Darlene Bay

Emotional Intelligence in Undergraduate Accounting Students: Preliminary Assessment

Abstract There is a growing recognition among researchers and practitioners that the workplace is not the strictly cognitively-managed environment it was once assumed to be. Emotions play a large role in organizational life, and emotional intelligence (the ability to recognize, use and manage emotions) has become a skill that may allow accountants to perform better in a variety of areas such as leadership, client relations, and perhaps even decision-making. In addition, it is a skill that employers seem to value and that may be important to personal development as well. Thus, accounting education must attempt to inculcate emotional intelligence in its graduates in addition to technical knowledge. This paper investigates the level of emotional intelligence of accounting students using the MSCEIT, an instrument that measures ability rather than acquired competencies. The results show that the level of emotional intelligence of the students in the sample could be a concern. There is no evidence that one term of traditional accounting education can be expected to provide an opportunity for improvement. Thus, attempts to increase the emotional intelligence of the students may require targeted educational interventions.

Subjective probability assessments of the incidence of unethical behavior: the importance of scenario–respondent fit

Largely due to the difficulty of observing behavior, empirical business ethics research relies heavily on the scenario methodology. While not disputing the usefulness of the technique, this paper highlights the importance of a careful assessment of the fit between the context of the situation described in the scenario and the knowledge and experience of the respondents. Based on a study of online auctions, we provide evidence that even respondents who have direct knowledge of the situation portrayed in the scenario may develop significantly different assessments of the level of unethical behavior. Further, those assessments may be conditioned in different ways by the same moderating variables. We conclude that care should be exercised when recruiting respondents to choose only those who can be expected to understand the scenario in its true context and that separate analyses should be conducted for groups of respondents who have different perspectives within that context.

The Impact of a Flexible Assessment System on Students' Motivation, Performance and Attitude

We examine a flexible assessment system that allows students to determine the weights allocated to each course component and to re-allocate the weights in response to achieved scores. The flexibility is intended to encourage students’ participation in the learning process, thereby promoting self-regulated learning skills. We compare this assessment system to a traditional system and to another system, in which the students may choose their own weights but cannot change them later in the term. We examine the impact on students’ motivation as measured by the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), as well as the impact on grades and students’ attitudes. Our results indicate little improvement in motivation, grades or attitudes when students design and commit to their grading plans early in the term. However, the more flexible system, which allows for re-allocation, appears to improve students’ grades, self-reported motivation and attitudes.

Emotional Intelligence Tests: Potential Impacts on the Hiring Process for Accounting Students

Emotional intelligence is increasingly recognized as being important for professional career success. Skills related to emotional intelligence (e.g. organizational commitment, public speaking, teamwork, and leadership) are considered essential. Human resource professionals have begun including tests of emotional intelligence (EI) in job applicant screening processes. Consequently, if accounting education fails to develop EI skills, students may seem to recruiters to be less qualified. Alternatively, if the tests for EI are inaccurate or easily manipulated, qualified applicants may be overlooked. We examine the ability of subjects studying accounting at a Canadian university to purposely alter their results on two of the most frequently used EI tests: the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) and the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT). We find that subjects can purposely change their EI score to fit the job description. We conclude that neither instrument is clearly better than the other is in the hiring process and both require revision as potential applicants are able purposely to alter their scores.

Anti-Intellectualism, Tolerance for Ambiguity and Locus of Control: Impact on Performance in Accounting Education

With the changing business environment, skills rather than familiarity with rules are more important to accountants’ success. In response to mounting criticisms of accounting education and supported by calls from the Accounting Education Change Commission, efforts have been made by some accounting educators to adapt accounting education to this changing environment. However, there is little research to date about the individual characteristics that can be leveraged to improve the outcome of accounting education. We investigate three individual characteristics: anti-intellectualism, tolerance for ambiguity, and internal locus of control. The results show that all three variables may impact performance in accounting education and that the structure of an accounting program may reward characteristics that are not in line with skills required by the profession. Fortunately, the design of an accounting program may help students alter their skills to be more in line with professional requirements.

An Historical Perspective on the Interplay of Christian Thought and Business Ethics

To provide effective guidance for business decisions, a set of ethical principles must be stable over time, rather than responding to changes in the business environment for expediency sake. This article examines the ability of religious principles to maintain such stability by reviewing the historical relationship between commerce and Christianity, beginning with early Christianity and concluding with the Enlightenment.The changes in five constructs are examined: ownership of land, acquisition of wealth, attitude toward work, charging of interest and acceptability of trade. For each construct, the attitude evidenced in early Christianity was, at least to some degree, inimical to business as we view it today. That perspective changed over time, with the practice becoming at first acceptable and later even admired. The authors conclude that ethical principles based on referents from outside business are ineffective as a check on the undesirable effects of business on society.

Identifying Fraud in Online Auctions: A Case Study†

According to the FBI (IC3, 2011), losses as a result of auto-auction fraud exceeded

Gender orientation, success and job satisfaction in accounting academia

8.2 million dollars in 2011. How can one detect deception in online auction transactions? The authors use a comprehensive case to teach students about deception detection processes, detection cues, and the e-commerce environment. Students are challenged to make a professional judgment about whether the transaction under consideration is an attempt to deceive. The case is based on a real-life situation and provides a valuable exercise for business students, educating them in the reality of online auction markets and developing their critical thinking skills. The case may be used with undergraduate accounting majors in Accounting Information Systems classes and with graduate students in an e-commerce course either as an in-class assignment or as a term project. Students provided favorable responses as to the value of the case.

Impact of group exams in a graduate intermediate accounting class

This study examines the relationship between gender orientation (as measured by the Bern Sex Role Inventory) and success and between gender orientation and job satisfaction among accounting professors. Prior studies have shown that women in professions formerly dominated by men (among them public accounting) possess stereotypically masculine characteristics to a greater degree than average (Wong et al., 1985; Lemkau, 1983; Maupin & Lehman, 1994). Existence of these conditions in accounting academia would carry important implications for accounting professors, and for the profession of which they are a part. Results indicate that female accounting faculty at higher ranks are more likely to possess masculine characteristics than those at lower ranks. Job satisfaction was found to be related to gender orientation, but not to gender.

Shill bidding: Empirical evidence of its effectiveness and likelihood of detection in online auction systems

ABSTRACT Cooperative learning techniques have been found to be quite successful in a variety of learning environments. However, in university-level accounting courses, investigations of the efficacy of cooperative learning pedagogical methods have produced mixed results at best. To continue the search for a cooperative learning method that is effective in accounting education, this study examines the use of group exams in a graduate intermediate accounting class. We provide evidence of a number of positive effects. Average scores on group exams were consistently higher than average scores on exams taken in individual format. Students adapted to the new assessment format rapidly and effectively. Further, students found the experience positive and believed they had improved important skills such as communication, time management, and teamwork. While some evidence of a free-rider effect and negative behavior associated with it was found in the beginning, this behavior was apparently temporary.