Why All Business Schools Should Teach Foresight: Perspectives from More Than a Decade at the University of Notre Dame. (September 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Miller, Sam; Michel, John; Balko, Tim; Harms, Chad
• Other Names: Bishop Peter guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: World future review. Volume 10:Number 3(2018)
• Page Start: 203
• Page End: 212
• Publication Date: 2018-09
• Subjects: foresight -- business -- education -- strategy -- futures research; Forecasting -- Periodicals; Forecasting -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; Social prediction -- Periodicals; Social indicators -- Periodicals; 303.49
• DOI: 10.1177/1946756718777491
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1946-7567

Abstract

This article advocates that business schools include a formalized foresight educational experience more widely in their curriculums. As a group charged with educating business leaders of tomorrow, the cultivation of the skill-set and mind-set necessary for anticipating change and positioning organizations for future success and survival should no longer be left to chance. For the past decade, the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame has required all undergraduate students to take a course titled Foresight in Business and Society . During this time, the Mendoza foresight faculty team has gained perspective on the design and value of a futures research learning experience for our students. Five underlying design principles are presented that have shaped the delivery and execution of the course these revolve around: developing great leaders, confronting ambiguous questions, experiential understanding, rigorous exploration, and anticipation as a force for good. As with any design-based perspective, the article concludes with challenges and pitfalls in recognition that the process is not always linear or smooth. But to other educators on this journey, the challenges are manageable and the promise and prospects for students makes it worthwhile.