Male Business Students Research Articles

Digital growth mindset and academic performance of business students in China: the role of gender

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the impact of a digital growth mindset on the academic performance of business students in China as well as the role of gender in this relationship. The study provides feasible ways to foster such a mindset to ensure quality in business education.Design/methodology/approachThe paper employs a survey to examine the associations among digital growth mindset, gender and the academic performance of business students in China within the context of online learning. The authors collected data from 533 students who were enrolled in two online business courses at a Chinese university. The data were paired and analyzed through regression analysis.FindingsThe empirical results show that digital growth mindset has a positive influence on the academic performance of business students in China. The relationship is stronger for male business students than for their female counterparts.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to examine the concept of digital growth mindset and its significance in Chinese business education. Through the analysis of paired data on digital growth mindset and academic performance, this study makes theoretical contributions to the literature on growth mindset, gender differences and academic success. Additionally, it has practical implications for quality assurance in business education in developing countries by offering feasible approaches to cultivate a growth mindset among students.

Attitudes and anxieties of business and education students towards English: some data from the Basque Country

ABSTRACTThe aim of this article is to focus on university students’ attitudes towards English and their anxieties concerning the use of English in the Basque Country, a multilingual context where exposure to English is limited but internationalisation is an important aim. Participants were 360 undergraduate university students of business (N = 180) and education (N = 180) at the University of the Basque Country. The results of the questionnaires indicate that business students had a more positive attitude(s) towards English than education students. The findings also indicate that female business students have a relatively positive attitude in comparison to male business students but also a higher level of anxiety. The results are discussed as related to the situation of English-medium instruction in Southern European bilingual areas and previous studies on gender, attitudes and anxiety.

Is gender inclusivity an answer to ethical issues in business? An Indian stance

PurposeIf females are more ethical than males, as the literature on the subject generally suggests, engaging and encouraging females in their careers would certainly promote an ethical environment. The present paper is motivated by such a viewpoint and aims to investigate gender‐based differences in the ethical disposition and the underlying dimensions in ethical decision‐making processes, by specific examination of business students.Design/methodology/approachThe main research instrument is a quantitative questionnaire through which the responses of 162 business students (45 females and 117 males) are examined. For data analysis univariate analysis by invoking one‐way analysis of variance and multivariate approach using cluster analysis are conducted to investigate gender‐based differences in the ethical disposition. To determine the underlying dimensions in ethical decision‐making processes, for female and male business students, the principal axis approach to factor analysis has been used.FindingsThe findings provide evidence that female business students are more ethically predisposed than their male counterparts. It is further observed that males exhibit less diversity in ethical decision making while females more readily invoked different ethical dimensions for different business scenarios.Originality/valueThe paper offers valuable insight into the role of gender in ethics in the context of Indian business. The fact that females appear to demonstrate greater sensitivity on ethical issues suggests that practitioners may want to use this knowledge for developing their organizational strategies, ethical codes, and evaluation systems. Further, the study also highlights the importance of realigning the curriculum in a manner that the teaching of ethics becomes an integral part of business school education.

Understanding the integrative approach to conflict management

PurposeIntegration is an active search for information about facts and interests – motivated by a willingness to find mutually satisfactory agreements – and is usually necessary for creating high quality settlements in conflicts. The purpose of this paper is to examine the integrative approach to conflicts.Design/methodology/approachSurveys, scenario studies, and experiments were used to explore factors relating to an integrative approach. First, how integration affected various outcome qualities (Study 1 and Study 2) was examined. Then Studies 3, 4 and 5, respectively, examined how integration was influenced by demographic (gender and education), individual (achievement motivation, creativity, and cognitive style), and relational (quality of the relationship) factors.FindingsResults demonstrated that an integrative approach is beneficial for various outcome‐dimensions (quality, satisfaction, fairness, and trust). Regarding predictors of an integrative approach, being male business students are negatively related to integration, while having high achievement motivation and a good relationship are positively related.Research limitations/implicationsThe correlational design in some of the studies make conclusions about causality questionable, and future research should examine the dynamic conflict process in more detail.Practical implicationsIt is helpful to know that taking an integrative approach favours all types of outcomes in conflict management processes, and that high achievement motivation and a good relationship stimulate an integrative approach.Originality/valueThe paper shows how different variables relate to an integrative approach and offers insight to those involved in conflict management processes.

Bad apples in bad (business) barrels

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to attempt to use several variables measured at Time 1 to predict cluster membership (bad apples vs good apples) measured at Time 2 and investigate possible differences between business and psychology students in unethical behavior.Design/methodology/approachBusiness and psychology students' propensity to engage in unethical behavior (PUB), the love of money, machiavellianism, and risk tolerance at Time 1 and propensity to engage in unethical behavior at Time 2 (four weeks later) were measured. Cluster analysis was used to analyze Time 2 data and bad apples (Cluster 1, high propensity to engage in unethical behavior) and good apples (Cluster 2, low propensity to engage in unethical behavior) were identified. Then all the variables measured at Time 1 were used to predict cluster membership (bad apples vs good apples) measured at Time 2.FindingsIn three discriminant analyses, it was found that variables at Time 1 predicted cluster membership at Time 2 for the whole sample and the business sample, but not for the psychology sample. The differences between bad apples and good apples were significant for business students, but not significant for psychology students. Correlation data showed that the love of money was significantly correlated with machiavellianism and risk tolerance.Research limitations/implicationsStudents are not assigned randomly to business and psychology courses. Students' behavioral intention, not actual unethical behavior, is measured here. Can professors change people's love of money, machiavellianism, risk tolerance, and the propensity to engage in unethical behavior and enhance students' and future managers' ethical decision making? This issue deserves critical attention in future research.Practical implicationsIt is plausible that corruptions and scandals are caused not by lack of intelligence, but by lack of wisdom, or virtue. Professors and researchers may have to focus on ethics training, in general, and the bad apples in bad (business) barrels (mostly male business students), in particular, identify the most critical time and methods in teaching business ethics, enhance learning based on students' own experiences, and promote ethical values in schools, universities, and organizations.Originality/valueThis research shows the importance of incorporating propensity to engage in unethical behavior (PUB), the love of money, machiavellianism, and risk tolerance in identifying bad apples vs good apples across majors.

Are managerial gender stereotypes universal?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to compare the extent to which the stereotype of “manager” aligns with the stereotype of “male” in the Continental United States (CUS) and Hawai’i.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 176 male and 187 female business undergraduates in Hawai’i and the CUS were asked to describe either a manager, a male manager, or a female manager using the 92‐item Schein Descriptive Index.FindingsMen and women in Hawai’i, and women in the CUS, did not report a strong “think manager = think male” bias, but male participants in the CUS did: These men described hypothetical female managers as comparatively obedient, submissive, timid, reserved, fearful, uncertain, passive, and interested in their own appearance. They rated male managers as relatively more firm, independent, persistent, self‐reliant, and having a high need for achievement.Research limitations/implicationsThe relative lack of a “think manager = think male” bias in Hawai’i is remarkable, since this bias is observed worldwide. Further investigation would confirm or clarify these findings.Practical implicationsStereotypical views persist among some of our future business leaders, but are not universal. Educators and businesspeople should be aware of the strong “think manager = think male” bias still extant among male business students in the CUS.Originality/valueAlthough the persistence of the “think manager = think male” stereotype is troubling, this stereotype is not universal. While past cross‐cultural investigations treat the US’ culture as homogeneous, we find significant regional differences with regard to managerial gender stereotypes.

African-American Male Business Students Perspective Of Academic Advising: A Retention And Success Strategy

Academic advising is an essential component of any institution of higher education. Advisors and advisees work together to make an individual academic plan based on each student's weaknesses, strengths, and goals. The advising relationship is an on-going communication that transcends course selection and should attempt to assist students as they explore the breadths of the curriculum, experience college life, focus on a major concentration, and prepare for life after graduation. In order to improve advisement in the Business Administration Program at a Historically Black College, a questionnaire was developed and administered in various classes within the Program. The purpose was to identify possible weaknesses in academic advising and make necessary changes and adjustments to better serve the students’ needs and enhance retention and institutional effectiveness. This study identifies and indicates that students are significantly dissatisfied with the current advisement system in the Business Program at the College. Based upon findings of this investigation, recommendations are made to improve the advisement system.

Intelligence Vs. Wisdom: The Love of Money, Machiavellianism, and Unethical Behavior across College Major and Gender

This research investigates the efficacy of business ethics intervention, tests a theoretical model that the love of money is directly or indirectly related to propensity to engage in unethical behavior (PUB), and treats college major (business vs. psychology) and gender (male vs. female) as moderators in multi-group analyses. Results suggested that business students who received business ethics intervention significantly changed their conceptions of unethical behavior and reduced their propensity to engage in theft; while psychology students without intervention had no such changes. Therefore, ethics training had some impacts on business students’ learning and education (intelligence). For our theoretical model, results of the whole sample (N = 298) revealed that Machiavellianism (measured at Time 1) was a mediator of the relationship between the love of money (measured at Time 1) and unethical behavior (measured at Time 2) (the Love of Money → Machiavellianism → Unethical Behavior). Further, this mediating effect existed for business students (n = 198) but not for psychology students (n = 100), for male students (n = 165) but not for female students (n = 133), and for male business students (n = 128) but not for female business students (n = 70). Moreover, when examined alone, the direct effect (the Love of Money → Unethical Behavior) existed for business students but not for psychology students. We concluded that a short business ethics intervention may have no impact on the issue of virtue (wisdom).

Women in management: gender stereotypes and students' attitudes in Greece

PurposeWomen are vastly underrepresented in corporate Greece. One widely accepted explanation for this situation is the negative stereotypes about women as managers. Given the apparent influence of business students' stereotypes on future discriminatory behaviour toward women in management, and given the dearth of empirical research on this issue for the Greek case, this study aims at measuring and assessing gender‐based attitudes of surveyed students.Design/methodology/approachA survey was conducted involving 323 undergraduate students majoring in business administration at the University of Macedonia, Greece.FindingsThe main finding is that business students' attitudes toward women in management are primarily shaped by their own gender. This study, employing the Women as Managers Scale, found that male business students hold relatively negative stereotypic attitudes compared to their female counterparts. In addition, it was found that gender was by far the most influential factor in accounting for the difference in attitudes. No significant differences on other sample characteristics such as age, work experience and cooperation with female supervisor were detected.Research limitations/implicationsFurther research to extend the current investigation to full‐time employees and managers would allow for a more articulated discussion of the main sources of influence on stereotypical attitudes toward women in management.Originality/valueGiven the dearth of empirical research on stereotyping and women's career prospects in Greece, this study contributes to debates in the wider academic community on the issue of analyzing empirically stereotypic attitudes toward women as managers.

Contextual effects on ethical sensitivity and penalty judgments

The aim of the current study is to explore thepotential existence of contextual effects onethical sensitivity and penalty judgments. Inso doing, Turkish female and male businessstudents' ethical judgments for accounting andgeneral business contexts are investigated,along with their penalty judgments in these twosettings. The results of this study reveal nosignificant gender-related differences inethical judgments on accounting issues, butsignificant gender differences are observed ingeneral business scenarios. This findingsupports the proposition that observeddifferences of ethical judgments between thegenders may be contextual. The resultsindicate that there is higher ethical awarenessfor both genders in general business contexts,with females showing stronger ethicalsensitivity than males for general businessvignettes. In general, males are found toprefer harsher penalties than females foraccounting settings and for all penaltychoices. Analyses of penalty judgments betweenthe groups of individuals who are moreethically sensitive and who are less ethicallysensitive reveals that there exist significantdifferences between these groups in all penaltychoices, with ethically-more-sensitive groupparticipants preferring stronger penalties.

Business students' perceptions of best university professors: Does gender Role matter?

This study investigated the relationship between the gender and gender-role of students and their “best” university professors. Two hundred and ninety two business students in 2 universities in Atlantic Canada rated their best professors and themselves using Bem's Sex Role Inventory. Male business students were more likely than females to choose a male as their best professor, and female business students were more likely than males to choose a female as their best professor. The study also indicates that a student's own gender and gender role are significantly related to those of his/her best professor. Male professors with low femininity scores (but not necessarily high masculinity scores), and female professors who are gender-neutral (i.e., androgynous or undifferentiated) were more often chosen by students as their best professors. In general, masculinity seems to be valued more by older, part-time students with greater work experience. Implications of these findings for university teachers are discussed.

Value Profiles of Business Students in the 1960s and in the 1990s: A Comparison

This study identified the changes in personal values of business students from the 1960s to the 1990s, using Allport, Vernon, and Lindzey's Study of Values (1970). It also analyzed the sex-based differences in the value profiles during this period. Results showed that male business students from the 1990s had stronger economic, political, and aesthetic values, but weaker theoretical and religious values than the male students of the 1960s. Female business students of the 1990s had stronger economic and political values and weaker aesthetics and religious values than the female students of the 1960s. Many of the differences noted in the 1960s in the male-female value profiles were no longer evident in the 1990s. Implications of findings for business educators and corporate managers are also discussed.

Sex Discrimination in Hiring: The Influence of Organizational Climate and Need for Approval on Decision Making Behavior

It was hypothesized that an organization's climate could inhibit or encourage discriminatory behavior, and that subjects' need for approval would interact with climate to influence their decisions. One hundred and sixty-one male business students read one of two sets of materials intended to manipulate company climate, and then evaluated a fictitious resume of a male or female applicant for a managerial position within the company. Decisions regarding hire, salary, applicant fit with the company, and anticipated longevity were dependent measures. The hypothesis regarding organizational climate received partial support. In a discriminatory climate women applicants were evaluated less favorably than men in terms of likelihood of hire and degree of fit between the applicant and the organization. Although not statistically significant, a similar pattern of results was obtained on the salary measure and on the measure of applicant predicted longevity. Contrary to expectations, approval motivation was not related to the dependent measures.

Indicators of attitude shift from role playing

Male business students (N = 296) participated in three role-playing experiments. Experi- ment 2 demonstrated that cognitive change can result from role playing under conditions where the supervisor who is giving the assignment to a subordinate actually believes in the goals of the program (p <.05). Experiment 3 indicated a behavioral change. Participants had a sig- nificantly (p <.05) higher tendency than controls to evaluate a female job applicant as acceptable for employment in a supervisory position.

Sources of bias in performance evaluation: Two experiments

Attribution and stereotyping theories predicted that poor-performing black workers would receive lower evaluations than corresponding Whites, while good performance would have the reverse effect. “Dress and lifestyle” was also predicted to influence performance evaluation. Male business students, evaluating bogus employees differing in race, dress, and behaviorally described performance, provided weak support for the second hypothesis. A second experiment investigated the possibility that perceived social class, rather than race, was the relevant variable in the operation of a stereotype confirmation—contrast process. Individual differences in stereotyping were also measured. No support for the specific hypothesized process was found, but results supported the potential relevance of attribution theory to a configural performance-evaluation model. Results were also discussed in terms of worker-perceived discrimination.