Research in Science Education, 1992, 22, 255 - 259.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT: DESIGNING AN UNDERGRADUATE COURSE

Chris Kirk and Richard Chapman University of Waikato

ABSTRACT

This research focusses on the role of science educators in preparing technically educated graduates for their careers. A comparison was made between the skills and abilities in science and technology students desired by industrial employers and whether New Zealand graduates exhibit these qualities. To address some of the management-based issues identified by the research, the design of a new Science and Technology Management course is outlined.

INTRODUCTION

The growing role of science and technology in modern New Zealand society has created a need for unique management skills on the part of scientists and technologists. Not only is science and technology a fundamental part of the modern New Zealand way of life, it is now recognised as being an essential ingredient of economic growth and progress (Bollard, 1986; Beattie, 1987). Improved science and technology leadership is being increasingly recognised as an imperative in our times.

Scientists and technologists generally have a sound knowledge of their own subject area and a grasp of various technologies which impinge upon their expertise in the organisations they work for. These professionals have the potential to produce a great number of important discoveries, innovations and inventions. But do enough science and technology graduates have some understanding of the day-to-day principles of management? Is there sufficient awareness of business strategy and marketing techniques? Is there a failure of communication between business and science? Various studies show that these two groups do not interact well, largely because of communication difficulties and insensitivity to each other's capabilities and perspectives (Gupta, Raj & Wilemon, 1986, 1987; Weinrauch & Anderson, 1982). Other barriers to integration of management and science/technology include educational backgrounds (Badawy, 1982) and personality and cultural differences that are emphasized by sterotyped perceptions of "managers" and "scientists" (Gupta et al., 1985).

One purpose of any science education programme is to place graduates in a position from which they can embark upon further learning competently and confidently. A useful way of evaluating this, is by considering the goodness-of-fit between what science graduates take into the world of work and the requirements for rapid learning on the job. Despite its importance, little science education research has been conducted into the learning that takes place during a career and how this might be facilitated by the features of initial (undergraduate) science education programmes (Powell & Banks, 1989). An initial study into developing professional skills in chemistry students had indicated a considerable mismatch between the skills and qualities New Zealand employers desire in recent graduates and those they find (Kirk, 1988). Questions were

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raised about the need for a more formal integration of business and management skills into traditional Chemistry undergraduate programmes and the need for integrated curriculum material to enhance the development of these wider skills. A second phase of how to develop "desired professional qualities" across a broader range of science graduates is reported here.

THE PRESENT RESEARCH

Given the above, this research was guided by two questions: What qualities and skills in scientifically educated undergraduates are desired by industrial employers? Are science/technology educators currently helping to meet the needs of these employers? The aim was to identify information to help educators in science/technology, in the preparation (and development) of graduates so as to better provide for the science and technology needs of New Zealand.

Data Collection A pre-tested structured mail questionnaire, based on previous extensive interviews (Kirk, 1988), was sent to the Chief Executive of each of 461 industrial firms and laboratories in New Zealand. In all, 182 completed questionnaires were returned (39%), of which 167 were valid (36%). Sixty percent of these companies (103, 22% of total sample) had hired science and/or technology university graduates over the past five years. This sub-sample of companies forms the basis for analysis.

Reference to the literature and expert opinion determined twenty-four skills and abilities relevant to managers in science and technology (see Table 1). These qualities fell into four broad categories: General Management (eg decision-making skills), Functional Management (eg basic marketing skills), Personal Skills (eg the ability to work in a group), and Science or Technology-based abilities (eg theoretical knowledge of science and/or technology).

TABLE 1 CLASSIFICATION OF SKILl,S/ABILITIES AS USED IN THIS RESEARCH

GENERAL MANAGEMENT Decisiommaking skills Problem-solving skills Supervisory skills Project management skills Planning skills

FUNCTIONAL MANAGEMENT Financial control skills Basic accounting skills Basic marketing skills An understanding of industrial relations An understanding of legal matters

PERSONAL/INTERPERSONAL Ability to learn "on the job" Willingness to accept new values Written communication skills Oral communication skills The ability to work independently The ability to work in a group

SCIENCE OR TECHNOLOGY-BASED Theoretical knowledge Analytical skills Technical research skills Literary research skills Basic technical skills Practical work experience Computer programming skills Computer operating skills

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Measures The questionnaires obtained data on the qualities of science or technology university graduates that industrial employers would like to find (i.e. "wanted"). A five point scale was used, ranging from "Very Important" 5 to "Not At All Important" 1. The extent to which these qualities are found in recent university graduates was measured on a similar scale, ranging from "Always Found" 5 to "Not Found At All" 1. Finally, the questionnaire provided respondents with an opportunity to comment on how university graduates in science or technology could be made more valuable to their organisation. The ten largest performance gaps (perceived difference between "wanted" vs "found") were: Written communication; Oral communication; Planning; Problem-solving; Project management; Decision-making; Willingness to accept new values; Ability to learn "on the job"; Ability to work in a group; and Analytical skills. The additional comments sought from employers on how graduates could be made "more valuable" identified the skills and abilities given in rank order in Table 2.

TABLE 2 CLASSIFICATION OF RESPONDENT SUGGESTIONS ON HOW SCIENCE

AND TECHNOLOGY GRADUATES COULD BE MADE MORE VALUABLE

(% of companies responding) Improved communication skills 26% (oral/presentation skills; report writing)

Exposure to management skills 25% (planning; decision-making; problem-solving; marketing)

Ability to apply theory practically

Improved skills in basic science

Practical work experience

Improved attitudes

16%

13%

12%

12% (understanding reality vs theory; standards of conduct; work expectations)

Lateral thinking (flexibility in approaching problems)

11%

Overall these results strongly indicate that a number of the mismatches between the skills desired and those found by employers of recent science and technology graduates were centred around various management-based skills.

A SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY M A N A G E M E N T COURSE

With the information gained from this and the previous study (Kirk, 1988), the next challenge was how to put these findings into practical effect. The School of Science and Technology at the University of Waikato offers traditional science majors in Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth Sciences, Mathematics and Physics. The

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School is strong in the traditional science culture with the "technology" designation in its title being relatively recent (1989) and representing fledging programmes with a Technology bias. The School offers a typical 3-year BSc degree and a "co-operative educative" 4-year BSc(Technology) programme. The latter incorporates a total of 12 months of science/technology work experience into the academic programme. In order to offer students the option of choosing a management oriented course specifically designated to help meet the identified needs of the workplace, the School agreed to a proposal that a course be designed for students at second year undergraduate level. The proposed course was seen as being particularly suitable for BSc(Technology) students who were already in a programme that would meet some of the practical "needs" identified in Table 2 (Kirk & Langdon, 1990), but was to be available to all students regardless of major or degree. Within these considerable constraints, a Science and Technology Management course was designed.

In keeping with the research findings, the aims of the course were to present introductory business and management concepts in a science and technology framework and to increase awareness of how management and business skills and knowledge interface with the world of science and technology. The first difficulty to be addressed was that the School of Science and Technology itself had no specific management education expertise within its existing staff. However the University's School of Management Studies had a strong reputation and there was general recognition by both Schools that closer interactions would be desirable. A second difficulty for an educator faced with the desirability of including non-scientific topics in undergraduate courses is the scope and depth of such coverage. After considerable discussion it was decided that this new course was to be organised as a number of short discrete modules, an approach which is often adopted at graduate level (eg MBA programmes), but much is less common with undergraduate papers. After discussion with staff of the School of Management Studies the main topic areas to be included were: New Zealand Science and Technology Businesses; Human Resource Management; Marketing Goods and Services; Total Quality Management; Accounting for Resources; and Communication. Other important business management topics could have been included but of necessity an introduction could be given in relatively few areas. (A follow-on course at third year could possibly deal with additional topics).

This approach had a number of potential difficulties. Firstly, academic staff who normally spent a whole year giving introductory papers in their specialist management areas were asked to "compress" this to about 20% of a one year paper. This meant experts in their field were asked to crystalise material into a form that could be understood by students who had never taken a management course before and which was oriented towards the business of science and technology. Secondly, a consequence of the "series of modules" approach meant that new staff members presented each section. Thus, the course could easily be perceived by students as a chaotic and unconnected "smorgasbord" of information delivered by "outsiders" instead of a well coordinated and integrated introduction into the world of business and management.

In order to minimise this possibility, the course was deliberately promoted as a "Science and Technology Course" and was organised and coordinated by a member of the School of Science and Technology. The Coordinator was present throughout the course, contributed to the introduction and wrap-up sessions, introduced the management staff lecturers and organised guest speakers. The course was first offered in 1991, is unique

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in New Zealand and attracted 102 enrolments in its inaugural year. Student evaluation at the end of this year was generally favourable (details available from authors on request) and, with minor alterations, the course has been offered again in 1992.

Conclusion

Despite the positive outcomes of this initiative, fundamental questions remain to be considered. For example:

How beneficial will such a course be to the students in the longer term? Is it sufficient to merely raise students' awareness of business and management issues at the undergraduate level? Should options be considered that fully integrated larger inputs from business/management and from science/technology? Is it appropriate to consider the development of fully integrated science and management undergraduate degree programme?

Many challenges clearly lie ahead for educators at the science-management interface.

REFERENCES Badawy, M. K. (1982). Developing managerial skills in engineers and zcienfsts. New

York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. Beattie, D. (1987). Kev to orosoeritv: Science and technology. Wellington: Report of

the Ministerial Working Party. Bollard, E. G. (1986). Scienc~ and technology in New Zealand; Opportunity for the

future. Wellington: National Research Advisory Council Gupta, A, K., Raj, S.P. & Wilemon, D. (1985). The R & D marketing interface in high

technology firms. Journal of Product Innovation Management. 2, 12-24 Gupta, A, K., Raj, S.P. & Wilemon, D. (1986). R & D and marketing managers in

high-tech companies: Are they different?". IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Vol EM-33, No. 1, 25-32

Gupta, A, K., Raj, S.P. & Wilemon, D. (1987). Managing the R & D --marketing interface. Research Management, (March-April), 38-43.

Kirk, C. M . (1988). Developing professional skills in chemistry: An initial study, Research in Science Education, 1__88, 1-8

Kirk C. M. & Langdon, A. G. (1990). Co-operative education in chemistry. Chemistry in New Zealand, 54, 125

Powell, J.P. & Banks, P. C. (1989). Learning during a professional career. International Journal of Career Management, 1, 35

Weinrauch, D.J. & Anderson, R. (1982), Conflicts between engineering and marketing units. Industrial Marketing Management, 1_!l, 291-301

AUTHORS DR CHRIS KIRK, Director, Technology Development Programmes, School of Science

and Technology, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. Specializations: science and technology education, co-operative education, development of professional skills.

MR RICHARD CHAPMAN, Co-operative Education Co-ordinator, School of Science and Technology, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. Specializations: co- operative education programmes.