Abstract
Background/Introduction/Purpose: Prior research documented significant differences in people orientation and thing orientation (PTO) based on type of major and sex. This study examines a set of measures for helping business programs to assess whether they are producing graduates equipped to consider both people and things when making decisions, regardless of their major or sex.
Methods/Design: Students in a strategic management capstone course spent a single 75-minute session responding to a brief new venture pitch by identifying what types of additional information they would need to decide whether to invest in the business. Three Likert-scaled options gauged the extent to participant responses reflected a focus on (a) things; (b) a mix of things and people; or (c) people. Responses to the Qualtrics survey were exported to Excel and subsequently analyzed in SPSS.
Results/Findings: Students nearing the completion of a business program incorporating cross-functional learning experiences in required core courses displayed less PTO bias than expected, based on prior research. Sex, age, and race were not significant sources of variation on any of the three PTO measures. Type of business major was related to only one of the PTO measures.
Conclusions/Discussion/Implications: Implications for research and practice are noted, in business education, for-profit companies, and nonprofit organizations.
Keywords: Business majors, people orientation, thing orientation, cross-functional, assessment
Recommended Citation
Hostager, Todd J.; Christopher, David A.; Lauver, Kristy J.; and Knowles, Christopher
(2026)
"People Orientation and Thing Orientation in Business Majors: Implications for Assessing the Impacts of Cross-Functional Business Program Curricula,"
International Journal for Business Education: Vol. 168:
No.
1, Article 6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.61403/2164-2885.1180
Available at:
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/ijbe/vol168/iss1/6
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