Entry-level Employees Research Articles

DRUG POLICY AND INTERGENERATIONAL INCOME MOBILITY IN THE UNITED STATES

A conviction for drug possession blocks some of the most common pathways through which individuals from low income families achieve upward economic mobility in the United States, such as access to higher education, entry-level employment, and military service. These considerations are of growing importance because the number of drug-related arrests have nearly quadrupled since 1980. This article estimates the effect of a conviction for drug possession on earnings mobility using a sample of individuals born between 1980 and 1984, some of the first cohorts to come of age in the context of intensive U.S. drug criminalization and enforcement. To distinguish the effect of a drug conviction from the effect of drug use or general criminality, 1 compare mobility among individuals with drug convictions to control groups who self-report significant drug use and who have had interactions with the criminal justice system that did not lead to a drug conviction. I find that relative to these groups, a drug conviction reduces the probability of transitioning upward from various points in the lower half of the income distribution by 10-15 percentage points, or as much as 50%, and that these effects are substantially stronger for non-whites than for whites. These findings suggest that a policy of decriminalizing nonviolent drug possession would substantially increase intergenerational mobility among low income populations, and this effect should be weighed alongside more conventional costs and benefits in formulating optimal drug policy. (JEL J38, J15, K42) I. INTRODUCTION Major earnings gains from one generation to the next are a relative rarity in the United States, especially at the lower end of the income distribution. Recent definitive estimates from Chetty et al. (2014) using administrative tax records indicate that individuals born to parents in the bottom quintile of the income distribution have a 33.7% chance of staying in the bottom quintile of the income distribution themselves, a 71.9% chance of staying in the bottom half, and only a 7.5% chance of attaining the top quintile. (1) A large theoretical and empirical literature has investigated possible mechanisms through which parents transmit economic status to their children, such as the genetic inheritance of traits associated with earnings and parental investments in their children's human capital (see Black and Devereux 2010 and Solon 1999 for reviews). However, even taking these biological and family-level transmission processes as fixed, both common sense and existing research suggest a few basic pathways through which individuals coming from the lower portions of the income distribution effectively achieve improved earnings. In particular, children of low income parents who realize improved economic status frequently do so by increasing their educational attainment, particularly at the postsecondary level by obtaining entry-level employment that offers human capital acquisition and internal promotion opportunities or by serving in the military, which often includes on the job training as well as access to educational financing. This study is motivated by the observation that these basic strategies for realizing upward mobility are severely hampered by a conviction for drug use. Specifically, in the United States, individuals with a drug conviction are typically ineligible for federal student aid, introducing a potentially important credit constraint for higher education. Criminal convictions have also been shown to disrupt early life human capital accumulation more generally (Aizer and Doyle 2013; Azarnert 2010), and a drug conviction makes it difficult or impossible for an otherwise qualified individual to enlist in the military. Large literatures additionally find that criminal convictions directly reduce entry-level employment opportunities, where a clean criminal record is often a primary qualification (Grogger 1995; Kling 2006; Waldfogel 1994a, 1994b; Western 2002). …

Critical listening assessment in undergraduate music technology programmes

Abstract This article explores the general lack of specific course sequencing that measures critical listening skills designed for undergraduate students in music technology, commercial production and vocationally focused degree programmes. Although traditional music performance and education curricula prescribe a sequential examination of history, theory, keyboarding and aural skills, a comprehensive set of standardized listening competencies focused on preparing students for the realities of working in the commercial music, audio and media fields do not exist. This article envisions a balanced collaboration between industry expertise and peer institutional review to conceive a new rubric for evaluating critical listening in undergraduate music technology programmes that meets accreditation standards while preparing graduates for entry-level employment in media-centred fields. This article explores the potential collaboration of audio industry professionals and organizations with educational institutions to create a set of competencies that are workforce-specific, but suitable for academic purposes. This article explores such collaborations through cognitive apprenticeship and multisensory learning.

What is the Value of Event Management Education? The Views of Six Industry Practitioners

The field of event management has expanded rapidly in recent years. The growth of the industry has lead to an increase in demand for professionals and in turn a massive increase in the opportunities for education and training. A multitude of institutions across the UK now offer hundreds of event-related courses to aspiring practitioners including postgraduate diplomas, degrees, and master's degrees. What is the awareness of the scope, range, and nature of these courses? How useful are they in gaining entry level employment? What are their strengths and what are their shortcomings? In order to answer these questions in depth, a cross-sectional study collected data through semistructured interviews with a largely purposeful sample of six industry practitioners. The findings indicate a general lack of awareness for the scope, range, and nature of event management education among the sample. In addition, the research implied that holding an event management qualification was unlikely to secure job interviews and that recruiters for the events industry place little value on candidates having industry qualifications. However, courses can help secure employment through the contacts and work placements they provide students. This research also found that the greatest strength an event management graduate was perceived to have was an overall knowledge of the industry and that practitioners felt that courses should strive to be more vocational in nature. Finally, the study indicated overwhelmingly that when recruiting, employers placed the greatest emphasis on experience and that the single most important step an individual with no experience could take to increase their chances of employment was to gain experience through volunteering and work placements.

Criminal stigma, race, and ethnicity: The consequences of imprisonment for employment

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the role of race/ethnicity and prior prison sentences on employment opportunities. Secondarily, we compare the impact of applying for jobs (in-person and online), and the role of education in securing employment. This work was conducted in a large southwestern city (Phoenix AZ) with high rates of imprisonment for blacks and Hispanics. MethodsFirst, an audit test involving matched pairs of males within race/ethnicity categories (black, Hispanic, white) who applied for jobs in-person was conducted. More than 500 jobs were applied for by the audit testers. Second, a correspondence test was conducted using three pairs of résumés matched within race/ethnicity. In the correspondence test, over 3,000 jobs were applied for online. Each test used random assignment. Because of its importance for entry level employment, a separate analysis of food service jobs applied for online was conducted. ResultsBoth sets of analyses were completed using cross-classified random effects (CCRE) models. Contrary to expectations, neither race/ethnicity nor prior prison record affected outcomes in the online application process. In contrast, both race/ethnicity and prison record had significant effects in the in-person audit analysis. The effect of a prison record was particularly strong for blacks. ConclusionsRace/ethnicity and prior prison sentence remain important impediments to success in gaining employment. These results are particularly strong for in-person job applications and are somewhat smaller for online job applications.

Competency-based Education 101

Competency-based education (CBE) is not new to higher education. For decades, colleges have been granting credit for content a student has previously mastered through prior learning assessments. But another approach to CBE, one in which students are granted credit as they master new academic content, is now being offered at an increasing number of public and private institutions. At least one factor driving this shift is employer's expectations that even entry-level employees can handle problem-solving tasks within their domain. This requires institutions to define competency models that align with job functions and requires educators to integrate knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSAs) into the learning experiences. Focus groups comprised of industry leaders can help institutions define competency models that align to jobs available for each degree level. Competency models that include indicating behaviors that define the characteristics of each level of proficiency aid in course design and assessment. Faculty can use the competency model as the starting point for course design but the integration of KSAs into holistic learning tasks is complex. As faculty seek to adjust to the demands of CBE, van Merrienboer's 4C-ID methodology provides a framework for the discovery of the authentic tasks performed by experts in real-world settings. The core components (Learning Task, Supportive Information, Procedural Information, and Part-Task Practice) also guide faculty to transition authentic tasks into learning experiences that facilitate student proficiency across a competency model.

Employability through Experiential Learning Course in Open Distance Learning Institution

The supply of business and management (B&M) graduates to the labour market has grown significantly. One wanders if these graduates are employable. Employability is of high importance not only for unemployed or laid off individuals, but also for those who are currently employed in today’s turbulent work environment. It is a responsibility of high education institution to produce graduates with employability skills. There is a gap between skill requirements for entry-level graduate employment and those offered by high education institutions. Experiential learning has been suggested as a learning method to reduce the skills gap. However, not all experiential learning courses equip learners with employability skills. It is therefore important to evaluate the influence of a course on employability. The purpose of this research is to establish the influence of a work-integrated learning course in administrative management on employability. The research establishes that experiential learning influence employability to a greater extent. This research reveals the value of experiential learning in business management in open distance learning institution. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p1602

Which Bad Apple Spoils the Batch? An Examination of How Entry-Level Employees Respond to Tone at the Top vis-á-vis Tone at the Bottom

Prior academic and practitioner literature argues that the ethical tone at the top of an organization is a key factor in establishing an effective internal control environment. Drawing on self-concept maintenance theory and in-group bias theory, we predict that entry-level staff auditors will disregard a company’s ethical standards unless they observe a strong ethical tone from both their partner (tone at the top) and their supervising senior (tone at the bottom). Also, we predict that staff auditors will be more influenced by the tone of their supervising senior than the partner when these two individuals provide conflicting tones. In a 2 x 2 experiment that manipulates the tone set by a staff auditor’s supervising senior and engagement partner, we provide evidence consistent with our expectations. Further analyses suggest that participants made less ethical decisions because they were less likely to view the situation as an ethical dilemma when either the senior or partner exhibited low tone. The results of this study emphasize that tone at the top is not, by itself, sufficient to produce ethical decision making; organizations must strive to foster a strong ethical tone throughout the entire organization, especially at lower levels of the organization.

A Needs Assessment of Health Department Employees in Puerto Rico and Florida

Public health training centers were established to enhance competencies in skills required to meet 21st-century public health challenges. In 2011, the Puerto Rico-Florida Public Health Training Center conducted surveys to assess the training needs of two populations of public health workers serving Hispanic communities: Florida Department of Health employees and workers at the regional and central offices of the Puerto Rico Department of Health. The two surveys were similar, but not identical in content and administration. A 52.6% response rate was achieved in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, where limited computer access necessitated use of a pen-and-paper survey. A 20.7% response rate was achieved in Florida, where an online survey was used and incomplete responses were problematic. Puerto Rico respondents (n = 1,414) were similar in age (Mdn age = 48 years) to Hispanic Florida respondents (n = 546, Mdn age =45 years). They also reported higher levels of academic achievement and more years of experience in public health. Nevertheless, self-assessed public health competency scores were in the low- to mid-range for Hispanic respondents in both locales. Although self-assessed training priorities differed, Hispanic employees in both jurisdictions preferred hands-on and face-to-face training to distance learning. Findings indicate a need for training based on adult learning theory, targeted to entry-level employees, and addressing the top five self-assessed training needs, especially health promotion and disease prevention and public health law and policy, which emerged as priority training areas in both survey populations.

Examining the Influence of Athletic Participation in Evaluation of Entry-Level Positions In Financial Services: An Application of Role Congruity Theory

Role congruity theory was utilized to examine whether a candidate’s participation in intercollegiate athletics influenced hiring preferences of managers in the financial services industry; an industry with a majority of leadership positions occupied by men. Participants were N = 163 (female n = 71, male n = 92) managers within the financial services industry. A simulated employment procedure was used with hiring managers evaluating mock applicant résumés for either male/female athletes or male/female non-athletes prior to answering questions about preferences for hiring candidates for entry-level employment. Results indicated female athlete candidates received similar scores to the male athlete candidates for hiring and competence. The female non-athlete candidate received the lowest scores for hiring and competence. Further, female athlete candidates received the highest scores overall for likeability. The findings indicate that participation in athletics provides women with a benefit in regard to hiring preference in the financial services industry.

Employability skills for entry-level employees with and without disabilities: A comparison between the perspectives of educators and employers

The purpose of this study was to investigate educators' and employers' perspectives on general employability skills for individuals with and without disabilities. A total of 115 educators and 168 employers participated in the study by completing a survey. It was found that some employability skills are valued by both educators and employers for all entry-level employees, while noteworthy discrepancies existed between educators and employers with regard to their expectations for individuals with disabilities. Implications of these findings for school are discussed.

Engaging Faculty for Innovative STEM Bridge Programs

Bridge programs, in which underprepared students gain the academic and technical skills necessary for college level courses and entry-level employment, are a promising initiative for expanding access to, and success in, community college education. For career pathways related to science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM), bridge programs are critical for enlarging the pool of students who are exposed to, and can aspire to, STEM preparation. This study, conducted with support from the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education program, followed four community colleges for a year to understand local factors that facilitated or impeded implementation of a bridge program in which basic skills were contextualized in biotechnology. The findings are that implementation of a contextualized curriculum requires substantial faculty learning. Implementation of these bridge programs was facilitated by instructional leadership by both administration and faculty. Administration assisted in creating the conditions that supported learning by coordinating faculty schedules and funding faculty time for initial and ongoing program development. Faculty benefitted by the support of experienced team members who could guide interdisciplinary learning. Implementation was facilitated when team members met frequently and when faculty worked collaboratively to implement the curriculum. Recommendations include planning for faculty development, both for faculty collaboration and contextualizing curriculum.

The Impact of Coworker Support on Employee Turnover in the Hospitality Industry

Employee turnover rates are among the highest for entry-level employees in the hospitality industry. Research focused on identifying the antecedents of turnover in this employment context has been limited, however. To address this gap in the literature, the present study examined the impact of coworker support on turnover with a sample of 188 servers from a national restaurant chain. Specifically, this study assessed the impact of coworker instrumental support and coworker emotional support on turnover. The results demonstrated that coworker emotional support was negatively related to turnover. However, coworker instrumental support was positively related to turnover, counter to the hypothesized relationship. This counterintuitive finding leads us to consider the role of coworker support on turnover in a new light.

Particularities of Personality Traits and Perceived Stress at Workplace for the Young Workers in Romania

The main objective of the study is to analyze the relation between personality and organizational stress among entry-level employees through a quantitative study based on self-applied questionnaires. Method: The participants were a number of 34 entry-level employees aged between 20 to 26 years old (M=23.74; S.D.=2.58), male and female, urban and rural areas. Instruments: 1) the personality inventory DECAS (Sava, 2008); 2) the stress questionnaire CAPES (Aniţei &Chraif, 2010). Findings show that there is a statistically significant correlation between emotional stability and satisfaction at workplace (r=.482, p<0.05) and between conscientiousness and satisfaction at the workplace (r=.48, p<0.05).

Ethical Dilemmas and Emergent Values Encountered by Working College Students

A large body of pedagogical research exists on developing curricula and ethics training tools to prepare college graduates for entering the workforce. However, many college students are already in the workforce while they attend school. Many of these jobs are entry-level or frontline employee positions in retail or service industries, which can be ripe opportunities for ethical misconduct. However, most research on ethics and employees has focused on upper-level managers and CEOs. Although insightful, ethics scholars contend that there are more low-level employees who face ethical dilemmas on a daily basis. Given the increase of working students and the paucity of research on entry-level job ethics, this study investigates, categorizes, and analyzes ethical dilemmas faced by college students who work while attending school. This article considers ethical decision-making models and corporate ethical values as its conceptual base. A qualitative approach for this study was taken due to the scarcity of research on ethical issues faced by entry-level employees and the call by ethics researchers for qualitative research to explore the complex and psychosocially embedded nature of business ethics. The implications of the emergent ethical issues and values from this study are then discussed for marketing educators.

Employment and Support Allowance: capability, personalization and disabled people in the UK

In 2008 the Employment and Support Allowance was introduced in the UK as the income replacement benefit for disabled people. In this paper we focus upon the reasons for its introduction, the notions of disability and the two main ideas – capability and personalization – that provide the framework for its operation. The paper engages with the arguments put forward by the UK's government that the Employment and Support Allowance will enable disabled people to access paid work in greater numbers. The paper argues that Employment and Support Allowance will become part of a disabling employment architecture because it does little to improve the human capital of disabled people and is concerned with getting them into entry-level employment that is part of the ‘low pay, no pay’ cycle.

Skills and Attributes Needed for Success in Accounting Career: Do Employers’ Expectations Fit with Students’ Perceptions? Evidence from Tunisia

Purpose – The aim of this article is to examine perceptions and expectations of two major stakeholders: studentsand employers of the importance of skills and attributes for securing entry-level employment in accounting.Design/methodology/approach – The authors conduct an empirical study using a list of 78 items, starting bycomparing employers’ expectations with students’ perceptions concerning the set of technical and non technicalskills required from accounting graduates to pursue a career in the accounting profession This study involvingdata collection from 81 accounting students in five business schools in Tunisia and 48 practitioners.Findings – Findings indicate that employers are seeking graduates who possess a diverse range of non-technicalskills. However, accounting students perceive that it is rather technical skills which determine their abilities topursue a career in the accounting profession.Practical implications – The paper’s findings are of interest to several different parties, primarily theprofessional accounting body, universities and students.Originality/value – The paper describes an empirical study, conducted on a developing country, which providesa better understanding of new skills expected for future accountants in this changing business environment. Thepaper constitutes also a meaningful contribution to the accounting education literature, as it examines aninteresting subject that has not yet been investigated in the Tunisian context.

Polishing Soft Skills for The Future HTM Professional

Polishing Soft Skills for The Future HTM Professional

Employment Opportunities for New Academic Librarians: Assessing the Availability of Entry Level Jobs

This study examines the availability of entry level positions in academic libraries to better illuminate the status of the job market for current students and recent graduates of Library &amp; Information Science programs. Over a twelve month period from 2010—2011, 1385 job advertisements were collected, with content analysis methods used to evaluate each advertisement by level of position, institution type, location, department, and job type. Findings revealed one-fifth of jobs advertised to be entry level, with seventy percent of all positions offered by universities, and public services accounting for more than sixty percent of entry level employment opportunities. Further research was conducted by contacting Human Resources departments at 33 institutions to ascertain the experience backgrounds of successful hires.

The Relationships between Balanced Scorecard, Intellectual Capital, Organizational Commitment and Organizational Performance: Verifying a ‘Mediated Moderation’ Model

This study aims to verify the relationships between the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) implementation, accumulation of intellectual capital, organizational commitment, and organizational performance implemented in Taiwan-listed LED manufacturers by the research model of Mediated Moderation, which verifies the moderating effect before the mediating effect. This study surveyed entry-level employees and those working in section-chief or higher-level positions at Taiwan-listed LED manufacturers’ production, marketing, human recourse, research and development (R&amp;D) and finance departments. Samples were selected from the population by simple random sampling. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was adopted to verify the goodness-of-fit effects of the overall model, structural model, and measurement model, with the models’ path effects (of the mediator-moderator variable) tested by way of the General Path Analytic Approach (GPAA) and Control Non-Linear Regression (CNLR). The results indicated that the BSC implementation, intellectual-capital accumulation and organizational commitment exert a significant interaction effect on Taiwan-listed LED manufacturers’ organizational performance. Hence, organizational commitment has the moderating effect (only among first-order constructs); intellectual-capital accumulation has no more than a mediating effect and remains un-moderated (among second-order constructs). However, the indirect effect of intellectual capital proved moderated, with the direct effect un-moderated and the total effect moderated.

Role of hospitality management department of Taiwan universities in addressing the talent needs of Taiwan’s hospitality industry

Taiwan’s hospitality industry is experiencing labor and talent shortage because of the lower entry of new graduates relative to demand and the low retention especially of entry-level employees. Hospitality education plays an important role in matching and bridging the needs and expectations of hospitality students and firms by enabling students to meet the qualification needs of firms and influencing employment decisions of graduates. The study considered the effectiveness of role fulfillment by interviewing department chiefs and experienced teachers. The results showed the significant entry of graduates in hospitality firms but with room for increasing entry rate. The curriculum offered by universities sufficiently prepares students for work but motivating students to actually work in hospitality firms requires improvement. Research to keep track of industry needs, consultation with students over their employment concerns, and motivation to develop positive attitudes towards hospitality work especially for entry level jobs are for improvement. Key words: Labor needs in hospitality industry, human resource management, hospitality management education, Taiwan hospitality industry, matching theory, bridging role of hospitality education, responsiveness of hospitality management education.