IJMB Journal – Abstracts

International Journal of Management and Business

IJMB Volume X, Special Edition

Developing Management Skills: Team ePortfolios

Maureen Snow Andrade

Utah Valley University

E-mail: mmaureen.andrade@uvu.edu

ABSTRACT

An introduction to organizational behavior course is a typical requirement in most business programs. Curricular innovations in such courses can encourage students to apply their learning and develop critical managerial skills. This qualitative study examined how the use of team ePortfolios in an organizational behavior course helped students develop skills related to planning, organizing, leading, and controlling (POLC). The teams submitted artifacts in which they reflected on course concepts and teamwork. Reflections were analyzed for evidence of the functions in the POLC framework. Findings indicated that planning and organizing were the most dominant followed by controlling, and then leading. In some respects, the inauthenticity of the assignment in terms of its short-term nature, the non-hierarchical team structure, and the lack of authority for the leader may have impacted these outcomes. However, the teams demonstrated effective integration of the POLC functions accompanied by the development of important employer valued cross-cutting skills such as communication, teamwork, critical thinking, application of knowledge, and the ability to work with diverse others.

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