Venturing into the unknown: Blogs as a means of advancing leadership skills

The author describes a theoretically eclectic exploratory assignment that helped students in a managerial communication class practice and advance a comprehensive range of leadership skills. Specifically, the author combined E. M. Eisenberg, L. H. Goodall, and A. Tretheway's (2014) model of leadership with pertinent concepts from the theory of learning and used blogs as the communication medium. The outcome was very positive. Students practiced and advanced a range of cognitive, ethical, and communication skills.     

Strategies for improving cruise product sales using hybrid ‘multiple criteria decision making’ models

As airlines have shifted to decommission policies, selling cruise products has become a growing trend in the travel industry. However, few studies have discussed this issue or proposed strategies to help improve sales for travel agencies. The purpose of this study is to address this problem, using the novel method of hybrid multiple criteria decision making, including decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL), the DEMATEL-based analytic network process and VIKOR (VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje), to present optimal improvement models, which are superior in identifying both an influential network and a priority sequence of dimensions/criteria related to selling cruises. The findings provide useful schemes for decision makers according to the priorities of influential weightings from high to low or the sequence of gap values to aspired level from low to high.     

Individual and contextual influences on the affective commitment of retail salespeople

Abstract

Salesperson characteristics as well as managerial approaches have been found to play an important role in the development of positive attitudes by salespersons towards an organisation. This study integrates these two research areas to investigate the personal and contextual antecedents of affective organisational commitment of retail salespeople. Fit theory and the literature on person–situation interaction provide the theoretical bases for explaining how salesperson selling skills, job liking, and empowerment individually and jointly influence affective commitment. A multilevel modelling approach is used to analyse data from 105 sales managers and 419 salespeople. Findings reveal that salespersons' affective commitment is influenced by their selling skills, degree of job liking, tenure, and empowerment. The results also indicate that the impact of selling skills on affective commitment is higher when empowerment is high. Based on the study's findings, implications for managing salespeople as well as limitations and suggestions for future research are offered.     

Internationalising Professional Skill Development

ABSTRACT

Internationalisation of education, and more specifically tertiary education, all over the world has contributed to a significant overhaul in student composition. Parallel to this runs the need for graduates to leave university with a range of professional skills. In response to this, universities actively encourage the development of such skills in their programs by integrating the teaching and assessing of professional skills into academic programs. This paper reports on the efficacy of a professional skills program and its support structures as used in the Bachelor of Commerce degree program of a university. The paper outlines how the skills were taught and assessed in the International Management 375 unit and presents data on the changes in students' perceptions of their skill levels. The interpretation of the data is further differentiated on the base of gender, language and country of origin.     

Case study competitions and perceptions of learning among undergraduate students in the United Arab Emirates

Higher education institutions are increasingly employing competitive formats such as case study competitions in business education to enhance students’ learning experience. The authors explore students’ perceptions and experiences regarding affective, cognitive, and skills development factors and whether these perceptions and experiences determine students’ participation in case study competitions in the United Arab Emirates. The authors attempt to contribute to the rather nascent body of literature on case study competitions. The results highlight statistically significant differences between perceived and actual learning with respect to cognitive and affective benefits. Furthermore, a significant positive association is found between participation in case study competitions and respondents’ perceptions and real experiences about various aspects of learning.     

浅谈科技英语翻译的特点

由于科学技术的发展,英语科技词汇不断增加,使得英语翻译显得越来越重要。着重探讨了科技英语翻译的专业性、精确性,科技英语的句法特征及其翻译技巧,常用标志用语的翻译,并对大量实例翻译进行分析与研究,从中归纳出科技对英语翻译的特点。     

浅谈高校学生干部的综合表达能力

随着教育的发展,学生人数的增多,学生干部队伍的建设成为学校学生工作的重要内容.笔者通过6个月的团校学习,并结合自身学生干部经历,斗胆就如何成为一名优秀的学生干部提出如下建议,以供大家飨用.     

水利水电工程投标报价的策略和技巧探讨

本文以某估价M=1200万元的工程投标为实例,计算并分析出四个不同报价的得标概率,从而算出预期利润、三个对手的投标取胜的概率以及不同概率后的预期利润,进行合理的报价投标,通过对实际情况的结合,研究并探讨具体投标的技巧.     

浅析工程投标中策略与技巧的运用

文章根据目前的建筑市场行情,浅析了一些投标策略和技巧,对如何提高中标率和获取更多的利润进行了分析和总结,为企业经营投标提供了一定的借鉴作用。