Professionalism as proxy for business education: Considering Arts and Science majors pursuing business minors (original) (raw)
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Business education may need an overhaul when it comes to training students to become socially responsible managers and professionals, evidenced by the prevalence of questionable practices of corporate agents trained by the present educational system. In this regard, this study relies on frameworks of professionalism as defined by scholars (Brint, 1996; Freidson, 2001; Imse, 1962) to examine the values and attitudes of business students as they graduate but before joining their profession. The study used survey responses of senior-level undergraduate students, from over 100 colleges in the US, collected by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) across two academic years 2006-2007 and 2007-2008. Survey responses from the College Senior Survey (CSS) database formed a nationally representative sample for testing the research questions. This research utilized business students' factor scores derived from a prior confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using the same CSS dataset to compare business students' factor scores with those of students from other academic majors (Nino, 2013). The CFA constructs below were modeled to validate their position in an overall framework of students' precursors of professionalism at the end of their undergraduate education (Nino, 2013). The four precursors of professionalism used for comparison were as follows: " autonomy of judgment, " " desire for expertise, " " self-concept, " and " social-agency. " The results revealed that business students differ significantly from other students in college in three of the four categories testing for professionalism.
The Decline and Fall of the Business Major: Is It Inevitable?
SSRN Electronic Journal
Business is a very popular major today. Numerous articles have been written attacking the business major claiming that it is not rigorous enough and does not teach what it purports to do, especially in areas such as ethics. This paper discusses some of the issues with business as a major and offers solutions.
2010
Professionalism, as represented in behavioral qualities that are in wide variation across students, is a timely and relevant issue for business schools for both pedagogical progress and for graduates' employability. Framed in structuration theory (Giddens, 1984), this paper describes a novel program designed to foster recognition of professional characteristics and incentivize more professional behavior, to progressively shift awareness and norms within the student body culture among undergraduates in an accredited college of business in the Western United States. In concert with traditional curriculum, this simple program offers the reward of formal recognition for students who consistently demonstrate more professional behavior in coursework and extra-curricular activities. Students' recognition of professionalism is expected to be valuable to them and to the college, and formal recognition for those that distinguish themselves is expected to be notable on their resumes an...
Examining Student Perceptions of Business Majors in the US
The International Journal of Management Education, 2018
Changes in the mix of business majors could result from perception shifts or from changes in the factors students consider when choosing majors. Two student surveys, distributed six years apart at a large US business school, were analysed to understand student choices. First-and secondyear students were asked about their perceptions of all the business majors available and what major they were most likely to pursue. Models could explain some major choices (e.g., management) better than others (e.g., marketing). Over time, students appeared to place less emphasis on employment prospects and more emphasis on how exciting classes were and how interesting careers will be. Results may explain some changes in the mix of majors, help attract more students to some majors, and improve communications about majors.
The Building of a Professional: Creating Greater Career Identity Within a Degree
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2009
The skills required by a student to excel both academically and in their chosen professional careers have been identified by many institutions, and can be referred to as 'generic capabilities'. These generic capabilities can extend from interpersonal skills, problem solving, oral communication and career skills. In recent years concerns have been raised about a gap emerging between graduate attributes developed in university degrees and what industry requires (Yap, 1997; Albrecht and Sack, 2000; Kavanagh and Drennen, 2008). This is often referred to as a lack of 'employment readiness' of students and the need to engage industry with students and the curriculum. Such a concern was highlighted in the 2007 report titled 'Graduate Employability Skills' prepared for the Business, Industry and Higher Education Collaboration Council. One of the generic skills of concern is career skills, which relates to knowledge of the relevant profession, the ability to interact with the profession and seek a career. To address this concern a Professional Development Program (the PDP) was developed. The PDP is integrated into a Business Degree and is designed to systematically develop students' learning, employment and generic skills and supplements their theoretical studies. It is argued that this integration of the PDP permeating throughout the Degree enhances students' generic capabilities, including their career skills. This paper details the procedures that have been developed, and provides preliminary evidence that the PDP has, from the perspective of students, made a substantial contribution to the building of a 'professional'. In particular, we argue that integrating professional skills and awareness systematically into an undergraduate degree in partnership with industry has developed students' generic capabilities, improved their employment readiness and provided students with a greater understanding of their future profession.
UNDERSTANDING CAREER CHOICE OF BUSINESS STUDENTS
ASAC, 2008
Purpose -The purpose of the paper is to explore the views, career expectations, and job search behaviours among a sample of business students. It also aims to examine the role of campus career services in shaping students' careers and how cooperative education influences their expectations and aspirations. Design/methodology/approach -A field survey involving 20,771 students across Canada was conducted by a strategic consulting firm. This research is a part of a broader research project commissioned by a consortium of large Canadian companies to understand better the views of university students on jobs, organisations, careers and perceptions of their organisation. Findings -The study found that cooperative students appear to have more realistic expectations, have better self-insights into their own abilities and desires, and report higher self-confidence. They also placed greater emphases on the "people" and "work" dimensions of a firm. Students with higher abilities also reported similar characteristics and preferences to those of cooperative students. These characteristics are important because they have been linked to greater recruitment success. Additionally, the job search process among students appears to have shifted from more traditional approaches to electronic channels such as the internet. Practical implications -University students continue to be a significant source of hiring for professional and managerial jobs. Employers should connect with university students to understand their views, expectations, and job search process. Employers are also well advised to create a familiarity with university students, and to participate in cooperative education since it can highlight the realities of job and careers in contemporary organisations. These strategies in combination can assist employers with greater recruitment success and long-term organisational performance. Originality/value -This research, based on a large field survey of university students, builds on Cable and Turban's employer knowledge framework, and provides valuable insights into the workforce of the future and strategies for greater recruitment success.
Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 2012
A liberal arts education is touted as a tradition that produces graduates who are humane, interdisciplinary, and have the ability to think critically. While many liberal arts colleges offer business in their degree offerings, it can be seen as antagonistic to a liberal arts education. Can the liberal arts and business education find mutuality? This paper argues that the consideration of this issue is timely due to the recent decline of liberal arts education in favor of technical degrees and the recent criticisms of business education as lagging behind other majors in learning outcomes. An integration framework is offered for business education within liberal arts.
Challenges to business education: The gap between practices and expectations
International Journal of Business Research, 2011
With the changing realties of the business environment, the gap between business education and expectations of business organizations tends to limit the market availability of business graduates. This study empirically investigates this gap. Data gathered from executives evaluation of performance of undergraduate and graduate students during their internships is analyzed using factor analysis and regression analysis. Implications to business education are presented.