Liberal Arts and Business
Michael Elliott
BUSI 600-D06
Dr. Williams
Liberty University
August 11th, 2013

The integration of Liberal Arts and Business studies has been debated for many years. There are many facets of business education that require specific knowledge in order to mitigate the challenges of an ever-shifting economy. The marketplace is also evolving. Many graduates of business schools or programs are finding that the market is increasingly becoming a global marketplace. Due to this process of evolution, the student must fully understand that there are more factors to be educated in than just solid business acumen. Cultural considerations from the global perspective are key. The student must understand what their role is within an organization, but also how they can assimilate themselves, should they be dispatched to a foreign country. In order to meet these challenges, the student must gain a broader understanding of how the world functions in the business world. This means that they must be exposed to other forms of learning in order to broaden the scope of their understanding. “The difficulties of integrating liberal arts and business education are not new. In the late 1970s many undergraduate business programs started to expand business course requirements for graduation, thus making it difficult for students to acquire the breadth and depth of a general education” (CITATION 2). The changes to the curriculum of a Liberal Arts school to include Business teachings would allow a student of these centers of learning to better grasp concentrated or specialized training without the need to fully understand the global marketplace. This is especially appealing for those students who wish to keep their business focus on the local level, or for those students who do not envision themselves in business; they can take what they have learned and apply that knowledge to whatever field they are passionate about. The obvious benefit of structuring the program this way is the fact that students are provided with learning experiences that overcome the normal road bumps to learning (CITATION 2). The emerging markets that are the focus of these enhanced studies allow the students who are taking these courses to better understand the agility of the global marketplace. Another benefit of teaching a business-centric curriculum in a Liberal Arts school is the perspective the students can gain from the ethical nature of business. Due to all of the moving parts within a business, including human resources, government regulation, taxation, customer service and other stakeholders, business ethics is something that could be a tremendous benefit to the Christian (and non-Christian!) when attempting to involve themselves in a business-related field. There are advantages to teaching business ethics in a Liberal Arts setting. One of the goals is to teach students how to mitigate potential moral issues that they may encounter, and how to set themselves apart from compromising situations. This is because they are innately moral and responsible (CITATION 3). It is also important to note that although many students may not become managers, many of them will still enter the business world in some capacity or another (CITATION 3). This is actually a very true statement, because the Liberal Arts degree tends to be very generalized. The graduate can apply many different learning opportunities to many career paths. The artist will usually wish to sell their creations. The musician seeks a lucrative music deal. Many college students and graduates begin their careers in some form of retail. It is important to understand how the ethics of business affect the different facets of the business world. “There is a subtle difference between the first and second aim. The first aim has to do with yourself and knowing how to figure out moral issues for oneself. The second is understanding how to engage in public