1. Technical Standards Literacy in Management Education
Heather Howard, Assistant Professor / Business Information Specialist Margaret Phillips, Assistant Professor / Engineering Information Specialist
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana, USA

2. Study Background
“A standard is a document that provides requirements, specifications, guidelines or characteristics that can be used consistently to ensure that materials, products, processes and services are fit for their purpose.” ​ – International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
Our study focuses on industry standards…
Standards like those developed by ISO, the international organization of standardization
And ASTM – an international organization that focuses on testing and materials standards
Many business professionals and academics are familiar with popular ISO 9000 and 9001 quality management standards
Industry standards are often referred to by other names, such as technical standards, engineering standards, management standards
– depending upon who’s discussion them and the context

3. Industry Standards Impact on Business In Education
Connected to more than 93% of global trade
In Engineering & Engineering Technology Curricula
Required by ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) accreditation criteria
Survey – ~30% of ET faculty respondents don’t teach standards; ~50% reported “lack of expertise on the application of standards” (Khan, Karim, & McClain 2013)
In Business Curricula
No specific language in AACSB guidelines
General business knowledge area – “systems and processes in organizations, including planning and design, production/operations, supply chains, marketing, and distribution”
Research Questions:
Are industry standards being taught in undergraduate business management curricula? If so, in which types of courses?
What opportunities are there to integrate (or further integrate) industry standards into undergraduate business management courses?
Okun-Kozlowicki, J. "Standards and Regulations: Measuring the Link to Goods Trade”;
Khan, A. S., A. Karim and J. A. McClain, 2013, “The State of the Use of Standards in Engineering and Technology Education”. ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition.

4. Curriculum Mapping
Purdue’s Undergraduate Management Program: 38 syllabi for 26 courses Texas A&M’s Bachelor of Business Administration Program: 49 syllabi for 36 courses
Searched for terms such as:
standard(s)
standardize
standardization
NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology)
NISO (National Information Standards Organization)
ANSI (American National Standards Institute)
ISO (International Organization for Standardization)
ASQ (American Society for Quality)
PMI (Project Management Institute)

5. Results
Only 8% of courses included standards language in the syllabus (5/62)
Institution
Course Title
Syllabus Language That Includes Standards
Purdue
Competitive Strategy
"competition for standards and multi-sided platforms;” "the art of standards wars"
Technology Strategy
"standard battles & design dominance"
Manufacturing Strategy
A case questions is: "what is the process employed at Nypro to identify and standardize important innovations?”
International Management
“global standardization”
Texas A&M
Introductory Accounting
“accounting standards”
At Purdue University, we found pre-established terms for industry standards listed in four of the undergraduate courses in the core business management curriculum
At Texas A&M – we found one instance of standards language
In all of these cases, we identified the words standard(s), standardize, or standardization.
We were somewhat surprised none of the syllabi incorporated the standards organizations (e.g., ISO) we included as pre-established terms

6. Results Business & Management Strategy Business Law
50% of courses were found to have the potential for the integration of standards based on language in the syllabi (31/62);
Business & Management Strategy
Business Law
Ethics & Social Responsibility
Human Resources
Information Systems
International/
Global
Marketing
Process /
Product Development
Project Management
We identified nine business management curriculum areas as potential opportunities for industry standards integration at Purdue University and Texas A&M University.
The nine curriculum areas are business and management strategy, business law, ethics and social responsibility,
human resources, information systems, international/global,
marketing, process/product development, and project management.
Business law – concepts of mandatory and voluntary standards as they relate to product liability, product safety, consumer protection, and regulations
In some cases, products are required by law to be tested in a specific way and/or meet certain performance requirements detailed in standards. In other cases, meeting established industries standards in a given area may reduce a business’
liability, even if they are not legally bound to do so.
Additionally, in courses focused on human resources, instructors could integrate specific international standards under the purview of the ISO/TC (technical committee) Human Resource Management, such as these two standards
Marketing courses could introduce that standards can be used to promote how products meet or exceed standards,
such as for quality, safety, sustainability, social responsibility, and/or efficiency.