Economics Majors' Ideas of a Partner in Business Interaction
The article investigates the problem of representational images which can greatly influence relations between people. This problem has a special relevance in the area of business interaction, because the outcome of such interaction (and the efficiency of the business in general) depends on how distorted the image of the partner can get. The process of mental reflection and the maintenance and structure of representational images have been thoroughly investigated by Russian psychologists. However, there still are some gaps in understanding how representational images influence the ideas of a business partner in the minds of economics majors. To assess the preparedness for business partnership, it is important to first investigate how students imagine business partnership in general and which qualities or competencies they think a business partner should have, as well as their choices of the most efficient behavior style. The author has therefore conducted an empirical research of the economics majors' notions of a partner in business interaction. Undergraduates of the 1st, 3rd and 5th year, as well as master's students, all majoring in economics at the respective department of one of St. Petersburg universities, took part in the survey. After the end of opinion polling, the filled-in questionnaires were processed with the use of various statistical methods of data handling. The analysis of the research outcomes showed that economics majors can have differing ideas of a partner in business interaction, due to the student's gender and period of education. The main difference between male and female students lies in the image of ideal partner. A major change in the economics majors' notions of a business partner occurs in the middle of their course of education (around the 3rd year). It is worth mentioning that freshmen have a more negative view of a business partner than seniors. The ideal partner is always imagined more positively than the typical partner and this notion tends to remain only slightly changed throughout the university years. These results have an important practical application. They should be taken into consideration when setting up a syllabus for a course aimed to help develop a definite view of both typical and ideal partner and to choose a behavior strategy.