

i)

The Faculty should place a hgher priority on the program related

activities and perhaps tess emphasis on individual courses. We believe

that the program could be significantly improved if more effort was

devoted to coordination and planning.

ii)

More time should be spent developing a sense of community in the

program. This can primarily be undertaken by students, however the

faculty must show leadership.

Ili)

Since many of the students study on a part-time basis, the scheduling of

classes and availability of services (library, computing, etc.) should

consider the constraints on student time.

b) The MBAProgram

i)

The Faculty should review the objectives of this program carefully and

commit to a specific direction. If the original objective is retained the

Faculty should reconsider the desire for expansion.

ii) The virtues of the program should be broadcast more widely. We

believe that a strong market could exist if the program was marketed

more aggressively across the country.

ill) In conjunction with point i) above, the Faculty should consider

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dropping the "500 course" option as an entry route. We do not believe

that this option is consistent with the stated objective for the program.

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iv)

Effort should be made to build a stronger sense of community for the

MBA students. A separate lounge in the new building would help

greatly.

v)

Again, given the stated objectives for the program, students should not

have common courses with the EMBA students.

c)

The EMBA Program

The Faculty should undertake an in-depth review of this program and

consider an expansion in the number of courses.

d)

The PhD Program

The Faculty should delay consideration of a PhD program until the existing

programs are'improved and sufficient resources are made available.

e)

The Executive Programs

The Faculty should have far more autonomy and responsibility for the

design and Operation of Executive Programs. This function could be set up

as a separate unit, report i

ng simu!taneous!y to the Dean of FBA and the

Dean of Continuing Education. It is also clear that the individual faculty

members must make a greater commitment to this endeavour.

3. Faculty Strengths and Weaknesses

a)

Overall the FBA must develop a clearer statement of mission and purpose.

Following this effort each area of subgroup in the Faculty should develop

their own mission in order to create a stronger sense of overall direction.

b)

Within the context of the overall mission, the Faculty must decide the

priority to be placed on each area. For example, if accounting is a priority

then new resources must be made available immediately. The same

general point can be made about each area but we found the accounting

group to be the most demoralized.

4. Faculty Resources

The proposed new building should be so constructed that the FBA and its

students have a separate and distinct identity. This does not mean a separate

building, however, a sense of separate identity is essential.

S. University Relations

To repeat a statement made in the body of the report, we find SFU to be one of

the most centralized operations in Canada. While this may be appropriate for

many of the units in SFU, it is highly undesirable for the business school.

The University must take urgent action to restructure the salary system. We find

that the FBA is totally noncompetitive in the business school marketplace.

It

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6. External Relations

The Faculty must make a much stronger commitment to the development of

positive external relations. In the long-term this effort will result in significant

increases in financial support and relevancy of programming. In the short-term

the University should provide new resources to support this initiative.

Respectfully submitted by:

Dean Roger Wolff - University of Toronto

Committee Chair

On behaJ of -the Cornrnftee:

Professor Peter Bell -

University of Western Ontario

Professor David Fowler

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York University

Dean Roger Woftf - University of Toronto

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