DEAN DONHAM TO GIVE SERIES OF LECTURES

Professor Wallace B. Donham '98, Dean of the Graduate School of Business Administration, is to give a series of talks to second-year men in the school on "The Individual's Approach to Business," the first of which will be this morning at 10 o'clock in Lawrence A. The talks are designed to equip men in the School better in those fields in which it has been shown that graduates of the School are some-what deficient,--namely; in the knowledge of how to obtain a job, and in estimating the men about them.

In an article entitled "The Unfolding of Collegiate Business Training," first published in "The Harvard Graduates' Magazine" for March, 1921. Professor Donham advocated some such addition to the regular Business School course as will be provided by these talks.

"The collegiate business school," he wrote, "should aim, to assist the individual student in his early personal adjustment to business surroundings. The need for help in the transition from college to business is an important reason for the development of these schools, and therefore the personal problems of the young man as he adjusts himself to his new environment should have serious consideration. It is not probable that many of the more frequent mistakes of the beginner in business may be prevented if he has been given a proper perspective on the importance of studying his surroundings and the personality of his associates as well as of mastering the details of his job? There is an insistent demand among business men that college men come to them with a better preparation along this line."

Personal Problems Should Have Attention

In a later paragraph Professor Donham explained his suggestion more in detail. "The personal problems of adjustment in business should have constant individual attention, but they should also be covered by organized instruction and group conferences, so that the less aggressive man who needs help most shall get it. In this work there should be considered such topics as dress, deportment approach, and the use of spoken and written English. Shall the graduate go to a small town or a large town? Shall he try to build up his own business, or work for a big corporation or for a small one? How is he to get a job? What jobs are good jobs? How pick his industry? He needs to study himself as a problem with relation to his business and social surroundings. He should have sufficient field work not to learn the detailed routine of special industries but to get a clear conception of the surroundings in which his business problems will arise, and to make him feel at home in a business environment."

Lectures Were Announced in Register

In recognition of this need, the Business School announced in its register for this year, under the head of "Individual Problems of the Student of Business" the series of lectures that begin today. In explaining the talks, the pamphlet says: "Among the problems considered are the relation of the man himself to his associates, his superiors, and his subordinates as men: the importance of studying his personal surroundings as well as the technique of his job: the question whether the individual should stick to the job he finds himself on, or make an effort to secure a change in order to get a broader experience. Particular emphasis is placed on the problems arising out of the personal attitude of the individual to his job and to the men or the institution which employs him