Student perceptions of the cooperative education work environment in service industries

Students studying Catering and Hotel Management, Travel and Tourism Management, Accountancy, Banking and Finance, Information Technology, Retail Management, and International Trade for the Bachelor of Business Degrees in the Faculty of Business at Victoria University of Technology and being eligible for cooperative education placements in 1993–1994, completed the Work Environment Scale (WES) [Moos, R. H. (1987) The Social Climate Scales: A User's Guide]. In all, 209 students responded to a mail questionnaire before, during and after their cooperative education placements. Overall, the students had moderate to high perceptions of their organisations' work environment. Specifically, all students perceived other employees to be friendly and supportive of one another, to be concerned about and committed to their job; emphasising good planning, efficiency, and getting the job done; and perceived their physical surroundings to contribute to a pleasant work environment. Conversely, the students perceived their supervisors to use rules and pressures to keep employees under control and to be less supportive. They also perceived their jobs to be low on variety, change and new approaches, and having less clarity as to daily routine and how explicitly rules and policies are communicated. It is suggested, however, that the above findings be verified by replication with varied populations and institutions. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.