These prospective managers desire distinct skills, necessitating assessments to develop specific abilities. Group work to foster interpersonal skills and leadership; assignments involving interviews to understand diverse perspectives; and presentations to peers, equipping students to articulate and defend their views. Given that management involves handling and controlling a magnitude of individuals, it is crucial to prioritise the development of flexibility, adaptability, and soft skills. A practical solution In my recent semester teaching Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), I attempted to address some of the above issues. The main coursework was a group project of multiple stages, presenting different challenges in each. Group work assessments enhance interpersonal skills and promote collaboration, communication, and conflict resolution. They foster empathy, teamwork, and diversity, improving active listening and leadership. This interaction aids in understanding social dynamics, solving problems, and collaborating in diverse teams (Rice-Bailey and Chong, 2023). Simulating real-world scenarios prepares students for post-graduation challenges, such as group members underperforming, communication issues, or differing expectations. Firstly, in groups of three to five, students survey their peers around the university on the relative importance of each factor in Carroll’s Pyramid of CSR, using the measurement instrument from Ehie (2016). However, this was explicitly designed so that the students could not use Google Forms, with each having to interact with 10 fellow students drawing into the affective domain. Thus, each team member is committed to fulfilling their group responsibilities. This responsibility was necessary as the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns affected students’ interpersonal skills; despite remote education, the loss of inperson interactions hindered vital skills like active listening, understanding nonverbal cues, and building rapport (Greaves, 2023). Furthermore, with each student having a responsibility to the group, conflict resolution is possible, which is crucial for management students, as some students may not complete their tasks or underperform. The survey results were tabulated and compared to the academic model. Each group then interviewed three other students as to their thoughts on why there was a difference between the results and the academic model. This necessitates students to engage in probing questions to ensure enough depth to answer the questions within the brief and further enhance affective skills through social interaction. During COVID-19, the university’s social environment, crucial for peer interaction, was disrupted by isolation measures. Opportunities for casual socialising, networking, and forming friendships were limited, impacting social skills and emotional intelligence. This isolation, compounded by the pandemic, could lead to increased stress, anxiety, and loneliness, indirectly affecting interpersonal skills. Thus, the human-tohuman interaction in an interview assists the interviewer and interviewee. Reduce the Artificial Finally, students were asked to present their key findings in a five-minute presentation to the rest of the class, emphasising explicit and concise communication with the limited time available. The written component is kept to a minimum word count, reducing the opportunity to use ChatGPT or other tools, as AI tools challenge the traditional short essay assignments (Baidoo-Anu and Ansah, 2023). According to Bloom’s taxonomy, AI excels in lower-order cognitive skills (remembering, understanding, applying), allowing students to focus on higherorder skills like analysis and evaluation. Creativity, a domain where AI falters due to its reliance on existing data, becomes crucial for higher-order thinking skills typically developed in a student’s final year and postgraduate studies. The Affective domain addresses emotions, social interaction, and ethics, enhancing emotional intelligence, teamwork, and leadership (Zach and Rosenblum, 2021). The Psychomotor domain emphasises manual and physical skills, with students developing crucial abilities through roleplaying, teamwork, and practical experiences. Thus, students presenting their results verbally, visually and written concisely drives creativity. Conclusion Whilst none of the components were difficult, it exposed students to multiple facets of the real world. The main challenge is that there is no predetermined answer, as anything can come to light with actual data, thus developing critical thinking skills to address the problem. Activities like case studies, interviews, and surveys involving real-world companies and managers are essential to showcase academic prowess and develop practical managerial skills. A re-evaluation of assessments, focusing on the affective and psychomotor domains, including case studies, projects, group work, and role-playing, is proposed. Shifting away from a predominant focus on the cognitive domain diminishes the impact of ChatGPT and AI tools. 29 Scholarship Matters In an increasingly interconnected world with vast amounts of readily accessible information, it seems illogical for management students to be confined to an exam hall to regurgitate memorised academic content promptly forgotten upon leaving the room.
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