Black business students' post-baccalaureate employment expectations: What are they and from where do they originate?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to generate grounded theory concerning post-baccalaureate employment expectations of Black college students enrolled in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs.) The objective has been addressed by determining the post-baccalaureate employment expectations, both realistic and unrealistic, of Black business students on a Black campus and by identifying where their expectations originated. The importance of this research has theoretical and practical implications for faculty and administrators involved in program planning at HBCUs. This study was based on the theoretical orientation that organizationally different types of institutions of higher education contain student bodies manifesting diverse expectations of the college experience and post-baccalaureate employment. As a holistic inquiry, this research includes a study of all identifiable elements present in the setting where the inquiry takes place. The investigation centered on an understanding through personal interviews of the social, cultural, academic and historical perspectives of the students' post-baccalaureate expectations. Participants were drawn from the School of Business roster of juniors and seniors for the summer and fall terms of 1997. The results of this study show a variance between student expectations and the realities of employment in corporate America. The data collected for this study reveal that social encounters can drastically influence an individual's view of himself and his expectations in business. The findings indicate that unrealistic ideas concerning workplace expectations come from family, friends and a strong influence from mass media exposure.