Are Quantitative Skills Critical for Business Education Program or an Entry-Barrier for Diversity?

Two prominent criticisms of business education programs are that they disproportionately focus on cultivating quantitative skills (i.e., the ability to use and analyze numerical/mathematical concepts) and that the programs lack diversity in terms of gender, social class, and undergraduate backgrounds of students. We tested whether the emphasis on quantitative skills is linked to this lack of diversity in business education programs. We drew data from a Master of Business Administration (MBA) program from a leading business school in India (N?=?275). We analyzed three key outcomes (entrance test scores, program grades, and salary offers) for three attributes (gender, social class, and quantitative undergraduate degree) before and after partitioning of the quantitative and non-quantitative components of the academic outcomes. Before the partitioning of components, our regression models explained 63% of variance in entrance test scores, 42% in program grades, and 21% in salary offers, which was suggestive of the suitability of our predictor variables. Post-partitioning of the outcomes into quantitative and non-quantitative components, the key results were: (a) social class disadvantage was in both the quantitative and non-quantitative components of the entrance test, and in course grades; (b) female-disadvantage was in the quantitative coursework of the MBA program, but not in the entrance test, or in salary offers (p?<?.05); (c) individuals with a quantitative undergraduate education had no advantage in the quantitative section of the entrance test, or of the coursework; (d) social class, gender, and quantitative undergraduate had no effect on salary offers. However, salary offers were higher for those with work experience (p?<?.01), and most notably, for those who performed well in the non-quantitative courses (p?<?.01). On addressing lack of diversity, the results suggest that unlike individuals from a more marginalized social class, females’ deficit is selective and identifiable in the form of lower scores on the quantitative component of MBA coursework. Apart from identifying entry-barriers for diversity, our results are also helpful in discarding certain unfounded beliefs surrounding business education. For example, contrary to popular belief, quantitative undergraduate training has no advantage in business education. Moreover, quantitative course grades are not disproportionately valued in the job market for MBAs.     

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.     

A Multiphasic Personality Schedule (Minnesota) : I. Construction of the Schedule

Although attempts to demonstrate a relationship between one set of individual differences and the evaluative or behavioral components of an attitude usually have failed, this study examined the possibility that individual differences (i. e., personality) may be important in determining the cognitive component of the attitude (i. e., the rational support offered for the evaluative position or behavior).

Students with idealistic value systems (i.e., justice, egalitarian, humanitarian oriented) endorsed idealistic justifications for their attitudinal position (i.e., pro or anti) toward the war in Vietnam. Pragmatic students (i. e., utilitarian, outcome oriented) endorsed the more pragmatic justifications supporting their attitude toward the war.     

Cognitive style and sex: a study of stereotypical thinking

Differences between Cognitive Style Index mean scores of female and male undergraduate business students were tested using a general linear model. Among 286 undergraduate business students, women scored higher (more analytical) than men. The comparison of undergraduate business students with and without work experience related to their major shows that students with such related work experience were more intuitive than peers with no work experience related to their major.     

Business Students' Perceptions of Best University Professors: Does Gender Role Matter?

This study investigated the relationship between the gender and gender-role of students and their “best” university professors. Two hundred and ninety two business students in 2 universities in Atlantic Canada rated their best professors and themselves using Bem's Sex Role Inventory. Male business students were more likely than females to choose a male as their best professor, and female business students were more likely than males to choose a female as their best professor. The study also indicates that a student's own gender and gender role are significantly related to those of his/her best professor. Male professors with low femininity scores (but not necessarily high masculinity scores), and female professors who are gender-neutral (i.e., androgynous or undifferentiated) were more often chosen by students as their best professors. In general, masculinity seems to be valued more by older, part-time students with greater work experience. Implications of these findings for university teachers are discussed.     

Effects of sex role identity and sex on definitions of sexual harassment

Individuals' own definitions of sexual harassment ultimately influence the success of their companies in responding to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) guidelines against sexual harassment. Previous research has consistently shown that women see more sexual harassment than do men. However, sex differences in definitions of sexual harassment could be explained by sex role identity. Results from a study of undergraduate business students and MBA students holding full-time jobs instead reaffirmed the existence of a sex effect and revealed the presence of a Sex X Masculinity interaction effect. Subjects' femininity had a minor effect on their definitions of sexual harassment.A previous version of this article was presented at the Academy of Management Meeting, Dallas, August, 1983. Appreciation is extended to Lisa A. Film for her assistance with data analysis.     

Effects of role model exposure on STEM and non‐STEM student engagement

Studies examining factors (e.g., STEM stereotypes) that underlie the recruitment and retention of STEM students are critical as the demand for STEM professionals is rapidly increasing. This experimental study tested the effects of role model biographies that challenge common STEM stereotypes (i.e., STEM is for gifted individuals and for European American males) on 1035 STEM and non‐STEM undergraduate students. Findings showed that role model exposure had positive effects on both STEM and non‐STEM students’ interest in STEM as well as their perceived identity compatibility between the self and STEM. Role model exposure had a positive impact on academic sense of belonging among STEM and non‐STEM students, and a positive impact on academic self‐efficacy among STEM students, but not non‐STEM students.     

Closing the Vocational Counseling Realities Gap

A two-week summer institute sponsored by Plans for Progress, encompassing company visitations and scheduled campus speakers augmented by seminar discussions, provided significant improvement in counselors' perceptions of industry expectations and requirements. A perspective on the amount and accuracy of company knowledge held by vocational counselors was obtained by administering the questionnaire used in the Plans for Progress Institute to a group of undergraduate campus leaders and two expectedly biased “in” groups earning degrees in business administration. The counselors were found to be as knowledgeable as mature MBA students working full time in industry and significantly more informed than undergraduates majoring in business administration as well as undergraduate student leaders.     

Personality expectations and perceptions of Roman Catholic clergy members

This study examined the expectations of Roman Catholic priests' personality characteristics. Personality measures (i.e., Symptom Check List-90-Revised, Weinberger Adjustment Inventory, Belief in Personal Control Scale, and several authordesigned measures) were administered to 102 undergraduate students. The subjects' perceptions of Roman Catholic priests' personality traits were examined by having the subjects complete the Personality Adjective Checklist (PACL) describing a typical Roman Catholic priest. These scores were compared to PACL scores from 12 successful applicants to the priesthood. Findings suggest that subjects tend to view Roman Catholic priests stereotypically as authority figures and that Catholic subjects view priests more positively than do non-Catholic subjects.     

When opposites attract: a multi-sample demonstration of complementary person-team fit on extraversion

This study assessed the nature of the person-team fit relationships for extraversion on members' attraction toward their teams. Unlike most studies of personality-based fit, which emphasize similarity, we predicted that complementary fit on extraversion (i.e., high individual-low team or low individual-high team levels) would result in greater attraction to the team. Data from two independent samples of intact project teams were analyzed, including 324 MBA students comprising 64 case analysis teams and 217 members of 26 manufacturing teams. Using polynomial regression analysis and three-dimensional surface plots, our results supported the predicted relationship. In addition, the data indicated that individuals who were more attracted to their teams were also better performers, as judged by their peers and supervisors.     

Relationship context and personality shape people's preferences for network relationship partners

This study investigates how people weight potential relationship partners' personal characteristics (i.e., warmth and competence) when deciding to initiate professional versus personal network relationships, and it also examines how certain personality traits (extraversion and conscientiousness) shape this process. Results from two samples indicate that people tend to value competence more highly when initiating professional relationships, whereas they tend to value warmth more highly when initiating personal relationships. Furthermore, neither extraversion nor conscientiousness was related to how people weighted competence when initiating professional relationships. However, supplementary analyses demonstrated that people high in conscientiousness tend to value competence and people high in agreeableness tend to value warmth in their network relationship partners, regardless of whether they are initiating a professional or personal relationship.     

Joint Effects of Corporate Positions and Prospects on Perceptions of Business Ethics Among Japanese Students: A Reflection of Collectivistic Cultures1

This study was designed to account for inconsistencies between past research indicating that executives in general are more ethically oriented than employees. The reality in Japan's society is that it has been mostly top executives who violate business ethics. Japanese students (N = 201) assumed that they were “executives” or “employees” in a manufacturing company, and their company had “high” or “low” financial prospects. The high‐prospect executives were most ethically oriented, while the low‐prospect executives were least ethically oriented. Ethical orientation did not change across the two prospect conditions for the employees. The findings are interpreted in terms of ethical dissonance created by dual pressures from acceptance of Western global ethical standards and strength of indigenous collectivistic ethical standards.     

Prevalence and effects of life event exposure among undergraduate and community college students

The purposes of this study were to assess lifetime and recent exposure to various life events among undergraduate and community college students and to assess the relation between event exposure and a broad range of outcomes (i.e., mental and physical health, life satisfaction, grade point average). Undergraduate students from a midwestern university (N = 842) and a community college (N = 242) completed online measures of lifetime event exposure and outcomes at Time 1 and recent event exposure at Time 2 two months later. Life events assessed included events that did and did not meet the definition of a traumatic event (i.e., posttraumatic stress disorder Criterion A1) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.; DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) as well as directly (e.g., own life-threatening illness) and indirectly (e.g., others' illness) experienced events. Students reported experiencing many lifetime and recent Criterion A1 and non-A1 events, and community college students reported more events than did university students. Generally, individuals who reported more lifetime events also reported poorer outcomes (e.g., poorer health). The number of non-Criterion A1 and directly experienced events tended to be more strongly correlated with negative outcomes than were the number of Criterion A1 and indirectly experienced events reported. These findings suggest that non-A1 events are important to assess and can be significantly related to outcomes for students.     

Should we create a niche or fall in line? Identity negotiation and small group effectiveness

A prospective study of 423 MBA students examined the interplay of identity negotiation and group functioning. The findings revealed that self-verification effects (through which group members brought others to see them as they saw themselves) heightened participants' feelings of connection to their groups (i.e., more identification and social integration and less emotional conflict) and improved group project grades on creative tasks (tasks that benefit from divergent perspectives). Appraisal effects (through which groups brought members to see themselves as the group saw them) facilitated group project grades on computational tasks (tasks that require deriving one correct answer). In addition, self-verification effects were more prevalent than appraisal effects. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for understanding the links among self-verification, self-categorization, and group outcomes.     

Digital piracy: an examination of low self-control and motivation using short-term longitudinal data.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the link between low self-control, motivation, and digital piracy. This study used short-term longitudinal data (i.e., once a week for 4 weeks) from undergraduate students (n = 292) and latent trajectory analysis. The results of this study revealed that the students had significant variability in initial levels and rates of change in digital piracy. The results indicated that whether motivation was treated as a time-invariant or time-varying measure, it along with sex (i.e., being male) had a significant link with the initial levels of digital piracy and that sex and low self-control had links with the rate of change. These results are discussed, and policy implications are made.     

The Effects of Spiritual/Religious Engagement on College Students' Affective Outcomes: Differences by Gender and Race

This study examines the general and differential effects of spiritual/religious engagement on affective college outcomes (i.e., leadership skills, interpersonal skills, social satisfaction, sense of belonging, and psychological well-being) across different gender and racial groups among undergraduate students at research universities. The study utilized data on 63,528 students who participated in the 2008 University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey (UCUES). The findings reveal differential effects of spiritual/religious engagement on college students' affective outcomes depending on their gender and race (i.e., gender- and race-based conditional effects). Implications for college students' spiritual development at public research universities and faith-based institutions are discussed.     

Ethics Vs IT Ethics: a Comparative Study between the USA and the Middle East

This paper aims at investigating the perceived difference between ethics and IT ethics in college students. The study mainly investigates whether university students in the Middle East and their counterpart in the USA hold the same ethical values both in a traditional context and in an IT context. The study also investigates possible differences in students’ ethics considering their level of study and whether they have prior business ethics knowledge or not. Furthermore, the study controls for possible self-others bias in students’ responses to ethical issues by addressing some ethical issues where the respondent is the subject of the issue and other ethical issues where someone other than the respondent is the subject of the issue. Questionnaires were administered to university students in the USA and in several Middle East countries. A total of 401 usable questionnaires were returned. The study found that both the USA and the Middle East students have statistically significant lower ethical intention scores when addressing ethical issues in an IT context compared to traditional non-IT context. This pattern was consistent regardless of the students’ level of study and their prior knowledge of business ethics, and taking into consideration self-others bias. Additionally, it was found that graduate students have higher IT as well as non-IT ethical intentions compared to undergraduate students, however, it was found that the students’ prior business ethics knowledge did not affect the students’ ethical intention scores. Self-other bias was found to act in opposite directions for ethical issues in an IT context compared to ethical issues in a traditional context. For ethical issues within IT-context, students were less strict with themselves while they were stricter with others. For ethical issues within traditional non-IT context, students were stricter with themselves, while they were less strict with others. Finally, the study found that while students both in the USA and in the Middle East disagree with unethical IT as well as non-IT conducts, the degree to which they disagree with the unethical behavior significantly differ, where USA students were found to be significantly stricter with their disagreement.     

Motivational orientations and task autonomy fit: effects on organizational attraction

The main purpose of this study was to investigate whether there is congruence between applicant needs (i.e., motivational orientations) and what is available (i.e., task autonomy) from an organizational perspective based on the fit between needs and supply. The fit between work motivation and task autonomy was examined to see whether it was associated with organizational attraction. This experimental study included two phases. Phase 1 participants consisted of 446 undergraduate students, of whom 228 were recruited to participate in Phase 2. The fit relations between task autonomy and intrinsic motivation and between task control and extrinsic motivation were characterized. Findings indicated that the fit between work motivation and task autonomy was positively associated with organizational attraction. Based on these results, it may be inferred that employers should emphasize job characteristics such as autonomy or control orientations to attract individuals, and focus on the most suitable work motivations for their organizations.     

A study of the foundations of ethical decision-making of nurses

A study of nurses and nursing students was conducted to determine the various philosophical positions they hold with respect to ethical decision-making in nursing and their relationship to the subjective-objective controversy in value theory. The study revealed that most nurses and nursing students tend to be subjectivists in value theory, i.e., believe that value judgments are purely personal, private expressions of one's own opinion or inner-feelings and not believe that value judgments are knowledge claims capable of being true or false and therefore not expressions of moral requirements and normative imperatives emanating from an external value structure or moral order in the world. In addition, the study revealed that most nurses and nursing students are inconsistent in the philosophical foundations of their ethical decision-making, i.e., in decision-making regarding values they tend to hold beliefs which are incompatible with other beliefs they hold about values.     

Boundary distortions for neutral and emotional pictures

In two experiments, we examined Safer, Christianson, Autry, and Osterlund's (1998) claim that when emotional material is remembered, tunnel memory (i.e., the tendency to remember less of a scene than was actually shown) occurs. In Experiment 1, 81 undergraduate students drew photographs from memory after having briefly seen either four neutral or four emotional photographs. Both neutral and emotional drawings revealed boundary extension (i.e., the tendency to remember more of a scene than was actually shown). Experiment 2 relied on the camera distance paradigm (Intraub, Bender, & Mangels, 1992). In a recognition test, 60 undergraduate students judged the camera distance of previously seen neutral or emotional photographs. The majority of them demonstrated accurate judgments and neither extended nor restricted picture boundaries. Those participants who made an error more often displayed a boundary extension than a tunnel memory error. Taken together, our results suggest that boundary extension for neutral and emotional photographs is a more robust phenomenon than its counterpart, tunnel memory.