1. Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities
The sentiments of Corporate Character Scale among students from different
universities towards to Master program
Elena Trubacheva1
, Pratik Iyengar2
, Salman Khan Raza3
, Paula Odete Fernandes
4
Abstract
Higher education has gained immense importance in today’s world by the virtue of
the dynamism demanded by the Corporate World from Students who choose a
particular specialization whilst advancing from the 1st cycle to the 2nd cycle of
studies. In order to ensure a detailed understanding of the relationship between
students and their choices of Master programs, it is imperative for Deans or
Management Boards of Higher Education Institutions to be well aware of all
possible sentiments of the Corporate Character Scale (CCS) and their significance
among students across different Universities towards Master programs.
To find a solution to the main research goal, we performed descriptive and
inferential analysis in order to draw inferences with regards to the correlations
between variables (dimensions) and to test the truthfulness and applicability of
hypotheses that we formulated. Further, to attain a legitimate solution to the main
research question, it was purposive to understand the influence of other variables
on the Corporate Character Scale which is basically an amalgamation of all
possible sentiments. This survey was conducted to collect the data involved a
sample of 100 students from a total of 139 students that enrolled in two academic
years of four different universities.
Hence we conclude that the Corporate Character of our respondents is dominated
by positive dimensions of agreeableness and chic, however chic has snobbery as
the only negative facet associated with it and almost dimensions have a positive
and strong relationship with Corporate Character of Master Program. In this end it
is possible to say with a statistical significance that there is a positive correlation
between dimensions and Corporate Character of Master Program.
1
Kuban State Agrarian University (Russia), e-mail: lena.trubacheva@mail.ru
2
Instituto Polytechnico De Braganca (Portugal), e-mail: pratikranganath@gmail.com
3
Instituto Polytechnico De Braganca (Portugal), e-mail: khansalmanr@yahoo.com
4
PhD in Economics and Management; Professor from Department of Economics and Management at
Polytechnic Institute of Braganga (Portugal); UNIAG; NECE (UBI); e-mail: pof@ipb.pt

2. Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities
Keywords: Master Program, Corporate Character Scale, sentiments, Higher
Education, dimensions.
Introduction
Higher education has emerged as an indispensable experience in the life of an
individual seeking knowledge and expertise in today’s world by the virtue of the
versatility necessitated by the Corporate World from Students who choose a
particular specialization whilst advancing from the Bachelor level to the Masters
level of studies. In order to ascertain a detailed understanding of the relationship
between students and their choices of Master programs, it is imperative for Higher
Education Institutions to be familiarized with all possible sentiments of the
Corporate Character Scale (CCS) and their importance among students across
different Universities towards Master programs.
In this case study, using empirical data were collected from random 100 students
from a total of 139 students that enrolled in two academic years of four different
universities, such as Polytechnic Institute of Braganca, Polytechnic Institute of
Cavado and Ave, Polytechnic Institute of Porto and Polytechnic Institute of Viana
do Castelo. To collect the data a survey was conducted applying a questionnaire
in the classroom, between September 2016 and January 2017.
In order to answer to the main objective of the study, this paper is organized into
three sections. First, an overview of the relevant literature on relevance of Master
Program and the importance of student’s sentiments towards to Master Program.
In the second section, are provided information about the methodology used and
the results of analysis. The paper concludes with some considerations and some
evidences of research that can be relevant to develop in the future.
1. Literature review
Quality management systems in higher education are based on the fulfilment of
the stakeholders' needs and expectations. Thus, HEIs should identify their
customers and establish processes to determine their specific needs (Duque
,2013; Quinn, Lemay, Larsen, & Johnson, 2009; Sahney, Banwet, & Karunes,
2004). Student's roles in the higher education system are the subject of many

3. Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities
discussions in the higher education quality literature. Some authors argue that
students are customers, as in other service industries, because they pay a
significant amount for their education (Kanji & Tambi, 2009). Other researchers
claim that students are products of the higher education system (Harris, 1992).
Recent studies accept the definition of students-as-a-customers in higher
education, pointing out that students share responsibility for the results they obtain
in the education process (Eagle & Brennan, 2007; Elassy, 2013).
Allen Brown (1997) thinks that over the past few years the number of universities
the world over has increased as a result of polytechnics and some colleges of
higher education being reclassified as universities. Consequently there are now
considerably more opportunities in all aspects of higher education, including
education to Master’s degree level. There is every indication that this expansion
will continue for foreseeable future.
Higher education has gained immense importance in today’s world by the virtue of
the dynamism demanded by the Corporate World from Students who choose a
particular specialization whilst advancing from the 1st cycle to the 2nd cycle of
studies.
Dave Ellis (2014) suggested that as students begin their Education in the Master
Program, they embrace a new culture and need new tools to be successful.
According Clinton Conrad, Jenifer Grant Haworth and Susan Bolyard Millar (1993)
Master’s programs could be categorized as follows:
a) Career advancement programs: Master’s programs that focus on providing
the student with practical skills for well-understood career opportunities.
b) Ancillary programs: Master’s programs that are defined largely in relation to,
and are typically subordinated to, doctoral programs. The master’s program is
frequently used as a screen for doctoral program.
c) Apprenticeship programs: These Master’s programs often coexist with
doctoral programs and may even be found in research-intensive institutions.
d) Community-centered programs. Some master’s programs are focused on
creating for their participants not only an arena of intellectual engagement but also
a strong sense of giving the communities in which they work.

4. Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities
In order to ensure a detailed understanding of the relationship between students
and their choices of Master programs, it is imperative for Deans or Management
Boards of Higher Education Institutions to be well aware of all possible sentiments
of the Corporate Character Scale (CCS) and their significance among students
across different Universities towards Master programs.
2. Research Methodology
2.1. Study Objective and Research Hypothesis
To find a solution to the main research goal, what are the sentiments or emotions
that students possess towards the selection of a Master program and what is their
significance on the Corporate Character Scale, we performed descriptive and
inferential analysis in order to draw inferences with regards to the correlations
between variables (dimensions) and to test the truthfulness and applicability of
hypotheses that we formulated. Further, to attain a legitimate solution to the main
research question, it was purposive to understand the influence of other variables
on the Corporate Character Scale which is basically an amalgamation of all
possible sentiments. For this purpose we formulated numerous research
hypotheses as depicted in the table 4 below:
Table 1: Hypothesis tested
№ Research Hypothesis
H1 Students have a positive Corporate Character
H2 There are differences in opinions of students from different specializations about Corporate Character
H3 There are differences between opinions of males and females about Corporate Character
H4 There are differences between opinions of people of different age groups about Corporate Character
H5 There is inequality in the impact of Corporate Character among people from different marital status
H6 There is inequality in the impact of Corporate Character among people from different universities
H7
There is variability in influence of Corporate Character between students from first curricular year and second
curricular year
2.2. Data Collection and Data Analysis
The instruments used in this study were structured in two parts. The first part
focused on students profile (gender, age, marital status and etc.); and the second
part include a group of 49 questions that will measure Corporate Character Scale
to Assess Master Program according to significance of students’ sentiments and

5. Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities
the five point Likert scale from 1 ‘Strongly disagree’ to 5 ‘Strongly agree’ was used
to measure each item.
To collect the data a survey was conducted applying a questionnaire in the
classroom, between September 2016 and January 2017. In order to select a
sample, a random sampling approach was used. To the sample belong 100
students from a total of 139 students that enrolled in two academic years of four
different universities.
The authors identified potential dimensions of Corporate Character to assess
Master Program first by looking for those common among all students and which
were reflected in the human personality literature. For example, the most obvious
was that labeled ‘agreeableness’ in human personality. The only negatively
valenced dimension of Corporate Character is Ruthlessness that was used to
describe a negative Corporate Character of Master Program. Words or phrases
used to describe these 7 dimensions were taken from the various literatures,
concentrating on those common to validated scales, as potential items for the
proposed instrument. The authors’ overall approach to the detail of scale
development mirrors the various stages recommended by Churchill (1979) and
Spector (1992).
Table 2: The Corporate Character Scale: Dimensions, Facets and Items
Dimension Facet Item
Agreeableness Warmth Friendly, pleasant, open, straightforward
Empathy Concerned, reassuring, supportive, agreeable
Integrity Honest, sincere, trustworthy, socially responsible
Enterprise Modernity Cool, trendy, young
Adventure Imaginative, up-to-date, exciting, innovative
Boldness Extrovert, daring
Competence Conscientiousness Reliable, secure, hardworking
Drive Ambitious, achievement oriented, leading
Technocracy Technical, corporate
Chic Elegance Charming, stylish, elegant
Prestige Prestigious, exclusive, refined
Snobbery Snobby, elitist
Ruthlessness Egotism Arrogant, aggressive, selfish
Dominance Inward-looking, authoritarian, controlling
Informality None Casual, simple, easy-going
Machismo None Masculine, tough, rugged

6. Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities
An exploratory descriptive statistics and inferential techniques to define the
significance of sentiments as well as the existence of correlation or differences
between variables was made. By always having the non-infringement of
assumptions intended to apply parametric tests: namely the T-student test in order
to analyze whether students have a positive Corporate Character. Second type of
used test is about differences in opinions of students from different specializations
about Corporate Character (Mann-Whitney U for two independent samples as
nonparametric test because samples don’t follow normal distribution and n≥30).
When not validated the application of the assumptions of parametric tests and for
three or more independent samples a nonparametric test it was applied, the
Kruskal-Wallis test.
For the application of this test there is a need of sample size for independent
sample which is greater or equal to 30 elements and verify that follows the normal
distribution, resorting to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (as samples don’t follow
normal distribution, there are two independent samples and n≥30 we used
Spearman’s Correlation Coefficient). In all analysis, in order to make decisions
concerning the different research hypotheses a significance level of 5 % was
assumed.
3. Analysis and Results
3.1. Student Profile
Data were collected from random 100 students from the Polytechnic Institute of
Braganca, Polytechnic Institute of Cavado and Ave, Polytechnic Institute of Porto
and Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo.
According with the information presented in Table 3 and Figure 1, the random
sample included 36 male students (36 %) and 64 female students (64 %), were
between the ages of 21 and 54 years old.
Furthermore, in the Table 3 is possible to observe that 76 % belonged to
Management scientific field and the rest came from Accounting and Finance
(24 %). 90 % of 100 students were attending the 1st academic year of Master
program and 9 % the 2nd academic year.

7. Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities
Table 3: Respondents profile
Variable n
Percent of
Sample
Variable n
Percent of
Sample
Gender Master
Male 36 36 % Management 76 76 %
Female 64 64 % Accounting and Finance 24 24 %
Marital Status Curricular Year
Single 74 74 % 1st Year 90 90 %
Married 23 23 % 2nd Year 9 9 %
Divorced 3 3 % Age
Higher education institution <=23 26 26 %
Polytechnic of Bragança 46 46 % 24-31 41 41 %
Polytechnic of Cávado e do Ave 10 10 % 32-39 19 19 %
Polytechnic of Porto 13 13 % 40-47 11 11 %
Polytechnic of Viana do Castelo 31 31 % +48 2 2 %
Figure 1: Respondents profile

8. Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities
3.2. Descriptive Analysis
In our descriptive analysis we took into consideration the various facets (facets are
fabricated by combining up to 4 items or sentiments that they imply) that would
give us more information about the positive or negative aspects in terms of
perception of the Master program by students. We recorded the mean and
standard deviation for each of the facets to get an average value among all
students. This value would represent the average value of the facet for the entire
sample and would give us a general idea about the significance of the facet as a
part of the character scale.
Through the descriptive analysis showed in Table 4, it was found that popular
response was close to 3 and 4 and so in Likert scale corresponded to ‘Agree’ and
produce a positive feel and attitude. Also, the overall satisfaction achieved a 3.60
points (standard deviation 0.996), that is very gratified. The «egotism» facet was
one that obtained high value with a mean of 6.07 points (standard deviation
8.667), followed by «snobbery» (4.69 points of average; 8.224 of standard
deviation). The item that achieved a low average was «boldness» with 3.10 points
and 0.670 for the standard deviation.
Table 4: Descriptive Analysis that Measure the Corporate Character Scale
№ Facets Mean Std. Deviation
If Master Program came to life as a person, it would have the
following facets of personality:
1 Warmth 3,62 ,561
2 Empathy 3,60 ,662
3 Integraty 3,63 ,722
4 Modernity 3,43 ,675
5 Adventure 3,43 ,711
6 Boldness 3,10 ,670
7 Conscientiousness 3,69 ,774
8 Drive 3,50 ,703
9 Technocracy 3,68 ,802
10 Elegance 3,25 ,698
11 Prestige 3,29 ,584
12 Dominance 3,73 4,489
13 Egotism 6,07 8,667
14 Snobbery 4,69 8,224
Overall Corporate Character Scale 3,60 ,996

9. Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities
3.3. Inferential Analysis
To achieve the purpose of the study and answer the research hypothesis we used
the inferential analysis. To start, we divided the variables into two levels; the first
level included variables connected to the individual students’ personal
characteristics (gender, age, academic year and etc.) while the second level
included the sentiments of students regarding Master Program. This level included
the sum of answers of the main question of used questionnaire «If Master
Program came to life as a person, what would his/her personality be like?».
According with the values presented in Table 5, almost all hypotheses were
validated apart from 1st and 6th. Results of truthfulness of 1st hypothesis showed
that students have a positive Corporate Character, as p ≤ 0,05 and mean = 3,6
points while theoretical value was 3 points. According to other hypotheses from 2nd
to 7th (apart from 6th) we concluded that there aren’t differences in opinions of
students from different specializations, gender, age groups, marital statuses and
curricular years. However, according 6th hypothesis there is inequality in the
impact of Corporate Character among people from different universities (as
p≤ 0,05).
Table 5: Validation of hypothesis
№ Variables Test p-value Results
H1 Corporate Character t-Student p≤0,05 Not Validated
H2
Corporate Character & Master
program
Mann-Whitney U for two independent
samples
p≥0,05 Validated
H3 Corporate Character & Gender
Mann-Whitney U for two independent
samples
p≥0,05 Validated
H4 Corporate Character & Age Kruskal Wallis Test p≥0,05 Validated
H5
Corporate Character & Marital
Status
Kruskal Wallis Test p≥0,05 Validated
H6
Corporate Character & Higher
education
Kruskal Wallis Test p≤0,05 Not Validated
H7
Corporate Character & Curricular
year
Mann-Whitney U for two independent
samples
p≥0,05 Validated
Note: 5% Level of significance assumed (a=0.05).
In order to determine the correlation between different dimensions and Corporate
Character to assess Master Program it was produced the Spearman correlation
coefficient, as the assumption of normality is violated. It was discovered that the

10. Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities
significance of chic and agreeableness is the most in the Corporate Character
because r=0,777 and r=0,763. The significance of enterprise and competence has
an average level as r=0,685 and r=0,710. Eventually the significance of
ruthlessness, informality and machismo is the least (r=0,394, r=0,422 and
r=0,173). Hence we conclude that the Corporate Character of our respondents is
dominated by positive dimensions of agreeableness and chic, however chic has
snobbery as the only negative facet associated with it and almost dimensions have
a positive and strong relationship with Corporate Character of Master Program. In
this end it is possible to say with a statistical significance that there is a positive
relationship between dimensions and Corporate Character of Master Program.
(Table 6, Figures 2-3).
Table 6: Spearman correlation coefficient (n=100)
№ Dimensions Correlation coefficient
If Master Program came to life as a person, it would have the following
dimensions of personality:
1 Agreeableness ,763
2 Enterprise ,685
3 Competence ,710
4 Chic ,777
5 Ruthlessness ,394
6 Informality ,422
7 Machismo 0,116
Figure 2: Spearman correlation coefficient (n=100) Figure 3: Overall Corporate Character Scale
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
Agreeableness
Enterprise
Competence
ChicRuthlessness
Informality
Machismo

11. Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities
Conclusion, Limitation and future research
The purpose of this study was to ensure a detailed understanding of the
relationship between students and their choices of Master programs, as it is
imperative for Deans or Management Boards of Higher Education Institutions to be
well aware of all possible sentiments of the Corporate Character Scale (CCS) and
their significance among students across different Universities towards Master
programs. To find a solution to the main research goal, we performed descriptive
and inferential analysis in order to draw inferences with regards to the correlations
between variables (dimensions) and to test the truthfulness and applicability of
hypotheses that we formulated.
In this case study, using empirical data were collected from random 100 students
from a total of 139 students that enrolled in two academic years of four different
universities, such as Polytechnic Institute of Braganca, Polytechnic Institute of
Cavado and Ave, Polytechnic Institute of Porto and Polytechnic Institute of Viana
do Castelo. To collect the data a survey was conducted applying a questionnaire
in the classroom, between September 2016 and January 2017.
According to descriptive analysis the popular response was close to 3 and 4 and
so in Likert scale corresponded to ‘Agree’ and produce a positive feel and attitude.
Also, the overall satisfaction achieved a 3.60 points (standard deviation 0.996),
that is very gratified. The «egotism» facet was one that obtained high value with a
mean of 6.07 points (standard deviation 8.667), followed by «snobbery» (4.69
points of average; 8.224 of standard deviation). The item that achieved a low
average was «boldness» with 3.10 points and 0.670 for the standard deviation.
In order to determine the correlation between different dimensions and Corporate
Character to assess Master Program the Spearman correlation coefficient was
produced, as the assumption of normality is violated. It was discovered that the
Corporate Character of our respondents is dominated by positive dimensions of
agreeableness and chic, however chic has snobbery as the only negative facet
associated with it and almost dimensions have a positive and strong relationship
with Corporate Character of Master Program. In this end it is possible to say with a
statistical significance that there is a positive relationship between dimensions and
Corporate Character of Master Program.

12. Corporate Character Scale to Assess its significance in the Master Program among students from different universities
References
Alves, H., & Raposo, M. (2007). Conceptual Model of Student Satisfaction in
Higher Education. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 18(5):
571-588.
Allen Brown (1997). Gaining the Master’s degree: How do invest in your own
future. Student handbooks, 15-16.
Asif, M., & Searcy; C. (2014). Determining the Key Capabilities Required for
Performance
Excellence in Higher Education. Total Quality Management & Business
Excellence, 25(1-2):
22-35.
Clinton Conrad, Jenifer Grant Haworth ,Susan Bolyard Millar (1993). A Silent
Success: Master’s Education in the United States. The Johns Hopkins
University Press, 24-25.
Churchill, G.A., Jr. (1979) ‘A paradigm for developing better measures of
marketing constructs’, Journal of Marketing Research, 64–73.
Dave Ellis (2014). Becoming a Master Student . 15th Edition. Cengage learning,
265-267.
Duque, L.C. (2013). A framework for analyzing higher education performance:
Students’ satisfaction, perceived learning outcomes, and dropout
intention. Total Quality Management and Business Excellence, 25(1–2), 1–21.
Eagle, L., & Brennan, R. (2007). Are students customers? TQM and marketing
perspectives. Quality Assurance in Education, 15(1), 44–60.
Elassy, N. (2013). A model of student involvement in the quality assurance system
at institutional level. Quality Assurance in Education, 21(2), 162–198.
Kanji, G.K., & Tambi, A.M.A. (1999). Total quality management in UK higher
education institutions. Total Quality Management, 10(1), 129–153.
Owlia, M.S., & Aspinwall, E.M. (1996). Quality in higher education – a
survey. Total Quality Management, 7(2), 161–171.
Quinn, A., Lemay, G., Larsen, P., & Johnson, D.M. (2009). Service quality in
higher education. Total Quality Management, 20(2), 139–152.
Sahney, S., Banwet, D.K., & Karunes, S. (2004). Conceptualizing total quality
management in higher education. The TQM Magazine, 16(2), 145–159.
Spector, P.E. (1992) ‘Summation Rating Scale Construction: An Introduction’,
Sage Publications, Newbury Park, CA.