Supported employment has been shown to be an effective way to contribute to the community reintegration of persons with disabilities. Traditionally, the hiring practice for supported employment staffs has focused on individuals with social service training; however, it has been proposed that employment specialists need to possess advanced skills that tend to be emphasized in business training programs. This study uses several new measures to identify differences in attitudes toward vocational rehabilitation and readiness and aptitude for a supported employment position, of social service and business students. Results indicate that social service students possess higher levels of clinical readiness and aptitude and more favorable attitudes toward vocational rehabilitation than do business students. Nevertheless, business students' readiness, attitudes, and aptitude are above theoretical neutral points, and comparable to those of social service students, and thus, effort should be devoted to diversifying the workforce by recruiting individuals with business training. / Department of Psychological Science

There is no abstract available for this dissertation. / Department of Educational Studies

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2007. / Title from title screen (site viewed Nov. 9, 2007). PDF text: ca. 220 p. UMI publication number: AAT 3263485. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

The problem in this study was the relationship of personality factors and interests to the choice of major fields of study.

The purpose of the study was to compare the occupational aptitude scores of students enrolled in beginning and advanced clerical courses in the School of Business Administration at North Texas State College, Denton, Texas, with the academic grades of these same students to determine the relationship between the academic grades received and the occupational aptitude score indicated by the General Aptitude Test Battery.

To improve and develop South Africa’s entrepreneurial activity, it is vital that the population acquires certain attributes which are common among individuals who exhibit entrepreneurial behaviour. As the occurrence of entrepreneurial attributes increases in the population, so too will the probability of entrepreneurial behaviour and entrepreneurial activity. A possible first step in ensuring that a population possesses the necessary attributes is to assess the current levels of development of these entrepreneurial attributes among students of business. Underdeveloped attributes can then be identified, and steps taken to bring about improvements. The primary objective of this study was to assess the entrepreneurial attributes of undergraduate business students at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. In order to achieve this objective an in-depth analysis of secondary sources was conducted. The nature of entrepreneurship was defined and its importance highlighted. Furthermore, the status of entrepreneurship both globally and nationally was elaborated on. Entrepreneurship education was also addressed, and its role in developing entrepreneurial attributes was discussed. The 16 entrepreneurial attributes associated with successful entrepreneurs were described. The most commonly used intentions-based models were also discussed. In line with the intentions-based theories, the greater the perception of possessing the attributes associated with a successful entrepreneur by an individual, the greater the belief by that individual that he or she has the capacity and competence to become an entrepreneur, which in turn will influence their entrepreneurial intentions. Against the background of the literature overview, several hypotheses were formulated and subjected to empirical testing. A quantitative research approach was selected, the sample consisting of all undergraduate business students studying at three South African universities as well as two international universities. Convenience sampling was implemented in this study. The validity of the measuring instrument was determined by means of a factor analysis, and the reliability by means of calculating Cronbach alpha coefficients. The statistical techniques used to analyse the data included calculating descriptive statistics (the mean, standard deviation and frequency distributions), t-tests and Cohen’s d, a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), an analysis of variance (ANOVA), Chi-squared statistic, and Cramer’s V. The results of the study show that NMMU students regarded the attributes Commitment, High energy level, Planning and perseverance and Overcoming failure as the four most-developed attributes, while they regarded Continuous learning, Knowledge-seeking, Initiative and responsibility and Communication ability as the least-developed. With the exception of the attributes Commitment and Overcoming failure, the level of development of the entrepreneurial attributes of NMMU students showed significant improvement between the 2001 and the 2010 studies. With the exception of Continuous learning, no significant differences were reported in the levels of development of the various entrepreneurial attributes between students at NMMU and students at the other South African universities participating in the study. When comparing the significant differences in the level of development of the 16 entrepreneurial attributes between NMMU and the international universities, a large practical significance was found for the attributes High energy level, Continuous learning and Knowledge seeking. For the attributes Planning and perseverance, Communication ability, Overcoming failure, Initiative and responsibility, High energy level, Creativity and flexibility, Knowledge seeking, Continuous learning, Financial proficiency and Business knowledge, students with entrepreneurial intentions reported significantly higher mean scores than students without entrepreneurial intentions. In other words, students with higher levels of development of these attributes are more likely to have entrepreneurial intentions. It was also found that significant differences in the levels of development of entrepreneurial attributes were reported for the demographic variables Levels of study, Gender and Age. No significant differences were found to exist between the demographic variables Level of study, Gender and Self-employment status of parents and the Entrepreneurial intention of NMMU students. This study has contributed to the field of entrepreneurship research by identifying several entrepreneurial attributes that are more likely to be found in students with entrepreneurial intentions than those without them. This study has also shown that certain demographic factors are related to the levels of development of certain entrepreneurial attributes, as well as to entrepreneurial intentions. Furthermore, through the assessment of entrepreneurial attributes of NMMU students and by making comparisons with other universities, this study has contributed to entrepreneurship education at NMMU as well as to entrepreneurship education in South Africa and abroad. Educators of entrepreneurship have been given insights into the levels of development of several entrepreneurial attributes among their students. In addition, recommendations have been made on how to improve the levels of development of the attributes investigated in this study.

Douglas College Business Program students have graduated for the past twenty-two years. This study was undertaken to examine three specific aspects of the 'impact' that the Douglas College educational experience has had on these business graduates. Impact, as defined by Alfred (1982), is the sum total of outcomes, changes and benefits produced by a college. Through the use of Astin's model of the components of the process of higher education, specific outcomes related to employment, finances and further educational development were investigated. A survey was conducted of graduates from selected business programs from the years 1981 and 1986. Analyses were carried out to determine outcomes of having graduated from a Douglas College business program. It was found that the Douglas College business program graduates experienced positive outcomes related to employment, finances, and pursuit of further education. Graduates perceived that the benefits related to employment were more important than other benefits related to their educational experience. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

Given the strong focus of both organizations and institutions of higher education on leadership development, understanding antecedents to leadership motivation is a topic of great interest. This pre- registered study set out to investigate personality factors as antecedents to motivation to lead (MTL) and positive psychological capital (PsyCap). Additionally, the framework was expanded by integrating PsyCap as a predictor of MTL and mediator between personality and MTL. 258 business students served as a convenience sample for the cross-sectional study. The online survey included measures of the Big Five personality factors, PsyCap, and MTL. Several multiple regression and mediation analyses were conducted. The findings supported the proposed role of Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and Neuroticism as antecedents to PsyCap. Additionally, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and PsyCap were identified as predictors of affective-identity MTL and PsyCap was found to predict socio-normative MTL. The mediation hypotheses were partially supported. The results imply that developing students’ PsyCap can potentially benefit their leadership motivation and help preparing them for future careers through making beneficial first leadership experiences in academic settings. As limitations are discussed, further research specifically investigating the role of cultural values is encouraged.

Inequalities among top positions in the business sector are prominent and have been shown to partly be explained by social networks, which are prone to be built already during college. Social networks are a vital part of one’s socialization process, where gender and socialization, as well as gender and social networks within the fields of business, are insufficiently explored. Thus, the purpose of this study is to increase understanding of how students, in the context of elite business schools, think and act regarding their socialization process, and thus social networks. Further, we aim to explore the role of gender in these respects. To fulfil our purpose, we applied a qualitative research design by analysing 19 interviews. Our study shows that students have different patterns of socialization behaviour. These can be viewed as a scale, ranging from being extremely social to barely having friends at school, where male students make up the majority on both extremes and female students the majority in the middle. Students positioned towards the social end of the scale could benefit the most in their future careers, which both might help explain existing inequalities and give an opportunity to act for change. / Network and net worth. A longitudinal study of women’s and men’s social networks in Swedish business education and their effect on career outcomes

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