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Journal of Business Ethics

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26-07-2015

Future Business and Government Leaders of Asia: How Do They Differ and What Makes Them Tick?

Author: Zeger van der Wal

Published in: Journal of Business Ethics | Issue 3/2017

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Abstract

How do work motivations and sector perceptions differ between graduate students at prestigious Business Schools and Public Policy in Asia? Where do Asia’s future business and government leaders want to work, and why? To answer these questions, we compare Asian Master of Business Administration students (n = 71) with Master of Public Policy and Master of Public Administration students (n = 91) from three leading Schools based in Singapore through a survey study and a series of seven focus groups. Our findings indicate that work motivations, sector perceptions, and career preferences differ between both groups but slightly less so than between their Western counterparts. Moreover, future Asian leaders equally value being successful while many view government as bureaucratic and prone to cronyism regardless of degree program and employment preference. We discuss how our findings may advance a more robust management and leadership research agenda for Asia.

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We have to factor in here that our total number of respondents is relatively low with 162. However, previous studies with only 131 students showed more statistically significant results between work motivations of comparable groups of graduate students (Van der Wal and Oosterbaan 2010, 2013).

One respondent suggested, however, that the high fees for prestigious MBAs may be an explanatory factor in itself as students and their (prospective) employers are keen to “earn back” their investment, which necessitates private sector employment. In 2013, tuition was between 48,000 USD and 76,000 USD for the MBA programs under study, compared to less than 10,000 USD for the MPP and MPA programs.

More in general, a one-on-one relationship between study and career choice (and the expected preferences of the (future) employer) is increasingly and repeatedly questioned by former students; see for instance the online forum “MPA versus. MBA” at: http://forums.degreeinfo.com/archive/index.php/t-11244.html).

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Title: Future Business and Government Leaders of Asia: How Do They Differ and What Makes Them Tick?
Author: Zeger van der Wal
Publication date: 26-07-2015
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Published in: Journal of Business Ethics / Issue 3/2017
Print ISSN: 0167-4544
Electronic ISSN: 1573-0697
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2783-1

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