Developing Professionalism in Business School Undergraduates

• Published in: Journal of education for business Vol. 89; no. 1; pp. 35 - 41
• Main Authors: Clark, Timothy S., Amer, Tarek S., Ng, Pin T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington Taylor & Francis Group 01.01.2014; Routledge; Taylor & Francis Inc
• Subjects: Arizona; Business Administration Education; Business schools; cocurricular programs; College students; Curriculum Development; Enrollment; Extracurricular Activities; Goal Orientation; Information Technology; Likert Scales; Outreach Programs; Professional ethics; Professional Identity; Professional Recognition; professionalism; Program Administration; Program Implementation; Recognition; Rewards; Student behavior; student conduct; Student Evaluation; Student Surveys; Teacher Surveys; Undergraduate Students; Undergraduate Study; Arizona
• ISSN: 0883-2323; 1940-3356
• DOI: 10.1080/08832323.2012.754736

The authors explore the importance of developing professional behavior among business students and introduce a program designed to incentivize professionalism during undergraduate study. The Professionalism Recognition Program was established to promote, recognize, rate, and reward the students' professional conduct in a flexible and widely applicable way. The authors describe key aspects of the program's formulation and implementation, noting the resources and constituencies involved as well as considerations for development of similar programs elsewhere. The lessons learned may help others successfully enhance their own efforts to improve the professionalism of students and build strategic distinction for their colleges of business.