Angelina I. T. Kiser

THE PERSISTENCE OF COLLEGE STUDENTS FROM THEIR FRESHMAN TO SOPHOMORE YEAR

This research examined the predictive accuracy of selected variables (high school letter grade average, first-year college grade point average (GPA), residence location, cumulative hours taken, mothers education level, fathers education level, and gender) on the persistence of college freshmen to their sophomore year. A model consisting of 1,014 students was first developed and then the sample was divided into three other models, White students, Hispanic students, and African-American students. Logistic regression analyses (N = 1,014) revealed that the effect of cumulative hours was statistically significant (p < .05) for the overall model, and for the White and Hispanic student models. No variables were statistically significant in the African-American students model. Additionally, no variables were found to be practically significant in any of the four models.

Employee Monitoring and Ethics: Can They Co-Exist?

More advanced technologies that make it possible to monitor employees in the workplace have led to controversies on both legal and ethical grounds. Employers can now easily monitor emails, Internet usage and sites visited, and keystrokes, as well as use GPS systems to track employees’ movements throughout the day. At one end of the spectrum is the employer who claims that monitoring not only improves productivity but is a legal necessity that assists in keeping the company from becoming legally liable for employees’ misuse of technology. Employees, on the other hand, want their privacy protected, and many believe that it is more a matter of them not being trusted. In this paper, an examination is presented that describes various forms of workplace surveillance and monitoring, viewpoints of both employers and employees, policies that companies have implemented, and the ethical and legal implications of such policies.

Workplace and leadership perceptions between men and women

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the attitudinal differences between men and women with respect to work issues and leadership and the implications that these outlooks have in the US (USA) workforce. While studies have been conducted to show how men and women differ in the work and leadership styles, attitudes can affect how workers and leaders are treated and may explain why people behave the way that they do. Design/methodology/approach – Using data from the 2010-2012 World Values Survey (WVS-6), comparisons were performed with the Mann-Whitney U test to determine if there were significant differences in attitudes and perceptions of work and leadership between men and women in the USA based on five questions concerning attitudes toward men and women in the workforce. The sample consisted of 1,070 males and 1,139 females who responded to questions using a Likert scale-rating system. Findings – There were significant differences between males and females at the p < 0.01 level for four of the five questions. Men were more likely to believe that men have more rights to jobs when jobs are scarce. Women believed more than men that having a job was the best way for a woman to be independent. Men believed that they made better political leaders. Men also believed that they made better business executives. However, there was no significant difference in the question about women making more than men. Neither felt strongly that a woman earning more money than her husband would cause problems. Originality/value – The research provides insight into factors that might affect how men and women perceive both their own group and the other group. It is important to ensure that gender perceptions are evaluated to address issues that may still persist and contribute to gender inequality in the workplace and how behaviors and attitudes of each gender affect roles and norms.

Limitations to the rapid adoption of M-payment services: Understanding the impact of privacy risk on M-Payment services

M-payment services offer many advantages over traditional payment services and analysts have predicted their explosive growth for years. However, despite touted advantages, adoption has been slow. Recent announcements of m-payment services by high-profile providers such as Apple, Google, and PayPal, along with increased vendor support, may spark renewed interest. However, it is unclear whether this will be enough to trigger the long anticipated large-scale adoption. We present a study based on diffusion of innovation theory to investigate the impact of factors influencing m-payment service adoption. In addition, we explore the impact of perceived ubiquity, security, and privacy risk. A sample of 270 survey responses were collected using crowdsourcing and analyzed using SmartPLS. Results of the study indicated that ease of use, relative advantage, visibility and perceived security positively influence the individuals intention to use m-payment services. In addition, ubiquity and trialability positively influence the individuals perception of security while concerns over privacy risks negatively influences perceptions of security. We also discovered that over 46% of those responding to the survey identify as being current users of m-payment services which may suggest a renewed interest on the part of the consumer. Ease of use, relative advantage, visibility and perceived security impact usage.Ubiquity and trialability positively impacts perceived security.Perceived privacy risk negatively impacts perceived security.Study utilized crowdsourcing using Mechanical Turk.46.3% of respondents identified themselves as current users of m-payment services.

The Information Gap amongst the Generations and the Implications for Organizations

The ubiquitous nature of technology today fosters the perception that its use as a means of information sharing and gathering occurs equally across resources. There is however a digital divide which commonly refers to the socio-economic, ethnic, educational, and cultural inequality of access and use of digital technologies in society today. Less clear in the literature is as Digital natives and Immigrants age and enter the workforce, how their age will affect their use of technology as a social and information gathering resource Herring, 2008. Will advances in mobile technologies and age extend the digital divide or will they continue to be technology zealous? Based on data analyzed from wave 6 of the World Values Survey WVS a significant difference exists between the generations in the use of different information sources used for information gathering and sharing as they age.

Benefits and Risks of Social Networking Sites: Should they also be Used to Harness Communication in a College or University Setting

One of the challenges facing university and college professors is the use of effective and efficient communication with their students. One solution could be the use of social networking sites to engage students and the U.S. 2010 Digital Year in Review (2011), social networking continues to grow as one of the web’s top activities with 9 out of every 10 U.S. Internet users accessing break down communication barriers, according to a social networking site every month. The study includes an in-depth review of the uses, benefits and risks of social networking sites as well as how they might be utilized in a college or university setting. The researcher in this study surveyed university business students at a private, four-year, Hispanic-serving institution in Texas about their use of social networking sites and how professors might integrate these sites into the curriculum.

Reaffirming accreditation through application of Baldrige performance excellence criteria: a case study of a private, faith-based school of business

This case study is based on the eight-year journey towards performance excellence of a private, faith-based university business school working to achieve reaffirmation of its business programme accreditation. During this transition, the school converted from traditional input-based to Baldrige-based criteria, the accreditation association comprehensively revised its business programme criteria, and the business programme began offerings in extended academic programme formats. The business school created a strategic plan grounded in the Baldrige performance excellence criteria, faculty and administrators became trained Baldrige examiners, progress/award applications were made to the state Baldrige programme, and the business school was the first ACBSP-accredited school to submit its Baldrige application in lieu of the traditional self-study. The outcomes of this process include a series of best practices which can be applied across cultures that are presented in the conclusion of the paper.

Women in IT Management: Significant Gains and Continuing Challenges

ABSTRACT The roles of women in the workforce have changed significantly over the past several decades. While there has been considerable progress made by women into leadership positions, this progress has been slow. This article explores factors that may impact the ability of women in information technology (IT) to move into leadership positions. Data collected for the Society of Information Management IT Trend Study for 2015, 2016, and 2017 were analyzed, and corporate characteristics that impact female advancement into leadership positions were explored. Results suggest that there are opportunities for women in IT. The percentage of women in positions of leadership is steadily increasing in a wide range of industries. However, there is an evidence to suggest that industry’s gender composition as well as company size (revenue) may impact the gender of the IT leader. Also, some interesting differences in performance measures based on the leader’s gender are discussed.

The Impact of Territorial and Relational Belonging on Member Retention in Social Networking Sites

With the growth in social networking and the highly competitive nature of the social networking market, it is important to understand the factors that influence social network site SNS member retention. In order to better understand continuation intention among SNS members, the authors propose and empirically test a model built upon the IS continuance model, motivation theory, and two belongingness constructs drawn from social psychology. Results of this study indicate that positive confirmation, perceived usefulness, and perceived enjoyment influence user satisfaction, which in turn has a strong impact on continuance intention. In addition, the members sense of territorial belonging to the SNS has a positive influence on both continuance intention and perceived enjoyment. The members sense of belonging stemming from relationships with others within the community has a positive influence on both perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment, but appears to be insignificant with respect to a direct influence on continuance intention.

Assessing Diversity Awareness in University Business Students at a Hispanic Serving Liberal Arts Institution

Globalization and shifts in demographics are creating highly diverse workplaces, and managers must understand the importance of managing a diverse workforce. Students taking business management courses at a 4-year private Hispanic serving institution were asked to voluntarily participate in a study in which the researchers sought to explore the diversity awareness attitudes of business management students at a university where the students are exposed to a culturally diverse environment. La globalización y los cambios en la demografía son la creación de diversos lugares de trabajo altamente, y los gerentes deben entender la importancia de manejar una fuerza laboral diversa. Los estudiantes que toman cursos de gestión empresarial en un año 4-hispano en institución privada fueron invitados a participar voluntariamente en un estudio en el que los investigadores tratan de explicar las actitudes de conciencia de la diversidad de los estudiantes de administración de empresas en una universidad donde los estudiantes están expuestos a un entorno culturalmente diverso.