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.     

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.     

Evaluating a Guidance and Language Arts Unit for High School Juniors

In this study the authors report on the evaluation of a program enhancing both the career development and writing skills of high school juniors. Participants were 166 juniors attending a suburban midwestern high school. School counselors and English teachers worked together to provide an opportunity for students to develop academic skills while exploring relevant career issues. Results indicated that for a wide range of students, participation in the program led to the achievement of specific guidance competencies. Changes in perceived mastery of guidance competencies predicted positive change in vocational identity and attainment of higher English grades for girls. Implications for promoting school counselors' involvement in guidance program evaluation practices are discussed.     

Faith in the Research Process: Information Behavior at Claremont School of Theology

Abstract

Faith significantly affects the educational experience in graduate studies of religion and theology. This study explored the roles of graduate theological students’ religious faith and degree program affiliation in their information behaviors, particularly their degree-related research behaviors at Claremont School of Theology. The purpose was to explore problems in information action inherent to the dichotomy between academic study of theology that leads to Master of Arts (MA) degree and professional study of theology that leads to Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree. The research design incorporated interviews of MA and MDiv students regarding the roles of their religious faith, degree program affiliation and interpersonal information sources in their research processes. Data were collected, coded and analyzed as a lens into the social network of the theological research community. The study found that information behavior does relate to degree program affiliations and students’ religious faith. Degree program affiliation and religious faith background are relevant to graduate theological research processes and may be useful to consider in research consultations and bibliographic instruction in graduate theological education.     

The Early Identification of Managerial Talent

Research was conducted to determine if managerial motivation can be identified during the period of graduate education, or whether it emerges only subsequent to industrial employment. 106 graduate business students were tested with the Miner Sentence Completion Scale (MSCS) which was scored to give an Item Score and a Rare Score. 41 indicated a desire for managerial employment, 32 a desire to teach, and 33 a desire for specialized or professional employment in business. The mean MSCS Item Scores for these groups were 7.71, .59, and 1.27, respectively; the Rare Scores, 1.00, ?1.72, and ?dash;1.36. In both instances the scores for those with managerial goals were significantly above those for the other groups (p < .01). These results support the conclusion that managerial motivation develops prior to the initiation of the business career, and exerts a strong influence on vocational choice.     

Explaining the adult careers of dyslexic boys: Variations in critical skills for high-level jobs

Several hundred boys who were diagnosed as dyslexic (specifically reading disabled) in adolescence and who attended a private college preparatory school for dyslexics were followed up in adulthood. The occupations of these men, who were above average in both intelligence and socioeconomic background, were compared to those of both a control group and the general white male population. As hypothesized, the dyslexic men had higher level jobs than the average man but they were much less likely than the controls to become professionals. They rarely entered jobs such as physician, lawyer, or college teacher which require higher degrees; instead most became managers or salesmen. The occupational differences between the dyslexic and control men were related to, but not completely accounted for, by their large differences in educational attainment. Data on the competencies rated as critical to good job performance in different occupations were consistent with the hypothesis that dyslexic men would establish themselves in relatively high-level jobs emphasizing nonacademic rather than academic on-the-job skills. Nondisabled professionals rated getting information through reading among the most critical of the skills required on their jobs. In contrast, managers and salesmen rated reading as less important than nonacademic competencies such as taking initiative and responsibility or being persuasive. The results illustrate the value of knowing more about the particular competencies required in different jobs in order to help members of special groups, particularly those such as dyslexies who have specific and enduring handicaps but who are otherwise intellectually normal.     

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.     

Exercising Research Skills: An Information Literacy Boot Camp for Religious Studies Graduate Assistants

Instructional librarians at the University of Dayton collaborated with a religious studies graduate program to offer a three-day information literacy workshop, or “boot camp,” to the program's graduate research assistants. The graduate program had found that the assistants' research skills did not meet the expectations of their faculty mentors, and the workshop sought to address these deficiencies. With input from the religious studies faculty, the workshop focused on catalog and database searching, Boolean logic, primary sources, and the Chicago citation style. The librarians incorporated active learning exercises into each workshop session. Assessment of the workshop suggested that the assistants gained confidence in these information literacy skills. Feedback from faculty also indicated that the assistants' research skills had improved.     

职业胜任力在工作要求-资源模型中的调节和中介作用

采用JD-R模型探讨了职业胜任力在工作要求-资源模型中的作用。结果表明:(1)职业胜任力弱化了工作要求和情感衰竭之间的正向关系;(2)职业胜任力正向影响工作投入;(3)职业胜任力在工作资源与工作投入之间起中介作用。本研究启示可通过提升员工的职业胜任力,促进员工的工作投入并缓解职业倦怠。     

Evaluating the impact of career management skills module and internship programme within a university business school

This study evaluates the impact of an intervention on business school graduates' employability comprising of a curriculum-based career management skills (CMS) module and an industrial placement year. The study uses data from the destinations of leavers of higher education survey to examine the employability of different groups within the cohort (no intervention, CMS module only and CMS module plus structured work experience). It finds that structured work experience has clear, positive effects on the ability of graduates to secure employment in ‘graduate level’ jobs within six months of graduation. Furthermore, participation in the CMS module also has a clear, positive effect upon the ability of participants to secure employment.     

The relationship between learning environment and career competencies of students in vocational education

This article focuses on which aspects of the learning environment, aimed at fostering career learning, correspond with the development of career competencies among students (aged 12–19 years) enrolled in prevocational and secondary vocational education in The Netherlands. Aspects of the learning environment that are taken into account here are the following: career orientation and guidance methods used, instruments implemented, and the degree to which the curriculum is practice-based and dialogical. In the study, three career competencies are identified: career reflection (reflective behaviour), career forming (proactive behaviour), and networking (interactive behaviour). To research the relationship between the learning environment and the presence of career competencies, a study was done among 3499 students and 166 teachers in 226 classes in 34 schools. The results show that career guidance in school, in which a dialogue takes place with the student about concrete experiences and which is focused on the future, contributes most to the presence of career competencies among students. Without this dialogue, career guidance methods and instruments barely contribute to the acquisition of career competencies.     

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 Effects of Experience and a Decision Aid on the Slope,Scatter, and Bias of Earnings Forecasts

This study examines the joint effects of experience and a statistical decision aid on several dimensions of forecasting accuracy. Undergraduate business students, graduate business students, and experienced financial analysts made probabilistic earnings forecasts for 16 firms, either with or without access to a decision aid. Covariance decomposition was used to partition the overall accuracy score into the following components: bias, scatter, and slope. Consistent with prior research, the absolute accuracy of subjects was quite poor, even worse than a uniform forecaster. In contrast to previous results which documented an inverted experience–accuracy effect, experience had a positive impact on accuracy in the current study. This difference in results may be due, at least in part, to the different conditions under which subjects performed the earnings forecasting task. The covariance analysis showed that experienced financial analysts and MBA students had significantly better slope and lower scatter than undergraduate students. The financial analysts were also more biased than either of the student groups, yet still achieved the highest overall accuracy. The decision aid improved forecasting accuracy by increasing the slope of the analysts’ forecasts, while decreasing the scatter in the graduate and undergraduate students’ forecasts.     

The Interrupted Managerial Career Path: A Longitudinal Study of MBAs

The view of managerial career success as an uninterrupted climb up the corporate ladder no longer fits the realities of many managers. This study examined longitudinal data on the career paths of MBAs to determine the consequences of early- and mid-career gaps on career success. The study found that early gaps have a negative impact on income and management level. Gaps in mid-career also reveal an income penalty, even after controlling for pre-gap income. In mid-career, the negative level effect was found for women, but not for men. MBAs with discontinuous employment histories, however, did not have diminished career satisfaction. The research suggests the need for researchers, organizations, managers, and business schools to broaden the definition of acceptable managerial career paths.     

The career impact of winning an external work-related award

There is an abundance of work-related external awards in the business and corporate sectors. This study examines the impact of awards given to individuals in the business sector. Careers and signalling theory were used to initiate research in this domain with 32 interviews with winners of national work-related awards. The majority of winners were either nominated for the awards by others or encouraged to nominate by their managers, which may reflect an organisational, rather than individual, signal for distinction. Results demonstrated that all winners valued the recognition they received from their award win but in an unexpected finding, no significant career trajectory changes occurred. Award winners used their award as a signal of their excellence to distinguish themselves from others. The award gave them confidence and credibility. There was no relationship between winning an award and career success measures such as promotions or salary increases. Counterintuitive negative impacts identified by award winners are discussed.     

企业管理者的任职素质研究

采用问卷法对1122名企业管理者的任职素质结构及其与绩效之间的关系进行了探索性和验证性研究。结果表明:(1)研究构建的企业管理者的任职素质结构具有合理性和稳定性(2)任职素质对企业管理者的绩效有不同预测力。变革能力、沟通能力、学习能力对高层管理者的绩效有显著预测力;领导能力、知识应用水平、成就动机、社交能力对中层管理者的绩效有显著预测力;变革能力对基层管理者的绩效有显著预测力。     

The Manager as Coach: Cross-Cultural Adaptation of an Instrument Assessing Managers’ Coaching Skills

While coaching has been conceived as a new managerial strategy and effective leadership initiative in organizations, the concept of ‘manager as coach’ has gained considerably popularity. In this context, the interest for reliable and valid tools to assess managers’ coaching skills increased among practitioners and organizations. This paper provides additional analyses of an instrument assessing managers’ coaching skills in business settings and examines a theoretical model in identifying manager coaching skills from two informational sources, namely self-report and other-report. This work does not only continue the development of the base of empirical research on managerial coaching, but also offers some guidelines for further testing and development of valid and reliable instruments for the assessment and understanding of managers’ coaching skills.     

Career Preparation and Choices of Fundamental Christian School Students

Abstract

Forty years ago, Alan Peshkin began his study of fundamental independent Baptist Christian schools. With time, further insight can be gained on the outcomes of the students from these schools. Despite possessing employer-desired character traits, fundamental Christian school students were expected to earn few academic or career achievements. The purpose of this study is to determine if Peshkin’s expectations became reality. Thirty-five former Christian school students were surveyed anonymously regarding career preparation and choices. All survey participants have completed some higher education. Over one-fourth of the participants earned at least one graduate degree and an additional one-third of participants hold at least one bachelor’s degree. Survey participants have chosen a wide range of career paths.     

The Effects of Gender,Education, and Personal Skills Self-Confidence on Income in Business Management

A pay disparity between men and women persists,especially in the higher echelons of the business world.This study investigates whether salaries in the businessmanagement field are affected by gender, hours worked, SAT score, college selectivity,college grades, an undergraduate degree in business,graduate degree attainment, leadership self-confidence,and social self-confidence. The sample consists of 941 men and women employed in businessmanagement; approximately 8% of this group are racialminority members. As anticipated, hours worked, collegeselectivity, college grades, a graduate degree, and leadership self-confidence are determinants ofincome. Most important is the finding that aftercontrolling for hours worked, education background, andself-confidence in personal skills, men still receive higher salaries than women.