Bachelor of Science in Applied Corporate Management
Degree Codes: Program- BSAPC Plan – BSAPC
Overview
The Applied Corporate Management (ACM) Program of 开元真人 began as a partnership with the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines. Member companies of the ECCP sought assistance in finding a training/education model that would help them in recruiting junior staff with management potential.
The program, patterned after the dual-tech program in Germany, features three alternate terms of actual experiential learning in the real world of work, and was meant to enable students to acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values of world-class management. The students’ exposure in the company is now known as the Management Internship.
The 12-term program aims to train students in all aspects of business management with a corporate orientation. It also intends to enhance the hands-on experience of the students as well as minimize the huge cost of training future employees from 开元真人 on the part of the participating companies. It is two terms longer than a typical business degree because of the three-term management internship experience.
The ACM program is a recognized brand name among its partner companies. As more companies learn about the unique program, they become very interested to partner with the MOD. Historical records show that ACM students graduate with honors, are active student leaders, and are involved with serving the community. They also receive job offers from their internship companies, start their career sooner than other graduates at higher position levels, and receive higher compensation.
The unparalleled success of the ACM program is attributed to several factors. The first is the quality of the student intake. The department carefully screens students so only those who are able to comfortably balance academic and extra-curricular activities are selected. Students, with clean discipline record and who hurdle the basic academic requirements, must successfully pass a written qualifying test and the interview, prior to their acceptance. It is the stringent requirements of the program that defines the relatively small number of BS ACM majors. There have only been a little over 600 students accepted into the program since it began 15 years ago.
The second critical factor is the commitment of partner companies who provide ACM students with relevant work experience. The supervisors assigned to the students also exert effort in making sure that the learning experience remains developmental. This means they recognize that students are in the workplace to learn and are not employees who are in the workplace to earn. Due to the small number of students, the department works with a regular base of a dozen companies who have been reliable partners through the years. However, the department does deal with other companies on occasion and are always open to explore more long-term commitments with promising companies.
The third critical factor is the dedication of department faculty members. Each time a student goes on internship, he/she is assigned a fulltime faculty adviser who ensures that productive learning takes place in the work environment. The adviser meets with the student every month, visits the supervisor within the first month, and again meets with advisees and supervisors for a culminating presentation on the third month. Then, when a student takes his/her thesis, another adviser is also assigned to ensure that the research output meets the high standards of the degree.
The fourth critical factor in the success of the program is a highly supportive university. The inclusion of three-alternate full time internships in the BS ACM program meant that the program did not fit into the traditional program mold. Consequently, there have been adjustments in policies and procedures to ensure that ACM students are not disadvantaged by their program from receiving awards and enjoying privileges that emanate from their academic performance.
Finally, the program works well because it is highly integrated and the department has instituted well-documented control mechanisms so that all stakeholders continually do their share. There are trimestral review processes imbedded so that department administrators are immediately alerted of any dysfunctional behavior by any of the stakeholders. Moreover, the structured feedback mechanisms allow all stakeholders to express program improvements. These are then discussed at the department level and meritorious suggestions are implemented as soon as it is possible to do so.
Clearly, effort has been taken to provide ACM students with the best possible classroom and practical experience to better their chances of succeeding in the workplace. Program administrators are challenged to maintain the standards and remain relevant in the 21st century. It is for these reasons our students are 鈥淧roud to be ACM.鈥�
Description
The Applied Corporate Management Program is on the cutting edge of business education in the Philippines, providing our students with an opportunity to be exposed to the work processes and technology of our partner companies, as well as the chance to work in a cross-cultural environment.聽 Coupled with the long-standing tradition of excellence in business education provided by De La Salle University, these more than adequately prepare our students to become tomorrow鈥檚 corporate leaders.
The BS in Applied Corporate Management is a 12-term program featuring a 3-term internship component with partner companies.聽 The program aims to provide students with both theoretical knowledge and practical experience in the various aspects of business management.聽 It also intends to enhance the hands-on experience of the students as well as to minimize the cost of training future employees from 开元真人 on the part of the participating companies.聽 Specifically, ACM graduates are expected to develop skills and competencies in six major areas.聽 These include creative and critical thinking, communicating effectively, and applying technology. There are also personal management skills that drive ones鈥� potential for growth. These are working responsibly by maintaining service excellence standards in an ethical and socially responsible manner, learning to challenge and improve oneself, and working effectively in teams.
Program Rationale
The Asia-Pacific region is in the midst of the challenges of globalization and liberalization. As global competition intensifies and as countries open their economies to foreign players, businesses are hard-pressed to lower their costs of production, and to constantly improve the quality of their products and services to satisfy the escalating needs and wants of consumers. To do this, companies need to invest in both cutting-edge technology and competitive human resources.
Consequently, the increasingly competitive business environment has made it imperative for colleges and universities to upgrade the quality of education and training they provide their students so that these students could adequately meet the requirements of businesses for productive workers. As a result, colleges and universities have increasingly sought the cooperation of the world of work in recent years. By closely communicating and cooperating with the world of work, higher education institutions do not only improve the education but also the employment opportunities of their students.
Industry-academe cooperation has been advocated because the future tasks of the graduates and the competencies expected of them are different from job to job. Constant communication is expected to provide schools with the right signals, even if they are diverse, contradictory, or vaguely expressed. Industry-academe cooperation is likewise important because classroom instruction has become inadequate to prepare students well for the world of work. Studies have shown that “experiential learning” is a powerful tool supplementing cognitive processes of learning clearly separated from work.
Since the education sector is the major source of skilled human resources for the business sector, it is important for these two sectors to establish a strong partnership. Ideally, the graduates of colleges and universities must have the proper knowledge, values, and skills that address the short- and long-term needs of the business sector. In this situation, the cost of retooling new graduates being absorbed by companies will be reduced. In addition, colleges and universities need not “waste” time and efforts in conducting courses that are not needed by business and industry.