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Universities engage people in a process of learning. During the past decade, there has been increased interest in assessing the quality of students’ learning. This paper presents the need for developing a method of systematically assessing disciplinary knowledge applied in a cross‐functional team environment. Partnering with business is stressed as a critical link in developing and assessing the learning skills needed to function in today’s knowledge‐based learning organizations. An integrative assessment process for a college of business is proposed.

The need for effective training of first‐line supervisors is well established. Well‐trained supervision is essential to our future as a country. A fundamental step in developing effective training is to develop a jobs needs assessment. In order to develop an effective needs assessment, it is necessary to know what the tasks are of supervisors. This study aims to develop a task list with a rating for job importance. It also aims to provide suggestions for training.

The study used the Delphi survey process methodology. An initial survey instrument was developed and pilot tested. The survey was modified and used for three Delphi rounds. A fourth round was initiated to triangulate the results.

The result of the panel was a task list of 49 tasks, with an importance to their job rating range from 1.9 to 3.7, based on 0 to 4. Using a Pareto concept of reviewing the top 20 percent or top ten tasks as sorted for importance to the job, seven of the top ten tasks were most closely related to interpersonal relationships.

This study provides suggestions for the type of courses needed for an effective supervisory training curriculum.

Few studies evaluate supervisory tasks from the supervisor's perspective. This study is unique in that it directly surveys supervisors as to their job tasks and the importance of the tasks to their job. The training recommendations focus on areas that supervisors could immediately apply to their jobs.

The complexity of organizational decisions requires the ability to integrate diverse facts, ideas, issues, and connections into more comprehensive integrative thinking for decisions. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the relationship between common sense and integrative thinking. Common sense, on the surface, seems to be incompatible with integrative thinking yet common sense can enrich integrative thinking. Recommendations are made for leveraging the strengths of common sense thinking in identifying salient (relevant) factor stage of integrative thinking. Suggestions for future research are identified.

The approach of this paper is to use literature‐based research to identify how common sense tensions can enhance integrative thinking.

Five suggestions are presented to leverage common sense thinking when identifying salient factors in a situation. When common sense is successfully integrated at the first stage of integrative thinking, it will enhance the thinking in the other three stages.

This paper stresses that common sense and integrative thinking are compatible. Avenues for future research are identified.

This paper explores a mental model for decision making that is focused on discovery and collaboration. The model consists of six components: self‐awareness, development orientation, systems perspective, emotional orientation, complexity dynamics, and generative conversation. As an interactive model, the components create a mental frame that enables the decision maker to achieve greater insight and develop creative opportunities that enhance the ability to see decision‐making as a complex process.