Teaching

Real companies, all semester

Students in Dirk's courses shadow real public companies for the whole semester. Each section follows its own set of companies, and the news those companies make becomes part of class. A concept from the chapter lands harder when students can see a company they know living it, or getting it wrong.

Real decisions about real teammates

Team projects come with team reviews, and the reviews work like the personnel decisions managers make. Students decide whether each teammate is someone they would partner with, hire, furlough or fire, and they have to explain why. Nobody has to be fired. A great teammate who was simply the weakest link can be furloughed and still earn full credit. The reasoning is the lesson.

Executive presentations, not academic ones

Dirk looks for three things in every team presentation:

1. An executive presentation, not an academic one. Key terms from the text are highlighted and explained through the company's own context.
2. A story of how the organization is managed, not a string of headlines.
3. Storytelling with data, visualized wherever possible so the words don't get in the way.

There is no rigid rubric. Students present three times a semester, so they have room to grow instead of following rules for the sake of a grade.

AI in the classroom

Dirk wants students to become proficient with AI without replacing their own thinking. It should be a springboard, a trampoline. When students use it, the expectations get higher, not lower.

Consulting with real clients

At Clemson, Dirk helped build a management consulting program where students take on real client engagements alongside partner firms, with site visits in South Carolina and abroad. It grew from 30 students to 54, and its graduating seniors have reached 100% full-time employment.