An Investigation of Employer Perceptions of Undergraduate Business Students’ Preparedness for

Internship or Practical Training at a Midwest, Regional University.

by

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Holly Gruhlke

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A dissertation submitted to the faculty of Wilmington University in partial fulfillment of the

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requirements for the degree of Doctor of Business Administration

Wilmington University

2017




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An Investigation of Employer Perceptions of Undergraduate Business Students’ Preparedness for

Internship or Practical Training at a Midwest, Regional University.

by

Holly Gruhlke

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I certify that I have read this dissertation and the in my opinion it meets the academic and

professional standards required by Wilmington University as a dissertation or the degree of

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Doctor of Business Administration.
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Signed _____________________________________________________

John L. Sparco, Ph.D., Dissertation Committee Chair

Signed _____________________________________________________

Lynda K. Fuller, Ed.D., Dissertation Committee

Signed _____________________________________________________

Stephanie A. Battis, DBA, Dissertation Committee

Signed _____________________________________________________

Robert W. Rescigno, Ed.D., Dean, College of Business

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Dedication

John Dewey stated that “Education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation

for future living.” In recognition of the collaborative effort that an education requires, this

dissertation is dedicated to the faculty and employers who work tirelessly to prepare students for

the challenges within the business environment, and to the students who work equally as hard to

learn the fundamental skills to be successful.

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Acknowledgements

As one of the first to graduate from college, I wholeheartedly know that without the love,

support, and guidance from my family, I would not be where I am today. It was my family who

instilled the pursuit of knowledge in my core values, but it was my husband, Daniel, who

reinforced that I was capable of more, and encouraged me to advance to the Doctor of Business

Administration program. I love you more than words could ever express.

I am very grateful for my cohort, 16, who became a second family to me. Especially to

my favorite study group, and now forever friends, Helena, Stacy, and Jay. When I felt that I

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could not continue, it was this group that helped pull me together. I hope we continue studying

together for many years to come, and look forward to collaborating with you in the future.
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To the faculty of the Wilmington University DBA program, I am grateful for the hours

you have spent educating me on the important concepts of the field of business. I have never felt
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so challenged in my life, and I am thankful you pushed me to my potential.

Special thanks to my amazing committee, Dr. John Sparco, Dr. Stephanie Battis, and Dr.
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Lynda Fuller. I am forever indebted to you for the countless hours you all spent coaching me

through the completion of my dissertation. Especially to Dr. Sparco, who continuously

encouraged me to consider different perspectives, and challenged me to deeply analyze my study

to the fullest extent that statistics would allow.

Thank you to the institutions that helped me complete my study. I am appreciative for

the support I received from my colleagues at Dickinson State University, especially my mentor,

Dr. Debora Dragseth. I would also like to express my gratitude to my partner university for

providing me access to the important data that I needed to conduct my survey. Without the data,

this study would not have been possible.

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Abstract

This quantitative study investigated the preparedness of undergraduate business majors for

internship and practical training experiences. The analysis examined the relationship of overall

employer satisfaction by reviewing the correlation of intern hard and soft skill demonstration

with credits completed. Hard skills are the technical abilities necessary to be able to perform the

job; whereas, soft skills are the interpersonal abilities needed to function within work groups.

Differences in preparedness between gender, traditional and non-traditional student status, and

technical and theory-based majors were also investigated. The findings did not show a

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relationship between credits completed and overall employer satisfaction with hard or soft skills.

Furthermore, there were no differences in employer satisfaction based on gender, student status,
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or major type. Text analysis of employers’ comments on the Training Supervisor Evaluation

Form and correlation of individual variables was conducted to investigate the lack of
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relationships. Text analysis confirmed that employers were very satisfied with intern

performance, particularly regarding demonstrated work ethic and leadership. A further analysis
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of student demographics revealed that a majority of students studied completed an internship in

the final semester of their programs, and therefore, would be expected to be highly prepared for

their intern experience.

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Table of Contents

Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... ii

Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii

Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv

Table of Contents .............................................................................................................................v

List of Tables ...................................................................................................................................x

List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ xi

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Chapter One .....................................................................................................................................1
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Introduction ..................................................................................................................................1

Problem Statement .......................................................................................................................2

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Significance of Study ...................................................................................................................3

Research Questions and Hypotheses ............................................................................................6

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Working Model ............................................................................................................................7

Definition of Terms ......................................................................................................................8

Summary ....................................................................................................................................10

Chapter Two...................................................................................................................................13

Literature Review .......................................................................................................................13

Overview of Business Education ...............................................................................................13

Higher Education and Business Education Accreditation ..........................................................15

Assessment of Student Preparedness .........................................................................................17

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Skill Development ......................................................................................................................18

Soft Skills Development .........................................................................................................18

Hard Skills Development .......................................................................................................19

Student Success and Demographic Characteristics ....................................................................20

Internship Screening and Program Development .......................................................................22

Internship Screening ...............................................................................................................22

Program Development ............................................................................................................24

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Managing the Student Internship Experience ............................................................................26

Importance of Internship for Employability...............................................................................27

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Workforce Preparedness of Undergraduate Students .................................................................29
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Preparing Students for the Internship Experience ......................................................................30

Employer Screening ...................................................................................................................32

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The Effects of Internship Screening ...........................................................................................33

Summary ....................................................................................................................................35

Chapter Three.................................................................................................................................38

Methodology ..............................................................................................................................38

Research Design .........................................................................................................................38

Data Collection ...........................................................................................................................39

Survey Instruments .....................................................................................................................39

Reliability Statistics....................................................................................................................40
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Participants .................................................................................................................................41

Research Questions and Hypotheses Restated ...........................................................................42

Data Analysis Plan .....................................................................................................................43

Additional Analysis ....................................................................................................................44

Limitations of Study ...................................................................................................................45

Strengths of Study ......................................................................................................................47

Summary ....................................................................................................................................48

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Chapter Four ..................................................................................................................................49

Results ........................................................................................................................................49
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Demographics of Participants ....................................................................................................50
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Data Analysis .............................................................................................................................51

Descriptive Statistics ..............................................................................................................51

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Hypothesis Tests .....................................................................................................................54

Research Question One ..........................................................................................................54

Hypothesis One ..................................................................................................................55

Hypothesis Two .................................................................................................................55

Hypothesis Three ...............................................................................................................55

Research Question Two ..........................................................................................................56

Hypothesis Four .................................................................................................................57

Hypothesis Five .................................................................................................................57

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Hypothesis Six ...................................................................................................................58

Hypothesis Seven ...............................................................................................................58

Hypothesis Eight ................................................................................................................58

Hypothesis Nine .................................................................................................................58

Analysis of Open-Ended Questions........................................................................................59

Analysis of Individual Variables ............................................................................................61

Summary of Key Findings......................................................................................................62

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Chapter Five ...................................................................................................................................64

Discussion ..........................................................................................................................64
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Summary of Key Research Findings .................................................................................64
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Research Question One ..........................................................................................64

Research Question Two .........................................................................................67

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Text and Individual Analysis .............................................................................................71

Alternative Explanations of Unexpected Results ..............................................................72

Recommendations for Future Research .............................................................................73

Implications for the Field ...................................................................................................76

Limitations .........................................................................................................................77

Conclusion .........................................................................................................................79

References ......................................................................................................................................81

Appendices .....................................................................................................................................95
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Appendix A: Working Model ............................................................................................95

Appendix B: Degree Completion Plan ..............................................................................96

Appendix C: Training Supervisor Evaluation Form ..........................................................97

Appendix D: Definition of Important Variables ................................................................98

Appendix E: Comment Section Categories and Frequencies ..........................................100

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List of Tables

Table 1: Cronbach’s Alpha Results ...............................................................................................41

Table 2: Student Population Demographics ..................................................................................51

Table 3: Descriptive Statistics: Hard and Soft Skills (Overall Employer Satisfaction) ................52

Table 4: Gender Statistics of Hard and Soft Skills ........................................................................52

Table 5: Student Status of Hard and Soft Skills ............................................................................53

Table 6: Student Major Type Statistics of Hard and Soft Skills ....................................................53

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Table 7: Normality of Skills and Semester Hours .........................................................................54

Table 8: Spearman’s rho Correlation .............................................................................................54

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Table 9: Independent Samples Tests..............................................................................................56
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Table 10: Word Frequency ............................................................................................................60

Table 11: Comment Section Categories and Frequencies .............................................................61

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Table 12: Spearman Correlation of Overall Employer Satisfaction and Individual Skills ............62
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List of Figures

Figure 1: Working Model ................................................................................................................7

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 1

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Over the last several years, undergraduate programs have increased the amount of

internship and practical training in their curricula. The National Association of Colleges and

Employers finds that internship and practical training significantly improves undergraduate

students’ chances of being placed within their fields upon graduation (2015). In fact, employers

are beginning to prefer on-the job experience more than grade-point average and major, making

offers of employment upon graduation to only 40 percent of the graduates who did not complete

practical training opportunities (Scott, 2013). Students who completed paid internships received

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higher starting salaries within their respective disciplines (Raice, 2016). According to Farber
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(2016), survey results presented by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found

“Students who had paid internships with private, for-profit companies yielded a median salary of
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$53,521, compared to students who took unpaid internships with private, for profit companies”

(p. 3). These findings were consistent across all fields and industry sectors (Farber, 2016).

While students learn soft skills, such as communication and teamwork, within their
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academic programs, internships provide them the opportunity to learn hard skills or discipline-

specific expertise. Undergraduate business students are no exception to this trend as experiences

gained during an internship can be extremely valuable for college graduates to fill their resumes

with skills and contacts from their desired industries (Coleman, 2016).

The question is not the value of the internship experience for undergraduate business

students, but the degree of preparedness of students for intensive experiential learning. The

perception of the level of preparedness by business students, faculty, and employers has been

found to significantly differ throughout research, which raises questions as to the overall
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accuracy of assessment being performed (Abraham & Karns, 2009). Since internships have been

found to improve employability, this topic is important for universities to explore.

Problem Statement

Higher education has consistently focused on ensuring undergraduate business students

are prepared for academic specific learning outcomes and expectations; however, little research

and assessment has been conducted on the preparedness for internship and practical training

experiences. Internship and practical training experiences are invaluable, and therefore,

emphasis has been placed on implementing them into the curriculum;

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The interplay between theory and practice shapes the dialogue within majors across the

college curriculum. Employers play a vital role in that dialogue as well, evaluating
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student performance on the job, communicating with internship faculty, and offering

insight into the knowledge and skill set future graduates will need to gain a competitive
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edge in their respective fields. (Rossi-le, 2016, pg. 3)

Therefore, it should follow that emphasis should be shifted towards preparing students for real
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world experiences within their undergraduate programs.

While research on undergraduate business student preparedness for internship training is

somewhat limited, other fields, for example medicine and psychology, have gone to great lengths

to ensure student preparedness for real-world experiences within their academic programs.

Academics within these fields cite that an investment in student preparedness for internship

training accomplishes several goals: it ensures that a common set of competency standards is

held for all interns; it reinforces the skills and assessment of those skills necessary to

successfully complete an internship experience; and it establishes consistency with employers

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regarding the level of competency interns are expected to demonstrate (Riccio, Cook, Fenning, &

Harris, 2015).

This exploratory, quantitative study will investigate the preparedness of undergraduate

business students at a small, Midwest, regional university for internship and practical training.

Of particular importance is whether students who complete a majority of their fundamental

business curricula reap more benefits from practical training than students who have yet to

complete this coursework and if employers observe this difference. Subsequently, it will be

important to explore if students are able to enhance the soft skills gained within their academic

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programs while learning hard skills necessary to valued future employees as evaluated by

professionals in the field. This mix of hard and soft skills is vital for graduates to obtain well-

paying jobs upon graduation (Davidson, 2016).

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Significance of the Study
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The growth of the implementation of internship and practical training within

undergraduate curriculum stems from the need to ensure student development of skills necessary
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to gain employment measurable by industry and regulatory standards as well as to ensure the

quality of education students are receiving. Students completing internships have the ability to

apply skills learned in the classroom, allowing firsthand, practical experiences that they can

utilize to enhance their employability.

The implementation of internship training has already begun reaping benefits for colleges

and universities as well as the students who earn degrees. According to the National Association

of Colleges and Employers (NACE), “Sixty-five percent of bachelor’s degree graduates from the

Class of 2015 participated in an internship and/or co-op, the highest percentage recorded for any

graduating class” (2016c, p. 1). NACE (2016a) also found that 72 percent of paid interns
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received at least one job offer for fulltime employment at the conclusion of their practical

training experiences; paid internships have resulted in received higher starting wages for

graduates (Raice, 2016).

Internship training has been found to foster skills learned within the classroom while

allowing enhancement of discipline-specific skills and thus overall students’ employability and

program marketability (Marks, Haug, & Huckabee, 2016). Studies, such as the one presented by

Wilton (2012), reinforces the importance of skill development through practical training finding,

It has become a received wisdom that the completion of a work placement as part of a[n]

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undergraduate degree is of positive benefit both to graduates and employers, particularly

in an era that stresses the economic contribution of higher education through developing

graduate employability. (pg. 603)

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While the importance of internship and practical training is quite apparent, the assessment of
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skill development as it relates to preparedness for practical experience needs further investigation

and refinement (Narayanan, Olk, & Fukami, 2010).

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The importance of skill development and assessment is in constant discussion in higher

education, especially for the purpose of ensuring that graduates are ready for employment upon

graduation. While students learn soft skills, such as communication and teamwork, within their

academic programs, internships provide the opportunity to learn hard skills, such as discipline-

specific expertise, like accounting and finance. Undergraduate business students are no

exception to this trend as experiences gained during an internship can be extremely valuable for

college graduates to enhance their resumes with skills and contacts from within their desired

industries (Coleman, 2016). Furthermore, studies find that practical experience significantly

improved graduates chances for employment (Chatterton, 2014; NACE, 2016c). The question is
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raised not the value of internship, but as to how best to assess the preparedness of students for

real-world experience, as little research has emerged that specifically looks at this subject.

Moreover, employability has become even more important given that U.S. colleges and

universities must prove gainful employment as regulations were launched in 2014 and are to be

updated with firmer guidelines in 2017 (U.S. Department of Education, 2016). Gainful

employment regulations require colleges and universities to document and track student

placement using default and repayment rates as measures, penalizing institutions that exceed a

minimum standard default rate of federal loans (Heller, 2011). Additionally, regulations require

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that universities track demand for programs that they are offering. According to NACE, seven of

the top eleven in demand undergraduate majors are in business related fields, including
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accounting, finance, business administration, management information systems, supply chain

management, economics, and marketing (Adams, 2015; NACE, 2016a). This provides business
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programs the opportunity for additional growth and further development of these in-demand

programs. However, in order to capture the newly emerging market share, a focus on student
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preparedness is vital.

While there is no doubt as to the importance of internship and practical training,

especially as a mechanism to improve skill development and employability, there is a gap in

assessing whether undergraduate business students are prepared for work and practical training

experiences. Most undergraduate business students are assessed regarding their preparedness in

terms of academic performance using a variety of methods, including standardized testing

(Miller, Imrie, & Cox, 2013). However, academia, employers, and students have differing

opinions as to the actual level of preparedness.

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Employers have found that students are somewhat unprepared for work experience and

that additional coaching is required when hiring new graduates (Jaschik, 2015). Therefore, to

assess undergraduate business student preparedness for work experience, employer feedback

could and should be utilized to measure the level of satisfaction of work completed during

internship training, paying particular attention to practical application scores. This has become

the trend in higher education as employer feedback has become critical for assessment purposes.

Specifically, 73 percent of employers think that practical application and/or internship training

would improve the level of preparedness of graduates for their careers (AACU, 2016).

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To close the gap in student preparedness means critically investigating skills developed

in the classroom and on the job. The importance of this research means that changes could
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potentially be made to academic curricula that reinforce the importance of practical application.

However, these changes cannot be made without evidence as to the actual level of preparedness
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in addition to identified performance gaps. Therefore, it is necessary to critically evaluate

student preparedness utilizing firsthand information from entities that employ and train
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undergraduate business students. The benefits of this study not only provide insight into

improving curriculum, but also have the potential to improve the way programs are marketed to

students as well as the way students are marketed to employers.

Research Questions and Hypotheses

The research questions and hypotheses developed for this study are as follows:

R1: How prepared are business students at a Midwest, regional university for internships or

practical training?

H1: There will be a positive relationship between semester hours completed and overall

employer satisfaction with student preparedness.

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H2: There will be a positive relationship between semester hours completed and employer

satisfaction of intern soft skills.

H3: There will be a positive relationship between semester hours completed and employer

satisfaction of intern hard skills.

R2: What are the differences in the perception of soft and hard skills development based on

gender, student status, or major?

H4: Employer satisfaction with hard skills differs by gender.

H5: Employer satisfaction with soft skills differs by gender.

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H6: Employer satisfaction with hard skills differs between traditional and nontraditional

students.
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H7: Employer satisfaction with soft skills differs between traditional and nontraditional

students.
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H8: Employer satisfaction with hard skills differs between technical and theory based

majors.
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H9: Employer satisfaction with soft skills differs between technical and theory based

majors.

Working Model

The model that represents the hypotheses for this study is as follows (Appendix A):

Internship Hard Skills

Training
Gender
Employer
Status Preparedness
Satisfaction
Number of Major
Semester
Hours Soft Skills

Figure 1. Working model.

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The current policy for undergraduate business students at the Midwest university being

examined requires the completion of at least 60 semester hours to be eligible to participate in

internship, externship, or practical training. While completing coursework, students develop soft

skills, also referred to as people skills. Internships have been found to develop hard skills or

competency within the field. It is presumed that as the number of credits completed increases,

employer satisfaction with soft skills will also increase. Therefore, this correlation establishes

that students are better prepared for internship or practical training after having completed a

portion of the academic requirements specific to their respective business disciplines.

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Since the academic programs investigated require 48 semester hours of general

education, it is expected that students below 60 credits completed towards their academic
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programs are less prepared for the internship experience and consequently do not perform as well

in a formal business environment. As students advance through their programs, beyond 60 credit
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hours, they begin to venture deeper into advanced, discipline-specific coursework and are

exposed to more of the fundamental aspects of business (Table 1, Appendix B). It is

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hypothesized that as the number of semester hours increases, so should the overall employer

satisfaction with work performed, utilizing the evaluation of hard and soft skills demonstrated as

indicators.

Definition of Terms

To ensure that graduates are prepared for what they will encounter within the workforce,

universities use approaches that are considered best practices at most higher education

institutions across the nation. One approach, that is believed to foster the skill development

necessary to obtain successful job placement upon graduation, is to incorporate robust internship

and practical training options into the curriculum. It is believed that while curriculum fosters
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soft skill development, internship and practical training provides the opportunity for hard skill

development, or discipline-specific skill building. Therefore, the important constructs that will

need to be assessed when investigating undergraduate business student preparedness is soft and

hard skill demonstration, paying particular close attention to definitions as well as potential

measurements.

Soft skills are defined as human interaction skills that facilitate employees in achieving

positive outcomes (Brungardt, 2011). Robles (2012) investigated the soft skills employers

desired the most. Employers across all industries reviewed the critically important interpersonal

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qualities that they desired their employees to possess. The skills employers identified were

communication, courtesy, flexibility, integrity, attitude, professionalism, responsibility,

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teamwork, and work ethic (Robles, 2012). To measure the soft skills of employees and to

identify which ones were most important, the data in Robles study was measured using a five
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point Likert scale, where five was identified as extremely important and one identified not

important at all. Curran (2010) also identifies the importance of soft skills within corporations,
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identifying them as attributes that foster teamwork and communication.

Like Robles’s (2012) study, and using a definition similar to Brungardt and Curran, soft

skill variables will be measured using a five point Likert scale, distributed to internship and

practical training supervisors and collected by instructors of record. Undergraduate business

students will be evaluated based on the soft skills of adaptability, appearance, attitude,

communication, cooperation, initiative, leadership, promptness, and response to criticism, as

these relate to most of the skills identified throughout research. Furthermore, these skills were

identified as critical soft skills by employers during roundtable advisory discussions within the
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industries that students at the Midwest, regional university were placed to complete internship or

practical training.

Using the definition presented by Laker and Powell (2011) in their study on hard and soft

skill development, hard skills will be defined as technical ability, which is the ability to complete

the discipline-specific tasks necessary to be valued employees. For the sake of this study, the

hard skill variables collected will be, as identified on the employer survey, judgement and

technical ability and will also be measured using a standard five point Likert scale. Judgement

relies heavily on the understanding of discipline-specific knowledge, in this case, how decision-

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making is completed within business students’ chosen fields and the available tools for

generating solutions. Glöckner and Witteman (2010) state that the categories of decision-making
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and judgement are inextricably linked as, “Intuitive-automatic processes are crucial for making

judgements and decisions” (pg. 1); therefore, judgement and technical ability will be used to
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measure students’ ability to execute the job requirements of their fields.

Summary
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The importance of internship and practical training has been established within higher

education as a means to provide students valuable practical experience within their academic

programs. The implementation of internship and practical training has not been a flawless

process within business education as some programs struggle to maintain balance between

academics and experience (March & Augier, 2007). However, despite issues to implement and

assess experiential learning, undergraduate programs across the board are integrating internship

and practical training into the curriculum as over 60 percent of graduates have had at least one

internship prior to the completion of their education (NACE, 2016c).

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Evidence suggests that experiential learning is beneficial to the student as over 70 percent

of interns received an offer of employment upon completion of their internship (NACE, 2016c).

Significant benefits for undergraduate business students have been cited as well. Internships

have been found to benefit both the student and the potential employer as students learn how to

adjust to workplace norms, build social skills within the workplace, and gain a better

understanding of real world expectations (Carson, 2013).

Additionally, business programs are able to gain perspectives directly from industry, as

relationships are formed throughout the internship and practical training experiences. For

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example, employers have developed standards that they would like to see graduates demonstrate

upon hire. This list of skills includes communication, customer service, teamwork,
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interpersonal, and problem solving as well as other hard and soft skills (Abraham & Karns,

2009). However, despite access to this information, business schools have fallen short of
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meeting these expectations.

Surveys conducted by PayScale, a company that tracks salary, benefits, and

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compensation of U.S. workers, found that recent graduates continue to demonstrate a gap in

skills desired by employers (Straus, 2016). Straus (2016) indicated that information provided by

PayScale demonstrates that graduates lack writing proficiency, public speaking, critical thinking,

problem solving, and interpersonal skills; citing that managers believed only 8 percent were

extremely prepared, 42 percent were mostly prepared, and 50 percent were well prepared for

their jobs.

While the importance of internship and practical training is quite apparent, the

assessment of skill development as it relates to preparedness for practical experience needs

further investigation and refinement (Narayanan et al., 2010). Therefore, a comprehensive