An empirical study of salesperson stereotypes amongst UK students and their implications for recruitment

The success of recruitment efforts can have a major impact on sales force effectiveness. Students have long been considered a good source of potential sales recruits, but research has found students have generally negative perceptions of selling as a career. One reason for such perceptions may be negative stereotypes of salespeople held by students. However information on the content of UK sales stereotypes remains anecdotal at best. This study empirically examines UK business students' stereotypes of salespeople using a two-stage approach. Findings suggest that these stereotypes are generally negative. However, we create profiles of salespeople using our findings, and consequently uncover some positive aspects to the stereotype. The study provides instruction on how to use stereotypes in subsequent work, as well as how to utilise the profiles in recruitment efforts.     

Students' perception of corporate social responsibility: Analyzing the influence of gender,academic status,and exposure to business ethics education

Studies on students' perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) have been growing in western scholarship. For students in African countries, such as Nigeria, there is little that is known about how and whether gender, level of study, and being enrolled in business education courses impact their perception of and disposition towards CSR. This study explores the significance of gender, academic status or level of study, and exposure to business ethics education (BEE) on Nigerian students' perception of CSR as a veritable business ethic. Specifically, the effects of these factors on students' perception of CSR are examined using analysis of variance. The results show a significant effect of exposure to BEE and gender on CSR‐sensitivity, and a mild, but significant effect of academic status. This implies that male students and female students had different perspectives on CSR issues. Students who took ethics courses and those who did not would run businesses differently. However, age and experience on campus did not influence students' perception or position on CSR. The study recommends that more behavioral models be estimated with the inclusion of more demographic and socioeconomic variables to elicit more robust results.     

Ethical behavior perceptions in Russia: Do ethics-related programs and individual characteristics matter?

This paper aims to analyze how individual differences and ethics-related programs predict Russian business students and working adults' perception of personal business ethics. This research evaluates the business ethics perceptions based on surveys of 1,207 managers, employees, and business students in Russia. This study finds the significant correlations between individual differences (gender, age, education level, and management experience), ethics-related programs (business ethics courses taught in universities, ethics and diversity professional development training), and personal business ethics' perceptions of Russian business students and working adults. We also find that individual differences moderate the relationship between ethics-related programs and how the personal business ethics of Russian business students and working adults are perceived. These findings advance current literature by revealing that age moderates the relationship between ethics-related programs (formal ethic courses, ethics, and diversity trainings) and personal ethical behavior perceptions of working adults and business students in Russia. Our study found that gender had a significant positive moderating effect on relationship of organizational code of ethics, formal ethic courses, and diversity professional development with personal ethical behavior perceptions. The relation between personal ethical behavior perceptions and the presence of an organizational code of ethics was negative and marginally moderated by age and managerial experience. This study contributes to business ethics research by deepening the understanding of the impact of individual differences on the relationship between ethics-related programs and personal business ethics' perceptions.     

Perceived effect of a salesperson's stigmatized appearance on store image: an experimental study of student's perceptions

The Perception of a specific stigma, obesity, and its influence on store image was studied. Previous studies have acknowledged the role salespeople play in the perception of a store's image, but no previous studies have specifically focused on the influence of the physical appearance of sales personnel on store image. The results of an experiment that examined students' perceptions of salespersons' appearance showed that, if a salesperson was described as obese, then the store was perceived as having a poorer image and as being less successful, regardless of the sex of the salesperson or the type of store. The implications of these findings for retailers are discussed in light of the Americans with Disabilities Act and recent legal discussion concerned with protecting physically stigmatized workers.     

Ethics and the accountant

Every profession requires special knowledge and skills, and each professional is expected to possess certain essential personal qualities. Likewise, in the accounting profession, accountancy students need to possess certain essential personal qualities that their employers look for. The growing concern over the ethics of professionals makes it important consider the perceptions of the public, students, and accountants of the values of accounts in the working world.A questionnaire was given to a sample population of 500 which included the public, accounting students, and accountants. The questionnaire was designed to examine the personal qualities of accountants. From this study, the perceptions of the personal qualities of accountants are that accounts should be ethical and have integrity. These perceptions reflect the importance of ethics in the accounting profession. On other qualities, the public differ in perception from that of the students and accountants.James Poon Teng Fatt is a lecturer in Business Communication in the School of Accountancy and Business, Nanyang Technological University. His areas of research and interest are accounting education, entrepreneurship, and English for specific purposes.     

Perceptions of the media in three different cultures: the US,Australia & Taiwan

This paper examines business students' perceptions of the media in the United States, Australia, and Taiwan across four attributes—informative, entertaining, boring and irritating. Management implications of the findings are also discussed. Newspapers, radio, billboards, television, direct mail and magazines were selected for analysis. The findings revealed that 16 different paired comparisons out of a possible 72 tests show statistical significance. Media perception patterns describing respondents' ratings of different media classes for given attributes were examined. The perception patterns in Australia and the United States were similar with respect to the informative, entertaining and boring attributes, and significant differences in perception patterns were found between Taiwan and the other two countries.     

Student Complaint Behavior Based on Power Perception

Abstract

This study investigated students' complaint behavior in a higher education service sector. Based on their complaining styles, students were clustered into three groups as passive recipients, private complainers, and voicers. Passive recipients exhibited the highest perceptions of educators' punishment power and legitimate power. They were more likely to be international and undergraduate students. Private complainers possessed high perception of educators' punishment power but moderate perception of educators' legitimate power. Similar to passive recipients, they were more likely to be international and undergraduate students. Distinctively, voicers had the lowest perceptions of both educators' punishment power and their legitimate power. These students were more likely to be domestic and MBA Students.     

The Impact of Professional Commitment and Anticipatory Socialization on Accounting Students’ Ethical Orientation

The accounting profession has emphasized the need for ethics education in the accounting curriculum. The current study examines professional commitment and anticipatory socialization, operationalized by perception of financial reporting, as possible determinants of Accounting students’ ethical perceptions and intentions. Accounting students with higher levels of professional commitment and higher perception of the importance of financial reporting were more likely to perceive questionable actions as unethical and less likely to engage in such actions compared to those students with lower commitment and lower perception of financial reporting. The results have implications for accounting instructors and accounting employers as they socialize students in the accounting profession at this early stage.     

A Cross-National Comparison of University Students' Perceptions Regarding the Ethics and Acceptability of Sales Practices

This scenario-based study examines the perceptions of university students in the United States and Australia regarding the ethics and acceptability of various sales practices. Study results indicate several significant differences between U.S. and Australian university students regarding the perceptions of ethical and acceptable sales practices. These differences centered on company-salesperson and salesperson-customer relationships. The findings are significant for the employer, and have consequences for customers and competitors. They also have implications for recruiters and managers of salespeople, academics with an interest in understanding cross-national differences in sales ethics, and educators preparing students for future careers as business professionals.     

The perception of discount sales promotions – A utilitarian and hedonic perspective

This paper explores the effects of utilitarian and hedonic benefits perceptions of discount sales promotions on consumer purchase decisions (attitude and behavioral intention). A closed-ended survey, as well as a partial least squares structural equation modeling of consumers sampling who had used discount sales promotions in their recent purchases, was utilized in this study. The findings suggest that utilitarian benefits perceptions derived from price-quality perception and hedonic benefits perceptions derived from smart shopper self-perception of using discount sales promotions positively affect consumer purchase decisions. Both utilitarian and hedonic benefits perceptions of discount sales promotions can henceforth be used to produce the desired effects on purchase decisions. Hence, this paper sheds light on the effects of utilitarian and hedonic benefits perception of discount sales promotions on purchase decisions. Though the findings are limited to discount sales promotions alone and two types of purchase decisions outcomes (attitude and behavioral intentions), this paper identified multiple avenues to extend its findings. This encourages further exploration of such promotion topics, particularly on the various perceptions of discount sales promotions as well as other sales promotion techniques among marketing academics and practitioners.     

Corporate social responsibility perception in business students as future managers: a multifactorial analysis

This paper examines undergraduate business students' perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in cases in which they have not attended any specific course either dealing with CSR or providing training in ethics. A survey was conducted of 535 Spanish business students as future managers. The results show that the stakeholders' perspective deserves a huge attention for those students considering what the keys of business success are. Significant differences in perception were nevertheless identified when a multifactorial analysis was undertaken. Female students are more concerned about CSR issues. The maximization of value for shareholders is less valued by second‐ and third‐year students than by first‐year ones. The findings point to a number of important orientations for the future development of university curriculum.     

The Role of Perceived University Support in the Formation of Students' Entrepreneurial Intention

Entrepreneurship education is central to student entrepreneurship. Previous research has attempted to understand the role of entrepreneurship education in the formation of students' entrepreneurial intention and behavior, albeit in an isolated manner. Universities can support entrepreneurship in many ways, but it is important to measure students' perception of the support that they receive in order to understand the extent of such support and its impact on students. The current study proposed and tested an integrative, multiperspective framework. We have hypothesized that the three dimensions of university support, that is, perceived educational support, concept development support, and business development support, together with institutional support, shape students' entrepreneurial self‐efficacy. In turn, entrepreneurial self‐efficacy and individual motivations constitute the fundamental elements of the intention to start a business. A sample of 805 university students took part in the study and data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Our findings showed that perceived educational support exerted the highest influence on entrepreneurial self‐efficacy, followed by concept development support, business development support, and institutional support. Self‐efficacy in turn had a significant effect on entrepreneurial intention. Individual motivations such as self‐realization, recognition, and role had an additional impact on intention. However, intention was not related to financial success, innovation, and independence. The findings suggest that a holistic perspective provides a more meaningful understanding of the role of perceived university support in the formation of students' entrepreneurial intention. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Investigating Graduate Business Students' Perceptions of the Educational Value Provided by an International Travel Course Experience

Abstract

Researchers agree that students' critical thinking and decision making skills are enhanced through exposure to new cultures and global markets. Thus, one way of bringing about improvement in these areas is through international travel courses. The purpose of this study is threefold. One, to describe the process involved in the creation of a required for-credit international travel course; two, present the findings of a research study designed to investigate graduate business students' perceptions of the educational value provided by an international travel course; and three, describe the ongoing process of closing the assessment loop as it relates to the internationalization of MBA and MACC curricula. The results of this study are encouraging. In general, students perceived that the international travel course added value to their educational experience and enhanced their relationships with other students. Items receiving weaker support were concerned with “thinking skills”, such as multi-disciplinary integration and improved decision-making. These results have important implications for future improvements to the international travel course.     

College Students' Perceptions of a Smoking Ban in Restaurants and Bars

Abstract

This study investigates college students' perceptions of smoking bans and their knowledge of smoking bans implemented in a college town. A total of 180 college students enrolled in two hospitality management classes participated in the study. While the majority of students were strongly supportive of smoking bans in general, results of the study indicated that significant differences were found in smoking ban perceptions based on respondents' future employment segments. The length of residency also affects how much information respondents knew about implemented smoking ban regulations.     

Secrets to success: Business skills and knowledge that students find most useful in succeeding in a capstone course simulation

This exploratory research examines students' perceptions of a capstone business simulation game by identifying (a) courses that were most useful in preparing students for the simulation and (b) interpersonal skills students found most helpful when working with teammates on the simulation. Also identified are the simulation's impact on student understanding of business disciplines and additional interpersonal skills training desired by the students. By studying these later topics, faculty members can alter their course design so that students are better prepared for their capstone course simulation. Finally, connections between the simulation participation and attitudes toward employment and career success are explored.     

The executive suite: Are women perceived as ready for the managerial climb?

In a developing profession, emphasis is placed on two key ingredients for a successful climb to the executive suite — namely, interpersonal skills and an appropriate personality structure than can cope with forms of stress and uncertainty. The data presented in this study were collected from one of the major accounting firms and offers insights into men and women on the upward climb within the accounting profession. Analysis of this data shows that although appropriate personality characteristics are predicated on a male managerial model, women and men perceive themselves similarly with respect to these characteristics. However, others' perceptions of women, male accountants as well as clients, seemed more skeptical of women's ability to succeed. Furthermore, there are indications that women and men have different job assignments along their career paths. Our data collected in the latter half of the seventies tend to corroborate many of the findings in the first half — in general women are not perceived as ready for the managerial climb.     

“Don't try to teach me,I got nothing to learn”: Management students' perceptions of business ethics teaching

Interest is growing towards including business ethics in university curricula, aiming at improving ethical behaviour of future managers. Extant literature has investigated the impact of ethics education on different ethics‐related students' cognitive and/or behavioural outcomes, considering variables related to training programmes and students' demographic aspects. Accordingly, we aim at assessing students' understanding of business ethics issues, by focusing on the differences in students' perceptions depending on gender, age, work experience, and ethics courses taken. Testing our hypotheses on a sample of 307 management students at a Polish university, and controlling for social desirability bias, we obtained mixed and partially surprising results. We found significant differences in students' understanding of business ethics depending on their gender and age (female and older students showed more ethical inclinations), but not depending on having taken ethics courses—actually perceptions of such courses worsened after taking them. Besides, work experience was not a significant variable. Moreover, course exposure intensiveness (i.e., number of ethics courses completed), and time passed since completion of the latest course, did not confirm hypothesized effects on most of the dependent (sub)variables. These findings stimulate further questions and challenges for future research (e.g., around course design and methodology, and social/cultural/contextual issues).     

Critical approaches in undergraduate marketing teaching: investigating students' perceptions

For some years now, marketing educators have been exhorted to adopt more critical approaches in teaching and learning. Such approaches are purported to bring numerous benefits to students, including improved appraisal skills, self-awareness, and enhanced abilities to deal with the uncertainties and ambiguities of marketing practice. To date however, there has been very little empirical study of how students respond to critical approaches, and whether they perceive any of the proposed benefits themselves. This study addresses the gap by investigating the perceptions and experiences of students on two modules, both of which take similarly designed critical approaches. In practice, students were found to perceive the modules as more labour intensive and intellectually challenging than others, due primarily to the volume and depth of required reading. The task of being critical was itself perceived as difficult, due to the need for a different mindset, and for students to have confidence in their own ideas. However, overall evaluations of the modules were positive, and students identified a number of benefits and personal rewards from their experiences, at least some of which matched with those proposed in the literature. The paper discusses factors influencing students' perceptions and concludes with some practical recommendations.     

Assessment of Chinese Students' Experience With Foreign Faculty: A Case Study From a Chinese University

This article compares Chinese students' responses to local Chinese versus American professors, and the effectiveness of the professors' respective teaching techniques. A case study made at a single university in China, which had a joint academic program with the United States, found that Chinese students preferred local Chinese professors to American professors in spite of the students' perception that the American professors' were more highly qualified, and despite the American professors' student-centered teaching styles. The Chinese students consider local Chinese professors to be more effective in teaching and they have higher expectation of the Chinese students than the U.S. professors. This article explores the differences between Chinese and Western teaching styles and proposes approaches needed to guide Chinese students from their familiar teacher-centered classrooms toward accepting a student-centered classroom approach. Recommendations are offered for improving Western ways of educating Chinese students in China.