THE BUDDY PROJECT: A SEMESTER LONG PROJECT AIMED AT DEVELOPING AN APPRECIATION FOR DIVERSITY Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 25, 1998 THE BUDDY PROJECT: A SEMESTER LONG PROJECT AIMED AT DEVELOPING AN APPRECIATION FOR DIVERSITY Jan Zahrly, University of North Dakota ABSTRACT The Buddy Project is a semester-long experiential exercise in an undergraduate organizational behavior or human resource management class. Students examine their personal values and attitudes and compare them to the values and attitudes of a person believed to be very different from the student. Students select their own subjects, perform original research, apply relevant management theory to the “different” subject, and examine how they (the students) have changed as a result of the exercise. Assignments include an oral and written term project and various homework papers. This exercise has been used successfully in a very homogeneous university (87.6 % of the students were white/non-Hispanic American). Students have demonstrated an appreciation for University and have rated the exercise highly. INTRODUCTION The business environment, domestic and foreign, becomes more complex and diverse every day. Students must learn to work and manage in organizations with people who are different from themselves. Yet, many students leave colleges and universities with little awareness of or training in managing people who have differing values and perceptions. The project described in this article was developed to encourage students to become more aware of differences and similarities in people. It is a series of assignments culminating in a final project. The entire project is geared to the students’ observations and interpretations of their values and the values of someone who is significantly different. Goals of the Project The primary learning goal of the project is to have students understand and appreciate diversity. This goal is realized when students understand that there are commonalities among all people. There is significant research support for the premise that most employees communicate better, have more common goals, and have lower conflict levels at work when they understand and accept different cultures, values, and attitudes (Schein, 1992; Trice & Beyer, 1993). A second goal is for students to examine their own values, attitudes, and personalities. Self- development can occur while students are learning management concepts and applying those concepts to the Buddy. Finally, students learn to perform research and draw conclusions about their data. STAGES OF THE BUDDY PROJECT Students must find a person who is significantly different from themselves and study that person, the “Buddy,” during the semester. Each student has a different Buddy and there are limits as to who may be a Buddy. Students may not select a professor, roommate, or family member as a Buddy. Examples of buddies are people with different religious beliefs or sexual orientations, homeless people living in 114 Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 25, 1998 shelters, people from other countries or from various cultures such as Native Americans, people with emotional or physical disabilities, and people who have experienced significant unusual events, e.g., near-death experiences, prisoners of war, trauma. Anyone who is perceived to be “different” could be approved as a Buddy. Students are encouraged to apply management theory to themselves and their buddies throughout the semester. At first, students tend to believe that the project will be difficult, if not impossible. However, by midterm, students are involved in the project. One student wrote, “At first I thought you were crazy, expecting us to go up to someone we didn’t know and ask them if they would be our Buddy! It turns out that I’m really excited for this project!” By the end of the semester, most students are enthusiastic about the project and report that they have learned about themselves and others. Values Assignment Students are given a homework assignment at the first class meeting, due the second class, which is a lead-in to the Buddy assignment. Students are told to write a personal statement about their values. There is no assigned length and students are urged to be as complete as they wish when discussing their values. The teacher is the only person who reads the papers and students are urged to complete the assignment privately. (The homework papers are graded as to whether critical thought has occurred, not on the “value” of the personal value statement.) Term Project The final project must contain a description of the Buddy, including the Buddy’s values. Students are required to delineate differences and similarities between the student and the Buddy. Students must apply management theory to their Buddies and must explain what they have learned as a result of the research project. In addition, there are homework assignments throughout the term where students write parts of the final paper. For example, students have to write an objective and subjective description of the Buddy. After the homework is graded, students use my comments to improve the description that will become part of the final paper. In the final paper, students must explain what they learned from this project. The most frequent conclusion is the discovery that students and their buddies are similar in so many ways and have few differences. Students report greater awareness of others in general, a desire to learn more about people who are viewed as “different,” and a sense of accomplishment for two reasons. First of all, students are pleased with themselves for completing original research. Many of them have never collected and analyzed data before. Secondly, students overwhelmingly are pleased about their self-development. The interactive session covers the major assignments and many of the homework papers. REFERENCES Schein, E.H. 1992. Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco: JosseyBass. Trice, H.M. & Beyer, J.M. 1993. The cultures of work organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 115 Table of Contents Volume 25, 1998 Marketing Goes to the Movies Bringing Experiential Learning to a Principles of Marketing Course Investment Analysis Application Using In-house Spreadsheet Models SugarCoated Statistics: An Exercise for the First Day of Class Improving Undergraduate Student Involvement in Management Science and Business Writing Courses Using the Seven Principles in Action Establishment and Funding for Interuniversity / Multidisciplinary Student experiences The Prospects of Creative Teaching: A Discussion with Patricia Sanders The Simulation and Classroom Assessment Techniques Developments of Management Skill Assessment Games as Instruments of Assessment: A Framework for Evaluation The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Business Curricula Threshold Solo Competitor: A Management Simulation (V1.0) a Windows-Based. Play Alone, Total Enterprise Simulation and Assessment Instrument Toward An Understanding of One's self-concept Total Enterprise Simulations and the Internet: Improving Student Perceptions and Simplifying Administrative Workloads The Expatriate an Assignment Orientation Game An Expatriate's Nightmare: An Experiential Exercise in Coping with Overseas Assignments Analyzing Experiential Exercise: Using the Scientific Method for Problem Solving The Second Component to Experiential Learning: A Look Back at How ABSEL has handled the Conceptual and Operational Definitions of Learning Predictive Models of Learning: Participant Satisfaction of Experiential Exercises in Business Education Accelerating Moral Development through Use of Experiential Ethical Dilemmas Ethical Dilemmas to use with Business Simulations to Teach Ethics The Class Approach in Behavioral Simulation in a Business Policy/Strategic Management course: A Progression toward Greater Realism An Exploration of the Emergence of Process Prototypes in a Management Course Utilizing a Total Enterprise Simulation How Organizations Are Improving Their Performance Utilizing Electronic Commerce: Examples From The Internet The Market Access Planning System (Maps): A Computer-Based Decision Support System For Facilitating Experiential Learning In International Business An Excel Workbook For Student Planning And Interface With A Simulation Game Design Of Multi-Media Based Pedagogy For Leadership Training Panel Discussion On Using The Internet For Courses Valuing And Enhancing Teaching: Sharing Tips Via The Web The Buddy Project: A Semester Long Project Aimed At Developing An Appreciation For Diversity Enhancing The Excitement And Learning Retention In The Classroom: The Power Of Magic The Supervised Management Internship: A Job Or Learning Experience Team Ware™ An Online Moderated Class Discussion Facility And Beyond A Neophyte Distance Educator's Experience Learning Management By Practicing Management: A Report Of Significant Student Service In 1997 Integration Of Academic And Service Learning: Students' Perceptions About Its Effects And Outcomes The Value Of Incorporating A Service Learning Component Into Course Content: A Presentation And Roundtable Discussion Business Games Teach: Thoughts on the Sources of Conflicting Conclusions on their Effectiveness Antecedents Of Learning In The Simulation: A Replication Using Student Journals To Enhance Learning From Simulations Technological Change And Intertemporal Movements In Consumer Preferences In The Design Of Computerized Business Simulations With Market Segmentation Integrating The Marketing Curriculum Using Collaborative Learning Teaching Time Management In A Sales Program: The Application Of A Computer Simulation Game Adapting Interactive Computer Simulations For Content Based Esl Instruction Multimedia And Student Expectations Synthesizing Data For Media Simulations Composing A Team Health Promoting Behaviors-A Decision Making Exercise Does it really Work? An Application of the Group Interaction Framework Administering the MIT Beer Game: Lessons Learned A Paperless Economy? Instructing Students on the Aspects of Successful Electronic Commerce Maximizing Learning Gains in Simulations: Lessons from the Training Literature Observing General Ability in a Total Enterprise Gaming Simulation FReach Teach: A Computer-Based System for Teaching Advertising Media Planning An Integrated Business Instruction System An Experiential Exercise you can Tinker With Experiential Exercises or Computer Simulations? Cash Flow Statements: Are They Important in Business Simulations? Holistic Cognitive Strategy in a Computer-Based Marketing Simulation Game: An Investigation of Attitudes Towards the Decision-Making Process Barnga: A Game on Cultural Clashes The Many Faces of Culture: Understanding Country and Corporate Culture Students' View of the Use of Business Gaming in Hong Kong Assessing General Management Interest What is the Future of Business Gaming? Starting a Small Music Trivia Business Exercise and Other Innovative Icebreakers An Integrated Approach to Behavioral Skill Development Career Focus: A Student and Business Learning Experience The Use of Concept Mapping in Teaching Strategic Management An Experiential Approach to Developing Mission Statements Business Games in Brazil-Learning or Satisfaction A Simulation within a Simulation: Job Layoff's and Emotional Reactions