Michael Cavanaugh, a management professor at Fairfield University”™s Dolan School of Business, said he is tired of passive learning.
He wants to see more active learning, which he said teaches initiative and entrepreneurship, vital attributes for business-world hopefuls. That”™s why he helped spearhead ”” and eventually teach ”” MG340: Management Theory In Vivo: An Off-Line Experience, also referred or as “Critical Issues in Management.”
The hands-on capstone management course requires 29 students divided into teams of five to six to develop and construct self-destructing structures made of 4,500 Keva planks, a type of wooden building brick.
- Professor Michael Cavanaugh, right, beside a tower of Keva planks.
The goal isn”™t so much about the architecture of the structure itself but rather the team building, problem-solving and project management skills developed and needed to reach the final construction point.
“It comes from the idea that doing business is a craft,” Cavanaugh said of the course, which was introduced last fall. “It”™s not any different than science or flying an aircraft. It”™s a collaborative experience.”
Students work in teams throughout most of the semester designing and planning their structures before constructing them in the lower level of the Barone Campus Center in late April.
Keva planks are used by children as well as architects. For the course, structures are built without the use of glue or bolts. They self-destruct after completion through a trigger point, Cavanaugh said.
Students are not penalized for unsuccessful structures. The focus is on getting a grasp on what managers in the business world are responsible for on a day-to-day basis.
Donald E. Gibson, dean of the Dolan School of Business, praised the course”™s unorthodox approach.
“This innovative class encourages learning in groups, and the sometimes chaotic nature of organizational decision-making,” Gibson said. “It puts our students in a challenging, real-life, project-oriented environment. What better preparation for succeeding in business?”
Several Dolan faculty members had discussed the idea of introducing a hands-on course, but Cavanaugh said he was selected because he was the “loudest talking” professor at the school. Originally, Lego blocks were considered, but since they did not incorporate the ability to self-destruct, they were ruled out.
Cavanaugh had the idea to use Keva planks after he and his grandson went into a toy store and saw an Eiffel Tower structure built of 3,000 Keva planks.
“Critical Issues in Management” is open to seniors in all schools at the university.
“It”™s a perfect transition class,” Cavanaugh said. “Seniors have one foot in the job market and one foot in the university. It”™s a bridge to both.”
For Fairfield University senior management finance major Joseph Wik, the course did more than just fulfill a graduation requirement after he took it last fall. He earned an interview at a financial institution, where he made sure to utilize what he learned in the course.
“I put them (Keva blocks) down on the table before my interviews and every person asked why I had the blocks,” Wik said. “It really helped me to speak to my experiences of team building and stand out from the pack.”It worked;Â he received an offer to be a part of a New York City-based management leadership development program.
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