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Values Among American and Swedish Business Students: Suboptimization Vs. Supraoptimization

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Abstract

This study compared the values of 29 American and 34 Swedish master's level students in business administration. Results supported the hypothesis that American business students arc oriented toward organizational and individual suboptimization to a greater extent than Swedish students. If current values are predictive of future managerial behavior, the Americans might be expected to be somewhat more doctrinaire and profit-oriented, while the Swedes might be expected to be more open-minded and "human- centered."

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... These two scales were empirically derived on the basis of observed differences between American and Swedish business students. (SeeJerdee, Brooks, & Barsk, 1971).6 Because of the ranking procedures, the t tests on the value measures are not completely independent. ...
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