Students' perception of international business curriculum in China.

Bahhouth, Victor ; Spillan, John E. ; Liang, Lin 等

INTRODUCTION

The 21st century has witnessed many global and rapid changes with the numerous technological advancements achieved. These technological advancements require a high degree of education on one hand and a global market on the other hand. It is evident that with a nation's higher education level comes economic growth (Storm and Feiock 1999), and with greater economic growth, higher education institutions contribute more knowledge to facilitate and sustain this economic growth (Thanki 1999). Storm and Feiock's (1999) assert that though individuals seek higher education for personal reasons and benefits, the advantages of higher education extend beyond individual advancement to include benefits to the nation as a whole since the workforce capacity will increase and so will competitiveness in national and international markets. Moreover, with a refined education, the needs in the workforce will be modified. Employers will be better qualified and will seek more and more skillful workers. The end result will be higher standard of living for the country's population at large.

Globalization as Bari (2001, p. 6) defines it is "the process by which geographic distance becomes a factor less important in establishing and developing cross border relations of economic, political and social nature". Negrut et al. (2010) discuss not only the opportunities but also the risks that globalization entails and highlight the disparities that emerge on the national, regional, and global levels. As a result of these disparities in a fast changing business environment, workers have to acquire many more sophisticated skills than before, be flexible, and adapt fast to change. As a result of both higher education and more skillful workforce, along with the technology that allows communication among emerging markets, nations can experience rapid growth.

Thus, the need to periodically redesign the curriculum of international business in order to reflect the needs of emerging markets is of utmost importance. Students need to fully grasp how social, ethical, ideological, economic, political and moral values intertwine to affect a nation's progress. Unfortunately, according to Jin et al. (2011) and Cant (2004), although there is an awareness of the importance and need for international business curricula, the U.S. college graduates are not well prepared for global assignments and the realities that a global economy entails, mainly due to the majority being monolingual with little knowledge if any of other societies and cultural differences and their impact on global business.

The purpose of this study is to present a perspective on the methods and techniques that are being used in teaching future Chinese business leaders. The study also seeks to find out which subjects are considered more important for international business/marketing majors and the preferred learning methods.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Designing a new curriculum that is a reality rather than an intent (Stenhouse 1975) and part of the assessment process rather than a product (Looney and Klenowski 2008) requires an in-depth study of the employers' needs on the one hand and the students' learning skills, perceptions and needs on the other hand. Looney and Klenowski (2008) highlight the need to prepare students to cope with risk since the future is highly unpredictable. Methods of accessing information and services have changed and so has the social structure. Thus, there is a need to teach learning skills (Hargreaves 2002; Broadfoot and Black 2004) through a well-designed curriculum that equips students with the learning power (Claxton 2005). This may require at times customizing the curriculum to meet students' needs as was the case at the University of South California and Cornell University that offer their students choice, flexibility and a wide array of interdisciplinary studies (Shinn 2011).

Collins (1996) explains that social media, the Internet, their education, family, society, and daily news shape students' perception of the role of globalization in their higher education. Akcam, Guler, and Hekim (2012) believe that as students take more courses in globalization, their perception changes. As a result, it is essential to understand students' initial perceptions in order to gear courses and discussions to better meet students' needs.

Critical thinking is a major component of many redesigned curricula. Because critical thinking helps in sorting out the information (UNESCO report Towards knowledge societies, 2005), the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Luis, Missouri requires that all course syllabi include a critical thinking component (Bisoux 2011).

Borsheim, Merritt, and Reed (2008) emphasize the role of cultural diversity in education. As a result, the article Which MBA? that appeared in The Economist (2013) ranked the MBA program at the WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management that has partnered with the Kellogg School at Northwestern University, as the first in Germany, the third in Europe, and the seventh worldwide. The personal development of the participants, the quality of instruction and professional development were the most important criteria used for evaluation, followed by career opportunities, the diversity of participants, high salary, and the worldwide scope of network that the graduates from this school have. The principle that WHU Dean Professor Michael Frenkel has adopted and which led to the success of the school and the graduates is that "Those who want to be professionally successful in the long-term can't rely on knowledge gained once in the past, but must include lifelong learning on their agenda" (WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management website).

The joint program between the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University near Chicago and Schulich School of Business at York University, in Ontario, Canada combines excellence in research along with real world relevant practical business activities for student learning. The program provides a global perspective on how business can be conducted in an international environment. This program is ranked # 1 in Canada and in the top 10 in North America (Which MBA? 2013). Mangan (2011) briefly explains how Hult International Business School depended on cultural diversity to attract students and thus grew from 65 students in its one one-year M.B.A. program, accredited in 2005, to 560 students in that program worldwide. This growth allowed for an equal number in its other programs over a five-year-period of time. Between 2007 and 2010, Hult International Business School opened academic centers in Shanghai, Dubai, London and San Francisco. Students from different countries work in teams in a cross-cultural environment. This approach was what attracted most of the students to Hult. Cant (2004) believes that cultural self-awareness, cultural consciousness, ability to lead multicultural teams, and specifically, ability to negotiate across cultures and a global mindset are all required skills of successful global managers.

MBA curricula need to be significantly changed to attract students; otherwise, many programs may shut down. As the MBA curricula are redesigned, there is a dire need to incorporate globalization and experiential team projects, which expose students to diversity. Jarvis (1993), Kwok and Arpan (1994), Finegold (1994), Cunningham (1995), and Bailey (1995) call for the internationalization of business curricula. However, such a decision should be made by the universities, departments, AACSB or businesses (Albers-Miller, Sigerstad & Straughan 2000) and not by individual course instructors as is often the case (Keating & Byles 1991). Only 2.9 percent of a national sample of 832 marketing majors strongly agreed that their school has prepared them for a potential career in international marketing (Turley & Shannon 1999). Although Kaynak and Kucukemiroglu (1997), based on their study of Turkish business schools, believe that knowledge and expertise in all functional areas of international business are needed, they highlight the importance of offering courses that meet employers' demands. Consequently, the courses that focus on specialized fields such as international accounting, global human resources and international economics should be offered (Cunningham 1995; Lundstrom, White & Schuster 1996; Radebaugh 1992/1993; Green & Scott 1996; Krivonos 1993; Sondak & Sondak 1992; Handley 1994; Stiglitz 1993).

Deck, Luthy, and Schrader (2012) discuss the notion of integrating travel into an MBA program in order to provide students with first-hand experience in how employees in other cultures interact with each other and with their clients. This curriculum integrated a lot of interdisciplinary studies, exposed the students to an emerging economy whereby they would study the problem, design a solution and travel to the country to execute their plan and present the solution to the representative of the organization (Phan 2011). Moreover, 86 percent of the universities in Latin America excluding the Caribbean have a study abroad program, and 90 percent of the faculty use cases in their teaching. Also, many Latin American universities are embracing American style of business education (Elahee & Norbis 2009). Another study by Pestonjee et al. (2010) shows that there is no significant difference between the perceptions about internationalizing business curricula between students in Peru and Guatemala.

Price's (2011) work discusses the factors analyzed when revamping the international business curriculum at China Europe International Business School. Special focus was given to meeting the special needs of China that was rapidly shifting on the one hand from pure manufacturing to incorporating services and on the other hand, from public to privately owned ventures. The new curriculum incorporated six elements. 1. The new curriculum offers a deeper focus on China since students' research work and classes focus on the social, environmental, economic, and political aspects of China. 2. Soft skills are enhanced among diverse students, which would allow cross-cultural communication among team members who will at the end of the projects be asked to diagnose problems in their communication and suggest a plan for improvement. 3. Experiential learning is achieved through students' engagement in recognizing problems, providing diagnosis and solutions, and receiving prompt and detailed feedback. 4. Ethics and leadership skills necessary for students in and outside of China are also enhanced. 5. Flexibility in offering elective courses helps meet both students' and employers' needs. 6. Overall integration takes place so that concepts that have always been taught, such as globalization, would focus more on China.

China's Need for Trained Marketers and Managers

Over the last two decades, China grew at an unrelenting pace. All indications point towards China maintaining this growth rate at least in the short term. With this increased growth come a variety of opportunities and challenges. With the largest population in the world and a growth rate of 9% annually, the Chinese people have large demands for goods and services. As their incomes have risen, their desire to shop and purchase items has also intensified. This state of affairs affords great opportunities for marketing, management, supply chain management and other business professions. As Western companies set up operations in China, they are seeking eager and ambitious workers who can sell their products and services. As such, the marketing and management careers including the sales profession have become a major area of interest not only for the employers but also for the graduating students who could make a good living selling Chinese made goods and managing companies that offer foreign imported goods to the large Chinese population (Jobber & Lancaster, 2009).

As China continues to grow, the need for more business professionals will also grow. At the core of any business transaction in China is culture. Chinese business people operate from very old traditions. For example, sales people visiting China to sell products and services must attend banquets while they are trying to negotiate business transactions. The tradition of frequent toasting during the meal or the conversations is a very important ritual and is generally required of all visitors (Jobber & Lancaster, 2009). Having the international marketing and management training that emphasizes skills in culture and negotiation is critical to continued success in business development in China.

In China, managing a business or businesses requires an understanding of how to conduct negotiations among a variety of business professionals. Sales negotiations in China take much longer than those in the West. Punctuality is a very important aspect of the sales meeting and to be late is not really acceptable. The Chinese must avoid the concept of "losing face" in business negotiations. Chinese business people try to obtain as much information as possible before showing their position in the deal. Legal forms of business transactions such as contracts are important and become a foundation piece of any transaction (Jobber and Lancaster, 2009). The Chinese are astute business people; therefore, knowing the proper protocols for initiating, building and closing a sale are important to be successful.

Since China has only recently become a market-oriented economy, marketing and management have attracted a lot of attention in that country. Students who are attending the university and are in their third or fourth year may engage in marketing and management functions among various businesses to help them understand the skills that are needed to achieve a level of competency necessary to earn money or as part of their academic learning experience. In summary, for Chinese students to be actively engaged in business and economic development activities and business professions in China, they need a university business curriculum that provides the readiness skills and training to give them the ability to enter businesses with the competencies to get the work done in an ever changing global environment.

OBJECTIVE AND HYPOTHESES

As an exploratory study, the purpose of this study is to investigate the international business curriculum of a Chinese University in order to understand the content and delivery of its programs to students in both the undergraduate and graduate programs. Data for the study was collected in China and reflects students' perspective on its international business curriculum. The aforementioned literature review outlines the key importance of international business subject in China and the need to explore the way Chinese students perceive it. The following research hypotheses are formulated:

Research Problem 1:

H0: There are no significant factors that drive the Chinese students' perception about international business curriculum.

H1: There are a series of factors that drive Chinese students ' perception about international business curriculum.

Research Problem 2:

H0: The age and major play no significant role in shaping Chinese students ' perception about international business curriculum.

H1: The age and major play significant role in shaping Chinese students' perception about international business curriculum.

The following research methodology is used to analyze data analysis and present the findings.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Data Collection

This section highlights the data collection and research model used in the study. The data is a primary type collected by distributing a survey to 271 university students in China; the survey highlights students' perception of international business in the following three areas: 1 international business profession (26 questions), 2-international business curriculum (14 questions), 3-learning methodology (7 questions); in addition, the survey includes a section about demographic information of students.

The questions are set in a Likert scale format; 1 stands for strongly agree; 2 stands for agree; 3 stands for neutral/no opinion; 4 stands for disagree, and 5 stands for strongly disagree. In order to capture students' strong arguments, three was subtracted from all values to mitigate the effect of neutral responses.

Research Model

The research model consists of two parts: in the first part, one sample t tests and confidence intervals are used to test the significance of the statements. In order to capture students' strong arguments, a level of significance of 0.1% is used. Students' perception is tested in three areas: 1-international business profession; 2-international business curriculum; and 3-learning methodology.

In the second part, Binary Logistic Regression Model (BLRM) is used to test if the gender and the major play a significant role in influencing students' perception. Logistic regression is superior to the linear regression model where normality assumptions of the independent variables are not met. It is simpler to read and to interpret because its values are bound to range between zero and one.

The procedure is applied in two steps. In the first step, the effect of gender on students' perception is tested; it requires the identification of two groups (dependent variable). The first group is made of female students (Y = 0). The second group is made of male students (Y = 1). The independent variables are the three-perception statements i.e. 1-international business profession, 2-international business curriculum, and 3-learning methodology.

In the second step, the effect of the major on students' perception is tested; it requires also the identification of two groups (dependent variable). The first group is made of non-business major students (Y = 0). The second group is made of business major students (Y = 1). The independent variables are the three-perception statements i.e. 1-international business profession, 2-international business curriculum, and 3-learning methodology.

In both steps, using the [R.sup.2] Logit tests the reliability of the logistic regression

[R.sup.2.sub.Logit] = 1 -[(2[LL.sub.0]/2[LL.sub.1]).sup.1/2]

[R.sup.2.sub.logit] is similar to the coefficient of determination [R.sup.2] in the multiple regressions. It has a value that ranges between 0 and 1. When R logit approaches 0, the model is poor. When [R.sup.2.sub.logit] approaches 1, the model is a perfect predictor.

Data Analysis

In the first part of the study, students' perception is tested in the three areas. The first one is the international business profession area. Thirteen questions showed extremely significant results (i.e. 0.1% level of significance) of which six were strongly agree and seven were strongly disagree. Table 1 reflects the test statistics and confidence level results of the strongly agree statements. These statements show that students have a clear idea about international business and are interested in the field of the study as they agreed with most of the statements that are true; these statements are 1-Most Chinese business firms will be affected directly or indirectly by socio-economic, cultural and political developments in the international market scene. As a result, most managers should be able to understand and anticipate those effects; 2-Based on my interest in international topics, I'd like to learn more about international marketing subjects; 3-China being a trading nation, every business student should know something about international marketing; 4-Given the opportunity, I would be interested in pursuing a career in international marketing; and 5-as the world is our major trading partner, we should learn how to market products/services globally. Unexpectedly, students strongly agreed with the statement Consumers in developing countries have less sophisticated tastes and needs, and products which do not sell well in China should be marketed in these countries.

The results explained students' perception on three different dimensions. 1-The importance of culture and socio-economic variables in shaping the international business field, as they strongly agreed with the following statement: Most Chinese businesses will be affected directly or indirectly by socio-economic, cultural and political developments in the international market scene. As a result, most managers will need an ability to understand and anticipate those effects. 2-The need to have an international business curriculum, as students strongly agreed with the following statements: China being a trading nation, every business student should know something about international marketing and given the opportunity, I would be interested in pursuing a career in international marketing. 3-The practicality of the international business field to Chinese companies as they strongly agreed with the following statement: As the world is our major trading partner, we should learn how to market products/services globally.

On the other hand, table 2 reflects strongly disagree statements results, which are 1-Products sold abroad may be identical to products sold in China; 2-A major reason for Chinese companies to enter foreign market is to provide a ready-market for their unsold products at home; 3-If foreign operations are considered secondary activities, the management orientation of the firm would be referred to as ethnocentric; 4-Normally, products proven successful in China market can be marketed in foreign countries without any modification; 5-A firm located in an affluent market like China can easily survive without any modifications; 6-Career opportunities in international marketing are very limited and not attractive as they usually mean living outside China; and 7-Overall, I would rate my familiarity with international marketing as adequate for ensuring a successful business career.

The disagree statements reflect students' deep awareness of the subject as they strongly disagreed with the following three statements: 1-A major reason for Chinese companies to enter foreign market is to provide a ready-market for their unsold products at home; 2-Normally, products proven successful in China market can be marketed in foreign countries without any modification; and 3-A firm located in an affluent market like China can easily survive without any modifications. In addition, they emphasized the importance and the practicality of the field as they strongly disagreed with the following statements: 1-Career opportunities in international marketing are very limited and not attractive as they usually mean living outside China; and Overall, I would rate my familiarity with international marketing as adequate for ensuring a successful business career.

Table 3 highlights the results of the second area, which is students' perception about the international business curriculum and its related subjects. Fourteen statements showed extremely significant results. Students strongly highlighted the importance of the international business field of studies and that it should be included in the curriculum of the following subjects. They strongly agreed that international business should be incorporated in the following subjects 1-Consumer/Buyer Behavior, 2-Market/Marketing Research, 3-Advertising/Marketing Communication, 4-Marketing Models and Quantitative Methods, 5-Industrial Marketing, 6-Marketing Planning, 7-Pricing, 8-Marketing Organization, 9-Physical Distribution/Logistics/and Channels, 10-Sales Management, 11-Retailing, 12-Comparative Marketing, 13-Social/ Legal Aspects of Marketing, and 14-Marketing Decision Making.

Table 4 highlights the results of the third area, which is students' perception asked about the ideal tools for learning international business. It shows that students strongly agreed on a variety of learning tools and methods: 1-regular lectures, 2-case methods, 3-guest lectures, 4-audio-visual presentations, 5-role playing exercises, 6-field work on a topic of interest, and 7-group discussions.

In the second part of the study, the effect of gender and major is highlighted. Table 5 shows that a significant difference among gender exists in the following: 1-the level of education; 2-age; 3-career opportunities in international marketing are very limited and not attractive as they usually mean living outside China; and 4-China being a trading nation, every business student should know something about international marketing.

Table 6 shows that gender explained 26.5% (coefficient of determination) of the total variations of students' perception influenced factors.

Table 7 shows that gender's predictive power is 67.5%, i.e. it can classify correctly 67.5% of students' perception identified factors.

As for the effect of the major, Table 8 shows that a significant difference among majors exists in the following items (factors): 1-the level of education; 2-Career opportunities in international marketing are very limited and not attractive as they usually mean living outside China; 3-The use of indigenous cases which deal with local company situations will be an ideal method; 4-advertising/marketing and communication (curriculum design); 5-case methods (tools); and 6-group discussion (tools).

Table 9 shows that major explained 43.7% (coefficient of determination) of the total variations of students' perception influenced factors.

Table 10 shows that major's predictive power is 76.4%; i.e. it can classify correctly 76.4% of students' perception identified factors.

It is quite evident that the major played a more significant effect than gender as it included items/factors from the three areas (i.e. 1-international business profession, 2-international business curriculum, and 3-learning methodology). The logical explanation is that business major students are more familiar with international issues as they are exposed to this subject in their different fields of business studies.

RESULTS OF THE STUDY

The authors can conclude that Chinese respondents had opinions across all three broad survey categories. The results of the analysis indicate that the students have a clear idea about international business and its implications among global markets. Most of the respondents indicated an awareness of the fact that Chinese businesses will be directly or indirectly affected by socio-economic, cultural and political developments in international markets. As such, managers will have to have knowledge and training in order to understand and anticipate the consequences of their decisions. Based on the data analysis, we believe that the respondents are interested in studying this area and are well aware of the career opportunities that await those familiar with international business and trade.

With regard to an ideal international marketing and management curriculum, the responses indicated an interest in learning a wide variety of subjects that are related to international business. Special interest was also shown in marketing decision making as a useful subject when developing curriculum.

Lastly, respondents showed an interest in learning international business through the use of indigenous case analysis with local companies as learning techniques. Additionally, understanding of technological marketing is an important dimension in the curriculum development. Respondents from China showed a stronger preference for learning through group discussion and case methods (which had the highest scores), as opposed to traditional lectures (which had the lowest score). Interest in learning more through role-play exercises and field trips further strengthens the case for non-traditional learning methods.

LIMITATIONS

There are three practical problems associated with this study. These limitations are presented below:

1--The data is a primary type, taken from a survey, i.e., it is subject to sample collection and related errors.

2--The cost and time were the primary factors for using a sample of 271 only.

3--The external validity needs to be tested by using the model in other countries.

These limitations need to be kept in mind as the reader peruses this study.

CONCLUSIONS

This study has provided an opportunity to see that the development of international business and curriculum deserves attention and is of much interest to the students in China. Since China is a developed but politically unstable country that is increasingly embracing globalization, much talent is needed by way of new graduates who are familiar with international business and related areas. This presents both a challenge and an opportunity for universities to develop courses and programs that equip graduates with these vital skills.

The students have made their views clear by way of this study. They are very interested in learning more about international business in their curriculum. They are well aware of the trends in these areas and how they affect the relationship of their own nation with other developed countries. They are also aware of how important this subject matter is to their job prospects and future growth. In addition, the study provides input about the specific subjects that should be included in the different levels of interest within various areas. Furthermore, the students have also indicated their preference to learn these subjects by way of non-traditional methods.

This collective wisdom makes the job easier and clearer for university faculty and key decision makers. It is also useful from a more macro perspective as other colleges and in fact the higher education system as a whole can benefit from the results of this study. It would be worthwhile to rethink and perhaps pay more attention to international business from an earlier stage in the education cycle of students in these countries. At the very least, it offers an insight to the changes that need to be made at the college level with regard to curriculum development in these areas.

RECOMMENDATION FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Since there are universities and schools of business around the world delivering international business curriculums, it would be appropriate to explore the content and delivery methodologies in other countries. Additionally, it would be interesting to conduct comparative analyses that would provide a perspective from one university to another and from one country to another. This would provide an opportunity for sharing information and strengthening international curriculums across the globe.

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Victor Bahhouth, John E. Spillan

University of North Carolina--Pembroke

Jocelyne Bahhouth

Bladen Community College--Bladen

Lin Liang

Southwest Petroleum University, Sichuan, China

Victor Bahhouth is a Professor of Finance at the School of Business--The University of North Carolina Pembroke. He received his Doctorate of Business Administration in Finance from Newcastle Business School, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne--United Kingdom. His research interests are in the areas of contemporary issues related to international businesses, technology, and stock markets. He authored and co-authored research papers that have been published in refereed journals and in the proceedings of national and international academic conferences. Dr. Bahhouth is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Management Accountant (CMA).

DJohn E. Spillan. is Associate Dean and Professor of Management School of Business at the University of North Carolina At Pembroke. His research interests are in the areas of international business, management, and teaching pedagogy. His articles have appeared in the International Journal of Marketing and Marketing Research, Journal of Business in Developing Nations, Journal of East West Business, European Management Journal, Journal of Teaching in International Business, Journal of Small Business Strategy, International Small Business Journal, Journal of Crisis and Contingency Management, Journal of Small Business Management, and Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice.

Jocelyne Bahhouth is currently the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at Bladen Community College, North Carolina and is an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland University College. Although her doctorate is in English as a Second Language, she has worked on redesigning the Lebanese national curriculum and published related textbooks. In addition, she published a book to teach Lebanese dialect that was translated to different languages. Dr. Bahhouth's research interest is in curriculum design and teaching online methodologies; she presented many papers at national and international conferences and her publications appeared in refereed journals.

Lin Liang is an instructor in management at Southwest Petroleum University in Sichuan, China. Professor Liang's research interests are in the area of management and international business; he presented many papers at national and international conferences and his publications appeared in refereed journals. Table 1 International Business Profession--Strongly Agree Code Alpha = 0.1%; Test Value = 3 t df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean 99.9% Confidence Difference Interval of the Difference Lower Upper p108 -10.797 270 .000 -.63469 -.8303 -.4391 p112 -8.510 270 .000 -.48708 -.6775 -.2967 p113 -14.957 270 .000 -.74170 -.9067 -.5767 p114 -7.771 270 .000 -.42435 -.6060 -.2427 p117 -13.135 270 .000 -.63469 -.7954 -.4739 p118 -4.013 270 .000 -.22140 -.4050 -.0379 Table 2 International Business Profession--Strongly Disagree Code Alpha = 0.1% ; Test Value = 3 t df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean 99.9% Difference Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper p102 4.991 270 .000 .30627 .1021 .5104 p104 9.331 270 .000 .57934 .3728 .7859 p105 3.743 270 .000 .21033 .0234 .3973 p107 11.182 270 .000 .68266 .4795 .8858 p109 6.924 270 .000 .42066 .2186 .6228 p111 6.299 270 .000 .35793 .1689 .5470 p116 3.350 270 .001 .20664 .0014 .4119 Table 3 International Business Curriculum--Strongly Agree Code Alpha = 0.1% ; Test Value = 3 t df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean 99.9% Difference Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper p201 -18.662 270 .000 -.90037 -1.0609 -.7399 p202 -19.348 270 .000 -.84871 -.9946 -.7028 p203 -14.355 270 .000 -.70480 -.8681 -.5415 p204 -12.028 270 .000 -.60148 -.7678 -.4351 p205 -13.876 270 .000 -.70111 -.8692 -.5330 p206 -15.802 270 .000 -.79336 -.9604 -.6263 p207 -11.326 270 .000 -.58303 -.7543 -.4118 p208 -9.615 270 .000 -.53137 -.7152 -.3475 p209 -13.103 270 .000 -.66790 -.8375 -.4983 p210 -15.907 270 .000 -.76753 -.9281 -.6070 p211 -12.360 270 .000 -.59779 -.7587 -.4369 p212 -12.237 270 .000 -.63469 -.8072 -.4621 p213 -16.755 270 .000 -.85978 -1.0305 -.6891 p214 -18.148 270 .000 -.87085 -1.0305 -.7112 Table 4 Teaching Tools--Strongly Agree Code Alpha = 0.1% ; Test Value = 3 T df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean 99.9% Confidence Difference Interval of the difference Lower Upper p301 -20.843 270 .000 -.91513 -1.0612 -.7691 p302 -25.111 270 .000 -1.09963 -1.2453 -.9539 p303 -16.352 270 .000 -.79705 -.9592 -.6349 p304 -16.830 270 .000 -.78598 -.9414 -.6306 p305 -18.471 270 .000 -.95203 -1.1235 -.7806 p306 -18.542 270 .000 -1.00738 -1.1881 -.8266 p307 -12.273 270 .000 -.70111 -.8912 -.5110 Table 5 Factors Influenced by Gender Code Factors/Statements IS Level of education Age Age of student P111 Career opportunities in international marketing are very limited and not attractive as they usually mean living outside China P113 China being a trading nation, every business student should know something about international marketing Table 6 Gender Coefficient of Determination Step -2 Log likelihood Cox & Snell R Square Nagelkerke R Square 1 337.070 .129 .172 2 327.801 .158 .211 3 319.499 .183 .245 4 314.489 .198 .265 Table 7 Effect of the Gender--Relevant Factors Observed Predicted Gender; % Correct 0 = female, 1 = male .00 1.00 Gender .00 84 42 77.8 1.00 46 99 51.7 Overall Percentage 67.5 Table 8 Factors Influenced by Major Code Factors/Statements IS Level of education P111 Career opportunities in international marketing are very limited and not attractive as they usually mean living outside China P124 The use of indigenous cases which deal with local company situations will be an ideal method P203 Curriculum design--advertising/marketing and communication P302 Tools--case methods P307 Tools--group discussion Table 9 Major Coefficient of Determination Step -2 Log likelihood Cox & Snell R Square Nagelkerke R Square 1 278.139 .258 .351 2 273.435 .271 .369 3 268.146 .285 .388 4 262.688 .299 .407 5 258.204 .310 .423 6 254.187 .321 .437 Table 10 Effect of the Major--Relevant Factors Observed Predicted Major; 0 = % Correct non-business, 1 = business .00 1.00 Major .00 62 40 60.8 1.00 24 145 85.8 Overall Percentage 76.4