South African Career Guidance Counsellors' and Mathematics Teachers' Perception of the Accounting Profession

The shortage of accounting professionals is well-documented. To address this shortage, greater numbers of school students should be attracted and enrolled in undergraduate accounting programmes. Unfortunately, school students may have misperceptions of the accounting profession. These misperceptions may result in potential entrants to the profession being lost to other professions. Secondary school teachers play an influential role in students' perceptions of future careers. This survey assessed the perceptions of the secondary school career guidance counsellors and mathematics teachers' perceptions of the accounting profession in South Africa in comparison to the medical, engineering and legal professions. The findings suggest that the accounting profession is held in lower esteem than the engineering and medical professions, but in higher esteem than the legal profession. The findings confirm previous research conducted in the USA, Australasia and Japan. Marketing and recruitment programmes should educate secondary school teachers as to the true nature of the accounting profession.     

Media amplification of a brand crisis and its affect on brand trust

Abstract

This paper explores the ways in which consumers' brand trust during a brand crisis is affected through direct experience versus when it is amplified through mass media. By using case-study methodology, our findings reveal that generalised public images of a product crisis initiate a public perception of risk, which provides more negative effects on brand trust than the actual consumers' experience does. We introduce the media as a third partner influencing the trust relationship between consumers and brands, and offer suggestions for restoring and preserving customers' brand trust.     

Environmental factors and satisfaction in a specialty store

Given the intense competition experienced in the sector, retailers have been designing strategies to create an environment conducive to consumer satisfaction and purchase, particularly in supermarkets and hypermarkets. This paper develops a conceptualization of customer satisfaction based on field data collected in a specialty store, focusing on the relative importance of the environmental factors on satisfaction. The results show that the most important environmental determinant of customer satisfaction is the variety of products. The help from employees, lighting, layout and design also stand out from the set of stimuli considered.     

A Highlight of Tourism and Hospitality Education Issues in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

This paper was written to explore the opinions of the hospitality human resource managers in Taiwan about current tourism and hospitality education provisions. Major issues regarding tourism and hospitality education in Taiwan were identified. Based on the research findings, a number of conclusions were drawn and specific suggestions for the future of the tourism and hospitality education in Taiwan were proposed.     

Relevant or redundant: Elite consumers' perception of foreign-made products in an emerging market

Abstract

This paper examines the attitudes of elite Pakistani consumers concerning their preferences for foreign-made products and how these preferences influence purchasing decisions. Data were collected from a sample of 250 buyers using a mixed methodology consisting of focus groups and a questionnaire survey. The results show a link between the country of origin (COO) of products and purchasing decisions. The nature and extent of this link vary across product class and purchasing decisions. A means-end chain (MEC) analysis revealed a close link between consumers' liking for foreign products connected with how they valued those products both psychologically and physiologically. The findings have implications for attaining a competitive advantage by using marketing strategies to target elite customers. As a pioneering study, this paper advances the theoretical knowledge, providing a framework as well as specific guidelines for practitioners to conceptualise the COO construct. The paper also suggests a strategic direction that successfully targets the elite consumer segment in Pakistan.     

Power perceptions and modes of complaining in higher education

This study examines the relationship between student perceptions of different types of educator power and different modes of student complaining behaviour in the case of university education. A large sample of marketing students in the business school responded to the study from a state university in Northeastern United States. Factor analysis and canonical correlation analysis are used to explore the relationships between five bases of power perceptions (referent, expert, reward, legitimate, and punishment) and four modes of complaining behaviour (voice, negative word of mouth, third party, and exit). The results indicate that students engage in different modes of complaining as they perceive different types of educator power. The predominant complaining mode is found to be voice under referent or expert power, third party under legitimate power, and exit under reward or punishment power. Our findings offer important implications for student satisfaction, retention, and completion rates in higher education.     

古村落居民环境感知的性别差异研究及启示——以余姚市柿林古村为例

运用环境感知法,从自然、经济、社会、旅游四个方面对柿林古村的男女性的感知进行了对比分析．结果发现：1．男女性在自然环境感知上没有明显差异;2．女性比男性更容易正面感知经济生活环境的改善;3．男女性在社会环境的感知上并无明显差异;4．女性比男性更容易正面感知游客行为和旅游开发。男女第三性征差异及由此带来的参与程度的不一致影响了男女在经济和旅游环境的感知．但从总体上而言,旅游对古村落目前的影响不大,村民对旅游开发仍旧持支持态度．最后,针对不同的性别人群提出了今后引导的相关建议．旅游规模扩大带来的家庭收入结构变化对古村落社会结构、家庭结构的影响将是后续研究的关注点。     

组织政治知觉的研究溯源、现状述评与前沿探析

组织政治知觉作为员工对上司和同事在组织中自利行为的评价,已被证实会对员工的态度、行为产生重要影响。关注相关研究有助于加深对组织政治知觉的认识和理解,并推动具有独特政治文化特征的中国情境的理论研究和实践发展。鉴于此,文章追溯了组织政治知觉研究的起源;梳理了研究脉络;介绍了多维研究视角及相关基础理论;从前因、结果和中间变量三个方面回顾了实证研究现状,勾勒出关系模型;识别了研究前沿和新趋势;总结了研究不足并提出了未来研究方向。     

组织政治知觉对离职倾向的影响：组织支持感被中介的调节

文章采用问卷调查法,以珠三角地区光电制造企业的452名员工为研究对象,探讨了组织支持感在组织政治知觉影响离职倾向过程中被中介的调节效应。结构方程建模分析结果表明：组织政治知觉通过工作倦怠的完全中介作用对离职倾向产生影响,组织支持感对这种影响产生被中介的调节效应。     

Learning Business Ethics in Schools

Business ethics is a contemporary issue among business professionals. To enhance business ethics in the long run, educating future business professionals in colleges （i.e., college students） is one of the starting points. This paper aims to investigate students＇ perceptions on business ethics, such as their perceived importance of business ethics, knowledge of and interest in business ethics, their preferred method of introducing business ethics, and the perceived usefulness of learning business ethics in lessons. Focus groups will be used to collect feedback on these issues from students with different gender and seniority in colleges. This study will give insights into the students＇ perceptions on business ethics and suggest ways/methodology to increase the awareness of business ethics in colleges. Business professionals and educators can make reference to the findings to develop relevant materials on business ethics to their employees and students.