HOW DO BUSINESS STUDENTS IN THE U.S. AND IN CAMEROON PERCEIVE FACULTY ATTRIBUTES? A COMPERATIVE STUDY

Donald L. Ariail
Muhammad A. Obeidat
Southern Polytechnic State University
Guy Laurent Fondjo
Pkfokam Institute of Excellence
ABSTRACT
This study investigates student perceptions of ten selected attributes embedded in faculty
behavior. These attributes are classified as primary and secondary attributes. The 4 primary
attributes include effective communication (ability to communicate information effectively), ability
to combine knowledge and application in real world cases and examples, high level of knowledge
in presented materials, and substantial business experience in the area taught. The 6 secondary
attributes include active association with the business community, active participation in
academic organizations, active participation in business organizations, extensive publication of
business research in scientific/scholarly journals, extensive publication of business articles in
practitioner/trade oriented journals, and the college or university degree from which the faculty
earned their highest degree. This study also investigates potential difference in the emphasis
placed on the ten attributes between the surveyed business students in both countries.
Utilizing two samples (graduate and under graduate students) from business schools (at
public, private, and proprietary universities) in the United States and in Cameroon, Africa, the
surveyed students revealed stronger support for the primary attributes than for the secondary
attributes. The results of this study also indicated that the ability to communicate effectively, the
application of knowledge to real world cases, substantial business experience in the discipline
area taught, and knowledge of the materials being presented are considered the most important
attributes in assessing teaching effectiveness. While students in both countries have similar mean
rankings of the selected ten attributes, they significantly differ in their ratings of six attributes:
actively participates in academic organizations, publications in practice/trade journals, actively
participates in practice related organizations, college from which the professor earned their
highest degree, and association with the business community. Further investigation using
exploratory factor analysis revealed that students in both countries have moderate agreement with
the two component conceptualized model: the primary and secondary business faculty attributes.