A Principled Discussion: Is the P-O-L-C Framework Still Relevant?

Abstract

There is considerable diversity in the required cornerstone management course for all undergraduate business majors within the curricula of accredited business schools. Most notably, many schools do not require students to take a Principles of Management course, even though the four principles of Planning, Organizing, Leading, and Controlling are said to anchor the discipline and are the basis for Principles texts. If schools are not requiring a Principles course, what management course do they require for all business students? In this paper, we first aim to provide some historical background on the “Principles of Management.” We then discuss how the debate between management relevance and rigor needs to include students as stakeholders. Next, we provide data on management course offerings from a sample of 114 AACSB-accredited schools to support the notion of heterogenous cornerstone course offerings. Less than half of the sampled schools offered a required Principles of Management course, with many choosing to require Organizational Behavior or another “craft course” in management. Finally, we will provide some suggestions for synergies in management education without seeking resolution to the theoretical debates over rigor vs. relevance.