An Analysis of Marketing Student Perceptions of Proper Organizational Behaviors

Authors

Charles E. Pettijohn, Drury UniversityFollow
Gary R. Holmes, Drury UniversityFollow

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Conference Track

Marketing Education/ The Dynamic Business School

Publication Date

2017

Abstract

As the millennial begins to make the exodus from universities to the workplace a critical question relates to their preparation – “do millennials have an understanding of the attitudes, values and behaviors (the organizational citizenship behaviors – OCBs) necessary to succeed in the business environment?” The millennial generation is often perceived as ill-prepared to enter the traditional workplace by virtue of the fact that this generation has been perceived as being insulated from the demands consistent with full-time employment. Thus, the purpose of this research was to empirically assess millennials’ perceptions of the importance of specific OCBs and the likely sanctions that might occur when these OCBs are violated. To accomplish the purpose of the research, data were collected from university students as they relate to these students’ attitudes and perceptions of commonly accepted workplace norms and standards. The findings indicate that millennials may find that their effective integration into the workplace is limited by their inability to appreciate numerous standards of behavior which exist in today’s work environment. These results suggest that educators may need to recognize the importance of reinforcing the importance of OCBs to their students and the need to emphasize that while these individuals may have escaped sanctions during their educational years that new behaviors and attitudes will be expected in the workplace. Further, the research is important for practitioners, as they seek to assimilate millennials into their workforce that this assimilation may require training on commonly accepted workplace behaviors and attitudes.

About the Authors

Charles E. Pettijohn, DBA Louisiana Tech University, Associate Professor of Marketing, Drury University

Gary R. Holmes, PhD, University of North Texas, Associate Professor of Marketing, Drury University

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Digital Commons@Georgia Southern License

Recommended Citation

Pettijohn, Charles E. and Holmes, Gary R., "An Analysis of Marketing Student Perceptions of Proper Organizational Behaviors" (2017). Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings 2017. 26.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/amtp-proceedings_2017/26