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Abstract

Educators are emphasizing the need for developing students through arts and literature. Our case illustration demonstrates that business students are motivated to develop their personality through cultural artifacts and different theories. The article has two purposes: the first is to present management education, which emphasizes the importance of valuing culture and students’ implicit management theories, while the second is to suggest recommendations for integrating cultural content into management education, which we present through the managerial challenge of preserving Australian Slovenian cultural homes. The article presents a qualitative study on management perception of 106 business students who are embedded in contemporary culture and innovative cultural management education practices at the University of Ljubljana. The possibility and benefits of converting the complete curriculum of cultural management education emerge from this research. We hope that this article will enlighten educators and researchers to conduct further studies on cultural management education and multiple intelligences development.

Keywords

management education cultural management multiple intelligences case illustration Australian Slovenians

Introduction

Ars longa, vita brevis.

Hipokrat

According to the earliest definitions, culture (Taylor, 1871, in Treven et al., 2008, p. 27) “a complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society” can have objective (e.g., tables, computers) and subjective (e.g., norms, values) aspects. Culture and cultural patterns are not easily changed in a short period (Goić & Bilić, 2008, p. 42). Arndt and Ashkanasy (2015) conceptualize ambiculturalism as the competence of adopting the advantages of different cultures and overcoming their weaknesses (p. 144). Fusion theory (Ashkanasy, 2013) enables the understanding of multicultural, international, transnational, global, and multinational contexts. The mainstream theory is going across a narrow view of “East versus West” sphere of China versus North America. It is important to blend cultural influences in business practice, theory, and education (Arndt & Ashkanasy, 2014, p. 145). It is also important to note that there are significant differences within the international education systems. Thus, education in Europe is considered to focus on abstraction and comprehension, and it is separated between practice and theory. Education at U.S. business colleges is considered to be based on a combination of behavioral (experience/imitation) and cognitive (abstraction) orientations. Studies include combinations of instruments such as case studies (process orientation), while Chinese education is based on experience and imitation (Arndt & Ashkanasy, 2014, p. 145). Learning has a vital role in recognizing and setting ambicultural management. Besides experiencing different cultures, learners need to understand his or her own culture (Chen & Miller, 2017). Interest for learning about their own culture is often initiated by exposure to other cultures (Arndt & Ashkanasy, 2014, p. 145). Uncertainty and fear of change are characteristic of contemporary culture (Kuralt, 2008). Alvin Toffler (in Kuralt, 2008, p. 83) noted, “We rush full speed into an unknown future, which is not the least bit rosy. What we need in order to solve this problem is ‘historical memory.’”

Nowadays, many universities differentiate between the arts and sciences, and most business fields are represented by social scientists and mathematicians (Michaelson, 2015, p. 147). Michaelson (2015) provides examples of the cultivation of the fusion of the arts and sciences in business students’ practice and thinking, such as usage of films, literature, and drama in the classroom (p. 147). Narratives, more than any other artistic genre, convey the value that is present in a human professional and private lives (Michaelson, 2015, p. 148). Novels cultivate empathy (Nussbaum in Michaelson, 2015, p. 148). Michaelson (2015) states that understanding of reading patterns of managers gives us insight into their cultural, motivational, and work–life balance (p. 148). Michaelson (2015) provides an example of World Economic Forum, where business leaders asked what classic and contemporary books shape their personal and professional values to see the extent to which managers are directed to cultivate creativity and empathy based on reading fictional literature (p. 148). Based on the use of literary-critical techniques in analytical representations of managers in the literature, the conception of managers in the eyes of the custodians of the cultural canons is shown (Michaelson, 2015, p. 148), as humans are storytelling creatures and live and learn narratively (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). It is important to be aware that culture influences the use of management theories and practices (Matić, 2008, p. 93).

Structure of the paper is twofold: first is a theoretical overview of contemporary practices of business education and highlighting the role of culture in business education. The second part offers a qualitative study on business students’ perceptions of management, and illustration of cultural management education on the case of the University of Ljubljana.

Theoretical Overview

Graduate students should be able to demonstrate besides the academic knowledge also complex problem-solving in the real environment. The demonstrations allow students to gain practical experience that will benefit them after graduation (Bransford et al., 2000; Claassen & Blaauw, 2019). Individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds and female groups are underrepresented in science areas (American Institutes for Research in Wu et al., 2019). Management scholars have many educational materials, such as textbooks or case studies to choose from. Laasch and Conaway (2015) provide in their textbook Principles of responsible management a wide array of topics to consider to make participative decision-making of our students responsible, so they will be able to build sustainable companies and collaborative business communities. Prašnikar et al. (2008) differentiate managerial cultures in transition countries, such as Russia, Serbia, and Slovenia. Their findings show that young managers and students in all three countries are more similar than the older age groups, which made them estimate that in the future there will be diversified corporate cultures where multinational companies will originate from different countries. Schneider (in Friel, 2011, p. 554) states that firms in Latin America have the only comparative institutional advantage in producing commodities and basic goods for global production networks. Friel (2011, p. 568) elaborates that small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can produce quality goods by forming an industrial district based on the business model of cooperatives in Argentina. Maxwell (2007, p. 138) also expresses the value of “inner circle members,” the people we seek for help, advice, and rely on. It means that the culture of participation and collaboration enables us to advance. As African proverb (in Sinek, 2016, p. 107) says, “To go fast, go alone. To go far, go together.” Manager Erika Guzman describes the role of a human resources manager in terms of responsibility to create a culture in which the employees live the company’s philosophy and values (Matić, 2008). It is going for a process which is achieved by coordinating human resources activities, such as recruiting, screening, and hiring; training and skills development; labor relations; compensation and benefits; performance management; high-performance teams; and integration events, with a focus on social and family aspects (Laasch and Conaway, 2015, p. 362).

What are the value and role of culture in business school and education? We think educators at business schools have a special mission to present to the business students besides economics and management functions also the context in which executives and businesswomen work. One without the other cannot be successful. We are convinced that every region, country, organization, or individual also offers a rich cultural opportunity learning and therefore decided to offer multiple perspectives on culture, from national culture, organizational culture, to individual culture varieties. Peterlin et al. (2011) identified positive and educational effects of implementing corporate social responsibility into higher education institution based on the cooperation of the privately owned company and business school. New generations arriving into business education and community raise the necessity of reconstructing contemporary models of working behaviors (Montana & Petit, 2008; Tan & Rajah, 2019) based on the theory of multiple intelligences.

The intelligence of an individual is situated within the sociocultural context (Resnick et al., 1991). Intelligence is a biopsychological predisposition and a skill in a culturally specific context (Olson, 1974). The fully developed potential for intelligence is only possible through development (Gardner, 1993). Doh (2003) analyzes implicit theories of development into a leader, which are present in our head, meaning whom we perceive as our role model. Schyns et al. (2011) discuss different ways teachers develop leadership theory and skills. Even early researchers of intelligence knew that intelligence encompasses more than mere mental capabilities which are represented in the traditional intelligence tests, that is why Gardner (1983) uses the analysis of life stories where multiple intelligences demonstrate the achievement of culturally desirable results in a specific society and period. Gardner (1983) defines intelligence as a biological and psychological potential, which may or not be developed, depending on experiential, cultural, and motivational factors (Freund, 2004). Gardner (1983) emphasizes the qualitative expression of the intelligence where each intelligence is located in what people are capable of doing, in their products they create in the real world—in comparison to intelligence which is numerically defined with the intelligence test (Freund, 2004).

Theory of multiple intelligences enables a new view of the development of an individual and offers to the pedagogues a didactics approach, which is focused on developing strengths of a learner (Peterlin, 2014, p. 57). Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences gives two main assets to education management (Peterlin, 2014, p. 58): (a) it enables pedagogues to develop educational programs by the potentials of learners and (b) it helps pedagogues to come closer to a larger number of learners and their unique intelligence profiles.

The main weakness of standardized intelligence tests and IQ is the too-narrow focus of intelligence on its verbal and logical components, which educational system develops as the main scholastic intelligence (Peterlin, 2014). Because standardized tests of IQ are focused on scholastic intelligence, they are a good forecast of success in the educational environment. However, they do not predict the success in the business community for which multiple intelligences are needed (Peterlin, 2014), such as managerial intelligence (Sternberg, 1997). Because we focus on measurable aspects of intelligence, scholastic intelligence is emphasized, which can easily be measured through multiple-choice questions (Peterlin, 2014, p. 47). Multiple intelligences (Gardner, 2010) are cognitive processes, ways of perception, interpretation, and organization of phenomena, which are a special form of creativity (Peterlin, 2014, p. 49).

Cultural intelligence is the system of interactive capabilities, which enables the production of culturally intelligent behavior (Thomas et al., 2008). Cultural intelligence is a meta intelligence, which enables leaders to successfully function in different cultural contexts (Offerman & Phan, 2002). Elements of social intelligence play a key role in multicultural leadership (Aditya & House, 2002).

It was long believed that there is only one intelligence, so-called scholastic intelligence, and we now know (Gardner, 1983) that we all possess multiple intelligences profiles. The same can happen in the discourse about culture—we can easily give our students an impression that there is one normative cultural model instead of cultural richness—that is why we need to be careful in educating about the culture within a specific cultural context. We aim to provide our efforts in the field of cultural management education at the University of Ljubljana.

Method

The study was designed according to the general method of case (Yin, 2003, 2011, 2012) illustration. Narrative analysis and interpretation of the collected data have been carried out. We use an inductive, qualitative approach to build and elaborate theory, based on how we act and understand the conditions in which we work (Pratt, 2009). We quantified the qualitative data and also provided in vivo proof citations (Langley, 2012). Narratives are developed in the sociocultural context in which the narrator—business student—lives, so the purpose of the narrative analysis is to make sense of both the narrative and the sociocultural context. Joint content analysis of the answers by the authors was chosen as the most suitable method for analyzing the collected data. The content analysis aims to determine concepts and theoretical formulations and is as such a part of the interpretation (Penger, 2006). The representative sample of business students was chosen to gain an in-depth understanding of future management professionals entering the workforce. Tight (2012) claims that when researching the student experience within the contemporary higher education, the attention shifts to the students’ perception, which should be a focal area to those concerned with higher education. Written consent of the students was gained for proof citations included in the article. The associations of management gained from business students were part of interactive public lectures on Management, and the identity of the individual student is not revealed. The focus is on associations and perceptions of management population of current business students.

The purposeful sample needed to be relevant for our research questions (Engel & Schutte, 2005) and encompass management students as our research question was: “How do management students perceive management?” Non-numerical review and interpretation are suitable for processing large amounts of unstructured primary data to research underlying meaning, perception, reflection, and patterns of relationships (Babbie, 2007). The authors developed the research design together and triangulated the questionnaire design and analysis in their previous research (Roblek et al., 2019). Data were collected at the School of Economics and Business University of Ljubljana, where around 200 students were able to choose to think about their cultural services preference as one of their homework reflections. We represent in these articles selected proof citations. Narrative analysis (Keats, 2009; Sfard, & Prusak, 2005) is a vital part of understanding the construction of the narrative. To make the analysis clearer, we also incorporated proof citations (Langley, 2012). We provide the results of our study in a structured manner in an NVivo graphical model (Figure 1). Situated-attention perspective refers to the intensity of the focus on the dominant frames of references compared with others for situated action (Malik, 2019; Ocasio, 2011).

Figure 1.

NVivo graphical representation of the results.

Findings

Data for NVivo software analysis on “management” associations of business students were collected on October 9, 2019, at the course Management at the University of Ljubljana School of Economics and Business. The NVivo study of 106 students’ perceptions of management highlights the fact that first-year students know about management theory and practice from media, “important others” since they have not had education on explicit theories of management their implicit theories, are an interesting insight into how contemporary society and culture view management and how this cultural view is transferred to future managers, contemporary management students. Authors implemented the research method of thematic network (Roblek, 2009): (a) narrowing down the narrative, (b) exploitation of the narrative, and (c) interpretation of the themes. The data analysis process was divided into three sections: data reduction or breakdown of the narratives and discovering meaning and integration of research findings (Stirling, 2001). The findings below show the most often stated association with management. The international students were asked at the beginning of the undergraduate course Management to name their first association when they hear the term “management.”

Table 1.

Word Frequency for Students’ Associations of Management.

Word	Count	Weighted percentage (%)
Company	13	6
Managing	13	6
Leading	9	4
Manager	9	4
Organizing	8	4
People	7	3
Planning	7	3
Controlling	6	3
Organization	6	3

The most popular view of management (Figure 1) is what managers do in the companies. The most repeated answer was “company,” meaning that implicit student theories of management are based on activities in companies, whereas managers are also active in other forms of social entities. We have grouped students’ responses into the following different groups, where each group comprises a certain homogeneous view. We have labeled each group of response to reflect a dominant theme of each. Main themes of how students view management can be grouped into the following themes: (a) controlling other people; (b) managing a company; (c) process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling; (d) personal image of someone a student knows and is a manager; (e) being good at organizing its activities and activities of others; and (f) making decisions. These groups’ uniqueness is the theoretical contribution of our study as we wish to establish that pedagogues need to establish the perception and stereotypes of students at the beginning of pedagogical process what do students know already about the topic discussed, their pre-knowledge, and attitude toward learning this concept. Students are not “an empty glass” into which we pour explicit theories. Therefore, we first need to acknowledge their existing perceptions and build on them.

The themes most often identified in the student’s associations of management are company, managing, leading, manager, organizing, people, planning, controlling, and organization.

Theme: Company

Students associate management mostly in the company setting. The origin of the word company comes from latin “companis”—sharing of bread. The students see management as the system which enables sharing of financial and nonfinancial resources. Although management happens also in other settings, their first association was the company, which means that they connect management with the culture within a specific company as representative of organizational culture.

Theme: Managing

Students see action in management, and they think people in charge of management need to perform act of managing. Managing people and processes is complex and students have identified in the thematic analysis also all four management functions: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.

Themes: Planning, Organizing, Leading, and Controlling

Planning is the seventh association students think of when thinking about management, whereas in the management process it is the first management function and scholars consider it as most or among the most important management functions, especially strategic management. Organizing is the fifth association students have about management. It means setting structure, formal relationships within the organization. Organizing is often most seen management function on the outside. Leading is often used as a substitute term for management; however, this is not the same according to the explicit management theories where leadership is part of management and deals with communicating, motivating, and coordinating. Controlling is students’ eighth association of management. Managers control input, process, or outcome. Controlling has the role of quality management so we can correct or reward previous management process implementation with control techniques.

Theme: Manager

Manager is fourth association; often top managers are the most visible as representatives of the organization so students see them on television and in the articles. Managers are powerful elite and in different societies they have different reputation.

Themes: People and Organization

People is the sixth association and organization is the ninth association regarding students’ view of management. Organization is a key social entity of two or more individuals.

Complementary to the study done in 2019, we carried out another one in 2020 to gain the perception of management students of managers in their own countries. We provide some of the proof citations from 95 international students where we highlight that students think a lot about cultural embeddedness of management in the national culture:

I’m from Germany and I think of German managers as willing to work, dedicated, focused and on time.

I think that managers in France are not that opened to ideas coming from the bottom.

I think managers from my country are really good and hard-working, many Italian companies are in fact worldwide recognized.

I think managers in Norway are humble and careful, as in our country we are afraid to stick out. I think they are good at listening to everyone, however maybe they could be better at chasing higher goals.

My country is considered as a country in development and since it is ex-communist country, role of managers is still mix between old economic system and new developed within capitalist system. So their role and significance is increasing, but it will need a long time and more and more adjustment that managers in my country become what they are supposed to and what their role are in western societies.

Students are also well aware of different cultural styles in corporations and start-ups, as well:

Usually, the ones in the big companies are quite old fashioned and interact less with their co-workers. But the start-up businesses have some good and quite interesting leaders, who are continuously learning and experimenting. I think that’s due to the challenges that are presented when you start a business.

Students’ associations reveal that when they enter business education, first-year students at their first management lecture perceive management in its richness, however mainly in the corporate setting, that is why it is important to widen their horizons that understanding of management changes through time and in different cultural contexts. We found it useful for us as teachers as well as students to surface their associations about their implicit management theories and think about how their parents or their important others (e.g., media) bias their thoughts of management (Billsberry et al., 2019). Billsberry et al. (2019) take a non-essentialistic approach to management education and regard the nature of management as unknown and unknowable in contrast to classic management education approach, which is manager centric.

Case Illustration of Homework on Management of Organizations in Culture

At the Course Foundations of Management and Organization in the study year 2018/2019, we gave students a bonus homework that some of the students decided to think about in the module on organizations in culture. The assignment instructions were the following: Describe what your favorite cultural institution in Slovenia is? What is your favorite memory of a cultural event? Do you also perform any cultural activity (e.g., do you play in an amateur theater, music group)? Have you visited any interesting, unusual museum or gallery on your tours/trips? Have you seen any new approaches to promotion, marketing of cultural institutions and their services? Which? Do you notice any innovations in the cultural field that are not yet present in Slovenia? Define the professional term “cultural tourism.” What cultural events do you prefer to visit in the home town or capital Ljubljana? Do you ever go on a journey specifically because of a cultural event, such as a concert? How often do you visit a cultural home or some other cultural event? Which cultural genre is your favorite? Briefly answer the questions above and consider how the manager would operate in the field of culture, which has been experiencing financial problems in Slovenia in the last years.

Student PG expresses the need for managing organizations in culture by highlighting the good practice example of entrepreneurial activities within National gallery, Ljubljana where they try to collaborate with their stakeholders and listen to their clients’ needs. Student PG expresses empathy for satisfying the interests of several segments in his thinking, as follows:

My favourite cultural institution in Slovenia is the National Gallery of Slovenia. My favourite cultural event was the movie “Petelinji zajtrk,” which I watched last year in Maribor. I do not deal with any cultural activity, but I was in a theatre school in elementary school, where I did not feel at home. In Ljubljana, I saw an unusual show called Body World Vital, which recently came to Slovenia. The show presents human bodies in various interesting poses. [. . .] Cultural tourism is all types of trips where tourists learn about the history and heritage of other nations and their modern way of life and thinking. I was also at the Metallica concert, which was held in Vienna. I enjoyed and met many new people from different cultures and customs. My favourite forms of culture are concerts, which, in my opinion, are also the most popular for young people.

As a manager, I would first listen to the inhabitants of individual cities in Slovenia, because the cultural events around Slovenia are very diverse, of course, I would devote myself to the larger cities and find out what they want most there and what they love to listen to, which means that as an organizer I would adjust to the place where the event would take place, as well as the age that I would expect to have the maximum participation. For young people, I would like to hold concerts and for a little older people in social evenings like comedy evenings or entertainment shows.

Student NG highlights the role of creativity in managing cultural organizations. It is important to connect different cultural actors in the cultural sector and offer them opportunities to contribute their talents to the public. Student, NG, compared the way he experiences home cultural management and his experiences with managing culture abroad, as follows:

My favourite cultural institution is Cankarjev dom because to me it is in the most beautiful cultural hall in Slovenia—Gallus Hall because in my opinion it is very interesting in form and that makes it so very special. One of my most beautiful memories of cultural events was a conversation and photo with Prifarski muzikanti when they performed in my city. This meant a lot to me because I received tickets for this concert as a reward for helping to organize one cultural event in our city. I do not deal too much with cultural activities, but I want to help with their organization and implementation. Finally, I did it this year when our volunteer society in Sevnica celebrated 20 years of operation, and for this anniversary, we prepared a special cultural event. Whenever I go, I try to visit some kind of cultural institution. For example, this year I went to see the city of Vienna. When I was in Vienna, I visited a museum of recent history, which has been old for more than 100 years and presents the whole history of Austria. For example, during my visit to Vienna, I could take a bus tour through the city and taste classic city food in one of the selected restaurants. In my opinion, cultural tourism is such tourism in which various cultural events are presented. Such modes existed before, such as sports tourism, which is carried out in Gorenjska in the summer and winter. My favourite cultural event I attend is a concert, as I am a lover of live music and concerts, there is always a special atmosphere.

Some of my trips were specifically planned for the cultural event that took place in that city. As an example, this was a visit to the Celje castle and then the premiere of the musical Veronika Deseniška, because for this area of Slovenia there is a special story, we could say that this is the Slovenian version of Romeo and Juliet. As I mentioned earlier, I prefer to attend concerts, since this is at the same time my favourite cultural genre. As a manager working in the field of culture and having financial problems in recent years, I should think about alternatives to getting specific resources. As an example, I could assume that I would be in charge of one dance group and would have problems with promotion. The manager could advise these dance groups to promote Prešeren Square in Ljubljana. How would I do that? A dance group could prepare the so-called “flash mob,” which is basically that someone starts playing music. Then the slow dancing team would gather in the centre of the square and start dancing. If they had touched this point, it would probably be that the crowd who saw this surely wondered which group was doing it and that would make much promotion despite the lack of funding.

Discussion

Defining the essential nature to management is based on the assumption we are taught at management education (Billsberry et al., 2019). Our study of business students’ associations of management is built on the interpretive view that knowledge and understanding of the student are vital (Billsberry et al., 2019). We encourage teachers to design such teaching tools which enable students to actively research management and encourage them to identify variations in the ways that management is viewed, defined, and performed. Based on the Guidelines for UK Higher Education Providers, we propose a model of diversity management curriculum which directs students toward integrated learning experience (Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education [QAA], 2018). Intelligence, diversity, and identity trigger tension between students and communities (Laker, 2018). We need to address dissonance as a necessary process in changing the understanding generated by information, different from previous experiences, socialization, or values of the individual student. Mindfulness needs to be incorporated in today’s business education, which means we develop the “ability to use reflection as a connection between knowledge and action” (Tuleja, 2014, p. 5).

Our paper is in line with the alternative interpretive approach to management education, where students conceptualize management in their ways (Billsberry et al., 2019). Phenomenographic research was used to understand how students observe and perceive management which is known as an experiential or second-order perspective as the focus is on the described experience and not of the phenomenon itself (Asworth & Lucas in Billsberry et al., 2019, p. 628). Phenomenography deals with making sense of how students make sense of the management phenomena.

According to the five conceptions of learning (Säljӧ, 1979) at the management course, students can increase their knowledge, memorize, acquire facts and/or use them in practice, abstract meaning, or understand management reality. According to the variation theory (Ảkerlind, 2018), students learn when they are aware of the variation between their existing knowledge and their experience of the new phenomena.

We think a combined approach to management education is optimal. Giving students a historical, evolutionary view of existing management theories as well as giving them tasks and assignments help them discover the nature of management in their current and/or future work setting. For example, in collaboration with Australian Slovenian community in Melbourne, we are designing a student project work where students gain an actual managerial challenge within associations of Slovenian settlers in Melbourne. Students get a description of the history of the Slovenian Association Melbourne, current managerial challenges, and several options for solutions where they will carry out Stanford Social Innovation Questionnaire to develop the ideas further or offer their novel solution for keeping Slovenian cultural homes in Melbourne open and providing their services to the next generations of Slovenian settlers. Today’s international employees need to move many times abroad; therefore, the need for intercultural understanding is gaining attention (Earley & Peterson, 2004). Training for the global manager needs to incorporate motivational, metacognitive, and behavioral elements (Earley & Peterson, 2004). Study tour participants improve their motivational and behavioral intelligence more than traditional classroom-based students (McCrea & Yin, 2012).

Every person (Dimovski et al., 2013, p. 148) emphasized the following intelligence mix (Gardner, 1983): (a) language (e.g., Slovene poet—Tone Pavček); (b) musical (e.g., promote of Slovene folk music heritage—Ljuba Janče); (c) logical-mathematical (e.g., Slovene natural scientist and chess champion—Prof. Dr. Milan Vidmar); (d) spatial (e.g., Slovene animator and illustrator—Miki Muster); (e) bodily-kinesthetic (e.g., Slovene former dancer—Katarina Venturini); (f) personal (e.g., Slovene entrepreneur “self-made man”—Ivo Boscarol); and (g) interpersonal intelligence (e.g., Slovene promoter of intergenerational symbiosis—Prof. Dr. Jože Ramovš). Students can research what made their role model the way he or she is, and they identify reasons for their success in their field and elements which make him or her ran authentic leader. It is going for valuable students study experience. Authentic leaders are made in the series of life-changing events in their lives. Shearer (2020) proposed five principles based on educational, cognitive neuroscience to guide the usage of multiple intelligences theory and design curriculum, which accounts for unique cognitive qualities of talented students.

In our contemporary global culture, an estimated 100 million children with disabilities are excluded from schooling and face high levels of poverty, discrimination, and inequities as the largest marginalized population in the world (Andreson, 2019; United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO], 2017). For professors, they must remember how it was for them when they were students: What was the culture of studying then—for them? How did they approach toward studying? Sometimes the practices that we condemn as professors we also used to do it due to the lack of maturity or just being in a group of like-minded people composing a special kind of “easy going” crowd not being burdened yet with so many challenges as adulthood brings them. Today many students decline the notion of being perceived as students and wish to be given the roles of active leaders who have a say in directing their studies while some students prefer a more passive role of being led and told exactly what each exercise demands from them. For professors, we recommend reflection exercises to identify what experience do they cherish most from their studying years and what were the most painful experiences for them as students. This activity helps to build empathy in professors for students and also brings a new view of the students’ culture.

The important exercise which we would like to discuss challenges our cultural assumptions or stereotypes (Ule Nastran, 2000) we hold in our heads about “others” in our culture/tradition. Considering our multicultural workforce carefully and/or classrooms we come to see what unites us and that to help management students in managing future workforce which will be even more culturally mixed, the skill to work with another human being will be even more important. If we can develop in our students the will and ability to perceive the other as a human being who is following his or her interests and identify what these interests are and how we can combine them with ours, then we can also strengthen performance together. You can introduce this activity in class with students by using the examples below or your own. If you use your own, it will feel more authentic, and you will feel more included in the process of trusting and respecting, which is central to this activity.

Another discussed exercise which is taken from Dimovski et al. (2009) makes evident to the students the impact of cultural context around them and their agency in it through authentic leadership (p. 114). Authentic leadership is the result of the authenticity and empowerment of employees for leadership (Avolio & Luthans, 2006; George, 2012; Peterlin, 2014). The main challenge of an authentic leader is to identify the advantages of employees and develop them while at the same time connect this development with shared organizational goals and vision of the organization (Luthans & Avolio, 2003). Authentic leadership stems from positive psychology and transformational leadership, focusing on developing positive psychological capital (Dimovski et al., 2009). The exercise aims to test our influence on people around us, be it family members, colleagues, peers, or coworkers at work. Do you stimulate hope and optimism? If you do not influence your coworkers, you cannot lead them. The best way to check if you have the abilities of authentic leadership is to set a task which should make a positive change in the organization (e.g., morning meditation; once a year a hiking tour to the mountain Triglav—the highest mountain in Slovenia; charity event). Managers are usually excellent in keeping the strategic direction of their organization, but many times have difficulties in changing this direction. If we wish to lead employees toward new goals, we need influence that is based on loyalty and dedication of the followers toward their leader. Authentic leadership does not automatically stem from the job position or a formal title. Authentic leadership is earned through honest work and integrity (Dimovski et al., 2009, p. 114).

Case Illustration of the Summer School of Cultural Management at the University of Ljubljana

Case of Summer School of cultural management (SSCM) is the project of the University of Ljubljana, Council for Arts, that is organized by four faculties: School of Economics and Business, Academy for music, Academy of theater, radio, film and television, and Academy of arts and design. SSCM is a mix of academic topics and entrepreneurial tools. Lecturers from the business environment, arts, faculties, and artists give guest lectures. Participants visit several concerts, galleries, and museums. One day in the program is dedicated to a field trip of one cultural region. Participants receive new managerial knowledge, such as time management, strategic management, organizational knowledge, leadership tools, and controlling applications, as well as new arts experiences.

SSCM evolved as a response to the round table, carried out in 2014. Key pillars of SSCM are (SSCM, 2019) as follows: (a) the duration is 1 week, from Monday till Friday with whole day program, including evening cultural events; (b) every new edition opens up new topics suitable for widening students’ horizons; (c) the latest actual topics are EU policy, cultural heritage, and Slovene culture; (d) combination of theoretical lectures and practical guest lectures; (e) international lecturers participate; (f) emphasis is on entrepreneurial skills development of artist and experts in culture; (g) each new year the focus is new and new views on cultural management are added; and (h) every edition incorporates visiting cultural institutions.

In the future, one of the propositions to expand cultural awareness of Slovenian cultural identity of Slovenians living abroad would be to have lectures from countries where Slovenian communities are based (e.g., Sydney, Melbourne, Cleveland, Amsterdam, Zagreb, Tokyo). Informational technology, such as ZOOM, enables live lectures and participants could see how diaspora sees and practices Slovenian culture in their cultural homes. For example, contemporary cultural management topic in Slovenian community at the moment is functioning of Slovenians cultural homes in Australia, as there is a threat of closing them due to new shift of generations, where the needs of the first generation of settlers from Slovenia to Australia were to meet, interact, and speak Slovenian language in the cultural homes they have built with their own hands. In contrast, now the second and third generations are mostly from culturally mixed marriages, live in a multicultural context, and have more developed digital competencies in comparison to the first generation of settlers who were skilled in technical skills and were able to build cultural homes that now need renovation. While it is interesting and important to visit cultural homes in Slovenia where participants live, it is also vital to raise awareness about sustaining cultural identity far away from “homeland” and connecting the Slovenian cultural environment.

Conclusion

Cultural management education demands a new look at the educational system and connection of several stakeholders in the educational arena. In our article, we showcase our pedagogical orientation and demonstrate an example from the University of Ljubljana School of Economics and Business. In our research, we have identified students’ interest to be involved in cultural management as they feel appreciation for cultural heritage and the need for managing our cultural treasures. Students’ multiple intelligences are diverse and cultural sector enables strengthening different multiple intelligences profiles.

By following the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME), we offer knowledge about the impact of cultural management education on an individual business student, business, and society. Since 2007, PRME (supported by the United Nations) have designed ways to educate the new generation of business stakeholders who will be capable of solving complex demands of the cultural organizations in the 21st century.

We can conclude from our cases that our responsibility as educators is to expand the horizons of our students, both by making our students aware of their multiple intelligences as well as showing them how they can develop their potentials in a wider cultural context. Students’ views demonstrate that this is not only our wish as educators but also the wish of the students. However, they need to be approached in an appropriate didactic framework, that is why we present the case of the Summer School of Cultural Management at the University of Ljubljana.

The main conclusion of our study is that management education needs to dedicate more emphasis on the cultural context in which managers function. Nowadays, the organizational culture and environment of the organization are two common modules within a management course we conceptualize to our business students. However, our study shows that new education management approaches are being developed, such as multiple intelligences theory. Also, cases of students highlight that they are interested in the specifics of managing organizations in the cultural sector. Therefore, these need to be incorporated more into general management courses, besides corporations and start-ups in other sectors. Howard Gardner (1983) presents a representation of multiple intelligences in the form of a life-story approach by highlighting multiple intelligences of authentic leaders in specific fields. Authentic leaders lead by example and demonstrate their strengths and weaknesses openly with a dedication to lifelong learning.

Limitations of this research study are that research is qualitative, and the questionnaire was carried out among business students at the School of Economics and Business University of Ljubljana in Slovenia. Future research is encouraged to expand the research sample to other countries and study fields, besides management students. Future endeavors must employ more resources to enable further discussion and reflection in the learning experience of cultural management education.

Theoretical, Practical Implications and Recommendations for Cultivating Management Education Based on Multiple Intelligences

Our article offers an understanding of the perception of management and cultural service preference among business students. Theoretical implications are in integrating cultural context within management theory. The study also provides a road map of a few possible ways for the usage of cultural management education tools and methods among students. The recommendations can be useful for educators, also for the reason that is important, from a didactic perspective, to identify different learning methods useful for their students. The topic is also relevant because experience creates value (Jensen & Horn, 2009, p. 287). That is why we provide several options for raising cultural awareness of business students. The first exercise which is taken from Dimovski et al. (2013) motivates students to achieve the level of authentic leader in a selected field (p. 148). Following the theory of multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1983), there are many combinations of seven bits of intelligence, that is why dedication and hard work are necessary to achieve personal excellence and competence. Students are asked to choose a person that inspires them and then invited to dive into her or his life story (e.g., world-renowned expert of researching intelligence researched the life stories of Freud, Mozart, Virginia Wolf, and Gandi).

We propose more studies in the future that include a bigger scope of managing culture(s) and the selected multiple intelligence, such as one case we have highlighted and also proposed its advancement of the cultural management summer school—expanding the scope of cultural practices of people preserving and practicing culture in the diaspora through modern information technology tools.

Research Data

sj-xlsx-1-sgo-10.1177_2158244020988277 – Supplemental material for Cultivating Management Education Based on the Awareness of Students’ Multiple Intelligences

sj-xlsx-1-sgo-10.1177_2158244020988277 for Cultivating Management Education Based on the Awareness of Students’ Multiple Intelligences by Judita Peterlin, Vlado Dimovski, Maja Meško and Vasja Roblek in SAGE Open

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Footnotes

Appendix

Data for NVivo software analysis: Management associations, October 9, 2019, at the course Management, SEB UL: 106 students responded

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The authors acknowledge that the paper was partly financially supported by the Slovenian Research Agency, Program P5-0364—The Impact of Corporate Governance, Organizational Learning, and Knowledge Management on Modern Organization.

ORCID iD

Vasja Roblek

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