Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
A Thesis
of
Drexel University
by
of
Doctor of Philosophy
May 2002
ii
Dedication
With Love
For
And
Acknowledgments
There are a number of people who have helped me through the dissertation
process, the Ph.D. program, and through the highs and lows of the last seven years. First
and foremost, I would like to thank Dr. Jeffrey H. Greenhaus, my supervising professor,
who by his example as a scholar, a teacher, a mentor and a colleague, has motivated me
to demand excellence from myself and to not be so shocked on the occasions that I may
actually achieve it. Dr. Greenhaus is one of the most generous individuals I have ever
met. His generosity with his time, his wisdom, and his humor sustained me throughout
the dissertation more than I can express. Dr. Greenhaus has set an example of the type of
scholarship that is attainable when you are truly dedicated to your field. I respect him
tremendously, and hope that I will take the tools that he has imparted on me and make
him proud, and glad that he spent the last three years in the “front row” seat of this
Dr. Saroj Parasuraman, honorary committee member, mentor and friend. Truly
one of the most creative individuals I have ever met, Dr. Parasuraman’s agility with
words is something that I continue to be awed by. Not only is Dr. Parasuraman to be
thanked for believing in me from the beginning, but for passing along her passion for
research, and for being a constant reminder to me of what being determined really means.
Dr. Karen Collins from Lehigh University was extremely supportive and helpful
throughout the entire dissertation process. Dr. Collins was always there for me with a
Dr. Dona DeCarolis was enthusiastic about my dissertation from the beginning.
Her adeptness at research and her knowledge of the management literature, helped in the
framing and definition of some of the major constructs in this paper. Dr. DeCarolis is a
good friend, whose sincerity and belief in my abilities helped to keep me motivated.
Dr. Veronica Godshalk of Penn State Great Valley, sits in the office next door to
me. Aside from her vast knowledge of the careers literature, Ronnie was available to
talk, every time I popped my head into her doorway. She always finished the
conversation with “you’re doing great, you’re almost there.” I am so grateful that Ronnie
human being. Dr. Linnehan challenged me from the beginning to think through the
brought tremendous value to this research project. I cannot thank Dr. Linnehan enough
for his extremely quick turnarounds, his thoroughness and his ongoing support.
Aside from my committee members, I would like to thank Dr. Steve Bagjier and
Dr. Patrick Donnelly, two wonderful statistics professors without whom I don’t think I
could have gained the understanding that I needed to make it through the Ph.D. program.
Their passing was a terrible loss to the Drexel community, and I am very thankful that I
had the pleasure of learning from them. I would also like to thank Dr. Andrew Verzilli
who offered an enormous amount of social support the first year of the program,
wonderful friends and colleagues from Drexel, Rachel Becker, Carolyn Feruggia Coco,
JB Dickinson, Michele Galan, June Morris, Sandy Naringsingh, Charlene Nessler, Jenifer
Pierce, Dr. Yasmin Purohit, Dhatri Purohit, Dr. Cathy Ridings, Dr. Sidney Siegel, Dr.
Romila Singh and Dr. Stephanie Weidman, who offered support, encouragement, and
My colleagues at Penn State Great Valley have also been very supportive and
encouraging through the dissertation process. I would especially like to thank Dr. Ellen
Foster-Curtis and Dr. William Milheim for the belief that they had in my ability to work
full-time and complete the Ph.D., to Dr. David Fritzsche for hiring me, to the office staff,
Lillian Mina, April Pumala, Cari Raezer, Susan Rivera, Suzanne Shaffer and Carolyn
Wilson. A special thanks to April Pumala for her help with the typing and editing of the
dissertation, and to Stacy Wessel for her help in the final edits. Additionally, I would like
to thank Julie Meyer, whose instructional design capabilities helped me with the online
survey and data collection. Without Julie, I would still be fiddling around with Perseus.
My friends are a wonderful group of people. Whether they were calling long
distance, emailing to cheer me on, or over at my house doing my laundry while I was at
work, I will never be able to express what it is that their love and support has meant to me
over these last seven years. I would like to make a special mention of Joan and Barry
Dickinson, my faux parents in Philadelphia, who always took care of me through their
generosity and love, and to Andrea Klopfer, my aunt, who always took me to dinner on
her business trips and always was expressed a true interest in my research.
vi
I would like to thank Sheila and Marty Litzky, my parents, who I love more than
ever. It is the two of you who helped to fuel my intellectual curiosity and my love of
learning. It is also the two of you who made me know that it didn’t matter what I “did”
as long as I “did my best”. And finally, it is because of the two of you, that I developed
the imagination to dream, the self-confidence to pursue my dreams, and the tenacity to
achieve them. Additionally, I am thankful to my siblings, for their love, support and
encouragement.
Last, but certainly not least, I must thank Solomon Shag, my best friend, for his
unique ability to sense my every emotion, and for allowing me to experience pure,
Table of Contents
Dedication .................................................................................................................................ii
Acknowledgments....................................................................................................................iii
List of Tables...........................................................................................................................xii
Abstract ............................................................................................................................... xv
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION................................................................................................... 1
Literature Review.......................................................................................................... 16
Senior Managers........................................................................................................ 16
Overview ....................................................................................................................... 90
Research Design............................................................................................................ 90
Respondents .............................................................................................................. 93
Sample........................................................................................................................... 93
Demographics of Respondents.................................................................................. 95
Independent Variables............................................................................................... 98
Hypothesis 6b: Relationship Between Gender and Off-Job Involvement. ............. 131
x
Research Gaps in the Career Development and Decision-Making Literature ............ 138
List of Tables
Table 8 Rotated Factor Structure of Subjective Off Job Involvement Scale ........................ 180
Table 9 Rotated Factor Structure of Subjective Advancement Prospects Scale ................... 181
Table 10 Factor Structure of the Career Support Work Domain Scale................................. 182
Table 11 Factor Structure of the Career Support Non-Work Domain Scale ........................ 183
Table 23a Relationship Between Gender and Career Support in the Work Domain
(Hypothesis 6g) ................................................................................................... 200
Table 23b Relationship Between Gender and Career Support in the Non-work Domain
(Hypothesis 6g) ................................................................................................... 200
Table B3 Moderating Effect of Gender on the Relationship Between Schema and Desired
Aspirations and Self-Assessment and Desired Aspirations (Hypothesis 6a)..……240
xiv
List of Figures
Abstract
Senior Management Aspirations of Managers and Professionals:
A Career Decision-Making Perspective
Barrie Elise Litzky
Dr. Jeffrey H. Greenhaus
composition of today’s workforce and the concept of a career. Corporate downsizing and
the delayering of management have affected the career advancement prospects available
associated with positions in senior management are vast, and competition for entry into
decision. Findings suggest that individuals whose career self-concepts “match” their
life involvements, and gender play significant roles in aspirations to pursue a career in
senior management.
ways. First, while a variety of theoretical approaches touch upon the issue, a review of
the existing literature reveals that to this point there has been very little empirical work
done in the area of senior management aspirations. Furthermore, much of the prior
research in the area of aspirations has neglected to distinguish between attitudes and
methodologically sound measure of aspirations, this study was able to make the
distinction between the attitudes individuals possess regarding aspirations and the
behaviors they engage in which reflect those attitudes. Additionally, this study examined
both lifestyle and work-related factors that influence an individual’s aspirations to senior
management. Prior studies have tended to look at either work or non-work factors, very
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
This I believe, and this my whole life’s experience has taught me: the managerial life is
the broadest, the most demanding, by all odds the most comprehensive and the most
subtle of all human activities. And the most crucial.
From Management: A Humanist Art by David E. Lilienthal (Aguilar, 1992)
There are a number of characteristics inherent in today’s world that are redefining
technological, and business factors are all contributing to the changes that necessitate a
rethinking of the traditional models of career development (Arthur, 1994; Arthur &
Rousseau, 1996; Schein, 1996) and definitions of career success (Mirvis & Hall, 1994).
structures, to more flexible, modern structures like the network, will affect the sizes and
Snow, & Miles, 1996). Corporate downsizing and the delayering of management will
motivate and reward individuals. It has been suggested that quite possibly the most
positive event that can happen to an employee is to ascend into top management
personal dreams and the culmination of years of hard work. For the greater part of the
20th century, the defining characteristic of most career paths was movement up a
pyramidal hierarchy, often within the same company (Allred et al., 1996). Most
2
management, and most senior managers were career veterans at one, or at most two
needed to compete successfully (Allred et al., 1996), as well as the nature of managerial
career paths and career management strategies. For example, senior managers in non-
traditional organizations must possess strong collaborative skills to work with their more
reflected in the theoretical developments and empirical research in the careers literature.
Research in the careers area has positioned the notion of the “boundaryless
such as formal hierarchical progression in one organization (Arthur & Rousseau, 1996).
Few companies can offer lifetime employment, and the conceptualization of career
Aside from being solely responsible for managing their own careers, individuals are
redefining themselves in terms of how their careers fit into their total lives (Friedman &
Greenhaus, 2000).
The vast changes in organizations and the workforce have affected individuals in
managerial careers tremendously. For example, fewer positions exist in top management,
yet the numbers of well-educated people with high career expectations have increased
assignments in the same positions with lower prospects for future mobility within their
firm (Tremblay & Roger, 1993). Being forced to stay at the same level and in the same
job can lead to frustration and loss of motivation on the part of many of these managers
increase in the numbers of individuals vying for promotion, the level of competition
among those individuals aspiring to higher levels in organizations will increase. This
seems to suggest that organizations will have a pipeline of interested candidates capable
gaining entrée to top management, the competition will be stiff since there is no longer a
guarantee of promotion in exchange for hard work or years of service (Mirvis & Hall,
1994). Intense competition for coveted senior positions may further be influenced by
changes in the priority that different roles play (Friedman & Greenhaus, 2000) in the
lives of those who may be most qualified for senior management positions. For these
reasons, organizations, as well as organization scholars, must contemplate, “Who are the
individuals who will want these positions badly enough to pursue them?” This prompts
the larger question, who will be the future leaders of our organizations? The necessity to
answer these questions is couched in the assumption that organizations, as flat as they
become, will always rely on a team of senior managers to chart the course of their
operations.
Answers to these questions may be gained through an inquiry into the aspirations
of those individuals who are likely to enter the mobility tournaments, those who have
experience (Kay, 1974) or those who have been in the workforce long enough to develop
an understanding of their likes and dislikes regarding work (Super, 1990) and have an
affinity toward management (Schein, 1975) are likely aspirants to positions in senior
for the exploration of the senior management aspirations of managers and professionals.
tremendously in the past two decades. However, senior management aspirations, a very
specific topic housed within the domain of career development and decision-making, has
garnered relatively little theoretical and empirical attention. Many studies have identified
factors that have influenced the advancement of individuals in management. From this
and the factors that influence those decisions. More specifically, this research hoped to
The model tested in this study was built on the assumption that an individual’s
Additionally, select individual, lifestyle and work-related factors were identified as those
5
which help to shape one’s aspirations to senior management. In general terms, this study
or she holds of a senior management job, and various lifestyle and work-related factors
In the following sections, the gaps in the careers literature regarding senior
management aspirations will be briefly described, with specific attention being paid to
how this study can contribute to the overall knowledge of senior management aspirations
that this research hoped to make are presented as well. Finally, a brief outline of the
Because a formal theory of senior management aspirations has not been offered to
date, the present study drew upon theories of career development and decision-making,
occupational and managerial aspirations, and the literature on the nature of managerial
basic overview of the state of the scientific research on senior management aspirations is
presented below.
of senior management aspirations as well as the limited number of studies which have
construct is vast, with a majority of the work having been done in the area of the
empirical research on the general subject of occupational aspirations (Rojewski & Yang,
aspirations of adolescents and young adults appear to include demographic and personal
determinants, such as gender or parental occupation (Haller & Miller, 1971). Studies of
career management strategies (Rynes, Tolbert, & Strausser, 1988) and managerial self-
efficacy (Van Vianen, 1999; Van Vianen & Keizer, 1996). One way in which this study
literature. There has been difficulty in the literature distinguishing between the various
functions and roles of managers, which may have also fueled inconsistencies in studies of
7
senior management aspirations. Consequently, the images that respondents may hold of
senior management positions may be highly variable, and may potentially limit the
The present study applied the prior literature on the nature of managerial work in
the top levels of the management hierarchy to conceptualize and measure the senior
The two related but distinct facets of aspirations include one’s feelings about becoming a
senior manager, as well as the behaviors exhibited by an individual which reflect his or
time. Prior studies often include a single item asking respondents, who are very often
which they aspire. The appropriate candidates to answer this question are those who
have already had time either to experience the reality of management positions or at least,
the reality of the corporate world. Managers and professionals may be well suited to
8
provide insight into their desire to attain and intention to pursue a position in senior
management.
antecedent of managerial advancement (Goffee & Scase, 1992; Judge, Cable, Boudreau,
& Bretz, 1995; Tremblay & Roger, 1993). Managerial advancement scholars (Tharenou,
1997 a, 1997 b; Tharenou & Conroy, 1994; Tharenou, Latimer, & Conroy, 1994)
observed the need for studies in the area of management aspirations to help identify the
factors that constrain entry into or dropping out of the managerial hierarchy. There are
very few studies of the determinants of management aspirations, and none that examine
management aspirations within the context of career decision-making. The present study
hopes to shed light on the individual, lifestyle, and work-related factors that influence an
detailed in Chapter 3. At this point, a brief overview of the constructs will be introduced
that “match” their own unique sets of talents, needs, motives, and values. This view
further suggests that when individuals are confronted with the need to choose an
occupation, they will consciously analyze their vocational assets and liabilities,
Consistent with this view, this study postulates that a cognitive process takes
possesses characteristics that match, or are congruent with, the characteristics vital to a
senior management position. In general, this cognitive process is the result of assessing
one’s occupational self-concept with the mental picture one holds of what it means to be
a senior manager. People assess the compatibility of occupations with their images of
who they would like to be and whether they are willing to exert efforts to enter those
sense of self will be highly valued. In this research, the congruence between an
congruence alone may not determine whether an individual aspires to a career as a senior
manager. Past research has shown that environmental factors from both the work and
1990; Greenhaus, Collins, Singh, & Parasuraman, 1997; Hicks & London, 1991;
Tharenou et al., 1994). In this study, both work and lifestyle factors are posited to affect
compatibility between self-concept and positions in senior management. If, for example,
evening and weekend hours, he or she may perceive his or her lifestyle as incompatible
with that of a senior manager. Since working long hours often characterizes individuals
10
seeking and attaining positions in senior management (Markham, Harlan, & Hackett,
1987; Wentling, 1996), an individual with extensive off-job activities may alter his or her
aspirations for advancement to reflect a more realistic view of the number of hours an
individual must work to be selected for promotion, even in the presence of congruence
In the work domain, the environmental cues individuals receive regarding the
regardless of the relationship between their desires to attain and intentions to pursue
industry, where promotions to top positions are few and far between, he or she may feel
that no matter how much he or she works, or how successful he or she may be as a
manager, the possibilities of being promoted are extremely narrow. An individual in this
situation may alter his or her aspirations for advancement to reflect a more realistic view
Career support, a form of social support, both on and off the job, may serve to
enable or constrain the relationship between one’s desire to become a senior manager and
his or her intentions to pursue such a position. Social support from individuals at work
and at home has been shown to benefit career-focused individuals (Friedman &
Greenhaus, 2000). At work, career support by a superior may provide an individual the
supervisor to engage in behaviors that will likely result in promotion may reveal strong
emotional or behavioral support may fuel an individual’s sense that aspiring to a position
in senior management is an attainable goal. In both the work and non-work domains, an
Coderre, & Denis, 1990) and fewer women than men are promoted to positions in senior
management (Hede & Ralston, 1993). Evidence exists which suggests that women have
lower aspirations for advancement than men (Greenhaus et al., 1997) and women
Because women and men hold similar values regarding advancement and promotion
(Rowe & Snizek, 1995), additional factors related to gender must account for differences
in aspirations. This research explored the relationships between gender and various
lifestyle and work factors such as advancement opportunities, off-job involvement and
management.
To reiterate, the primary goal of this study was to test the relationships between
population is professional men and women, for whom such a decision is most salient.
12
The following section highlights the research contributions that this study aimed to
accomplish.
within the realm of strategic management, the career decision-making perspective taken
in this study has far-reaching theoretical implications for the organizational behavior
(OB) and human resource management (HRM) disciplines, both of which envelop the
number of ways. First, while a variety of theoretical approaches touch upon the issue, a
review of the existing literature reveals that to this point there has been very little
empirical work done in the area of senior management aspirations. In her review of the
vocational decision-making literature, Fouad (1994) reports that various scholars have
studied the occupational aspirations of children, yet studies of the career aspirations of
adults are less prevalent. Aspirations represent a critical component of the decision-
making process because individuals must first dream about a choice before they can
make a decision. Positioning this line of inquiry under the career decision-making
umbrella will link any current and future findings on this subject to what we currently
know about how careers unfold, as well as the decisions that arise during the course of
one’s career.
13
Second, many of the career decision-making theories have been criticized for lack
of applicability to women and minorities (Brown & Brooks, 1996; Greenhaus et al.,
2000; Osipow, 1990). The sample of managers and professionals used in this study hopes
to include women and minorities, since the glass-ceiling phenomenon has been used to
opposed to mid-level management positions (Hede & Ralston, 1993; Powell, 1999). In
Third, much of the prior research in the area of aspirations has neglected to
conceptually rich and methodologically sound measure of aspirations, this study hopes to
make the distinction between the attitudes individuals possess regarding aspirations and
Fourth, this study examined both lifestyle and work-related factors that may
look at either work or non-work factors, very few having included factors from both
individuals to assess their own capabilities against those required of senior managers.
management aspirations (Tharenou & Terry, 1998) was slightly modified for use in this
sample. The hope was to construct validate this relatively new measure.
individuals who are the most likely candidates for hierarchical progression. Staffing
competencies for senior-level managers speaks to the strategic nature of the human
can be addressed more readily when the in-house talent pool is assessed for potentially
identify the skills necessary for success in these positions, as well as to offer bases for
training and development programs. Identifying senior management aspirants and non-
senior management aspirants can aid in the development of meaningful reward systems.
Additionally, grooming the individuals who possess the necessary skills, or are interested
in and capable of learning them, can help to ease the burden of succession planning in
organizations.
Third, organizations concerned with recruitment and retention can benefit from
their employees’ perceptions of the advancement opportunities and career support offered
as a tool for recruiting. Furthermore, employees who perceive career opportunities with a
firm are less likely to leave (Stout, Slocum, & Cron, 1988).
15
Finally, while not everyone can become a senior-level manager, research on the
management aspirations of managers and professionals will offer some insight into this
regarding technical and interpersonal skills, can only serve as an aid in strategic human
Following that, Chapter 3 presents the model that was tested and the rationale for the
hypothesized relationships among the constructs. Chapter 4 discusses the methods used
in this study, which includes a description of the instrument, a description of the sample,
and the statistical techniques used to analyze the collected data. Chapter 5 presents the
results, and finally, Chapter 6 presents a discussion of the findings in relation to the broad
adopted in this study. Next, the evolution of the aspirations construct is reviewed,
including the theoretical rationale behind the derivation of the definition of management
aspirations used in this study. A review of the empirical work in the area of managerial
aspirations helps to establish the research gap that this study addressed. Research on
career development is presented to lend support for the need to study the aspirations of
description of the constraints individuals may confront when faced with such a decision,
Literature Review
Senior Managers
A proliferation of research exists on the topic of managers: who managers are,
what roles they fill, tasks associated with management, where they fall in the hierarchy of
managers and various work-related outcomes (Bray, Campbell, & Grant, 1979; Goffee &
Scase, 1992; Krau, 1997; Rosenbaum, 1984; Wentling, 1996). According to a critical
review by Hales (1986), scientific evidence suggests that there are common elements of
managerial work identified in early research. Three primary weaknesses exist. The
findings, the problem of interpreting managers’ behavior and its relation to managerial
17
tasks, responsibilities, or functions, and the problem of the extent to which exclusively
others (Robbins & DeCenzo, 2001). Typically, managers are classified as first-line,
middle, or senior. At each level of the hierarchy, the functions of a manager are to plan,
organize, lead, and control the activities within the organization. However, the scope and
In a recent study assessing the likes and dislikes of managers regarding the duties
associated with their roles, Konrad, Waryszak, and Hartmann (1997) reviewed past
studies of managerial activities. The common elements agreed upon by recent authors
Katz (1974) proposed three general skill areas in which effective managers must
skills refer to the mental ability to analyze and diagnose complex situations; they are
what managers draw upon to see how things fit together and to facilitate making good
decisions. Interpersonal skills encompass the ability to work with, understand, and
motivate other people, both individually and in groups. Finally, technical skills constitute
managers at the top levels of the organization are more inclined to draw upon their
conceptual skills than middle or lower-level managers, due to the nature of the complex
18
situations they face. Technical skills for senior managers tend to be related to knowledge
of the industry and a general understanding of the organization’s processes and products.
Conversely, the technical skills needed by mid-level managers are related to the
specialized knowledge required in the functional areas in which they work, such as
marketing (Robbins & DeCenzo, 2001). Both senior and mid-level managers rely upon
management, such that the roles and tasks associated with each level are clearly defined.
Senior manager is particularly difficult to define. Perhaps the most well known body of
work that exists in the area of senior management are the studies by Kotter (1986; 1988).
Kotter’s (1986) data, collected over a seven-year period beginning in the late 1970’s,
defines general managers as those individuals “who hold positions with some
that there are multitudes of responsibilities associated with being a general manager and
that most jobs are defined by the responsibilities and challenges for which that position is
firm in which the individual works. Kotter (1986) identifies seven different kinds of
general management jobs that are associated with more complex organizational
product/market GM, and operations GM. The most common types of general
19
forms in all kinds of businesses always include the integration of the work of functional
managers or specialists” (Andrews, 1980). “There are a number of tasks which are top-
management tasks...because they are tasks that can be discharged only by people who are
capable of seeing the whole business and of making decisions with respect to the whole
business” (Drucker, 1974). Aguilar’s (1992) own definition of the general manager is
with responsibility for the timely and correct execution of those actions promoting the
This research is focused upon individuals aspiring to positions at the top of the
and although it originates in the work of Kotter (1986), seems to encompass the
described by Kotter (1986) and Aguilar (1992), the top positions of reference in this
study may also include titles such as vice president, president, managing director, chief
operating officer, chief executive officer, or chairman of the board. In this manner,
senior managers as defined in this study meet the upper limit criterion set by Kay (1974).
20
partially responsible for setting the long-run priorities for the organization, for deciding
how to allocate resources effectively to achieve long-run goals, and for the efficient use
of the human, financial, and material resources employed in that business or business
structure, the senior manager will generally be accountable to either a CEO or board of
directors, and will have authority over a very diverse set of subordinates (Kotter, 1986).
The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of the factors that influence
strong desire for high achievement, or 2.) an object of this desire. Thus, according to this
definition, an aspiration is either the desire to achieve an end state or the end state itself
(Lewin, 1956), which may be comprised of intentions (Haller & Miller, 1971; Jacobs,
Karen, & McClelland, 1991) and attitudes (Haller & Miller, 1971). Intentions are a plan
of action one undertakes to achieve a particular goal (Locke & Latham, 1990 a; Pinder,
1998). Attitudes represent one’s personal orientation toward a goal (Haller & Miller,
1971). Thus, the intention to pursue the goal and the attitude toward the goal appear to
and operationalized in various manners in the empirical research that exists to date.
occupation named as one's best alternative at any given time (Gottfredson, 1981), are
considered developmental in nature (Gottfredson, 1981; Jacobs et al., 1991; Rojewski &
Yang, 1997; Trice & McClellan, 1993), suggesting that as young people grow, their
vocational preferences become more crystallized over time. Empirical studies provide
such as age (Harmon, 1989; Jacobs et al., 1991), race (Jacobs et al., 1991), sexual
orientation (Chung & Harmon, 1994), and social class (Jacobs et al., 1991; Rojewski &
rewards associated with getting a job) and ease-of-success self-efficacy (perceived ease
of achieving what one wants to achieve) consistently predicted career aspirations (Singer,
appear to parallel and perhaps amplify the lack of knowledge specific to the literature on
one exception in the literature. Second, while occupational aspirations have been
examined extensively regarding their role in career choice and attainment (Rojewski &
Yang, 1997), much remains to be learned about the possible antecedents of aspirations
and their role in career behavior (Osipow & Fitzgerald, 1996; Rojewski & Yang, 1997).
22
Finally, the studies on aspirations focus primarily on children and adolescents, which
suggests that a need exists for future studies which include how occupational aspiration
There are relatively few studies of managerial aspirations in the literature. Within
the existing research, there has been little or no consistency in the definition of
aspirations used in this study was derived from prior research on aspirations,
the conceptual and methodological issues that have surfaced in the research on
management aspirations. These conceptual and methodological issues are discussed next,
aspirations differently (Goffee & Scase, 1992; Judge et al., 1995; Martin, Price, Bies, &
Powers, 1987; Rynes et al., 1988; Sloan, 1993; Steiner & Farr, 1986; Stout et al., 1988;
Tremblay & Roger, 1993; Van Vianen, 1999; Van Vianen & Keizer, 1996; Wentling,
managers (Goffee & Scase, 1992; Wentling, 1996), senior manager or CEO aspirations
(Sloan, 1993), ambition for a managerial position (Judge et al., 1995; Van Vianen, 1999),
advancement aspirations (Tremblay & Roger, 1993), managerial aspirations (Rynes et al.,
1988), promotion aspirations (Stout et al., 1988), career goals (Steiner & Farr, 1986),
sales manager aspirations (Martin et al., 1987) and intention to manage (Van Vianen &
23
Keizer, 1996). While management aspirations in these studies have been conceived of as
either an end state (e.g. position) or the desire to achieve an end state (e.g. ambition), the
conceptualizations and definitions are as different as the studies in which they are
employed.
they ultimately aspire (Judge et al., 1995), to indicate whether they would like to move
into a management position (Martin et al., 1987; Rynes et al., 1988), to mark an
occupational category (Jacobs et al., 1991), or to answer a question such as “Have you
attained the highest position to which you aspire?”(Goffee & Scase, 1992; Wentling,
asking respondents (1) to indicate their preferences for moving into a position in
management and (2) to rate the importance of such a move (Sloan, 1993; Steiner & Farr,
1986; Stout et al., 1988; Tremblay & Roger, 1993). Finally, two studies used five and
six-item scales to measure ambition for a managerial position (Van Vianen, 1999) and
intention to assume a managerial job (Van Vianen & Keizer, 1996), respectively. These
studies used the same or similar items such as, “I want to fulfill a management position in
the near future”, “I have said to my relatives that I want to get a promotion”, and
although some researchers have performed experiments (Martin et al., 1987) or employed
case study methodology including face-to-face interviews (Sloan, 1993; Wentling, 1996).
While the studies of management aspirations have used working adults as the sample
24
population, only a handful have specifically used managers as the population of interest
(Goffee & Scase, 1992; Judge et al., 1995; Sloan, 1993; Tremblay & Roger, 1993;
Wentling, 1996).
aspirations in three ways. First, aspirations have primarily been measured by single
items, which identify a management position by title (e.g. CEO) as a career goal.
Second, the notion of aspirations as a goal (Lewin, 1956), which includes both intention
(Haller & Miller, 1971; Jacobs et al., 1991) to pursue the goal and attitude towards the
goal, is clearly missing from prior research (Haller & Miller, 1971). A more thorough
investigation of aspirations, one that most clearly reflects its scientific roots, requires that
it encompass both an attitudinal and a behavioral component. Third, prior studies have
theoretical framework upon which the hypothesized relationships are based, appears to be
Finally, while prior studies do include adult populations in their samples, only a
few of them include managers in their populations of interest, and of those, the levels of
management have been defined differently. In this manner, the aspirations of managers
and professionals to positions in senior management have not been isolated from
theoretical framework to build upon, the present study hoped to address the prior
25
Senior Management Aspirations. Based upon the notions of goals, intentions, and
supports this conceptual definition. Based upon prior work of Tharenou and Terry
(1998), the measure includes an attitudinal and a behavioral component. The attitudinal
in senior management, and is called desired aspirations. Desired aspirations represent the
emotional component of one’s pursuit of a career goal. Tharenou and Terry (1998)
argued that “an individual’s desires are likely to be an important motivational force when
progression into or within the managerial hierarchy is difficult, enabling the high effort
improving skills. The items identified were indicative of the strategies associated with
managerial aspirations (Tharenou & Terry, 1998). Since people engage in acts that are
consistent with their intentions and goals (Pinder, 1998 p. 369), we can conclude that
individuals who are engaged in the behaviors represented by the enacted aspirations
construct have the intention to pursue a position in senior management. Thus, enacted
26
aspirations are elements in the plan of action (Locke & Latham, 1990 a; Pinder, 1998)
one undertakes to achieve the ultimate goal of attaining a position in senior management.
aspirations will allow the aspirations of individuals who have the desire and intention to
experience, particularly middle managers, are the individuals for whom this desire and
intention are most salient, since they are the individuals who are promoted into the ranks
of senior management (Applebaum, 1977; Kay, 1974). Furthermore, research has shown
that as young people grow, the reality of the job market in terms of opportunities (Jacobs
et al., 1991) as well as their own self-perceived capabilities (Schein, 1978; Singer et al.,
1993) may affect their occupational aspirations. So individuals who have been in the
workforce for some time may have a more realistic view of their occupational self-
concepts. These factors, coupled with the developmental nature of aspirations, suggest
that it is imperative that we gain an understanding of the factors that influence the senior
management aspirations of individuals for whom these aspirations are most important.
forthcoming section. At this point, it is necessary to review existing research that has
sparse. Table 1 summarizes the empirical work that has been done to date.
regarding managerial tasks (Van Vianen, 1999; Van Vianen & Keizer, 1996), and
27
subjective norms and their associated valence (Van Vianen & Keizer, 1996). Managerial
competence career anchors (Rynes et al., 1988) and sex-role ideology (Martin et al.,
she can successfully perform in a management position (Van Vianen, 1999). Outcome
expectancies and valence regarding managerial tasks refer to one’s beliefs about the
positive consequences of holding a managerial job as well as the evaluation one holds of
the outcomes or rewards of such a job (Van Vianen, 1999). Subjective norms and
valence represent the importance of beliefs about what others want the individual to do
regarding a career in management (Van Vianen & Keizer, 1996). Career anchors, based
on the work of Edgar Schein (1978), represent one’s self-perceived occupational image,
individual’s talents, abilities, motives, needs, attitudes, and values (Schein, 1978).
The above findings suggest that individuals who see their occupational self-
managerial jobs and value the rewards associated with management positions. These
suggest that individuals with management aspirations are those for whom work is a
salient aspect of their total life (Stout et al., 1988), who feel that a position in senior
management is attainable (Stout et al., 1988), and who participate in strategies to enhance
their career advancement potential (Rynes et al., 1988). Having worked in management
positions, or within the workforce long enough to have developed a true understanding of
28
the nature of managerial work, managers and professionals may be the best candidates to
assess their managerial talents and abilities, as well as their affinity for positions in
management.
each of the above studies. In one study, the type of aspirations investigated was senior
management or CEO aspirations (Sloan, 1993). The interpretability of the findings of the
other studies is limited because conclusions that one may draw about management
the samples used in the preceding studies limit the generalizability of the findings.
Secretaries (Martin et al., 1987) and students (Rynes et al., 1988) may be managerial
aspirants, but it is unlikely that respondents within such samples can realistically assess
present study will go beyond the existing research to focus specifically on aspirations to
senior-level management. Managers and professionals, having gained insight into the
ongoing process by which individuals progress through a series of stages, each of which
2000). The research on career development (Greenhaus et al., 2000; Schein, 1978; Super,
Savickas, & Super, 1996) is informed by the adult life development literature, which
theorizes that adults progress through a series of stages in a relatively systematic manner
29
(Erikson, 1963; Levinson, 1986). These stages represent common phenomena in terms of
For example, Levinson (1977) suggests that a major task during early adulthood is
toward the achievement of one’s goals. He introduces the concept of the Dream, which
he defines as “an imagined possibility of self-in-world, a vision of the adult self living the
good life. It is a soil in which joyful hopes can flower, but it also nourishes illusive
beliefs: that I am capable of accomplishing everything the Dream envisages, that certain
others will unequivocally support my efforts, that fulfilling the Dream will bring me true
Similarly, career stages represent common phenomena in terms of the issues that
the career stage models. For example, Super’s (1990) establishment phase, which he
connects loosely with ages 25-44, is suggestive of a time when individuals seek to secure
Greenhaus et al., (2000) suggest that during the achievement period of the early career
stage (approximate age late 30s), many individuals are concerned with moving upward
within the organization. Senior management aspirations are particularly relevant for
Thus, the issues reflected in the career stages described above are most likely relevant to
stage (Super, 1990) or achievement stage of early career (Greenhaus et al., 2000),
aspirations to senior management seem indicative of one type of issue these individuals
may face when making career decisions. Career decisions, which are part of an
individual’s career development, are made within the context of one’s total life. The five
individual’s total life, with work, family, and self-development concerns as interrelated.
As other career development scholars have suggested, while the focus of career
Greenhaus et al., (2000) take the position that age and/or life experiences strongly
shape career aspirations, experiences, and concerns and therefore play a critical role in
the identification of career stages. While age ranges and career stages are not of primary
importance to this research, the work and life experiences of managers and professionals
do serve to highlight the factors that stand out as determinants of aspirations to a senior-
level management position for this group of individuals. In broad terms, the
identification of these factors is the research gap that this study hopes to address.
An integration of the findings from the empirical studies reviewed above and the
evidence of issues regarding managers and professionals provide support for the
following four major considerations. First, because aspirations develop over time, adults
are the most logical population to study when ascertaining factors that influence
or have been in the workforce for a number of years are best to judge whether they like
31
management and whether or not they are good at it. Third, as individuals pass through
various life and career stages, it becomes important for them to know where their talents
lie, what their interests are, and to address or reassess their current situations. Finally,
career issues cannot be studied in a vacuum. It is necessary to understand the forces that
may serve to promote or constrain career decisions, in both the work and non-work
domains. Aspirations play a role in career decisions, as they are reflective of the goals
and intentions that influence individuals toward a particular course of action (Lewin,
1956). This study draws upon the career decision-making literature in an attempt to
provide a theoretical framework for the empirical investigation of the senior management
commitment to a course of action. Thus, career decisions are the internal processes that
allow the individual to analyze various alternatives, and ultimately to accept or reject
each one. Aspirations are a component of many career decision models because they
represent the commitment one makes toward a course of action. Aspirations are also the
basis for Hall’s (1976) concept of psychological success, which he considers a facilitator
of career decisions.
Hall (1976) defines psychological success as the person’s feelings of success and
is based upon Lewin’s prior work on aspirations. According to Lewin (1956), a person’s
experience and the degree of success and failure depend upon whether the achievement is
above or below an expectation, which in this case is the momentary level of aspiration.
32
In this manner, he inextricably links the concepts of level of aspiration and psychological
success, such that the level of aspiration is fundamental for the experience of success and
failure, and is ultimately changed by success and failure. Based upon Lewin’s prior
work, Hall (1976) posits that a sense of psychological success is likely to be achieved
1. When the person sets a challenging goal for him/herself (i.e. one representing a high
level of aspiration)
2. When the person determines his/her own means of attaining the goal
3. When the goal is important to his/her self-concept (i.e. he values the task)
4. When he/she actually attains the goal.
In terms of career decisions, the combined ideas of Lewin and Hall suggest that
attainable, he or she is likely to pursue it, as long as the signals received along the way
Career decisions may be broad, like what type of occupation to enter, or narrow,
like whether to accept a promotion that will require relocation. The career decision-
making process seems to take place within the context of the overall career development
process, in the sense that the issues one confronts during the course of one’s career will
Osipow (1990) and Osipow and Fitzgerald (1996) note that there are important
differences among the theories of career decision-making with respect to the emphasis on
actual choices or decisions, as opposed to the process of deciding. For example, trait-
factor theories like Holland’s typology, and the self-concept aspects of Super emphasize
the choices and decisions themselves (Osipow & Fitzgerald, 1996). Information-oriented
33
theories like expectancy or those based on subjective probabilities place emphasis on the
career decision encompass both perspectives. In this section, the process of decision-
making is addressed.
& Fitzgerald, 1996). The two types of models that have evolved are prescriptive (how
decisions should be made) and descriptive (how people actually make decisions). The
descriptive models are more relevant to this research and the few that are particularly
Osipow and Fitzgerald (1996) review a variety of studies that attempt to address
career decision-making. Osipow and Fitzgerald (1996) considered the essential variables
outcomes, and possible alternatives. Other writers tried to apply the concept of
Fitzgerald, 1996). Gelatt and Clarke (1967) observe that very possibly what takes place
success combined with the personal value of the activities available. Osipow and
Fitzgerald (1996) and Gelatt (1962) report that career decision-making takes place as a
assessing the information, and predicting outcomes of various courses of action in terms
finally implementing the decision. Depending upon the finality of the solution, the
Osipow and Fitzgerald (1996) report on the work of Mitchell and Beach (1975)
who reviewed the research on expectancy in decision models in the context of career
choices. Mitchell and Beach (1975) concluded that empirical results substantially
support the use of models, such as decision models, in understanding career decision-
making. The models assume that individuals will choose careers believed to result in the
greatest personal benefit, provided the individuals believe that there is a good probability
they can actually obtain a position in that career. Of the descriptive models that use an
most influential (Brown & Brooks, 1996). The appeal of using expectancy theory as a
next section.
courses of action that are expected to produce desirable consequences (Vroom, 1964).
Simply stated, the actions one takes, or the level of effort one expends, is a combined
function of what one can do and what one wants to do. A general model of career
extrinsic rewards associated with a position. For example, becoming a college professor
35
is a first level outcome. Some of the rewards and responsibilities associated with
becoming a college professor are autonomy, creativity, and teaching. These are the
second-level outcomes associated with the job. Individuals may hold positive, negative
or neutral feelings about first and second-level outcomes. The affective orientation one
instrumentality (I) and valence of second-level outcomes (V2) determine the valence of
perceived likelihood that entering a particular position will result in certain rewards and
responsibilities. Decision-makers assess the likelihood that each of the career alternatives
will lead to the valued outcomes. In essence, the decision-maker perceives how
instrumental each career alternative will be in attaining the valued outcomes. A person
deciding to become a college professor will assess the likelihood that becoming a college
outcomes and to avoid negative outcomes (Super, 1990). An outcome is positively valent
for an individual who prefers having it to not having it (Pinder, 1998). For example, a
promotion to department head is positively valent for a college professor who would
rather be promoted to department head than not be promoted. An outcome that has
associated with becoming a department head, for example, are negatively valent for a
outcomes (V1), the valence of second-level outcomes (V2) is also an input. Because V2
represents the way a person feels about the rewards and responsibilities associated with
entering a particular position, it influences a person’s overall feelings about attaining that
positions for which autonomy is an outcome. Expectancy theory assumes that people
will mentally multiply the value (V2) of each outcome by the instrumentality (I) for that
outcome to obtain a total attraction score (V1). A person is predicted to be most attracted
Expectancy (E) represents the strength of a person’s belief about the degree to
which a particular first-level outcome is the result of his or her actions (Pinder, 1998).
These subjective beliefs defined as expectancies are the degree to which an individual
feels that the outcomes can be realized. The expectancy component represents the “can”
an individual who has been accepted into a Ph.D. program is likely to have the
expectation that he or she can become a college professor by completing the Ph.D.
In sum, an individual is likely to decide upon a career if the career choice holds
valuable outcomes, the individual feels that entering into that career can attain the
outcomes, and finally, the individual believes that there is a high probability he or she
will be able to enter into that occupation. Expectancy theory is not about predicting
particular career alternative is high, the instrumentality of that choice is high and the
expectancy for attainment of that choice is high, then it is predicted that an individual will
expend substantial effort in pursuing that career choice (Brown, 1996). Vroom’s
expectancy theory has been subjected to rigorous empirical tests and the findings of using
theory is not being tested in this study. Rather, it is used as the theoretical framework
upon which the relationships between the elements in the model of senior management
in senior management will be expended if an individual believes that his or her effort will
result in being promoted into a senior management position, and if the person desires
aspirations follows. The definitions of the constructs that comprise the model of senior
management aspirations of managers and professionals are offered in the next section,
while the hypothesized relationships among the constructs are forthcoming in Chapter 3.
See Table 2 for a summary of the components of expectancy theory and the
corresponding variables introduced in the present study. Please note that not all of the
Whether implicit or explicit, the ultimate goal of successful career choice is to achieve
high person-environment fit (Hackett, Lent, & Greenhaus, 1991; Osipow, 1990). The
phenomenon are characterized by the position that optimal career outcomes arise from
the fit between individual characteristics and the rewards and demands of the job. In
general, such theories traditionally emphasize the importance of abilities as the major
determinant of job success, and interests, needs, and values as the major factors affecting
job satisfaction (Osipow & Fitzgerald, 1996). Two widely cited theories that employ the
concept of fit are Holland’s Theory of Vocational Choice (1985) and Super’s Life-Span
process of matching occupations and people. Holland (1985) believes that vocational
personality type with a work environment where that individual is likely to be a success.
Holland posits that individuals seek environments that are congruent with their
personality type. The congruence construct in Holland’s theory, taps the degree of fit
between an individual's personality and the type of work environment in which the
Super’s Life-Span Life-Space Perspective (1990) is based upon the notion of the
self-concept, the self-perceived image we hold of our abilities, personality traits, values,
needs, and interests. According to Super (1990), the self-concept develops over time, as
a function of the various life stages and life roles individuals confront.
Super holds that as individuals progress through the various stages and master the
associated tasks, they reach a level of vocational maturity (Osipow, 1990) which enables
them to more easily make choices and be satisfied with those choices. The ultimate goal
Invoking the matching approaches described above suggests that individuals who
are attracted to senior management positions are those for whom senior management
positions are congruent with their self-concepts. Additionally, these are individuals who
have had work-related experiences that have enabled them to gain a realistic picture of
what they like and what they are good at doing. The instrumentality and valence of
the notion of fit. In this study, the notion of fit is derived as an assessment of one’s
second-level outcomes).
Senior management schema (SMS) refers to the cognitive structure in which the
characteristics (second-level outcomes). Since instrumentality serves to link the first and
senior manager is seen as instrumental in attaining specific outcomes like high salary,
long work hours, power, profit and loss responsibility, and the sovereignty to make
strategic decisions.
career anchor, represents an individual’s perception of his or her abilities, skills, motives,
and talents in the context of a senior management position. A career anchor is defined as
one’s self-perceived talents, abilities, motives, needs, attitudes, and values (Schein,
1978). These self-perceptions are based on actual work experiences (Schein, 1978). The
managerial competence career anchor closely matches the abilities, skills, motives, and
managerial competence career anchor reveal an individual who appears to thrive on the
The valence of second-level outcomes suggests that individuals view the outcomes
make a value judgment regarding his or her abilities, skills, and motives in the context of
outcome associated with being a senior-level manager may be to make decisions under
conditions of extreme uncertainty. For an individual who has a low tolerance for
uncertainty, this job requirement will have negative valence (or not be valued). The
41
valent to an individual for that individual to think about attaining such a position.
The combination of positively valent second-level outcomes along with the belief
predicts the overall level of valence that obtaining a position in senior management
self-assessment that will influence the overall level of valence an individual holds
determine a level of congruence, one must possess substantial knowledge of his or her
scholars indicate that the occupational self-concept may include lifestyle characteristics
(Gottfredson, 1981), both the SMS and the SMSA focus only on the work-related
characteristics associated with positions in senior management. The primary reason for
this is that the literature which views career decision-making as a process of “matching”
is characterized by the position that optimal career outcomes arise from the fit between
individual characteristics and the rewards and demands of the job. In general, such
theories traditionally emphasize the importance of abilities and needs as the major
determinant of career interests and job success (Osipow & Fitzgerald, 1996). The
between one’s senior management schema (SMS) and one’s senior management self-
assessment (SMSA). Thus, the product of instrumentality and the valence of second
level outcomes (I x V2) is consistent with the notion of fit. In a model of senior
Expectancy theory is consistent with the distinction between desired and enacted
aspirations, the two facets of the dependent variable in the present study. As mentioned
career decision and defined as an individual’s desire and intention to move into a senior
components of senior management aspirations are consistent with the valence of first-
making.
with the valence of first-level outcomes or the “want” component in the expectancy
valent second-level outcomes and the belief that becoming a senior manager will be
instrumental in attaining those outcomes, which in the present study is consistent with
congruence. Therefore, an individual’s congruence will predict his or her desire to attain
Consistent with expectancy theory, the current study suggests that an individual’s
desire to attain a position in senior management will influence his or her behaviors. The
aspirations and defined as those behaviors exhibited by an individual which reflect his or
predicted in part, by his or her desires. Thus, while attitudes and behaviors are both part
of the senior management aspirations construct, expectancy theory supports the notion
wants, in combination with what an individual believes is possible or expects (E) will
________________________________________________________________________
1
In the model in the present study, ∑IV2 connotes congruence, which influences V1. In most expectancy
models ∑IV2=V1.
44
variable(s). The variables in the present study, which are conceptually similar to the
may affect an individual’s desired aspirations. These factors are discussed in the next
section.
lifestyle encompasses the balance between work, family and leisure activities. All
of their personal lives that could potentially affect the relationship between their
compatibility with the requirements of a senior management position and their desire to
pursue such a position. Krau (1997) posits that an individual’s vocational aspirations
must be realized to attain one’s overarching life aspirations, since career as an element of
life is expected to fulfill certain needs. In this manner, career aspirations cannot be
extricated from one’s overall life aspirations or lifestyle. Levinson’s (1986) concept of
the Dream suggests that individuals possess an idealized picture of themselves in the
world. The Dream reinforces one’s beliefs that he or she is capable of accomplishing all
that he or she wants, that significant others will be supportive of his or her efforts toward
accomplishment and that the fulfillment of the dream is a means to attain overall
happiness.
The views of Krau (1997) and Levinson (1986) seem to suggest that aspects of
one’s total life must be considered when any career decisions are made. Specifically,
45
career decisions must be made within the context of one’s non-work involvement and
commitments. One factor which individuals may contemplate when considering the
Off-job involvement represents the commitments one has with family and other
1997). Primarily used in the work-family literature, measures of off-job involvement are
thought to capture more of the non-work demands placed on the individual than
traditional family involvement measures were capable of (Gutek, Searle, & Klepa, 1991;
psychological.
Psychological involvement refers to the thoughts and feelings generated by the activity,
such as thinking about obligations to serve in a political group, or worrying about a sick
child. Off-job involvement (as off-job interference with job activities) has been found to
be related to psychological strain (O'Driscoll et al., 1992). Other findings suggest that
(Godshalk, 1997). To date, off-job involvement has been studied as a mediating variable
(Godshalk, 1997; O'Driscoll et al., 1992), where this study treated it as a moderating
Recent research suggests that priorities regarding career versus family and other
focused individuals who are less likely to aspire (Friedman & Greenhaus, 2000;
Schwartz, 1992). These findings indicate that heavy involvement in some off-job
Individual’s who see their occupational selves in terms that are congruent with senior
management positions may still not want to pursue such a position, given the priorities
Individuals may not be willing to sacrifice the physical time and psychic energy
they spend in off-job activities to meet the demands of a senior management position,
even if a senior management position is appealing to them. Individuals who are highly
involved in off-job activities may see their lifestyles as incompatible with the lifestyle
requirements of senior management positions. For these people, the desire to become a
senior manager is lowered by their involvement in, and maybe even preference for,
there may be conditions in the environment that will constrain the relationship between
47
the desire to become a senior manager and the actual intention to pursue such a position.
individual holds that his or her actions will result in a position in senior management.
Congruence simply suggests that individuals are attracted to jobs that they like and that
they think they will be good at performing. Expectancy theory supports these ideas but
also suggests that it is the valence of a first-level outcome multiplied by the expectation
that the outcome is attainable by engaging in certain behaviors, that ultimately predicts
those behaviors (V1 x E). An individual’s perception about whether his or her actions
will result in a senior management position may be influenced by extraneous factors. For
example, Schein (1993) notes that a person’s career anchor may not always match what
he or she is doing occupationally because of external constraints over which the person
automatically result in behavior. Expectancy also plays a critical role (V1 x I x E).
In their career management model, Greenhaus et al., (2000) suggest that the
feedback one obtains from work or non-work sources can reinforce or lead to
modification of a goal. As such, work and non-work factors may serve to enable or
suggests that an individual will pursue outcomes that are valuable as long as he or she has
the expectation that his or her efforts will result in those outcomes, it is imperative to
understand the factors that may influence an individual’s level of expectancy and its
48
effect on the relationship between the valence of first-level outcomes and behaviors. In
management, this research focused on factors that could serve to constrain the
A distinction must be made between the factors that influence the relationship
between one’s congruence and desired aspirations, and those that affect the relationship
between one’s desires and his or her intentions to act. As described in the previous
section, lifestyle factors are expected to influence one’s desire to become a senior
between one’s lifestyle involvements and the lifestyle of a senior manager. Alternatively,
even if an individual has a desire to become a senior manager, that is, a high degree of fit
management may impact his or her decision to pursue such a position. Consistent with
the notion of expectancy, an individual must believe that a position in senior management
Two elements that are consistent with the notion of expectancy, or the “can”
These factors reflect “current” experiences and may seem to have no potential
influence on aspirations, which are “future” oriented. The argument here is that current
the potential to impact future outcomes. This is so because of the intensity of effort
49
needed to progress hierarchically in a career, such that any deviation from specific career
The ecological approach to decision making helps to further explain the relevance
making views decisions as links in a chain, where each decision can be made only
immediately prior to action, yet preparing for the act of deciding and planning the
implementation of the decision itself are necessary (Osipow & Fitzgerald, 1996).
Although decisions in the present have immediate implications, their long-range effects
and estimates of their effects on future decisions are to be considered at the time of
geographically for a promotion now may be doing so with the expectation that the
individual who is constrained geographically refuses a transfer, he or she may see this as
self-selecting out of future advancement opportunities (Stroh, Brett, & Reilly, 1992), a
Advancement prospects are the beliefs an individual holds regarding his or her
arise as a result of cues from the environment. Cues may be real or perceived,
opportunities available, the number of past promotions or the type of past work
assignments.
of factors: availability of the job within the surrounding geographic area, perceptions of
discrimination or favoritism, ease of obtaining training for the job, or lack of knowledge
accessibility of a position reflects his or her opinion about how probable it is that one
could enter a particular job, and therefore influence how seriously the person will
consider that job as a viable career alternative. Empirical findings indicate that an
(Sugalski & Greenhaus, 1986), suggesting that a person must see a potential payoff
senior management aspirations, even an individual who sees him or herself in terms that
are congruent with a position in senior management must perceive advancement as likely
suggests that career decisions are partially based on one’s expectations for attainment of
the desired career alternative. Essentially, advancement prospects which result from an
including how fast they’ve been promoted to date, rates of promotion for peers with
competitors, the number of vacancies in positions to which people in their job often
advance, and how long they have been in the present job (Alvarez, 1979; Anderson,
Milkovich & Tsui, 1981, p. 258; cf. Kipnis, 1964; Kanter, 1977). Additional reasons for
1987), a perception that positions outside of one’s area of expertise are inaccessible
(Kotter, 1986; Sloan, 1993), that a large number of individuals are competing for a small
number of high level positions (Wentling, 1996) and finally, that individuals who have
reached a plateau within their own organization perceive themselves as having low
The above studies indicate that individuals rely on environmental cues that
suggest that advancement is not only feasible, but also likely. For these reasons, it is
expected that regardless of congruence and desire, the intensity of one’s intentions to
prospects.
Career support is a type of social support which indicates to an individual that the
provider of the support has taken an active interest in his or her career aspirations. Based
upon the social support construct, career support allows an individual to translate his or
her desire to attain a position in senior management into an enacted behavior. Career
52
support may come from providers in either the work or the non-work domain. In the
work domain, one’s supervisor may provide support (Jiang & Klein, 2000). In the non-
work domain, social support may be provided by a spouse or partner, the family unit, and
others who comprise an individual’s social network (Carlson & Perrewe, 1999).
(Shumaker & Brownell, 1984) and as an interpersonal transaction that involves emotional
concern, instrumental aid, information, or appraisal (Carlson & Perrewe, 1999). Thus in
Parasuraman, & Greenhaus, 1992). Emotional support represents the affective aspects of
support and includes such things as trust, empathy, love, and encouragement (Granrose et
al., 1992). Friedman and Greenhaus (2000) suggest that two types of emotional support
exist, personal and career support. Personal support helps with personal and family
problems, while career support helps with work-related problems (Friedman &
Greenhaus, 2000).
behavioral support (Friedman & Greenhaus, 2000), refers to the non-affective aspects of
support and includes providing time, resources, and skills used for both physical help, as
well as cognitive help such as feedback, problem solving, and factual information
Individuals can benefit from personal and career-related support (Friedman &
Greenhaus, 2000) from a variety of sources within their social networks, or within the
individuals who are not in long-term, committed relationships may also benefit from
support from significant members of their social networks. Parents, siblings, and friends
may provide emotional and behavioral support to individuals, which may enable them to
As Friedman and Greenhaus (2000) suggest, individuals who benefit from social
support may experience enhanced well-being, which may bolster feelings of confidence
and self-esteem, and potentially aid in solving career related problems, or influence
occupational success. Additionally, behavioral support can provide time and flexibility at
home that better enables individuals to meet demands at work (Friedman & Greenhaus,
2000). Individuals who desire positions in senior management will benefit from social
Empirical research has shown that social support has an influence on a variety of
work-related outcomes such as career satisfaction (Carlson & Perrewe, 1999), job
satisfaction (Purohit, 1999), job commitment (Purohit, 1999), time commitment to work
(Parasuraman, Purohit, Godshalk, & Beutell, 1996), absenteeism (Purohit, 1999), and job
Social support from one’s supervisor has been shown to act as a buffer in stressful
situations, giving individuals the strength to tackle difficult issues (Spreitzer & Quinn,
1996). Three important mechanisms for support include sharing information, sharing
resources, and providing access to essential sociopolitical networks (Spreitzer & Quinn,
1996). Greenhaus, Parasuraman, and Wormley (1990) suggest that supervisory support
may take the form of career guidance and information, performance feedback, and
particularly important for enhancing middle managers’ motivation to take risks and make
Career support may take the form of presenting opportunities for career
development and training, both viewed as facilitators of advancement (Gould & Penley,
1984; Kotter, 1986; Lyness & Thompson, 2000; Wentling, 1996). Career support from
one’s supervisor has been found to be positively related to training and development
(Tharenou et al., 1994) as well as to promotions and managerial level (Tharenou &
Conroy, 1994). Mentoring, a type of career support has also been found to be positively
related to career development (Wentling, 1996). Career support may provide signals to
individuals that they can attain positions in senior management. Since a lack of career
(Tharenou & Conroy, 1994) were negatively related to career development, they may
individual’s desire to become a senior-level manager and his or her enacted behaviors.
her beliefs that he or she will be able to enter that particular occupation. The product of
one’s belief that he or she could attain a particular position and the attractiveness or
senior management (based on the fact that he or she desires the rewards associated with
55
the position and feels that once in the position those rewards are likely to come), then that
person will expend the effort, or participate in certain behaviors that will most likely lead
aspirations is framed within the context of a career decision. It is not enough for an
individual to merely hold desired aspirations; one must believe that those aspirations have
the potential to be realized before any decisions regarding their attainment will be made.
The prior sections reveal that individuals account for lifestyle and environmental
variables when making career-related decisions. Evidence suggests that these lifestyle
and environmental factors may affect women and men differently, ultimately leading
them to make different career decisions. This suggests that gender may play a role in
affecting an individual’s senior management aspirations. In the next section, the role of
The Role of Gender and Senior Management Aspirations. Between 1983 and
2000). However, recent empirical findings indicate that less than 1 percent of top
executive positions in Fortune 500 companies are held by women (Schneer & Reitman,
1995). In their longitudinal study of 676 men and women MBA’s (49% men, 51%
women), Schneer and Reitman (1995) found that only 9 percent of the women compared
to 23 percent of the men held top management positions. In general, women appear to
Studies that explore the discrepancies in the numbers of women versus men
senior-level managers are plentiful. Personal, organizational, and societal factors have all
56
been cited as contributing to the low numbers of women who reach the top of the
corporate hierarchy (Powell & Mainiero, 1992). For example, career interruptions, dual-
career demands, and parenting demands have affected the rate at which women advance
up the corporate hierarchy (Bailyn, 1980) as well as impact the decisions they make
about the directions their careers should take (Powell & Mainiero, 1992).
hierarchies are apparently not accounted for by differences in work values (Rowe &
Snizek, 1995; Sagie, Elizur, & Koslowsky, 1996). For the most part, men and women
hold very similar work values. The small differences that do exist tend to be reduced as
women become more firmly entrenched in the workplace (Rowe & Snizek, 1995). In
general, since gender differences do not remain stable over time (Sagie et al., 1996),
gender by itself is thought to be a poor predictor of preference for particular work values
Data suggest that while employment rates for women are lower than those for
men until mid-life, this trend is reversed for workers at mid-life and beyond (Greller &
Stroh, 1995). It has been suggested that this trend can be attributed to the importance
women place on work as they age and their child-rearing responsibilities decrease. How
might this be related to the discrepancies between men and women in management
positions?
If, as the research suggests, there are no gender differences in work values, and
that once women reach mid-life, they appear in the workforce in numbers very close, if
not equal, to those of men, there must be some explanation for why there are so few
friendly supports, staffing and promotion decisions, and career path planning have also
been associated with the low numbers of women in senior management positions (Powell
& Mainiero, 1992). Astin (1984) suggests that women make career decisions based upon
the expectation that their work choices will satisfy their needs. Distribution of jobs, sex
typing of jobs, discrimination within career paths, and family structure all affect women’s
Research has shown that in terms of advancement, the individuals who have
benefited the most in the workplace are men with children whose spouses are not
employed outside the home (Brett, 1997). Most men do not see career as a constraint on
decisions to marry and have children, whereas women, who carry the bulk of the family
responsibilities, often accommodate their careers for their family lives (Powell &
Mainiero, 1992).
This suggests that men have not had to choose between having children and
having a career, yet women have. If more women than men have had to choose between
having children and having careers, then it seems plausible that fewer women would be
in the viable labor pool being groomed for promotions. This is consistent with findings
compared with men managers, who have a post-traditional family structure (Parasuraman
& Greenhaus, 1993; Schneer & Reitman, 1995). This indicates that of the small minority
of senior-level managers who are women, the majority of them are either single or
of family life individually fail to account for the magnitude of the differences in the
advancement of female and male managers (Ohlott, Ruderman, & McCauley, 1994).
Perhaps some of the variability in the advancement of men and women in management
There is some evidence that women’s aspirations for advancement are lower than
men’s aspirations (Greenhaus et al., 1997) and that women managers aspire to lower
managerial positions (Parasuraman & Greenhaus, 1993). The notion of lower aspirations
may seem contradictory to the findings that suggest that there are no significant gender
differences in work values. One could argue that while advancement has been defined
and studied as a work value, aspirations has not been specifically measured in these
studies.
In correspondence with past research, the expectation in the present study is that
gender will account for differences in an individual’s desire to become a senior manager,
attenuate the relationship between desired and enacted aspirations. This study hopes to
Gender and Off-Job Involvement. More often than not, women assume primary
responsibility for the care of the household and the children (Friedman & Greenhaus,
2000), spend more time involved in family activities (Gutek et al., 1991), and are more
likely to be family focused than career focused (Friedman & Greenhaus, 2000; Schwartz,
1992). Powell and Mainiero (1992) suggest that the balance women seek to achieve
59
between work and non-work relationships affects their career decisions and choices. Jobs
in senior management have enormous responsibilities, time demands and pressures, and
require a tremendous amount of sacrifice in one’s personal life (Powell, 1999). For these
reasons it appears that senior management jobs hold less interest for women than for men
Women may seem less likely to aspire to positions in senior management, when in
reality the differences in aspirations may be accounted for by the fact that women are
more likely than men to be deeply involved in off-job activities (O'Driscoll et al., 1992).
That is, women may see their lifestyles as less compatible with senior management
positions than men do. When accounting for off-job activities, the expectation in this
positions in senior management, have low off-job activities and a strong desire to attain
such positions, advancement prospects and career support are still necessary to allow
individuals to translate their desires into actions and behaviors. In other words, the
individuals to actively pursue such positions. The literature suggests that women may
view lower advancement prospects and less career support than men, perhaps accounting
ceiling when trying to move from middle to senior management positions (Powell, 1999),
it is likely that they perceive fewer opportunities for advancement than men. While
Igbaria and Greenhaus (1992) found a weak relationship between gender and
60
advancement prospects, many studies suggest that the opportunity structures necessary
for advancement are more limited for women than for men (Gould & Penley, 1984;
Powell, 1999; Powell & Mainiero, 1992). For example, line experience is necessary for
advancement into the ranks of senior management (Kanter, 1977), and women have
found it difficult to move from the staff positions into which they were initially hired to
line positions (Powell & Mainiero, 1992). Since the challenge associated with line
positions may result in more challenging managerial assignments (Rosenbaum, 1984) and
women are less likely to work in line positions (Powell & Mainiero, 1992), it follows that
they would view fewer opportunities for challenge and advancement than men would.
Baron, Davis-Blake, and Bielby (1986) found that women were significantly less
likely to be in jobs that lead to hierarchical success, whereas men were less likely to be in
dead-end jobs and more likely to be promoted. When women who desire positions in
senior management encounter the glass ceiling they become frustrated and consider other
options (Powell, 1999). Stroh, Brett, and Reilly (1996) report than women are more
likely to leave their organizations when they are frustrated by a lack of career
opportunities than men who experience the same amount of frustration. While it may
appear that women have lower aspirations to positions in senior management than men,
the reality may be that women refrain from engaging in behaviors that are indicative of
their aspirations, seeing those behaviors as futile. When accounting for advancement
prospects, the expectation in this study is for the gender difference in aspirations to
disappear.
Gender and Career Support. Research suggests that in both the work and non-
work domains, the outcomes of the types of support received are different for women and
61
men. For example, Friedman and Greenhaus (2000) found that behavioral support at
home leads to higher organizational levels for men. Personal support at home for women
leads to higher job performance but not to promotions. Konrad and Cannings (1997)
found that men who were offering tangible support by participating more fully in family
labor were penalized in terms of promotability, suggesting that men may be sacrificing
King, Mattimore, King, and Adams (1995) found that high levels of emotional
support from one’s family positively influenced job satisfaction but that for women, the
support was contingent on whether or not their husbands worked. Men received the same
amount of emotional support and reported the same levels of job satisfaction whether
their wives worked or not. These findings seem to suggest that women provide
emotional support for their spouses regardless of their own employment status but men
are less emotionally supportive to their spouses when they are employed full-time.
make it to the top of an organization (Tharenou, 1997 a). There is some evidence that
suggests that the support received by men and women from their supervisors may have
differential outcomes.
personal development (Powell & Mainiero, 1992) and career success (Kanter, 1977),
evidence suggests that access to mentors and the quality of the mentoring relationships
are different for women and men (Powell & Mainiero, 1992). The type and quality of
feedback women receive from their supervisors may be different than the feedback that
62
men receive (Kanter, 1977), which could make it more difficult for women to prepare for
encounter problems developing effective networks because the relationships they form
are often outside of the organization’s dominant male hierarchy (Powell & Mainiero,
1992).
As the research suggests, women may perceive less support for their career
pursue such positions. Thus, the expectation is, when accounting for career support,
there are no differences in the aspirations of men and women to positions in senior
management.
Research Opportunities
development needs of this group (Goffee & Scase, 1992; Tharenou, 1997 a, 1997 b;
Tharenou & Conroy, 1994; Tharenou et al., 1994; Tharenou & Terry, 1998).
most relevant in this population, as they are the individuals for whom such as career
The literature review presented in this chapter has shown that our understanding
in part due to the use of unidimensional measures, as well as the lack of uniformity in the
antecedents of aspirations and perhaps more importantly, has been limited by the absence
of a theoretical underpinning upon which strong empirical research can be built. This
study hopes to address each of these concerns in order to further our understanding of the
The model proposed in this research, and detailed in Chapter 3, is grounded in the
a very important element in the career decision-making process. The literature reviewed
above has led to two major assumptions upon which the model of senior management
move into a senior management position will undergo various cognitive and behavioral
processes in an attempt to satisfy that desire. Second, specific lifestyle and work-related
In keeping with the logic provided by the theories of career development and
knowledge. The cognitive nature of senior management aspirations is based upon the
notion that individuals seek occupational environments that are congruent with their self-
advancement prospects, and career support may influence the outcome of the decision.
64
are introduced, and the hypothesized relationships among them are analyzed. The
following sections include the research questions that this study addresses and the
theoretical rationale upon which each hypothesized relationship is based. The chapter
The broad purpose of this research is to enhance our understanding of the factors
aspirations that takes into account prior empirical research, and incorporates the use of a
Third, the population of interest in this research includes managers and professionals.
While prior studies have examined the aspirations of young people, primarily students,
this study hopes to address the needs of a population for whom aspirations to senior
The specific question that this research hopes to answer is: What factors
constructs. Holland (1985) proposed that career development and associated career
The “matching” process required for career decisions takes place on two levels in
this model. First, an individual assesses the compatibility between his or her senior
feels that a senior management position is highly congruent with his or her self-concept
will constrain his or her aspirations to senior management. Both work and lifestyle
Hypothesized Relationships
This section discusses the hypothesized effects of specific variables on the desired
The fit between senior management schema and senior management self-assessment,
job involvement and gender were expected to moderate the relationship between
congruence and desired aspirations, although when controlling for off-job involvement,
66
the gender effect was expected to disappear. Advancement prospects, career support, and
gender were expected to moderate the relationship between desired aspirations and
enacted aspirations. It was further expected, that when controlling for advancement
prospects and career support, the moderating effect of gender would disappear. Figure 2
abilities, talents, and preferences with an occupation in which these skills, abilities,
talents, and preferences can best be utilized. For example, a person who feels he or she
possesses strong interpersonal skills may look for an occupation that necessitates use of
those skills. In the context of senior management aspirations, the notion of matching or
congruence suggests that individuals perceive the functions, tasks, and roles associated
with a senior management position as consistent with their own capabilities and
case in which an individual perceives a senior management position in terms that are
highly consistent with his or her senior management self-assessment. The conceptual and
to an occupation as part of the occupational choice process. Whether it has been referred
individuals seek occupational environments to which they are attracted both intrinsically
67
regarding the nature of the work itself, and extrinsically as in the rewards of the
degree of fit between an individual’s personality and the type of work environment in
which the person currently resides or anticipates entering. Other scholars refer to the
result of various experiences which allow the individual to succeed at certain types of
tasks (Super, 1990; Super et al., 1996). As the individual grows older, he integrates the
preserve and enhance through all his activities, but particularly through his occupational
activities (Crites, 1969). Individuals attempt to select occupations which are compatible
with their self-concepts (Crites, 1969; Gottfredson, 1981; Holland, 1985). A large
amount of empirical evidence supports the notion that people prefer and/or choose
occupations that are compatible with their self-concepts (Greenhaus et al., 2000).
membership, occupational tenure, and occupational change (Chartrand & Walsk, 1999),
suggesting that occupations that are highly compatible with one’s sense of self will be
highly valued; those that are highly incompatible will be strongly disliked (Gottfredson,
1981). Furthermore, these preferences tend to be stable over time, because individuals
tend to choose environments based upon their motives and goals (Chartrand & Walsk,
1999).
68
congruence helps to establish that individuals aspire to positions that are compatible with
their self-concepts, expectancy theory helps to explain that it is the outcomes associated
with the positions that motivate individuals to choose them. Expectancy theory would
suggest that individuals whose congruence is high, will desire a position in senior
management because holding such a position will be instrumental (SMS) for them to
vocational behavior in the 1990’s provide evidence of support for the idea that
individuals who choose managerial positions do so because they are ambitious and
motivated to manage (Tharenou, 1997 b) and value the opportunities for promotion
was found to correlate with job satisfaction, as well as with income and fringe benefits
(Meier, 1991). The results of these studies suggest that individuals who see themselves
as capable of fulfilling managerial roles and who value the outcomes associated with
Sloan’s (1993) research further confirms the idea that individuals seek
environments that are congruent with their self-concepts, as well as the notion that
individuals hold a type of mental image or schema regarding occupations. Sloan’s (1993)
such as working extremely long hours, possessing a particular leadership style, having to
relocate, neglecting their families, and knowing how to play golf, had a negative
reflective of the senior management schema held by the respondents, when assessed
against their own occupational self-images, were shown to be incongruent with images of
advancement were low. This study empirically tested the fit between an individual’s
schema of senior management characteristics and his or her own occupational self-
concept.
Sloan’s (1993) findings are in line with Holland’s (1985) view that incongruence
between one’s personality and occupational choice could be a reason for an individual to
pursue a career change. The present study attempted to provide corollary evidence; that
comes from a number of studies on career anchors. The metaphor career anchor is based
operates inside of the person, functioning as a set of driving and constraining forces on
career decisions. If one is in a setting where one is likely to fail, or which fails to meet
one’s needs or compromises one’s values, one will be “pulled back” into something more
congruent. It is important to note that in a more recent writing on the subject, Schein
(1993) states that the label, career anchor, indicates an area of such paramount
importance to a person that he or she would not give it up. Furthermore, the person
comes to define his or her basic self-image in terms of that concern, and it becomes an
Of central importance to Schein’s (1978; 1993) theory is the critical role of actual
education usually precedes entry into the workforce, it is only after individuals have
actually worked that they know whether their interests and abilities are well-suited for
their chosen professions. As an individual’s career unfolds and the career anchor
becomes more crystallized, he or she will be able to make career decisions that are more
congruent with his or her career anchor, putting career desires into action. Empirical
research lends support to the idea that one’s career anchor influences one’s career
aspirations (Rynes et al., 1988) and job type (Crook, Crepeau, & McMurtrey, 1991).
The idea that an individual’s actual work experiences influence the development
study by Bray et al. (1979) and Bray and Howard’s (1983) qualitative study of general
managers by Kotter (1986). These researchers found that individuals who were
advancing in management were those who demonstrated strength in an area and kept
refining those skills to the point of mastery. The positive reinforcement and
psychological success associated with skill mastery served to reinforce the individuals’
Second, individuals hold mental pictures or schema about various jobs or occupations
71
(Anderson, 1995; Perry, Davis-Blake, & Kulik, 1994). Third, individuals seek to work in
individuals draw upon the knowledge that they hold about occupations (schema) as well
position or occupation.
Since managers and professionals have had the opportunities to experience or see
possess senior management schema, as well as the ability to assess their own skills
individuals are expected to be able to assess whether they are desirous of a position in
senior management. The individuals who see their own capacities to perform well in a
senior management position, based upon the schema they hold regarding positions in
theory, an individual’s desire for a valent outcome is what attracts the individual toward a
information. While it is true that individuals making career decisions assess their abilities
and skills in terms of occupational requirements (Schein, 1978), it is also true that they do
72
this within the context of their total lives (Super et al., 1996). One must recognize that
lifestyle factors may serve to weaken the relationship between an individual’s congruence
and his or her desire to pursue a position in senior management. When individuals see
congruence, they are not likely to desire such positions. One such lifestyle factor, off-job
involvement, which has the potential to weaken the relationship between an individual’s
Krau, 1997), it is imperative to understand any factors in the non-work domain which
who are pursuing careers in senior management is great, and an individual’s off-job
involvement may alter the amount of time or energy one has to expend on career-related
tasks. For example, Godshalk (1997) found that individuals who had reached a career
plateau were more involved in off-job activities than those who had not reached a career
plateau. It is unclear from these findings whether individuals who become plateaued
choose to spend more time on off-job activities, or if individuals who spend more time on
off-job activities are more likely to reach a career plateau. Whether individuals
consciously elect to spend more time on off-job activities and/or consciously choose to
become plateaued, it is apparent that individuals who spend more time on off-job
activities have less time to spend at work, and may therefore be limiting their chances for
advancement.
73
refusing to give up the activities outside of work that are important to them. Individuals
who are committed to a geographic area, for example, by need or by choice, may alter
relocations traditionally associated with this type of career pursuit (Judge et al., 1995;
Lyness & Thompson, 2000; Stroh et al., 1992). Evidence of this is provided in a study
examining managers’ career progression (Stroh et al., 1992) in which the assumption was
made that since geographic transfers involve significant personal upheaval, less
ambitious employees would be less willing to move. Findings indicate that those who
were willing to move and had attitudes that were more positive toward moving were
making the most progress with their salaries (Stroh et al., 1992).
work domain may affect an individual’s career priorities (Friedman & Greenhaus, 2000)
such that career comes second to family and other non-work activities. For individuals
positions in senior management may appear unattractive regardless of the degree of fit
they perceive between their capabilities and the requirements of a senior management
role.
work, particularly regarding family, may limit an individual’s chances for advancement.
For example, Greenhaus et al. (1997) suggest that it is possible that family
responsibilities may affect an individual such that the amount of time and energy one has
to dedicate to the demands of a senior level position is minimal. The same can be said
74
about the amount of time and energy one has to dedicate to the processes associated with
the family role can make it difficult to maintain a high level of involvement in work
(Greenhaus et al., 1997), it is also possible that strong psychological involvement in other
aspects of the non-work domain will have a similar effect. Family responsibilities, as one
management may wane, despite the internal pull one may feel towards such a position.
The above studies offer support for the notion that individuals who are highly
within the context of their total lives. It may be that individuals have decided to dedicate
more time to off-job activities by choice rather than by necessity. Whether by preference
or not, it is likely that an individual with extensive off-job involvement may perceive his
or her life as incompatible with the demands associated with climbing the corporate
ladder, and may alter his or her desire to pursue a position regardless of the degree of
perceived congruence. It was expected that off-job involvement would constrain the
is based upon his or her beliefs about the outcomes of performing that behavior, and the
behavior, but only to the extent that they influence a person’s intentions to act (Pinder,
position, and enacted aspirations represent the behaviors associated with the pursuit of a
stipulates that every intention, once formed, is associated with specific behaviors (Pinder,
assumed.
however, is that these three components can also be antecedents of attitudes (Pinder,
1998). Therefore, the attitudinal component can lead to the behavioral component. It
follows that desired and enacted aspirations, two facets of the same construct, can be both
the attitude toward a senior management position and the behaviors associated with
Enacted aspirations represent the career strategies associated with managerial aspirations
(Rynes et al., 1988) and advancement (Gould & Penley, 1984) and include but are
individual to decrease the time required for and uncertainty surrounding the attainment of
76
important career objectives (Gould & Penley, 1984), in this case a position in senior
management and intend to pursue one can be recognized by the behaviors in which they
Environmental factors from both the work and non-work domains have been
advancement (Greenhaus, et al. 1990; Konrad & Cannings, 1997; Lyness & Thompson,
2000; Tharenou, 1997a; Tharenou, 1997b; Tharenou & Conroy, 1994; Tharenou, et al.
1994; Wentling, 1996), ambition (Judge et al., 1995; Van Vianen, 1999), career decisions
(Callanan & Greenhaus, 1990; Callanan & Greenhaus, 1992; Sugalski & Greenhaus,
1986), career plateauing (Godshalk, 1997; Tremblay & Roger, 1993), departure decisions
(Greenhaus et al., 1997), and executive success (Feldman, 1988; Judge et al., 1995).
that they may also alter an individual’s expectation that his or her behaviors (despite
sufficient effort) will result in a position in senior management. Vroom (1964) provides
likelihood that they can be attained. As expectancy theory stipulates, individuals must
that may lead to such a position. More specifically, cues from the environment may
77
constrain the relationship between an individual’s desired aspirations and his or her
enacted aspirations.
to the beliefs an individual holds about the likelihood and availability of attaining a
aspirations (Greenhaus et al., 1997). Among those individuals who desire to attain a
position in senior management, the intention to pursue such a position may be affected by
concluded that individuals who perceive minimal promotion opportunities tend to lower
unattainable goal (cf. Hahn, 1977; Baker, Markham, Bonjean & Corder, 1984).
opportunities and promotion aspirations (Markham et al., 1987). Workers who expect
promotions and who experience career success are likely to raise their aspirations for
advancement (Markham et al., 1987), whereas lack of opportunity was cited as the
second most frequently mentioned reason for not wanting a promotion (Markham et al.,
1987).
studied empirically. A career plateau is defined as the low likelihood of future increases
in responsibility in either the current job or future job opportunities (Feldman & Weitz,
plateauing is defined as the end of expected increases in responsibility associated with the
current job (Bardwick, 1986; Feldman & Weitz, 1988; Ference, Stoner, & Warren, 1977).
opportunities (Bray & Howard, 1983; Igbaria & Greenhaus, 1992) and chances of
promotion (Stout et al., 1988). Furthermore, plateaued employees have expressed low
organization. Greenhaus et al. (1997) found that accountants with low expectations to
advance to partner had stronger intentions to depart the firm than those with high
advancement expectations. Stout et al. (1988) found that individuals who were plateaued
were more likely to leave their organizations even though they still very much wanted to
be promoted. Goffee and Scase (1992) reported that plateaued individuals made frequent
moves between organizations in order to pursue career goals. It appears from these
studies that individuals who desire positions in senior management may leave their
(Gould & Penley, 1984; Kotter, 1986; Lyness & Thompson, 2000; Wentling, 1996),
individuals who are no longer gaining responsibilities or opportunities for growth are
seen as having limited advancement opportunities. Tremblay and Roger (1993) found
that objective plateau (number of years in current position) was positively related to
subjective plateau (been on level for too long, reached a dead end). It appears that
individuals who have remained for too long in a position feel that they have reached the
(Gould & Penley, 1984), perhaps indicating that non-plateaued employees still perceived
The prior research indicates that individuals who are career plateaued are less
regardless of their desire to become senior managers, may believe that engaging in
individuals who perceive limited opportunities for advancement will engage in such
senior management. More specifically, even for individuals with a strong desire to attain
Desired Aspirations and Career Support. In the present study, career support was
defined as a type of social support which exhibits to an individual that the provider of the
support has taken an active interest in his or her career aspirations. The receipt of support
regarding senior management aspirations may affect the relationship between one’s
desire to become a senior manager and one’s actual intention to pursue such a position.
80
In the work domain, career support is the social support a supervisor provides to a
subordinate which the subordinate perceives as reflecting an interest in his or her career
aspirations and making a positive contribution to his or her overall career development.
Specifically, career support in the form of supervisory support has been identified as an
and Klein (2000) found strong evidence that employees who received support from their
In the non-work domain, career support in the form of spousal support has been
(1992) report that receiving spousal support has a positive influence on occupational
success (cf. Bird & Bird, 1986) and a positive influence on career commitment,
especially among parents (cf. Burke, Weir, & Duwors, 1980; Holahan & Gilbert, 1979;
Orthner & Pittman, 1986). Tharenou and Conroy (1994) found that a compatible home
situation, through less inter-role conflict and greater spouse support, was important for
support as well as personal and career-related support within the family, is positively
related to higher income levels, higher job performance, more coaching opportunities and
satisfaction.
Aside from tangible benefits of behavioral support, such as more time and energy,
these studies indicate that career support, as emotional or tangible support (or both), may
serve as indicators that significant others are supportive of one’s career aspirations and
believe that the individual is capable of attaining a position in senior management. For
81
example, individuals who have help with household duties may feel that they have
substantial time to devote to their careers. On the job, supervisors may help individuals
to prioritize such that certain assignments may favorably affect skill development.
caring advice regarding career decisions (either on or off the job), may feel more inclined
assessment are congruent have the capacity to realize the behavioral and psychological
investments required in senior management positions. For those who aspire to positions
in senior management, career support may be a necessary ingredient for them to enact
intentions and pursue such positions. Career support is so crucial to the advancement
process that individuals may feel that without support, the chances of advancing
hierarchically are extremely slim. It is therefore possible, that without career support,
even individuals who are desirous of a position in senior management exhibit little
The Moderating Effect of Gender. Women hold fewer than five percent of the
variables have been associated with the differences in the numbers of female versus male
children (Kirchmeyer, 1999), career interruptions (Bailyn, 1980) and career versus life
82
role priorities (Friedman & Greenhaus, 2000) seem to have contributed to the low
The variability in the numbers of women in senior management positions has also
within the management hierarchy (Parasuraman & Greenhaus, 1992). While there appear
to be few differences in the work values of men and women (Rowe & Snizek, 1995;
Sagie et al., 1996), evidence suggests that overall, women aspire to lower levels in
organization hierarchies than their male counterparts (Friedman & Greenhaus, 2000).
Individual differences such as life role priorities may reflect an incompatibility for
women between their roles and responsibilities at home and those required of a position
in senior management. Since women are primarily responsible for the care of the
household and the children (Friedman & Greenhaus, 2000), even if they possess
aspirations to senior management, it is unlikely that they will feel that their lifestyles are
Consequently, a woman may adjust her aspirations to more realistically reflect her
life role priorities, and in turn, lower her desire to attain a position in senior management.
This suggests that regardless of congruence, women have less of a desire to become
senior managers than men. Evidence of women’s lower aspirations coupled with their
The fact that there are no gender differences in work values (Rowe & Snizek,
1995; Sagie et al., 1996), suggests that men and women both value promotion and
progression up the corporate hierarchy. Why then, are women’s aspirations to senior
Although gender role stereotypes are diminishing (Gutek et al., 1991), evidence
suggests that men and women may experience substantially different demands on their
time in the off-job domain (O'Driscoll et al., 1992). In addition to family involvement,
interference with work may come from time spent on household activities, time spent on
childcare, or time spent on aging parents (Swanson, 1992), and has the potential to affect
For example, women still bear most of the responsibility for rearing children and
assuring the well-being of the family (Greenhaus et al., 1997). Evidence suggests that
women have always spent more hours than men in household work, and have spent more
hours than men in combined work and family activities (Gutek et al., 1991), yet on
average, women tend to work only 2 fewer hours per week (Schneer & Reitman, 1995).
Swanson (1992) notes that mothers retained primary responsibility for childcare and
remained less involved and rewarded in the labor market, even in families where fathers
women respond by reducing their work involvement, which, in turn, restricts career
spouse and children at home limited managerial advancement for women, indirectly
through work experiences, while a spouse and children at home was positively related to
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the work experiences and subsequent managerial advancement for men (Tharenou et al.,
Although Tharenou and Conroy (1994) report that a spouse and children at home
was not directly related to advancement for men or women, women who had advanced in
the managerial ranks were more likely to be single and childless. Coupling the evidence
that women experience more extensive off-job involvement than men, that women’s
advancement aspirations are lower than men’s aspirations (Greenhaus et al., 1997) to
higher managerial positions (Parasuraman & Greenhaus, 1993) regardless of similar work
values (Rowe & Snizek, 1995; Sagie et al., 1996), it may be that women are not willing
to sacrifice the time they spend in off-job activities to pursue senior level positions.
the glass ceiling effect (Hede & Ralston, 1993), fewer developmental job opportunities
(Ohlott et al., 1994), lack of interpersonal encouragement (Tharenou & Conroy, 1994),
1992), and prevalence of male hierarchies (Tharenou & Conroy, 1994) have been cited as
management.
85
valuing the first and second-level outcomes associated with a position, individuals must
believe that positions are attainable before they decide to pursue them. As Hypotheses 4
and 5 predict, advancement prospects and career support can potentially constrain the
relationship between one’s desire and one’s intentions to pursue a position in senior
different for men and women (Gould & Penley, 1984; Powell, 1999; Powell & Mainiero,
1992). Differential opportunities may signal to women that despite high congruence and
strong desires to attain positions in senior management, the reality is that these positions
Women who encounter a glass ceiling when trying to move from middle to senior
management positions (Powell, 1999) are likely to perceive fewer opportunities for
advancement than men. Explanations for the existence of a glass-ceiling barrier have
been the subject of numerous empirical studies. Access to top management positions
unstructured and ad hoc (Powell, 1999). Since individuals seek to hire similar
may serve to perpetuate the higher numbers of men in top management positions, unless
Whatever the reasons women are overlooked for promotions, the fact is that fewer
women than men reach the upper echelons of management. It was therefore expected
that,
Stroh et al. (1996) found that women experience frustration when they reach the
glass ceiling and consider other options. This supports the notion that women managers
have a lower tolerance for lack of career opportunities than men managers (Powell, 1999)
and are likely to leave the organization. If women perceive barriers to advancement, they
appears that women may not desire senior management positions less than men, but that
in the face of limited advancement prospects, they choose not to engage in behaviors
Documented research has shown that women and men receive different types and
amounts of career support. For example, Friedman and Greenhaus (2000) found that
behavioral support at home leads to higher organizational levels for men. Personal
support at home for women leads to higher job performance but not to promotions.
Particularly in families with children, it appears as though men are more likely to receive
the amount and type of support needed to attain positions in senior management
(Friedman & Greenhaus, 2000). Additionally, women are less likely than men to attain
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promotions for reasons associated with spouse’s careers (Hede & Ralston, 1993) and are
more likely to report family obligations as a barrier to advancement (Hede & Ralston,
1993).
The outcomes of mentoring, a form of career support that can be arranged through
one’s supervisor, are different for women and men. Powell and Mainiero (1992) report
that women may not benefit from mentoring in terms of promotion because they are
generally not mentored by key individuals in top-management positions who are most
women also report insufficient experience, favoritism, discrimination, and being excluded
from informal networks as barriers to advancement (Hede & Ralston, 1993; Lyness &
(Tharenou & Conroy, 1994) and face greater challenges in gaining appropriate
important networks (Ohlott et al., 1994). Additionally, women and men have received
different types of feedback from their supervisors about their performance (Kanter,
1977). Given the lack of career support for women’s career aspirations, the following
differences in the types and amount of career support received. Since women do not
seem receive as much career support as men, it is likely that in spite of their desires to
rise to positions in senior management, they will feel that these positions are unattainable.
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Since individuals must believe that effort expended will result in a desired outcome
(Vroom, 1964), women who perceive a paucity of career support will not exhibit
The present research can make several contributions to the career decision-
making literature regarding management aspirations. First, this study builds on the work
thereby illustrating the richness of the construct. Employing the present study’s
population of managers and professionals seeks answers to the research questions from
determinants of senior management aspirations from both the work and non-work
individuals place on factors outside of the work domain that have the potential to
Two new measures, one that assesses individuals’ senior management schema and
one that assesses individuals’ senior management self-assessment, were offered in this
study. Both build upon prior work that has characterized the knowledge, skills, abilities,
and rewards associated with senior management positions (Aguilar, 1992; Dulewicz &
Herbert, 1999; Kotter, 1986; Miner, 1993; Mintzberg, 1973; Schein, 1978). The analysis
decision-making process (Greenhaus et al., 2000; Holland, 1985; Schein, 1978; Super,
1990).
In summary, this study systematically tested the factors that influence the senior
Overview
Chapter 4 describes the research design and methodology used in this study. To
this end, the following sections provide a detailed description of the research design,
sample, and data collection procedures. Summary statistics of the sample are presented.
Finally, the measurement of variables and the data analysis techniques used in this
Research Design
Kerlinger (1986) argues that the primary function of the research design is to control
minimizing error variance. A key objective is to assure the generalizability of the results
control of the behavioral variables, and realism of context (p. 1250). Scholars of research
methodology concur that there are a series of “trade-offs” (Scandura & Williams, 2000)
associated with all research designs, no one design being free of limitations. This
inherent limitations, there are also a number of strengths associated with this design that
Cross-sectional research collects data on all relevant variables at one time and is
appropriate for studies that involve data on many variables from a large group of
respondents (Judd, Smith, & Kidder, 1991). Correlational designs include those in which
the independent variables are observed in their naturally occurring state as opposed to
associated with correlational research designs are that they enable the researcher (a) to
examine multivariate models, and (c) to generalize to a larger population due to strong
external validity (Kerlinger, 1986). Summarily, correlational research designs are well
the inability to assess causal relationships among the variables of interest, the potential
variance. Because this study is the first to assess the effects of multiple factors on senior
The survey instrument for this research was posted as a web page and completed
by the respondents online. This is a relatively new way to collect data that offers the
potential of much higher response rates than those associated with traditional postal
surveys (Dillman, 2000). In addition to higher response rates, electronic surveys offer
elimination of paper, postage, data entry errors and costs (Dillman, 2000). In addition,
time required for survey administration can be reduced from weeks to days (Dillman,
2000).
Pilot Study
The purpose of the pilot study was to test the questionnaire for readability and
clarity, and to identify any potential technical problems regarding the use of the World
Wide Web as the means for data collection. The pilot study took place in two phases.
Phase one consisted of a pretest, which included the administration of a paper copy of the
group, the pretest respondents were timed while completing the questionnaire, and were
asked for feedback regarding clarity and readability. Minor wording changes resulted
from the pretest session were implemented prior to phase two, the online collection of
pilot data.
Phase two consisted of collecting data from a pilot sample via the worldwide web.
The questionnaire was loaded onto a server connected to the web and an email with the
to being asked to complete the online survey, the respondents were asked to comment on
the readability, clarity, and ease of use of the online survey via a return email to the
researcher. The pilot study respondents also participated in a conference call with the
researcher to provide detailed feedback regarding the clarity, readability, and overall
appropriateness of the survey instrument. Minor wording changes were made to the
Main Study
To legitimize the study and encourage participation, an introductory email was
sent to the study participants. The contents of the introductory email explained the
significance of the study, who was being asked to participate in the study, and
entered into a drawing to win a gift certificate was included for those who completed a
survey. Instructions for completing the online survey, along with a hyperlink that took the
Respondents
The introductory emails were sent randomly to 2000 individuals from a list
programs at the university. Over the course of three weeks after the email was sent, the
researcher made visits to Master’s degree classes at the university personally asking
students to participate. When the online surveys were completed, an email containing
each response was sent immediately to the researcher and then loaded directly into SPSS
for statistical analysis. After six weeks, 368 usable surveys had been received, reflecting
Sample
management are salient, working professionals were the target population for this
1995). One risk of using a convenience sample is the bias associated with individuals
who voluntarily participate in the study (Fink, 1995). The concern is the lack of
variety of industries, functional areas, and firm sizes, three factors that strengthen the
significance criteria (α), and population effect size (ES) (Cohen, 1992). Following
Cohen (1992), the sample size (N) necessary to have a specified power for a given α and
ES was calculated through the use of a power analysis. For a medium1 effect size (.15),
with a desired power of .80 and a significance level of .05, 109 usable surveys must be
collected. If the desired power is raised to .95, and the effect size and significance level
remain the same, the total number of usable surveys required is 160. The calculations2
for the sample size needed for this research were conducted according to the procedures
outlined by Cohen (1988) and calculated using G*Power for the Macintosh, Version
________________________________________________________________________
1
(Cohen, 1992) suggests that a standard convention for effect size be followed.
2
Calculations based upon 8 predictor variables.
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Demographics of Respondents
The demographic summary statistics for this study’s respondents are reported in
Table 4. The average age of the respondents was 38 years. These individuals were
typically in their current job for 3 years, and their current organization for 7 years. The
size of the organizations represented in the sample varied broadly with 18% working for
organizations with fewer than 100 employees, 45% working in organizations with
between 100-9,999 employees and 22% working in organizations with more than 10,000
employees. As a result of numerous changes to the survey that took place after an
organization, chosen as the original sample site withdrew its support, an item asking
respondents to indicate their job-level was inadvertently left off of the survey. A follow-
up email was sent to study participants who had voluntarily included their email
addresses, asking them to indicate the level of the organization to which they belonged (1
Manager). Responses to this email came from 67% of the sample. Of the 67% of the
individuals who responded to this email, 14% reported their job level as first line
Information Systems (23%), Marketing (10%), Research and Development (7%), and
Slightly more than half of the sample (51%) was male and most of the
respondents were Caucasian (86%). The majority of the respondents were married or
living with a partner (72%) and 46% had children. The highest level of education
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completed for a majority of the sample was Bachelor’s degree (52%), while 27% had
salaries between $50,000 and $74,999 (31%) with 24% of the respondents earning
Measurement of Variables
In this section, the measuring instruments used in this research along with the
results of validity and reliability analyses are described. The study measures are shown
Many of the items for measuring the independent and dependent variables were
adapted from previous studies, although there are several measures that were developed
specifically for this research. Model variables included were senior management schema,
aspirations. Aside from these variables, several demographic variables were also
assessed.
analysis and Cronbach’s alpha, respectively. Factor analysis can help to achieve
scientific parsimony in a study, and is widely used to analyze the construct validity and
reliability of the measures in a study (Kerlinger, 1986). Factor analysis identifies the
latent constructs underlying measures (Kerlinger, 1986) and is used to determine the
dimensionality of a construct (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, & Black, 1995). The factor
dimensions exist. Eigenvalues equal to or greater than one are considered significant
(Hair et al., 1995). Assessing an item’s relationship to its underlying construct identifies
the reliability of a measure. This relationship is determined by the item’s factor loading,
which is essentially measuring the amount of shared variance between the construct and
the item. While there is no general principle regarding acceptable factor loadings, most
researchers ignore loadings less than .40 (Kerlinger, 1986). Inter-item correlations,
which ascertain the pattern of relationships among items, may also be used to group items
in a meaningful way. Acceptable factor loadings and inter-item correlations were used to
determine which items needed to be eliminated to establish a composite scale that is most
The internal consistency reliability for each multi-item scale was computed using
Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994) indicate that the items in the scale are internally consistent
with one another and that the scale is a sufficiently reliable measure of a construct. The
nine scales used in this research produced alphas ranging from .77 to .95, showing
Factor analysis can also be used to establish the convergent and discriminant
validity of the measures. A valid measure should correlate with other measures related to
the construct (converge) and should fail to correlate with other measures that are
validity are the “strongest empirical support of a measure’s validity” (Judd et al., 1991,
p.56).
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Independent Variables
Traditionally, organization scholars measure congruence by assessing the
difference between two constructs, one that measures job characteristics, and one that
characteristics. Congruence measures can assess fit with multiple aspects or facets of a
job, known as facet fit, or as an overall assessment of the job, referred to as global fit
(Singh, 2001). In this study, two measures of congruence, one facet measure and one
The facet measure of congruence was assessed through the senior management
schema represents the perceived characteristics of a senior management job and the
difficulties associated with the use of difference scores as reliable and valid measures of
congruence (Edwards, 1994 a, 1994 b; Edwards & Parry, 1993), the congruence or
degree of fit between these two dimensions (schema and self-assessment) was assessed
using a polynomial regression analysis technique that is described in detail in the Tests of
To assess global fit, and as an additional precaution against the inherent problems
associated with the use of difference scores, a measure of global congruence was
manager are housed. These characteristics include the competencies and extrinsic
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Research shows that the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) necessary for
positions in senior management generally fall into one of three categories: analytical
international executive potential (Spreitzer, McCall, & Mahoney, 1997), assessed these
three dimensions and was used as a basis for the SMS measure. While this research is
not focused on international potential per se, it is imperative that international scope be
included in an assessment of senior management KSAs, since the current global business
competencies and the ability to learn from experience. The fourteen dimensions include:
business knowledge, has the courage to take a stand, brings out the best in people, seeks
to success, takes risks, seeks feedback, and is flexible. Spreitzer et al. (1997) asked
respondents to indicate on a 7-point Likert-type scale the extent of their agreement that
the items described a particular individual. Sample items are “Can turn a group into a
high performing team” and “Has a strong drive for results.” Reliabilities between .70
and .92 for each of the 14 factors were reported (Spreitzer et al., 1997).
Eight relevant items from the Prospector Instrument were tailored for the SMS
measure by collapsing the response categories into 5 from 7 points and by asking
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respondents to indicate the extent to which each statement describes a position in senior
management. The SMS measure employed a 5-point scale. Two items meant to tap the
analytical competence dimension were adapted from the Prospector Instrument and two
more were developed. A sample item reads, “Senior managers have knowledge of the
various parts of an organization and how they fit together” (1 =Not at all, 5 =A great
deal). Three items meant to tap the interpersonal and inter-group competence dimension
were adapted and three more were developed. Interpersonal and inter-group competence
items include “Senior managers work with and understand the perspectives of individuals
from other cultures.” Finally, three items that tap emotional competence were adapted
from the Prospector Instrument, and three more were developed for this study. Emotional
Since the Prospector Instrument does not include any items that describe the
rewards associated with senior management positions, the SMS scale was supplemented
with items derived from Schein’s (1993; 1996) research on career anchors and Kotter’s
(1986) work on general managers. Reward systems for senior managers focus on key
for leadership, contributions to the success of the organization, high income, high levels
Seven items that reflect the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards associated with senior
management positions were constructed. A sample item meant to tap intrinsic rewards
reads, “Senior managers work on highly visible and challenging projects.” An item
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meant to assess extrinsic rewards is “Senior managers equate status and prestige with
rank and job title.” The senior management schema items are shown in Appendix A.
Table 5 displays the factor analysis of the senior management schema items. All
23 of the original items were entered into the analysis; two factors emerged and were
rotated to a varimax solution. Nineteen of the 23 items fell into one or the other
dimension; therefore, four ambiguous items were dropped from the calculation of the
composite variable. The four ambiguous items are: make unpopular decisions such as
laying people off or cutting programs, measure their achievements through the attainment
of critical results, work on highly visible and challenging projects, and have high levels
of responsibility.
variance explained by this factor was .35. This factor was referred to as Competencies.
Factor 2 was comprised of four items, with an eigenvalue equal to 2.82. Factor 2,
deemed Extrinsic Rewards, explained .15 of the variance. These findings confirm the
existence of the two constructs, which the senior management schema variable was
designed in this study to address. In the current study, the reliability of the scale in its
entirety was acceptable (α = .84), as were the alpha levels of each dimension (Factor
and valued rewards in the context of a senior management position. All items from the
management, were converted for this measure to reflect the characteristics of the
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individual with regard to a position in senior management. The respondents were asked
to indicate how well each statement describes them. Sample items read, “I am able to
identify the most important part of a complex problem or issue” and “I am able to
exercise power without guilt or shame.” A 5 point scale indicates responses (1 =Not at
Appendix A.
items. Again, 23 of the original items were entered into the analysis and two factors
emerged and were rotated to a varimax solution. The same four items that were
ambiguous in the senior management schema analysis were ambiguous within the self-
assessment context and were not included in the calculation of the composite variable.
variance explained by this factor was .31. Because the senior management self-
assessment was designed as a mirror image of the senior management schema items, this
factor was also labeled Competencies. Factor 2 was comprised of four items, with an
eigenvalue equal to 2.35. Factor 2, labeled Extrinsic Rewards, explained .12 of the
variance. These findings confirm the existence of the same two constructs, with the same
19 items that emerged from the senior management schema factor analysis. In the
current study, the reliability of the scale was acceptable (α = .86), as were the alpha
perceived person-job fit (Singh, 2001), was adapted to fit the needs of the present study.
indicate the extent of their agreement (1 =Disagree strongly, 5 =Agree strongly) with six
statements including, “A position in senior management would be a good fit for me” and
“My personality fits in well with the requirements of a senior management position.” The
Six items were entered into the factor analysis and a one-factor solution emerged.
The eigenvalue was 4.60 and the variance explained by this factor was .76. An
Moderator Variables
Off-Job Involvement. Off-job involvement represents the commitments one has to
family and other non-work activities such as leisure, social, community, and self-
preservation (Godshalk, 1997). The measure used in the present study was adapted from
a scale developed by Godshalk (1997) which assessed both objective and subjective off-
job involvement. The off-job involvement items are shown in Appendix A. Objective
off-job involvement represents the number of hours individuals spend on activities in the
indicate the importance of specific non-work activities in their lives, using a 5-point scale
both the objective and subjective off-job involvement measures included: household
leisure and hobby pursuits, and education. The results of the factor analysis for
Twelve of the thirteen items were entered into the analysis; four factors emerged
and were rotated to a varimax solution. Item number thirteen, labeled “other” was not
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expected to relate to any of the other items since by nature, the “other” item is open
ended and ambiguous. Factor 1 comprised of 4 items with an eigenvalue of 2.30 and
labeled Community Activities, explained .19 of the variance. Factor 2, labeled Child
Care, consisted of 2 items, had an eigenvalue of 1.90, and explained .16 of the variance.
Factor 3 consisted of 3 items and was labeled House Chores. The eigenvalue of this
factor was 1.80 and the variance explained was .15. Factor 4 was comprised of 3 items
and labeled Recreational Activities. The eigenvalue of this factor was 1.60 and it
Coefficient alpha for the total subjective off-job involvement scale was acceptable
(α = .77). The internal consistency reliability of each of the four factors was: Factor 1, α
= .70; Factor 2, α = .90; Factor 3, α = .64; Factor 4, α = .50). Note that the reliability
of factors 3 and 4 did not make the cutoff suggested by Nunnally and Bernstein (1994).
Due to the fact that these items were believed to be conceptually representative of the
constructs being measured, and that the hypothesized relationships were not dependent
upon these separate factors, but on the subjective off-job involvement measure as a
whole, it was deemed desirable to retain all of the items. This continuous scale was
converted into a categorical variable for hypothesis testing using percentile splits (Ragins,
Cotton, & Miller, 2000). Specifically, the upper third, middle third, and lower third were
coded extensive off-job involvement (2), moderate off-job involvement (1), and limited
Gender. Gender was assessed using a one-item measure that asked the
organization. The measures of advancement prospects included in this study are based
upon measures of objective and subjective career plateau adapted from prior research.
An objective measure used by Igbaria and Greenhaus (1992), which equates career
plateau status with tenure in current job, was adopted for use in this study. Igbaria and
Greenhaus (1992) considered employees plateaued if their tenure in their current job was
seven years or more and were considered non-plateaued, if their tenure in their current
job was less than seven years. Igbaria and Greenhaus (1992) note that extensive length of
tenure in one position reflects limited advancement prospects and the seven-year cut-off
was close to twice the average length of job tenure observed in their sample. Using the
conventions established by Igbaria and Greenhaus (1992), twice the average number of
years in the current job was 2.85. Therefore, in this study, six years was used as a cutoff.
Therefore, individuals who were in their positions six years or less were considered not to
be plateaued and were coded (1). Those individuals in their positions seven or more
years were considered plateaued and coded (0). Approximately 90% of the respondents
items. These items are shown in Appendix A. In the first measure, respondents were
Strongly) the likelihood that they would be promoted to a position in senior management
point Likert-type scale (1 = Disagree Strongly, 5 = Agree Strongly) the likelihood that
Sample items include: “My opportunities for upward movement into a senior
management position are limited” and “I expect to obtain a senior management position.”
The results of the factor analysis are reported in Table 9. Because the measures
were tapping the same construct (advancement prospects), with the only difference being
the question stem (present organization versus different organization) all six items were
entered into the analysis. Two-factors emerged and were rotated to a varimax solution.
Factor 1 was comprised of the three items that addressed the present organization
and was labeled Present Organization. The eigenvalue for this factor was 2.50 and the
explained variance was .41. Factor 2 consisted of the three items meant to tap the
labeled Different Organization. The eigenvalue for this factor was 2.40 and the variance
explained was .41. The coefficient alpha for the six items, which comprised the
subjective advancement prospects scale, was deemed acceptable (α = .91). The internal
consistency reliability of each factor was also acceptable (Factor 1, α = .88; Factor 2, α
= .89). These continuous scales were converted into categorical variables for hypothesis
testing using percentile splits (Ragins et al., 2000). Specifically, the upper third, middle
third, and lower third were coded extensive advancement prospects (2), moderate
Career Support. In the present study, career support was defined as a type of
social support which exhibits to an individual that the provider of the support has taken
an active interest in his or her career aspirations. In the work domain, a supervisor may
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provide career support whereas in the non-work domain, a significant other (e.g. partner,
parent, other family member, or friend) may provide career support. Career support in
instrumental (e.g. physical help such as providing time, resources and skills; cognitive
help such as providing feedback, problem solving and factual information). Two scales
used in prior research were modified for the present study and are shown in Appendix A.
Both scales included items meant to tap emotional and instrumental support. To the
extent possible, parallel items were constructed for both the work and non-work domain
scales.
Wormley (1990) measured career support in the work domain. The only modification to
the scale developed by Greenhaus et al., (1990) was the substitution of the words “my
supervisor” to “my manager,” which was more appropriate for the sample in this study.
Agree Strongly) with nine items including “My manager takes the time to learn about my
career goals and aspirations” and “My manager keeps me informed about different career
opportunities for me in the organization.” Table 10 displays the factor analysis for career
All nine items were entered into the analysis and a one-factor solution emerged.
The eigenvalue was 5.60 and the variance explained by this factor was .62. An
The 44-item Family Support Inventory for Workers (FSIW) developed by King,
Mattimore, King, and Adams (1995) was used as a model for the development of the
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measure of career support in the off-job domain. Past research indicates that two factors,
emotional sustenance and instrumental assistance, emerged from the scale items with
Since the FSIW was developed to assess family support, many of the original 44-
items were not relevant to this study, which assessed career support from a significant
other. For example, in the FSIW, there were an abundance of detailed questions about
family and home responsibilities that were not general enough to apply to the significant
others thought to provide support in the non-work domain in this study. Six of the
original 44 items from the FSIW were adapted for the present study and two additional
items were developed. The measure of career support in the non-work domain is shown
in Appendix A.
indicate their level of agreement (1 = Disagree Strongly, 5 = Agree Strongly) with eight
items regarding a significant other. Significant other was defined in this study as anyone
who is particularly important in your life such as a spouse or partner, a parent, sibling,
child or other family member, or a friend. Sample items are “My significant other takes
the time to learn about my career goals and aspirations” and “My significant other enjoys
Table 11 displays the factor analysis for career support in the non-work domain.
Eight items were entered into the analysis and a one-factor solution emerged. The
eigenvalue was 4.40 and the variance explained by this factor was .55. The coefficient
alpha for this measure was acceptable (α = .88). As with the off-job involvement and
advancement prospects scales, these continuous scales were converted into categorical
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variables for hypothesis testing using percentile splits (Ragins et al., 2000). Specifically,
the upper third, middle third, and lower third were coded extensive career support (2),
Dependent Variables
The dependent variables in this study, desired and enacted aspirations, are
aspirations represent the emotional component of one’s pursuit of a career goal, whereas
enacted aspirations are elements in the plan of action one undertakes to achieve the
ultimate goal of attaining a position in senior management. The measures of desired and
enacted aspirations adopted for this research are based upon two scales developed and
In two studies testing the validity and reliability of the desired and enacted
aspirations measures, construct validity was established through factor analyses that met
the authors’ a priori expectations, with the desired aspirations items loading cleanly on
one factor (time 1 and time 2 factor loadings ≥ .55) and the enacted aspirations items
loading cleanly on a second factor (time 1 and time 2 factor loadings ≥ .49) (Tharenou &
coefficient alpha levels (desired aspirations time 1 α = .94 and time 2 α = .95) and
the extent of their agreement with six items on a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 =Disagree
Strongly, 5 =Agree Strongly). Sample items, the first of which was reverse coded, are “I
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advance to a position where I can have a greater influence on policy decisions.” The
desired aspirations scale is shown in Appendix A. Whereas Tharenou and Terry (1998)
were eliciting responses for aspirations to management positions in general, the items
have been reworded for this study to be specifically geared toward senior management
aspirations.
The six items were entered into the factor analysis and the results are displayed in
Table 12. A one-factor solution, with an eigenvalue of 3.40 emerged. The variance
twelve items and asked respondents to indicate how often they had engaged in the
the enacted aspirations scale were reworded to include behaviors that are specifically
Additional items were added to the enacted aspirations scale following the
recommendation of Tharenou and Terry (1998) to include other career strategies related
to managerial advancement. The added items were expected to increase the validity and
reliability of the scale. Research has shown that career strategies are positively linked to
salary progression (Gould & Penley, 1984), attainment of a senior management position
(Wentling, 1996) and managerial success (Konrad et al., 1997). Some of the common
traditional working hours), opinion conformity (sharing certain key opinions with a
superior) and networking (socializing, politicking and interacting with others outsiders)
Six items thought to represent the career strategies used by managers who aspired
to higher organizational positions were garnered from these studies and added to the
enacted aspirations scale. Sample items include ”I have expressed my opinions when I
know that they are aligned with an individual in a key senior position” and “I have
The results of the factor analysis for enacted aspirations are shown in Table 13.
The twelve items were entered into the analysis and a one-factor solution
emerged. The eigenvalue was 5.00 and the variance explained was .41. The coefficient
A summary of the factor analyses and reliability estimates of all study variables
identify potential confounding variables that were controlled during hypothesis testing.
Demographic and background characteristics that were collected in this study include
age, gender (also posited to be a moderating variable), race, marital status, partner’s
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current employer, number of years until retirement, job function, organizational level,
included in the study for use in future analysis. They include demographic data of the
respondent’s workgroup, and five attitudinal variables: job attribute preferences, career
these measures were adapted from prior research. All additional variables and scales are
shown in Appendix A.
Data Analysis
As indicated in Chapter 1, the main purpose of this study was to identify the
Descriptive statistics and correlational analysis were employed to describe the sample
characteristics and the relationships among the study variables. Next, as outlined in the
prior section, the reliability and validity of all study measures was assessed. Finally, the
hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analysis. All data analysis were
conducted using SPSSX for the Macintosh or PC. A detailed description of the statistical
variables such as gender, percentages were computed. Measures of central tendency such
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as means and standard deviations were computed for ordinal and interval scales (Fink,
1995). The demographic characteristics of the sample were discussed earlier in this
general patterns of relationships among the study variables and to identify the presence of
Studies have found age, race, and socioeconomic status (Jacobs et al., 1991) to be
aspirations. For this reason, there were no a priori predictions about which demographic
Tests of Hypotheses
Four of the hypotheses (1, 2, 6a and 6c) in this study use congruence as an
independent variable. To test these hypotheses, both facet and global measures of
congruence were employed. To test the two component facet congruence measure, the
conventions suggested by Edwards (1994 a; 1994 b) and Edwards and Parry (1993) for
assessing congruence were adopted. To this end, the two components of congruence,
senior management schema and senior management self-assessment, were tested using
problems with difference scores, while still testing the relationships difference scores are
intended to represent (Edwards, 1994 a, 1994 b; Edwards & Parry, 1993). Using
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difference scores can help to establish the reliability and validity of such scores
Two regression equations, one constrained (1) and one unconstrained (2), were
suggested by Edwards and Parry (1993) to assess the squared difference between two
component measures:
Z = b0 + b1 (X -Y) + e (1)
single predictor of Z and e represents a random error term (Veiga, Lubatkin, Calori, &
In equation (2), the following implied constraints are imposed by the squared
difference equation: (1) the coefficients on X2 and Y2 are equal; (2) the coefficient on
XY is twice as large as the coefficient on either X2 or Y2 and opposite in sign; and (3) the
The results were examined to assess whether the squared difference index was an
following: (1) the coefficients of X2, XY and Y2 (both individually and as a set) but not X
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and (3) a coefficient of XY that will not be significantly different from twice the negative
a), the difference between the coefficients were tested directly using a test of the
difference between partial regression coefficients outlined by Cohen and Cohen (1983).
All polynomial regression analyses and subsequent tests of coefficients were conducted
described above, desired aspirations was regressed on the control variables in step 1.
Equation (2) above describes the set of independent variables that were entered into the
regression equation in step 2. All other independent variables were entered in subsequent
steps in relevant order depending upon which hypothesis was being tested. The results
indicated that the squared difference index was not an acceptable assessment of the two
results of the polynomial regression analyses are discussed in Chapter 5 and detailed in
Appendix B.
The measure of global congruence was also used to test hypotheses 1, 2, 6a and
6c. The details of each regression analysis employed are described below using global
examine the effects of each independent variable on the dependent variable, while
controlling for the effects of variables already in the equation (Cohen & Cohen, 1983).
Prior to hypothesis testing, the study variables were standardized. The first step in testing
For the hypotheses that predict interactions, interaction terms were entered into
the regression model together. The dependent variable was regressed on each
independent variable (including control variables) as well as the interaction term. The
regression analysis results included a standardized beta coefficient, an R2, and a change
in R2 for the addition of each independent variable. The change in R2 indicated the
proportion of the variance in the dependent variable that was accounted for by the
addition of each new variable or set of variables. The beta coefficients were used to
assess the relative strength of the relationship of each independent variable with the
dependent variable. A significant beta for the interaction term indicated the presence of
congruence and desired aspirations. To test this relationship, the control variables were
entered into the regression model in Step 1. Congruence was then entered in Step 2. The
relationship between congruence and desired aspirations, such that the relationship would
be stronger for individuals with limited off-job involvement. Off-job involvement was
involvement in Step 4. A significant beta coefficient for the interaction term was
desired aspirations and enacted aspirations. To test this relationship, the control
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variable(s) were entered into the regression model in Step 1. Next, desired aspirations
was entered in Step 2. The regression coefficient for desired aspirations was examined to
test Hypothesis 3.
A significant beta coefficient for the interaction term was followed up with a plot of the
career support in predicting enacted aspirations. The control variables were entered into
support was entered in Step 3 and the interaction between desired aspirations and career
support was entered in Step 4. A significant regression coefficient for the interaction
with gender in predicting desired aspirations. The control variables were entered into
Step 1 of the regression model. Congruence was entered in Step 2 followed by Gender in
Step 3. The congruence-gender interaction term was entered into the regression model in
Step 4. A significant beta coefficient for the interaction term was followed up with a plot
of the interaction to test Hypothesis 6a. If the beta coefficient for the interaction term
into the regression equation in Step 5. Support for Hypothesis 6c required that the
Hypotheses 6d, 6h and 6f. Hypothesis 6d predicted that the positive relationship
between desired and enacted aspirations would be stronger for men than for women. The
control variables were entered into Step 1 of the regression analysis, followed by gender
in Step 2. Desired aspirations was entered in Step 3 and the interaction between gender
and desired aspirations was entered in Step 4. A significant beta coefficient for the
interaction term was followed up with a plot of the interaction to test Hypothesis 6d. If
the beta coefficient for the interaction term were not significant, neither Hypotheses 6f
be entered into the regression equation in Step 5. Support for Hypothesis 6f required that
prospects.
career support. If Hypothesis 6d were supported, career support would be entered into
the regression equation in Step 5. Support for Hypothesis 6h required that the interaction
extensive off-job involvement than men. The control variables were entered into Step 1
followed by gender in Step 2. The regression coefficient for gender was examined to test
Hypothesis 6b.
prospects than men. The same regression steps described in Hypothesis 6b were
employed, the difference was that advancement prospects was the dependent variable.
Hypothesis 6g, which predicted that women perceived less extensive career support than
men, was analyzed the same way, although the dependent variable for Hypothesis 6g was
career support. Similar to Hypothesis 6b, an examination of the regression coefficient for
Summary
This chapter has described the research design and methodology, measurement of
the constructs, sample characteristics, and statistical techniques that were employed to
test the research hypotheses offered in this study. Chapter 5 provides the detailed results
Chapter 5: RESULTS
This chapter presents the results of the data analyses beginning with the
description of statistical results for each research hypothesis. The chapter concludes with
Correlational Analysis
Table 15 presents the means, standard deviations, and intercorrelations among all
variables in the study. As noted in the preceding chapter, correlational analyses help to
among the study’s variables ranged from -.31 to .66, which suggests that severe
multicollinearity did not exist among the variables (i.e., r’s ≥ .80)(Hair et al., 1995).
What the correlational analysis did reveal however is that some demographic variables
were significantly correlated with the independent, moderating, and dependent variables
in the model.
were age, marital status, education, and functional area. Age was positively correlated
with subjective off-job involvement (r = .130, p < .05) and negatively correlated with
(r = -.213, p < .001), desired aspirations (r = -.225, p < .001), and enacted aspirations (r
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= -.151, p < .01). Consequently, respondents’ age was included as a control variable in
Marital status was also controlled in all regression analyses because it was
.127, p < .05), objective off-job involvement (r = .146, p < .01), subjective off-job
involvement (r = .123, p < .05), subjective advancement prospects (r = .134, p < .05),
Education was positively correlated with global congruence (r = .163, p < .01),
subjective advancement prospects (r = .127, p < .05), desired aspirations (r = .119, p <
.05) and enacted aspirations (r = .119, p < .05). Since education was correlated to both
number of subordinates, salary, and spouse salary were correlated with model variables,
but were not included as controls because they were significantly related to other
variance (ANOVA), which was employed to assess whether categorical variables such as
race, functional area, and industry were related to model variables. Results of the
ANOVA revealed that functional area was significantly related to global congruence (F8,
334 = 2.54, p < .01) and enacted aspirations (F8, 335 = 2.01, p < .05). Because functional
area was related to key independent (global congruence) and dependent (enacted
Bonferroni pairwise multiple comparison was used to test the difference between each
The results of the Bonferroni tests reveal the largest mean differences were
present between the human resources, the legal functional areas, and all other functional
areas. The legal area means were significantly lower than the means for the human
resources area, and both legal and human resources had significantly lower means than
the sales, information systems, and research and development areas. Therefore, two
control variables, human resources functional area (All others =0, HR = 1) and legal
functional area (All Others = 0, Legal = 1), were created for use in the regression
congruence (r = -.170, p < .001), subjective advancement prospects (r = -.152, p < .01),
and desired aspirations (r = -.226, p < .001). This means that women had lower self-
assessment scores, lower congruence scores, lower desired aspirations, and perceived
.210, p < .001), global congruence (r = .148, p < .01), subjective advancement prospects
(r = .104, p < .05), career support in the work domain (r = .323, p < .001), desired
aspirations (r = .106, p < .05) and enacted aspirations (r = .164, p < .01).
= .502, p < .001), subjective advancement prospects (r = .348, p < .001), desired
aspirations (r = .432, p < .001), and enacted aspirations (r = .493, p < .001).
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prospects (r = .561, p < .001), career support in the non-work domain (r = .145, p < .01),
desired aspirations (r = .659, p < .001), and enacted aspirations (r = .439, p < .001).
of work) was positively related to subjective off-job involvement (r = .390, p < .001).
advancement prospects (r = .116, p < .01) and enacted aspirations (r = .151, p < .05).
These results indicate that individuals who are not plateaued perceive more extensive
prospects for advancement and have higher enacted aspirations than their plateaued
in the work domain (r = .169, p < .001), career support in the non-work domain (r =
.144, p < .01), desired aspirations (r = .448, p < .001), and enacted aspirations (r = .326,
p < .001).
Career support in the work domain was positively related to career support in the
non-work domain (r = .110, p < .05) and enacted aspirations (r = .171, p < .001). Career
support in the non-work domain was positively correlated with desired aspirations (r =
.001). In conclusion, the above discussion points out that all correlations were in the
predicted direction and the data did not indicate the presence of any substantial
Tests of Hypotheses
first measure was comprised of two components (senior management schema and senior
management self-assessment) and was a facet measure of congruence, and the second
measured global congruence. All hypotheses were tested using both congruence
measures. Following Edwards (1994 a; 1994 b), Edwards and Parry (1993), and Edwards
and Rothbard (1999) polynomial regression analysis was employed to test the hypotheses
The results of the polynomial regression analyses indicated that the two
component measures of congruence (schema and self-assessment) did not meet the
criterion specified by Edwards (1994 a; 1994 b), Edwards and Parry (1993), and Edwards
and Rothbard (1999) that both components of a measure of fit account for variation in the
dependent variable equally. In this study, the self-assessment measure accounted for
most if not all of the variation in desired aspirations. Therefore, the two components of
facet fit (schema and self-assessment) were deemed inappropriate to use as indicators of
congruence and the global congruence measure was employed. Detailed results of the
below are those that employed the global congruence measure. The use of self-
analyses.
regression analysis was used to test this hypothesis and the results are presented in Table
16.
Five control variables (age, marital status, education, human resources functional
area and legal functional area) were entered into Step 1 of the regression analysis
between global congruence and desired aspirations was significant (β = .68, p < .001).
Global congruence accounted for 43% of the variation in desired aspirations (∆R2 = .43, p
aspirations would be stronger for individuals with limited off-job involvement than for
involvement were entered into the regression model in Step 3 (see Table 16) and the
congruence and subjective off-job involvement) were entered in Step 4. The four-step
regression resulted in a model in which 52% of the variance was explained by the
included variables (R2 = .52, p < .001). The addition of the interaction terms in Step 4
accounted for a 1% (∆R2 = .01, p < .05) change in the variance in desired aspirations, and
each interaction was statistically significant. The significant interactions were plotted to
determine whether the hypothesized direction of the interactions were supported. The
desired aspirations was slightly stronger for individuals with limited objective off-job
congruence and desired aspirations was stronger for individuals with extensive subjective
off-job involvement than for individuals with limited subjective off-job involvement.
revealed in Chapter 4, when the subjective off-job involvement items were factor
analyzed, they resulted in a four-factor solution (Table 8). The first factor consisted of
four items that dealt with community activities, the second factor consisted of two items
regarding child care, the third factor dealt with household chores, and factor four
determine whether the results changed when the four subjective off-job involvement
factors were entered into the analyses as moderators of the relationship between global
congruence and desired aspirations. The regression analysis (not shown) revealed that
the interaction between global congruence and community activities had a marginally
significant effect on desired aspirations (β = , p < .10). The interaction between global
congruence and desired aspirations. The relationship between congruence and desired
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aspirations was stronger for individuals with extensive community involvement than for
individuals with limited involvement in community activities. This was contrary to the
and desired aspirations would be stronger for individuals with limited off-job
involvement than for those with extensive off-job involvement. The interactions between
congruence and the component factors of subjective off-job involvement that were not
statistically significant were congruence and childcare, congruence and house chores, and
assessment was substituted for global congruence, the regression analyses produced no
assessment did not interact with any of the four factors of subjective off-job involvement.
aspirations and was tested using hierarchical regression analysis. Five control variables
(age, marital status, education, human resources functional area and legal functional area)
were entered into Step 1 of the regression analysis followed by global congruence,
objective, and subjective off-job involvement in Step 2 and desired aspirations in Step 3.
The beta coefficient for desired aspirations was positive (β=.24, p < . 001). Furthermore,
desired aspirations accounted for a significant change in model variance (∆R2 = .03, p < .
001). These results, shown in Table 17, provided support for Hypothesis 3.
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prospects than for individuals who perceived limited advancement prospects. Objective
advancement prospects and subjective advancement prospects were entered into the
regression model in Step 4, and the interactions between desired aspirations and objective
As seen in Table 17, the variance accounted for by all variables in the model is
32% (R2 = .32, p < . 001), with the addition of the interaction terms in Step 5 accounting
for no change in variance (∆R2 = .00, n.s.). The non-significant beta coefficients for the
interaction terms indicate that neither objective nor subjective advancement prospects
enacted aspirations (β=.29, p < . 001) and an effect of objective advancement prospects
(β=.10, p < . 10) on enacted aspirations. These results suggest that individuals with high
congruence also had high enacted aspirations regardless of their desired aspirations.
Furthermore, individuals who were not plateaued held higher enacted aspirations than
desired and enacted aspirations, the hypothesized relationship was reexamined using the
Chapter 4 and reported in Table 9. The first factor was comprised of three items and
described advancement prospects in the present organization and the second factor, also
whether the results would change when the component factors of subjective advancement
prospects were entered into the model. The regression analysis (not shown) revealed that
organization had a marginally significant effect on enacted aspirations (β = -.10, p < .10).
The modest interaction was plotted and the results can be seen in Figure 6.
Contrary to the original prediction in Hypothesis 4, these results suggest that the
relationship between desired and enacted aspirations was stronger for individuals who
would moderate the relationship between desired and enacted aspirations. In a five-Step
hierarchical regression, five control variables (age, marital status, education, human
resources functional area and legal functional area) were entered in Step 1, followed by
global congruence and objective and subjective off-job involvement in Step 2. Desired
aspirations was entered in Step 3, followed by career support in the work domain and
career support in the non-work domain in Step 4. The interaction terms (desired
aspirations by career support at work and desired aspirations by career support from non-
work) were entered in Step 5. The results of this regression are shown in Table 18.
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The variance accounted for by all variables in the model was 33% (R2 = .33, p <
.001), with the addition of the interaction terms in Step 5 accounting for no change in
variance (∆R2 = .00, n.s.). The non-significant beta coefficients for the interactions
between desired aspirations and career support in the work domain (β=-.03) and between
desired aspirations and career support in the non-work domain (β=-.03) indicate that
career support did not moderate the relationship between desired and enacted aspirations.
Therefore, Hypothesis 5 was not supported. There was an effect of career support in the
non-work domain (β=.12, p < .05) on enacted aspirations suggesting that individuals who
had career support in the non-work domain were also likely to have high enacted
aspirations.
aspirations would be stronger for men than for women. Hypothesis 6a was tested by
entering five control variables (age, marital status, education, human resources functional
area and legal functional area) into Step 1 of a hierarchical regression. Global
congruence was entered in Step 2 and gender was entered in Step 3. The interaction of
global congruence by gender was entered in Step 4. The results of the regression analysis
The model explained 51% of the variation in desired aspirations (R2 = .52, p < .
001), with the addition of the interaction term accounting for no change in the variance
(∆R2 = .00, n.s.). The beta coefficient for the interaction term (β=.06, n.s.) indicates that
gender did not moderate the relationship between global congruence and desired
significant, negative effect of gender on desired aspirations (β=−.11, p < . 05; R2 = .51, p
< . 05; ∆R2 = .10, p < . 05), indicating that women held lower desired aspirations than
men.
between global congruence and desired aspirations, was reanalyzed using self-assessment
as the measure of congruence and the results did not change. The findings suggest that
congruence did not affect desired aspirations differently for men and women.
involvement than men. Two hierarchical regression analyses were employed to test this
hypothesis, first using objective off-job involvement as the dependent variable, and then
using subjective off-job involvement as the dependent variable. The results of these
For both regressions, five control variables (age, marital status, education, human
resources functional area and legal functional area) were entered into Step 1 of the
As the results of the first regression indicate, the beta coefficient for gender was
negative (β= -.12, p < .10) and the addition of gender accounted for a 1% change in the
variance in objective off-job involvement (∆R2 = .01, p < .10). These results are contrary
to the prediction that women experience more extensive objective off-job involvement
than men because they suggest that men experience more extensive objective off-job
involvement was not statistically significant (β= -.10, n.s.). Taken together, these
regressions support the notion that women spent more hours on off-job activities, but that
they were not significantly more psychologically involved in off-job activities than men.
Hypothesis 6a was not supported, it was not meaningful to test Hypothesis 6c.
the relationship between desired aspirations and enacted aspirations would be stronger for
men than for women. Five control variables (age, marital status, education, human
resources functional area and legal functional area) were entered in Step 1 followed by
gender in Step 2 and desired aspirations in Step 3. The interaction between desired
The results indicate that 29% of the variance in enacted aspirations was accounted
for by the variables in Model 4 (R2 = .29, p < . 001), and that the change in R2 attributed
to the interaction term was less than 1% (∆R2 = .00, n.s.). The beta coefficient for the
interaction term (β=.01, n.s.) indicates that the relationship between desired and enacted
aspirations was not significantly stronger for men than for women. Thus, Hypothesis 6d
prospects than men. Two hierarchical regression analyses were employed to test this
hypothesis, first using objective advancement prospects as the dependent variable, and
then using subjective advancement prospects as the dependent variable. The results of
For both regressions, five control variables (age, marital status, education, human
resources functional area and legal functional area) were entered into Step 1 of the
Inconsistent with the prediction, the beta coefficient for gender was not
statistically significant (β=-.02, n.s.) in the first regression. The addition of gender
accounted for no change in the variance in objective advancement prospects (∆R2 = .00,
n.s.). These results do not support the prediction that women were more likely to be
advancement prospects (∆R2 = .01, p < .05.) and the beta coefficient was negative (β=-
.12, p < .05) suggesting that women perceived less extensive subjective advancement
prospects than men. Taken together, these regressions indicate that although there were
no significant differences in the career plateaus of women and men, women perceived
significantly less extensive advancement prospects than men, providing partial support
Because Hypothesis 6d was not supported, it was not meaningful to test Hypothesis 6f.
than men. Two hierarchical regression analyses were employed to test this hypothesis,
first using career support in the work domain as the dependent variable, and then using
career support in the non-work domain as the dependent variable. The results of these
For both regressions, five control variables (age, marital status, education, human
resources functional area and legal functional area) were entered into Step 1 of the
As the results of the first regression indicate, the beta coefficient for gender was
not significant (β=.00, n.s.) and the addition of gender to the model accounted for no
change in the variation in career support in the work domain (∆R2 = .00, n.s.). These
results indicate that women did not perceive less extensive career support in the work
In the second regression, the addition of gender to the model did not significantly
change the variation in career support in the non-work domain (∆R2 = .01, n.s.). Contrary
to the prediction, the beta coefficient was not statistically significant (β=.10, n.s.)
suggesting that women did not perceive less extensive career support in the non-work
domain than men. These results indicate that there were no differences in the perception
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of career support between women and men, in either the work or non-work domains.
Because Hypothesis 6d was not supported, it was not meaningful to test Hypothesis 6h.
aspirations (Greenhaus et al., 1997). Contrary to expectations, there was no evidence for
gender as a moderator, yet gender was related to enacted aspirations. This finding
presented an opportunity to test a mediated model that would help to explain the gender
difference in enacted aspirations. Therefore, the role of gender was further explored
using structural equation modeling. Specifically, multiple versions of the model of senior
management aspirations were explored using AMOS 4.01 (Arbuckle, 1999). Figure 7
shows the results of a model, which examined both congruence and off-job involvement
as mediating the relationship between gender and desired aspirations. The relationship
between gender and enacted aspirations was examined with congruence, desired
all direct effects of gender on desired and enacted aspirations were explored.
The analysis reveals that gender was negatively related to congruence (β = -.18, p
< .001), desired aspirations (β = -.10, p < .05), and subjective advancement prospects (β
= -.09, p < .10) indicating that women perceive lower levels of fit with senior
management positions, have less of a desire to attain such positions, and perceive fewer
advancement prospects than men. Gender was also positively related to enacted
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aspirations (β = .17, p < .001) revealing that women held higher enacted aspirations than
men. The relationship between congruence and desired aspirations was positive (β =
.69, p < .001), as was the relationship between desired and enacted aspirations (β = .33, p
< .001). Congruence was positively related to career support in the non-work domain (β
= .16, p < .01) and to enacted aspirations (β = .21, p < .01). Both objective advancement
prospects (β = .10, p < .05) and career support in the work domain (β = .09, p < .10)
Overall, the hypothesized model did not fit the data well (χ2 = 226.56, df = 27, p
< .001; GFI = .87; AGFI = .737; RMSEA = .16). The model may offer additional insight
into the factors that influence senior management aspirations. The significant
relationships indicated by the beta coefficients however, do indicate that gender had an
enacted aspirations through congruence and desired aspirations. Additionally, gender had
a direct effect on both desired and enacted aspirations. These findings provide additional
insights into the relationships among various model constructs and will be discussed
Summary
analyses conducted in this study. The hierarchical regression analyses employed to test
the hypotheses revealed some interesting results. A summary of the results is shown in
Table 24. While several of the hypotheses were not supported or only partially
supported, the results offer interesting insights into the senior management aspirations of
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study, the study’s contributions and limitations and suggested directions for future
Chapter 6: DISCUSSION
Chapter 6 begins with a brief summary of the gaps in the career development and
decision-making literature that this study has addressed. Next, the results of this study
are presented in light of the career development and decision-making literature, followed
methodological limitations of this study are reviewed and finally, as the findings and
theoretical and empirical attention. While there are a number of theoretical and
conceptual challenges associated with studying senior management aspirations, the lack
of research may be associated with the past assumption that everyone, or at least men,
wanted to climb the corporate ladder. Whatever the reasons for the research gaps
associated with senior management aspirations, the fact that the number of senior
management positions available has declined, yet the numbers of individuals with high
career expectations has increased (Lashbrook, 1992), makes it evident that this is an
empirical attention.
which a theory of senior management aspirations has begun to crystallize. The model of
senior management aspirations posited in this study included cognitive, lifestyle, and
positions in senior management. While the specific research question this study hoped to
senior management, from a theoretical perspective, this study hoped to contribute to the
framework.
model of senior management aspirations. In general, the model predicted that the
congruence between one’s occupational self-image and the image one holds of a senior
management job, would interact with various lifestyle factors to influence an individual’s
pursuit of their career dreams are mindful of all aspects of their lives (Krau, 1997;
This study provided support for the idea that an individual’s desire to move into a
management aspirations in the context of career decision-making. The data in this study
related to the level of desire an individual holds towards a position in senior management.
These findings support prior research that individuals who see themselves as capable of
fulfilling managerial roles aspire to and even attain those positions (Meier, 1991;
Tharenou, 1997 b). The desire to attain an end state, or reach a goal, is reflective of one’s
attitude towards attaining that particular goal. Thus, the desire to become a senior
140
manager is reflective of an individual’s wants, regarding his or her career goals. This
position. Specific facets of a senior management position include the job requirements or
intrinsic aspects of the position as well as the rewards. In this study, overall congruence
like rewards associated with a particular position, in concert with the belief that entering
a particular position will be instrumental in the attainment of those outcomes, predicts the
overall level of valence or desire to obtain such a position (Pinder, 1998; Vroom, 1964).
This study provided support for the notion that one’s desire to move into a senior
with attaining senior management positions. Thus, the intention to become a senior
manager is reflective of the behaviors individuals’ exhibit regarding their career goals. In
In this study, one’s desire to become a senior manager was positively related to
one’s intention to pursue senior management as a career goal. These findings are
consistent with an expectancy model of career decision-making, which suggests that the
valence of first level outcomes, or the “want” component of a desired outcome, leads to
behaviors associated with achieving the outcome (Pinder, 1998; Vroom, 1964). These
findings also support prior research that suggests that attitudes inform intentions that are
in turn, associated with behaviors (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1974; Pinder, 1998).
with high congruence will engage in behaviors that they believe will lead them to senior
management positions, regardless of their desire to attain such positions. These results
concur with prior research, which suggests that individuals who see themselves as fitting
into certain positions will engage in behaviors associated with attaining those positions
Because evidence suggests that environmental factors from both the work and
non-work domains influence career aspirations (Holland, 1985) it was expected that
occupational self-congruence would interact with factors from the non-work domain to
influence one’s desire to become a senior manager. In turn, one’s desire to attain a
desired aspirations was not moderated by non-work commitments. It is possible that the
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possible that managers or senior management aspirants will not admit the existence of
significant household/family or other off-job activities that they perceive could interfere
with their career goals, particularly if they felt that they would fit well within the ranks of
senior management.
relationship between desired and enacted aspirations. The lack of interaction effects
between desired aspirations and the environmental variables suggests that when
individuals believe they can attain a position in senior management, they will pursue it,
despite low desires. Specifically, the data seem to suggest that the desire to attain a
by significant others. The data in this study supports the idea that desire alone is enough
finding may suggest that individuals who are not plateaued will engage in behaviors that
they believe will lead them to senior management positions. Alternatively, it might mean
that individuals who engage in career enhancing strategies do not become career
plateaued. Finally, it may suggest that the career enhancing strategies encapsulated
within the enacted aspirations measure are not specific to senior management aspirants.
The findings in this study support prior research that non-plateaued employees tend to
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aspirations in this study. Prior research suggests that supervisor support has a positive
effect on career development (Jiang & Klein, 2000), and that it is a key factor in
influencing managers’ motivation to take risks and make change (Spreitzer & Quinn,
enacted aspirations indicates that not being plateaued, and having support at work or at
the attitudes and intentions that individuals hold regarding their careers in the context of
intentions and associated behaviors that characterize individuals for whom career
Research suggests that attitudes are general predispositions that lead to a set of
specific intentions that indicate a certain amount of affect toward the object in question
(Pinder, 1998). Each of these intentions is related to a specific behavior (Ajzen &
144
Fishbein, 1980; Pinder, 1998). Attitudes affect behavior only to the extent that they
evident and supportive of prior research that suggests that attitudes inform intentions that
are in turn, associated with behaviors (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980; Pinder, 1998). The
aspirations) leads to a set of behaviors (enacted aspirations) through which intentions are
assumed.
intentions. Once attitudes have been formed, an individual’s feelings concerning the act
being considered (perceived consequences of the act) will influence the intention to act
(Pinder, 1998). In other words, a perception of attainability (or “can”) must be present
In this study, advancement prospects and career support were thought to represent
that “can” aspect of an individual’s perception that would interact with their desire to
become a senior manager such that their intentions (i.e. engaging in enacted aspirations)
would become evident. The findings indicated that the influence of those environmental
variables were associated with intentions but not with the relationship between attitudes
and intentions.
It may be that when individuals believe that a goal is attainable, and/or when they
are being encouraged to pursue the goal, whether or not they have a strong desire
(attitude) to attain the goal, they feel an obligation to pursue it. Consider the following
associated with a senior management job. However, because the prospect of advancing is
associated with a high salary, he or she may feel obligated to pursue such a position,
given his or her financial responsibilities. Similarly, an individual may have no internal
supervisor, to the extent that the supervisor is extending opportunities to the individual,
may present the individual with a sense of obligation or duty to pursue the opportunities
presented.
With respect to the environmental factors in the model, the presence of main
effects, but not moderating effects, speaks to the distinction between attitudes and
intentions, such that certain factors may influence intentions or attitudes but not the
relationship between them. These findings provide support for the conceptualization of
senior management aspirations offered in this study, the idea that desired and enacted
This research confirmed findings of earlier studies that women are less likely than
men to aspire to senior management positions (Friedman & Greenhaus, 2000; Greenhaus
et al., 1997). The indirect relationship between gender and desired aspirations through
congruence indicates that women were less likely than men to see themselves in terms
that were congruent with senior management positions. The perceived lack of fit might
explain why women have traditionally held lower aspirations to advance in the
management hierarchy (Greenhaus et al., 1997; Parasuraman & Greenhaus, 1992) than
men.
146
The direct effect of gender on enacted aspirations favors women. The indirect of
favors men. In essence, the differential effects of gender on enacted aspirations negate
each other. What the findings suggest however is that beyond the effects of congruence
and desired aspirations, women enact aspirations more often than men. Perhaps women
feel they have to work twice as hard to gain recognition and therefore are more likely to
Women were not more likely to be career plateaued than men, although they did
perceive less extensive subjective advancement prospects than men. These findings are
interesting in light of prior research which has stipulated that women may perceive fewer
opportunities for advancement than men due to the glass ceiling phenomenon (Powell,
1999) or other organizational biases (McKeen, 1992; Powell, 1999). If the women in this
sample are not plateaued but still perceive fewer advancement prospects than men, it may
The career plateau measure employed in this study assessed structural career
plateau, which is defined as the end of promotions (Feldman & Weitz, 1988). Individuals
responsibility associated with the current job (Bardwick, 1986; Feldman & Weitz, 1988;
Ference et al., 1977). Content plateaued individuals may still perceive the existence of a
glass ceiling, because a lack of additional responsibilities may send signals that there are
There are other cues that an organization provides that may indicate to women
that the chances for advancement are not good. For example, women have reported that
147
management (Tharenou & Conroy, 1994; Tharenou et al., 1994). In this study, women
who reported a low percentage of senior women managers in proportion to the total
number of senior managers in their organizations, held lower enacted aspirations than
men.
Women did not perceive less extensive career support than men. These findings
are counter to research which suggests that the types and amounts of career support both
on and off the job, differ for men and women (Greenhaus et al., 2000; King et al., 1995;
Konrad & Cannings, 1997; Powell & Mainiero, 1992). In terms of career support in the
gender role stereotypes (Lobel & St. Clair, 1992). In this study, the gaps between the
amounts and types of support both on and off the job for men and women appeared to be
negligible.
decision-making making literature. First, the boundaryless career (Arthur, 1994; Arthur
& Rousseau, 1996) denotes an independence from traditional principles such as formal
idea that careers are “boundaryless” suggests that the knowledge, skills and experiences
individuals collect as they progress through various jobs may provide intrinsic rewards
and a sense of satisfaction and success. This is contrasted to the traditional notion that
The individuals in this study who reported congruence also engaged in career
enhancing strategies, even if they had no desire to attain positions in senior management.
This may mean that broadening one’s knowledge base and networking are viewed by
these individuals as ends in themselves, rather than as the means to attain higher
positions. In other words, the processes and experiences gained through the enacted
aspirations were still meaningful to those individuals who saw themselves in terms of
senior management positions, even though they had no desire to become senior
managers.
management aspirations acknowledges the crucial link between the occupational self-
concept, desires, and the active pursuit of those desires. The idea that individuals who
see themselves in terms that are congruent with positions in senior management are
possibility of self-in-world, a vision of the adult self living the good life. It is a soil in
which joyful hopes can flower, but it also nourishes illusive beliefs: that I am capable of
accomplishing everything the Dream envisages that certain others will unequivocally
support my efforts, that fulfilling the Dream will bring me true happiness” (Levinson,
1977)(p. 108).
(Friedman & Greenhaus, 2000). Since involvement in the non-work domain had virtually
individuals in the sample were career-focused (Friedman & Greenhaus, 2000), or more
149
oriented toward work than to any other aspect of their lives. Exploratory analyses
revealed that both the men and women in this study were more highly involved in their
jobs than in the off-job activities accounted for in this study. This is especially
interesting since women have traditionally been more highly involved in non-work
activities than men, although in this study, there were no discernible differences between
The present study has contributed to the literature in career development and
between congruence, desired aspirations, and enacted aspirations and acknowledges these
components in the career decision-making process. The findings in this study are
consistent with the notion of matching, present in many models of career decision making
(Holland, 1985; Schein, 1978, 1993, 1996; Super, 1990; Super et al., 1996; Vroom,
1964). The congruence or matching concept, suggests that individuals evaluate their
skills, abilities, talents, likes and dislikes in the context of an occupational environment.
Individuals seek careers in which they perceive a high degree of fit (Holland, 1985;
Schein, 1978, 1993, 1996; Super, 1990; Super et al., 1996; Vroom, 1964).
In terms of career decision-making, the better the fit between a job and the
individual, the higher the levels of motivation, satisfaction and commitment (Holland,
1985; Schein, 1978, 1993, 1996; Super, 1990; Super et al., 1996; Vroom, 1964), thus the
better the decision. The data in this study reveals that individuals who perceive a high
150
degree of fit between themselves and a position in senior management also exhibit the
individuals with managerial and professional experience. Therefore, this study garners
Third, this study found that both work and non-work factors were related to
enacted aspirations. Prior studies have looked at the impact of work factors on
management aspirations (Rynes et al., 1988), and in some cases, have correlated
Vianen, 1999; Van Vianen & Keizer, 1996) but very few have looked at work and non-
management aspirations offered by Tharenou and Terry (1998). The desired and enacted
aspirations measures displayed strong construct validity and reliability in this sample and
promise to be valuable tools for use in future studies of senior management aspirations.
Fifth, two new measures, senior management schema and senior management
self-assessment, were developed for use in this research. Both measures of facet fit,
derived from the senior management literature and deemed reliable in this sample,
management. The expectation was that analyzed together, these measures would assess
congruence, such that each component would contribute equally to the variance in
position, was not related to desired aspirations. Although the items were derived from
the literature, it is possible that individuals associated the senior management schema
items with the senior managers in their organizations and felt that the items were not
descriptive or accurate.
desired aspirations. Because the knowledge, skills, abilities, and rewards that comprised
the self-assessment measure were taken from the literature as components of senior
management positions, it is possible that agreement with the measure items implies high
fit. Thus, the senior management self-assessment measure alone, may have tapped
occupational-self congruence. Agreement with the measure suggests that people agree
that they possess certain characteristics and are attracted to or motivated by certain types
of rewards.
implications. The strategic nature of the human resources function requires that
organizations identify the individuals who are the most likely candidates for career
progression. A rich understanding of the in-house talent pool aids in the effort to gauge
study can help to identify the human capital assets contained within the firm, as well as to
further hone those skills and competencies which the firm wishes to capitalize upon to
help achieve its long-term goals. Development of valid and reliable selection processes
152
and performance management systems can be influenced through the inclusion of the
employees have about the advancement prospects and career support in the firm.
Individuals who have not reached career plateaus are likely to engage in career enhancing
employee perceptions and aspirations can aid in the design of career development
programs. This research suggests that individuals, who aspire to positions in senior
management, need to have appropriate signals from the organization regarding their long-
Given that women in this study perceived fewer prospects for advancement than
their male counterparts, organizations should determine the reasons why women
employees believe their chances for promotion are limited. It is important for
organizations to understand that both women and men have senior management
aspirations but that women are less likely to see themselves in terms that are congruent
positions for women, organizations must evaluate their current systems to determine what
barriers may exist that are influencing the perceptions of their female managers.
There are several methodological issues in this study. First, the cross-sectional,
correlational research design, despite certain benefits, does not permit causal inferences
(Judd et al., 1991). The results of the cross-sectional research indicate the presence of
153
temporal nature of the relationships depicted may only be assessed using a longitudinal
research design.
continuing education programs at one university could limit the generalizability of the
findings. Finally, the data for this study were collected using a survey, which adds to the
potential of common method variance, which means that correlations among variables
could have been artificially inflated or otherwise affected by some type of systematic bias
of the respondents.
Following Konrad and Linnehan (1995), a factor analysis was employed to test
for the possible effects of common method variance. All model variables and pertinent
demographic variables including age, marital status, race, spouse’s employment status,
number of hours per week spouse works, presence of children, organization tenure,
number of subordinates, salary, and spouses’s salary were entered into the analysis. The
factor analysis extracted four components with eigenvalues greater than 1.0. The four
factors accounted for 62% of the variance among the 11 study variables, and the first
factor accounted for 28.5% of the variance. Since multiple factors emerged and the first
factor accounted for less than half of the variance, common method variance does not
appear to be present. Since self-report questionnaires have the potential for allowing
response bias to affect the results, a combination of data gathering methods may be
considered in the future. The next section offers a discussion of how the knowledge
gained in this research can enhance future research in the career development and
decision-making area.
154
The findings from this research have opened some areas for future investigation
aspirations. The strongest support found was that individuals with high congruence had
strong desires to attain positions in senior management and that those desires positively
influenced intentions to pursue such positions. Outside factors were by and large not as
as expected. What this means is that occupational-self congruence plays a primary role
in career aspirations, and that external factors are of secondary importance, if at all
and women, the factors that influence congruence are the next logical area of study.
the role that gender plays, indicating that women were less likely to see themselves in
terms that were congruent with senior management positions than men. Future research
may investigate why women have lower occupational-self congruence in terms of senior
women in senior management positions has also negatively impacted the perceived fit
women feel they have with senior management positions. As mentioned previously, the
women in this sample who reported a small number of women senior managers in
155
Aside from gender, prior research suggests that career orientation may be one
Schein’s (1978) notion of career anchor. The career anchor is a pattern of self-perceived
individual’s career anchor serves to guide, constrain, stabilize, and integrate his or her
career. The career anchor is that one element in a person's self-concept that he or she will
not give up, even in the face of difficult choices (Schein, 1993). Igbaria, Greenhaus, and
Parasuraman (1991) found that employees whose career orientations were compatible
with their job setting reported high job satisfaction, high career satisfaction, strong
the pursuit of management education (Steiner & Farr, 1986) and that the identification
and understanding of career orientation may positively influence career development and
planning on the part of organizations (Bray et al., 1979; Bray & Howard, 1983; Crepeau,
Crook, Goslar, & McMurtrey, 1992; Crook et al., 1991). Exploratory analyses revealed
that managerial career anchor was positively related to global and facet congruence (both
and enacted aspirations. Future research can investigate the role that one’s career
occupational-self concept.
156
Finally, the role of self-esteem can be explored with regard to the impact it may
the types of careers and jobs people enter (Korman, 1976; Pinder, 1998) and for its
impact on the relationship between self-perceived abilities and the abilities required in the
management aspirations (Martin et al., 1987; Van Vianen & Keizer, 1996) Perhaps
individual differences also account for the gender discrepancies in desired aspirations.
For example, (Martin et al., 1987) found that respondents with feminist sex-role
ideologies were more likely than women who held traditional sex-role ideologies to
instrumental orientation focused on getting a job done or problem solved (p. 1005) was
Future research may seek a deeper understanding of the role external factors play
between congruence and desired aspirations. Without overstating the importance of this
finding, it is interesting to note that it is perhaps contacts outside of work that individuals
with high congruence seek, which fuel their desires and perhaps intentions to pursue
theory (Burt, 1992) may provide a clear rationale for the inclusion of additional factors
that may be related to senior management aspirations. Tharenou (1997 b) found that
informal social networks were instrumental in the advancement from middle to upper
management. In future studies, benefits derived from social capital networks, such as
The findings in this study revealed that desires play a role in aspirations, but even
when desires are not considered, individuals who perceive a fit between themselves and
positions in senior management are still likely to engage in behaviors associated with
this study, objective advancement prospects and career support at work were both related
also influence intentions to pursue senior management and perhaps be related to desires
as well.
For example, Tharenou (1997 a; 1997 b) found that opportunities for training and
development and work experience were key factors in the advancement of men and
nature and types of work experiences, as well as the training and development
management aspirations.
There are a number of studies that capture the factors that influence managerial
advancement (Tharenou, 1997 a, 1997 b; Tharenou & Conroy, 1994; Tharenou et al.,
1994) and how they are potentially different for women and men. We know that women
158
perceive lower opportunities for advancement, due to a variety of reasons such as the
et al., 1987), gender bias (Konrad & Cannings, 1997) and male hierarchies (Tharenou et
al., 1994). Although in this study, advancement prospects did not affect women’s senior
management aspirations, future studies should capture the potential detrimental effects
that organizational systems may have on the senior management aspirations of women
and men.
The findings of this study have contributed to our overall understanding of senior
management aspirations. The enormous possibilities of future exploration within the area
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H4: The positive relationship between desired aspirations and enacted aspirations
is stronger for individuals who perceive extensive advancement prospects
than for individuals who perceive limited advancement prospects.
H5: The positive relationship between desired aspirations and enacted aspirations
is stronger for individuals who perceive extensive career support than for
individuals who perceive limited career support.
H6c: The moderating effect of gender between congruence and desired aspirations
disappears when controlling for off-job involvement.
H6d: The positive relationship between desired aspirations and enacted aspirations
is stronger for men than for women.
H6f: The moderating effect of gender between desired aspirations and enacted
aspirations disappears when controlling for advancement prospects.
H6h: The moderating effect of gender between desired aspirations and enacted
aspirations disappears when controlling for career support.
175
Highest Level
Achieved High School 2 0.6
Some College 20 5.7
Associates/Technical 21 6
Bachelor's Degree 192 55
Master's Degree 101 28.9
Professional Degree (Law, MD) 3 0.9
Ph.D. 10 2.9
Table 4 (continued)
________________________________________________________________________
1
Human Resources
2
Off-Job Involvement, Coded (2) = Extensive, (1) = Moderate, (0) = Limited
192
________________________________________________________________________
1
Human Resources
2
Off-Job Involvement, Coded (2) = Extensive, (1) = Moderate, (0) = Limited
193
Table 17 (continued)
4 (Constant) -.231 .818
Age -.079 -1.444 .150
Education .064 1.241 .216
Marital Status .034 .669 .504
HR Function .020 .402 .688
Legal Function -.178*** -3.506 .001
Global Congruence .290*** 3.665 .000
Objective OJI .029 .516 .606
Subjective OJI .020 .368 .713
Desired Aspirations .244*** 3.413 .001
Plateau1 .104* 1.978 .049
Subjective AP2 -.010 -.163 .871
2
R =.314*** ∆R2=.010 n.s
5 (Constant) -.272 .786
Age -.084 -1.537 .125
Education .071 1.373 .171
Marital Status .036 .710 .478
HR Function .026 .502 .616
Legal Function -.174*** -3.427 .001
Global Congruence .292*** 3.654 .000
Objective OJI .028 .494 .621
Subjective OJI .016 .283 .777
Desired Aspirations .252*** 3.471 .001
Plateau .097+ 1.845 .066
Subjective AP -.009 -.133 .894
Desired * Plateau -.065 -1.257 .210
Desired * Subjective AP .003 .050 .960
2
R =.318*** ∆R2=.004 n. s.
***p < .001, **p < .01, *p < .05, +p < .10
________________________________________________________________________
1
Objective Advancement Prospects, (1) = not plateaued, (0) = plateaued
2
Advancement Prospects, Coded (2) = Extensive, (1) = Moderate, (0) = Limited
194
________________________________________________________________________
1
Human Resources
2
Off-Job Involvement, Coded (2) = Extensive, (1) = Moderate, (0) = Limited
195
Table 18 (continued)
4 (Constant) .368 .713
Age -.079 -1.500 .135
Education .075 1.479 .140
Marital Status -.033 -.631 .528
HR Function .021 .419 .676
Legal Function -.188*** -3.744 .000
Global .254*** 3.595 .000
Congruence
Objective OJI .030 .546 .585
Subjective OJI .010 .188 .851
Desired .250*** 3.501 .001
Aspirations
CSWD1 .071 1.426 .155
2
CSNWD .117* 2.210 .028
2 2
R =.324*** ∆R =.017*
5 (Constant) .504 .615
Age -.082 -1.564 .119
Education .075 1.479 .140
Marital Status -.037 -.692 .490
HR Function .020 .396 .693
Legal Function -.191*** -3.781 .000
Global .258*** 3.637 .000
Congruence
Objective OJI .028 .515 .607
Subjective OJI .009 .162 .871
Desired .248*** 3.449 .001
Aspirations
Career Support .073 1.467 .144
Work
Career Support .122* 2.270 .024
Non-Work
Desired * CSWD -.029 -.558 .577
Desired * -.028 -.539 .590
CSNWD
2
R =.326*** ∆R2=.002 n.s.
***p < .001, **p < .01, *p < .05, +p < .10
________________________________________________________________________
1
Career Support Work Domain, Coded (2) = Extensive, (1) = Moderate, (0) = Limited
2
Career Support Non-Work Domain, Coded (2) = Extensive, (1) = Moderate, (0) = Limited
196
________________________________________________________________________
1
Human Resources
2
0 = Male, 1 = Female
197
________________________________________________________________________
1
Human Resources
2
0 = Male, 1 = Female
198
________________________________________________________________________
1
Human Resources
2
0 = Male, 1 = Female
199
________________________________________________________________________
1
Human Resources
2
0 = Male, 1 = Female
200
________________________________________________________________________
1
Human Resources
2
0 = Male, 1 = Female
201
Objective AP (Plateau)
Subjective AP coded
0=limited Advancement Prospects
1=moderate Advancement
Prospects
2=extensive Advancement
Prospects
202
Table 24 (continued)
Hypothesis Regression Results Table # Support
Subjective OJI 9 No
Gender b=-.10 n.s.
R2=.04***
∆R2=.01 n.s.
H6d: The positive relationship Desired * Gender 10 No
between desired aspirations and b=-.01 n.s.
enacted aspirations is stronger for R2=.29***
men than for women. ∆R2=.00 n.s.
H6e: Women perceive less Plateau 11 No
extensive advancement prospects Gender b=-.02 n.s.
than men. R2=.07***
∆R2=.00 n.s.
Subjective AP 11 Partial
Gender b=-.12* Support,
R2=.10*** Subjective
∆R2=.01* AP Only
203
Table 24 (continued)
Hypothesis Regression Results Table # Support
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Low Mean High
Global Congruence
Limited Objective Off Job Involvement Extensive Objective Off Job Involvement
Figure 3 - Moderating Effect of Objective Off-Job Involvement on the Relationship
Between Congruence and Desired Aspirations
207
5
4
Desired Aspirations
3
2
1
Low Mean High
Global Congruence
Limited Subjective Off Job Involvement Extensive Subjective Off Job Involvement
Figure 4 - Moderating Effect of Subjective Off-Job Involvement on the Relationship
Between Congruence and Desired Aspirations
208
5
4
Desired Aspirations
3
2
1
Low Mean High
Global Congruence
Limit ed Subject ive Involvement in Communit y Act ivit ies Ext ensive Subject ive Involvement in Communit y Act ivit ies
Figure 5 - Moderating Effect of Subjective Involvement Community Activities on the Relationship
Between Congruence and Desired Aspirations
209
5
4
Enacted Aspirations
3
2
1
Low Mean High
Desired Aspirations
Limited Advancement Prospects Different Organization
Extensive Advancement Prospects Different Organization
Figure 6 - Moderating Effect of Advancement Prospects in a Different Organization
On the Relationship between Desired Aspirations and Enacted Aspirations
210
Subjective Advancement Prospects
Objective
Advancement
Prospects
-.10+ .10*
.21**
-.18** Desired .33*** Enacted
Gender Congruence .69*** Aspirations Aspirations
.17*** -.10*
.09+
Career Support
.16** Work Domain
Career Support
Non-Work
Domain
1
Figure 7 - Mediated Model of the Relationships between Gender and Senior Management Aspirations
________________________________________________________________________
1
Fit: __ = 226.56, df = 27, p < .001; GFI = .87; AGFI = .74; RMSEA = .16. Parameter estimates are from the standardized solution and are significant at ***p <
.001, **p < .01, *p < .05, +p < .10. Hypothesized paths that were not significant were eliminated from the model.
211
Rating Scale:
1=Not at all
2=To a slight extent
3=To a moderate extent
4=To a great extent
5=To a very great extent
A senior manager is an individual who is responsible for setting the long run priorities for
an organization, for deciding how to allocate resources effectively to achieve long-run
goals, and for the efficient use of the human, financial, and material resources employed
in that business, including some profit responsibility A senior manager is generally
accountable to either a CEO or board of directors, and has authority over a very diverse
set of subordinates. Senior managers may have titles such as vice president, president,
general manager, managing director, chief operating officer, chief executive officer or
chairman of the board.
Please indicate how well each statement describes a position in senior management by
circling one number to the right of each statement which corresponds most closely to
your desired response.
Senior managers…
1. have knowledge of the various 1 2 3 4 5
parts of an organization and how
they fit together.
2. work with and understand the 1 2 3 4 5
perspectives of individuals from
other ethnic and/or corporate
cultures.
3. persevere in the face of obstacles 1 2 3 4 5
or criticism when they believe in
what they are doing.
4. equate status and prestige with 1 2 3 4 5
rank and job title.
5. measure their achievements 1 2 3 4 5
through the attainment of results
critical to an organization’s
success.
6. identify the most important part 1 2 3 4 5
212
Rating Scale:
1=Not at all
2=To a slight extent
3=To a moderate extent
4=To a great extent
5=To a very great extent
Please indicate how well each statement describes you personally by circling one number
to the right of each statement which corresponds most closely to your desired response.
I…
1. have knowledge of the various 1 2 3 4 5
parts of an organization and how
they fit together.
2. am able to work with and 1 2 3 4 5
understand the perspectives of
individuals from other ethnic
and/or corporate cultures.
3. am able to persevere in the face 1 2 3 4 5
of obstacles or criticism when I
believe in what I am doing.
4. equate status and prestige with 1 2 3 4 5
rank and job title.
5. measure my achievements 1 2 3 4 5
through the attainment of results
critical to an organization’s
success.
6. am able to identify the most 1 2 3 4 5
important part of a complex
problem or issue.
7. am able to pull people together 1 2 3 4 5
around a common goal.
8. will try new things, even when 1 2 3 4 5
there is some risk involved.
9. measure career success by the 1 2 3 4 5
amount of income I earn.
10. value working on highly visible 1 2 3 4 5
and challenging projects.
11. am able to make decisions that 1 2 3 4 5
have far reaching implications for
an organization.
12. am able to communicate openly 1 2 3 4 5
and candidly with others.
214
Rating Scale:
1 = Strongly disagree
2 = Disagree
3 = Neither agree nor disagree
4 = Agree
5 = Strongly agree
Please indicate the extent to which you AGREE OR DISAGREE with each of the
following statements by circling one number to the right of each statement which
corresponds most closely to your desired response.
Please list the number of hours per week on average you spend in each of the following
activities:
________________________________________________________________________
1
While number of hours worked per week is traditionally collected in the demographic/personal
information section of a survey, it was collected here for continuity and space saving purposes.
217
Please indicate how IMPORTANT each of these activities is in your life by circling one
number to the right of each statement that corresponds most closely to your desired
response.
Rating Scale:
1 = Unimportant
2 = Of little importance
3 = Moderately important
4 = Important
5 = Very important
N/A = Not applicable
Please indicate the number of years you have been in your current position. _______
(Determined by 2s the average length of job tenure.)
Please indicate the extent to which you AGREE OR DISAGREE with each of the
following statements by circling one number to the right of each statement which
corresponds most closely to your desired response.
Rating Scale:
1 = Strongly disagree
2 = Disagree
3 = Neither agree nor disagree
4 = Agree
5 = Strongly agree
In my present organization…
1. My opportunities to move into a 1 2 3 4 5
senior management position are
limited (reversed).
In a different organization…
4. My opportunities to move into a 1 2 3 4 5
senior management position are
limited (reversed).
Please indicate the extent to which you AGREE OR DISAGREE with each of the
following statements about your manager by circling one number to the right of each
statement which corresponds most closely to your desired response.
Rating Scale:
1 = Strongly disagree
2 = Disagree
3 = Neither agree nor disagree
4 = Agree
5 = Strongly agree
My manager…
1. takes the time to learn about my 1 2 3 4 5
career goals and aspirations.
Please indicate the extent to which you AGREE OR DISAGREE with each of the
following statements about your significant other by circling one number to the right of
each statement which corresponds most closely to your desired response. A significant
other is anyone who is particularly important in your life such as a spouse or partner, a
parent, sibling, child or other family member, or a friend.
Rating Scale:
1 = Strongly disagree
2 = Disagree
3 = Neither agree nor disagree
4 = Agree
5 = Strongly agree
My significant other…
1. takes the time to learn about my 1 2 3 4 5
career goals and aspirations.
Desired Aspirations
Adapted from Tharenou and Terry (1998)
Please indicate the extent to which you AGREE OR DISAGREE with each of the
following statements by circling one number to the right of each statement which
corresponds most closely to your desired response.
Rating Scale:
1 = Strongly disagree
2 = Disagree
3 = Neither agree nor disagree
4 = Agree
5 = Strongly agree
5. A promotion to a senior 1 2 3 4 5
management position means more
worries and should be avoided for
that reason. (reversed)
Enacted Aspirations
Adapted from Tharenou and Terry (1998),
Gould and Penley (1984)
Konrad, Waryszak, and Hartmann (1997)
Wentling (1996)
Please indicate how often you have engaged in the behaviors listed below in the past 12
months by circling one number to the right of each statement which corresponds most
closely to your desired response.
Rating Scale:
1 = Never
2 = Occasionally
3 = Sometimes
4 = Often
5 = Frequently
Please indicate how IMPORTANT each of the following aspects of a job is to you by
circling one number to the right of each statement that corresponds most closely to your
desired response.
Career Satisfaction
Adapted from
Greenhaus, Parasuraman, and Wormley (1990)
Please indicate the extent to which you AGREE OR DISAGREE with each of the
following statements by circling one number to the right of each statement which
corresponds most closely to your desired response.
Rating Scale:
1 = Strongly disagree
2 = Disagree
3 = Neither agree nor disagree
4 = Agree
5 = Strongly agree
I am satisfied…
1. with the success I have achieved in my 1 2 3 4 5
career.
Willingness to Relocate
Adapted from Tharenou and Terry (1998)
Please indicate the extent to which you AGREE or DISAGREE with the following
statements by circling one number to the right that most closely represents your desired
response.
Rating Scale:
1 = Strongly disagree
2 = Disagree
3 = Neither agree nor disagree
4 = Agree
5 = Strongly agree
I am willing….
1. to relocate my residence to 1 2 3 4 5
advance to a higher level
position.
2. to change organizations to 1 2 3 4 5
advance to a higher level
position.
227
Job Involvement
Adapted from Lodahl and Kejner (1965)
Please indicate the extent to which you AGREE or DISAGREE with the following
statements by circling one number to the right that most closely represents your desired
response.
Rating Scale:
1 = Strongly disagree
2 = Disagree
3 = Neither agree nor disagree
4 = Agree
5 = Strongly agree
1. High School
2. Some college
3. Associates/Technical
4. Bachelors degree
5. Masters degree
6. Professional degree (Law, M.D.)
7. Ph.D.
10. How long have you been with your current employer? ______ (Years)
229
11. How long have you been in your current position? _____ (Years)
13. What functional area do you work in? (Accounting, Finance, human Resources,
Information Systems, Legal, Marketing, Research and Development, Sales,
Other)
19. To the best of your knowledge, what percentage of the middle managers of your
company are women? _____ %
________________________________________________________________________
1
Inadvertently left this item out of the survey.
230
20. To the best of your knowledge, what percentage of the middle managers of your
company are ethnic minorities? _____ %
21. To the best of your knowledge, what percentage of the senior managers of your
company are women? _____ %
22. To the best of your knowledge, what percentage of the senior managers of your
company are ethnic minorities? _____ %
________________________________________________________________________
1
Human Resources
••
Dummy Variables: X2=Schema * Schema, XY=Schema * Self-Assessment,
Y2=Self-Assessment * Self Assessment
2
Off-Job Involvement
232
Table B1 (continued)
4 (Constant) .389 .698
Age -.198 -3.519 .001
Marital Status .044 .775 .439
Education .120 2.186 .030
Functional Area HR .051 .927 .355
Functional Area Legal .011 .192 .848
Schema .010 .152 .879
Self-Assessment .438 7.233 .000
X2 -.079 -1.320 .188
XY .016 .233 .816
Y2 .036 .549 .584
Objective OJI .005 .081 .935
Subjective OJI -.041 -.672 .502
Schema * Objective OJI -.039 -.640 .523
Self-Assessment * Objective OJI -.015 -.239 .811
Schema * Subjective OJI .022 .354 .724
Self-Assessment * Subjective OJI .067 1.137 .256
R2=.268*** ∆R2=.005 n.s.
***p < .001, **p < .01, *p < .05, +p < .10
233
Test of Hypotheses
Source SS df MS F P2
Hypothesis 66.668 4 16.667 20.434 0.000
Error 283.843 348 .816 0.000 0.000
________________________________________________________________________
1
Quadratic regression equation tested: Z=b0 + b1X + b2Y + b3X2 + b4XY + b5Y2 + e; Four constraints
tested as a set: B3 = B5, B4 + -2B3, B1 = 0, B2 = 0. For a detailed explanation of the use of quadratic
regression equations as a substitute for difference scores, the reader is referred to Edwards, J.R. and
Rothbard, N.P. (1999). Work and family stress and well-being: An examination of person-environment fit
in the work and family domains, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 77 (2), 85-129.
2
Significant p-value indicates that there are differences between the means of the standardized beta
coefficients, thus the null hypothesis is not rejected. Therefore the constraints have not been met and the
variation in the desired aspirations is accounted for primarily by the self-assessment variable.
234
Table B2 (continued)
Test of Hypotheses
Source SS df MS F P
Hypothesis 67.129 4 16.782 20.502 0.000
Error 284.861 348 .819 0.000 0.000
235
________________________________________________________________________
1
Human Resources
••
Dummy Variables: X2=Schema * Schema, XY=Schema * Self-Assessment,
Y2=Self-Assessment * Self Assessment
236
Table B3 (continued)
4 (Constant) -.788 .431
Age -.195 -3.873 .000
Education .100 1.985 .048
Marital Status .011 .208 .835
Functional Area HR .097 1.894 .059
Functional Area Legal .003 .064 .949
Schema .051 .921 .358
Self-Assessment .417 7.901 .000
X2 -.004 -.076 .939
XY -.002 -.033 .973
Y2 .063 1.151 .251
Gender -.202 -3.775 .000
Schema * Gender -.018 -.335 .738
Self-Assessment * Gender .026 .483 .630
R2=.300*** ∆R2=.001 n.s.
5 (Constant) -.820 .413
Age -.186 -3.660 .000
Education .097 1.909 .057
Marital Status .017 .323 .747
Functional Area HR .104 2.007 .046
Functional Area Legal .002 .042 .967
Schema .057 1.021 .308
Self-Assessment .421 7.950 .000
X2 .000 -.001 .999
XY -.010 -.180 .857
Y2 .066 1.194 .234
Gender -.210 -3.885 .000
Schema * Gender -.026 -.481 .631
Self-Assessment * Gender .024 .450 .653
Objective Off-Job Involvement -.016 -.293 .770
Subjective Off-Job Involvement -.056 -1.016 .311
R2=.304*** 2
∆R =.004 n.s.
***p<.001, **p<.01, *p<.05, +p<.10
237
Career Attitude
Survey
Thank you for coming to this website! We appreciate your interest in participating
in this study. The study seeks to explore and understand a number of career-related issues
that are relevant to individuals in middle management positions. A middle manager is defined
in this research as an individual who reports directly to a senior level manager and who
oversees the people and/or processes within a specific functional area.
If you are a middle manager, you are eligible to participate in this research. You will be asked
a variety of questions designed to assess your attitudes towards yourself and your career.
The survey consists of six sections and will take about 30 minutes of your time. Please
complete the survey in one sitting, as it is not possible to save partial responses for
completion at a later time. We have made it as easy as possible for you to answer ALL of the
questions by clicking on the appropriate option. If you have any questions about this
research, please feel free to contact us at the email addresses or telephone numbers shown
below.
Career Attitude
Survey
A. Perceptions of Senior Management Positions
In this section, we are interested in understanding your perceptions of the requirements and
rewards associated with a position in senior management. Please use the following definition of
senior manager when answering the questions below.
A senior manager is generally responsible for setting the long-run priorities for an
organization, for deciding how to allocate resources effectively to achieve long-run goals,
and for the efficient use of the human, financial, and material resources employed in that
business, including some profit responsibility. A senior manager is generally accountable
to either a President/CEO or board of directors, and has authority over a very diverse set
of subordinates. Senior managers may have titles such as vice president, executive vice
president, assistant vice president, president, general manager, managing director, chief
operating officer, chief executive officer or chairman of the board.
Please indicate how well each statement describes senior managers by selecting one
category that most closely corresponds to your desired response. If you are unsure about
a particular question, please give us your best estimate.
To a
To a To a To a
Not at very
Senior managers... all
slight moderate great
great
extent extent extent
extent
Have knowledge of the various parts of an
organization and how they fit together.
Work with and understand the perspectives
of individuals from other ethnic and/or
corporate cultures.
Persevere in the face of obstacles or
criticism, when they believe in what they are
doing.
Identify the most important part of a complex
problem or issue.
To a
To a To a To a
Not at very
Senior managers... all
slight moderate great
great
extent extent extent
extent
Problem-solve under conditions of
uncertainty.
Clearly demonstrate commitment in ensuring
an organization's success.
In this section, we are interested in learning about various career-related experiences including
your perceived advancement opportunities, the type of career support you receive from your
manager, and some general feelings about your career and your job.
Part 1. Please indicate the extent to which you AGREE or DISAGREE with each of the
following statements by selecting one category that most closely corresponds to your
desired response.
Neither
Strongly Disa Strongly
In my present organization... disagree gree
agree nor Agree
agree
disagree
My opportunities to move into a senior
management position are limited.
I expect to obtain a senior management
position.
I am likely to obtain a senior management
position.
Neither
Strongly Disa Strongly
In a different organization... disagree gree
agree nor Agree
agree
disagree
My opportunities to move into a senior
management position are limited.
I expect to obtain a senior management
position.
I am likely to obtain a senior management
position.
Neither
Strongly Disa Strongly
My manager... disagree gree
agree nor Agree
agree
disagree
Takes the time to learn about my career
goals and aspirations.
Would like to see me achieve my career
goals.
Keeps me informed about different career
opportunities for me in the organization.
Makes sure I get the credit when I
accomplish something substantial on the job.
Gives me helpful feedback about my job
performance.
Gives me helpful advice on improving my
performance when I need it.
Supports my attempts to acquire additional
training or education to further my career.
241
Part 2. Please indicate the extent to which you AGREE or DISAGREE with each of the
following statements by selecting one category that most closely corresponds to your
desired response.
Neither
Strongly Disa Strongly
agree nor Agree
disagree gree agree
disagree
I am willing to relocate my residence to
advance to a higher-level position.
I am willing to change organizations to
advance to a higher-level position.
A major source of satisfaction in my life is my
job.
Most of the important things that happen to
me involve my job.
I am very much involved personally in my
job.
I talk up my organization to my friends as a
great organization to work for.
I am proud to tell others I am part of the
organization.
Part 3. Please indicate how IMPORTANT each of the following aspects of a career is to you
by selecting one category that most closely corresponds to your desired response.
Very
Unimport Of little Moderately
Important import
ant importance important
ant
Being in a leadership or
supervisory role
Being able to balance work and
personal/family life
In this section, we are interested in learning about your perceptions of your talents, skills and
abilities, as well as what motivates you and the types of rewards you value.
Part 1. Please indicate how well each statement describes you personally by selecting
ONE category that most closely corresponds to your desired response.
To a
To a To a To a
Not at very
I have the ability to... all
slight moderate great
great
extent extent extent
extent
Learn about the various parts of an
organization and how they fit together.
Work with and understand the perspectives
of individuals from other ethnic and/or
corporate cultures.
Persevere in the face of obstacles or
criticism when I believe in what I am doing.
Identify the most important part of a complex
problem or issue.
To a
To a To a To a
Not at very
I ... all
slight moderate great
great
extent extent extent
extent
Equate status and prestige with rank and job
title.
Measure my achievements through the
attainment of results critical to an
organization's success.
Measure career success by the amount of
income I earn.
Value working on highly visible and
challenging projects.
Value being rewarded with bonuses, such as
stock options, for meeting organizational
targets.
Part 2. Please indicate the extent to which you AGREE or DISAGREE with each of the
following statements by selecting one category that most closely corresponds to your
desired response.
Neither Strong
Strongly Dis
agree nor Agree ly
disagree agree
disagree agree
A position in senior management would be a
good fit for me.
The requirements of a position in senior
management match my talents and skills.
I would enjoy doing the things that senior
managers do.
I would fit in well with other senior managers
in an organization.
My personality fits in well with the
requirements of a senior management
position.
I have what it takes to be an effective senior
manager.
245
Part 3. Please indicate how well the following item DESCRIBES YOU PERSONALLY by
selecting one category that most closely corresponds to your desired response.
If you have a managerial career orientation, your primary concern is to integrate the efforts
of others, to be fully accountable for total results, and to tie together different functions in an
organization. Managerial jobs require not only analytic skills, but also interpersonal and
group skills and the emotional resilience to handle power and responsibility. You feel you
have this combination of characteristics and skills and you enjoy exercising them. If you are
in a technical or functional area, you are anxious to move into a generalist position. You will
not be satisfied that you have achieved your career goals until you have achieved a position
in which you are managing multiple business functions, such as finance, marketing,
production, engineering, and sales.
Household maintenance
(e.g., yard work, repairs)
Community activities
Religious activities
Answer the following questions with regard to your significant other. A significant other is
anyone who is particularly important in your life such as a spouse or partner, a parent,
sibling, child or other family member, or a friend.
Part 3. Please indicate the extent to which you AGREE or DISAGREE with each of the
following statements by selecting one category that most closely corresponds to your
desired response.
Neither
Strongly Disagre agree Strongl
My significant other... disagree e nor
Agree
y agree
disagree
Takes the time to learn about my career
goals and aspirations.
Would like to see me achieve my career
goals.
Does not seem very interested in hearing
about my work day.
Doesn't really care what job I have as long
as I am making money.
247
Part 4. Please indicate the extent to which you AGREE or DISAGREE with each of the
following statements by selecting one category that most closely corresponds to your
desired response.
Neither
Strongly Dis Strongly
agree nor Agree
disagree agree agree
disagree
The demands of my work interfere with my
home or family life.
The amount of time my job takes up makes it
difficult to fulfill home or family
responsibilities.
Things I want to do at home do not get done
because of the demands my job puts on me.
My job produces strain that makes it difficult
to fulfill home or family duties.
Due to work-related duties, I have to make
changes to my plans for home or family
activities.
The demands of my home or family interfere
with work-related activities.
I have to put off doing things at work
because of demands on my time at home.
Neither
Strongly Dis Strongly
agree nor Agree
disagree agree agree
disagree
Things I want to do at work don't get done
because of the demands of my home or
family.
My home life interferes with my
responsibilities at work such as getting to
work on time, accomplishing daily tasks, and
working overtime.
Home or family-related strain interferes with
my ability to perform job-related duties.
248
In this section we are interested in understanding your career aspirations and career planning
activities.
Part 1. Please indicate the extent to which you AGREE or DISAGREE with each of the
following statements by selecting one category which most closely corresponds to your
desired response.
Neither
Strongly Dis agree Strongly
Agree
disagree agree nor agree
disagree
I have no desire to advance to a position in
senior management.
It would not bother me if my responsibilities
and job duties remained the same in the
future.
I do not wish to advance to a position of
more responsibility.
I would like to advance to a position where I
can have a greater influence on policy
decisions.
A promotion to a senior management
position means more worries and should be
avoided for that reason.
I would like to be in a position in which I
could develop, manage, and coordinate the
policies and activities of a substantially large
part of the organization.
Part 2. Please indicate how OFTEN you have engaged in the behaviors listed below in the
past 12 months by selecting one category that most closely corresponds to your desired
response.
Frequentl
In the past twelve months... Never Occasionally Sometimes Often
y
I have sought opportunities to work with
individuals from other cultures.
I have sought opportunities to gain
knowledge of a variety of functional areas
in my organization.
I have expressed my opinions when I
know that they are aligned with an
individual in a key senior position.
I have sought out assignments that
enable me to strengthen my leadership
skills.
249
F. Background Information
Please help us understand you better by telling us a few things about your background and work
experiences. This information will be used for research purposes only. Please remember that
your responses are completely anonymous.
What is your
gender? Male Female
Masters
Professional Degree (Law, M.D.) Ph.D.
Degree
How long
have you been Years
with your
current
organization?
How long
have you been Years
in your current
position?
How long
before you Years
expect to
retire?
What
functional area
do you work
in?
What type of
industry do
you work in?
251
To the best of your knowledge, what percentage of the middle managers in your
organization are women? %
To the best of your knowledge, what percentage of the middle managers in your
organization are ethnic minorities? %
To the best of your knowledge, what percentage of the senior managers in your
organization are women? %
To the best of your knowledge, what percentage of the senior managers in your
organization are ethnic minorities? %
$24,999 - or $75,000 -
$25,000 - $49,999 $50,000 - $74,999
less $99,999
$24,999 - or $75,000 -
$25,000 - $49,999 $50,000 - $74,999
less $99,999
252
$100,000 - $125,000 -
150,000 + NA
$124,999 $149,999
Thank you so much for taking the time to complete this survey.
If you would like to participate in a drawing to win one of four $50 gift cards from Barnes & Noble
Book Store,
please enter your email address in the space provided below.
The email address will be used for entry into the drawing and not for any other purpose.
To protect the identity of the respondent, email address will be separated from responses, upon submission of this form.
Please click on "Submit Survey" now to send your responses to us. Please only click on
"Submit Survey" ONE time.
Submit Survey
Vita
Education
Ph.D. Business Administration, June 2002
Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Organizational Science and Psychology
Senior Management Aspirations of Managers and Professionals
Academic Experience
1999-Present, Assistant Professor, Penn State Great Valley, Malvern, PA 19355
1995-1999, Teaching Assistant, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104
1991-1995, Senior Lecturer, Towson State University, Towson, MD 21204
1992-1994, Instructor, University of Maryland, University College, College Park, MD 20783
1995, Instructor, Certificate Program in Human Resource Management, University of Maryland, Baltimore
County, Baltimore, MD 21250
Conference Proceedings
• Litzky, B.E. and DeCarolis, D.M. (2000). “Corporate Social Performance (CSP), Person-Organization
Fit, Organizational Commitment and Firm Performance: Exploring Relationships”, Proceedings of
International Association for Business and Society, 11th Annual Conference, Essex Junction, Vermont,
March, 2000.
• Smith, W.P. and Litzky, B.E. (1993). “One Hour Short and More Than a Dollar Behind: The Special
Case of Involuntary Part-Time Employees”, Proceedings of Southeast TIMS Annual Conference,
Myrtle Beach, SC, April 1993, 358-360.
Conference Presentations
• Litzky, B.E., Becker, R. S. and Parasuraman, S. (1998). “Beliefs about Dual-Career Relationships:
Towards the Development of a Construct.” Paper presented at The Academy of Management Annual
Meeting, San Diego, CA, August, 1998. *Presenter
• Eddleston, K.A., Litzky, B.E. and Kidder, D.L. “When Bartenders Serve up More Than Just Drinks: A
Qualitative Look at the Conflict between Customer and Management Expectations.” Paper presented
at The Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Washington, D.C., August 2001. *Co-
presenter.