University choice: which attributes matter when you are paying the full price?

This article presents the results from a longitudinal study of students' choice of university in England. Students were surveyed initially when applying for university (Wave One) and then again when they were about to embark on their chosen course (Wave Two). The results from Wave Two demonstrated a high degree of consistency with the Wave One findings: course and university reputation are far more important and fees are relatively unimportant. However, a key result across both waves was that patterns of utility for students with no parental experience of university were significantly different from students whose parents had attended university. The utility associated with different levels of entry qualifications, of fees and of university and course reputation, differed between social groups. The study suggests that the benefits of going to a highly rated university may be undervalued in families that have no direct experience of higher education. In addition, whilst females are more significantly put off by universities with low entry requirements, the qualitative attitudinal statements included in the follow‐up study seem to indicate that so‐called ‘softer’ factors may also influence their choice.     

Hospitality Ethics: Responses from Human Resource Directors and Students to Seven Ethical Scenarios

This study examines the responses of human resource directors and hospitality students to seven different ethical scenarios. Both groups were asked to rate these situations on their ethicality using a Likert-type scale. The directors and students decided that an act of theft was the most unethical, followed by sexual harassment, and an attempt to obtain proprietary information from another company. Expressing racial preferences in terms of servers was fourth. Directors rated all the scenarios ethically lower than did students, indicating that experience and heightened sensitivity to possible litigious situations may have played a role in perceptual differences.     

Using the training reactions questionnaire to analyze the reactions of university students undergoing career‐related training in Jordan: a prospective human resource development approach

The primary purpose of the present study was to validate Morgan and Casper's training reactions questionnaire (TRQ) for use in Jordan. The study also investigated the reactions of university students to career‐related training programs. Another purpose of the study was to determine the impact of certain aspects of training programs on the overall satisfaction of university students with the quality of the programs. The validated TRQ was administered to a purposive sample of 304 participants who completed at least two training programs. Results showed that the TRQ is valid for use in Jordan. Results also indicated that participants exhibited high levels of satisfaction with all aspects of the training programs completed. Further, based on regression analyses, results indicated that utility of training had the highest explained variance followed by course materials and course structure. Finally, the study provided a number of practical and theoretical implications for the field of study.     

Eliteuniversitäten — Gewinner im Wettbewerb um Studierende?

The German Excellence Initiative was intended to strengthen university-based research and to create a set of internationally competitive elite institutions. The present article analyses whether or not designation as an elite institution has had an impact on the number of first-year students. Our results indicate that this is not the case. This observation might be explained by the fact that the Excellence Initiative mainly focuses on the reputation of the university as a whole, while students are more interested in the reputation of their preferred field of study. Hence, students compare the quality of faculties or degree programmes rather than the reputation of universities.     

The compensation conundrum: Does the hospitality industry shortchange its employees—and itself?

A comparison of salaries paid for jobs in the hospitality industry versus those in other industries showed that the hospitality positions on average paid less for comparable positions. The only exception was that both the hospitality industry and the comparison group (N = 140) paid about the same amount for low-level jobs—probably due to minimum-wage laws. For upper-level positions, however, the comparison showed a noticeable difference between the two groups. To assess the extent to which jobs are comparable, the author compared the knowledge, skills, and abilities (or human capital) needed for each set of jobs. For jobs in the midpoint of the human-capital scale, hospitality-industry wages averaged about 85 percent of wages paid in other industries. Hospitality-industry wages fell even shorter at the top of the human-capital scale, standing at an average of 78 percent of compensation for top positions found in the sample of other industries. As a practical matter, such pay disparities encourage the best-qualified candidates to choose employment in other industries.     

Educating tomorrow's professionals

This paper begins with the assumption that university educators must continue to encourage students who are bound for professional careers to act responsibly. We describe two particular efforts for exposing students in computer science to the social responsibilities which accompany this career. In describing our specific experiences with students to date, we also comment on the success of these efforts, and offer suggestions for continued success in the future.Robin Cohen has been an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo (UW) since July 1984. She was a teaching assistant for the Computers and Society course while a graduate student at the University of Toronto, and currently teaches the Social Implications of Computers course at UW. She is also the Faculty of Mathematics representative on the Advisory Board of the UW Centre for Society, Technology and Values. Her research interests centre on computational linguistics and artificial intelligence. Calvin Gotlieb is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Computer Science and Faculty of Library and Information Science at the University of Toronto. He has worked with computers for forty years, during which his interests have ranged widely. Recently they have focussed on databases, the economics of computers, and social implications. He is the author of more than 90 publications and four books, including Social Issues in Computers (with A. Borodin) in 1973.     

Financial literacy among university students: A study in eight European countries

This study analysed the level of financial literacy among university students in Estonia, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation and Turkey. The purpose of the study was to determine the level of financial literacy among university students, and to find out the relationship between financial knowledge and demographic characteristics of students. Online survey instrument was used to collect data. 409 fully completed questionnaires were accepted for analysis. Logistic regression was used to analyse of impact of the demographic characteristics on financial literacy. Overall mean of correct answers for the survey was 72.2%. This result represents a medium level of financial literacy about personal finance. Results indicate that male students, business major students, PhD students, those who live in a rental house, those whose parents have high level income, those who get advice on financial matters from their friends, those who took financial course before, those who get financial information about financial issues from university education, and students from Poland are more knowledgeable on personal finance. More financial courses should be provided in university education programmes, which could help more students handle their finances better and improve their financial wellbeing. It should be taken into consideration that in recent years, environmental and technological influences on financial literacy may be more important than parental influence.     

Interpersonal Stress Reactions and Service Quality Responses among Hospitality Industry Employees

Work stress is now recognised as a major issue in the human resource management arena, for both staff and management. Within the hospitality industry context, service quality issues are beginning to assume major importance in the success of many operations. This study has sought to understand interpersonal conflict work stress responses associated with hospitality industry employee-management conflict, together with approaches to service quality issues among a sample of Australian hospitality industry domain was the sole predictor of the clearer and more autonomous work role stress response, and the management service quality domain was the predictor of the better management communication stress response. Better communication by management presented as the dominant stress response, and was found to be particularly associated with femalae hospitality industry employees. Implications of these findings for both hospitality industry employees and for hospitality industry management are explored.     

Evaluation of students’ satisfaction with three all-you-can-eat university dining facilities

With the growing number of dining options, both on and off campus, university dining facilities need to assess their ability to meet the needs of the student population, considering the competitive alternate dining options. The purposes of this study were to (1) measure university students’ satisfaction with, and importance of, nine key attributes of three unique, all-you-can-eat, university dining facilities and (2) compare and contrast students’ ratings of attributes among the three dining facilities. A one-way ANOVA determined that participants at Dinning Facility 1 rated 8 of 9 attributes significantly higher on satisfaction compared to Dining Facilities 2 and 3. Attributes with highest satisfaction were cleanliness, atmosphere/environment, and image/reputation. Attributes with lowest satisfaction were menu variety, food quality, and healthy options. These results can guide dining facilities in efforts to improve customer satisfaction.     

Chefs’ perceptions of using convenience food products versus scratch cooking

The decision regarding when and to what extent to use convenience food products is a perennial issue in the hospitality industry. To explore this issue, a paper and pencil survey was administered to culinary managers in a large university dining setting. Respondents included 132 chefs representing 10 dining facilities/concepts. The results indicate that even though the time and labor cost savings brought about by the use of convenience food products are perceived as advantageous, the implied consistency of the final product and superior portion control are not as important. Furthermore, customer relationships, catering to special groups, and final products’ eye appeal appear to be better facilitated by nonconvenience foods. Even though it is easier to train culinary staff to use convenience food products rather than nonconvenience ones and these employees appear to be under less psychological pressure in their jobs, they will conversely be less motivated and worse paid.     

Predictive Power of Personal Factors in Studying Students' Perception of Sales Profession in Poland

Since Poland has become a member of the European Union, free market activities have increased dramatically. The purpose of this study is to explore university students' perceptions of personal selling as a career in Poland. Using logistic regression and Z-test methodologies, we analyzed the perceptions of 114 students. The results confirm the findings of previous studies that personal factors play a significant role in predicting students' perception of sales profession as a career. The findings presented in this study show that Polish students have a biased perception about sales as a career; however, interestingly, few dimensions show a significant effect. Understanding students' perceptions of the sales profession will help corporate recruiters achieve their goals by selecting those students most likely to excel in sales careers.     

Student evaluation of teaching effectiveness: an unresolved dilemma

Content analysis techniques were used to analyse the criteria used for student evaluation of teaching effectiveness in college and university home economics programmes. Student evaluation forms were obtained from 29 state institutions representing 21 states. The evaluation forms varied in length from seven to 36 objective items. Most provided for flexibility. including such options as add-on items, open-ended response format, and choice of forms. The evaluation criteria fell into six categories: course organization and content, course requirements, evaluation procedures, student participation, teaching skills, and global value of course. All of the institutions included items related to teaching skills. This was also the most heavily weighted factor, accounting for nearly 40% of the total evaluation. This is a significant finding, given that many college and university faculty have limited opportunities to develop teaching skills prior to beginning an academic career. Home economics administrators might use the results of the study to design faculty development programmes to help both novice and experienced faculty acquire or improve the skills on which they are being evaluated.     

A comparative study of the determinants of future plans and expectations of business students

Current university juniors and seniors have plans and expectations for after they graduate. In an effort to better understand these plans and expectations, the authors assessed a sample of 334 university students enrolled in business classes. The study examined the impact of three categories of independent variables—family influences, demographic influences, and academic influences—on the dependent variables of student degree aspirations, career aspirations, and expected salaries. Determinant variables with the most consistent influences on these dependent variables include birth order and parents' income (family influences); age and ethnicity (demographic influences); and grade point average, college entrance exam scores, and academic major (academic influences).     

Dealing with poor online ratings in the hospitality service industry: The mitigating power of corporate social responsibility activities

Hospitality service providers' reputation and sales can be strongly damaged by low ratings on platforms such as Tripadvisor, Booking, or Yelp. In this research, we investigate how the potential damaging effects of poor ratings of a hospitality service providers' can be mitigated by corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Building on the self-affirmation theory, we suggest and provide evidence for the notion that CSR (vs. non-CSR) cues affect more positively guests’ evaluation of a service provider when online ratings are low. When the ratings increase, CSR cues are not better than other cues to improve evaluations. Further, we detail the underlying mechanism whereby guests allocate more weight to CSR (vs. non-CSR) cues when they form an evaluation of a low-rated (vs. higher-rated) service provider, which increases the warm-glow feelings that they anticipate and, eventually, their evaluation. We test our model with two experiments on two different samples (US and European), involving different CSR cues (environmental and social) and different types of service provider (hotel and restaurant). We then discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of our research for hospitality professionals, as well as for policy makers.     

Social Marketing: Using Stages of Change Model to Assess HIV/AIDS Testing Intentions Among University Students in Ghana

This research sought to utilize the stages of change model to assess HIV/AIDS testing intentions among university students in Ghana. A quantitative research method using a questionnaire based on a random sampling method was employed to interview 167 students of the University of Ghana Business School in Accra. The analysis of variance and one-sample t-test statistical methods were employed to establish the relationship between variables. The study found that most university students in Ghana (80.9%) are at precontemplation, contemplation, and preparation stages. This suggests that social marketing intervention programs encouraging university students to know their HIV/AIDS status have not been effective, since most university students in Ghana have not yet taken action to test for HIV/AIDS. The study also found some university students at more than one stage at a time.     

Developing Responsible Leaders: The University at the Service of the Person

The university years present the culmination of the formative years in the life of a student and an important time to consolidate the years of study while developing career and life aspirations of any youth. However, ignorance and apathy characterize the university life of many a student more than the ideal desire for an intellectual experience that would be expected. Much of this apathy and ignorance can be attributed to a failure to help the students appreciate what the university ought to be and what they can gain from it in their time there. As definitive institutions of higher learning, universities ought to play a big part in shaping the next generation of leaders.     

Can social awareness be increased through business school curricula?

The study was prompted by (a) Frederick and Vogel's debate concerning future research in “business and society”, (b) such recently reported managerial excesses as golden parachutes, “greenmail”, and fraud, (c) the increasing emphasis on coursework in the area. It appears that there is a need to assess how students, our future business leaders, perceive social issues and if a “business and society” course can help them define and understand the importance of these issues. Three questions provided the focal point: (1) Which issues do students perceive as most important before and after completing the course? (2) How much importance do students place on issues? (3) Does completing a “business and society” course make a significant difference in how students perceive the importance of the issues presented? Students appeared to have already clearly defined priorities before entering the course as there was very little post-course reordering of priorities. However, they did display an increased perception of the importance of social issues. The study also indicated that a “business and society” course can contribute to an increased student awareness of the importance of social issues. Therefore, it was concluded that a “business and society” course can help students define and evaluate the importance of social issues.     

The Influence of Ethics Instruction,Religiosity, and Intelligence on Cheating Behavior

This study examines the influence of ethics instruction, religiosity, and intelligence on cheating behavior. A sample of 230 upper level, undergraduate business students had the opportunity to increase their chances of winning money in an experimental situation by falsely reporting their task performance. In general, the results indicate that students who attended worship services more frequently were less likely to cheat than those who attended worship services less frequently, but that students who had taken a course in business ethics were no less likely to cheat than students who had not taken such a course. However, the results do indicate that the extent to which taking a business ethics course influenced cheating behavior was moderated by the religiosity and intelligence of the individual student. In particular, while students who were highly religious were unlikely to cheat whether or not they had taken a business ethics course, students who were not highly religious demonstrated less cheating if they had taken a business ethics course. In addition, the extent of cheating among highly intelligent students was significantly reduced if such students had taken a course in business ethics. Likewise, individuals who were highly intelligent displayed significantly less cheating if they were also highly religious. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Effects of local fiscal policy on firm profitability

For decades, scholars and policy-makers have been interested in how fiscal policy influences entrepreneurship. Until now, research has focused on fiscal policy at the federal or regional level and used macro-economic outcome measures. Considerably less attention was given to how municipal governments can influence economic outcomes at the micro level. The present study examines the effect of municipal taxes, spending and tax compliance costs on firm profitability within the Flemish hospitality industry. This is an interesting research setting, since Flemish municipalities have far-ranging fiscal autonomy which has resulted in a proliferation of local taxes, many of which are specific to the hospitality industry. The findings reveal that local taxes have a negative impact on firm profitability, while aggregate public spending has a positive influence. The tax effect is economically relevant and exceeds the public spending impact. Finally, we find no impact of compliance costs from local taxes.     

The future of swiss asset management: A look in the crystal ball

Until recently, Switzerland had an unmatched reputation for the quality of its banking services. Based on a secular tradition of security and a strict banking secrecy enforced by law, Swiss banks have established themselves as leaders in discretionary asset management. Recent studies estimate that about 35 percent of the private off-shore wealth is managed in Switzerland. At the end of 1996, asset management in Switzerland represented about 2.5 trillion Swiss francs (about $2 trillion), provided 3.5 percent of the total added value in the country, and contributed 4.44 billion Swiss francs in taxes, making it one of Switzerland's major sector of activity. But the traditional paradigm on which asset management is based in Switzerland–confidentiality, conservatism, and safety–is undergoing rapid change. Have the profound changes which transformed the banking industry and its production structures over the past several years ended? This is the subject of a large study we carried out with the Institute of Banking and Financial Management at HEC-University of Lausanne. This survey provides an unbiased global reference and a neutral benchmark describing the current state of the Swiss asset management industry. It should help the assessment of specific strategies before considering implementations issues. This interview article contains part of the survey results and identifies a few factors that could prolong the industrial revolution underway. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.