Senior management aspirations of managers and professionals: a career decision-making perspective

A number of demographic, technological, and economic shifts have redefined the composition of todayâs workforce and the concept of a career. Corporate downsizing and the delayering of management have affected the career advancement prospects available to individuals pursuing a managerial career path. The traditional means of rewarding employees through promotion appears to be an infrequent option in the current business environment. Subsequently, the level of competition among those individuals aspiring to higher levels in organizations is expected to increase. Because the responsibilities associated with positions in senior management are vast, and competition for entry into those positions is arduous, an important question arises: what factors influence an individualsâ aspirations to advance to senior level management? This dissertation examined the determinants of managersâ and professionalsâ aspirations to achieve senior management positions within the context of a career decision. Findings suggest that individuals whose career self-concepts âmatchâ their perception of the roles, responsibilities, and rewards of positions in senior management aspire to senior management positions. Furthermore, advancement prospects, personal life involvements, and gender play significant roles in aspirations to pursue a career in senior management. An examination of the precursors of senior management aspirations within the context of career decision-making contributes to theory development in a 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. Furthermore, much of the prior research in the area of aspirations has neglected to distinguish between attitudes and behaviors regarding aspirations. Having employed a conceptually rich 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 individualâs aspirations to senior management. Prior studies have tended to look at either work or non-work factors, very few have included factors from both domains for investigation.Ph.D., Organizational Sciences -- Drexel University, 200