The inclusion and emphasis of common Interstate Distributive Education Curriculum Consortium
competencies in general mid-management curricula in the Northwest
by Robert Mayer Kruse
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF
EDUCATION
Montana State University
© Copyright by Robert Mayer Kruse (1979)
Abstract:
The primary problem of the study was to determine if general mid-management programs in public
post-secondary institutions in the Northwest include in their curricula common competencies as
identified through the Interstate Distributive Education Curriculum Consortium (IDECC).
Four null hypotheses were tested to determine if differences existed in common competency emphasis
between programs due to: 1) whether of not a program is located in an IDECC member state; 2) the
length of time a program's head coordinator has been a midmanagement coordinator; 3) the length of
time a program has been in operations and 4) whether or not a program has students participate in
DECA competency-based competitive events.
Each null hypothesis was tested using a Mann-Whitney test of independence at the .05 level for each of
the eight instructional areas represented by the common competencies. Significant differences were
found in the instructional areas of advertising, communications, and operations and management with
programs having more experienced head coordinators placing greater emphasis on the competencies
than programs with less experienced head coordinators. The vast majority of the competencies were
included with some degree of emphasis in the curricula of the programs studied, Conclusions based
upon the study's findings included: 1) there is no significant difference in common competency
emphasis between programs in IDECC and non-IDECC member states; 2) there is no significant
difference in emphasis between older and more recently established programs; and 3) there is no
significant difference in emphasis between programs with students participating in DECA
competency-based events and programs having no student participation, Recommendations included:
1) teacher education programs should provide more in-service education for mid-management
coordinators; 2) teacher education programs should place greater emphasis on the instructional areas of
communications and human relations; 3) non-IDECC member states should be careful in assessing
their reasons for joining IDECC; and 4) national DECA should make a priority commitment to
determining if and how competitive event reorganization has affected local program curricula. )
@
' 1979
ROBERT MAYER KRUSE
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
THE INCLUSION AND EMPHASIS OF COMMON INTERSTATE DISTRIBUTIVE
EDUCATION CURRICULUM CONSORTIUM COMPETENCIES. IN GENERAL
MID-MANAGEMENT CURRICULA IN THE NORTHWEST
by
ROBERT MAYER KRUSE
A thesis submitted in p a r tia l f u lfillm e n t
o f thq requirements fo r the degree
of
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
Approv&d:
Chapman, Graduate Committee
Head, M ajor.D epartm ents/
GraduatevDean
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bozeman, Montana
March, 1979
iii
.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The w r ite r is most appreciative of the e ffo rts of Dr. John
Kohl, Chairperson o f his graduate committee, fo r his valuable advice
and assistance.
The w r ite r appreciates the guidance o f the other
graduate commitee members, e s p e cia lly th a t o f Dr. Eric Strohmeyer,
who served on the w r ite r 's reading committee.
Special g ra titu d e -is expressed to Dr. Harvey Larson, whose
assistance made i t possible fo r the w r ite r to receive a graduate .
education through employment in the School o f Business.
A special word of thanks is. in order fo r Dr. Norm M i l l ik in ,
who has provided not only knowledge and guidance, but friendship
as w e ll.
. . .
TABLE OF CONTENTS
'
Page.
LIST OF TABLES .
ABSTRACT . . . . .
. . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . .
Chapter
1.
. ....
. .
v iii
.......................
x
. . . . .
I
'
INTRODUCTION. . . I . '................. ...... . . .
Statement o f the Problem
Need fo r the Study
2
. . ............................
. .
3
General Questions o f the Study
5
General Procedures . . . ..................... .... . . . . . .
Lim itations and D elim itation s o f the Study
Lim itations ..................... . . . . .
D elim itations
.
. . . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
: . . . . . . . .
. . . . . ; . . .
2.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
.. . . . .
8
. 8
■ D e fin itio n of Terms . ..................... .... .: . . '. . . . .
Summary. , . . . ■. . .................. ..
.6
8
9
. .: . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
13.
The Relationship o f Mid-Management Education With
D is trib u tiv e Education ............................................. .
.
13
The Goals and Purposes o f Mid-Management Programs .
20
The Development of the Mid-Management Curriculum
27
General Curriculum Patterns
. . .
. . . . . .
. . .
A Competency Approach to Building a MidManagement Curriculum ..............................................
. S pecific Recommendations fo r Mid-Management,
C urricula . . . . . . .................................
.
.
27.
31
. 36
V
Chapter
Page
Summarization . , . .........................
3,
METHODS AND PROCEDURES
39
. . . ' .........................■........................
Description of the Population
. . . . .
41
.........................
42
D e fin itio n o f Categories o f In vestig atio n .....................
43
Method o f C ollecting the Data .......................................... .
46
S ta tis tic a l Hypotheses
50
.............................................
Analysis of the D a t a ......................... . . ......................... 51
Summarization . . . . . .
4.
.....................
53
FINDINGS OF THE STUDY.................' . . . . . ......................... 55
General Findings
.......................................................................
55
General Question O n e ...................................................................62
In s tru c tio n a l Area:
Advertising
....................
63
In stru c tio n a l Area:
Communications . . . . . . . .
In stru c tio n a l Area:
Human Relations
In s tru c tio n a l Area:
Math .......................................................77
In stru c tio n a l Area:
M e rc h a n d is in g .................. . . .
79
In s tru c tio n a l Area:
Product and Service Technology
81
In stru c tio n a l Area:
Operations and Management . .. .. 83
In stru c tio n a l Area:
S e llin g
65
..............................69
....................
Overview o f Findings in General Question One
85
. . .
87
Analysis o f the Null Hypotheses . . . . . . . . . . .
90
.
.
.
Vi
:
.
.
Chapter
' Page
Null Hypothesis One . , . .. , . . . , , . , . .
. .. . .9 0
Null Hypothesis. Two ........................................... .'95
Null Hypothesis Three . .
Null Hypothesis Four
.................. . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
; . . .
100
. .. . 105
Sum m arization............................. .........................................
■ 5. ■ SUMMARIZATIONi CONCLUSIONS,; AND RECOMMENDATIONS ■.
Summarization . . . . .
. . . .
. . . 113
, . . .
.... . . T l3
.
. . .117
Conclusions .............................................
Conclusion One:
HO.
State Membership in TDECC
....
. 117
Conclusion Two: Length of Time Program Has Been .
Established ......................... .... . ,. . . .
. . . . . 118
•<
Conclusion Three: P a rtic ip a tio n in DECA
Competency-Based; Events . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 118
Conclusion Four:
Head Coordinator Experience
. . i 119
Conclusion Five:
Head Coordinator Experience
. . . 1.19
Conclusion Six: Common Competencies Included in
the Programs Studied . . . . ............ . . . . . .
120
Conclusion Seven: Competencies Given L i t t l e or
No Emphasis- . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . 120
Recommendations
Recommendation One:
...................
121
In -S ervice Teacher Education . 121
. Recommendation Two: Communications and Human
Relations Emphasis .
. .. . v . ............................122
Recommendation Three:
State Membership in IDECC
. 124
Chapter
Page
APPENDIXES.'
Recommendation Four;
DECA'sE ffe c t
. . . .
Recommendation Five:-
IDECC Review
. . . . .
''
'
A.
F ir s t L e tte r of Transm ittal .■ .
B.
Survey Instrument
' C.
. D.
Second L e tte r of Transm ittal
:
. . . .. . . .
..
. . 124
. . .
.125
-.
.127
.................128
. . . .
.v
..................... 138
Daita Related to In fe re n tia l Analysis of Null
Hypotheses ; . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .
LITERATURE CITED . , . T . .. .' . . . . .
'. . . . . .
....
..
. 139
. . 145
LIST OF TABLES
Table
Page
1.
Response to the Survey Instrument . ......................................57
2.
Length o f Time the Head Coordinator Has Been a Mid, Management Coordinator . . . . . .
. .................................. 58
3.
Length o f Time the Program Has Been in Operation
. . .
60
4.
Do Students P a rtic ip a te in DECA Competency-Based
Competitive Events? . . . . . .
..................... . . . . .
61
5.
General Question One - In s tru c tio n a l Area:
64
6.
General Question One - In s tru c tio n a l Area:
C om m unications.....................................
66
General Question One - In s tru c tio n a l Area: Human
R e la t io n s ......................................................................................
71
8.
General Question One - In stru c tio n a l Area:
78
9.
General Question One - In s tru c tio n a l Area:
M erch an disin g.....................................
80
General Question One - In s tru c tio n a l Area: Product
and Service Technology . . . . I . . . . . . . . . .
82
General Question One - In s tru c tio n a l Area:
and Management . . ..........................
Operations
84
12.
General. Question One - In s tru c tio n a l Area:
S e llin g . .
13.
General Question One - In s tru c tio n a l Area and
Grand Total's ..............................................................
89
Null Hypothesis One - D escriptive Data: . Programs
in IDECC States Vs. Programs in Non-Member States . .
92
Null Hypothesis One: Programs in IDECC Vs. Non-IDECC
Member States .' .............................................. . . . . . . .
94
7.
10.
11.
14.
15.
Advertising
Math
. . .
86
ix
Table
16.
17.
Page
Null Hypothesis Two - D escriptive Data: . Programs
with Head Coordinators Beginning Before F all of
.1974 Vs: Those with Head Coordinators Beginning
,
. . Since F a ll o f 1974 or Later . .
. . . . ... ,. . . . .
N u ll Hypothesis Two: Programs with Head Coordinators
Beginning Before F a ll o f 1974 Vs. Since F a ll o f
1974 or Later '........................................... . . . . ; . . .
97
99
18.
Null Hypothesis Three - D escriptive Data: Programs
. Beginning Operation Before F a ll o f 1974 Vs. Programs
Beginning Operation Since F a ll of 1974 or Later . . . 102
19.
' Null Hypothesis Three: Programs Beginning Operation
Before F a ll o f 1974 Vs. Since Fall o f 1974 or Later . 104
20.
21.
Null Hypothesis Four - D escriptive Data: Programs
with Students P a rtic ip a tin g in DECA CompetencyBased Events . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . .
. 107
Null Hypothesis Four: Programs with Students
P a rtic ip a tin g in DECA Competency-Based Events Vs.
Programs That Do Not P a rtic ip a te . . . . .
. . . . 109
X
ABSTRACT
The primary problem o f the study was to determine i f general
mid^management programs in public post-vsecondary in s titu tio n s in the
Northwest: include in th e ir c u rric u la common competencies as id e n tifie d
through the In te rs ta te D is trib u tiv e Education Curriculum Consortium
(IDECC).
Four null hypotheses were tested to determine i f differences
existed in common competency emphasis between programs due to:
1) whether of not a program is located in an IDECC member s ta te ;
2) the length o f tim e a program's head coordinator has been a mid­
management coordinator; 3) the length o f time a program has been in
operations and 4) whether or not a program has students p a rtic ip a te in
DECA competencyrbased com petitive events.
Each null hypothesis was tested using a Mann-Whitney te s t o f
independence a t the .05 level fo r each o f the eigh t in s tru c tio n a l areas,
represented by the common competencies. S ig n ific a n t differences were
found in the in s tru c tio n a l areas o f a d v e rtis in g , communications, and
operations and management with programs having more experienced head
coordinators placing greater emphasis on the competencies than programs
with less experienced head coordinators. The vast m a jo rity o f the
competencies were included with some degree o f emphasis in the cur^
ric u la of the programs studied,
Conclusions based upon the study's findings included: I ) there
is no s ig n ific a n t d iffe re n c e in common competency emphasis between pro­
grams in IDECC and non-rlDECC member sta te s ; 2) there is no s ig n ific a n t
d ifferen ce in emphasis between older and more recently established
programs; and 3) there is no s ig n ific a n t d ifference in emphasis
between programs with students p a rtic ip a tin g in DECA competency-based
events and programs having no student p a rtic ip a tio n ,
Recommendations included: I ) teacher education programs should
provide more in -s e rv ic e education fo r mid-management coordinators;
2) teacher education programs should place greater emphasis on the
in s tru c tio n a l areas o f communications and human re la tio n s ; 3) non-IDECC
member states should be careful in assessing th e ir reasons fo r jo in in g
IDECC; and 4) national DECA should make a p r io r it y commitment to
determining i f and how com petitive event reorganization has affected
local program c u rric u la .
Chapter I
INTRODUCTION
A viable.and growing segment o f the vocational in s tru c tio n a l .
d is c ip lin e known as d is tr ib u tiv e education is found a t the postsecondary level p rim a rily in th is country's public community/junior
colleges, and vocational-techn ical schools.. The primary vehicle of .
post-secondary d is tr ib u tiv e education is the general mid-management
program which provides fo r the preparation of people fo r occupations
and careers th a t are n e ith e r entry level nor top management-oriented
( USOE, 1969:5).
■
.
General mid-management programs are concerned with providing
.
students the necessary knowledge, s k i l l s , and a ttitu d e s in marketing,
general education, communications,, business a d m in istratio n , and
product and/pr service technologies in order th at they may be pro­
ductive contributors to the community and society as a whole (T ra p n e ll,
1967:14-16).
Mid-management education is a r e la tiv e ly new f ie ld due in part
to federal le g is la tio n emphasis during the 1960's and 1970's,
changing demands fo r m iddle.level workers in fth e labor market, and
the recent growth of community/junior colleges and post-secondary
v o c a tio n a l-te c h n ic a l. schools.
As an outcome of .th is growth in program numbers, there has
been considerable discussion since the middle 1960's regarding what
2
the c u rric u la of mid-management education should be comprised of and.
what the goals of post-secondary d is tr ib u tiv e education should be.
As a re s u lt o f such discussions, a number of issues have been raised
about what mid-management education is a l l abouti.
Some of the more important o f these issues include:
..I,
the ro le of general versus specialized mid-management
.. c u rric u la in properly preparing students fo r successful
employment (England, 1977:15-20);
2.
the ro le o f cooperative education and the D is trib u tiv e
Education Clubs of America (DECA)' in post-secondary
d is tr ib u tiv e education (Washington State Board fo r Com- .
munity College Education, 1976:8-12); .
3.
the kind o f procedures needed fo r e s tab lis h in g , admin­
is te r in g , and evaluating mid-management programs;
. 4.
-the nature o f the concepts and s k ills to be taught in the
curriculum (USOE, 1969:8-25); and
.
, 5,
the c lie n te le th a t mid-management education is intended
to serve. ( G i l l i e , 1973:59-66).
Statement of the Problem
•
The problem.of th is study was,to determine i f general mid­
management programs in public post-secondary in s titu tio n s in the
Northwestern Vocational Curriculum Management Region include in th e ir
3
c u rric u la common competencies as id e n tifie d through the In te rs ta te
D is trib u tiv e Education Curriculum Consortium (IDECC).
Need fo r the Study
The f ie ld of d is tr ib u tiv e education a t the post-secondary
level has been undergoing a noticeable change since the publication
o f Crawford's study e n title d "ACompetency Pattern Approach to Cur­
riculum Construction in D is trib u tiv e Teacher Education" (1967) where
she id e n tifie d nine hundred e ig h ty -th re e (983) competencies needed
fo r successful employment in seventy-six (76) occupations a t the
entry and career le v e ls in marketing and d is trib u tio n .
This study
led to the subsequent formation o f the In te rs ta te D is trib u tiv e
Education Curriculum Consortium (IDECC) in 1971.
In a d d itio n , there
has been a complete restru ctu rin g of the ju n io r c o lle g ia te competitive
events as sponsored by the D is trib u tiv e Education Clubs o f America
(DECA) based upon the competencies
id e n tifie d
by Crawford and used by
IDECC.
During th is same general time frame, the past ten to fifte e n
years, federal le g is la tio n has mandated the growth of post-secondary
vocational education.
Beginning with the Vocational Education Act
o f 1963 and continuing through it s three amendments in 1968, 1972,
and 1976, post-secondary vocational program growth and maintainment
has received special appropriation consideration.
4
With mid-management education being a growing and r e la tiv e ly
young in s tru c tio n a l area and with the changes i t has undergone in
recent ye ars , i t was necessary to discover i f any consensus is present
among mid-management coordinators concerning the concepts, s k ill s ,
and a ttitu d e s they are including in general mid-management c u rric u la .
Furthermore, i t was necessary to discover i f post-secondary d is trib u ­
tiv e education c u rric u la in the f ie ld have a core component as
id e n tifie d by Crawford and IDECC.
.
- *
With th is inform ation obtained i t is an easier task to provide
answers to the follow ing key questions:
1.
Is the major curriculum work th a t has been done in recent
years being used and accepted by mid-management coordi­
nators in the f ie ld or is i t being ignored?
2.
Do general mid-management programs have common bonds in
the competencies they in c lu d e .in th e ir curricula?
3.
Are general mid-management students exposed to the con­
cepts, s k i l l s , and a ttitu d e s necessary fo r occupational
and career success in general mid-managerial positions?
P a rtly because post-secondary d is tr ib u tiv e educators have, tr ie d
to contend with such questions, mid-management education has enjoyed
a measure of success.
However, i f the f ie ld of mid-management
education cannot a rriv e a t some kind of consensus about i t s e l f as a
d is c ip lin e and what i t should be teaching, i t w ill be charged with a
5
need to co n tin u a lly prove it s c r e d ib ilit y as a needed and worthy cur­
r ic u la r segment o f post-secondary education.
General Questions o f the Study
Based upon the previous description o f the problem" statement,
the follow ing questions were answered by th is study:
1.
Do general mid-management programs in the Northwestern
Vocational Curriculum Management Region include in th e ir
c u rric u la the one hundred four (104) common competencies
fo r general mid-management occupations as id e n tifie d
through the In te rs ta te D is trib u tiv e Education Curriculum
Consortium?
2.
Is there a d iffe re n c e in the common competency emphasis
in each in s tru c tio n a l area of general mid-management cur­
ric u la between programs in IDECC member states and those
in non-member states?
3.
Is there a d iffe re n c e in the common competency emphasis
in each in s tru c tio n a l area o f general mid-management cur­
ric u la between programs th a t have head coordinators who
have been mid-management coordinators fo r over four years
and those who have been coordinators fo r four years or
less?
6
4.
Is there a d iffe re n c e in the common competency emphasis
in each in s tru c tio n a l area o f general mid-management cur­
ric u la between programs th a t have been in operation fo r
oyer four years and those th a t have been.operating fo r
four years or less?
5.
Is there a d iffe re n c e in the common competency emphasis
in each in s tru c tio n a l area o f general mid-management, cur­
ric u la between programs th a t have students p a rtic ip a te
in ju n io r c o lle g ia te DECA competency based competitive
events and those th a t have not?
General Procedures
The problem was investigated according to the follow ing pro­
cedures.
F ir s t , i t was decided to study general mid-management
programs in the ten states th a t comprise the Northwestern Vocational
Curriculum Management Region.
Second, a survey instrument was developed.
was designed to determine:
The instrument
I ) what s ta te the local program was
located in ; 2) the length of time the responding coordinator had been
teaching in the mid-management area; 3) the length of time the program
had been in operation; 4) whether or not the program has had students
p a rtic ip a te in ju n io r c o lle g ia te DECA competency based com petitive
events; and 5) what degree the program's curriculum emphasized the
common competencies id e n tifie d through IDECC fo r those occupations a t
the mid-management level th a t students would prepare fo r in a
general mid-management program.
T h ird , the survey was shown to several d is tr ib u tiv e educators
in the Region including former mid-management coordinators in order to
re fin e the survey instrument.
Fourth, the researcher contacted the sta te d is trib u tiv e .e d u ­
cation supervisors fo r each of the Region's ten states and requested
a lis tin g of the general mid-management programs and the fa c u lty who
head the various programs.
F if t h , the survey was mailed to a ll mid-management coordinators
who had been id e n tifie d .
This was done during the la s t week of
September 1978.
S ix th , a follow -up request was mailed to non-responding head
coordinators during the th ird week o f October 1978.
Seventh, once an adequate return o f f i f t y (50) completed sur­
veys was received by the researcher on November I , the data was
analyzed in order to answer the general questions raised by the study.
: F in a lly , appropriate conclusions and recommendations'were
formulated and presented in March of 1979 to the researcher's
graduate examining committee.
8
Lim itations and D elim itations of the Study
Lim itations
1.
Conclusions and recommendations drawn from the data are
only applicable to general mid-management programs located
in public post-secondary in s titu tio n s in the Northwestern
Vocational. Curriculum Management Region.
2.
The common competencies used in the study were taken from
those id e n tifie d by Crawford and used by IDECC from those
occupations which are considered to be of a general midmanagerial nature.
D elim itations
1.
The study was conducted during the 1978-79 academic year
in the ten sta te Northwestern Vocational Curriculum
Management Region.
2.
The data was co llected through a mailed survey instrument
,
3.
sent to mid-management coordinators in the Region.
The mid-management c u rric u la studied was o f a g eneral,
ra th e r than a specialized nature.
4.
The mid-management c u rric u la studied were those of public
post-secondary in s titu tio n s including community/junior
colleges, vo cational-techn ical schools, and two-year
divisions of c o lle g ia te level in s titu tio n s .
9
D e fin itio n of Terms
Some o f the terms used in th is study are subject to various
in te rp re ta tio n s .
For the purpose of th is study, the follow ing terms
are defined.
D is trib u tiv e education.
A vocational in s tru c tio n a l program
designed to meet the needs o f people who are employed in or are pre­
paring to enter an. occupation in the marketing and d is trib u tio n career
c lu s te r.
I t o ffe rs in stru c tio n in m arketing, merchandising, related
management, and personal development (Crawford and Meyer, 1972:2).
D is trib u tiv e Education Clubs o f America (DECA).
A national
youth organization with a f f ili a t e d sta te associations and local
chapters.
The organization is designed to complement and enrich the
development of occupational competence necessary fo r careers in mar­
keting and d is trib u tio n .
I t has four divisions o f membership including
secondary, ju n io r c o lle g ia te , alumni, and professional.
General mid-management program.
A post-secondary d is trib u tiv e
education program designed to prepare people fo r non-specialized entry
into middle level supervisory positions in the marketing and d i s t r i ­
bution career c lu s te r.
Head coordinator.
The mid-management fa c u lty member id e n tifie d
by a s ta te d is tr ib u tiv e education supervisor as the person who leads
in the teaching and adm inistration of a p a rtic u la r general
10
mid-management program.
In te rs ta te D is trib u tiv e Education Curriculum Consortium
( IDECC).
An eleven s ta te group of d is tr ib u tiv e educators who developed
a. comprehensive d is tr ib u tiv e education curriculum based upon the
occupations and competencies id e n tifie d in Crawford's study e n title d
"A Competency Pattern Approach to Curriculum Construction in D is t r i­
butive Teacher Education."
The Consortium is headquartered a t The
Ohio S tate U n iversity in Columbus.
The eleven o rig in a l member states
were Alabama, F lo rid a , Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky,
North C arolina, Ohio, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Since the
Consortium's o rig in a l work in 1972, fif t e e n additional states have
joined including Idaho and Oregon.
Mid-management coordinator.
A fa c u lty member of a post­
secondary in s titu tio n whose primary re s p o n s ib ility is teaching courses
in mid-management, advising student majors, and possibly working with
the cooperative education portion of the program, i f provision fo r onth e-jo b tra in in g e x is ts .
In a d d itio n , i t is possible th a t th is person
is involved with serving as an advisor to a ju n io r c o lle g ia te chapter
o f DECA.
Mid-management education.
A program of post-secondary voca­
tio n a l in s tru c tio n which prepares people fo r supervisory level posi­
tions in the marketing a n d .d is trib u tio n career c lu s te r.
This phase of
d is tr ib u tiv e education may provide access in to e ith e r general or
n
specialized occupations.
This term is used interchangeably with post-
secondary d is tr ib u tiv e education.
Northwestern Vocational Curriculum Management Region.
A ten
s ta te area designated by the United States O ffice of Education fo r the
purpose o f interchanging ideas and curriculum m aterials in vocational
education and providing leadership in curriculum m atters.
The member
states include Alaska, Oregon, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Washington,
South Dakota, North Dakota, Idaho, and Utah (Northwestern Vocational
Curriculum Management Center, 1977:2).
Post-secondary d is tr ib u tiv e education.
See mid-management
education.
Post-secondary education.
In stru c tio n which is offered a t the
th irte e n th and fourteenth grade levels in a broad v a rie ty of
educational in s titu tio n s .
These may be community/junior colleges,
vocational-techn ical schools, or divisions of four-year c o lle g ia te
in s titu tio n s (USOE, 1969:1).
Specialized mid-management program.
A post-secondary dis­
tr ib u tiv e education program designed to prepare people fo r middle
level supervisory positions re la ted to a s p e c ific marketing function
or type o f marketing business.
12
Summary
With the growth o f mid-management education in the la s t ten to
fifte e n years has come discussion concerning post-secondary d is trib u ­
tiv e education's o b je c tiv e s , r o le , and curriculum content.
I t was the
primary purpose of th is study to determine i f general mid-management
programs in the Northwest have a common core curriculum based upon
common competencies. .
This study was heeded to help the d is c ip lin e of post-secondary
d is trib u tiv e education come to grips with it s own id e n tity in a
c u rric u la r sense.
The research was lim ite d to studying general mid­
management programs in the Northwestern Vocational Curriculum Manage­
ment Region, and th e re fo re , the conclusions and recommendations are
applicable to only th a t type of program in the ten sta te region
id e n tifie d .
Chapter 2
.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
The follow ing review of lit e r a t u r e is intended to give the
reader an understanding of the current status o f mid-management
education a t the post-secondary le v e l.
The follow ing discussion is
divided in to three main sections as follow s:
I ) the re la tio n s h ip of
mid-management education with the re s t of d is tr ib u tiv e education;
2) the goals and purposes o f mid-management programs; and 3) the
development o f the mid-management curriculum.
I t is f e l t th a t the subheadings lis te d above provide the
reader with an adequate appraisal of current thinking with regard to
th is area o f post-secondary occupational education.
The Relationship o f Mid-Management Education
With D is trib u tiv e Education
D is trib u tiv e education is an in s tru c tio n a l area of vocational
education th a t .is p rim a rily concerned with preparing people fo r
careers in the marketing and d is trib u tio n c lu s te r of occupations.
It
is a f ie ld o f vocational education th a t covers a wide range of occu­
pational subgroups including:
1.
advertising services;
2.
apparel and accessories;
3.
finance and c re d it;
14
4.
f lo r is t r y ;
.
5.
food d is trib u tio n ;.
6.
food services;
7.
general merchandise;
S.
hardware, building m a te ria ls , farm and garden supplies,
and equipment;
9.
home furnishings;
.
10.
hotel and lodging;
11.
in d u s tria l marketing;
12.
insurance;
13.
in te rn a tio n a l trad e;
14.
personal services;
15.
automotive and petroleum;
16.
real e s tate ;
17.
recreation and tourism;
18.
tran sp o rtatio n ;
19.
other r e t a il and wholesale trades (United States Depart­
ment of H ealth, Education, and W elfare, O ffice of
Education, 1969:19-37).
A lis t in g of occupational categories could be considered an
appropriate way of explaining what d is tr ib u tiv e education is , but i t
is incomplete.
This is because such a method of description does not
concern i t s e l f with d is tr ib u tiv e education's c lie n te le and the basic
15
tenets of it s vocational in s tru c tio n a l nature.
A popular and widely recognized d e fin itio n of d is trib u tiv e
education is Crawford's (1967:16) which states:
D is trib u tiv e education is a vocational in s tru c tio n a l program
designed to meet the needs, of persons who have entered or are
preparing to enter a d is tr ib u tiv e occupation or an occupation
requiring competency in one or more o f the marketing functions.
I t o ffe rs in stru c tio n in marketing, merchandising, related
management, and personal development.
Crawford and Meyer (1972:2-3) expand on th is description of
d is tr ib u tiv e education by making the follow ing points about the f ie ld .
F ir s t , the program is vocational in th a t the in stru c tio n focuses on
i
'
the career ob jective of the student w ith c u rric u la r patterns which pro­
vide fo r varying levels o f needs and a b il it ie s .
Accepted in stru c tio n a l
techniques include re la te d in -clas s in s tru c tio n , cooperative on-the-job
work experience and tr a in in g , and professional a c t iv it ie s through the
D is trib u tiv e Education Clubs Of America.
Second, the c lie n te le include adults who are already employed
or are seeking employment; adults who are enrolled f u ll- t im e in a.com­
munity college or area vocational-technical school; or high school
students.
T h ird , d is tr ib u tiv e occupations are concerned with the mar­
keting or merchandising of goods and services a t e ith e r the entry
or management le v e ls .
F in a lly , the d is tr ib u tiv e education in stru c tio n a l program is
16
not only concerned with the d is c ip lin e o f marketing and d is trib u tio n ,
but also with the personal and social development of the student in
the areas of human re la tio n s , communications, and occupational
adjustment.
D is trib u tiv e education in the secondary schools is p rim a rily
designed to prepare students fo r entry positions in the marketing
and d is trib u tio n occupational c lu s te r.
It s ro le is in presenting
basic concepts o f business, the fre e enterprise system, marketing,
and social and personal development.
Curriculum patterns are generally
of a one or two year duration with most students p a rtic ip a tin g in
some form of cooperative education work experience tra in in g related
to th e ir classroom in s tru c tio n .
Adult d is tr ib u tiv e education's primary in ten tio n is to provide
preparatory and supplementary learning experiences to those adults who
have l e f t or fin ished high school and desire to enter in to a d is trib u ­
tiv e occupation a t the entry le v e l.
A secondary purpose of d is trib u ­
tiv e education's adult branch is to help those people who are employed
in the marketing c lu s te r maintain and improve th e ir s k ills and know­
ledge of the f ie ld through in -se rv ic e education.
I t can be said th a t adult d is tr ib u tiv e education programs have
a most f le x ib le curriculum pattern including continuing education
courses, short-term workshops, presentations a t professional meetings,
and on-going in d iv id u a li zed in s tru c tio n a l c u rric u la .
Many of these
17
c u rric u la r o fferin g s are concerned with helping adults to advance
to higher level jobs providing in s tru c tio n in special job functions
or in a p a rtic u la r area of marketing business lik e petroleum or
food services (Crawford and Meyer, 1972:7-8, 205-209).
Post-secondary d is tr ib u tiv e education mid-management programs
are unique and d iffe r e n t from those programs a t the secondary level
and in a d u lt education.
Mid-management education programs are
ty p ic a lly of a four-semester or s ix -q u a rte r duration and lead toward
associate degrees when offered a t a community/junior college or area
vocational-techn ical school.
Often times the in s tru c tio n a l program includes student involve­
ment with cooperative education tra in in g and professional a c tiv itie s
through the ju n io r c o lle g ia te d ivisio n of the D is trib u tiv e Education
Clubs of America (DECA).
I t should be noted th a t student p a rtic ip a tio n
in these two elements of the mid-management program is less than in
high school d is tr ib u tiv e education programs.
Samson (1969:5-6) id e n tifie d seven distinguishing characteris­
tic s of post-secondary d is tr ib u tiv e education programs which set
them apart from the re s t of the d is c ip lin e .
He states th a t mid­
management education:
1. Provides.both intensive and extensive in s tru c tio n in
a marketing fu n ctio n , product area, or business.
2. Provides in stru c tio n which leads to s p e c ia liz a tio n in
a marketing fu n ctio n , product a re a , or business category.
18
3.
Serves a student population from a large geographic area.
4. Provides c u rric u la oriented to .lo c a l, s ta te , or national
occupation needs.
5. Follows a c o lle g ia te schedule of classes with special
f l e x i b i l i t y to permit appropriate app licatio n of learnin g.
6. Has standards and q u a litie s leading to supervisory and
management competencies.
7. U tiliz e s businessmen from a wide range of business
in te re s ts and from a wide geographic area fo r advisory and
resource purposes.
The c lie n te le o f mid-management programs also makes i t a
unique segment of the d is tr ib u tiv e education d is c ip lin e .
A good
p r o file of the c lie n te le which mid-management programs serve is offered
by Garbin and Vaughn (1970:18-35) whose nationwide study o f fiv e
thousand community/junior college vocational students revealed the
follow ing:
1.
Male students were in the m a jo rity being f if t y - n in e percent
of the sample.
2.
No s ig n ific a n t d iffe re n c e was found between the academic
a b ilit ie s of vocational students and ju n io r college students in
general.
3.
Th irty-tw o percent of the sample make th e ir occupational
choice a fte r leaving high school.
4.
Seventy-seven percent o f the students were twenty-one years
old or younger.
19
5.
Twenty percent o f the students worked f u ll-tim e before
entering the ju n io r college and a fte r fin is h in g high school.
F if t y -
four percent attended the college d ire c tly a fte r fin is h in g high school.
6.
T h irty -th re e percent of the students were self-supporting
while th ir t y - f o u r percent were.supported p rim a rily by th e ir parents.
7.
F ifty -o n e percent of the students c ite d "to.secure voca­
tio n al or professional tra in in g to obtain a job" as th e ir most impor­
ta n t reason fo r attending the community/junior college.
8.
The level of educational a sp iratio n was higher than th at
of the level obtained by the student.
Garbin and Vaughn suggested
th a t student expectations are u n re a lis tic w ith only fourteen percent
of the students continuing th e ir education on a f u ll- t im e basis upon
graduation from the community/junior college.
Harris (1964:129) supports the. fin a l fin ding of Garbin and.
Vaughn by s ta tin g th a t seventy percent o f the ju n io r college freshmen
w ill never m a tricu late as ju nio rs in a fou r-year baccalaureate degree
program.
A fin a l fa c to r which distinguishes mid-management programs
from secondary programs, in p a r tic u la r , is th a t there is more emphasis
on occupational s p e c ia liz a tio n in the post-secondary programs.
I t is
not rare fo r community/junior college or technical school programs to
have in addition to a general business management, r e t a ilin g , or
marketing option a number of specialized c u rric u la dealing p rim a rily
20
with p a rtic u la r marketing businesses and marketing functions.
Graham (1972:10) breaks mid-management programs in to the
follow ing general and specialized areas:
I ) fashion merchandising;.,
2) food adm inistratio n; 3) hotel/m otel management; 4) general manage­
ment; 5) general marketing; 6) personnel management; 7) real e s ta te /
insurance; 8) r e ta ilin g ; 9) salesmanship; 10) small business manage­
ment; arid 11) wholesaling.
The Goals and Purposes of
Mid-Management Programs
Once the re la tio n s h ip between mid-management programs and the
re st of d is tr ib u tiv e education can be seen i t is necessary to focus
on the s p e c ific goals and purposes o f mild-management education.
This
discussion should fu rth e r re fin e an understanding of what post­
secondary d is tr ib u tiv e education is about.
Munroe (1 9 /2 :8 2 -8 3 ) id e n tifie s the ta rg e t area fo r most com­
munity college occupational programs as those in s tru c tio n a l c u rricu la
which prepare people fo r careers in the expanding middle level occu­
pations th a t have been created by technology, automation, and the
increased demand fo r employees in service occupations.
He describes
these middle level occupations as being p rim a rily white c o lla r , semiprofessional , te c h n ic a l, and supervisory in nature.
Munroe fu rth e r describes what distinguishes these middle level
21
occupations, w ithin which mid-management positions f a l l , from the
occupational levels o f the professions, s k ille d craftsmen, sem iskilled
workers, and un skilled labo r.
1.
These c h a ra c te ris tic s are:
They require tra in in g beyond the high school le v e l.
2. They require some th e o re tic a l knowledge of mathematics
and science equal to the f i r s t year or two of a professional
program.
3. They require tra in in g in the development o f certain
m anipulative s k ills .
4. They often require th a t a person have personality
c h a ra c te ris tic s which allow him to understand human behavior, .
es p e cia lly i f he is employed in a supervisory position or in a
s o c ia l-s e rv ic e or human-relations occupation.
5. They may require tra in in g as assistants to professional
workers or ad m inistrative o f f ic ia ls (1972:83).
G i l l i e recognizes th a t the ro le o f the middle level worker in
the American occupational stru ctu re is broad and m u lti-fa c e te d .
He
indicates th a t by s ta tin g :
. The various generic types o f middle level workers in society
indicates th a t c la s s ify in g them in to anything other than the
broadest groups is d i f f i c u l t . . . the middle level worker is an
in divid ual whose occupational functions demand: I ) some cognitive
s k ills in addition to manual type p ro fic ie n c ie s ; and 2) preparation
fo r both cognitive and manual aspects o f the job by s p e c ia lly
designed programs offered by area vocational-techn ical schools . .
. and community ju n io r colleges (1973:15).
In agreement with what Munroe and G i l l i e say about middle
level occupations in re la tio n to other occupational levels Lucas
defines mid-management positions as:
22
Any one o f a c lu s te r o f positions wherein the people in th is
category are considered to be on a managerial or supervisory .
le v e l, but have less discretion in the manner in which they
carry out th e ir duties and less influence in policy decisions
than the executive. The person on the mid-management level
can be characterized as the f i r s t - l i n e supervisor who is
' . . . management's contact with the rank and f i l e . '
I t is the
level o f management th a t carries out the p o lic ie s o f top manage­
ment ra th e r than creating p o lic ie s ; i t is distinguished as apart
from upper management (1971:7).
From the above discussion concerning what the middle level
worker requires educationally and what kind o f middle level worker
a mid-manager is have come numerous statements regarding the goals
of mid-management programs in a c u rric u la r sense.
the f ie ld have attempted to delineate those goals.
Various w rite rs in
The most u tiliz e d
lis tin g of goals fo r post-secondary d is tr ib u tiv e education is th a t of
the United States O ffic e o f Education (USOE).
I t is as follow s:
1. To o ffe r curriculums in marketing and d is trib u tio n fo r
persons who have completed or l e f t high school and who are
a v a ila b le fo r f u ll-tim e study in preparation fo r entering a
d is tr ib u tiv e occupation.
2. To prepare persons fo r distrib u tive.o ccu p atio n s in
manufacturing, w holesaling, r e t a ilin g , and service businesses
which may include mid-management and management careers.
3. To prepare persons who may eventually own and/or
operate th e ir own d is tr ib u tiv e business.
4. To continue the general education of the in divid ual
to enable him to make a b e tte r contribution to society (1969:6).
23
The above statement of the goals o f mid-management education
made in 1969 by the USOE was the. culminating point of discussion
regarding the ro le and mission o f post-secondary d is tr ib u tiv e education
during the middle and la te 1960's.
This discussion was a re s u lt
p rim a rily of the passage o f the Vocational Education Act o f 1963 and
the Vocational Education Amendments o f 1968 which gave impetus to the
concern fo r a ll post-secondary vocational education.
Toothman and Haines f i r s t addressed the issue of mid-management
education's purpose during th is period when they attempted to answer
the question as they stated i t , "What is the primary goal of posthigh school d is tr ib u tiv e education?"
Th eir reply was th a t:
"The
primary goal is to o ffe r vo cationally oriented programs in d is trib u tio n
fo r persons who have completed or l e f t high, school and who are a v a il­
able fo r f u ll- t im e study and preparation fo r entering the labor
market (1964:13).
I t can be seen th a t Toothman and Haines contributed to the
f i r s t ob jective of mid-management programs in the 1969 USOE p u b li­
cation re fe rre d to previously, but they mentioned nothing about
p a rtic u la r types o f.d is tr ib u tiv e occupations, business ownership, nor
mid-management education's commitment to general education.
P ainter (1966:22) was next to make a statement regarding the
mid-management program's central goals.
He agreed with Toothman and
Haines th a t the underlying philosophy o f post-secondary programs
24
should not be involved with business ownership tra in in g or continuing
a person's general education.
P ainter was more concerned with the follow ing goals:
I ) to
provide continuing education to d is tr ib u tiv e workers a t a ll levels
o f occupations in marketing and d is trib u tio n ; 2) to meet the needs
of d is tr ib u tiv e workers created by accelerating s c ie n t if ic and tech­
nical change in the business world; 3) to se le c t a c lie n te le with
c le a rly defined career g o a ls ;.4) to encourage continuous development
o f evaluation o f mid-management programs in order to insure q u a lity
in s tru c tio n ; and 5) to promote an understanding o f marketing and
d is trib u tio n throughout the school and surrounding community.
P a in te r's most important contribution to the 1969 USOE
statement lie s in his fe e lin g th a t mid-management programs should pre­
pare students fo r p a rtic u la r careers including buyers, department
managers, small business managers, and specialized product or service
s e llin g .
His goal statements were in te rn a lly -o rie n te d with regard to
program operations.
The th ird major contribution to the consideration o f what
mid-management education's objectives should be was made by T ra p iie ll.
She f e l t th a t these objectives were fo u rfo ld in nature and th a t they
should provide fo r the student to become a contributing member of
society by means of:
25
1. Developing an understanding o f the social and economic
re s p o n s ib ilitie s of those engaged in marketing through general
education and e le c tiv e s .
2. Developing a broader understanding o f basic marketing
concepts, functions, and a c t iv it ie s .
3. Developing managerial s k ills and a ttitu d e s essential to
occupational success which enables the student to lead a rich
and rewarding l i f e as a productive contrib utor to the community.
4. Encouraging continuing education to meet present day
needs o f d is trib u tiv e workers (1967:14-16).
Trapnell was the f i r s t w rite r to make a case fo r general
education in the mid-management program as a means of in s t illin g
social re s p o n s ib ility in to mid-management students while maintaining
th a t the most immediate concern o f post-secondary programs was the
development of occupational competencies needed fo r successful
employment.
The: USOE's .1969 statement was a composite of previous c o n tri­
butions made by Toothman, Haines, P a in te r, and Trapnell in the areas of
c lie n te le , social re s p o n s ib ility , consideration of general education,
and concern fo r preparation in p a rtic u la r marketing occupations at
the middle le v e l.
The USOE goal concerning small business ownership .
is the one o rig in a l aspect of mid-management program objectives to
appear in the statement.
Since the pu blication of the 1969 composite goal statements,
one new major contribution regarding post-secondary d is tr ib u tiv e edu­
cation goals has been made.
The Washington State Board fo r Community
26
College Education placed special emphasis on cooperative tra in in g
and stated th a t such emphasis in objectives is what makes mid-manage­
ment tra in in g a unique approach to education fo r occupational com­
petency.
The Board stated th a t mid-management tra in in g should:
1. Provide v o c a tio n a lly -o rie n te d classroom in s tru c tio n in
. the f ie ld o f management a t the mid-management level in d is trib u tiv e
and marketing occupations. :
2. Provide occupational e le c tiv e coursework th a t is geared
to each in divid ual student and is re la te d to a p a rtic u la r area
o f marketing mid-management.
3. Aid in providing an e ffe c tiv e employment experience in an
occupational area which is compatible w ith the student's career
goal.
4. Enable the student to p a rtic ip a te in in divid ual planning
and research re la te d to the student's occupation goal (1976:11-12).
Since TrapneTl's work in the f i e l d , statements regarding post­
secondary d is tr ib u tiv e education's goals have become more curriculum
oriented in nature, e s p e cia lly those explanations made by Whitted
(1969), Ashmun (1 9 70 ), and Patton (1972).
With the recent work of the
’
Washington S tate Board, mid-management program goal statements have
become more s p e c ific regarding suggested c u rric u la r patterns and the
ro le o f cooperative work experience tra in in g .
This is , perhaps, a
natural evolution fo r any d is c ip lin e to move from the general to the
s p e c ific concerning it s goals and how those goals w ill be carried out.
27
The Development o f the Mid-Management Curriculum
Just as there was a development of goal statements beginning
in the middle 19601s , so was there the development of viewpoints
dealing with the mid-management curriculum and it s sequencing.
In te re s t in what should be included in the mid-management curriculum
has continued to the. present.
Discussion w ith in the follow ing section o f the review of
lite r a tu r e is broken down in to three sub-sections pertaining to sug-
.
gestions regarding general curriculum patterns in mid-management pro­
grams, a competency approach to bu ild ing mid-management c u rric u la , and
s p e c ific course sequencing recommendations fo r mid-management c u rricu la
content in a post-secondary s e ttin g .
General Curriculum Patterns
The lit e r a t u r e makes several central points regarding how a
mid-management curriculum should be patterned.
These points are
reported in the follow ing paragraphs.
Toothman and Haines (1964:13-15). sta te th a t the mid-management
curriculum should o ffe r the student both breadth and depth in subject
m atter to insure th a t the program does not prepare the student fo r one
job only while re a liz in g th a t a program w ith no degree of s p e c ia li­
zation w ill serve no worthwhile vocational purpose.
In a d d itio n , the
28
curriculum needs to be based on the needs o f the business community
and the occupational objectives of students.
LaRowe was one. o f the f i r s t to suggest th a t a strong coop­
e ra tiv e education component should be p art o f the mid-management cur
riculum in the community/junior college.
He states:
. . . the true strength of the program rests on it s a p p li­
cation of cooperative tra in in g fo r d is tr ib u tiv e occupations.
The cooperative phase features a p ra c tic a l arrangement by which
each.student is placed in a real occupational s itu a tio n and
train ed in the re s p o n s ib ilitie s and a ttitu d e s required on
actual jobs th a t e x is t in the f ie ld o f his career in te re s ts
(1966:28).
LaRowe agrees with Toothman and Haines th a t there needs to
be a balance between general education and specialized tra in in g in
the mid-management curriculum , although he tends to favor the more
specialized program.
The viewpoint the programs should provide a c u rric u la r
balance is maintained by P ainter (1966:22) as he suggests the ru d i­
ments of a.common curriculum th a t is well-rounded including business
courses in accounting, marketing, salesmanship, mathematics, adver­
tis in g , and economics.
In the general education area he recommends
coursework in the social sciences, humanities, natural sciences, and
English with emphasis placed upon communication s k ills .
Trapnell (1967:18-19) becomes more s p e c ific in suggesting a
general curriculum pattern fo r mid-management programs.
She feels
th a t the curriculum should be s p lit in to on e-third general education
29
courses and electives, and tw o-thirds technical and marketing courses.
Her general education component includes study in the areas of
psychology, human re la tio n s , sociology, mathematics, accounting,
economics, and communications s k ills .
The technical and marketing
component would include coursework in marketing p rin c ip le s , r e ta ilin g ,
sales, promotion, business law, management p rin c ip le s , personnel man­
agement, and specialized occupation areas of product or service
technology.
The case fo r cooperative tra in in g and c u rric u la r s p e c ia liza tio n
was renewed by Lucas.
He recommended continuous on-the-job tra in in g
fo r the mid-management,student throughout h is/h e r e n tire enrollment
in the program and c a lls the fa c u lty member who is in charge of the
program an in s tru c to r-c o o rd in a to r.
With regard to what degree the
curriculum pattern in mid-management education should be specialized
he s ta te s , "Each d is tr ib u tiv e education curriculum w ith in the post­
secondary educational in s titu tio n should be organized to serve a
s p e c ific area of employment such as h o te l-m o te l, supermarket, or
petroleum (1 9 68 :3 5 )."
Specialized c u rric u la r patterns are also favored by Trimpe
(1969:27) fo r two reasons:
I ) such patterns o ffe r more s p e c ific
in s tru c tio n , and th e re fo re , can be considered to be more vocatio n al;
and 2) business and industry re la te more p o s itiv e ly to s p e c ia liz a tio n .
30
Beginning with the USOE1s 1969 publication concerning post­
secondary d is tr ib u tiv e education the balance between general education
and s p e c ia liz a tio n begins to t ip more, toward general mid-management
c u rric u la .
The pu blication suggests four a lte rn a tiv e curriculum
designs with each design including four component parts which are
almost equally divided.
These four component parts include:
I ) technical or emphasis area; 2) marketing and d is trib u tio n ;
3) business or.business adm inistratio n; and 4) general education.
These four parts o f the curriculum are described as follow s:
1. The technical or emphasis area includes courses which
are directed toward s p e c ific product or service knowledges,
marketing functions, or types of business. The nature and
v a rie ty o f these courses depends on the objectives o f the
curriculum and degree o f specialized preparation needed fo r
employment objectives o f the students.
2. The area of marketing and d is trib u tio n provides courses
fundamental to a ll d is tr ib u tiv e occupations. They provide
understanding of the marketing system and essential functions
and procedures operating in a fre e enterprise system.
3. The business or business adm inistration area contains
courses which develop a general understanding of business. They
include study in law, economics, business organization,
accounting, and finance.
4. The course in the general education area is. designed to improve and extend the student's communication and computational
s k ill and his understanding o f his society and government (USOE,
1969:14).
31
The four a lte rn a tiv e curriculum designs suggested by the
USOE are as fo llo w s :
1. The courses from each o f the four major areas equally
divided over the two years.
2. The general education area completed in the f i r s t year
and the technical area the second y e a r, with marketing and
. business adm inistration courses both years.
3. Al I general education and business adm inistration courses
in the f i r s t year and a ll marketing and technical, courses the
second year.
4. General education and business adm inistration completed
with some courses in marketing the f i r s t y e a r, followed by
a lte rn a tiv e programs the second year with some marketing, but
p rim a rily courses in the technical area (1969:18-19).
Crawford and Meyer (1972:78) expand s lig h tly on the curriculum
pattern designs recommended by the USOE..
They suggested th a t a course
in sociology be p art o f the student's general education core.
They
also f e l t i t would be appropriate fo r mid-management students to be
enrolled in separate sections o f general education courses in order
th a t general education p rin cip le s could be taught as they might be
applied to the career in te re s ts of the student.
A Competency Approach to Building
a Mid-Management Curriculum
During the m id-1960's Dr. Lucy Crawford headed a study com­
missioned by the United States O ffic e o f Education.
The primary
concern of the study was to id e n tify the c r it ic a l tasks in the job of
a d is tr ib u tiv e education teacher-coordinator and the professional
32
competencies needed to perform those tasks.
The study e n title d
"A Competency Pattern Approach to Curriculum Construction in
D is trib u tiv e Teacher Education" was completed in la te 1967.
In order to accomplish the central ob jective of the study the
c r it ic a l tasks and competencies needed by d is tr ib u tiv e and marketing
workers in the f ie ld had to be ascertained.
This process was under­
taken to get a, c le a r p ictu re of the technical background required of
a d is tr ib u tiv e education in s tru c to r.
I t was th is ascertainment of
technical marketing competencies th a t proved to be the fa c to r which
a lte re d the philosophy underlying the construction of d is trib u tiv e
education c u rric u la (Crawford, 1970:52).
The procedure used in the study became the model fo r building
most fu tu re d is tr ib u tiv e education c u rric u la and fo r launching the
introduction of competency-based curriculum patterns.
The procedure
used in the study was as follow s:
1.
A D is trib u tiv e Advisory Committee composed o f n a tio n a lly
recognized a u th o ritie s in personnel management assisted in the
selection of e n try , career, and s p e c ia lis t occupations in each c la s s i­
fic a tio n of d is tr ib u tiv e business.
2.
Seventy-six occupations were selected fo r the study in the
follow ing seven c la s s ific a tio n o f business:
department s to re , v a rie ty
s to re, food d is tr ib u tio n , food s e rv ic e , h o te l/m o te l, petroleum, and
wholesale services.
33
3.
Six advisory committees were appointed which were made up
o f s p e c ia lis ts from each o f the various business c la s s ific a tio n s .
The food service and hotel/m otel areas were served by a combined
committee.
4.
Over four hundred structured interviews were conducted
asking workers in the f ie ld what the c r it ic a l tasks of th e ir jobs were.
These interview s determined the tasks, the frequency which they were
performed, and competency clues' regarding merchandise inform ation,
customer contacts, and supervisory re s p o n s ib ilitie s .
5.
Nine hundred eig h ty-th re e (983) competencies were then
drawn from the in terv ie w s , current li t e r a t u r e , the personal experiences
of the in v e s tig a to rs , and from conversations with business people.
6.
These competencies were organized into nine manageable
in s tru c tio n a l areas as follow s:
a d v e rtis in g , communications, disp lay,
human re la tio n s , mathematics, merchandising, product and/or service
technology, operations and management, and s e llin g .
W ithin each
in stru c tio n a l area the competencies were lis te d according to being
e ith e r c o g n itiv e , a ffe c tiv e , or psycho-motor.
7.
The competencies were evaluated by s p e c ia lis ts in each of
the six advisory committees appointed fo r the various occupational
categories.
The advisory committee s p e c ia lis ts evaluated each of the
competencies fo r c la r it y , completeness, appropriateness, and whether
or not the competency was required fo r a p a rtic u la r occupation.
34
8.
The competencies were f in a l ly cross-tabulated to show a
common core o f competencies fo r occupations of a s im ila r nature in
each of the seven occupational categories (Crawford, 1970b:128-134).
One o f the most s ig n ific a n t outcomes of Crawford's study was
the creation o f the In te rs ta te D is trib u tiv e Education Curriculum
Consortium (IDECC) in 1971.
The Consortium's self-imposed mission was
to prepare a curriculum fo r both the secondary and post-secondary
levels based upon the nine hundred e ig h ty -th re e (983) competencies
id e n tifie d , v e r if ie d , and tested by Crawford (Lucas and M ile s , 1974:5).
A to ta l of four hundred f o r t y - f iv e (445)
learning
a c tiv ity
packages (LAP's) were constructed by the eleven s ta te Consortium by
the end of the Summer o f 1972.
During the next two years the cur­
riculum system was tested in the f ie ld .
The system was made a v ailab le
fo r national d is trib u tio n in the F a ll o f 1974 along with the f i r s t real
national pu blicatio n Of the complete lis t in g o f competencies and
occupations (Weber, Lucas, and M iles , 1 9 74 :1 -7 ).
Since th a t time
the Consortium has grown to include a to ta l membership of tw enty-six
states.
During the 1978-79 academic year IDECC revised it s o rig in a l
system by putting i t in to a new s im p lifie d format along with r e v a li­
dation of the o rig in a l competencies.
In a d d itio n , research was done
fo r developing competency lis t s and curriculum m aterials fo r several
new occupational categories.
These new categories are tran s p o rta tio n .
35
apparel and accessories, real e s ta te , insurance, and banking (Gleason,
1978:91-92),
Another major outgrowth of the Crawford study and the work of
IDECC has been the complete reorganization o f D is trib u tiv e Education
Clubs o f America (DECA) com petitive events a t both the secondary and
ju n io r c o lle g ia te le vels since 1974.
Competitive events have been
based d ire c tly on Crawford's competencies and roughly on her seven
occupational categories.
levels o f com petition.
These events have been broken down in to two
They are master employee (p rim a rily intended
fo r secondary students) and manager-owner (p rim a rily intended fo r
mid-management students).
Eight o rig in a l occupational categories
o f competency-based competition have been devised including:
I ) advertising services; 2) petroleum; 3) food service; 4) food
marketing; 5) apparel and accessories; 6) finance and c r e d it; 7) real
e s tate ; and 8) general merchandising.
Each o f the eigh t occupational
categories of competition are divided according to Crawford's nine
in s tru c tio n a l areas lis te d previously (D is trib u tiv e Education Clubs of
America, 1977:i - 8 ) .
The work o f Crawford, IDECC, and others has made d is trib u tiv e
educators a t both the secondary and post-secondary le vels think of
curriculum in terms of competencies instead o f s p e c ific course
sequencing.
However, since the e a rly 1960's course-oriented curriculum
suggestions have been made fo r general mid-management programs.
36
The follow ing fin a l section of the review o f lit e r a t u r e looks at
several o f these mid-management curriculum suggestions.
S p ecific Recommendations fo r MidManagement C urricula
Several s p e c ific mid-management c u rric u la have been recommended
since 1963.
Syhlman was among the f i r s t to make comprehensive recom­
mendations concerning mid-management curriculum content and course
sequencing.
He id e n tifie d three general curriculum patterns in post­
secondary d is tr ib u tiv e education.
Those patterns were f u ll-tim e day
school, p a rt-tim e day school with correlated work experience, and f u l l time study with a lte rn a tin g periods o f f u ll-tim e in tern sh ip .
For the f u ll- t im e program w ith no re la ted occupational exper­
ience he recommended the follow ing program:
F ir s t Year
P rin cip les o f Marketing
Salesmanship
Business. Mathematics
Accounting
Communication S k ills
Psychology of Human Relations
American In s titu tio n s
Merchandise Display
O rientation
Marketing Electives
Second Year
Fundamentals of Advertising
Business Law
Merchandise Mathematics
C red it Procedures
Economics
Occupation and Product Analysis
Sales Management
Marketing Electives
General Electives
For the p a rt-tim e program with re la te d occupational experience
Syhlman recommended the curriculum with the follow ing course sequence
37
based upon the plan used in the state o f Washington a t the time.
It
is as follow s:
F ir s t Year
.
Introduction to Business
P rinciples of Accounting
Work Training in D is trib u tio n
Business Law
English
Physical Education
Marketing E lectives
Second Year
P rin c ip le s o f Marketing
P rinciples of Management
Salesmanship
P rinciples o f Merchandising
Survey of Economics
Work Training in D is trib u tio n
Personal and Community Health
Marketing Electives .
General Electives
For the f u ll- t im e program with a lte rn a tin g in te rs h ip exper­
iences he recommended the follow ing course plan:
Second Year
F ir s t Year
Introduction to Business
Salesmanship
Business Mathematics
English
Speech R e ta ilin g
P rinciples of Marketing
Sociology
F ie ld Experience
E le c tives
Accounting
Economics
English
Psychology
Business Law
Problems in D is trib u tio n
Business Management
Sales Promotion
F ie ld Experience
E lectives (1963:17-18).
Luter during 1965 conducted a curriculum study of tw enty-six
colleges in ten states in order to bu ild a model mid-management cur­
riculum fo r the s ta te o f Texas.
Course requirements from the twenty-
s ix colleges' various c u rric u la and course descriptions were tabulated
to estab lish the model curriculum p a tte rn .
L u ter's suggested mid-management curriculum fo r Texas led to
an associate of arts degree and followed the tra d itio n a l two-year
academic p a tte rn .
I t is as follow s:
F ir s t Year
F ir s t Semester
Second Semester
English
English
H istory
H istory
Introduction to Data Processing
Business Communications
BusinessMathematics
P rinciples of Marketing Management
Psychology(Personal Development) S e llin g
Supervised Work Experience
. Supervised Work Experience
Second Year
F ir s t Semester
American Government
P rinciples o f Accounting
Economics
P rinciples of Management
E lective
Supervised Work Experience
Second Semester
American Government
P rinciples of Accounting
Seminar in Management
P rinciples o f Supervision
E le c tiv e
Supervised Work Experience
(1966:52-53).
M illik in suggested a core curriculum fo r a small community
college.
He f e l t th a t there was no model curriculum to f i t every
educational s itu a tio n , but th a t the follow ing areas o f in stru c tio n were
needed to provide a sound basis fo r a mid-management program:
Salesmanship
Sales Promotion
Marketing
Visual Merchandising
Mathematics
Accounting
Business Law
Communications
Economics
Supervision
Buying
C redit
Management
Human Relations (1967:22).
39
The Washington State Board fo r Community. College Education
a lte re d its mid-management core curriculum in 1976 from what was
reported by Syhlman i n . 1963.
The Board's recommendations provided fo r
a core th a t was divided in to a basic mid-management sequence and a .
re la te d knowledge area.
The primary change in the Washington plan
was inclusion of courses in human r e la tio n s , a d v e rtis in g , mid-manage­
ment seminar, data processing o rie n ta tio n , economics, and business
mathematics to take the place of a number of marketing and general
education e le c tiv e s (1976:18-19).
McCabe (1977:165) proposed a small business management cur­
riculum fo r post-secondary in s titu tio n s in Montana.
His recommendation
d iffe re d from those made previously by including courses in fin an cia l
management and personnel management in to his model while requiring
only one three c re d it (quarter hours) course in business communication.
Summarization
The review of lit e r a t u r e has been divided into three main
sections as follow s:
I ) the re la tio n s h ip o f mid-management education
with the re s t o f d is trib u tiv e education; 2) the goals and purposes of
mid-management programs; and 3) the development o f the mid-management
curriculum.
The f i r s t of these three sections d e a lt with an overview of
d is tr ib u tiv e education and mid-management education's ro le w ithin
40
th is e n tire vocational d is c ip lin e .
Post-secondary d is trib u tiv e
education was contrasted with secondary and adult programs in terms of
program du ratio n, distinguishing c h a ra c te ris tic s , and c lie n te le .
The second section which addressed the goals and purposes of
mid-management programs d e a lt with the place o f the m iddle-level
worker in the labor market.
The discussion also considered the factors
which d iffe r e n tia te a m iddle-level occupation from the other various
occupational s tra ta .
Out of such a context the lit e r a t u r e was reviewed
regarding viewpoints as to what the goals o f mid-management education
are or should be.
The watershed o f th is discussion took place with
the pu blication o f the USOE1s Post-Secondary D is trib u tiv e Education,
A Suggested Guide For Adm inistrators and Teachers in 1969.
The purpose o f the th ird section o f the review was to present
information about the development o f the mid-management curriculum.
This section was divided in to three subsections as fo llo w s :
I ) general
curriculum patterns; 2) a competency approach to building a mid-manage­
ment curriculum , which covered the contributions and e ffe c ts of the
work by Crawford and IDECC; and 3) s p e c ific recommendations fo r a mid­
management curriculum.
Chapter 3
METHODS AND PROCEDURES
The central problem of th is study was to determine i f general
mid-management programs in public post-secondary in s titu tio n s in the
Northwestern Vocational Curriculum Management Region include in th e ir
c u rric u la common competencies as id e n tifie d through the In te rs ta te
D is trib u tiv e Education Curriculum Consortium (IDECC).
In describing the procedures th a t were undertaken to in v e s ti­
gate the problem stated above. Chapter Three covers the follow ing
methodological topics:
1.
a description o f the population studied;
2.
a d e fin itio n o f the categories of in ve s tig atio n including
the necessary controls taken fo r elim in atio n o f contami­
nating v a riab les;
3.
the methods used in c o lle c tin g the data;
4.
a statement o f the s t a t is t ic a l hypotheses tested in the
null form and the level of sign ificance used;
5.
the s t a t is t ic a l methods used fo r analyzing the data; and
6.
a summarization of the methods and procedures used in the
study.
42
Description of the Population
The population surveyed was a ll mid-management coordinators
who head general mid-management programs in public post-secondary
in s titu tio n s in the ten state Northwestern Vocational Curriculum
Management Region.
This region includes the states of Alaska,
Colorado, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah,
Washington, and Wyoming.
Most programs had only one mid-management coordinator.
However, fo r those programs with more than one coordinator, the coordi­
nator who heads the program was the person contacted and included in
the study's population.
The head coordinators and th e ir respective programs were iden­
t i f i e d through contacting by telephone the sta te d is tr ib u tiv e education
supervisor of each s ta te in the Region.
Each supervisor was asked to
supply the researcher with a lis t in g o f general mid-management pro­
grams and the name o f the coordinator who heads each program.
The
s ta te supervisors were contacted during August of 1978 and the mid­
management coordinators were surveyed between September twenty-eighth,
and November f i r s t of the same year.
There was a to ta l o f sixty-tw o (62) general mid-management
programs and corresponding head coordinators id e n tifie d in the North­
western Vocational Curriculum Management Region.
43
D e fin itio n of Categories o f In vestig ation
The IDECC curriculum system is based upon seventy-one (71)
marketing occupations a t the entry and career levels in the areas of
department stores, food marketing, h o te l/m o te l, food s e rv ic e , petro­
leum, v a rie ty stores, and wholesaling.
The to ta l number of competen­
cies id e n tifie d in .the system is nine hundred e ig h ty-th re e (983) which
are divided in to nine in s tru c tio n a l areas.
These nine areas are
a d v e rtis in g , communications, d isp la y , human re la tio n s , mathematics,
merchandising, operations and management, product and service tech­
nology, and s e llin g .
Of the seventy-one (71) occupations, twenty can be considered
to be o f a general mid-management nature since they are a t the career
level and require competencies in a ll nine o f the in s tru c tio n a l areas.
The twenty occupations are id e n tifie d as follow s:
Department Stores
Food Stores
Advertising Manager
Buyer
A ssistant Buyer
Department Manager/Sales
Supervisor
Head Cashier
Grocery Department Manager/
Produce Department Manager
Store Manager
A ssistant Store Manager
Food Service
Petroleum
Manager
Assistant Manager
S tation Manager/(Dealer)
Assistant Station Manager
44
V a rie ty Stores
Wholesaling
Department Manager
Personnel Manager
Section Manager
Store Manager
Assistant Store Manager
Buyer
Head Buyer/Merchandise Manager
Sales Manager-
One hundred four (104) competencies are common to the twenty
mid-management occupations id e n tifie d .
The follow ing is a lis t in g of
the number o f competencies id e n tifie d in each of the nine in stru c tio n a l
areas found by cross-tabulating the competencies in each o f the
occupations.
Advertising
Communications
Display
Human Relations
4
22
0
45
Mathematics
4
Merchandising
7
Product and Service Technology
.7
Operations and Management
11
S e llin g
Total
4
104
The study was p rim a rily concerned with determining how many
and with what emphasis the one hundred four (104) competencies are
45
included in the c u rric u la of the general mid-management programs
surveyed.
Several contaminating variables could have a ffected the
findings of the study i f they were not properly c o n tro lle d .
only general mid-management programs were studied.
F ir s t ,
Specialized pro­
grams were not included, since the nature o f th e ir c u rric u la focuses
on a narrow range of marketing occupations.
Therefore, these programs
would have had l i t t l e s im ila r ity in curriculum design, purpose, and
goals,
The general mid-management programs were designated by the
sta te d is tr ib u tiv e education supervisors in the Region.
Second, coordinators were id e n tifie d through the instrument
as to whether they had been mid-management coordinators fo r more than
four years or fo r four years or less.
In a d d itio n , the length of
existence o f the programs was id e n tifie d according to the same time
categories as above.
This was done since the IDECC system was f i r s t
made a v a ila b le to the general public in the F all of 1974, which was
four years p rio r to the c o lle c tio n o f the data.
T h ird , programs were id e n tifie d , according to which state
they are located in .
This was necessary since three states w ithin the
Northwestern Vocational Curriculum Management Region are members of
IDECC.
These three states are Washington (an o rig in a l member), Oregon,
and Idaho.
This id e n tific a tio n was undertaken since local programs
in IDECC member states may have th e ir c u rric u la affected because
46
o f the s ta te 's membership in the Consortium.
Fourth, general mid-management programs were id e n tifie d
according to whether or not they have had students p a rtic ip a te in
ju n io r c o lle g ia te DECA competency based competitive events.
I f pro­
grams have had students p a rtic ip a te in these events which are based
upon the competencies in the IDECC system, i t may have influenced .
whether or not the program included the one hundred four (104) common
competencies in it s curriculum.
In a d d itio n , no mention was made in the cover le t t e r or on
the survey instrument th a t the questionnaire items were taken from the
IDECC competency system.
This was done to a lle v ia te any po tential
problems where coordinators might have p o sitiv e or negative reactions
in general to competency-based curriculum .design, IDECC, or DECA com­
petency-based com petitive events.
Method o f C ollectin g the Data
Data was collected from the population by means o f a mailed
survey instrument.
sections.
The survey instrument i t s e l f was divided into two
The f i r s t section contained items which were designed to
obtain general inform ation.
to determine:
Four items were included in th is section
I ) which state the responding head coordinator's
program was located in ; 2) the length o f time the head coordinator
had been a mid-management coordinator; 3) the length o f time the
47
program had been operation; and 4) i f the program has had students
p a rtic ip a te in DECA competency-based competitive events.
The second section of the instrument was designed to obtain
curriculum inform ation.
Each of the one hundred four (104) competency
items was lis te d and the head coordinator was asked to in dicate to
what degree the items were emphasized in the program's curriculum
according to the follow ing scale:
1 - item not included in the curriculum
2 - item introduced, but receives l i t t l e emphasis
3 - item receives moderate emphasis
4 - item receives considerable emphasis
.
5 - item receives extensive emphasis.
The one hundred four (104) competency items were grouped on
the instrument according to the eigh t in s tru c tio n a l areas respresented
by the common competencies.
instrument.
This grouping was not mentioned on the
Hence, the competencies in th e ir respective in stru c tio n a l
areas appeared on the survey instrument as follow s:
a d v e rtisin g ,
numbers one through four (1 -4 ); communications, numbers fiv e through
tw enty-six (5 -2 6 ); human re la tio n s , numbers twenty-seven through
seventy-one (2 7 -7 1 ); mathematics, numbers seventy-two through seventyfiv e (7 2 -7 5 ); merchandising, numbers seventy-six through eighty-two
.
(7 6 -8 2 ); product and service technology, numbers e ig h ty -th re e through
eighty-nine (8 3 -8 9 ); operations and management, numbers ninety through
48
one hundred (90-100); and s e llin g , numbers one hundred one through
one hundred four (101-104).
A complete copy o f the survey instrument is shown in
Appendix B.
The survey was sent out on September 28, 1978.
A follow-up
le t t e r and additional survey form was sent out to non-responding
coordinators approximately three weeks a f t e r the f i r s t m ailing.
The targeted eighty percent return was received a fte r the second
follow -up le t t e r .
A fte r the designated percentage o f returns had been received,
non-responding coordinators were contacted to determine why they had
fa ile d to complete and return the questionnaire.
Of the twelve non-responding coordinators, nine were f in a lly
contacted.
From those nine the follow ing reasons were given fo r not
completing and sending back the survey form:
1.
four stated th a t they were too busy with th e ir current
teaching duties a t the beginning o f the academic year;
2.
two stated th a t the survey was too long;
3.
two stated th a t they simply forgot to respond; and
4.
one stated th a t he did not fe e l the survey pertained
to him or his program.
49
The survey exhibited content v a lid it y fo r the follow ing
reasons:
L
The competency items were taken d ire c tly from the IDgCC
system, which is the only d is tr ib u tiv e education competency
based system th a t has a national scope and acceptance a t .
both the secondary and post-secondary le v e ls -
2,
The IDECC lis t in g o f competencies is based d ire c tly on
Crawford's national d is tr ib u tiv e education curriculum study
completed in 1967 e n t it le d , "A Competency Pattern Approach
to Curriculum Construction in D is trib u tiv e Teacher
Education,"
In th is study, Crawford u t iliz e d a panel of
experts in each of the seven occupational categories
studied in order to id e n tify c r it ic a l tasks o f marketing
workers.
Input groups o f current workers in each occU"
. pation w ith in the various occupational categories were also
used to s ta te s p e c ific competencies.
Those competencies
were then restudied by the panel of experts,
3.
The competencies included in the survey have been adopted
by DECA as the basis fo r it s competency-based competitive
events.
The instrument items were tested fo r ambiguity during the
the Summer o f 1978.
Various d is tr ib u tiv e education personnel in the .
Region were sent a copy of the instrument,
The people used in
50
screening the instrument included current d is trib u tiv e education
state supervisors, former.general mid-management coordinators, and
current coordinators of specialized mid-management programs.
The
researcher contacted each o f these d is tr ib u tiv e educators by telephone
in order to receive th e ir comments regarding refinement of the in s tru ­
ment.
Refinements to the instrument included making the instructions
on the instrument more understandable, re s ta tin g general in form atio n.
items, and determining how long i t took fo r a coordinator to complete
the instrument.
S ta tis tic a l Hypotheses
Based upon general questions two, th re e , fo u r, and fiv e in
Chapter One, the follow ing null hypotheses were tested.
Null hypothesis one.
There is no s ig n ific a n t d ifferen ce in
the common competency emphasis in each in stru c tio n a l area of general
mid-management c u rric u la between programs in IDECC member states and
those in non-member s ta te s .
Null hypothesis two.
There is no s ig n ific a n t difference, in
the common competency emphasis in each in stru c tio n a l area of general
mid-management c u rric u la between programs th a t have head coordinators
who have been mid-management coordinators fo r over four years and
those who have been coordinators fo r four years or less.
51
Null hypothesis th re e .
There is no s ig n ific a n t d ifference in
the common competency emphasis in each in s tru c tio n a l area of general
mid-management c u rric u la between programs th a t have been in operation
fo r over four years and those th a t have been operating fo r four years
or less.
Null hypothesis fo u r.
There is no s ig n ific a n t d ifferen ce in
the common competency emphasis in each in stru c tio n a l area o f general
mid-management c u rric u la between programs th a t have students p a r t ic i­
pate in ju n io r c o lle g ia te DECA competency-based com petitive events
and those th a t do not.
The level of sig n ifican ce th a t was chosen fo r te s tin g the four
hypotheses was .05.
The .05 level was chosen in order to balance the
p ro b a b ility of making a Type I and Type I I e rro r.
Since the study
was p rim a rily d e scrip tive in nature, th is balance was deemed necessary
in order th a t the findings gave an accurate as possible p ictu re of
general mid-management programs and th e ir c u rric u la in the Region.
Analysis of the Data
The data co llected to aid in answering the f i r s t general
question was analyzed by reporting the number of responses given and
appropriate response percentages fo r each response choice fo r each
competency item.
The to ta l number of responses and percentages fo r
52
choices two through.five, were summed to in dicate how many programs
included the competency item regardless of degree o f emphasis.
In
a d d itio n , these same to ta ls were summed fo r choices one and two to
in d icate how many programs gave a competency e ith e r l i t t l e or no
emphasis.
.
The four null hypotheses were tested a t the .05 level using
a Mann-Whitney te s t o f independence fo r each in stru c tio n a l area.
Therefore, eight tests were done fo r each null hypothesis resu ltin g
in a to ta l of th irty -tw o te s ts .
Since there was a large number of
observations in each te s t, a Z value was calculated.
In order to c a lc u la te a Z value fo r each of the th irty -tw o
tests i t was necessary to to ta l the responses from each o f the
completed surveys fo r each o f the eigh t in s tru c tio n a l areas.
For example, i f a completed survey gave the follow ing responses,
4 -3 -3 -5 , to the four advertising competency items re s p e c tiv e ly , then
the to ta l would be 15.
This to ta l was used in order to rank the
responses from each head coordinator fo r each in stru c tio n a l area in
the various hypotheses te s ts .
From these rankings came the necessary
sum of the ranks (H R ) th a t was used to c a lcu late the Z values fo r
each of the eigh t in s tru c tio n a l areas in the four null hypothesis
te s ts .
The sum of the ranks ( H R ) , U, and U' fo r the th irty -tw o
separate tests can be found in Appendix D.
53
The s t a tis t ic a l te s tin g o f the four null hypotheses followed
the procedure recommended by Siegel (1956:121-26).
The formula used
was fo r computing a Z value with large samples with correction fo r
tie d ranks between the two samples.
Summarization
This chapter contains a d e ta ile d description o f the methods
and procedures undertaken in the study.
The survey population included a ll mid-management coordinators
who head general mid-management programs in public post-secondary
education, in s titu tio n s in the Northwestern Vocational Curriculum
Management Region.
A survey form was mailed out in September of 1978
to determine i f c e rta in common competencies are included in local
programs' general mid-management c u rric u la .
A follow -up le t t e r and
enclosed survey was sent out in October of the same year and a ll
usable responses were received by the f i r s t week of November..
The instrument took in to account c e rta in contaminating v a ri­
ables which might have influenced the re su lts of the study.
variables were:
These
I ) whether or not the program was located in an
IDECC member s ta te ; 2) the length o f time the head coordinator had
been a.mid-management coordinator; 3) the length of time the program
had been in operation; and 4) whether or not the program had students
p a rtic ip a te in DECA competency-based com petitive events.
54
The instrument contained one hundred four (104) competency
items from the IDECC system.
These competencies came from eight
d iffe r e n t in s tru c tio n a l areas in the IDECC curriculum.
The data was analyzed d e s c rip tiv e ly in order to help answer
the study's f i r s t general question.
A Mann-Whitney te s t of indepen­
dence was used to te s t the four null hypotheses.. The .05 level of
sign ificance was used.
A Z value was calculated due to the large number of obser­
vations.
The Z value was also corrected fo r tie s in ranks between
the two sample groups used in te s tin g each null in each in stru c tio n a l.
area.
Chapter 4
FINDINGS OF THE STUDY
Within th is chapter the follow ing topics are discussed
regarding the research findings:
I ) general findings o f the study;
2) analysis o f general question one; and 3) tests o f null hypotheses
one, two, th ree, and four.
A number o f tables are presented throughout
the chapter th a t are re la te d to the analysis of the data.
General Findings
As was mentioned in Chapter Three, a to ta l o f sixty-tw o (62)
general mid-management programs were id e n tifie d in the ten sta te
Northwestern Vocational Curriculum Management Region.
A breakdown of
where those sixty-tw o (62) programs were located by sta te in the Fall
of 1978 is as follow s:
Alaska
Colorado
*Idaho
Montana
North Dakota
*0regon
South Dakota
Utah
*Washington
Wyoming
Total
* IDECC member states
O
6
5
5
5
11
O
7
19
_4
62
56
T h ir ty -fiv e (35) o f the sixty-tw o (62) programs id e n tifie d
were located in states th a t are members o f IDECC.
Those states are
Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, as mentioned previously.
Therefore,
f i f t y - s i x point fiv e percent (56.5%) o f the programs in the Region
were located in IDECC member sta te s .
Based upon the f i r s t general question in the survey, which
id e n tifie d which sta te the responding coordinator's program was
located in , the highest percentages of response came from the states
o f Montana and Wyoming; as shown in Table I .
The two lowest rates of
response were from the states o f Idaho and Colorado.
The IDECC states programs responded a t an o v e rall ra te of
seventy-seven point one percent (77.1% ), while non-IDECC s ta te s '
programs had a response ra te of e ig h ty -fiv e point two percent (85.2%). .
A complete breakdown of response to the survey instrument is
shown in Table I on the follow ing page.
57
Table I
Response to the Survey Instrument
Number
of Programs
Number of
Programs
Responding
Alaska
O
0
Colorado
6
4
66.7
Idaho
5
3
60.0
Montana
5
5
100.0
North Dakota
5
4
80.0
11
8
72.7
State
Oregon
'
.
Percent
o f Response
—
South Dakota
O
0.
Utah '
7
6
19
16
84.2
4
4
100.0
Totals - Number
62
50
Totals - Percent
100.0
Washington
Wyoming
80.6
-
'
-
85.7
58
The second general question in the questionnaire d e a lt with
the length o f time the head coordinator had been a mid-management
coordinator.
The question had two choices:
1974; and 2) since the F a ll o f 1974 or la t e r .
f i f t y (50) respondents, or sixty-tw o percent
I ) before the F a ll of
Thirty-one (31) o f the
(62.0%),
re p lie d they
began as mid-management in structors before the F all of 1974.
Hence, nineteen (1 9 ), or th ir t y - e ig h t percent (38.0% ), began as mid­
management coordinators since the Fall o f 1974 or la t e r .
A complete
s ta te -b y 7-sta te breakdown is given in Table 2.
Table 2
Length o f Time the Head Coordinator Has
Been a Mid-Management Coordinator
Number
S ta rtin g Before
F a ll o f 1974
Percent
Alaska
0
'--
Colorado
3
75.0
I
25.0
Idaho
3
. 100.0
0
0.0
Montana
3
60.0
2
40.0
North Dakota
2
50.0
2
50.0
Oregon
5
62.5
3
37.5
South Dakota
0
«■ —
0
State
Number
S ta rtin g Since
F a ll o f 1974
Percent
—-
0 .
:
——
59
Table 2 (continued)
Number
S ta rtin g Before
F a ll of 1974
State
Utah
Washington
Wyoming
Percent
Number
S ta rtin g Since
F a ll o f 1974
Percent
2
33.3
4
66.7
10
62.5
6
37.5
3
75.0
I
25.0
Totals - Number
31
19
Totals - Percent
. 62.0
- 38.0
The th ir d general question in the survey was concerned with
the length o f time the program had been in operation.
had two choices:
of 1974 or la t e r .
The question
I ) before the F a ll o f 1974; and 2) since the Fall
Forty-one (41) of the f i f t y
(50) respondents, or
eighty-two percent (82.0% ), re p lie d th a t the program began operating
before the Fall o f 1974.
Therefore, nine, or eighteen percent (18.0% ),
o f the responding programs began operation since the F a ll o f 1974 or
la te r .
A complete s ta te -b y -s ta te breakdown is given in Table 3 on the
follow ing page.
60
Table 3
Length o f Time the Program Has Been in Operation
Number
S ta rtin g Before
F a ll o f 1974
State
Percent
Number
S ta rtin g Since
F all o f 1974
Percent
Alaska
0
Colorado
3
75.0
I
Idaho
3
100.0
0
0.6
Montana
4
80.0
I
20.0
North Dakota
4
100.0
0
0.0
Oregon
8
100.0
0
0.0
South Dakota'
0
0
—
Utah
2
33.3
4
66.7
14
87.5
2
12.5
3
75.0
I
25.0
Washington
Wyoming
Totals - Number
41
Totals - Percent
82.0
—
0
—
.
25.0
9
18.0
The la s t general question considered i f students enrolled in
the program p a rtic ip a te in DECA competency-based com petitive events.
The two choices to the question were yes and no.
Twenty-eight (28) of
61
the f i f t y
(50) respondents, or f i f t y - s i x percent (56.0% ), re p lie d that
students did p a rtic ip a te .
Hence, twenty-two (2 2 ), or fo r ty -fo u r per­
cent (44.0% ), of the programs responding did not have students par­
tic ip a te in DECA competency-based com petitive events.
A complete
s ta te -b y -s ta te breakdown is given in Table 4 which follow s.
Table 4
Do Students P a rtic ip a te in DECA Competency-Based Competitive Events?
Number
Yes
Percent
Yes
Number
No
Alaska
0
—
0
Colorado
I
25.0
3
75.0
Idaho
2
66.7
I
33.3
Montana
I
20.0
4
80.0
North Dakota
4
100.0
0
0.0
2
25.0
6
75.0
State
Oregon
.
Percent
No
—
South Dakota
0
Utah
5
83.3
I
16.7
12
75.0
4
25.0
I
25.0
3
75.0
Washington
Wyoming
—
0
Totals-Number
28
22
Totals-Percent
56.0
44.0
—
62
General Question One
General question one was stated as follow s:
"Do general
mid-management programs in the Northwestern Vocational Curriculum
Management Region include in th e ir c u rric u la the one hundred four (104)
common competencies fo r general mid-management occupations as id e n ti­
fie d through the In te rs ta te D is trib u tiv e Education Curriculum
Consortium?"
Analysis of th is question is broken down in to e ig h t in stru c­
tio n a l areas included in the one hundred four (104) competencies:
a d v e rtis in g , communications, human r e la tio n s , math, merchandising,
product and service technology, operations and management, and
s e llin g .
The tables th a t follow in th is section divide the responses
and percentages of response into the fiv e response choice categories
from the survey instrument.
They are::
1 - item not included in the curriculum
2 - item introduced, but receives l i t t l e emphasis
3 - item receives moderate emphasis ■
4 - item receives considerable emphasis
5 - item receives extensive emphasis.
In a d d itio n , each of the competencies is looked a t in terms
o f how many programs give the competency item l i t t l e or no emphasis
63
(response choices one and two combined).
F in a lly , a column appears
in the tables dealing w ith general question one in d icatin g the number
and percentage o f programs th at include a competency item and give
i t some degree o f emphasis in the curriculum (response choices two
through fiv e to ta le d ).
A fin a l overview of the data is given a t the end of this
section.
I t should be noted th a t the in divid ual wording of each com­
petency is shortened throughout the follow ing discussion.
Complete
competency items can be found in Appendix B where the survey in s tru ­
ment is shown.
In s tru c tio n a l Area:
Advertising
Since there were four advertising competency items and f i f t y
responding head coordinators there :were two hundred (200) to ta l
responses in the advertising in s tru c tio n a l area.
As shown in Table 5, of the two hundred (200) to ta l responses'
to the four ad vertising competency items, ninety-nine point fiv e
percent (99.5%) of the responses were in the included to some degree
combination category.
Only one of the competency items, number th ree,
"Keeping personnel informed of sales promotion a c t iv it ie s ," was stated
to be not included in a p a rtic u la r curriculum.
O v e ra ll, eighteen point fiv e percent (18.5%) of the to ta l
responses were in the l i t t l e .or ho emphasis combination category.
The competency which received the highest percentage, fo rty -tw o per­
cent (42.0% ), o f l i t t l e or no emphasis combined responses was also
competency item number three.
. Table 5
General Question One - In s tru c tio n a l Area:
Advertising
Response Choices
— —----:------ ------------- • I & 2
Competency Item
I
2
3
4
5.
Comb.
2 - 5,
Comb.
-1 7
7 •
34.0 . 14.0
9 .
50 #
18.0
100.0 %
10
10 . 29
20.0 58.0 . 20.0 ■
50 #
T
2.0 . 100.0 %
I . Use o f promotional
& in s titu tio n a l advtg.
0
0,0.
9
18,0
17
34,0
2. Purposes of advtg.
0
0.0
I
2.0
3, Keeping personnel
informed of sales ,
promotion a c t iv it ie s .
I
2.0
20 . 15
40.0 30.0
9
18.0
. :5
10.0
4. Necessity of know^ ■
ing facts about mer-.
chandise advertised.
0
0.0
6
12.0
14
28.0
19.
38.0
H •
22.0
Totals
I
0.5
36.
18.0
56
28.0
7 4 ' 33
37.0 16.5
.
21
42.0
49 #
. 98.0 %
6"
12.0
■ 50 #
100.0 %
37
18.5
199 #
99.5%
65
In stru c tio n a l Area;
Communications
Since there were twenty-two communications competency items
and f i f t y responding head coordinators, there were one thousand one
hundred (1100) to ta l responses in the communications in s tru c tio n a l
area.
As shown in Table 6, of the one thousand one hundred (1100)
to ta l responses to the twenty-two communications competency items,
ninety-seven percent (97.0%) of the responses were in the included ■
to some degree combination category.
O v e ra ll, ten point e ig h t percent
(10.8%) o f the responses were in the l i t t l e
or no emphasis combined .
category.
Competency items which had p a r tic u la r ly high numbers of
responses in the not included category were number nineteen (1 9 ),
"Types of information in trade j o u r n a l s a n d number tw enty-six (2 6 ),
"Attending departmental and store-wide meetings is a good way to keep
inform ed."
Competencies with high response in the l i t t l e or no emphasis
combined category were the follow ing:
number six ( 6 ) , "When to keep
communications c o n fid e n tia ln u m b e r eleven (1 1 ), " In te rp re tin g
management p o lic ie s to employees and employee problems to management;"
number fourteen (1 4 ), "Assist with tra in in g and teaching others;" and
numbers nineteen (19) and tw enty-six (26) which were previously
mentioned.
66
Fourteen o f the twenty-two competencies in the communications
in stru c tio n a l area were included in one hundred percent (100.0%) of
the programs' c u rric u la .
Of the remaining eight competency items-,
six of the items were included to some degree in ninety percent (90.0%)
or more o f the programs.
Table 6
General Question One - In stru c tio n a l Area:
Communications
Response Choices
Competency Item
I
2
5. How to address
others in a business­
lik e manner.
I
2.0
4
8.0
6. When to keep communications c o n fi­
dential
I
2.0
7. S triv in g fo r c la r i t y when assigning
work.
0
0.0
8. Being careful in
speaking so th a t you
are not m isinterpreted.
3
4
5
I &2
Comb.
2 - £
Comb.
18
36.0
14
28.0
13
26.0
5
10.0
49 #
98.0 %
12 . 18
24.0 36.0
13
26.0
6
12.0
13
26.0
49 #
98.0 %
2
4.0
16 . 18
32.0 36.0
14
28.0
2
4.0
50 #
100.0 %
0
0.0
3
6.0
7
14.0
25
50.0
15
30.0
3
6.0
50 #■
100.0 %
9. Listening to and
follow ing d ire c tio n s .
0
0.0
I
2.0
7
14.0
28
56.0
14
28.0
I
2.0
50 #
100.0 %
10. E ffe c tiv e use of
speech and vocabulary.
I
2.0
0
0.0
6 . 34
12.0 68.0
' 9
18.0
I
2.0 .
49 #'
98.0 %
67
Table 6 (continued)
Response Choices
Competency Item
I
2
3
.
4
5
I & 2
■ Comb.
2 -5
Comb.
5
11. In te rp re tin g man10.0
agement p o lic ie s to
employees & employee
problems to management.
3 ■ 13
6.0 26.0
23
46.0
6
12.0
8
16.0
45 #
90.0 %
12. Communicating e ffe c tiv e ly with cus­
tomers , co-workers, &
supervisors.
0
0.0
0
0.0
7
14.0
33
66.0
10
20.0
. 0
0.0
50 #
TOO.O %
13. Talk c le a rly &
p le a s a n tly , conveying
s p ir it & enthusiasm.
0
0.0
2
4.0
13
26.0
26
52.0
9
18.0
2
4.0
50 #
100.0 %
14. Assist with t r a in ing & teaching others. .
3
6.0
6
12.0
25
50.0
10
20.0
6 ■
12.0
9
18.0
47 #
94.0 %
15. Convey d ire c tio n s .
& in structio ns c le a rly
to employees.
0
0.0
3
6.0
14
28.0
26
52.0
7
14.0
16. S k illf u l commun ication in good
English is essential
to personal business
advancement.
0
0.0
5
10.0
10
20.0
25
50.0
10
20.0
5
10.0
50 #
100.0 %
17. Poor or awkward
grammar lowers customer estim ation of
store personnel,
image, & merchandise
value.
0
0.0
8
16.0
12
24.0
21
42.0
9
18.0
8
16.0
50 #
100.0 %
3
6 .0 .
50 #
100.0 %
68
Table 6 (continued)
Response Choices
0
0.0
4
8.0
16
32.0
21
42.0
9
18.0
4
8 .0
50 ' #
100.0 %
7
14.0
8
16.0
18
36.0
14
28.0
3
6.0
15
30.0
. 43 #
86,0 %
20. Voice can express
conviction & convey
confidence.
0 ' 4
0.0
8.0
16
32.0
24
48.0
6
12.0
4
8.0
50 #
100.0 %
21. Tone o f voice can
express sincere wel­
come & eagerness t o .
be o f service.
0
0.0
5
10.0
15
30.0
21
42.0
9
18.0
5
10.0
22. Value of correct
enunciation &
pronunciation.
2
4 .0
4
8.0
24
48.0
17
34.0
3
6.0
6
12.0
48 #
96.0 %
23. Enthusiasm can
be contagious.
2
4.0
24
4 .
8.0 48.0
17
34.0
3
6.0
6
12.0
48
96.0
#
%
24. Importance o f f i r s t
& la s t impressions.
0
0.0
I
2.0
18
36.0
18
36.0
13
26.0
I
2 .0
50
100.0
#
%
25. Certain words &
terms can be m is in te r­
preted.
0
0.0
0
0.0
20
40.0
18
36.0
12
24.0
0
0.0
50 #
100.0 %
18. "Spoken word" is
important tool of
trade in marketing.
19. Types of in fo r ­
mation in trade
jo u rn a ls .
4 . 5
2 -5
Comb.
2
Competency Item
3
I & 2
Comb.
1
50
100.0
#
%
69
Table 6 (continued)
Response Choices
Competency Item
I
26. Attending departmental & store-wide
meetings is a good
way to keep informed.
Totals
In s tru c tio n a l Area:
2
13
26.0
9
18.0
33
3.0
86
7.8
3
4
15 •
10
30.0 20.0
315
28.6
460
41.8
5 '
3
6.0
206
18.7
I & 2
Comb.
2 -5
Comb.
22
44.0
37 #
74.0 %
119 ■
10.8
1067 #
97.0 %
Human Relations
Since there were f o r t y - f iv e human re la tio n s competency items
and f i f t y responding coordinators there were two thousand two hundred
fifty
(2250) to ta l responses in the human re la tio n s in s tru c tio n a l area.
As shown in Table 7, o f the two thousand two hundred f i f t y
(2250) human re la tio n s competency items, ninety-seven point fiv e per­
cent (97.5%) o f the responses were in the included to some degree
combined category.
O v e ra ll, fifte e n point two percent (15.2%) of the
responses were in the l i t t l e or no emphasis combined category.
Competency items which had p a r tic u la r ly high numbers of
responses in the not included category were number th ir ty -th r e e (3 3 ),
"How to be orderly and system atic;" number fo rty -n in e (4 9 ), "Training
70
employees and follow ing-up on tra in in g e ffe c tiv e n e s s ;11 and number
fifty -o n e (5 1 ), "Accepting c r itic is m ."
Competencies with high responses in the combined l i t t l e or no
emphasis category were the follow ing:
number twenty-nine (2 9 ),
"How to dress and groom appropriately fo r the jo b ;" number t h ir ty -fo u r
(3 4 ), "How to show in te re s t in others;" number t h i r t y - f iv e (3 5 ),
"How to bu ild sound working relationsh ips with others;" number fo r ty three (4 3 ), "Maintaining good health fo r e ffe c tiv e job performance;"
number fo r t y - f iv e (4 5 ), "Representing the business favorably to customers and outside business associates;" number forty-seven (4 7 ),
"Avoiding m isinterp retatio n s o f people, products, and p o lic ie s ;"
number fo r ty -e ig h t (4 8 ), "Selecting r ig h t person to do a jo b , giving
c le a r in s tru c tio n s , seeing th a t in stru ctio n s are properly carried out;"
number f i f t y
(5 0 ), "Exercising s e lf-c o n tro l in tryin g s itu a tio n s ;"
number fift y - t w o (5 2 ), "Demonstrating i n i t i a t i v e and c r e a tiv ity ;"
number f if t y - t h r e e (5 3 ), "Adjusting to change;" number f i f t y - f i v e
(5 5 ),
"Generating enthusiasm towards people;" number f i f t y - s i x (5 6 ),
"Personnel p o lic ie s are established fo r b e n e fit of the business and. the
employee;" and number seventy-one (7 1 ), "Need fo r jo in in g and p a r t ic i­
pating in professional meetings;" in addition to numbers th irty -th r e e
(3 3 ), fo rty -n in e (4 9 ), and fifty -o n e (51) which were mentioned
previously.
}
71
Twenty-seven (27) p f the f o r t y - f iv e (45) competencies in the
human re la tio n s area were included in one hundred percent (100,0%) of
the programs' c u rric u la .
Of the remaining eighteen (18) competency
items in human re la tio n s , th irte e n (13) were included with some degree
of emphasis in ninety percent (90.0%) or more of the programs.
Table 7
General Question One - In s tru c tio n a l Area:
Human Relations
Response Choices
Competency Item
I & 2
Comb.
2 - 5
Comb,
17
34,0
0
0,0
50 #
100.0 %
26
52.0
15
30.0 .
I
2 .0
50 #
100.0 %
12
24.0
15
30.0
7
14.0
16
32.0
49 #
98.0 %
2
4.0
15
30.0
28
56,0
5
10.0
2
4 ,0
50 • #
100,0 %
2 .
4.0
25
50.0
18
36.0
. 5 •
.
10.0
2
4.0
■
50 '■#
' 100.0%
23
46.0
17
34,0
6
12.0
4
8.0
48
96,0
3
I
2
27. How to get resu lts
through people with
e ffe c tiv e human
re la tio n s .
0
0 .0
0
0.0
9
18,0
24
48.0
28, Factors which a ffe e t employee morale.
0
0.0
I
2.0
8
16.0
29, How to dress &
groom approp riately
fo r the job.
I
2.0
15
30.0
30. How to bu ild employee morale.
0
0 .0
0
0.0
31. How to.recognize
•the accomplishments
o f others.
32, How to develop &
maintain a pleasant
working environment,
.
2
2
4 .0 • 4,0
4
5
#
%
72
Table 7 (continued)
Response Choices
Competency Item
33. How to. be orderly
& systematic.
I
2
.
3
4
5
I & 2
Comb.
2 - £
Comb.
7 .
9
14.0 18.0
19
38.0
12
24.0
3
6.0
16
32.0
43 #
86.0 %
50 #
100.0 I
34. How to show an
in te re s t in others.
0
0,0
10
20.0
14
28.0
19 .
38.0
7
14.0 ,
10
20.0
35. How to build
sound working r e la ­
tionships.
I
2,0
14
28.0
16
32.0
16
32.0
3
6,0
15
30.0
36. How to motivate
others fo r best per­
formance.
0
0.0
2
4.0
10
20.0
25
50.0
13
26.0
37. The meaning of the
word morale.
2
4.0
4
8.0
14 ' 21
28.0 42.0
9
18.0
6
12.0
48 #
96.0 %
38. P ositive a ttitu d e
is usually re fle c te d
.in one's work.
0
0.0
3
6.0
12
24.0
20
40.0
15
30.0
3
.6,0
50 #
100.0 %
39. Human re la tio n s
consists o f in t e r ­
dependence with
others.
I
2.0
2
4.0
10
20.0
17
34.0
20
40.0
3
6.0
49 #
98.0 %
40. Developing & maintia n in g harmonious
working re la tio n s h ip s .
I
2.0
I
2.0
13
26.0
19
38.0
16
32.0
2
4.0
49 #
98.0 %
41. Working cooperativ e ly with others.
I
2.0
I
2.0
11
22.0
22
44.0
15 .
30.0
.2.
4.0
49 #
98.0 %
2
4 .0 '
49 #
98.0 %
50 #
100.0 %
Table 7 (continued)
Competency Item
Response Choices
----------------------------------------------1 2
3
4
5
I & 2
Comb. ,
2 -5
Comb.
42. Maintaining an ob­
je c tiv e point o f view
in problem s itu a tio n s .
0
0.0
7
14.0
14
28.0
20
40.0
9
18.0
7
14.0
50 #
100.0 %
43. Maintaining good
health fo r e ffe c tiv e
job performance.
0
0.0
22
44.0
15
30.0
9
18.0
'4
8.0
22
44.0
50 #
100.0 %
44. Developing person­
a l i t y t r a it s necessary
fo r successful job
performance.
0
0.0
8
16.0
17
34.0
17
34.0
8
16.0
8
16.0
50 #
100.0 %
45. Representing the
business favorably to
customer & outside
business associates.
0
0.0
15
30.0
12
24.0
17.
34.0
6
12.0
15
30.0
50 #
100.0 %
46. Adapting to per­
s o n a lity & needs of
customers.
2
4.0
7
14.0
11
22.0
16
32.0
14
28.0
9
18.0
48
96.0
47. Avoiding m isin­
te rp re ta tio n s of
people, products,
& p o lic ie s .
6
12.0
5
10.0
16
32.0
14
28.0
9
18.0
11
22.0
44 #
88.0 %
48. Selecting rig h t
person to do a job.
I
2 .0
14
9
18.0 - 28,0
20
40.0
6
12.0
10
20.0
49 #
98.0 %
13
26.0
12
24.0
5
10.0
20
40.0
42 #
84.0 %
8
49. Training employees
16.0
& f o i l owing1-up on
tra in in g effectiven ess.
12
24.0
#
%
74
Table 7 (continued)
Response Choices
Competency Item
I
2
3
4
5
I & 2
Comb.
2 - 5
Comb.
48
96.0
50. Exercising s e lf control in try in g
s itu a tio n s .
2
4.0
14
28.0
15
30.0
16
32.0
3
6.0
16
32.0 .
51'. Accepting c r t t i cism.
9
18.0
8
16.0
13
26.0
16
32.0
4
8.0
17
34.0
. 41 #
82.0 %
52. Demonstrating
i n i t i a t i v e & crea­
tiv ity .
0
0.0
15
30.0
11
22.0
15
30.0
9
18.0
15
30.0
50 #
100.0 %
53. Adjusting to
change.
0
0.0
10
20.0
15
30.0
16
32.0
9
18.0
10
20.0
50 . #
100.0 %
54. Understanding
one's s e lf.
0
0.0
7
14.0
16
32.0
9
18.0
18
36.0
7
14,0
'50. #
100.0 %
55. Generating enthusiasm towards people.
0
0.0
12
24.0
12
24.0
16
32.0
10
20.0
12
24.0
50 . #
100.0 %
56. Personnel p o licies are fo r b e n e fit
o f business & em­
ployees.
0
0.0
11
22.0
20
40.0
14
28.0
5
10.0
11
22.0
50
100.0
57. Next to job
performance human
re la tio n s is employee's
greatest asset.
0
0.0
3
6.0
12
24.0
24
48.0
11
22.0
3
6.0
58. Worker's performance includes how
he/she influences
other people.
I
2,0
5
10.0
18
36.0
18
36.0
8
16.0
6
12.0
#
%
#
%
• 50 #
100.0 %
49
98.0
#
%
75
Table 7 (continued)
Response Choices
Competency Item
I
2
3
4
5
•
I &2
Comb.
2 -5
Comb.
59. Honesty & in teg r i t y are necessary
personality t r a i t s .
0 .
I
0.0 . 2.0
15
30.0
20
40.0
14
28.0
I
2.0
50. #
100.0 %
60. Understanding
others & one's s e lf
is basic to working
harmoniously with
others.
0
0.0
3
6.0
13
26.0
14
28.0
20
40.0
3
6.0
■50 ; #
100.0 %
61. W illingness to
accept & adjust to
change.
0
0.0
0
0.0
18
36.0
22
44.0
10
20.0
0
0.0
50 #
100.0 %
0
. 0.0
0
0.0
19
38.0
24
48.0
7
14.0
0
0.0
50 #
100.0 %
63. Supervisor should
set good examples.
0
0.0
4
8.0
8
16.0
18
36.0
20
40.0
4
8.0
50 #.
100.0 %
64. Good human r e la ­
tions improves morale.
0
0.0
0 ■
9
0.0 18,0
26
52.0
16
32.0
0
0.0
50 #
100.0 %
65. Good human r e la ­
tions helps increase
p ro d u c tiv ity .
0
0.0
0
0.0
11
22.0
25
50.0
14
28.0
0
0.0
50 #
100.0 %
66. C re a tiv ity among
personnel should be
rewarded.
0
0.0
7
14.0
20
40,0
13
26.0
10
20.0
7
14.0
: 50 #
TOO.O %
62. Necessity to perform tasks in addition
to one's job respon­
s ib ilitie s .
■
76
Table 7 (continued)
Response Choices
Competency Item
I
2
3
"4
5
I & 2
Comb.
2 - 5
Comb.
67. Good human re la tions. depends on per­
s o n a lity fa c to rs .
0
0.0
6
12.0
17
34.0
19
38.0
8
16.0
6
12.0
50 #
100.0 %
68. Employee's ideas
often prove b e n e fic ia l.
0
0.0
3
6.0
14
28.0
23
46.0
10
20.0
*
3
. 6.0
50 #
100.0 %
69. Training c o n tributes to understanding
by supervisors o f mana­
g e ria l functions.
3
6.0
3
6.0
15
30.0
18
36.0
11
22.0
6
12.0
47 #
94.0 %
70. M otivation is
closely connected with
communications.
3
6.0
3
6.0
20
40.0
12
24.0
12
24.0
6
12.0
47 #
94.0 %
71. Need fo r jo in in g &
p a rtic ip a tin g in pro­
fessional meetings.
6
12.0
16
32.0
11
22.0
9
19.0
8
16.0
22
44.0
44 #
88.0 %
Totals
57
2.5
284
12.6
645
28.7
810
36.0
454
20.2
341
15.2
2193 #
97.5 %
77
In s tru c tio n a l Area:
Math
Since there, were four math competency items and f i f t y
responding head coordinators there were two hundred to ta l responses
in the math in s tru c tio n a l area.
As shown in Table 8 , of the two hundred (200) to ta l responses
to the four math competency items, eigh ty-n ine percent (89.0%) of the
responses were in the included to some degree combination category.
The o v e rall response in the combined category of l i t t l e or no emphasis
was tw e n ty -fiv e point fiv e percent (25.5%).
One competency item had a high number of responses in the
not included category.
That item was number seventy-four (7 4 ),
"Reading and in te rp re tin g self-computing scales."
In addition to item number seventy-four (7 4 ), two other math
competencies, had high responses in the l i t t l e or no emphasis combined
category.
They were number seventy-two (7 2 ), "M ultiplying and
extending fig u re s ;" and number seventy-three (7 3 ), "Adding columns of
fig u re s ."
Only one of the four math competencies was included in one
hundred percent (100.0%) of the programs' c u rric u la .
seventy-five (7 5 ), "Using and tra n s la tin g fig u re s ."
I t was number
78
I t should be noted th a t competency item number seventy-four
(74-) was one of the le a s t included competencies out of the to ta l
lis t in g o f common competencies.
Table 8
General Question One - In s tru c tio n a l Area:
Math
Response Choices
Competency Item
72. M u ltip ly in g &
extending fig u res ,
I
2
3
4
5
I & 2
Comb,
2 - 5
Comb,
8
I '
16,0
2,0
11
22,0
22
44.0
8
16,0
9
18.0
49 #
98.0 %
73. Adding columns of
fig u res .
6
12.0
5
10,0
11
22.0
20
40,0
8
16.0
11
22.0
44 #
88.0 %
74. Reading & in te r preting self-computing
scales.
15
30.0
13
26.0
8
16.0
12
24.0
2
4.0
28
56.0
35 #
70.0 %
0
0 .0
3
6.0
16
32.0
23
46.0
8
16.0
3
6 .0
22
11,0
29
14,5
46
23,0
75. Using & tran sla tin g percentages.
Totals
77
38.5
26
13.0
51
25.5
50 #
100.0 %
■
178
89 , 0
#
%
79
In s tru c tio n a l Area:
Merchandising
Since.there were seven merchandising competency items and f i f t y
responding head coordinators there were three hundred f i f t y
(350) to ta l
responses in the merchandising in s tru c tio n a l area.
As shown in Table 9, o f the three hundred f i f t y
(350) to ta l
responses to the seven merchandising competency items, n in e ty -e ig h t
point nine percent (98.9%) of the responses were in the included to
some degree combination category.
A to ta l o f twenty percent (20.0%)
o f the responses were in the combined l i t t l e or no emphasis category.
Competencies in the merchandising area w ith p a r tic u la r ly high
response in the combined category o f l i t t l e or no emphasis were number
seventy-eight (7 8 ), "Taking accurate stock counts fo r ordering and
u n it control p u rp o s es n u m b e r seventy-nine (7 9 ), "Using forms and
records necessary fo r inventory c o n tro l;" number eighty (8 0 ), "Stockkeeping errors or losses a ffe c t company p r o fits ;" and number eigh tytwo (8 2 ), "Buyer must be kept informed o f low quantity points of
staple stocks."
There were no merchandising competencies with high
responses in the not included category.
Of the seven merchandising competencies, four were included in
one hundred percent (100.0%) of the programs' c u rric u la .
The remaining
three competencies were included to some degree in a t le a s t n in e ty -s ix
percent (96.0%) of the mid-management c u rric u la .
80
Table 9
General Question One - In s tru c tio n a l Area:
Merchandising
Response Choices
Competency Item
I
2
3
4
5
I & 2
Comb.
2 - £
Comb.
76. Price lin e stru ctures & pricing
p o lic ie s .
0 . 4
0.0
8.0
23
46.0
17
34:0
6
12.0
4
8.0
50 #
100.0 %
77. Ways prices psycholo g ic a lly a ffe c t cus­
tomers.
0
0.0
4
8.0
19
38.0
20
40.0
7
14.0
4
8.0
. .50 #
100.0 %
78. Taking accurate
stock counts.
2
4 .0
11
22.0
21
42.0
11
22.0
5
10.0
13 •
26.0
48 #
96.0 %
79. Using forms fo r
inventory co n tro l.
I
2.0
15
30.0
18
36.0
12
24.0
.4
8.0
16
32.0
49 #
98.0 %
80. Stockkeeping errors
a ffe c t p r o fits .
0
0.0
12
24.0
10
20.0
19
38.0
9
18.0
12
24.0
50 #
100.0 t
81. Complete assortments of wanted mer­
chandise must be
maintained.
I
2.0
5
10.0
22
44,0
16
32.0
6
12.0
6
12.0
49 #
98.0 %
82. Buyer must be kept
informed of low quan­
t i t y points of staple
merchandise.
0
0.0
15
30.0
20
40.0
10
20.0
510.0
15
30.0
50 #
100.0 %
Totals
4
1.1
66
18.9
133
38.0
105
30.0
42
12.0
70
20.0
346 #
98.9 %
81
In s tru c tio n a l Area: Product and
Service Technology
Since there were seven product and service technology compe­
tency
items and f i f t y responding head coordinators there were three
hundred f i f t y
(350) to ta l responses in the product and service tech­
nology in s tru c tio n a l area.
As shown in ta b le 10, a ll seven of the competencies in this
in s tru c tio n a l area were included in every program responding.
Product
and service technology was the only in s tru c tio n a l area where th is
fin ding was present.
F ifte e n point seven percent (15.7%) o f the to ta l responses
were in the l i t t l e
emphasis response choice category.
Competencies
with high response in th is category were number e ig h ty-th re e (8 3 ),
"Product information sources;" number e ig h ty -fiv e (8 5 ), "D iffe re n t
labels which id e n tify products;" and number e ig h ty -s ix (8 6 ), "Brand
or trade names."
The two items th a t received the most emphasis were number
e ig h ty -fo u r (8 4 ), "Value of advertising information to salespeople;"
and number e ig h ty -e ig h t (8 8 ), "Adequate product inform ation builds
customer confidence."
Table 10
General Question One - In stru c tio n a l Area: Product & Service Technology
Response Choices
}
Competency Item
I
2
3
.
4
5
Comb.
Comb.
83. Product informatio n sources.
0 ' /12
0.0 24.0
19
38.0
9
18.0
10
20.0
12
24.0
84. Value of advertis in g information
to salespeople.
0
0.0
' 3
6.0
14
28.0
25
50.0
8
16.0
3
6.0
50 #
100.0 %
85. D iffe re n t labels
which id e n tify , pro­
ducts & contents.
0
0.0
14
28.0
17
34.0
12
24.0
7 .
14.0
14
28.0
50 #
100.0 %
86. Brand or trade
names. •
0
0.0
13
17
26.0 . 34.0
12
24.0
8
16.0
13
26.0
50 #
100.0 %
87. F a m ilia rity with
trade jo u rn als.
0
0.0
7
14.0
19
38.0
14
28.0
10
20.0
7
14.0
50 #
100.0 %
88. Adequate product
information builds
customer confidence.
0
0 .0 :
I
2.0
15
30.0
18
36.0
16
32.0
I
. 2 .0
50 #
. 100.0 %
89. Merchandise in fo r mation may be found in
advertisements.
0
0.0
5
10.0
15
30.0
23
46.0
7
14.0
5
10.0
50 #
100.0 %
Totals
0
0 .0
55
116
15.7 33.1
113
32.3
66
18.9
'
55
15.7
50
100.0
#
%
350 #
100.0 %
83
In stru c tio n a l Area;
Management
Operations and
Since there were eleven operations and management competency
items and f i f t y head coordinators responding there were fiv e hundred
fifty
(550) to ta l responses in the operations and management in stru c ­
tio n a l area.
As shown in Table 11, o f the fiv e hundred f i f t y
(550) to ta l
responses to the eleven operations and management competency items,
n in e ty -fo u r point two percent (94.2%) of the responses were in the
included to some degree combination category.
A to ta l o f nineteen
point one percent (19.1%) o f the responses were in the combined l i t t l e
or no emphasis category.
Two competencies stood out w ith high response rates in the
not included category.
They were number n in e ty-th re e (9 3 ), "How to
take care of employee and customer a c c id e n t s a n d number n in e ty -fiv e
(9 5 ), "Handling and caring fo r equipment."
In addition to the competencies mentioned above, the follow ing
competencies had a high response in the combined l i t t l e or no emphasis
category:
number ninety-two (9 2 ), "Careful use of supplies w ill help
control expenses;" and number n in e ty -fo u r (9 4 ), "Determine in
various situ a tio n s the most e f f ic ie n t way to. get a job accomplished."
Six o f the eleven operations competencies were included in a ll
o f the programs' c u rric u la .
Of the remaining fiv e competencies
84
three had response rates o f n in e ty -s ix percent (96.0%) or greater.
Two other competencies had response rates th a t were quite low in the
included to some degree combination category.
Table 11
General Question One
In s tru c tio n a l Area:
Operations & Management
Response Choices
Competency Item
I
2
3
4 . 5
I & 2
Comb.
2 -5
Comb.
90. Actual control of
expenses must be car­
rie d out cooperatively
by a ll employees.
0
0.0
6
12.0
22
44.0
12
24.0
10
20.0
6
12.0
50 #
100.0 %
91. Small savings in
some expense areas
can mean a substan­
t i a l gain in p r o fits .
0
0.0
5
10.0
20
40.0
14
28.0
11
22.0
5
10.0
■ 50 #
100.0 %
92. Careful use of
supplies w ill help
control expenses.
I
2.0
13
26.0
19
38.0
.11
22.0
.6
12.0
14
28.0
49 #
98.0 %
13
26.0
18
36.0
13
26.0
5
10.0
I
2.0
31
62.0
37 #
74,0 %
7
2
4 .0 . 14.0
23
46.0
15.
30.0
. 3
. 6.0
9
18.0
48 #
96.0 %
14 ' 11
28.0 22.0
17
34.0
7
14.0
I
2.0
25
50.0
93. How to take care
o f employee & cus­
tomer accidents.
94. Determine in
various s itu a tio n s
the most e f f ic ie n t
way to get a job
accomplished.
95. Handling &
caring fo r equipment.
36 #
72.0 %
85
Table 11 (continued)
Response Choices
Competency Item
I
2
3
.
4
5
I &2
Comb.
2 - £
Comb.
96. Each employee made
to feel e ffo rts are
r e a lly a p p re c ia te d ..
0
0.0
3
14
6.0. 28.0
23
46.0
10
20.0
3
6.0
50 #
■ 100.0 %
97. Framework o f p o licies and procedures is
required.
0
0.0
2
4.0
12
24.0
23 ' 13
46.0 26.0
2
4.0
50 #
100.0 %
98. Special customer
services bu ild good­
w ill & help increase
sales.
0
0.0
I
2.0
15
30.0
. 25
50.0
9
18.0
I
2.0
50 #
100.0 %
99. Personnel organiz a tio n enables p o li­
cies of firm to be
c arried out.
2
4.0
5
10.0
20
40.0
17
34.0
6
12.0
7
14.0
48 . #
96.0 %
100. Lines of authorit y should be followed.
0
0.0
2
4.0
Tl
22.0
23
46.0
14
28.0
2
4.0
50 #
100.0 %
Totals
32
5 .8
73
13.3
186
33.8
175
31.8
84
15:3
105
19.1
518 #
94.2 %
In stru c tio n a l Area:
S e llin g
Since there were four s e llin g competency items and f i f t y
responding head coordinators there were two hundred (200) to ta l
responses in the s e llin g in s tru c tio n a l area.
86
As shown in Table 12, of the two hundred (200) to ta l responses
to the four s e llin g competencies, only one response was not in the
included to some degree combination category.
The o v e rall response
in the l i t t l e or no emphasis combined category was twelve point fiv e
percent (12.5%).
One competency had a noticeably high response in the l i t t l e , o r
no emphasis.category.
I t was number one hundred two (1 0 2 ), "Department
and merchandise locations in the business."
Table 12
General Question One - In stru c tio n a l Area:
S e llin g
Response Choices
Competency Item
101. Ways to handle
customer complaints.
102. Department &
merchandise loca­
tions in the busi­
ness.
103. Customer lo y a lty
can be b u ilt with
tim ely merchandise
and frie n d ly service.
. 4
5
I & 2
Comb.
2 - 5
Comb.
21
42.0
3
6.0
6
12.0
50 #
100.0 I
13
26.0
15 ’ 15
30.0 30.0
6
12.0
14
28.0
49 #
98.0. %
5
10.0
22
44.0
11
22.0
5
10.0
50 #
100.0 %
I
2
0
0,0
6
12.0
20
40.0
I
2.0
0
0.0
3
12
24.0
87
Table 12 (continued)
Response Choices
Competency Item
I
2
3
104. Feeling o f sin cere in te re s t in customers & th e ir problems
is important in.
s e llin g .
0
0.0
0
0.0
11
22.0
15
30.0
Totals
I
0.5
24
12.0
58
29.0
73
36.5
4
I & 2
Comb.
2 -5
Corrib.
24
48.0
0
0.0
50 #
. 100.0 %
,
44
22.0
25
12.5
199 #
99.5 %
5
Overview o f the Findings in General
Question One
Of the one hundred four (104) common competency items from the
eight various in s tru c tio n a l areas, s ix t y - f iv e (6 5 ), or sixty-tw o point
fiv e percent (62.5% ), were included to some degree of emphasis in the
responding general mid-management programs' c u rric u la .
Twenty-eight
(2 8 ), or tw enty-six point nine percent (26.9% ), o f the competencies .
were included in ninety to n in e ty -e ig h t percent (90.0-98.0% ) of the
c u rric u la .
Competencies where twenty percent (20.0%) or more o f the
programs' c u rric u la gave a competency l i t t l e or no emphasis numbered
th ir ty -th r e e (3 3 ), or th irty -o n e point seven percent (31.7%) of the
88
to ta l one hundred four (104) common, competencies.
Six competencies had noticeably high response rates in the
not included category.
They were number tw enty-six (2 6 ), "Attending
departmental and store-wide meetings is a good way to keep informed;"
number fo rty -n in e (4 9 ), "Training employees and follow ing-up on
tra in in g e ffec tive n e s s ;" number fifty -o n e (51):, "Accepting c ritic is m ;"
number seventy-four (7 4 ), "Reading and in te rp re tin g self-computing
scales;" number n in e ty-th re e (9 3 ), "How to take care o f employee and
customer accidents;" and number n in e ty -fiv e (9 5 ), "Handling and caring
fo r equipment."
In s tru c tio n a l areas, with the highest percentages o f response
fo r including competencies to some degree were a d v e rtis in g , product
and service technology, and s e llin g .
The lowest percentage o f response
in th is combination category was in math, which also had the highest
percentage o f response in the not included category and the combined
l i t t l e or no emphasis category.
Other in s tru c tio n a l areas with high response rates in the
l i t t l e or no emphasis combined Category were a d v e rtis in g , merchan­
d isin g , and operations and management.
A complete breakdown of the in s tru c tio n a l area and grand
to ta ls is shown in Table 13 on the follow ing page.
89
Table 13
General Question One - In s tru c tio n a l Area and Grand Totals ,
Response Choices.
Comb.
^ - 5
Comb.
I
In stru c tio n a l Area
I
2
Advertising .
' 36
I
0 .5 ’ 18.0
Communications
33 . .
3 .0 .
3 .
4 .
5
d C
56
28.0
74
37.0
33
16.5
37
18.5
199 #
99.5 I
86 . 315
7 .8 28.6
460
41.8
206
18.7
119
10.8
1067. #
97.0 %
Human Relations
'57
2.5
284
12.6
645
28.7
810 , 454
36.0 20.2
341 . .
15.1
2193 #
9,7.5 Io
Math
22
11.0
29
14.5
46
23.0
77
38.5
26
13.0
51
25.5
178 #
89.0 %
4
1.1
66
18.9
133
38.0
105
30.0
42
12.0
70
20.0
" 346 #
98.9 %
0
0.0
55
15.7
116
33.1
113
32.3
66
18.9
55
15.7
350 #
100.0 t
. 32
5.8
73
13.3
186
33.8
175.
31.8
84
15.3
105
19.1
518 ■#
94.2 %
44
22.0 .
25
12.5
199 #
99.5 %
803
15.5
.5060 #
97.1 %
Merchandising
.
Product & Service
Technology
Operations &
Management
S ellin g
I .
0.5
24
12.0
58
29.0
73.
36.5
Totals
150
2.9
. 653
12.6
1555
29.9
1887 . 955
36.3 18.4
90
Analysis of the Null Hypotheses
The four null hypotheses are discussed in two ways.
F ir s t ,
they are looked a t d e s c rip tiv e ly by comparing findings o f the two
demographic groups fo r each of the hypotheses.
Second, the hypotheses are in vestig ated in f e r e n t ia lIy by com­
paring again the two demographic groups fo r each null statement.
The calculated values fo r Z fo r each Mann-Whitney te s t are stated as
being e ith e r p o sitiv e dr negative.
This is due to the nature of the
c a lc u la tio n required fo r Z in a Mann-Whitney te s t since e ith e r LI or Li'
may be used in the formula fo r large samples with tie d ranks between
the samples (S ie g e l, 1956:121-125).
A.complete lis t in g of key figures including the sum of the
tie s (<ET), the sum o f the ranks (IL R ), U, and LI' is . given in
Appendix D.
.
Null Hypothesis One
Null hypothesis one was stated as follow s:
"There is no
s ig n ific a n t d ifferen ce in the common competency emphasis in each
in s tru c tio n a l area of general mid-management c u rric u la between programs
in IDECC member states and those in non-member s ta te s ."
As shown in Table 14, programs in IDECC member states had
higher percentages of response in the not included category, three
91
point fiv e percent (3,5% ), as opposed to programs in non-member s ta te s ,
two point two percent (2,2% ).
This higher percentage o f response also
held true in the combined l i t t l e or no emphasis category where programs
in IDECC member states had eighteen point four percent (18.4%) o f it s
responses in the category versus twelve percent (12.0%) response from
programs in non-member sta te s .
,,
In s p e c ific in s tru c tio n a l areas noticeable differences in
the not included category were found in the communications and math
areas with programs in IDECC member states having higher percentages
o f response.
P a rtic u la rly large differences between IDECC and non-IDECC
member s ta te s ' programs in the combined category of l i t t l e or no.
emphasis were in the in s tru c tio n a l areas o f communications, math,
merchandising, product and service technology, and s e llin g .
Al I of
these in s tru c tio n a l areas had higher percentages of response from
programs in IDECC member s ta te s .
On the follow ing page Table 14 begins which gives a.complete
tabulation o f the descrip tive data pertaining to null hypothesis one.
92
Table 14
Null Hypothesis One - D escriptive Data:
Programs in IDECC Member States Vs. Programs in Non-Member States
Response Choices
In stru c tio n a l
Area
Advertising
Communications
Human
R elations.
Math
IDECC
State
I
2
3
4 .
5
I & 2
Comb.
2.-5
Comb.
Yes
I
0.9
16
14.8
36
33.3
38
35,2
17
15.7
17
15.7
107 #
99.1 %
No
0
0.0
20
21.7
20
21.7
36
39.1
16
17.4 .
20
21.7
92 #
100.0 %
Yes
26
4.4
61
10.3
187
31.5
215
36.2
105
17.7
87
14.7
• 568 #
■ 95.6 %
No
7
• 1.4 .
25
4.9
128
25.3
245
48.4
101
20.0
32
6.3
499 #
98.6 %
Yes
33
2.7
159
13.1
379
31.2
378
31.1
266
21.9
192
15.8
1182 #
' 97.3 %
No
24
2.3
125
12.1
266
25.7
432
41.7
188
18.2
149
14.4
1011 #
97.7 %
Yes
16
14.8
21
19.4
22
20.4
36
33.3.
13
12.0
37
34.2
92 #
85.2 %
No
6
6.5
8
8.7
13
14.1 '
14
15.2
86 #
93.5 I
24 . 41
26.1 44.6
93
Table 14 (continued)
Response Choices
in stru c tio n a l
Area
IDECC
State
Merchandising
Yes
Product &
Service
Technology
Operations &
Management
S e llin g
Totals
I
2
3
4
5
I & 2
Comb.
2 - 5
Comb.
4
■ 2.1
49
25,9
72
38.1
45
23.8
19
10.0
53
28.0
185 #
97.9 %
No
0
0.0
17
10.6
61
60
37.9. 32.3
23
37.3
17
10.6
161 #
100.0 %
Yes
0
0.0
39
20,6
72
38.1
48
25.4
30
15.9
20.6
189 #
100.0 %
No
0
0.0
16
9.9
44
27.3
65
40.4
36
22.4
16
9.9
161 #
100.0 %
Yes
18
6.1
55
18.5
111
37.4
69
23.2
44
14.8
73
24.6
279 #
93.9 %
No ■
14
5.5
.18
7.1
75
29.6
106
41.9
40
15.8
32
12.6
239 #
94.5 %
Yes
0 . 18
0.0 16.7
37
34.3.
31
28.7
22
20.4
18
16.7
108 #
100.0 %
No
I
1.1
6 ' 21
6.5 22.8
42
45.7
22
23.9
7
7.6
91 #
98.9 %
Yes
98
3.5
4T8
14.9
916
32.6
860
30.6
516
18.4
516
18.4
2710 #
96.5 %
No
52
2.2
235
9 .8
639
26.7
1027
42.9
439
18.4
287
12.0
2340 #
97.9 %
"39
■
94
As shown in Table 15, there was no s ig n ific a n t d ifferen ce
between programs in IDECC member states and programs in non-member
states in each of the e ig h t in s tru c tio n a l areas.
Therefore, the
null was retained in each of the in s tru c tio n a l areas fo r null hypothe­
sis one.
A complete lis t in g of p e rtin e n t data re la tin g to the
in fe r e n tia l technique applied to null hypothesis one is. shown in
Appendix D.
Table 15
Null Hypothesis One: Programs in IDECC Vs. Non-IDECC Member States
Mann-Whitney Test; Alpha = .05; C r itic a l Value = ± 1.960
In s tru c tio n a l Area
Calculated Z
R eject/R etain the Null
Advertising
+
.1570
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
Communications
± I .3930
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
Human Relations
+
.6620
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
Math
+ I .6533
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
Merchandising
t I .3264
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
Product & Service
Technology
+ I .9532
; Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
95
Table 15 (continued)
In stru c tio n a l Area
Operations &
Management
S e llin g
\
Calculated Z .
R eject/R etain the Null
± I .8644
. Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
± 1.3352
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
Null Hypothesis Two
Null Hypothesis two was stated as follow s:
"There is no
s ig n ific a n t d ifferen ce in the common competency emphasis in each
in s tru c tio n a l area o f general mid-management c u rric u la between
programs th a t have head coordinators who have been mid-management
coordinators fo r over four years and those who have been coordinators
fo r four years or le s s ."
As shown in Table 16, programs with head coordinators who
began as mid-management coordinators before the F all of 1974 had a
lower percentage o f to ta l responses in the not included category, two
point fiv e .p e rc e n t (2.5% ), versus th e ir less experienced counterparts,
three point fiv e percent (3.5% ).
This lower percentage was also
evident in the combined category of l i t t l e
or no emphasis where head
coordinators beginning before the F a ll o f 1974 had th irte e n point fiv e
96
percent (13,5%) o f t h e ir responses in the category as opposed to
eighteen point six percent (18.6%) o f to ta l response from head
coordinators with less experience.
Only one noticeable difference was present in the not included .
category o f a s p e c ific in s tru c tio n a l area.
I t occurred in the
operations and management area where nine point one percent (9.1%)
o f the to ta l response of the less experienced head coordinators com­
pared. to three point e ig h t percent (3.8%) o f the response of the more
experienced coordinators.
P a rtic u la rly large differences between the two groups of
coordinators in the combined l i t t l e or no emphasis category were in
the in stru c tio n a l areas of a d v e rtis in g , communications, operations
and management, and s e llin g .
In each of these four in stru c tio n a l
areas the higher percentage of response was a ttrib u te d to coordinators
beginning as mid-management coordinators since the F a ll o f 1974 or
la te r .
On the follow ing page Table 16 begins which gives a complete
breakdown of the descrip tive data p ertainin g to null hypothesis
two.
97
Table 16
Null Hypothesis Two " D escriptive Data;
Programs with Head Coordinators Beginning Before Fall o f 1974
Vs. Those with Head Coordinators Beginning Since Fall o f 1974 or Later
In stru c tio n a l
Area
Before
1974/
Since
1974
Advertising
Before
1974
I
0.8
18
14.5
27
21.7
53
42.7
Since
1974
0
0.0
18
23.7
29
38.2
21
27.6
Before
1974
18
2.6
37
5.4
Since
1974
.15
3.6
Before
1974
Since
1974
Communications
Human
Relations
Math
Response Choices
I & 2
Comb.
2 - £
Comb.
25
20.2
19
15.3
123 #
99.2 7
•8
10.5
18
23.7
. 76 #
100.0 %
172
25.2
276 . 179
40.5 26.3
55
8.0
664 #
97.4 %
49
11.7
143
34.2
184
44.0
27
6.5
. 64
15.3
403 #
96.4 %
30.
2.2
. 157
11.3
359
25.7
499
35.8
350
25.1
187
13.5
1365 #
97.8 %
27
3.2
127
14.9
286
33.5
311
36.4
104
12.2
154
18.1
828 #
96.8 %
Before
1974
13
10.5
18
14.5
21
16.9
49
39.5
23
1 3.6
31
• 25.0
111 #
89.5 %
Since
1974
9
11.8
11
14.5
25
32.9
28
36.8
3
4.0
20
26.3
I
2
3
4
5
o
67 #
88.2 7
o
\
98
Table 16 (continued)
In stru c tio n a l
Area
Merchandising
Product &
S e rv ic e .
Technology
Operations &
Management
S elling
Totals
Before
1974/
Si nce
1974
I
Before
1974
4;
1.8
41 .
18.9
72
70
33 .2
3 2.3
Since
1974
0
0.0
25
18.8
61
45.9
Before
1974
0
0.0
35
16.1
Since
1974
0
0.0
Before
1974
13
3 .8
Since
1974
Response Choices •
Comb.
2 - E)
Comb.
30
13.8
45
20.7
98 .2
35
26.3
12
9.0
25
18.8
133 #
100.0 %
50
23.0
71
32.7
61
28.1
35
16.1
217 #
100.0 %
20
15.0
66
49.6
42
31.6
5
3.8
20
15.0
133
100.0
#
%
37
10.9.
no
107
31.4
74
21.7
50
14.7
328
96.2
#
3 2.3
19
36
9.1 . 17.2
76
36.4
32.5
10
4.8
55 .
26.3
190 #
90.9 %
Before
1974
I
0 .8
11
8.9
37
29.8
39
31.5
36
29.0
12
9.7
123 #
99.2 %
Since
1974
0
0.0
13
17.1
21
27.6
34
44.7
8
10.5
13
17.1
76 #
100.0 %
Before
1974
80
2.5
354
11.0
848
26.3
1164
36.1
778
24.1
434
13.5
' 3144 #
97.5 %
Since
1974
70
3.5
299
15.1
707
707
36.6
177
9.0
369
3 5.8
18 .6
1906 #
96.5 %
2
3
4
68
5
I
& 2
213 #
%
%
99
As shown in Table 17, there were s ig n ific a n t differences in
the common competency emphasis of three in stru c tio n a l areas between
programs with head coordinators beginning as mid-management coordi­
nator before the F a ll o f 1974 versus programs with less experienced
coordinators.
Those three in s tru c tio n a l areas were a d v e rtis in g ,
communications, and operations and management.
In each of these
three in s tru c tio n a l areas programs with head coordinators who had more
than four years experience gave s ig n ific a n tly greater emphasis to
the competencies in th e ir c u rric u la .
A complete lis t in g of p e rtin e n t data re la tin g to the in fe r ­
e n tia l. technique applied to null hypothesis two is shown in Appendix D.
Table 17
Null Hypothesis Two: Programs with Head Coordinators
Beginning Before F a ll o f 1974 Vs. Since F all o f 1974 or Later
Mann-Whitney Test; Alpha = .05; C r itic a l Value = + T.960
In stru c tio n a l Area
Calculated Z
R eject/R etain the Null
Advertising
+ 2.0758
R e je c t-S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
Communications
+ 2.8506
R e je c t-S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
Human Relations
+ 1.4394
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
Math
+ 1.2732
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
Difference
100
Table 17 (continued)
In stru c tio n a l Area
Calculated Z
R e je c t/Retain the Null
Merchandising
+
.9313
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
Product & Service
Technology
+ 1.8952
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
Operations & Management
± 2,3654
R e je c t-S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
S e llin g
± 1.5021
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
Null Hypothesis Three
Null hypothesis three was stated as follow s:
"There is no
s ig n ific a n t d iffe re n c e in the common competency emphasis in each
in s tru c tio n a l area of general mid-management c u rric u la between programs
th a t have been in operation fo r over four years and those th a t have
been operating fo r four years or le s s ."
As shown in Table 18, the older established general mid­
management programs had a lower percentage of to ta l responses in the
not included category., two point seven percent (2.7% ), versus those
programs established since the F a ll o f 1974 or la te r ,, three point
seven percent (3.7% ).
101
This lower percentage o f response did not follow in the
combined l i t t l e
or no emphasis category where those programs
established before the F a ll o f 1974 had a higher response r a te , fifte e n
point seven percent (15.7% ), as opposed to the response percentage
from the newer programs, th irte e n point nine percent (13.9%).
In the s p e c ific in s tru c tio n a l areas noticeable differences
in the not included response category were found in math and operations
and management.
A higher response ra te was a ttrib u te d to the older
programs in the math area, and the higher rate of response was from
the newer programs in the in s tru c tio n a l area of operations and
management.
P a rtic u la rly large differences in ra te o f response in the
combined category of l i t t l e or no emphasis were found in the areas
of merchandising and product and service technology.
In both
areas the higher response ra te came from programs th a t were established
before the F a ll of 1974.
On the follow ing page Table 18 begins which gives a complete
breakdown o f the d e scrip tive data p ertainin g to null hypothesis
three.
102
Table 18
Null Hypothesis Three - D escriptive Data;
Programs Beginning Operation Before Fall of 1974
Vs. Programs Beginning Operation Since Fall o f 1974 or Later
In stru c tio n a l
Area
Advertising
Communications
Human
Relations
Math
Before
1974/ .
Since
1974
Response Choices
I &2
Comb.
2 - 5
Comb.
28
17.1
28
17.1
163 #
99.4 %
14
38.9
5
13.9
9
. 25.0
36 #
100.0 %
255
28.3
357
39.6
192
21.3
98
10.9
876 #
97.1 %
14
7.1
60
30.3
103
52.0
14
7.1
21
10.6
191 #
96.5 %
42
2.3
247
13.4
510
27.6
633
34.3
413
22.4
289
15.7
1803 #
97.7 %
Since
1974
15
3.7
37
9.1
135
33.3
177
43.7
41
10.1
52
12.8
390 #
96.3 %
Before
1974
9
11.6
21
12.8
36
22.0
64
39.0
24
14.6
40
24.4
145 #
88.4 %
Since
1974
3
8,3
8
22.2
10
27.8
13
36.1
2
5.6
11
31.5
33 #
91.7 %
I
2
3
4
Before
1974
I
0.6
27
16.5
48
29.3
60
36.6
Since
1974
0
0.0
9
25.0
8
22,2
Before
1974
26
2.9
72
8.0
Since
1974
7
3.5
Before
1974
•
5
103
Table 18 (continued)
In stru c tio n a l
Area
Merchandi sing
Product &
Service
Technology
Operations &
Management
S e llin g
Totals
Before
1974/
Since
1974
Response Choices
I
2
3
4
5
I & 2
Comb.
2 - £
Comb.
Before
1974
4
1,4
59
20.6
105
36.6
80
27.9
39
13.6
63
22.0
283 #
98.6 %
Since
1974
0
0.0
7
11.1
28
44.4
25
39,7
7
11.1
63 #
100.0 %
Before
1974
0
0.0
50
17.4
81
28.2
91.
31.7
65
22.7
50
17.4
. 287 #
100.0 %
Since
1974
0
0.0
5
7.9
35
55.6
22
I
34.9 ' 1.6
5
7.9
63 #
100.0 %
Before
1974
23
5.1
57
12.6
150
33.3
139
30.8
82
18.2
80
17.7
428 #
94.9 %
Since
1974
9
9.1
16
16.2
36
36.4
36
36.4
2
2.0
25
25.3
90 #
90.9 %
Before
1974
0
0.0
22
13.4
50
30.5
51
31.1
41
25.0
22
13.4
164 #
100.0 %
Since
1974
I
2.8
2
5.6
8
22.2
22
61.1
3
8.3
3
8 .4
Before
1974
115
2.7
555
13.0
1235
29.0
1475
884
34.6 . 20.7
670
15.7
4149 #
97.3 %
Since
1974
35
3.7
98
10.2
320
34.2
412
44.0
133
13.9
901 #
96.3 %
3
4 .8 .
71
7.6
' . 35
97.2
#
%
.104'
As shown in Table 19, there was no s ig n ific a n t d ifference
between programs established before the F a ll o f 1974 and those th at
have begun operating since the Fall o f 1974 or la t e r in terms of common
competency emphasis in each of the eight in s tru c tio n a l areas.
Therefore, the null hypothesis was retained in a ll eigh t in stru c tio n a l
areas.
A complete lis t in g o f p e rtin e n t data re la tin g to the in f e r ­
e n tia l technique applied to null hypothesis three is shown in
Appendix D.
.
Table 19
Null Hypothesis Three: Programs Beginning Operation
Before F a ll o f 1974 Vs. Since Fall of 1974 or Later
Mann-Whitney Test; Alpha = .05; C r itic a l Value = + 1.960
In s tr u c t!onal Area
Calculated Z
R eject/R etain the Null
Advertising
+
.0509
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
Communications
+
.8214
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
Human Relations
+
.2021
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
Math
+
.5745
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
Merchandising
+
.1139
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
105
Table 19 (continued)
In stru c tio n a l Area
Calculated Z
Product & Service
Technology
Operations
.9755
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
Difference
± 1.2916
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
.1783
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
±
.
S e llin g
R e je c t/Retain the Null
+
Null Hypothesis Four .
Null hypothesis four was stated as follow s:
"There is no
s ig n ific a n t d iffe re n c e in the common competency emphasis in each
in s tru c tio n a l area o f general mid-management c u rric u la between programs
th a t have students p a rtic ip a te in ju n io r c o lle g ia te DECA competencybased com petitive events and those th a t do not."
As shown in Table 20, there was no d ifferen ce in the not
included category between the response percentages of programs th at
have students p a rtic ip a te in DECA ju n io r c o lle g ia te competencybased events and those programs th a t do not.
ra te in the combined l i t t l e
However, the response
or no emphasis category was s lig h tly
higher from programs th a t do not have students p a rtic ip a te in
competency-based events, th irte e n point nine percent (13.9% ), versus
106
eleven point fiv e percent (11.5%).
In terms of the s p e c ific in s tru c tio n a l areas only one
noticeable d iffe re n c e appeared in the not included category.
This
d ifferen ce was in the math area with the higher response rate coming
from those programs th a t do not have students p a rtic ip a te in the
com petitive events, th irte e n point six percent (13.6%) versus eight
point nine percent (8.9% ).
The combined response category of l i t t l e or no emphasis had
two p a r tic u la r ly large d iffe re n c e s.
In the area of product and
service technology the response ra te was more than double from those
programs th a t do not have students p a rtic ip a te than from programs
th a t do have students involved in DECA competency-based events.
The other noticeable d iffe re n c e in the combined l i t t l e or no emphasis
category was in operations and management where the higher response
ra te came from those programs th a t do have students p a rtic ip a te ,
twenty-two point one percent (22.1%) versus fifte e n point three
percent (15.3%).
On the follow ing page Table 20 begins which gives a complete
breakdown o f the descrip tive data p ertainin g to null hypothesis
four.
1■
107
Table 20
Null Hypothesis Four - D escriptive Data: :
Programs with Students P a rtic ip a tin g in DECA Competency-Based Events
Response Choices
In stru c tio n a l
Area
Y e s /.
No
Advertising
Yes
I
0.9
22
19.6
No
0
0.0
Yes.
No
Communications
I & 2
Comb.
2 - E
Comb.
23
20.5
23
20.5
Ill #
99.1 %
27
30.7
37 . 10
42.1 11.4
14
15.9
35
5.7
172
27.9
259
42.1
128
20.8
57
9.3
594 #
96.4 %
11
2.3
51
10.5
143
29.6
20.1
41.5
78
16.1
62
12.8
473 #
97.7 %
28
: 2.2
141
11.2
299
23.7
461
36.6
331
26.3 .
169
13.4
1232 #
97.8 %
No
29
2.9
143
14.4
346
35.0
349
35.3
123
12.4
172
17.3
961 #
97.1 %
Yes
10
8.9
18
16.1
22
19.6
48
42.9
14
12.5
28
25.0
102 #
91.1 %
No
12
13.6
11
12.5
24
27.3
29
33.0
12
13.6
23
26.1
76 #
86.4 %
2
3
4
5
29
25.9
37
33.0
14
15.9
22
3.6
I
88
100.0
#
%
,
Human
Relations
Math
Yes
108
Table 20 (continued)
Response Choices
Area
I ca/
. No
Merchandising
Yes
Product &
Service
Technology
Comb.
- L
Comb.
53
23
27.0 . T l. 7
36
18.1
193
98.5
49
31.8
■52
33.8
19
12.3
34
22.1
153
99.3 %
21
10.7
74
37.8
63
32.1
38
19.4
21
10.7
196
100.0
%
0
0.0
34
22.1
42
27.3
50
32.5
28
18.2
34
22.1
154
100.0
%
19
6.2
49
15.9
86 ■ 102
27.9 33.1
52
16.9
68
22.1
289
93.8
%
13
5.4
24
9.9
100
41.3
73
30.2
32
13.2
37
15.3
229
94.6
%
0
0.0
15
13.4
32
28.6
35 ■ 30
31.3 26.8
15
13.4
112
100.0
%
No
I
1.1
9
10.2
26
29.6
38
43.2
14
15.9
10
11.3
87 #
98.9 %
Yes
83
2.9
334
11.5
798
27.4
1058
36.3
639
21.9
417
14.4
2829
97.1
67
2.9
319
13.9
757
33.1
829
36.2
316
13.8
386
16.8
2221 #■
97.1 %
2
3
1.5
33
16.8
84
42.9
No
I
0.7
33
21.4
Yes
0
0.0
No
Operations &
Management
Yes
No
S e llin g
Totals
I
I
Yes
No
3
4
. 5'
Ot
C.
C.
#
%
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
%
109
As shown in Table 21, there was no s ig n ific a n t d ifference
in the common competency emphasis in each o f the eight in stru c tio n a l
areas between programs th a t have students p a rtic ip a te in ju n io r col­
le g ia te DECA competency-based com petitive events and those programs
th a t do not have students p a rtic ip a te .
Therefore, the null hypothesis
was retained fo r a ll of the eight in s tru c tio n a l areas.
A complete lis t in g o f p e rtin e n t data re la tin g to the in f e r ­
e n tia l , technique applied to null hypothesis four is shown in
Appendix D.
Table 21
Null Hypothesis Four: Programs with Students P a rtic ip a tin g in DECA
Competency-Based Events Vs. Programs That Do Not P a rtic ip a te
Mann-Whitney Test; Alpha = .05; C r itic a l Value = + I .960
In s tru c tio n a l' Area
Calculated Z
R eject/R etain the Null
Advertising
+
.0690
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
Communi cations
+
.4988
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
Human Relations
+ 1.6910
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
Math
+
.3162
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
Merchandising
+
.1959
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
no
Table 21 (continued)
In s tru c tio n a l Area
. Calculated Z
R eject/R etain the Null
Product &.Service
Technology
+
, 7354
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
Operations &
Management
±
. 3234
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
S e llin g
+
.2829
Retain-No S ig n ific a n t
D ifference
Summarization
Chapter Four has discussed the findings o f the study.
A to ta l o f sixty-tw o (62) general mid-management programs were iden­
t i f i e d in the Northwestern Vocational Curriculum Management Region,
o f which t h i r t y - f iv e (3 5 ), f i f t y - s i x point fiv e percent (56.5% ), were
located in IDECC member s ta te s .
Of the f i f t y
(50) responding programs
to the survey instrument th irty -o n e (3 1 ), sixty-tw o percent (62.0% ),
had head coordinators who had been mid-management coordinators since
before the F a ll of 1974.
Forty-one (4 1 ), eighty-two percent (82.0% ),
of the programs were established before the Fall of 1974.
In a d d itio n ,
tw enty-eight (2 8 ), f i f t y - s i x percent (56.0% ), of the responses came
from programs th a t have students p a rtic ip a te in DECA competencybased com petitive events.
m
Findings re la te d to general question one included:
1)
Six competencies had noticeably high response rates in the
not included response choice category.
They were, competency items
number tw enty-six (2 6 ), "Attending departmental and store-wide
meetings is a good way to keep informed;" number fo rty -n in e (4 9 ),
"Training employees and f o i l owing-up on tra in in g effectiveness
number fifty -o n e (5 1 ), "Accepting c ritic is m ;" number seventy-four (7 4 ),
"Reading and in te rp re tin g self-computing scales; and number ninetyfiv e (9 5 ), "Handling and caring fo r equipment."
2)
In stru c tio n a l areas with the highest percentages of
response fo r including competencies to some degree in the c u rric u la
were a d v e rtis in g , product and service technology, and s e llin g .
3)
In stru c tio n a l areas with the highest percentages of
response fo r giving competencies l i t t l e or no emphasis in the cur­
ric u la included math, a d v e rtis in g , and operations and management.
4)
The in s tru c tio n a l area with the highest percentage of
response fo r not including competencies in c u rric u la was math.
There was no s ig n ific a n t d ifferen ce between programs in IDECC
member states and programs in non-IDECC member states in terms of
common competency emphasis in each of the eigh t in s tru c tio n a l areas.
There was a s ig n ific a n t d iffe re n c e in the common competency
emphasis in the areas of a d v e rtis in g , communications, and operations
and management between programs with head coordinators beginning as
112
mid-management coordinators before the F a ll of 1974 and programs
whose head coordinators began since the F a ll of 1974 or la t e r .
In a ll three cases the more experienced head coordinators placed
s ig n ific a n tly greater emphasis on the competencies in each in s tru c ­
tio n a l area.
There was no s ig n ific a n t d ifferen ce in the common competency
emphasis in the e ig h t in stru c tio n a l areas between programs established
before the F a ll o f 1974 and programs established since the F a ll of
1974 or la t e r .
There was no s ig n ific a n t d ifferen ce in the common competency
emphasis in the eigh t in stru c tio n a l areas between programs th a t have
students p a rtic ip a te in ju n io r c o lle g ia te DECA competency-based
com petitive events and programs th a t do not.
Chapter 5
.
SUMMARIZATION, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summarization
With the growth o f mid-management education in the la s t ten
to fifte e n years has come discussion concerning post-secondary d is­
tr ib u tiv e education's o b je c tiv e s , r o le , and curriculum content.
I t was the primary purpose of th is study to determine i f general midmanagement programs in the Northwest have a common core curriculum..
This study was needed to help the d is c ip lin e o f post­
secondary d is trib u tiv e education come to grips with it s own id e n tity
■ ■■
. ,
in a c u rric u la r sense. The research was lim ite d to studying general
mid-management programs in the Northwestern Vocational Curriculum
Management Region, and th e re fo re , the findings were applicable to
only th a t p a rtic u la r type o f program in the ten state region
id e n tifie d .
The review of lit e r a t u r e was divided in to three main sections
as follow s:
I ) the re la tio n s h ip of mid-management education with
the re st of d is tr ib u tiv e education; 2) the goals and purposes of
mid-management programs; and 3) the development o f the mid-management
c u rric u lu m ..
The f i r s t o f these three sections d e a lt with an overview of
d is tr ib u tiv e education and mid-management's role w ithin th is e n tire
114
vocational d is c ip lin e .
Post-secondary d is trib u tiv e education was
contrasted with secondary and adult programs in terms of program
duration, distinguishing c h a ra c te ris tic s , and c lie n te le .
The second section o f the review, which addressed the goals
and purposes o f mid-management programs, d e a lt with the place of the
m iddle-level worker in the labor market.
The discussion also consid­
ered the factors which d iffe r e n tia te a m iddle-level occupation from
the other various occupational s tra ta .
Out o f such a context the lit e r a t u r e was reviewed regarding
viewpoints as to what the goals of mid-management education are or
should be.
The watershed o f th is discussion took place with the
publication of the USOE1s Post Secondary D is trib u tiv e Education,
A Suggested Guide For Administrators and Teachers in 1969.
The purpose o f the th ird section o f the review was to present
information about the development o f the mid-management curriculum.
The section was divided into three subsections as fo llo w s :
I ) general
curriculum p a tte rn s ; 2) a competency approach to building a mid­
management curriculum , which covered the contributions and e ffec ts
of the work by Crawford and IDECC; and 3) s p e c ific recommendations
fo r a mid-management curriculum th a t have been made by various authors.
Chapter Three contained a d e ta ile d description of the methods
and procedures undertaken in the study.
The survey population
included a ll mid-management coordinators who head general
115
mid-management programs in the Northwestern Vocational Curriculum
Management Region.
A survey form was mailed out during the Fall of
1978 to determine i f c e rta in competencies were included and to what
degree o f emphasis in local programs' general mid-management c u rricu la
The instrument took into account c e rta in contaminating variables which
might have influenced the resu lts of the study.
Data was analyzed d e s c rip tiv e ly in order to answer the
study's f i r s t general question which was concerned with the number
o f common competencies th a t were included in the c u rric u la of the
Region's general mid-management programs.
A Mann-Whitney te s t of
independence a t the .05 level of sign ificance was used to te s t the
four null hypotheses fo r each of the eigh t in s tru c tio n a l areas studied
A Z value was calculated due to the large number o f observations.
The Z value was also corrected fo r tie s in ranks between the two
sample groups fo r each of the null hypotheses.
Chapter Four discussed the findings o f the study.
A to ta l o f sixty-tw o (62) general mid-management programs were iden­
t i f i e d in the Northwestern Region, of which t h i r t y - f iv e (35) were
located in IDECC member sta te s .
Of the f i f t y
(50) responding programs
to the survey instrum ent, th irty -o n e (31) had head coordinators who
had been.mid-management coordinators since before the F a ll o f 1974.
Forty-one (41) of the programs responding were established before the
F a ll of 1974.
In a d d itio n , tw enty-eight (28.) of the responses came
116
from programs th a t have students p a rtic ip a te in DECA competencybased com petitive events.
Findings re la te d to general question one included:
1)
Six competencies had noticeably high response rates in the
not included response choice category.
2)
In s tru c tio n a l areas with the highest percentages of
response fo r including competencies to some degree in the c u rricu la
were a d v e rtis in g , product and service technology, and s e llin g .
3)
In stru c tio n a l areas with the highest percentages of
response where competencies received l i t t l e or no emphasis in the .
c u rric u la included math, a d v e rtis in g , merchandising, and operations
and management.
4)
Math was the in s tru c tio n a l area th a t had the highest
percentage of to ta l responses in the not included category.
Regarding nu ll hypothesis one, there was no s ig n ific a n t
d ifferen ce in the common competency emphasis in each of the eight
in s tru c tio n a l areas between programs in IDECC member states and pro­
grams in non-member s ta te s .
For null hypothesis two there was a s ig n ific a n t d ifference in
the common competency emphasis in the areas of a d v e rtis in g , communi­
cations, and operations and management between programs w ith head
coordinators beginning as mid-management coordinators before the Fall
of 1974 and programs whose head coordinators began since the F all of
/: V -
;
\
117
1974 or la t e r .
In each o f these three in stru c tio n a l areas, programs
with head coordinators who had more than four years experience gave
s ig n ific a n tly greater emphasis to the competencies.
For null hypothesis three there was no s ig n ific a n t difference
in the common competency emphasis in the eigh t in s tru c tio n a l areas
between programs established before the F a ll of 1974 and programs
established since the F a ll of 1974 or la t e r . .
Regarding null hypothesis four there was no s ig n ific a n t d i f ­
ference between programs th a t have students p a rtic ip a te in DECA com­
petency-based com petitive events and programs.that do not in terms
o f common competency emphasis in the eigh t in stru c tio n a l areas.
Concl us ions
The follow ing conclusions have been drawn from the analysis
of the study's findings concerning the c u rric u la of general mid­
management programs in public post-secondary educational in s titu tio n s
in the Northwestern Vocational Curriculum Management Region.
Conclusion One:
State Membership in IDECC
I t makes l i t t l e
d iffe re n c e , i f any, whether or not a general
mid-management program is located in an IDECC member s ta te with
regard to th a t program's emphasis upon common competencies.
This was .
concluded since no s ig n ific a n t d ifferen ce was found between programs
118
in IDECC member states and programs in non-member states in terms o f
. common competency emphasis in the e ig h t in s tru c tio n a l areas studied.
I t should be noted th a t th is conclusion does not address the
question o f whether a d iffe re n c e exists between local programs
possessing the IDECC system m aterials and programs th a t do not in
terms o f common competency emphasis.
Conclusion Two; Length o f Time Program
Has Been Established
Whether or not a general mid-management program was established
p rio r to or since the general dissemination and a v a ila b ility , of
IDECC curriculum m aterials is o f l i t t l e , i f any, consequence regarding
a program's degree o f emphasis upon common competencies in general
mid-management c u rric u la .
This was concluded since no s ig n ific a n t
d ifferen ce was found between programs established before the F a ll of
1974 and programs established since the F all o f 1974 or la t e r in terms
o f common competency emphasis in the e ig h t in s tru c tio n a l areas
studied,
Conclusion Three; P a rtic ip a tio n in DECA
Competency-Based Events
Whether or not a general mid-management program has students
p a rtic ip a te in DECA competency-based com petitive events is o f l i t t l e ,
i f any, consequence regarding a program's degree of emphasis upon
common competencies in general mid-management c u rric u la .
This was
119
concluded since no. s ig n ific a n t d ifferen ce was found between programs
th a t have students p a rtic ip a te in DECA competency-based competitive
events and programs th a t do not in terms o f common competency emphasis
in the eight in s tru c tio n a l areas studied.
Conclusion Four:
Head Coordinator Experience
In the in s tru c tio n a l areas o f a d v e rtis in g , communications, and
operations and management there is a s ig n ific a n t d iffe re n c e in the
degree of emphasis placed upon common competencies' between programs
with head coordinators who began as mid-management coordinators
before the general dissemination and a v a ila b ilit y o f IDECC curriculum
m aterials and programs with less experienced head coordinators.
The more experienced head coordinators' programs placed a.
s ig n ific a n tly greater emphasis upon the common competencies in the
areas of a d v e rtis in g , communications, and operations and management.
One would expect th a t newer head coordinators would place
greater emphasis upon competencies th a t are contained in a more
recent curriculum system lik e the one developed by IDECC. - However,
th is was not the case.
Conclusion Five:
Head Coordinator Experience
In the in s tru c tio n a l areas o f human re la tio n s , math, merchan­
d isin g , product and service, technology, and s e llin g there is l i t t l e ,
i f any, d ifferen ce in the degree o f common competency emphasis
T20
between programs th a t have head coordinators who began as mid­
management coordinators before the general dissemination and a v a ila ­
b i l i t y of IDECC curriculum m aterials and programs whose head
coordinators began as coordinators since the F all of 1974 or la te r .
This was concluded since no s ig n ific a n t d ifference was found
between these two groups of programs in the Region in terms of common
competency emphasis in the fiv e in s tru c tio n a l areas mentioned above.
Conclusion Six: Common Competencies Included
in the Programs Studied
The vast m a jo rity of the one hundred four (104) common com­
petencies are included with some degree of emphasis in most of the
general mid-management programs studied.
Of the to ta l one hundred
four (104) competencies from the eight in s tru c tio n a l areas, s ix ty fiv e (6 5 ), sixty-tw o point fiv e percent (62.5% ), were included with
some degree of emphasis in a ll of the responding programs' c u rric u la .
Twenty-eight (2 8 ), tw enty-six point nine percent (26.9% ), o f the
competencies were included in ninety to n in e ty -e ig h t percent (9 0 .0 98.0%) of the responding programs' c u rric u la .
Conclusion Seven: Competencies Given
L i t t l e or No Emphasis
A sizab le number o f competencies were given l i t t l e
emphasis in a high number of programs' c u rric u la .
or no
T h irty -th re e (3 3 ),
th irty -o n e point seven percent (3T.7%), o f the to ta l one hundred four
121
(104) competency items were given l i t t l e or no emphasis in a t least
twenty percent (20.0%) o f the responding programs.
Therefore, a sizab le amount o f what Crawford's study found,
what IDECC developed, and what national DECA has mandated is not being
followed in the f ie ld in the c u rric u la of general mid-management
programs in the Region.
Recommendations
The findings and conclusions of th is study appear to ju s t if y
the follow ing recommendations.
Recommendation One:
Teacher Education
In-S ervice
Since programs with head coordinators who began as mid­
management in stru cto rs before the.general dissemination and a v a ila ­
b i l i t y o f IDECC m aterials tended to place more emphasis upon the
common competencies, i t is recommended th a t teacher education programs
in the Northwestern Vocational Curriculum Management Region investig ate
the content and sequence o f th e ir in -s e rv ic e and master's level
c u rric u la in both the technical and professional areas.
I t is recognized by the researcher th a t many general mid­
management coordinators do not enter in to mid-management in stru ctio n
in community/junior colleges and vocational-techn ical schools through
d is tr ib u tiv e education teacher education programs.
Therefore, the
122
need fo r in -s e rv ic e o fferin g s fo r newer mid-management coordinators is
c r u c ia l.
Perhaps in te rs ta te cooperation between d is tr ib u tiv e education
teacher education programs would be desirable due to the r e la tiv e ly
small number o f programs in the m ajo rity o f states in the Region.
P a rtic u la r a tte n tio n by teacher-educators should be paid to
the in s tru c tio n a l areas of a d v e rtis in g , communications, and s e llin g
since s ig n ific a n t differences were found in common competency emphasis
between programs with more experienced head coordinators and those
with less experienced ones.
Recommendation Two: Communications and
Human Relations Emphasis
A second recommendation is offered fo r d is trib u tiv e education
teacher education programs in the Region th a t are concerned with
e ith e r pre-service or in -s e rv ic e education fo r mid-management
coordinators.
Since the in stru c tio n a l areas of communications and
human re la tio n s account fo r sixty-seven (6 7 ), or s ix ty -fo u r point four
percent (64.4% ), of the to ta l one hundred four (104) common compe­
ten cies, p a rtic u la r a tte n tio n should be paid to these in stru c tio n a l
areas in mid-management teacher-education programs.
This a tten tio n
should also be given to the teacher education programs fo r prospective
high school teachers since a great number o f fu tu re mid-management
coordinators come from high school teaching.
123
T r a d itio n a lly , mid-management coordinators have tended to
avoid teaching in the areas of communications and human re la tio n s fo r
a v a rie ty o f reasons.
The two most common reasons being:
I ) the
areas of communications and human re la tio n s are d i f f i c u l t to teach
and incorporate in to other subject areas; and 2) a b e lie f th a t mid­
management coordinators are hired to teach technical business subject
areas only.
These points of view are well taken.
Fo rtun ately, in
recent years a number of valuable and well conceived m aterials have
been w ritte n and developed by professionals in the f ie ld o f d is trib u ­
tiv e and business education th a t re la te to "real world" business
communications and human re la tio n s problems.
These m aterials should
be reviewed by teacher education students and presented by teacher
educators as much, i f not more., than m aterials in the more "te c h n ic a l"
areas o f s e llin g , a d v e rtis in g , merchandising, management, and others.
I t is part of the task of teacher education programs, be they
pre-service or in -s e rv ic e , to help mid-management coordinators over­
come the.problems mentioned above.
The job of teaching communications
and human re la tio n s concepts should not be l e f t solely to the English,
speech, arid social science portions o f the teacher education
curriculum.
124
Recommendation Three:
in IDECC ■
State Membership
I t is not w ithin the scope o f th is study or these recommen­
dations to.attem pt to convince or discourage the seven non-member'
states in the Region in jo in in g the Consortium..
However, i t is
appropriate to suggest to the various states th a t i f membership is
contemplated i t should not be fo r the reasons of improving or changing
the core content of the general mid-management c u rric u la of local
programs.
This is not to say th a t membership by a sta te in the
Consortium does not necessarily have b e n eficial aspects..
This comment is made since no s ig n ific a n t d iffe re n c e was
found between the degree of common competency emphasis in local pro­
grams in IDECC member states and programs located in non-IDECC member
sta te s .
Recommendation Four: ' DECA's E ffe c t
When the concept o f competency-based competitive events was
f i r s t investigated in 1972 by. the DECA national organization and with
the subsequent implementation of competency-based competition at
s ta te and national le v e ls , i t was surmised by the advocates.of the
new com petitive format th a t using Crawford's and IDECCs competencies
would improve the content of local program c u rric u la .
125
The evidence o f th is study does not support such a conclusion
a t the post-secondary level in general mid-management local programs.
The preceding comment is made since no s ig n ific a n t d ifferen ce was
found between the degree of emphasis on common competencies in local
programs, th a t have students p a rtic ip a te in DECA competency-based
com petitive events.and those programs th a t do not.
Therefore^ i t is a recommendation of th is study th a t the .
various states in the Region and the national o ffic e of DECA make a
p r io r ity commitment to determining what e ffe c ts , i f any, have
resulted from com petitive event reorganization as re la te d to the _■
improvement or m odification of c u rric u la in local mid-management
programs.
Recommendation Five:
IDECC Review
I t is recommended th a t the In te rs ta te D is trib u tiv e Education
Curriculum Consortium undertake s tu d ie s .th a t w ill in ve s tig ate the
e ffe c ts of it s curriculum m aterials and competency system upon local
programs in both IDECC member states and non-member s ta te s .
This
in ve s tig atio n should be done in addition to the Consortium's current
updating of m aterials in the seven o rig in a l occupational categories.
I t is fu rth e r recommended th a t such studies be undertaken
w ithin a t le a s t three years of the Consortium's introduction of
126
new competencies and curriculum m aterials in the occupational areas
o f tra n s p o rta tio n , apparel and accessories, real e s ta te , insurance,
and banking.
In a d d itio n , i t is recommended th a t these studies compare
local programs th a t possess the IDECC curriculum m aterials with
programs th a t do not in terms o f common competency emphasis in order
to determine the impact upon local c u rric u la .
127
APPENDIX A
F ir s t L e tte r o f Transm ittal
September 28, 1978
Dear
'
:
Presently I am working on a study under the d ire c tio n o f Dr. John Kohl
and Dr. Norm M illik in of Montana State U n iv e rsity. At th is point in
•time I need your help.
I would appreciate g re a tly your completing the enclosed survey.
In p re -te s tin g the instrument I have found th a t i t takes approximately
twenty minutes to complete the form.
Please return your completed survey by November I using the addressed,
stamped envelope provided. Your responses w ill be held in s tr ic te s t
confidence, and the resu lts o f the s tu d y .w ill not be reported
according to in divid ual in s titu tio n s or programs.
I f you would lik e a copy of the study's fin d in g s , please in dicate th is
on the.survey.
I w i ll mail you the findings upon the study's com­
p le tio n th is coming Spring.
Thank you fo r your consideration and assistance.
S in cerely,
Bob Kruse
A ssistant Professor
Business Adm inistration
• Enclosures
128
APPENDIX B
Survey Instrument
General Information
A.
B.
C.
State in which your mid-management program is located:
01:
Alaska
06:
Oregon
02:
Colorado
07:
South Dakota
03:
Idaho
08:
Utah
04:
Montana
09:
Washingtoni
05:
North Dakota
10:
Wyoming
When did you begin working as a mid-management coordinator?
_____01:
Before
____ 02;
Since the F all o f 1974 or la t e r .
When did your in s titu tio n begin operating a general mid-management
program?
____ 01:
____ 02:
D.
the F all of 1974.
Before
the F a ll of 1974.
Since the F all of 1974 or la t e r .
Do students enrolled in your in s titu tio n 's general mid-management
program p a rtic ip a te , in DECA competency-based com petitive events?
____ 01:
Yes
02:
No
129
Curriculum Information
Please in d icate to what degree the follow ing items are emphasized in
the curriculum o f your in s titu tio n 's general mid-management program
according to the follow ing scale:
1
2
3
4
5
-
item
item
item
item
item
not included in the curriculum
introduced, but receives l i t t l e
receives moderate emphasis
receives considerable emphasis
receives extensive emphasis
emphasis
For example, i f the follow ing item receives moderate emphasis in your
in s titu tio n 's general mid-management curriculum you would respond as
shown:
3 X. Knowledge of types o f in t e r io r and e x te rio r displays.
Degree
Of Emphasis .
■
I.
Knowledge of uses of promotional and in s titu tio n a l
a d v e rtisin g .
______
2.. Knowledge of purposes of a d vertisin g .
______
3. S k ill in keeping personnel informed of sales promotion
a c t iv it ie s
_____ _
4» A ttitu d e th a t i t is necessary to know facts about mer­
chandise advertised.
______
5. Knowledge o f how to address others in a business-like
manner.
______
6. Knowledge of when to keep communications c o n fid e n tia l.
______
7. Understanding th a t communications in assigning work means
a constant s triv in g fo r c la r it y .
______
8. Understanding why one must be careful in speaking so th a t
correct in te rp re ta tio n can be made.
130
Scale:
I
2
3
4
5
-
item
item
item
item
item
not included in the curriculum
introduced, but receives l i t t l e
receives moderate emphasis
receives considerable emphasis
receives extensive emphasis
emphasis
Degree
Of Emphasis
9. S k ill in lis te n in g to and follow ing d ire c tio n s .
10. S k ill in e ffe c tiv e use o f speech and vocabulary.
11. S k ill in in te rp re tin g management p o lic ie s to employees
and employee problems to management.
12. S k ill in communicating e ffe c tiv e ly with customers, coworkers, and supervisors.
13. A b ility to ta lk c le a rly and p lea s a n tly , conveying s p ir it
and enthusiasm.
14. A b ilit y to a s sis t with tra in in g and teaching others.
15. A b ilit y to convey d irection s and in structio ns c le a rly
to employees.
16. A ttitu d e th a t a b il it y to communicate s k i l l f u l l y in good
English is essential to personal business advancement.
17. A ttitu d e th a t poor or awkward grammar lowers customer
estim ation of store personnel, image, and merchandise
value.
18. A ttitu d e th a t the "spoken word" is an important tool of
the trade in marketing occupations.
19. Awareness o f types of inform ation one can get from trade
jo u rn als.
20. Awareness th a t the voice can express conviction and con­
vey confidence.
21. A ttitu d e th at tone of voice can express sincere welcome
and eagerness Lo be of service.
131 ;
Scale:
I
2
3
4
5
-
item not included in the curriculum
item introduced, but receives l i t t l e
item receives moderate emphasis
item receives considerable emphasis
item .receives extensive emphasis
emphasis
Degree
Of Emphasis
^____ _
22. Appreciation o f the value of correct enunciation and
pronunciation.
______
23. Awareness th a t enthusiasm can be contagious.
______
24. R ealization o f the importance of f i r s t and la s t impres­
sions.
______
25. Awareness th a t c e rta in words and terms can be m is in te r­
preted.
______
26. A ttitu d e th a t attending departmental and store-wide
meetings is a good way to keep informed.
______
27. Knowledge o f how to get resu lts through people with
e ffe c tiv e human re la tio n s .
■_ _ _ _ _
28. Knowledge o f factors which a ffe c t employee morale.
______
29. Knowledge o f how to dress and groom appropriately fo r
the job.
______
30.
Knowledge o f how to build employee morale.
•
31. Knowledge of how to recognize the accomplishments.of
others.
______
32. Knowledge o f how to develop and maintain a pleasant
working environment.
'
.______
33. Knowledge of how to be orderly and systematic.
34..
Knowledge of how to show in te re s t in others.
■ 35. Knowledge o f how to build sound working relationships in
"forced" associations.
132
Scale:
I
2
3
4
5
-
item
item
item
item
item
not included in the curriculum
introduced, but receives l i t t l e emphasis
receives moderate emphasis
receives considerable emphasis
receives extensive emphasis
Degree
Of Emphasis
______
36. Knowledge o f how to motivate others fo r best performance.
______
37. Understanding the meaning of the word morale.
______
38. Understanding th a t a p o s itiv e a ttitu d e is usually
re fle c te d in one's work.
______
39. Understanding th a t human re la tio n s consists of in t e r ­
dependence w ith fe llo w employees, supervisors, and
customers.
______
40. S k ill in developing and maintaining harmonious working
re la tio n s h ip s .
______
41. S k ill in working cooperatively with others.
______
42. S k ill in m aintaining an ob jective point of view in
problem s itu a tio n s .
______
43. S k ill in m aintaining good health fo r e ffe c tiv e job
performance.
______
44. S k ill in developing personality t r a it s necessary fo r
successful job performance.
______
45. S k ill in representing the business favorably to customers
and outside business associates.
'
______
-46. S k ill in adapting to the p ersonality and needs of cus­
tomers.
47. S k ill in avoiding misrepresentations of people, products,
and p o lic ie s .
133
Scale:
I
2
3
4
5
-
item
item
item
item
item
not included in the curriculum
introduced, but receives l i t t l e emphasis
receives moderate emphasis
receives considerable emphasis
receives extensive emphasis .
■ Degree
Of Emphasis
48. S k ill in selecting the r ig h t person to do a jo b , giving
c le a r in s tru c tio n s , and seeing th a t the in structio ns are
properly carried out.
49. S k ill in tra in in g employees and follow -up on tra in in g
. effectiven ess.
50. S k ill in exercising s e lf-c o n tro l in try in g s itu a tio n s .
51.. S k ill in accepting c ritic is m .
52. S k ill in demonstrating i n i t i a t i v e and c r e a tiv ity .
53. S k ill, in adjusting to change.
54. A b ilit y to understand one's s e lf.
55. S k ill in generating enthusiasm towards people.
56. A ttitu d e th a t personnel p o lic ie s are established fo r the
b e n e fit o f the business and the employee.
57. A ttitu d e th a t next to job performance, human re la tio n s is
an employee's greatest asset.
58. A ttitu d e th a t a worker's performance includes how he/she
influences other people.
59. A ttitu d e th a t honesty and in te g r ity are necessary person­
a l i t y t r a it s in c e rta in job s itu a tio n s .
60. Awareness th a t understanding others and one's s e lf is
basic to working harmoniously with others.
.61. Awareness th a t an employee must be w illin g to accept and
adjust to change.
134
Scale:
I
2
3
4
5
-
item
item
item
item
item
not included in the curriculum
introduced, but receives l i t t l e
receives moderate emphasis
receives considerable emphasis
receives extensive emphasis
emphasis
Degree
Of Emphasis
____ _
62. Awareness of the necessity to perform tasks in addition
to one's job re s p o n s ib ilitie s when s itu a tio n s necessi­
ta te .
______
63. B e lie f th a t a supervisor should set good examples of
personal work habits and character.
______
64. Awareness th a t good human re la tio n s improves employee
morale.
______
65. Awareness th a t good human re la tio n s helps increase
p ro d u c tiv ity .
______
66. Awareness th a t c r e a tiv ity among store personnel should
be rewarded.
______
67. Awareness th a t good human re la tio n s depends on person­
a l i t y fa c to rs .
______
68. R ealizatio n th a t employee's ideas often prove ben eficial
______
69; Recognition th a t tra in in g contributes to the under­
standing by supervisors o f the managerial functions they
must perform.
______
70. Awareness, th a t m otivation is closely connected with
communication.
_____
71. Recognition of the need fo r jo in in g and p a rtic ip a tin g in
professional meetings.
______
72. S k ill in m u ltip lyin g and extending fig u re s .
_____
73. S k ill in adding columns of fig u re s .
74. S k ill in reading and in te rp re tin g self-computing scales.
135
Scale: I
2
3
4
5
-
item
item
item
item
item
not included in the curriculum
introduced, but receives l i t t l e
receives moderate emphasis
receives considerable emphasis
receives extensive emphasis
emphasis
• Degree
Of Emphasis
______
.
75. S k ill in using and tra n s la tin g percentages.
76. Knowledge of p r ic e -lin e structures and p ricin g p o lic ie s .
■ ■
'
77. Knowledge o f ways prices psychologically a ffe c t
customers.
78. S k ill ,in taking accurate stock counts fo r ordering and
u n it control purposes.
• ____ ^
79. S k ill in using forms and records necessary fo r inventory
■ control
• ______
80. A ttitu d e th a t stockkeeping errors or losses a ffe c t com­
pany p r o fits .
______
. ______
81. A ttitu d e th a t complete assortments o f wanted merchandise
must be maintained a t a ll times.
82, A ttitu d e th a t buyer must be kept informed o f low quantity
points of staple stocks.
______. 83. Knowledge o f product inform ation sources. .
.
______
84. Knowledge of value o f ad vertising information to sales­
people.
______
85. Knowledge o f d iffe r e n t labels which id e n tify products
. and contents.
______
86. Knowledge o f brand or trade names.
______ . 87. A ttitu d e th a t f a m ilia r it y with trade journals supplements
product or service knowledge as well as current business
trends.
Scale:
I
2
3
■4
5
-
ite m .not included in the curriculum
item introduced, but receives l i t t l e
item receives moderate emphasis ■
item receives considerable emphasis
i tern re c e ives extensive emphasis
emphasis
Degree .
Of Emphasis
______
88. B e lie f th a t adequate product information possessed by
the employee builds customer confidence in the mer­
chandise and the business. \
_____ ^
89. A ttitu d e th a t merchandise information may be found in
advertisements.
•
______
90. Understanding th a t actual control of expenses must be
c arried out cooperatively by a ll employees.
91: Understanding th a t small savings in some expense areas
can mean a substantial gain in p r o fits .
92: Understanding th a t careful use of supplies w ill helpcontrol expenses.
93. Knowledge of how to take care of employees' and cus'• tomer s 1 accidents.
:
94. A b ilit y to determine in various situ atio n s the most
e f f ic ie n t way to get a job accomplished.
95. S k ill in handling and caring fo r equipment.
96. B elie f, th a t each employee should be made to fe e l h is/h e r
e ffo rts are r e a lly appreciated.
97. B e lie f th a t management, supervisors, and employees
require a framework of p o lic ie s and procedures w ithin
which to operate.
.
98. Awareness th a t special customer services and accommo­
dations bu ild goodwill and help increase sales.
137
Scale;
.1
2
3
4
5
-
item
item
item
item
item
not included in the curriculum
introduced, but receives l i t t l e
receives moderate emphasis
receives considerable emphasis
receives extensive emphasis
emphasis
Degree
...
Of Emphasis .
99. Awareness th a t personnel organization enables p o licies
o f the firm to.be c arried out and enables employees to
contribute to successful operation.
100. A ttitu d e th a t lines of a u th o rity should be followed.
101. Knowledge of ways' to handle customer complaints.
102. Knowledge of department and merchandise locations in the
business.
103. Understanding th a t customer lo y a lty can be b u ilt with
■timely merchandise and frie n d ly service.
104. Awareness th a t a fe e lin g o f sincere in te re s t in customers
and th e ir problems is important, in s e llin g .
Thank you fo r your time and cooperation. I t is g re a tly appreciated.
Please return your completed questionnaire in the stamped, addressed
envelope provided to the follow ing address:
Bob Kruse
D ivision of Business
Black H ills State College.
S p earfish, SD 57783
138
APPENDIX C
Second L e tte r o f Transm ittal
October 18, 1978
Dear MidrManagement Coordinator:
At the beginning of th is month you received from me a survey regarding
your in s titu tio n 's general mid-management program.
This le t t e r is intended to serve as a reminder th a t I would appreciate
receiving your response by approximately November I , as requested •
in my previous le t t e r to you.
In case you may have misplaced the f i r s t survey, I am enclosing
another one along with a stamped, addressed envelope.
Thank you fo r your cooperation and consideration.
to receiving your completed survey.
S in cerely, •
Bob Kruse
Assistant Professor
Business Adm inistration
Enclosures
, .
I look forward
139
APPENDIX D
Data Related to In fe re n tia l Analysis o f Null Hypotheses .
Null Hypothesis One:
In stru c tio n a l
Area
Advertising
Programs in IDECC Vs. Non-IDECC Member States
Sum of
Ties
IDECC
State
.
Sum of
Ranks
( Z R)
(ET)
Yes.
u/u:
Z'
696.5
' 302.5
- .1570
578.5
318.5
.+ .1570
760.0
239.0
-1.3930
515.0
382.0
+1.3930
722.5 .
276.5
'
.6620
552,5
344,5 .•
+ .6620
772.5
226.5
-1.6533
502.5
394.5 .
+1.6533
756.5
242.5
-1.3264
518.5
378.5
+1.3264
210.5
-1.9532
410.5
+1.9532
171.0
No
Communications•
Yes ...
.
18.0
No
Human Relations
.
Yes
.5 .0
No
Math
Yes ■
228.0
No
Merchandising
'
Yes
43.5
No .
Product & Service
Technology
788:5
Yes
.
71,0
No
486.5
140
N u ll
In stru c tio n a l
Area
Operations &
Management
H y p o t h e s is
IDECC
. State
Sum of
Ties
.(Z .T )
Yes
(c o n tin u e d )
Sum of
Ranks
(Z R )
U/U'
784.0
215.0
-1.8644
491.0
406.0
: +1.8644
756.5
242 .5
-1.3352
518.5
378.5
+1.3352
Z
61.0
No ■
S e llin g
One
Yes
180.0
■No
Null Hypothesis Two: Programs with Head Coordinators
Beginning Before F a ll o f 1974 Vs. Since F all of 1974 or Later
In stru c tio n a l
Area
Before/
Since
Advertising
Before
Sum of
Ties
(Z T )
Sum of
Ranks
(Z R )
U/U'
687,5
397.5
+2.0758
587.5
191.5.
-2.0758
648.0
437.0
+2.8506
627.0
152.0
-2.8506
718.5
366.5
+1.4394
556.5
222.5
-1.4394
Z
171.0
Since
Communications
Before
18.0
Since '
Human Relations
Before
5.0
Since
141
N u ll
In stru c tio n a l
Area
H y p o t h e s i s Two ( c o n t i n u e d )
Before/
. Since
Sum o f
Ties
(ZV
Before
Math
Sum of
Ranks
(SIR)
.
U/U‘ ■
Z
727.5
357.5
+1.2732
547.5 '
231.5
-1.2732
744.0
341.0
+ .9313
531.0
248.0 ,
- .9313
696.0
389.0 ‘
+1.8952
.579.0 .
200:0
-1.8952
672.5
412.5
+2.3654
602.5
176.5
-2.3654
•716.0
. 369.0
+1.5021
220.0
. -1.5021
228.0
Since
Before .
Merchandising
43.5
Since
Product &
Service
Technology
Operations &
Management
Before
71.0
...
Since
Before
51.0
Since
S e llin g
Before
180.0 Since
559.0
‘
■
142
Null Hypothesis Three: Programs Beginning Operation
Before F all of 1974 Vs. Since F a ll o f 1974 or Later
In stru c tio n a l
Area
Before/
Since
A dvertising .
Before
Sum of
Ties
; ( iE t )
Sum Of
Ranks
(TiR).
.Z
W
186.5 .
1043.5.
+ .0509
171.0
Since
Communications
.
Before
.
.0509
1013.5
217.0
.8214
,
262.0
Before ..
'
1037.5
152.0
- .8214
192.5
+ .2021
176.5
.2021
207.0
+ .5745
162.0
-
5.0
Since
Math
182.-5,
.18.0
Since
Human Relations .
.■
231.5
237.5
.
1023.0
Before
.
228.0
252.0
Since
Merchandising
Before
.
.5745.
1050.0
180.0
.1139
225.0
189.0
+ .1139
1007.0
223.0
+ .9755
268.0
146.0
-
43.5
Since
Product &
S e rvice
Technology
Before
' 71.0
Since
.9755
143
N u ll
H y p o th e s is T h re e
In s tru c tio n a l.
Area-
Before/
Si nce
Operations &
Management
Before
Sum of
Ties
■ (ZT)
(c o n tin u e d )
Sum of.
Ranks
(Z R )
U/U'
994.5
235.5
' . +1.2916
280.5
133.5
-1 .2 9 1 6
Z
■ 61.0
. Since
.
. ••
S ellin g
1038.5
Before
- Since
191.5
+ . 1783
177.5 .
- .1783
180,0
236.5
Null Hypothesis Four: Programs with Students P a rtic ip a tin g
in DECA Competency-Based Events Vs. Programs with No P a rtic ip a tio n
Sum of
Ranks
(SiR)
U/U'
■ 717.5
304,5
-
■ No. ,
557.5
311.5
+ .0690
Yes
688.5 .
333.5 :
+ .4988
No
586.5
282 .5
- .4988
Yes
627.5
394.5
+1.6910
647,5
221.5
-1.6910
In stru c tio n a l
Area;
Yes/
No
Advertising
Yes.
Sum of
Ties
(Z T ) .
•
Communications
z,
:
.0690
171.0
18.0
Human Relations
5.0
No
.
■ 144
N u ll
H y p o th e s is
.Instru ctional
Area
Yes/.
No
Math
Yes
Four
Sum of
T i es
(Z T )
'
(c o n tin u e d )
Sum o f .
Ranks
• (Z R )
Yes
z
698.0
324.0
+ .3162
577.0
292.0
- .3162 .
704.0 .
318.0
■+ .1959
. 298.0
- .1959
43.5 .
571.0
■ No
Product &
Service
Technology .
Yes
Operations &
Management
Yes
■
71.0
676.5 .
345.5
H- .7354.
598.5
'270,5
-- ^7354
697.5
324.5
+ .3234
' 577.5
291.5
- .3234
699.5
' 322.5
.+ .2859
575.5
293.5
- .2859
.
No
61.0
No
S e llin g
'
228.0
No
Merchandising
_
u /ir
Yes •
180.0
No
.
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MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES