From L to R: Prof Suzette Viviers, Ms Sabrina Matthee, Prof Johan De Villiers, Prof Johan Fourie, Prof Nic Terblanche

The Department of Business Management at Stellenbosch University recently hosted the 2024 conference of the Southern Africa Institute for Management Sciences (SAIMS). The event also marked the centenary of the Department and concluded after four days of insightful presentations, masterclasses and panel discussions around the theme, A Sense of Good Business.

On the final day the Department celebrated its anniversary by reflecting on Business Management during the last century and questioning what the future of the field may look like. Speakers included various academics from the Department, including Dr Debbie Human-Van Eck, who kicked off the session by asking the question, "How do you know what good means if you don't take a moment to stand still and consider it?"

Learning and sharing past lessons

Prof Johan Fourie of the SU Department of Economics highlighted the importance of history in understanding contemporary business practices. He emphasized that history served as a valuable tool for improving present circumstances, and secondly, that academics had to find compelling ways to disseminate this research and engage audiences who may not typically engage with academic literature.

"We are much better than we were in the past, and we need to think of creative ways to share this message. As academics we should be more realistic about the reach of books. We need to make information more accessible by using creative ways."

"People remember stories," he said. "It is therefore important to find novel ways to convey the lessons we have learned from history through stories. We cannot just rely on the classroom."

Evolution of management education

On the topic of change, Prof Suzette Viviers and lecturer Sabrina Matthee discussed their research project on the history of the SU Department of Business Management and its growth over the past century.

With approximately 10 000 students currently enrolled in various programs, the Department has evolved to offer specialised degrees that align with contemporary business needs, including entrepreneurship, marketing and financial management. As change is a constant in education, curricula have to be adapted continually to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving business landscape.

Both Viviers and Matthee underlined the importance of aligning educational core values with real-world business practices, asserting that successful businesses reflect these values. They named four essential lessons in the "business" of teaching, i.e. lessons their department had taken to heart over the past century and had seen it flourish: the evolution of module content, the importance of core values, interdisciplinary integration, and a future-focused educational approach.

Other prerequisites for success include curious academics who believe in life-long teaching; lecturers who actively conduct research in their respective fields and who engage and collaborate with industry partners, thought leaders, policy makers and leading academics in the global arena; lecturers who embrace innovation in teaching, learning and assessment methods; support from top management; and professional and administrative staff support.

According to Viviers, the following proverb summed up their session: "He who does no research, has nothing to teach."

Future directions

Prof Gert Human, Chair of the Department of Business Management, posed challenging questions to which he admittedly did not have the answers. He discussed the growing importance of social constructs in business and the need for flexibility in organisational structures.

"We are trying to get our heads around two things in our department: What are the major tensions and the major shifts we'll have to face in future?" he said.

Tensions included those between quantity and quality, relevance and impact, innovation and governance, and managerialism and freedom.

He expressed concerns about the pressures within academia to produce scientific outputs, warning against turning research into a mere production line. "We need to find a way in management sciences to deliver quality on scale," he stated.

Human advocated for a broader definition of impact, one that encompassed contributions to local communities and relevance in various contexts. That, he said, seemed to be happening already.

He also pointed out that the science of business was fundamentally an applied social science and urged a reevaluation of how management education was approached in South Africa. He ended with the question, "As we try to find our own place as management sciences in Africa, are we engaging enough?"

In conclusion

Speakers collectively called for a more holistic view of business education, encouraging a return to foundational topics such as history and philosophy to enrich the learning experience. The insights shared during the conference not only highlighted the importance of adapting to change but also reinforced the idea that good business transcends traditional boundaries, aiming for a positive social impact.

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