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The Career Business Executive As A Definitive Occupational Type

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The Career Business Executive As A Definitive Occupational Type

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Content C o p y r ig h t by H A R O L D G E N E H UBBARD I960 THE CAREER BUSINESS EXECUTIVE AS A DEFINITIVE OCCUPATIONAL TYPE by Harold Gene Hubbard A D issertation Presented to the FACULTY OF TH E GRADUATE SCH O O L UNIVERSITY O F SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In P artial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree D O C TO R O F PHILOSOPHY (Soc iology) June 1960 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY PARK LOS ANGELES 7, CALIFORNIA This dissertation, 'written by .......................HAr.QLd.jQsxLfi.HiAhhar.d.......................... under the direction of his.....Dissertation Com mittee, and approved by all its members, has been presented to and accepted by the Graduate School, hi partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of D O C T O R O F P H I L O S O P H Y ........... Date....................J.unej... 1.9.6. Q ........ DISSERT ATI lu'P , (COMMITTEE /) TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST O F FIGURES..................................................................................... LIST O F TABLES..................................................................................... Chapter I. THE PROBLEM............................................................................ Introduction Statement of the Problem D efin itio n s The T heoretical Model Hypotheses S ignificance of the Study Organization of the Study II. REVIEW O F THE LITERATURE .............................................. Introduction Empirical Research Studies Summary I I I . M ETH O DO LO G Y ................................................................................ Introduction The Universe Studied The Interview Schedule Rationale of the Method and S t a t i s t i c a l Analysis Electronic Data Processing IV. THE RESULTS ................................................................................ Introduction A Brief Over-View of the Universe Studied The Hypotheses Summary and Im plications for the T heoretical Model V. SU M M A R Y AND CONCLUSIONS.................................................... Summary of the Investigation Summary of the Major Findings Conelusions Suggestions for Future Research Page iv v 1 11 37 72 155 i i i i i BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................................... 166 APPENDIXES.............................................................................................. 171 A—Letter In viting P articip a tio n in the Study B— Subcultural C h a ra cteristics of Indus t r i a l Executives LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. The Determinant-Indeterminant Continuum . . . . 7 2. Behavioral Continua P a ra llelin g the Determin ate-Indeterminate Continuum . ............................ 152 LIST OF TABLES T able 1. Companies Having Various Numbers of Employees with Annual Volume between $25 and $50 M illion in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area 2. Type and Number of Manufacturing Companies Hav ing Annual Volume between $25 and $50 M illion in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area 3. "Yes" and "No" Responses to Questions Concern ing W hy Business Executives L eft Previous Jobs, W hy They Would Leave Present Job, and W hy They Would Seek New Employment ................... 4. D ifferences Concerning Reasons W hy Business Executives Left Previous Jobs, W hy They Would Leave Present Job, and W hy They Would Look for New Employment: "Desire for Greater Income" Vs. "Desire for Career Development" . 5. D ifferences between Subgroups as to W hy Busi ness Executives Left Previous Jobs, W hy They Would Leave Present Job, and W hy They Would seek New Employment: "Desire for Greater Income" ................................................................ 6. "Yes" and "No" Responses to Questions Concern ing W hy Business Executives Left Previous Jobs, Why They Would Leave Present Job, and W hy They Would Seek New Employment ................... 7. D ifferences Concerning Reasons W hy Business Executives Left Previous Jobs, W hy They Would Leave Present Job, and W hy They Would Look for New Employment: "Opportunity for Advancement" Vs. "Desire for Career Develop ment" ........................................................................................ 8. D ifferences between Subgroups as to W hy Busi ness Executives Left Previous Jobs, W hy They Would Leave Present Job, and W hy They Would Seek New Employment: "Opportunity for Ad vancement" ........................................................ Page 39 40 77 78 80 82 83 85 v v i T able Page 9. Pearsonian C o efficien ts of Correlation among Requirements for the Ideal Career ....................... 88 10. Rankings of Requirements for the Ideal Career by Total Group and by Subgroups I, II and III 90 11. Requirements for the Ideal Career for Which There Were S ig n ifica n t D ifferences between Subgroups I* II, or I I I .....................................„ . 92 12. Extent of Career S a tisfa ctio n Expressed by the Total Group and by Subgroups I, II, and III . 95 13. Extent of Career S a tisfa ctio n in Terms of Re-Entry into Business Career and Recomrrien- dation of Career in Business to Son for Total Group and for Subgroups............................... 96 14. Differences between "Favorable" and "Unfavor able" A ttitudes Expressed toward Business Executive C a r e e r .................................................... . 97 15. D ifferences between Subgroups and the Extent of S a tisfa ctio n with the Career of Business E x e c u t iv e ................................................................. 99 16. A c t iv itie s Rated Most Important in Life that Give S a t i s f a c t i o n ................................................... 101 17. Careers Ranked Highest in the Occupational H ie ra r ch y ..................................................................... 102 18. Number of Executives Ranking Nine Careers, Including Their Own, in F irst Position . . . 104 19. Number of Executives Ranking Nine Careers, Including Their Own, in F irst P osition as They Feel the General Public Would Rate Them 105 20. Spearman Rho C o efficien ts Showing Extent of S im ilarity between Executives' Ranking and Executives' Perception of the P ublic's Ranking of Nine C a r e e r s ............................................... 106 21. Differences between Subgroup F irst Position Rankings of Nine Careers Which Were S ta tis t i c a l l y S i g n i f i c a n t .............................................. 108 v i i Table Page 22. Business E xecutives1 Age of Decision to Enter Business as a Career . . ♦ . ................................. 110 23. D ifferences in Business Executives' Age of Decision to Enter Business as a Career . . . 112 24. Ages at Which Careers Other Than Business Were Seriously Considered ................................................... 113 25. Other Careers Seriously Considered as First Choices by Business Executives P rio r to the Decision to Enter Business . ................................. 115 26. Career with Which Business Executives Entered the Labor Force Other Than Business ................... 116 27. Business Executives' Age of Decision to Enter the Career in Which They I n it ia lly Entered the Labor Force Other Than Business ................... 118 28. Acknowledged Source of Influence in the Decision to E nter Business Rated "Most Important" . . 119 29. Acknowledged Sources of Insight and Knowledge about a Career in Business Rated "Most I m p o r ta n t" .......................................................................... 121 30. Differences in Age of Decision to Enter Busi ness between Subgroups I, II, and III . . . . 122 31. Sources of Influence and Sources of Knowledge Regarding a Career in Business for Which There Were S ig n ifica n t D ifferences between Subgroups I, II, or I I I .................................... 124 32. Occupational Origins of Executives in the Total Group and in Subgroups I, II, and III . . . . 128 33. D ifferences between the Number of Executives Experiencing Upward, Horizontal, and Downward Generational Mobility ............................................... 129 34. Differences between Subgroups I, II, and III and Extent of Upward, Horizontal and Downward Generational Mobility...... ............................................... 131 35. Occupational Origins of Executives' Grandfathers in the Total Group and in Subgroups I, II, and I I I ................................................................................... 132 v i i i T able Page 36. Occupations of the Fathers of Business Execu t i v e s ’ Wives for Total Group and for Subgroups I, I I , and III . ................................. 133 37. D ifferences between the Number of Executives' Fathers Experiencing Upward, Horizontal, and Downward Mobility and the D ifferences be tween the Number of Executives' Wives Ex periencing Upward, Horizontal, and Downward Mobility at Marriage ............................ . . . . . 134 38. D ifferences between Subgroups I, II, and III and Extent of Upward, Horizontal, and Downward Mobility for Executives' Fathers and Executives' Wives ...................................................... 136 39. Total Number of Companies by W hom Executives Were Employed since Entry into the Labor F o r c e ........................................................................................ 140 40. Total Number of P ositions Held by Executives in A ll Companies since Entry into the Labor F o r c e ......................................................................... 141 41. Average Length of Time Executives Were Employed Per Company since Entry into the Labor Force 142 42. Average Number of P ositions Held by Executives Per Company since Entry into the Labor Force 143 43. Evidence of Career Mobility in the Total Group of Executives Studied and in Subgroups I, II, and I I I .......................................................................... 145 44. D ifferences between Executive Subgroups in Regard to Career Mobility Patterns ..................... 148 CHAPTER I TH E PROBLEM Introduction The sociology of occupations is a notable example of a f ie ld in which there is a lag instead of a reciprocal re lationship between theory and research. S o c io lo g ists have proposed theories of in du strial organization,^ in dustrial 2 3 administration, and social s tr a tific a tio n of industry. However, the development of a theory of occupations has been almost t o ta lly neglected. Community s tr a tific a tio n studies have been concerned with the correlations between rela tiv e rankings of certain occupations and the "style of life" of persons in a given stratum.^ Such s tr a tific a tio n studies are in general agree- H. H. Gerth and C. Wright M ills (e d s .), From Max Weber: Essavs in Sociology (New York; Oxford University Press, 1946)} F. J. Roethlisberger and W . J. Dickson, Management & The Worker (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1948)"; A." Go'uldner, Patterns of Industrial Bureauc- racy (Glencoe, 111.; Free Press, 1954). 2 Chester I. Barnard, Organizations and Management, (Cmabridge: Harvard U niversity Press, 1948); W . F. Whyte, Human Relations in the Restaurant Industry (New York: McGraw-Hill & Co., 1948). 3W . F. Whyte, "The Social Structure of the Restau rant," American Journal of Sociology, LIV (1949), 302-308. 4W . Lloyd Warner et a l.., Social Class in America (Chicago: Science ResearcTT"Associates, In c., 1949). 1 ment that occupation i s the best single indicator of one's general p o sitio n in the so c ia l structure. In m obility stud ie s , occupation has been the most frequently-used operation- 5 al d e fin itio n of m obility. The knowledge of occupations, however, appears to be almost e n tir e ly lim ited to descrip tiv e material presented without any attempt at th e o r e tic a l system atization. There are a lim ited number of studies dealing with sp ec ific occupations, such as C o tt r e ll's Railroader (1940), Wilson's Academic Man (1942), Becker's "Career of the Public School Teacher" (1952), Gold's "Janitor versus Tenants" (1952), Henry's Business Executive" (1949), M ill's American Labor Leaders (1948), Smith's "Clergy" (1953), Thorner' s "Nursing" (1955), and Wray's "Foreman" (1949). More recent ly , other in vestigators have focused upon the process of /I occupational choice, personal value orien tation s as they rela te to occupational preference,^ and the "psychology" of 8 9 occupations. In a recent study of medical students,Merton ^Richard Centers, The Psychology of S o cia l Class (Princeton, N. J . ; Princeton U niversity Press, 1949). ^Eli Gr.insberg e t a l. , Occupational Choice: An Ap proach to a General Theory~TNew York; Columbia U niversity Press, 1951). ^Morris Rosenberg, Occupations and Values (Glencoe, 111.: Free Press, 1959). Q Ann Roe, The Psychology of Occupations (New York: John Wiley & Sons," 1956). ^Robert Merton e t ad., The Student Physician (Cam- took a commendable forward step in the study of occupations: he re str ic te d the focus of inquiry and analyzed selected phases of early career development in the framework of r o le s and reference groups. There is a recognized need to re-evaluate past re search in terms of a th e o retic a l framework and to conduct studies in the future from which hypotheses amenable to em p ir ic a l te s t may be deduced. Statement of the Problem The purpose of th is study is to in vestigate selected dimensions of the career of the business executive within a framework provided by a th eo retica l model. These dimensions include personal values, job sa tis fa c tio n , recruitment pat terns, generational m obility, career m obility, and career goals. Each dimension to be investigated is expressed in terms of a sp ec ific proposition which is lo g ic a lly deduced from a th eo retica l model positing a hypothetical occupation al continuum along which ro les and statuses are ranged. An empirical t e s t of each proposition w ill demonstrate the ex tent to which business executives typify a d e fin itiv e occu pational type, and provide evidence to support or modify the th eo retica l model. bridge: Harvard University Press, 1957). Def in itio n s 4 Business executive Considering the variety of functions performed by executives in business, i t is not surprising that a m ulti tude of d e fin itio n s of the business executive e x is t. The d e fin itio n given by Barnard is set forth in general terms, but seems to include the e s s e n tia l ch a r a c te r is tic s of the r o le : One who is charged with the authority for d ecisio n making, coordination, and leadership in the a f fa ir s of a business en terp rise, and for maintaining h is sphere of re sp o n sib ility in such a way that a workable balance is sustained among stockholders, employees, customers, and the public at la r g e .10 Indeterminate occupational type The appropriate source for th is d e fin itio n is the w rit ing of Mack, inasmuch as the context in which th is concept w ill be used is derived from h is th e o r e tic a l model of an oc cupational continuum: An opposite "ideal type" occupational group from the determinate occupational type, characterized by le s s stringent requirements for entry into the occupation, in which neither the r ig h ts nor the duties of the actor oc cupying the status are firmly esta b lish ed , and the role behaviors and role expectations are wide in range and r e la t iv e ly in d e f in it e . H 10 V C, I. Barnard, The Functions of the Executive (Cambridge: Harvard U niversity Press, 1948}, p . 222. ■^Raymond W . Mack, "Occupational Determinateness: A Problem and Hypothesis in Role Theory," S o cia l Forces. XXXV (1956), 22. The Theoretical Model 12 Raymond Mack has proposed a typology which is meaningful in the description of occupations and occupa tio n a l r o le s . It is offered as a "theory of the middle range" which attempts to abstract the occupational subsys tem from the larger so cia l system. An occupational contin uum is posited in terms of polar types, at one end of which are occupations which may be conceptualized as "determinate" and at the other end those conceptualized as "indetermin ate." More s p e c ific a lly , the continuum postulated is a con tinuum of occupational determinateness, along which role ex pectations, role behaviors, rig h ts and duties, and require ments for entry are ranged according to their degree of ex p lic itn e ss and rigid n ess. One polar type, the "determin ate occupational status," has elaborately prescribed re quirements for entry which must be met by those about to become incumbents; the righ ts and duties of the individual occupying the status are firmly established and e x p lic it , and are recognized by the person and those with whom he in teracts in the occupational role; the role expectations are narrow and r e la tiv e ly in d e fin ite . The other polar type, designated as the "indeterminate occupational status," i s characterized by le ss stringent requirements for entry into the occupation; these requirements may sh ift through time 12Ib id ., pp. 20-25. and by locale; neither the righ ts nor the duties of the per son occupying the status are firmly established and both are potential subjects for misunderstanding between the individ ual and those with whom he interacts; the role expectations are wide in range and r e la tiv e ly in d e fin ite . From th is model, it is th e o r e tic a lly possible to predict various behavioral ch a ra cteristics related to any occupation, once i t s re la tiv e position along the continuum is id e n tifie d . Conversely, i t is possible to predict the rela tiv e position of an occupation along the continuum from knowledge of behavioral ch a ra c te ristic s. On the basis of the model, Mack, for example, suggests three occupations which would occupy d ifferen t positions: attorneys represent a highly determinate occupational type; salesmen represent a r e la tiv e ly indeterminate occupational type; and street cleaners represent a highly indeterminate occupational type. Figure 1 graphically illu s t r a t e s the determinate- indeterminate continuum which includes selected behavioral continua parallelin g a continuum of occupations. This investigation w ill te s t seven hypotheses con cerning dimensions of the business executive career and the extent to shich the business executive ty p ifie s a r e la tiv e ly indeterminate occupational type. The study is re stric te d to an intra-occupational analysis of the variations manifest within the occupation of business executive, and the e v i dence of divergence from the hypothesized r e la tiv e ly inde- 7 Determinant: Indeterminant: Fixed, S hifting, Structured Unstructured Role Expectation _____________ i___________ Role Behavior _________ t________ Rights and Duties Requirements for Entry (Other Dimensions) i --------------------------------------------1 ---------------------------------- ;----- 1 Attorney Salesman 1 Cleaner Fig. I.- -The determinant-indeterminant con tinuum: hypothetical continua p a ra llelin g an occupational continuum. terminate occupational type. It seems appropriate to te s t f i r s t the proposed th e o r e tic a l model by analyzing selected intra-occupational d ifferen ces prior to undertaking a more broad analysis of inter-occupational differences at some time in the future. Hypothe se s The following hypotheses, which concern career goals, personal value orien tations, job s a tisfa c tio n , re cruitment patterns, generational m obility, and career mobil it y , are formulated in terms of the expected p osition of the business executive on the determinateness-indeterminateness continuum. It has been postulated that the business execu tive t y p if ie s a r e la tiv e ly indeterminate occupational type. 1. Business executives define th eir career goals primarily as economic. 2. Business executives view their careers as a means of gaining entry into a higher occupation al status. 3. Business executives evidence a personal value orientation which is ex trin sic reward directed. 4. Business executives express r e la tiv e ly low m o rale and personal sa tisfa ctio n in regard to th eir occupation. b. Business executives make the decision to enter th eir career r e la tiv e ly late in l i f e . 6. Business executives c h a ra c te ristic a lly experi ence horizontal or downward generational mobil ity at the time of entry into the labor force. 7. Business executives c h a r a c te r istic a lly experi ence a high rate and broad range of p o sitio n a l career m obility. Significance of the Study Industrial s o c io lo g ists lack a typology of occupa tio n s. Presumably, such a typology would enable sociolo g is t s to build a structure of interrelated propositions from which hypotheses amenable to empirical testin g might be de duced. It is toward the beginning of such a theory of occu pations that th is study is directed. Raymond Mack has laid the groundwork for a theory of occupations, and recently has begun em pirically te stin g his th e o retica l model. S election of th is model for the present study as "a" th eo retica l model, rather than "the" th e o reti cal model, for a sociology of occupations is in keeping with a statement offered by Wilbert Moore: "In the present state of knowledge about the rela tio n s among the 'dimensions' of occupations, the type of theory should vary with the practi- 1 ca l or th eo retica l problem at hand."-1 -0 The task of empiri- 13 Wilbert E. Moore, "A Preliminary Functional Clas s ific a tio n of A c tiv itie s ," unpublished manuscript quoted by Raymond W . Mack, in "Occupational Determinateness: A problem and Hypothesis in Role Theory." Social Forces. XXXV (1956). PI. 10 ca lly demonstrating the v a lid ity of newly espoused th e o reti cal frameworks in large measure r e sts upon those in vestiga tors having the desire to see occupational sociology theo r e tic a lly integrated. A survey of the litera tu re reveals an abundance of atom istic, isolated studies containing data which would take on new meaning if reappraised in a meaning fu l framework. The second purpose of th is in vestigation , then, is to bring into a new empirical focus selected research of the past. Organization of the Study This chapter has set forth the nature of the prob lem, the th eoretical framework for the in vestigation , and the hypotheses to be em pirically te ste d . The following chapter presents a review of pertinent studies related to the th eo retica l framework and the hypotheses which are to be tested as a lo g ic a l part of th is framework. Chapter III de scribes the selectio n of the universe to be studied, devel opment of the interview schedule, rationale of the methodol ogy employed to t e s t the hypotheses, and s t a t i s t i c a l tr e a t ment of data. Chapter IV contains the r e s u lts of the inves tig a tio n . The fin a l chapter is a summary of major find in gs, Implications for the th eo retica l model of occupations in lig h t of the findings, comments on the lim itation s of the study, and an o v er-a ll summary of the in vestigation . CHAPTER I I REVIEW O F TH E LITERATURE Introduction In the previous section i t was pointed out that a theory of in d u stria l organization e x i s t s due to the work of Weber, Roethlisberger and Dickson, and Goulder; that the start of a theory of in d u strial administration has been un dertaken by Barnard and Whyte; and that a long-awaited the ory of occupations has been proposed by Mack. It was stated that the sociology of occupations appears to be the most neglected area of th e o r e tic a l formation and, consequently, research aimed toward v erify in g , modifying or refuting theo r e t ic a l propositions is lacking. There e x is ts at the pres ent time, however, one empirical study designed to in v e s t i gate a selected dimension of the determinant-indeterminant occupational continuum model. This research i s reported in some d e ta il in the pages which immediately fo llo w , inasmuch as two hypotheses from t h is study have been included as a part of the present in v estig a tio n . In addition, an exten sive study of value orien tation s, as they related to occupa tio n a l group membership, has been reviewed. This in v estig a tion i s the most complete and most recent study available in an area that has remained v ir tu a lly unresearched; moreover, 11 the r e s u lts of the study provide a basis for an hypothesis in the present in v estig a tio n . Other studies reported have been included in the re view of litera tu re because of th e ir relevance to sp e c ific hypotheses to be te ste d , although they are drawn from a wide v ariety of sources and there is no common framework among them. However, both groups of studies are important in view of one of the principal aims set forth in the Introduction; to bring together research from d ifferin g empirical frame works under a common frame of reference. Empirical Research Studies Research concerning career goals and view of work as a means to an end M ack^- hypothesized that people in r e la t iv e ly inde terminant occupations are more lik e ly to be pursuing mone tary rewards and occupational status of higher p restig e than the one in which they entered the labor fo rce. To t e s t the hypothesis that persons of an indeterminant occupational status w ill define th e ir lif e goals primarily as money, and w i l l view their present job as a means of gaining entry into some other occupational status, a chi-square an alysis was made on the responses to why individuals had le f t th e ir pre vious employment to accept th e ir present job. The four ^Raymond W . Mack, "Occupational Ideology and the Determinant Role," S o cia l Forces. XXXVI (1957), 37-44. 13 response categories were: lo Inadequate income; lack of opportunity for ad vancement. 2. U nsatisfactory working conditions or a sso cia tes. 3. Negative evaluation of c lie n t e le , employer, or product. 4. More in terestin g and challenging p osition . A sample of 1,389 salesmen were selected to repre sent an indeterminant occupational type, and for comparison a sample of 301 bankers to represent a le ss indeterminant occupation, and a sample of 015 engineers to represent a determinant occupation. S t a t is t ic a l differences were found at the .001 le v e l of significance between salesmen and en gineers and the reason for leaving previous jobs: salesmen sought new employment for better income or to accept jobs which promised greater promotional opportunities, while en gineers l e f t to accept employment they defined as more in terestin g or challenging. The difference between bankers and the other two occupational groups was less strik in g. Because the chi-square value was considerably smaller, th is was interpreted as evidence of the banker's intermediate position on the determinate-indeterminate continuum. The investigator concludes that, "the in ten sity of in terest ex pressed in money and opportunity for advancement is seen to decrease as one moves from the indeterminant pole of the 14 o hypothetical continuum." A further te s t of the hypothesis is afforded by an analysis of the reasons why interviewees would leave th eir present job and seek new employment. These categories included: 1. Better income. 2. Security (having enough money to quit and start business for s e l f ) . 3. Family-oriented r e p lie s (providing for the edu cation of children). 4. Ego-oriented aims (pursuing a hobby, travelin g, reading more). 5. Career-centered answers (becoming a more p rofi cient en gin eer). Once again, s t a t i s t i c a l d ifferences were found at the .001 le v el of significance b etween salesmen and engineers, and a lesser degree of difference between the two polar extreme occupations and bankers: salesmen, bankers, and engineers would seek new employment for reasons related to income and opportunity for advancement in the order stated. Mack concludes that "these data are strongly suppor- tive of the hypotheses deduced from the th e o retic a l model." Incumbants of indeterminant occupational statu ses, as repre sented by salesmen, are more concerned with monetary rewards and opportunities for advancement than are incumbants 2Ibid. 3Ibid. 15 of determinant occupational statu ses, as represented by en gineers, who are concerned with in terestin g and challenging work. Research concerning personal value orientations In American society, there are an estimated 40,000 careers from which to choose.4 The decision to enter a par ticu la r career is one of the major d ecisions an individual has to make in h is life tim e . It is a decision involving long-term commitments, which influences the style of l i f e to be assumed, and which influences thoughts and fe e lin g s . Rosenberg has noted that the occupational decision process has been visu alized by in vestigators as a series of progres- Pi sive d elim itations of a lter n a tiv es. He suggests that in order to understand the choice process better, i t is neces sary to understand more fu lly the operation of values, a t t i tudes, and personality needs within the individual. Rosen berg's i n i t i a l research on values is compiled in a book en t i t l e d , Occupations and Values, in which values are broadly conceptualized as guides to overt behavior. Values are "a conception . . . of the desirable . . . nD Williams describes 4Federal Security Agency, Dictionary of Occupational T itle s (Washington, D. C .: U. S. Government Printing O ffice, 1949). ^Morris Rosenberg, Occupations and Values (Glencoe, 111.; Free Press, 1959), p. 4. Clyde Kluckhohn, "Values and Value-Orientations in 16 values as "things in which people are interested— things they want, desire to be or become, f e e l as obligatory, wor ship, enj oy. Whe n an individual chooses an occupation, he presumably f e e ls there is something "good" about i t , and th is conception of the good is part of an internalized men t a l structure which esta b lish es p r io r itie s regarding what is wanted out of l i f e . It has been suggested that "to ask what an individual wants out of his work is , to a large extent, g to ask what he wants out of his l if e ." Rosenberg asked 4,686 college students to rank the requirements of the "ideal" job or career. These require ments included: 1. Provide an opportunity to use m y special a b ili t i e s or aptitudes. 2. Provide m e with a chance to earn a good deal of money. 3. Permit m e to be creative and o rig in a l. 4. Give m e so cia l status and p restige. 6. Give m e an opportunity to work with people rather than with things. 6. Enable m e to look forward to a stable, secure future. 7. Leave m e r e la tiv e ly free of supervision by the Theory of A ction ," Toward a General Theory of Action, ed. Talcot Parsons and E. H. Shi Is "(Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1962), p. 395. Robin M . Williams, J r ., American Society (New York: A. A. Knopf, 1951), p. 375. 3 Rosenberg, op. c i t ., p. 6. others. 8. Give m e a chance to exercise leadership. 9. Provide m e with adventure. Q 10. Give m e an opportunity to be helpful to others. Students f i r s t ranked the one requirement they con sidered to be most important, then the requirements they f e l t were highly important, of medium importance, and of l i t t l e or no importance. The "most important" choice data was u tiliz e d to compute a c o e ffic ie n t of a s s o c ia t io n ,^ be tween every requirement and every other requirement. Inter pretations and conclusions are based on an analysis of the matrix of association c o e ffic ie n ts . The three highest p ositive relationships between any two c o e ffic ie n ts were labeled primary value orien tation s. They were: 1. "Opportunity to work with people rather than things" and "opportunity to be helpful to others." This was called the "people oriented" value orientation; respondents selectin g these values tend to view work largely as an op portunity for obtaining the g ra tific a tio n to be derived from interpersonal re la tio n s. ^Ibid. , p. 12. ^Margaret J. Hagord and Daniel 0. P rice, S t a t is t ic s for S o c io lo g ists (New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1952), pp. 361 f f . "Q is similar in i t s meaning and in i t s range of values to the Pearsonian c o e ffic ie n t of correlation which measures the degree of association between variables, but Q is not id en tica l with r and not equivalent to it." 18 2. "Chance to earn a good deal of money" and "give m e so c ia l status and p restig e," This was referred to as the "extrinsic-reward" o rien ta tio n . Respondents se lec tin g these values tend to emphasize the rewards to be obtained for work rather than the g r a tific a tio n to be derived from work, 3. "Permit m e to be creative and original" and "opportunity to use my sp ecial a b i l i t i e s and aptitudes." This was ca lled the " self-expressive" orien tation . Respond ents se lec tin g these values tend to view work c h ie fly as an end in i t s e l f , and as an opportunity for expressing th eir ta le n ts and creative p o t e n t ia lit ie s . Rosenberg summarizes these findings by observing: When confronted with the prospect of making an occu pational choice, students possessing an e x trin sic reward-oriented value complex tend to ask, "what rewards w ill I get for my work?" Those possessing a s e lf- e x pressive value complex tend to ask, "will i t be a chal lenging, creative experience?" Those possessing a people-oriented value complex.tend to ask, "to what ex tent w ill I have the opportunity to work with people?"11 Research concerning .job s a t is f action Job s a tis fa c tio n has been defined as "any combina tio n of psych ological, p h y sio lo g ica l, and environmental circumstances that cause a person tru th fu lly to report that he is s a tis f ie d with h is j o b ." ^ ■^Rosenberg, op. c i t . . p. 113. 1 R. Hoppock, Job S a tis fa c tio n (New York: Harper and Bros., 1935), p. 47. In a similar way, job sa tisfa ctio n has been defined . . . an attitu d e which r e su lts from a balancing and summation of many sp ecific lik e s and d is lik e s .e x p e r i enced in connection with the job. . . . These evalua tion s may rest largely upon one's own success or fa ilu re in the achievement of personal ob jectives and upon the perceived contribution of the job and company toward these e n d s . 13 March and Simon have elaborated upon the concept of job sa tisfa c tio n as being the resultant of forces within a system which was inherent in Bullock's d e fin itio n . They develop fiv e propositions from their basic d efin itio n of sa tisfa c tio n as "a system in stable equilibrium:"-^ 1. The lower the sa tisfa c tio n of the organism, the more search for alternative programs w ill be undertaken. 2. The more search, the higher the expected value of reward. 3. The higher the expected value of reward, the higher the sa tisfa ctio n . 4. The higher the expected value of reward, the higher the lev el of aspiration. 5. The higher the le v e l of aspiration, the lower the le v e l of sa tisfa c tio n .!^ There are numerous studies which have investigated the relationship between job sa tisfa ctio n and other varia- R. P. Bullock, "Social Factors Related to Job S atisfaction ," Research Monograph No. 70 (Columbus, Ohio: State University Bureau of Business Research, 1952), p. 13. James G. March and Herbert A. Simon, Organizations (New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1958), p. 50. 15Ibid., p . 48. 20 b les. For example, Wyatt, Langdon, and Stock-^ investigated 17 18 in te llig en ce; Kates studied personality; and Schaffer studied type of work as i t r e la te s to job s a tis fa c tio n . However, the most common way of determining an em- 19 ployee's sa tisfa c tio n with a job is simply to ask him. Examples of questions featuring t h is approach are cited in the 1947 Fortune community survey, which asked: "O n the whole, would you say that your job is r ea lly in terestin g and on enjoyable, or would you say that it is dull and boring?" Sixty-nine per cent answered, "Interesting and enjoyable." Robinson and Hoppock reviewed thirty-tw o in vestiga tions and found verbal report to be the most widely used method of assessing job sa tisfa c tio n . In th eir review, they discovered that "two-thirds of the studies showed le s s than one-third of those interviewed to be d i s s a t i s f i e d ." ^ An other summary of 144 studies of job sa tisfa c tio n was made by ^ S . Wyatt, J. N. Langdon, and F. Stock, "Boredom in Industry," Personnel Journal. X X (1942), 161-171. 17S. L. Kates, "Rorschach Responses Related to Voca tio n a l Interests and Job S a tisfa ctio n ," Journal of Applied Psychology, CX (i960), 1-35. ■^R. H. Schaffer, "Job S atisfaction as Related to Need-Satisfaction in Work," Psychology Monoqraohs, CXVII (1953), No. 364. ■^H. c. Smith, Psychology of Industrial Behavior (New York: McGraw-Hill Book C o., Inc. 1 9 5 5 ) , p. 114. ^Fortune Magazine. January, 1947, Vol. 35, No. 5. on H. A. Robinson and R. Hoppock, "Job S atisfaction Researchers of 1948," Occupations. XXVIII (1948), 153-161. 21 Walker and Marriott. The trend in predominance of the ver bal report technique was strong, and th e ir findings concern ing extent of sa tisfa c tio n reported was sim ilar to Robinson and Hoppockfs conclusions. "Only o n e -fifth of a ll workers 22 reported d is s a tis fa c tio n with their jobs." Some researchers have attempted to develop a com- 23 bination of lo g ic a l and empirical methods. Morse devel oped four indices of job sa tisfa c tio n : 1. The Index of In trin sic Job S a tis fa c tio n , which illu s tr a te d the degree of sa tis fa c tio n obtained by an individual from performing tasks which co n stitu te the content of h is job. 2. The Index of Company Involvement, defined as the degree to which an employee derives sa tisfa c tio n from and id e n t if ie s with the company in which he is employed. 3. The Index of Financial and Job Status S a tis fa c tion illu s tr a te d the extent of s a tis fa c tio n with both present and expected earnings and with the status of present and expected earnings and with the status of piesent and expected p o sitio n in ^ j , i/talker and D. R. Marriott, "A Study of Some A ttitudes of Industrial Workers," Occupational Psychology, XXV (1951), 181-191. ^Nancy C. Morse, S a tis fa c tio n s in the White-Collar Job (Ann Arbor, Mich.: Survey Research Center, U niversity of Michigan Press, 1953), pp. 14-17. the company. 4. The Index of Pride-in-Group Performance repre sented the sa tisfa c tio n an employee f e l t with the accomplishment of h is immediate work group and the extent of id e n tific a tio n with h is work group's accomplishments. Morse^ concludes that three factors associated with "intrinsic job satisfaction" are the most important deter minants of job sa tisfa c tio n . F irst is the opportunity for variety and the opportunity to use one's s k ills and a b i l i t i e s , second is the opportunity for continued challenges to occupy a high le v e l of aspiration, and third is the extent of sa tisfa c tio n provided by supportive environmental fac tors. Job sa tisfa ctio n appears to be related to what may be labeled more broadly as personal s a tisfa c tio n , and extent of personal sa tisfa c tio n may be assessed by d ir e ctly asking a person about the degree of sa tisfa c tio n experienced in his job or career. Research concerning age of decision to enter a career In the absence of a theory of occupational choice, research in th is area is seen to be atomistic and manifest ing a d iversity of empirical focuses. Vocational counselors ^ I b i d . , p. 66. 23 and psychologists have paid the most attention to the occu pation choice process, although i t has remained peripheral to the major in te r e sts of psychology and outside the scope of the busy p ractition er. Only recently have other social s c ie n tis ts become interested in occupation choice. The fa ct that individuals may change their occupa tio n a l goals numerous times before fin a lly entering a career has led to an in terest in the nature and duration of tenta- tive choices. Lehman and Y/itty found that choices made prior to the age of eleven usually recede as the child m a tures in te lle c tu a lly and emotionally. After t h is age, choices which children make contain more r e a lis t ic elements. The probability that children who retained their early choices either had suffered a traumatic experience or were handicapped by limited in te llig en ce was brought out by th eir data. The fact that r e a lis t ic choices tend to be made in co lleg e is illu str a te d in a study by A ch illes. W hen students begin to anticipate the termination of their education, they reformulate their approach toward occu pational goals and the career to which they want to commit themselves. Students with superior in tellig en ce reached a d e fin ite occupational choice earlier than average students. C. Lehman and P. A. Witty, "A Study of Voca tio n a l Attitudes in Relation to Pubescence," American Jour nal of Psychology, XLIII (193li 93-101. ^ P . S. A ch illes, "Vocational Motives in College," Occupations. I l l (1933), 624-628. 24 Berdie2^ found that a sizable minority of college seniors were without a crystalized occupational choice. There seemed to be no clear relationship between college performance and the a b ility to cry sta lize a choice. As a group, these individuals had a history of changed majors and ill-d e fin e d plans while in co lleg e. After graduation, how ever, those who committed themselves within the f i r s t year did not appear to have accepted employment that was in ferior to their cohort group of early deciders. 28 Ginzberg and his associates at Columbia U niversity conducted an exhaustive survey of the lite r a tu re , and f o l lowed up with their own research which u tiliz e d interview and case history data representative of differen t age lev e ls . They found that the process of occupational decision making could be analyzed in terms of three periods: (1) fantasy, (2) ten ta tiv e, and (3) r e a lis t ic choices. During the fantasy period, choices are ty p ic a lly of a grandiose, spectacular, adventuresome quality. There is no conception of the nature of an occupation at th is le v el of maturation. As the child continues to t e s t his world of play against the "real" world, and as h is capacity to accom plish sp e c ific tasks develops, increasingly more mature 27 'R. F. Berdie, "Factors Associated with Vocational Interest," Journal of Educational Psychology, XXXIV (1943), 257-277. O G ^°Eli Ginzberg et a l ., Occupational Choice: An Ap proach to a General Theory. 25 reasons for selectin g an occupation emerge. Up to about age eleven, most children make any and every type of choice and are unaware of the barriers that stand in their way. The ten tative choice period, which ranges between the approximate ages of eleven and seventeen, is character ized by the in d ivid u al's f i r s t recognition of the problem of deciding on a future occupation. Subjective factors contin ue to predominate in evaluation. This period is broken down further into the in te r e st, capacity, value, and tra n sitio n stages. The in terest stage— between ages eleven and twelve — r e fle c t s the tendency for choices to be rather narrowly re stricted to an in dividual's in te r e s ts . The capacity stage — between ages thirteen and fourteen--evidences a recogni tion of the im plications of the a b ility and capacity factors in selectin g a career. The value stage— between the ages of fifte e n and s ix te e n --r e fle c ts the need to reconcile incom patible objectives through the implementation of a value system. The tra n sitio n stage— between ages sixteen and seventeen--displays the emergency of a role ideal and a clearer image of the s e l f , and increased awareness of re a l ity factors. The r e a lis t ic choice period is the time when the individual recognizes he must work out a compromise between what he wants, what h is a b i l i t i e s permit, and what opportu n itie s are open. The f i r s t stage of th is period, the ex ploratory stage— ranging between freshman and junior college 26 years— represents a f in a l attempt to "explore the field " and t e s t values and in te r e s ts . The c r y s t a lliz a tio n stage— in cludes senior and graduate le v e l and, in a small percentage of ca ses, the f i r s t year in the labor force— evidences a quality of acceptance in contrast to the somewhat confused exploratory stage. The previous periods and stages have reached a culmination in the c r y s t a lliz a tio n stage. The fin a l stage in the r e a l i s t i c period is s p e c ific a tio n , which involves sp ec ia liz a tio n and planning w ithin the area of choice. This stage tends to occur during the f i r s t year of employment. Ginzberg and a sso c ia te s' work, and the current sta te of occupational choice theory, may be summarized in th e ir own words. Three basic elements are posed for a theory of occupational choice: 1. Occupational choice i s a process. 2. The process i s largely ir r e v e r sib le . 3. Compromise i s an e s s e n tia l aspect of every ch o ice.29 Research concerning generational mobility During the past f i f t y years, the phenomenon of inter-generation m obility has been subject to a large number of in v e stig a tio n s. One of the most common approaches has been to c o lle c t information concerning the occupational 29I b i d . . p . 186 2? p o sitio n s of a sample of men, and the occupational p o sitio n s of th e ir fath ers and grandfathers. There are three major studies of importance which investigated occupational and educational m obility, and one that focused only on occupational m obility. Davidson and Anderson^0 investigated the occupational mobility of the male working population of San Jose, C aliforn ia. Their data on job inheritance from father to son suggest that occupa tio n a l inheritance is the rule rather than the exception. They found, for example, that between 60 and 73 per cent of the regular occupations of sons were at the same le v e l as the regular occupations of th eir fathers; s p e c ific a lly , 73 per cent of the business proprietors, owners, and executives in the sample had fathers who f e l l into the same ca teg o ries. Only 11 per cent had fath ers in sk ille d occupations, 9 per cent were u n sk illed , 5 per cent were c l e r i c a l, and 2 per cent p ro fessio n a l. Davidson and Anderson found that 44 per cent of the businessmen in th eir sample had le s s than high school education, 35 per cent had eith er graduated from high school or attended high school, and 21 per cent had some college or had graduated from c o lle g e . h I Taussig and Joslyn undertook the study of the T O P. E. Davidson and H. D. Anderson, Occupational M obility in an American Community (Stanford: Stanford Uni v er sity Press, 1937). 31 F. W . Taussig and C. S. Joslyn, American Business Leaders (New York; The Macmillan Co., 1932~n 28 social orig in s of major business leaders in the United S tates. Although th e ir data show a d iv e r sity of origins of businessmen, the largest number have followed in the fo o t steps of th e ir fathers and have assumed p o sitio n s as owners and managers in business. F ifty -e ig h t per cent of the sam ple had fathers engaged in minor or major executive r o le s, or were owners of small businesses, 13 per cent had fathers who were from the p rofession s, 12 per cent were farm ten ants, 9 per cent were sk ille d labor, 5 per cent c le r ic a l, 2 per cent sem i-sk illed or u n sk illed , 1 per cent u n c la ssifie d . Their data on number of years of education completed shows a greater number of co lleg e graduates than Davidson and Ander son's study. Thirty-two per cent had received college de grees, 13 per cent had some c o lleg e , 28 per cent had eith er graduated from or attended high school, and 27 per cent had less than a high school education. The recent study of American business leaders by 32 Warner and Abegglen in d icates the greatest amount of mo b ilit y among businessmen. A smaller percentage of men in th is study are sons of business owners and execu tives, and a larger percentage of manual workers than are men in the other stu d ies. Only 48 per cent had fathers who were busi- W . L. Warner and J. Abegglen, Occupational Mobil ity in American Business and Industry (Minneapolis, Minn.: U niversity of Minnesota Press, l95b"J. nessmen, 14 per cent were professionals, 13 per cent were sk ille d , 9 per cent were farm tenants, 8 per cent were c ler ic a l, 5 per cent were u nsk illed, and 3 per cent were unclas s ifie d . Their data also illu s tr a te an increased percentage of college graduates: 57 per cent had received college de grees, 19 per cent had some co lleg e, 11 per cent were high school graduates, 9 per cent had some high school, and 4 per cent had not attended high school. 33 Rogoff focused on the occupational mobility of sons compared with th eir fathers in the years 1910 and 1940. a set of indices was developed so that mobility could be viewed more objectively; however, her data, unfortunately, lack the advantage of being d irectly comparable to the findings of other in vestigators. Moreover, R o g o ffs analy sis is in terms of movement from a ll p ositions in the occu pational structure from a ll occupational origins. The mo b i l i t y patterns of sp ecific occupational categories are meaningful only when compared with each other. In a summary of the principal findings, Rogoff concludes that the most lik e ly occupational destination of a ll individuals included in the sample was the occupation of their fathers. I f fath ers were in the professional, business, sa les, or c le r ic a l categories, their sons' occupations were most lik e ly to be confined to one of these categories. The likelihood of a 33 °N. Rogoff, Recent Trends in Occupational Mobility (Glencoe, 111.: The Free Press, 1953). 30 son being in an occupational c la ss d ifferen t from that of his father was about the same in 1910 and in 1940. Supportive evidence for the work of Davidson and Anderson, Taussig and Joslyn, and Warner and Abegglen is provided by two studies of smaller scope. 34 Newcomer studied 882 presidents of companies with assets in excess of seventy-five m illion d o lla rs. Of the presidents, 56 per cent were sons of businessmen, 18 per cent were sons of p rofession als, 13 per cent were sons of farm tenants, 6 per cent of c le r ic a l, 5 per cent of sk ille d and 2 per cent of sem i-skilled or unskilled. Centers' findings agree clo sely with those of Davidson and Anderson. He found that 68 per cent of the sons of business executives followed in th eir fathers' foot steps; a lso , 16 per cent of the sons of professional men be came eith er business executives or operators of small busi nesses. Thus, inheritance of occupation appears to be the general pattern. In the studies reviewed, between 48 per cent and 73 per cent of a l l businessmen inherited th eir oc cupation from th eir fath ers. Q y] Mabel Newcomer, The Big Business Executive (New York: Columbia University Press, 1955). O R Richard Centers, "Occupational Mobility of Urban Occupational Strata," American S ociological Review, XIII (1948), 197-203. 31 Research concerning career mobility R elatively few studies are to be found in the l i t e r ature which deal with the mobility experienced by individu a ls during the course of th eir careers. In contrast to the numerous studies investigatin g inter-generational m obility, the researching of mobility patterns which characterize sp ecific careers seems to have been neglected. Davidson and Anderson's study, which was discussed in regard to generational m obility, presents data on career Q A m obility., Their findings are based on a group of 466 respondents, which they divided into three age groups for the purpose of an alysis. Career mobility was illu str a te d by computing the average number of jobs held by persons within each age category. Individuals between the ages of 20 and 34 inclusive had held an average of three jobs in th eir l i f e time. This indicates that, on the average, only one more job move was made after 35 years of age. Median number of years spent on the present job group was 5.1. Combining the ages of 35 to 44, and the age group 45 and older, the median number of years was 13.1. Two in vestigations of smaller scope contain data on career m obility. A study of Princeton University graduates, cla ss of 1932, reported by M iller and Form^ illu s t r a t e s ^^Davidson and Anderson, jog. c i t . ^ D elb ert C. Miller and William H. Form, Industrial Socioloqy (New York: Harper and Bros., 1951), p. 73. 32 that after f ift e e n years out of co lleg e , the average number of d ifferen t jobs held was 3.3 per graduate. O Q Newcomer's study of the presidents of major cor porations illu s t r a t e s career mobility in a somewhat d iff e r ent way. She found that 83 per cent of her sample was 20 years of age or older when they took th eir f i r s t regular fu ll-tim e jobs. She also found that the largest percentage of presidents were between 51 and 60 years old when they en tered the presidential role. For t h is group, she found the average length of employment before attaining the presidency to be 22.7 years, and the average number of jobs held to be 3.5. Both the study reported by M iller and Form and the study by Newcomer support Davidson and Anderson's data. Probably the most intensive study of career mobility qg patterns to date has been done by Form and M iller. 7 Their data suggested that sp ecific careers may be analyzed in terms of three d ifferen t periods or phases of career devel opment. During the " in itia l work period," the job provides experience and information for the young worker. Employment characterizing th is period is usually before-or-after school jobs, summer fu ll-tim e jobs, and jobs taken as stop-gaps qo Newcomer, op. c i t ., pp. 96 and 112. 39 William H. Form and Delbert C. M iller, "Occupa tio n a l Career Patterns as a Sociological Instrument," Amer ican Journal of Sociology, LIV (1949), 317-329. 33 u n til completion of education. The " tr ia l work period" is a time of job tr a n sitio n , beginning when the worker seeks h is f i r s t fu ll-tim e job and continuing u n til he has secured a work p osition in which he remains permanently. The t r i a l work period is characterized by high occupational and r e s i d en tial m obility. Occupational m obility is both horizontal and v er tic a l; however, the central tendency is toward high horizontal mobility and r e la t iv e ly l i t t l e v e r tic a l m obility. Trial work period employment is defined as a job which is held le s s than three years. The "stable work period" is a period of job p ersisten ce, beginning when the worker find s a position in which he remains permanently and continuing un t i l retirem ent, death, or u n til he enters another t r i a l work period. Employment during the stable period is defined as a job held more than three years. In exploring another dimension of career m obility, Form and M iller established six career fa m ilies which repre sent d ifferen t ways in which a career pattern may manifest i t s e l f . 1. The stable type is characterized by early en trance into a permanent job and is ty p ifie d by the p rofessions. 2. The conventional type is the "normal," " socially expected" job progression to stable employment and is illu str a te d by p roprietors, managers and o f f i c i a l s . 34 3. The unstable type is characterized by a return to a t r i a l job a fter attainin g s t a b i lit y through the conventional pattern; c l e r i c a l workers exem p lif y th is pattern. 4. The single t r i a l type, illu s tr a te d by sk ille d laborers, is ty p ifie d by an early beginning of the t r i a l work period by persons of a young age. 5. The d isesta b lish ed type is characterized by a return to a t r i a l job after quick attainment of a stable job, and is seen in the sem i-sk illed worker groups. 6 . The multiple t r i a l type is characterized by con secutive t r i a l jobs with no stable job attained. Unskilled laborers exemplify t h is pattern. Form and M iller summarize th e ir research on career mobility patterns for business and proprietary workers by noting that much v e r tic a l mobility within the occupation oc curs during the i n i t i a l and t r i a l work periods, but there is a surprising s t a b ilit y during the stable work period. Existing research in career m obility patterns has shown that persons in business, managerial and proprietary groups hold an average of four jobs through th eir entire careers; that sp e c ific careers manifest d istingu ishable car eer patterns; and that a l l careers move through three phases of career development, and every career manifests unique nesses throughout each phase. 35 Summary This chapter has presented a review of empirical re search which r e la te s d irectly to the seven hypotheses to be tested in th is investigation . Incumbents of indeterminant occupational statu ses, as represented by salesmen, are more concerned with monetary rewards and opportunities for advancement than are incum bents of determinant occupational sta tu ses, as represented by engineers. Three personal value orientation s are manifest in regard to occupational selection : ex trin sic reward-directed, self-exp ressive oriented, and people-oriented. Job sa tisfa ctio n is related to personal sa tisfa c tio n and extent of personal sa tisfa c tio n may be assessed by ask ing a person about the degree of sa tisfa c tio n experienced in his present career. Occupational choice is a process which moves through several distinguishable phases. The process is largely ir rev ersib le, and compromise is an e s s e n tia l aspect of every ch oice. Occupational inheritance from father to son is the rule rather than the exception. Between 48 per cent and 73 per cent of businessmen inherited th e ir occupations from their fathers. Career mobility patterns d iffe r for various occu pations. Every career manifests distinguishable character- 36 i s t i c s throughout each phase of the career development proce ss. CHAPTER I I I M ETH O D O LO G Y Introduction It was stated e a r lie r that the purpose of th is re search i s to te s t em pirically a th e o retic a l model postulat ing a continuum of occupation types ranging from determinant ro les to indeterminant r o le s , and that te stin g of th is model would be re stric ted to intra-occupational variations mani fested by the business executive. It has been hypothesized that the business executive represents a. r e la tiv e ly indeter minant occupational type. A t e s t of th is generalized hypoth e s i s w ill be made by testin g seven sp ec ific hypotheses in volving three groups of business executives who are presum ably ranged along a hypothetical continuum of role deter- minantness. This chapter w ill begin with a description of the universe studied, followed by a description of the interview schedule developed, and concluding with a description of the s t a t i s t i c a l techniques employed and the rationale of the method. The Universe Studied The 102 companies in the study represent a universe, inasmuch as a l l firms within the metropolitan Los Angeles 37 area are engaged in manufacture and have a gross annual sa le s volume between twenty-five and f i f t y m illion d o lla r s. Greater p recision in defining company size by annual sales i s lim ited by the manner in which t h is information i s re ported. P oor^ Register of D irectors and Executives, 1959,^ reports broad sales c a teg o r ies. However, additional r e le vant data for each company i s provided, such as name of the president, name of each vice-p resid en t and t i t l e of the sp e c ific v ic e -p r e sid e n tia l p o sitio n held, major product man ufactured, and number of persons employed. Table 1 shows the number of companies employing various numbers of employ ees within the twenty-five to f i f t y m illion dollar category, and Table 2 shows the type of manufacturing companies and the number of manufacturing companies within t h is twenty- fiv e to f i f t y m illion dollar category. Within the occupation of business executive, there are wide variation s related to d iffe r e n t p o sitio n s in the management hierarchy, the job performed, and the type of o corporation. Warner and Martin suggest th a t, "It i s d i f f i c u lt to set forth any universal gen eralization s with regard to the role of the executive." It seemed advisable, there fore, to r e s t r ic t t h is study to a segment of the t o t a l ^Poor's Register of D irectors and Executives, 1959, (New York! Standard & PoorTs to r p ., 1959). 2 W . Lloyd Warner and Norman H. Martin, Industrial Man: Businessmen and Business Organizations (New York: Har per and Bros, '1958 ) ,’ " p " . 13. 39 TABLE 1 COM PANIES HAVING VARIOUS NUM BERS O F EM PLOYEES W ITH A N N U A L V O LU M E BETW EEN $25 AN D $50 M ILL ION IN THE LOS ANGELES M ETROPOLITAN AREA Company Size Number of Companies 999 and le s s 16 1000 - 1499 17 1500 - 1999 26 2000 - 2499 28 2500 and larger 15 TO TAL 102 40 TABLE 2 TYPE AND NUM BER OF M ANUFACTURING COM PANIES HAVING ANNUAL VO LU M E BETW EEN $25 AND $50 MILLION IN TH E LOS ANGELES M ETROPOLITAN AREA Type of Company Number of Companies E lectronic Engineering 24 Chemical 17 S te e l, Iron and Related . M aterials Small and Medium Appliances 13 Aircraft and Mis. Systems Development Heavy Machinery 10 Petroleum 7 T ex tiles 5 TOTAL 102 41 business cu ltu re, namely, execu tives at the v ic e-p r esid en tia l le v e l, employed by companies involved in manufacturing, and ranging in siz e between tw enty-five and f i f t y m illion dol lars annual sa le s volume. However, the extent of variation in the v ic e -p r e sid e n tia l role is a major focus of a tten tio n . Executives from the v ic e -p r e sid e n tia l le v e l were pur posely selected to afford the opportunity to t e s t Hypothesis 7, regarding career m obility. An executive in t h is le v e l of the management hierarchy has already experienced m obility through lower management le v e ls , and moreover, he may yet have career m obility a sp ira tio n s. A vice-p resid en t may as pire to a v ic e -p r e sid e n tia l p o sitio n in another company and thereby gain p r estig e , increased compensation including both income and b e n e fits , increased r e s p o n s ib ility , and greater job autonomy. Three groups of vice-p resid en ts were chosen from the t o ta l of one hundred and two manufacturing companies meeting the s e le c tio n c r ite r io n . Group I Composed of tech n ica lly trained execu t i v e s bearing such t i t l e s as V ice-p resi dent of Production, Manufacturing, Opera t io n s , Engineering, and Research. Group II Composed of execu tives handling a u xiliary and s ta ff functions and bearing t i t l e s such as V ice-president of Public Rela tio n s , Personnel, S a les, Merchandising, and Industrial R elations. Group III Composed of execu tives charged with a broad range of managerial r e sp o n sib ili t i e s and bearing t i t l e s such as Division V ice-president, Manager of West Coast Operations, Product Manager, and Execu tiv e Vice-president, It was postulated that the highly tech n ically trained executives in Group I would represent a determinant occupational r o le , because the requirements for entry, role expectations, role behavior, and the righ ts and duties are r e la tiv e ly w ell structured and established for occupational ro les such as engineering, manufacturing, and research. The executives handling auxiliary and sta ff functions in Group II would represent a r e la tiv e ly le ss determinant occupation al r o le , inasmuch as the requirements for entry, role expec ta tio n s, role behavior, and rig h ts and duties are le ss structured and le s s w ell established for such occupational ro les as sa le s, personnel, and merchandising. Executives charged with a broad range of managerial r e s p o n s ib ilitie s in Group III would represent a r e la tiv e ly indeterminant occupa tio n a l role within the business executive occupational frame work, because there is a greater variation and lack of per sistence in the norms related to the occupational role of manager. Each executive in the study was selected by the follow ing procedure: 1 . Poor's R egister of D irectors and Companies. 1959 was used to id e n tify companies in the Los Ange le s Metropolitan Area engaged in manufacture. 2. From th is l i s t , a l l companies having a gross annual d ollar volume between tw enty-five and f i f t y m illion d ollars were made a part of the study. 3. Then, a sp e c ific executive was selected from Poor' s l i s t i n g of names and t i t l e s of v ice- presidents for each company. The se lec tio n of a vice-presid en t alternated between the three c la s s if ic a t io n groups--tech nical, s t a f f , and managerial— discussed above. Thus, Group I contains 34 executives, Group II contains 35, and Group III 33 execu tives. Executives were contacted by a le t t e r which invited them to particip ate in a study of business executives. The le tt e r stated that a telephone c a ll from the in v estig a to r would be forthcoming within a few days for the purpose of settin g up an appointment time for a personal interview and answering questions related to p articip ation in the study. The le t t e r went out over the signature of the Chairman of the Department of Sociology. Each executive was telephoned between two and five days a fter the le t t e r was mailed. In terviews were scheduled at the convenience of the executive. A period of approximately four months was available for the executive to s e le c t a convenient time fo r a one-hour in ter view. A sample of the le t t e r in v itin g p a rticip a tio n in the study may be found in the appendix. The Interview Schedule An interview schedule was designed for the purpose of gaining s u ffic ie n t information to refute or substantiate the hypotheses of the study. The schedule is the outcome of a review of the liter a tu re bearing on each hypothesis to be investigated . Interview schedule items related to the t e s t ing of three hypotheses, and the manner in which they were tested has been abstracted from the context of previous re search. In th ese instances, the present study w ill afford a p a r tia l re p lica tio n of a s p e c ific hypothesis within the framework provided by the th eo retic a l model. Interview schedule items related to the remaining four hypotheses represent lo g ic a l formulations from previous studies ex pressed in terms of the framework of the th e o r e tic a l model. The analysis of response patterns for questions related to each of the seven hypotheses w ill be discussed in d e t a il in the following section on s t a t i s t i c a l procedures. Questions designed to ascertain the extent to which business executives d efin e th eir career goals prim arily as economic Three se ts of questions were developed to a sse ss the economic motive in the career goals of the business execu t iv e . Interviewees were f i r s t asked: Which of the following statements best describes the reason(s) why you l e f t your f i r s t job after com p letin g your education? The next and succeeding jobs? The following thirteen response categories were provided: 1. Desire for greater income. 2. Limited opportunity for advancement. 3. In su ffic ie n t security. 4. Poor working conditions. 5. Poor working a sso cia tes. 6 . Negative evaluation of c lie n t e le . 7. Negative evaluation of employer. 8 . Negative evaluation of product. 9. In su fficien t status and p restige. 10. The nature of the work. 11. Limited opportunity for personal development. 12. Limited opportunity for career development. 13. Other reasons. Interviewees were then asked: Which of these statements best describes your d is s a tis fa c tio n (s ) or d is lik e (s ) about your present job? The same th irteen response categories were to be evaluated. Interviewees were asked, as the la s t question: Which of the following reasons would be most important to you in seeking other employment? Seven response categories were provided: 46 1 . Better income. 2 . More opportunity for advancement. 3. More security. 4. Increased status and p restig e. 5. Personal growth and development. 6 . Career development. 7. Other reasons. Thus, each respondent was asked about h is reasons for leaving past jobs, about the reasons why he would con sider leaving h is present job, and the most important rea sons for seeking new employment in the future. The focus of in terest in analyzing response patterns concerned Category 1— Better income, as compared with Category 12—Limited op portunity for career development, in regard to past and present employment. In regard to future employment, the focus of in terest in analyzing response patterns concerned Category 1— Better income, as compared with Category 6— Career development. Questions intended to determine the extent to which business executives view their careers as a means of qaininq entrv into a higher occupational status These questions and response categories were id en ti cal to those u tiliz e d to assess economic career goals. How ever, the response categories of importance to analyzing the extent to which executives view th eir jobs as a means to an end d iffered . Interviewees were asked why they had l e f t previous jobs and for what reasons they might leave their present job. Here, the focus of in te rest is on Category 2—Limited opportunity for advancement, as compared with Category 12— Desire for opportunity for greater career development. The corresponding categories are the focus of in te rest with reference to the question why respondents would seek new employment. The questions concerning economic career goals d is cussed above and those concerning occupation as a means to an end rep licate the approach taken by Mack, discussed in the Review of the Literature chapter. The response categor ie s have been changed only s lig h tly in t h is in vestigation . Questions developed for the purpose of identifying personal value orientations Values are involved whenever an individual makes a selectio n from a given number of a lter n a tiv es. As a way of determining the occupational values of importance to busi ness executives, a l i s t of statements was rated which have im plicit in each of them a value ranging from the desire for economic success, through the wish to be helpful toward others, to the desire for the opportunity to be creative and se lf-e x p re ssiv e . To provide a r e a lis t ic framework for the evaluation of each statement related to an occupational val 48 ue, the interviewee was asked to rate a l i s t of "require ments" which would be of importance to him in the "ideal" career. The follow ing in stru ction s were given to respond ents: Here i s a l i s t of requirements for the ideal career. Consider to what extent a career should s a tis fy each of the requirements, before you would consider it to be id e a l. F ir s t, mark those requirements which you f e e l are "highly important;" then mark the one requirement from t h is group which is "most important." Mark the re maining requirements which are of "medium importance." Mark the requirements which are of " l i t t l e or no impor tance ." Interviewees rated the follow ing ten requirements for the ideal career: 1. Provide an opportunity to use special a b i l i t i e s . 2 . Provide a chance to earn a good deal of money. 3. Permit c r e a tiv ity and o r ig in a lity . 4. Award so c ia l status and p restig e . 5. Provide the opportunity to work with people rather than things. 6 . Enable a person to look forward to a sta b le, secure future. 7. Enable a person to be r e la t iv e ly free from the supervision of others. 8 . Permit the exercise of leadership. 9. Provide adventure. 10. Provide the opportunity to be helpful to others. This rating scale of personal values related to preference in occupation r e p lic a te s , with minor va ria tio n , 49 the approach taken by Rosenberg discussed in the previous chapter. Questions regarding the extent of job s a tis fa c tio n with the career of business executive It was stated previously that job sa tis fa c tio n i s most commonly assessed by d ir e c tly asking a person about the extent of sa tisfa c tio n experienced with h is job. Such ques tio n s may take a variety of forms for the purpose of meas uring the d ifferen t aspects or fa c e ts of job s a tis fa c tio n . Extent of general career s a tis fa c tio n may be meas ured by asking business execu tives to rate th e ir s a t is f a c tion on a four-point sc a le . Interviewees were asked: To what extent do you f e e l that the business execu tiv e career is the only sa tisfa cto ry career for you? There were four possible responses; 1. The only sa tisfa c to r y career. 2. A sa tisfa cto ry career, but not n ecessarily the only sa tisfa cto ry career. 3. One of several possible careers. 4. It has not been a sa tisfa c to ry career. Another aspect of sa tis fa c tio n is related to the question as to whether a person would enter the same career again. Interviewees were asked: I f you had the choice to make again, would you s e le c t the career of business executive? Respondents could answer "yes" or "no." 50 Another dimension of sa tisfa ctio n i s shown by a person's w illin gn ess to recommend to another individual, such as a son or close re la tiv e in the fam ily, the desira b i l i t y of entering a career in business. Interviewees were asked: Would you. encourage your son to become a business executive? Respondents could answer "yes" or "no." S t i l l another facet of sa tisfa c tio n is illu str a te d by the p osition in the hierarchy of occupations a person v isu a liz e s h is own career in relation to other careers. Interviewees were asked: Considering a l l the occupations and professions that you know, which would you place highest in the occupational hierarchy? Where do you place your own career? This question was open-ended. Respondents had an unlimited number of possible responses. Another view of sa tisfa c tio n is seen by asking a person about the things that give him sa tisfa c tio n in his l i f e . Interviewees were asked: What three things or a c t i v i t i e s of your l i f e do you f e e l give you the most sa tisfa ctio n ? Respondents were given the following six categories to eval uate as being "most important," "second most important," and "third most important:" 1. Career. 2. Family rela tio n sh ip s. 3. P articipation as a c itiz e n in a ffa ir s of the community. 4. P articipation as a c itiz e n in a c t i v i t i e s direc ted toward national or international betterment. b. Leisure-time recreation. 6 . Religious b e lie fs and a c t i v i t i e s . A f in a l approach in evaluating sa tisfa c tio n in volves the manner in which the business executive ranks h is own career among a group of eight other careers, and a rank ing of h is own career within the group of eight selected careers in the manner in which he f e e ls the general public would rank them. Interviewees were instructed: Place the following occupations in rank order, highest to lowest, according to the amount of prestige you personally f e e l that each commands. Then, rank the same occupations the way you think the general public would rank them. The careers to be ranked included: 1. Lawyer. 2. Architect. 3. Business executive. 4. D entist. 5, Minister. 6 . Social worker. 7, Medical doctor. 8 . Engineer. 9. High school teacher. A p ro file of job sa tisfa c tio n is gained through an 52 analysis of responses to questions dealing with extent of general sa tis fa c tio n , whether the business executive career might be chosen again, i f a son would be encouraged to enter the career of business executive, the place business execu tiv e s assign themselves in the occupational hierarchy, the rela tiv e importance of one's own career in h is l i f e , and the way in which business executives rank their own careers and the way in which they f e e l the general public ranks th eir careers in comparison with eight other careers. Questions designed to ascertain when the decision to become a business executive took place; Age of recruitment has been shown to be a part of the fin a l stage of the occupational choice process. Ascer- \ taining the age at which a decision was made to enter a ca reer is r e la tiv e ly direct and simple, since i t i s an h isto r ic a l fact in the l i f e of the individual to be reca lled . Age of decision was obtained by asking interviewees: At what age did you d e fin ite ly decide to become a business executive? Six response categories were provided, as follows: 1. Prior to high school. 2. During high school. a. F irst year. b. Second year. c. Third year. d. Fourth year. 3. During co lleg e a. F irst year. b. Second year. c. Third year. d. Fourth year. 4. During graduate school, 5. Within one year after entry into the labor fo r c e . 6 . Sometime beyond one year a fter entry into the labor force. Because a sizable number of business executives i n i t i a l l y entered the labor force in another career, i t was important to note th is , as w ell as the age of decision to enter a career other than business. Entrants into a career ty p ic a lly consider alterna tiv e s prior to reaching a crystalized decision during the course of the occupational choice process. Interviewees were asked: V V hat careers did you seriously consider entering besides business? And also: At what ages were these careers considered? Responses to these two questions were coded as open-end type questions. Evaluation of the major influences of importance in the decision to enter a career, whether business or another 54 career, was ascertained through the following question: How important were the following influences in your decision to enter a career? Each p oten tial influence was rated "very important," "rela t iv e ly important," or " l it t le or no importance:" 1. Books, p erio d ica ls, and magazines. 2. Moving pictures. 3. High school and college courses. 4. Membership in formal career oriented organiza tio n s. 5. Membership in fraternal organizations. 6 . Family, personal frien d s, and admired persons. The same l i s t of items was a lso evaluated as to th eir importance in providing a picture of the career selec ted. Interviewees were again asked to rate each as "very important," "relatively important," or " lit t le or no impor tance." How important were the following in providing in sig h ts, perceptions, and knowledge regarding your career? Questions intended to reveal the inter-generational mobility patterns of in divi duals in the career of business executive Occupational mobility was determined in a simple, d irect manner. F ir s t, the occupational le v e l of the business executive's father and grandfather was ascertained. Varia tio n s in mobility within a generation was determined by 55 noting the occupation le v e l of the business execu tive's brothers. Mobility of the execu tive's wife was determined by ascertaining her fa th e r 's occupational le v e l. Interview ees were asked: What was (is ) the major occupation of: 1. Paternal grandfather. 2. Father. 3. Spouse's father. 4. Brother(s). From these basic data, a complete analysis of inter- generational mobility of the business executive is p ossib le. Questions designed to id en tify the business execu tive's career mobility patterns A picture of the amount of m obility within the busi ness executive career was obtained by analyzing a complete record of each respondent's employment h istory. Interview ees were asked to give an account of th eir employment h is tory since entering the labor force, which included the f o l lowing information: 1. Name of the company. 2. Employment dates. 3. T itle s of p ositions held. 4. Approximate annual salary. From information given in the account of employment history, career mobility was analyzed in terms of the to ta l 56 number of companies by whom employed since entering the labor force, the average length of time employed by each, the to ta l number of p o sitio n s held per company, and the average length of time within each p osition . Rationale of the Method and S t a t is t ic a l Analysis The s t a t i s t i c a l analysis of interview schedule items was c h ie fly concerned with the support or refutation of the seven hypotheses in the study. Secondly, however, the anal y s is was concerned with data of a descriptive nature which provided additional information bearing on each hypothesis. Three s t a t i s t i c a l measures were used in the analysis of the data. The non-parametrie s t a t i s t i c chi-square is ap propriate to determine whether the frequency of responses fa llin g into d iscrete categories d iffe r s s ig n ific a n tly from chance expectation.^ The Kolmogorov-Smirnov4 t e s t has been used as an approximation of chi square in certain calcula tion s where electron ic data processing equipment was u t i l ized in the an alysis. The te s t is concerned with the agree ment between d istrib u tio n s of the same variable in two d if- 3 J. P. Guilford, £undamental S t a t is t ic s in Psychol ogy and Education (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., In c., 1950), pp. 273-285; Allen L. Edwards, S t a t is t ic a l Analysis (New York; Rinehart and Co., n c., 1959), pp. 149-158; Virginia L. Senders, Measurement and S t a t is t ic s (New York; Oxford U niversity Press, 1958), pp. 40^-409. ^3. S ieg el, Nonparametric S t a t is t ic s for the Behavioral Sciences (New York; McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc. , 1956), pp. 127-137. ferent samples. Chi-square t e s t s or Kolmogorov-Smirnov t e s t s were applied to illu s tr a t e s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifica n t differences in responses made by the three subgroups of executives con stitu tin g the universe of executives studied. Chi-square t e s t s were also applied to illu s t r a t e s t a t i s t i c a lly sig n ific a n t differen ces between responses within each subgroup. The s t a t i s t i c u tiliz e d to analyze data bearing on the hypothesis concerning personal value orientation s is Pearson product-moment correlation.^* C o efficie n ts of corre lation illu s tr a te the extent to which the ten personal val ues evaluated by interviewees are associated with one an other. Two additional s t a t i s t i c a l measures used which were not cru cia l to the acceptance or refu tation of hypotheses are mentioned la ter in th is section. The analysis of each of the seven hypotheses w ill now be discussed. Hypothesis 1 Business executives define th eir career goals p ri marily as economic. Questions designed to t e s t Hypothesis 1 asses the respondent's reasons for considering a change in h is present job as well as the lik e s and d is lik e s of previ ous jobs and the primary reason for leaving and seeking other employment. Also assessed are plans for the future in ''Guilford, op. c i t . . pp. 154-171; Edwards, op. c i t .. pp. 227-272; Senders, op c i t . , pp. 66-84. pp. 227-272; 58 terms of the nature of job improvement which is important to the respondent. A chi-square t e s t was applied to determine whether business executives respond to question categories dealing with "desire for greater income" as sources of d is sa tisfa c tio n sig n ific a n tly greater than response categories dealing with "desire for greater career development." If executives respond s ig n ific a n tly more often to questions pertaining to income, the hypothesis that business execu t iv e s view th eir work primarily as economic w ill be sup ported. 1. A chi-square te s t was f i r s t applied to the re sponses concerning "income" and "career" made by the t o ta l group studied. The r e su lts of th is t e s t indicated whether the d ifferences expressed between "desire for greater in come" and "desire for career growth" were greater than chance expectation. 2. The second t e s t included the application of chi- square to responses concerning "income" and "career" for each of the three subgroups of executives. This t e s t made sa lien t the uniquenesses in response pattern manifested by each subgroup. 3. The third t e s t included the application of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov t e s t to demonstrate the sign ificance of differences between responses for subgroups I, II, and III. If the data were supportive of Hypothesis 1, the r e su lts would be in the d irection predicted by the th e o reti 59 cal model: indeterminate occupational types are r e la t iv e ly more concerned with economic goals than career development. Hypothesis 2 Business executives define th e ir careers as a means of gaining entry into a higher occupational statu s. This hypothesis was tested in the same manner as Hypothesis 1. Interviewees' reasons for considering a change in present job, the reasons for changes in previous job s, and the na ture of changes that would be desired in future employment were analyzed by a chi-square te s t to determine i f execu tiv e s respond to question categories dealing with "greater opportunity for advancement" s ig n ific a n tly more than re sponse categories dealing with "career development." If executives respond s ig n ific a n tly more often to questions re lated to opportunity, the hypothesis that business execu t iv e s view th e ir work as a means to an end is supported. Once again, two se ts of chi-square t e s t s and a Kolmogorov- Smirnov t e s t were appropriate. 1. A chi-square t e s t applied to the responses con cerning "opportunity" and "career" made by the t o t a l group. 2. Three chi-square t e s t s applied to illu s t r a t e d ifferen ces in response pattern unique to subgroups I, II, and III. 3. Kolmogorov-Smirnov t e s t s applied to ill u s t r a t e d ifferen ces in response pattern between each subgroup. 60 If Hypothesis 2 is supported, the r e su lts would be in the direction predicted by the th e o retic a l model, that indeterminate occupational types are r e la tiv e ly more con cerned with a career as a means to an end, rather than an end in i t s e l f . Hypothesis 3 Business executives evidence a personal value ori entation which is extrin sic reward directed. A t e s t of Hypothesis 3 includes computation of Pearson product-moment c o e ffic ie n ts of correlation between every possible pair of requirements which interviewees have rated for the ideal career. From the 10 x 10 correlation matrix, the highest relation sh ip s were noted and labeled "primary value orien tation s." A s t a t i s t i c a l t e s t of significance was applied to each c o e ffic ie n t of correlation to demonstrate that a cor relation of the size given by the data could not have oc curred on the basis of chance. F ish er's formula for t in te stin g a c o e ffic ie n t of correlation was used for t h is t e s t .^ Hypothesis 3 was supported i f the most highly corre lated pairs of requirements were "extrinsic reward ori ented ." 1. The correlation analysis discussed above pro vides a t e s t of the hypothesis for the to ta l universe studied. ^Guilford, op. c i t . . p. 227. 61 2, Uniquenesses in regard to personal values mani fested by subgroups I, II, and III were illu str a te d by rank ordering the ratings made by each group and noting the per centages of interviewees rating each of the ten job require ments as "most important," "highly important," "medium im portance," and " l it t le or no importance." 3. Kolmogorov-Smirnov t e s t s were applied to i l l u s trate significance of d ifferences in response patterns be tween each subgroup. Support of Hypothesis 3 indicates that r e su lts were in the d irection which the th e o retic a l model predicts: in determinate occupational types are largely, ex trin sic reward d irected . Hypothesis 4 Business executives evidence r e la tiv e ly low morale and personal sa tisfa c tio n in regard to th eir careers. Ques tio n s which were s t a t i s t i c a l l y analyzed were concerned with the extent to which executives f e e l that business is the only sa tisfa cto ry career for themselves: would they make the same occupational choice again, and would they encourage a son to enter th eir occupations. The number of responses in dicating favorable or p o sitiv e fe e lin g s were compared with the number of unfavorable or negative responses. A chi- square te s t was applied to determine i f d ifferen ces between favorable and unfavorable responses concerning the careers 62 were s ig n ific a n tly sig n ific a n t. If business executives in dicated s ig n ific a n tly more unfavorable a ttitu d es toward their occupations, the hypothesis that executives express low occupational sa tisfa c tio n and morale was supported. 1. A chi-square te s t was applied to responses e l i c ited by the to ta l group for categories showing p o sitiv e and negative a ttitu d e s. 2. Chi-square t e s t s were applied to illu s tr a te d if ferences in response pattern unique to subgroups I, I I , and III. 3. Kolmogorov-Smirnov t e s t s were applied to i l l u s trate d ifferen ces in response pattern between subgroups I, II, and III. Additional data pertinent to th is hypothesis were provided by three additional questions. The f i r s t question gave a picture of how close to the top of the occupational hierarchy executives place th eir own careers. Respondents were asked what career they would place at the top of the occupational hierarchy, and where they placed their own ca reers with reference to the highest career. The number of respondents mentioning various careers was tabulated and the careers were place in rank order for the t o ta l group and for each subgroup. The rela tiv e p o sitio n s which executives ascribe to themselves were also tabulated and placed in rank order for both the to ta l group and each subgroup. The sec ond question provided a picture of the major sources of 63 sa tisfa c tio n in the executives' liv e s . Respondents were asked to se lect those things which provided them with the greatest sa tisfa ctio n from a l i s t of seven items. The num ber of persons in the to ta l group and the number in each subgroup rating career as the "most important" source of sa tisfa ctio n was tabulated. The third question provided a picture of the rank p osition executives assign themselves in comparison with other selected careers, and the rank posi tion executives fe e l the general public assigns them. Re spondents were asked to rank nine careers including business executive in order of the prestige and status each commands, and then to rank the same careers the way they f e e l the gen eral public views them. Rankings were tabulated for the to ta l group and for subgroups X, II, and III. Spearman rank order correlation was u tiliz e d to illu s tr a te the extent of sim ilarity in the business executives' rankings of occupa tio n s and the rankings which executives attribute to the general public. Spearman rho c o e ffic ie n ts were calculated for the to ta l group and for each subgroup. The r e su lts were in the direction predicted by the th e o retica l model if the data supported the hypothesis: in- ' determinate occupational types manifest r e la tiv e ly low mor ale and sa tisfa ctio n . ^ Ib id . . pp. 310-314. Hypothesis 5 Business executives make the decision to enter th e ir careers r e la tiv e ly late in l i f e . Recruitment patterns were determined by ascertaining at what age executives made the decision to enter their careers. A chi-square t e s t was ap plied to determine if the number of executives deciding to enter business at four d ifferen t periods of time— prior to high school, during high school, during c o lleg e , and after entering the labor force— d iffered s ig n ific a n tly from chance. Hypothesis 5 was supported i f a s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifican t number of executives decided to enter business after entry into the labor force or during the la s t years of formal education as compared with entry prior to high school or during the f i r s t years of high school. 1. A chi-square t e s t was applied to responses con cerning age of decision for the t o ta l group of executives studied. 2. Chi-square t e s t s were applied to illu s tr a te uniquenesses in pattern of decision age for each subgroup. 3. Kolmogorov-Smirnov t e s t s were applied to i l l u s trate significance of d ifferences between the three sub groups. Additional analysis of recruitment patterns took into account the number of other careers seriously consid ered before deciding on business, and the age when these careers were considered. Also determined was the career 65 with which execu tives entered the labor force in cases when the o rig in a l career was not business, and the age at which the d ecision was made to enter the career. 1. Percentages were calcu lated to summarize the additional data described above for the t o ta l group and for each subgroup. 2. Kolmogorov-Smirnov t e s t s were applied to i l l u s trate s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ific a n t d iffer en ce s between sub groups I, I I , and III. The major in fluences in the d ecisio n to enter a ca reer in business, and the major sources of in sigh t and know ledge into business, were determined. Major influences and sources of knowledge for careers f i r s t entered prior to business were also determined. 1. Percentages were calculated to summarize the major in fluen ces and sources of knowledge for the t o ta l group studied and for each of the three subgroups. 2. Kolmogorov-Smirnov t e s t s were applied to i l l u s trate s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ific a n t d ifferen ces between sub groups I , II, and I I I . Support of Hypothesis 5 indicated that the r e s u lts were in the d irectio n which the th e o r e tic a l model predicts: indeterminate occupational types are characterized by late recruitment of p o ten tia l incumbents. 66 Hypothesis 6 Business execu tives c h a r a c te r is tic a lly experience horizontal or downward m obility at the time of entry into the labor force. Inter-generational m obility patterns were determined by ascertaining the occupational le v e l of the father of the execu tive. In addition, the ex e c u tiv e 's fath e r 's educational le v e l was determined. The number of re spondents experiencing horizontal m obility and the number experiencing upward mobility were subjected to a chi-square t e s t to determine i f d ifferen ces between categories were s t a t i s t i c a l l y s ig n ific a n t. A chi-square t e s t was also ap p lied to determine i f there were s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ific a n t d ifferen ces between the number of respondents experiencing horizontal and downward m obility. If a s ig n ific a n tly great er number of execu tives experienced horizontal or downward m obility, Hypothesis 6 was supported. 1 . Percentages were computed to show the occupa tio n a l o rig in s of the t o ta l group and each subgroup. 2. A chi-square t e s t was applied to the ca teg o ries illu s t r a t in g upward, h orizontal, and downward mobility for the to t a l group studied. 3. Chi-square t e s t s were applied to illu s t r a t e uniquenesses in m obility patterns for each subgroup. 4. Kolmogorov-Smirnov t e s t s were applied to deter mine i f there were s ig n ific a n t d ifferen ces in m obility pat terns among the three subgroups. 67 The occupational c la s s if ic a t io n scheme used by Rogoff^ has been u tiliz e d in the present study. This scheme co n sists of ten major occupational c la sse s and represents a modified version of a c la s s if ic a t io n system used by the Bu reau of the Census.^ 1. Professional 2. Semi-professional 3. Proprietors, Managers, and O f fic ia ls 4. C lerica l and Sale s 5. S killed 6 . Sem i-skilled 7. Unskilled 8 . Protective Service Physicians, Lawyers, D en tists, M inisters, Teachers, Engineers, Chemists, S c ie n tis ts , e tc . Draftsmen, Writers, Actors, Enter ta in e rs, Musicians, Newspapermen, e t c . Bankers, Brokers, Railroad Conduc to rs, Managers and O f fic ia ls in Government, Managers and O f fic ia ls in Industry, Proprietors, Whole sale Dealers, e tc . Bookkeepers, Accountants, Adver tis in g Men, Salesmen, Shipping Clerks, Mail Clerks, e tc . Carpenters, Machinists, Brickma- sons, Mechanics, Painters, Plumb ers, E lectricia n s, Locomotive Engineers, e tc . Truck and Bus Drivers, Factory Workers, Gas Station Attendants, Streetcar Motormen, Linemen, e tc . Teamsters, Laborers, H ostlers, Government R elief Projects Firemen, Policemen, Watchmen, Soldiers, S a ilo rs, e tc . QN, Rogoff# Recent Trends in Occupational Mobility (Glencoe, 111.: The Free Press, 1953), pp. 114-117. 9 U. S. Bureau of the Census, Seventeenth Census of the United States: 195Q. Alphabetical Index of Occupations and Industrie s. 68 9. Personal Barbers, Bartenders, Cooks, Wait- Service ers, Servants, Jan itors, e tc . 10. Farming Farmers Further analysis of mobility took into account the amount of mobility within the ex ecu tiv e’s generation, as exemplified by the degree of mobility experienced by h is brothers. Also taken into account was the mobility experi enced by the ex ecu tiv e's wife at marriage. 1. Percentages were computed to illu s tr a te the oc cupations entered by executives' brothers, and the occupa tions of the fathers of execu tives' wives for the to ta l group and each subgroup. 2. Kolmogorov-Smirnov t e s t s were applied to deter mine i f there were sig n ifica n t d ifferen ces in mobility pat terns between subgroups i , II, and III. Results were in the d irection predicted by the the o retica l model if the hypothesis was supported: indetermin ate occupational types experience horizontal or downward mobility at the time of entry into the labor force. Hypothesis 7 Business executives c h a ra c te ristic a lly experience a high rate and broad range of p osition al career m obility. Career mobility patterns were determined by ascertaining the to ta l number of companies by whom each executive was em ployed since entry into the labor force, the t o ta l number of p ositions held within each company, the average length of time employed by each company, and the average length of time in each p osition held. Chi-square t e s t s were applied to determine i f d ifferen ces were sig n ifica n t: 1. Between the number of executives who were em ployed by three or le s s companies and those em ployed by more than three companies since entry into the labor force. 2. The number of executives who held seven or le s s p osition s and those who held more than seven. 3. The number of executives who were employed by companies for an average of fiv e or le s s years per company and those who were employed fo r an average of more than fiv e years per company. 4. The number of executives who held an average of three p o sitio n s or le s s per company and the num ber who held an average of more than three per company. Hypothesis 7 was supported i f the s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifican t d ifferen ces between the four se ts of conparison categories were accounted for by executives who experienced a greater amount of career m obility. 1. A chi-square te s t was applied to the four sets of response categories regarding career mobility patterns for the to ta l group. 2. Chi-square t e s t s were applied to illu s t r a te uniquenesses in career mobility patterns for each subgroup. 70 3. Kolmogorov-Smirnov t e s t s were applied to demon strate differen ces in career mobility patterns between each subgroup♦ Support of Hypothesis 7 indicates that the r e su lts were in the d irection predicted by the th eo retic a l model: indeterminate occupational types ch a r a c te r istic a lly experi ence a high rate and a broad range of p o sitio n a l career m obility. Electronic Data Processing Analysis of the interview schedule and the related s t a t i s t i c a l computations were performed by the IBM-709 electronic data processing system at the Western Data Proc essing Center. Each interview schedule was coded in accord ance with the format of Questionnaire Analysis Program 1. ^ Coded interview data were punched in Hollerinth cards for machine ca lcu la tio n s. Q AP I is a pre-written program for analyzing questionnaire data which provides frequency counts, percentage counts, and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov t e s t for an approximation of chi-square. A pre-written program for correlation a n a ly s is ^ by the IBM-709 was also u tiliz e d through the f a c i l i t i e s of the Western Data Processing Cen- ■^Western Data Processing Center, Questionnaire Analysis Program I (Los Angeles: U niversity of C alifornia, 195 9 n ^Western Data Processing Center, Correlation Anal y s is Procedure (Los Angeles: University of C alifornia, 1959). te r . Additional c a lcu la tio n s were made on a standard Monroe desk c a lcu la to r . CHAPTER IV RESULTS Introduction The major focus of in te r e st in reporting the r e s u lts of t h is in v estig a tio n i s on the evidence supporting the gen eral hypothesis that business executives represent an inde terminate occupational type. Each of the seven hypotheses, supported by the data, represent evidence in favor of the indeterminate occupational type which the th e o r e tic a l model pred icts for the business executive. Of equal in te re st is the evidence supporting the existence of a continuum of oc cupational types ranging from determinate r o le s to indeter minate r o le s within the group of business executives stud ied. On the basis of the th e o r e tic a l model, i t was postu lated that vice-p resid en ts f u l f i l l i n g tech n ical r o le s repre sent a determinate occupational type, that v ice-p resid en ts f u l f i l l i n g managerial r o le s represent an indeterminate occu pational type, and that vice-p resid en ts f u l f i l l i n g sta ff ro les f a l l on the continuum at some point between the two polar extreme types. S t a t is t ic a l t e s t s of sig n ifica n ce are reported at or beyond the .10 le v e l for the purpose of i l lu stra tin g in tere stin g trends in the data, with the inten tio n of presenting a clearer picture of the strengths or 72 weaknesses of the th e o r e tic a l model. This chapter w ill proceed with a general portraiture of the universe of execu tives studied, the r e s u lts bearing on the hypotheses, the im plications of the findings for the th e o r etic a l model, and a summary of the r e s u lts of the in- ve stig a tio n . A Brief Over-View of the Universe Studied The age d istrib u tio n of execu tives in the universe studied was somewhat skewed toward the older age groups. Sixty-two executives were in the age 40-49 category, 22 were age 50 or older, 16 were in the age 30-39 category, and 2 were age 29 or younger. The largest number of executives in the age 40-49 category were vice-p resid en ts holding s ta ff p o sitio n s, but the number in other age categories was almost equal among v ic e -p r isid e n ts holding tech n ica l p o sitio n s and those holding managerial p o sitio n s. The two executives le s s than age 29 were in the tech n ica l vice-presid en t group and managerial vice-president group. Thirty-nine executives were c o lleg e graduates, 19 had earned Master of Arts degrees, and 2 had attained Doctor of Philosophy degrees. Seven executives had attended c o l lege but did not graduate. Fourteen executives had gradu ated only from high school and four had not attended high school. Seventeen executives had taken extension c la s s e s from u n iv e r s itie s at some time a fter entering the labor 74 force. The three subgroups were quite sim ilar in th eir edu cation al p r o f ile s , with two exceptions: v ic e-p resid en ts in tech n ica l r o le s received fewer Master of Arts degrees than eith er s ta ff v ice-p resid en ts or managerial v ic e-p r esid en ts, and a greater number of tech n ical vice-p resid en ts attended university extension courses. The number of business executives' fathers gradua tin g from high school was approximately equal to the number who had not attended high school or had attended but had not graduated. The number graduating from c o lle g e or attending co lleg e but not graduating was approximately equal, although t h is number was about h alf as large as the number who were elementary school and high school educated. The fath ers of sta ff v ice-p resid en ts constituted the largest number who at tended only elementary school, while managerial v ic e -p r e s i dents had the fewest fath ers in t h is category. In compari son, managerial vice-p resid en ts had the fewest fath ers who were college graduates, while tech n ical and sta ff v ic e-p r es idents were approximately equal. Two managerial v ic e -p r e s i dents had fathers with Doctor of Philosophy degrees, and one tech n ica l and one s t a ff vice-presid en t had fathers with Medical Doctor degrees. Business ex e c u tiv e s’ wives were somewhat le s s w ell educated than executives themselves. Approximately one- third were co lleg e graduates, one-third had attended co lleg e but did not graduate, and one-third graduated from high 75 school only. Four had attended business c o lle g e , four had received Master of Arts degrees, and one had not attended high school. The major d ifference between subgroups was that fewer wives of s t a f f vice-p resid en ts graduated from c o lle g e , although three out of the four wives in the to ta l group holding graduate degrees were from t h is subgroup. Business executives had moderate size fa m ilie s. Forty execu tives had 2 children, twenty-one had 3 children, f if t e e n had one ch ild , and fourteen had no children. The remaining executives had 4, 5, or 6 children. Only two ex ecutives had fa m ilies with more than 6 children. Eighty-one executives were Republican by p o l i t i c a l a f f i l i a t i o n , 18 were Democratic, and 3 were Independent. D ifferences among subgroups were not appreciable. S ix ty -s ix executives were Protestant by r e lig io u s a f f i l i a t i o n , 19 were Roman C atholic, 4 were Jewish, and 13 had no r e lig io u s a f f i l i a t i o n . D ifferences among subgroups were not appreciable. The Hypotheses Economic career goals Hypothesis 1 is concerned with the business execu t i v e ' s d e fin itio n of h is primary career goal as economic. Responses to three questions afforded a t e s t of t h is hypoth e s is : 1. Most important reason for leaving previous jobs throughout your employment h istory. 2. Most important reason why you would leave your present job. 3. Most important reason for seeking new employ ment . Inspection of Table 3 reveals that there was l i t t l e difference between "desire for greater income" and "desire for career development" for the to ta l group insofar as rea sons for leaving past jobs are concerned. A larger d iffe r ence is seen with regard to reasons for leaving the present job, and greater income was the predominant reason. A s t i l l greater difference is seen in regard to reasons for seeking new employment, and income again accounts for the d iffer-- ence. The chi-square values in Table 4 illu s t r a te that the differences between "income" and "career development" as reasons for leaving the present job and for seeking new em ployment were s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifica n t at the .01 le v e l. Table 3 reveals that for subgroup I, there was l i t t le difference between "income" and "career development" as reasons for leaving past employment or for leaving present jobs, while subgroup II displays l i t t l e difference regarding past employment, but a greater difference for present em ployment. Both subgroups I and II show a marked difference in regard to reasons for seeking new employment, although the difference shown in subgroup II is somewhat le s s marked. Subgroup III reveals l i t t l e difference concerning reasons 77 TABLE 3 "YES" A ND "NO " RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS CONCERNING W H Y BUSINESS EXECUTIVES LEFT PREVIOUS JOBS, W H Y THEY W O U LD LEAVE PRESENT JOB A ND W H Y THEY W O U L D SEEK N E W EM PLO Y M EN T Group Response TOTAL II I I I Past Present Future Category y G S yes No Yes No "Desire for Greater 38 65 29 73 50 52 Income " "Desire for Career 37 64 13 89 17 85 Development" "Desire for Greater 13 21 5 29 12 12 Inc ome" "Desire for Career 14 20 4 30 4 30 Development" "Desire for Greater 13 22 7 28 15 20 Inc ome" "Desire for Career 14 21 2 33 9 26 Development" "Desire for Greater 10 22 17 16 23 10 Income" "Desire for Career 9 23 7 28 4 29 Development" 78 TABLE 4 DIFFERENCES CONCERNING REASONS W H Y BUSINESS EXECUTIVES LEFT PREVIOUS JOBS, W H Y THEY W O U L D LEAVE PRESENT JOB, AND W H Y THEY W O U L D LO O K FOR N E W EM PLO YM ENT: "DESIRE FOR GREATER INCOM E" VS. "DESIRE FOR CAREER DEVELOPM ENT" Group N Chi-square Values Past Pre sent Future TO TAL 102 0.001 7.674b 2 4 .203c I 34 0.614 1.806 5 . 231a II 35 0.603 5.080a 2.283 III 33 0.749 6.546b 22.627° a P < .05. b P < .02. ° P < .001. 79 for leaving previous jobs, and an increasingly greater d if ference in reasons for leaving present job and seeking new employment. The chi-square values shown in Table 4 i l l u s trate that the difference between reasons for seeking new employment was s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifica n t in subgroups I and III, and the difference between reasons for leaving present jobs was sig n ifica n t for subgroups II and I I I . Inspection of Table 5 reveals that there were no s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifica n t differen ces between subgroups I and II in regard to th eir expressed desire for greater in come, with reference to past employment, present job, or desire for new employment. Comparison of subgroup III with subgroup I shows no difference concerning past employment, but sig n ific a n t d ifferences regarding desire for greater in come are revealed with reference to present job and desire for new employment. Comparison of subgroup II with subgroup III reveals the same d ifferences ex istin g as in the compari son of subgroups I and III. An indication of the amount of difference between groups may be gained by inspecting the size of the chi-square values. The largest chi-square in the table r e la te s to the d ifferen ces in desire for greater income between subgroup I (vice-presidents in tech nical roles) and subgroup III (vice-p resid en ts in managerial roles) with reference to reasons for leaving present job. Within the same response category, the second largest chi- square concerns the d ifferen ces between subgroup II (vice- 80 TABLE 5 DIFFERENCES BETW EEN SUBGROUPS AS TO W H Y BUSINESS EXECUTIVES LEFT PREVIOUS JOBS, W H Y THEY W O U LD LEAVE PRESENT JOB, AND W H Y THEY W O U L D SEEK N EW EM PLO YM ENT: "DESIRE FOR GREATER INCOM E" Group N Kolmogorov-Smirnov Values Past Pre sent Future I & II 69 0.439 0.193 0.394 I & III 67 0.885 9,075c 7 . 928c II & III 68 2.578 6.747b 4.894a a P< .1 b P< .05 C P< *025 81 presidents in sta ff ro les) and subgroup III (vice-presidents in managerial r o le s ) . These data indicate that the greatest difference e x is ts between technical and managerial vice- presidents, and that a le sser difference e x is t s between Staff and Mangerial vice-p resid en ts. The same pattern of differences holds with reference to reasons for seeking new employment. There are no sig n ifica n t differen ces between any subgroup concerning reasons for leaving previous employ ment. The data representing the t o t a l group studied strongly support the general hypothesis that business execu tiv e s represent an indeterminant occupational type. Like wise, the data strongly support Hypothesis 1, inasmuch as executives indicate that they would leave th eir present jobs and seek new employment for greater income rather than for career development. The fact that there was no sig n ifica n t difference between reasons for leaving previous jobs sug gests that the hypothesis cannot be f u lly accepted. The data concerning subgroups I, II, and III are strongly supportive of the existence of the determinate- indeterminate continuum within the business executive occu pational group. Vice-presidents occupying techn ical ro les appear to be widely d ifferen tiated from vice-presid en ts oc cupying managerial r o le s, and those occupying sta ff roles are le s s d ifferen tiated from executives in managerial posi tio n s, which suggests that th is group may be in the middle 82 between the two extreme groups. Career viewed as a means to an end Hypothesis 2 is concerned with the business execu t i v e ' s view of h is career as a means of gaining entry into a higher occupational status. Responses to a set of three questions provide the data for a t e s t of the hypothesis. These responses include the most important reason for leav ing the present job, and the most important reason fo r seek ing new employment. Table 6 illu s t r a t e s a slig h t difference between "op portunity for advancement" and "desire for career develop ment" for the to ta l group as reasons for leaving past jobs, as reasons for leaving present job, or as reasons for seek ing new employment. Inspection of Table 7 reveals that none of the d ifferen ces between "opportunity" and "career devel opment" for the to ta l group were s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ific a n t. Table 6 illu s t r a t e s that only slig h t differences between "opportunity" and "career development" as reasons for leaving previous employment, for leaving present job, or for seeking new employment were evident among the three sub groups. The chi-square values shown in Table 7 illu s tr a te that the only sig n ifica n t difference was for subgroup I in regard to reasons for leaving present job. Inspection of Table 8 reveals no s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifican t d ifferences between any subgroup in regard to their 83 TABLE 6 "YES" AND "NO " RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS CONCERNING W H Y BUSINESS EXECUTIVES LEFT PREVIOUS JOBS, W H Y THEY W O U L D LEAVE PRESENT JOB, AND W H Y THEY W O U L D SEEK N E W EM PLO Y M EN T Group Response Category Past Present Future Yes No Yes No Yes No "Opportunity 19 83 TO TAL for Advancement" "Desire for 46 56 9 94 Career Development" "Opportunity 37 65 13 89 17 85 I for Advancement" "Desire for 18 16 1 34 6 28 Career Development" "Opportunity 14 20 4 30 4 30 II for Advancement" "Desire for 15 20 4 31 7 28 Career Development" "Opportunity 14 21 2 33 9 26 III for Advancement" "Desire for 13 20 4 29 6 27 Career Development" 9 24 7 26 4 29 84 TABLE 7 DIFFERENCES CONCERNING REASONS W H Y BUSINESS EXECUTIVES LEFT PREVIOUS JOBS, W H Y THEY W O U L D LEAVE PRESENT JOB, AND W H Y THEY W O U L D LOOK FOR N E W EM PLOYM ENT; "OPPORTUNITY FOR ADVANCEM ENT" VS. "DESIRE FO R CAREER DEVELOPM ENT" Group N Chi-square Values Past Pre sent Future TO TAL 102 1.645 1.327 0.135 I 34 0.944 4.254a 0.469 II 35 0.589 0.729 0.324 III 33 1.091 0.982 0.471 3 P< .05, 85 TABLE 8 DIFFERENCES BETW EEN SUBGROUPS AS TO W H Y BUSINESS EXECUTIVES LEFT PREVIOUS JOBS, W H Y THEY W O U LD LEAVE PRESENT JOB, AND W H Y THEY W O U L D SEEK N E W EM PLO YM ENT: "OPPORTUNITY FOR ADVANCEM ENT" Group N Kolmogorov-Smirnov Values Past Pre sent Future I & II 69 1.155 0.901 0.059 I & III 67 1.229 0.984 0.057 II & I I I 68 0.334 0.055 0.022 No value s approaching P< .1 86 expressed desire for the opportunity for advancement, with reference to past employment, present job, or seeking new employment. The data representing the t o t a l group studied were not supportive of the general hypothesis that business ex ecu tives represent an indeterminate occupational type. Ex e c u tiv e 's desire to have advancement opportunities was not s ig n ific a n tly greater than the desire for career development. These data were likew ise not supportive of Hypothesis 2. Only one t e s t of sign ifican ce was in dicative of a difference greater than chance expectancy, and t h is d ifference was ac counted for by responses indicating a desire for career de velopment. The r e su lt i s in the opposite d irection pre dicted for business executives as a group. However, the d if ference is in the predicted d irection for subgroup I, which is composed of tech n ica lly trained personnel, and i s postu lated to represent a determinate occupational type. The data concerning d ifferen ces between subgroups I, II, and III do not support the existence of a determin ate-indeterminate continuum within the business executive occupational group, inasmuch as no s ig n ific a n t d ifferen ces were found among subgroups. Although thei'e was a suggestion of evidence in favor of the continuum concept in the respon ses characterizing subgroup I composed of tech n ica lly trained vice-p resid en ts, d ifferen ces were not s u ff ic ie n tly great to be s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ific a n t when subgroups were 87 compared with one another. Personal value orientations Hypothesis 3 is concerned with the extent to which the personal values orientations expressed by business exec u tiv es are extrinsic-reward directed. Executives' ratings of the rela tiv e importance of ten "requirements" for the "ideal" career provided the data for te stin g t h is hypothe s i s . Pearsonian c o e ffic ie n ts of correlation were computed between every possible pair of job requirements to determine the primary value orientations expressed by executives. Table 9 contains the 10 x 10 correlation matrix. The two highest p ositive correlations in the matrix are between "provide adventure" and "provide security" (♦.292), and "opportunity for leadership" and "provide se curity" (+.269). Both correlations are s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifica n t at the .01 le v e l. The association ex istin g between the variables suggests that in evaluating the requirements for the ideal career, executives' d esires for leadership and adventure go with a desire for security. The third highest p ositive correlation is between "provide prestige and sta tus" and "opportunity to make a good deal of money" (+.234); th is c o e ffic ie n t of correlation is s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifica n t at the .05 le v e l. Association of these variables suggests an orientation toward ex trin sic rewards. Three negative correlations are s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifica n t at the .05 level: TABLE 9 PEARSONIAN COEFFICIENTS OF CORRELATION A M O N G REQUIREM ENTS FOR THE IDEAL CAREER Help fulness Adven ture Lead ership Auton omy Secur ity 0x*6 < 1 * People Status t i v i t y ^oneY A bility Helpfulness Adventure -.038 Leadership .122 .147 Autonomy -.0 1 7 .058 .081 Security .102 .292b .296b .121 People -.0 9 2 -.0 7 0 .055 .074 .110 Status .129 -.0 2 4 .160 -.0 3 9 - , ;0I1 -.1 6 8 C reativity -.0 0 3 .171 -.011 -.0 4 7 - . 2l2a -.1 5 4 -.0 5 1 Money -.0 3 7 -.106 -.0 6 3 -.0 2 7 .120 - . 202a . 234a -.1 4 9 A b ility -.1 1 7 .122 -.0 2 0 .039 -.1 9 1 -.0 2 9 -.1 0 8 .276 -.2 0 1 a a P< .05 Calculation of le v e ls of s t a t i s t i c a l significan ce based on b .01 F ish er's formila for t in te s tin g c o e ff ic ie n ts of correlation . o o 00 89 "permit c r e a t iv it y ” and "provide security" (-.2 1 2 ), and "opportunity to make a good deal of money" and "opportunity to work with people" (-.2 0 2 ), and "opportunity to make a good deal of money" and "opportunity to use special a b ili ties" (-.2 0 1 ). These negative correlation values suggest an inverse relationship between the desire for cr e a tiv ity and security, making a good deal of money and working with people, and making a good deal of money and u t iliz in g spec ia l a b i l i t i e s . Table 10 contains the f i r s t choice rankings of re quirements of the ideal career for the to ta l group studied and for the three subgroups. The t o ta l group ranks "permit creativity" f i r s t , "opportunity to make a good deal of mon ey" second, and "provide security" third; "provide autonomy" was ranked la s t . Subgroup I (executives f u l f i l l i n g techni cal roles) also ranks "permit creativity" f i r s t , but places "provide status" second, and "provide security" and "oppor tunity to deal with people" t ie for third; "provide auton omy" is again ranked la s t . Subgroup II (executives f u l f i l l ing sta ff roles) rank "opportunity to deal with people" f i r s t , "permit creativity" second, and "provide security" third; "opportunity to be helpful to others" was rated la s t . Subgroup III (executives f u l f i l l i n g managerial roles) ranked "opportunity to make a good deal of money" f i r s t , "provide adventure" and "opportunity for leadership" second, and "op portunity to be helpful toward others" third; "provide 90 TABLE 10 RANKINGS OF REQUIREM ENTS FOR THE IDEAL CAREER BY TOTAL G RO UP AND BY SUBGROUPS I, I I , AND III Rank Total Subgroups I II III 1 C reativity C reativity People Mone y 2 Money Status C re a tiv ity Adventure Leadership 3 Security Security People Security Helpfulness 4 Adventure Adventure Money Leadership Mone y Security C reativity 5 Leadership Autonomy A b ility Adventure A b ility 6 People A b ility Helpfulne ss Leadership Status A b ility People Status 7 Status Helpfulness Autonomy Helpfulne ss Autonomy 8 Autonomy 91 autonomy” was rated la s t. Inspection of Table 11 reveals that few s t a t i s t i c a l ly sig n ifica n t differences e x ist between subgroups with re gard to the manner in which requirements for the id eal ca reer are ranked. From the l i s t of ten requirements, d iff e r ences between subgroups were found among only three: sub groups I and III differed s ig n ific a n tly in regard to the importance of "making money," "working with people," and "autonomy;" subgroups II and III also differed sig n ific a n tly regarding the importance of "working with people." The correlation analysis provides moderate support for the general hypothesis that executives represent an in determinate occupational type. The third highest s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifica n t positive correlation was between "money" and "status," thus suggesting a value of orientation which is extrinsic-reward directed. Their value orientation is consistent with the th eo retica l model which predicts that indeterminate occupational types are extrinsic-reward di rected, and is likewise supportive of Hypothesis 3. The two larger correlations between "adventure" and "security" and "leadership" and "security" suggest a value orientation which might be labeled "conservative ou ter-d irected n ess." It is d i f f ic u lt to appraise th is value orientation as being eith er favorable to or a n tith e tic a l to the th e sis that busi ness executives occupy an indeterminate p osition on the oc cupational continuum. Had the correlation with regard to an 92 TABLE 11 REQUIREM ENTS FOR TH E IDEAL CAREER FOR W H ICH THERE W E R E SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETW EEN SUBGROUPS I, I I , O R III Requirement Kolmogorov-Smirnov Value s I & II I & III II & III Money 5.080a - People 6.743k 6.203b Autonomy 11.015° - a--P < .1 b—P < .05 c~ P< .005 93 ex trin sic reward value been stronger than the "conservative- outer-directedness" value, the hypothesis would be fu lly supported. Data concerning the three subgroups are moderately supportive of the existence of a hypothetical determinate- indeterminate continuum within the business executive occu pational group. Among the values rated which bear d ir e c tly on t h is hypothesis was "money." The sig n ifica n t difference between vice-presid en ts occupying technical ro les and vice- presidents occupying managerial ro les indicate that these groups, which occupy opposite ends of the th eo retic a l con tinuum, hold d iff e r e n tia l values regarding money, and con sequently, evaluate the requirements for an id eal career in a d ifferen t manner. Job sa tisfa c tio n Hypothesis 4 is concerned with the extent of morale and personal sa tisfa c tio n expressed by business execu tives. Questions which were s t a t i s t i c a l l y analyzed were concerned with: 1. The degree to which executives f e e l that busi ness is the only satisfactory career for them. 2. Whether they would make the same occupational choice again. 3. Whether they would encourage a son to enter a career in business. 94 Table 12 ill u s t r a t e s that business executives ex press a rather high degree of sa tisfa c tio n with th eir ca reers. The modal response for the to ta l group as well as each subgroup is "a satisfactory career but not necessarily the only sa tisfa cto ry one," which suggests that executives fe e l they are s a tis fie d , but that business is not "the only satisfactory career" which they could have entered. A larger number of executives performing s ta ff functions (subgroup II) rate a career in business as "the only satis-, factory career" than executives from eith er of the other subgroups. Categories 1 and 2 may be combined for the pur pose of comparison with categories 3 and 4 to determine s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifica n t differen ces between "favorable" and "unfavorable" a ttitu d es toward a career in business. The chi-square values shown in Table 14 confirm that the favorable attitu d es expressed by the to ta l group and by each subgroup are highly sig n ifica n t. Inspection of Table 13 reveals that a dispropor tio n a tely large number of business executives would encour age a son to enter a career in business and would enter a career in business again themselves. This trend predomin ates for the to ta l group as well as for each subgroup. The chi-square values contained in Table 14 illu s tr a te highly sig n ifica n t d ifferen ces between "encouraging" and "not en couraging" a son to enter a career in business, and "enter ing" and "not entering" a career in business again, for the 95 TABLE 12 EXTENT OF CAREER SATISFACTION EXPRESSED BY THE TO TAL G RO UP AND BY SUBGROUPS I, I I , A N D III Extent of Career S a tisfa ctio n Subgroups Total II III 1. "The only satisfactory career 19 10 2. "A s a tisfa c tory career but not necessarily the only s a tis factory one1 1 3. "One of sev eral possible satisfactory careers" 67 15 24 17 26 4. "It has not been a s a tis- 1 factory career" 0 1 0 96 TABLE 13 EXTENT O F CAREER SATISFACTION IN TERM S OF RE-ENTRY INTO BUSINESS CAREER AND RECOM M ENDATION O F CAREER IN BUSINESS TO SON FO R TOTAL G RO UP AND FOR SUBGROUPS Subgroups Question Total 1 11 111 Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No "Would you encourage your son to 71 31 24 10 24 11 23 10 enter a career in business?" "Would you M » e ^ hyou?“ 84 13 28 6 30 5 26 7 choice again?" 97 TABLE 14 DIFFERENCES BETW EEN "FAVORABLE" AND "UNFAVORABLE" ATTITUDES EXPRESSED TO W ARD BUSINESS EXECUTIVE CAREER Question Chi-Square Values Total I II III Extent of Career S a tisfa c tio n ( H 2 or 3 & 4)* 48,039d 2 3 .059d 1 0 .314C 1 6.030d Would or Would Not Encourage Son 15.686d 5.765b 4 .829a 5 . I 2 l a Would or Would Not Enter Career Again 64.059d 8 . 353c 17.857d 1 0 .939d * (1) only sa tisfa cto ry career a n d (2) s a tisfa c to r y career but not only one, were combined into one category to be compared with (3) one of several possible careers and (4) not a sa tisfa cto ry career, in a second category. a P < .05 b P ( .02 c P^ .005 d P< .001 to ta l group and p ersist in each subgroup. No s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifica n t d ifferen ces were found to e x is t between subgroups with reference to the expression of favorable attitu d es toward a career in business. Table lb presents Kolmogorov-Smirnov values illu s tr a tin g no sig n ifican t differen ces in regard to the four measures of ca reer sa tisfa c tio n . The data strongly refute the hypothesis that busi ness executives manifest low morale and personal sa tis fa c tion. iMoreover, the data are not supportive of the general hypothesis that business executives represent an indeter minate occupational type insofar as career sa tisfa c tio n is concerned. S t a t is t ic a l evidence taking into account aspects of career sa tisfa c tio n for the to ta l group and for each sub group was sig n ifica n t at or beyond the .05 le v el for a l l data. There was no evidence to support the existence of an intra-occupational continuum of determinateness in re gard to extent of career sa tisfa c tio n . No sig n ific a n t d if ferences were found between vice-presidents occupying tech nical r o le s, vice-presidents occupying sta ff r o le s , and vice-presidents occupying managerial r o le s , with regard to extent of career sa tisfa ctio n . Additional data pertinent to th is hypothesis were provided by three additional questions regarding career sa tisfa c tio n . The f i r s t question gave a picture of how 99 TABLE 15 DIFFERENCES BETW EEN SUBGROUPS AND THE EXTENT O F SATISFACTION W ITH THE CAREER O F BUSINESS EXECUTIVE Kolmogorov-Smirnov Values Que st ion I & II I & III II & III High Career S a tis fa c tio n 0,238 2.741 0.208 Would encourage Son to Enter Career 0,848 3.167 1.916 Would Make Same Career Choice Again 0.063 2.839 0 .0 1 2 No s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ific a n t d ifferen ces 100 close to the top of the occupational hierarchy execu tives place th e ir own careers. The second question gave informa tion concerning the major sources of s a tis fa c tio n in the execu tives' l iv e s . The third question provided a picture of the rank p osition executives assign themselves in comparison with other selected careers, and the rank p o sitio n execu tiv e s f e e l the general public assigns them. Table 16 reveals that the largest number of execu tiv e s rated th e ir careers as the most important a c t iv it y in th eir liv e s offering them sa tis fa c tio n . Cf the t o ta l group, 56 executives rated career f i r s t , 41 rated family l i f e and a c t i v i t i e s f i r s t , 4 rated r e lig io u s a c t i v i t i e s f i r s t , and 1 rated leisu re f i r s t . None rated p articip ation in the a f fa ir s of the community or p articip ation in national a f fa ir s as f i r s t in importance. Subgroups d iffered in the import ance of family and career. Twenty-two v ice-p resid en ts in managerial r o le s rated career f i r s t and 9 rated family f i r s t , while 14 vice-p resid en ts in tech n ical ro le s rated career f i r s t and 18 rated family f i r s t . Twenty executives in s t a ff ro les rated career f i r s t and 14 rated family f i r s t . Table 17 shows the careers executives rated highest in the occupational hierarchy. The t o t a l group rated scien t i s t f i r s t , medical doctor second, business executive th ir d . Technical vice-p resid en ts rated s c ie n t i s t , medical doctor, and business executive f i r s t , corporation president second, and attorney and public servant third. S ta ff vice-presidents 101 TABLE 16 ACTIVITIES RATED M O ST IM PORTANT IN LIFE THAT GIVE SATISFACTION Total Career Family munity Leisure Religion A ffairs Ariairs Group 56 41 0 0 1 4 I 14 18 0 0 1 II 20 14 0 0 0 III 22 9 0 0 0 102 TABLE 17 CAREERS RANKED HIGHEST IN TH E OCCUPATIONAL HIERARCHY Total I II III S cie n tist (33) Medical (19) Doctor Business ecutive (15) Law (9) Ex- Corporation President (5) S c ie n tist (7) Medical Doctor (9) Business ecutive (7) E x- Corporation President (3) Law ( 2 ) Public (2) Artist-Musi- cian-Enter tainer ( 1 ) Teacher ( 1 ) S c ie n tist (15) Servant Teacher ( 11 ) S c ie n tist (15) Medical Doctor ( 8 ) Business Ex ecutive (5) Law (5) Medical Doctor (4) Business ecutive (3) Ex- Public Servant ( 2 ) Law (3) Broke rs- Investors ( 1 ) Corporation President ( 1 ) 11 Don't Know 4 3 4 103 rated s c ie n tis t f i r s t , medical doctor second, and business executive third. Managerial vice-presid en ts rated s c ie n tis t f i r s t , attorney second, and business executive third. When ranking th e ir own careers in terms of the amount of prestige and status i t commands in re la tio n to eight other careers, business executives as a group rated their own career f i r s t , medical doctors second, and attor neys third. Table 18 reveals that technical and s ta ff vice- presidents also ranked th eir own career f i r s t , and medical doctors second, but sta ff vice-presiden ts ranked attorneys third, and techn ical vice-presid en ts ranked engineers and high school teachers th ird . Managerial vice-presidents ranked attorneys f i r s t , th eir own career second, and medical doctors third. Table 19 illu s t r a t e s minor variation s in the way business executives f e e l the general public would rank the same group of nine careers. Executives as a group f e l t that the general public would accord highest prestige and status to medical doctors, business executives second, and attor neys th ird. Technical and sta ff vice-presid en ts also f e l t the general public would rank medical doctors f i r s t , busi ness executives second, and attorneys third. Managerial vice-presidents f e l t that medical doctors and attorneys would both rank highest in the eyes of the general public, business executives would rank second, and so c ia l workers third. The Spearman rho c o e ffic ie n ts contained in Table 20 104 TABLE 18 N UM BER O F EXECUTIVES RANKING NINE CAREERS, INCLUDING THEIR OW N, IN FIRST POSITION Total I II III Law 19 2 4 13 Architecture 0 0 0 0 Business Executive 31 10 12 9 Dentist 0 0 0 0 Minister 6 3 1 2 Social Worker 2 0 2 0 Medical Doctor 29 9 12 8 Engineer 6 3 2 1 High School Teacher 4 3 1 0 105 TABLE 19 N U M BER O F EXECUTIVES RANKING NINE CAREERS INCLUDING THEIR O W N IN FIRST POSITION AS THEY FEEL THE GENERAL PUBLIC W O U L D RATE TH EM Total I II III Law 21 4 5 12 Architecture 0 0 0 0 Business Executive 22 8 8 6 Dentist 0 0 0 0 Minister 7 3 2 2 S ocial Worker 1 0 1 0 Medical Doctor 44 15 17 12 Engineer 3 1 1 1 High School Teacher 1 0 1 0 106 TABLE 20 SPEARM AN RH O COEFFICIENTS SH O W ING EXTENT OF SIMILARITY BETW EEN EXECUTIVES' RANKING A ND EXECUTIVES’ PERCEPTION OF THE PUBLIC'S RANKING O F NINE CAREERS Total I II III .975 .783 .887 .971 107 illu s t r a t e that there was a high degree of sim ila r ity be tween execu tives' ranking of nine careers, and the way in which execu tives f e l t the general public would rank the same careers. The rho c o e f f ic ie n t for the t o t a l group studied was .975. The highest degree of sim ila r ity in rankings among subgroups was shown by managerial v ice-p resid en ts (.9 7 1 ), the second highest by sta ff v ice-p resid en ts (.8 8 7 ), and third highest by tech n ical vice-p resid en ts (.7 8 3 ). Table 21 reveals there were s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i cant d ifferen ces between subgroups with regard to the number of executives ranking various of the nine careers in f i r s t place. Technical, s t a ff , and managerial v ice-p resid en ts d iffered in th eir rankings of attorneys, so c ia l workers, and engineers. S taff and tech n ical v ice-p resid en ts d iffered in their rankings of th e ir own career, and tech n ica l and man agerial v ice-p resid en ts d iffered in th e ir ranking of high school teachers. There were also s t a t i s t i c a l l y s ig n ific a n t d ifferen ces between subgroups with regard to the manner in which executives f e l t the general public would rank the nine careers. Staff and managerial v ice-p resid en ts d iffered in th eir ranking of attorneys, and tech n ical and managerial vice-p resid en ts differed in th e ir ranking of m inisters. Age of d ecision to enter business Hypothesis 5 sta te s that business executives make the d ecision to enter th e ir careers r e la t iv e ly late in l i f e . 108 TABLE 21 DIFFERENCES BETW EEN SUBGROUP FIRST POSITION RANKINGS O F NINE CAREERS W H ICH W E R E STATISTIC .A L L Y SIGNIFICANT Kolmogorov-Smirnov Values I & II I & III II a III Executives' Ranking Law 5.448 a 9.112C Business Executive - - 9.770d Social Worker - 9.611d 7.667c Engineer - 6.972b I2.378e High School Teacher - 9.341d - Executives' Perception of P u b lic's Raning Law 5 .021a Minister 6.443b - a P < .10 ° P ^ .05 c P < .025 d P < .01 e P < .005 109 Age of recruitment was determined by ascertaining at what age execu tives made the d ecision to enter business as a career. The data presented in table 22 illu s t r a t e that busi ness executives as a group are r e la t iv e ly la te in making a career choice. More than h alf did not decide to enter busi ness u n t il entering the labor force and a fter completion of th e ir formal education. About one-fourth decided sometime during c o lle g e , and another fourth decided eith er prior to or during high school. Out of the 35 execu tives in subgroup I, 19 committed themselves to business after entry into the labor force, and only one of t h is number decided within one year; only 8 decided during co lle g e and 7 prior to or during high school. Out of the 34 executives in subgroup I I , 16 decided upon business after entering the labor force, but 11 of t h is number decided within the f i r s t year, 6 decided some time during c o lle g e , 1 decided during graduate school, and 11 decided prior to or during high school. Subgroup II had the largest number of e a r lie r d ecisio n s, that i s , d eci sions made by executives eith er prior to or during high school. Of the 33 executives in subgroup I I I , 16 decided on a career in business upon entering the labor force, 12 of which were a fte r a period of one year, while 10 decided dur ing c o lle g e , and 7 prior to or during high school. Sub group III contained the largest number of execu tives making a d ecisio n during c o lle g e . TABLE 22 BUSINESS EXECUTIVES' AG E O F DECISION TO ENTER BUSINESS AS A CAREER Prior to High School During High School During College 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Graduate School After 1 Labor Within 1 year Engering Force After 1 year Total Group 10 15 3 10 4 7 1 16 36 I 3 4 0 5 0 3 0 1 18 II 5 6 0 £ 2 2 1 11 6 III 2 5 3 3 2 2 0 4 12 110 I l l Table 23 reveals that there are s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifica n t d ifferen ces between the periods when executives de cided to enter a career in business. Significant d iff e r ences were found between the number of decision s made prior to high school and the number made after entering the labor force, and between the number of decisions made prior to or during high school and those made during college or after entering the labor force. Also, sig n ifica n t differences were found when the four decision age categories were com pared with one another. Thus, the number of executives mak ing late career choices d iffe r s s ig n ific a n tly from the few who make early choices. Table 24 contains data showing the ages at which careers other than business were considered by execu tives. These data r e fle c t ages associated with uncrystallized ca reer choices made prior to a fin a l career decision. Thirty- one executives from the to ta l of 102, considered no other careers except business. Of the remaining 71, 22 consid ered other careers prior to high school, and 28 considered others during high school, 19 during c o lle g e , 1 during grad uate school, and 1 within a year after entering the labor force. Of the 34 executives in subgroup I, 27 considered careers other than business, and about half decided prior to or during high school, and the remaining half during co lleg e or after entering the labor force. Of the 3b executives in subgroup II, 2b considered other careers, and a l l but four 112 TABLE 23 DIFFERENCES IN BUSINESS EXECUTIVES' AGE O F DECISION TO ENTER BUSINESS AS A CAREER Total Subgroups I II III Prior to high school vs. a fte r completing education 40.874° 17.202° 9.545b 14.972° Prior to or during high school vs. during co lleg e or a fter com pletin g education 35.546° 15.686° 6 ,438a 14.586° Prior to high school vs. during high school vs. during co lleg e vs. a fter completing education 55.059c 25.255° 14.817° 18.220° I P < -02 ° P < .005 c P< .001 TABLE 24 AGES AT W H ICH CAREERS O TH ER THAN BUSINESS W ER E SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED Not Prior to During During College Graduate After 1 Labor Entering Force Applicable High School High School 1st 2nd 3rd 4th School Within 1 year After 1 year Total Group 31 22 28 11 5 3 0 1 1 0 I 7 5 9 7 5 0 0 1 0 0 II 10 9 12 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 I I I 14 8 7 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 114 decided prior to ox during high school. These data indicate that the largest number of uncrystallized career choices were made up to graduation from high school. Table 2b indicates that the largest number of execu tiv e s considered a career in medicine prior to deciding upon business. The following choices were made by the to ta l group studied, lis te d in order of th eir frequency: chemis try, physics, and other physical sciences (not including engineering); engineering ( a ll types); behavioral sciences; teaching; accounting; entertainment, arts, and music; law; and miscellaneous. A similar pattern with minor variations prevailed for each subgroup. A preference for the physical sciences was strong in each of the three subgroups. Table 26 reveals that s lig h tly le s s than half of the business executives studied entered the labor force in some other career than business. Nineteen executives en tered the labor force as engineers, 10 as physical scien t i s t s , 7 as accountants, 5 as lawyers, 2 as behavioral s c ie n t is t s , and b miscellaneous. From subgroup I, 19 of the 3b executives entered the labor force in a non-business ca reer; from subgroup II, 14 of the 34 executives entered in non-business careers; and from subgroup I I I , 17 of the 33 executives entered in non-business careers. The half of the to ta l group studied that entered the labor force in non-business careers made the decision to enter th eir career e a r lie r than the remaining half of TABLE 25 OTHER CAREERS SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED AS FIRST CHOICES BY BUSINESS EXECUTIVES PRIOR TO THE DECISION TO ENTER BUSINESS K f j . . r c * Chemistry T . . „ Entertainment Behavioral A ,-_ None Medicine Law Engineering p h y s ic s 1 ' Teaching Arts & MisCi S c ie n c e s CfA M isc. Total Group 31 15 3 12 13 6 4 10 5 3 I 7 3 2 5 4 1 3 2 4 3 II 10 9 0 5 3 2 1 4 1 0 III 14 3 1 2 6 3 0 4 0 0 TABLE 26 CAREER W ITH W H ICH BUSINESS EXECUTIVES ENTERED THE LABOR FORCE O TH ER THAN BUSINESS None Engineering ^ y s i c s 7 S c ie n c e s '1 Law Teaching CPA Miscellaneous Total Group 52 19 10 I II III 15 21 16 9 7 3 3 4 3 0 1 1 1 1 3 2 0 0 1 1 5 3 0 2 116 117 the sample who entered as businessmen. Table 27 shows that 35 execu tives of the 50 made a f in a l career d ecision prior to or during high school and only 15 made a d ecision after graduation from high school. A sim ilar pattern of early career choice i s manifest in each subgroup: in subgroup I, 14 of the 19 executives entering the labor force in non business careers decided prior to or during high school, and only 5 a fter graduation from high school; in subgroup II, 10 of the 14 executives decided prior to or during high school and only 4 a fter graduation; in subgroup III, 11 of the 17 executives decided prior to or during high school and only eight a fter graduation. The major influences acknowledged by execu tives in th e ir d ecision to enter business are depicted in Table 28. Executives rated each influence as "most important," "second most important," and "third most important;" thus, the num ber of responses reported in th is table for subgroups and to ta l varies with the number of influences rated as "most important." The largest number of executives rate fam ily, personal frien d s, and admired persons as the most important influence in th eir d ecision s; books, p e rio d ic a ls, and maga zines rate second in importance; high school and/or co lleg e courses rate third; and motion p ictu res, membership irk ca reer oriented organizations, and membership in fratern al or ganizations rated fourth. Within the subgroups, fam ily, personal frien d s, and admired persons, along with books, TABLE 27 BUSINESS EXECUTIVES’ A G E OF DECISION TO ENTER THE CAREER IN W H ICH THEY INITIALLY ENTERED THE LABOR FORCE O TH ER THAN BUSINESS Not Prior to During During College Graduate Applicable High School High School 1st 2nd 3rd 4th School Total Group 52 10 25 4 1 4 2 4 I 15 3 11 3 1 1 0 0 II 21 2 8 1 0 2 0 1 III 16 5 6 0 0 1 2 3 118 119 TABLE 28 ACK NO W LEDG ED SOURCES OF INFLUENCE IN THE DECISION TO ENTER BUSINESS RATED "M O ST IM PORTANT" Books, Periodi c a ls , Magazine Moving Picture High School and/or College Courses Member ship in Career Oriented Organi zations Member ship in Frater nal Or ganiza tio n s Family, Personal Friends, Admired Persons Total Group 25 2 17 2 2 58 I II III 9 10 6 1 0 1 8 5 4 2 0 0 2 0 0 22 22 14 120 p erio d ica ls, and magazines were rated important by fewer executives in subgroup III than eith er subgroup I or II. High school and college courses were rated important by more executives in subgroup I compared with subgroup II or sub group III. In general, each subgroup re fle cte d the major trend of the to ta l group to rate personal contacts f i r s t in importance, and written media second. Table 29 depicts the sources of knowledge and in sight concerning a career in business rated as "most impor tant." The patterns of knowledge and insight acknowledged by executives as sig n ifica n t were seen to resemble c lo se ly patterns of influence. Personal influence, written media, and formal education were rated in the same order of impor tance as influences; however, memebership in fraternal or ganizations and membership in career oriented organizations were rated fourth and f i f t h resp ectiv ely . Subgroups I and II rated personal contacts of greater importance than sub group III, and subgroup II rated written media of greater importance than subgroups I and III. Once again, subgroup patterns c lo se ly followed the pattern displayed by the t o ta l group in rating personal influences f i r s t , and written media second. There were s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifica n t differen ces between subgroups with regard to decision age. Table 30 illu s t r a t e s that a sig n ifica n t difference was evidenced at the ,02b le v e l between subgroups I and II in regard to age 121 TABLE 29 ACK NO W LEDG ED SOURCES OF INSIGHT AND K NO W LEDG E ABOUT A CAREER IN BUSINESS RATED "M O ST IM PORTANT" Books, Periodi c a ls , Magazine s Moving Pictures High School and/or College Courses Member ship in Career Oriented Organi zations Member ship in Frater nal Or ganiza tio n s Family, Personal Friends, Admired Persons Total Group 53 0 26 4 5 ' 58 I 16 0 10 3 4 22 II 20 0 8 1 1 24 III 17 0 8 0 0 12 122 TABLE 30 DIFFERENCES IN AGE O F DECISION TO ENTER BUSINESS BETW EEN SUBGROUPS I, II, AND III Kolmogorov-Smirnov Values I & II I & I I I II & I I I Age of decision to enter busine ss 8 . 840c 1.840 2.510 Age at which careers other than business seriously considered 4 . 957a 6.592b 1.041 Age of d ecision to enter career in which labor force i n i t i a l l y entered other than business 1.155 1.555 1.026 t p < •10 b P< .05 c P< .025 123 of decision to enter business; differen ces between subgroups I and III , and between II and III, were not sig n ific a n t. S ignificant d ifferences between subgroups I and II were found at the .10 le v e l, and between I and III at the .10 le v e l, in regard to age at which careers other than business were seriously considered; d ifferen ces between subgroups II and III were not sig n ific a n t. There were no s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifica n t differen ces found between any of the subgroups with regard to age of decision to enter the career in which the labor force was i n i t i a l l y entered, other than business. There were r e la tiv e ly few s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifica n t differences between subgroups regarding major influences in the decision to enter a career, and major sources of know ledge and in sigh t about a career. Table 31 reveals that of the six items rated as important influences and as important sources of knowledge, formal education and personal in flu ence are sig n ifica n t in both instances. There were s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifica n t differen ces between subgroups II and III at the .05 le v e l regarding personal contact as a source of knowledge, formal education at the .01 le v e l as a source of knowledge, and formal education at the .05 le v e l as an in fluence. In addition, there were differen ces which ap proached significance between subgroups I and III regarding personal contact as an influence, personal contact as a source of knowledge, and formal education as a source of knowledge. TABLE 31 SOURCES OF INFLUENCE AND SOURCES OF K NO W LEDG E REGARDING A CAREER IN BUSINESS FOR W H IC H THERE W E R E SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETW EEN SUBGROUPS I, I I , O R III Kolmogorov-Smirnov Values I & II I 8, III II & III Influence High school and/or co lleg e courses Family, Personal Friends, Admired Persons Knowledge High school and/or c o lle g courses Family, Personal Friends, Admired Persons 7.277b 3.325 4.291 9.681c 5 . 380a 7 . 047b 125 Data representing the t o ta l group strongly support the general hypothesis that business executives represent an indeterminate occupational type, inasmuch as execu tives make the f in a l d ecision to enter th e ir career r e la t iv e ly la te in l i f e . Also, Hypothesis 5— which p o stu la tes that execu tives are late deciders— i s supported, since a s ig n ific a n tly greater number of executives decided to enter business after entry into the labor force than prior to high school. The data concerning subgroups were largely suppor tiv e of the existence of the determinate-indeterminate con tinuum within the business executive occupational group. A highly sig n ific a n t d ifferen ce was found between v ic e -p r e s i dents f i l l i n g tech n ical r o le s and those f i l l i n g s ta ff p osi tio n s in regard to the d ecision age to enter a career in business. However, because there were no s ig n ific a n t d if ferences between v ice-p resid en ts f i l l i n g managerial r o le s and the other two subgroups, the comparison is incomplete. It is known only that tech n ica l vice-p resid en ts d iffered s ig n ific a n tly from sta ff v ic e-p r esid en ts, but without other Kolmogorov-Smirnov values to compare, i t is not known how far on the hypothetical continuum subgroup II f a l l s with reference to subgroup I. These data, then, are lim ited to suggesting strongly the existence of an occupational contin uum. The sig n ific a n t d ifferen ces between tech n ica l vice- presidents and sta ff v ic e-p r esid en ts, as w ell as tech n ica l 126 vice-p resid en ts and managerial vice-p resid en ts concerning age at which careers other than business were seriously con sidered, are more strongly supportive of the continuum con cept. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov value showing extent of a d i f ference between technical and managerial vice-presid en ts was larger than the value showing size of difference between technical and sta ff vice-p resid en ts. This suggests that managerial vice-presid en ts occupy a p o sitio n along the hypo th e tic a l continuum opposite from techn ical v ice-p resid en ts, and that sta ff vice-presiden ts are in between the two polar extrem ities. These data, then, are strongly supportive of the continuum conceptualization. There were no sig n ific a n t d ifferen ces between sub groups in regard to the decision age related to careers in which executives i n i t i a l l y entered the labor force other than business. This comparison i s , however, somewhat le s s meaningful in the present context of in te r e s t, which is limited to explaining the existence of the determinate-inde terminate continuum for the business executive occupational group. Inter-generational mobility Hypothesis 6 i s concerned with the amount of mobil ity between the executive and h is fath er, and to what ex tent executives' mobility i s eith er horizontal or downward at the time of entry into the labor force. Data to te s t 127 t h is hypothesis were based on executives' fathers' occupa tio n a l statu ses. The occupational origin of business executives is presented in Table 32. The largest number of executives had fathers employed as managers, proprietors, and o f f ic ia ls ; fathers in semi-professional careers ranked second; those in c le r ic a l and sales p ositions rated third; those in sk ille d trades, fourth; and those in the professions, fifth ; pro tectiv e service occupations were sixth; and sem i-skilled occupations and farming ranked la s t . The occupational ori gin of executives in each subsample clo sely reflected the pattern for the to ta l group. These data revealed that about one-third of the executives studied had fathers who also were connected with business in some way, that another third had fathers who were professionals or sem i-professionals, and the remaining third had fathers who were spread among the remaining occupational c la s s ific a tio n s . Table 33 reveals that a sig n ific a n tly greater number of executives experienced either horizontal or downward mo b i l i t y upon entry into the labor force as compared with the number who experienced upward m obility. The top row of the table contains chi-square values sig n ifica n t at the .001 le v e l between the number of executives experiencing horizon t a l and upward m obility, while the bottom row of the table contains only one chi-square of significance (.05 le v e l for subgroup II) between the number of executives experiencing TABLE 32 OCCUPATIONAL ORIGINS OF EXECUTIVES IN THE TOTAL GROUP A N D IN SUBGROUPS I, II, A N D I I I . Managers, . . , Profes- „ I?1” Proprie- G lericai Semi Un- Protec- ^er" sional Proves- to r s , and a? S killed s k ille d sk ille d tion ® ona^ farming sional o f f i c i a l s Sales Service T otal Group 5 32 36 13 9 2 0 3 0 2 I 2 9 11 5 3 2 0 1 0 1 II 2 10 12 7 3 0 0 0 0 1 III 1 13 13 1 3 0 0 2 0 0 128 129 TABLE 33 DIFFERENCES BETW EEN THE NUM BER O F EXECUTIVES EXPERIENCING UPW ARD, HORIZONTAL, A N D D O W N W A R D GENERATIONAL MOBILITY Chi-Square Values Total I II III Number of executives moving horizontally vs. number moving upward 83.084b 23.860b 22.876b 32.539b Number of executives moving horizontally vs. number moving downward 1.140 0.222 b.081a 0.071 P< 10 0 1 130 horizontal or downward m obility. In comparison with the other subgroups, only vice-presid en ts performing s ta ff func tio n s experienced some degree of upward mobility upon enter ing a career in business. There were no s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ific a n t d ifferen ces among any of the three subgroups with regard to inter-gen- erational mobility patterns. The small Kolmogorov-Smirnov values showin in Table 34 suggest that the extent of upward, horizontal, and downward m obility experienced by executives in each subgroup was highly similar Table 35 depicts the occupational origins of the fathers of business executives. Farming accounted for about one-third of the to ta l group, and managerial and proprietary occupations, combined with c le r ic a l and sa les occupations, for approximately another th ird. The remaining third was distributed throughout the remaining c la s s if ic a t io n cate gories. Subgroup II was under-represented by farming as compared to subgroups I and III. Otherwise, a pattern among subgroups does not d iffe r appreciably. There was, however, a large amount of mobility evident when fathers of execu tiv e s ' extent of generational mobility was s t a t i s t i c a l l y analyzed. Executives' fathers moved both upward and down ward in the occupational hierarchy. Table 37 reveals that only subgroup II did not experience a s t a t i s t i c a l l y s ig n if icant amount of upward m obility, and subgroup I did not ex perience a s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifica n t amount of downward 131 TABLE 34 DIFFERENCES BETW EEN SUBGROUPS I, II, AND III AND EXTENT O F UPW ARD, HORIZONTAL, AN D D O W N W A R D GENERATIONAL MOBILITY Kolmogorov-Smirnov Values I & II I & III II & III Upward Mobility 0.090 0.185 0.018 Horizontal Mobility 0.193 0.211 0.808 Downward Mobility 0.968 0.044 0.583 No s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifica n t d ifferen ces. TABLE 35 OCCUPATIONAL ORIGINS OF EXECUTIVES' GRANDFATHERS IN THE TOTAL GROUP A N D IN SUBGROUPS I , I I , A N D I I I Profe s- sional Semi- Profe s- sional Managers, Proprie to r s, and Of f ic ia ls Cler ic a l and Sa le s Sk illed Semi- Skilled Un s k ille d Protec tion Per sonal Service Farm ing Un known Total Group 2 1 20 12 9 4 6 0 0 31 17 I 1 0 6 5 3 1 2 0 0 13 3 II 1 1 7 4 4 1 3 0 0 6 8 III 0 0 7 3 2 2 1 0 0 12 6 co fO TABLE 36 OCCUPATIONS OF THE FATHERS OF BUSINESS EXECUTIVES1 WIVES FOR TOTAL GROUP A N D FOR SUBGROUPS I , I I , A N D I I I Profes sional Semi- Profes sional Managers* Proprie to rs, and Off i c i a l s C lerica l and S killed Sales Semi- Skilled Un s k ille d Protec tion Per sonal Service Farming Total Group 9 5 31 11 10 17 5 4 3 7 I II III 8 0 1 2 1 2 13 7 11 3 3 4 4 4 3 1 7 9 0 5 0 1 2 1 0 3 0 3 2 2 (a ) C l ) 134 TABLE 37 DIFFERENCES BETW EEN THE NUM BER O F EXECUTIVES’ FATHERS EXPERIENCING UPW ARD, HORIZONTAL, AND D O W N W A R D MOBILITY AND THE DIFFERENCES BETW EEN THE NUM BER OF EXECUTIVES' WIVES EXPERIENCING UPW ARD, HORIZONTAL, AND D O W N W A R D MOBILITY AT M ARRIAGE Chi-Square Value s Total I II III Number mov ing horizon t a lly vs. number mov ing upward Executive s ' Fathers Executive s ' Wive s 2 0 .142d 14.462d 1 5 .270d 0.243 0.057 16.5 l4 d 12.967d 3.970b Number mov ing horizon t a lly vs. number mov ing downward E xecutives' Fathers Executive s 1 Wive s 19.813d 12.993d 0.405 3.579a 22.453d 10. 328c 4 . 243b 2.157 a P< ,10 b P < .05 c P < . .01 d p< .001 135 mobility. The chi-square values indicate that a l l other subgroups and the group as a whole experienced some form of mobility. The fathers of business executives' wives were most highly represented by managerial and proprietary occupations. Table 36 reveals that approximately one-third of the to ta l group was represented in t h is category, and sem i-sk illed , ' professional, and sem i-professional categories accounted for another third. The remaining third was distributed through out the remaining categories. Subgroup I was over-repre sented by professionals and under-represented by semi sk illed occupations in comparison with subgroups II and III. Subgroup III was somewhat under-represented by managerial and proprietary occupations and over-represented by un sk illed occupations. The s t a t i s t i c a l analysis revealed that ex ecu tiv es1 wives experienced upward mobility as w ell as downward mobility at marriage. Table 38 reveals that a ll chi-square values in regard to d ifferen ces in mobility pat terns are s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ific a n t, with the exception of subgroup I, which did not experience su ffic ie n t upward m o b ilit y to be sig n ific a n t, and subgroup II I , which did not experience s u ffic ie n t downward mobility to be sig n ific a n t. There was l i t t l e evidence for the existence of a consistent trend in sig n ific a n t d ifferen ces between sub groups. Table 38 reveals that extent of upward, horizontal, and downward mobility among business e x e cu tiv e s’ fathers 136 TABLE 38 DIFFERENCES BETW EEN SUBGROUPS I, I I , AND III AND EXTENT O F UPW ARD, HORIZONTAL, AND D O W N W A R D MOBILITY FO R EXECUTIVESr FATHERS AND EXECUTIVES’ W IVES Upward Mobility Executives' Fathers Kolmogorov-Smirnov Values I & II I & III 1.814 Executives' , n„Q b Wives 6 ‘ 278 0.028 0.728 II & III 2.267 2.647 Horizontal Mobility Executive s ' Fathers Executive s ' V i ive s 5.401a 1.081 0.089 0.421 4.021 0.143 Downward Mobility Executive s ' Fathers Executive s 1 Wive s 1.491 2.148 0.600 0.041 0.249 1.669 f[ P< .10 b P < .06 137 d iffered s ig n ific a n tly between subgroups I and II only with regard to horizontal m obility patterns. This d ifferen ce suggests no more than a trend, inasmuch as the le v e l of s t a t i s t i c a l sig n ifica n ce i s only at the .10 le v e l. Mobility patterns among business executives' wives at time of mar riage d iffered sig n ific a n tly between subgroups I and II only with regard to upward m obility. However, th is d ifference is at the .05 le v e l of sig n ific a n c e . These data suggest that the d ifferen ces among subgroups with reference to m obility patterns for both ex ecu tiv es' fathers and executives' wives were very s lig h t , and for the majority of comparisons, were not s u f f ic ie n tly great to be s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ific a n t. The data representing the t o ta l group studied were supportive of the general hypothesis that business execu tiv e s represent an indeterminate occupational type. The number of executives experiencing eith er horizontal or down ward m obility when entering the labor force was sig n ifica n tly greater than those experiencing upward m obility. These data were consequently supportive of Hypothesis 6 which postu lated a s ig n ific a n tly greater amount of eith er horizontal or downward m obility. Executives appear to be recruited prin c ip a lly from managerial and proprietary, and from semi-pro fe s s io n a l occupational ca teg o ries. Apart from the data bearing on the business execu tiv e d ir e c tly , i t was found that mobility patterns of execu t iv e s ' fathers and wives were in contrast to the executive. 138 Fathers of business executives experienced a l l forms of mo b ilit y ; lik ew ise, wives of execu tives married upward, down- ward, and h orizon tally. The la r g est number of ex ecu tiv es' fathers were recruited from the farming, managerial, and proprietary occupational groups. The la rg est number of ex ecutives 'wive s had fathers in the managerial and proprietary occupational group. The data concerning d ifferen ces between subgroups I, II, and III does not support the existence of a determinate- indeterminate continuum within the business executive occu pational group. There were no s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ific a n t d ifferen ces between subgroups in regard to extent of upward, horizontal, or downward mobility experienced. Moreover, the data concerning d ifferen ces between subgroups with regard to the m obility patterns of execu tives' fath ers and execu tives' wives was not supportive of the continuum concept. Although two s t a t i s t i c a l t e s t s computed revealed sig n ific a n t d if f e r ences, the evidence is in s u ffic ie n t without additional Kol mogorov- Smirnov values of sign ifican ce for comparison within the same context. Career mobility Hypothesis 7 i s concerned with the extent to which business executives experience a high rate and broad range of career m obility. Career m obility patterns were deter mined by ascertaining the to ta l number of companies by whom 139 employed since entry into the labor force, the number of p osition s held within each company, the average length of time employed by each company, and the average length of time in each p osition held. Inspection of Table 39 reveals that almost h alf of the to ta l group was employed by three or four companies since entering the labor force; approximately one-fourth was employed by one or two companies; and the remaining one- fourth were employed by fiv e or more companies. This pat tern was e s s e n tia lly reduplicated within the three subgroups. Subgroup I had fewer executives employed by one company since entering the labor force than executives in subgroups II and III, and one executive in th is subgroup was employed by ten companies, which was the largest number in the to ta l group. The number of executives in subgroup II employed by four companies is under-represented compared with subgroups I and III, and the number of executives in subgroup III em ployed by five or more companies is under-represented com pared with subgroups I and II. The chi-square values re ported in Table 42 revealed, no s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifica n t dif ferences between the number of executives employed by more than three companies compared with the number employed by three or le s s companies. These two categories contained approximately the same number of executives. These data sug gest that there is a minimum amount of career m obility in regard to number of companies by whom employed. 140 TABLE 39 TOTAL N U M BER O F COM PANIES BY W H O M EXECUTIVES W E R E EM PLO YED SINCE ENTRY INTO THE LABOR FO RCE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Total Group 14 11 28 19 12 11 4 2 0 1 0 I 2 4 8 9 2 5 2 1 0 1 0 II 7 3 10 3 4 5 2 1 0 0 0 III 5 4 10 7 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 141 T ABLE 40 TOTAL N U M BER OF POSITIONS HELD BY EXECUTIVES IN ALL COM PANIES SINCE ENTRY INTO THE LABOR FORCE 2-4 5-7 8-10 11-13 14-16 17-19 20-22 23-25 26-: Total Group 7 35 32 17 5 2 1 3 4 I II III 1 1 5 11 14 10 13 11 8 5 4 8 2 1 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 142 TABLE 41 AVERAGE LENGTH OF TIME EXECUTIVES ’ W E R E EM PLOYED PER C O M PANY SINCE ENTRY INTO THE LABOR FORCE Less 30 years Than 2-5 6-9 10-13 14-17 18-21 22-25 26-29 or One longer Year Total Group 0 41 32 15 1 0 17 8 6 1 1 1 0 0 II 0 13 14 2 1 0 3 2 0 III 0 11 10 7 1 0 1 3 0 143 TABLE 42 AVERAGE NUM BER OF POSITIONS HELD BY EXECUTIVES PER CO M PANY SINCE ENTRY INTO THE LABOR FORCE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total Group 33 35 18 13 3 7 3 0 I Q 12 6 5 1 2 0 0 II 11 9 6 2 2 2 3 0 III 4 14 6 6 0 3 0 0 144 Table 40 presents the to ta l number of d iffer en t po sitio n s held by executives in various companies since enter ing the labor force. Approximately one-third of the group held between fiv e and seven p o sitio n s throughout their em ployment h is to r ie s , another third held between eight and ten p osition s, and the remaining th ird held e ith e r le s s than fiv e or more than ten p o sitio n s. The d ifferen ces in number of positions held manifested by executives in the three sub groups is s lig h t, with one exception: the number of execu t iv e s in subgroup I who held le ss than seven p o sitio n s was somewhat le ss than in subgroups II and III. Three execu t iv e s in subgroup II held between twenty-three and twenty- fiv e d ifferen t p osition s, which represented the maximum num ber of p ositions held in the to ta l group studied. Thirty- one out of 33 executives in subgroup III held no more than 16 p ositions, while four executives in subgroup I and f iv e executives in subgroup II held more than 16 p o sitio n s. Table 43 illu s t r a te s that the differences between the number of executives holding more than seven p osition s compared with the number holding le s s than seven is s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifican t only at the .10 le v e l. Subgroup I manifests a s t a t i s t i c a l difference at the same level; however, sub groups II and III manifest no sig n ifica n t d ifferen ces. Con sequently, these data are only suggestive of a tendency for executives of subgroup I and for the group as a whole to experience career m obility. 145 TABLE 43 EVIDENCE OF CAREER MOBILITY IN THE TOTAL G RO UP OF EXECUTIVES STUDIED AND IN SUBGROUPS I, I I , AND III Chi-Square Values Total I II III Employed by more than three companies vs. three or le s s companie s 0.157 1.059 0.714 0.758 Held more than seven p o sitio n s vs. seven or le s s p o sitio n s 3 . 176a 2.942a 0.714 0.157 Employed an average of more than fiv e years per company vs. an average of le s s than fiv e years 3.922b 0 .0 0 0 2.341 3.666a Held an average of more than three p o si tio n s per company vs. an average of le s s than three p o sitio n s 24.560e 9.529d 8 . 257d 6.833c " P< .005 e P< .001 146 More than one-third of a l l executives were employed for an average of two to fiv e years per company since enter ing the labor force. Table 41 further reveals that another third of the t o ta l group was employed for an average of six to nine years per company, and that s lig h tly le s s than one- third of the remaining executives were employed longer than nine years per company. There were moderate variations among subgroups concerning mobility patterns. The number of executives in subgroup I who spent le s s than an average of fiv e years per job was equal to the number who spent more than an average of five years. In subgroups II and III, however, there were nearly twice as many executives who held jobs for an average of more than fiv e years. These data suggest that mobility is more predominant in subgroups II and III, and that mobility predominates for the t o t a l group. The chi-square values shown in Table 42 reveal that the d if ference between the number of executives employed for an average of fiv e years or le s s d iffe r s sig n ific a n tly from the number employed for an average of more than fiv e years. This trend is suggested in subgroup III; however, the chi- square t e s t i s sig n ifica n t only at the .10 le v e l. D iffe r ences in extent of mobility are not s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i cant for subgroups I and II, although significan ce at the .10 le v e l is approached by subgroup II. The t e s t s of sta t i s t i c a l significance confirm the predominance of mobility for the to ta l group, and support the observation that a ten 147 dency for mobility e x is t s in subgroup I I I . Table 42 indicates that le s s than one-third of the t o ta l number of executives studied held an average of one position per company since entering the labor force; about one-third held an average of two p osition s per company; and a l i t t l e more than one-third held more than three p o sitio n s per company. Subgroup III is under-represented in regard to the number of executives holding an average of one p osition per company in comparison with subgroups I and II. However, in the to ta l group, as well as in each subgroup, the mobil ity patterns were quite similar: the number of executives who held an average of le s s than three p osition s per company i s greater than the number who held an average of more than three p o sitio n s. The chi-square t e s t s shown in Table 42 re veal that s t a t i s t i c a l differen ces were highly sig n ifica n t for the t o ta l group and for each subgroup. The number of executives who experienced r e la tiv e ly l i t t l e mobility were s ig n ific a n tly greater than the number who, by comparison, experienced a greater amount of m obility. Table 44 presents the Kolmogorov-Smirnov values in dicating the d ifferences which were found to e x ist between subgroups and career mobility patterns. No s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifica n t d ifferences were found between subgroups with regard to the four measures of m obility. These data indi cate that no d ifferen ces existed between subgroups insofar as career mobility patterns were concerned. 148 TABLE 44 DIFFERENCES BETW EEN EXECUTIVE SUBGROUPS IN REGARD TO CAREER MOBILITY PATTERNS Kolmogorov-Smirnov Value s I & II I & III II & III Total number of companies by whom employed 1.758 3.680 2.670 Total number of p osition s he Id 0.901 0.998 1.026 Average length of time employed per company 1.721 2.575 1.239 Average number of p osition s held per company 0.861 0.871 2.532 Not s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ifica n t d ifferences. 149 The data representing the to ta l group studied pro vided weak support of the general hypothesis that business executives represent an indeterminate occupational type. Mobility was demonstrated with regard to average number of years employed per company, and there was an in dication of mobility with regard to number of p o sitio n s held since en tering the labor fo rce . However, there was no evidence of mobility in regard to number of companies by whom employed, and evidence against mobility in regard to average number of p osition s held per company. The contradictory evidence may be summarized by saying th a t the data appear to be some what indicative of the existence of career m obility. Hy pothesis 7, consequently, is not supported in a substan tial manner. The data concerning subgroups I, I I , and I I I were not supportive of the continuum conceptualization. There were no s t a t i s t i c a l l y sig n ific a n t d ifferen ces between vice- presidents in tech n ica l r o le s , v ice-p resid en ts in s t a f f r o le s , and those in managerial r o le s , in sofar as career m o b i l i t y patterns were concerned. The ex isten ce of a deter minate-indeterminate continuum does not appear to be v a li dated with regard to d if f e r e n tia l career m obility patterns. Summary and Implications fo r the T heoretical Model The th e o r e tic a l model which conceptualizes occupa tio n s in terms of the degree of determinateness in ro le be- 150 havior, role expectations, righ ts and d u ties, requirements for entry, and other behavioral dimensions, p ostulates that the business executive represents a r e la tiv e ly indeterminate occupational type. From the th eo retica l model, seven hy potheses were deduced which related to various dimensions of the business ex ecu tiv e’s career. Tests of s t a t i s t i c a l sig nificance provided the basis for accepting, not accepting, or refuting each hypothesis. Findings reported in the pre vious section stated that two hypotheses were "strongly sup ported" (economic career goals and late age of d ecision to enter a career in b usiness), one hypothesis was "supported" (horizontal and downward generational mobility at the time of entry into the labor force), two hypotheses were "moder ately" or "weakly supported" (personal values which are ex- trinsic-reward directed and high rate and broad range of ca reer m obility), one hypothesis was "not supported" (career as a means to an end rather than an end in i t s e l f ) , and one hypothesis was "refuted" (low morale and career s a tis fa c t io n ) . Thus, five hypotheses were supported to some extent, one was not supported, and one was refuted. The th e o retic a l model was also tested in regard to intra-occupational variations manifested by the business executive. On the b asis of the model, i t was postulated that vice-presid ents in technical p osition s would represent a determinate occupational type within the business subcul ture, vice-presidents in managerial p osition s would repre 151 sent an indeterminate occupational type, and vice-presidents in sta ff p osition s would f a l l at a point on the hypothetical continuum between the polar extremes. "Strong support" was found for the existence of the determinate-indeterminate continuum in regard to one dimensions of the business execu t i v e ' s career (economc career goals); "moderate support" was found in regard to two additional dimensions (personal values, and decision age to enter business); arid "no support" was found in regard to four dimensions (career as a means to an end, career morale and sa tis fa c tio n , generational mobil it y , and career m obility). Thus, existence of the hypothet ic a l continuum was supported in regard to three dimensions of the execu tive's career, and there was no support regard ing four dimensions. Figure 2 graphically illu s t r a t e s these data. These r e su lts indicate th at, although business exec u tives as a group represented an indeterminate type in fiv e out of seven instances, there was intra-occupational varia tion among executives in three out of seven t e s t s of the determinate-indeterminate continuum conceptualization, when selected subcultural ch a r a c te r istic s were taken into ac count. These data suggest th a t, although sp ec ific dimen sions of the business ex ecu tiv e's career may appear to f a l l toward the indeterminate extreme of the contimuum, varia tio n s within a group in regard to these dimensions may re main unrecognized without further within-group an alysis. 152 Economic Career Goals Means-to- an-end Career Goals Extrinsic Reward Directed Personal Values Low Morale and Career S a tis fa c tion Late Age of Decision Horizontal or Downward Generation al M obility Broad Range & High Rate of Career Mobility Determinate: Fixed, Structured Total Group 1 Indeterminate: S h iftin g , Unstructured X Technical S ta ff Managerial Sub- Group * - Total Group (Not Supported) Sub- Group 1 - (Not Supported) — X— Total Group 1 -Technical- ?Staff? -Managerial- Sub- Group L Total x Group 1 ------- Sub- Group L (Not Supported) Total Group u Sub- Technical Group 1 ---------------- S ta ff Managerial Total Group L — X— Sub- Group * - (Not Supported) Total Group L Sub- Grouo L — X— (Not Supported) Fig. 2 .— Behavioral Continua P a ra llelin g the Determinate-Indeterminate Continuum. 153 The most serious lim itation of the th eo retica l model made evident in the present study is the in a b ility to de termine p recisely the extent of determinateness manifest by an occupational group in regard to the behavior selected for an alysis. If the logic of the determinate-indeterminate conceptualization of occupations is accepted as correct, then every occupation and every behavior selected for anal y sis within th is framework th e o r e tic a lly has a d e fin itiv e position on the continuum. As a h eu ristic device, the model is limited to the extent that p osition s on the continuum oc cupied by various career groups may be d e f in itiv e ly id en ti fied . Another lim itation of the th e o retic a l model evi denced in the present study r e la te s to the in a b ility to pre d ict variations in the extent of determinateness or indeter minateness among the behaviors selected for analysis. This in vestigation revealed that various degrees of indetermin ateness may be related to sp e c ific behaviors studied. For example, the model makes no provision for the fa ct that an occupational group may be r e la tiv e ly more indeterminate in nature with reference to age of decision to enter a career, as compared with extent of career m obility. In summarizing t h is section, i t should be restated that the determinate-indeterminate occupational continuum model has value in demonstrating intra-occupational varia tio n s. Extent of variation within an occupational group is 154 lim ited to illu s t r a t in g r e la tiv e d iffer en ces between sub groups in regard to s p e c ific behavioral dimensions, rather than d e fin ite p o sitio n on the hypothetical continuum* Vari ous degrees of determinateness or indeterminateness among behavioral dimensions are not taken into account. CHAPTER V SU M M A R Y AND CONCLUSIONS Summary of the Investigation It was the purpose of th is study to in vestigate se lected dimensions of the career of the business executive within a framework provided by a th e o retic a l model. These dimensions included career goals, personal values, job sat isfa ctio n , recruitment patterns, generational m obility, and career m obility. The theoretical model postulated a contin uum of occupational determinateness along which behaviors are ranged according to their degree of e x p lic itn e ss and rigidness. It was hypothesized that business executives represented a r e la tiv e ly indeterminate occupational type, inasmuch as the requirements for entry into business are not stringent and may sh ift through time and by lo c a le . Neither the rights nor the duties of incumbents are firmly estab lished. Role expectations and role behavior are wide in range and are r e la tiv e ly in d e fin ite . It was further hypothesized that there were intra- occupational variations within the occupation of business executive. Three subgroups of executives comprising the to ta l group studied were analyzed in regard to the existence of the determinate-indeterminate continuum. Technically 155 156 trained executives bearing such t i t l e s as V ice-president of Production, Manufacturing, Operations, and Research were postulated to represent a determinate occupational type. Executives charged with a broad range of managerial respon s i b i l i t i e s and bearing such t i t l e s as D ivision V ice-p resi dent, Manager of West Coast Operations, and Product Manager were postulated to represent an indeterminate occupational type. Executives handling s ta ff functions and bearing t i t le s such as Vice-president of Public R elations, Personnel, S ales, and Merchandising were postulated to represent an occupational type which is at some point on the hypothetical continuum between the polar extreme types. Names of executives were drawn from Poor's Register of Directors and Executives. 1959. The 102 executives in the study represented a universe, inasmuch as a l l firms within the metropolitan Los Angeles area engaged in manufac ture and having a gross annual sales volume between twenty- five and f i f t y m illion dollars were included in the in v e s ti gation. Executives holding the rank of vice-president and occupying tech n ica l, s t a f f , and managerial p osition s were selected for the formulation of three subgroups. An in te r view schedule ..was designed and personal interviews approxi mately one hour in length were conducted with each execu tive . Interview data were s t a t i s t i c a l l y analyzed by an IBM-709 electron ic data processing system and by a standard Monroe desk calcu lator. R esults were reported in regard to evidence support ing the general hypothesis that business executives repre sent an indeterminate occupational type, and in regard to evidence supporting the existence of a continuum of occupa tio n a l types within the business executive group. Implica tion s of the findings for the th eo retica l model were d is cussed. Summary of Major Findings The group of business executives studied manifested career goals which were economic oriented. Executives in dicated that desire for greater income would be of more im portance than opportunity for career development as a poten t i a l reason for leaving th eir present jobs, and the most im portant reason for seeking new employment, although desire for greater income did not prove to have been an important reason for leaving past employment. In the management hier archy, vice-p resid en ts performing technical r o le s, vice- presidents performing sta ff r o le s, and vice-presid en ts per forming managerial r o le s , differed one from the other in regard to the extent of importance placed on the desire for greater income. Executives did not indicate the opportunity for ad vancement was of greater importance than opportunity for ca reer development as the most sig n ifica n t reason for leaving 158 past jobs, the most important reason for leaving present jobs, or the most important reason for seeking new employ ment. There were no d ifferences between tech nical vice- presidents, s ta ff vice-presid en ts, and managerial vice-pres idents in regard to the extent of importance acknowledged in the opportunity for advancement. The most predominant personal value orientation ex pressed by executives was labeled "conservative out-direc- tedness," and the second most predominant value orientation was labeled "extrinsic-reward directed." Executives as a group ranked the opportunity to be creative higher than the desire to make a good deal of money in regard to the require ments for the id eal career. However, although technical vice-presidents as a subgroup also ranked the opportunity to be creative f i r s t , sta ff vice-presidents ranked the oppor tunity to work with people rather than things f i r s t , and managerial vice-presid en ts ranked the desire to make a good deal of money f i r s t . Business executives expressed a high degree of ca reer morale and sa tisfa c tio n . Executives made a greater number of favorable than unfavorable responses in regard to extent of career sa tisfa c tio n , a greater number would enter a career in business again that the number who would not, and a greater number would encourage a son to enter a career in business than the number who would not. There were no substantial d ifferences between tech nical vice-p resid en ts, 159 sta ff v ice-p resid en ts, and managerial v ic e -p r e sid e n ts in regard to extent of career s a tis fa c tio n . The largest number of execu tives rated th e ir careers as the most important a c t i v i t i e s in th e ir liv e s that give them sa tisfa ctio n ; family rela tio n sh ip s and a c t i v i t i e s were rated second. The career of the s c ie n t i s t was ranked high e st in the occupational hierarchy; medical doctor was ranked second, and executives ranked th e ir own career of business th ird . When ranking th eir own careers in terms of the amount of prestige and status they command in re la tio n to eight other careers, executives ranked th e ir own careers f i r s t , medical doctors second, and attorneys th ird . When ranking the same careers in the manner they f e l t the general public would rank them, executives ranked medical doctors f i r s t , business executives second, and attorneys th ird. Executives as a group made the f in a l d ecisio n to enter a career in business r e la t iv e ly la te in l i f e . There were d iffer en ces between the subgroup of tech n ica l v ice- presidents and the subgroup of s ta ff v ic e-p r esid en ts in re gard to age of decision to enter business. There were also d ifferen ces between the subgroups of tec h n ic a l, s t a f f , and managerial vice-p resid en ts in regard to the age at which careers other than business were seriou sly considered. How ever, there were no d ifferen ces between the three subgroups in regard to the decision age to enter a career in which the executive i n i t i a l l y entered the labor force other than busi 160 ness. In addition, there were d ifferen ces between sta ff and managerial vice-p resid en ts in regard to the importance of high school and college courses as sources of influence in the d ecision to enter business. Technical, s t a f f , and mana geria l vice-p resid en ts a lso differed in regard to the impor tance of high school and college courses as sources of know ledge about a career in business. There was a tendency for technical and s ta ff vice-presid en ts to d iffe r e in regard to the importance of fam ily, personal frien d s, and admired per sons as sources of influence and as sources of knowledge concerning a business career. Managerial vice-presidents also d iffered from techn ical and sta ff vice-presiden ts in regard to the importance of family, personal friends, and admired persons as sources of knowledge about business. Most of the executives seriously considered careers other than business prior to entering high school and during high school, the largest number of careers considered being in medicine and in the physical sciences. S lig h tly le ss than half of the t o t a l group studied had entered the labor force in a career other than business, and out of t h is group the largest number entered as physical s c ie n t i s t s and engineers. Executives who i n i t i a l l y entered the labor force as physical s c ie n tis t s and engineers made the decision to enter their careers e a r lie r than executives who i n i t i a l l y entered the labor force as businessmen. Executives as a group experienced eith er horizontal 161 or downward generational mobility at the time of entry into the labor force. Executives' fath ers experienced both up ward and downward m obility, and executives' wives experi enced both upward and downward m obility at the time of mar riage to a business execu tive. There were no d ifferen ces between tech n ica l, s t a f f , and managerial v ice-p resid en ts in regard to amount of m obility experienced. There were d if ferences only between the wives of tech n ica l and s ta ff vice- presidents in regard to the amount of m obility at marriage. There was a tendency for d ifferen ces to e x is t between the fathers of tech n ical and s t a ff vice-p resid en ts in regard to the amount of m obility experienced. Executives exhibited career m obility in terms of the average number of years employed per company since entering the labor force. There was a tendency for m obility to be evident when the number of p o sitio n s held since entering the labor force was considered. However, the number of execu tiv e s experiencing career m obility in terms of number of companies by whom employed since entering the labor force was equal to the number not experiencing m obility. Execu t iv e s experienced no m obility in terms of the average number of p o sitio n s held per company. No d iffer en ce s were found between tech n ica l, s t a f f , and managerial vice-p resid en ts in regard to patterns of career m obility. 162 Conelusions The following conclusions may be drawn on the basis of t h is in vestigation . 1. Business executives as a group did not c o n s is t ently manifest behavioral c h a r a c te r istic s which ty p ified an indeterminate occupational type. a. Executives represented an indeterminate oc cupational type in regard to career goals and age of decision to enter business. b. Executives represented an indeterminate oc cupational type to a le s s e r extent with r e f erence to generational m obility, personal values, and career m obility. c. Executives represented no d e fin ite occupa tio n a l type in regard to viewing one's ca reer as a means to an end. d. Executives represented a determinate occupa tio n a l type with regard to career s a tis fa c tion and morale. 2. Business executives manifested intra-occupation al differences in certain behavioral character i s t i c s , while in other behavioral ch aracteris t i c s , executives evidenced no d ifferen ces. a. Technical, s t a f f , and managerial executives differed with reference to career goals. b. Technical, s t a f f , and managerial executives 163 differed in a le s s clear-cut manner in re gard to personal values and decision age to enter business, c. Technical, s t a f f , and managerial executives did not d iffe r with reference to viewing th eir career as a means to an end, career s a tis fa c tio n , generational m obility, and career m obility. 3. Executives osten sib ly represented an indetermin ate occupational type in fiv e out of seven in stances, yet, within-group variations existed in three out of seven of these instances. 4. The th e o retic a l model of occupational determin ateness is limited to illu s tr a tin g re la tiv e intra-occupational variations rather than defin itiv e p osition s on the hypothetical continuum, occupied by occupational subgroups. 5. The th eo retica l model does not account for vari ations in the extent of determinateness or inde terminateness among behavioral dimensions. Suggestions for Future Research The following suggestions for future research are proposed with the intention of overcoming the two major d if f i c u l t i e s of the determinate-indeterminate continuum model. 1. Development of c r ite r ia for defining the posi- tion of an occupational group on the determin ate-indeterminate continuum. a. An inductive approach to the development of c r ite r ia for quantification would seem more appropriate than attempting a deductive sc he me. b. Data must be collected on numberous behav io r a l dimensions for additional occupations within the determinate-indeterminate frame of reference. c. The i n i t i a l occupations studied would repre sent one of the polar extreme occupational types; the emergent data would provide in formation fo r the construction of a basic framework for evaluating le s s w ell-defined occupations. Development of a weighting system to maximize concomitant variations among behavioral dimen sions. a. The extent of determinateness or indetermin ateness manifested by sp ecific behavioral dimensions should be em pirically determined. b. Data must be collected on numerous behav io r a l dimensions for additional occupations. c. 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A P P E N D I X E S APPENDIX A LETTER INVITING PARTICIPATION IN TH E STUDY 173 UNIVERSITY O F SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA University Park Los Angeles 7 Department of Sociology Date Name of Executive Name of Company Street Address City* State Dear Mr. _________ The Department of Sociology at the University of Southern C alifornia is currently undertaking a major research in vestigation of selected professions and occupations. Among the occupations chose for study is the career of the business executive. One of m y Ph.D. students, Mr. Harold Hubbard, is in vestigatin g the background fa cto rs associated with successful executives. This study w ill atempt to id en tify sig n ifica n t forces in the career development proce ss. I hope that i t w ill be possible for you to co operate with Mr. Hubbard by making available to him time for a brief personal interview. Mr. Hubbard w ill telephone your o ffic e within a few days for the purpose of arranging an appointment. Sincerely, Edward C. McDonagh, Chairman Department of Sociology APPENDIX B SUBCULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS O F INDUSTRIAL EXECUTIVES 175 Department o f S ociology U n iv e rsity o f S outhern C a lifo rn ia SUBCULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF INDUSTRIAL EXECUTIVES E ducatio n al H isto ry High School 1 2 3 1 * Name L ocation C ollege 1 2 3 b G raduate 1 2 3 b Major Date degree re c e iv e d E d u c a tio n a l le v e l o f : P a te rn a l G ran d fath er Spotm g B ro th a r(s) < f i a w u g n t f c T M a n i t i K » a ^ 1 « g t n . » * i m i i j r n a « r i w n . g n « n w » wwi* I i r t o c S i s t o r ( o ) ^ iiim _ O rg an isa tio n al Membership What aro th e o rg a n isa tio n s in which you c u rre n tly h o ld membership? (F ra te rn a l. B u s in e ss/P ro fe ssio n a l. R e lig io u s, P o l i t i c a l , other® ) / 9 O ffic e s Committee Hama Date Jo in ed A ttendance H eld Membership 175 « » 2 < a D ecision to E n ter B usiness At what age d id you d e f i n it e l y decide to become a B usiness E xecutive? u t c a re e rs d id you s e rio u s ly co n sid er e n te rin g b e sid e s B usiness? _ _ _ _ _ _ At what ages were th e se o th e r ca re e rs consid ered ? What do you f e e l were th e m ost im portant reaso n s f o r changing? ■ ' m i r m 3 j e a s *2 c * r r y B 9 L a C f « y How im p o rtan t w are th e foHow: jig in flu e n c e s in your d e c is io n to e n te r B usiness? (1) (2) (3) Very R e la tiv e ly L i t t l e or W o Books, P e rio d ic a ls . Im portant Im portant Im portance & Magasines Movies, TV High School & C ollege Courses Membership in Formal C areer O rien ted O rg an isatio n s Membership in F r a te r n a l _______ O rg an isatio n s F am ily, P ersonal F rie n d s , Admired Persona ______________ D efine more s p e c if ic a lly th e influQ nce(s) which you have r a te d as "Very Im p o rtan t1 1 How im portant were th e fo llo w in g in p ro v id in g in s ig h ts , p e rc e p tio n s, and knowledge reg ard in g th e c a re e r o f B usiness? Membership in F r a te rn a l Books, P e rio d ic a ls , M agazines___ _ O rg an izatio n s M ovios, TV High Sahool & C ollege Courses Membership in Formal C areer Fam ily, P erso n al F rie n d s , R elated O rg an isatio n s Admired Persona D efine more s p e c if ic a lly th o se ra te d a s ’’Very Im p o rtan t” 175 - 3- C araer Development To what e x te n t do you f e e l t h a t th e B u sin ess E xecutive c a re e r i s th e only s a tis f a c to r y c a re e r f o r you? Tha only s a tis f a c to r y c a ree r _ _ A s a tis f a c to r y c a re e r b u t n o t n e c e s s a rily th e only s a tis fa c to ry c a re e r One of se v e ra l p o s sib le s a tis f a c to r y c a re e rs It- has n o t been a s a tis f a c to r y c a re e r I f you had th e choiea to make again would you s e le c t th e c a re e r of B usiness Executive? I f n o t. what c a re e r would you suggest? » __________ ________ ____ W hy? Would you encourage your son t o become a B usiness E xecutive? I f n o t, w hat c a re e r would you suggest? Why? C onsidering a l l th e occupations & p ro fe ssio n s th a t you know. which would you p lace h ig h e st i n th e o ccu p atio n al h ie ra rch y ? Which v/ould you p lace low est? Where would you p lace your occupation? Y frite your th re e resp o n ses in th e diagram , How im portant i s i t to you t o g e t ahead in l i f e ? (1) Very Im portant (2) H ighly Im portant (3) F a ir ly Im portant (J& ) o f L i t t l e or No Im portance When you th in k of th e q u a l i t i e s th a t w i l l g e t a young ex ecu tiv e ahead, which one o f th e fo llo w in g would you say i s "Most Im portant"? "Next Most Im portant"? P e rso n a lity High degree o f I n te llig e n c e O rganising & a d m in istra tiv e a b i l i t y A b ility to convince & persuade o th e r p eo p le P r a c tic a l knowledge of th e o ry & f a c ts i n your f ie ld 175 • w it " Of the fo llo w in g q u a l i t i e s 3 which on® i s "H ost Im portant" and which one i s "Next Most Im p o rtan t” in h e lp in g a young e x e cu tiv e to g e t ahead? Knowing th e r ig h t people Good lu c k Being a good p o l i t i c i a n . I n te llig e n c e Hard work _______ P le a sin g p e rs o n a lity Heing a "team man" Would you ag ree t h a t "making people do w hat you w ant" i s an im p o rta n t a b i l i t y f o r th e su c c e ss fu l ex ecu tiv e? S tro n g ly Agree (2) Agree (3 ) D isag ree (U) S tro n g ly Disagree What th re e th in g s o r a c t i v i t i e s i n your l i f e do you f e e l g iv es you th e most s a t i s f a c t i o n ? ( i ) Most Im p o rtan t (2) Second Most Im p o rtan t (3 ) Thirsfl Most Im p o rtan t . - C areer ______ L e isu re — tim e r e c re a tio n _ _ _ Fam ily r e la tio n s h ip s _______________________ R elig io u s b e lie f s & a c t i v i t i e s ______ P a r tic ip a tio n as c it i a s n in a f f a i r s o f th e community _____ P a r tic ip a tio n as c i t i s e n in a c t i v i t i e s d ire c te d tow ard n a tio n a l or in te r n a tio n a l b e tte rm e n t P erso n al V alues Hero i s a l i s t o f req u irem en ts f o r th e " id e a l" c a re e r* C onsider t o w hat e x te n t a c a re e r should s a tis f y each o f th e req u irem en ts b e fo re you would c o n sid e r i t to be Id eal* F i r s t , mark th o se requirem ents which you f e e l a re "H ighly Im p o rta n t"| th e n , mark th e one requirem ent from t h i s group which i s "Most Im portant"* Mark th e r e — quiram entT sJ w hich a re o f "Medium Im portance" * Mark th e req u ire m en t( s ) w hich are o f " L ittle o f No Im portance"* Provide an o p p o rtu n ity to use s p e c ia l a b i l i t i e s Provide th e chance to e a rn a good d e a l o f money Perm it c r e a t i v i ty and o r ig in a lity Award s o c ia l s ta tu s and p re s tig e P rovide th e o p p o rtu n ity to work w ith p eo p le r a th e r a th a n th in g s Enable a person to lo o k forw ard to a s ta b le , se cu re f u tu r e Enable a person to be r e l a t iv e ly f r e e o f th e su p e rv isio n o f o th e rs Perm it th e e x e rc ise o f le a d e rs h ip Provide ad v en tu re P rovide th e o p p o rtu n ity to be h e lp fu l to o th e rs 175 Employment History Hhat was (is) the major occupation ofs Paternal Grandfather Father Spouse's Father wu** c w m p — m i n m ■ ■ ■ « i » ■ '■ ' _r_ r ' Brother(s) Sister(s) Employment Alter College Approx, Annual H a m a of C om pany Emplc^pient Dates Positions Salary M a m w w > ! W « » » » W ' i « > w aw w i W - G a r m M w • 3 j j n ii> w n i« n i i n i > i Employment During College 7 H g g l l W I W I ' . U W ' H M J W f 175 Which o f th e follow ing statem e n ts b e s ts d e s c rib e s th a r*eason(s) why you l e f t your f i r s t jo b out of co lleg e? The n e s t job? The n ex t? Etc<> Use th a numbers X, 2, 3 , o te 0 to in d ic a te th e f i r s t , aecond, t h i r d , e t c 0 jo b s corresponding to your Employment H isto ry f o r a l l employment beginning w ith th e p resen to P a s t Jobs P re sen t Job Ds3i r e f o r g r e a te r income L im ited o p p o rtu n ity fox- advancement I n s u f f ic ie n t s e c u rity Poor working c o n d itio n s Poor working a s s o c ia te s N egative e v a lu a tio n of c lie n te le N egative e v a lu a tio n of employer N egative e v a lu a tio n of product I n s u f f ic ie n t s ta tu s & p re s tig e The n a tu re o f th e work L im ited o p p o rtu n ity f o r p erso n al development L im ited o p p o rtu n ity f o r c a re e r development Others Which o f t h e above statem en ts b e s t d e sc rib e s your d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n ( s ) o r d is lik o ( s ) about y o u r p r e s e n t job? Which o f th e fo llo w in g rea so n s wbuld be most im portant to you in seek in g o th e r em ploym ent? B e tte r income More s e c u r ity ______ P ersonal growth & developm ent t<arajrra More o p p o rtu n ity In creased s ta tu s & _____ C areer development fo r advancement * p r e s tig e O ther : Place th e fo llo w in g occupations in rank o rd e r, h ig h e st to lo w e st, according to th e amount of p r e s tig e you p e rso n a lly f e e l th a t each commands, th e n , rank th e same occupations th e way you th in k tho g en eral p u b lic would r a t e them0 (1) Lawyer (2) A rc h ite c t (3 ) B usiness E xecutive (U) D e n tist (5) M in iste r (6) S o c ia l Worker (7 ) M edical D octor (0) E ngineer (9 ) High School Teacher 175 P u b lic V;y Ranking P e r s o n a l H is t o r y P o l i t i c a l a f f i l i a t i o n , l o l t i g i o u s a f f i l i a t i o n C d i e go f raternity vTiJ.'o 1 s s o r o r ity City h state of b i r t h •o D sr of c h ild r e n £ ■ age-s nafce o f b irth Date o f m a rr ia g e D ate o f divor-SG D ate o f r e m a r r ia g e K -»•

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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

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Asset Metadata

Creator Hubbard, Harold Gene (author)

Core Title The Career Business Executive As A Definitive Occupational Type

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Sociology

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag OAI-PMH Harvest,Sociology, general

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor McDonagh, Edward C. (committee chair), Lefever, David Welty (committee member), Vincent, Melvin J. (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c18-69385

Unique identifier UC11358021

Identifier 6002485.pdf (filename),usctheses-c18-69385 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 6002485.pdf

Dmrecord 69385

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Hubbard, Harold Gene

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA