This article examines the relationship between student-faculty interactions and student dropout intentions. It develops an integrative model that posits that the association between the frequency of student-faculty interactions and a student's intent to stay in college is positive, and becomes more positive as faculty emotional intelligence increases. Patterns of student attrition intentions are observed across different levels of faculty engagement and within and between high and low emotionally intelligent faculty groups. Findings revealed that frequent student-faculty exchanges significantly impact a student's desire to stay in college and that student faculty interactions predict student attrition intentions more strongly for those students assigned to faculty mentors who possess higher levels of emotional intelligence than for those assigned to faculty with lower emotional intelligence scores. Results are discussed in connection with research on student retention and for conceptual commentary on issues related to the examination of mentoring practices. THE PROBLEM OF STUDENT ATTRITIONRecent data from the U.S. Department of Education reveals that in 2006, the average six year national dropout rate of full-time bachelor's degree-seeking students was 43.6%. With dismissals representing only 15-25% of college 155 Ó 2011, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc.departures (Tinto, 1993), it's readily apparent that a large majority (75-85%) of college students voluntarily choose to leave. Interestingly, over half of this rate of attrition can be attributed to departures that occur at some time during a student's first year, amounting to over 26% in 2002 (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2008). With an array of support systems that are at their disposal (orientation, freshman seminars, social development initiatives, counseling interventions, etc.), the phenomenon of first-year attrition is especially perplexing. Nonetheless, given the chronic nature of this problem, especially as it relates to freshman-sophomore attrition, this study pays particular attention to those factors that might contribute to an early departure pattern among college students.In an organizational context, turnover represents an employee's decision to terminate the employment relationship. Within the realm of higher education, turnover is generally referred to as student attrition. One topic of great interest to organizational researchers, and consistent with a focal point in this investigation, is turnover intentions, or in the context of the present study, attrition intentions. It is defined as student expressed intentions to discontinue their enrollment status with their current academic institution. Despite extensive research on turnover intentions in an organizational setting, education researchers have lagged behind in their exploration of this topic. One exception is a study by Cooke and Sims (1995), who found that intentions to quit graduate school was a significant factor in graduate student attrition. For the purpose of this study, j...

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of emotional intelligence (EI) in business communications and describes the pivotal role it plays in establishing skills that are vital to a firm's global network of operations.Design/methodology/approachUsing a sample of undergraduate business students, this paper examines how EI can mitigate the potential negative effects that might arise from diversity within dissimilar groups. As a measure of group diversity, we explore the role of one of the more traditional dimensions of differentiation among heterogeneous groups, gender. Patterns of group performance are observed across different levels of gender diversity and within and between high and low emotionally intelligence groups.FindingsFindings suggest that EI has a greater impact on the performance level of gender diverse groups than that of their homogeneous counterparts.Research limitations/implicationsAs a consequence, of increased globalization, organizational environments are becoming enormously complex and considerably more culturally diverse. In response to this growing trend, a key question for managers is to determine how to improve organizational awareness of the thoughts, feeling and emotions that reside in other diverse cultures. By focusing on how gender diversity can potentially impact group functioning, we hope to draw attention to the need for an increased understanding of the behavioral tendencies and value orientations that exist among dissimilar others and, by inference, dissimilar cultures.Practical implicationsResults are discussed in connection with cross‐cultural competencies and skills that are essential for a multinational enterprise.Originality/valueThis is the first study to suggest a relationship between EI and international business communication effectiveness.

The significance of cultural influence on business has been widely recognized in both academic and business circles. A number of authors suggest that an anthropological approach is the most appropriate way to study cultural factors and assess their impact on an organizational environment. This investigation draws attention to several important cultural issues in business utilizing an anthropological perspective. It probes the relationship between culture and human behavior, between organizational values and organizational behavior, and identifies several effective methods for managing cultural differences that often permeate an organization’s workforce

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Purpose As self-advocate leaders, the authors aim to present the perspective of people with learning disabilities on “Behaviour that Challenges: A Unified Approach”. Building on firsthand accounts which reveal compassion and cruelty in the health-care system, the authors propose ways of working, which confirm and add to the thinking in “A Unified Approach”, especially “Capable Environments”. Design/methodology/approach To ensure integrity, the authors engaged contributors with lived experience of admission to secure care after acting in ways that put themselves or others at risk. The authors included the perspective of people whose severe learning disabilities limit them to few or no words as best they could by interviewing their parents. The authors were supported and advised in the writing of this commentary while retaining full control throughout. Findings While recognising compassionate care, the authors suggest the provider’s power over a person’s life is a central reason for the care system’s vulnerability to the cruelty evident in firsthand accounts. The authors propose practical ways to offset this power. Firsthand accounts suggest the key features of capable environments are communication, valuing families and developing a valued, caring, well-trained workforce. Lived experience in workforce training and peer-support to individuals offer great potential to transform outcomes. Originality/value The perspectives of diverse contributors with learning disabilities bring lived experience insight to the challenges of “behaviour that challenges”. The authors aim to add value by blending lived experience viewpoints with the emotion of firsthand accounts of care. The insights of lived experience – too often a marginal consideration in health-care design – are presented here as central to care that fully achieves what people want and need.