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Abstract
The 21st century American worker faces challenges unprecedented in his or her lifetime.
The newly expanded global marketplace creates opportunities for employers to produce and
sell products and services to more individuals and countries than ever before. However,
the pressure of the new global economy places the burden on American employers to transform
processes to be highly efficient and productive to remain competitive. Many American employers
actively seek to recruit and train skilled employees worldwide who can meet their corporate
need for profitability.
The American job seeker faces shifting local labor market industries, changing job titles
and job descriptions, and the loss of job opportunities in many industries once seen as the
backbone of the American workforce. In essence, the American worker faces the risk of being
left behind and left out of the possible achievement of the American dream. The challenge
of finding effective methods for increasing the skill set of the American workforce looms
large and difficult. Many influences will shape the future of the American job seeker as
they consider career track options. These influences include their own level of knowledge
about job market opportunities and the skills required to perform these jobs; their own
level of motivation to seek out training and education needed to meet the demands of the
new industries; and ultimately their own level of confidence, or “self-efficacy” in their
perceived abilities to succeed in high growth job industry occupations critical to the
future health of the American economy and its’ citizens.
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Abstract
Self-rated work attitudes of employees (N=492) from six randomly selected manufacturing
companies were obtained using the Occupational Work Ethic Inventory (OWEI) (Petty, 1995b).
Many respondents failed to answer the item with the descriptor apathetic or marked the
highest level of response on a 1-7 Likert-type scale. The suitability of this item was
investigated using a comparison of average inter-item correlations, comparison of
item-scale correlations, and an internal consistency analysis. The item with the
descriptor apathetic failed to demonstrate evidence to support its inclusion in the
instrument. It was concluded that this item should be dropped from the scale and
replaced by another item that is more readily understood by workers.
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Abstract
Teacher shortages have been a national challenge in American education and Alternative
Certification Teacher Programs have been proved to be part of the feasible solutions.
Compared with traditional students in business teacher education programs, alternative
business teacher certification students enter the program with more working experience,
dedication and more interpersonal skills. To become effective business teachers, however,
they must keep up with the latest technological advances and learn how to use and incorporate
technology in classroom instruction. The direct experiences with technologies have been found
to be related to confidence, positive attitudes and self-efficacy in technology, which all
contribute to more infusion of technology in classroom teaching and learning. This study
intended to investigate the experiences of the alternative business teacher certification
students in their use of technology as compared to traditional business teacher education
students.
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Abstract
Business communication curriculum plays an integral role in preparing students for
the workforce. In order for students to succeed in the ever-changing world of business,
the business communication curriculum must reflect the current trends that are being
accepted in the business world. This article reviews studies conducted during the past
30 years that have reviewed what has been included in the curriculum and what employers
have expected from incoming employees. This article discusses the purpose and philosophy
of business communication and developing a business communication curriculum, which
includes what has been included in the curriculum in the past, what is currently
being included in the curriculum, and what should be included in the curriculum
in the future.
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