Value Orientations, Work Opinions, and Job Satisfactions among Students and Professional Accountants

Abstract

This exploratory study is on the way in which the professional accountants differed from the accounting students on value orientations, work opinions, and job satisfaction.  Out of the four value orientations; namely power distance, individualism, masculinity, and uncertainty avoidance, we found that only one, masculinity, had a significant main effect on subgroups of professionals and students.  Gender was also significant for masculinity.  Males were found to be more significantly masculine than females.

On work opinions only one of the five factors had a significant effect for subgroup.  This factor was labeled doing one’s job and profit.  Students and private accountants viewed doing one’s job and profit as related; while academicians and private accountants scored significantly lower on this scale.

And lastly, on job satisfaction only one of the three factors was significant for the four subgroups.  This factor was on the material benefits and rewards of the job.  The academicians were the most dissatisfied with the material benefits of their job.  The students and the public accountants were not significantly different from each other, but the scores of students were significantly different from the private accountants and the academicians.  There were no gender differences on job satisfaction.