Analysis of Student’s Teaching Expectations: Based on Examples from Slovenian and Hungarian Management Courses

Abstract

The demand for competent and enthusiastic (project) managers is increasing, and so is the need for an appropriate (project) management education. Despite this importance, the number of relevant, and up-to-date courses and trainings with adequate knowledge- sharing mechanisms is less than required. There are two significant knowledge management- related problems in developing such a course/training. First, knowledge transfer can be complicated, due to the high proportion of tacit, or tacit-like knowledge in management. The second obstacle is that the requirements of the potential students fluctuate. Moreover, the amount of research aimed at increasing the level of (project) management education, especially in the university context, is limited. This paper analyses (project) management courses from the perspective of student satisfaction and perceived usefulness. The conclusions are based on 5 (project) management courses of leading Hungarian and Slovenian Management Universities. In contrast to the literature, the research found that courses with academic teaching elements are more satisfactory than courses with role plays, while usefulness was rated higher in courses with case studies and role plays. Students thus value teaching methods focused on both explicit and tacit knowledge. The findings argue for combining content-based teaching with a strong emphasis on student-centered methods.