| A Longitudinal Study of Self-Employment Success During the Early Career Stage |
| | Naughton, Thomas J. | Wayne State U. | aa0948@wayne.edu | 313-577-4365 |
| | In comparison to research on the early career stage of wage and salary employees, there is a paucity of research on self-employed people in this important age bracket. This is a time when commitments are typically made to marriage, family, and occupational choice.
Thus, those who venture into self-employment may face a number of dilemmas that could affect their success.
A model was developed to test various predictions concerning self-employment earnings and satisfaction for the early career individual. Key predictors of self-employment success included occupational attainment, education, time commitment to self-employment, personal
motivation, and demographic factors such as gender, marriage, and presence of children. Indirect linkages among the variables, such as the relationship between gender and time commitment, were also specified in the model.
The model was tested using archival data collected over a six year time period from 1,205 self-employed individuals who averaged 32 years of age at the time of final data collection. Support for the model was obtained, especially the role of education, intrinsic motivation,
and occupation in predicting satisfaction with the work role. Education and gender were found to be important predictors of financial success, with extrinsic motivation and time commitment serving as mediators of the relationship between gender and earnings. Suggestions
are offered for extending the model and utilizing a longitudinal approach to examine factors related to self-employment career success. |
| | Keywords: Self-employment; Careers; Longitudinal Research |
| Career Management in Changing Times: Role of Self- knowledge, Interpersonal knowledge and Environmental knowledge |
| | Anakwe, Uzoamaka P. | Pace U. | uanakwe@fsmail.pace.edu | (914) 773-3901 |
| | Hall, James C. | Pace U. | JCHall@worldnet.att.net | (212) - 346-1804 |
| | Schor, Susan M. | Pace U. | sschor@pace.edu | (914) - 683 - 0120 |
| | This study addresses the recent changes in the career development climate in the U. S. in which individuals have ultimate responsibility for managing their own careers. The ability to manage successfully one's career depends on learning about one's own values, attitudes and skills, setting career goals, developing a strategy to reach those goals, and making good decisions at critical career choice points along the way.
We examined empirically the relationship between a relevant set of skills relating to self- knowledge, interpersonal knowledge, environmental knowledge and effective career management. Data were gathered from 446 students and graduates who had completed a 28 week, two-semester managerial skills course within the past 5 years.
The correlation and regression results provide strong support for the hypothesized relationships. The findings reveal that reported acquisition and utilization of skills relating to self- knowledge, interpersonal knowledge, and environmental knowledge are associated with personal learning, goal setting, career strategies, and career decision making. Implications and direction for future studies are discussed. |
| | Keywords: Career management; Skills; knowledge |
| Understanding the Meaning, Development and Career Outcomes of Breadth of Vocational Interests: A Proposed Framework and Longitudinal Investigation |
| | Johnson, C. Douglas | U. of Georgia | dougjohn@arches.uga.edu | (706)613-6188 |
| | Stokes, Garnett S. | U. of Georgia | gstokes@arches.uga.edu | (706)542-2174 |
| | Relatively little research has been conducted on the meaning and development of breadth of vocational interests (BVI), nor its associated career outcomes. BVI is defined as a characteristic of an individual describing the range of diverse interests related to occupations or the world or work. The current study attempts to fill this gap by proposing a conceptual framework and conducting a longitudinal investigation. The proposed framework includes four individual difference domains (i.e., academic achievement, gender, personality, and life experiences) to predict BVI, and three possible outcomes (i.e., career commitment, job involvement, and stability of occupational classification). Multiple regression and correlation analyses were used in this study to test the seven hypotheses. Support for three of the hypotheses was found when the combined sample of 354 men and women was used, but only one hypothesis supported for women when separate analyses were conducted. The results suggest the model may be inadequate to explain how BVI develops by gender, as well as its associated outcomes; however, further research seems warranted. It appears that life experiences are more instrumental in the development of the women's BVI, while academic achievement is more important for men. These findings have practical implications for practitioners (e.g., counselors), career clients, and researchers alike. Counselors should take a different approach in working with clients with high BVI, encouraging them to take other factors (e.g., abilities, labor market conditions) into consideration when making career decisions. Suggestions for future research are provided. |
| | Keywords: Vocational Interests; Career Development |
| Professional employee retention in hi-tech industries: Unfolding decision paths in a free agency labor market |
| | Malos, Stanley B. | San Jose State U. | malos_s@cob.sjsu.edu | 408-924-1342 |
| | Turnover among high-technology professional employees is among the most frequently discussed problems in contemporary "free agent" labor markets such as California's Silicon Valley. Yet, existing career mobility models fail to explain the job choice decisions of such employees, for whom participation in cutting-edge projects may hold more appeal than long-term employement, and for whom the signaling effects of remaining with the same employer for more than a year or two may actually be negative.
In this paper, I propose a conceptual framework for analyzing professional employee retention in hi-tech industries. Building upon Lee and Mitchell's unfolding model of voluntary employee turnover, I examine the extent to which differing career decision paths and different kinds of shocks to the system would be expected to interact with individual and organizational factors to predict retention at critical junctures in evolving labor markets. I conclude with a discussion of practical implications, generalizability, and directions for future research.
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| | Keywords: retention; mobility; turnover |
| When Medical Managers' Needs Encounter the Needs of Reduced-Hour Physicians: Two Organizational Subcultures Confront Change |
| | Hartwell, Jennifer K. | Boston College | hartwelj@bc.edu | (617)-552-0169 |
| | Barnett, Rosalind C. | Brandeis U. | rozbarnett@mediaone.net | (781)-736-2287 |
| | Borgatti, Stephen P. | Boston College | borgatts@bc.edu | (508) 647-9265 |
| | Lundgren, Lena | Boston U. | llundgre@bu.edu | (617)-353-3750 |
| | In the health-care industry today, two cultures — the medical managers' and the physicians' — are currently engaged in an effort to create alternative career paths. Lacking formal arrangements, these two groups are undertaking unplanned journeys toward accommodation. In this paper, we examine medical managers' beliefs about the impact reduced-hour career paths for physicians have on organizational effectiveness. This exploratory inductive study of 17 medical managers at 9 medical organizations in the Boston area is part of a larger study examining the expected and unexpected consequences of reduced-hour career paths for physicians, their spouses, and their employing organizations.
Our findings suggest that managers believe the benefits of reduced-hour physicians (RHPs) far outweigh the disadvantages. However, many of their reasons appear to be exploitative of RHPs. In particular, managers believe RHPs result in increased managerial control and that RHPs should 1) work more than they are compensated for; 2) do a disproportionate share of the undesirable work; and 3) remain extra flexible and available to the organization. An interpretation of the findings based on psychological contract theory is offered, and may help to illuminate other results reported in the literature including some controversial findings that reduced-hour workers tend to have poor health outcomes. |
| | Keywords: reduced-hour career; psychological contract; medical |