CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

When a person graduated from Accountancy program, the next step is to

choose which career path he or she will pursue. There are many job opportunities open

to all accountants that may be identify into the following major areas the public

accounting, the private accounting, the government and not for profit accounting and the

academic accounting.

However, some of the BS Accountancy graduates who undertake accounting

degree do not pursue their profession as an accountant of a certain organization rather

BSA choose other profession like teaching, author of an accounting book, trainer or

reviewer, data analyst, business manager, tax consultant, retail manager and other

profession where the analysis of numbers involve due to many factors that the

researcher will find out throughout this study.

In order to understand BSA graduates decision towards the accounting and other

accounting related profession, this study aims to investigate the factors that influence

the BSA graduates choice of career. There are several studies supporting out what

influences accountancy’s career path. These studies have found that the main

influencing factors include interests in accounting field, flexible career opportunities

(Paolillo and Estes 1982; Ahmed et al., 1997). Previous working experience, including

prior work in accounting together with personal characteristics such as gender have
also been identified with choice of accounting profession (Nelson and Vendrzyk, 1996).

This study will determine whether these findings can be replicated in Rizal

Technological University BSA graduates.

When deciding on a future career a lot of people do not give accountancy a

second thought. Most people do not realized how varied the world of accounting is and

in fact it is often seen as boring. The truth is that accounting is the backbone of any

organization and offers a wide number of attractive careers within it.

The world of accountancy offers various careers, but in all of these areas there

are some qualities that a potential accountant should have. Firstly, as accounting is the

process of collecting and classifying financial data all accountants need to be

perfectionists unwilling to accept anything less than an exact result. Also as accountants

deal with large volume of data he or she need to have a good eye for detail and a real

love of numbers. Accountants need to follow very strict rules and codes of conduct in

order to make sure that the accountant will do everything in a legal way. If an

accountant’s break these rules he or she will face severe punishment, but some

accountants practice creative accounting to get around rules without breaking them.

Confidentiality is obligatory for all people working with accounts as the financial data

could be very sensitive.

This study explores several issues that focus on what influencing the RTU BSA

graduate’s attitude toward the accounting and non-accounting profession. These issues

include the factors that influence their choice of career, their decision to pursue a

career, perceptions of the accounting profession and timing of the career decision.
Background of the Study

It is undeniably true that the number of job mismatch and in the Philippines is

increasing. The Department of Labor and Employment said that the reasons behind

these are the following: wrong choice of college course, being too money driven, being

to choosy, the overqualified stigma, Cost-cutting measures of companies for relevant

training programs, Using connections in the workplace and some other factors.

Job mismatch in a country implies poverty, if the unemployment level is high in a

country it is assumed that the country is suffering from crisis. What are the reasons

beyond the case of job mismatch? This study will help identifying the reasons behind

the decisions of the BSA graduates related to their career, it will also be helpful help the

number of unemployment decrease

When we think about career choice, several things immediately come to mind –

job description, training and education required, career outlook, and salary. Job

selection is one of many important choices graduates make in determining future plans.

This, decision will impact them throughout their lives.

According to Bandura et al, Career development, for most people, is a lifelong

process of engaging the work world through choosing among employment opportunities

made available to them. Each individual undertaking the process is influenced by many

factors, including the context in which they live, their personal aptitudes, and

educational attainment
 In one’s life, one of his most important decisions is to choose a job. For many

people, jobs are chosen because of their high salaries. According to an article, there are

three other factors: self-interest, knowledge and job’s characteristics that is very

important for one to consider when choosing his job.

Self- interest is to be considered in making decision regarding job selection.

Many people work in order to satisfy their fulfilment rather than their wealth. Moreover, if

one choose to get a job that he doesn’t like, he will soon be soaked with the feeling of

boredom, thus he will probably work ineffectively. However, if he likes his job, he will

devote his time to have his job done and soon get promotion for his well working.

According to Steve Pavlina, “If a person makes a mistake in his career choice,

he’ll probably suffer for it. A bad decision here will sting a bit. It may even hurt a lot. A

bad career choice can bring down other parts of his life too. It can negatively affect his

health, his relationships, and his home life. One can’t simply compartmentalize it. In

most cases it’s an ugly sight to behold. But here’s the worst of it. His first career choice

— and most likely his first few choices — will probably be wrong for him.”

When a BSA student graduates, he or she will immediately find a job; but what

are their considerations in relation to the career that they will pursue? Will they continue

pursuing the accounting field or they will take into consideration entering another field

which merely do not relate to what they have studied?

Thus, this study will determine the factors that influence the BSA graduates in

choosing their desired career whether they will continue to pursue accounting
profession or will they choose paths other than accounting related professions. It will

answer the determinants behind the decision of the graduates related to career.

Theoretical Framework

The researchers will use some theories as a basis of the study. The theories that

will be present will be the guide of the researchers in determining the respondents that

will participate in the study and will be the basis for gathering information through

questionnaire.

The theory proposed by Gibson, Ivanchevich, and Donely in 2007 that is related

to the theory of motivation is the expectancy theory. According to them, motivation is a

concept that describes one’s forces to start and directs one's behaviour towards a

particular job. According to Robins (2009) Motivation is a process that determines the

intensity, direction and perseverance of individuals to achieve the target. Expectancy

theories assume that the power of the tendency act followed by ascertain output and the

appeal of such output to the person, according to Redmond 2010.

The expectancy theory developed by Viktor H. Vroom in 1964 is the undertaking

of each goal and the interrelation between effort and performance, between

performance and award. Therefore, an accounting student career choice is determined

by the expectation of rewards such as bonuses, salary allowance or promotion, In other

words student will choose to what will benefit them the most as they expected.

According to Gati, Krausz and Osipow 1996 career decision will be realistic and

proper if one has the right information. Sakurdi 2002 proposes three types of
information in making decisions (1) social-personal information that refers to self-

understanding concept and relationship with others(2) educational information is the

knowledge one should own to get the job and (3) job information pertains to knowledge

of which job can fulfil one's decision and satisfaction.

Research paradigm

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

Demograpic Concucting Determinants of

Profile. survey. choices of
Factors Questionnaire career decision
influencing of Analysis of data of RTU BSA
graduates to gathered by graduates
pursue using statistical
accounting or tools.
non-accounting
profession.
Advantages and
disadvantages in
pursuing
accounting as a
profession.

Figure 1

The figure 1 shows the research paradigm on which the IPO (INPUT-PROCESS-

OUTPUT) method is used.

The input contains the demographic profile of the respondents, the factors

influencing the BSA graduates to pursue accounting or non-accounting profession and

the advantages and disadvantages in pursuing accounting as a profession. The

researcher will conduct a survey using validated questionnaires in which the result will

be analyse using a statistical formula. Hence, the output of this study is to know the

career choice decision of the BSA graduates.

Statement of the problem

This study is aims to present the career choice BSA graduates of Rizal

Technological University through providing responses to the following questions:

1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of the following

variables:

1.1 Gender

1.2 Civil Status

1.3 Year graduated

2. What are the statuses of the BSA graduates in terms of:

2.1 Employability

2.2 Employment state

2.3 Position

2.4 Compensation

2.5 Field of work

3. How does the BSA course influenced the skills and abilities of the graduates?

4. How does the curriculum help in the employment of the BSA graduates?
 5. Is there any significant effect of BSA curriculum in choosing the career path of

the Rizal Technological University BSA Graduates?

Hypothesis

The BSA curriculum in RTU has no significant effect in choosing

the career path of the Rizal Technological University BSA Graduates.

Significance of the study

This study on “Determinants of the Career Choice of BSA Graduates in Rizal

Technological University for the years 2015-2017” significant and may be beneficial to

the following:

To the government. This study will help the government lower the level of

unemployment and job mismatch related to the graduates of Bachelor of Science in

Accountancy.

To Rizal Technological University. This study will help the RTU in determining

what courses of action can be done to help the accountancy students and accountancy

graduates determine the appropriate career path for them that will make them more

successful.

To the accounting professors. The study will be significant to the accounting

professors since they are the ones helping the accountancy students learn and develop
their knowledge. This study will help them improve the effectiveness of their teaching

methodology.

To the Accountancy graduates. The accountancy graduates will be benefited

in choosing the proper career path to pursue, whether to continue pursuing accounting

related profession or not. They will be properly guided in their decision making related to

their choice of employment.

To the accountancy students. This study will inform them in advance the

consequences of their possible choices of career and just like the benefits to the

accountancy graduates; they will be properly guided by this study in choosing their

career.

To the other researchers. The other researchers who will decide to conduct a

study related to this research could use this study as reference to provide them different

relevant information that they might need.

Scope and limitation of the Study

This study will limit its coverage on 2015-2016 BSA graduates of Rizal

Technological University. Its main purpose is to know whether the BSA graduates will

pursue his/her accounting profession or non-accounting profession. It will also discuss

the factors that affect the decision of the BSA graduates in choosing his/her career path.

Definition of terms
The researchers will use operational approach in defining the following terminologies:

Accountancy is a profession or a practice of accounting.

Accountant is a person whose job is to keep or inspect financial accounts.

Accounting is the systematic and comprehensive recording of financial transactions

pertaining to a business, and it also refers to the process of summarizing, analysing and

reporting these transactions to oversight agencies and tax collection entities.

Auditing is a careful examination of financial records or a person’s records.

Behaviour is the manner of conducting oneself.

Bookkeeping is the activity or occupation of keeping records of the financial affairs of a

business.

Career is an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person's life and with

opportunities for progress.

Decision is a person's choice after he/she thinks about a particular thing.

Perception is a way of regarding, understanding, or interpreting something; a mental

impression.

Profession is a paid occupation, especially one that involves prolonged training and a

formal qualification.
Salary a fixed regular payment, typically paid on a monthly or biweekly basis but often

expressed as an annual sum, made by an employer to an employee, especially a

professional or white-collar worker.

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This study presents a summary of related literature and studies on both foreign

and local which have been reviewed by the researchers.

What is an accountant?

Accountants are of vital importance to the efficient operation of an economy.

They work with businesses of every size to set up and maintain the systems that collect

and report information about business activity. They play a critical role in regulatory

functions of government, including day to day operations, taxation, and detection of

crime. An accountant can be defined as ‘one that keeps audits and inspects the

financial records of individuals or businesses and prepares financial and tax reports’

(Houghton, 2004). Beyond carrying out the fundamental tasks of their work i.e.

preparing, analysing and verifying financial documents in order to provide information to

clients-many accountants are now required to possess a wide range of knowledge and

skills. The concept of accounting can be defined as the process of ‘recording,

summarizing, and allocating all items of income and expense of the company and

analysing, verifying and reporting the results’ (Gorman, 2006)

Career Opportunities in Accounting

Usually, accountants and auditors work in offices, although some work from

home. Auditors may travel to their clients’ workplaces. The four main types of

accountants are: Management Accountant also called cost, managerial, corporate or

private accountants. They record and analyse the financial information of the clients

they work for, and provide it for internal use by managers, not the public accountant.

Government Accountant maintain and examine records of government agencies, audit

private businesses and individuals whose activities are subject to government

regulations or taxations. The Bachelor’s Internal Auditor check the risk

management of an organization or businesses’ funds. They then identify ways to

improve the process for finding and eliminating waste and fraud. Advancement in the

field can take many forms. Entry level public accountants will see their responsibilities

increase with each year of practice, and can move to senior positions within a few

years. Those who excel may become supervisors, managers or partners. They may

also open their own public accounting firms, or transfer to management and internal

positions in private firms. Management accountants often start as cost accountants, or

junior internal auditors. They can advance to accounting manager, chief cost

accountant, budget director or manager of internal auditing. Some become controllers,

treasurers, financial vice presidents, chief financial officers (CFOs) or corporation

presidents. The four main types of accountants enjoy a degree of cross-over potential

that is unique in business. They can transition from one type to another throughout their
careers. Becoming an accountant is a wise decision for a number of reasons. Not only

is it one of most solid careers in terms of employability and stability, but also in terms of

consistent growth.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for accountants and

auditors will grow 11% and increase by approximately 142,400 jobs over the 10 year

period between 2014 and 2024. Training to become an accountant means much more

than just learning basic bookkeeping. In fact, there are a number of varied career paths

for someone who holds a degree in accounting. These days, an accounting degree

provides numerous career options because graduates are well versed in the language

of business and possess a strong grasp of core business concepts. Accounting majors

are attractive to employers in many industries because an accounting degree

demonstrates skill in quantitative analysis and the intelligence and work ethic necessary

to complete a challenging curriculum.

If a graduate chooses to pursue a career in the accounting field, popular options

include working in the accounting department of a medium-to-large company in a role

like cost accountant, budget analyst, or payroll manager. Another option pursued by

many new graduates is to work as an auditor at one of the Big 4 accounting firms:

Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers or smaller firms.

Acquiring a CPA license after graduation can lead to additional opportunities such as a

corporate management position or opening the doors to your own public accounting

business. There are also a variety of niches within the accounting profession such as a

forensic accountant, which may involve working for the FBI to investigate fraud and

financial crimes.
 Accountants perform a variety of tasks, all of which help businesses with their

financial records and statements. Accountants may work for a government, private or

public firm, or in a corporate environment. An accountant may organize and maintain

financial records for a company and prepare financial statements such as tax returns,

ensuring all taxes are paid on time. They may also suggest ways to improve financial

operations by implementing best practices and evaluating and improving budgets.

Accountants also make recommendations to management to reduce costs, run the

business more efficiently, and improve revenue for the enterprise. Said to be the

“language of business,” accounting measures the success of a business’s economic

activities, and accountants carry this out. Some accountants investigate possible fraud

and embezzlement charges, determining if any activities within the business are illegal.

Accountants must also be able to explain their findings to managers, boards of

directors, governments, and individuals. They may communicate these findings verbally

or in written reports to stakeholders. One common field within the accounting umbrella

is auditing, and many accountants choose to focus on this specialty. Auditors evaluate

an organization’s funds, checking for mismanagement, identifying risks and ways to

improve processes to cut costs and run the business as efficiently as possible. Auditors

can be internal or external, but both objectively and systematically look for ways to

improve the way businesses are run and ensure that financial statements are correct

and up to date.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Accounting Profession

 An accounting career has many advantages and disadvantages. If a person have

never worked an accounting job, it can be hard to know if he would enjoy it. People who

like working with numbers, balancing budgets and check books and who thrive on a

deadline are usually better at accounting than less structured minds. There are specific

considerations one should think about before deciding to become an accountant.

First one is working hours. Public accountants work a lot of hours. Up to 60-hour work

weeks are not uncommon. There can be a lot of travel time involved if he audits

companies in other states. If he likes to travel, this can be an advantage for him.

Second is the deadline. Accounting deadlines are written in stone. Month-end and year-

end deadlines are the most stressful times. They don't expect to take a vacation during

those times. If a company is publicly traded, missing a deadline can mean fines and

audits. The advantage to this is event planning is much easier because he know his

deadlines. Third is the job availability. Accounting jobs are usually plentiful. Every

business needs to track what they are making and spending. Accountants can weather

specific industry problems because they can always switch to a more profitable industry

to find accounting jobs. Fourth is the salary. If he doesn’t have a degree, he can be

severely limited in his earnings. It can be hard to find a company willing to promote an

accountant with no degree to higher paying positions. If he has a degree in accounting

he might be able to be promoted up the corporate ladder to corporate financial officer

(CFO). Salary ranges vary from state to state and position to position. Lastly is the

attitude. One thing most accounting courses fail to mention is the attitude the

accounting department faces. In some cases, he is the one refusing to pay an expense

or is reporting losses. Some departments will be adversarial to the accounting

department. Accounting is a non-profit generating department, so it might be held in a

lower esteem than sales or other revenue generating departments. This can prove

frustrating to some accountants. (Rissa Watkins, 2017)

Impact of Family Influence on the Career Choice

According to Palos and Drobot 2010, Vocational development is a process which

starts already in childhood and one in which the family plays a particularly important

role. Variables such as family structure, roles assumed by each member, relationships

between the members, the system of values and attitudes which lie at the basis of

behaviors, influence career choice and development. If every person follows the models

which try to explain the stages a person goes through in the decision making process

regarding the choice of a career, every person can see that the first step is becoming

aware of the need to take a career-related decision, followed by the establishment of a

range of alternatives – built on the basis of knowing one’s own skills, interests and

personal values. Going for these alternatives is both the consequence of the level of

self-knowledge that the child has reached, as well as of exploring the social

environment. A detailed exploration of the two dimensions (person and environment)

facilitates the narrowing down of alternatives and the focusing on the one that is most

appropriate for a person. Once the option has been substantiated, the decision

becomes firm and is assumed, and one can then move on to concrete action in this

respect.

Throughout the decision making process, the family represents the support and

stability element for the adolescent, because the success of vocational development
needs information gathering activities regarding various types of jobs (what they imply,

what the requirements are for their fulfillment, etc.); ensuring the necessary support for

the exploration of vocational interests and skill potential; establishing professional

aspirations depending on these variables; drawing up plans in order to accomplish them

and developing the feeling of personal efficiency in the chosen profession.

A better understanding of vocational development is possible through a relational

perspective approach. The nature of the relationships and interactions established

between parents and children constitute the foundation of the vocational exploring

process. The quality of parent-child relationships, open communication, support offered

and trust, can influence exploring activities, vocational aspirations, future plans, the

perception of barriers which may occur in choosing a career. The type of attachment

developed by the child helps a person understand its career evolution, but also the

efficiency of career-related decisions, because internalized working models influence

the child’s openness to exploring, to learning experiences, through behaviors of

approaching or avoiding them. The modeling of career development depends on the

feeling of personal efficiency – having faith in one’s capacity to face up to certain

situations, on the results expected following a certain behavior and on the established

objectives, on the intention to engage in a behavior which would affect future results.

A person with a securing attachment is far more willing to get involved and

explore the environment, is far more curious, develops positive relationships with the

others and seeks their support. Also, research shows that the child’s level of adaptation

to the environment is also influenced by the parental style. Supportive, firm and

affectionate parents ensure a family climate which favors the socializing process, and
their children are characterized by a higher degree of emotional stability, extroversion,

sociability and empathy.

Factors that Influence Decision Making

Every day, people are inundated with decisions, big and small. Understanding

how people arrive at their choices is an area of cognitive psychology that has received

attention. Theories have been generated to explain how people make decisions, and

what types of factors influence decision making in the present and future. In addition,

heuristics have been researched to understand the decision making process.

Several factors influence decision making. These factors, including past

experience (Juliusson, Karlsson, & GÓ“rling, 2005), cognitive biases (Stanovich & West,

2008), age and individual differences (Bruin, Parker, & Fischoff, 2007), belief in

personal relevance (Acevedo, & Krueger, 2004), and an escalation of commitment,

influence what choices people make. Understanding the factors that influence decision

making process is important to understanding what decisions are made. That is, the

factors that influence the process may impact the outcomes.

Heuristics serve as a framework in which satisfactory decisions are made quickly

and with ease (Shah & Oppenheimer, 2008). Many types of heuristics have been

developed to explain the decision making process; essentially, individuals work to

reduce the effort they need to expend in making decisions and heuristics offer

individuals a general guide to follow, thereby reducing the effort they must disburse.

Together, heuristics and factors influencing decision making are a significant aspect of

critical thinking (West, Toplak, & Stanovich, 2008). There is some indication that this
can be taught, which benefits those learning how to make appropriate and the best

decisions in various situations (Nokes &Hacker, 2007)

People make decisions about many things. They make political decisions;

personal decisions, including medical choices, romantic decisions, and career

decisions; and financial decisions, which may also include some of the other kinds of

decisions and judgments. Quite often, the decision making process is fairly specific to

the decision being made. Some choices are simple and seem straight forward, while

others are complex and require a multi-step approach to making the decisions.

There are several important factors that influence decision making. Significant

factors include past experiences, a variety of cognitive biases, an escalation of

commitment and sunk outcomes, individual differences, including age and

socioeconomic status, and a belief in personal relevance. These things all impact the

decision making process and the decisions made.

Past experiences can impact future decision making. Juliusson, Karlsson, and

Garling (2005) indicated past decisions influence the decisions people make in the

future. It stands to reason that when something positive results from a decision, people

are more likely to decide in a similar way, given a similar situation. On the other hand,

people tend to avoid repeating past mistakes (Sagi, & Friedland, 2007). This is

significant to the extent that future decisions made based on past experiences are not

necessarily the best decisions. In financial decision making, highly successful people do

not make investment decisions based on past sunk outcomes, rather by examining

choices with no regard for past experiences; this approach conflicts with what one may

expect (Juliusson et al., 2005).

 In addition to past experiences, there are several cognitive biases that influence

decision making. Cognitive biases are thinking patterns based on observations and

generalizations that may lead to memory errors, inaccurate judgments, and faulty logic

(Evans, Barston, & Pollard, 1983; West, Toplak, & Stanovich, 2008). Cognitive biases

include, but are not limited to: belief bias, the over dependence on prior knowledge in

arriving at decisions; hindsight bias, people tend to readily explain an event as

inevitable, once it has happened; omission bias, generally, people have a propensity to

omit information perceived as risky; and confirmation bias, in which people observe

what they expect in observations (Marsh, & Hanlon, 2007; Nestler. & von Collani, 2008;

Stanovich & West, 2008; see also West et al., 2008).

In decision making, cognitive biases influence people by causing them to over

rely or lend more credence to expected observations and previous knowledge, while

dismissing information or observations that are perceived as uncertain, without looking

at the bigger picture. While this influence may lead to poor decisions sometimes, the

cognitive biases enable individuals to make efficient decisions with assistance of

heuristics (Shah & Oppenheimer, 2008).

In addition to past experiences and cognitive biases, decision making may be

influenced by an escalation of commitment and sunk outcomes, which are

unrecoverable costs. Juliusson, Karlsson, and Garling (2005) concluded people make

decisions based on an irrational escalation of commitment, that is, individuals invest

larger amounts of time, money, and effort into a decision to which they feel committed;

further, people will tend to continue to make risky decisions when they feel responsible
for the sunk costs, time, money, and effort spent on a project. As a result, decision

making may at times be influenced by ‘how far in the hole’ the individual feels he or she

is (Juliusson et al., 2005).

Some individual differences may also influence decision making. Research has

indicated that age, socioeconomic status (SES), and cognitive abilities influences

decision making (de Bruin, Parker, & Fischoff, 2007; Finucane, Mertz, Slovic, &

Schmidt, 2005). Finucane et al. established a significant difference in decision making

across age; that is, as cognitive functions decline as a result of age, decision making

performance may decline as well. In addition, older people may be more overconfident

regarding their ability to make decisions, which inhibits their ability to apply strategies

(de Bruin et al., 2007). Finally, with respect to age, there is evidence to support the

notion that older adults prefer fewer choices than younger adults (Reed, Mikels, &

Simon, 2008).

Age is only one individual difference that influences decision making. According

to de Bruin et al. (2007), people in lower SES groups may have less access to

education and resources, which may make them more susceptible to experiencing

negative life events, often beyond their control; as a result, low SES individuals may

make poorer decisions, based on past decisions.

Over and above past experiences, cognitive biases, and individual differences;

another influence on decision making is the belief in personal relevance. When people

believe what they decide matters, they are more likely to make a decision. Acevedo and
Krueger (2004) examined individuals’ voting patterns, and concluded that people will

vote more readily when they believe their opinion is indicative of the attitudes of the

general population, as well as when they have a regard for their own importance in the

outcomes. People vote when they believe their vote counts. Acevedo and Krueger

pointed out this voting phenomenon is ironic; when more people vote, the individual

votes count less, in electoral math.

Heuristics are general decision making strategies people use that are based on

little information, yet very often correct; heuristics are mental short cuts that reduce the

cognitive burden associated with decision making (Shah & Oppenheimer, 2008). Shah

and Oppenheimer argued that heuristics reduce work in decision making in several

ways. Heuristics offer the user the ability to scrutinize few signals and/or alternative

choices in decision making. In addition, heuristics diminish the work of retrieving and

storing information in memory; streamlining the decision making process by reducing

the amount of integrated information necessary in making the choice or passing

judgment (Shah & Oppenheimer, 2008).

As a result of research and theorizing, cognitive psychologists have outlined a

host of heuristics people use in decision making. Heuristics range from general to very

specific and serve various functions. The price heuristic, in which people judge higher

priced items to have higher quality than lower priced things, is specific to consumer

patterns; while the outrage heuristic, in which people consider how contemptible a crime

is when deciding on the punishment (Shah, & Oppenheimer, 2008). According to Shah

and Oppenheimer three important heuristics are the representative, availability, and

anchoring and adjustment heuristics.

 In decision making, people rely on a host of heuristics for convenience and

speed. One important heuristic is the representative heuristic (RH), which is an

extremely economical heuristics (Pachur, & Hertwig, 2006). In the event that one of two

things is recognizable, people will tend to choose the recognized thing; utilizing or

arriving at a decision with the least amount of effort or information (Goldstein &

Gigerenzer, 2002; Hilbig & Pohl, 2008). Hilbig and Pohl remarked that it is difficult to

research and answer definitively if an individual is using the RH alone, or if the person is

using other information in drawing a conclusion. As a result, the research on the RH is

mixed (Goldstein & Gigerenzer, 2002; see also Hilbig & Pohl, 2006). Goldstein and

Gigerenzer provided seminal research on the RH. They maintained recognition memory

is perceptive, reliable, and more accurate than chance alone; they argued less

recognition leads to more correct decisions. On the other hand, according to Hilbig and

Pohl, people often use additional information when utilizing the RH; that is, they do not

rely solely on recognition along in decision making. Further, Hilbig and Pohl concluded

that even when sound recognition was established, people use additional information, in

conjunction with the RH.

Another highly researched heuristic is the availability heuristic. According to this

heuristic, people are inclined to retrieve information that is most readily available in

making a decision (Redelmeier, 2005). Interestingly, this is an important heuristic, as it

is the basis for many of our judgments and decisions (McKelvie, 2000; Redelmeier,

2005). For example, when people are asked to read a list, then identify names from the

list, often, the names identified are names of famous individuals, with which the

participants are familiar (McKelvie, 2000). In the field of medicine, Redelmeier charged
that missed medical diagnoses are often attributable to heuristics, the availability

heuristic being one of those responsible. Redelmeier explained heuristics are beneficial

as they are cognitively economical, but cautioned clinicians and practitioners need to

recognize when heuristics need to be over-ridden in favour of more comprehensive

decision making approaches.

The anchoring and adjustment heuristic is the foundational decision making

heuristic in situations where some estimate of value is needed (Epley, & Gilovich,

2006). In this particular heuristic, individuals first use an anchor, or some ball park

estimate that surfaces initially, and adjusts their estimates until a satisfactory answer is

reached. For example, if a person were asked to answer the question, “In what year did

John F. Kennedy take office?” the anchoring and adjustment heurist would be used.

The person may start with a known date, such as the date he was shot, November 22,

1963; then make an estimate based on the known information (Epley, & Gilovich, 2006).

The practical application of the anchoring and adjustment heuristic is in negotiations;

people make counter offers based on the anchor that is provided to them. Epley and

Gilovich explained often people tend to make estimates which tend to gravitate towards

the anchor side, where actual values tend to be farther away from the anchor initially

planted. Further, anchoring requires effort; such work is important in avoiding anchor

bias.

After a decision is made, people experience a variety of reactions. In addition,

present decisions influence future decision making. Several of the outcomes that may

result from a decision are regret or satisfaction; both of which influence upcoming

decisions.
 Regret, feelings of disappointment or dissatisfaction with a choice made is one

potential outcome of decision making. Interestingly, regret may shape the decision

making process. According to Abraham and Sheeran (2003), anticipated regret is the

belief that the decision will be result of inaction. Anticipated regret may prompt behavior;

that is, when a person indicates they will do something, such as exercise, they may

follow through with their intended decision, to avoid regret. Once the decision is made,

the impact of the decision, if regret is experienced, will impact future decisions. People

can often get consumed with examining the other options that were available; the path

not taken (Sagi & Friedland, 2007).

Sagi and Friedland (2007) theorized people feel regret in accordance with how

the decision was made; regret may be dependent on the number of options that were

available during the decision making process; and how varied the options were may

impact how regret is experienced after the decision was made. Through a series of

experiments, Sagi and Friedland concluded that people feel remorse because they feel

they were able to make a better choice by looking at more information, previously

disregarded, and carefully weighing the pros and cons of each choice. In addition,

regret is magnified when individuals revisit the other available options and considering

what satisfaction the other option would have brought them. Interestingly, people who

are dissatisfied with their decision feel obligated to embrace the decision, as a means to

reducing anxiety regarding the quality of the decision (Botti & Iyengar, 2004; see also

Gilbert & Ebert, 2002). For example, when a job applicant does not get hired, he may

restructure the experience, and find many reasons that explain why he did not want to

work for the company.

 In addition to regret, individuals may also experience satisfaction with their

decisions. Satisfaction refers to how pleased the decision maker is with the outcome of

the decision. There are many things that impact levels of satisfaction. Botti and Iyengar

(2004) observed individuals prefer to make their own decisions and believe they will be

more satisfied with their choices; however, when people are given only undesirable

options, decision makers are less satisfied than those who have had the choice made

for them. Botti and Iyengar posited the explanation for this phenomenon is that the

decision maker assumes responsibility for the decision made. As a result, if the

available choices are bad, they may feel as though they are responsible for making poor

choices.

Social cognitive career theory

Social cognitive career theory (SCCT; R. W. Lent, S. D. Brown, & G. Hackett,

1994) emphasizes cognitive-person variables that enable people to influence their own

career development, as well as extra-person (e.g., contextual) variables that enhance or

constrain personal agency. Although the theory has yielded a steady stream of inquiry

and practical applications, relatively little of this work has examined SCCT's contextual

variables or hypotheses. In this article, several avenues for stimulating study of the

contextual aspects of career behavior are considered. In particular, the authors (a)

examine "career barriers," a conceptually relevant construct, from the perspective of

SCCT; (b) advocate study of contextual supports as well as barriers; and (c) propose

additional context-focused research and practice directions derived from SCCT.

(PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Following factors influence career decision

Personality traits can furthermore be associated with, or even affect, vocational

self-efficiency. Roberts, Caspi and Moffitt (2003) state that personality assessed in

adolescence can affect workplace experiences and outcomes in early adulthood. The

study also found that emotional stability is strongly related to financial security and self-

confidence, and that agreeableness is related to occupational attainment and work

experiences. Self-esteem plays a pivotal role in developing self-concept and an

individual may tend to choose a career path that will complement his or her personality

and self-concept in order to enhance feelings of self-worth (Chartrand, Robbins, Morrill

& Boggs, 1990). Personality and talent should, however, not be viewed as fixed

variables in career choice as both these individual constructs are unique and developed

over time as an individual matures (Rousseau & Venter, 2009).

Peer Influence

According to the study of Joanne N. Hellmann, University of Kentucky, 2014 that

Similar to parental attachment, peer relationships have been found to influence an

individual’s career choices (Felsman & Blustein, 1999; Wilkinson, 2004). As adolescents

separate from their families, secure attachments are transferred and fostered in peer

relationships. As a result, young adults with positive peer relationships experience a

sense of freedom in regard to making career choices, allowing them to explore career
options in greater depth. Close interpersonal relationships provide individuals with

opportunities to learn about themselves through peer interactions (Felsman & Blustein,

1999). This study assessed whether peer relationships influence the career exploration

process by examining peer attachment.

Skills and Abilities – Considering your skills and abilities and how they may fit a

particular occupation comes out of one of the earliest career development fields, Trait-

Factor theories, and is still used today. These theories recommend creating

occupational profiles for specific jobs as well as identifying individual differences,

matching individuals to occupations based on these differences. You can identify

activities you enjoy and those in which you have a level of competency though a formal

assessment. There are many available online, including the Skills Provider at

CareerOneStop.

Interest and Personality Type

Holland's Career Typology is a widely used to connect personality types and

career fields. This theory establishes a classification system that matches personality

characteristics and personal preferences to job characteristics. The Holland Codes are

six personality/career types that help describe a wide range of occupations. You can

find out your Holland Codes, and receive a list of related occupations, by completing a

questionnaire such as the one provided by the U. S. Department of Labor's O*Net

Interest Profiler. 

Life Roles

Being a worker is just one of your life roles, in addition to others such as,

student, parent, and child. Super's Lifespan theory directly addresses the fact that we
each play multiple roles in our lives and that these roles change over the course of our

lives. How we think about ourselves in these roles, their requirements of them, and the

external forces that affect them, may influence how we look at careers in general and

how we make choices for ourselves. For more information, read about Super's Life

Career Rainbow. 

Previous Experiences

Krumboltz's Social Learning and Planned Happenstance theories address factors

related to our experiences with others and in previous work situations. Having positive

experiences and role models working in specific careers may influence the set of

careers we consider as options for ourselves. One aspect of Social Cognitive Career

Theory addresses the fact that we are likely to consider continuing a particular task if we

have had a positive experience doing it. In this way, we focus on areas in which we

have had proven success and achieved positive self-esteem.

Culture – Racial and ethnic background, as well as the culture of an individual's

regional area, local community, and extended family, may impact career decisions. Our

culture often shapes our values and expectations as they relate to many parts of our

lives, including jobs and careers. Multicultural career counseling has emerged as a

specialized field to take these influences into consideration when counseling clients and

students. We can’t attribute the predominant characteristics of a culture to any one of its

individuals, but having an awareness of the values and expectations of our culture may

help us understand how we make our career choices.

Gender
 Both men and women have experienced career-related stereotypes. Gender is a

factor included in multiple career development theories and approaches including,

Social Learning and multicultural career counseling. How we view ourselves as

individuals may influence both the opportunities and barriers we perceive as we make

career decisions. Studies of gender and career development are ongoing as roles of

men and women in the workforce, and in higher education, evolve. 

Social and Economic Conditions

All of our career choices take place within the context of society and the

economy. Several career theories, such as Social Cognitive Career Theory and Social

Learning, address this context in addition to other factors. Events that take place in our

lives may affect the choices available to us and even dictate our choices to a certain

degree. Changes in the economy and resulting job market may also affect how our

careers develop.  

Career Development

Among the early theorists on career development, Frank Parsons in Choosing a

Vocation (Boston, 1909) argued that a wise vocational choice was made first by

studying the individual, second by understanding the relevant characteristics of occupa-

tions, and finally by matching the individual with the occupation. This process, called the

trait-and-factor theory, became the foundation for many career counseling programs

and is still in use today. It has led to the development of assessment instruments, as

well as to the study of individual job requirements. This theory focuses on individual

traits but does not account for changes in values, interest, skills, achievement, and
personality over the course of a lifetime. Thus, although assessments based on the

trait-and-factor approach are quite useful in career counseling, this theory is generally

considered to be quite limited.

In contrast to the static approach of the trait-and-factor theory, Ginzberg,

Ginsburg, Axelrad, and Herma (1951) were the first to view career development as a

lifelong process, with an emphasis on very early development. Ginzberg and associates

outline three distinct stages or periods in the career-choice process, each of which is

divided into substages. During the fantasy stage (childhood before age it), play grad-

ually becomes work oriented and reflects initial preferences for certain types of

activities. The second period, called tentative, is divided into four substages (interest,

capacity, values, and transition) and lasts from ages II to 17. During the tentative period,

the individual becomes more aware of work requirements and of his or her own abilities

and values and makes decisions regarding vocational likes and dislikes. At the realistic

stage (ages 17 to young adult), there is further integration of perceived abilities and

occupational interests. as the person first narrows his or her choices to a few

possibilities and then makes a commitment by selecting a job or entering specialized

training. Ginzberg (1984) reemphasized that career development is lifelong process for

those who seek to attain major job satisfaction. As changing work goals occur, a person

will reassess how to improve it with the work environment.

Synthesis

The researches gathered a sample, relevant and related literature. This literature

helps the researchers to understand more simply and elaborate the context.
The Determinants of Career Choice Decision focuses on the vital aspects that affect the

career choice of an accounting graduate. Career decision making can be complicated

and overwhelming for a BSA graduate. Once a person graduated in the accounting field

either he/she has a bigger opportunity to have a stable job when he/she pursues his

field, but some determinants: Family, Social, Personal aspects and Job environment will

also affect his or her decision in choosing career path and profession to pursue. In

decision making, thinking thoroughly the pros and cons of a choice is very important

because it affects the future plans of a person.

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter describes the method and procedure used to answer the

specific problems of the study.

Research Method Use

The descriptive research method will be used in gathering the needed

information for this study. They will execute a survey to a selected sample from

indefinite populations. A “survey” will define the measurement of opinions or

experiences of a group of people through the asking of questions.

 According to Dr. Y.P Aggarwal (2008), descriptive research is devoted to the

gathering of information about prevailing conditions or situations for the purpose of

description and interpretation. This type of research method is not simply amassing and

tabulating facts but includes proper analyses, interpretation, comparisons, identification

of trends and relationships.

The design that will be used for this research is the descriptive survey design.

The survey involved the administration of a questionnaire which sought to obtain data

on the chosen career path of the accounting graduates of Rizal Technological

University, whether they pursued accounting or non-accounting profession.

Population Frame and Sampling Scheme

Simple random sampling technique will be used in this research. It is a basic sam

pling technique where in each member of the population has an equal probability of

being chosen. Each respondents will be chosen entirely by chance and these

respondents will represent the population since random sampling technique will be

used. This type of sampling is useful in a situation when you need to reach a targeted

sample quickly, and when the scope of the research requires a large population of

respondents. In simple random sampling, the researchers aimed to present every

population by sampling an equal distribution of each. A total sample size of thirty (30)

respondents from Rizal technological university.

Description of the respondents

The respondents of this study are the accountancy graduates of RTU in the year

2015-2016. These respondents will be described using a certain demographic variables

as appertain to age, gender, profession, year Graduated and civil status.

The respondents are mixed up with those who are in the accounting and

non accounting field. There are total of 30 respondents.

Research instrument use

The survey questionnaire will be used in data gathering to achieve the main

objective of the study. This type of questionnaire is in paper form that a respondent will

answer it on his/her own. The researchers will have three sets of questions, 1 each for

sole proprietorship, partnership and corporation.

The questionnaire will consist of three sections. The first one will be an open-

ended question. It will aim to identify the point of view of different forms of business

organizations regarding taxes. The second section will be a multiple choice question

while the last section will be an interval scale question. It will aim to compare the effect

of taxes among the common forms of business organizations. The questionnaire will be
validated by Prof. Arvie Casas. Before disseminating the questionnaire, a dry run will be

conducted to 3 companies of each form of business organizations for a total of 9

companies who will not be included in this study.

The researchers will use a Likert Scale for the responses on the last section.

The answers will be categorized to: 1- Strongly Agree, 2- Agree, 3-Undecided, 4-

Disagree, 5- Strongly Disagree.

Data Gathering Procedure

Statistical Treatment use

The demographic profile of the respondents will be analyzed through the encoded

data and was structured into a frequency and percentage distribution. To describe the

distribution of the respondents in terms of age, gender, profession, year graduated and

civil status, percentage was used.

1. will be used.

Formula: % = f∗100

Where : % = Percentage distribution

f = frequency distribution

n = Number of respondents
2. From the assessment of the respondents, the average weighted mean was

computed to measure the determinants of career choice decision of RTU BSA

graduates. This will be computed based on the following formula

Formula: X =
∑ WM
N

Where: X =Average weighted mean

WM = Weighted Mean

N =Number of items

3. Chi- Square- will use to measure the relationship of choosing the career path of

the Rizal Technological University BSA graduates. The formula for the chi-square

statistic use in the chi-square test is:

Formula:

Where: c = degrees of freedom

O = observed value

E = expected value