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As an accounting major, I am very interested in society's view of the accountant. The well-known stereotype of accountants is that they are cold, non-sociable, and boring. All types of accountants are often viewed doing bookkeeper work. In reality, different types of accountants all do various types of work. In

As an accounting major, I am very interested in society's view of the accountant. The well-known stereotype of accountants is that they are cold, non-sociable, and boring. All types of accountants are often viewed doing bookkeeper work. In reality, different types of accountants all do various types of work. In public accounting specifically, not only are technical skills important, but communication skills, especially verbal, are extremely important. I wanted to research if accounting majors at Arizona State University perceived verbal communication skills as important to the public accounting profession. More specifically, I wanted to see if the perceived importance of these skills would increase as students progressed in school. I surveyed accounting majors and double majors from four different accounting course levels, which are taken in progressive order. Overall, the results were not as significant as I had expected. Across all course levels, students rated verbal communication skills highly. There was a slight increase in the average rating across the courses, but it dropped off at the highest course level. The results of this study may have been influenced by students' past experiences or the way the surveys were designed and/or administered. Despite the fact that the findings did not prove my hypothesis to the degree I had expected, the research and results can still be used to prove that verbal communication skills are a critical part of public accounting and should be integrated more into courses and clubs that accounting majors are involved in.
ContributorsKoch, Kelsi L (Author) / Geiger, Karen (Thesis director) / Levendowski, Glenda (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Hugh Downs School of Human Communication (Contributor)
Created2014-12
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Description
This paper explores multidisciplinary curricula, services, and experiential learning in higher education on sustainability. Researchers attempt to understand sustainability as a formalized degree program, what frameworks and techniques are used to improve new disciplines, and how Arizona State University's School of Sustainability (SOS) improves sustainability education in higher learning. Secondary

This paper explores multidisciplinary curricula, services, and experiential learning in higher education on sustainability. Researchers attempt to understand sustainability as a formalized degree program, what frameworks and techniques are used to improve new disciplines, and how Arizona State University's School of Sustainability (SOS) improves sustainability education in higher learning. Secondary research includes a discussion on the history of sustainability as a discipline, the university as a social system, the role of university administration, the roles of professors and students, benchmarking and process improvement for curriculum development, and methods to bridge epistemologies in SOS. The paper presents findings from a study of the SOS undergraduate student experience that used focus groups to gather qualitative data and statistical analysis to analyze that data quantitatively. Study findings indicate that that measuring student perception of SOS's academic services, and understanding the social system of the university, helps administration, faculty, and students collaborate more effectively to enhance learning experiences.
ContributorsTom, Sharyn Paige (Author) / Haglund, LaDawn (Thesis director) / Ankeny, Casey (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2015-05