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Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities The sentiments of Corporate Character Scale among students from different universities towards to Master program Elena Trubacheva 1 , Pratik Iyengar 2 , Salman Khan Raza 3 , Paula Odete Fernandes 4 Abstract Higher education has gained immense importance in today’s world by the virtue of the dynamism demanded by the Corporate World from Students who choose a particular specialization whilst advancing from the 1 st cycle to the 2 nd cycle of studies. In order to ensure a detailed understanding of the relationship between students and their choices of Master programs, it is imperative for Deans or Management Boards of Higher Education Institutions to be well aware of all possible sentiments of the Corporate Character Scale (CCS) and their significance among students across different Universities towards Master programs. To find a solution to the main research goal, we performed descriptive and inferential analysis in order to draw inferences with regards to the correlations between variables (dimensions) and to test the truthfulness and applicability of hypotheses that we formulated. Further, to attain a legitimate solution to the main research question, it was purposive to understand the influence of other variables on the Corporate Character Scale which is basically an amalgamation of all possible sentiments. This survey was conducted to collect the data involved a sample of 100 students from a total of 139 students that enrolled in two academic years of four different universities. Hence we conclude that the Corporate Character of our respondents is dominated by positive dimensions of agreeableness and chic, however chic has snobbery as the only negative facet associated with it and almost dimensions have a positive and strong relationship with Corporate Character of Master Program. In this end it is possible to say with a statistical significance that there is a positive correlation between dimensions and Corporate Character of Master Program. 1 Kuban State Agrarian University (Russia), e-mail: [email protected] 2 Instituto Polytechnico De Braganca (Portugal), e-mail: [email protected] 3 Instituto Polytechnico De Braganca (Portugal), e-mail: [email protected] 4 PhD in Economics and Management; Professor from Department of Economics and Management at Polytechnic Institute of Braganga (Portugal); UNIAG; NECE (UBI); e-mail: [email protected]

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Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities

The sentiments of Corporate Character Scale among students from different

universities towards to Master program

Elena Trubacheva1, Pratik Iyengar2, Salman Khan Raza3, Paula Odete Fernandes4

Abstract

Higher education has gained immense importance in today’s world by the virtue of

the dynamism demanded by the Corporate World from Students who choose a

particular specialization whilst advancing from the 1st cycle to the 2nd cycle of

studies. In order to ensure a detailed understanding of the relationship between

students and their choices of Master programs, it is imperative for Deans or

Management Boards of Higher Education Institutions to be well aware of all

possible sentiments of the Corporate Character Scale (CCS) and their significance

among students across different Universities towards Master programs.

To find a solution to the main research goal, we performed descriptive and

inferential analysis in order to draw inferences with regards to the correlations

between variables (dimensions) and to test the truthfulness and applicability of

hypotheses that we formulated. Further, to attain a legitimate solution to the main

research question, it was purposive to understand the influence of other variables

on the Corporate Character Scale which is basically an amalgamation of all

possible sentiments. This survey was conducted to collect the data involved a

sample of 100 students from a total of 139 students that enrolled in two academic

years of four different universities.

Hence we conclude that the Corporate Character of our respondents is dominated

by positive dimensions of agreeableness and chic, however chic has snobbery as

the only negative facet associated with it and almost dimensions have a positive

and strong relationship with Corporate Character of Master Program. In this end it

is possible to say with a statistical significance that there is a positive correlation

between dimensions and Corporate Character of Master Program.

1 Kuban State Agrarian University (Russia), e-mail: [email protected] 2 Instituto Polytechnico De Braganca (Portugal), e-mail: [email protected] 3 Instituto Polytechnico De Braganca (Portugal), e-mail: [email protected] 4 PhD in Economics and Management; Professor from Department of Economics and Management at Polytechnic Institute of Braganga (Portugal); UNIAG; NECE (UBI); e-mail: [email protected]

Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities

Keywords: Master Program, Corporate Character Scale, sentiments, Higher

Education, dimensions.

Introduction

Higher education has emerged as an indispensable experience in the life of an

individual seeking knowledge and expertise in today’s world by the virtue of the

versatility necessitated by the Corporate World from Students who choose a

particular specialization whilst advancing from the Bachelor level to the Masters

level of studies. In order to ascertain a detailed understanding of the relationship

between students and their choices of Master programs, it is imperative for Higher

Education Institutions to be familiarized with all possible sentiments of the

Corporate Character Scale (CCS) and their importance among students across

different Universities towards Master programs.

In this case study, using empirical data were collected from random 100 students

from a total of 139 students that enrolled in two academic years of four different

universities, such as Polytechnic Institute of Braganca, Polytechnic Institute of

Cavado and Ave, Polytechnic Institute of Porto and Polytechnic Institute of Viana

do Castelo. To collect the data a survey was conducted applying a questionnaire

in the classroom, between September 2016 and January 2017.

In order to answer to the main objective of the study, this paper is organized into

three sections. First, an overview of the relevant literature on relevance of Master

Program and the importance of student’s sentiments towards to Master Program.

In the second section, are provided information about the methodology used and

the results of analysis. The paper concludes with some considerations and some

evidences of research that can be relevant to develop in the future.

1. Literature review

Quality management systems in higher education are based on the fulfilment of

the stakeholders' needs and expectations. Thus, HEIs should identify their

customers and establish processes to determine their specific needs (Duque

,2013; Quinn, Lemay, Larsen, & Johnson, 2009; Sahney, Banwet, & Karunes,

2004). Student's roles in the higher education system are the subject of many

Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities

discussions in the higher education quality literature. Some authors argue that

students are customers, as in other service industries, because they pay a

significant amount for their education (Kanji & Tambi, 2009). Other researchers

claim that students are products of the higher education system (Harris, 1992).

Recent studies accept the definition of students-as-a-customers in higher

education, pointing out that students share responsibility for the results they obtain

in the education process (Eagle & Brennan, 2007; Elassy, 2013).

Allen Brown (1997) thinks that over the past few years the number of universities

the world over has increased as a result of polytechnics and some colleges of

higher education being reclassified as universities. Consequently there are now

considerably more opportunities in all aspects of higher education, including

education to Master’s degree level. There is every indication that this expansion

will continue for foreseeable future.

Higher education has gained immense importance in today’s world by the virtue of

the dynamism demanded by the Corporate World from Students who choose a

particular specialization whilst advancing from the 1st cycle to the 2nd cycle of

studies.

Dave Ellis (2014) suggested that as students begin their Education in the Master

Program, they embrace a new culture and need new tools to be successful.

According Clinton Conrad, Jenifer Grant Haworth and Susan Bolyard Millar (1993)

Master’s programs could be categorized as follows:

a) Career advancement programs: Master’s programs that focus on providing

the student with practical skills for well-understood career opportunities.

b) Ancillary programs: Master’s programs that are defined largely in relation to,

and are typically subordinated to, doctoral programs. The master’s program is

frequently used as a screen for doctoral program.

c) Apprenticeship programs: These Master’s programs often coexist with

doctoral programs and may even be found in research-intensive institutions.

d) Community-centered programs. Some master’s programs are focused on

creating for their participants not only an arena of intellectual engagement but also

a strong sense of giving the communities in which they work.

Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities

In order to ensure a detailed understanding of the relationship between students

and their choices of Master programs, it is imperative for Deans or Management

Boards of Higher Education Institutions to be well aware of all possible sentiments

of the Corporate Character Scale (CCS) and their significance among students

across different Universities towards Master programs.

2. Research Methodology

2.1. Study Objective and Research Hypothesis

To find a solution to the main research goal, what are the sentiments or emotions

that students possess towards the selection of a Master program and what is their

significance on the Corporate Character Scale, we performed descriptive and

inferential analysis in order to draw inferences with regards to the correlations

between variables (dimensions) and to test the truthfulness and applicability of

hypotheses that we formulated. Further, to attain a legitimate solution to the main

research question, it was purposive to understand the influence of other variables

on the Corporate Character Scale which is basically an amalgamation of all

possible sentiments. For this purpose we formulated numerous research

hypotheses as depicted in the table 4 below:

Table 1: Hypothesis tested

№ Research Hypothesis

H1 Students have a positive Corporate Character

H2 There are differences in opinions of students from different specializations about Corporate Character

H3 There are differences between opinions of males and females about Corporate Character

H4 There are differences between opinions of people of different age groups about Corporate Character

H5 There is inequality in the impact of Corporate Character among people from different marital status

H6 There is inequality in the impact of Corporate Character among people from different universities

H7

There is variability in influence of Corporate Character between students from first curricular year and second

curricular year

2.2. Data Collection and Data Analysis

The instruments used in this study were structured in two parts. The first part

focused on students profile (gender, age, marital status and etc.); and the second

part include a group of 49 questions that will measure Corporate Character Scale

to Assess Master Program according to significance of students’ sentiments and

Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities

the five point Likert scale from 1 ‘Strongly disagree’ to 5 ‘Strongly agree’ was used

to measure each item.

To collect the data a survey was conducted applying a questionnaire in the

classroom, between September 2016 and January 2017. In order to select a

sample, a random sampling approach was used. To the sample belong 100

students from a total of 139 students that enrolled in two academic years of four

different universities.

The authors identified potential dimensions of Corporate Character to assess

Master Program first by looking for those common among all students and which

were reflected in the human personality literature. For example, the most obvious

was that labeled ‘agreeableness’ in human personality. The only negatively

valenced dimension of Corporate Character is Ruthlessness that was used to

describe a negative Corporate Character of Master Program. Words or phrases

used to describe these 7 dimensions were taken from the various literatures,

concentrating on those common to validated scales, as potential items for the

proposed instrument. The authors’ overall approach to the detail of scale

development mirrors the various stages recommended by Churchill (1979) and

Spector (1992).

Table 2: The Corporate Character Scale: Dimensions, Facets and Items

Dimension Facet Item Agreeableness

Warmth Friendly, pleasant, open, straightforward

Empathy Concerned, reassuring, supportive, agreeable

Integrity Honest, sincere, trustworthy, socially responsible

Enterprise

Modernity Cool, trendy, young

Adventure Imaginative, up-to-date, exciting, innovative

Boldness Extrovert, daring

Competence

Conscientiousness Reliable, secure, hardworking

Drive Ambitious, achievement oriented, leading

Technocracy Technical, corporate

Chic

Elegance Charming, stylish, elegant

Prestige Prestigious, exclusive, refined

Snobbery Snobby, elitist

Ruthlessness

Egotism Arrogant, aggressive, selfish

Dominance Inward-looking, authoritarian, controlling

Informality None Casual, simple, easy-going

Machismo None Masculine, tough, rugged

Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities

An exploratory descriptive statistics and inferential techniques to define the

significance of sentiments as well as the existence of correlation or differences

between variables was made. By always having the non-infringement of

assumptions intended to apply parametric tests: namely the T-student test in order

to analyze whether students have a positive Corporate Character. Second type of

used test is about differences in opinions of students from different specializations

about Corporate Character (Mann-Whitney U for two independent samples as

nonparametric test because samples don’t follow normal distribution and n≥30).

When not validated the application of the assumptions of parametric tests and for

three or more independent samples a nonparametric test it was applied, the

Kruskal-Wallis test.

For the application of this test there is a need of sample size for independent

sample which is greater or equal to 30 elements and verify that follows the normal

distribution, resorting to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (as samples don’t follow

normal distribution, there are two independent samples and n≥30 we used

Spearman’s Correlation Coefficient). In all analysis, in order to make decisions

concerning the different research hypotheses a significance level of 5 % was

assumed.

3. Analysis and Results 3.1. Student Profile

Data were collected from random 100 students from the Polytechnic Institute of

Braganca, Polytechnic Institute of Cavado and Ave, Polytechnic Institute of Porto

and Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo.

According with the information presented in Table 3 and Figure 1, the random

sample included 36 male students (36 %) and 64 female students (64 %), were

between the ages of 21 and 54 years old.

Furthermore, in the Table 3 is possible to observe that 76 % belonged to

Management scientific field and the rest came from Accounting and Finance

(24 %). 90 % of 100 students were attending the 1st academic year of Master

program and 9 % the 2nd academic year.

Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities

Table 3: Respondents profile

Variable n Percent of

Sample Variable n

Percent of

Sample

Gender Master

Male 36 36 % Management 76 76 %

Female 64 64 % Accounting and Finance 24 24 %

Marital Status Curricular Year

Single 74 74 % 1st Year 90 90 %

Married 23 23 % 2nd Year 9 9 %

Divorced 3 3 % Age

Higher education institution <=23 26 26 %

Polytechnic of Bragança 46 46 % 24-31 41 41 %

Polytechnic of Cávado e do Ave 10 10 % 32-39 19 19 %

Polytechnic of Porto 13 13 % 40-47 11 11 %

Polytechnic of Viana do Castelo 31 31 % +48 2 2 %

Figure 1: Respondents profile

Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities

3.2. Descriptive Analysis

In our descriptive analysis we took into consideration the various facets (facets are

fabricated by combining up to 4 items or sentiments that they imply) that would

give us more information about the positive or negative aspects in terms of

perception of the Master program by students. We recorded the mean and

standard deviation for each of the facets to get an average value among all

students. This value would represent the average value of the facet for the entire

sample and would give us a general idea about the significance of the facet as a

part of the character scale.

Through the descriptive analysis showed in Table 4, it was found that popular

response was close to 3 and 4 and so in Likert scale corresponded to ‘Agree’ and

produce a positive feel and attitude. Also, the overall satisfaction achieved a 3.60

points (standard deviation 0.996), that is very gratified. The «egotism» facet was

one that obtained high value with a mean of 6.07 points (standard deviation

8.667), followed by «snobbery» (4.69 points of average; 8.224 of standard

deviation). The item that achieved a low average was «boldness» with 3.10 points

and 0.670 for the standard deviation.

Table 4: Descriptive Analysis that Measure the Corporate Character Scale № Facets Mean Std. Deviation

If Master Program came to life as a person, it would have the

following facets of personality:

1 Warmth 3,62 ,561

2 Empathy 3,60 ,662

3 Integraty 3,63 ,722

4 Modernity 3,43 ,675

5 Adventure 3,43 ,711

6 Boldness 3,10 ,670

7 Conscientiousness 3,69 ,774

8 Drive 3,50 ,703

9 Technocracy 3,68 ,802

10 Elegance 3,25 ,698

11 Prestige 3,29 ,584

12 Dominance 3,73 4,489

13 Egotism 6,07 8,667

14 Snobbery 4,69 8,224

Overall Corporate Character Scale 3,60 ,996

Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities

3.3. Inferential Analysis

To achieve the purpose of the study and answer the research hypothesis we used

the inferential analysis. To start, we divided the variables into two levels; the first

level included variables connected to the individual students’ personal

characteristics (gender, age, academic year and etc.) while the second level

included the sentiments of students regarding Master Program. This level included

the sum of answers of the main question of used questionnaire «If Master

Program came to life as a person, what would his/her personality be like?».

According with the values presented in Table 5, almost all hypotheses were

validated apart from 1st and 6th. Results of truthfulness of 1st hypothesis showed

that students have a positive Corporate Character, as p ≤ 0,05 and mean = 3,6

points while theoretical value was 3 points. According to other hypotheses from 2nd

to 7th (apart from 6th) we concluded that there aren’t differences in opinions of

students from different specializations, gender, age groups, marital statuses and

curricular years. However, according 6th hypothesis there is inequality in the

impact of Corporate Character among people from different universities (as

p≤ 0,05).

Table 5: Validation of hypothesis

№ Variables Test p-value Results

H1 Corporate Character t-Student p≤0,05 Not Validated

H2 Corporate Character & Master

program

Mann-Whitney U for two independent

samples p≥0,05 Validated

H3 Corporate Character & Gender Mann-Whitney U for two independent

samples p≥0,05 Validated

H4 Corporate Character & Age Kruskal Wallis Test p≥0,05 Validated

H5

Corporate Character & Marital

Status Kruskal Wallis Test p≥0,05 Validated

H6

Corporate Character & Higher

education Kruskal Wallis Test p≤0,05 Not Validated

H7

Corporate Character & Curricular

year

Mann-Whitney U for two independent

samples p≥0,05 Validated

Note: 5% Level of significance assumed (a=0.05).

In order to determine the correlation between different dimensions and Corporate

Character to assess Master Program it was produced the Spearman correlation

coefficient, as the assumption of normality is violated. It was discovered that the

Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities

significance of chic and agreeableness is the most in the Corporate Character

because r=0,777 and r=0,763. The significance of enterprise and competence has

an average level as r=0,685 and r=0,710. Eventually the significance of

ruthlessness, informality and machismo is the least (r=0,394, r=0,422 and

r=0,173). Hence we conclude that the Corporate Character of our respondents is

dominated by positive dimensions of agreeableness and chic, however chic has

snobbery as the only negative facet associated with it and almost dimensions have

a positive and strong relationship with Corporate Character of Master Program. In

this end it is possible to say with a statistical significance that there is a positive

relationship between dimensions and Corporate Character of Master Program.

(Table 6, Figures 2-3).

Table 6: Spearman correlation coefficient (n=100)

№ Dimensions Correlation coefficient

If Master Program came to life as a person, it would have the following

dimensions of personality:

1 Agreeableness ,763

2 Enterprise ,685

3 Competence ,710

4 Chic ,777

5 Ruthlessness ,394

6 Informality ,422

7 Machismo 0,116

Figure 2: Spearman correlation coefficient (n=100)

Figure 3: Overall Corporate Character Scale

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8Agreeableness

Enterprise

Competence

ChicRuthlessness

Informality

Machismo

Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities

Conclusion, Limitation and future research

The purpose of this study was to ensure a detailed understanding of the

relationship between students and their choices of Master programs, as it is

imperative for Deans or Management Boards of Higher Education Institutions to be

well aware of all possible sentiments of the Corporate Character Scale (CCS) and

their significance among students across different Universities towards Master

programs. To find a solution to the main research goal, we performed descriptive

and inferential analysis in order to draw inferences with regards to the correlations

between variables (dimensions) and to test the truthfulness and applicability of

hypotheses that we formulated.

In this case study, using empirical data were collected from random 100 students

from a total of 139 students that enrolled in two academic years of four different

universities, such as Polytechnic Institute of Braganca, Polytechnic Institute of

Cavado and Ave, Polytechnic Institute of Porto and Polytechnic Institute of Viana

do Castelo. To collect the data a survey was conducted applying a questionnaire

in the classroom, between September 2016 and January 2017.

According to descriptive analysis the popular response was close to 3 and 4 and

so in Likert scale corresponded to ‘Agree’ and produce a positive feel and attitude.

Also, the overall satisfaction achieved a 3.60 points (standard deviation 0.996),

that is very gratified. The «egotism» facet was one that obtained high value with a

mean of 6.07 points (standard deviation 8.667), followed by «snobbery» (4.69

points of average; 8.224 of standard deviation). The item that achieved a low

average was «boldness» with 3.10 points and 0.670 for the standard deviation.

In order to determine the correlation between different dimensions and Corporate

Character to assess Master Program the Spearman correlation coefficient was

produced, as the assumption of normality is violated. It was discovered that the

Corporate Character of our respondents is dominated by positive dimensions of

agreeableness and chic, however chic has snobbery as the only negative facet

associated with it and almost dimensions have a positive and strong relationship

with Corporate Character of Master Program. In this end it is possible to say with a

statistical significance that there is a positive relationship between dimensions and

Corporate Character of Master Program.

Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities

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