An Assessment of Sustainability Integration and Communication in Canadian MBA Programs

This paper explores how sustainability has been integrated into and communicated in Canadian Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) programs. We content analyzed university, business school, and MBA program mission and values statements; communicated strategic priorities; and relevant academic calendar content, as well as sustainability rankings and select media depictions of sustainable MBA programs and practices. We explore the potential for greenwashing practices in relation to the integration of sustainability in business education. We found some evidence of a decoupling between university and/or business school mission and claims, and MBA policies and practices. We conclude with a discussion of our findings, study limitations and some relevant implications for academia.     

An Evaluation of the Validity and Fairness of the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) Used for MBA Selection in a UK Business School

The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) has been shown to be a valid predictor of Masters of Business Administration (MBA) performance in the USA, but no UK validity studies have been published. This study uses a large sample of UK MBA students to examine the validity and fairness of GMAT. It is found that GMAT-Verbal is a good predictor of MBA examination performance but GMAT-Quantitative is not. It is also found that both components are unfair to native English speakers. The reasons for these findings are to be found in the nature of the criterion employed. Some observations are made regarding the consequences for best practice of the competitive and political context of MBA selection.     

The Tables Turned: Factors MBA Students Use in Deciding Among Prospective Employers

Past research has revealed a number of determinants of selection decisions for college students. Given the large number of students graduating with MBA degrees and firms recruiting and hiring applicants with such degrees, the purpose of this study was to examine how MBA students would rate certain job factors. This study reports students' ratings of 23 factors potentially present in workplaces. The most and least important factors are discussed. In addition, implications for organizational recruiting practices and for on-campus career counselors are presented.     

Interpersonal needs and functional area of management

This study examines a sample of first-semester MBA students to determine the relationship between their interpersonal needs and their preferences for a functional area of management. The students were categorized according to their preference for one of the following eight functional areas: accounting, systems analysis, finance, small business management, engineering, marketing, manufacturing management, and personnel management. Interpersonal needs were measured by the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation (FIRO-B) instrument developed by W. C. Schutz. Significant differences in interpersonal needs were found among students preferring different functional specialities. Implications of the results are discussed in terms of occupational choice processes.     

Students' Views of Business Ethics: An Analysis

This study investigates the difference in perceptions between undergraduate business and MBA students regarding selected ethical issues facing employees and managers of today's businesses. Furthermore, the study investigates the intergroup (i.e., at each educational level) and intragroup (i.e., between undergraduates and MBAs) differences in terms of the "situation"; that is, their position as an employee or a manager of the company. A sample of 104 undergraduate and MBA students was used. The results indicate that undergraduate students tend to act more ethically than do MBA students, and both groups tend to be more ethically oriented the higher their professional corporate position is. The findings have direct implications for business practitioners and for educators.     

Generalist and specialist graduate business degrees: Tangible and intangible value

Completion of a graduate degree in business, be it the general MBA or a specialized Master program, should add value to graduates and provide them with certain competencies to make them better managers and leaders. This article evaluates the impact of several Master level studies in business at a large, urban university in the southwestern US. We analyzed competencies, skills, self-perception, and career progress as well as salary and performance. Participant choice of degree program was either the generalist MBA degree or specialist graduate Master degree. Responses from 318 alumni, most of them now working managers, clearly indicate the value they gained from pursuing a graduate business degree. The most prominent impact of competencies and skills portfolio gained was on both internal and external measures of career success, for both the MBA and specialized programs.     

Workaholism components among employees working full- and part-time

This exploratory study compared Spence and Robbins' self-reported workaholism components in two samples. Data were collected in two studies from Australian psychologists and Canadian managers and professionals holding MBA degrees. As few MBA graduates and male psychologists were working part time, the results should be treated with caution. Spence and Robbins' workaholism components (work involvement, feeling driven to work, joy in work) were appropriate to part-time employees. Full-time employees tended to score higher on feeling driven to work.     

未雨绸缪：变革前非正式信息对员工变革抵制意愿的影响

组织变革前总会有小道消息等非正式信息传播, 这些信息是员工提前了解变革的重要来源。研究探索变革前非正式信息对员工变革前抵制意愿的影响, 以及员工变革抵制意愿随时间推移的变化。基于255位样本数据的结构方程模型及多层次线性增长模型分析表明：(1)变革前非正式信息的消极性及不完整性, 显著负向影响员工变革认知, 进而使员工变革抵制意愿上升; (2)随着时间推移, 员工变革抵制意愿显著衰减, 即从变革前到变革发生时抵制意愿显著降低。研究揭示了变革前非正式信息对员工有“热身准备”的作用, 能够帮助员工提前适应, 从而更好地应对变革。研究结果有助于变革的顺利实施。     

Career pathfinders: a qualitative study of career development

This paper examined the perceptions of career path and issues of MBA students in response to Lore's The Pathfinder, a comprehensive career-planning model. Using internet discussion boards, an interactive dialogue was mentioned by participants in response to the components of Lore's model. The sample consisted of 50 fully employed MBA students enrolled in a course on self-assessment and career planning. A total of 1,781 separate postings were made and analyzed, using inductive analysis derived from discussion threads based on Lore's categories: comments on Lore's Pathfinder model, living a life you love (what's the holdup, career fantasies, work and family issues, and career selection), how to get there from here (commitment and future from the present), and designing your future career. Findings indicated several interesting trends in the career planning of current MBA students, particularly the importance of self or self-reflective observations in real time as students who are also fully employed formulate career plans. Implications for psychologists and career counselors, career development models, and suggestions for research are presented.     

‘Reflection is embedded in my brain forever now!’: personal development as a core module on an Executive MBA

Professional progression and skills development are the main expectations of mid-career managers when enrolling on an Executive MBA (EMBA), yet it can be personal development (PD) that turns out to be the unexpected benefit of management education. Joining a growing number of voices making a case for personal development and self-awareness in management education, and calling for schools to incorporate it in the curriculum, this paper advances the case for personal development as a core Executive MBA module. The paper sets out the holistic rationale and philosophic principles used to design and deliver a course underpinned by curiosity and self-reflection on an EMBA in the United Kingdom, and presents empirical findings from a survey conducted among 230 students and alumni. These suggest that the focus on reflective practice and integration of PD promotes a richer and deeper appreciation of the value of reflection for lasting and sometimes unexpected personal growth. In addition, the raising of awareness of self also brings awareness of others, and develops critical thinking in application of the MBA at work. The paper concludes with a discussion re-evaluating the subject of tacit knowledge in reflective practice.     

Attributes of Successful MBAs: A 20-Year Longitudinal Study

Are attributes of successful MBA (Master of Business Administration) students useful for predicting success? Can information about these attributes contribute to improved business management? This 20-year study of Stanford male MBAs identified the importance of social extroversion as a contributor to success.' Successful MBA students are more likely to end up employed in small businesses or to be self-employed. In addition, earnings of MBAs who had undergraduate degrees in engineering or who were older students do not keep pace with earnings of younger MBAs with broader backgrounds. Earnings at 20 years are best predicted by previous earnings.     

The Effect of Learning vs. Outcome Goals on Self-Efficacy, Satisfaction and Performance in an MBA Program

Dans cette expérience de terrain, on applique la théorie de la fixation des objectifs au sentiment d’efficacité personnelle d’étudiants, à leur satisfaction envers le programme du MBA aussi bien qu’à leur performance (GPA). Immédiatement après leur avoir fixé des objectifs spécifiques élevés, nous avons mesuré le sentiment d’efficacité personnelle des étudiants en MBA. Celui des étudiants de la condition “objectifs de résultats pour la fin de l’année” (long terme) était inférieur à celui de sujets qui étaient dans la condition “faites de votre mieux” ou dans celle “but d’apprentissage”. Les sujets présentant des difficultés spécifiques en ce qui concerne les buts d’apprentissage sont plus satisfaits du programme MBA que ceux des autres conditions expérimentales. Le GPA était significativement plus élevé dans la condition “but d’apprentissage” que dans celle “but de performance”à long terme. Les sujets qui ont des objectifs à court terme et un objectif de résultat à long terme ont un GPA plus élevé que ceux qui ont seulement un objectif à long terme ou que ceux qui sont dans l’urgence de faire de leur mieux. Les implications de ces résultats pour la théorie et la pratique sont discutées. The present field experiment examined the application of goal setting theory on student self‐efficacy, satisfaction with the MBA program, as well as performance (i.e. GPA). Immediately after setting specific high goals, the self‐efficacy of MBA students who set year end (distal) outcome goals was lower than participants in either the “do your best” or the learning goal conditions. Participants who set specific difficult learning goals had higher satisfaction with the MBA program than those in other experimental conditions. GPA was significantly higher in the learning goal condition relative to the distal performance goal condition. Participants who set proximal goals, in addition to a distal outcome goal, had a higher GPA than those who only set a distal goal or those who were urged to do their best. Implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.     

Effect of response scale on assessment of emotional intelligence competencies

Personality and behavioural assessment are common practice in research and applications throughout the world. Most of this research has been in English-speaking countries. Relatively little work has been done in cross-cultural settings to study the nature of response scale. Familiarity with an 11-point response scale in European countries may affect the reliability of questionnaire responses. In Spain, with mainly European MBA students, results show that an 11-point scale provides composites with greater reliability, validity and less invalidity, than the commonly used 5-point scale.     

Choosing to be a managerial woman: An examination of individual variables and career choice

This study examined individual difference variables of female MBA students measured toward the end of their academic careers. Data from these subjects as well as from male MBAs and from male and female MA candidates in elementary education were ordered in a 2×2 female/male, traditional role/nontraditional role matrix of analysis (N=151). Female MBA candidates were found to differ significantly from the other subjects on several dimensions. Female managers-to-be saw themselves as more self-assured, more creative, and higher in initiative than did the others. There was no evidence of fear of identity or of sex-role inappropriateness, which had been suggested in earlier literature dealing with women entering nontraditional careers.     

Matching and negotiation processes in quasi-markets

The negotiation literature has emphasized negotiation between two or more predetermined parties. Many negotiations, however, occur in market contexts in which parties must decide with whom to negotiate as well as conduct specific dyadic negotiations. The results of a laboratory study of the MBA job market show that negotiators deviate from rationality both in the way in which they “match” and in their dyadic negotiations. These results are discussed in terms of the implications both for individuals who participate in such markets and for institutions that create mechanisms that affect the matching/ negotiation process.     

Family Demands and Job Attribute Preferences: A 4-Year Longitudinal Study of Women and Men

A longitudinal data set was used to examine the relationships between family demands and job attribute preferences. Study participants were 207 students who responded to surveys upon entering the MBA program of a large university and to follow-up surveys 1, 2, and 3 years later. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that preferences for short, flexible work hours at earlier time periods positively predicted hours of household labor at later times, which supports a rational action model. Significant interaction effects indicated that the relationship between the importance of work hours and household labor was stronger for women than for men, which indicates that women were more likely than men to develop plans for combining work and family. Higher levels of household labor were associated with increased preferences for short, flexible work hours, and a comfortable work environment, which supports an accommodation model, but MBA students performing more household labor did not show a reduction in the desire for high salaries, good benefits, and intrinsically rewarding work.     

Gender differences in cognitive styles of MBA students in three countries.

Differences between the scores of male and female respondents, 115 British, 123 Australian, and 131 American midcareer MBA students, confirm propositions derived from Kirton's adaption-innovation theory to the effect that individuals who diverge most from social norms will be among the most innovative members of their group.     

虚拟学习有效性的影响因素研究

本研究以68名参加过国际远程合作课程的MBA学员为研究对象,采用问卷调查的方法对虚拟条件下学习有效性的影响因素进行了研究。结果表明：学员特点、效能感、对虚拟学习的态度、技术可靠性、媒体丰富性、虚拟团队支持和虚拟学习有效性不同程度地存在显著相关;回归分析显示,对虚拟学习的态度是虚拟学习有效性的一个重要影响因素,另外,一般自我效能感会对课程有效性产生影响．而技术效能感对总体有效性有影响;虚拟团队的学习环境支持对虚拟有效性产生影响。     

The Effect of Inference Order and Experience-Related Knowledge on Diagnostic Conjunction Probabilities

Ideally, a decision maker′s diagnostic probability judgments should not be affected by making predictive judgments before making diagnostic inferences. The purpose of this study is to investigate how experience-related knowledge and the inference presentation order affect a decision maker′s diagnostic conjunction probability judgments. Specifically, when decision makers are asked to make diagnoses in different judgment domains with which they have different levels of experience, we examine how making predictions first affects their subsequent diagnostic judgments in a standard conjunction paradigm. Professional auditors with experience in the auditing domain and MBA students with little or no auditing experience participated in the experiment. The results indicate that when the task involves a domain with which people have experience, making predictions prior to diagnoses has a significant influence on their subsequent diagnostic conjunction probabilities. When auditors made diagnoses in a familiar audit task situation, they were strongly influenced by whether or not they were asked to make predictions in advance. However, there was no influence of inference order on auditors′ diagnoses in a medical task, with which they do not have experience-related knowledge. Similarly, MBA students, having no experience-related knowledge in either audit or medical domains, were not affected by the inference order in making diagnoses. In the discussion of these exploratory results, we suggest that this inference order effect may be due to subjects′ anchoring on the predictive probability and insufficiently adjusting it to yield the diagnostic probability judgment.     

examining the role of differential association and techniques of neutralization in explaining corporate crime

A limited number of studies have examined white-collar offending decision making patterns and virtually none have focused on testing Differential Association or Techniques of Neutralization theory in particular. This study evaluates the offending decisions of MBA students to commit corporate offending in the promotion/sales of a hypothetical pharmaceutical drug. The sample consisted of 133 MBA students enrolled at a university in the United States. Findings supported predictions that anticipated agreement of coworkers and the board of directors would be positively associated with decisions to further market and produce a hypothetical drug that was about to be recalled by the Food and Drug Administration. However, results also showed that the decision to commit corporate crime was inversely related to perceptions that close friends and business professors agree with the decision, which went against predictions based on differential association theory. Several neutralizing techniques—especially the beliefs that government exaggerates dangers to the consumer and profit is the most important priority—predicted the decision to further market the drug. Subsequent analyses showed that older respondents were more likely to employ techniques of neutralization in decisions to commit corporate crime, especially techniques relating to profits. Future research directions are outlined.