For both AACSB and ACBSP accredited schools, critical thinking is an explicit learning objective in the capstone course on strategic management. We assess the top ten textbooks in strategic management, using rubrics for critical thinking from the American Association of Colleges and Universities and the Foundation for Critical Thinking, as a means of assessing whether that learning objective is meet in capstone courses.

 

The session will open with a brief summary of articles from academic journals, higher education associations, the business press, and employer surveys - all of which support the view that critical thinking is the single, most sought-after skill in recruiting new college graduates.  These same articles state that critical thinking, along with other “soft†skills such as communication and team membership, are the skills that are most lacking in new college graduates.

 

After a brief summary of definitions of critical thinking, areas with potential for using critical thinking in the strategic management process are illustrated. The ten strategic management textbooks are then evaluated against the critical thinking rubrics, with a focus how each addresses the step in the strategic management process of generation and evaluation of strategic alternatives.

 

Preliminary findings are that the vast majority of textbooks used in capstone courses do not meet the critical thinking rubric. The authors conclude with suggestions for strengthening the textbooks to better meet the learning objectives on critical thinking.