Teaching Apparel Merchandising/Retail Industry Career Exploration and Professional Development by Involvement of Students in Survey Research

A total of 424 surveys that addressed the construct of corporate excellence were collected by 106 students in a sophomore-level professional development course for apparel merchandising and retailing majors. Students used the course project to network with career contact people, learn about the apparel merchandising and retailing employment environment, and participate in a research project directly related to their major field of study. In general, employees in higher leadership positions tended to be more positive than their entry-level or unskilled counterparts about the companies' execution of criteria that contributed toward corporate excellence. The type of products sold by retailers did not affect employee perceptions of corporate excellence attributes. Additionally, the type of retail establishment did affect the companies' abilities to exhibit one criterion that contributes to corporate excellence: providing personalized attention to its customers. Students demonstrated achievement of learning objectives through reflection.